《The Laughing Swordsman》


 Chapter 1 - A Loop

    "Apollo! You won''t get away with this forever!"


    A girl was shaking her fist and ring at Apollo. The girl was in a white dress butpletely drenched in water. Her whole body was shaking, sending little droplets of water onto the grass beneath her.


    As for Apollo, he was snickering and running away as fast as he could. His short blonde hair was blown aside in the wind as his small figure escaped.


    His footsteps pped the cobblestone ground, taking him past all the white stone houses. The vigers that saw Apollo''s snickering sighed.


    They knew he was up to his usual antics again.


    Once Apollo slipped into arge and white stone house, he put both his hands on his sides and stuck out his elbows.


    A smug smile was on Apollo''s face as he puffed out his chest.


    "Another sessful mission! As a reward, I should get some good rest."


    Apollo made his way up the stairs.


    His house was bigger than average, but not absurdly so. His father was a nobleman.


    In this vige, the status of a nobleman was not much higher than amoner as they could be frequently seen casually interacting with each other.


    Being the son of a nobleman itself was not the only reason nobody tried to find trouble with Apollo.


    Unlike his son, Apollo''s father got along well with the other vigers. On that basis, many would turn a blind eye even though Apollo was messing around most of the time.


    As for Apollo''s father, he was incredibly distressed over Apollo''s deeds.


    He tried to discipline Apollo, but that only made it worse. He then promised Apollo a gift for each day he did not disturb some of the townsfolk.


    Yet, no matter what he offered, it would do nothing to deter him. For Apollo, pranking was more exciting than any gift could be.


    Apollo opened the door to his room.


    His room was quiterge and his bed was king-sized. There was a small window next to the bed and a bokken, or wooden sword, was propped up on the wall under it.


    The bokken had a small red tassel at the hilt which was made of exquisite threads.


    Apollo''s father had tried to get him into any hobby whatsoever so that he would be more preupied. Practicing the sword was one of them.


    Apollo requested to keep his bokken in his room, which made his father hopeful that this hobby would stick.


    Unfortunately, the only reason Apollo wanted to keep it was that he thought it looked cool. His father might have fainted if he knew that was the reason why.


    Apollo walked up to his bed and lifted both his arms high to stretch.


    Then, when he looked down, he saw a knife had pierced his chest.


    His vision got blurry and he uncontrobly fell on the bed.


    The pain was harrowing and filled Apollo with despair.


    As he felt the blood slowly leave his body, a thought echoed in his mind.


    "I... don''t want to die."


    To Apollo''s dismay, his eyelids slowly closed and it all went dark.


    ...


    Apollo''s eyes abruptly flew open. He was standing at the doorway of his bedroom.


    His heart was hammering and his breaths were ragged. His hyperventtion gradually calmed down.


    Apollo tried to clutch his heart, with his hand digging into the skin of his chest. A bead of sweat fell from his face, sshing onto the floor.


    "Was it just a dream?"


    Apollo shook his head and slowly walked towards his bed.


    He frequently took nces behind him. He was expecting a scraggly old man in hooded clothes with a knife in hand, ready to stab.


    Despite how many times he turned around, he was unable to find anything out of the ordinary. His eyes darted around suspiciously. He thought the old man would show up soon enough.


    Once he approached the foot of his bed, he thought it could have been a false rm. That it was some fever dream that he had while he was awake.


    But, the knife that was sticking out of his chest poked fun at his fantastical beliefs.


    Once again, Apollo fell onto the bed and cked out.


    ...


    Apollo''s eyes flew open again. His breathing was more rapid and unstable thanst time. As for his heart, it was pumping so much blood, his head was getting dizzy.


    "What is happening?"


    Once his eyesnded on the bed, he instinctively took a few steps back.


    "No... No."


    Apollo swung his head towards the end of the hallway and ran as fast as he could.


    "I have to get out of here!"


    But, as though it was inevitable, a knife pierced through his chest once again.


    A scary premonition appeared in Apollo''s head as his vision darkened.


    It told him that this was going to keep happening, for all eternity.


    ...


    Apollo stood at the entrance of his bedroom. He was deathly still, blinking every minute or so.


    His breaths were shallow and intermittent.


    After a few minutes, he was stabbed once again.


    ...


    Apollo fell to his knees, crying.


    "Stop it... It hurts! It hurts so bad..."


    A knife pierced through his chest.


    ...


    Apollo started begging.


    "Please! Please don''t kill me. I don''t want to die!"


    His cries were ignored and a knife pierced through his chest.


    ...


    "I am a noble! There are valuables I can give you if you just don''t kill me! Everything I have is surely worth more than your need to kill me!"


    Whatever was killing him, paid no heed.


    A knife stuck out from his chest.


    ...


    "Why? Why are you doing this? How can you be so cruel?"


    His vision ckened.


    ...


    Apollo lost hope at some point.


    Sometimes he would just sit down in the middle of the entrance of the bedroom.


    Sometimes he would walk over to the bed and try to lie down on it before he died.


    Sometimes he would stare aimlessly through the window to the outside world.


    He was bing numb to the pain.


    Anger swelled in his heart.


    What did he do to deserve this?


    Who hated him so much that they needed him dead?


    He walked over to his bokken and lifted it up.


    Apollo made a vow in his heart.


    He would bury the person who called for this assassin with his own hands.


    And it would start with surviving the assassination.


    Apollo''s bokken suddenly twisted to cover the back of his chest and blocked the knife.

 Chapter 2 - Stand Up

    The knife pierced through the majority of Apollo''s bokken.


    Apollo spun around and tried to swing his bokken, but half of it directly broke off just like that.


    To make things worse, nobody was there. He wanted to turn around, but a knife had already pierced his chest at that point.


    Apollo tried to force his head around, but his vision darkened before he could see anything.


    ...


    Apollo''s eyes slowly opened.


    ...A seed of hopelessness filled him.


    It was like his assassin was a ghost, invisible, but ready to stick a knife in his chest at any moment.


    Apollo set his first goal.


    Find out who or what his assassin was.


    Apollo walked over to the foot of his bed, making sure to keep his head facing forward. He bent over to pick up the bokken.


    As he rose, his head snapped around and his bokken blocked the iing knife.


    At the corner of his vision, he was able to catch a corner of a robe.


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed and randomly swung his bokken towards where he thought the assassin would be.


    But all he hit was air and a knife stabbed into his back.


    Apollo grit his teeth.


    As he copsed, he forced some words out of his mouth.


    "Next... time."


    ...


    Apollo opened his eyes.


    He clenched his fists.


    Apollo slowly walked over to his bokken and picked it up.


    This time, he did not attempt to block the strike directly but instead tried to use his bokken to divert it.


    As his bokken swung behind him to block, he felt something brush by the tip. Then a knife pierced his chest.


    Apollo fell to his knees, but the inner corners of his eyebrows were trying to dig into his eyes.


    The fire inside him was still burning strong.


    ...


    Apollo opened his eyes and used his hand to rub against his chin.


    "Was it too slow that time?"


    Apollo was deep in his thoughts, but still walked over to his bokken.


    He picked up his bokken and immediately brought it behind his back.


    The knife hit the bokken and pierced into it diagonally. Apollo''s wrist nearly snapped as he did not know how to wield a sword.


    Apollo groaned with pain and by the time he came to, a knife was already in his chest.


    ...


    Apollo stumbled and fell to one knee.


    He felt a little bit of sanity was being chipped from him each time he died.


    His heart was tired, but his legs forced him to stand.


    Once again he went over to pick up the bokken.


    This time, he made sure to have a proper grip. Once the knife diagonally pierced the bokken, his wrist hurt, but not enough to hamper him.


    His body swung around in an effort to catch a glimpse of the ethereal assassin, but still only caught the corner of a robe.


    His vision darkened.


    Apollo narrowed his eyes.


    "Again."


    ...


    This time Apollo twisted his sword, trying to catch the knife in his bokken. The assassin took half a second to twist out their knife.


    This let Apollo get a glimpse of his assassin''s figure.


    However, the amount of time heid his eyes on the assassin was too short and his eyes could not process the visual in time.


    He tried to bring his bokken to his back before it was pierced but was a step toote.


    Apollo fell to a knee and used his bokken to prop himself up.


    "Again."


    ...


    Apollo sucked in a deep breath.


    He blocked the assassin''s attack and twisted his bokken. Right after spinning around, his bokken shot out to protect him again.


    The knife thunked into the bokken and pulled away before Apollo twisted again.


    Apollo whipped back but did not even catch a glimpse of his assassin this time.


    Instinctively, he pushed his bokken to cover his back, but then the assassin was at his front, no longer hiding. The assassin was thrusting a dagger straight to his chest.


    Apollo''s eyes widened as he saw his killer.


    It was a mature woman in a tight ck dress. She had short ck hair and dark brown eyes.


    Her skin was almost eerily smooth and she had bright red lipstick on her lips.


    Her face was expressionless and she did not appear to be in any sort of panic.


    On her hands were ck translucent fingerless gloves. One of her hands had a dagger and was thrusting it straight into Apollo''s chest. The other hand was free, though a dagger was left on her belt.


    As his vision darkened, his eyes tried to force themselves open to imprint the image of the assassin for a little bit longer.


    ...


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Hey, are you there?"


    There was no response.


    Apollo was not discouraged.


    "Ady shouldn''t y with daggers you know, it''s danger-"


    His assassin appeared in front of him, her eyes were furrowed, but her dagger was firmly nted in Apollo''s chest.


    Apollo fell onto his back.


    "Damn... not much of a talker are you?"


    ...


    Apollo woke with unsteady feet.


    He quickly caught the side of his door and regained his bearings.


    A bitter smile was on his face.


    "I guess we can only do this the hard way."


    Apollo walked over to the bokken and picked it up once again.


    ...


    Apollo died time and time again. He was experimenting with whatever sword technique he could think of.


    Sometimes he would let himself be led by his instincts, randomly moving the sword in seemingly foolish ways.


    Sometimes he died after blocking two hits, sometimes three.


    There were also times he could only block one or none altogether.


    Each time he woke up standing at the entrance to his bedroom, his legs would shake more.


    His mind could imagine the pain even as he simply stood there.


    He ended up falling right at the bedroom entrance. Every time he did not get up fast enough, he would die by a dagger entering his chest.


    However, no matter how many times he fell, he forced himself to stand up.

 Chapter 3 - What Do You Mean Mother?

    Apollo''s brain was beginning to have difficulty in thinking logically. Sometimes the world felt like it was spinning even though he was standing perfectly still.


    It was harder for him to understand his own swings. His bokken flew around him while the red tassel danced in the chaos.


    Apollo''s mind was bing increasingly muddled. It simply hurt too much.


    Eventually, he couldn''t take it and began screaming.


    His screams echoed in the room and cleared his head, if only slightly.


    Apollo continued screaming, but as time went on, it was losing effectiveness.


    Soon, no matter how much Apollo screamed, it wouldn''t make a difference.


    Apollo diverted a stab with the tip of his wooden sword, making it miss his body by a hair. As he continued blocking, a vision appeared in his head.


    He was with his mother. He was a baby and in his hands was a small wooden sword.


    His mother kept both of her hands sped around his own and moved the sword around with little jumps.


    He saw that his mother had a big smile on her face and he wasughing.


    A chuckle escaped his lips as the blood left his body.


    When he awoke again, a softugh seeped through his lips.


    His head cleared ever so slightly.


    He picked up the bokken while trembling with softughter.


    He blocked the stabs from the knife with a wide smile on his face.


    Once the knife pierced Apollo''s chest he simply cackled.


    "Well done! You really are good with that knife!"


    Apolloughed like a madman, swinging his bokken around like it was a whip. His feet were dancing across the floor, twisting and sliding.


    In the end, his chest was still pierced by a knife.


    Slowly his head became less muddled. It was filled with dopamine from all theughing he was doing.


    The stimtion from hisughs grew, slowly making his smilerger and his swings more excited.


    ...


    As time passed, the excessive dopamine was hurting his brain. He could feel his blood pulsating through his head, overloading it.


    Apollo did not realize it, but his eyes were slowly widening.


    His eyes were as wide as can be, causing his mind to be more stressed. However, at this point, he could no longer tell the difference.


    He began swinging his sword for the sake of swinging it.


    The events became a blur to Apollo.


    ...


    He saw himself standing in a field. In his hand was a bokken and in front of him was his mother.


    His mother swung a wooden sword around.


    "Watch carefully Apollo. To swing the sword you must do it like this."


    Apollo tried to follow his mother''s movements but did so clumsily.


    His mother sighed.


    "The way I learned how to swing the sword was through battle. Perhaps you will learn faster by being in a fight."


    Apollo''s mother swung her sword at Apollo, which he blocked.


    Apollo''s mother began circling him as she struck, forcing him to hastily block using his sword.


    Apollo didn''t know what he was doing, thus it was easy for his mother to strike the back of his knee.


    Apollo fell to the ground in pain.


    His mother had a stern expression on her face.


    "Stand up."


    ...


    Apollo was on his knee, with a knife piercing his chest.


    Despite that, he stood up and swung one more time at his assassin.


    Apollo''s vision darkened once again.


    He was starting to have difficulty in differentiating his visions and real life.


    Apollo smiled.


    "Mother? Why are you hiding from me, mother?"


    Apollo spun around, trying to find what he believed to be his mother.


    A small frown appeared on Apollo''s face.


    "Ah, you will only y with me if I pick up my bokken. Don''t worry, I''m on it!"


    Apollo continued swinging his bokken and blocking the knife. He felt like he was dancing and performing a show for countless people.


    Apollo and his bokken appeared to merge, as though they were on the same wavelength.


    Each strike, each swing, and each death slowly imprinted itself within Apollo''s mind. He did not even understand why he was swinging his bokken the way he was.


    It just felt right.


    Through Apollo''s ragged breaths, he tried to talk to his assassin.


    "Mother? Am I doing it properly? You still hit me, I must be doing something wrong."


    A knife pierced through Apollo''s chest.


    While the blood was pouring out of him, Apollo was still smiling.


    "Ah, sorry mother. I will try my best next time!"


    Apollo did not know how many times he died, or how long he spent fighting off his assassin.


    However, at some point, it became strange to him while his hand was empty. It was like he had lost part of himself while his bokken was not in his hand.


    Apollo did not bother to optimize his breathing, opting to talk as he swung his bokken.


    "Is it like this? Oh no, I probably should''ve swung it slower. Sorry, mother!"


    Little nicks appeared on his bokken as he fended off the shes.


    For the first time, he was able to stay alive for five minutes.


    At this point, his assassin no longer bothered hiding. The assassin took out her second dagger, swinging it along with her other dagger.


    "Stupid kid, I''m not your mother."


    Apolloughed.


    "What do you mean mother? You must be joking."


    The assassin frowned, not letting up on her strikes.


    shes quickly appeared one after another on Apollo''s skin.


    It was only a few seconds before a knife plunged into his chest.


    Apollo was smiling as widely as ever.


    "Wow, mother! You are so good at this!"


    ...


    Apollo learned how to tilt his bokken in elusive ways to block the onught from both daggers.


    Time passed in a blur.


    Eventually, he went a full hour blocking his assassin''s strikes.


    Despite that, his bokken did not even have a scratch mark on it.


    The assassin stopped attacking and stared at Apollo.


    "Who taught you your swordy kid?"


    Apollo smiled happily.


    "What do you mean mother? It was you!"


    The assassin''s face twitched.


    "What?"

 Chapter 4 - Why Cant I Move?

    Apollo was covered in small nicks on his skin. He tilted his head when he looked at the assassin.


    "Mother? Did you already forget? We have been practicing for so long!"


    The assassin narrowed her eyes.


    "I suppose it has been a while..."


    Apollo jumped excitedly.


    "Yeah, exactly!"


    The assassin sighed.


    "What is your name kid?"


    Apollo chuckled.


    "Oh mother, just call me your son!"


    The corner of the assassin''s lip twitched.


    "No, I won''t. And you must call me by my name, Willow."


    Apollo whimpered.


    "Aww... why not?"


    Willow rubbed her forehead with her hand.


    "Because I''m not your mother."


    Apolloughed.


    "Haha, that is a funny joke mother."


    Willow cracked her neck.


    "Just tell me your name, ok?"


    Apollo hummed with a finger on his lips.


    "Ok mother. My name is..."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What was it again?"


    Willow raised her eyebrow.


    "You won''t fool me. How can you possibly forget your name?"


    Apollo used his hand to scratch the back of his head.


    "Sorry, mother."


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "Willow."


    Apollo bowed.


    "Ah, sorry mo-."


    Apollo coughed.


    "Sorry, Willow."


    Willow sighed.


    "Now, what is your name?"


    Apollo rubbed his free hand against his chin a little too intensely.


    "Hmm. Was it a wallow? Or was it some baboo?"


    A vision of his mother appeared.


    "Keep trying Apollo."


    Apolloughed.


    "Oh, thank you mother, Apollo!"


    Willow took a deep breath to calm herself.


    "Hello, Apollo. Now call me Willow."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, alright Willow."


    Willow shook her head.


    "Anyway, who taught you your swordy, before me. Was it your mother?"


    Apolloughed like she told a funny joke.


    "What do you mean was it you? Of course it was!"


    Willow pressed her lips into a line.


    "...Whatever. Anyways, I was assigned a mission that required me to assassinate you. However, at this point, I don''t care about my reputation. It isn''t worth it anyway."


    Apollo nodded.


    His eyelids were heavy, he was intermittently blinking in an attempt to keep them open.


    "M-... Willow, I am tired."


    The adrenaline was leaving Apollo''s body.


    Willow propped her head up with her hand.


    "Then sleep on the bed."


    Apollo crawled under the sheets. After he lied down, he turned his head to Willow.


    "Willow, can you sleep with me?"


    Willow took a step back and did not bother hiding the disgust on her face.


    "No."


    Apollo whimpered.


    "Ok..."


    Apollo shut his eyes


    ...


    When Apollo woke up, a few weak beams of sunlight were shining on his eyes.


    Slowly, his eyelids parted. His vision was blurry and began burning up once he opened his eyes all the way.


    "Ah, you''re awake."


    A soft voice came from Apollo''s right.


    His head gradually turned over.


    "Mother?"


    Willow sighed.


    "Willow."


    Apollo chuckled.


    "Sorry, Willow."


    Apollo tried to sit up, but his body did not respond to his intentions.


    He continued trying to move, but the only thing that could move below his shoulders were his toes.


    Even then, they hardly moved.


    "Willow... why can''t I move?"


    Willow tilted her head.


    "You can''t move?"


    Apollo had a small frown on his face


    "No..."


    Willow raised a knife and hovered it above Apollo''s chest.


    "So I can easily kill you andplete my request?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side, then lightly nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Willow was speechless for a moment.


    "Are you not afraid of me killing you?"


    Apolloughed.


    "What do you mean Willow, you''ve already done it so many times!"


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "I have?"


    Apollo smiled and swung his head back and forth.


    "Of course! Do you need to kill me for something? Just go ahead!"


    Willow sighed and pulled back her knife.


    "You really are confusing."


    Apollo giggled.


    "I don''t really understand either."


    Willow straightened her back.


    "I see..."


    For a few minutes, there was silence.


    Apollo murmured dreamily.


    "Willow... did I do it properly this time?"


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Huh? What do you mean?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Aww... I will try my best next time, mother! Er... Willow"


    Willow sighed.


    "Why do you think I''m your mother anyway?"


    Apollo hummed.


    "Mm? You''re my mother because that''s what you are!"


    Willow chuckled. She was wondering why she even tried asking.


    "Anyways, mind telling me about your life?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Oh, my life? Listen closely! First I was swinging a bokken, then I swung a bokken, after that, I swung a bokken, then I was swinging-"


    "Alright, alright. I get the gist of it."


    Willow raised her palm and cut Apollo off.


    Apollo looked at Willow curiously.


    "You don''t want to hear it?"


    Willow shook her head.


    "It''s fine."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Ok..."


    Willow stared into Apollo''s eyes.


    "Are you hungry?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Haha, I don''t know!"


    Willow smiled.


    "Well, let me get you something anyway."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Thank you, Willow!"


    Apollo blinked, then Willow was gone. He vigorously turned his head from side to side, trying to find her.


    Apollo failed in finding her and giggled to himself.


    Apollo was moving his head from side to side, humming to himself.


    He was attempting to follow the beat of a song he forgot but was off-key for nearly every single note.


    It did not take Willow too long to get something. She pushed open the door to Apollo''s bedroom and held arge te of steaming vegetables with her other hand.


    "This vige seriously only has vegetables... At least they are quiterge."


    Willow had gotten a seat from somewhere and put it next to his bed.


    Apollo smiled.


    "Thank youuuu."


    Willow chuckled.


    "No problem."


    Apollo attempted to raise his arms, but they didn''t move. He then pouted.


    "Willow my arms! Why can''t I move my arms?"


    Willow shook her head.


    "Don''t you remember? You can''t move your body. It''s probably because you exerted your body too much. It''s quite impressive that you can even keep moving when your body was wrecked this much."


    Apollo smiled and intermittentlyughed.


    "Thank you... that''s the first time youplimented me!"


    Willow smiled.


    "I suppose so. Anyways I''ll help you eat up."


    Willow used a metal fork to slowly fed Apollo.

 Chapter 5 - Spoon-Feeding

    Soft sounds of crunching filled the room.


    A piece of lettuce dangled in front of Apollo''s mouth.


    He lifted his head and bit into it.


    The uneaten part of the lettuce slipped off the fork and fell next to him.


    Apollo giggled and turned to his newpanion on the bed.


    Willow sighed and picked up the fallen lettuce with her thumb and forefinger.


    "Don''t make a mess."


    Willow then stuffed the piece of lettuce into Apollo''s mouth.


    He munched on it while shaking his head from side to side.


    Once Apollo swallowed, Willow was already holding a piece of lettuce next to his mouth.


    Willow got closer and gently brought the fork to Apollo''s mouth.


    "Say ahh."


    Apollo opened his mouth.


    Right as he was about to follow Willow''s request, the door to the bedroom suddenly mmed open.


    "I found you, Apollo! Don''t think you will get away this time!"


    A girl in a light blue dress had pushed open the door.


    She was the girl that Apollo had spilled water on earlier. Her clothes were now dry, but her anger was as strong as ever.


    She was seething and her blonde hair was trembling. Her hand was clenched into a fist as her light blue eyes narrowed.


    However, her momentum was suddenly lost when she saw the intimate scene in front of her.


    She had to take a few seconds to confirm that she was indeed looking at a woman in an elegant ck dress spoon-feeding Apollo in bed.


    Her fists unclenched and she blinked a few times.


    "Apollo, you... you."


    She repeatedly stamped her foot on the ground.


    "Lecherous scoundrel!"


    Willow retracted the fork and sat with a dignified posture as if she had no part in the strange situation.


    The girl crossed her arms.


    "Who is this woman?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Ah, that''s my mommy."


    The girl froze and her eyelid twitched.


    "Your mother? But..."


    Willow sighed.


    "Don''t ask. I have no idea why he thinks that either."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Oh mommy you are so silly."


    The girl furrowed her brows.


    "What did you do to him?"


    Willow ced the te on herp then raised both her hands like she was surrendering.


    "I didn''t do anything, he just suddenly-"


    Willow cut herself off.


    She furrowed her brows and rubbed her chin.


    "Wait... did I do anything?"


    She had a sudden realization. She attempted to assassinate Apollo just the day before.


    The girl gritted her teeth.


    "Apollo! Get away from that woman!"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Why would I get away from mommy? Who are you anyway?"


    The girl''s expression sank.


    "What? You''ve been bothering me with your antics since forever! How could you possibly forget my name?"


    Apollo hummed.


    "Mmm... Dunno!"


    The girl was distraught. It took her a few seconds to form the words.


    "My name... it''s Ivy. You don''t remember me, Ivy?"


    Apolloughed.


    "Nope! But it''s nice to meet you, Ivy. My name is a wallow! Er, Apollo!"


    Ivy''s breathing was bing unsteady. She took a few deep breaths, then frowned.


    "Apollo! Stop with your antics already, I''m tired of them. This is no longer funny, okay?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "What''s no longer funny?"


    Ivy stamped her foot, certain that Apollo was messing with her. No longer bothering with him, she pointed at Willow.


    "And you! What are you doing!"


    Willow''s face twitched. Her attempts to lower her presence had failed.


    "I... am feeding him."


    Ivy iled her arms.


    "What do you mean? He can do that perfectly fine on his own."


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Well..."


    "I can''t move! See?"


    Apollo interjected and began twisting his head from side to side.


    Ivy furrowed her brows.


    "You can''t move? What did you do Apollo?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Practicing swinging my sword with mommy!"


    Ivy tilted her head to the side.


    "You were... practicing swordy?"


    Apollo nodded vigorously.


    "Yeah, yeah!"


    The corner of Ivy''s lip twitched.


    "Oh..."


    Ivy turned back to Willow.


    "Well if Apollo needs to be fed I should be the one to do it! I don''t know who you are, but a task like this shouldn''t be left to a stranger."


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Haha, perhaps that is for the best."


    Apollo twisted his head to Willow.


    "Eh? What do you mean mommy? You are the only person who should be feeding me!"


    Willow''s eyelid twitches.


    "Not mommy, my name is Willow."


    Apollo pouted.


    "...Willow, why are you listening to her?"


    Ivy stamped her foot on the ground.


    "Because I am the one being sensible here!"


    Ivy walked over and snatched the te and fork from Willow, who didn''t try to resist.


    Willow got up out of the seat and let Ivy take her ce.


    Ivy was frowning.


    "How am I supposed to take revenge on you if this is the state your body is in?"


    Something in the back of Apollo''s mind red up as Ivy said that. A memory felt like it was surfacing, but was unable to make it all the way.


    Apollo shook his head. When he came to, there was a piece of lettuce on a fork, it was trembling ever so slightly.


    Instinctively, he wanted to reach up and bite, but he stopped himself.


    "Wait! You''re not mommy!"


    Ivy''s face twitched.


    "Just... eat the lettuce, you scoundrel!"


    Apollo turned his head all the way to the other side.


    "No!"


    Ivy stood up from the chair and pushed the lettuce to Apollo''s face.


    "Why? Why are you doing this Apollo?"


    Ivy pressed the lettuce against Apollo''s lips, but he would not open them. The lettuce ended up falling on the bed.


    Apollo pouted.


    "I want my mommy to be the one!"


    Willow''s face twitched.


    "It''s Willow."


    Apollo had let out a dissatisfied hum.


    "Willow..."


    Ivy was on the verge of tears.


    "Fine!"


    Ivy shoved the fork and te into Willow''s hands and stomped out angrily.


    Willow stood there holding the utensils and was at a loss.


    Apollo turned his head back over.


    "Willow? I''m hungry..."


    Willow sighed.


    "Alright."


    Willow sat down and picked up the lettuce on the bed.. She then used a fork to hold up a piece of lettuce above Apollo''s mouth.

 Chapter 6 - A Strange Kid

    Roughly a week passed by.


    Ivy did note back to visit Apollo anymore, leaving Willow to interrogate Apollo as she wished.


    "So what did your mother do before?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "You taught me how to use a sword before, right?"


    Willow''s face twitched.


    She had already asked many different questions to probe for more information. However, Apollo would either give an answer that didn''t make any sense or one that didn''t tell her anything new.


    Willow sighed and held a small piece of a baked potato in front of Apollo.


    "Here you go."


    Apollo greedily bit into it.


    As the week passed, the sensations of his body gradually came back to him. He found he was terribly hungry and spent most of the day either eating or sleeping.


    The moment any food reached his stomach, he could feel it dissolve in a few minutes, leaving him on an empty stomach again.


    Despite his excessive eating, he had lost weight and had no need to use the bathroom.


    He couldn''t be considered fat before, but still had baby fat on his cheeks. Now, however, he almost looked emaciated.


    Willow frowned.


    "How have you lost so much weight? I have already fed you so much food."


    Willow had eaten some of the food herself. Although she wasn''t a glutton, she still ate a decent amount. Despite that, after eating a small portion of the vegetables in the vige, she would already feel full.


    Somehow the vegetables were more filling than meat.


    That''s why she was so confused as to why Apollo appeared to be starving. She couldn''t even imagine how many people could be fed by the amount Apollo had eaten this past week.


    Apollo looked down at his body.


    "I''ve lost weight? I don''t remember having any weights."


    Willow sighed.


    "Nevermind. Can you move at all?"


    Apollo tilted his head. After putting strength into his arm, it moved up.


    "Oh yeah! I can!"


    Willow sighed.


    "Then why didn''t you tell me sooner!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Sorry! I didn''t check."


    Apollo got out of the bed and stood up.


    Willow looked at him, then walked to the door.


    "Come on, let''s get out of this room."


    Suddenly, there was a bang that resounded from behind Willow. She turned around to see Apollo on the floor.


    Apollo twisted his head so he could look at Willow.


    "I can''t move Willow!"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "If it''s really that hard to move, don''t force yourself."


    Apollo blinked innocently.


    "But it wasn''t hard!"


    Willow sighed.


    "Whatever, let me help you back on the bed."


    Willow picked up Apollo. His body was like a sack of potatoes, but also trembling. Willow frowned when she touched Apollo''s skin.


    It was abnormally hot.


    Once she brought Apollo next to the bed, she felt the sheets. It was as though the bed was on fire.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "Are you ok? Do you have some sort of rare disease?"


    Apollo looked at Willow with big beady eyes.


    "No, why?"


    Willow shook her head.


    "Nevermind."


    Willow ced Apollo on the other side of the bed and above the nkets.


    She then looked intently at Apollo, as if she wanted to see inside his soul.


    Apollo looked back and giggled.


    "Hmm... Mommy..."


    The corner of Willow''s mouth twitched.


    "It''s Willow."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Willow..."


    A sigh escaped from Willow''s mouth. She pulled out a small yellow bead with her thumb and forefinger.


    "Here, eat this."


    Apollo looked at it curiously, before nipping it out of Willow''s hold. He swallowed the tasteless thing without much hesitation.


    The bead did not dissolve immediately like the other foods. Instead, it lingered there and temporarily made him feel satiated.


    Apollo gasped in awe.


    "Wow, where did you find this Willow? It feels really nice."


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "It''spressed food. That bead had enough for me tost a week."


    Apollo smiled.


    "Wo."


    Apollo suddenly looked down at his body.


    "Mommy! My skin feels itchy!"


    Willow frowned.


    She ignored Apollo''s method of addressing her and lifted up his shirt.


    His body was previously emaciated, but right now he looked like nothing ever happened in the first ce.


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    She saw tiny red scars appearing on Apollo''s skin. In particr, there were many running across the sides of his chest into his arms.


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "What are you looking at?"


    Willow looked up to Apollo.


    "There are stretch marks all across your skin."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh, sounds cool."


    After Willow put back Apollo''s clothes, Apollo swung his head from side to side. Apollo then started to swing his arms up and down.


    Willow blinked a few times.


    "You can move?"


    Apollo stopped moving his arms, then looked at one arm, slowly lifting it.


    "Ah, yeah I can!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Will it be a repeat ofst time where you fell over?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders and got out of the bed.


    "Maybe!"


    Willow sighed.


    "Whatever, I''m tired of sitting here all day. Why don''t you walk me through your normal life?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Well, normally I swing the sword. Then I swung the sword, after that I swung the sword, then I would-"


    "Nevermind."


    Willow was rubbing her forehead with her hand.


    "Why don''t you follow me?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok!"


    Apollo got his bokken, then ran over, walking shoulder to shoulder with Willow.


    Willow was determined to figure out how such a young kid was able to learn his swordsmanship skills. She was still confused about how Apollo used a wooden sword to fend off her two daggers.


    Not only was hecking overall strength, but also there was also the fact he didn''t have a single previous scar or callus.


    In fact, Willow had already done her research. She found what Apollo''s general routine was. She had dressed up as one of the passersby and asked around about Apollo.


    She originally tried to ask who Apollo was but got a strange look. She quickly found that everyone in this vige had quite an extensive social circle. On top of that, practically everyone knew about Apollo.


    She learned to rephrase her questions, as though she knew about Apollo but was just curious.


    At first, she refused to believe the people she talked to.. However, when the same story kepting up, she knew it couldn''t be too far off from the truth.

 Chapter 7 - Quick Learner

    "Ah, he is a troublemaker that spends each day pranking others."


    "Apollo? That lousy kid never shows up to school, he only knows how to annoy other people."


    "Haha, Apollo huh? He''s just a kid being a kid. Can''t really do anything about that fe."


    Willow ruminated over what others told her.


    She expected that Apollo would be well known, but she thought it would be for his swordsmanship, not his troublemaking tendencies.


    She was determined to get to the bottom of this.


    Willow took Apollo to arge public training range.


    Snow was falling from the sky and covered the streets, but that didn''t seem to bother anyone.


    There were quite a few people there, swinging at the various dummies provided.


    The first set was made out of wood and quite beaten up, while the others were made out of various shades of stone. The farther down you go, the deeper shade they would be.


    There was a man who swung his long metal saber and shattered a light-grey stone dummy. He had a big smile on his face and raised his saber high in the air.


    "Ha, I did it!"


    The range was veryrge, with plenty of dummies. However, the majority of the people were congregated near its front. There were only a few people here and there deep in the range.


    Willow stopped once she reached a wooden dummy.


    "Attack the training dummy."


    Apollo looked at Willow with a confused look.


    "But you never taught me how to attack something."


    Willow''s face twitched.


    "How do you not know how to attack something?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "You have to teach me! Teach me!"


    Willow sighed.


    Another kid that was simr to Apollo''s size overheard the conversation.


    He had a metal sword in his hand and a big grin.


    "Oh, hey Apollo! You decided to practice how to swing a sword?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Mm... if mo-"


    Willow red at Apollo.


    Apollo cut himself off and cleared his throat.


    "If Willow teaches me yeah!"


    The kidughed.


    "That is a funny one! Now tell me, who is your next victim?"


    Willow sighed.


    "His next victim is going to be a training dummy."


    The kid raised an eyebrow.


    "Did your dad hire you a babysitter?"


    Apolloughed.


    "No silly, this is my mommy."


    The kid furrowed his brows and pointed to Willow.


    "What? You''re his mo-"


    "No."


    Willow really didn''t want this misunderstanding to spread. So she quickly cut him off.


    "He just thinks of me as a mother."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Because she is my mommy!"


    The kid blinked a few times.


    "Uh... ok I think I get it."


    Willow shook her head.


    "Anyway, give me that sword."


    The kid took a step back.


    "Wait, I really like this-"


    Willow slipped the sword out of the kid''s grasp. Before the kid could react, she shed at the wooden dummy.


    "That is how you attack someone."


    Her sh was sudden, only leaving a faint afterimage. With a faint thump, the wooden statue was bisected diagonally and the top half slowly slid off.


    The kid''s eyes widened all the way.


    "W-What?"


    Apollo gasped in awe.


    "Oh, like that I see!"


    The kid furrowed his brows.


    "Apollo, something of that level can''t be replicate by just seeing it on-"


    Apollo ignored the kid and shed with his bokken.


    The red tassel of his bokken whipped to the side.


    The wooden dummy Apollo shed did not move.


    The kid scoffed.


    "See! I told-"


    His jaw dropped.


    The top half of the wooden dummy slowly fell. His cut was even smoother than Willow''s. Not to mention the fact he used a wooden sword.


    While the kid was speechless, Willow blinked a few times. She was confirming Apollo really just did that, but overcame her shock soon enough. After all, she knew that Apollo knew how to swing his bokken.


    Apollo raised his hands in the air.


    "Yay, I did it! It''s all thanks to your great teaching mo-... Willow!"


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "If my teaching really was that great, I would have be a teacher."


    Apollo tugged on Willow''s sleeve.


    "Ah! Don''t get too good at teaching, you can''t leave me!"


    Willow sighed.


    "I''m not bing a teacher anytime soon."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Ok!"


    The kid rubbed his eyes and finally got the words out.


    "Apollo? Did you... do that?"


    Apollo''s head tilted to the side.


    "Only because of my mother teaching me!"


    Willow patted Apollo''s head.


    "My name is Willow."


    Apollo shifted his eyes away.


    "Ok."


    Willow then went to a white stone statue.


    "Come here, Apollo. Now try the same thing on this statue but at a different angle."


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "But you never taught me that angle!"


    Willow rolled her eyes.


    "Remember the times I swung at you? Learn by copying those."


    Apollo was silent, thenughed.


    "Wow, you are so smart Willow!"


    Willow shook her head with a wry smile and watched Apollo lift up his sword.


    Apollo swung his bokken but also twisted the handle.


    A clear crack resounded. Apollo had shattered the stone dummy, splitting it into four pieces.


    Small pieces of stone were scattered across the floor.


    Apollo was frowning.


    "Mm... I did it wrong! Why am I so stupid..."


    The kid began pinching himself.


    "This isn''t real, this isn''t real."


    Willowughed and put her hand on Apollo''s shoulder.


    "You did fine Apollo."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Aww, thanks, Willow!"


    Willowed chuckled with him.


    "You seem to be remembering my name as well."


    Willow put one hand on the hilt of her sword, while the other traced the de. Suddenly, the sword snapped out.


    "Just do it like this."


    The dummy had been bisected twice, with two diagonal shes.


    The whole thing copsed into four even pieces.


    Apollo had a hand on his chin.


    "Oh! Right, you can also use both hands!"


    Apollo''s finger traced the de of his bokken, then it snapped out.


    Like a mirror image, the stone dummy split into four even pieces.


    Willow put a finger on her chin.


    "Come on, let me bring you somewhere else."


    The kid was staring at them with his jaw dropped.


    Willow and Apollo walked off into the distance.


    After a few moments, the shocked expression left him.


    The kid was rubbing his chin while his brows furrowed.


    What was he missing again?


    He abruptly gasped.


    "Wait, my sword!"

 Chapter 8 - Magic School

    Willow brought Apollo over to a school. It was the school that he was supposed to be going to but never did.


    Willow looked at Apollo.


    "Do you know what this ce is?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "No, what is it?"


    Willow smiled.


    She thought she might get a special reaction from Apollo by bringing him to school. From what she heard, it seemed that Apollo hated school.


    "This is your school!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ah, ok!"


    Willow''s face twitched.


    "...We are going to go inside!"


    Apollo jumped up and down.


    "Ok! Ok!"


    Willow blinked sporadically.


    "...Why are you so excited?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "It sounded like you were excited! It must be exciting if you think it is!"


    Willow was left speechless from Apollo''s reasoning. She was wondering if her approach to this was wrong.


    "Haha... it is exciting."


    Apollo smiled.


    "Then let''s go!"


    The school was quite arge ce. At the moment, sses were in session, so the hallways were mostly empty.


    Willow recalled a middle-aged man''s voice.


    "Ah yes, I am the teacher of ss four and Apollo has yet to show himself before me. That kid is so ungrateful."


    Willow led Apollo down the hallways. The walls were made of white stone and the ce was very clean.


    Apollo was circling around Willow as she walked. Since the hallways were wide, Apollo wasn''t obstructed on his journey.


    Willowed looked at the top of doorways at their numbers.


    Once she saw ''four'', she stopped.


    "Hey Apollo, let''s go here!"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Ok!"


    A middle-aged man was lecturing inside the ssroom. Some of his hair was ck, while the rest of his hair was grey. He was in a ck suit and holding a wooden staff.


    There were many kids sitting at light brown stone tables that were installed into the floor. All the kids were paying close attention to what was on the ckboard.


    Once Willow and Apollo walked in, the middle-aged man turned to Apollo, with a frown on his face.


    "Seems you finally showed up, Apollo."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah, I''m here!"


    The middle-aged man turned towards Willow with a smirk on his face.


    "It seems you are his supervisor?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "No, she''s my mommy!"


    The whole ss turned to look at Apollo, most of them were confused gazes while others were of apprehension.


    The middle-aged man''s eyebrows furrowed and pointed at Willow.


    "You are..."


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "I am simply watching over him for now. He wishes to call me his mother for a reason I do not know."


    The middle-aged man opened his mouth then closed it. After a few seconds, he shook his head.


    "Whatever, why don''t you take a seat? We are currently learning about the earth spell called ''Tunnel''."


    While Willow pushed Apollo into a seat, the middle-aged man continued his lecture. There was a diagram on the board with various annotations on it.


    Apollo was looking around the ssroom. He could not be bothered to listen to the teacher.


    Whenever Apollo''s gaze wouldnd on a kid, their head would tilt away.


    The middle-aged man could easily tell that Apollo wasn''t listening. He stopped lecturing and walked over to Apollo.


    "I don''t care if you don''t have any talent in magic. If youe into my ssroom, you will listen to my lecture. Otherwise, leave."


    Apolloughed.


    "Hehe, you aren''t as good as mommy at teaching! Why are you acting so proud?"


    Willow tapped Apollo''s shoulder. She hoped that Apollo would realize he messed up how he addressed her.


    However, Apollo simply smiled.


    "Hey mommy!"


    The middle-aged man''s eyebrows furrowed. He suppressed his anger with a deep breath.


    "And what exactly did your supervisor teach you?"


    Apollo smiled dreamily.


    "How to swing my bokken!"


    Apollo lifted his bokken high in the air and the red tassel jiggled about.


    A few people in the ssroom couldn''t help butugh despite their best efforts to suppress them.


    The middle-aged man''s hand clenched on the staff until his knuckles were white. He was sure that Apollo was making fun of him.


    The middle-aged man''s grip on the staff began to settle. Once he simmered down, a smirk appeared on his face.


    "Well then, since you seem so confident in yourself, why don''t you have a spar with one of my students? They actually put in the effort to learn, using their time wisely to learn rather than trouble the townsfolk."


    Apollo did not catch on to the middle-aged man''s passive aggressive remark. He simply giggled.


    "Wow! They sound like such great students, it may be hard for me to win!"


    The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow.


    "Haha, don''t try to get out of this. We are simply having a friendly spar. Wouldn''t it be nice to gauge the difference between my students and you?"


    Apollo looked up toward Willow.


    "Would that be a nice thing?"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "I suppose?"


    Apollo nodded with a big smile.


    "Yes, it would be a nice thing!"


    The middle-aged man smiled.


    "Haha, it''s settled. Come on ss, we are having a new event today!"


    The kids stood up from their desks and the middle-aged man led everyone outside.


    Once the middle-aged man reached arge stone tform next to the school, he stopped. The stone tform was made for the sake of sparring. It had enough room for four people tofortably spar at the same time but was covered in snow.


    The middle-aged man casted a spell. A gust of wind was stirred up, blowing aside all the snow covering the tform.


    "Alright Apollo, why don''t you get up there?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Ok!"


    Once Apollo stepped onto the stone tform, the middle-aged man pped his hands together.


    "My students, which one of you wishes to spar with him?"


    The kids looked at each other, it seemed nobody wanted to fight Apollo.


    The middle-aged man frowned.


    "I''ll buy you dinner if you win!"


    Still, nobody was too enthusiastic. However, someone still raised their hand.


    "I''ll go."

 Chapter 9 - Unimpeded

    The middle-aged man turned to the volunteer.


    "Alright Allen, please go up."


    Allen nodded.


    "Yes, Mr. Seth"


    Apollo tilted his head and looked at Seth.


    "Your name is set?"


    Seth''s face twitched.


    "It''s Seth."


    Apollo furrowed his brows for a moment.


    "Ah, ok! Sean!"


    Seth gritted his teeth.


    "Allen, beat this fool!"


    Allen nodded.


    Allen was wearing a thin coat made from fur. His hair was jet-ck and his pupils were brown. His hands were sped behind his back, a disy of confidence.


    Apollo and Allen were roughly five meters away from each other.


    Allen stared at Apollo.


    "My talent may be low, but I practice any chance I get. I will not hold back and show you the fruits of mybor."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Wow, that sounds cool!"


    Allen smiled.


    "Haha, thanks."


    Seth cleared his throat.


    "Alright, you will start once my countdown goes to zero."


    Seth raised three fingers in the air, then slowly pulled them back one by one.


    "Three...Two...One...Go!"


    Once Sett''s shout rang out, mana began to gather in front of Allen. Apollo was in no rush, simply looking curiously at what Allen was doing.


    As for Allen, his eyes were fixated on Apollo, intently waiting for his move.


    Apollo rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "What are you doing?"


    Allen''s eyelid twitched.


    "Um... I am casting a spell."


    Apollo nodded while his eyes closely following the mana gathering in front of Allen.


    Seth walked next to Willow and scoffed.


    "Apollo isn''t even closing the distance. Doesn''t he know how much of a disadvantage he will be in from far away?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "Haha, let''s just see how it ys out."


    Allen finished his spell in the next few seconds. A beam of water shot towards Apollo.


    Apollo slowly raised his bokken, intercepting the beam of water just as it reached him.


    The beam of water split into two halves after hitting the tip of Apollo''s bokken. Other than a few stray drops of waternding on Apollo''s shirt, he was unscathed.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Oh, magic seems so interesting! Let me show you my sword as well!"


    Apollo jogged over to Allen.


    Multiple beams of water shot out from Allen. While Apollo was simply standing there, Allen had actually almost finished multiple spells. He only let loose once Apollo approached.


    Apollo split one beam of water with the tip of his sword. Another beam of water shot towards him while he was still dealing with the first beam of water.


    Apollo twisted the sword and blocked the beam of water with the t side of his bokken.


    A third beam of water shot out while Apollo was still blocking.


    Apollo hummed.


    "So that''s how it is."


    The third beam of water was about to hit Apollo''s face, but his bokken twitched. The red tassel flicked high in the air and the third beam of water was flung to the right like a rope.


    Allen''s eyes narrowed.


    "What?"


    If Apollo simply found a way to block the third beam of water, he would simply be upset. However, the beam of water was miraculously flung to the side, like it was trying to avoid Apollo.


    It should be known that while the spell Allen was using was not known for its offensive power, it was still a force to be reckoned with. Normally, someone faced with that spell would either have to let the spell hit them or be forced to block for more time than it was worth.


    Yet Apollo could treat the water like it was a whip, giving him a third option.


    Redirecting the attack altogether.


    Apollo was just a few steps away from reaching Allen, but Allen was not afraid. On the contrary, he smirked.


    "You should have known Apollo! As a mage with low talent, my main focus was on my development as a constitution mage. Though I can''t cast many spells, my progress as a constitution mage allows me to prepare spells in my body and cast them all at once!"


    Allen''s eyes became bloodshot and four beams of water shot out from him. Each of them shot towards Apollo at different angles, making them tricky to block for the average swordsmen.


    Unfortunately, he was not facing an average swordsman.


    Apolloughed.


    His hand traced the t side of his bokken, then it snapped out.


    Allen''s eyes widened. He was frozen in shock.


    The four beams of water parted ways as though Apollo was a king, walking past his subjects.


    Apollo reached Allen unimpeded. His bokken shed, hitting the back of Allen''s knee.


    Allen fell to one knee. Once he did, Apollo''s bokken shot out, hitting Allen''s forehead with a tap.


    Allen let out a bitterugh.


    He pushed aside the bokken and stumbled up to his feet.


    A smile was on his face.


    "Well yed Apollo. How were you able to divert my water beam spell so easily anyway?"


    Apollo giggled and waved his bokken around.


    "I swung my sword!"


    Allen shook his head, still smiling.


    "Nevermind."


    Seth raised an eyebrow.


    "It appears you have been practicing, even if you don''t know anything about magic. My understanding of swordsmanship is shallow, but I can still tell you earnestly practiced."


    Seth gave a nod to Apollo.


    "Good job."


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "Haha, it''s because my mommy taught me so well!"


    Willow was simply staring at Apollo. She didn''t even realize that Apollo addressed her incorrectly again. Instead, she was pondering over the principles that Apollo used to divert the water.


    Within the group of kids, one of them became interested in Apollo. Before the spar, he couldn''t care less, but now he was staring intently at Apollo.


    "Hey, mind if you spar with me next?"


    Seth chuckled.


    "I am curious as to who would win this spar as well. He is Landon, my top student."


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Ok, why not?"


    Landon walked up to the stone tform and Allen walked off.


    Seth turned to Willow.


    "Want to make a bet?"


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Tell me the details."


    Seth smirked.


    "If my top student wins, you buy him a meal. If Apollo wins I''ll buy him a meal."


    Willow was reminded of Apollo''s empty void of a stomach.


    She smiled.


    "Sure, just don''t be too sad when you lose."


    Seth narrowed his eyes.


    "We''ll see about that."

 Chapter 10 - Resurfaced Memories

    Apollo and Landon were in position, standing roughly five meters away from each other on the stone tform.


    Landon gave Apollo a deep look.


    Landon had long brown hair and dark green eyes. He was holding a stone staff along with a casual white suit.


    Seth did the countdown once again. Once he shouted to start, Landon''s clothes began to ripple.


    He was gathering so much mana that the wind around him was stirred up. Mana quickly coalesced into mythical diagrams on the top of his stone staff.


    In just a second, two small bolts of lightning snaked their way towards Apollo.


    Apollo''s bokken flicked, diverting both of them to the side. The bolts of lightning mmed into the stone tform, causing some cracks to appear.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Woah, that is fast!"


    Apollo ran towards Landon but suddenly stopped in his tracks. A bolt of lightning hit the floor in front of Apollo and many more came after that.


    Apollo deflected all of them, sending most of them into the stone tform below him. However, he was having trouble getting closer.


    For every step he took forward, he wouldter take backward.


    The bolts of lightning were growing in number.


    But Apollo''s swings gradually sped up.


    At first, Apollo was being forced back, but despite the increasing number of lightning bolts, he was advancing.


    One step after another, Apollo was slowly getting closer to Landon.


    Landon smiled.


    "Haha, you are pretty good!"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Thanks! You could be better though!"


    Landon rolled his eyes and continued casting.


    Soon, Apollo was three meters away from Landon. Landon took a step backward but made sure to keep his distance from the ledge of the stone tform.


    Lightning crackled all across the stage. It looked like there was a ss dome around Apollo that would bat away any bolts of lightning that came near him.


    Once Apollo was two meters away, Landon narrowed his eyes and raised his free hand.


    "I never thought your swordsmanship was this good Apollo! However, it''s time to get serious."


    The lightning storm slowly died down and mana began coalescing in Landon''s free hand.


    "Pay attention, Apollo! This spell can really kill you, so focus! I don''t want to have to bury you with my own hands!"


    Seth''s eyes narrowed. Mana began coalescing on his wooden staff.


    As for Apollo, he was in a daze after Landon finished speaking. A few bolts of lightning hit him, scorching his clothes and pushing him back.


    However, he didn''t realize that. Instead, a memory deep inside of him slowly awakened.


    Apollo clutched his head, trying to catch the thought that was about to slip past him.


    ''Bury?


    Why do I want to bury something?''


    A ball of firerger than Landon himself was conjured above his hand.


    Seth furrowed his brows.


    "This foolish top student of mine! Why are you going so far in a spar!"


    Willow frowned and bent her knees.


    Apollo''s eyes were zed over, he was still lost in his thoughts.


    ''Someone... put me through so much pain.''


    Landon threw his hand down, sending the fireball towards Apollo.


    Beads of sweat formed on Seth''s forehead. He anxiously gathered more mana as fast as he could.


    As for Apollo, his eyes gradually cleared up.


    ''So much pain...''


    Apollo''s eyesid on the massive fireball in front of him.


    It was quite grandiose, emitting a soft orange glow.


    Apollo''s body began heating up, but it wasn''t from the fireball. Tiny red scars formed on the skin of Apollo''s forearm.


    Both of his hands were wrapped around the bokken''s hilt. He was clenching so hard, his knuckles were white.


    Apollo took a step forward and swung at the fireball.


    A sharp whistle came from the bokken and time seemed to stop for a moment.


    The fireball burgeoned and split in two.


    The two halves wereunched to Apollo''s left and right.


    The kids were on his right, so a mass of fire was about to burn the kids alive.


    Looks of despair surfaced among them one by one.


    Seth''s mind worked fast. He redirected where he initially intended to cast the spell.


    Large gusts of winds were stirred up around the kids. The fire was stopped in front of them and rapidly dissipated.


    Seth let out a sigh of relief.


    A frown then appeared on his face. He worked up the words he wanted to scold Landon with but suddenly stopped himself.


    A faint giggle wasing from Apollo.


    He was standing still, but his head would asionally twitch from side to side.


    "Bury... bury..."


    Landonughed, unaware of the sudden changes in Apollo.


    "It seems you are fine. Let''s keep going then."


    Bolts of lightning streaked across the tform. Three bolts of lightning were sent towards Apollo.


    Apollo''s bokken twitched.


    All three bolts of lightning were sent straight back to Landon.


    Landon was quick to react, able to jump away in time.


    He patted his chest.


    "Phew! That was close. Ah-"


    Landon looked up to see Apollo standing in front of him.


    Apollo''s eyes were abnormally widened and there was a big smile on his face. His bokken was raised and came crashing down.


    Landon was no pushover however and was able to block it with his staff.


    Apollo''s faint giggles became full onughter.


    Apollo circled around Landon, wildly shing at him.


    Beads of sweat formed on Landon''s forehead. His concentration could no longer remain on casting spells.


    Landon blocked one strike after another. He was clearly trained with the staff, using proper form. However, his hands were beginning to tremble.


    Apollo''sughs were raucous. Unlike normalughter that begins to die off, hisughs only became louder.


    As dense as Landon was, he felt uneasy hearing the strangeughing.


    Apollo slipped past Landon''s vision like a shadow.


    "Pain..."


    Apollo stood behind Landon, just shivering.


    Landon turned around to see Apollo twisting his neck around with a wild look in his eyes.


    Landon had a bad feeling. His hands gripped onto the ends of his stone staff and blocked.


    Apollo flicked his wrist. The stone staff was broken in two, leaving Landon awkwardly holding two stone stubs.


    Apollo''s bokken shot out towards Landon''s chest.


    As for Landon, he saw Apollo''s face, smiling as though mocking his pitiful existence.

 Chapter 11 - Is It Ok For Him To Eat So Much?

    A bang resounded across the snowy field.


    The tip of Apollo''s bokken was right in front of Landon''s chest. It could not move forward because the t part of a metal sword was blocking it.


    Willow was holding onto that sword.


    She sighed and lowered the sword.


    "Apollo, why are you being so aggressive?"


    Apollo blinked a few times. His smile lost its intensity and he lowered his bokken.


    "Sorry!"


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "I don''t know why I was like that."


    Landon was trembling but forced a smile.


    "Haha, it''s fine, it''s fine."


    Willow''s eyes narrowed after she saw her sword. There were fine cracks all over it, a testament to how hard Apollo hit it.


    While Willow was focused on the sword, she heard a loud bang resound from the floor.


    "Willow, I can''t move!"


    Apolloid face-first on the floor and his bokken flopped over to the side.


    "Do you have another one of those yellow food things?"


    Willow smiled.


    "Yes, but wait just a moment. Your teacher is going to buy you dinner!"


    Willow turned to Seth and called out to him.


    "Hey! You are a man of your word, no?"


    Seth stuttered.


    "Ah... Yeah, yeah."


    Seth cleared his throat.


    "ss is dismissed!"


    Some of the kids that were in a stupor broke out of it. The people who could gather themselves quickly left, while a fewgged behind, their jaws dropped in shock.


    Willow turned back to Apollo and was smiling sadistically.


    "Let''s go, before your teacher takes back his promise."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok!... Wait, why can''t I move?"


    Apollo turned his head from side to side.


    Willow sighed.


    "I will carry you."


    Willow turned Apollo over then picked him up by his shoulders and legs. She made sure to take Apollo''s bokken.


    One of Apollo''s arms dangled by his side. He held his head up and was smiling.


    "Hehe... Mommy..."


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "My name is Willow."


    Apollo swung his head from side to side.


    "Ok, Willow. Hehe..."


    Willow sighed.


    She looked at Seth, who was still in a daze.


    "Come on now, we don''t have all day."


    Seth shook his head.


    "Ah, yes, yes. Let me bring you to a restaurant."


    Seth led the way down a cobblestone path and Willow followed with Apollo in her arms.


    The people they passed by would give a casual nce at Willow and Apollo, but it would stop at that.


    It did not take long for them to reach a fairlyrge establishment.


    The moment they walked inside, they saw many wooden tables that were almost all filled. The tables each had at least two people sitting at them and the sounds of eating were quite loud.


    Almost everyone was talking at the same time, causing the sound to blend and be a mumble.


    Laughter would ring out every few seconds, temporarily overshadowing the mumble, before the mumble came back again.


    Seth, Willow, and Apollo walked around in search of an empty table. On their way, a woman turned to face them.


    "Hey, would you like to take this table?"


    The woman was sitting with a man. They both had a stone mug next to them that was half-filled with beer.


    Seth waved his hand dismissively.


    "Haha, no worries, we are in no rush."


    The man smirked.


    "It''s fine, we were thinking of leaving anyway."


    Before Seth could even reply, the man and woman had already got up and left.


    Seth turned to Willow.


    "I suppose we can sit here."


    Willow''s eyebrow twitched.


    "Wow, they just gave up their seats? That''s strange."


    Sethughed.


    "What do you mean? People do that all the time."


    Willow blinked a few times.


    "Ah, yes you''re right."


    Seth nodded.


    "Anyways, stay here. I will order some food."


    After Willow nodded, Seth slipped past the crowd.


    Willow sat down, then looked at Apollo.


    "What got you so riled up?"


    Apollo tilted his head and looked at Willow with big beady eyes.


    "Hmm? What do you mean?"


    Willow rolled her eyes.


    "Don''t you remember? The fight you just had, you tried to kill him."


    Apollo tilted his head and used a few moments to think.


    "I don''t know!"


    Willow shook her head.


    "Ah, whatever then."


    Seth returned holding arge tray of various vegetables in each hand. Though many people were shuffling around, they would let Seth pass and avoid bumping into him.


    Sethid the two trays on the table. He had brought enough for five normal people to have a hearty meal.


    Willow wasted no time, taking a fork from one of the trays and raising a piece of baked potato to Apollo''s face.


    Apollo ate it happily.


    In the meantime, Seth used a fork to pick up a piece of lettuce.


    "Say, what is your name? I haven''t seen you around too much."


    Willow looked up after confirming Apollo got the piece of lettuce on her fork.


    "My name is Willow. I have kept to myself most of the time, so it is natural you haven''t seen me around."


    Seth raised an eyebrow.


    "Haha, why are you keeping to yourself? There are so many people to talk to and a wide vige to explore."


    Willow shrugged her shoulders while lowering some food to Apollo''s mouth.


    "That''s something I''vee to realize now, haha."


    Sethughed.


    "Very well. Personally, I would rmend you visit the library, there are many good books and people there."


    Willow nodded absentmindedly, her attention focused on Apollo.


    "Sounds good."


    Some time passed.


    Willow picked up thest piece of lettuce from the tray and gave it to Apollo.


    Seth''s eyelid twitched.


    "Is it ok for him to eat so much?"


    Apollo hummed.


    "But I still feel hungry!"


    Willowughed.


    "Could you get some more for us?"


    Seth shed a bitter smile.


    "Of course, of course."


    Seth stood up and went off once again.


    Once Seth came back, Willow continued feeding Apollo.


    At first, Seth was a little surprised, but soon he began rubbing his eyes.


    After seeing the second set of trays empty, the corner of his lip twitched.


    He looked around, then pinched his side. He frowned from the pain, then sighed.


    "It''s not a dream huh?"


    Willow couldn''t help butugh. She was covering her mouth with her free hand.


    Apollo saw that Willow wasughing, though he wasn''t sure why.. He joined Willow inughing, while Seth was bitterly smiling to himself.

 Chapter 12 - Outsider

    Once the third set of trays were emptied, Apollo was finished eating.


    The number of people in the restaurant began dwindling, though it was still fairly crowded.


    Seth had a pained expression on his face, while Willow was smiling mockingly.


    As for Apollo, his eyes got heavy, and began sleeping. His snores were faint and his body curled up in Willow''s arms.


    Seth shook his head.


    "Anyways, were you the one who taught him his swordsmanship?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "I suppose I taught him a little, but most of it definitely does note from me."


    Willow sighed.


    "For some reason, he thinks I am the one who taught him his skills and also thinks I am his mom. Hopefully, his real mom never sees him calling me that."


    Seth''s eyes narrowed.


    "...Apollo''s mother has passed away."


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "I see..."


    Seth sighed.


    "He used to be such a kind child before. Now all he does is get others caught up in his antics."


    Willow brushed Apollo''s hair.


    "Oh... I suppose Apollo misses his mother. Perhaps Apollo learned his swordsmanship from his mother, then since he thought I also taught him, he connected the two."


    Seth rubbed his chin.


    "Perhaps..."


    Willow tilted her head.


    "Did her mother teach Apollo swordsmanship?"


    Seth shrugged his shoulders.


    "I wouldn''t know."


    Willow sighed. Her subtle attempt at probing had failed.


    "In any case, it seems he has been through plenty, whether it is his swordsmanship or family."


    Seth nodded.


    "Indeed, he is a pitiful child. Many of the townsfolk have tried to help him, but it must start with him. If he doesn''t let us help him, there is nothing we can do."


    Willow peered at Apollo, smiling in his sleep.


    "Hmm... I''ve only seen him smiling andughing so far."


    Seth chuckled.


    "Maybe you''re the reason why. How did you even meet Apollo?"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "It''s...plicated. Also, saying I''m the reason why is giving me too much credit. He probably just deluded himself into thinking I was his mother."


    Seth shook his head.


    "Delusion or not, he is happy for now. It may not fix the problem, but let him be in his fantasies for a little longer."


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Haa... Alright."


    Willow continued brushing Apollo''s hair, then smirked.


    "So, do you regret making that bet?"


    Sethughed.


    "A little, yes."


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh, how much did it cost you?"


    Seth shrugged his shoulders.


    "Five silvers."


    Willow blinked. She realized she had no concept of how currency in this vige worked. After all, she had stolen all the food she used to feed Apollo so far.


    "How much do you earn?"


    Seth looked confused.


    "Uh, thirty silvers every month. A bit on the low end."


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "So those five silvers were a big loss, no?"


    Sethughed.


    "What are you talking about?"


    Willow frowned.


    "Is it not a big chunk of your paycheck?"


    Seth rolled his eyes.


    "If you don''t ask for too much, you can get food for free. Did you not know that?"


    Willow''s eyes widened.


    "What? You must be jesting."


    Seth chuckled.


    "The market price for the food was 10 coppers or a tenth of a silver. I simply gave a tip. If you requested food, they would give you some without asking for anything in return."


    Willow took a deep breath.


    "So why did you look so pained when we kept ordering food?"


    Seth leaned back in his chair.


    "I simply decided I would pay a certain amount more for any food I buy. Food is very cheap, paying for it in the first ce is a formality."


    Seth looked out of the tavern window.


    "The reason I pay anyway is to remind myself to be grateful. Before I was epted into this vige..."


    Seth shook his head.


    "Nevermind."


    Willow nodded, with no intention to ask further. However, she was having trouble maintaining a neutral expression.


    Her eyelids were uncontrobly twitching as a thought passed through her mind.


    ''Why did I go through so much trouble stealing food...''


    Willow shook her head, putting the past behind her.


    "Anyhow, why is food so readily avable?"


    Seth smiled.


    "This vige has what is called a greenhouse."


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "What is that?"


    Seth chuckled.


    "It is arge structure made from metal and ss. On the inside, there is a boundless amount of fertile soil. Anything that is nted will grow quickly and to great sizes. Not to mention, the quality of the food is the highest I''ve ever seen."


    Willow tilted her head to the side.


    "That sounds... like a miracle."


    Seth sighed.


    "It truly is. We always grow more food than our entire vige can eat. As such, the most resilient vige members brave the forest with this extra food. If they reach a far-off vige, they will trade for anything interesting they find."


    Seth looked at the bokken by Willow''s side.


    "Apollo''s wooden sword was one of them."


    Willow nodded absentmindedly. She was not paying attention to what Seth said after he exined the greenhouse.


    "So... who made this greenhouse?"


    Sethughed.


    "Haha, who do you think?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "Enlighten me."


    Seth rolled his eyes.


    "Haa... taking the joke this far is not only sphemous but in ungrateful."


    Willow was at a loss for a moment. She then forced a smile.


    "I apologize, I am a forgetful person."


    Seth raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you an outsider?"


    Willow was panicking on the inside, but other than a few beads of sweat on her forehead, she did not show it.


    "No, no, of course not. I am just a recluse."


    Seth sighed.


    "No matter how much of a recluse you are, you would know his name. The only people who don''t are kids still learning thenguage."


    Willow could feel the tension in the air, but wouldn''t back down.


    "And how are you so confident that all vigers here that can speak know?"


    Seth''s hands sped together and his elbowsid on the table.


    "Because they are not outsiders."


    Willow put her hand on her knife.

 Chapter 13 - Do You Think I Could Change As Well?

    Willow smiled.


    "So what if I am an outsider?"


    Seth was silent.


    Willow''s hand wrapped around the hilt of her knife and was about to pull it out.


    Seth suddenly spoke.


    "Nothing, really."


    Seth threw his hands to the side, gesturing helplessly. Willow''s hand froze.


    "What do you mean nothing?"


    Seth took his time to gather his thoughts.


    "...We were all outsiders before."


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Could you be a tad more clear?"


    Seth sighed.


    "When the vige was originally created, people from all across thends were gathered. Hardly anybody knew each other and everyone was suspicious of one another."


    Willow tilted her head.


    "So how did that change?"


    Seth tapped a finger on the table.


    "How do you think a vige like this could be made? One that is so peaceful?"


    Willow rested her chin on her fist.


    "...I don''t know."


    Seth''s voice became solemn.


    "Absolute power."


    Willow raised her eyebrow.


    "...What?"


    Seth smiled.


    "The Earth Emperor."


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    "He is here?"


    Sethughed.


    "Yes, he is the one who made nearly everything. He made the greenhouse, the houses, and even the utensils we are using right now."


    Willow slowly nodded.


    "That does seem possible if it''s him."


    Seth sighed.


    "I don''t know what your intentions are or how you got in, but if you can respect the people here, there will be no qualms for your stay here. This is a lesson the people of the vige havee to understand."


    Willow scoffed.


    "You guys sound rather trusting."


    Seth shrugged his shoulders.


    "Haha, I did have the consideration to keep quiet and report you to The Earth Emperor."


    Willow crossed her arms.


    "Oh really?"


    Seth chuckled.


    "Yeah, but whatever your intentions are, you helped Apollo, one of our own. For that, I am willing to trust you."


    Willow rolled her eyes.


    "That is all it takes for you to trust me? A rat is going to sneak in sooner orter."


    Seth smirked.


    "You can''t distrust everybody. Otherwise, your life will be quite miserable."


    Willow''s face became expressionless.


    She was lost in her thoughts.


    After a few moments, she shook her head.


    "I don''t understand."


    Seth waved his hand dismissively.


    "Some things are only truly learned by experiencing them."


    Seth looked out the window of the restaurant. The sun was beginning to set.


    "It''s gettingte and I have some duties to attend to. I must leave now."


    Seth stood up from the seat and walked forwards a few steps, then turned his head back.


    "See youter."


    Willow stared at Seth.


    "Goodbye."


    With that, Seth walked out of the restaurant.


    Willow was left at the table, stroking Apollo''s hair.


    She remained there as people slowly funneled out.


    At some point, Willow was the only person left at a table. The sun had set and the only light came from some candles in the establishment.


    A middle-aged man approached Willow.


    He had a stic cover on his hair and a brown apron on. In one hand was a ss cup and in the other had a cloth. He was the restaurant owner.


    The restaurant owner coughed.


    "Excuse me miss? It is quitete, do you have somewhere to go?"


    Willow looked out the window.


    "Ah, it is quitete. Sorry to be a bother."


    The restaurant ownerughed.


    "You aren''t a bother, you could even stay if you''d like. I just thought you might need to be somewhere."


    Willow bitterly smiled to herself.


    "In that case could I stay here a little longer?"


    The restaurant owner pulled out a seat and sat down at the table.


    "Sure, want to talk about anything?"


    Willow thought to herself for a moment.


    "...What were you like before you came to the vige?"


    The restaurant owner pped his knee.


    "Haha, I was a real piece of work back then. If I ever saw that loser I would punch him right in the face."


    Willowughed.


    "That sounds intriguing."


    The restaurant owner shrugged his shoulders.


    "It''s not that amazing of a story. Sorry if I got your hopes up."


    The corner of Willow''s lip turned up.


    "Let me hear it anyway."


    The restaurant owner scratched the back of his head.


    "Where I used to live, food wasn''t readily avable. My situation wasn''t too bad as there was enough for me to live rtivelyfortably."


    He then sighed.


    "But that wasn''t enough for me. I never felt that I had enough, so I stole from others."


    The restaurant owner leaned back in his seat and looked at the ceiling.


    "I stole from anyone I could. Even those that could barely feed themselves."


    He crossed his arms.


    "I... even killed someone just for a loaf of bread. What''s worse, is that most of the food ended up spoiling, yet I didn''t give it out before it did."


    Willow sighed.


    "It''s what we do to survive, no?"


    The restaurant owner pressed his lips into a line.


    "But I let food rot away behind my cupboards while everyone else was starving."


    Willow scoffed.


    "If you gave it away, people woulde back for more. Some would even attack you, thinking you had something worth stealing."


    The restaurant owner smiled bitterly.


    "Maybe..."


    He then shook his head.


    "Haha, that''s why I decided to work at this ce for the rest of my life. Me being here won''t save any lives, but I hope to make things just a little bit easier."


    The restaurant owner took a deep breath.


    "Maybe then some of my guilt will go away and I can atone for my sins."


    Willow rested her chin on her hand and smiled bitterly.


    "Do you think I could change as well?"


    The restaurant owner shrugged his shoulders with a small smile on his face.


    "Everyone can change. Hopefully, it will be for the better."


    Willow sighed.


    "Haha, I suppose. Thanks for the talk, I will be leaving now."


    Willow stood up from the table, holding on to Apollo closely.


    Apollo was sleeping like a rock and mumbled in his sleep.


    The restaurant owner waved his hand with a big smile on his face.


    "You can talk to me anytime, no need for the thanks. Take care of that kid as well."


    Willow nodded, then left the establishment.

 Chapter 14 - Apollos Father

    The rays of the early dawn shone on Apollo''s eyes.


    "Mm..."


    Apollo rubbed his eyes to see Willow above him, brushing his hair.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Mm... mommy?"


    Willow smiled. She was sitting on a chair next to Apollo.


    "Good morning Apollo."


    Apollo shook his head, then sat up. He was in his room, lying on his bed


    "What are we doing today?"


    Willow tilted her head to the side.


    "Whatever you want to."


    Apollo gasped.


    "Wow! Really?"


    Willowughed.


    "Yes, is there anything you have in mind?"


    Apollo rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "Hmm... practicing the sword!"


    Willow nodded.


    "Alright."


    Willow handed Apollo his bokken, which he took with a big smile. He went ahead, yfully skipping out the room.


    Willow followed behind, she was in no rush.


    ...


    As Willow exited the stone house, Apollo called for her.


    "Over here!"


    Willow turned to see Apollo waving his arm and jumping.


    "Coming!"


    Apollo ran to the back of the house and Willow jogged after him.


    Willow turned the corner to see Apollo standing in the field, waving his bokken around.


    Willow pulled out one of her knives. The sword she kept on her was essentially broken, so she tossed it away.


    "Ok Apollo, we''ll start by taking it easy. Try to think about more than just blocking, but how I choose to attack."


    Apollo nodded excitedly.


    "Ok!"


    Willow dashed towards Apollo, then started shing with her knife. Although she only used one knife, she used it skillfully.


    Unlike the first time, she did not have the intention to assassinate. Rather, she was wielding her knife as though it was just a really short sword.


    Strangely enough, Apollo was under more pressure than when she used a single knife to assassinate him.


    Still, Apollo blocked all of her strikes without much difficulty. He was doing as Willow had instructed him, memorizing the methods Willow used to attack.


    At times Willow would feint, then suddenly shift the angle she was attacking. Apollo did not have any trouble blocking it. He imprinted Willow''s attacks in his mind, rather than just defending.


    Willow backed off.


    "You have done well."


    Apollo smiled dreamily.


    "Hehe... really?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Yes, really. Anyways, as a swordsman, your power is greatly enhanced with a sword. This means if you lose it, you may not be able to face your adversaries. Some people will try to take advantage of that, attempting to disarm you."


    Willow bent her knees, ready to pounce.


    "Pay close attention!"


    Willow attacked faster than before, targeting the joints in Apollo''s arm. Her main focus was Apollo''s wrist.


    At first, Apollo was a bit clunky with his defense. A few shes were a centimeter from nicking his wrist.


    However, as time went on, he prevented any strikes from getting close.


    The snow on the ground was blown away by their swings. The snow formed patterns in the air like their des were paintbrushes and the snow was ink.


    Willow backed off again.


    "Alright, now-"


    "So you were here, Apollo?"


    Apollo''s father leisurely walked onto the field they were practicing on. He had long blonde hair and a few wrinkles on his face. He was wearing a set of metal armor without a helmet and a metal sword sheathed on his back.


    He turned to Willow and raised his eyebrow.


    "Apollo, who is this?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Oh, this is my-"


    "Teacher."


    Willow hurriedly interjected.


    This was Willow''s first time seeing Apollo''s father but could tell the rtionship he with Apollo. They looked quite simr, after all.


    If Apollo really called her mother in front of his own father, she may not have a way of exining herself.


    "I am currently teaching him swordsmanship. Right Apollo?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Oh, yeah."


    Willow internally sighed with relief. She smiled and turned to Apollo''s father.


    "My name is Willow. May I know yours?"


    Apollo''s father bowed.


    "Hello Willow, my name is Henry. I am Apollo''s father."


    Henry rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "So you are teaching him swordy? Not to mention, he is willing to learn?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Yeah, just teaching him some simple principles."


    Henry''s eyes boggled.


    "Are you serious? That''s a miracle!"


    Willow felt Henry was exaggerating. From what she could tell, Apollo had always been practicing swordy. However, she did not say anything, thinking that Henry was just being nice.


    Henry turned to Apollo.


    "Well then son, why don''t I teach some things to you as well?"


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "Um, ok?"


    Henryughed and drew his sword.


    "I never thought I would hear those wordsing from your mouth!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Who are you anyway?"


    Willow''s face twitched as a thought ran through her head.


    ''...Does Apollo have amnesia?''


    Henry chuckled.


    "Funny joke son. Now, I am using an iron sword, meaning that if my strike hits, it will injure you. But fret not, as my skillful control won''t let that happen."


    Henry held his sword in front of him with both hands.


    "Alright Apollo, get ready to block!"


    Apollo''s sword was by his side, pointing towards the ground. It was as if he had no intention to block.


    Henry''s brows furrowed.


    "Apollo! Take this seriously!"


    Apollo nodded leisurely.


    "Oh, ok!"


    Henry was still two meters away when Apollo broke out into a dash.


    His bokken came crashing down on Henry.


    As for Henry, he hadn''t even started his strike. Hastily, his sword tilted to block the attack.


    However, the impact he expected did note.


    Apollo''s hand twisted, turning into a reverse grip. Following that, his bokken slipped past the metal sword and hit his father''s wrist.


    Henry frowned, one of his hands let go of the sword uncontrobly, however, his other hand was holding on strong.


    Henry jumped back.


    "Ha! It seems your teacher has taught you quite a bit!"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Of course!"


    Henry''s hand recovered quickly and reimed its grip on the sword. It was covered in iron armor, after all.


    Henry scoffed.


    "It appears I have to take you seriously!"


    Henry broke out in a charge towards Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he did the same and sent his bokken crashing down once again.


    Henry smirked and half-heartedly blocked it, expecting another feint.


    However, to his surprise, the bokken bashed heavily against his sword.

 Chapter 15 - Im Useless

    Henry almost lost his grip on his sword but steadied himself quickly.


    While Henry was doing that, Apollo''s hand traced against the de of his bokken. Suddenly, it snapped out.


    Henry''s eyes widened as he grimaced in pain.


    There was a deep dent in the armor that was covering each of his wrists.


    His hold of the sword released, causing it to fall towards Apollo. With a ng, Apollo hit the sword with his bokken, sending it flying to the side.


    Henry could hardly believe the situation he was in. He looked at his sword that was halfway in the ground, then at Apollo.


    He was about to speak when Apollo slipped past his vision.


    Henry''s armor had a gap in the back of his knee for the sake of movement. Apollo''s bokken shot out towards that small gap, hitting the skin directly.


    Henry felt pain shoot through his knee. He believed his kneecap would''ve been sted off if not for his armor.


    He uncontrobly kneeled on one knee. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.


    He looked up to see Apollo ready to strike again.


    His eyes widened.


    "Wait, Apollo-"


    Apollo paid no heed to Henry''s cries. His bokken shot out towards Henry''s forehead.


    A thud echoed throughout the field.


    Henry''s head snapped backward and his eyes rolled up into his head.


    He lost consciousness but remained on one knee with his head thrown back. A red bump began swelling on his head.


    Apollo smiled.


    "Yay! I did it!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Don''t you think... you overdid it a tad?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Did I... do something wrong?"


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "No, no, your father is fine... probably."


    Apollo''s pout immediately became a smile.


    "Yay! Do we continue to practice?"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched. Honestly, she didn''t know what to do with Henry''s unconscious body.


    She didn''t want to deal with this situation. As such, she quickly thought of an excuse to leave.


    "Ah, yes. But we will continue at the public training range."


    Apollo nodded without much thought.


    "Ok!"


    As Willow walked with Apollo she was pondering how such a strange kid came to be.


    Apollo tugged on Willow''s sleeve.


    "Mommy! Did I do it right this time?"


    Willow blinked, then turned to look at Apollo.


    "Haha, what are you talking about?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Aww... did I not do it correctly?"


    Willow patted Apollo''s hair.


    "I don''t get it, but you did fine."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Ok!"


    Willow shook her head and smiled bitterly to herself.


    She found herself losing the desire to find out about Apollo''s past. She thought maybe she could spend her life like this, taking care of Apollo. Spending each day in peace and leave her past behind her.


    Apollo tugged on Willow''s sleeve.


    "Mommy? Why are you ignoring me? Did I do something wrong?"


    Willowughed and rubbed his head again.


    "No Apollo, you didn''t do anything wrong."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Please just tell me what I did wrong. Don''t ignore me!"


    Willow sighed and hugged Apollo.


    "Don''t worry, you did nothing wrong."


    Apollo hummed.


    "...Really?"


    Willow let go of Apollo.


    "Really."


    Apollo smiled.


    "Ok!"


    They got to the public training grounds in a few minutes. It was still early, but a few people were practicing.


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "Alright, let''s see how strong your shes are. Start at the light grey dummies and make your way up."


    Apollo nodded.


    "I won''t disappoint you!"


    Apollo walked up to a stone dummy and shed it. He was able to easily bisect it, causing it to split in two.


    "Mommy, did I do it?"


    Willowughed lightly.


    "Yes, yes. Try one of the darker statues."


    Apollo nodded excitedly.


    He moved forward to a darker grey dummy. His bokken shed it, but this time the cut wasn''t clean. Stone fragments sprayed out and one of them cut into Apollo''s cheek.


    "Aww... I did it wrong."


    Willow sighed.


    "You did fine Apollo. Why do you believe you did something wrong?"


    Apollo blinked.


    "I... did fine?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "Yes, you did."


    Apollo put both hands on his bokken.


    "Yes... I can do it."


    Apollo went to a dark grey dummy and shed down.


    A loud bang resounded across the public training ground. But, only a few cracks appeared on the top of the dummy.


    "I... did it wrong."


    Willow walked over.


    "Don''t worry, Apollo. Just keep trying and you will get it someday."


    Apollo gripped the bokken tighter and swung harder.


    An even louder bang resounded.


    More cracks appeared across the dummy.


    Willow looked at Apollo''s hands and frowned.


    The skin was torn open and bleeding.


    Willow patted Apollo''s shoulder.


    "Hey, let''s stop for now. You''re hurting yourself."


    Apollo''s eyes zed over. He mumbled something, but Willow could not make it out.


    Willow brought her ear closer.


    "Sorry, what did you say?"


    Apollo''s lips parted ever so slightly.


    "Useless..."


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "What do you mean? ...Apollo?"


    Apollo''s eyes were as wide as could be. He raised his bokken once again and sent it crashing down.


    "Useless!"


    Arge crack appeared, nearly splitting the dummy in two.


    Apollo began smiling widely.


    "USELESS!"


    Apollo mmed his bokken down once again, causing it to break into pieces and fall to the ground.


    However, Apollo wasn''t done, mming his bokken onto the shattered pieces over and over again.


    "USELESS, USELESS, USELESS!"


    Willow got down on one knee and patted Apollo''s back.


    "Hey, it''s ok. Calm down, Apollo!"


    Apollo stopped shing and started to shiver.


    "...I''m useless."


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "How are you useless? Come on, let''s take a break."


    Apollo clutched his head with his free hand, his fingers digging into his skin.


    "I''m sorry... I''m sorry..."


    Willow tried to peel off the hand Apollo was using to dig into his skull.


    "It''s ok Apollo. You should take a break."


    Apollo was panting and bleeding.


    "Please don''t hit me..."


    Willow blinked a few times.


    "Don''t worry I won''t hit you."


    Apollo''s breathing quickened.


    "Stop hitting me... stop hitting me... STOP HITTING ME!"


    A woman who was practicing came over.


    "Hey, is everything alright?"


    Apollo smiled eerily.


    His bokken shot out towards the girl.

 Chapter 16 - I Will Kill You

    The bokken was stopped in front of the girl''s heart.


    Willow was holding her knife, which prevented Apollo''s bokken from proceeding.


    Willow whispered to the girl.


    "Run away."


    The girl nodded then sprinted off.


    Willow frowned when she looked at Apollo.


    "Hey, Apollo! You can''t attack others like that!"


    Apollo began giggling.


    "I..."


    Willow sighed.


    "Let''s get some rest, ok?"


    Apollo startedughing. His hand was clutching his skull so hard that it began to bleed.


    "Will..."


    Willow''s brows furrowed.


    "Apollo?... Hello?"


    Apollo stood up. He was looking at the sky with a huge smile on his face.


    "Kill..."


    The inner corner of Willow''s eyebrows turned up.


    "Please Apollo... listen to me?"


    Apollo''s head was tilted upwards, then slowly bent strangely to look at Willow.


    "You..."


    Apolloughed like a madman.


    Without warning, his bokken shot out towards Willow.


    She was able to block it with ease but frowned.


    "Stop Apollo!"


    Apollo onlyughed harder, swinging his bokken as hard as he could.


    Willow pulled out her second knife and blocked the flurry of strikes.


    She then gritted her teeth.


    "Apollo... why?"


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    She could feel her wrists going numb, but that was not what concerned her.


    The skin from Apollo''s palm and fingers were torn off. His hands were heavily bleeding.


    Willow cried out desperately.


    "Apollo! Stop, you''re hurting yourself!"


    Apollo onlyughed in return.


    "I will kill you..."


    His smile grew a little bigger.


    "I WILL KILL YOU."


    Apollo swung faster.


    A snap resounded as Apollo''s shoulder dislocated from the excessive force he put on it. He used his free hand to snap it back into ce and continued swinging.


    A teardrop fell from Willow''s eye.


    "Apollo! I''m sorry, I''m really sorry for hurting you. Please forgive me..."


    The only response was wildughter.


    Willow was having a hard time putting her all into this fight. She felt a pit in her stomach.


    Apollo was gradually overwhelming Willow. While Apollo''s desire to fight increased, Willow''s dwindled.


    Abruptly, Apollo''s bokken twitched.


    Willow''s knives were struck. She held them tightly, but they were both knocked aside, leaving her exposed.


    Apollo did not let this opportunity slip by, shooting his bokken towards Willow''s heart.


    Willow clenched her teeth. Her vision was blurry from the tears and she had a frown on her face. The corners of her lips were trembling, while her eyes slowly closed.


    As the tears fell from her face, she dissipated into a ck mist, leaving Apollo''s bokken to hit nothing.


    Apollo froze. He spun around, looking left and right.


    "...Where did you go?"


    His breathing was unsteady.


    "Don''t run away from me..."


    He fell to one knee, while his hand covered his face.


    From the cracks of his fingers, his eye was peering through.


    He giggled softly to himself.


    "...Where did you go?"


    He stood up in a hunched-over position and spun in circles. His arms hung limply by his sides as he turned around. At the same time, his neck was twitching, looking left, right, up, and down.


    Abruptly, he stood up straight and leaned back ever so slightly.


    His head slowly turned upwards and his smile left his face.


    Once he was looking up towards the sun, his nose twitched.


    "...I can smell you."


    In reality, Willow hardly had a smell. However, it seemed fighting against her for so long in that time loop allowed him to distinguish it from the others.


    Apollo''s head slowly lowered, looking in a certain direction.


    "There you are."


    Apollo was looking off into the direction that Willow fled.


    Currently, Willow has just finished scaling up the tall walls that surrounded the vige, nearly ten meters high.


    Apollo ran down the streets while giggling with a smile on his face.


    The vigers he passed by sighed, believing that he just messed with someone and was fleeing the scene of the crime.


    Perhaps if they noticed the blood dripping from his hands, they would''ve stopped him.


    However, they were simply conditioned to believe Apollo would only do harmless pranks all the time.


    Apollo''s running speed was gradually getting faster. Something in his leg snapped, but that didn''t bother him.


    Eventually, he navigated his way through the vige and reached the wall.


    The wall was tall and imposing, but Apollo did not slow his steps. Instead, he sped up.


    He beganughing like a maniac.


    His hand wrapped tightly around the bokken. He prepared for a stab, pulling his bokken back.


    "I won''t let you get away."


    Apollo''s body began heating up while tiny red scars began forming on his shoulder.


    Unconcerned about the consequences of his actions, his bokken shot out.


    A bang resounded within the vige.


    Cracks spread all the way to the top of the walls and a rumble echoed throughout the vige.


    Shattered stones flew from the point of impact, and one of them hit Apollo straight in the face.


    His head snapped back and he stumbled a few steps back.


    Slowly, his head tilted back.


    Apollo was bleeding profusely from his right arm.


    His joints were what took the most damage, especially his elbow. His entire arm was trembling, but his hand still held on tightly to his bokken.


    Apollo was panting heavily.


    He was so dizzy he almost fell down. However, his mind forced itself to work faster, shaking off the disoriented feeling.


    Apollo coughed. The dust and debris went into his lungs, causing him to choke. He shook his head, while his eyes peered forward.


    Through his blurry vision, he could see the dust clear and a snowy in appear in front of him. Further ahead was a forest.


    It was getting harder for Apollo to discern Willow''s smell. He felt like she was slipping away.


    Apollo''s body was not in a good condition. Even in Apollo''s current mental state, he knew that.


    However, he gritted his teeth and pushed forwards.


    "You... won''t get away."


    He made his way out of the vige, following the smell.


    Soon he came across the forest.


    Unfortunately, his body shut down once he took a step in the forest. He was forced toy in the cold snow.


    To make things worse, a massive wolf noticed him.

 Chapter 17 - Tear Down This World

    Apollo had fallen face-first into the snow, losing any sensation in his body. However, that didn''t stop him from giggling.


    The wolf slowly got closer, as though curious what a human was doing face-first on the ground.


    Other people might pray that the wolf would ignore them or be swallowed up by their fear. However, Apollo was not one of these people.


    He was filled with hatred.


    Why was this world so cruel to bestow this fate to him?


    His giggles became louder.


    Memories of his past buried deep in himself surfaced. Memories he tried to hide, to forget, but never could.


    They were memories of his mother.


    Memories of being yelled at and hit.


    Apolloughed.


    Even now, when she long left the world, she remained in Apollo''s shadow.


    To tell him he was a failure.


    To tell him that he wasn''t enough.


    To tell him that he would never amount to anything.


    The wolf got closer.


    He hated this world but was forced to live in it.


    The wolf lowered its body, getting ready to pounce.


    As such, he had no other choice but to tear this world down with his own hands.


    The wolf pounced.


    A thump resounded in the forest.


    Apollo mmed his head onto the ground and stood up.


    He took a step forward and swung his bokken up.


    The entire wolf split in half. The two halves fell to his left and right.


    Wolf blood sprayed onto him, but he made no effort to avoid or wipe it off.


    Heughed freely.


    His entire body was emaciated and exceedingly hot. On top of that, almost all of his exposed skin was marked by red scars.


    Apollo felt hungry, so hungry he no longer cared tough.


    He directly ate the raw wolf meat in a desperate attempt to be satiated.


    However, there seemed to be something wrong with it. The blood would burn him while the meat was hard, almost like a rock.


    The simple act of consuming this wolf was destroying Apollo''s body.


    But at this point, he couldn''t care less. Not to mention, he needed food badly, what choice did he have?


    Wait for some miracle?


    Apollo scoffed at the thought and continued eating until there was nothing left for him to eat.


    It was like the wolf had not given up even in death, still fighting Apollo from within his body.


    His teeth had to work overtime to tear the muscles of the wolf so he could shove it into his gullet.


    His mouth felt like it was lit ame and the journey the meat took to travel to his stomach was painful.


    However, the moment anything entered his stomach, it would suddenly lose strength. It was as though they could never put up a fight in the first ce.


    This was what made it possible for Apollo to consume the wolf in the first ce.


    If it were anybody else, they would be unable to digest the tough meat and possibly die. Yet somehow or another, it was a piece of cake for Apollo.


    He sat in the remains after he was done. Yet, he was still hungry.


    He was used to food back in the vige, much more filling and easy to eat. If wolf meat was what he had to rely on in his journey, he may spend more time eating than anything else.


    Apollo realized this, but could not find a solution. In his mind, hunting down Willow, who he believed to be his mother, was most important.


    And so, he picked himself up and went deeper into the forest, following what little lead he could still pick up.


    In the cold, his sense of smell was hampered. He could hardly make out Willow''s smell because of that.


    Sometimes he would lose her smell altogether, but because of how faint it was in the first ce, it was easy to convince himself that it was still there.


    Cold winds would blow past him, but instead of making him shiver, it would only cool his overheating body.


    Suddenly, there was a loud shriek. Apollo looked up to see a giant eagle above him.


    It was perched up in a tree and red at Apollo with its wings spread out.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Come on now, don''t be shy."


    The eagle flew a few meters up, while Apollo remained still, smiling to himself.


    The eagle dove towards Apollo.


    At thest second, Apollo slipped past the eagle. It ended up crashing into the ground, sending snow flying everywhere.


    Before the eagle could regain its bearings, Apollo was already standing on its neck. He was holding his bokken in a reverse grip, raised above its head.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    "Goodbye..."


    Apollo''s bokken pierced the eagle''s head, however, it was still resisting. The eagle pped its wings, flying up into the air with Apollo on its back.


    Apollo was amused, smiling without a single concern about his situation.


    The eagle rammed itself into a tree in an attempt to shake Apollo off, but he stayed on.


    The eagle was flying unsteadily, making it challenging for Apollo to remain on its back. Yet, instead of trying to finish the battle quickly, Apollo used this opportunity to practice his bnce.


    The eagle mmed its head into a tree again, but to no avail.


    Apollo giggled, deriving joy from the eagle''s desperation.


    The eagle continued smashing its head into trees but became more sluggish after each attempt.


    It was as though Apollo was a part of the eagle''s body, elusively remaining attached. To the eagle''s dismay, it was unable to shake Apollo off.


    Its movements became more disoriented and slow. Apollo stubbornly stayed on top until it eventually copsed altogether.


    He then had his next meal.


    Apollo let out a deep breath after eating, then moved further into the forest.


    His giggles echoed throughout the forest along with just a pinch of mumbling.


    Apollo took a step on top of the crest of the hill. His foot stepped on something squishy.


    Apollo looked down to see the corpse of a two-horned demon.


    Apollo then looked up ahead, to see countless more demon corpses.

 Chapter 18 - You Think You Can Kill Me?

    The two-horned demon under Apollo''s foot was quiterge, perhaps about three meters tall. Its skin was ck and its fingernails were sharp and white. As for its eyes, they were dull and lifeless, contrasting their bright yellow color.


    Next to the two-horned demon was a saber, presumably what it used. However, the most prominent thing about the demon was therge hole in its chest.


    The hole at the front was quite small, but nearly the entirety of its back was gone.


    Blood was sttered across the snow around it.


    A simr sight could be seen every step forward in this massacre.


    Within the bodies were many one-horned demons. They were about the size of a kid and daggersid by their side.


    Of all the bodies, two were three-horned demons. Arge maceid next to them and if they were standing, they would tower over the rest.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    He wondered if he could eat the corpses.


    He bent down and took a whiff of their blood, but immediately choked after.


    It smelled like rot and acid, so Apollo gave up on using them for food.


    Apollo was not bothered by the field of corpses, walking right through them. In fact, his biggest concern was that Willow''s scent might be masked because of them.


    The corpses gradually thinned and Apollo came across a strange clearing.


    There was arge patch of ground that was stone and devoid of any snow. In the middle, there was a cracked pedestal.


    Apollo curiously walked up towards the pedestal.


    He tried poking it, but nothing happened.


    Apollo giggled, then raised his foot to take a step forward. But, his step stopped in midair.


    There were faint high-pitched roars that came from all directions.


    One after another, one-horned demons revealed themselves, quickly bing a horde.


    Their size was not too different from a kid, so individually they were not intimidating. However, there were hundreds of them at the minimum.


    They held onto their daggers tightly and gathered at the perimeter of the stone patch.


    Once they had gathered to a certain amount, they charged towards Apollo. They held their knives high above their heads.


    Apolloughed.


    "What are these cute little creatures?"


    An enthusiastic demon was first to reach Apollo. It ran forward with confidence that it could take down some random child with a wooden sword.


    Yet, to the demon''s surprise its chest caved in and it did not even know why.


    The demon fell onto its back unwillingly and died.


    A nearby demon stumbled, slowing down its pace. Once three other demons caught up, it regained its confidence and charged with a roar.


    Apollo attempted a feint, but the demon did not even react to the initial swing. Nheless, it still got hit by the next one, dying where it stood.


    In the meantime, the other three demons tried to jab at Apollo.


    Apollo dodged one of them. As he did that, his hand traced the de of his bokken. Once the bokken snapped out, the two demons trying to hit him were split into two.


    The remaining demon panicked, wanting to run back to the crowd.


    Apolloughed and chased after the demon. He easily outran the one-horned demon, sending his bokken to pierce the demon''s chest.


    After Apollo struck, five demons that were now in front of him attempted to stab him.


    Apollo took a step back, avoiding them. His hand traced against the de of his bokken once again. Two heads flew in the air shortly after.


    Unfortunately, Apollo was now surrounded on all ends. There was hardly anywhere to dodge and more demons were waiting from behind.


    Apollo''s bokken shed. Three of the demons had their hands cut off, taking their knives with them.


    Apollo was able to dodge three of the stabs but was punctured by another five.


    Apollo''s smile grewrger as did hisughs.


    He gave up on trying any fancy technique and wildly shed his sword.


    The five demons that stabbed him all split into multiple pieces.


    As for Apollo, he now had five knives imnted into his body.


    The disarmed demons opened their jaws wide while other demons quickly closed in.


    Apollo''s bokken whipped out once again, splitting the surrounding demons into chunks.


    Yet, like an unending sea, more demons would step over the corpses of their brethren and continue their assault.


    Apollo''s eyes widened as he cackled.


    "I will kill each and every one of you... just watch."


    Blood was seeping out past the knives in his body. If that wasn''t bad enough, he was already feeling hungry.


    Soon, he would be running off fumes.


    Apollo''s bokken let out a flurry of shes and the red tassel wildly danced about.


    Sometimes heads would fly, sometimes demons would be bisected in two, and sometimes they would be split into pieces.


    Apollo was slowly walking forward.


    His breathing was getting heavy, while the swarms of demons were still going on strong.


    Sometimes a demon would slip by, imnting a new dagger into his body.


    As time passed, his breathing became heavier and his body was filled with more daggers.


    He was beginning to look like a porcupine.


    In such a perilous situation, Apollo smiled as widely as he could andughed.


    He wasughing at the demon''s attempts. The thought that they could actually kill him.


    "Do you know what I''ve been through?"


    Apollo''s grip on his bokken tightened as he yelled.


    "Because it''s been far worse than this!"


    Apollo continuedughing as his shes sped up.


    "Far worse! Far worse! Nothing you do could possiblypare!"


    Apollo''s eyes were bloodshot. He continued deliberately taking steps forward.


    The demons were unable to stop him and a trail of bodies was left in his wake.


    The skin on Apollo''s lip began to tear. He was smiling harder than his lips could handle.


    "Really?"


    Apollo cackled as he split four demons into pieces.


    "Are you guys all idiots?"


    Apollo was a bloody mess, covered in both his own blood as well as the blood of his adversaries. He looked like a warrior fighting in the pits of hell itself.


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    "You think you can kill me?"

 Chapter 19 - Pride

    Pride from the bottom of Apollo''s heart swelled.


    Pride of his very existence.


    No matter what anyone told him, no matter what he experienced, and no matter how many times he failed...


    Nothing could take this pride from him.


    He knew what he experienced and he lived through it.


    Even if the entire world came crashing down, that fact wouldn''t change.


    And so, Apollo kept thrashing his bokken around. Countless demons fell by his sword.


    Hisughs rang out in the forest.


    Apollo could hardly tell how much time passed, the only thing on his mind was to swing his bokken.


    Apollo''s body was already emaciated and pale from blood loss. Yet, his swings only became stronger and faster.


    The shes became violent, ripping apart demons like they were paper.


    He did not care how many came at him. If anything, he hoped there would be more.


    He lost himself in the fight.


    ...


    Apollo''s overheated body was slowing cooling and the horde of demons slowly thinned out.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, killing three demons directly. There were only two left in front of him.


    The demons froze in ce, hesitating.


    Suddenly, one demon bolted away. The demon that was left looked towards its fleeingpatriot with his jaw agape, like he couldn''t believe he was being abandoned.


    However, there was little time for the demon to ruminate about being abandoned as a bokken split its skull half.


    Apollo''s body was cold and looked like a set of twigs. Yet, strangely enough, his current priority wasn''t to fix himself up but chase after the fleeing demon.


    "You want to run now?"


    Apolloughed as his steps crashed onto the ground, sending snow flying.


    "This is your own fault."


    Apollo caught up to the demon and sent his bokken towards the back of its chest. With a bang, a hole was formed on the demon''s chest, sending it to the afterlife.


    Once all the demons were dead, a strong sense of vertigo assaulted Apollo.


    His will was still burning, but his body could not keep up.


    He fell to his knees. The knives covering his body ripped further inside.


    He wanted to stand. He refused to stop here, there was still so much to do.


    But like a cruel twist of fate, his consciousness slipped from his grasp.


    And everything became ck.


    ...


    Apollo was dreaming. He saw himself swinging his bokken fighting off shadows of knives with every turn.


    However, some slipped past, piercing into his body.


    His swings were getting slower, to his dismay.


    He gritted his teeth as hard as he could.


    "No... I must keep fighting..."


    Yet, contrary to his wishes, he could no longer lift his bokken.


    And with that, countless knives pierced into his body, iming his soul.


    Apollo woke up with a start.


    He suddenly sat up, feeling his old wounds reopen.


    He rubbed his eyes and his blurry vision gradually came into focus.


    Apollo was resting on a small bed, made from thatch.


    The room was quite small, made from wood, and had a small dirty window.


    The wooden flooring had cracks in it, a testament to how long this room was used.


    Apollo rubbed his head with his hand.


    "Hmm... why am I here? ...Mommy?"


    Apollo looked down at himself. He was covered inyers of cloth, smeared in dried blood.


    "Ah! What happened to me!"


    A dull ache spread from his whole body, causing Apollo to pout.


    "Mmm... why do I feel all itchy?"


    Apollo looked to his side. There was a wooden table next to the bed. It was worn just like the rest.


    The table held various bowls with remains of food still inside of them. They were scattered, someying about on their own, while some were stacked up making a tower of fifteen.


    Apollo licked his lips.


    He was feeling a little hungry, but not in any desperate need. His body that was previously emaciated now looked normal, albeit skinny.


    Apollo looked around the room, trying to search for someone.


    "Mmm... mommy?"


    The door to the room clicked open.


    "Ah, you''re awake!"


    A short young girl walked in, possibly the same age as Apollo. She had long brown hair that cascaded all the way down to her waist. She had a gentle smile on her face and bright blue eyes.


    She was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a thin ck coat on top. Her legs were revealed because of her shorts and she walked around barefoot.


    In her hands was a bowl with plenty of rice inside. Sprinkled within were tiny pieces of celery.


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Mommy?"


    The young girl giggled innocently.


    "No, silly! How could I be your mommy!"


    Apollo nodded with understanding.


    "Hmm... who are you then?"


    The young girl walked into the room and set the bowl on the table.


    After that, she put both hands on her sides and stuck her elbows out.


    "Hehe, my name is Maya! Only the coolest person you''ll ever meet!"


    Apollo pped excitedly.


    "Wow! So cool!"


    Maya smirked.


    "What is your name? You don''t seem so bad yourself."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Mm... oh yeah, Apollo!"


    Maya stuck her hand out, ready for a handshake.


    "It''s nice to meet you, Apollo."


    Apollo stared at her hand curiously.


    "Yes, nice to meet you, Maya!"


    Maya continued holding her hand out, waiting for Apollo to shake it. However, Apollo simply rubbed his chin and continued staring at it.


    The corner of Maya''s lip twitched.


    "Um... are you going to shake my hand?"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Ah! Sorry."


    Apollo proceeded to hold onto Maya''s fingers and jiggled them back and forth.


    "Am I doing it correctly?"


    Maya smiled bitterly.


    "Em, close enough!"


    Apollo turned his head towards the bowl of rice.


    "Could I... eat that?"


    Mayaughed.


    "Of course! I brought it here just for you."


    Maya pulled out a wooden spoon and used it to take some rice off the top. Apollo extended his head and bit down.


    Maya giggled.


    "Hehe, when you were sleeping you would always be so eager to eat the rice off my spoon. You also held onto your wooden sword so tightly!"


    Apollo finished eating and was about to open his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a muffled yell.


    "MAYA, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH OUR FOOD?"

 Chapter 20 - Mayas Father

    Maya shivered and fear was visible in her eyes.


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Who is that?"


    Maya did not respond.


    There were muffled footsteps slowly approaching the room.


    Maya held her hands above her head while looking at the floor.


    Apollo shrugged, then walked up to the door and opened it.


    As he did, a tall and muscr man revealed himself. He had short ck hair and was wearing simple ck clothes.


    Apollo smiled.


    "Hi, nice to meet you. I''m Apollo!"


    The muscr man furrowed his brows. He scanned the room and saw Maya cringing in a corner.


    He scoffed and used a hand to push Apollo aside.


    "Maya, what the hell is this? You got rid of all our food?"


    Maya trembled.


    "I''m sorry."


    The man mmed his fist against the table, causing some bowls to fall off and shatter.


    "Did we not tell you? Winter hase a year early, that means we will hardly have enough food to survive five more years, much less ten!"


    Apollo walked up to the man.


    "Ah, sorry. I was the one who ate the food."


    The man turned around and raised an eyebrow.


    "It was you?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Oh, yeah."


    Apollo''s vision became blurry and his ears were ringing.


    When he came to, he realized that he had been hit.


    The man frowned.


    "You think you can just take what you want?"


    The man raised his arm.


    Maya grabbed onto the man''s arm.


    "Dad, stop! I was the one who gave him the food. He ate it while sleeping!"


    Maya''s father scoffed.


    "Ate it while sleeping? Sounds like a load of crap to me!"


    The man wrestled his grip out of Maya''s grasp and hit Apollo again.


    Apollo''s innocent smile slowly disappeared.


    Maya continued begging her father to stop, while Maya''s father paid no heed.


    Apollo simply stood there as he got hit repeatedly as though he were a punching bag.


    Maya''s father continued spitting out curses, all the while hitting Apollo.


    The corners of Apollo''s lip twitched and turned upwards.


    An eerie smile was slowly forming on his face. The entire time, he was holding on tightly to his bokken.


    Soon Apollo''s smile was a little too wide considering the situation.


    Bruises had formed on Apollo''s skin and his hand tightened around his bokken.


    But before he could act, a small hand tugged him aside.


    It was Maya, she pulled Apollo out of the room and dragged him down the halls.


    "Come on, we gotta get out of here."


    Maya was crying with a frown on her face, while Apollo still had a strange smile on his face.


    "Don''t run from me!"


    A voice came from behind them. Maya trembled but did not stop running. She pushed aside a door, revealing the vige outside.


    Snow was falling and there were trails of footprints imprinted into the snow. Maya dragged Apollo out, then called for help at the top of her lungs.


    "Hello! Is there anybody there? Please help me!"


    Her cries caused some concerned vigers toe out of their houses and make their way over.


    A middle-ageddy hurried over.


    "What''s the problem, Maya?"


    Maya was fumbling with her words.


    "My... My father-"


    "The brat my idiot daughter is holding onto stole our food."


    Maya''s father had her arms crossed and stood behind Maya and Apollo.


    Maya turned to face her father.


    "What! That''s not true!"


    The middle-ageddy took a step back and frowned.


    "What? Maya... why are you defending someone like that. He deserves to be killed!"


    The other vigers that gathered initially wore concerned expressions but were now looking at Apollo and Maya in disdain.


    Maya stamped her foot on the ground.


    "That''s not what happened!"


    Maya''s father scoffed.


    "Look, everyone! We are already suffering enough because of this early winter! The crops that we had grown died in the frost, who knows how long the food we have now willst us?"


    Maya''s father then pointed towards Apollo.


    "To make things worse, we have a little thief! We already have hardly anything for ourselves, yet otherse into our vige to make things worse. If we don''t protect ourselves, who will?"


    The vigers were murmuring.


    Their voices grew louder until they became shouts.


    "Damn! Kill this thief!"


    "We already have enough trouble on our own, how cruel can some people be?"


    "Look at his smile! He clearly enjoys making us suffer!"


    Apollo was smiling dangerously.


    As for Maya, she stared at the vigers in shock. She felt as though nobody heard her.


    "No... it''s not like that, I was the one who gave him the food!"


    One of the men in the crowd furrowed his brows.


    "Listen to the adults Maya, step away from him."


    Maya shuddered.


    She couldn''t understand.


    Did nobody believe what she was saying?


    It was like anything she said would go over everyone''s head.


    Like it was a waste of breath.


    Maya''s grip on Apollo''s hand loosened.


    She could barely keep herself standing and stared directly towards the ground.


    Apollo''s pupils began shaking.


    His eyes slowly scanned all the vigers.


    His breathing was getting heavy, but then his eyesnded on Maya.


    Apollo''s smile disappeared.


    He shook his head and let go of Maya''s hold.


    "I am sorry, I will leave."


    Apollo began walking out of the vige but ended up hitting someone.


    It was Maya''s father, he blocked the way.


    "Do you really think you can get away scot-free? If we let you live, you''re obviously going toe back to steal from us."


    Maya''s father turned to the vigers.


    "Are we really going to let a thief got to steal from us again? Do we want to starve?"


    The vigers were getting riled up.


    "No! Kill him!"


    "Let the thief learn his lesson!"


    Apollo''s neck twitched and tilted to the side.


    Maya''s father smirked.


    "Maybe you shouldn''t-"


    "What is that!"


    A viger cried out in fear, pointing towards the edge of the vige.


    Maya''s father turned around.


    There was a small group of two-horned demons approaching from the edge vige.

 Chapter 21 - Bullshit

    Maya''s father cursed under his breath.


    "Everyone run!"


    Maya''s father immediately began running in the opposite direction. On the way, he picked up Maya.


    "Be worth something for once in your life and buy some time for us!"


    Maya tried to resist her father.


    "Dad? Don''t do this!"


    Maya''s father paid no heed to her cries and tossed her towards the demons.


    Maya hit the ground. Her clothes got dirty and snow scattered into the air.


    Mayaid on the ground with dried tears on her face and eyes wide open. Her mouth was agape from the pure shock she was in.


    A middle-ageddy hesitated, looking back to her home.


    "But... our food! How can we survive without it?"


    Maya''s father frowned but continued running.


    "You get it then!"


    The middle-ageddy seemed to be at a loss while the other vigers scampered away.


    Apollo slowly walked towards Maya and fell down on one knee in front of her. His eyes locked with hers.


    Maya smiled bitterly.


    "Why aren''t you running?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "How about you? Why aren''t you running?"


    Maya swallowed.


    "What good would that do? They don''t want me anyway and I can''t do anything on my own."


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.


    "...Bullshit."


    Mary furrowed her brows.


    "What?"


    Apollo smiled and his eyes widened.


    "I''m telling you that''s bullshit."


    Apollo slowly stood up and looked at the two-horned demons.


    There were initially three of them, but one ran off into the forest. The other two rested their sabers on their shoulders and walked towards Apollo.


    Apollo also walked towards them.


    He began to cackle.


    "You saved me, didn''t you?"


    Apollo''s hands wrapped against the hilt of his bokken.


    "Now watch. If it wasn''t for you this never would have happened!"


    Maya turned her head over to see Apollo''s back, standing tall and filled with confidence.


    Logically, she didn''t think it was possible that Apollo with his frail figure and a wooden sword could do anything. Yet, her heart had a strange feeling that a miracle could ur.


    She remembered how she first encountered Apollo. He was lying in the snow, covered in knives.


    She saw a demon corpse and was scared, but rushed over to help him anyway. That''s when she saw something horrifying through the trees.


    Bodies... so many demon bodies were stacked upon each other. Their blood made a river, a testament to the massacre that urred.


    As for who was responsible, it was a question that Maya could not get off her mind.


    Maya gasped.


    Was it... him?


    The two demons swung their sabers towards Apollo, taking full advantage of their extra reach.


    Apollo sucked in a deep breath and whipped out his bokken.


    Their sabers directly split in half, leaving them to wave around a stub.


    While the demons were still in shock, Apollo dashed forward.


    Apolloughed and shed at one of the demon''s chests.


    "So be proud of yourself, Maya!"


    The demon was thrown backward and arge gash appeared on its chest. However, it was tenacious, getting up soon after.


    The demon next to Apollo raised its foot. Its foot was emitting a bright white light and abruptly mmed into the floor.


    Ice immediately began to freeze over the ground around them and walls made of ice burst out of the ground. It quickly encapsted the two demons along with Apollo and Maya.


    Although the sabers were cut in half, since they were originally quite long, there was still some length to work with.


    While the demon that was knocked away got up, the demon next to Apollo charged at him with its saber.


    Apollo''s bokken shed and the demon''s hand had fallen off, taking the saber with it.


    Apollo giggled, wanting to see what the demon''s next move would be.


    Then, Apollo''s smile suddenly disappeared.


    The demon changed targets, grabbing out with its remaining hand towards Maya.


    Apollo''s bokken twitched.


    The demon''s arm fell off. It proceeded to stumble backward in fear.


    Apollo''s neck twisted as heughed.


    Before the demon made it more than a few steps back, Apollo''s bokken shot out towards its chest.


    There was a bang and a shattering sound. The two-horned demon''s chest hadpletely caved in and it fell lifelessly to the floor.


    The other demon was charging over but stopped in its tracks after seeing Apollo kill its brethren.


    Apolloughed at the demon''s pathetic state.


    As Apollo slowly walked forward, the demon would take a step backward.


    Apollo smiled gleefully, waiting to see the demon''s next move.


    Soon, the demon hit his back against the ice wall. After a moment of hesitation, it raised its foot which glowed with a bright white light.


    Apollo raised an eyebrow while smiling.


    Once the demon mmed its foot against the ground, three icicles abruptlyunched out of the walls and shot towards Apollo.


    Purely based on instinct, Apollo''s bokken twitched. As the red tassel on Apollo''s bokken stopped jiggling, three icicles ttered and rolled on the ground.


    Apollo dashed forward.


    The demon tried to hold its saber up, but suddenly let it go.


    Its head flew off and its body copsed to the floor.


    Apollo turned his head around and shed a smile at Maya.


    Maya''s mouth was agape. She kept blinking as though by doing so, she could dispel the illusion.


    But it was no illusion.


    "Ahh! No!"


    Screams came from behind Maya, she turned around but there was an ice wall blocking her view.


    Apollo giggled. He did not know what was going on but derived joy from their misery anyway.


    Maya''s breathing was uneven.


    "Apollo! They need help!"


    Apollo''s smile disappeared.


    "What?"


    Tears fell from Maya''s face.


    "Please! You have to save them!"


    Since Maya was still on the ground, Apollo crouched down to get closer.


    "Why should they be saved?"


    Maya clenched her fists.


    "I know they hurt you... but they are still people! Nobody deserves to die!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "You seriously want to save them? When they just left you behind?"


    Maya nodded slowly.


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    Was it worth it to save them?

 Chapter 22 - A Savior?

    Apollo slowly opened his eyes.


    Maya had a pleading look on her face.


    Apollo gave her a deep look, then sighed.


    "Alright."


    His bokken shot out towards the ice wall, causing it to shatter.


    Apollo''s foot stepped on the shards of ice with a crunch, then surveyed the area.


    The vigers were running back towards Apollo. Behind them were multiple two-horned and one-horned demons.


    Apollo was bathed in demon blood and behind him were the demon corpses.


    When the vigers saw that, they ran towards him with eyes filled with hope.


    "Please save us!"


    "Don''t let this demon kill me!"


    "I... don''t want to die!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Get behind me."


    The vigers all made sure to stay behind Apollo.


    At this moment, Maya''s father came back with one arm holding onto the other. There was a gash on his arm that leaked blood.


    Maya''s father noticed everyone gathering around Apollo. His face twitched.


    "Um..."


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Just get behind me."


    Maya''s father nodded and hurried past him.


    Apollo dashed forward towards the demons.


    There were ten demons with one horn and three demons with two.


    He ran up towards a one-horned demon and directly took its head off.


    As he did so, a saber and dagger were making their way towards him.


    He split the saber in half and twisted his body to avoid the dagger.


    Shortly after another saber and two more daggers shed towards him.


    Apollo arbitrarily thought of the time he kept his bnce on the eagle.


    He would have to suddenly shift his feet. If not, he would fall off. He would fight against the forces acting on him but also use it to his advantage.


    His body contorted at a weird angle and dodged all of the des threatening to take his life.


    He could feel his old dagger wounds reopen, but ignored them.


    Apollo''s footwork became irregr like he was doing an erratic dance routine.


    As he was dodging, he did not miss the opportunity to retaliate.


    His sword slipped past their des, slicing off heads and caving in chests.


    He focused on the one-horned demons first. There were only two left after a few shes.


    Apollo slid past a two-horned demon''s strike. He threw his body back while his hand traced the side of his de.


    His bokken snapped out, shattering the rib cages of thest two one-horned demons.


    Now, there were only the two-horned demons left.


    The remaining demons decided to get serious.


    All three of them raised one of their feet. Following the white glow it emitted, they mmed their feet down.


    Ice spread from their feet and ice walls encapsted them.


    Before the ice walls even finished forming, six iciclesunched towards Apollo.


    Apollo contorted his body and shed out with his bokken.


    He was able to divert three of them and dodged two. As for the sixth icicle, it grazed against his back, aggravating his stab wounds.


    Apollo dashed towards the demons with a wide smile on his face.


    The three demons swung at him. Apollo took advantage of the fact he split one of the sabers earlier to slip past them.


    His bokken directly shot towards one of the two-horned demons. The demon that was targeted suddenly shifted its body, causing the bokken tond on its shoulder.


    Nheless, it was still a heavy hit. The demon''s shoulder exploded while its arm fell off.


    The demon stumbled backward until it hit the ice wall. It then slid down and slowly bled to death.


    Apollo was currently between the two-horned demons. The demons weren''t just standing there, as they raised their sabers to once again sh at Apollo.


    A thought shed through Apollo''s mind. He had the urge to experiment a little.


    His free hand grabbed onto the middle of his bokken. He then twirled it and had each end press against the tip of a saber.


    Apollo smirked and spun his body.


    The two sabers brushed past his shoulders like they never intended to hit him in the first ce.


    The two-horned demons ended up stabbing each other in the chest.


    Apollo did more than just redirect the sabers, but gave them more power. With that power, the sabers pierced straight through the chest of their respective demon.


    However, that was not enough to finish the two-horned demons off. Their vitality was unnaturally strong, to say the least.


    Nheless, they would still need a few moments to extricate their sabers from each other.


    Apollo slipped out from between them. He was about to behead one of the two-horned demons but decided against it at thest moment.


    The demons pulled out their sabers from each other and began bleeding profusely. Yet, like they didn''t realize that fact, they charged towards Apollo.


    He remembered how he redirected the beams of water and wanted to see if he could do the same thing with the sabers.


    Once the two demons shed, Apollo''s hand traced the side of his de.


    The sound of a de being sharpened rang out. The sabers flew with a peculiar trajectory into the necks of the two demons.


    Instead of abruptly diverting, they moved as though that was how the sh was meant to go.


    The two demons were beheaded by each other''s sabers.


    It almost seemed as if their enemy wasn''t Apollo, but each other.


    After Apollo was sshed by the blood of the demons, he sighed.


    He felt lethargic. It didn''t feel too good knowing that he was helping those vigers by killing the demons.


    However, since Maya saved his life and wanted him to do so, he would oblige.


    He climbed over the ice wall to see all the vigers huddled up together.


    Maya was on her feet, though unsteady, and was at the forefront of the group.


    Apollo slowly walked over.


    His back was dripping blood on the snow, making him look heavily injured.


    Maya''s father whispered something to Maya.


    Maya responded by shaking her head.


    That was when Maya''s father pped Maya.


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 23 - Foolish

    Apollo raised his bokken.


    "Do not hit her."


    Maya was holding onto her face and crying.


    "It''s ok..."


    Maya''s father bowed while holding his injured arm.


    "Sir, it''s her that''s ungrateful. She does not wish to thank you."


    Maya''s brows furrowed.


    "What? That''s not what you said."


    Maya''s father frowned and raised his uninjured arm.


    "You unfilial daughter!"


    Apollo''s eyes became bloodshot and he bolted towards them.


    Maya''s father swung his hand without mercy.


    At the rate Apollo was running, he wasn''t going to get there in time. Maya had already cringed, bracing herself for her father''s hand.


    Apollo''s eyes widened once he saw a teardrop fall from Maya''s face.


    His bokken shed.


    "AHHH-"


    Maya''s father lost his arm. It fell into the snow with a thump, leaving him with a stump.


    He used his injured arm to cover the stump and slow down the bleeding.


    Apollo giggled with a wide smile and he was still five meters away.


    "I said... don''t hit her."


    Maya''s father red at Apollo. The fact that Apollo killed the demons for the viger''s sake did not even cross his mind.


    "You... Devil."


    Apolloughed.


    "I am the Devil?"


    Maya''s father frowned. He no longer bothered with Apollo.


    "My fellow brothers and sisters, do you see what this heartless murderer did to me? We must band together and take him out! This is our only chance at survival!"


    Maya curled into a ball, wrapping her arms around her knees.


    As for the vigers, they appeared hesitant.


    "But... didn''t he kill those strange monsters?"


    "It''s not like we could fight..."


    "...But he attacked one of us."


    Maya''s father frowned. His breathing was bing heavy.


    "Don''t you see? He has already tried to kill me. He may have strong offensive capabilities, but his body is not invincible! He is already heavily injured right now!"


    That little push seemed to be what the vigers needed.


    "We cannot let him ughter all of us, we must act."


    "He... is only human."


    "Don''t forget he is the thief that stole from us!"


    Apollo''s neck twisted and augh uncontrobly seeped through his lips.


    Hisughs were so loud that they overshadowed the murmurings of the vigers.


    "So that''s the type of person you all are? You would rather believe what someone else tells you over what you see with your own eyes?"


    The vigers frowned.


    "Be quiet you devil!"


    "How could we trust a thief like you?"


    "You just want an excuse to kill us, don''t you? Then bring it on!"


    The vigers charged towards Apollo while Maya''s father slowly backed off.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    "If I am what you consider to be a devil, then I don''t want to be what you consider an angel."


    So these were the people he saved. He understood now.


    He nced at Maya. She was unable to meet his gaze and turned away.


    Apollo''s grip on his bokken tightened.


    Nothing was stopping him now.


    The vigers were unarmed. They nned to take him down with just their fists.


    How foolish were they?


    Blood sshed.


    Screams rang out.


    Cries of fear and pleading echoed throughout the vige.


    But over it all, were Apollo''sughs.


    The vigers were no match for Apollo. They were weaker than even the one-horned demons.


    He was the harbinger of death. Every swing would brutally mangle a body, painfully sending them to the afterlife.


    Apollo''s face was smeared with bright red blood, making his unsettling smile stand out more.


    One after another, a viger corpse would fall to Apollo''s feet.


    Soon he was surrounded by corpses and only a few vigers were left alive.


    An old man fell on his rear, trembling. He tried to crawl backward but was unable to put strength into his hands.


    "S-Sir... this is a misunderstanding! I..."


    Apollo walked forward slowly.


    "Hmm? Are you sure? You said I was a thief, did you not?"


    The old man iled his arms.


    "Ah, no, no, no. I was just joking! How could you possibly be a thief?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "So you don''t think I am a thief?"


    The old man nodded hurriedly and forced a smile.


    "Of course not! No way!"


    Apolloughed.


    "But that''s where you''re wrong."


    The old man froze.


    "What?"


    Apollo smiled mockingly.


    "Because I am a thief! After all, I''m going to steal your life!"


    The old man fell into despair.


    "No! No, please-"


    His head flew off. Even when itnded and rolled in the snow, an unwilling expression remained on his face.


    There were still two vigers. They were middle-aged women that stayed at the back. They were screaming after they witnessed Apollo''s cruelty.


    The women no longer believed that they could reason with Apollo.


    One of them fell onto her hands and knees, shivering. She had given up.


    The other woman took off, running as fast as she could.


    Apollo noticed the woman run away but was in no hurry.


    He walked over to the woman on her hands and knees. Hearing Apollo approach, the woman froze and closed her eyes.


    Apollo knelt next to her.


    "Hey."


    The woman slowly opened her eyes and turned to look at Apollo.


    "Ye-Yes?"


    Apollo smiled yfully.


    "Why aren''t you running?"


    The woman bitterly smiled. Her smile was filled with mockery, mockery of herself.


    "Haha... would you let me live?"


    Apollo pointed towards the woman who was running away as a soft giggle seeped from his lips.


    "Look, over there! Don''t you see how far she is? At this rate, she might escape!"


    The woman slowly turned her head over. She saw the woman already got quite far.


    "Ah... why didn''t I run?"


    Augh uncontrobly burst from Apollo, but he quickly suppressed it.


    "You can run right now! Don''t give up just yet!"


    The woman blinked. For a few moments, she could not understand the words she heard.


    "Ah, I..."


    The woman began panting and got up to her feet with shaking legs.


    She spun around and stumbled away.


    Her fear made her steps unsteady, but she still did her best to run away.


    Laughter burst out from Apollo. He could no longer suppress it.


    Once the woman heard theughter, she realized how foolish her hopes were.

 Chapter 24 - What Is Your Decision?

    The woman''s head turned around, looking for Apollo. However, he wasn''t there.


    When she turned back around, she stumbled and fell into the snow.


    Apollo was standing in front of her, smiling.


    "Hmm? Why have you given up already?"


    The woman clenched her fists.


    "Please... don''t kill me."


    Apollo put a finger on his chin andughed.


    "Oh! I am a reasonable person, so I won''t kill you!"


    A faint flicker of hope appeared in the woman''s heart. She mmed her forehead into the ground repeatedly.


    "Ah, thank you, thank you."


    Apollo then gasped, followed by a giggle.


    "Wait, that''s not right!"


    The color left the woman''s face.


    "What? No, no..."


    Apollo''s eyes were widened and bloodshot. He fell to one knee.


    "Who was it again?"


    Apollo put his hand at the bottom of the woman''s chin and raised it.


    "See, someone called me the devil."


    Tears formed at the corner of her eyes and flowed down the woman''s cheeks.


    "I... I..."


    Apollo brought his face right next to the woman.


    "And the devil is far from a reasonable human! Sorry, my mistake!"


    A grimace formed on the woman''s face.


    Apollo shed his bokken, leaving another corpse to rest in the snow.


    He then looked at the woman who ran away.


    She made it quite far. It seemed she stood a real chance of escaping.


    Apollo closed his eyes and let his lungs fill with air.


    His smile became a small frown as he raised his bokken.


    Apollo''s eyes opened a crack and the corner of his lip turned up.


    Abruptly, his eyes widened all the way and his lips formed a wide smile.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The snow around Apollo scattered high up in the air. Along with that, the snow in front of him parted ways and soared.


    It was like a path was rapidly being formed straight towards the woman. Once this ''path'' reached her, it suddenly stopped.


    And she split in two.


    Apollo used his free hand to clutch his face. Derangedughter escaped Apollo''s mouth and his whole body was shaking.


    It made one wonder, how did his lungs have so much air to keepughing like he was?


    His head slowly tilted to face where Maya was.


    She was gone.


    Apollo walked over to where she used to be and scanned the area.


    He found Maya''s father dragging Maya down an alleyway.


    Maya''s father was sweating profusely and still bleeding from his stump. He was using his remaining arm to forcefully drag Maya away.


    As for Maya, she was not too different from a corpse. Her limbsid lifelessly and the expression on her face made it seem like her soul had left her body.


    Apollo walked over with a giggle.


    "And what do you think you''re doing?"


    Maya''s father frowned.


    "Stay back fiend!"


    He proceeded to wrap his arm around Maya and continued pulling her backward.


    Apollo walked closer, easily catching up.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Say... Maya."


    Apollo crouched down and rested his forearms on his knees.


    "What do you think of your dad?"


    Maya did not respond.


    Maya''s father frowned.


    "Shut up! Stop talking to my daughter!"


    Apollo cackled. Hisughter was getting raspy.


    "Maya... tell me right now. Do you want your dad to live?"


    Maya''s father cringed.


    "...Maya, tell him to let your father live."


    Maya slowly took a small breath.


    "I... don''t know."


    Maya''s father trembled.


    "Maya? What do you mean you don''t know?"


    Apollo''s neck twitched as heughed with mockery.


    "I will give you ten seconds. If you don''t decide by then, I will decide for you, Maya."


    Apollo suppressed hisughter.


    "Ten..."


    Maya remained silent.


    "Nine..."


    Maya''s father trembled.


    "Maya?"


    Apollo raised his bokken.


    "Eight..."


    Maya''s father shook Maya by her shoulder.


    "Maya tell him! Tell him now!"


    Apollo took a step forward.


    "Seven..."


    Maya''s father began breathing unsteadily.


    "Maya, please. This is your father talking to you!"


    A giggle seeped through Apollo''s lips.


    "Six..."


    Maya''s father furrowed his brows.


    "Maya? Do you hear me?"


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    "Five..."


    Maya''s father frowned.


    "Maya! Your father is giving you an order!"


    Apollo''s neck twisted to the side.


    "Four..."


    Maya''s father began yelling.


    "You unfilial daughter! How could you abandon your father!"


    Apollo pressed his lips together as a muffledugh escaped him.


    "Three..."


    Maya''s father shuddered.


    "...Damn you, Maya! I curse you to rot in hell!"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Two..."


    Maya''s father fell on his rear.


    "No..."


    Apollo intentionally paused for a little longer.


    After a few seconds, Maya''s lips parted ever so slightly.


    "You know..."


    Maya''s father blinked a few times, doing his best to register the situation.


    "Yes Maya, tell him!"


    Maya sucked in a breath of air as if it took all of her power to do so.


    "I was really happy in this vige."


    Maya''s father nodded enthusiastically.


    As for Apollo, he got right next to Maya''s face.


    "Hmm?"


    Maya licked her lips.


    "We didn''t have much as it was a humble vige. But that didn''t bother us."


    Maya''s fatherughed.


    "Yes, exactly!"


    A small smile formed on Maya''s face.


    "I remember ying with every single person here. It was so fun."


    Maya''s father shivered with excitement.


    "Haha, you remember ying with your father, don''t you? Keep going, that''s a good girl!"


    Maya didn''t seem to notice the ramblings of her father. She wrapped her arms around her legs.


    "Everyone was so nice... you know?"


    Maya''s father pointed at Apollo.


    "Hear that fiend? Now back off!"


    A teardrop cascaded down Maya''s face.


    "But once the snow fell, it was like everyone changed."


    Maya''s father froze.


    "What? Maya stop!"


    Maya started to sob.


    "Everyone began fighting over food..."


    Maya''s father trembled.


    "What? No Maya, it''s not like that at all."


    Maya choked.


    "I tried to stop them, but they redirected their hatred to me. It was like I caused winter toe one year early."


    Maya''s father shook Maya by her shoulder.


    "No! That''s not true!"


    Apollo ignored him and looked deeply into Maya''s eyes. An eerie smile crept onto Apollo''s face.


    "So... what is your decision, Maya?"


    Maya''s father shuddered.


    "Tell him to let me live, Maya! ...Maya?"


    A bitter smile emerged on Maya''s face.

 Chapter 25 - I Want To Become Stronger

    Maya looked up to Apollo.


    "I don''t know..."


    Apollo giggled.


    "You know that means I will make the decision for you, right?"


    Maya softly chuckled.


    "Yeah..."


    Augh bubbled up Apollo''s throat, but he suppressed it.


    "And you know what my decision is going to be, don''t you?"


    Maya smiled bitterly and slowly nodded.


    Maya''s father had broken down.


    "No! This can''t be happening! It''s all a lie!"


    The curtains fell.


    In the end, thest thing Maya''s father saw was Apollo''s harrowing smile.


    "One..."


    ...


    Apollo was sleeping in the thatch bed he originally woke up in. He had fainted not too long after dealing with Maya''s father.


    Maya brought him back to the bed and continued feeding him. However, her innocence had long left her.


    When she first took him in, she found every little thing interesting. When she first held a wooden spoon with rice in front of Apollo, he would subconsciously get up and eat it.


    She giggled at that time, curious if he would keep doing so. Her curiosity made her continue feeding Apollo, fascinated each time.


    She ended up feeding Apollo countless bowls of rice.


    She was doing the same thing now, but couldn''t care less about Apollo''s peculiar reactions.


    When she was done, she simply sat on the floor. Her eyes zed over. It was as if there was nothing in this world worth looking at.


    Apollo murmured before his eyes slowly opened.


    "Mommy?..."


    A weak smile came from Maya.


    "No, I''m not your mom."


    Apollo blinked a few times and slowly got up.


    "Hmm?"


    He turned his head to see Maya, sitting against the wall. She didn''t bother to look at Apollo.


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Oh, you are Maya! Sorry for misunderstanding who you were!"


    Maya shrugged her shoulders.


    "What does it matter anyway?"


    Apollo used a finger to scratch the side of his head.


    "Oh... But I made a mistake and should apologize for it."


    Maya raised an eyebrow.


    "How does apologizing help?"


    Apollo was stumped. He rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "Hmm... maybe to show that you care?"


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    "Care for what? Do you not remember what you just did?"


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yes! I thought you were my mommy, but you were Maya. Then I apologized."


    Maya''s head lethargically raised to look at Apollo.


    She was confused. Why was he acting like a child?


    "...Whatever."


    Maya looked down at the floor again.


    A silence hung in the room.


    Apollo curiously walked up to Maya.


    "Hey, are you feeling ok?"


    Maya gritted her teeth.


    "Ok? How could I feel ok?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Aww... It''s better to feel happy!"


    Maya''s eyelid twitched.


    "Well, I don''t feel happy."


    Apollo whimpered.


    "Eh? Why not?"


    Maya did not respond for a moment.


    Tears formed in Maya''s eyes. Her breaths became unsteady and her hands clenched into fists.


    Slowly, her eyes closed, letting the tears fall down her face.


    "I suppose... It''s because of how cruel this world is."


    Apollo gasped.


    "Ah, don''t cry!"


    Apollo scratched his hair, racking his brain for an answer.


    "Oh, I know! What if you change the world? Then it won''t be cruel and you won''t be sad!"


    Maya released her clenched fists.


    "I am too weak. Especiallypared to you."


    Apollo rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "What! You are weak?... Can you shoot out beams of water? That could make you strong!"


    Maya smiled bitterly.


    "You mean magic? How could that be the case? You need the talent to cast magic and hardly anyone has that talent."


    Apollo smacked his forehead.


    "Ah! I forgot about that. Hmm... I don''t think I have talent in magic either!"


    Maya''s lifeless look was reced by shock.


    "What? You relied purely on your body to kill those monsters?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Hm? Well, I have nothing other than my body to count on!"


    Maya blinked a few times. Her mouth dried up, but she forced the words out.


    "But... how?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, well first, I swung my sword. After that, I was swinging my sword, then I continued swinging my sword. I think after that I..."


    Maya let Apollo continue.


    She listened to Apollo repeat the same thing over and over again.


    It made her wonder. How hard did he have to work?


    It seemed like Apollo used to be just a normal kid, talentless, just like her. Yet, he reached such heights.


    Apollo''s words reyed in her head.


    ''What if you change the world? Then it won''t be cruel and you won''t be sad!''


    She felt numb. However, those words made her clench her fists.


    She remembered the times she had with her mother and father.


    They always yed with her without a care in the world.


    She would spend her days helping her mother and father farm, then y with everyone else in the vige.


    But... one by one, the things that made her happy were stolen.


    Her mother tried to save a viger that was drowning in a river but ended up being swallowed up by it as well.


    Following that, her father changed as well. At some point, she realized on the day her mother died, she lost not only her mother...


    But her father as well.


    She desperately wished to go back to those days where things were so simple, yet so vibrant.


    But they were gone now.


    Somewhere deep inside her, a hatred she didn''t know she had bubbled up.


    It made her want to stand up against the world.


    She didn''t care how she had to do it, but she wanted to get back to those happy days.


    A frown appeared on her face as tears uncontrobly burst out.


    "...then I swung the sword. But after I swung the sword, I made sure to swing the sword-"


    "Hey."


    Maya interrupted Apollo.


    Apollo stopped talking. He looked at Maya curiously.


    "Oh, sorry! I didn''t mean to make you cry! What did I say? I promise I won''t say it in the future."


    Mayaughed through her tears.


    "No... I like crying anyway. I''ve decided."


    Maya looked at Apollo with red eyes.


    "I want to be stronger."

 Chapter 26 - Three Horns

    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "You want to be stronger? How will you do it?"


    Maya was at a loss for words.


    "I..."


    Maya shook her head.


    "Could you teach me your swordsmanship?"


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Of course!"


    Maya smiled.


    "Thank you."


    Apollo made a stern expression.


    "Alright, first!"


    Maya nodded, paying close attention.


    "First?"


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    "You have to swing the sword!"


    Maya''s eye twitched.


    "...What is second?"


    Apolloughed.


    "Ah, that''s to swing the sword after you have swung the sword."


    Maya stared at Apollo with a nk expression.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Hm? Do you have any questions?"


    Maya chuckled bitterly.


    "No... forget about the teaching."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Uh... ok!"


    Maya sighed.


    "Anyways, what was your destination? Before you got to this vige, to be clear."


    Apollo got lost in thought.


    "...I don''t know!"


    Maya''s face twitched.


    "...In any case, I don''t want to stay here any longer. Do you want toe with me?"


    Apollo''s eyes lit up.


    "Ok! That sounds fun."


    Maya shrugged her shoulders.


    "I suppose. Anyways, we should collect whatever food we can. With your appetite, we are going to need it."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Then let''s do it!"


    ...


    Maya scratched her head.


    "Um... I can''t find where the food is stored for this house."


    Apollo''s voice rang out from behind the walls.


    "It''s over here!"


    Maya rushed over.


    She saw Apollo standing in the kitchen, holding up a te.


    The corner of Maya''s lip twitched.


    "...That is not food."


    Apollo looked surprised.


    "It isn''t?"


    Maya sighed.


    "That is what you use to eat food, not food itself..."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Ok..."


    Maya''s eyesnded on atch on the ground.


    "Maybe this?"


    She used one hand to pull up thetch but was unable to lift it. She then tried with both of her hands.


    It wouldn''t budge.


    Her brows furrowed.


    "Um, Apollo, could you try this?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Ok!"


    He set down the te and walked over. He ced the hand that wasn''t holding onto the bokken on thetch.


    There was a loud snap.


    Apollo lifted the covering, revealing a staircase. There was a wooden board that split in two and fell down the stairs.


    Maya''s nose scrunched up. There was the smell of decaying from below.


    Apollo looked down curiously, then leisurely walked down the steps.


    Maya cringed.


    "Wait, don''t go down there."


    Apollo turned his head back but continued walking.


    "Why not?"


    Maya rushed after Apollo.


    "Let''s just go to another house."


    Apollo pouted and did not stop walking.


    "Eh? Just let me check it out, it''s only a few more steps!"


    Maya tried to catch up, but before she could do anything, Apollo reached the bottom.


    The stench of decay became more intense.


    There was a hallway and a few doors on each side.


    Apollo pushed the closest one on his left and peered inside.


    There was a small pile of dead bodies that were rotting away.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "This doesn''t look like food..."


    Maya looked inside the room. Her face was devoid of any expression.


    "...They are the vigers."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Why would any vigers go here?"


    Maya closed her eyes.


    "...There was not enough food for everyone to survive."


    Maya started to shiver.


    "So... some of the vigers began disappearing. This is where they ended up."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, so they want to be here?"


    Maya''s eye twitched.


    "...Maybe?"


    Apollo bowed.


    "Ah, sorry for disturbing you!"


    He then closed the door.


    Apollo looked sheepishly towards Maya and whispered.


    "Are they mad at me?"


    Maya had a deep look at Apollo.


    "...No. They aren''t."


    Apollo patted his chest and let out a sigh of relief.


    "That''s good then!"


    Maya decided it wasn''t worth it to think about Apollo''s strange behavior.


    They made their way to another house and found the basement, where food was stored.


    As the two stepped into the basement, Apollo turned to Maya.


    "Hey, why are these things so big?"


    Maya reluctantly answered the question.


    "Well... it needs to have enough space for ten years of food storage. After all, after ten years of summer,es ten years of winter. Does your house not have even this?"


    Apollo ran his fingers through his hair.


    "No..."


    A small gasp came from Maya.


    "What? How did your parents survive?"


    Apollo rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "Mm... I don''t know! Food was always there."


    The corner of Maya''s lip twitched.


    "...Food was always avable?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Maya shook her head. She assumed that Apollo was just oblivious to his house''s basement.


    After a sigh, she pushed open one of the doors to reveal arge stack of rice piled up in the middle of the room.


    "Alright, let''s get the rice!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "What do we use to hold it?"


    Maya froze.


    "...I forgot about that."


    ...


    Maya found some cloth satchels to hold the rice and with that, they set off.


    Maya had gotten four big satchels. She wanted to carry two, but could not make it more than a few steps forward. As such, Apollo was forced to hold three sacks of rice.


    Maya had arbitrarily picked a direction to go, and so they traversed the forest.


    Maya shivered from the cold. She turned to Apollo.


    "How are you not cold? You''re just wearing a torn up shirt and bandages!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Maybe this shirt keeps in heat really well!"


    Maya frowned.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, sorry! Did I say something?"


    Maya furrowed her eyebrows.


    "No, we have to run."


    Apollo turned to look in the direction Maya was looking.


    There was a three-horned demon.


    The demon was way taller than Apollo and carried a mace that matched its own height.


    The demon locked eyes with Apollo, ring with its bright yellow eyes.


    Apollo smiled and waved.


    "Hey there!"


    Maya''s face twitched.


    "We need to run now!"


    Maya tried to drag Apollo away by his arm.


    At that time, the three-horned demon charged at them.

 Chapter 27 - Bring It On Then

    Maya tugged hard on Apollo, but he wouldn''t budge.


    "Apollo! What are you doing?"


    The three-horned demon got closer.


    Apollo giggled.


    "What do you mean? He ising to greet us! It would be impolite to run away."


    The three-horned demon was only a few steps away.


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    "The monster isn''t trying to greet us! It''s trying to kill us!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulder and raised one finger in the air.


    "Hey! How do you know-"


    Apollo was cut off by a massive mace that hit him straight in the chest.


    He was sent flying and hit a couple of trees along the way. The rice Apollo was carrying spilled all over the snowy floor.


    With a thud, his back mmed against arge tree.


    The leaves above rustled and snow fell on his face.


    Apollo''s vision was blurry and he coughed up blood.


    "Oh... no!... The rice!"


    Maya had a hard time believing the wordsing out of Apollo''s mouth.


    "Who cares about the rice! Just run away!"


    Apollo forced out words between his coughs.


    "I think... he just wants... a spar!"


    Apolloughed.


    "But he... fights dirty!"


    Maya furrowed her brows and rushed over to Apollo.


    "Please, we have to run!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok!"


    Maya sighed in relief.


    "Good..."


    Apollo smiled.


    "Just after... this spar!"


    Maya stopped chasing after Apollo. Her mouth dried up.


    The three-horned demon had reached Apollo and already had his mace raised.


    Apollo''s bokken slowly raised as well, but it was trembling.


    Once the three-horned demon swung down with its mace, Maya reached her hand out to Apollo.


    "No, Apollo!"


    As the mace descended, Apollo''s bokken stopped trembling and shed.


    A thundering rumble resounded across the forest.


    The mace shifted trajectories and hit the ground to the right of Apollo. Snow flew high into the air and a crater was formed in the ground. The leaves of the surrounding trees rustled violently.


    Maya''s jaw dropped. The three-horned demon was much stronger than she expected.


    Her heart clenched. She hoped Apollo somehow survived.


    Creepyughter echoed in the forest.


    Maya didn''t know if she should be scared or relieved, but one thing was certain.


    Apollo survived.


    The snow cleared to reveal Apollo. His eyes widened and a giggle seeped past his teeth.


    The three-horned demon raised its mace once again. As it did so, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    Blood sprayed from the three-horned demon''s wrist, but it remained intact. Apollo''s arm was shivering.


    He shed three times in an attempt to cut off the demon''s wrist but was stopped each time he reached the bone.


    Still, the three-horned demon was forced to drop its mace.


    While the demon used its uninjured hand to pick up the mace, Apollo held his bokken with both hands.


    His knuckles whitened and he swung at the demon''s chest.


    Apollo''s bokken tore into the demon''s flesh, but like hisst strike, was stopped at the bone.


    The three-horned demon did not even take a step back. Instead, it raised its mace once again.


    Apollo cackled. As the massive mace loomed above him once again, he slowly raised his bokken.


    The demon swung down his mace and Apollo''s bokken shed.


    Another thundering rumble echoed.


    The mace smashed to the left of Apollo. Dry soil scattered from the impact, nearly getting into Apollo''s eyes.


    The shockwave caused a nearby tree to fall over,pletely uprooted from the ground. Even Maya was affected, nearly falling over despite being far away from the action.


    As for Apollo, he was simply smiling. He appeared to be fine, but if one paid close attention, they would see his body trembling.


    Even the shockwave emitted caused damage to Apollo''s body. Not to mention, he got hit directly once before.


    Despite taking so much damage, Apollo did not back down. Instead, he opted to sh at the demon''s wrists.


    He made sure to avoid the bone, thus his bokken cut through with little resistance.


    The demon was forced to drop its mace once again. Letting itnd with a thump on the soil.


    Apollo took the opportunity to sh wherever he could, whether it was the arms or chest.


    Gashes appeared one after another on the three-horned demon''s skin. The three-horned demon took a step back but did not do anything else.


    Apollo didn''t understand why the demon just stopped, but he continued shing, causing the demon''s blood to spray everywhere.


    The demon was not bothered by the fact it was bleeding all over. Its eyes were closed and the flesh around its wrists regrew unnaturally quickly.


    As Apollo attempted to jab the three-horned demon''s chest, it abruptly stopped.


    The demon caught the bokken with one of its hands. Other than some blood that sttered from its palm, it was unharmed.


    The demon was covered in countless wounds, bleeding rivers of blood, but hardly seemed affected.


    Apollo tried to retract his bokken, but it would not budge.


    "Hey! Give that back!"


    The demon used its free hand to pick up its mace, raising it for the third time. Apollo looked up towards the mace.


    Maya hugged the sack of rice tightly.


    "Just let go of the wooden sword! What are you doing Apollo?"


    Apollo let out a wildugh.


    "Killing... this fool."


    The threat of death hung above him, yet he had no intention of moving from where he stood.


    The red scars on Apollo''s body grew. They snaked their way down Apollo''s arms and chest.


    Apollo''s bokken twitched.


    The hand that the demon used to hold the bokken became disfigured. The bones that made the hand were twisted in jarring angles and stuck out from its skin.


    Yet, that was not enough to phase the demon. Like a guillotine, the mace descended towards Apollo''s skull.


    The edges of Apollo''s lips were stained by his own blood, making his smile look even wider.


    His bokken shed.


    A snap came from the demon''s arm. Like it was given an extra joint, it twisted at an unsettling angle.


    Shockingly, the demon was able to retain its grip on the mace but was no longer in a proper position to swing.


    The demon took a few steps backward, then roared.


    All the gashes and disfigurement rapidly disappeared. The demon''s body and mace expanded. As it did so, red vein-like marks appeared across its body.


    Apollo chuckled.


    "Bring it on then."

 Chapter 28 - Gemstone

    The three-horned demon and its mace erged by roughly fifty percent. The reach it had was quite unfair at this point.


    Apollo''s neck twisted and twitched.


    "You''re a big boy now, huh?"


    The demon swung his mace horizontally, sweeping the area and stirring up snow.


    The mace collided with trees but passed through them like butter.


    The trees flew up into the air and Apollo joined them. He jumped up while lifting his legs. He appeared as though he was doing an overly pretentious jump, his body resembling a nk.


    Apollo''s hair and clothes wildly pped from the gales stirred up by the mace that swung past.


    As he fell, he stabbed his bokken in the ground and used it to reposition his body. The moment his foot touched the ground, he bolted towards the oversized demon.


    By the time the demon finished its swing, Apollo got next to it and swung his bokken.


    The bokken tore open the demon''s flesh, forming a gash from the top of its right knee to the top of its left shoulder.


    It was as though Apollo''s bokken magically extended to sh farther.


    However, the demon''s vitality was quite frightening. Right after Apollo shed it, the flesh began to wriggle and regrow. In just a few seconds, the demon''s body was essentially brand new.


    Apolloughed at the demon''s regenerative power.


    "You''re only making this harder for yourself! I will only enjoy your pain!"


    The demon was not affected by Apollo''s taunts. It raised its mace once again and brought it down on Apollo.


    Apollo sidestepped, but the mace remained above his head. The demon followed Apollo''s moments rather than swinging straight down.


    Apollo''s pupil''s shook.


    The red scars on him deepened. Apollo wrapped both hands around the bokken''s hilt.


    Then, his bokken shed.


    A rumble echoed throughout the forest.


    The trees leaned away from the shockwave.


    The ground below Apollo cracked.


    And the mace was pushed aside.


    The demon stumbled backward, while Apollo faintly quivered.


    His body became as gentle as a feather. He pushed his body a little too far after blocking that strike.


    Unfortunately, in contrast to his fragile state, the demon was perfectly fine. For the demon, the only thing it did was swing its mace.


    The demon raised its mace once more.


    The world began crashing down towards Apollo.


    His entire body felt light, like he could be blown away by the wind.


    So that''s what he did.


    Like a feather picked up by the gales of nature, Apollo elusively avoided the mace.


    While the mace mmed into the ground, causing another shockwave, Apollo shed.


    His shes contained little power, only digging partway into the demon''s flesh. However, they were relentless.


    The demon continued trying to bash Apollo, but he always seemed to slip by andnd another hit on the demon.


    The cuts Apollo made quickly faded as the demon healed. It appeared like this battle was going tost even longer than anybody expected.


    Shockwaves reverberated one after another while Apollo danced around the demon like he was part of the wind.


    Such a chaotic scene was somehow a stalemate between the two. If nothing changed, it was going to be a battle of stamina.


    Maya knew that Apollo was strong to a certain extent, but seeing him stand toe to toe against the three-horned demon was an eye opener.


    To her, it looked like Apollo was challenging the insurmountable. Yet, no matter how impossible it seemed, he kept moving.


    While Apollo''s smile remained as wide as ever, his eyes were shut. It was as though he was sleeping, yet moving anyway.


    The demon decided to try something new. With both hands on the mace, he held it out horizontally and spun like a top.


    Apollo jumped like he was a fish flying out of the water.


    The mace brushed by him, blowing wind past his body again.


    The mace passed by Apollo harmlessly. However, the demon wasn''t done.


    Instead of stopping, it continued to spin. Its mace reached Apollo before his feet could even touch the ground.


    While he was still in the air, Apollo swung his bokken.


    The tip of his bokkennded on the demon''s mace as it was swinging. Apollo''s hand clenched on the hilt and forced himself in the air for another second.


    But Apollo was nning on more than just surviving.


    Before his bokken left the mace, it twitched.


    The demon stumbled backward and its mace was flying towards its own body.


    A thud coincided with a loud crunch.


    The demon hit himself in the side, cracking some bones. Apolloughed mockingly.


    "You have to hit me! Not yourself!"


    The fell to one knee and used its hand to prop itself up. Although it was healing, the demon still took considerable damage.


    Apollo''s footnded on the snow and he bolted towards the demon''s chest. He shed through the demon''s flesh freely.


    Like an unending fountain, blood continued pouring out of the demon''s body. It let out more blood than its body could contain.


    The shattered bones were starting to regrow. Apollo was still having a hard time damaging the bones that were intact.


    Then, he realized it was best to kick a man while he was down.


    He jabbed at the broken bones of the demon, further aggravating its injuries.


    For the first time, the demon showed a genuine reaction. Its eyes narrowed and the inner corner of its eyebrows were lowered.


    The demon let out a booming roar. Gales were stirred up around the demon, causing a small scale snowstorm.


    Apolloughed and twisted his neck.


    "Idiot! Do you think I''ll let you?"


    Apollo''s bokken twitched, sending the demon''s shattered rib cage into further disarray. The flesh parted, and a faint glow was emanating from the demon''s chest.


    The faint glow suddenly shed, bing a bright white. The demon began splitting by the red vein-like marks in its skin.


    In just the next second, the demon exploded, discharging vast quantities of mana.


    All that remained was arge translucent gemstone.

 Chapter 29 - Helpless

    The explosion directly knocked Apollo out and sent him flying into a tree. His head took the brunt of the impact and hung lifelessly.


    Maya rushed over. Pieces of blood and flesh were scattered across the snowy floor, but Maya paid no heed, running right over it.


    She had seen plenty of blood before.


    Once she got to Apollo, she sucked in a breath through her teeth.


    "You idiot."


    Part of Apollo''s chest had caved in. Other than the demon blood sshed over him, bright red blood flowed out of his head.


    Maya wanted to help but could only freeze, staring at Apollo.


    She had been through many traumatic events. For the longest time, she remained positive and marched through it.


    One could say that she was mature, but at the end of the day, she was a kid.


    A kid with little experience in the world, yet she tried to ovee it.


    She panicked.


    Her hand reached out to press against the back of Apollo''s head, slowing the bleeding. She noticed that Apollo was also bleeding from his ribcage and tried to cover it as well.


    However, she instantly pulled back.


    When she touched Apollo''s chest, she pushed in the broken rib bone.


    Tears began forming on Maya''s face. She had no idea what she was supposed to do.


    The feeling of helplessness transformed into anxiety.


    Then, old memories began to haunt her.


    ...


    "Mom!"


    Maya had a scratch on her arm. She scraped her arm on the wooden fence as she walked into a farm.


    Tears were forming at the corner of Maya''s eyes.


    A woman walked out from the stalks of rice nts. The woman was tall, with long brown hair and bright blue eyes.


    "What is wrong honey?"


    Maya lifted her arm. Blood was forming from a few red markings on it.


    "It hurts!"


    The woman crouched down and gingerly held Maya''s arm. A small frown appeared on her face.


    "Oh my, don''t worry! Mom will fix this for you!"


    The woman pulled out a small cloth. She dusted it off, then wrapped it around Maya''s arm.


    "There you go! It will be better soon."


    Maya looked up to her mother, forcing herself to hold back the tears. She nodded.


    "Ok!"


    ...


    Maya always aspired to be like her mother. She thought her mother was kind and able to solve any problem thrown at her.


    Yet, she never seemed to be able to replicate it. She always tried to help around the house but caused a mess.


    Whether it was cooking, cleaning, or farming, she would somehow break or ruin something.


    She would burn the food she cooked, bring dirt inside the house, and harvest crops that weren''t ready.


    Her mother would always clean up after her. Unlike what she expected, her mother was never mad when she messed up.


    That was what encouraged her to keep trying despite her failures. However, once her mother died, she no longer had that courage.


    Maya wiped the tears off of her face.


    She recalled the first time she shoveled spoon after spoon of rice down Apollo.


    His body would bloat and heal itself.


    She quickly opened the sack of rice, then froze again.


    A snowke fell onto the bridge of Maya''s nose. Then, she broke out into tears.


    She did not bring anything to cook the rice with.


    She closed the sack of rice and rested her head on it.


    Why couldn''t she do anything right?


    Why did things always fall apart in her hands?


    As she spiraled deeper into despair, Apollo''s voice came to her.


    ''...Bullshit''


    Maya raised her head.


    ''I''m telling you that''s bullshit.''


    Maya stopped crying.


    ''You saved me, didn''t you?''


    She hugged the sack of rice tightly.


    ''Now watch. If it wasn''t for you this never would have happened!''


    She stood up on her feet.


    ''So be proud of yourself, Maya!''


    Her eyes scanned the forest around her.


    There was nothing but snow and trees for all she could see, but then her eyesnded on the gemstone.


    The gemstone was in the shape of an emerald. The color was white, but it was also translucent. Currently, there was a red vortex swirling around within its center.


    Maya had no idea what it was but thought it could potentially be eaten by Apollo.


    She hurried over and tried lifting the gemstone with both hands.


    The moment her skin pressed against the gemstone, her vision darkened.


    Her body became ethereal,posed of many specks of white dust.


    She found herself in a white room and aplex diagram made from red mana revealed itself to her.


    This diagram was three-dimensional and slowly rotating.


    She was overwhelmed by the number of loops, shapes, and circuits that connected the spell together.


    She did not even know what this spell would do, or if it really even was a spell.


    In fact, she almost gave up trying to memorize the spell altogether.


    But she shook her head. She didn''t want to give up now.


    Stubbornly, she began to memorize the diagram.


    She remembered her mom said that mages cast spells by shaping specific types of mana into certain shapes, dictated by the spell''s diagram.


    She did not have talent in magic, meaning gathering mana was almost impossible for her.


    That worry settled in the back of her mind, but she did not let it bother her for now.


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    She started at a random end of the diagram and tried to memorize it. Yet, before she could get any grasp on its structure, the diagram would rotate out of the way.


    She tried to move, but the moment she had the intention, a rippling pain pierced into her head. After the pain settled down, she realized every second she spent here would damage her mind more.


    As the pain increased, she felt something trying to pull her out of this world.


    At this rate, she would be unable to memorize anything.


    However, Maya had a sudden realization.

 Chapter 30 - Consitution Mage

    Maya looked closely at the diagram. She noticed that multiple spherical sections looked the same within the diagram.


    They were connected to the rest of the diagram in different ways, but otherwise the same.


    Maya decided to memorize this spherical section. If her guess was correct, she would learn a new spell. Even if she guessed wrong, there was no loss. She couldn''t memorize the whole diagram anyway.


    Maya strained her eyes, slowly memorizing the spherical section. When she lost vision of it, she simply looked towards another identical section.


    The pain in her mind was slowly growing, but she also slowly imprinted the image in her mind.


    Soon it felt as though someone was pushing a needle through Maya''s head. Along with that, the pulling force was almost unbearably strong.


    But, she memorized the section.


    Maya''s ethereal bodyposed of white specks of dust dissipated.


    she sucked in a deep breath and shivered.


    Maya opened her eyes to find herself back in the cold and snowy real world.


    She was still holding onto the gemstone and the red vortex remained inside it.


    Her mind slowly reconstructed the diagram and she tried to activate it, but nothing happened.


    There was no mana.


    Maya felt a headacheing on. In the end, herck of magic talent crippled her.


    Her grip around the gemstone tightened. The gemstone''s vortex began rotating rapidly and Maya felt a gentle stream go from her hands to the rest of her body.


    It was refreshing. As if she just cleaned herself after a good bath.


    For just a moment, Maya''s mouth was agape.


    Was this mana?


    She hurriedly tested out her hypothesis, recalling the diagram once again. The mana did not resist when Maya guided the mana outside the tip of her finger.


    However, once it left her finger, the mana dissipated and all her control over the mana was lost.


    The corner of her lip twitched.


    She suddenly recalled something her mother said.


    "Those without talent must be what we call a ''Constitution Mage''. They can only cast by forming the spells inside of their body, but that is terribly dangerous so don''t ever be one."


    Maya furrowed her brows. After a few moments of hesitation, she bowed at the empty sky.


    "Sorry mother, but I am unable to follow your advice."


    Maya slowly formed the spell inside her body. She had little difficulty forming the diagram.


    Once she finished, a small ball of fire appeared above her hand. Since her hand was quite close to her, she hurriedly stuck it out to avoid being burnt.


    Once the feeling of danger was gone, she stared at the ball of fire in front of herself.


    She was mesmerized by the soft orange glow.


    In reality, she did not hold much hope that she would be able to do anything. She was only trying for the sake of saying she tried.


    And so, once things worked out, she was in disbelief.


    After a few more moments, she shook her head. She almost forgot there was a pressing matter at hand.


    The biggest thing Maya needed to cook the rice was heat and now she had it.


    She filled the sack of rice with snow, then hovered the small ball of fire above it.


    She kept it like that until the rice was wet and cooked.


    She rushed over to Apollo, then froze again.


    There was no spoon.


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    After a moment of contemtion, she put one end of the rice bag to Apollo''s lip then raised the other end.


    Maya did not take the fact people had to breathe or chew into consideration. This was clear as she was essentially forcing down egregious amounts of rice down Apollo''s throat.


    Once Apollo began gagging, Maya tilted her head to the side.


    Was he choking?


    Maya shrugged her shoulders and then continued pouring rice down Apollo''s throat.


    Once the sack was empty, she tossed it aside and looked at Apollo. He waspletely out of it.


    In reality, Apollo was on the verge of waking up before Maya brought the bag of rice to his mouth.


    By the time he was conscious, rice was being forcefully shoved down his throat.


    He could not breathe.


    His eyes rolled back and he ended up choking until he fell unconscious once again.


    Nheless, the food worked its magic.


    If one paid close attention, they would see Apollo''s wounds closing up. It was nothing like the three-horned demon''s regeneration speed but was still startlingly fast.


    However, Apollo''s broken ribcage did not reposition itself. Leaving his chest caved in.


    Maya noticed that he had healed decently and poked Apollo in the face.


    "...Can you wake up?"


    Although Apollo was tightly holding onto his bokken, he was unconscious. He showed no signs of waking up.


    Maya felt perturbed by hisck of a response.


    Should she wait for him to wake up?


    Maya shook her head. She felt that Apollo might freeze to death at this temperature since he was essentially wearing torn bandages as clothes.


    Maya tried to lift Apollo by his shoulders but recoiled right after. Apollo''s body was emitting so much heat that Maya would be scalded if she touched him for too long.


    After a few moments of hesitation, Maya sat down next to Apollo. It was close enough to feel warm from the heat, but far enough so that she wouldn''t be burned.


    Maya felt her stomach rumble.


    She smiled bitterly.


    "I should''ve saved some for myself."


    She snuck a peek at Apollo.


    "Oh, well."


    Her eyelids grew heavy and she drifted off into sleep.


    ...


    Maya woke up feeling cold.


    Apollo''s body was no longer emitting an unbearable heat, but Apollo was still out like a light.


    Maya sighed.


    "Why won''t you wake up?"


    Maya put away the gemstone under her shoulder.


    She then lifted Apollo by the shoulders and ced him on her back.


    She held Apollo''s arm like it was the strap of a backpack and walked through the snowy forest.


    Apollo was lighter than expected, but Maya was still a kid. It was not easy for her.


    As Maya trudged through the snow, she rubbed her belly.


    She was getting really hungry.

 Chapter 31 - Starvation

    Maya was panting heavily.


    Though she had not walked far, she was already feeling exhausted.


    There was a voice in the back of her mind that kept telling her to abandon Apollo, to save herself. There were even a few times where she almost caved in, trying to leave Apollo in the snow.


    Yet, whenever she released Apollo, it would feel so cold. Once the warmth of his body disappeared, she no longer had the will to move on.


    And so, she continued carrying Apollo, as tired and hungry as she was.


    Mary raised her head.


    She saw towering walls in the distance and many farms surrounding those walls.


    The walls themselves gave pressure just by existing. Not only were they tall, but there wererge carvings of animals that red at anybody that remained outside.


    The farms that surrounded the walls were countless and extended far beyond their reach. Perhaps the interior of the walls would cover a smaller area than all the farms.


    Scattered among those farms were small houses.


    Maya''s heart jumped after seeing those farms. Her hunger made her take a few steps forward and instinctively, she wanted to call out for help.


    But she stopped herself.


    A memory shed into her mind.


    ...


    Maya was in her room, sitting on the bed. Her father was at the entrance and had one hand on the open door.


    "Stay here, Maya. Do not leave your room until I say you can."


    Maya nodded.


    Her father proceeded to close the door. After he did so, Maya closed her eyes and covered her ears with her hands.


    Still, she could make out the muffled voices.


    "Thank you, sir. You said there would be food for us?"


    The muffled voice of Maya''s father rang out.


    "Yes, yes juste over here."


    There was the sound of shuffling footsteps. Suddenly, a thud resounded throughout the house.


    "Agh! What are you doing to me?"


    A muffled, but deadpan voice rang out.


    "Not all of us can survive. You must die."


    ...


    She couldn''t trust them.


    The farmers themselves were probably low on food. That meant if she tried to ask for any, she would definitely be killed.


    ...But she was so hungry.


    Maya narrowed her eyes.


    There was only one option left, to steal.


    Maya had reluctantly set Apollo down next to a tree.


    "I''ll be back."


    With that, she scampered off into the farms.


    There were no trees around the farms, unlike the forest. As such, Maya was unable to hide.


    The best that she could do was pretend she was one of the farmers by casually walking around.


    She wanted to keep her back straight to look more believable, but her empty stomach made her hunch over just a little bit.


    Her eyes gravitated towards the farms.


    The soil was dry and cracked. Despite that, people seemed to be regrly shoveling the snow off the soil.


    In fact, Maya could make out a few people in the distance that were doing that right now.


    It was almost as if the barren soil was precious to these farmers in some way.


    Seeing the soil in poor condition made Maya even less confident that the vigers would give her anything.


    She made her way towards the closest house. As she got close, the door opened.


    Maya darted to the side so that she wouldn''t be seen.


    Her back glued to the wall of the shabby house, on the other side of the door.


    A man walked out with a shovel and proceeded to shovel the snow off of the farm.


    Maya was already getting dizzy from theck of food. She believed if she didn''t seize this chance to steal from this home, she wouldn''t get another one.


    With resolute steps, she slipped inside the house.


    The ce was small, only containing a hallway and a few rooms. There was no clear trapdoor from the hallway, so Maya had no choice but to go into the rooms to find it.


    She opened the room closest to her and scanned the inside.


    It was very small.


    There was a tiny wardrobe that had a few cracks in its legs but was still holding on strong. At the side of the room was a bed that just barely stood above the ground.


    In that bed was a little girl, wrapped in thin bedsheets covered with holes. She was sleeping and tightly hugging a worn cloth teddy bear close to her chest.


    The girl''s cheeks sunk into her face and her arms were like twigs. It was clear she hadn''t eaten much.


    Maya knew that there wouldn''t be any food stored in this room. Yet, she remained there, watching the tiny girl.


    Her heart throbbed.


    She was nning on stealing from this child.


    Maya let out a shallow breath and closed the door.


    The world was a cruel ce and only those that could match that cruelty could survive.


    Maya gritted her teeth and kept searching.


    Her whole body was quivering from hunger. It seemed like she would pass out soon.


    She opened a nearby door and peeked inside.


    It was simr to thest room. A woman was sleeping inside and the bed was a little bigger. On top of the wardrobe was a piece of parchment that was propped up by a wooden frame.


    On that parchment was a faded ink drawing of a mother, a father, and their child. The people in the picture had big smiles and the parents were holding up the child. It was poorly drawn, like a children''s drawing, but it was left on the wardrobe like it was priceless.


    The picture reminded Maya of her mother and father.


    How the both of them lifted her into the sky.


    She felt like she was on top of the world.


    But they were gone now.


    Why was the reason she kept living?


    To steal the happiness from others?


    Maya choked loudly.


    At that moment, the woman''s eyes fluttered open.


    Maya panicked. She bolted down the hallway to get out of the house.. Yet, after a few steps her hunger made her directly pass out.

 Chapter 32 - Is It Ok To Feel Happy?

    Maya''s eyes slowly opened. Her whole body felt unbelievably weak.


    She could vaguely tell that she was in a bed.


    Her body was shivering and sweating from a headache.


    Maya was sick.


    As her vision cleared, she saw a woman''s face above her. It was the same woman she saw before passing out.


    She held a small piece of bread. The woman wordlessly brought the bread close to Maya''s mouth. The woman''s hand was trembling.


    Maya was afraid.


    She remembered that some of the vigers back in her hometown died via poisoning. She believed the woman was doing the same thing.


    Maya kept her mouth closed. When the bread brushed past her lips, she turned away, refusing to eat it.


    The woman did not force her and pulled back her hand.


    "Don''t you want to eat?"


    Maya did not respond.


    The woman sighed.


    "You will die if you do not eat."


    Maya had a small frown on her face.


    "I will die if I eat that. I already know... it''s poisoned."


    The woman had a deep look at Maya.


    "If I wanted to kill you, I would just leave you alone. If you don''t eat anything you will die."


    Maya refused to face the woman.


    "...Then let me die."


    The woman sighed.


    "All of us will die. We don''t have much time left either."


    The woman closed her eyes.


    "But it''s still better to live happy a little while longer."


    Maya was silent.


    She closed her eyes for a few moments.


    The woman remained at Maya''s side, watching her.


    Maya''s eyes opened with a weak shimmer.


    She murmured something.


    The woman got closer.


    "Sorry, I didn''t hear you."


    Maya forced out the words through her slightly parted lips.


    "Can I have the bread?"


    A small smile formed on the woman''s face. She then brought the bread up to Maya''s lips.


    Maya suddenly lunged like she was a wolf. Her hunger made it impossible to hold herself back any longer. She was so aggressive she nearly bit down on the woman''s fingers.


    The woman sighed.


    "Eat slowly."


    Maya nodded but hardly slowed down. The bread was barely chewed before she swallowed it whole.


    She was already feeling better.


    Maya suddenly sat up, aggravating her headache.


    "I... forgot about Apollo."


    The woman put her hand on Maya''s shoulder.


    "Don''t sit up so fast! What is the problem?"


    Maya shuddered.


    "I came here with someone else, but I left him in the snow."


    Maya tried to get off the bed, but the woman held her back.


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    "Let go of me!"


    The woman sighed.


    "I will find him, what does he look like?"


    Maya let out an unstable breath.


    "About my height, blonde hair, and he always has a wooden sword in hand."


    The woman nodded and hurried off.


    Mayaid back in bed.


    She found her gemstone tucked in the sheets beside her. She stared at it for a few moments then hugged the gemstone tightly.


    As she felt the seconds pass by in silence, her anxiety only grew.


    Eventually, she couldn''t take it and got up, bolting out of the room.


    As she pushed open the door, she heard a voice.


    "Those people are so mean! They force you to shovel the snow and take away your food?"


    It was Apollo. Maya blinked.


    The man and Apollo were walking side by side inside the house. Following behind the two was the woman.


    Alice chuckled.


    "Hello again, Maya. Apollo was talking with my husband."


    When Apollo saw Maya, he waved.


    "Oh hi, Maya! This is Arlo."


    Arloughed weakly.


    "Haha, hey Maya. The gorgeousdy behind me is Alice. We also have a beautiful daughter called Emily, but she is sleeping right now."


    Arlo had a small beard and was fairly skinny. Despite that, he had a smile as though he were a hearty muscr middle-aged man.


    Alice smiled softly while Maya twiddled her fingers.


    Maya shook her head, then bowed.


    "Hello, Arlo and Alice. Thank you for having me."


    Arlo chuckled.


    "You make it sound like we are royalty or something. We aren''t pretentious so there is no need to waste time with the formalities."


    Maya hurriedly nodded and looked at the ground.


    Apolloughed.


    "Come on, Maya! They said we could eat some stuff too!"


    Maya remembered Apollo''s enormous appetite.


    "...But you eat way too much Apollo. They won''t have anything left if you take from them!"


    Maya cringed when she heard the words that came out of her mouth, but did not try to take them back.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Eh? I won''t eat that much, ok?"


    Maya clenched her fists.


    "But..."


    Arlo let out a bitterugh.


    "Don''t worry about it. The people from the city are going to take our food away anyway."


    Maya''s eyes widened.


    "What? Did they not leave you enough to survive the winter?"


    Arloughed.


    "Survive the winter? We hardly have enough for the week. If that wasn''t bad enough, the people from the city are taking what''s left under the guide of tax tomorrow."


    Arlo sighed.


    "By then, we will have nothing."


    Maya''s eyelid twitched.


    "What?..."


    Alice waved her hand dismissively.


    "Don''t mind it. We''ve already epted our fate."


    Maya trembled.


    "But... it''s so unfair!"


    Arloughed.


    "We get to spend ourst moments together as a family. That is fair enough for me."


    Maya was speechless.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "That sounds cool!"


    Arlo smirked.


    "Anyways, let me call my daughter over."


    Alice smiled and led the way down the hall while Arlo went to get his daughter.


    Apollo and Maya followed behind Alice to a kitchen with a dining table inside.


    The table was made of wood and had various dried food stains on top.


    Alice ushered them forward.


    "Please take a seat."


    Alice reached into apartment to take out a few loaves of bread, putting it on the table.


    Not long after, Arlo came back with his daughter, Emily.


    Emily curiously looked at Apollo and Maya.


    "Hello!"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Hey, Emily!"


    Emily stared at Apollo''s bokken.


    "Woah! What is that? Can I hold it?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Yeah!"


    After Apollo gave Emily the bokken, she slowly waved it from side to side.


    Soon, everyone sat at the table and ate the bread. Smiles andughter woulde out one after the other.


    Maya couldn''t help but wonder if it was ok to feel happy.

 Chapter 33 - Path Of A Constitution Mage

    Maya and Apollo left the house after having their fill.


    Maya turned to Apollo.


    "Hey."


    Apollo smiled.


    "Yeah?"


    Maya narrowed her eyes.


    "The people from the city..."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What about them?"


    The corner of Maya''s lip twitched.


    "They are evil. We should kill them."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Ah, kill them?"


    Maya nodded.


    "They have basically killed every single person out here in the farms. They deserve to die."


    Apollo rubbed his hand against his chin.


    "Hmm... I guess that makes sense!"


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "Mmm... Who do we get to kill them?"


    Maya''s eyelid twitched.


    "Um... couldn''t you?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "How could I? I''m just a beginner!"


    Maya wanted to retort, but her eyesnded on Apollo''s chest that was partially caved in. She smiled bitterly.


    "Sorry, it seems I''ve been asking too much of you."


    Maya coughed.


    "...If I can learn magic, maybe I would be strong enough?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "I thought you couldn''t use magic!"


    Maya shrugged her shoulders.


    "I wasn''t until I touched this gemstone."


    Maya held out the gemstone and Apollo looked at it curiously.


    Apollo rubbed his chin.


    "So I can learn magic if I touch it as well?"


    Maya hummed.


    "I think so?"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Wow, let me try!"


    Maya held out the crystal and Apollo touched it with his finger.


    Nothing happened.


    Apollo pouted.


    "I don''t feel any magic!"


    Maya raised an eyebrow.


    "Really?"


    Apollo nodded dejectedly.


    Maya narrowed her eyes, focusing on the small red vortex within the gemstone.


    Why was she able to see that strange diagram?


    Her grip on the gemstone tightened, then her vision darkened.


    She was back in the white room.


    Her body wasposed of specks of white dust while the diagram was rotating without a care in the world.


    She didn''t expect to be sent here but decided to toss her worries to the back of her mind. Her eyes intently looked at the diagram.


    She had already memorized one part of the diagram, learning the fire spell. Now her focus was on how the fire spells connected with the rest of the diagram.


    She noticed that there could be circuits that connected the core of the fire spell with the diagram, or from the outside, or abination of both.


    She did not understand what those connections meant but tried her best in memorizing how they appeared.


    The one she started with was the connection to the core. It appeared to be the most simple, so Maya settled on that.


    Maya did not know how much time passed, but she strained her eyes to focus.


    As the pain increased, Maya could feel her focus slip. The feeling of a needle piercing her head was simply too distracting.


    However, by the time she was inevitably forced out, she memorized the connection.


    Maya opened her eyes to witness the snowy in around her.


    Apollo was poking her face and curiously looking at her.


    "Hello?"


    Maya shook her head.


    "Ah, sorry. Was I out for long?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Yeah, you just stood still staring at the shiny thing for a while."


    Maya sighed.


    "...I didn''t know that would happen. Suddenly, it started to teach me magic."


    Apollo jumped up and down.


    "Wow! That sounds so exciting! What magic did you learn?"


    The corner of Maya''s lip twitched.


    "Well... let me try something first."


    Maya patted away some snow on the floor. When most of the snow was gone, she sat down with her legs crossed.


    Understanding the circuits used to connect did not do much by itself. However, it gave Maya new avenues to experiment with diagrams.


    She wanted to replicate what therge diagram did but on a smaller scale. She drew in mana from the gemstone, causing its vortex to spin faster.


    The mana in her body began melding into two fire spells. When shepleted it, a fireball appeared above her hand. It was bigger than the first time she casted it.


    However, this caused Maya to frown. Her original intention was not to cast two fire spells at the same time but to connect them by their cores.


    On top of that, she could feel her side begin to ache. It was a side effect of casting spells from inside the body.


    Maya sighed. She failed, but she already decided that she would not stop trying because of a failure.


    She did not take it too hard as she now knew about casting two spells at the same time. Simultaneous casting was not special but appeared to amplify the spell''s power.


    Apollo looked curiously at therge me in Maya''s hand.


    "Woah! That is so cool! You must be strong now, right?"


    Maya smiled bitterly.


    "Not now, but perhaps one day."


    Apollo giggled.


    "I think that day is today!"


    Maya shook her head and focused on her spellcasting.


    This time, while she formed two fire spells, she did notplete the spell. The mana remained docile in her body, letting her connect the cores.


    Once she felt the fire spells were attached, shepleted them.


    A zing ball of fire formed above Maya''s hand. It started as the size of a baseball but burgeoned and copsed. All of a sudden, it was the size of a basketball.


    The ball of fire stayed in her hand, but the me was flickering violently. It was almost like the fire dared something to fight it.


    Apollo''s mouth was agape.


    "Woah! How did you do that?"


    Maya smiled.


    "I... guess I figured it out."


    Maya stopped injecting mana into the spell, causing it to dissipate. Her hand rubbed against her side.


    It was painful.


    The spells she casted were rtively simplepared to the vast majority of spells. Yet, she was already suffering noticeable bacsh.


    Perhaps this is why her mother did not want her to walk down the route of the constitution mage.


    However, blind to all of the consequences, Maya began forming three fire spells inside her body.


    She thought of Arlo, Alice, and Emily.


    Her eyes narrowed.


    She was determined to massacre the people in the city.

 Chapter 34 - Oh, Right!

    Three nearlyplete fire spells were currently inside Maya''s body. As of now, she was trying to connect all three of them.


    Her brows were furrowed and beads of sweat formed on her forehead.


    Guiding the mana strained her mind while the mana''s existence in her body slowly destroyed her.


    However, she did not falter.


    The three fire spells slowly connected. Maya gasped for air.


    The fire spells bound to each other. All that was left was toplete it.


    Apollo looked at Maya curiously.


    "Are you ok?"


    Maya nodded. She took a deep breath.


    Her sides were already beginning to hurt from keeping the spell in her body. The pain when she casted it would surely be worse.


    Maya shook her head.


    "Apollo?"


    Apollo turned to Maya and smiled.


    "Yeah?"


    Maya smiled bitterly.


    "If I copse, could you carry me?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Ok! Why not?"


    Maya nodded, thenpleted the spell.


    At the tips of her fingers, a ball of fire began to burgeon and copse into itself. A shock went through Maya''s body. Her limbs felt numb, while she couldn''t feel her head.


    She could feel a bolt of fire form and propel itself in a direction. Not wanting to destroy some poor farmer''s house, she aimed it towards the forest.


    A firebolt shot out towards the trees. It was a bit bigger than a basketball and traversed the air rapidly.


    While the ball of fire was still traveling forwards, Maya fainted from the pain.


    Apollo was next to Maya, so he could''ve caught her when she began to fall. Unfortunately, he was too mesmerized by the firebolt and didn''t even notice.


    In the end, Maya fell on the floor with a loud thump.


    At least she wasn''t awake for that.


    The firebolt sted into a tree, causing it to bend like it was a finger and lighting it ame.


    Apollo jumped up and down.


    "Wow, Maya! That was so cool!"


    There was no response.


    Apollo looked left and right.


    "Maya?"


    He walked forward and stepped onto Maya''s face. Noticing he was not stepping on snow, he looked down.


    "Oh, hey Maya!"


    Maya was not getting up anytime soon, but she still hugged the gemstone tightly. Apollo stared at her, with his foot still on her face.


    Was he supposed to do something?


    Apollo pped his forehead.


    "Ah, right! Sorry, Maya."


    He removed his foot and then lifted Maya by her arms with his free hand and put her on his back.


    Then, Apollo looked around aimlessly.


    "Where am I supposed to go again?"


    Maya did not specify a location, however, Apollo thought she did.


    Apollo furrowed his brows, randomly saying words he remembered Maya saying.


    "...Apollo, she said Apollo. Hmm... oh, Maya! ...Wait no, I was the one who said that."


    Apollo''s eyes closed.


    "...City. She said something about a city. Go to the city?"


    Apollo''s eyes shot open.


    "Ah, go to the city!"


    Apollo convinced himself that was what Maya told him.


    With a smile, he began walking towards the towering walls. He was in no rush and was not hampered by Maya''s weight.


    On his way there, two guards d in iron armor approached his direction. One was about a head taller than the other.


    Once the guards were a few meters away from Apollo, the shorter guard red at him.


    "Stop!"


    Apollo stopped moving, as did the guards. He then tilted his head.


    "Why are we stopping?"


    The taller guard scoffed.


    "What do you think you''re doing out here? Go back into your inferiormoner ss home."


    Apollo pouted.


    "But I don''t have amoner ss home!"


    The shorter guard narrowed his eyes.


    "Preposterous! You obviously live in amoner ss home!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I do?"


    The taller guard rolled his eyes.


    "What nonsense? Do you really think you belong in the city?"


    Apollo perked up when he heard the guard say ''city''.


    "Oh, I am supposed to go to the city!"


    The shorter guard raised an eyebrow.


    "...And on what basis did youe to that conclusion?"


    Apollo scratched his head.


    "Ah, Maya told me!"


    Therger guard blinked a few times.


    "The little girl you are carrying?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yes!"


    The shorter guard furrowed his brows. He leaned over to hispatriot and whispered.


    "Is that girl some important figure from within the city?"


    The taller guard frowned.


    He scanned his memory for any noble or high-ranking power that resembled the girl but found none.


    The taller guardughed.


    "Impressive bluffmoner! You almost had us, however, you were unfortunate enough to meet me! I have memorized every high power within the city of Evermore and that girl is not one of them!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ah, yeah! She doesn''te from the city."


    The corner of the taller man''s lip twitched.


    "She doesn''t?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    The shorter guard facepalmed.


    "So why did you tell us that?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Huh? Tell you what?"


    The shorter guard frowned.


    "You said the girl on your back told you to go to the city."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah! She did!"


    The guards were speechless for a moment. They couldn''t tell whether or not Apollo simply had a few screws loose or was inly messing with them.


    The two guards looked at each other, then looked back at Apollo.


    The taller guard spoke up.


    "Are you... sure?"


    Apollo nodded confidently.


    "Yes, she-"


    Apollo cut himself off. He furrowed his brows while rubbing his thumb and forefinger on his chin.


    "Wait... did she say that?"


    The shorter guard stomped his foot.


    "Stop messing with us! We know that you aren''t a city person! Now get back to your damn house already."


    Apollo''s eyes lit up.


    "Oh yeah! She didn''t say to go to the city..."


    The taller guard scoffed.


    "Alright, just return to your house now and we can pretend like nothing ever happened."


    Apollo didn''t respond. Rather, he was mumbling to himself.


    "The people of this city..."


    The shorter guard smirked.


    "What about the people in the city?"


    Apollo''s eyes lit up.


    "Oh, right! Kill the people of the city!"

 Chapter 35 - Im Apollo!

    The guards frowned after they heard what Apollo said.


    The taller guard scoffed.


    "Killing people in the city? Who do you think you are?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Oh, I''m Apollo!"


    The corner of the shorter guard''s lip twitched.


    "Damn this kid!"


    The shorter guard drew his sword.


    Apollo looked confused.


    "Why are you upset?"


    The taller guard frowned as he drew his sword as well.


    "We are people of the city. Do you dare try to kill us?"


    Apollo had a gasp of realization.


    "Oh! Sorry, I thought you weren''t city people. Since you are, I have to kill you."


    Apollo spoke as though he was politely asking for directions.


    It was quite unsettling for the guards, but they were not afraid of some kid with a wooden sword.


    The shorter guard scoffed.


    "Then try and kill me!"


    The shorter guard lunged towards Apollo and tried to stab him with his sword.


    Like he was part of the wind, Apollo danced around the shorter guard, appearing behind him. Since one of his hands was upied with carrying Maya, he simply shed with his bokken.


    A loud ng rang out.


    The shorter guard was knocked over, his face mming into the snow. The armor on his back had a deep linear dent.


    The guard cried out in pain.


    Since his armor was dented inwards, it ended up piercing into him.


    The taller guard frowned when he saw this. A part of him refused to believe that this was the work of a kid holding a wooden sword, but his discipline forced him to take it seriously.


    The taller guard took a few steps forward but did not lunge.


    He wanted to see if he could counter Apollo''s next move.


    As for the shorter guard, he used his arms to push off the ground. As he did so, Apollo raised his bokken and mmed it down onto the shorter guard once again.


    Another ng rang out.


    The shorter guard was screaming in agony. His armor had been prated and blood began spurting out of his back.


    The taller guard was shocked for a second, he did not expect Apollo to attack again when he was so close. After all, it gave him an opportunity to strike.


    The taller guard did not give up this opportunity.


    Yet, even though Apollo supposedly finished swinging, his bokken shifted trajectories.


    The taller guard felt like his sword was pulled towards the ground. He was unable to resist the pull, involuntarily taking a few steps forward.


    Apollo kept a cordial smile on his face.


    And with that cordial smile, his bokken shed.


    "AHHHH-"


    The taller guard''s hand was directly cut off, leaving a stump that sprayed blood. He used his remaining hand to hold tightly onto his wrist, in an attempt to slow the blood loss.


    But... it hardly made a difference.


    The taller guard fell on his knees. He had never experienced pain like this before. His position as a guard was just for show. In reality, he had no battle experience.


    His pupils dted and constricted. His breaths were unsteady and weak. In the end, he simply hoped that death would im him sooner so that the pain disappeared.


    This wish of his was granted by Apollo.


    The taller guard''s head flew high into the air andnded on the snow with a light thud.


    The shorter guard began freaking out. He couldn''t get up off the ground.


    "What did you do? John, are you there? You can''t let this kid kill me!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Who is John?"


    The shorter guard fell silent.


    "Did you... kill him?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Uh... I just killed this guy."


    The shorter guard furrowed his brows.


    "Why are you doing this?"


    Apollo hummed.


    "Don''t you remember? I''m supposed to kill people of this city and you said you were part of them!"


    The shorter guard smiled bitterly.


    "That''s it?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "What other reason would I have?"


    The shorter guard fell silent. He clenched his teeth, forcing words past them.


    "...Who the hell are you?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head with his bokken.


    "Haha, you''re forgetful just like me!"


    Apollo raised his bokken.


    "My name is Apollo!"


    "AHHHHH-"


    ...


    Apollo wiped off the blood that he got on himself because it felt ufortable.


    After that, he continued walking towards the city walls with Maya on his back.


    The journey was long but uneventful.


    Apollo reached arge gate that consisted of iron bars. Once Apollo got closer, a booming voice resounded.


    "Stop!"


    Apollo stopped walking forward. He tilted his head to try and peek past the iron bars and see who was talking to him.


    However, the only thing ahead was an empty patch of ground.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head with his bokken.


    "Where are you?"


    The voice was annoyed.


    "That doesn''t matter! What is a kid like you doing here? Go back home!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "But... I don''t know how to get home."


    The voice let out a sigh.


    "Are you kidding me? That''s not my problem, just get out of here!"


    Apollo whimpered.


    "Ehh? But I was told to go to the city!"


    The voice paused.


    "You... who told you that?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Maya! She is so cool. You should see her shoot the fire things sometime!"


    The voice gasped.


    "...An elementary mage at her age? It''s the daughter of a prestigious noble!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Huh? What is that?"


    The voice cleared its throat.


    "Forget what I said. You can pass. Make sure you escort her well."


    The gates slowly raised, giving Apollo entry to the mysterious and magnificent city.


    Somehow or another, Apollo unintentionally deceived the gatekeeper.


    Who knew that his innocence would be the most cunning thing about him?


    Apollo took his first steps into the city, turning his head from the left to the right. He was getting engrossed in his new surroundings.


    Then, his head suddenly stopped.

 Chapter 36 - Searching For Willow

    The city appeared to be prosperous. There were many people in thick coats moving to and fro across the cobblestone streets. An asional guard d in iron armor could be seen patrolling the streets.


    Most people would turn to look at Apollo but ignore him soon after.


    Right at the entrance of the city was arge tavern on the left and arge inn on the right.


    There were various other establishments and shops, but Apollo ignored all of them.


    His attention was caught by a young man.


    This young man had jet ck hair and dark blue eyes. He had a sleek ck jacket on and long ck pants.


    He was walking slowly, avoiding the crowd. His hands were in his pockets and he had a slight hunch.


    Apollo ran up to the young man.


    "Hey! Don''t be so sad!"


    The young man listlessly turned to Apollo and raised an eyebrow.


    "Do I know you?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "No!"


    The young man looked at Apollo for a few more seconds, then continued walking down the path.


    Apollo ran ahead of the young man.


    "Wait, don''t leave so soon!"


    The young man sighed.


    "What do you want? Do you need to take care of that body?"


    The young man pointed at Maya, who was still unconscious on Apollo''s shoulder.


    Apollo looked at Maya, then at the young man.


    "Well... she is sleeping but has no bed."


    The young man raised an eyebrow.


    "You two are homeless?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Kind of?"


    The young man looked around to see if any guards noticed.


    People that were homeless were to be driven out at best, and executed if the nobles wanted a show.


    Once the young man confirmed that nobody cared, he looked back at Apollo.


    "If you don''t mind the ce being shabby, you cane with me."


    Apollo smiled brightly.


    "Ok!"


    The young man slowly walked down the cobblestone path. It was as though he was carrying something heavy and couldn''t go any faster.


    Ironically, Apollo was carrying a person but was faster. He would quickly walk a few steps ahead, then wait for the young man to catch up.


    The young man sighed.


    "Say, what is your name kid? Mine is Karn."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Apollo!"


    He used his bokken to point towards Maya.


    "She is Maya! You will find out that she is super cool!"


    Karn forced out augh.


    "Sounds great."


    The roads they walked gradually became more dirty and sketchy. No guards were patrolling in this area.


    Apollo and Karn walked up to a small one-floor house. It was made of wood and reeked of rot.


    Karn pushed aside the door. Loud creaking sounds came from the straining joints. As Karn walked in, Apollo did as well. The unsanitary environment did not perturb Apollo.


    The hallway of the house expanded into a living room. The only other things were two wooden doors near the entrance.


    The only object in the living room was a worn cloth tarp.


    Karn gestured towards the tarp.


    "You can sleep on that. This is the only thing I have to sleep on so we will have to share it."


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Ok, thanks!"


    Apolloid Maya down on the tarp. Her forehead was unnaturally hot and a few beads of sweat formed on her forehead.


    Despite her condition, she still held tightly onto the gemstone.


    Karn used his chin to point at Maya.


    "Your friend?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Karn forced augh.


    "Sounds nice."


    Karn watched as Apolloid down on the dirty tarp, looking as cozy as he could be. Karn raised an eyebrow.


    "You aren''t bothered by the terrible conditions?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What do you mean?"


    Karnughed bitterly.


    "Though I call myself a homeowner, I am in so much debt. I can''t afford anything."


    Apollo gasped.


    "Oh no! Why?"


    Karn sighed.


    "My parents... had a lot of debt. Not too long after I was born, they died. When people die, debts are transferred to their children. In other words, me."


    Apollo sat up and bowed.


    "That sounds horrible!"


    Karn snorted.


    "It''s not ideal, that''s for sure. Ifining could fix anything, I would''ve done it all the time."


    Karn sighed.


    "But it just doesn''t work that way."


    Apollo nodded but remained silent.


    Silence hung in the air.


    Karn slowly turned to Apollo.


    "So, why don''t you have a ce to stay?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Well...it''s really far away."


    Karn raised an eyebrow.


    "...Oh."


    Karn shook his head.


    "So you left your home? What was the reason?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Um... give me a second."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He felt like something was missing.


    Why did he leave his home?


    Apollo''s eyes shut. He dug into his memories, trying to figure out why he was here.


    Apollo had a small smile on his face at first, but it gradually became a frown.


    ...


    His mother...


    He had to kill her.


    He had to get retribution.


    Apollo stood up.


    "Sorry, Karn. I will be heading out for a moment."


    Karn raised an eyebrow.


    "Oh... ok."


    Apollo pushed open the door.


    Before Apollo stepped outside, Karn called out to him.


    "Make sure youe back soon. Curfew ising. If you''rete, you''ll get arrested."


    Apollo nodded but did not nce back or slow his steps.


    The sun was beginning to set.


    A natural frown rested on Apollo''s face.


    He could no longer track down Willow through her smell. He had lost that trail a long time ago.


    The only thing he had was what she looked like. As for how much that mattered, he did not know.


    It seemed to be a dead end.


    Apollo sighed.


    Since the only thing he had to work with was what she looked like, he was going to use it. Even if it really was too little to work with.


    Apollo approached a middle-aged woman that was walking by.


    "Hello, have you seen a woman in a ck dress with ck hair? She has fingerless ck gloves and two knives..."


    The woman looked at Apollo and raised an eyebrow. She then continued on,pletely ignoring him.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    He was going to search for someone else when he heard the woman speak.


    "Follow me."

 Chapter 37 - The Shadows

    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    Should he trust this woman?


    A stranger he just met?


    However, the confidence in the middle-aged woman''s voice overruled the worries in Apollo''s mind.


    And so, he followed the woman.


    The woman had a few wrinkles on her face and a slight hunch. Her hair still had color, but there were a few grey hairs mixed in between.


    As for clothes, she had a brown robe on with various stains all over it.


    The woman was in no rush, leisurely walking down the street. Apollo did not try to hurry her. He simply trailed behind. He matched her speed.


    The woman did not turn around to look at Apollo. She was either confident he was following or did not care if he chose to do so.


    Once there were no witnesses, the woman ducked into an alleyway. Apollo followed closely behind.


    As he turned the corner, he half expected some sort of ambush. His eyes widened and his hand clenched on the hilt of his bokken.


    But... it was just an empty alleyway. The woman continued on slowly.


    Apollo rxed and continued following.


    The woman turned a corner. Apollo turned the same corner, but the woman was nowhere to be seen.


    A deranged smile appeared on Apollo''s face.


    Was this some kind of joke?


    "Come on. I don''t have all day."


    A voice rang out, but nobody was in sight. Apollo scanned the area around him.


    He found nothing.


    A sigh came from the empty air. Within one of the shadows, a hand reached out and pulled Apollo down into the shadow.


    Apollo did not have any time to react.


    With a sh, the entire world became ck. Every object in this world appeared to be formed out of some mist. Apollo could feel ethereal shadows brush by him in the form of vague grey waves.


    A more pressing matter was that Apollo couldn''t breathe. Whatever this ce was, it was not created for someone to live in.


    Though Apollo couldn''t see anyone, he felt someone dragging him along. After passing by some grey shadows, Apollo was able to make out a glowing eye symbol.


    The eye wasposed of white glowing mist. The eye itself opened by just a sliver. A deep red glow emitted from that gap.


    Apollo was dragged into the eye, and with a sh, found himself back in the real world.


    He took in a few breaths to stabilize himself then examined the room he was in.


    It was a ck room without any doors or windows. On the ceiling was a mass of white mist slowly circting the room. The mist emitted a pale white light, just barely bright enough to light up the room.


    The woman that brought him here was currently grabbing onto Apollo''s wrist. She let go of Apollo and smiled.


    "Do you know where you are?"


    Apollo looked forward. There was a mass of grey mist that formed the shape of a desk.


    He slowly shook his head.


    "I do not know."


    The womanughed.


    "So how were you able to describe the appearance of our assassin?"


    Apollo remained silent.


    The woman shrugged her shoulders.


    "Ah, whatever. Anybody that knows of our association is allowed to make deals with them. Even if they are people that survived an assassination attempt."


    A small smile appeared on the woman''s face as she said thatst part.


    The woman cleared her throat.


    "In any case, let me exin the basics to you."


    The woman waved her hand. A familiar symbol appeared.


    The slightly parted eye.


    "We are called ''The Shadows''. We are a group of assassins that take requests."


    The woman flicked her wrist. A small white coin appeared between her fingers.


    On one side of the coin was the slightly parted eye, the association''s symbol. On the other side was a minimalistic picture of a ck Jaguar.


    The woman chuckled.


    "You can call me Jaguar."


    Apollo gave a nod.


    "Hello, Jaguar."


    Jaguar walked towards the ethereal grey desk in the room.


    "When we receive requests, we determine if the reward is worthy. If it is deemed so, we distribute it to our members."


    Pieces of parchment appeared on the table. They contained faces, detailed descriptions, and a reward for killing the specified person.


    Some of the rewards appeared as money, such as ten gold coins. However, Apollo was drawn to something else.


    ''Reward: Basic Shadow Step Technique''


    Apollo looked up to Jaguar.


    "Are you saying I can take on requests or give them?"


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "Both. However, certain requests are only given to those of sufficient rank."


    Apollo slowly nodded.


    "...Is there a way for me to contact other members of this group?"


    Jaguar smiled.


    "You want revenge?"


    Apollo fell silent.


    Jaguar''s smile deepened.


    Then, she chuckled.


    "You may have a chance to get your revenge if you raise your rank."


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.


    "How do I do that?"


    Jaguar smirked.


    "Complete requests."


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    "How do I get started?"


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "Well, let us register you first."


    The room around them began to dissipate. The walls retreated while the floor lowered.


    After a few moments, the floor parted ways, revealing a grey tform.


    Jaguar pulled out two knives from seemingly nowhere.


    "For starters, let''s see how long you canst against me."


    Apollo nodded. His grip around his bokken tightened and his eyes widened.


    Jaguar''s figure twitched.


    Then disappeared.


    Instinctively, Apollo''s bokken twisted to block his back.


    A thud rang out.


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "Not bad."


    Augh uncontrobly bubbled up Apollo''s throat.


    He was brought back to the time he was fighting Willow.


    Jaguar was like a ghost. Apollo couldn''t even catch a glimpse of her figure, but still blocked her strikes.


    His body was much stronger than before. Yet, he was having a much more difficult time now.


    If Willow''s strikes were like an onught of a prancing deer, Jaguar''s strikes would be the lunge of a poisonous viper.


    Cunning and nimble.


    On top of that, every swing had the clear intention to kill behind it.


    Apollo was forced to his limits within just a few seconds.


    He beganughing like he was raving.


    His bokken danced wildly in the chaos while the red tassel was flung from side to side.

 Chapter 38 - Devil

    A knife appeared in front of his eye. His bokken shed.


    The tip of his bokken hit the tip of the knife, stopping it a centimeter away from his eye.


    At the same time, he could sense that another knife was about to pierce the back of his chest. Apollo leaped up into the air, raising his feet up to the sky.


    His bokken worked overtime while hisughs echoed across the room.


    The moment his feet touched the ground, his bokken shed, stopping a knife right in front of his chest.


    Then, a voice rang out.


    "Fifteen minutes. Yousted much longer than I expected."


    The tip of a knife lightly pressed onto the back of Apollo''s chest.


    Theughter died off.


    Apollo was in shock. He felt like he was just about to get started.


    Then, it ended.


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "Your power level is not bad, but your stealth seems inadequate. Laughing while fighting simply gives away your position."


    Apollo''s smile disappeared, but his eyes remained widened.


    "Haha, it''s something I can''t help."


    Jaguar sighed.


    "I suppose thatugh could help you build a reputation in a different way."


    Jaguar shook her head.


    "Anyways, since you performed well enough, you can skip the lowest rank."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "The lowest rank?"


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "You need a personal coin to see what types of requests are avable to you. If you barely qualify, you get a wooden coin. You can use that coin one time."


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "So if I did any worse, I would only be able to do a single request?"


    Jaguar smiled.


    "One chance. Completing requests will also give your coin more uses. The majority of missions only give one coin use, but there are exceptions."


    Apollo sighed.


    "So I got a better coin?"


    Jaguar nodded.


    "I will give you a copper coin. It has five uses, so use it wisely. All you do is flip it above the desk of grey mist. But before that, you need an alias."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Why do I need an alias?"


    Jaguar rolled her eyes.


    "If you at least somewhat care about your life, you need an alias. Do not underestimate the importance of secrecy."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Alright."


    Jaguar hummed.


    "Since it will be what we use to define people, we can''t have repeat names. I will tell you right now that almost all the animal names are taken. Even ''Animal'' itself has been taken as a name."


    Apollo rubbed his chin.


    "I see. How about ''Sword''?"


    Jaguar shook her head.


    "Taken."


    Apollo sighed.


    "...Avenger?"


    "Taken."


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    "...Rice?"


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "You should probably think of a better name. At the early ranks, you have no authority to change it. Even when you do get higher, changing your alias will cause a huge dip in reputation."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "...This is soplicated."


    Jaguar chuckled.


    "Take your time."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok."


    Jaguar smirked.


    "Just keep in mind after five minutes I will choose for you. Some of the names I gave include baby and diaper."


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    Was this her way of letting people take their time?


    Apollo''s eyes closed.


    He could hear the voice of Maya''s father.


    "You... Devil."


    A smirk emerged on Apollo''s face.


    "Is ''Devil'' avable?"


    Jaguar''s expression became solemn.


    "...Are you sure you want to take that name?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah."


    Jaguar shook her head.


    "...As you wish."


    Jaguar''s hand flicked. A copper coin appeared between her fingers.


    She tossed it to Apollo.


    "Don''t lose it."


    Apollo nodded. He examined the coin in his hand by turning it over a few times. On one side was the symbol of the association. On the other side was a face. It was a simple rendition of a smiling demon with two horns.


    Apollo looked up to Jaguar.


    "So, how do Ie here in the future?"


    Jaguar smirked.


    "Well... first you have to learn how to traverse the shadows."


    Her hand reached out and pushed Apollo.


    With a sh, he was back in the strange ck world. He looked around at the ethereal grey mist around him.


    He had to traverse this ce?


    Apollo tried to take a step forward but felt the energy out of him with that step. His lungs desperately wanted air, but there was none for him in this ce.


    ...How was he supposed to leave this ce?


    Jaguar was nowhere to be seen. All he had to rely on was himself.


    He took another step forward and felt his body begin to crumble.


    It was painful.


    A strong sense of vertigo assaulted him. Theck of oxygen was bing harrowing.


    He could feel death looming above him.


    A vision shed into Apollo''s mind.


    He was taken back to a certain point in the time loop.


    Willow rained down her strikes without mercy. Her attacks woulde from seemingly nowhere, yet everywhere at the same time.


    Although Apollo blocked them with his bokken, he felt like he was suffocating. It was as though he was trapped in a tiny box.


    There were invisible walls around him despite the seemingly open area.


    Death was always around the corner. In fact, he died countless times from a minor mistake.


    He continuously sumbed to the guillotine that dropped on him.


    But at one point, he was able to take a step forward.


    He died a few seconds after that, but he was slowly breaking out of the box.


    He felt like he existed in everything, yet nothing at the same time.


    Apollo took a step forward in this shadowy world.


    He was walking calmly and unimpeded.


    After he traveled quite the distance, Apollo slowly raised his bokken.


    He pointed his bokken forward but did not move it.


    Suddenly, Apollo''s figure disappeared from this realm.


    The grey mist listlessly brushed by where Apollo used to be standing.


    A faint chuckle echoed from seemingly nowhere.


    Grey mist gradually converged into a dense mass. Tendrils of mist peeled off one after another, revealing Jaguar.


    There was a smile on her face.


    "...He actuallypleted it on his first try."


    After a few moments, the mist wrapped back around Jaguar.


    Before the mist covered her face, her eyes narrowed.


    "This will be interesting."

 Chapter 39 - Too Scared?

    Apollo fell to his knees, propping himself up with his bokken. He was desperately gasping for air.


    After a few seconds, he calmed down.


    Apollo shook his head.


    He was back in the alleyway. He looked up in the sky to the moon shining brightly in the night sky.


    Apollo fished out his copper coin. Strangely enough, it did not contain the symbols or picture of a demon''s face.


    It was just a normal coin.


    He put it away and took note of that fact.


    Apollo furrowed his brows. He didn''t make it back in time before curfew.


    If he encountered a guard, there would be bloodshed.


    Apollo got back on the road.


    There was not a soul around.


    Jaguar simply led Apollo down the road in a straight line, so it was easy enough for Apollo to retrace his steps.


    Perhaps he got lucky, but there were no guards on the way to Karn''s home.


    Apollo pushed open the door and walked inside. After an ufortably loud creaking sound, the door opened.


    Apollo scanned the room.


    He saw that Maya was still sleeping. Her sickness had not left. That much was evident from the sweat forming on her forehead and sickly red face.


    Karn wasn''t there.


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    Was he in one of the rooms?


    Apollo pushed open the first door, revealing a shabby kitchen. There were no appliances and the floor was covered with a thinyer of dust.


    Apollo went to the second room.


    After he pushed open the door, he found a small room with a few empty crates lying around.


    Karn wasn''t anywhere to be found.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    Did Karn leave in search of him?


    Apollo clicked his tongue and left the house.


    "How troublesome."


    The moonlight fell on Apollo''s face and lit up the dark night.


    Apollo''s steps pped against the cobblestone path. Before he got far, he heard a voice.


    "Stop right there!"


    A guard had been leaning on the back of a house. He was half asleep but fully woke up once he heard Apollo''s footsteps.


    Apollo was not going to slow down now.


    The guard continued chasing after Apollo.


    "Hey! Get back here!"


    The guard''s shouts attracted another guard who joined in on the chase.


    "These worthlessmoners only know how to make trouble!"


    An annoyed smile appeared on Apollo''s face. At this rate, things might escte a little too fast.


    Apollo''s eyes widened and his bokken shed.


    Gales of wind were stirred up and a guard was split in two. Not only was he over five meters away, the strike directly pierced through his armor.


    The other guard that was chasing tripped and fell to the floor. The moment he could, he crawled backward.


    "M...Monster!"


    Like the other guard, he was split in two as well.


    Apollo believed that if the guard was alive, he would notify other guards ande back to bother him. As such, he did not hesitate in killing him.


    Not that he would give up the opportunity anyway.


    With a giggle, Apollo continued.


    For a few moments, Apollo wondered why he was searching for Karn. After all, Karn was the idiot that brought his fate onto himself.


    Apollo shook his head. He was this far, so he might as well continue.


    As Apollo ran down the streets, his brows began to furrow.


    There were no guards for quite some time now. Where were they?


    Apollo''s ears caught a faint sound in the distance.


    He changed directions and ran towards themotion.


    "I''m sorry! I promise I won''t do it again!"


    It was Karn.


    He was covered in bruises and kneeling on the floor. On top of that, his arms were behind his back and bound with a thick rope.


    Surrounding him was a group of guards, jeering and spitting on him.


    One of the guards had a red banner wrapped diagonally around his armor. He was the captain of this patrol team.


    The captain bashed the hilt of his sword into Karn''s stomach.


    "Sorry? Is that sorry supposed to help me when I lose my position because of you?"


    Karn coughed and hunched over.


    "I just... wanted to find someone who identally overstayed in curfew!"


    The captain pped Karn, making him copse from the strike.


    "Idiot! Is it our job or yours to take care of people who stay outside for too long?"


    Karn fell silent.


    A guard beside the captain sighed.


    "These damnmoners. We already have two strikes because of these morons. If we get another one..."


    The captain scoffed.


    "That''s why we have to show these idiots the consequences of disobeying curfew."


    The captain lifted his sword to bash Karn with the hilt once again. Suddenly, he froze.


    There was an eerieughing from behind him.


    Apollo rested his bokken on his shoulder. He was leisurely walking towards the group with a wide smile on his face.


    Karn gasped.


    "What are you doing here? ...Run now!"


    Apollo giggled and tilted his head to the side.


    "What the hell are you doing here, Karn?"


    Karn blinked a few times, then smiled bitterly.


    "You were out after curfew... I thought you would need help"


    Apollo''s eyes widened dangerously.


    "Are you an idiot? You can''t even save yourself, how would you help me?"


    Karn looked to the ground.


    "Haha, you''re not wrong."


    The captain of the guards scoffed.


    "So, you guys are having a reunion? If only you didn''t have to break the rules for it."


    The captain pointed at Apollo.


    "Capture him! If he resists, just kill him!"


    One of the guardsughed.


    "It''s just a kid, what are you getting so worked up for? I can handle this by myself."


    The other guards remained seated as the guard who talked big got up. Some of the guards couldn''t even be bothered, closing their eyes.


    The captain frowned but did not say anything. Even he felt that his reaction was over the top for some random kid.


    Apollo stood still as the guard approached.


    The guard gave a derisive chuckle.


    "What? Too scared? Your face is frozen, though I don''t me you."


    A small giggle seeped out of Apollo.

 Chapter 40 - Its My Fault For Being Born

    The guard suddenly lost the sensation of his body. His vision was spinning until it reached the ground.


    For a few seconds, the guard could notprehend what was happening. But when his vision started to darken, he came to a realization.


    ''That kid... killed me?''


    The guard''s head rolled across the cobblestone path with a terrified expression carved into his face.


    The other guards were in a state of shock. As for Karn, he was rapidly blinking as though he would dispel the illusion by doing so.


    The captain frowned and narrowed his eyes.


    "Damn, surround this kid!"


    Some of the guards had been half asleep, but right now, they were wide awake. Silently, the group stood up and slowly encircled Apollo.


    Apollo let them surround him. He simply stood there next to the person he just killed with an uncanny smile.


    Once Apollo was fully encircled, the guards suddenly dashed forward. Eight swords shed towards Apollo.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched upwards. His hand traced the side of the de and his bokken snapped out.


    Four swords suddenly shifted trajectories. Like they were defending Apollo, they collided with the other four swords.


    Apollo was surrounded by des on all ends but remained unharmed. Before the guards had a chance to do anything else, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    A nging sound rang out. Eight metal des fell onto the ground. The guards stared at what remained of their swords, a hilt.


    While the guards were still in shock, Apollo swung his bokken.


    Laughter and heads filled the air. While some of the survivors got a grip on themselves, it was already toote.


    Apollo''s bokken shed and thest guard was decapitated.


    Suddenly, Apollo''s bokken snapped to his back.


    A thud rang out.


    The captain attempted to take out Apollo by surprise. This attack came at the price of everyone under him.


    Yet, it failed.


    Despair wed at the captain''s heart.


    Then, he heard an ominousugh.


    Apollo slowly turned around.


    Once the captain looked at Apollo''s smile, his entire body felt weak. He was unable to fight back.


    With a sh, another head flew in the air, left to roll on the ground.


    Karn stared at the bloody scene in shock.


    "...You killed them all."


    Apollo turned to Karn, still smiling. His neck was twitching erratically.


    "What was I supposed to do? Let them kill me?"


    Karn''s face twitched. He hurriedly shook his head.


    "No... no."


    Apollo slowly walked up to Karn.


    Apollo''s bokken raised.


    Karn flinched.


    With a sh, the ropes binding Karn split apart.


    Karn blinked a few times and remained still.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Are you just going to sit there all day?"


    Karn broke out of his stupor.


    "Ah, right."


    He stumbled up to his feet and almost fell back down in the process.


    Apollo walked back the way he came and Karn followed from behind.


    Karn was a bit frazzled at first but gradually calmed down.


    Karn did not bother questioning Apollo about his swordsmanship or cruelty. Instead, he talked to him like he was an oldpanion.


    "You know... I had a friend before."


    Apollo had calmed down. A natural frown remained on his face while his voice was listless.


    "A friend?"


    Karn let out a soft chuckle.


    "Yeah... the only friend I had in my twenty years of life."


    Karn sighed.


    "She was quite strange. For some reason, she wanted to help a person like me out."


    Apollo looked over his shoulder.


    "That is indeed strange."


    Karnughed.


    "Yeah. She was always trying to fight for what she thought was right."


    Karn smiled.


    "Without her, I wouldn''t be here today."


    Karn''s smile slowly disappeared.


    "Because she died trying to help me with my debts."


    Apollo sighed.


    "Sounds like you ruined her life."


    Karn smiled bitterly.


    "Yeah..."


    Karn took a deep breath.


    "She used her own money to pay back my debtors. But the magnitude of my debt was not something she could handle."


    Karn shook his head.


    "Ever since she gave them money, the debtors got more aggressive. They kept asking for more money from her each day."


    Karn''s eyes narrowed.


    "But she didn''t have that kind of money. Eventually, it led to a fight where she was killed in the process."


    Apollo''s expression did not change.


    "She sounds like a fool."


    Karn sighed.


    "A fool, but a kind one. I tend to wonder how a person like her would have lived her life if I didn''t exist."


    Karn clenched his fist.


    "If she didn''t have to deal with my debts, she would be living a carefree life. But because I had to exist, she couldn''t."


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    "What are you trying to say?"


    Karnughed bitterly.


    "I suppose... I am trying to apologize to her."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "For what? It''s not like you did any of those things."


    A tear fell down Karn''s cheek.


    "For being born."


    Apollo fell silent. After a few moments, he shook his head.


    "It''s not like that was your decision."


    Karn closed his eyes.


    "Maybe... but it still feels like my fault. Sure, I''ve lived, but what for?"


    Karn''s eyes parted as he looked longingly to the moon.


    "I''ve wasted away my life. My pathetic existence cost the life of a person that deserved everything in the world."


    Karn''s voice became shaky.


    "If I just wasn''t born, these debts would not exist. There would have never been any problem in the first ce."


    Tears uncontrobly poured down Karn''s face.


    "Nobody would have to care for me."


    Karn''s footsteps gradually came to a halt. Apollo stopped walking as well and turned to look at the moon with Karn.


    They basked in the faint moonlight.


    Tears kept falling from Karn''s face.


    "You know... I''m a sinner. Because I wanted to live, I stole the life from others."


    Karn sniffled and spread out his arms.


    "Because filth like me just had to exist, the beautiful things in this world were tainted."


    He smiled bitterly through the tears.


    "So that''s why.. That''s why it''s my fault for being born."

 Chapter 41 - Execution

    Apollo and Karn walked back silently.


    Karn had calmed down by the time they reached the house.


    Once Karn pushed open the door, a shaky voice rang out.


    "Don''te any closer!"


    Maya was tightly clenching her gemstone with one hand and was pointing with the other.


    Karn put his hands up.


    "I won''t! I mean no harm!"


    Apollo softly chuckled.


    "He''s letting us stay at his house."


    Maya''s breathing was unsteady.


    "What? Where are we right now?"


    Karn raised an eyebrow.


    "The city, where else?"


    Maya narrowed her eyes.


    "You are a resident of this city?"


    Karn nodded absentmindedly.


    "...Yeah?"


    Apollo waved his hand dismissively.


    "Don''t worry about him."


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    "What do you mean? ...Don''t you remember?"


    Apollo took a few moments to form his words.


    Despite how much Karnmbasted himself, he couldn''t see him as a bad guy.


    "He isn''t like the others."


    Maya''s face scrunched up. She reluctantly lowered her hand.


    "Ok..."


    Karn looked at Maya, then Apollo. He did not understand their conversation but did not care enough to find out.


    "Anyways, it''ste. We should sleep."


    Maya held her forehead and nodded. She was still sick.


    "My name is Maya. What is yours?"


    A small smile formed on Karn''s face.


    "Karn. Nice to meet you."


    Maya nodded indifferently.


    Karn rubbed the bruise on the side of his face.


    "I would continue the conversation, but I am really tired. We can talk in the morning."


    Karnid down on the edge of the tarp and began snoring a few secondster.


    Maya walked over to Apollo with a frown on her face.


    "Why are we in the city?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Why not?"


    Maya sighed.


    "These people survive off the misery of others. It deserves to be burned down."


    Apollo pondered over what Maya said.


    He had to admit, part of him disdained Karn. As Maya said, he lived off the misery of others.


    Yet, it''s not like he was the one who chose that life.


    Apollo sighed.


    "Perhaps they never had a choice."


    Maya raised an eyebrow.


    "Who cares if they had a choice? It is a fact!"


    Apollo looked to the floor.


    At that moment, the door was bashed on.


    "Karn! Get out here! You are paying back your debt one way or another!"


    Maya turned to Apollo. She was at a loss.


    Karn had already gotten up. He used his hands to usher Maya and Apollo into another room.


    Silently, Apollo and Maya went into the room with the empty crates.


    After Karn closed the door, the voice outside yelled again.


    "If you don''t show up now, I''m breaking down the door!"


    Karn hurried over to the front and swung the door wide open.


    "Sorry, I am here. I was sleeping."


    A man with a thick beard was standing outside with two guards by his side. He was wearing a luxurious, but worn robe.


    "Hehe, sleeping? Well, you can no longer sleep in this house. Your debt has rued to more than what your house is worth. As such, we are taking it."


    Karn''s eyes widened.


    "What?..."


    The man stroked his beard.


    "Haha, no amount of begging is going to work. The house''s ownership has already been transferred."


    Karn looked to the ground.


    "I see..."


    Karn clenched his fist. Apollo and Maya were still inside.


    Would they get in any trouble for being in the house?


    "Can I just stay here for a little longer? Just the night."


    The man scoffed.


    "As if! Guards, seize him!"


    The two guards immediately took action, each one grabbing onto Karn''s arms.


    Karn did not resist. The most he did was smile bitterly.


    Karn was dragged away, leaving Apollo and Maya in the house. They overheard what happened from the room they were in.


    Maya frowned.


    "What is happening?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "When Karn''s parents died he inherited his debt. They seem to be taking him and his house because of it."


    Maya blinked a few times. She was unsettled by how calm Apollo sounded.


    "...What?"


    Apollo looked at the floor.


    "I don''t know."


    Maya rubbed her forehead.


    "...So even people in the city have it hard."


    Maya frowned.


    "It''s the people in charge of the city. They are the ones that caused all of this to happen."


    Apollo''s eyes zed over.


    "I guess..."


    Apolloid down on the floor and began sleeping.


    Maya was a little perturbed.


    "Apollo?"


    Apollo did not respond, already in thend of dreams.


    Maya did not want to sleep. However, her body was simply too tired from the sickness. Thus, she ended up joining Apollo in his rest.


    ...


    Apollo and Maya both woke up fairly early in the morning.


    Maya sighed.


    "We should probably leave now. It would be bad news if the new owner showed up."


    Apollo nodded.


    The two of them slipped out of the house, unsure of where to go.


    Maya noticed that people seemed to be gathering for something.


    "Hey Apollo, let''s go that way."


    Apollo nodded listlessly.


    As the two followed where the crowd was gathering, Maya whispered to Apollo.


    "What is going to happen to Karn?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...I don''t know."


    A booming voice echoed in the distance.


    "Come one,e all! There is a brand new executioning your way!"


    There was a small wooden tform up ahead with a guillotine on it.


    There was a man in a formal robe standing proudly on the tform. There was some mana gathering near his mouth, amplifying the sound of his voice.


    Under the guillotine was Karn. His face was listless, as though he had already died.


    Arge crowd had formed around the tform and the people were getting rowdy.


    When Apollo saw it was Karn on the tform, his eyes widened.


    He pushed his way through the crowd, paying no heed to theints and curses he caused.


    Apollo reached the edge of the wooden tform.


    Karn noticed him. He looked up and shed a bitter smile.


    "Hey, Apollo."

 Chapter 42 - I Wont Feel Bad For You

    Apollo looked into Karn''s eyes but did not say anything.


    Karn sighed.


    "This is... an awkward situation to meet in, huh?"


    The announcer on the wooden tform heard what Karn said, but didn''t care.


    "This here is a wicked viger. He was supposed to pay his debts, but never did!"


    The crowd got rowdy.


    "What? I have to work so hard yet this bastard does nothing?"


    "When I got into debt, I worked my ass off! Kill thiszy bum!"


    "To think that some people can''t even do what they are obligated to!"


    Amidst all the noise, Karn continued talking to Apollo.


    "What''s with that look on your face? This was destined to happen anyway."


    Apollo gritted his teeth.


    "Why does this have to be destined?"


    Karn smiled bitterly.


    "There is no reason. It just is."


    Apollo looked down.


    "That''s stupid."


    Karn shook his head. Well, as much as he could with his head locked in ce.


    "Countless things are stupid, but they still exist."


    Apollo fell silent.


    Karnughed.


    "You know, we hardly even spent a day together. Despite that, I still look over that short time fondly."


    A bitter smile formed on Karn''s face.


    "Even if you still consider me a stranger, I feel like you are my friend."


    Karn closed his eyes.


    "I''ve been alone for almost my whole life, so that is a pretty big deal to me."


    Karnughed softly.


    "So... thanks for letting me talk to you."


    Apollo frowned but did not respond.


    The announcer on the tform had a big smile on his face.


    "So today, we are getting rid of this nuisance! We can''t let these scoundrels taint our city, now can we?"


    The crowd was riled up.


    "Never!"


    "There is no reason to keep these wastes in the city! Kill him!"


    "How dare he make life harder for us!"


    Karn took a deep breath, ignoring the jeers.


    "I''ve told you a lot of sob stories, so you might feel bad for me, huh?"


    Karn took a second to find the words.


    "If you are, try not to."


    Karn''s voice became solemn.


    "I do not truly understand what suffering you experienced in your life and you don''t truly understand mine."


    He smirked.


    "As for who deserves more pity, we''ll never know. Nor does it matter."


    The announcer was smiling widely, still ignoring Karn.


    "Haha, d we are in agreement! We must purge the ungrateful from our city. Now get ready, the execution will happen in just three seconds!"


    The crowd roared.


    "...Three!"


    It was as though Karn could not hear what the people were saying. He looked at Apollo, who was still silent. Then, he sighed.


    "Not to mention, I knew this was going to happen from the beginning. I told you before, no?"


    "...Two!"


    Karn smiled bitterly.


    "It is my fault for being born."


    "...One!"


    The guillotine was released.


    As it fell, Apollo reached his hand out.


    "Stop it!"


    The guillotine cut through Karn''s neck.


    Apollo''s eyes were bloodshot.


    "STOP IT!"


    He climbed on the tform, causing the announcer to frown.


    "Get off! You are not allowed on the execution grounds!"


    Apollo did not listen to him.


    Karn''s decapitated head slowly rolled towards Apollo.


    Apollo crouched down and picked it up.


    He stared into Karn''s lifeless eyes.


    The crowd was getting angry.


    "Hey, you''re blocking the view!"


    "Who is this kid''s parent?"


    "Ignorant brat!"


    When Maya saw Apollo on the stage, she began sweating.


    What was he doing?


    Apollo couldn''t hear theirints. He was lost in his thoughts.


    Was it Karn''s fault for being born?


    How could his life be so cruel?


    A smile was slowly being etched onto Apollo''s face.


    How could things be destined to be this way?


    Why were people given these twisted fates?


    Apollo started giggling.


    The announcer furrowed his brows.


    "Did you hear me? Get off the stage or I will be forced to be violent!"


    Karn''s blood was dripping down Apollo''s arm.


    Apollo did not seem to notice this, softly mumbling to the head.


    "I won''t feel bad for you. That much I can promise you. But..."


    The announcer walked up to him.


    "You''ve given me no choice!"


    If this was a world where one was at fault for being born...


    He did not want this world to exist.


    Apollo set down Karn''s head.


    "I want you to know, I will kill everyst person in this city."


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The announcer''s head fell onto the tform with a smack. As for his body, it tilted to the side, before mming onto the tform.


    Screams rang out.


    "Guards! Guards! Stop him!"


    Maya was frozen from shock.


    It was at this moment she realized how dangerous her fantasies were.


    Her fantasy of massacring the city.


    They were essentially going to war on the whole city, with hardly any power to back it.


    She thought there wouldn''t be guards, that everyone would be a helplessmb. That was how it was for her small vige.


    But this wasn''t her vige.


    Seeing Apollo strike, a sense of dread filled her heart.


    How would they deal with the consequences of this decision?


    Apollo dashed into the crowd, madly swinging his sword. Every swing would cause blood to spray in the air, harvesting lives like grains of wheat.


    Hisughs loomed above the crowd ominously.


    The crowd tried to run from Apollo, but they did so chaotically. All the pushing and shoving not only made their escape slow but caused some to fall over.


    This let Apollo ughter with ease.


    He hadpletely lost himself in the bloodshed.


    His eyes were widened and bloodshot.


    There were a decent amount of guards nearby. They were stationed at the perimeter of the crowd.


    The guards were on their way to Apollo the moment they saw him get on the tform. However, the crowd was simply too disorganized.


    Despite their best attempts, they were pushed back more than they traveled forward. Within the chaos, some people ended up running into the guard''s sword, impaling themselves and dying.


    Those deaths did not cause people to settle down and take the situation on calmly. Instead, they panicked more, adding to the chaos.


    As for Apollo, he no longer cared about the consequences.


    He would kill anybody that dared to stand.

 Chapter 43 - Disappear

    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    Three people suddenly lost their legs. They fell to the floor and before they could beg, their heads flew off.


    "No... no."


    A woman had tripped and fallen onto the ground. Apollo giggled as she tried to crawl away.


    The woman''s head flew off.


    Apollo''s breathing became unsteady and his vision was blurry. He killed wantonly.


    So long as they moved, they had to die.


    Eventually, the guards were able to surround Apollo. The vigers were no longer in their way.


    Because most of them died.


    Apollo continued running despite the guards closing in.


    The guard in front of Apollo began sweating. He was half in shock that some kid with a wooden sword was ughtering the townsfolk, but forced himself to ept it as reality.


    The guard took a deep breath.


    He just had to block with his metal sword against a wooden sword.


    How hard could that be?


    While the guard was still lost in his thoughts, Apollo was right next to him.


    Apollo''s face was right next to the guard. His bloody figure and deranged smile made the guard freeze in shock.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The guard was violently split in half, right through his armor. Blood and metal fragments sprayed out.


    The surrounding guards were terrified.


    Apollo was a monster.


    The guards directly gave up on fighting, they ran away like the townsfolk. After all, who would want to fight someone who could split you in two that easily?


    Apollo giggled.


    He stopped running.


    But he wasn''t letting them escape.


    Apollo took in a deep breath and let out a flurry of strikes with his bokken.


    The snow falling from the sky suddenly parted erratically. The guards were split in half one after another.


    Despair snaked its way further into the surviving guards'' minds.


    The screams of their dyingrades kept ringing out. Despite the fact the guards had gotten so far from Apollo, they were not reassured.


    They could still hear Apollo''s faintughter in the distance. It was as though Apollo was right behind them, standing over them. The pressure was overbearing.


    The only thing left was to pray that they were not the next target.


    Yet, the guards continued dying until thest one split in two.


    Everybody near Apollo was now gone.


    They either ran away or had fallen by his sword.


    Apollo''s breathing was ragged. His free hand was clutching his skull as faintughter emanated from him.


    He was unstable.


    Maya had run behind a house. Noticing that things had died down, she peeked out from behind a wall.


    "Apollo?"


    Apollo snapped to the voice and swung his bokken. He let out a jarringugh.


    Maya immediately ducked behind the wall.


    The house behind her had its wall cave in. Wooden splinters shot out from the impact.


    Maya''s heart leaped. Apollo was not holding back for anything.


    Apollo chased after Maya but suddenly stopped.


    A gust of wind snapped onto the cobblestone in front of Apollo.


    Shards of stone scattered in the air and the snow was blown away.


    "Stop there, fiend!"


    A young woman was flying high in the air, ring at Apollo.


    She was wearing a tight white robe that draped down far past her feet. It almost made her look like a ghost.


    Her long ck hair was pping in the wind and her hazelnut eyes were trying to pierce Apollo.


    The young woman observed the scene of carnage around her. Bodies littered the ground and rivers of blood were flowing down the streets.


    Apollo was the clear culprit, drenched in blood. Not to mention his fanatical smile.


    She was mad.


    "How dare you? Do you know what this ce is? It''s the city of Evermore!"


    The falling snow surrounding the woman began to circle around her.


    With gritted teeth, she let out invisible des of wind.


    Apollo instinctively felt something was wrong and sidestepped. The cobblestone under him cracked, sending pebbles to hit his face.


    He continued dashing at random angles. Each time, the spot he was just at received a strong impact, shattering the cobblestone.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side and giggled.


    The snow that was falling from the sky kept erratically shifting. It was caused by the des of wind.


    With that, Apollo was able to determine where these invisible des of wind wereing from.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, returning the favor.


    The woman flew to the side, dodging them. It seemed she could sense Apollo''s strikes easily.


    des of wind traveled back and forth, tearing through the air violently.


    They appeared to be in a stalemate. Neither side was able to hit the other.


    The woman frowned.


    "Vermin!"


    She no longer conjured des of wind but held out both her hands. Strong gales of wind pushed down on Apollo,pressing his body.


    Apollo gritted his teeth.


    It wouldn''t be so bad if he was uninjured, but his ribcage was still caved in from the fight against the three-horned demon. When the wind pressed down on that part, strong signals of pain were sent into Apollo''s mind.


    The woman narrowed her eyes and smirked. She noticed this injury that Apollo had and fully capitalized on it.


    The wind converged and pressed down hard on Apollo''s ribcage.


    Apollo tried to cut down the woman, but she dodged every attack effortlessly.


    Apollo''s pupils shook. His broken rib cage was slowly bending at a dangerous angle. Soon, it would snap off altogether.


    Apollo felt helpless.


    He hadn''t felt like this in so long.


    No matter what he did, the only thing he could do was slowly wait for death.


    Apollo was angry. Not with the woman, but himself.


    ...How could he be so powerless?


    The womanughed.


    "What are you going to do now? Do you regret your actions now? You should''ve never messed with the city of Evermore."


    Apollo''s eyes widened and stared at the woman dead in her eyes.


    He became cold like ice and his presence became overbearing.


    "I wille back for you.''


    The woman frowned. She flinched when she saw the sudden shift in Apollo.


    But then, her jaw dropped.


    Apollo disappeared.

 Chapter 44 - Stronger

    Once Apollo disappeared, a massive fireball shot out from an alleyway.


    The woman flying in the air was still distracted, which made her reaction a second slower.


    One second toote.


    The fireball sted into the woman, directly charring half of her body and setting it ame.


    The woman cried in agony and fell from the sky.


    She hit the ground hard, cracking the cobblestone path. Her body rolled back and forth in an attempt to put out the fire but to no avail.


    Her screams resounded throughout the area as she slowly burned to death.


    From the alleyway, Maya took a step forward.


    She was covered in blood. Parts of her skin had directly burst open, bleeding profusely.


    Maya uncontrobly coughed out blood.


    "...Apollo?"


    Her body was trembling. If someone poked her, she would fall like a leaf.


    Nheless, her priority wasn''t to recover but search for Apollo. She looked left and right, but couldn''t find him.


    "...Apollo, you didn''t die, right?"


    As worry clenched her heart, she fainted.


    ...


    When Apollo disappeared, he stepped into his shadow. That brought him into the shadowy worldposed of mist.


    Apollo felt a strange tug. It was as though something was trying to lead him somewhere.


    He did not resist this tug, traveling in the direction it brought him.


    After passing by some grey waves, he found what was pulling him. It was the association''s symbol, the slightly parted eye.


    He reached out to touch the eye.


    With a sh, he was in the enclosed ck room.


    He lightly tapped his ribcage.


    It was painful.


    Apollo giggled to himself.


    "Too weak... too weak."


    Apollo''s neck twisted.


    "I need to be stronger."


    Apollo recalled the requests and their rewards.


    He looked at the grey desk next to him. His hand fished out his copper coin which brightly disyed the association''s symbol on one side and the demon face on the other.


    Apollo flicked his thumb, flipping the coin up into the air.


    Before itnded, it suddenly disappeared. Behind the white desk, four white mist lines appeared.


    It was the remaining amount of times he could view requests.


    On the desk, three pieces of parchment appeared.


    Apollo ignored everything except for the reward section.


    ''Reward: Basic Shadow Step Technique''


    ''Reward: Ten Gold Coins''


    ''Reward: One Gold Coin''


    His eyes were attracted to the technique. He believed that it could increase his strength. To him, money was worthless.


    If it couldn''t directly give him power, it was useless.


    Apollo looked at the rest of the request.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin


    Target: Otis Everfield


    Description: Resides in the Enberoes Kingdom. Noble. Estimated to be an intermediate mage. Old man, roughly fifty-six. Long grey hair. Large beard.


    Requirements: Assassinate target.''


    Below the page was an ink picture of Otis Everfield. He looked like an average old man without anything special going for him.


    Apollo picked up the parchment.


    Once he did so, the other papers disappeared. The coin tumbled onto the desk. As Apollo retrieved the coin, the parchment wriggled out of his hand.


    It hovered at the top of the room.


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "I... epted the quest?"


    He rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his chin. Nothing appeared to be happening.


    After shrugging his shoulders, Apollo fell backward, going back to the shadow world.


    The world was noticeably different. Among the grey waves were red ones. They were all going in a certain direction as though they were pointing the way.


    Apollo felt a tug from these red waves and did not resist it.


    At some point, while the red waves continued onward, a ck wall appeared.


    Apollo tried to move past it but was unsessful in doing so. His body was cramping up from theck of oxygen. Apollo shook his head.


    His bokken raised and with a sh, he was back in the real world.


    He was at the perimeter of the city, next to the walls.


    Apollo saw the city entrance not too far from him, so he walked towards it.


    Though he used to be covered in blood, entering the shadow world got rid of it all. It made Apollo look rtively in and unassuming.


    Once he reached the entrance, he heard a squeaky voicee out from behind the wall.


    "Oh hey, you''re back. How did escorting the noble go?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Who are you?"


    The voice chuckled.


    "Oh, I''m the gatekeeper that lives in the walls. I just use magic to sound cooler to outsiders."


    Apollo nodded in realization.


    The voice cleared its throat.


    "So, what happened after you escorted her?"


    Apollo frowned.


    He was reminded of Maya.


    ...The only thing she would do is get in the way.


    "She decided to remain in the city. I am leaving."


    The voice gasped.


    "Ah, I see. Let me raise the gates for you."


    The iron bars rose from the ground and Apollo walked past.


    When Apollo left the voice let out a sigh.


    A short old man was sitting in a small room within the city walls. He was smiling bitterly.


    "Haha, kids. I was like him once. Hoping for love with royalty. Haa... the riches it would''ve brought. If only noble life wasn''t soplicated. You have my prayers kid, don''t feel too bad about being rejected."


    ...


    Apollo traversed the snowy forest fearlessly.


    He soon found himself hungry. As such, the moment he encountered a massive wolf, he split it in two.


    As the blood sshed on his face, he pulled out chunks of the wolf and ate them.


    It was a familiar, yet painful experience. His body burned from the blood traveling down his throat while his teeth were forced to tear into the tough meat.


    Apollo ignored the pain.


    He considered it the price to live.


    It did not take Apollo long to have his fill of the wolf. His hand wiped off the blood around his mouth.


    Apollo raised his foot but suddenly froze.


    "What is a kid like you doing all alone here in the forest?"


    A young man wearing rags walked into vision from behind a tree.

 Chapter 45 - Mark

    The young man had long yellow hair that reached his waist. A smile was carved onto his face like he was a statue.


    The clothes he wore had many holes and stains in them. Considering how cold it was, any normal person would''ve frozen to death wearing those.


    However, the man looked like he was just taking a stroll in his backyard.


    Apollo raised his bokken as a smile gradually formed on his face.


    The man chuckled.


    "Don''t be so aggressive now. We can have a simple chat, no?"


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    He dashed forward and swung a flurry of strikes at the man.


    On the other hand, the man leisurely walked backward. Yet, Apollo''s strikes could never hit him.


    At most, Apollo''s bokken would brush by the man.


    Apollo startedughing.


    "Stop running!"


    His bokken shed and arge wave of snow flew up.


    The man raised an eyebrow when he saw a de of wind traveling towards him. He did not even attempt to dodge. When the de of wind got close, it disappeared altogether.


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    The red scars on Apollo''s arm expanded. His body emitted heat like a furnace and the smile on his face widened.


    Apollo relentlessly swung his bokken. Unfortunately, the man still dodged every strike with ease.


    In fact, he was getting bored.


    One of Apollo''s strikes missed. With an explosive bang, his bokken hit the tree. The top half of the tree snapped off and was sent flying into another tree.


    The man was not even slightly concerned about Apollo''s disy of power. Instead, he sighed.


    Apollo''s bokken shot towards the man''s chest.


    Before it reached, the man''s body shed with a bright white light.


    Apollo froze.


    The man appeared at his side, holding to his wrist tightly.


    Apollo was holding his bokken with that hand. Despite the clear gap in power, Apollo continued struggling, trying to pull himself out of the man''s grip.


    However, the man''s hand did not budge.


    It was as though he was holding onto a helpless child.


    The man sighed.


    "Kids like you need to be careful of who you provoke."


    The man''s smile widened.


    "After all, there are some monsters hiding in in sight."


    Apollo sobered up. There was no way he could beat this person.


    ...At least, not now.


    "What do you want?"


    The man chuckled.


    "Just curious what you are doing in this dangerous forest. My name is Mark, what is yours?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Apollo and what I''m doing is none of your business."


    Mark smirked.


    "A wonderful name. However, the terrors of this forest aren''t as wonderful."


    Apollo red at Mark.


    "What is so terrifying to you?"


    Mark let out a muffledugh from his closed lips.


    "It appears you do not know."


    Apollo smiled dangerously.


    "Know what?"


    Mark smirked.


    "Sit down. Let me tell you a story."


    Mark let go of Apollo and sat down next to a tree. He brushed aside the snow next to him and gestured for Apollo to sit.


    Apollo considered trying to attack. However, if Mark was going to treat him like this, he could no longer work up the will to fight.


    Apollo sat down next to Mark and sighed.


    "So what is this story?"


    Mark looked up at the sky.


    "Three hundred years ago, a hero was summoned from another world. At the time, humans and demons were in a fervent war."


    Mark reached out his hand, letting a snowke fall on it.


    "The hero was able to create whatever she wanted out of thin air. Using that power, she got past countless demons, all the way to the Demon King."


    Mark chuckled.


    "And when the hero was face to face with the Demon King, she gave a gift. It is said only a few people know of what it was, but it made the Demon King step down."


    Mark sighed.


    "From then on, the Demon King kept the demons in check. The world was at peace."


    Mark was silent for a moment.


    "But... the Demon King was killed just recently."


    Mark turned to Apollo.


    "With that, winter came early and the demons gathered to go to war once more."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "So there are just some weak demons around?"


    Markughed.


    "For now, yes. Demons with one horn are hard to miss. Two horns are a little rare, but you can find them if you search. As for three horns, encountering them means you got lucky... Or unlucky, depending on how you look at it."


    Mark sucked in a deep breath.


    "But the real terrorse from those with four horns. Not to mention those with more than four."


    Mark raised a finger.


    "They have yet toe to the forests. However, with each day, the number of demonsing increases. Soon, those with four horns wille."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    He recalled his fight with the three-horned demon. Even now, he was unsure if he could reliably kill it.


    Yet, there were stronger ones?


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    "So that means if I want to survive, I need to step it up?"


    Markughed.


    "Haha, or you could avoid the forest."


    Apollo smirked.


    "What good would that do for me?"


    Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "I imagine it''s much safer inside a city or vige."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Oh really? How would that make me any safer?"


    Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "Your fellow humans should protect you, no?"


    Apollo clutched the side of his face with his hand. Muffledughs escaped him.


    "I''d rather trust the devil to protect me before them."


    Mark shook his head.


    "Haha, I suppose that is true. But you should know, people like you are the quickest to die."


    The inner corner of Apollo''s eyebrows tried to dig into his eyes.


    "I''d rather die than leave my life in someone else''s hands."


    The corner of Mark''s lips turned up.


    "Well said."


    Apollo stood up.


    "I guess there''s no time to waste."


    He began walking across the snow and through the trees.


    Mark called out after him.


    "Let me give you a little piece of advice.. You should be afraid of those with crowns, but far above them are the uncrowned."

 Chapter 46 - Willows Path

    Apollo braved the snowy forest. With the guidance of the red waves in the shadow world, he made his way to the target.


    At the same time, Willow was practicing her swordy.


    ...


    Willow grunted.


    With a sh, a giant boulder cracked in two. She was holding onto a jet-ck sword.


    After wiping the sweat off her head, she looked around.


    She was in a in filled with rocks. Eyes would peer at her from cracks between stones and far off in the horizon were towering walls.


    She was banished for failing her request.


    Within ''The Shadow'' were leagues. These were sub-groups of the association that are only avable to certain ranks.


    Willow was in the ''White Viper'' league. The basic rank one needed to join this league was quite high. But harder than joining, was rising in this league.


    Especially for those that failed their request.


    To stay within a league, one must conform to a certain weapon type and fighting style. This gave the league its reputation.


    Reputation was important because people can directly request for a certain league toplete their mission. This came at an extra cost, of course.


    The punishment for failing a mission in the ''White Viper'' league was being tossed into the field of snakes.


    If one wanted to atone, they would stay here for one month. Assuming they were still alive, they could keep their position within the league.


    Three snakes shot out to Willow''s back.


    With a sh, all three of their heads came off.


    Willow was hesitating.


    In all honesty, she wasn''t sure if she wanted to stay among the ''White Viper'' league.


    By being part of the league, she was able to learn many useful techniques. Her position also gave her a certain amount of rare resources.


    Even just losing her luxurious housing would hurt her heart.


    However, she wanted to take the path of swords. Part of it was because she missed Apollo, but it was also because she had talent in that area.


    The only reason Willow gave it up was to join the league in the first ce.


    After watching Apollo swing his sword, she had countless insights that she was itching to try out.


    Willow tested these insights while she was banished. After all, the snakes weren''t any threat to her.


    Every sh and slice made her more reluctant to return to the league.


    Eventually, she gave up on returning altogether.


    She turned around and walked away from the league''s headquarters.


    The surrounding snakes immediately got aggressive. They shot out in swarms, threatening to bury Willow with their volume alone.


    Her jet ck sword traced a strange arc. A ripple traveled across the snakes.


    Starting from Willow''s left, the snakes burst like balloons. It was as though she was using a paintbrush to create a stroke on the canvas.


    The snakes were not discouraged and continued to swarm Willow. However, they could only be the ink for Willow''s bloody painting.


    Willow carved a path out of the field of snakes.


    A beautiful path of bloody flowers.


    Larger snakes made their presence known. They were roughly five meters long and were just as aggressive as the rest.


    Willow twirled her sword around her.


    The snakes split into ribbons the moment they got close to Willow.


    It was as though she was in the middle of a celebration. Streamers were dancing in the air while red confetti fell from the sky.


    Snakes that boasted a length of fifteen meters came to join in on the fun. The rocks underneath them would crack from their weight.


    When these snakes lunged, a deep boom resounded in the air.


    Willow stabbed her sword into the ground. A shockwave rippled from her, directly turning the snakes around her into a bloody mist.


    The mist blotted out the sun, but she continued walking


    She walked out from the mist toe face to face with a massive snake. It was fifty meters long.


    Just the breathing of the snake was deep and booming.


    The snake did not immediately charge at Willow, opting to observe her first.


    As for Willow, she simply continued walking forward as though the massive snake was not in front of her.


    She was fearless. Each step forward exuded a calmness and confidence that could not be broken.


    The snake roared with all its might, stirring up gales of wind. Rocks and boulders were forced aside, but Willow continued walking forward.


    The snake was mad.


    It raised itself up and barreled down towards Willow.


    Willow''s sword was resting at her side when it suddenly flicked up to the sky.


    A wave passed through the massive snake. The snake was split in two like it was being pulled apart.


    The wave carried through the snake''s head, all the way to the end of its tail.


    Willow continued walking between the two halves of the massive snake. It was the road she cut open for herself. And the road she walked on.


    Willow reached the edge. A wall towered above her.


    She scaled up the wall effortlessly and took onest look back in the field of snakes. Then, she dove down into the snowy forest.


    In the distance, a woman was standing on top of a stone pir within the field of snakes. There was a smile on her face as she stood among the clouds.


    It was Jaguar.


    "Haha... It''s a shame to lose her."


    Jaguar turned around.


    "Perhaps this was destined."


    And hopped off the stone pir.


    ...


    Apollo had killed any eagle or wolf he found on his journey and directly ate their remains.


    As for right now, he was currently staring at the scene in front of him.


    In the distance was a swarm of eagles threatened to blot out the sky with their sheer numbers alone. They were fighting against an army of demons.


    The eagles heavily outnumbered them.


    The eagles would swoop down and pick up a demon, separating them from the group. This allowed them to kill the one-horned and two-horned demons fairly easily.


    On the other hand, the demons had few opportunities to hit the eagles. In the end, they helplessly watched their brethren die before them.


    At this rate, it seemed like the eagles would win by andslide.


    But something changed.


    From within the demon army, countless iciclesunched out.

 Chapter 47 - True Madness

    The icicles pierced cleanly through any eagles they came across. They kepting out in a constant stream that wasn''t stopping any time soon.


    Eagles fell from the sky in swaths.


    The tide of battle was immediately turned over. Yet, the eagles were fearless, charging in despite the unfavorable conditions.


    But they were all charging to their death.


    The overbearing force was simply too much for them to handle.


    Apollo got closer. He wanted to see where the wave of icicles came from.


    As he got closer, he found the source.


    It was a four-horned demon.


    In terms of size, it was roughly the same as the two-horned demons. However, instead of being muscr, it was scrawny.


    It was holding its w up to the sky. Right above its palm was a dense ball of mana.


    Gales of wind circted the demon, converging to its palm.


    The icicles slowly formed as they traveled, only beingpleted after traveling a few meters away.


    The devastation these icicles created was clear from the eagle bodies that littered the ground. By now, only a few remained in the sky.


    Suddenly, a three-horned demon''s head snapped to look at Apollo. In the next second, it roared.


    All of the demons turned their heads to Apollo. If he was someone with stage fright, he would have fainted where he stood.


    Though while he didn''t faint, he was still in a pretty bad situation.


    The demon with four horns slowly shifted its hand towards Apollo. The barrage of icicles came for him.


    Apollo''s body began heating up. The red scars crawled further down Apollo''s skin, all the way to his hands and feet.


    Apollo let loose.


    His bokken shed, diverting the countless iciclesing his way. Apollo''s bokken flew around like it was a serpent, slithering between shes.


    Sometimes just the tip of his bokken would graze against an icicle and other times he would directly sh them in half.


    He had yet to take a hit despite the unrelenting assaulting for him.


    But...


    He was also being forced back. Forced to step back multiple times.


    Apollo was angry.


    It was happening again.


    He was too weak.


    First, he had to run when he faced the woman that used wind magic. After that, he could only il his bokken in front of Mark as though he was a child.


    Now, the only thing he could do was step back.


    Why?


    Did he have to run again?


    Apollo''s pupils shook and hisughs resounded throughout the forest.


    He was so tired of running.


    Either he would either kill every demon here or die trying.


    ...But he was still being forced back.


    It appeared that the icicles would continue rampaging at him forever. At this rate, he would die before these icicles ran out.


    Perhaps they wouldn''t even run out in the first ce.


    Apollo wildly shed his bokken to protect his meager life.


    He wished to tear down this world. To burn it to the ground.


    Yet, it was not him striking the world, but the world striking him.


    The only thing he did was defend.


    He was at the whim of destiny, doing everything he could to keep himself alive.


    Every single fight, his priority was always his own life.


    To break out of the loop, he hid himself like a turtle. The only thing he could do was block. After that, he would block some more, then block again.


    Not once could hend a single attack.


    Apolloughed louder.


    He was essentially screaming, his voice grating against his throat.


    It was then Apollo realized something.


    If he sought to protect himself before anything else, he wouldn''t be as strong as he needed to be.


    He would be left behind by those that had risen in power. Left to taste their dust.


    Growth didn''te from hiding in a shell.


    It came from pain.


    An icicle pierced through Apollo''s stomach.


    But.


    He took a step forward.


    If he wanted to bend the world to his will, he had to let himself be bent in return.


    Apollo was walking towards the four-horned demon. His skin tore open from the icicles that grazed past him, sshing his blood across the snow.


    His steps sped up until he was running at full speed towards the four-horned demon.


    Another icicle pierced his stomach. After that, an icicle pierced his leg, taking off a chunk of flesh.


    Yet, he was still going.


    Nothing could stop him from moving forward.


    While he was still in the storm of icicles, a three-horned demon stepped in. The icicles pierced through its body, causing its blood to spray everywhere.


    But it didn''t care.


    The three-horned demon swung its mace at Apollo, ready to mutte his body.


    If Apollo took a step back, he could''ve dodged.


    But he didn''t.


    His bokken flew out and bashed against the three-horned demon''s chest. Unable to handle the stress, its chest caved in.


    However, the mace was still flying towards Apollo.


    His chest bore the brunt of the impact and his ribcage shattered.


    Apollo felt fragments of his bones piercing into his flesh. There was no longer anything protecting any of his vital organs.


    Yet, despite everything, he hadn''t taken a step backward.


    His body was damaged beyond repair. The fact he was even alive was astonishing.


    When he breathed in, he could feel his lungs being cut up by his shattered rib cage.


    And somehow, like a miracle, Apollo took a step forward.


    Hisughter became intermittent as he would cough out blood every few seconds.


    Soon, the icicles couldn''t even form before they reached Apollo.


    He was face-to-face with the four-horned demon.


    The ravings of insanity filled his eyes.


    Some would consider Apollo a madman long before this. But he wouldn''t fit the real definition of that word.


    True madness was when one cared less about one''s life than their enemies themselves.


    Treating their lives as nothing more than a joke.


    Yet, only those that are truly mad will be able to defy thews of the world.


    And fight back.

 Chapter 48 - Evolution

    Before Apollo could do anything, the four-horned demon dashed forward.


    One of its hands pierced through Apollo''s chest, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.


    The demon''s emaciated figure would make one think that it was physically weak. However, it was actually stronger than a three-horned demon.


    The demon''s free hand slowly raised. Mana was gathering at its palm.


    Apollo ignored everything.


    Instead of freeing himself from the demon''s grasp or defending against the spell, he was going to attack. It didn''t matter how close to death he was.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The four-horned demon''s chest caved in, dying where it stood.


    But it alsopleted its spell.


    A fireball burgeoned and exploded on Apollo''s chest, catapulting him backward. The four-horned demon''s arm was taken with him, still stuck in his chest.


    Apollo''s condition was unbelievably perilous. Although he killed the four-horned demon, there was still an army of demons to worry about.


    Yet, there was not a single trace of fear on Apollo''s face.


    He held himself up by using the bokken as a crutch. His chest was charred from the explosion and one of his eyes could no longer open.


    The demons did not care how bad Apollo''s condition was. Without mercy, they charged at him.


    Apollo shakily raised his bokken and weed them.


    A saber descended on Apollo. He swung with his bokken, splitting the demon in half.


    However, the saber continued unimpeded, piercing into his shoulder. It got caught in what remained of his bones.


    One-horned demons began to swarm Apollo.


    However, whenever they got close, they would be sliced. Some would have time to raise their knives but were unable to attack with them. Apollo was simply killing them too fast in his frenzy.


    Apollo continuedughing his head off. It was as though the one gravely injured wasn''t him, but the demons.


    A three-horned demon charged towards Apollo. With widened eyes, Apollo dashed at it.


    Once the demon raised its mace, Apollo suddenly pounced.


    His bokken shot out to the demon''s chest, directly shattering the gemstone in its chest. The demon wasn''t even able to bring down its mace.


    After killing the demon, Apollo twisted his head to look for another victim. He broke off in a sprint towards a two-horned demon.


    That demon did not back down from the challenge, but before it could raise its saber, Apollo shed.


    Like a lightning bolt, he shifted forwards. His bokken flickered, bisecting the two-horned demon in half.


    Apollo threw himself into the chaos without holding back.


    Both his and the demon''s blood sprayed in the air.


    No demon could stand longer than a few seconds in front of Apollo. His shes gained momentum with every second that passed.


    His presence was gaining more pressure. The demons could feel Apollo''s shadow towering over them.


    The one-horned demons ran away, while the two-horned demons began to hesitate. It was as though everything was insignificant before his bokken.


    The demons gave up on facing Apollo. Nobody would want to fight with a madman after all.


    Even if one won, it would be a pyrrhic victory at best.


    Apollo chased them down, shing whatever demon he could. However, there were simply too many of them. They scattered off in different directions.


    As such, many of them got away.


    Apollo stood still.


    His breaths were ragged and his body could hardly support itself.


    He tripped but caught himself by sticking his bokken into the ground.


    Blood was flowing down his body. The saber was still lodged into his shoulder, making him look quite miserable.


    His body could no longer keep up with his will. Well, what remained of his body.


    However, Apollo wouldn''t let himself fall. He remained standing despite how badly his body begged him to do otherwise.


    Like a machine, he forced himself to step forward.


    His consciousness was flickering. He had almost cked out a few times, but he gritted his teeth and forced himself to stay awake.


    He was going to walk forward. No matter how much it hurt or if it went against his only chance at survival.


    He had already decided he wasn''t going to cower before the whims of fate. And fate was trying to pull his consciousness from him.


    Apollo was no longer who he was before.


    He may slow down, but nothing would stop him from walking forward.


    Apollo was walking towards the pile of eagle corpses.


    He was like a man dying of dehydration in the middle of a desert who finally found an oasis.


    His steps were shaky but swift.


    Once he reached the eagle carcasses, he threw himself into them.


    Like a beast, he ripped and tore them open with his jaw and hand.


    Sustenance was forced down his mouth.


    The flesh and blood burned him alive.


    But he refused to stop. His mouth opened as wide as it could to eviscerate the eagles. The flesh and guts were pushed down into his stomach.


    He was eating faster, and consequently, scalded even harder.


    The moment anything touched his stomach acids, it would disappear like its existence was fleeting. This meant that despite eating at unprecedented volumes, he was still hungry.


    Starving, even.


    His blood rampaged through his arteries, sending blood to his stomach. His veins dted, causing blue marks to appear all over his skin.


    There was no me. In fact, it was snowing. However, Apollo emitted so much heat from his body, it was scorching the ground below him.


    Some would consider what Apollo was experiencing was akin to burning in the sun''s core.


    His flesh began to wriggle and repair itself.


    Apollo directly reached inside his body and held his bones in the right positions. His tissues covered the bones, holding them in ce as the cracks mended.


    Apollo pulled out the saber lodged in his shoulder. Blood spurted out like rain but died off quickly.


    His wounds were sealing one after another.


    The snow around Apollo had melted to water, making the ground muddy.


    He remained in the mud.


    Apollo''s mind and body began to evolve.

 Chapter 49 - Is That The Sun?

    Apollo''s body was broken down. That''s what let it reform into something different.


    Layers of flexible bone formed over his joints. His rib cage expanded, as did his lungs.


    His shoulders in particr were reinforced the most, giving him broader shoulders.


    Apollo was awake for the entire process. When it was done, he slowly stood up.


    He looked at the scene around him. Demon corpses were scattered all over the ground. However, what littered the snowy expanse were eagle bones.


    Apollo had eaten them all.


    He tried to take a step forward, then stumbled. He was surprised by his sudden increase in strength.


    However, he adapted to it in just a few moments.


    He stepped into his shadow. With a sh, he was in the shadow world.


    He turned to the direction he saw the red waves, then left promptly. From there, he ran through the snow, off to kill his target.


    There were a few eagles and wolves on his way there, but they all died easily. Although Apollo wasn''t particrly hungry, he ate them anyway.


    He would asionally go back to the shadow world, just to make sure he wasn''t off course.


    Over time, the red waves became weaker, until they disappeared altogether.


    Apollo continued forward and came to a clearing.


    He could see a vige in the distance through the trees. Although the vige wasrge, it did not have any walls.


    "You got this Erin!"


    Apollo heard some voices.


    "Yeah, I got this!"


    Apollo put his hand on the trunk of a tree and stepped forward.


    "Waaaah! I can''t control it!"


    There was arge in in front of him.


    In that in was a guy with jet ck hair and hazelnut pupils. Next to him were two girls.


    One of them had a pair of sses on and was just a tad shorter than the guy. She had long ck hair along with hazelnut pupils. She appeared to be more refined and mature than the others.


    As for the other girl, she was quite short. She was noticeably younger than the other two, especially because of the baby fat on her face. She had short ck hair and bright blue pupils.


    Currently, she was sticking out both hands. Soft strands of mana were coalescing at the tips of her fingers.


    A massive fireball was conjured in front of the little girl, causing her to panic.


    The guy turned to look at Apollo, then panicked.


    "Erin! Divert the spell, someone''s there!"


    The little girl freaked out.


    "I don''t know how to! Oh no!"


    The fireball shot towards Apollo. It was traveling rapidly, expanding as it went.


    By the time it was in front of Apollo, it had a diameter of ten meters.


    His eyes widened.


    For a moment, he mistook it for the sun.


    Then, everything was ck.


    ...


    Apollo wasying in a bed.


    When Apollo came to, he felt his entire body ache.


    He forced out a voice through slightly parted lips.


    "...Mommy?"


    Sounds of shuffling echoed around him.


    "Ah, he''s awake!"


    "Quick, get the food!"


    Apollo''s eyes slowly opened to see the girl who was called Erin, anxiously looking at him.


    Erin smiled sheepishly.


    "Ehe... Sorry."


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Mommy? Why are you sorry?"


    Erin blinked a few times.


    "Eh? No, no I''m not your mom. I''m Erin!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Mmm... I want my mommy."


    Erin was at a loss for words.


    "...Sorry! Oh no, what have I done? He has amnesia now!"


    The mature girl walked over while holding a te.


    She sighed.


    "Thankfully, he survived. Things still aren''t at their worst."


    Apollo''s eyelids fluttered open.


    "Mommy?"


    The corner of the mature girl''s lip twitched.


    "No."


    Apollo pouted once again.


    "Aww... where did my mommy go?"


    The mature girl smiled bitterly.


    "I am not sure, but we will help you find her, ok?"


    Apollo nodded happily.


    "Ok!"


    The mature girl sighed.


    "Anyways, my name is Alyx. What is yours?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "It''s a swallow!"


    Alyx furrowed her brows.


    "Sorry, what?"


    Apollo opened his mouth but suddenly tilted his head to the side. There was a confused look on his face.


    "Wait... it was soprano!"


    Alyx tilted her head to the side.


    "...Are you sure?"


    Apollo nodded but stopped himself again.


    "Oh, wait. It''s Apollo! You were the one that called me that, remember mommy?"


    Alyx''s eyebrow twitched.


    "I am not your mom."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Oh..."


    Alyx sighed.


    "Anyways, Apollo, can you move your arms?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah, look!"


    Apollo stared at his arms. They werepletely stationary.


    He gasped.


    "Ah! I can''t move my arms!"


    Alyx smiled bitterly.


    "Alright, well we can help you eat for now. It was our fault this happened after all."


    Alyx held a cup of water to Apollo''s mouth and slowly tipped it back.


    Apollo sipped like he was a puppy, quickly drinking it all up. He was more thirsty than he realized.


    Alyx set down the cup with a thud. After that, she brought over a te of noodles.


    Once the te was in front of him, Apollo could clearly smell the warm noodles. He had never experienced such an alluring scent.


    Although his recent diet wasn''t the most luxurious, it should be known that Apollo had eaten high-quality food in his vige.


    Despite the fact it consisted mainly of vegetables, they still tasted far better than most cuisines in this world. And that was for when it was raw.


    What made the alluring scent most strange was that it appeared to be made of normal ingredients.


    Alyx held out the fork with some of the noodles on the end. Apollo couldn''t help himself, darting upwards to bite it.


    In the end, he ended up stabbing the fork into the roof of his mouth and hurting his teeth from biting down so hard.


    Alyx gasped.


    "Slowly! Geez..."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Sorry!"


    More surprising than the smell was the taste of the food.


    While Apollo embraced the taste, a muffled voice came beyond the walls.


    "Hey, I got something special for you guys!"

 Chapter 50 - We Need To Run!

    The guy walked into the room, a te in each hand. On each te was a fluffy piece of bread that some would consider to be cake.


    Apollo lifted his head up to look at them.


    "Ohhh, what is that?"


    The guy smiled smugly.


    "I found a way to make this fluffed up bread despite theck of tools we have."


    He walked over and set the tes on a table in the room.


    Speaking of, the room was quite spacious. There was a set of curtains and a balcony past them. There was also a door that led to a personal washroom.


    Everything within the room was luxurious, including the clothes.


    The flooring was marble and the walls were made of stone. As for the clothing, they were casual, but expensive suits.


    The guy had cut a small piece of cake and brought it over to Apollo.


    "Hey, sorry about what happened before. My name is Ned, what is yours?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, my name is Apollo! What are you sorry for?"


    Ned raised an eyebrow.


    "Do you not remember?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Remember what?"


    Ned sucked in a sharp breath.


    "Oh dear, I think your memory is messed up."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Haha, my memory is fine!"


    Ned shook his head.


    "We were practicing our magic. Erin doesn''t have good control over spellcasting, so we were doing it at the outskirts of the vige. However, you were also there and we ended up hitting you."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Hmm... I don''t remember that! You must be joking!"


    The corner of Ned''s lip twitched.


    "Haha... whatever. Do you want to try this?"


    Apollo''s eyes lit up.


    "Oh, yes!"


    Ned held the bread just above Apollo''s face. It had the soft smell of a pastry. Like the noodles, the scent was too alluring for Apollo.


    His head darted up to bite down on it.


    "OW!"


    Apollo ended up biting Ned''s fingers in his excitement.


    While Apollo was enjoying the food, Ned shook his fingers.


    Ned chuckled bitterly.


    "I guess we deserve at least this much retribution."


    Apollo swallowed the cake and looked curiously at Ned.


    "Retribution?"


    Ned waved his hands dismissively.


    "Nothing, nothing."


    Apollo nodded.


    Alyx continued feeding Apollo while the group talked.


    Erin looked at Ned.


    "So... how do I control magic?"


    Ned scratched the back of his head.


    "I don''t know. Ites naturally to me."


    Erin furrowed her brows.


    "Mm... I feel stupid."


    Alyx patted Erin with one hand.


    "Don''t worry about it. Your magic is so much more violent. Naturally, it is not easy to control."


    Alyx let out a sigh.


    "At least you can reliably cast your spells."


    Ned chuckled.


    "Well, that''s hypocritical of you to say. Of course you have a harder time casting with those kinds of spells."


    Alyx smiled bitterly but did not say anything.


    Apollo yawned.


    "Mmm... I wish I had magic talent, that sounds so cool!"


    Ned shook his head.


    "Ah, well apparently magic talent is super rare. Don''t feel too bad about it."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Ok..."


    Once Apollo had finished the noodles, his body heated up. The feeling of his body returned and he sat up.


    Alyx was startled.


    "Eh? You can sit up? I thought you were unable to move."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, I wasn''t. I can move now though!"


    Apollo enthusiastically iled his arms around.


    Erin giggled.


    "He''s telling the truth."


    Alyx looked at Erin with confusion but did not harp on the subject.


    Ned rubbed his chin.


    "Say, is that wooden sword important to you? You were holding onto it even when you were out like a light."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Well, I practiced with it a lot! I think that is why."


    Ned let out an impressed hum.


    "That sounds cool! Could you show us?"


    Alyx red at Ned.


    "He is still injured! Are you really asking him to exert himself further?"


    Ned put his hands up.


    "Oh, sorry! That''s my bad."


    Apollo giggled.


    "I am fine, I can show you!"


    Alyx furrowed her brows.


    "Are you sure?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    As Apollo tried to sit up, Alyx pushed him back down. Then, she sighed.


    "Let me just check something."


    Apollo looked at Alyx curiously but did not resist.


    On Apollo''s body were countless bandages. Alyx peeled a fewyers of these bandages off.


    Once thestyer was peeled off, ayer of charred skin fell off Apollo''s chest. The skin on him looked delicate, like it had never been harmed before.


    Alyx was shocked.


    "You... How did you heal already?"


    Erin peered at Apollo''s skin.


    "Oh, so it wasn''t as bad as we thought it was! It was just the outeryer of his skin."


    Ned frowned.


    "...But you destroyed like fifteen trees. Not to mention, his chest was caved in."


    Apollo giggled.


    "What are you talking about? I look fine."


    Ned shook his head.


    "I guess."


    Apollo got off the bed and went to the door.


    "Let me show you how I swing my sword!"


    Nedughed.


    "Alright, let me take you to the courtyard."


    Apollo quickly found out he was residing inside of a pce. Within the pce was arge courtyard, which the four of them went to.


    The courtyard was quiterge, housing a few trees inside. There was a cobblestone pathway that led to other parts of the pce. The ground had lots of grass and flowers scattered about.


    There was no roof, so snow was falling down freely. A thinyer of snow covered the ground.


    Apollo excitedly got in the middle of the courtyard. He started to swing his sword around like a kid having fun in the snow. Waves of snow flew up in the air as though it was water sshing around.


    Erin was amazed, Ned was smiling, and Alyxughed bitterly.


    Apollo was giggling the whole time.


    At that moment, a maid ran into the courtyard.


    "There you are! We need to run, right now!"


    ...


    Author''s Note:


    (Just some exnations for thest chapter on privilege and how to support the author. Feel free to skip if you wish.)


    WHAT IS PRIVILEGE?


    Privilege is a system where you pay extra money in order to see chapters ahead of the normal release rate. However, it is a subscription that will run out at the end of the month. NOT thirty days, but the end of the calendar month.


    This means it is HIGHLY rmended you buy privilege at the start of the month as opposed to the end. (Though it doesn''t really matter for the first two tiers considering how cheap they are.)


    This also means ONLY buy privilege if you know you can afford it for each month. Buying a privilege you can''t realistically pay for, then being unable to buy it next month, means you will have to go through a long period without seeing any new releases. (Which is devastating, said from experience.)


    If you wish to support the author, buying just the first tier and constantly unlocking the privilege chapters as theye out will contribute to their win-win unlocks, helping them get featured.


    Privilege sometimes contains a discount on chapter purchases, meaning any chapters purchased through privilege will be discounted. This includes any chapters you purchase after the initial privilege purchase. Discounts are to encourage you to buy chapters and a price reduction for you. So long as you buy the chapters while they are considered privilege, the discount will be applied. (eg. if a two privilege chapter tier has a discount, and the author releases three chapters that you have not bought. The discount will not be applied to the first chapter, but will to the other two.)


    HOW TO SUPPORT THE AUTHOR?


    Although reading in general, and voting with powerstones/golden tickets does help increase my poprity, (thank you to everyone that has) they do not directly marily support the author.


    The only way to do this is through coins (not fast passes or watching ads). The catch here is that there are bonus coins, and normal coins. Bonus coins expire eventually for you, and give no money to the author. They are used before your normal coins, so the first things you buy with coins won''t give money, but still supports more than a fast pass would. (but again, just reading supports the author anyway).


    Do you want to get more coins while also giving the author the most money you can?


    Buy coins through Paypal. This option is readily avable on theputer, and by clicking ''up to 15% more'' at the top up section in your phone, you can get redirected to Paypal, however it is probably more convenient to do this on theputer. If you find it too inconvenient to buy through Paypal, that is fine. It isn''t the biggest deal in the world.


    If you pay through the app store, authors only get around 27% of what you paid for. However, if you go through Paypal, the author will get 42% of what you paid for, and you get more coins for personal use.


    In other words, if you spend 100$ through the app store, the author gets $27, but through Paypal, they get $42. This is simply because the app store takes a massive cut from any profits.


    Gifts, privilege, and unlocking chapters, all give the same amount of money rtive to the coins spent. However, gifts have a little bonus on top if they are rtivelyrge.


    You will get a golden ticket that you can manually spend every 500 coins you spend on unlocking chapters and privileges. However, in gifts, every 300 coins (rounded down) will be a golden ticket. So a 500 coin gift gives one golden ticket, while a 1000 coin gift gives 3 golden tickets.


    The biggest way to support an author is by buying a 5000 coin or higher gift, as this will announce the novel globally to all readers.


    Remember to only spend what you are able to realistically afford in any novel!


    Happy reading!

 Chapter 51 - You Can Do It!

    Ned''s expression became solemn.


    "What? Why do we have to run, Mildred?"


    The maid whose name was Mildred was anxious. She had short light brown hair and blue eyes. As a maid would, she was wearing a frilly dress.


    "Demons are sieging the vige."


    Ned frowned.


    "Wasn''t the Demon King..."


    Mildred shook her head with a despondent look.


    "I don''t know what happened, but we must run."


    Erin raised her hand, she was strangely collected.


    "But wait! If we leave this vige, we won''t have food or a warm ce to sleep! We will die if we leave, so we must protect the vige!"


    Alyx sighed.


    "But what if the demons are really strong? Surely by fleeing we will at least have a chance."


    Ned furrowed his brows.


    "How many demons are there?"


    Mildred frowned.


    "...At least hundreds."


    Alyx put a hand on her chest and gasped.


    "How could we possibly take on that many at once? Our only chances lie in running away."


    Erin pouted and raised her hands in the air.


    "Don''t you remember how much we''ve been practicing? It was to protect the vige! We are strong now!"


    Alyx frowned.


    "Erin, what has gotten into you? You were never this reckless before!"


    Erin iled her arms around.


    "It''s not being reckless! I made the choice that had the highest chance of working out! We haven''t lived a day in the wilderness, not to mention the fact it''s winter. Even experts in wilderness survival wouldn''tst long!"


    Alyx''s lip twitched. She fell silent.


    Ned shook his head. With a sigh, he turned to Mildred.


    "Does  know?"


    Mildred shook her head.


    "No... she is doing some business."


    Ned pulled a shiny purple rock out of his pocket and crushed it. Mana automatically arranged into a diagram, casting a spell.


    Mildred''s eye twitched after Ned did that. However, she remained silent.


    Ned sighed.


    "...We have made significant progress in magic. Perhaps we can fend them off?"


    Mildred took a deep breath.


    "I will leave the choice to you."


    Alyx furrowed her brows. She was displeased.


    Ned noticed this and decided toe to apromise.


    "How about this? We attempt to defend the vige..."


    Alyx''s eyelid twitched.


    Ned quickly finished his sentence.


    "But we run away if anything goes wrong."


    Alyx heaved a sigh.


    "We can''t hesitate to run! If we do, there will be no time."


    Ned nodded.


    "Alright."


    Erin smiled.


    "Ok, we got this!"


    Apollo, who was watching from afar, ran up.


    "Yeah! We got this!"


    Alyx''s face twitched.


    "Um... Apollo, stay near the castle with us, alright?"


    Apollo tilted his head.


    "Mm? How am I supposed to attack the demons then?"


    The corner of Ned''s lip twitched.


    "...That is because we have a n, Apollo!"


    Apollo turned to Ned. He was interested?


    "Woah! What is the n?"


    Ned coughed awkwardly.


    "You see, we are spellcasters, so we can attack from afar. However, if an enemy gets close to us, we will be at a big disadvantage!"


    Ned lifted up one finger.


    "That is where youe in!"


    Ned paused.


    "...If we don''t decide to run away... you must defend us! We are counting on you!"


    Erin pouted after Ned said that, but didn''t voice her concerns.


    On the other hand, Apollo was really excited. He was jumping up and down.


    "Ok, ok! I won''t let you down!"


    Mildred rubbed her forehead with her palm.


    "We should go on the roof of the pce. From there, you shall have a vantage point to cast your spells."


    Ned took a deep breath.


    "Alright."


    The group made their way up a few sets of stairs, reaching the roof.


    The wind blew violently, pelting the group with snowkes. They were quite high up, letting them see the entire vige.


    In the distance was a swarm of demons. They had already made it partway into the vige, killing the people they came across.


    It did not appear gruesome for the group because of how far away they were. However, it still made Erin upset.


    The violent wind suddenly shifted. The gales increased in strength and revolved around Ned.


    His clothes fluttered in the wind and his eyes shut.


    Ned forcefully pulled in the surrounding mana and began conjuring multiple firebolt spells.


    In just a few moments, a steady barrage of firebolts flew towards the demons. Although the firebolts were by no means slow, the demons were also quite far away.


    As such, Ned didn''t even bother to aim. He simplyunched them in the middle of the swarm and hoped the chaos would let them hit.


    Like a bombardment, small-scale explosions rained on the demon army. Nearby one-horned demons were killed instantly while the two-horned demons were injured.


    As for the three-horned demons, they would regenerate the damage almost immediately.


    Erin was also casting the firebolt spell, but she wasn''t doing it at anywhere near Ned''s speed.


    She manipted the mana gently, slowly shifting it into the diagram for the firebolt spell.


    Once it waspleted, a zing fireball that was roughly five meters in diameter appeared in front of Erin.


    The fireball hovered in front of her, naturally growing in size by the second.


    Beads of sweat formed on Erin''s forehead.


    "This... is going to work right?"


    Erin tried her best to aim, but her fireballpletely blocked any vision she had of the demons.


    "Is it here?... No, it was here!"


    Erin bit her lip.


    "Wait, but what if it was there?"


    Alyx patted Erin''s shoulder. The heat from the fireball was making Alyx sweat despite the cold weather. On top of that, the growing size was quite foreboding.


    After all, if this fireball exploded here, it would be hard to believe that any of them could survive.


    Yet, Alyx had a calm smile on her face. She looked at Erin with a gentle look in her eyes.


    "Trust me. You can do it!"


    A smile blossomed on Erin''s face.


    "Yeah!"


    With that, Erin let her fireball loose.


    And the sun descended.

 Chapter 52 - Ela

    Erin''s fireballunched itself towards the army of demons. The alreadyrge ball of death continued to expand at an rming rate.


    The demons couldn''t help but turn to stare. It was as though a meteor was plummeting right at their doorstep.


    By the time the fireball was right above the demons, it had reached a diameter of twenty meters.


    The demons looked up to see a sunset.


    A massive explosion reverberated in the city. Like an earthquake, everything shook. They could even feel the effects from the roof of the pce.


    The explosion left a huge ck crater.


    The shockwave alone killed countless one-horned demons. Any two-horned demons that were within ten meters died on the spot.


    As for three-horned demons, one was right in the center of the explosion. What remained was nothing more than a few pieces of charcoal.


    A few other three-horned demons were also struck but were at the perimeter of the explosion. Most of their body was burnt andrge chunks of flesh were missing, but they were still alive.


    The injured three-horned demons immediately erged. Red veins snaked across their body and their wounds rapidly healed.


    Despite their unreasonable healing speed, they would still need a minute or so to fully heal from the damage they took.


    The army of demons took a beating, but now it was time for their counterattack.


    A four-horned demon slowly raised his hand towards the direction of the pce.


    A barrage of icicles made its way towards the group.


    Ned frowned.


    "I can''t stop that! Damn, why is there no cover here?"


    Apollo walked up and stared down the onught in front of him. He waited for the icicles to approach.


    Once the icicles were a few meters away, he raised his bokken.


    Then...


    They suddenly disappeared.


    Nedughed.


    "Haha, nice one Alyx!"


    Alyx was holding both her hands out with a dull expression on her face. There was a somber wind circting her. It caused her clothes to swayzily from one direction to the other.


    It was as though an invisible hole was in front of the group, swallowing up all the icicles.


    If one looked closely, one would see the snowkes being repelled from a space in the air. What was more noticeable was how this section of air dispelled the icicles altogether.


    This was Alyx''s magic. She had talent in the ''Null'' element, allowing her to cast these spells using null mana.


    The spell she just used would erase the existence of any mana within a certain area. This meant no matter how many icicles wereing at them, it was meaningless.


    Of course, this was under the assumption Alyx kept the spell active.


    Apollo lowered his bokken.


    It seems they were holding up fine.


    The barrage of icicles continued for quite some time. It seemed that the four-horned demon realized it was pointless to continue.


    The demon canceled the spell. The dense ball of mana in its palm became a dark ck.


    It rotated violently, then spat out dark blotches towards the two-horned demons.


    The two-horned demons froze in ce. A set of wings gradually formed on their backs.


    The wings were ck and translucent. They took on the form of a bat''s wing and shimmered with a faint light.


    Once they finished transforming, the two-horned demons crouched down. The ground under them cracked and they shot up into the air.


    Roughly fifty two-horned demons were now pping their wings in the sky. Wind wildly whipped past them as they flew towards the pce.


    Ned started to panic.


    He shot his firebolts towards the demons, but they were able to dodge his firebolts easily. Despite the futility, Ned was determined to keep trying.


    As for Erin, she was trying to cast a spell but was nowhere near finished.


    Alyx furrowed her brows.


    "I... can''t hold them off!"


    Apollo raised his bokken with a smile.


    "Don''t worry! I got this!"


    Although he attempted to reassure the others, it only made them more nervous. Still, Apollo confidently waited for the demons toe towards him.


    The anxiety of the others shot up dramatically as the demons closed in. Alyx wanted to run, but she knew that was no longer possible.


    In fact, she knew that when they decided to battle, they hadmitted to defending this vige. She had just lied to herself to reduce her worry.


    Alyx stood in front of Erin. Even if she couldn''t do much, she was determined to at least protect her until the end.


    Apollo''s smile grew wider as the two-horned demons approached. Their sabers were raised and ready to attack.


    Suddenly, there was a bang. One of the two-horned demons exploded into pieces.


    A young woman who was partially morphed into a dragon showed up. She had yellow hair and bright green eyes. She was wearing a white suit adorned with various pieces of jewelry.


    She was partially covered in light green scales. Her hands had transformed into ws and a pair of dragon wings extended from her back.


    The woman had charged into one of the two-horned demons, using brute strength to blow it apart.


    Mildred gasped.


    ", You''re here!"


    gave a nod to Mildred, then proceeded to charge into the swarm of two-horned demons.


    A two-horned demon attempted to sh  with its saber. ''s w batted the saber away, then she used her other w to sh the demon, ripping it into pieces.


    charged into the fray without holding back. She was much stronger than the two-horned demons on an individual level.


    However, there the amount of two-horned demons far exceeded one.


    swiped with her ws, smacking away sabers and tearing open the demons. Unfortunately, that came at the cost of a sh to her back.


    Arge tear formed in the back of her suit. Bright red blood sprayed from the newfound gash.


    faltered, dropping a few feet downward.


    Then, the tips of two dark green horns poked out of her forehead.

 Chapter 53 - Emerald Dragon

    quickly got a hold of herself and continued to fend off the two-horned demons.


    As she did so, two dark green horns grew out of her forehead. They looked like marble and had a soft luster.


    She let out a roar.


    Scales covered ''s wound, but blood continued to seep out.


    She swiped with her w again, tearing another two-horned demon to shreds. However, that came at the cost of a sh across her chest.


    Blood sprayed once more and ''s horns began curling backward.


    Her eyes were bloodshot.


    Mildred anxiously held her heart.


    "! Just prevent them from attacking you! You will die at this rate..."


    Ned gritted his teeth. He was still throwing firebolts, but away from  so he did not identally hit her.


    "Yeah, Mildred''s right! We can''t go on like this!"


    narrowed her eyes.


    "Alright."


    She made sure to remain in front of the group and batted away the sabers that came for her.


    Thankfully,  was able to attract all the two-horned demons. For now, the group was protected.


    However, holding off all the two-horned demons was simply too hard for her. While the demons had ignored the group entirely, they encircled .


    Despite trying her best, she was unable to hold off every sh that wasing for her. Long gashes appeared on her body. She needed someone to help her, else she would soon take herst breath.


    Alyx raised her finger.


    Her brows were furrowed. She wanted to try something but was unsure of the consequences.


    But at this point, she had to do something.


    Alyx''s finger curled. With an ethereal tug, a spell was thrown to  and the demons.


    Suddenly, the mana in that area disappeared.


    The demons immediately lost their wings and roared in pain. As they fell from the sky, their bodies bulged and shrunk. Their skin had be a bright red and their limbs swung around wildly.


    However, through it all, their grip on the saber remained as tight as ever.


    As for , she was unaffected by the spell. Her breaths were ragged and her body was bloodied.


    She flew over to the roof of the pce and copsed once she got there.


    forced a smile.


    "Hello everyone."


    Apollo pped loudly.


    "Wow, that was so cool!"


    turned to face Apollo and raised an eyebrow.


    Ned chuckled as he casted more firebolts.


    "His name is Apollo."


    nodded.


    "Nice to meet you, Apollo. And thank you for thepliment."


    Apollo giggled.


    "Nice to meet you too!"


    shook her head.


    "Anyways, I will be ready to join the battle once more within a few more moments ."


    Her dragon features receded somewhat. She gathered mana at the tips of her ws to cast a minor healing spell.


    The bleeding slowed to a stop, but her wounds still looked nasty. Mildred frowned because of that.


    "You can''t! At least rest for a little while longer."


    hesitated but nodded. She continued to cast healing spells on herself.


    Ned sent a bombardment of fireballs on the two-horned demons that fell. Once they left the manaless area, their bodies stopped convulsing and recovered.


    Thankfully, their wings were gone for good.


    As such, they plummeted. Most of the demons hit the ground with a crack, but some directly broke through the roofs of houses in the vige.


    Ned was worried he would hit some of the vigers but shot firebolts towards the demons.


    Even the ones in houses.


    The two-horned demons were damaged somewhat from the fall. Along with a direct impact firebolt, they died.


    One of the firebolts went through the hole in the roof.


    The demon inside was struck, then died. However, a nearby boy caught on fire from the residual impact.


    His cries resounded through the vige as his body charred.


    Ned closed his eyes. With a frown, he murmured.


    "Sorry."


    Although Ned was sad, he recognized that the boy would have either died by the demon, or his fireball.


    He let it go and focused on casting more fireballs.


    The situation appeared to be calming down. However, the four-horned demon wasn''t just standing there.


    It was preparing a spell.


    The dense ball of mana above the demon''s palm flickered. It was alternating between blue and ck. On top of that, a bolt of mana would shoot out from time to time.


    The four-horned demon walked towards a three-horned demon. The three-horned demon was on one knee and in its erged state.


    It was just about finished healing its injuries. There was a wound on its back that was slowly closing.


    Before it fully closed, the four-horned demon pushed the ball of mana into the three-horned demon''s back.


    The three-horned demon''s body burgeoned and convulsed.


    The four-horned demon stepped back to watch the three-horned demon change.


    Horns suddenly appeared out of the jutted demon''s shoulders and elbows. Its limbs elongated and its body bloated.


    The demon''s face melted away. One of the horns at the top of the demon''s head was pushed down while the remaining two horns shifted to opposite sides of its head.


    Arge set of jaws burst out, sshing some blood onto the snow. Under the jaw was an elongated horn and above it was two curled horns.


    As that was happening, a set of wings burst out from its back and a tail grew from its back.


    The transformed demon''s eyelids fluttered open, revealing small yellow eyes.


    It looked like a dragon.


    The transformed demon opened its jaws wide and bellowed.


    The ground shook.


    Large gales of winds were stirred up, carrying waves of snow with it.


    The transformed demon was obscured by the mist of snow.


    Suddenly, the mist parted ways, and the transformed demon shot towards the pce.


    gritted her teeth.


    "...How dare they."


    ''s draconic features red up.


    "You dare disgrace the race of dragons?"


    leaped off the pce.


    Mildred reached out her hand.


    ", no!"


    was falling.


    Her horns grew rapidly.


    Green scales spread all across her body.


    Then, her body expanded.


    She morphed into an elegant emerald dragon.

 Chapter 54 - Ice Giant

    roared in anger. The air in front of her trembled.


    Mildred clenched her fists.


    "No... ."


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    "What is happening?"


    Mildred sighed.


    "... has the bloodline of a dragon. If she releases it, she will transform into a dragon."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Woah..."


    and the transformed demon shot towards each other like they were cannonballs.


    The transformed demon swung its w and  returned in kind.


    A boom resounded throughout the vige. The shockwave could be felt from the pce, blowing everyone''s hair back.


    Below them, were vigers running around in a panic. Some of them ended up running towards the demons, though most ran towards the center of the vige.


    The transformed demon opened its maw and lunged at ''s neck.


    retracted her head to avoid it.


    Once the transformed demon''s maw snapped,  attempted to chomp down on the transformed demon''s neck.


    The transformed demon did not have time to dodge.


    It appeared that  was going to get a free hit.


    However, the transformed demon suddenly twisted its neck. The horn below its maw pierced through ''s upper jaw.


    roared in pain. She hurriedly retreated.


    After getting some distance, she red at the transformed demon. As blood dripped down her torn jaw, she noticed the transformed demon was looking at her mockingly.


    ''s eyes narrowed. She charged forward once again and the transformed demon did the same.  swiped with her w.


    The transformed demon was about to do the same but suddenly flew upwards.


    ''s w ripped three long lines into the transformed demon''s flesh.


    In the next moment, all mana disappeared from the general area.


    The transformed demon was just barely able to fly away in time. Its gaze shifted towards the pce.


    It was looking at Alyx.


    As for Alyx, she was looking back with a deadpan expression. Her long hair was being blown to the side, dancing in the wind.


    The transformed demon shifted its focus to Alyx.


    Its injury was already healing.  swiped once more, cutting into the transformed demon''s stomach.


    However, it did not even turn to . Instead, it charged towards the pce.


    ''s eyes narrowed.


    "You dare ignore me?"


    She charged after the transformed demon. Her ws glowed with a lime green light.


    swung her w. As she did so, the green light attached itself to the end of her w.


    She violently tore into the transformed demon''s back. It cried out in pain.


    The gashes were very wide and deep. On top of that, the wounds began to fester. These new wounds did not rapidly heal.


    The transformed demon looked at  warily, but its main focus was still on Alyx.


    red, trying to put up a strong front. However, that attack had cost her a decent amount of stamina.


    At most, she would be able to recreate that attack a few more times.


    The transformed demon opened its maw. An egregious amount of fire spat out, forming a massive me wall between it and .


    The transformed demon no longer paid any attention to , opting to charge for Alyx.


    hesitated.


    The me wall spanned at least forty meters. She wanted to charge in to help, but she knew her condition well.


    She was badly injured.


    It didn''t show on her body now, but the damage she had taken before made her much weaker. If the me wall was not a paper tiger, she may fall unconscious trying to force her way through it.


    While  mulled over her options, the transformed demon got closer to the group.


    Alyx curled her finger, sending her spell forward with an ethereal tug.


    The transformed demon easily dodged it and continued charging.


    Apollo stood at the ledge and raised his bokken. He was waiting for it to be in range.


    Ned attempted to bombard the demon with firebolts, but any damage he caused would be healed immediately.


    Apollo smiled.


    It would be in range in just few sec-


    A massive cone of ice appeared. The entire transformed demon was encased.


    It was Erin. She finished the elementary ice spell, encase.


    Erin jumped up and down.


    "Yay, I hit it!"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Wow, you are almost as cool as this other person I know!"


    Erin giggled but suddenly froze.


    Cracks formed on the massive cone of ice. Like a piece of shattered ss, lines snaked across the transformed demon''s prison.


    In the next moment, it broke out. With a roar, it dashed forward.


    Apollo gasped.


    He hurriedly raised his bokken to fend off the transformed demon.


    Then...


    roared. She dived down on the transformed demon, smashing its head. Her ws were elongated with a green glow.


    and the transformed demon mmed into the ground.


    It pped its wings one more time. Then, it became still.


    It was dead.


    Ned smirked.


    "Wow, that was smart Alyx!"


    Alyx tried to maintain a neutral expression, but a small smile uncontrobly appeared on her face.


    "Thanks."


    When Alyx threw her spell at the transformed demon, she wasn''t trying to hit it.


    She knew that it would dodge the spell. As such, the spell hit the me wall, causing part of it to dissipate.


    flew through the hole in the me wall, allowing her to arrive in time.


    The transformed demon was none the wiser. It simply thought Alyx missed, thus was unconcerned about what happened behind it.


    In the end, that slight negligence cost the transformed demon his life.


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    Was he really needed?


    The demons continued their assault. With Ned''s constant bombardment, they were having difficulty covering any ground.


    The four-horned demon was displeased.


    It lost its dense ball of mana but had nothing to show for it.


    The four-horned demon''s eyes closed.


    Its entire body glowed with a strong white light.


    Then, the gemstone within it shattered.


    The four-horned demon let out a white explosion.


    Once the snow cleared, a massive ice giant revealed itself.

 Chapter 55 - Master Chef

    The ice giant stood at roughly twenty feet.


    Its body consisted of densely packed ice and vaguely resembled a humanoid.


    The ice giant took a step forward.


    Its movements were sluggish, but the shockwaves that resounded from its step were rming.


    The demon army was currently in a bad position.


    The explosion from the four-horned demon had killed many of what remained.


    As though it wanted to seal the deal, the ice giant mmed one of its fists into the demons.


    Just the shockwave itself was enough to kill the remaining demons, exploding them like a balloon.


    The siege of demons was over.


    But now there was a new foe, the ice giant.


    It slowly made its way into the vige.


    Just the shockwaves from its steps had killed countless people.


    Even those that hid in their houses.


    Mildred frowned.


    "That''s... not good."


    Ned was drenched in sweat but continued casting.


    Casting so many spells taxed his mind. The fact he could push through anyway wasmendable.


    Fireboltsnded on the ice giant''s body one after another. Chunks of packed ice would break off each time it was hit.


    However, at this rate, it would easily get to the pce.


    Erin and Alyx hurriedly began casting their own spells.


    The ice giant was free to cause devastation within the vige. It harvested countless lives.


    had reverted into her human form. She was bloodied all over and had her fist clenched.


    She was heartbroken over all the dead vigers but was powerless to do anything about it. She could hardly move, much less save others.


    Screams echoed throughout the whole vige. They were screams of fear, of desperation.


    Some people died on the spot. Others got hit by the residual shockwaves, coughing up blood and losing the ability to move.


    When the ice golem stepped down, it would tten the houses and cause nearby ones to copse.


    Once the ice giant got close, Alyx and Erin had finished casting.


    Alyx curled her finger, shooting out her spell first.


    The ice giant gained a sudden burst of dexterity as though it could recognize the threat the spell posed.


    Its arm swung upward and a small chunk of its arm detached, thrown to Alyx''s spell.


    They collided.


    Alyx''s spell expanded upon contact, causing the chunk of ice to disappear immediately. However, the ice giant was hardly harmed.


    Alyx clicked her tongue.


    In front of Erin was a zing fireball.


    She took a deep breath.


    Then let it loose.


    The fireball expanded rapidly. The devastating force it contained was clear.


    Ned''s eyes lit up.


    Perhaps it would work out?


    The ice giant tilted its head back.


    After just a second, its head snapped forward. A plume of frost shot out from its face.


    The fireball immediately started to slow and shrink. By the time it reached the ice giant, it had disappeared entirely.


    Mildred gasped.


    "No..."


    The ice giant was now just ten meters away from the pce.


    , who was on the ground, smiled bitterly.


    "Is this how the kingdom falls?"


    Apollo stepped onto the ledge of the roof with a smile on his face.


    His eyes gleamed.


    "Don''t worry! It''s my job to protect you!"


    Alyx smiled bitterly and shook her head. She did not respond.


    Ned coughed.


    "...Don''t worry about it, Apollo."


    Mildred had a hand on her heart and let out a mournful sigh.


    However, there was an outlier in the group.


    Erin''s eyes lit up.


    "Yeah! You got this!"


    Apollo peered over his shoulder to look at Erin. He shed a wide smile and gave her a thumbs up.


    "Just watch!"


    Apollo leaped off the ledge.


    His clothes fluttered in the wind.


    His bokken slowly raised.


    looked up. Her eyes bulged out their sockets.


    What in the world was this kid doing?


    The ice giant swung its fist towards Apollo. It didn''t matter if he was just an unassuming kid.


    The ice giant was not going to show mercy.


    Red scars appeared across Apollo''s skin.


    Both of his hands clenched around the hilt of his bokken. His knuckles were bright white and his smile widened.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, sending a massive de of wind to the ground. The recoil sent him up a few meters in the air.


    The de of wind crashed into the ground next to .


    She covered her face to block the pieces of stone that scattered in her direction.


    puffed her cheeks and shook her fist angrily at Apollo.


    "Watch where you''re aiming!"


    As for the ice giant''s fist, it brushed by Apollo.


    Apollo''s hair and clothes violently pped from the wind produced by its attack.


    His bokken stuck into the ice arm below him. Using it as a support, Apollo stabilized himself.


    He ran up the arm, shing the arm behind him as he went.


    The width of the ice giant''s arm was much longer than Apollo''s bokken. Yet, Apollo''s shes cleanly cut through it.


    It was as though the ice giant''s arm was a carrot and Apollo was a master chef wielding a kitchen knife.


    Chunks of the ice giant''s arm fell and hit the ground with a crash.


    The ice giant was getting anxious.


    Its other fist shot out towards Apollo, stirring up gales as it traveled.


    Apollo''s body heated up like a furnace. Right before the ice giant''s fist reached him, he leaped up into the air.


    Apollo did a backflip, letting the ice giant''s fist pass by him.


    He closed his eyes and basked in the wind that blew.


    Suddenly, Apollo shed with his bokken, severing the ice giant''s arm.


    His feetnded on the ice giant''s remaining arm.


    His steps made tapping sounds as he traveled further up.


    The ice giant''s head turned to him and spat out a plume of frost.


    However, to its dismay, Apollo was unaffected.


    His body was simply radiating too much heat. Before the frost could reach him, it had already melted to water.


    Apollo leaped up into the air.


    The ice giant looked up.


    Apollo''s figure blocked the light of the sun.


    He was like a looming shadow, contrasted by the rays of the dawn.

 Chapter 56 - Past Despair

    Apollo shed.


    He descended like a lightning bolt, cutting through the ice giant''s body as though it was butter.


    Apollo crashed onto the ground. The ground beneath him cracked and the snow scattered in the air.


    The ice giant was split into two halves. The two parts slowly fell to the side. A thundering boom reverberated throughout the vige as they hit the ground.


    All the others had their jaws dropped. Especially .


    Apollo turned around to look at his work.


    But...


    There was a strange translucent wave of mana emanating from where the ice giant once stood.


    Whatever the wave passed by would immediately freeze over like it was sent to the ice age.


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    Then the wave passed him.


    Apollo''s overheated body immediately froze over.


    It was as though death himself touched him.


    His body became rigid.


    He could no longer move his limbs.


    His blood slowed to a stop.


    His heart could no longer beat.


    The cold pricked into his mind like pins and needles.


    But his thoughts did not stop.


    Like an open faucet, memories poured back into his mind.


    The reason he was here and his detest for this world came back to him.


    If nothing else, his hatred was a raging fire.


    The cold would not put that out.


    Apollo tried to grit his teeth, but couldn''t because his jaw was locked in ce.


    He forced himself to think of anything he could.


    It was the only thing he could do to fight off the cold.


    He came here to kill Otis Everfield.


    The reason why was to rise in ranks.


    Rising in ranks would give him a chance for revenge.


    Then...


    He had to destroy this world.


    To shut down its tranny.


    His thoughts continued to trail off.


    They became chaotic. He thought about the cake he was given and how it tasted. He promised himself that he was going to eat some more of whatever Ned and his friends made.


    Then he went into his past memories.


    He thought of the battle he just fought.


    He thought of how Karn was executed.


    He thought of how he made a promise to Karn but ended up running away before fulfilling it.


    The memories became miserable.


    Why couldn''t he live a simple life?


    One without all this fighting and hatred.


    A vision shed. It was when Willow was relentlessly raining down strikes on him.


    Apollo remembered how much heughed and how much his head hurt.


    Then his vision shed again.


    He was back in his room.


    The lights were off. The only thing that let Apollo see was the faint moonlighting from the window.


    Apollo''s father, Henry, knocked on the door.


    "Apollo? Are you awake?"


    As for Apollo, he was crouched down behind the door.


    His mouth was sealed shut. He was trying as hard as he could to stay silent.


    Apollo''s body was frail and skinny.


    He was trembling ever so slightly.


    Henry tried to open the door, wiggling the handle.


    "I know you''re there! Do you think I''m stupid?"


    His hand was holding on tightly to the doorknob. The skin covering that hand was a mix of white and bright red. It was a testament to how tightly he was holding onto it.


    Apollo''s eyes were filled with fear.


    They were bloodshot and fighting to stay open.


    Henry put both his hands and the handle and twisted it violently.


    Apollo''s hand immediately held even tighter. The bones on his arm were visible because of how much stress it was under.


    The skin on the back of his hand tore open and blood trickled down to his wrist.


    Henry furrowed his brows.


    "What is this Apollo? I''m still your father, are you unable to even recognize that?"


    He proceeded to bang loudly on the door like a barbarian.


    Through it all, Apollo remained silent.


    he hadn''t slept for quite some time now. As such, his eyelids got dangerously close to falling down for good.


    His eyes closed.


    Then, they flew open.


    ...His eyelids were growing heavy the very next second.


    He forcefully blinked.


    Yet, despite his best efforts, his eyshes trembled.


    And he fell asleep.


    ...


    Apollo''s mind heated up like a torrent of fire.


    He remembered why he was so insistent on snapping the neck of fate itself.


    A clear crack came from Apollo''s jaw.


    His lips parted. Wind whistled out of the gap.


    His mouth regained feeling. Then, a muffled chuckle rang out.


    Suddenly, a wide smile broke out on Apollo''s face.


    Heughed like he was screaming out at the world.


    His body gradually came back under his control.


    Apollo''s eyes widened dangerously. Almost as though he had already seen everything for what it was.


    His hand clutched his skull as he fell to one knee.


    He continuedughing with no intention to stop.


    Apollo sucked in ragged breaths in between hisughs. He sounded like he was in pain.


    Apollo curled up into a ball, but his muffledughter continued to seep out.


    was dragging her wounded body towards Apollo.


    She initially wanted tomend him but hesitated when she saw the state he was in.


    "...Are you ok?"


    Apollo did not respond, continuing with his zeal.


    Hisughs sounded like cries of pain and agony.


    slowly made her way over.


    Her injuries were worsening by the second, but she did not seem to notice.


    Instead, she sighed.


    crouched over and lightly patted Apollo''s back.


    She did not understand what made him like this but did not need to understand.


    Apollo''sughs grew faint.


    Then, he fell silent.


    He remained curled up and refused to move from his position.


    looked off into the snowy sky.


    She was reminded of her own experiences. They definitely contained lessughter but contained the same despair.


    "...Thanks for protecting the vige."


    Apollo did not react.


    was not perturbed and continued patting Apollo.


    "You saved my life as well. Are there any valuables you want? You deserve them."


    Apollo did not even flinch.


    smiled bitterly.


    She decided to remain silent.


    continued patting Apollo as blood poured from her wounds.

 Chapter 57 - Grim Aftermath

    and Apollo did not move.


    They continued speaking without words.


    Ned, Alyx, Erin, and Mildred hurried over.


    Ned had a big smile on his face. However, when he saw  and Apollo lying on the ground, it froze on his face.


    He turned his head around, taking in the surroundings.


    The vige was in shambles.


    While they won, it came at a great cost.


    The streets were littered with blood and bodies. So many people were breathing just moments ago.


    But not anymore.


    Before Ned knew it, he was frowning.


    The gloomy atmosphere was simply too much for him.


    A woman let out a weak cry.


    "Someone... save me..."


    Erin gasped.


    "Coming!"


    She hopped up and made her way to the voice.


    When Erin turned the corner, she froze.


    The woman was using her arms to crawl forward. How desperately she wanted to live was clear.


    However, her legs were gone.


    The only thing behind her was a trail of fresh blood.


    Erin crouched over and held her hands together.


    The inner corner of her eyebrows angled up and her eyes shimmered with tears.


    She was distraught.


    The woman crawled faster when she saw Erin.


    "Please!... save me..."


    Erin forced the words past her lips.


    They were weak but clear.


    "I''m sorry. I don''t think you can be saved."


    The woman red up in anger.


    "No! No! You are lying to me!"


    The woman''s breathing got heavy.


    "You can save me! Just do it already!"


    Erin fell silent.


    The woman iled her limbs.


    "How could you? Why? Why are you leaving me to die! How could you be so wicked!"


    Erin did not look away.


    She kept her eyes on the dying woman.


    Erin paid no heed to the curses thrown at her, nor did she run when the woman got aggressive.


    As for the woman, her strength was leaving her.


    "You wicked..."


    She frowned with trembling lips.


    "Just... try something. Please, anything."


    Tears streamed down her face as she let out herst words.


    "I don''t want to die."


    The woman stopped moving.


    Erin crouched over and bowed to the dead body.


    "Rest in peace."


    After a few moments of mourning, she jogged over to the group.


    Alyx had a hand on her forehead.


    "...I didn''t realize the deaths were this much."


    Mildred smiled bitterly.


    "Come on now. In the end, you all defended the vige. If you hadn''t, not to mention us, the other vigers would be dead as well."


    She sighed.


    "So we should be happy."


    Though Mildred said that, it didn''t have conviction.


    It was as though she could not even believe herself.


    shook her head.


    "Let us go back to the pce."


    Wars were quite the strange thing.


    After a grand battle, there tended to be celebrations.


    However, even the victorious suffer losses.


    Some may gloss over that fact, toasting their cups of wine. But the misery would not disappear from just that.


    Once the party was over and the victorious opened their eyes, they would find a mess.


    Yet, it would rarely be a surprise.


    After all, it hung above them. Almost like a parasite feeding on the deepest parts of their minds.


    In the end, the only thing left was to clean up the aftermath.


    ...


    Apollo was sitting on a bed.


    He was in one of the pce rooms.


    The group decided to give him some alone time. As such, they let him stay in one of the guest rooms.


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.


    He wanted to be stronger.


    His assassination target came to mind.


    He just had to kill him and he would get whatever that basic shadow step technique was.


    Apollo got off the bed and went to the balcony.


    He pushed aside the curtains and was immediately sted with a strong cold wind.


    The curtains were special. They blocked the cold from getting inside the room.


    Apollo did not mind the chill.


    He took a few steps forward and held onto the stone railings.


    Apollo peered at the ground.


    Although he was quite high up, he had jumped down from the ice giant''s head before.


    How bad could the fall be?


    With that mentality, Apollo leaped off the ledge without hesitation.


    The wind blew past his face, making his hair dance in the wind.


    Then a crack rang out.


    Apollo groaned in pain and held his knee.


    The bone covering his knee joint suffered quite a bit of strain.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    Wasn''t he fine jumping off that ice giant?


    ...Why did it hurt so much this time?


    Apollo shook his head.


    He limped forward as his legs slowly recovered.


    A young man was walking on the road nearby.


    He had a frown on his face and was looking towards the ground.


    Apollo limped over to him.


    "Hey, where is Otis Everfield?"


    The man looked at Apollo.


    After a second, he turned away. He continued walking without a care in the world.


    A dangerous smile appeared on his face.


    He cut off the man and grabbed him by the cor of his shirt.


    "Hey. I asked you a question."


    Apollo brought his face next to the man.


    His head twisted to the side.


    The man struggled.


    "Let go of me!"


    Apollo did as asked.


    ...By throwing the man at a nearby house.


    With a crash, the walls copsed.


    The man coughed up blood and grimaced in pain.


    Apollo walked over and lifted him by the cor again.


    "Where is Otis Everfield?"


    The man frowned and looked away. However, with one shaky arm, he pointed in a direction.


    "...That way."


    Apollo let him go, causing the man to fall and hit his head on the ground.


    The man cked out.


    Apollo walked off towards Otis Everfield''s residence.


    ...


    It was not far away. After just a few minutes of walking, Apollo found his destination. He could recognize a marble statue of a person on the small pce''s front doorstep.


    It was to scale and matched the description of his target.


    He scaled up the side of the building, peering in through the windows.


    Soon, his eyesnded on Otis.


    It was time to finish this request.

 Chapter 58 - Remember This!

    Otis Everfield looked in, just like his drawn portrait. He was stroking his grey beard with a cup of tea in front of him.


    He was deep in thought and would asionally sip from his refreshment.


    The room he was in was quiterge andvishly decorated.


    There was a long table that could seat roughly twenty people. Otis was sitting at one of the table''s ends.


    The ceiling was about eight meters off the ground, fulfilling the dream of ustrophobics.


    The walls and floors were made from white marble, expensive, like everything else.


    However, despite the luxurious materials used to construct the room, it did not shine brightly.


    It was dull.


    Everything was properly cleaned and maintained, so it was not because it was dirty. Each part of the building was old.


    The waves of time caused everything to lose its luster, but it was still holding on strong.


    Otis himself appeared to reflect that.


    He was not holding himself in a dignified or pretentious position. Of course, there was nobody to show off to, but it showed how he carried himself as a person.


    Apollo stepped in through the window. He did not bother trying to hide himself.


    He didn''t know how to anyways.


    Otis was startled, spilling some tea over himself.


    "How did you get in here?"


    Apollo smirked.


    "The window."


    Otis''s eyelid twitched.


    "...This is my residence. Get out."


    Apolloughed.


    "Yes, yes. I will leave in just a moment."


    Apollo walked towards Otis.


    Seeing this, Otis furrowed his brows.


    "What are you trying to do?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Kill you."


    Otis immediately began to gather mana, forming a wall of earth in front of him.


    Apollo directly shed through it. His eyes widened.


    A section of the earth wall copsed, but Otis was no longer behind it.


    Apollo flicked his bokken to the side, deflecting a beam of watering for him.


    He looked over to see Otis casting another spell. With a grin, he bolted forward.


    A frown was on Otis'' face.


    "To think there woulde a day where some strangeres into my home and tries to kill me."


    Apolloughed mockingly.


    "There''s a reward for your dead body. I am just here to capitalize on it."


    Arge rock formed in front of Otis. Suddenly, itunched forward.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The boulder was split in two, falling to Apollo''s sides.


    Otis disappeared once again.


    Apollo drew an arc with his bokken.


    He deflected three beams of water that were en route for his back. Apollo twisted his head to the side.


    Otis was standing on a wave of water.


    The water was magically floating in the air. It was in a constant state of movement and carried Otis along with it.


    "I wonder who I offended enough to send an assassin for me."


    Apollo''s face froze.


    He could feel something in his mind twitch but settle quickly after.


    His smile grew wider.


    "Why even resist? You are going to die today."


    Otis chuckled and gathered mana for another spell.


    "I may as well try, no?"


    The ground trembled.


    The marble flooring below Apollo burst apart, sending a spike of earth at him.


    Apollo jumped up before it could hit him. As he did so, Otis circled around him while sending beams of water his way.


    Apollo''s bokken swung in a strange arc while he was in the air. The beams of water twisted away.


    He snickered.


    "Is that it?"


    Otis frowned.


    "No!"


    He gathered arge amount of mana in front of him.


    By the time Apollonded back on the ground, a long white spear shot towards him.


    His body heated up as tiny red scars formed on his wrist.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    With a bang, the spear was sent into the wall. Half of it pierced into the wall.


    Apollo''s bokken shed once more.


    "AHHH-"


    Otis screamed in agony. One of his arms lopped off, falling to the ground with a st.


    Apollo let out a flurry of strikes.


    Like a cacophony of screams, des of wind tore through the air.


    Otis attempted to dodge but was unable to urately determine where they wereing from.


    Cuts appeared across his body one after another. He already had one foot in the grave.


    At that moment, the doors to the room burst open.


    "Dad?"


    A kid ran in from behind the doors. He was a little younger than Apollo. His cheeks still had traces of baby fat.


    He had short light brown hair and his eyes were hazelnut in color. He was wearing a robe with gold linings that most in royalty would, but it gave off a dull luster.


    Otis wasposed even as he was about to die.


    However, once he saw his child, he lost all of hisposure.


    "No! Run, my son!"


    Apollo looked at the kid but did not spare another nce.


    He couldn''t care less.


    On the other hand, the child did not heed his father''s warning. He ran in, thinking he could somehow solve the predicament by being there.


    "Dad!"


    Otis subconsciously looked over but got hit with a sh because of that.


    "Dammit! Son, run away!"


    The kid frowned and clenched his fists. He was insistent.


    "No! I will defeat this guy, just watch!"


    The kid charged towards Apollo.


    A tiny ball of fire formed on his hand. It seemed he wished to attack using it.


    Otis reached out his hand towards his son.


    "No!"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow. He had no intentions to fight the kid, but if he was going to charge at him...


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    Blood sprayed into the air.


    It was Otis'' blood.


    He got in between Apollo and his son, taking the full brunt of the sh.


    Now Otis was at death''s door.


    In just a few moments, he would leave this world forever.


    He turned to his son.


    "You... stupid child."


    The kid looked at his father with tears in his eyes.


    "Wha... why did you?"


    Otis lightly pushed his son away.


    "You must... live."


    He smiled bitterly.


    "Sorry. Your father... can''t apany you anymore."


    To the kid''s dismay, Otis fell to the ground lifelessly.


    Seeing that, Apollo hopped up to the window.


    He was done here.


    The kid clenched his fists.


    "Damn you! Remember this.... Otis the second will personally cut off your head!"

 Chapter 59 - Basic Shadow Step Technique?

    Apollo did not even turn back.


    Why should he care about some random kid''s rambling?


    Apollo walked into his shadow, off to im his results.


    ...


    Otis The Second''s gaze lingered on the window.


    He clenched his fist, digging his nails into his palms.


    As the blood dripped down, he turned back to look at his father.


    "...Dad."


    He walked over and lifted his father''s lifeless hand.


    "Why... why did this have to happen?"


    Otis The Second began to sob.


    "Dad... I never thought this day woulde so fast."


    He closed his eyes and tilted his head down.


    "I will inherit the legacy, as I promised."


    With renewed determination, Otis The Second left the room.


    He traversed down the pce until he reached the bottom floor.


    Otis The Second came to a rather small room.


    The ce was only a few meters high, making most feel cramped.


    The walls were made of stone. In front of him was a set of faint white magical scrawlings. It appeared to be the design of a convoluted flower.


    A faint white glow emitted from the strange piece of art.


    Otis The Second punched the wall hard.


    Other than venting his anger, nothing happened.


    He continued to punch it. He only stopped when his fist was bleeding profusely.


    He rubbed his blood across the scrawlings.


    Suddenly, a rumble reverberated within the room.


    Otis The Second looked around with a tinge of fear.


    As the white scrawlings faded away, a hidden door opened.


    There was a long staircase leading to a dark abyss.


    Otis The Second walked down the steps with trepidation.


    Would these steps lead him to glory?


    ...Or doom?


    Well, he wouldn''t know.


    ...


    Apollo was making his way through the shadow world.


    There was an odd tugging force pulling him forward.


    Soon, he came across the association''s symbol.


    The slightly parted eye.


    He reached his hand out and touched it.


    With a sh, he was in the ck room.


    The only thing inside was the grey desk.


    He took out his copper coin and flicked it.


    The copper coin suddenly disappeared, letting out plumes of mist.


    Apollo waited for the room to clear, then inspected the desk in front of him.


    Five white lines of condensed mist hovered in the air.


    He got another chance to use the coin.


    The parchment from his request was torn to two pieces,ying on the desk.


    Next to that was a small ck crystal.


    Apollo curiously picked it up.


    It was cool to the touch and glimmered with a soft light.


    ...What was he supposed to do with this?


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    Where was the technique?


    His coin reappeared.


    It tumbled onto the desk, face up, showing off the smiling devil.


    Apollo retrieved it, then proceeded to observe the ck crystal.


    He was pretty sure this thing was supposed to be his reward but did not know what to do with it.


    Why wasn''t there some sort of manual to guide him?


    Apollo sighed, clenching the crystal in frustration.


    Then, it shattered.


    Apollo''s eyes flew open.


    "Wait! My technique!..."


    The desk faded from his vision.


    He suddenly found himself on a stone tform.


    There was a humanoid figure made of dark grey mist standing across from him.


    While Apollo''s jaw was still agape, the man of mist took on a stance.


    It appeared as though he was ready to fight with Apollo, holding his arms out and bending his knees.


    Suddenly, the man of mist moved.


    Apollo''s hand clenched onto the bokken.


    Then... loosened.


    The man of mist was sidestepping.


    His figure would suddenly disappear after he pushed off the ground, then reappear a few steps away.


    After a few seconds, he changed it up.


    He recoiled backward, then lunged forward.


    The man of mist continued disappearing and reappearing like a ghost.


    Apollo had realized that this was his reward. A demonstration of the Basic Shadow Step Technique.


    He observed closely, rubbing his thumb and forefinger on his chin.


    Once he had a superficial understanding, he tried it out himself.


    His first few steps were inept, but he quickly got into the rhythm.


    It was almost like Apollo was the mirror image of the man.


    However, there was one small difference.


    Apollo wasn''t disappearing, just copying the movements.


    This frustrated him. He couldn''t figure out what was missing.


    Apollo stubbornly imitated the man of mist.


    Suddenly, his eyes narrowed.


    He just barely caught a difference in their footwork.


    Apollo focused, taking a peek behind the door.


    Then, the man of mist disappeared.


    Apollo was back in the room with the grey desk.


    His eyelid twitched.


    ...There was a time limit?


    Apollo facepalmed.


    "I was so close..."


    After heaving a sigh, he moved past it.


    Perhaps the reward would show up again?


    Apollo flicked his coin, letting it disappear above the grey table.


    Four condensed lines of white mist appeared.


    Below it were two pieces of parchment.


    Apollo felt a bit nervous.


    They wouldn''t be the same missions, right?


    His eyes immediately darted to the reward sections.


    ''Reward: Ten Gold Coins''


    His face twitched, then looked at the other one with a bit of anxiety.


    ''Reward: 50x One-Week Food Pellets''


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    He closed his eyes andbed through his memories.


    Apollo saw the yellow bead in Willow''s hands. The moment it slipped into his stomach, a refreshing feeling came over him.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    While the pellets weren''t what he wanted the most, they certainly wouldn''t hurt.


    After all, he always seemed to have a problem with food.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin


    Target: Shadow Monkeys


    Description: Resides in the forest of misery. Estimated to have a danger level of two horns. ck fur, brown eyes. Are most frequently found hanging around penumbra trees.


    Requirements: Eradicate all targets within the forest of misery.''


    This was a simple ink drawing of the shadow monkey.


    It appeared to be small and had rtivelyrge heads. Their eyescked any pupils. Instead, it was just an empty sclera, giving a nk stare.


    Apollo epted the quest.


    Then set off toplete it.

 Chapter 60 - There Is No Saving Me

    Apollo was walking down the streets of the vige.


    At that moment, someone called out to him.


    "Hey, Apollo!"


    It was Ned.


    He ran while waving his arms in the air. It was as if he wanted to attract as much attention as possible.


    Apollo stopped and turned to Ned.


    "Oh, hey Ned."


    Once Ned reached Apollo he put his hands on his knees and panted.


    "Hah... Hah... You suddenly left the pce!"


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "I guess so."


    Ned looked at Apollo curiously.


    "...Do you have something to do?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah."


    Ned was silent for a moment.


    "...Don''t you at least want to say goodbye to everyone?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Not really."


    Ned blinked a few times.


    "Oh... Well, just know you cane back to hang out at any time."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Ok."


    With that, Apollo left.


    Ned watched him go. When he was no longer in sight, he went back to the pce to inform everyone of what happened.


    They were surprised that Apollo left so easily.


    Their time with him almost felt like a fleeting dream.


    ...


    Once Maya fainted, she was found by some guards.


    The only way they could make her out from the rest of the dead bodies was how hard she was clutching the gemstone in her hand.


    Kye was one of the chiefs within Evermore city.


    He was a middle-aged man but on the younger side. His hair was light brown and tidy. Along with that, he had just barely grown a small beard. It had only reached this state by growing it out since the day he was born.


    When Kye heard the news, he was shocked.


    Who killed all the innocent vigers and guards?


    What made him most concerned was the wind mage''s dead body.


    There were people called enforcers in this city. They were the ones that used violence when things got out of hand.


    The wind mage was one of the enforcers, and people in that group were not weak.


    Being able to kill her meant that the criminal was not one to take lightly.


    Currently, Maya was sitting in a chair. She was cuffed to a table in a small room.


    She was wrapped with bandages and had some fresh simple clothes on top of them.


    While asleep, she was fed a vitality pill.


    This pill was difficult to make but could bring someone near the brink of death to a stable condition. If not for this pill, Maya would''ve died.


    Maya slowly opened her eyes.


    "...Where am I?"


    Kye was sitting across from her.


    He cleared his throat.


    "Hello, citizen. I apologize for the harsh conditions, but we have a few questions to ask you."


    Kye did not connect the dead mage to Maya. After all, she was a kid that got horribly injured in the ident.


    He believed she was one of the victims of this new criminal.


    Kye did not want to make it hard for Maya, but his current priority was finding out what happened. As such, he restricted Maya, believing intimidation would give him his answers faster.


    Maya looked up at Kye.


    "You... killed Apollo."


    Kye frowned.


    He presumed that the ''criminal'' killed ''Apollo'' and Maya was traumatized by that fact.


    "No, I am the local chief of this area. I did not kill your friend, I am trying to find the killer."


    Maya freaked out.


    Her arms twisted, pressing hard against the cuffs. Her skin became a bright white while her hands reddened.


    "YOU KILLED APOLLO. YOU KILLED HIM."


    She stood up, knocking the chair she was sitting on backward.


    "AHHHH!"


    Maya''s eyes were bloodshot.


    She did not realize how much she depended on Apollo to keep herself together.


    Maya may not have known him for long, but he protected her. She missed that feeling so much.


    Apollo was a pir in Maya''s heart. He was what gave her the courage to brave the new world. He made her feel like she was sheltered in the raging storm.


    Kye furrowed his brows.


    He didn''t expect Maya would be this traumatized.


    Kye gathered mana on his palm, then casted the subdue spell.


    Maya suddenly fell unconscious, knocking her head on the table as she copsed.


    Kye let out a deep sigh.


    "Get her up."


    The guards came in to put Maya back in her seat.


    Kye put an elbow on the table and rested his head on his fist.


    Now, to wait for Maya to wake up again.


    ...


    Maya would wake up and Kye would try to interrogate her.


    "YOU KILLED HIM"


    "We did not kill him. We are on the same side, I am trying to find his killer."


    Then, Maya would lose it.


    Kye would cast the subdue spell on her and the process repeated itself.


    ...


    "Can you describe the features of the criminal?"


    "YOU, THE CRIMINAL IS YO-"


    ...


    "Do you know where the criminal fled to?"


    "YOU BETTER FLEE, I''M GOING TO GET REV-"


    ...


    "DAMMIT, CAN YOU JUST CALM DOWN FOR A SECOND?"


    "YOU KILLED APOLLO, YOU-"


    ...


    "AHHHHHHH"


    "AHHHHHHH"


    ...


    Both Kye''s and Maya''s faces were flushed red. It had be apetition of who could scream louder.


    Kye fell on his seat and facepalmed.


    "...It seems this isn''t going to work."


    Maya tilted her head to the side.


    "Yes... you''re right."


    Kye looked down at the cuffs.


    The skin on Maya''s arms pulled back, revealing her flesh. It was quite disturbing.


    Kye furrowed his brows.


    "...Sorry about the restraints. It seems they have harmed you."


    Maya did not respond.


    There was a nk look on her face.


    Her lips parted to mumble something.


    Kye raised an eyebrow.


    "What was that?"


    A whistling came from Maya. It sounded like an old vent letting out itsst creaky breath.


    "I will kill you all."


    Kye sighed.


    "There''s no saving this poor thing."


    Maya slowly raised her head.


    "Yes... there is no more saving me."


    For some reason, Kye felt uneasy.


    However, he reassured himself that it was just a little girl. Not to mention the fact she was cuffed.


    ....Perhaps he would''ve thought about it differently if he knew that Maya was gathering mana from the gemstone in her hand.

 Chapter 61 - I Am Not The One You Should Be Asking

    A few fire spells formed inside of Maya''s body.


    Normally when mages casted spells, they needed to gather mana. However, Maya was using the mana from the gemstone.


    As such, Kye did not realize that Maya was preparing a spell.


    Maya had a deadpan expression. She gradually connected three fire spells by their cores.


    Then casted it.


    Kye had no time to react.


    By the time he realized a fireball was in front of him, it exploded.


    Kye died immediately. His body was charred ck.


    Although Kye was a mage, his body was weak. Different from constitution mages, he was the more mainstream version.


    A collector mage.


    These mages gathered mana from outside their bodies, only limited by the power of their mind.


    While they could cast powerful spells, their bodies were no different from the average person. As such, Kye died without being able to resist.


    The guards panicked.


    "What is this?"


    "The chief is dead!"


    "Avenge the chief!"


    The guards burst into the room.


    Originally, they had pitied Maya for what she had been through. However, it seems like their pity was misced.


    Maya''s expression was an uncanny dull.


    She violently pulled at her hands.


    Her left hand slipped out of the cuff, albeit with some cracking sounds. However, the right hand was still holding onto the gemstone, making it harder to slide past.


    She could''ve let it go and picked it up after. But she refused.


    But that didn''t mean she gave up on pulling her right hand out.


    Skin and flesh on her right hand were peeled off. With a pop, she removed it from the cuff.


    All that was left was a skinless hand, proudly disying its red flesh.


    Maya''s mouth was ever so slightly agape.


    The guards charged at her. They were angry over her heartless killing.


    They had to put an end to it.


    In Maya''s half dead state, she was enlightened.


    The vortex in the gemstone span madly, sending torrents of mana into Maya''s arm.


    Like rain, firebolts appeared one after another, mming into the bodies of the guards.


    Their armor did not protect them. With a bang, their armor caved in and their bodies were charred.


    The smell of burnt flesh filled the room.


    Once ten or so guards died, the others quickly realized they were in a losing battle.


    They had to run away.


    The might from this little girl was too much for them to handle.


    As they ran, firebolts continued descending on them.


    The entire time, Maya had a listless expression on her face.


    As the guards fled, she leisurely walked forward. It was almost like she was an old man going out for a walk by the park.


    The guards ran down the hallways, trying to exit the building as soon as possible.


    Maya walked after them, all the whileunching balls of fire towards them.


    Screams rang out as the guards died one after the other.


    The scent of charred flesh filled the air while despair hung above the survivors.


    Soon, there was only one guard left.


    While all of hispanions had died, he made it to the door.


    Filled with hope, he pushed against it.


    But it was a pull door.


    He stood there awkwardly.


    The guard''s heart clenched as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead.


    "Uh oh..."


    A firebolt exploded at his legs, blowing both of them off.


    He was still alive. He wasn''t bleeding because his legs had been burned to ashes.


    The guard grimaced in pain and stared at Maya''s lifeless look.


    "Why..."


    He closed his eyes.


    "How can you be so cruel?"


    Maya lethargically replied.


    "...I am not the one you should be asking."


    Shenguidly raised her hand and pointed her finger.


    A ball of fire formed.


    "Instead, you should ask the world that question."


    The guard gave up, staring at the ceiling with a nk look.


    Then, he was blown to pieces.


    ...


    Maya''s condition was bad, to say the least.


    Although she was not once struck by others, casting those spells took a toll on her body.


    Her body was wrapped in bandages, but they were countless holes torn on it.


    Her skin had burst open, soaking the bandages with her blood.


    Maya shook.


    She coughed out blood.


    Her vision was blurry and her body was shivering


    Yet, she didn''t seem to notice.


    Her entire body ached with pain, but her dull expression remained. It was as though she could no longer feel anything.


    Like a zombie, she continued moving.


    She stepped over the dead bodies and pulled open the door.


    Maya''s skinless red hand clutched the gemstone tightly.


    It was time to act upon her initial intentions.


    To massacre this vige.


    The consequences did not matter to her anymore.


    ...


    Maya sat in the corner of an alleyway with her eyes closed.


    However, her mind was somewhere else.


    Maya looked closely at the rotating diagram in front of her.


    Her mind was working overtime, trying to absorb as many concepts and principles as she could.


    The pain slowly grew in intensity, but that didn''t affect Maya.


    As time passed, a force tried to pull her out.


    She resisted the pulling force. The force trying to save her from herself.


    Maya''s body wasposed of white mist and could hardly keep itself together.


    Her mind ached. It was as though countless needles had pierced her head and mixed it like a whisk in scrambled eggs.


    Still, Maya stubbornly remained.


    Like a corpse, she stared at the diagram.


    Then... she memorized a new concept.


    She no longer resisted. Her white mist body was pulled out.


    Maya''s eyes fluttered open.


    Her head released strong waves of heat. She was sick.


    However, that wouldn''t stop her.


    Maya slowly formed three fire spells inside her body.


    This time, she connected them by both their cores and surfaces.


    She stumbled out of the alleyway like she was drunk. Her free hand pressed against the side of the wall to give her support.


    Maya made her way to the town square.


    There were many people casually walking around, minding their own business.


    Maya slowly made her way to the center.


    Although most didn''t bother, an old man walked over to Maya.


    He looked worried.


    "Are you ok child?"


    Maya looked up to the sky with a deadpan expression.


    "No."


    Then let the spell loose.

 Chapter 62 - Behemoth

    A storm of fire rippled from Maya''s feet, spreading across the town square.


    The old man was the first to burn alive, screaming in agony as he turned to ash.


    Then, countless more screamed in pain. The people that were on fire ran, trying to cling to others for help.


    "Help me! AGH-"


    "Get off me! No!"


    But there was no helping them. In the end, the unlucky fellows were dragged down to hell with them.


    The square was in chaos. People desperately fled for their lives. However, the storm of fire was far faster than the people could run.


    Nobody that stood within the town square survived.


    The scent of burnt flesh filled the air.


    Through it all, Maya''s expression did not change. Her eyes lethargically blinked.


    She simply stared at the sky as if she was trying to catch up on sleep.


    Blood pooled at Maya''s feet.


    It was her own. Her victims would be unable to bleed as the fire burnt it away.


    Maya closed her eyes, basking in the carnage.


    The hand holding onto the gemstone became a dark red.


    By now, she was on the verge of insanity.


    Any normal person would''ve fainted or died if their bodies were half as mangled as Maya''s.


    Yet, through sheer will, Maya remained standing.


    She was far from done.


    Maya stumbled forward, sending firebolts to the nearby houses.


    She was going to raze this city to the ground.


    Blood continued to spray from her body.


    She tripped, falling hard onto the cobblestone path.


    Maya pressed both her hands on the ground. She pushed herself up.


    Her eyes could not remain open all the way, teetering between opened and closed.


    She could fall asleep at any point. But Maya knew that if she did so now, she would never wake.


    As such, Maya stumbled onto her feet and continued walking forward.


    There were few civilians nearby, however, they immediately ran when they saw her.


    After all, she left behind a trail of destruction.


    Maya was able to catch a few people with her firebolts, but most got away. They easily outran with her the pace she was going at.


    She continued walking forward like a zombie, wreaking havoc.


    "FIEND!"


    Arge ice spear shot towards Maya.


    She returned in kind, shooting a firebolt.


    They collided with a bang, causing steam to rise in the air.


    Once it cleared, a young man in a ck suit was revealed.


    He had short and tidy brown hair. His eyes gleamed with a deep blue and his cheeks were sunken in ever so slightly. There was a simple metal spear on his back.


    "On the glory of Evermore, I, Aviel, will strike you down!"


    Aviel gathered mana, forming four spears of ice. He let them rain down on Maya.


    Maya''s expression did not change. It was as deadpan as ever.


    Arge ball of fire burgeoned in front of her.


    All four ice spears collided with the ball of fire, releasing a storm of mist.


    Maya was tossed backward like a sack of potatoes.


    She was caught up in the residual explosion.


    Her body had heated up tremendously. It was even emitting steam.


    Still, through it all, Maya got up on her feet.


    Aviel did not wait, sending a barrage of ice spears at her.


    Maya responded in tandem with firebolts.


    She continued to spray out blood like a fountain. At this point, she probably had more blood outside her body than inside.


    Steam continued to form as the fight went on. Soon, neither side could see the other.


    Avielughed.


    "What will you do now? Mages should reallypensate for theirck of closebat abilities."


    Suddenly, the steam in front of Maya quickly condensed into water, then ice.


    Aviel was charging towards Maya with a spear. There was a strong chill emanating from him, creating a small domain of frost.


    Once this domain covered Maya, she could feel her body be rigid.


    Like venom, the cold traversed throughout her body, causing it to freeze over.


    Maya connected three fire spells by their cores and their surface.


    A strong wave of fire emanated from Maya''s feet.


    Aviel retreated, but there was a smile on his face.


    "Haha, how many more times can you do that?"


    Once the wave of fire stopped spreading, Aviel dived back in.


    The steam behind Maya froze over.


    Aviel dashed forward to stab her.


    "There you are!"


    Maya let out another storm of fire, forcing Aviel to retreat once more.


    Maya coughed out a mouthful of blood.


    The fact her body was even intact in the first ce was a miracle.


    However, no miracle could let her cast these spells forever.


    Aviel waited out the fire, then dashed back in.


    This time she wasn''t finished connecting the spells, having only connected them by their surfaces.


    The domain of ice covered her, freezing her body.


    Suddenly, she went through enlightenment.


    A wave of heat rippled out of her, negating the effects of Aviel''s domain.


    Steam rose from the collision of their opposing elements.


    Aviel instinctively wanted to retreat but realized that Maya didn''t cast the usual spell.


    With his domain of ice, the spell Maya cast would not harm him.


    At best, Maya''s spell would make his vision unclear from the steam.


    As the only one holding a weapon, Aviel had the clear advantage in close quarters.


    Thus, he dashed forward, stabbing Maya.


    Maya was unable to dodge. She let the spear pierce straight through her stomach.


    Avielughed. He was clearly mocking her.


    "Did you see thising, fiend? If not, you should''ve! Those that make trouble in the city of Evermore have all fallen to its proud warriors!"


    Maya did not respond.


    Aviel could only see a dark figure from all the steam in the air.


    He was a little dissatisfied since Maya did not cry for mercy or just pain in general. However, he simply shrugged it off.


    He had business to finish.


    Aviel tugged his spear.


    But it wouldn''t budge.


    Aviel furrowed his brows.


    He pulled with all his might.


    Yet... it remained still.


    Maya''s shadowy figure loomed like a behemoth.

 Chapter 63 - Not Yet

    Maya had been pierced by the spear.


    But instead of reeling in pain, she was calmer than the sea.


    Maya looked at Aviel''s shadowy figure with a deadpan expression.


    She used her free hand to grasp the spear.


    Maya clutched on the spear as though she was death itself, grabbing the souls of the deceased.


    There was a tug, but the spear did not budge.


    Following that, there was a heave.


    However, Maya''s death grip did not waver.


    It was almost like Maya was a mountain.


    When all is said and done, Aviel was much stronger than Maya.


    He could cast many spells freely and did not have to destroy his body in the process. On the other hand, every spell Maya cast would bring her closer to the doors of death.


    Not to mention Maya''s condition was bad before the battle even began. On top of that, she did not have a weapon to match Aviel.


    Any logical person would bet Aviel would be the winner.


    And that decision would make sense.


    So what was happening?


    There was a look of despair on Aviel''s face while Maya''s was expressionless.


    It was almost as though it was Aviel that had been pierced by the spear instead of Maya.


    Aviel was stronger than Maya, there was no doubt about that.


    However, there was one thing he could not match Maya in.


    Cruelty.


    Not just cruelty to one''s enemies, but themselves.


    It was what let Maya remain standing.


    It was what let Maya push through the pain.


    It was what let Maya rage harder than a hurricane ever could.


    Aviel could never match that.


    Maya walked forward, letting the spear skewer her further.


    Her dark red hand lifted. Her forefinger raised, pointing towards Aviel.


    A fireball converged at the tip of her finger.


    Maya knew that she would be caught up in the explosion being this close.


    But she didn''t care.


    Aviel panicked.


    He was afraid.


    So much so that he gave up on the spear altogether.


    Aviel turned around. Yet, before he could even take a step, a fireball exploded on his back.


    He took the full brunt of the explosion. His body was flung forward and charred ck.


    For just a few seconds, he remained alive.


    His eyes filled with despair as death stood above him.


    Then...


    The candle went out.


    Maya had been hit by the residual explosion.


    She flew backward, smacking against the floor.


    The front of her body was charred ck and the spear had fallen out of her stomach.


    Her face could hardly be seen through the ck soot covering it.


    ...On the bright side, she wasn''t bleeding.


    But that came at the cost of some fractured bones.


    However, like a demon, Maya stood up.


    She wasn''t done.


    Not yet.


    ...


    Apollo headed off to the Forest of Misery.


    He used the red waves in the shadow world to guide him.


    He encountered a few eagles and wolves on the way. As such, he got some food to fill his stomach.


    Apollomented over the taste of raw meat. He missed the food that Ned and the others made, but there was not much he could do about it.


    He let it go and focused on the task at hand.


    As Apollo navigated his way between the trees, his eye caught an anomaly.


    There was a little girl prancing about in the forest.


    She was chasing after a small white butterfly.


    The butterfly was weary. It was deathly afraid of the girl behind it but had run for far too long.


    In the end, it plopped into the snow, exhausted.


    The little girl crouched down and looked at the butterfly curiously.


    She had long purple hair and beady green eyes.


    The little girl had tight fitting shirt and shorts, both jet ck. She was wearing a loose red coat on top.


    The coat reached down to her knees and was generously lined with white fur.


    Despite the cold, the little girl did not seem to mind. She kept her coat unbuttoned, causing it to fly about with the wind.


    There was a little golden bell around her neck that let out a soft chime at the slightest movement.


    However, the most notable thing...


    Were the two fluffy cat earns adorned on the top of her head.


    The little girl reached out her finger, trying to poke the butterfly.


    Running on fumes, the butterfly pped its wings onest time. It was able to take itself off the ground, flying a few steps forward.


    Then, it died of exhaustion.


    The little girl''s fluffy ears twitched.


    She tilted her head to the side and poked the dead butterfly.


    Apollo spared a nce, but that was all. He kept running towards his destination.


    But... the situation didn''t go as he hoped.


    "Heyyyy!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    He continued running, pretending he didn''t hear. He hoped that the strange girl would just give up.


    However, the girl was persistent. She waved her hands in the air as if that would somehow get Apollo''s attention.


    "Waitttt! Can you tell me why my friend won''t y with me anymore?"


    Apollo grit his teeth, pushing himself to run faster.


    After a few minutes, it was silent.


    Apollo was gasping for breath. He figured that he lost the strange girl.


    As such, his steps slowed to a stop. He used his free hand to hold the side of a tree.


    Apollo was hunched over, panting. It did not take long for him to recover.


    He shook his head and looked up.


    ...To see the strange girl staring at him curiously.


    The girl tilted her head to the side with a smile on her face.


    "Hehe, that was fun! Thanks for being my new friend!"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "I am not your friend."


    With that, he bolted off.


    At this point, he wasn''t sure if he was going in the right direction. His main priority was to shake off this strange girl.


    The little girl was not discouraged by Apollo''s remark. Instead, she chased after him with a giggle.


    "Hehe, you are so weird, friend!"


    It was at this moment Apollo recalled the butterfly that died of exhaustion.


    ....Perhaps he made a mistake.

 Chapter 64 - Why Does It Have To Be Me?

    Beads of sweat formed on Apollo''s forehead.


    His body began heating up. Any snow that got near his body would melt to water.


    Apollo peered over his shoulder.


    The little girl was still chasing him with a blissful expression on her face. It was as though she was going for a casual jog.


    Apollo was bewildered.


    Who the heck was this girl?


    And why was she so persistent?


    Although Apollo was by no means running the fastest, he was not slow.


    He did not want to dy his request. As such, he was conserving enough stamina to maintain a high overall speed.


    Apollo came to regret that decision.


    At this point, he was too tired to go at his top speed. He doubted he could shake her off even if he ran a little faster.


    Apollo was about to give in and try to talk but came to a sudden realization.


    He could step into the shadow world.


    Apollo turned his head around and shed a smirk.


    "See you."


    The little girl tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.


    "I see you too!"


    Apollo ignored the girl''s remark and stepped into his shadow.


    Apollo opened his eyes with a serene calm. As jarring and ufortable it was to be in this ce, he was used to it.


    Apollo looked in the direction of the red waves.


    He had gone off course but was still close by.


    Apollo got back on the path and walked as fast as he could down it.


    His lungs asked him for oxygen, but he resisted.


    Apollo didn''t want to meet with that strange girl again. As such, he endured the suffocating feeling to walk a few more steps.


    When Apollo felt like his consciousness was about to disappear, he raised his bokken.


    And left the shadow world.


    Apollo copsed onto the snow, desperately taking in breaths of air. His vision was blurry but it cleared rather quickly.


    Apollo was prostrated on the ground. He used his shaky arms to lift himself up.


    "Wow, that was so cool!"


    Apollo froze.


    ...Whose voice was that?


    He slowly turned his head to the side. To his dismay, he saw the little girl.


    "...You ...How did you find me?"


    The little girl tilted her head to the side.


    "Hehe, you are so silly, friend. I just followed you!"


    Apollo smiled bitterly.


    It seemed some things just couldn''t be escaped.


    Apollo sighed.


    "...Well. My name is Apollo, what is yours?"


    The little girl giggled.


    "Hehe, friend''s name is Apollo!"


    She proceeded to purr.


    "Apollo... Apollo!"


    As for Apollo, he could feel a headacheing on.


    "What is your name?"


    The little girl tilted her head to the side.


    "Oh!..."


    At that moment, a tail unfurled from the little girl. It started to sway from side to side.


    Her tail was purple like her hair but had a white tip. Attached to the end of her tail was a small bell that let out soft ringing noises.


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    ...This wasn''t a human.


    The little girl continued to sway her tail around, causing gentle jingles to fill the air.


    Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.


    He was already getting tired of the incessant chimes.


    "You forgot your name?"


    The little girl giggled.


    "What? No, it''s La silly. How could you think I forgot my name?"


    Apollo clenched his fist.


    He opened his mouth but closed it shortly after. It was not worth the effort to argue.


    Not with someone like this.


    Apollo sighed.


    "...So why are you here, La?"


    La''s fluffy ears curled down.


    "Hmm... it''s because my friend is here!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    Was this the definition of a free spirit?


    "Well... It was nice meeting you, but I have business to attend to. So we must part."


    La raised an eyebrow but smiled soon after.


    "Ok, let''s go!"


    Apollo was surprised.


    She agreed so easily?


    He continued walking towards his destination.


    Apollo ignored the sounds of bells behind him for a few minutes.


    ...Then, he spun around, filled with annoyance.


    "Why are you following me?"


    La giggled.


    "Because we are off to business!"


    Apollo facepalmed.


    "Not WE."


    He pointed to himself.


    "I am off to business. Not you!"


    Apollo couldn''t help but heave a sigh.


    "Understand?"


    La smiled and nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Apollo did not feel assured when she said that.


    ...But surely she would have gotten the message by now?


    He resumed his journey.


    A soft jingle rang out behind him.


    Apollo slowly turned around.


    "...What are you doing? I said it was not you, remember?"


    La nodded excitedly.


    "Yeah! Yeah!"


    A shaky smile forced its way on Apollo''s face.


    He was losing it.


    "So... why are you still here?"


    La turned her head to the side.


    "Hehe, you''re so silly! Did you think my name was you?"


    She grinned yfully.


    "It''s La! How did you forget already?"


    Apollo''s knuckles became white. He was clenching his fists hard.


    Then... he let it go.


    Not because he wasn''t mad.


    Not because he was a nice person.


    But because it was easier to go with La than try to make her understand.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "I''m going somewhere dangerous. I won''t protect you, so follow me at your own risk."


    La nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yes! I will be careful!"


    Apollo shook his head. He was resigned to this fate.


    With that, the two of them set off.


    Apollo walked briskly while La followed. She was bobbing her head from side to side.


    La had a dreamy smile on her face.


    "Hehe... friend."


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "Why are you so excited to have a friend?"


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Because friends are best!"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Why does it have to be me? You have other friends too, no?"


    La pouted.


    "Mmm... but they won''t y with me anymore!"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "And why is that?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Well, that''s because-"


    A thundering boom interrupted her.


    A massive lizardnded on the ground next to them.

 Chapter 65 - So Many Friends!

    Apollo turned his head to the massive lizard.


    "What is that?"


    The lizard was pitch ck, resembling an oversized crocodile. It was roughly thirty meters long. Its yellow eyes were tinypared to its exaggerated size.


    La raised her hands and pped.


    "Wow! Another friend!"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "I don''t think this is a friend!"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh, why not?"


    The massive lizard lunged at Apollo.


    As Apollo dodged, he turned to La.


    "Is this your definition of friend?"


    La giggled.


    "He is ying with you! Of course, he is a friend."


    The massive lizard opened its jaw and roared.


    A wave reverberated.


    Apollo''s eyes widened and blood seeped out from his nose.


    His mind had nked out for a second.


    The roar was an attack itself, not just intimidation.


    While Apollo was in a daze, the massive lizard lunged forward.


    Suddenly, a smile broke out on Apollo''s face.


    He leaped off the ground, dodging the massive lizard''s attack.


    Apollo performed a front flip above the massive lizard, flying past it. His bokken shed while he was in the air.


    Arge gash appeared across the entire massive lizard. It was as though Apollo''s bokken magically grew in length.


    The massive lizard roared in pain. It turned around to face Apollo, ignoring the blood pouring out of its body.


    It opened its jaws to roar once again.


    Apollo giggled. The moment he had a bad feeling, he stepped into his shadow.


    After a second or so, he left the shadow world.


    He came back to the real world to see the massive lizard lying there awkwardly.


    Once the massive lizard caught sight of Apollo, it dashed towards him.


    As for Apollo, heughed.


    He fearlessly charged towards the massive lizard.


    Its jaws were wide open, wide enough to consume Apollo whole.


    However, that did not faze Apollo.


    The two were right next to each other. The massive lizard seemed to be the clear winner of this engagement. After all, it seemed like its adversary was about to leap into its mouth.


    Then, Apollo shed.


    Like a lightning bolt, he suddenly appeared at the lizard''s tail.


    The gash on the lizard suddenly exploded, causing the massive lizard to splint in two.


    Its blood sprayed up into the air and fell it rain.


    Apollo looked up to the sky, basking in the rain. He could not help butugh.


    At the same time, La put her hands on her cheeks and smiled.


    "Wow! You guys had so much fun!"


    She looked at the lizard that was no longer moving.


    Then, La pouted.


    "Aw... he''s tired already. You have to let me y with the next friend we find!"


    Apollo abruptly sobered up. His brows furrowed as he turned to La.


    "...How was I ying with that thing?"


    La raised an eyebrow.


    "But you wereughing the whole time! That is what it means to y, silly!"


    Apollo felt like his intelligence was declining the more he tried to understand La''s thinking.


    He shook his head.


    "Whatever..."


    Apollo continued walking forward while La followed by skipping.


    After just a few steps, the environment began to change.


    The trees here were thinner and darker than normal trees. However, what truly set them apart were the unsettling angles they were twisted at.


    Their irregr shape made it strange that they were able to remain upright. With how their weights were bnced, it seemed like they could topple over at any moment.


    The trees remained perfectly still, which should be normal for trees. However, something about them felt... lively. It was almost like a person pretending to be a statue.


    As Apollo and La walked forward, they had to climb over branches and trunks. There was hardly any ground that was not covered by some sort of obstacle.


    Although Apollo felt this ce was unsettling, he did not care much. His gait was calm.


    As for La, it seemed like this was just her backyard. She happily jumped over branches and vaulted over trunks like this was a yground.


    La turned her head to the side and giggled.


    "Ah, new friend!"


    Apollo whipped his head towards the direction La was looking, but couldn''t see anything.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "What new friend?"


    La waved frantically as though she wanted to greet whatever this friend was.


    "He''s looking right at us! Can''t you see?"


    Apollo narrowed his eyes, trying to find this ''friend''.


    However, he could only make out trees.


    Apollo shook his head, chalking it up to La''s imagination.


    He faced forward.


    ...Then snapped back to the side.


    He caught a glimpse of something.


    As his head moved, he saw a small ck figure perched on a tree.


    Yet, when he looked back, it was gone.


    Apollo nudged La with his elbow.


    "Hey, what do you see?"


    La smiled gleefully.


    "A friend!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "What kind of friend?"


    La hummed.


    "Mm... it looks like a cute monkey!"


    Apollo rubbed his forefinger and thumb against his chin.


    "...Is that so?"


    It seemed that these were the shadow monkeys.


    And if nothing else, their stealth was no joke.


    Apollo tried to turn his head slowly this time.


    Then, he stopped.


    In the corner of his vision, he could make out a monkey with ck fur. It was the shadow monkey as described by the request form.


    He could only see the shadow monkeys if they were in his blind spot.


    The shadow monkey noticed his gaze and scurried away.


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "...This might be more work than it''s worth."


    La pouted.


    "Aw... why did friend leave?"


    Apollo turned to stare at La.


    ...Somehow she could see the shadow monkeys.


    An idea came to mind.


    "Hey, La. Why don''t you chase after... your friend?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Oh! Yes, tag!"


    La bolted off to where shest saw the shadow monkey. Apollo followed behind closely.


    La stopped, prompting Apollo to halt as well.


    She held her hands together and swung her tail from side to side.


    "Wow! So many friends!"

 Chapter 66 - A Gift?

    Apollo held his bokken tighter when he heard La''s words.


    He scanned the area around him, checking with his blind spot.


    Sure enough, there were countless shadow monkeys perched on the tree branches.


    They were looking at Apollo and La with hostility.


    A small smile appeared on Apollo''s face.


    "La, this is your chance to y with them."


    La cheered with her arms in the air.


    "Yay!"


    She dived into the fray, chasing after an arbitrary shadow monkey. The shadow monkey immediately ran away, but La was faster.


    She easily caught up...


    Then waited for the shadow monkey to continue running.


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "...I should''ve expected this."


    The rest of the shadow monkeys appeared to ignore La altogether. Instead, they leaped to Apollo.


    Apollo felt a premonition of danger but did not react in time.


    His chest was shed. A shadow monkey ripped two lines deep into his flesh.


    Apollo''s bokken whipped out, smashing the shadow monkey into a pulp.


    His pupils shook.


    If the shadow monkeys surrounded Apollo, he would take countless hits for each one he killed.


    For an easy victory, he would have to back up while he fought so they couldn''t encircle him.


    But...


    Where was the fun in that?


    Apollo dashed right into the middle of the group, wildly swinging his bokken.


    He felt he hit something, but in the next second, he was shed by three monkeys.


    At this rate, he would actually die.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    shes came from every direction. He could hardly dodge any of them.


    Apollo''s body was being torn to shreds.


    ...It made himugh.


    It felt like the time he was fighting with Willow.


    Each time, he would never know where the next attack woulde from. Yet, he had found a way to dodge the attacks before he even knew they wereing.


    Apollo''s eyes zed over.


    A shadow monkey shed at his back, yet missed.


    A few others shed at him, but he slid right past.


    Apollo had closed his eyes, giving up his sight altogether.


    His body elusively slipped past the attacks. He leisurely moved out of the way before the shadow monkeys themselves knew they were attacking.


    His steps were not hurried. Instead, they appeared to be a dance. Almost like choreography.


    Apollo did not forget to sh with his bokken.


    It too danced in the air like a ghost.


    The red tasselzily swung from side to side, apanying his movements.


    The number of shadow monkeys began to thin.


    One after another, a carcass would fall to the ground. The stench of blood filled the air, yet Apollo didn''t seem to notice it.


    He let out little giggles as he danced with the wind.


    At some point, the shadow monkeys got scared and scurried away.


    Apollo stood still with his eyes closed for a few moments.


    The corner of his lip twitched.


    He had lost a lot of blood, but he had been in far worse conditions before.


    He slowly opened his eyes and contemted his situation.


    How was he supposed to kill all of the shadow monkeys like this? Since they only appear in his blind spot, it would take way too long to find each of them.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb.


    It''s not like he had some tracking device that could lead him to-


    There was a loud crash next to Apollo.


    La was giggling and holding onto the tail of a shadow monkey.


    The shadow monkey was desperately wing against the ground in an attempt to escape, but it was futile.


    Apollo looked at La.


    Ah, never mind. He did have a tracking device.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, bisecting the shadow monkey by its stomach.


    La was giggling but pouted once she realized the shadow monkey stopped moving.


    "Aw... why isn''t friend ying anymore?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "That''s because your friend is tired! Let''s go find some more, ok?"


    La perked up. She nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah!"


    La happily skipped forward while Apollo trailed behind her.


    After a few minutes, La suddenly gasped in excitement.


    "Wow! So many friends."


    While La bolted forward, Apollo followed closely from behind.


    She stopped in front of a tree and then began giggling.


    "Thank you, friends!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    What was she doing?


    Apollo scanned the area with his blind spot and noticed that many shadow monkeys were running away.


    "La, your friends are getting away!"


    La tilted his head to the side.


    "But they gave us gifts! We need to show our appreciation!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "But... they''re going to get away!"


    La waved her hand dismissively.


    "We can find themter! Come on, try some!"


    La picked at the air and held an empty hand in front of Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he tilted his head to the side as a smile emerged on his face.


    Was this girl really joking with him at this point?


    Suddenly, Apollo sobered up. He remembered the time he believed La was joking with the shadow monkey.


    He looked at La''s empty hand with his blindspot.


    ...He saw a strange fruit.


    It was glowing faintly with a soft white light, mixed with a tinge of yellow. It was in a simr shape to a banana, but much smaller. While La''s hands were not big, they could easily hold a few.


    Apollo picked up the fruit.


    Then, he used his blind spot to look at where La picked the fruit.


    There were a few small patches of these fruits growing from various sections of the tree. Many of these patches had missing fruits. It seems the shadow monkeys had picked off a few.


    That was when Apollo recalled a detail from his request.


    The shadow monkeys would be found near the penumbra trees.


    If only they told him about the strange requirements for seeing these things.


    As Apollo was lost in his thoughts, La picked a few more fruits from the penumbra tree.


    She stuffed her face without hesitation.


    She smiled dreamily.


    "Mmm..."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    ...These were probably safe to eat, right?


    Seeing La devour them like candies, Apollo worked up the courage to take a bite.

 Chapter 67 - Strange Visions

    The fruit was soft, like cotton candy.


    It melted in his mouth before he had a chance to chew.


    The fruit was bittersweet with a hint of salt. Although he wouldn''t say it was the best in the world, it was oddly satisfying.


    After finishing it, he joined La in picking the tree bare of fruits.


    The two of them quickly finished eating every fruit they could find.


    La sprawled out on a tree branch, closing her eyes.


    Apollo was about to berate her, but he himself wanted to sleep as well.


    As such, he did the same on another tree branch.


    These fruits naturally made one a little sleepy. This wasn''t because the tree would consume them after they slept.


    ...Not to say that trees like that didn''t exist.


    It was because the effects of the fruit could only take ce on someone that was asleep.


    If one paid close attention, one would see a soft glowing from the crack in Apollo''s eyes.


    As for La, though she ate more, there was hardly any glow.


    Their sleep was undisturbed.


    There were definitely monsters around them but they did not want to approach for whatever reason.


    When La woke up, she did an exaggerated stretch.


    "Wakey wakey!~"


    She was quite loud, directly startling Apollo out of his slumber.


    Apollo sat up while holding his head.


    He felt strangely rxed.


    After a moment of pondering, he realized it was because he didn''t feel hungry. Whatever he had eaten was quite filling.


    Apollo''s eyes fluttered upon, then froze.


    Was this still the same forest?


    There were faint dots of ck mist scattered throughout the entire forest. It was hard to tell, but the trees were emitting this strange ck mist.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "...What is this ce?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "It''s a fun ce!"


    Apollo paused.


    "Have you been here before?"


    La''s tail swung from side to side.


    "Mmm... once or twice? I don''t know."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    Well, it wouldn''t be that dangerous, right?


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Anyways, we need to kill more of the shadow monkeys."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "You mean y with our friends?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...Yes that."


    La giggled.


    "Ok!"


    La enthusiastically walked through the forest with Apollo not far behind her.


    Apollo''s eyes kept darting from the left and right.


    He kept seeing figures among the trees, like snakes or bats. Yet, a secondter, they would disappear.


    "Ah, over there!"


    La jumped up and down excitedly.


    As for Apollo, he jumped as well. Except it was out of fear from La''s sudden announcement.


    Regardless, Apolloposed himself rather quickly.


    "Let''s go chase them."


    La grinned happily.


    "Ok!"


    La broke out into a sprint while Apollo matched her speed.


    The two of them jumped and vaulted over the tree branches deftly, chasing after a shadow monkey.


    Although Apollo was only looking forward, he caught glimpses of the shadow monkey here and there.


    He did not understand how, but he also wasn''t going toin.


    After a few minutes of chasing, they caught up.


    La grabbed the shadow monkey''s tail and Apollo killed it soon after.


    As the blood sshed La''s face, she giggled.


    "Wow! That was so fun, we need to find more!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah."


    Like that, the two of them hunted off any stragglers they found.


    Soon, they came across another penumbra tree.


    Apollo could make out a few shadow monkeys eating the fruit from the tree.


    The shadow monkeys turned to La, then scattered.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    ...Were they scared of her?


    Laughed gleefully.


    "Look, more gifts!"


    Although there was an impulse to tell La to chase down the monkeys, Apollo did not act on it.


    He wasn''t particrly hungry, but it wouldn''t hurt to have a few more bites.


    La stuffed her mouth like she was a squirrel.


    As for Apollo, he casually tore a few off to eat.


    At first, he didn''t care too much. However, the more he ate, the more hungry he felt.


    He began shoveling as much as he could like he was starving. All of the fruit would disappear the moment they reached his stomach. As such, nothing was holding him back from eating more.


    Once Apollo snatched almost every fruit from the tree, his eyes closed.


    La pouted.


    "Hey! You took so many of them!"


    Apollo didn''t hear what La was saying.


    He had fallen onto his knees while one hand clutched his head.


    Apollo''s body heated up rapidly.


    A faint sizzling sound came from the ground beneath him.


    Apollo''s skin became a light shade of pink and began squirming.


    The muscles on his body were bing more flexible, yet tougher.


    It was almost like a child was offered two options, but found a way to pick both.


    Apollo sucked in a deep breath, then let it go.


    It was almost like he was meditating.


    La was no longer mad. Instead, she curiously looked at Apollo as she wagged her tail.


    "Apollo?"


    He slowly opened his eyes.


    "Ah... yeah?"


    La poked Apollo, pushing his head to the side ufortably.


    "Are you ok?"


    Apollo grimaced.


    "Ow! Yeah, I''m ok. Stop that."


    La perked up.


    "Ah, that''s good!"


    Apollo shook his head and took in his surroundings.


    The ck mist became thicker...


    Apollo quickly realized that these fruits were changing how he perceived this forest.


    As for whether that was good or bad, he did not know. However, if it helped him kill the shadow monkeys easier, then he was notining.


    Apollo flexed his new muscles. They felt quite empowering, to say the least.


    After doing a few stretches, he got used to his new strength.


    "Alright, we should go."


    La smiled, then led the way.


    Although Apollo had a breakthrough in strength, he did not feel reassured.


    There were more shadows. They wererger as well.


    Suddenly, Apollo snapped his head to the side.


    But nothing was there.


    He could''ve sworn he saw someone standing high up in the trees.


    "Hey, look over there!"


    Apollo broke out of his stupor and looked at where La was pointing.

 Chapter 68 - Galileo

    There was a bright light up ahead, shining on their faces.


    Apollo didn''t know how he didn''t notice it earlier.


    "What is that?"


    La giggled.


    "I don''t know! Let''s go take a look!"


    The two of them ran towards the overbearing re from their front.


    They got over the crest of a hill and had a look.


    They saw a small vige.


    ck wooden walls about three meters high surrounded the ce. There were countless holes in these walls that had been patched over.


    It was clear this vige had suffered through countless battles.


    At the center, was a giant white me. It rested upon some strange monument and tyrannically lit up the surroundings.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "There are people living here?"


    La giggled.


    "Yeah,e on!"


    La grabbed onto Apollo''s wrist and dragged him along to the vige''s entrance.


    The vige entrance wasposed of two gates. It was almost like an airlock, but a rudimentary version.


    La waved her arms around.


    "Heyyyy, is there anybody there?"


    Apollo cringed. He felt like there were countless better ways to tackle this...


    However, he remained silent.


    The two of them waited for quite some time.


    Apollo sighed.


    "It looks like there is no resp-"


    "Who goes there?"


    A deep, but raspy voice came from above the walls. Although this person was willing to talk, he didn''t want to show himself.


    La jumped up and down.


    "It''s La! My friend is also here!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "My name is Apollo."


    There were a few seconds of silence.


    "You are not from this vige."


    The voice became solemn.


    La did not seem to notice this, giggling happily.


    "Of course not! Why are you so silly?"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "...We are simply wanderers."


    The person clearly didn''t trust them.


    "Wanderers? Out here? Stop trying to fool me, monsters! I am not so naive."


    La pouted.


    "Ehh? What is a monster?"


    Apollo facepalmed.


    "We aren''t monsters..."


    The person scoffed.


    "What else could you possibly be? For what reason would a persone to thesends?"


    Apollo had a sudden realization.


    He smirked.


    "Didn''t your vige hire someone to kill the shadow monkeys? We are those people."


    The voice went silent.


    The person cleared their throat.


    "...Very well."


    The first set of gates opened.


    La skipped inside, then turned to Apollo.


    "Wow, you convinced him to be our friend so easily!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "I guess?"


    Once they were inside, the first gate closed. Just a few secondster, the second gate opened.


    It parted to reveal an emaciated man.


    His hair was ck, but it was a dull ck. One could even mistake it for grey hair. On top of that, he had grown out a messy beard that made him look primitive.


    However, the most notable thing about him was the fact he only had one arm.


    The man spoke.


    "How is the progress with the monkey extermination?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "We''ve already dealt with quite a few, but there are way too many of them."


    The man nodded.


    "Yes... it really is too much. That was why we gave our most precious heirloom for this request."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Your heirloom consists of food pellets?"


    The man furrowed his brows.


    "What? No."


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched. He realized something.


    The Shadows obviously wouldn''t be so generous to give the entire reward they were provided.


    Even though he was performing the job, he only got the leftovers. The association was the true earner here.


    Apollo cleared his throat. He changed the subject.


    "Anyways, my name is Apollo. What is yours?"


    The man sighed.


    "Galileo."


    Galileo turned to La.


    "And what is your name?"


    La was staring off into the vige, filled with curiosity. Once she heard Galileo''s remark, she snapped out of her stupor.


    "Oh, my name is La, friend!"


    Galileo nodded.


    "Alright. Is there anything you need?"


    La hopped over.


    "Friends! Oh, and show all the cool things here too!"


    Galileo shrugged his shoulders.


    ...Wait.


    He was missing an arm, so... I guess he shrugged his shoulder?


    "I do not mind showing you around the vige. Come."


    Galileo turned around. He walked forward with slow and steady steps.


    La hopped around while Apollo matched Galileo''s pace.


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    "...So, why did you want all these shadow monkeys dead?"


    Galileo sighed.


    "These monkeys... take from us."


    He stopped next to a penumbra tree.


    Galileo stroked the bark with his remaining hand.


    "We depend on valiant scavengers to live. They brave the wild to bring us our needed fruit of light."


    His head slowly lowered to the ground.


    "But... These monkeys keep taking from us. Because of them, the scavengers could hardly get enough."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "How many fruits of light do you need?"


    Galileo rubbed his chin with the knuckle of his forefinger.


    "Well... Each fruit of light can feed someone for three days. That is why we split them up into three pieces, letting each member get one."


    Apollo looked up to the penumbra tree next to him.


    "But don''t you have these trees here? Surely the monkeys don''t steal from these..."


    Galileo sighed once more.


    "It is simply not enough. Our vige has quite a few trees, but the fruit of light simply takes too long to grow."


    Apollo nodded silently.


    The houses of this vige had only one floor. They were made from ck wood and held together by twine. The houses were sloppily made. This was clear from the countless gaping holes that could be seen from the outside.


    There were few people walking down the streets. Those that were, did so aimlessly.


    Galileo was not surprised by this fact.


    He led the group to the barracks, where the scavengers lived.


    The barracks were roughly the same size as the house but were clearly more polished.


    Not only were they clean, but they were made with care. The snow that fell on the roofs would not be able to pass through. This held true for rain as well.


    Galileo gestured towards the barracks proudly.


    "This is where the hope of our city lives. The scavengers."


    La gasped.


    "Wow, they must be so cool!"


    Galileo smirked proudly.


    "Why of cour-"


    "I SAID TO GIVE ME THE FRUIT OF LIGHT."

 Chapter 69 - Night In The Village

    Galileo jumped, then hurried off towards the scream.


    A scrawny woman was holding onto her son. In her hand was a fruit of light, albeit a small piece. She was on her rear, trying to crawl away.


    "My baby is starving! I just want him to live..."


    Her son''s eyes werenguid, blinking out of sync.


    "Waah..."


    A tall and muscr man marched towards them. A frown was stered on his face.


    "If it wasn''t for us, you wouldn''t have anything to eat!"


    The man pointed to himself.


    "What happens when I starve? That means there is one less scavenger to collect the fruit of light!"


    The inner corner of the man''s eyebrows dipped downwards.


    "Are you willing to take responsibility when the rest of the vige has nothing left?"


    The woman shivered.


    Galileo hurriedly ran in between them.


    "Hold on! What is the situation, we can work this out peacefully! We are all vigers striving to survive together!"


    The man scowled.


    "Striving to survive together? This fool clearly isn''t doing that. She doesn''t understand that the vige depends on the scavengers to survive!"


    The man pointed at the woman.


    "If she thought about the vige, she would''ve given me the fruit of light!"


    Galileo began sweating.


    "Did she take your portion?"


    The man rolled his eyes.


    "No, but the portions are getting smaller and smaller! At this rate, I won''t have enough to scavenge properly."


    Galileo frowned.


    "But... you are already given double the amountpared to normal vigers."


    The man narrowed his eyes.


    "And how is that supposed to be enough? If it wasn''t for me, countless people would''ve died of starvation! Is it too much to ask for a little more?"


    Galileo bowed.


    "I thank you for your service. I also do think that you deserve much more..."


    His hand balled into a fist.


    "But... we are simply in a difficult time. The rest of the vige is given just enough to survive. Please reconsider, they will starve."


    The man pushed Galileo, causing him to stumble backward.


    The man crossed his arms.


    "So what if a few people starve? I have already saved countless from starving by risking my own light. Even if a few people die so I can be fed, it is far made up by the people I saved."


    Galileo was at a loss for words.


    It hurt his heart to hear those words from the people he looked fondly upon.


    "...We are in harsh times now, but soon it will improve. We have already called upon exterminators to get rid of the monkeys. Once that is aplished, there will be more for everyone."


    The manughed derisively.


    "And how long will we have to wait for that? I bet that they won''t even do their job properly. We don''t even know who is taking care of it. For all we know, a kid is the one we hired."


    Galileo fell silent.


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Well, it was a kid that was hired."


    The man turned to Apollo and raised an eyebrow.


    "And who are you?"


    A smirk appeared on Apollo''s face.


    "I am the person tasked with killing all the shadow monkeys."


    The man froze.


    Then burst outughing.


    "That''s a good one. Now, back on topic."


    The man pointed at the woman.


    "Give me the fruit of light."


    Galileo simply lowered his head and closed his eyes.


    He tried. At least he could reassure himself that way.


    Apollo watched on apathetically.


    The woman had caved in, holding out the fruit of light.


    The man smiled and walked forward to grab it.


    ...But it wasn''t there.


    La cheered enthusiastically.


    "Yay, I win!"


    She held onto the fruit of light proudly.


    Then, she ate it without a second thought. A dreamy smile appeared on La''s smile.


    As for everyone else, they were dumbfounded.


    The woman felt like she was in a dream. She directly fainted.


    The man looked back and forth between his empty hand and La. His eyes popped out.


    Galileo was blinking incessantly. It was as though he wanted to dispel the ''illusion''.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched. He should''ve expected this.


    La yfully hummed, oblivious to the looks she was getting. Her tail swung from side to side as she danced, letting out soft jingles.


    Once the man processed what just happened, he walked up to La in a fit of anger.


    "You thief! How dare you steal from me?"


    La giggled.


    "Sore loser~"


    She waved her hand dismissively.


    "I am the winner, so naturally it is my prize."


    The man clenched his fist. Blue veins were bulging on his forehead.


    "You brat!"


    The man swung his fist at La, however, she easily stepped out of the way.


    La winked at the man, then hopped off.


    "Catch me if you can!"


    With that, the man chased after La, who was skipping and singing a luby.


    The vige got to witness quite the spectacle.


    A little girl with cat ears was chased by a man angrily shaking his fist. They ranps around the entire vige, causing them to pass by everyone a couple of times.


    Apollo looked at Galileo, while Galileo looked at Apollo.


    After a few moments, Galileo broke the silence.


    "So... is she yourpanion?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Well, not by choice."


    Galileo nodded slowly.


    "I see..."


    La and the man passed by the two of them, still running across the vige.


    Galileo''s eyes looked off at their departing figures.


    "Say, will yourpanion be alright?"


    Apollo chuckled.


    "She can run... believe me. Even if that guy has limitless stamina, he won''t catch up anytime soon."


    Galileo forced augh.


    "Haha... I see."


    The sky began to flicker.


    Although the sky wasn''t bright to begin with, it started to darken.


    Galileo furrowed his brows.


    "Damn, it''s nighttime. Quickly, we must get yourpanion and get into a house!"


    The man who was chasing La suddenly stopped. He stared at the sky with a solemn expression.


    After giving onest look at La, he clicked his tongue and ran back to the barracks.


    The whole vige became restless.

 Chapter 70 - What Is That?

    Galileo grabbed Apollo by his wrist and ran towards La.


    "Quickly!"


    The sky continued to flicker, darkening ominously.


    Galileo waved his arm in the air.


    "La! Come back!"


    La had been pouting. She did not know why the man stopped ying with her.


    However, when La heard Galileo, she grinned cheekily.


    "You have to catch me first!"


    Galileo panicked.


    "What? Oh, dear."


    Before he could take a step forward, he could feel someone pulling him back.


    It was Apollo.


    "Did you not see what just happened? You aren''t going to catch her."


    Galileo blinked a few times. He was still panicking.


    "But, yourpanion!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Do it like this."


    He raised his hand in the air and waved it casually.


    "La! It''s your turn to chase us!"


    La suddenly spun around. She had a confused look but quickly got over it.


    "Ok!"


    La bolted towards the two of them.


    Apollo shook Galileo''s shoulder.


    "Hey, are we going or not?"


    Galileo gasped. He broke out of his stupor.


    "Ah, yes, yes!"


    The sky''s flickering intensified.


    Galileo ran towards a nearby house while Apollo followed closely.


    La was much faster than the two but was also quite far away.


    The sky''s flickering slowed down, but that was because the shes of light shortened while the periods of darkness lengthened.


    Galileo burst through a door, tripping over himself.


    Apollo could sense something was trying to stab him in the back. It felt like the sword of Damocles was hanging above him.


    He threw himself inside the house.


    Like a dream, the strange premonition of death left.


    The flickering stopped and the sky darkened.


    Apollo looked up to see a small candle in the middle of the room. A tiny white me danced on top of it while the candle itself appeared to be bolted to the ground.


    Galileo shivered.


    "Oh no... It''s all over for her."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Why?"


    Galileo shook his head.


    "During the night... The darkness overwhelms the vige beacon. As such, it cannot provide light for the whole vige."


    He frowned.


    "...And for those in the darkness, they will always disappear. Without exception."


    Apollo looked out the door. It was pitch ck, almost like a monster had swallowed up the outside world.


    "...No exceptions at all?"


    Galileo smiled bitterly.


    "I''d cut off myst arm sooner than believe someone could-"


    "Waaaah! You have nowhere to go now!"


    La stood at the entrance of the house. Her hands were on her sides while her elbows were sticking out. Soft jingles rang out in the house.


    La had a smug smile on her face.


    "Hehe, my victory is just around the corner!"


    Galileo''s eyes popped out.


    He lurched over.


    "You... How are you?"


    Apollo looked at Galileo with a raised eyebrow.


    "...So much for all that talk."


    La pounced on the two of them. She grabbed a wrist from each and held them up into the sky.


    "Yay! Another win for me!"


    Galileo looked at La in a daze. He was bbergasted.


    Apollo smirked.


    "I guess you won this time."


    La''s tail wagged enthusiastically.


    "Hehe, as expected!"


    Galileo continued looking on in disbelief. As for Apollo, he simply fell to the floor and nodded off.


    La joined him without much hesitation, leaving Galileo to question reality for the entire night.


    ...


    Apollo sat up.


    After rubbing his eyes, he let out a yawn.


    La got up soon after. She let out a purr.


    "Wakey, wakey!~"


    There was a weak groaning sound.


    Apollo looked over.


    It was Galileo. He hadn''t slept the entire night. There were bags under his eyes while his face was deathly pale.


    He seemed to be thinking about something.


    Apollo cleared his throat.


    "Galileo?"


    There was no response.


    Apollo walked over and poked him.


    "Hey."


    Galileo screamed in fright.


    "Ah!... Oh, sorry."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "...Are you ok?"


    Galileo blinked a few times.


    "Yeah, Yeah. I was just... wondering if it was possible to survive the darkness."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "If that''s the case, I could''ve saved..."


    Galileo shook his head.


    "Nevermind."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Anyway, can you let us out? The sooner I finish this request, the better."


    Galileo nodded.


    "Alright."


    Although Galileo was half asleep, he got to the gates and opened them.


    After a few parting words, Apollo and La set off.


    With La''s help, Apollo was able to track quite a few shadow monkeys down.


    Honestly speaking, this method began to feel tedious.


    At this rate, they may die of old age before aplishing anything.


    Apollo put his free hand on La''s shoulder.


    "Wait... How about we find those penumbra trees?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Oh! The gifts?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah, those."


    His original intention was to go there since shadow monkeys would gather there. However, just the thought of the trees made him hungry. As such, he wanted a snack.


    His appetite had increased.


    La giggled.


    "Ok, to more gifts!"


    La led Apollo to a nearby penumbra tree.


    There were quite a few shadow monkeys nearby. Apollo bent his knees, preparing to pounce on them.


    ...But he stopped himself.


    Roughly a dozen spears flew upward, piercing the shadow monkeys.


    "Haha, worked like a charm!"


    "Of course it did, we''ve been doing this for ages now."


    There was a group of tall and muscr menughing among each other.


    Apollo decided to sit back and observe.


    La was also intrigued. She simply looked on curiously.


    One of the men went to pick a few fruits of light. Like it was natural, he ate a few.


    "Say, how many of these do we really need to bring back to the vige?"


    "Haha, I say we cut it down by halfpared tost time. After all, we told the vige head that the shadow monkeys were increasing."


    "Heh, we should just keep it the same. They might get desperate if we lower it any further."


    The group of men began eating the fruit of light without a care in the world.


    Suddenly, one of them fell to one knee.


    "Damn, I''m falling asleep. Can you wake me up?"


    The man was casually pped by the person next to him.


    "Agh... thanks."


    Then, his eyes shone with a bright light.


    The others in the group did not even bat an eye. This appeared to be normal for them.


    ...But the man started to freak out.


    "Wh.... What is that?"

 Chapter 71 - Innocent Cruelty

    One of the men furrowed his brows.


    "You see something?"


    He spun around, observing his surroundings.


    "...I don''t see anything."


    As for the man with glowing eyes, he only panicked more.


    "It''s a... a monster!"


    His breathing became heavy.


    "Run... we have to run!"


    He bolted off, coincidentally heading towards Apollo and La. The entire time, he was screaming.


    The other men brushed it off as a joke.


    In fact, one of them could not stop himself fromughing.


    "Haha, since when was he such a wuss? Heh, let me tell you about a time he acted all high and-"


    The man was interrupted.


    The upper half of his body was ripped from his legs.


    Blood sprayed across the trees.


    While his lower body fell lifelessly, his torso was held up in the air.


    There was a dull expression on his face. He died before he could even register the pain.


    The upper half of his body rapidly transformed to a deep ck.


    And like dust carried by the wind, his body dposed into little ck specks, floating off into the atmosphere.


    "Damn!"


    "What the hell?"


    After letting out a few curses, the remaining men ran without hesitation.


    However, it was already toote.


    The stragglers at the back were immediately torn apart.


    They shared the same fate as the first, dying and rotting into numerous ck specks.


    The men quickly lost theirposure.


    "No...No!"


    "This has to be a joke!"


    "Dammit, this is for the greater good!"


    One of the men grabbed hispatriot and tossed him back.


    The man who was sacrificed had a nasty expression on his face.


    "You bas-"


    He was torn apart before he could finish his sentence.


    They struggled. At the brink of death, many unleashed their potential, running at speeds they never reached before.


    Yet...


    It was futile.


    Despair ran rampant among the group.


    They died like they were disposable. Like their existence was worthless.


    Though their eyes reeked of hopelessness, their instincts forced their bodies to move.


    Other than the man who ran off first, they all died one after another.


    The lone survivor caught sight of Apollo and La.


    He directly ran towards them.


    "Help me! You have to help me..."


    La giggled.


    "I want to y too!"


    She dashed towards the man.


    Thest survivor was filled with hope.


    He thought that someone hade to save him.


    There was a grateful smile on his face.


    "Yes, thank you! I will repay-"


    The smile froze on his face.


    La had torn the man in two, just like how the others died.


    She cheered, holding up the man''s torso high above her.


    "Yay, I win!"


    The man could feel his consciousness slipping away from him.


    In hisst moments, he could still not fullyprehend what happened to him.


    "...Why does it... hurt... so much?"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    A tiny seed of fear seeped into his heart.


    Not because of her strength, but her strange cruelty.


    For some reason, the butterfly shed in his mind.


    The butterfly that died trying to run from La.


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    La was innocent.


    However, she was too innocent. Because she didn''t understandmon sense, shemitted various gruesome acts.


    To her, it was all just a game.


    La held up the torso with a smile.


    "Hehe, do you want to y with him? It''s ok, you can have him!"


    To Apollo, it looked like she was talking to the air.


    However, at this point, he knew better than to think nothing was there.


    Apollo looked using his blindspot.


    There was a strange creature standing near La.


    It was roughly three meters tall. Its skin was a deep blue that touched the edge of being ck.


    It had a long head, like a horse. However, other than a gaping jaw, there were no facial features. There were rows of needlessly long, but small, teeth.


    The rest of its body was rtively humanoid but scraggly. The creature had six fingers on top of opposable thumbs. Like its body, its fingers were as thin as twigs.


    It was quite grotesque, especially because of the saliva dripping down from its mouth.


    However, to La, its unsettling appearance was normal.


    The creature gave a deep bow to La. Following that, it gingerly took the corpse from La''s grasp.


    The creature sunk its teeth into the corpse, causing it to rapidly decay into ck dust.


    It waved to La, then scurried off into the forest.


    La waved back.


    "Bye!~"


    Apollo walked over to La.


    "What was that thing?"


    La giggled.


    "A friend!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "...Alright."


    Why was he expecting a normal answer in the first ce?


    He looked towards the penumbra tree. Although some of the fruit was harvested, there was still some left.


    Apollo pointed towards the tree.


    "Should we get some of that?"


    La perked up.


    "Ohh! Yes, please!"


    The pair walked over to the penumbra tree and shared the remaining fruits of light.


    Apollo thought about the conversation from earlier.


    The scavengers... weren''t as noble as Galileo thought they were. It seemed the food shortage problem wasn''t because of the shadow monkeys.


    But the people collecting the food.


    Apollo sighed.


    He considered it a fortunate thing. After all, this misunderstanding gave him a mission to do and a reward to im.


    Apollo felt drowsy from the fruit of light.


    He sat down on a branch but held back the urge to fall asleep.


    Suddenly, his eyes let out a faint glow.


    The ck mist became thicker while the range of his vision increased.


    In the distance, he could see many shadow monkeys.


    There were mostly in groups, however, there were also many stragglers.


    That was when he saw one of the stragglers suddenly decay into ck mist.


    After focusing, he could catch a glimpse of what killed the shadow monkey.


    It was the creature from earlier.


    The creature flickered in and out of Apollo''s vision.


    Once it was done with its meal, it chased after other stragglers.


    The shadow monkeys were faster than it, so the creature could not catch its prey easily.


    But then.... nearly a hundred of these creatures encircled the shadow monkeys.

 Chapter 72 - Basic Elixir Of Flexibility

    A massacre urred.


    The shadow monkeys simply had nowhere to run.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    It seemed somebody else was doing his job for him.


    Once all the shadow monkeys were consumed, the numerous creatures began to wiggle.


    Apollo strained his eyes further on the flickering creatures.


    Their skin split apart from their center. It was almost like they were cut through.


    Flesh grew from this gap, causing their bodies to expand.


    Suddenly, they split in two. Amniotic fluid sshed across the ground while skin rapidly covered their exposed body.


    The creatures duplicated.


    The ecosystem of this forest had always been in a precarious bnce.


    The shadow monkeys would eat the fruit of light, while the creatures would eat the shadow monkeys.


    Once the creatures had eaten enough, they would duplicate.


    Normally, they would have a difficult time catching up to the shadow monkeys. As such, the rate of their duplication was small.


    However, Apollo had gone around killing these shadow monkeys.


    This allowed the creatures to feast on their corpses, letting them duplicate further.


    Now, they could overwhelm the shadow monkeys with pure numbers.


    Apollo smirked.


    He no longer had to lift a finger toplete his request.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Hey, let''s go find some more penumbra trees."


    La nodded enthusiastically.


    "Ok!"


    With that, the two of them traversed the forest. Whenever they encountered a penumbra tree, they would strip it clean of any fruit.


    At some point, Apollo was resting on a tree branch. He raised an eyebrow. Something in his pocket heated up.


    He reached inside to see his copper coin.


    Although normally it would look like any other copper coin, right now, both his symbol and the association''s symbol were glowing brightly.


    La curiously peeked over.


    "What is that?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "A glorified name tag."


    La gasped in awe.


    "Wow! How did you get it?"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Uh... there was this olddy that gave it to me."


    La nodded with a cute, but serious expression.


    "Got it! Olddy..."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    He guessed that his mission wasplete. He believed that there wouldn''t be a ce to im his request considering how remote this ce was.


    However, he may as well try.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Hey, I''m going to leave for a little while."


    La tilted her head to the side. A pout formed on her face


    "What? Nooo!"


    Apollo ignored her cries and stepped into his shadow.


    With a sh, he found himself in the shadow world. He covered his eyes because of the ring light in front of him.


    Once his eyes adjusted, he saw what was emitting all that light.


    ...It was a slightly parted eye.


    The association had a base right here?


    Apollo decided to stop questioning it.


    His hand touched the symbol, sending him to the request room.


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    Then was mmed onto the wall.


    "No leavingggg!"


    La was somehow also in the room. She threw herself at Apollo, causing him to crash into the wall. Her arms wrapped around him tightly.


    Apollo was in a daze. The air was knocked out of him.


    He blinked a few times, breaking out of his stupor.


    Apollo was shocked to see La in the room with him. He didn''t even realize that his rib cage was slowly breaking under the force of her hug.


    "What... How did you get here?"


    La suddenly perked up.


    "I followed you!"


    Apollo clutched his head using his free hand.


    Who was this girl?


    La let go of Apollo, then proceeded to jump up and down.


    "You aren''t leaving anymore?"


    Apollo smiled bitterly.


    "I guess not."


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Yay!~"


    Apollo shook his head. He walked up to the grey desk and flipped his coin.


    He didn''t seem to be concerned by La watching closely.


    The coin disappeared above the grey desk. Plumes of mist spread throughout the room.


    To Apollo''s surprise, seven lines of white mist condensed in front of him.


    The mission gave him three chances?


    Apollo looked down at the desk.


    There were three items


    The parchment for the extermination of the shadow monkeys was torn in two.


    Next to that was a small ck leather pouch.


    Apollo picked it up. The pouch easily fitted in his hand, making it exceptionally convenient to carry.


    He tucked it away and looked at thest item.


    It was a small slip of parchment with a few words neatly printed on top.


    He picked it up and read its contents.


    ''You havepleted a mission with sufficient difficulty. As such, you are eligible to be promoted. To finish this process, please acquire at least ten chances to use your coin.


    Note: Failed missions will deduct chances ording to the difficulty level.''


    The small slip disintegrated into mist after Apollo read it.


    La was looking from over his shoulder.


    "What is that?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "It says I can get promoted if Iplete enough requests."


    La gasped in awe.


    "Woah!"


    She pped enthusiastically.


    "Then let''s do requests!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger for a moment. Then, he chuckled.


    "Alright, why not?"


    His coin had tumbled onto the desk.


    Apollo picked it up and flipped it once more.


    The coin once again disappeared into a plume of mist.


    Six lines of white mist condensed in front of him.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    There was only one parchment.


    ...It wouldn''t be gold coins, right?


    His eyes darted to the reward section.


    ''Reward: Basic Elixir of Flexibility''


    Apollo''s heart leaped.


    Not only was it not a few gold coins, but it sounded like a power increase.


    That was enough to get him excited.


    La pushed against Apollo''s shoulder to get a closer look. Her tail swayed gently.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin - Iron Lined


    Target: Eagle Berry


    Description: Light grey fruit in the shape of a strawberry. Only found within the thirdyer of the Forest of Misery. Fruits are found on Eagle Berry Bushes. Consumption will lead to sharper vision. Effectiveness lowers each time it is consumed.


    Requirements: Collect Ten Eagle Berries in Good Condition.''

 Chapter 73 - The Layers

    Apollo''s eyes narrowed when theynded on the rank.


    ''Copper coin - Iron Lined''


    That must mean it was a difficult mission.


    La looked at the picture of the eagle berry. She tilted her head to the side.


    "I remember seeing this before!"


    Apollo turned to La.


    "You have?"


    La nodded enthusiastically.


    "Mm... It was a long time ago, I think."


    Apollo picked up the parchment, causing it to fly up to the center of the room.


    His coin tumbled onto the desk, which he snatched up.


    "Welp, let''s go on a scavenger hunt."


    He left for the shadow world. After a few steps, he came back to the real world.


    La was already there, waiting for him.


    "So whoever finds it first is the winner?"


    She smiled cheekily.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "...How about we work together to find them?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Mmm... Ok!"


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    "Do you know where the eagle berry bushes are?"


    La''s tail swayed gently, filling the air with soft jingles.


    "Maybe? Follow me!"


    La navigated the forest with ease. Apollo had a little difficulty in following, but kept up fine.


    Along their journey, Apollo could make out many of those strange creatures, though it was only a glimpse.


    He was initially concerned he would have to fight them. However, they appeared to be avoiding the pair.


    Apollo did not question it.


    No obstacles presented themselves in their journey.


    ...


    After roughly twenty minutes of running, La stopped.


    There was a smile on her face.


    "Haha! Found it!"


    La zipped off in a direction.


    She crouched down and performed the action of picking a berry, however, nothing was there.


    Apollo tried to look with his blindspot but was unable to find anything.


    In just a moment, La walked up to Apollo. She held her hand out as if there was something there.


    "Here, take some!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows. He tried to look at La''s hand with his blindspot, but couldn''t see anything.


    Despite that, he reached out his hand to try and pick up whatever La was offering him.


    There was no physical sensation, he was just grasping at air.


    La pouted.


    "Why aren''t you taking them?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "I didn''t pick it up?"


    La hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Your hand slipped right through it!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "...The thirdyer."


    He recalled a piece of information from the request. These eagle berries only existed on the thirdyer within the Forest of Misery.


    He could only see the shadow monkeys by using his blindspot. However, at that point, he wasn''t in the firstyer.


    It seemed that onlyyers adjacent to one another could interact with each other.


    One could not directly see theyer below unless they checked with their blind spot.


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    So the firstyer contained the shadow monkeys and penumbra trees.


    The secondyer contained those weird creatures.


    Then, the thirdyer contained these eagle berries.


    Apollo guessed that he was currently transitioning to the secondyer, considering he could catch glimpses of the weird creatures.


    Once he fully entered the secondyer, He should be able to interact with these eagle berries.


    ...Along with whatever monster resided in the thirdyer.


    Apollo sighed.


    "I can''t take the eagle berries for now."


    La raised an eyebrow.


    "Why not?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I need to eat more fruits of light. Hold onto them for me please."


    La smiled.


    "No problem!"


    Suddenly, La''s head snapped to the side.


    "Wow! What is that?"


    La dived into the ground, burrowing as though she was a mole.


    Apollo''s mouth was agape.


    What is this girl doing?


    He looked down the hole left by La. It was filled with loose dirt.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    He was not going to follow her. After all, he didn''t awaken to the superpowers of a mole.


    Apollo shook his head.


    He would have to find more fruits of light so that he could actually interact with the eagle berries.


    Suddenly, Apollo threw his body to the side. He dodged a creature''s lunge by a hair.


    The scent of rot filled his nose as a creature''s jaws passed by his face.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The creature exploded into a mass of blood and flesh.


    Apollo sighed.


    It appears La was the reason these creatures weren''t hostile.


    Now he only had himself to rely on.


    Apollo ran through the forest, searching for penumbra trees.


    There were a few creatures along the way, but they all died to Apollo''s bokken. The creatures would flicker in and out of Apollo''s vision, making them hard to track.


    However, he would sense them whenever they attacked, making them easy targets.


    Apollo''s eyes squinted.


    He could see some fruits of light in the distance.


    Apollo dashed forward but suddenly stopped.


    The penumbra tree was teeming with creatures.


    They were letting out frustrated roars. Half of them were holding onto their heads, seemingly in pain.


    They were hungry.


    The creatures stayed around the penumbra trees hoping that a shadow monkey woulde. However, they were bound to be disappointed as all the shadow monkeys were dead.


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    If he wanted to get the fruits of life, he would have to work for it.


    And so, he worked for it.


    Apollo reached the perimeter and directly killed several creatures.


    Instead of getting angry, the creatures were excited that there was something to eat.


    They were more aggressive than ravenous wolves, pushing and shoving so that they could get closer to Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he let out a flurry of strikes, causing numerous bodies to fall to the floor.


    However, there were simply too many of them.


    Apollo was encircled in a matter of seconds.


    He reacted by giggling.


    Apollo closed his eyes, dodging their lunges. Every time he was attacked, Apollo would tax the creature with their life.


    As Apolloughed in disdain, he suddenly froze.


    A creature had burst out of the ground and chomped on his leg.

 Chapter 74 - Decaying Warrior

    Apollo could feel his flesh decay and a strong numb feeling spread from his wound.


    His bokken shed, decimating the creature that bit him.


    However, that did not stop the decay. The only constion was that it slowed.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    He continued swinging his bokken, however, it was getting harder to move his leg.


    Part of it was because of the numbness spreading from his wound, but it was mostly because his leg was disappearing altogether.


    Apolloughed like that one guy in a group who found a joke way too funny.


    His chest was bitten.


    It was getting harder to breathe.


    His shoulder was bitten.


    It was getting harder to move his arm.


    His neck was bitten.


    It was getting harder to stay conscious.


    However, the thought of defeat didn''t even cross his mind.


    Apollo''s body rapidly heated up. The decay slowed to a stop.


    Then, his wounds healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.


    There was an ominous smile growing on Apollo''s face.


    His bokken thrashed.


    A line of creatures burst apart.


    Apollo continued wildly whipping his bokken around.


    With each swing, three or four creatures would explode into a mass of flesh and blood.


    The creatures were not afraid. If anything, they became more aggressive.


    Apollo did not bother dodging their attacks. He would rather kill one more creature over saving his flesh.


    The creatures were taller than him. Despite that, Apollo was like a wolf in a flock of sheep.


    His presence towered over them as he charged forward unimpeded.


    It was a stampede caused by a single person.


    However, such reckless actions cost him.


    His body was riddled with decaying wounds.


    Half of his face was missing while some of his bones were visible.


    Apollo looked like a rotting corpse or mutated zombie.


    Yet, his cackles rang out as loudly as ever.


    One of the creatures chomped down on his ribcage. Although his bones held on strong, his muscles were twisted.


    In the next moment, the creature exploded.


    Apollo''s bokken continued to thrash around like an untamed beast. The blood of the creatures fell like rain, giving Apollo a shower.


    His wet hair stuck to his face, but could not cover the hysteria in his eyes.


    The creatures had chosen the wrong target.


    ...Yet, it was like they did not care about their lives.


    The creatures continued throwing themselves at Apollo. Some would die before they got to look at Apollo, while others would get an attack off before perishing.


    The creatures themselves were just as insane.


    Duplicating themselves took tremendous amounts of energy. As such, they desperately needed food afterward.


    However, there were no more shadow monkeys to eat.


    The creatures did not care if they were going to die from charging at Apollo.


    Because they were already on the verge of starving to death.


    If they backed off now, they would simply expireter.


    Apolloughed hoarsely while the creatures roared desperately.


    It was a war.


    A war where only one side could remain.


    Apollo''s body was like a pile of magma.


    His skin shone with a bright red, while rivers of sweat cascaded down his body.


    The flesh on Apollo''s wounds wriggled, fighting back against the decay.


    He looked like an unkible machine.


    The ground was covered in chunks of flesh while the soil became muddy from the blood.


    Apollo never stopped butchering. Every crazed creature that lunged at him died miserably.


    Apollo''s breaths became ragged.


    As all things do, the fight was ending.


    There were only a dozen creatures left.


    As for Apollo, he looked even more grotesque than the creatures.


    Nearly half of his body was missing. There were long tendrils of decayed flesh hanging from his wounds


    Yet, he stood tall.


    The wind blew past him, causing the tendrils to listlessly follow the gust.


    The creatures continued roaring.


    Countless of their brethren were in. Yet, thest few had no intention of running.


    They charged at Apollo from every angle.


    As for Apollo, he waited for them with a derisive smile.


    Once they lunged, Apollo''s bokken twirled.


    The creatures burst as though they were balloons.


    It was over.


    Apollo looked up into the sky and basked in the afterglow of his ughter.


    "Haha...ha."


    His body continued working overtime to heal his injuries. However, that came at a cost.


    Tremendous amounts of energy had been expended to keep Apollo standing.


    His stomach twisted like a ck hole, demanding sustenance.


    Apollo''s vision blurred.


    He leaped towards the penumbra tree, consuming its fruits faster than a vacuum.


    By the time he was finished, his wounds had healed considerably.


    However, it was not enough.


    Apollo grit his teeth. He took out the pouch with the food pellets and directly swallowed five of them.


    Since they were designed tost one week each, he had consumed nearly two months of food.


    The moment the pellets touched his stomach, the gnawing hunger was abated.


    The heat from his body caused the branch under him to sizzle.


    Apollo''s wounds rapidly healed. Patches of dead flesh fell from his body like a snake shedding its skin.


    Other than the rips in his bandages, he was as good as new.


    Apollo took a deep breath while closing his eyes.


    A faint glow emitted from the cracks.


    He did not feel drowsy, unlike the times before. The previous battle had simply shot him full of adrenaline. It was almost like he had overdosed on caffeine.


    Apollo''s eyes slowly parted.


    The ck mist was thicker. The twisted trees appeared to be swaying, yet were still.


    It was silent.


    There were no monsters, but dread hung in the air.


    Apollo stretched.


    He had entered the secondyer. Now, he should be able to pick up the eagle berries.


    He tried to retrace his steps. After all, La found an eagle berry bush earlier.


    Apollo wanted to see if there was anything left for him to collect.


    Apollo was constantly scanning the surrounding area with his blind spot. He did not know what creatures existed in the thirdyer, but he did not think they were good.


    Suddenly, Apollo froze.


    An old man was chortling.

 Chapter 75 - Weaver

    Apollo looked towards the chortle with his blindspot.


    He saw a decrepit old man.


    The old man was wearing a robe with countless tears and holes. He had a bad hunch, making him look short.


    One of his eyes had a bad purple bruise. The eyelid had sunk in because the eye behind it was a small pile of mush.


    Half of the old man''s teeth were missing while the ones that remained were yellow and chipped.


    Once Apollo looked at him with his blindspot, the old man jumped.


    His chortles turned to silence as he ducked behind a tree.


    The old man peeked over and saw Apollo.


    "Ah, not a gardener."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "What is a gardener?"


    The old man stepped out from behind the tree with a chortle.


    "They are the things that consume the living things they find and turn them into part of the ck mist. This mist is what the trees use to survive."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "The creatures that look tall and creepy?"


    The old man nodded. His remaining eye inspected Apollo curiously.


    "Anyways, what brings you here?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I''m trying to find some eagle berries."


    The old man hummed with understanding.


    "I can understand why you wish to find those magical things, but I advise you to run."


    Apollo smirked.


    "And why is that?"


    The old man''s expression became solemn.


    "...The weavers."


    Apollo sighed.


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    The old man hugged himself like he was cold.


    "They make deadly webs that are only visible in the corner of your vision."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    Using what he knew, he quickly pieced together that these weavers themselves were in the thirdyer. However, they somehow bypassed the restrictions to create traps in the fourthyer.


    ...Since he was in the secondyer, traps in the fourthyer shouldn''t be able to affect him.


    Apollo turned to the old man.


    "Is there anything other than the webs I should be worried about?"


    The old man chortled.


    "There are countless things you should be worried about! Though, I must say those webs should be your greatest fear. I almost lost my life countless times to them!"


    Apollo couldn''t bring himself to care.


    All he had to do was not enter the thirdyer and he would be fine.


    The only real problem would be that the creatures of the thirdyer would be hard to see. However, that wasn''t really a problem.


    After all, if he went to the thirdyer to fix that, he would then have to deal with the creatures in the fourthyer.


    Apollo continued retracing his steps.


    The old man hurriedly stumbled over to Apollo, reaching out his hand.


    "Wait! Did you hear what I just said?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Yes, I did. I have a way to deal with those things."


    The old man gasped.


    "You do? What is it?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "It won''t work for you, but it will for me."


    The old man furrowed his brows.


    "How can that be the case?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Just take my word for it."


    The old man grumbled with dissatisfaction but continued to follow Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he was scanning the area with his blindspot for any eagle berry bushes.


    Suddenly, the old man gasped.


    "Weaver!"


    The old man ducked behind a tree while Apollo followed suit.


    Out of curiosity, Apollo peeked over, looking with his blind spot.


    He saw an abnormallyrge spider. Its body was ck with the pattern of a red flower on its carapace.


    The spider had eight bright red eyes. They were disproportionatelyrgepared to the rest of its body, bigger than Apollo''s head.


    Below its eyes were two small fangs, dripping with saliva.


    As for the spider''s legs, they were long and covered with slimy sweat.


    It hung from the top of a tree with two legs. The legs at the bottom were rubbing against each other, causing a small stream of sweat to drip onto the ground.


    Apollo ducked behind the tree.


    He did not want to fight that thing.


    Apollo was not afraid of its power, but its repulsive fluids.


    He cringed just from the idea of fighting the weaver.


    The old man used his chin to point away from the weaver. He was trying to tell Apollo to flee.


    Apollo understood this but did not care.


    He had seen the eagle berry bush with a few eagle berries on it.


    Apollo wasn''t going to run away now.


    The old man believed that Apollo could not understand what he meant. As such, his signals became more exaggerated.


    His eyes bulged out in his desperation to convey the message.


    Apollo did not give the old man the time of day, not even bothering to look at him.


    Instead, he was focusing on the eagle berry bush with his blind spot.


    The bush was quiterge, about seven meters wide. It consisted of dense dark grey foliage. However, despite the size, only two tiny eagle berries were on the bush.


    It looked quite sparse, but that did not bother Apollo.


    The weaver reached for something high up in the trees.


    At that moment, Apollo bolted forward.


    The old man''s jaw dropped. He gawked in disbelief.


    Apollo kept his blindspot on the spider by twisting his head ufortably. That meant he had to rely on his memory to reach the eagle berry bush.


    The spider was oblivious for a few seconds but quickly realized what Apollo was doing.


    It began to scurry after Apollo. The spider spat out some dark green venom.


    This prompted Apollo to bash the ground with his bokken, scattering arge amount of soil.


    The venom sttered against the soil, filling the air with loud sizzling sounds.


    The spider shrieked, sharply grating against the ears.


    Apollo stopped looking at the spider. Instead, he looked towards the eagle berries, trying to determine their exact position.


    They were just a meter or so out of his reach.


    After a few steps, he snatched them.


    Apollo celebrated in his mind.


    Then, he suddenly remembered there was a giant spider behind him.

 Chapter 76 - Like Those Birds?

    Apollo swung his bokken at the air.


    The way he saw it, the weaver would either charge at him or spit more acid.


    There was no time to hesitate, so he simply hedged his bet arbitrarily.


    Unfortunately, the spider did not charge him.


    It spat acid.


    His bokken passed right through the acid, sshing it over himself.


    His skin sizzled and burned away, revealing his bright red flesh.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Off to a bad start..."


    He smiled, but his lips were burnt off, giving him a sinister look.


    His body slowly regenerated.


    Apollo put away the two eagle berries. He twisted his head to look at the weaver with his blind spot.


    The weaver seemed to be confident now that Apollo had been hit by the acid. It skittered forward disturbingly, its legs leaving afterimages in their wake.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, sending a de of wind to the weaver.


    However, with incredible agility, the spider scurried to the side.


    In the next moment, one of the spider''s legs shot towards Apollo''s heart.


    As for Apollo, he charged forward.


    Right before the spider leg pierced his heart, his bokken shed.


    The spider shrieked.


    Its leg had fallen off.


    The spider was already having difficulty keeping itself bnced. However, it did not remain there helplessly.


    Three of its legs shot out, but one strike was off target. That left two legs that made their way towards Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he did not stop advancing.


    He brushed right next to death, letting the legs get right next to his chest.


    Then, his free hand traced the de of his bokken.


    With a snap, both legs fell helplessly to the floor.


    The spider shrieked in fear.


    It attempted to retreat but did so clumsily. Losing so many legs greatly hampered its agility.


    By now, Apollo''s acid burns had healed over.


    His eyes widened in glee.


    He was going to make this thing suffer.


    The muscles in Apollo''s legs strained.


    Suddenly, he bolted forward, appearing ahead of the weaver.


    Apollo let out a flurry of strikes, directly taking off three of its legs.


    Now, the spider only had two legs left. One on its left and another on its right.


    The remaining legs could no longer support its weight.


    Its body fell to the ground. The weaver dragged itself backward with its remaining legs, leaving a line in the dirt.


    In ast ditch effort, it spat out dark green venom.


    Apollo held his bokken with both hands.


    The venom spread out like a nket, ready to epass Apollo.


    But then, the bokken swung towards the sky, challenging the stars.


    The venom abruptly shot out to Apollo''s left and right.


    The old man let out a girly yelp while ducking behind a tree.


    Some of the venom passed right by his face.


    Apollo''s free hand traced the de of his bokken.


    Then, it snapped out.


    The weaver''s remaining legs fell off.


    It let out a wail filled with despair.


    Apollo rested his bokken on his shoulder andughed mockingly.


    "What will you do now?"


    His head tilted the side like an eerie horror monster.


    The spider could no longer move. The only thing it could do was shriek in pain as its wounds bled.


    Apollo''sughs grew in intensity and cut off intermittently.


    He did not give it a peaceful death.


    Apollo watched over the weaver as it slowly bled to death.


    He was like a caretaker.


    A caretaker of death.


    The old man nervously peered over the tree.


    Should he be more scared of the monsters or the kidughing his head off?


    ...Well, the kid didn''t attack him.


    It would probably be fine to stay with him.


    After he calmed down, that is.


    Eventually, death had swung his scythe, iming the weaver''s life.


    Apollo''sughs died down, though his smile was still unnaturally wide.


    The old man cleared his throat.


    Still hiding half of himself behind the tree, he waved towards Apollo.


    "Hey... you ok?"


    Apollo''s head twisted to face the old man.


    "Yeah."


    The old man scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, that''s good."


    There was a moment of silence.


    The old man cleared his throat.


    "Anyways..."


    He blinked awkwardly.


    "Want to go get some gardener fruit?"


    Although Apollo was clearly a little unhinged, that did not bother the old man.


    He himself was struggling to keep his sanity so he didn''t mind getting apanion with a few odd quirks.


    Apollo''s eyes went back to normal.


    "Sure, let''s go."


    The old man nodded.


    "Alright, follow me."


    Apollo walked over but still caught up quite easily because of how slow the old man was walking.


    This was mostly attributed to the fact he kept stumbling over the tree branches.


    At one point, the old man looked off to the left.


    He smiled.


    "Hehe, some nts in the forest act like parasites. They attach themselves to the corpses of gardeners and use them to grow."


    There was a set of branches that grew from a withered corpse of a gardener. These branches had a small amount of grey foliage. There were a few circr blue fruits on top, the gardener fruit.


    The old man reached out and picked one of them up.


    The gardener fruit started to wriggle.


    It attempted to break free of the old man''s grasp, but it was like a fly in a spider''s web.


    The old man popped the gardener fruit in his mouth without much hesitation. It was clear he had done it many times before.


    The old man made loud chewing sounds. He was enjoying the vor.


    After he swallowed, he let out a sigh.


    "Ahh... that hits the spot."


    Apollo casually picked one of the fruits as well.


    Once he felt the fruit struggle, he raised his eyebrow.


    "It feels like a small child."


    The old man chuckled.


    "The gardener fruit is more or less that."


    Apollo casually tossed the fruit into his mouth.


    It tasted like a blueberry.


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Not bad."


    The old man smiled.


    "The only problem is if the ck birds see you eating them. I lost my eye escaping from a swarm of them once."


    Apollo looked up to the sky.


    "Like those birds?"

 Chapter 77 - Black Bird

    Apollo pointed his finger to the sky.


    The old man''s eyes followed his finger.


    There was arge flock of ck birds angrily chirping in the sky.


    The old man nodded casually.


    "Ah, yes. Those are the birds."


    Then, the realization struck him.


    "...Crap."


    The old man broke off into an ungraceful sprint, swinging his arms way higher than needed.


    "We need to run!"


    Apollo followed after the old man, but his face was calm like still water.


    "Why do we have to run?"


    The old man was huffing. He replied with frustration.


    "Did you not hear what I said? These birds are gonna tear us a new one!"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "A new what?"


    The old man''s eyelid twitched.


    "Nevermind..."


    The old man abruptly ducked down.


    He dodged the dive of a ck bird, saving his head.


    The old man clicked his tongue.


    "Anyways, these birds are dangerous. We need to run."


    Apollo hummed.


    "Why can''t we just kill them?"


    The old man shook his head.


    "This is different from the weaver! The birds may not be strong, but they are numerous."


    He cast a nce behind him.


    The ck birds formed an ominous cloud.


    Apollo turned his head back.


    At that moment, the old man suddenly stopped.


    "AHHHHH."


    He let out cries of pain.


    His arm was twisted like a dishrag. Except instead of water, it was blood that came out.


    The old man was lifted up into the air while his body began to twist violently.


    The bones in his body shattered with eerie cracking sounds.


    After a few more agonizing screams, he died.


    It was hard to tell if the old man''s corpse was actually a human''s. It was distorted into a thin line.


    Apollo stopped running. He looked at what remained of the old man''s body.


    "...How did this happen?"


    A gleam passed by his eyes.


    He came to a realization. The old man was caught in the weaver''s webs.


    He was fine because he was still in the secondyer, unable to interact with these webs.


    While Apollo was lost in his thoughts, countless ck birds encircled him.


    They chirped aggressively, making quite the racket.


    Apollo blinked.


    "Ah, right. You guys."


    The birds dived like ck raindrops.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "...This is a bit of an overreaction, don''t you think? It was a single fruit..."


    The ck birds ignored hisints and continued to dive towards him.


    Apollo sighed.


    "So much trouble for no reason..."


    Apollo''s head twisted to the side as a grin formed on his face.


    "It can''t be helped."


    Suddenly, Apollo''s bokken burst out into a flurry of strikes.


    It was as though he was in a hurricane, caught up in a storm of ck snow.


    An innumerable amount of ck bird corpses fell to the floor. However, even more took their ce.


    The ck birds pecked at Apollo, taking the chunks of flesh off his body.


    The muscles in Apollo''s arm tightened.


    His bokken began shing like lightning.


    The ck birds found it more difficult to get closer to Apollo.


    Apollo drew strange arcs in the air, harvesting lives like a farmer with a really good tractor.


    However, the ck birds were still able to peck at Apollo from time to time.


    Apollo was able to regenerate faster than he took damage, but his body was desperately in need of nutrition.


    If he stopped to take out some food pellets now, he let the birds have their way with him. In the end, that might only do more bad than good.


    Nheless, Apollo continued swinging with a smile on his face.


    Both his bokken and red tassel whipped violently, bing a blur.


    He danced in the chaos, giggling to himself.


    It was almost as though Apollo was a free spirit, partying in the rain without a single worry.


    It was a lonely party, with only one participant.


    Yet, he was dancing harder than a professional on stage with thousands watching.


    Apollo''s body had been littered with missing chunks of flesh. However, the injuries were slowly disappearing.


    The ck birds were dying even faster. They could hardly get near Apollo.


    There had been a huge wound on his cheek. The wound gradually receded, reverting to smooth and delicate skin.


    Apollo''s body was burning up while his skin was wrapping itself around his muscles. The little fat he had left was consumed.


    Apollo''s body was emaciated, but he only swung faster.


    More than half of the ck birds had died, but that didn''t discourage them.


    Like Apollo, they were stubborn.


    Perhaps that was how everything in this forest was like.


    Fatigue seeped into Apollo''s bones.


    He was walking on a tightrope. Yet, instead of taking it slow, he twirled and jumped. The tightrope strained dangerously, but Apollo couldn''t care less.


    The birds chirped with the same fervor they had at the beginning. However, their numbers dwindled.


    Like a fading firework, the cloud of ck birds waned.


    The storm was dying down.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, killing thest ck bird.


    He immediately fell to his knees, using his bokken to hold himself up.


    Most of Apollo''s muscles had regressed, making him thin as a stick.


    His trembling hand reached for his pouch.


    Apollo got it open with a few failed attempts.


    Likest time, he directly ate five of the pellets, leaving him with forty.


    Apollo''s body heated up like an oven.


    His muscles rapidly came back to him. Once they went back to normal, a thinyer of fat formed on his skin.


    After just a few moments, Apollo looked brand new. It was as though he didn''t just fight a swarm of ck birds.


    Apollo caught something in the corner of his vision.


    When he turned to look, it disappeared. He quickly realized what was happening and used his blind spot.


    It was an eagle berry bush, conveniently right next to him. There were three eagle berries that he promptly took.


    ...


    As Apollo was relishing in his luck, the vige despaired in theirs.


    Fearful screams resounded throughout along with roars of hatred.

 Chapter 78 - The Villages Death Throes

    The vige was under attack by gardeners.


    Because of how fast gardeners could duplicate, the moment the shaky ecosystem''s bnce was disturbed, their numbers blew out of proportion.


    However, like a seesaw, the bnce came back to reim its hold.


    There were no more shadow monkeys for them to eat, meaning they would die in droves.


    At the brink of starvation, the gardeners were getting desperate.


    Normally, they would stay away from the vige. This was because of the massive beacon it had in the middle.


    This light produced by the beacon would naturally repel creatures and heavily damage those that refused to leave.


    However, the gardeners no longer cared about the threat posed by the beacon.


    They were going to die anyway.


    And so, a warmenced.


    Every viger, strong or weak, young or old, starving or full, picked up their weapons.


    The only thing protecting their town were the vigers themselves.


    The gardeners let out roars that tore their throats. This was theirst stand, they would satiate their hunger, or die trying.


    The walls of the vige hardly stood a chance. They broke down the moment a gardener charged forwards.


    In reality, the walls were never able to defend the vigers from anything.


    They had been broken down before. That much was clear from the holes that littered them.


    Yet, the vigers still patched over these holes, for a wall that didn''t protect them.


    It was not that they did not know this fact.


    The walls were never for protection.


    They were just something the vigers used to trick themselves into thinking they were safe.


    However, now, the walls had fallen. They could no longer ignore the cruelty of reality.


    The vige''s beacon shone brightly, doing its best to hold off the gardeners.


    However, there was only so much it could do.


    The gardeners flooded the vige. Their bodies were slowly disintegrating, the consequence of going against the beacon.


    A woman held onto a piece of ck wood. It was originally a spear, but the tip had broken off.


    Her body consisted of skin and bones, but she still stood to fight for her life.


    The woman watched the gardener with her blind spot.


    As for the gardener, it charged forward without restraint.


    The woman stared into the creature''s open jaws without the slightest trace of fear. Her broken spear shot out.


    It hit the roof of the gardener''s mouth, preventing it from biting down.


    The gardener continued to push forward, letting the broken spear pierce through its head.


    Its ws reached out, swiping at the woman.


    As for the woman, she stubbornly held onto the wooden spear. This meant the gardener could sh freely, causing her blood to spray across the floor.


    However, her conviction did not waver. Her eyebrows tried to dig into her eyes while a defiant frown was stered on her face.


    The woman bled heavily, all the while staring right at her adversary.


    As for the gardener, its shes grew slow and weak. Half of its body had disintegrated from the beacon.


    It could no longer stand, falling to the ground helplessly.


    The woman stood over the gardener, watching it slowly disappear.


    Her blood dripped onto the ground. It sounded like thest few drops out of a leaky faucet.


    Then, she raised her broken spear to fight another gardener.


    This was not the first time the vigers had to fight.


    They were always hanging by a thread, treading the boundaries of life and death.


    That made them cold and callous.


    All the cowards had died. They were either killed by the creatures or forced to mature at the brink of death.


    Galileo held onto a ck wooden spear with his hand.


    Since he only had one arm, it looked rather strange. There were many actions one couldn''t perform without two arms on the spear.


    However, Galileo held his weapon confidently.


    Three gardeners lunged towards Galileo, jaws wide open.


    Galileo did not panic.


    He bent his knees and pulled back his spear.


    When the creatures were one meter away, Galileo let out a fierce roar.


    His spear traced an arc. The tip pierced through the throats of all three gardeners.


    Galileo''s foes fell to the floor, disappearing in the beacon''s light.


    His hand was trembling.


    He used to be a scavenger himself but was far past his prime.


    Ever since he lost his arm, he could no longer be a proper scavenger. After all, one needed their arm to carry the fruits of light.


    Now Galileo''s body was weak.


    However, while his physical capabilities declined, his spirit never died.


    As shaky as his hand was, it firmly held onto the spear.


    Galileo was determined to defend the vige, so long as he stood.


    The vigers fought fiercely with the help of the beacon.


    ...But they still suffered heavy losses.


    A child shrieked in pain after a gardener skewered him with its arm.


    The gardeners paid a heavy price to attack this vige, but there was an equally heavy cost of defending it.


    There were simply too many gardeners.


    Galileo had been surrounded on all ends.


    He struck with his spear, killing a few.


    Then, the others mauled him.


    The gardeners disintegrated before they could kill Galileo. It left him bleeding on the ground.


    With thest of his strength, he opened his eyes.


    Galileo saw the vige in ruins.


    The few people that were still alive were on the verge of death.


    Then, he shut his eyes.


    There was a bitter smile on Galileo''s face.


    "So... this is where it ends."


    In the end, both the vigers and gardeners were wiped out.


    It could be said that Apollo was the one that caused this.


    By killing the shadow monkeys, he caused the abnormal growth in gardeners.


    The sudden surge of gardeners then caused the eradication of the vige.


    Perhaps you could me Apollo, tell him he killed all those vigers.


    However, he would retort.


    What if those scavengers never lied about the shadow monkeys, or set aside most of the fruits of light for themselves?


    Then, this mission wouldn''t have existed and the vige would still be living peacefully.


    Though, for now, he would probably have bigger concerns.


    After all, he was encircled by a few weavers.

 Chapter 79 - Fighting Weavers

    The weavers were shing in and out of his vision.


    He had transitioned partway into the thirdyer.


    He did not remember eating any fruits of light, but now wasn''t the time to question the specifics of the situation.


    The weavers spat out dark green venom, surrounding him on all sides.


    The muscles in Apollo''s arms and legs tightened.


    He spun in a circle, leaving two big divots with his feet.


    Apollo''s bokken twirled.


    Arge gale of wind rose, blowing back the venoming for him.


    So, how did Apollo get into this situation?


    Well, after collecting the three eagle berries, he found another eagle berry bush nearby.


    This one had a whopping four eagle berries. As such, he enthusiastically ran over to it.


    If he could just collect them, his grand total would reach nine!


    Nothing stopped Apollo from grabbing the four eagle berries. However, right after, he was encircled by four weavers.


    A few drops of venom fell on Apollo''s cheek, burning it away. He didn''t even flinch, treating it like a few drops of water.


    There was a dangerous smile on Apollo''s face.


    He leaped towards the weaver in front of him and raised his bokken with both hands.


    The weaver took advantage of the fact Apollo was suspended in the air, shooting out its leg.


    Apollo did not try to bat away the leg. Instead, he gripped his bokken tighter.


    The weaver leg pierced his stomach but did not slow his descent.


    Apollo let himself be skewered.


    There was a wild look in his eyes.


    Suddenly, his bokken mmed down.


    A deafening bang rang out.


    The weaver was squashed like a bug. Its carapace had shattered into pieces while its flesh sttered outwards.


    The weaver''s now detached leg was still within Apollo''s stomach, but he ignored it.


    The three remaining weavers did not sit idle. They charged towards Apollo, shooting out one leg each.


    A gleam shed in Apollo''s eye.


    He was reminded of the beams of water.


    What if he could divert these weaver legs as well?


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The three legs recoiled upwards. A wave of force traveled down them, rupturing the flesh as it passed.


    Once that wave reached the body of the spiders, their legs directly snapped off.


    Apolloughed like a maniac.


    To Apollo, the weavers were just babies iling their arms.


    The weavers shrieked in pain and anger.


    They were thrown off bnce by the loss of their leg but continued attacking with resolution.


    Eight weaver legs shot out. Half of them missed, while the other four shot towards their target.


    Apollo traced the side of his bokken. Then, it snapped out.


    The four weaver legs recoiled as a wave passed through them. Likest time, the four legs broke off once the wave reached the weaver''s body.


    The weavers were thrown off bnce, allowing Apollo to approach unhindered.


    Apollo swung his bokken upwards, tracing an arc towards the sky.


    One of the weavers directly split apart, dying on the spot.


    Like it was calling for destruction, after Apollo''s bokken raised, it mmed down on another weaver.


    The weaver''s head was crushed, blowing apart into bits of flesh and blood.


    Thest weaver had regathered its bearings by now.


    It grabbed the leg that was still within Apollo''s stomach and lifted him up through it.


    Apollo was disoriented. His legs and arms iled about.


    "Let me go!"


    The weaver did not acquiesce to his request. Instead, it spat dark green venom.


    It was a point nk shot. The venom mercilessly sshed onto Apollo''s body, burning his skin.


    Some of the venom inevitably sshed on his bokken, but it was as though the venom became a docile kitten, slipping off harmlessly.


    The same couldn''t be said for the venom on Apollo.


    His face melted like it was made out of wax.


    Apollo let out a deranged cackle, pairing nicely with his deformed face.


    Red scars formed on Apollo''s wrist.


    With a whip, his bokken tore through the air.


    Arge gust of wind was stirred up. The Weaver''s carapace abruptly split in two, sending it to the afterlife.


    As the weaver was no longer holding Apollo up, he fell to the ground with a smack.


    Apollo groaned in pain but mixed a fewughs within.


    The venom slowly died down while Apollo''s body repaired itself. He gasped for air until his lungs were satisfied.


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    With a giggle, he stood up.


    He pried out the leg stuck in his stomach. A fountain of blood sprayed out but died off quickly.


    Apollo was more or less back to normal now.


    He blinked a few times, then took a step forward.


    Suddenly, his foot sank into the ground. Something was grabbing onto him.


    In a panic, Apollo swung his bokken against the ground.


    "Eh? What was that for? Even when you were the one that left me!"


    La was holding onto Apollo''s foot. Her head popped out of the ground while her arms wrapped around Apollo''s ankle.


    Apollo''s attack ended up bonking La on the head, to her displeasure.


    La pouted angrily.


    "How could you just leave me!"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "...But you were the one that just left."


    La looked to the side, avoiding eye contact.


    "Well... that was because I saw something!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "So how is it my fault?"


    La scratched her cheek with a finger. Her furry ears drooped to the side.


    "...I don''t know."


    Apollo bonked La on the head again.


    "So why are you ming me!"


    La covered her head with her hands.


    "Sorryyyy!~"


    Apollo sighed.


    "...Seriously."


    La pouted with puppy dog eyes.


    "Forgive me?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows. After a few moments of contemtion, he shook his head with a sigh.


    "Yeah, whatever."


    La burst out of the ground with a big smile on her face.


    "Yay!"


    A few gentle chimes rang out from the bell around her neck. Along with that, her tail wagged back and forth, letting out apanying jingles.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    He needed just one more eagle berry.


    Apollo remembered what he asked of La.


    "Ah, right. Do you still have the eagle berry?"


    La nodded.


    "Oh, yeah!"


    She stuck out her palm. It was empty, there was only a ck stain left.


    Apollo gave La a nk stare.


    La tilted her head to the side. Then, she looked at her empty palm.


    "Ah, right! I ate that one."


    She reached into her pockets and pulled out an eagle berry.


    "Hehe, this is the one I saved!"


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    "Thanks."


    La gave him a thumbs up.


    Now, it was time to turn in that quest.

 Chapter 80 - First Promotion

    Apollo shed a smirk at La.


    "I should be able to get a promotion with this."


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Ohhh! Promotion!"


    Apollo stepped into his shadow.


    He felt a tugging force, which he followed.


    After a few steps, Apollo found himself before the slightly parted eye.


    He reached out, disappearing from the shadow world.


    Likest time, La was already there waiting for him.


    Her tail swayed from side to side.


    "Hehe, what do you get from the promotion?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I guess we''ll find out."


    Apollo walked up to the grey desk and flipped his coin.


    Plumes of mist materialized.


    Once his vision cleared, he saw a small bowl and the request paper next to it.


    After a second of hesitation, Apollo took out the ten eagle berries and put them in the bowl.


    Once thest eagle berry dropped inside, the bowl promptly disappeared into the mist.


    The parchment tore in half while the mist grew in density.


    Twelve lines of white mist condensed in front of him.


    It cleared once again to reveal three objects on the table.


    One was the torn request paper, which Apollo ignored.


    However, his eyes were drawn to the next item, a small vial. The vial was made of ss and was sealed with a cork. Translucent light blue liquid resided within.


    Apollo picked it up with his thumb and forefinger. The vial itself was smaller than his pinky.


    There was a small slip of parchment on the table.


    La nipped it between two of her fingers.


    "What does this say?"


    She spread out the piece of paper and read it intently.


    Apollo looked over La''s shoulder to see it for himself.


    ''This is a Basic Elixir of Flexibility. This elixir will modify the body in a specific way. As such, repeated use of the same Elixir will have no effect. For further increases in effect, use higher tiers of Elixirs.''


    La''s eyes lit up.


    "Ohhh! Wow, elixirs sound so cool!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Maybe..."


    He bit on the cork, taking it off with a light pop.


    Apollo threw the cork aside. Then, he proceeded to down the vial''s contents.


    Although the amount was small, Apollo could feel his tongue freeze over.


    The elixir continued emanating a strong chill as it traveled down to his stomach.


    His entire body nearly froze over.


    Apollo felt like he was dropped in the middle of a blizzard.


    Yet, once it reached his stomach, a surge of heat snaked through his body.


    He immediately slipped out of the blizzard to plunge into an inferno.


    Although Apollo was very ustomed to pain, he still felt quite a bit of difort from the heat.


    As for an ordinary person, they would be pushed to their absolute limits, perhaps fainting on the spot.


    The elixir itself provided a safeguard, the chill that came before it activated.


    Without this safeguard, most would die from the pain itself.


    Nheless, that was not the end.


    Apollo''s nerves abruptly lost their function. Although the pain disappeared, a strong numbness came to rece it.


    The numb feeling made Apollo feel itchy. He almost wanted to scratch open his skin.


    His vision grew blurry.


    Apollo gradually lost control of his body. He plopped onto the floor powerless.


    La stared curiously with her beady eyes. Her furry ears perked up in interest. They twitched from time to time.


    "Apollo? What are you doing?"


    Apollo did not respond.


    He couldn''t even if he wanted to.


    La pouted.


    "Why won''t you respond?"


    After another moment of silence, her tail drooped down.


    "Apollo?..."


    La''s furry ears curled up in sorrow.


    She lightly poked Apollo a few times.


    "Don''t leave me..."


    Although Apollo couldn''t move, he could still somewhat process what was happening to him.


    He could feel a faint pain from La''s pokes. Since he could actually register it despite his numbed senses, she was poking really hard.


    Beads of sweat formed on Apollo''s forehead, both from the heat and nervousness.


    ...La wouldn''t kill him, right?


    As if to respond to his thoughts, La grabbed both of Apollo''s shoulders...


    Then mmed him onto the ground repeatedly.


    "Don''t leaveeee"


    Although the pain was numbed, it still hurt.


    Apollo was getting a little afraid.


    Was he really going to die like this?


    La lifted Apollo up then threw him back down. This meant his head was conking on the floor each time, taking the brunt of the impact.


    ...If this continued he really was going to die.


    La was getting more aggressive while Apollo''s consciousness was getting more blurry.


    Was this how it ended?


    If he died he wanted it to be in a battle, not like this...


    That would just be too embarrassing.


    Suddenly, La stopped.


    She curled up into a ball. Her arms wrapped around her legs while her face was buried in her knees.


    Her tail wrapped around her body.


    She rocked back and forth, mumbling to herself.


    "Friend... friend..."


    Apollo''s consciousness returned to him. He would let out a sigh of relief if he could.


    Although it was still unclear, he could make out La''s general condition.


    His thoughts wandered.


    What did La go through to make her like this?


    Before he could ponder further, a chill assaulted his nerves.


    Apollo felt like someone woke him up through electric shock.


    He abruptly sat up and gasped for air.


    La looked up with red eyes.


    "...Friend?"


    Apollo coughed, still trying to recover oxygen.


    "Yeah... agh."


    La jumped out and wrapped Apollo in a tight hug.


    "Friend!"


    Apollo panicked. He could feel his rib cage bending.


    "Ok, ok! Let go, let go!"


    La got off of him with a giggle. Her tail shot up, bing stiff as a rod. Her ears twitched from excitement.


    Apollo sighed.


    This girl might literally be the death of him.


    He flexed his fingers, already feeling the difference from the elixir.


    Apollo had very fine control over his muscles. After all, he swung his bokken countless times.


    However, it still took time for the signals to travel to and from his brain. This meant he could only react so fast if he did not predict in opponent''s movement in advance.


    The elixir circumvented this. It made the signals travel roughly ten percent faster.


    For ordinary people, this might not mean much. However, for Apollo, it was very impactful.


    Now.... What was thest item?

 Chapter 81 - Pick This One!

    Apollo rubbed his head.


    "...That was an experience."


    La shook her fist in the air. She puffed up her cheeks.


    "Why did you leave! How could you!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "I never left. I just couldn''t move because of the elixir..."


    La tilted her head to the side. She immediately lost her anger, which was reced by curiosity.


    "Woah, I want an elixir too!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "If I get one I''ll just give it to you. I can''t use it anyway."


    La held onto Apollo''s free hand and raised it into the air.


    "Yay!"


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    Did this girl think he was going to go out of his way to get her an elixir?


    La let go of Apollo but stayed close behind.


    She giggled to herself while her tail swayed about gently.


    Apollo ignored La. He was more focused on what appeared on the desk.


    There was an iron coin along with a copper coin next to it.


    The copper coin was his, glowing brightly with the pattern of the devil.


    On the other hand, the iron coin was an ordinary one, shrouded in mist.


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    Was this a choice?


    Apollo assumed that he had the choice to stay at his current rank or promote to a higher one.


    He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    If there was a choice... that surely meant that there were pros and cons.


    However, he had already made his decision.


    He recalled Jaguar''s words.


    ''You may have a chance for revenge if you raise your rank.''


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.


    He still had to get revenge.


    And this was the only lead he had.


    Apollo grasped the iron coin with his thumb and forefinger.


    The mist converged and seeped into the iron coin.


    The patterns on the copper coin disappeared while the coin itself cracked in two.


    As for the iron coin, a devil face emerged. It smiled with disdain.


    Apollo had a long look at the iron coin.


    "I aming for you..."


    Suddenly, his finger clenched the coin.


    His knuckle became white.


    "...Mother."


    The twelve lines of condensed mist converged into a ball.


    The ball shrunk, seemingly bing solid.


    With a soft glow, it split apart.


    There were now two lines of condensed mist in front of him. They appeared denser than previous lines but were still ethereal in nature.


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "So your chances decrease when you promote..."


    La put her face right next to the iron coin.


    "What is this?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I got promoted, so this is my new glorified name tag."


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Wow, you did it!"


    A smirk appeared on Apollo''s face.


    "I guess so."


    Suddenly, Apollo noticed something. His head snapped to the left.


    A board appeared on the wall.


    Its appearance was simr to the desk, grey and misty.


    La followed Apollo''s gaze.


    Her eyes lit up as her fingers interlocked.


    "Wah! What is that?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Only one way to find out."


    Apollo walked over while La trotted along with him.


    Once Apollo got close, he could make out some words on the board. They were intricately engraved with an overly pretentious cursive font.


    Though it was hard to deny the beauty of the engravings.


    La peeked at the board from over Apollo''s shoulder.


    ''Leagues


    League of Daggers -


    Requirements: Iron Coin, Usage of Dagger.


    Basic Benefit: Additional Twenty Silvers For Each Request Completed.''


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    There was only one league?


    ...It seemed the better ones required a higher rank.


    When Apollo read over the requirements and benefits...


    He lost the enthusiasm he didn''t know he had.


    The moment he saw the requirement of using a dagger, he immediately lost interest. Still, he couldn''t help but cringe after seeing the rewards.


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Leagues will have to wait until I reach a higher rank..."


    La''s furry ears drooped down.


    "Aw... why?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "The rewards are simply useless..."


    La pouted.


    "Useless? How do we get useful rewards?"


    Apollo shrugged.


    "My best bet is getting promoted again."


    La''s tail shot up. A cute smile emerged on her face.


    "Then get promoted again!"


    Apollo couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "I guess..."


    He walked over to the grey desk.


    "Might as well start now."


    La hopped with a giggle.


    "Start now!"


    Apollo flipped his iron coin.


    A single line of mist condensed while four pieces of parchment appeared.


    Like always, Apollo''s eyes snapped to the reward section.


    ''Reward: 50 Gold Coins


    Reward: Forged Core Katana


    Reward: Basic Elixir of Flexibility


    Reward: Basic Shadow Step Technique''


    Apollo glossed over the gold coins.


    His curiosity was piqued when he saw the katana, but he had no intention of changing his weapon.


    As for the basic elixir of flexibility, he wasn''t interested. He told La that he would give her once if he had any extra, but that was only if it just so happened tond in his possession.


    Once he looked at thest reward, he made his decision.


    He was just a step away from mastering the ''Basic Shadow Step Technique''.


    Even if there were other lucrative rewards, it would be hard to resist picking this one. After all, it constantly lingered at the back of his mind.


    Apollo picked up the parchment.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin


    Target: Two-horned Demon


    Description: Two-horned demons are roughly three meters high and wield sabers. They have ck skin and a humanoid figure. Two-horned demons hold a gemstone at the center of its chest. This gemstone is capable of naturally gathering mana.


    Requirements: Collect Three Undamaged Two-horned Rank Gemstones''


    There was an ink painting of a two-horned demon and the apanying gemstone in the shape of an emerald.


    Apollo smirked.


    Killing a few Two-horned demons sounded easy enough.


    Suddenly, La began whining.


    "Wait! Don''t pick that one, look at this!"


    La pointed to the parchment with a reward of the ''Basic Elixir of Flexibility''.


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    ....Could he convince La to let it go?

 Chapter 82 - Please?

    La''s eyes widened like a puppy''s.


    She crouched down with a pout on her face.


    "Please?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "No."


    La looked to the ground and whimpered.


    "Pleaseeee?"


    The inner corners of Apollo''s eyebrows lowered.


    He was getting irritated.


    "No."


    La peeked at Apollo with upturned eyes.


    "Pleaseeee?~"


    Apollo clutched his head with his free hand.


    "I''m not doing it!"


    La pressed her lips together. She stayed silent but continued to stare at Apollo.


    For a few moments, there was silence.


    Suddenly, La let out a yowl and pounced on Apollo.


    Both of her hands were outstretched as though they wanted to push Apollo over. Her eyes were closed and her head was lowered. It was as though La was a small child.


    A smile spread out on Apollo''s face.


    His bokken traced an arc towards the ceiling.


    ...But once it hit La, it stopped.


    It was as though Apollo struck her with a feather.


    His smile froze on his face.


    Although Apollo wanted to dodge, it was already toote.


    His eyes widened.


    Then, La crashed into him.


    Apollo was sent flying across the room, mming into the wall with a resounding bang.


    His back was the first thing to hit the wall. Then, his head snapped backward, letting out a frightening crack.


    Apollo instantly lost consciousness.


    La covered her lips with one hand.


    "Oops! Are you ok friend?"


    Apollo did not respond.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Mm... sleeping?"


    She grabbed onto Apollo''s shoulders.


    ...Then shook him back and forth.


    "Wake upppp!"


    Apollo''s head repeatedly mmed against the wall.


    It would be a miracle if he didn''t suffer any traumatic brain injuries.


    At some point, La stopped.


    She puffed her cheeks and stared at Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he was waking up.


    ...Somehow or another.


    His eyes slowly opened, to see La lunging at him.


    She angrily bit down on Apollo''s face.


    This made Apollo freak out.


    "Ow, ow, ow! Get off, get off!"


    He iled his limbs in an attempt to get La off him.


    Although Apollo wasn''t able to push La off, she backed off when she noticed Apollo had regained consciousness.


    La crossed her arms and looked to the side.


    Her eyes were closed while a small frown was painted on her face.


    She harrumphed.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Mm... mommy?"


    La was unable to keep up her pretense.


    Her arms fell to her sides as she looked at Apollo with her beady green eyes.


    "Mommy?"


    Apollo let out an innocent giggle.


    "Mommy!"


    He jumped towards La with his arms spread out.


    To La''s surprise, Apollo was hugging her tightly.


    Apollo closed his eyes and smiled.


    "Hehe, mommy!"


    La patted Apollo''s head.


    "Who is mommy?"


    Apollo looked up and tilted his head to the side.


    "What do you mean, it''s you!"


    La pouted.


    "But... My name isn''t mommy! It''s La!"


    Apollo was distraught.


    "Ehhhh? Where is mommy?"


    La''s tail swayed from side to side.


    "I don''t know!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Aw..."


    La lifted Apollo up. There was a bright smile on her face.


    "But we can find her!"


    Apollo jumped up and down enthusiastically.


    "Yeah!"


    Once he calmed down, his eyes scanned the area around him.


    "Ah, where am I?"


    La put her palms together like she was praying. Her hands and head tilted to the left.


    "I don''t know! This ce is very weird..."


    Apollo looked at the grey desk with a few parchments on them. He pointed towards them.


    "What is that?"


    La''s furry ears twitched upwards.


    "Ah, those are the rewards!"


    Apollo gasped in awe.


    "Rewards?"


    La''s tail stood up straight and stiffened.


    "Yeah, yeah!"


    She grabbed Apollo''s hand and brought him over to the desk.


    Apollo''s mouth was agape.


    "Wow!"


    La proceeded to pout.


    "Could you get this reward for me? Pleaseeee?~"


    She pointed towards the request that had a reward of the ''Basic Elixir of Flexibility''.


    Apollo was none the wiser. Without hesitation, he agreed.


    "Ok!"


    Apollo picked up the parchment, then proceeded to wave it around.


    La hopped and pped excitedly.


    "Yayyyy!"


    The parchment slipped out of his grasp.


    Apollo looked at his empty hand.


    "Ah, I lost it!"


    La iled her arms in the air.


    "What! How did you lose it?"


    Apollo was about to respond, but his eyes were drawn to the floating parchment.


    "Oh, it''s there?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Ohhh, yeah!"


    Apollo''s iron coin tumbled onto the table while the other parchments disappeared.


    He raised an eyebrow.


    "What is that?"


    La giggled.


    "That''s your glorified name tag."


    Apollo didn''t understand but nodded as if he did. He picked it up, curiously turning it over a few times, then stuffed it in his pocket.


    La scratched her cheek.


    "Hmm... to get the reward we need to y with Kn Noia?"


    Apollo examined the request sheet.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin - Iron Lined


    Target: Kn Noia


    Description: Resides in Obrad Empire. Prince. Estimated Level - True Mage, Stage 1. Young man. Short brown hair. Blue Eyes.


    Requirements: Assassinate Kn Noia''


    The attached picture showed a young man with neat hair. There was a subtle smug smile on his face.


    Apollo scratched his cheek with a finger.


    "But it says assassinate, not y."


    La giggled.


    "Eh? That''s the same thing, right?"


    Apollo nodded in understanding.


    "Ah! I see."


    He looked around himself.


    Apollo turned to La, blinking a few times.


    "How do we get out of here?"


    La''s furry ears twitched upward.


    A smile spread out on her face.


    "Let me show you!"


    La wrapped one hand around Apollo''s waist, then tore open the space with her hand.


    She dragged Apollo with her, bringing them to some strange blue world.


    Their bodies jostled around like they were on a rollercoaster.


    La was having the time of her life. While one arm was wrapped around Apollo, the other was raised high in the air.


    "Waaaaaaaah!~"


    As for Apollo, he was terrified. His eyes widened and his hands tightly held onto La''s arm for dear life.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    With that, the two of them set off on their journey.

 Chapter 83 - The Everfield Legacy

    Otis the second was walking down a set of stone steps. There was only a dark void in front of him. The steps appeared to lead him to the abyss.


    "...Coward."


    He was mumbling to himself.


    Otis tightly clenched his fists while he bit his lip.


    "Coward!"


    He stopped for a moment to punch the wall. It hardly did anything to the wall, other than stter his blood on it.


    Then, he continued.


    He took in a shaky deep breath.


    "Father... I''m sorry."


    Otis looked down. His eyes closed, letting a few tears drop to the ground.


    "If your son... was just a little braver."


    ...


    Otis had a vision.


    It was of his father.


    "Son... When you are ready, try to inherit the legacy of our family."


    Otis nodded enthusiastically.


    "Ok, I''m ready!"


    His father chuckled.


    "Hey, not so fast. The legacy is very, very dangerous. You will lose your life if you are not careful. On top of that, you only have one chance to inherit the legacy."


    His father sighed.


    "Don''t be like your dad, who did it too hastily..."


    He smiled bitterly.


    "And failed."


    Otis blinked innocently.


    "What is the legacy?"


    His father''s expression became solemn.


    "It will give you the power to carry the entire family on your back."


    Otis smiled.


    "Wow!"


    ...


    Otis had an ugly frown on his face.


    "I... should''ve been the one to carry our family."


    He grit his teeth.


    "But now, there is nothing left to carry."


    Otis'' breaths became unsteady.


    "All I had to do... was inherit the legacy. Then you would still be alive."


    Otis hit himself in the head.


    "Then... mother would still be alive."


    He reached the bottom of the staircase.


    With a sh, torches on the side of the wall lit up.


    Otis squinted his eyes and covered them with one hand.


    Once his vision adjusted, he saw a massive room made from marble.


    There were countlessrge metal torches iid across the walls. They held a bright red me that danced as though it were a beast.


    Every fifty meters or so, the floor would elevate. It was almost like the whole room was just a giant staircase.


    At the back, there was a stone statue of a dragon.


    The craftsman must''ve been a master that put their heart and soul into this work. Every detail, from the tips of its w to the indent of the scale were meticulously defined.


    The dragon was emanating an overbearing presence even though it was inanimate. Its lofty head stared down everything in the room as though everything was beneath him.


    The dragon''s wings were spread out, spanning the entire width of the room, almost like it understood how majestic it was, daring something to challenge it.


    Otis stared at the dragon for a few moments before making his way towards it.


    He frowned.


    He could already feel a force weighing down on him, making him recall a memory.


    Otis saw his father holding up a finger.


    "First! Before you do anything else, the room of legacies will force you to bear pressure!"


    Otis closed his eyes. The vision of his father became clearer.


    "As long as you are in this room, you will bear this pressure! The farther you get, the stronger this pressure gets. You must have a strong heart to resist it, else you will die on the spot!"


    Otis took a deep breath.


    "I understand, dad. A strong heart."


    The pressure already felt suffocating at the outermost edge of the room.


    Otis steeled his mind before proceeding to take a step forward.


    There was no going back now.


    The force weighing down on him pulsated like the beat of a heart. Every second, the sudden impact would threaten to force him down on his knees.


    Adrenaline flowed through Otis'' body, but his body was weak.


    The pressure already forced his muscles to be stretched taut. This was harder than he ever imagined it to be.


    However, he marched forward confidently. His pace was slow but steadier than a mountain.


    The anger burning in his heart refused to let him back down.


    After a few arduous minutes, he made it to the first step.


    The step was roughly a meter high, forcing Otis to use his arms to climb up.


    Otis'' mind suddenly nked out.


    He saw his father stare at him intently.


    "Once you make it to the first step, you wille across a sudden increase in pressure."


    His father''s voice became solemn.


    "However, there is no time to adjust! Two skeletons will be released onto that step. While they don''t have the most refined movements, they are immortal."


    His father''s eyes narrowed.


    "Don''t try to kill them. Focus on moving onto the next step and they will naturally leave you alone."


    Otis grit his teeth and forced his consciousness toe back to him.


    Far off to the left and right, the walls opened like a door. A skeleton on each side was revealed.


    The skeletons were dirty. Their bones had a moldy yellow color. It was as though they were dirty dishes that had been stained with oil because they weren''t cleaned properly.


    A few cracks snaked across their body. This was especially so for their skulls. It almost looked like a spider web was wrapped around their heads.


    A longsword was in their bony hands.


    Contrary to their weathered bodies, the longsword was shone with a bright luster.


    The longswords were well polished and could easily be mistaken for a newly made sword.


    The skeletons held onto the swords dearly, like it was their long lost lover.


    The sound of ttering bones filled the room.


    The skeletons were running towards Otis, swords raised high in the air.


    As for Otis, his eyes narrowed.


    The inner corner of his eyebrows tried to dig into his eyes.


    "Nothing will stop me! Not anymore..."


    His legs strained themselves to walk forward.


    However, despite his determination, Otis'' pace was slow.


    The skeletons reached Otis easily before he had even traversed ten meters.


    Their longswords fell down, about to strike Otis'' neck.

 Chapter 84 - Me Too, Mother

    A wave of despair seeped into Otis'' heart.


    Was he really going to die? But... he had just started the trial.


    He remembered watching his father die in his own hands. A wave of anger swept aside the despair inside his heart.


    "Not yet!"


    As the two longswords came down to im Otis'' neck, he suddenly jolted.


    His foot pressed hard against the ground, propelling him forward.


    He could feel the wind of the strike brush by his clothes, making his heart leap.


    Otis frowned.


    A few of his toenails cracked. Although he had the willpower to exert himself, his body couldn''t keep up.


    The skeletons were not discouraged after missing their target. They shifted their stance and attempted to stab Otis.


    As for Otis, he gathered mana into his palms. His mind churned rapidly. For the first time in his life, he cast two spells at once.


    "Begone!"


    His palms shot out towards the longswords.


    Right before they collided, a long set of vines appeared. The vines wrapped around the longswords, preventing them from moving further.


    With this small window, Otis kept running.


    The skeleton''s jaws opened and closed with loud tters. It was almost like the skeleton was letting out a roar of anger.


    The skeletons hastily stripped off the vines before they continued chasing after Otis.


    While they did that, Otis'' total distance traveled became thirty meters on the first step. As long as he traveled roughly twenty meters, he could advance to the second step.


    All of the toenails on his feet had shattered, poking painfully into his skin. Although it hurt, Otis knew he had to do at least this much.


    After all, getting shed by a longsword may spell death, while losing his toenails would let him keep living.


    However, it was still excruciatingly painful.


    Beads of sweat formed on Otis'' forehead from enduring the pain.


    He was having second thoughts, his body was simply too weak toplete this trial.


    His steps slowed...


    Yet, before Otis came to a halt, he burst forward. He was moving even faster than when he was uninjured. That didn''t mean the pain disappeared. It felt like his toes were on fire, burning him alive. However, when he thought about the pain of losing his father, his bloody toes only felt a slight itch.


    Otis closed his eyes.


    "Father..."


    He was only ten meters away from the second step, but the skeletons had caught up.


    One skeleton shed at Otis'' back.


    Otis didn''t even realize he was being attacked. As such, arge red gash opened up on his back. Otis let out a grunt of pain, however, his eyes grew fierce.


    The other skeleton simrly shed, but at his neck. If Otis let this attack hit him like thest one, his head would roll on the floor.


    Sadly, Otis trained to be a collector mage. His focus was on gathering mana, not fighting in closebat.


    He had no special way of parrying the attack.


    But Otis did not panic.


    He tensed his arm and held it to the side of his neck.


    There was a thud.


    Blood splurted out, while his fist powerlessly loosened.


    The longsword pierced his flesh but stopped at the bone.


    Yet, once it did hit his bone, Otis felt an overwhelming jolt of pain. It was as though he got struck by lightning.


    However, heposed himself quickly.


    Otis grimaced.


    "Damn you!"


    While the longsword was still lodged in his arm, he pushed it away.


    His flesh was further torn apart, but the longsword was knocked to the side.


    Otis bought himself another grace period. With it, he ran towards the second step.


    In just a few moments, he was only a meter away. After just one meter, he wouldplete the first step.


    However, the skeletons had already caught up.


    Otis learned his lesson the hard way. He knew the skeletons would easily catch up and sh him. As such, he peered over his shoulder, waiting for one of them to strike.


    As expected, one skeleton raised its longsword in the air before plunging it down.


    Otis twisted his right foot, causing a few bones to snap.


    He darted to his left, letting the longsword cut the air.


    Otis did not forget to propel himself forward. The second step was right in front of him.


    His good hand clutched on the ledge of the second step.


    However, the other skeleton wasn''t going to sit idle.


    Out of instinct, Otis turned his head to the side. In the corner of his eye, he could see a longsword about to pierce his throat. His uninjured hand was currently on the second step, while his other hand could hardly move.


    When he used his arm to block earlier, it severed some of the muscles used to pilot the hand.


    Otis''cking judgment led to this precarious situation.


    But instead of despairing, the inner corner of his eyebrows dug down.


    He tried to raise his arm, hoping to use it to block again.


    However, he was too slow. The de glided over his hand.


    Otis'' life shed before his eyes.


    ...


    He was holding the hands of his mother and father.


    They were walking around their backyard, exploring the various exotic nts.


    Otis would eagerly ask about every little thing he saw while his parents would happily exin it to him.


    "Hey, what is that one?"


    Otis was pointing at a yellow flower. It had heart-shaped petals that ovepped with each other.


    His father chuckled.


    "That is a yellow pansy."


    Otis'' mother picked the flower, holding it in front of his face. She wasughing softly.


    "You can give this flower to anybody that holds a special ce in your heart."


    Otis'' mother stuck the yellow pansy in his hair.


    "It means..."


    A breathtaking smile was on her face.


    "I''m thinking about you."


    ...


    Otis'' limp hand shot out, holding onto the longsword tightly. It abruptly stopped, unable to advance a single bit further.


    Blood cascaded down Otis'' trembling arm, and tears streamed down his face.


    "Me too, mother...."

 Chapter 85 - How The Hell Did You Get Here, Anyway?

    With a yell, Otis threw the longsword aside.


    The skeleton did not let go of his weapon but stumbled to the side.


    Using that opportunity, he put strength into his uninjured hand and pulled himself up.


    He made it to the second step.


    Yet, before he could celebrate, his consciousness nked out.


    After all, it was only going to get harder from here.


    ...


    "Waaaaaaah~"


    "AHHHHHHHHH"


    La was dragging Apollo across a chaotic blue world.


    The ce consisted of countless hills and valleys, both big and small. However, it seemed that gravity was a little different in this ce.


    They weren''t touching the floor but were also violently jolting in random directions.


    La seemed very familiar with this ce, casually running on the air.


    However, to Apollo, it was terrifying.


    After all, they were traveling at speeds he had never gone before. They passed by the terrain in the blink of an eye, while the sudden jolting made him feel like he could fall at any moment.


    The only saving grace was that La had an arm wrapped around his waist. At the very least, he had something like a seatbelt he could hold onto for dear life.


    Tears gathered in Apollo''s eyes.


    "Slower! Please go slower!"


    Laughed.


    "Ah, sorry for going too slow!"


    Apollo''s eyes bulged.


    "Wait what? No!"


    La suddenly sped up, going over two times as fast.


    Apollo could no longer make sense of his surroundings.


    Everything was a blur. He couldn''t even hear himself screaming although he was sure that he had been doing so.


    Suddenly, they were back in the real world.


    Apollo felt incredibly dizzy.


    He immediately vomited, but only saliva came out.


    Apollo was on his hands and knees, desperately gasping for air.


    "It''s... over."


    La giggled.


    "Ah, sorry, friend. We will go back soon, I promise!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "What? No!"


    La ignored him. She took a look around herself, then pouted.


    "Ehehe... I don''t know where to go."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...Where were we going?"


    La raised her hands in the air with a smile.


    "I don''t know!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Wa... What do we do now?"


    La scratched her cheek with her finger.


    "Friend knew how to get therest time. Lead the way!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "But... I don''t know the way."


    La and Apollo spent a few moments staring at each other.


    Suddenly, La smiled.


    "Then we just have to search!"


    Apollo rocked back and forth on the ground.


    "But I''m scared!"


    He was still traumatized by the roller coaster ride he just had.


    La put her hands on her sides and struck her elbows out.


    "Don''t worry! I will protect friend!"


    Apollo looked up to La.


    "Really?"


    La smiled confidently.


    "Yeah!"


    Apollo ran over to La with his arms spread out.


    He hugged her tightly while bawling his eyes out.


    "Reallyyyy?"


    La giggled. She gently patted Apollo''s head.


    "Of course!"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Yay!"


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Yay!"


    Apollo let go. He surveyed the area around him.


    "Where are we?"


    They were no longer in the forest.


    Instead, they were in an open in. There were various flowers scattered about, letting out a pleasant scent.


    However, there was something strange about such an unassuming ce.


    It wasn''t snowing.


    La ced a finger on her chin.


    "Mm... It''s a flower ce!"


    Apollo nodded with a serious expression.


    "Ah, You''re right!"


    La giggled.


    "Now follow me!"


    La skipped through the in. Apollo hurriedly followed from behind, like a puppy.


    La was humming to herself. Sometimes she would bend down to smell the flowers.


    Apollo imitated her, taking in the sweet scent.


    After roughly an hour of aimless wandering, Apollo asked the question that was on his mind.


    "Um... do you think this ce is weird?"


    La turned around.


    "Eh, why?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "When you look far away... it seems to go on forever."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    She looked towards the horizon.


    As Apollo said, the in seemed to stretch on infinitely.


    La giggled.


    "We just need to keep going! As long as we move forward, things will change!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ok..."


    He reluctantly followed La who was already skipping ahead.


    ...They continued walking for five more hours.


    Yet, nothing seemed to change.


    Apollo rubbed his stomach.


    "La... I''m hungry."


    La gasped.


    "Ah, me too!"


    She proceeded to pout.


    "Mm... can we eat these?"


    La plucked a white flower.


    Apollo whimpered.


    "I don''t think we can..."


    La puffed her cheeks.


    She opened her mouth, about to try. Then, she froze.


    "No, you cannot eat those."


    An old man appeared. He had long white hair that nearly reached the ground. This included his beard as well.


    There were a few wrinkles on the man''s face. They were mostly concentrated around his eyes.


    He was wearing a long white robe. It was in pristine condition and matched his long hair.


    He was holding a thick ck book in his hand. The book was open and next to his face. It seemed like he was reading it even as he spoke.


    Apollo screamed.


    "Wah! How did you get there?"


    La jumped in front of Apollo and stuck her arms out.


    "I will protect you, friend!"


    The old man chuckled.


    "Haha, I am not so bored that I will attack you."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "However, it really has been too long since someone has found their way here."


    La dropped her guard instantly. She lowered her arms and tilted her head to the side.


    "Ohhhh, how long has it been?"


    The old man smirked.


    "Haha, was it two hundred years? Perhaps three hundred."


    Apollo gasped.


    "That''s a long time!"


    La swung her arms around in the air.


    "Nobody came to visit? That''s so unlucky!"


    The old man sighed.


    "That''s because I never wanted any visitors. This realm isn''t even attached to the real world."


    Suddenly, his pitch dropped.


    "It makes me wonder..."


    With a snap, the man shut his book.


    "How the hell did you get here, anyway?"

 Chapter 86 - Come With Me

    The old man red at the pair, demanding an exnation.


    However, the two did not seem to understand the gravity of the situation.


    Laid a finger on her chin.


    "Well... we were in the blue world!"


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah, yeah! The sky and ground were both blue."


    La giggled.


    "Hehe, see? Friend agrees with me!"


    Apollo held his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    There was a serious expression on his face.


    "We were going like, really fast! I could hardly even see anything. Then, we were here!"


    La''s tail swayed from side to side.


    "Wah! It wasn''t that fast..."


    The old man''s eyelid twitched.


    "...Stop fooling around!"


    He let out a roar, emanating a wave of force purely from his lungs.


    Apollo was knocked off his feet, flying back a few meters.


    "Ahh, I''m scared!"


    As for La, she was unaffected. The worst thing the roar did was blow her hair back.


    However, when she heard Apollo cry out. She panicked.


    "Oh no! I will protect you, friend!"


    La lunged towards Apollo. She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed.


    "Don''t worry, friend!"


    As for Apollo, he felt safe when La dered she was going to protect him. However, once she began hugging him, he panicked.


    "Ow, ow, ow! Stop it hurts!"


    La was slowly crushing his rib cage.


    ...She did not realize this fact.


    "It''s ok, friend! I will make sure nothing hurts you!"


    Apollo twisted his body, rolling over.


    "Gah! No, no, you are hurting me!"


    The pair began rolling around in the grass. One dered they would be the other''s protector while one screamed out in pain.


    The old man had his fist raised, ready to attack.


    Yet, he couldn''t bring himself to follow through.


    The sight in front of him just... made him lose his anger.


    Perhaps it was an borate ploy from the two, but he couldn''t be bothered to think about it too deeply.


    The old man sighed.


    "What is it that you desire? Are you simply here to sightsee?"


    He chuckled.


    "Though, I doubt it''s that."


    La let go of Apollo before turning to look at the old man.


    "Ah, friend and I are hungry!"


    Apollo was trying to catch his breath. However, when he heard what La said, he perked up.


    "Oh, yeah! Can we please have some food?"


    The old man was speechless.


    Silence hung in the air for a moment.


    Then, the old man broke out with augh.


    "Alright, sure."


    He pointed his finger to the ground, causing the space to ripple.


    Tworge berry bushes covered in snow appeared.


    One of them held strawberries while the other held blueberries.


    They were plump and bright.


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Yay, gifts!"


    Apollo pped his hands.


    "Wow! Thank you, thank you."


    The pair ran over to the berry bushes and picked the fruits.


    Apollo curiously looked at the blueberry in between his fingers.


    He tossed it into his mouth without hesitation.


    It was sweet, as a normal blueberry should be.


    "Tasty!"


    La giggled. There was already a food stain around her mouth.


    She handed a strawberry to Apollo.


    "Try this one!"


    Apollo epted it. He promptly stuffed his face.


    "Also tasty!"


    La smiled.


    "Yeah!"


    The old man watched the two eat the berries with silly grins on their faces.


    Although he said he didn''t want any visitors, it was pretty boring to live centuries without seeing another''s face. What he really meant by visitors were people trying to take advantage of him or deceive him.


    The old man did not truly believe that Apollo and La were innocent, however, he wouldn''t question it for now.


    It did not take long for the pair to finish the berries. There wererge stains around both of their mouths.


    La pointed to Apollo with a shocked expression.


    "Wah! How did your mouth get bigger?"


    Apollo looked at La and pointed back.


    "Eh? Your mouth got bigger as well!"


    La covered her mouth in shock.


    "Wah! What do we do now?"


    The old man sighed.


    "Wash yourselves off with this."


    He pointed towards the ground, causing the space to ripple.


    A section of a river appeared in the ground.


    The water was still while fragments of ice lined the sides.


    Apollo rushed over to the river and sshed his face with the water.


    "Ah! It''s cold!"


    La did the same.


    "Oh, refreshing!"


    The old man was in deep thought. He was wondering if he should reopen... that.


    Long ago, when he still walked on thends of the real world, he offered things out of the kindness of his heart.


    He had written countless books, the kind that had countless insights on how to grow in power. He gave these books out for free, with the intent that anybody could read them.


    However, not even a day after he handed them out, they were locked behind closed gates.


    The people he gave them to forced others to pay exorbitant prices just to take a peek. It made him wonder if he had made a mistake. Yet, he still wished to spread his knowledge. As such, he tried ways to circumvent this. He opened a personal library, where anyone could enter, free of charge.


    ...Then people began stealing books. He did not like it, however, he continued recing them withoutint.


    Eventually, he was berated by the very people that stole his books.


    How were they supposed to make money off them if he continued giving them out for free?


    The old man thought at least those that he had given free ess to would be on his side.


    However, they criticized him for ''stealing'' from the hard working authors, providing the books for free.


    And so, he made his library disappear from this realm. Then, he made every extra copy wither to dust.


    The old man shook his head.


    La was eagerly slurping up the water.


    "So refreshing!"


    Apollo took a sip but instantly recoiled.


    "Too cold!"


    The old man cleared his throat.


    "Come with me."

 Chapter 87 - Sparring With An Old Man

    Apollo and La looked at the old man curiously.


    La whispered to Apollo.


    "Hey, should we trust him?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "I''m not sure!"


    Although they hushed their voices, even the average person could easily hear what they were saying.


    The old man''s eyelid twitched.


    "If I wanted to, I could''ve poisoned the berries and water. Distrusting me at this point is pointless."


    La looked at the old man, then darted back to face Apollo. She continued whispering, though she made no effort to do so quietly.


    "I don''t get it! What does he mean?"


    Apollo had a serious contemting expression.


    "I think he said he was trustworthy?"


    La nodded enthusiastically.


    "Ah! That means we can trust him!"


    Apollo nodded in agreement.


    "Yeah! That must be right."


    The corner of the old man''s lip twitched. Perhaps these two were a little too innocent.


    Apollo and La hurried over. The old man walked leisurely, like how you would expect from a person with his looks.


    La bounced up and down as they made their way through the in.


    "Hey, hey what is your name?"


    The old man let out a small smile.


    "I have long discarded my name. However, people tend to refer to me as The Vanquisher."


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Ohhh! Do you want to be friends, Vanquisher?"


    The Vanquisher chuckled.


    "Sure."


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Yay!"


    Apollo joined her.


    "Yay!"


    The Vanquisher stroked his long beard.


    "So, are you children Collector Mages?"


    La opened her mouth, but words didn''te out.


    Her face darted towards Apollo.


    "What is a Collector Mage?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I don''t know!"


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "A mage is someone that draws in mana from the environment to cast spells."


    Apollo nodded with a serious expression.


    "Ah, I don''t get it."


    La shook her head.


    "Me too."


    The Vanquisherughed.


    "I suppose I should''ve expected that. After all, you weren''t disturbed by theck of mana in this ce."


    La turned to Apollo. There was a finger on her chin.


    "Do you get what he is saying?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "No..."


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "Sorry, sorry. Anyways, if you don''t know about magic, it appears the only thing left is the body."


    He stopped walking, causing the two to bump into his back.


    Apollo rubbed his head.


    "Ah, why did you stop?"


    The Vanquisher turned around.


    "I want to show you something. However, if you aren''t powerful enough, it will be a double-edged sword."


    He raised his hand.


    "So we will spar."


    Then clenched it into a fist.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Do you mean y?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Spar doesn''t sound like y..."


    The Vanquisher smirked.


    "You can think of it in that way. Now, try and hit me."


    La smiled.


    "Ok!"


    Suddenly, she bolted forward, leaving only an afterimage.


    The Vanquisher raised an eyebrow, disappearing as well.


    The two stirred uprge gales of wind, violently blowing aside the grass and flowers.


    Apollo''s jaw dropped.


    "So... fast!"


    He was just barely able to make out their actions.


    La swiped at The Vanquisher''s torso. However, his figure shed, leaving La to strike the air.


    The Vanquisher appeared behind La, he was sending a palm towards her head.


    La couldn''t see but somehow tilted her head to dodge anyway.


    Their figures continued shing across the grass in.


    Apollo had been watching with a dumbstruck expression.


    Suddenly, he broke out of his stupor, shaking his head.


    "Ah, I forgot to join as well!"


    Apollo dashed over, bokken in hand.


    It should be known, if it was a normal person, their eyes wouldn''t even be able to register an afterimage.


    Apollo''s eyes weren''t monstrously better than the average person''s. However, his processing speed was already nearing the limit of a human.


    This was the case ever since he broke out of the loop with Willow.


    On top of that, the elixir he drank earlier had made his processing speed even faster. This was just enough for his eyes to catch their image.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The Vanquisher did the limbo, letting the bokken pass by above him.


    Before he had a chance to recover, La pounced.


    The Vanquisher twisted his body, letting La skid past him.


    La''s hands were in the shape of a w. When she passed by The Vanquisher, she tore a piece of his coat.


    Then, she collided with the ground.


    A thundering boom resounded.


    Arge crater formed along with cracks that stretched over twenty meters from the point of impact.


    "Aw, I missed!"


    Apollo was thrown in the air from the shockwave.


    The Vanquisher took advantage of that appearing before Apollo and sending a palm towards his back.


    However, Apollo''s bokken moved before The Vanquisher even had the intention of attacking.


    The Vanquisher''s eyebrow raised.


    His palm hit the tip of Apollo''s bokken. Then, was thrown to the left.


    Apollo''s bokken twisted elusively, deflecting the attack.


    While The Vanquisher was still surprised, Apollo''s bokken swung towards him.


    The Vanquisher blocked the attack with the back of his fist.


    Both of them came out of the engagement unscathed.


    La bent her knees beforeunching herself upward.


    "Rawrrr!"


    She swiped at The Vanquisher, prompting him to throw his palm out in kind.


    A thundering crash reverberated throughout the air.


    Both of their hair violently whipped back, dancing with the wind.


    La fell towards the ground butnded on all fours.


    She let out a giggle.


    As for The Vanquisher, he was sent a few meters up into the sky. However, he plunged down the next second.


    Apollo traced an arc towards the sky, pushing the grass below him to the ground.


    The Vanquisher chuckled. He swung his palm as though it were a sword.


    Two des of wind collided, shaking the air.


    The Vanquishernded a few feet away and cupped his palms.


    "Haha, you two are quite strong!"


    La blushed.


    "Aww, thank you!"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Hehe, you aren''t joking?"


    The Vanquisher smiled.


    "Of course not.. Now, follow me to my library."

 Chapter 88 - Complicated Books

    The Vanquisher led Apollo and La across the in.


    He sighed.


    "Anyways, since the two of you don''t know magic, I will show you the physical empowerment sections."


    Then, he smirked.


    "However, don''t be discouraged. In reality, physical empowerment is my second greatest specialization."


    The Vanquisher pointed towards a spot on the ground, rippling the space.


    A hallway materialized in front of them. The flooring was wooden and the tform was wide.


    On the left and right were bookshelves that were ten meters high each.


    The hallway did have an endpoint, however, it was incredibly far away. If an ordinary person spent their entire lives reading, they may not be able to finish all the books.


    This spoke volumes about the person who wrote it himself, The Vanquisher.


    Speaking of, two books appeared in the hands of The Vanquisher.


    "You are free to read any book here as you please. However, given the traits I have observed in our spar, these are my rmendations."


    He handed one of the books to La.


    "Since you have extraordinary strength, this should be fitting."


    He handed La a leather-bound book.


    The book was rtively smallpared to other books, perhaps ten centimeters thick. It had a glossy white cover that was in pristine condition. There was a thin ck string that wrapped itself around the book, keeping it closed.


    The lettering was big and bold. The color of the letters was a deep red. It read, ''How To Overwhelm Mountains''.


    La took the book, staring at it with curious eyes. It had a satisfying smooth feeling, prompting La to rub her cheek on it.


    "Hehe, it feels nice!"


    The Vanquisher smiled.


    "Naturally. I keep my books in good condition."


    La did not understand she had to unfasten the string to open the book. In fact, she did not even know that it was a book, or that books could open.


    As such, she simply stared at it with confusion.


    The Vanquisher handed the other book to Apollo.


    Like La''s, it was also leather-bound. However, that was where the simrities ended.


    This book was muchrger than the rest, spanning a whole forty centimeters. It would be very inconvenient for Apollo to hold it with one hand.


    It had a light brown cover and had a weathered look. However, contrary to its appearance, it was just as clean and smooth as La''s.


    There was a leathertch along with a small white button that held it closed.


    The lettering of this book was cursive, with a dark grey color. It read, ''Proper Application of Wind Attacks for Sword Wielders''.


    Apollo took it with one hand, using the full length of his fingers to grasp it.


    La looked over at Apollo''s book.


    She pointed towards it.


    "Wah, no fair! You got the bigger one!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "But mine isn''t as colorful as yours!"


    La put a finger on her chin. Her furry ears twitched with enlightenment.


    "What if we trade?"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Ah, you''re right!"


    The Vanquisher felt a headacheing on. He put one hand on his forehead.


    "No, no. Those books are specialized for each of you. Trading them would ruin their effectiveness!"


    La and Apollo hummed with dissatisfaction.


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "Just read them, ok?"


    La''s head tilted to the side.


    "What?"


    Apollo loudly whispered to La, covering the side of his mouth with one hand.


    "He wants us to open the book and look at the inside!"


    La nodded with understanding.


    "I see, I see."


    After failing a few times, La clumsily opened her book and opened it from the middle.


    She saw a picture of someone doing a punch with a few annotations added on top.


    As for Apollo, heid the book on the ground after opening it up. He turned to the first page.


    On one side, there was a huge wall of text. On the other side was a picture of a hand holding a sword.


    However, the picture was littered with so many annotations, that it might as well have been another wall of text.


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Um... I don''t want to read this."


    La was lying down on her belly. Her feet were kicking in the air and her tail was swaying from side to side.


    Once she heard what Apollo said, she loudly whispered to him.


    "It''s a gift! You have to be proper and ept it. I don''t want to read this either, but I am doing it!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Ah... ok."


    The Vanquisher was baffled.


    How many people were vying for a chance to read his books?


    How many people begged him just to see a single page?


    ...Yet when he gave them away, they were reading with the intent of not betraying his good intentions.


    The Vanquisherughed to himself.


    "Maybe I have be a little overconfident in myself."


    Apollo''s eyebrows furrowed. He was trying his hardest, but couldn''t understand what the book was trying to tell him.


    He mumbled the words to himself.


    "Focus not on the strength, but the angle of your de?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "...What?"


    As for La, she was having just as much trouble. Her book contained significantly easier concepts as well as clear illustrations.


    Yet, they all seemed to fly over her head.


    La smiled.


    "Hehe, I can''t figure it out."


    The Vanquisher furrowed his brows.


    "Let me take a look."


    He walked over. After a brief nce, he recalled the technique that page was disying.


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "Imitate my stance."


    He held one fist in front of him while the other pulled back. One of his legs bent while the other was stretched taut. It was as though he was sprinting and he was in a freeze frame.


    La got up and copied his posture.


    Apollo tried to as well but realized it was too awkward with his bokken in hand.


    The Vanquisher took a deep breath.


    "The muscles you exert start from the back of your shoulder and end at the tip of your fingers."


    Then, he swung.

 Chapter 89 - If Fate Allows It

    The Vanquisher''s strike was slow at first but suddenly sped up.


    Despite hitting nothing but air, the crack of a whip resounded.


    Arge gale of wind was stirred up, blowing aside the grass.


    The Vanquisher retracted his arms and legs, standing up normally.


    "Alright, now you try."


    La nodded.


    "Ok!"


    Her fist started to elerate slowly.


    The Vanquisher''s eyebrows raised. She was doing it perfectly? On her first try, no less.


    Suddenly, in the middle of her strike, her fist expanded into a w.


    The Vanquisher''s eyelid twitched.


    "That''s not how-"


    He was interrupted by the sound of a thunderp.


    La''s strike only shot out a gust of wind, but the ground underneath raised like it was forming a mountain.


    Dirt scattered throughout the air and cracks formed in the grass.


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Yay! I did it!"


    The Vanquisher''s jaw dropped.


    "What the... how did you?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Ah, it felt a little weird, so I changed it!"


    The corner of The Vanquisher''s lip twitched.


    "I see..."


    Normally, people would have to spend countless days practicing even the simplest techniques he made.


    The fastest he had ever seen someone pick up his technique was in a day.


    Yet, not only did La do it on the first try, she found a derivative of the technique.


    The Vanquisher held his forehead with one hand.


    "If you can do it that easily, why couldn''t you just copy the instructions in the book?"


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "But I couldn''t understand anything it said!"


    The Vanquisher suppressed the migraineing on.


    "The only thing I did was do what the book said."


    La iled her arms around.


    "And I am telling you, I can''t understand what it said!"


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "Alright, alright."


    He turned to Apollo.


    "I imagine you can understand, no?"


    The Vanquisher made that assumption after seeing Apollo''s skill with the sword. He assumed Apollo had gone through rigorous training andprehended many books for the sword.


    So when Apollo turned to him with an awkward smile, he felt his heart drop.


    "Um... I don''t get anything."


    The Vanquisher pressed his fingers firmly on his forehead. The migraine he was trying to suppress was released like a raging me.


    "...Seriously?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Yeah..."


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "I suppose I can show one technique for each of you."


    He raised a palm.


    "But! The rest must be learned through the book."


    La pouted.


    "Whatttt? There''s no way I will be able to understand!"


    The Vanquisher frowned.


    "I worked hard on those books! You''re going to read them!"


    La hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Ok..."


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    "Anyways... watch me."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yes!"


    The Vanquisher held his palm out as though it were a sword.


    He slowly pointed it towards the sky.


    Without warning, he swung it down.


    Apollo''s eyes widened. He caught a minute action within The Vanquisher''s swing.


    While his arm moved, his hand suddenly twitched forward.


    There was a soft whistle.


    Seemingly out of nowhere, a deep line formed on the ground. It stretched for five meters across the in.


    The Vanquisher retracted his palm, putting it behind his back.


    "The problem with your wind de is theck of speed. Although it is not slow, beyond a certain distance, it bes too simple to dodge."


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "At that point, the range of your de bes pointless. This technique sacrifices this unnecessary range to reach speeds on par with lightning."


    The Vanquisher smirked smugly.


    "The wind de is so fast, few will realize they have been cut in the first ce. The only problem is that few can actually perform this technique because of the precision required."


    He chuckled.


    "You see, improperly changing the speed can make your de less powerful if it''s toote. While if it is too early, the speed will be-"


    The Vanquisher was cut off by the sound of crackling thunder.


    A tiny ravine formed in front of Apollo, extending roughly seven meters away.


    The Vanquisher choked on his breath.


    "Gah... what?... You, you..."


    He took a deep breath topose himself.


    "You also created a derivative?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "A what?"


    In reality, Apollo wasn''t trying to create any derivative. However, since the demonstration was done using a palm, he had to improvise.


    In the middle of his swing, he pressed his thumb against the hilt of his bokken. This imitated the sudden eleration of The Vanquisher''s strike but did so more violently.


    The corner of The Vanquisher''s mouth twitched.


    "...Please leave my realm."


    La pouted.


    "Ehhh? But it was so fun ying with you!"


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah! I learned so much!"


    The Vanquisher cleared his throat.


    "...You must leave as there is a mandatory... cleaning I must do."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "What is that?"


    The Vanquisher''s eyelid twitched.


    "Nothing! Just leave!"


    In reality, there was nothing he had to do. He was just too embarrassed by the fact two kids so easily improved on his life''s work. For the sake of his pride, he wanted to be alone for now.


    La pouted.


    "Ok..."


    Apollo handed back the book with his lips pressed together.


    The Vanquisher held out his palm, gesturing to stop.


    "No need to return the books. Keep them with you. Some day, you may learn something from them."


    La giggled.


    "Thanks!"


    She continued rubbing her cheek against the cover of the book.


    The Vanquisher sighed.


    They would read the books... right?


    La tore open the space and wrapped her arm around Apollo''s waist.


    She waved her hand in the air with a smile on her face.


    "Bye, Vanquisher!"


    Apollo also enthusiastically waved.


    "Bye, bye!"


    The Vanquisher smiled.


    He held his palm at chest level and leisurely waved it.


    "See you..."


    La jumped into the torn space, taking Apollo with her. It sealed up right after they left.


    The Vanquisher furrowed his brows.


    "Ah, I forgot to ask for their names."


    Heughed to himself.


    "Well..."


    The Vanquisher looked towards the sky.


    "If fate allows it, we will meet again soon."

 Chapter 90 - You Must... Live

    When Apollo appeared in the blue world, there was a smile on his face. Then, realization struck him.


    Apollo''s eyes widened in fear.


    "Wait, wait, wait!"


    La smiled blissfully.


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH."


    And so, the pair traversed the sky at speeds that nobody in their right mind would go.


    The trauma of this blue world grew stronger in Apollo.


    ...


    Otis the second was on his knees after reaching the second step.


    His father''s words echoed in his head.


    "The second step is where the pressure suddenly kicks up! This is the beginning of the real test, so don''t let your guard down!"


    He saw his father point towards arge piece of parchment affixed to the wall. There were ink drawings of various skeletal hounds. Annotations and circles littered the page, however, a select few were highlighted.


    "Remember the weaknesses! They will be crucial in disabling them!"


    Otis'' eyes shed open.


    At first, he was still bleeding, but a wave of red energy coalesced around him.


    The bleeding stopped. This was not because of any healing, but an increase in constitution.


    By oveing the first step, he was given a small gift.


    Otis observed the tform around him while holding his head in pain.


    The sound of bones ttering echoed throughout the room. The source was three skeletal hounds, dashing over to him.


    They moved with surprising amounts of agility despite theirck of muscles.


    Their appearance was simr to the previous skeletons, cracked and stained.


    However, there were slight differences between the three. One had arger skull along with longer fangs. Another one had two bony tails swaying in the air as opposed to one. Thest one''s bones had a distinct difference in color, deep red.


    The hound with two tails was faster than the rest. It was the first to reach Otis, forcing him to fight.


    Otis'' eyes narrowed.


    The weakness for this hound was the leg!


    His mind gathered mana to conjure a new spell.


    The hound with two tails pounced, jaws open. It was about to take a bite from Otis'' neck.


    Suddenly, a set of vines shot out from Otis'' hand, wrapping around the hound''s front legs.


    With a crack, the hound''s legs broke off. It fell to the floor and slid powerlessly. It still extended its head, snapping its jaws towards Otis in futility.


    Unless Otis became an idiot, the hound was now harmless.


    The red hound was faster than the one with the erged skull, however, it did not charge in.


    Instead, it circled Otis from roughly three meters away.


    Otis'' eyes narrowed.


    The weakness of this hound was the front of its rib cage. However, from his angle, it would be hard to hit.


    He frowned.


    "The smartest hound."


    The hound with an erged skull clumsily dashed towards Otis, prompting him to shift his attention to it.


    Otis took a deep breath.


    This one had a weak spine. Its head would directly fall off from a little pressure to the back of the neck.


    Since the red hound was ignoring him for now, he decided to do the same. His mind gathered mana for another spell. Otis made a n. He was going to hold the hound''s jaw shut with his vines and pull out the spine with his other hand.


    However, he was too naive.


    Would the red hound really wait for him to be finished with the other hound before attacking?


    Of course not.


    The red hound dashed towards Otis, timing its attack to coincide with the other hound.


    A grimace formed on Otis'' face. How did he get into this situation?


    The red hound''s jaws opened, revealing a set of ck teeth. This made Otis recall a memory.


    His father pressed his finger firmly against one of the diagrams.


    "Whatever you do, do not get bitten by the me hound! The poisonced within its teeth will kill you in less than a second!"


    Otis grit his teeth and redirected his spell towards the red hound.


    A set of vines grew from his palms and wrapped around the red hound''s jaw, forcing it shut.


    However, that meant the hound with an erged skull could attack freely.


    It lunged towards Otis, aiming for his neck. Otis promptly raised his arm to protect his vitals.


    Otis'' eyes widened.


    There was a horrifying crunch.


    The hound with an erged skull directly split his forearm in two.


    Otis cried out in pain. His vision blurred and his consciousness flickered. Otis was in a precarious situation. His right hand was preupied with the vine spell while he could no longer move his left arm.


    Otis couldn''t use his arms to attack anymore.


    How was he going to hit their weak points?


    Not to mention, whether or not he could even stay conscious was questionable.


    The red hound continued to struggle against the vines while the hound with an erged skull crushed his forearm further.


    A vacant expression was on Otis'' face. The trial was harder than anything he had ever imagined.


    Otis smiled bitterly.


    "Why... am I so weak?"


    A vision shed into his mind.


    He was holding his dying father.


    Otis could see the pain in his father''s eyes.


    "You... stupid child."


    Tears formed at the edge of Otis'' eyes.


    His father pushed him forward.


    "You must... live."


    Otis grit his teeth.


    There was a forlorn smile on his father''s face.


    "Sorry. Your father... can''t apany you anymore."


    Otis screamed in anger as tears fell down his face.


    He remembered why he came down here in the first ce.


    To get revenge.


    Otis would not let himself stop here.


    No, he couldn''t stop here.


    Before the head of that assassin rolled before his feet, he would not stop marching.


    A raging fire spun in his heart while his mind went numb.


    A horrible pain filled his chest.


    Yet, instead of fighting it, he weed it.


    Otis'' eyes were bloodshot.


    "Remember... Otis the second has yet to cut off your head, so how could he fall here!"


    His chest burst open.


    Countless vines grew Otis'' heart.

 Chapter 91 - Blood Stained Walls

    Like an unending fountain, massive vines poured out of Otis'' chest.


    They immediately wrapped around the two hounds next to him, giving them quite the miserable appearance.


    If the skeletal hounds could whimper, they would surely be doing so right now.


    The vinespletely restricted the movement of the hounds, except for the asional twitch.


    Otis'' breathing was ragged.


    His eyes were unfocused.


    Yet, he was standing tall.


    His shattered arm hung limply by his side. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped.


    Otis looked up towards the two hounds restricted by his vines.


    "Die."


    Suddenly, the vines constricted, shattering the bones of the hounds. Uncanny cracking sounds resounded throughout the trial room.


    Otis let out a lethargic sigh.


    He came to a realization.


    Power...


    Power reigned over everything.


    With enough power, you didn''t have to worry about weaknesses. If everything could snap under the pressure of your touch, nothing would stand before you.


    Otis'' vines released, letting countless tiny bone fragments tter against the ground.


    The two-tailed hound was still on the floor, snapping its jaw towards Otis. This prompted Otis to viciously smash a vine down on its skull, shattering it into little pieces.


    He did not even spare a nce towards its remains.


    Otis walked to the third step. The vines from his chest continued to squirm around, filled with life. Perhaps most people would believe Otis was a monster, especially considering the vines had more volume than his actual body.


    Although there were no more enemies for Otis to face, the pressure was making him delirious. A break would only make him more tired. Otis realized this fact, thus he steadily marched forward.


    He reached the edge of the third step. Like the others, it was a meter high.


    Otis put one hand on the ledge of the third step.


    His mind whirled like a blender, doing its best to withstand the stress.


    Otis took a moment to brace himself, not wanting to nk out like the other times.


    With a deep breath, his hand clenched, pushing him onto the third step.


    He was prepared to receive a shock...


    ...Yet lost consciousness anyways.


    Otis saw a vision of his father once again.


    He and his father were sitting across from each other with a small table between them.


    The expression on his father''s face was solemn.


    "Son, if you are able to make it to the third step, you can turn back. Although you will not inherit the legacy, you will obtain the magical affinity of a Stage One True Mage. From there, you will step into the bounds of real magicians."


    Otis'' furrowed his brows.


    "What stage am I at right now, dad?"


    His father sighed.


    "You have hardly stepped into the foundational realm, not to mention the True Mage stages."


    Otis put his tiny hands on his head.


    "What does that mean?"


    Otis'' father cleared his throat.


    "When a mage starts wielding mana for the first time, they generally are only able to cast foundational spells. These spells are just small manifestations of the element."


    Otis nodded enthusiastically. A tiny ball of fire appeared above his hand.


    His fatherughed.


    "Yes, just like that. Mages like you are called Foundation Mages because you can cast foundational spells. This pattern continues to elementary, intermediate, and advanced."


    Otis gasped in awe.


    "That''s so many!"


    His father nodded.


    "Yet, that is only the beginning. Now, that doesn''t mean that advanced mages are weak by any means. They can take on entire armies by themselves as long as they have space to retreat."


    He coughed.


    "Their bodies may be weak, but their offensive power will always be frightening."


    Otis'' eyes were filled with curiosity.


    "So what is a true mage?"


    His father sighed with mncholy.


    "They are people who break the bounds of normal spellcasting. Spells at higher levels can no longer be casted rigorously. Those that depended on following diagrams will be devastated by the new spellcasting process."


    He closed his eyes.


    "There are simply too many nuances within higher level spells. The number of annotations you would need to provide bes unrealistic to write. Even if you did, it would nearly be impossible to understand purely by the annotations."


    His father''s eyes parted ever so slightly.


    "The only way to truly understand them is to understand the inner workings of both the spell and element itself. This is how you step into the realm of the True Mage."


    Otis'' eyes lit up.


    "So the True Mage affinity will make me a true mage?"


    His fatherughed.


    "Not exactly, but it will make your journey in bing one unbelievably easier. Even after you cross into the realm of the True Mage, it will continue to make your journey easier."


    Otis balled his tiny hands into fists.


    "Ok!"


    His father sighed.


    "Anyways, we have deviated from the main topic at hand. The reason I say this is because if you choose to conquer the third step, you will not be able to back out."


    His father looked him dead in the eye.


    "There is no shame in running away here. After all, it is simply too frightening."


    Suddenly, Otis regained consciousness. He was gasping for air while beads of sweat trickled down his forehead.


    The pressure increased by nearly ten times.


    His father had mentioned the pressure would increase but did not mention by how much. After all, his father never made it past the secondyer.


    Cracks appeared across the third step. Along with that, a secondary wall emerged from the left and right.


    They made loud scraping sounds against the stone ground. In a minute or so, they would enclose Otis off.


    That meant he would be unable to leave if he waited for too long.


    Otis looked at the walls. They stretched all the way to the ceiling, while they were over three meters thick.


    There were dried bloodstains sttered across the bottom of the wall. Especially the outermost edge.


    ...It was almost like in the past, multiple people tried to run.


    But were crushed by the walls.

 Chapter 92 - Skeletal Dragon

    Otis hesitated.


    His father had told him many times before that it was fine to back off once he reached the third step. After all, the reward was not bad while the danger was immense.


    He already got quite far, no?


    Even if he backed off now, it wasn''t like he didn''t try.


    Otis looked at the ceiling, then closed his eyes.


    He mumbled something to himself.


    "Coward..."


    Heughed bitterly.


    "Why... Why am I always so scared?"


    A nket of red energy wrapped itself around Otis, altering his body. His perception of the mana in the air changed.


    Normally, mana felt like a hazy mist to him, but now it felt like droplets of clear water. So clear, that he would be able to see his reflection.


    His magical affinities had increased.


    However, Otis didn''t realize this.


    Instead, his mind had delved deep into a memory.


    ...


    Otis was sitting on his bed.


    He was in his room, lit up only by the moonlighting in through the window.


    His mother was patting his head with a forlorn smile.


    "Don''t worry, mommy will be back soon, ok?"


    Otis looked into his mother''s eyes. They were a deep blue like the ocean, holding terrors far below its calm surface.


    He opened his mouth, but couldn''t respond.


    A distant muffled voice made its way into the room.


    "I will only wait for so long!"


    Otis trembled while a trace of panic shed by his mother''s eyes.


    She hurried over to the room''s exit.


    Otis'' eyes widened.


    He wasn''t sure why, but he felt a void sucking his soul away.


    He had to stop her.


    Otis opened his mouth once again but said nothing.


    His mother gave onest look over her shoulder. She waved with an uplifting smile.


    Then, her head turned back.


    Otis reached out his hand.


    He had to say something, anything.


    The words were just at the tip of his tongue.


    ''Don''t go.''


    ''Don''t listen to him.''


    ''Don''t leave me here alone.''


    But all his words were sucked away, forever lost in the vacuum of space.


    His mother left.


    And never came back.


    ...


    Otis told himself it wasn''t his fault.


    The bed made him too sleepy.


    He was too tired thatte at night.


    His mother simply ran away too fast.


    But the real reason always stayed deep in his heart.


    He was too afraid.


    Otis grit his teeth.


    "Damn coward..."


    He closed his eyes, letting his tears spill out.


    "Why... I just had to speak. That''s all I had to do."


    He had been told by his father multiple times that he could always back off. There was no need to push himself to lengths he couldn''t handle.


    But was that really true?


    In a few more moments, the walls would seal off his exit.


    Yet, Otis didn''t even look at it.


    He simply walked forward, braving the crushing pressure all the while standing tall.


    A frown etched itself onto his face.


    "Never again."


    A skeletal dragon fell from the ceiling. It hit the ground with a crash, scattering dense clouds of dust in the air.


    The dragon was roughly five meters tall and ten meters long.


    It brandished its bone wings, as though to tell Otis to bow before him. There were only empty eye sockets in its skull, but it stared down at Otis with grandeur.


    Time wore down the skeletal dragon''s bones, but could not wear down its pride.


    Otis stared back in defiance. There was a fierce look in his hazelnut eyes.


    His light brown hair blew with the wind like it was stoic.


    Otis grit his teeth.


    "Never again!"


    Then, the walls collided with a bang, sealing off his exit.


    Without warning, the dragon took action.


    It dashed towards Otis both swiftly and silently, almost like a ghost.


    The skeletal dragon raised its w, prompting Otis to clench his fist.


    An unending wave of vines burst out of Otis'' chest, wrapping around the skeletal dragon''s various limbs.


    For a moment, it was restricted. The vines trembled as they fought against the force of the skeletal dragon.


    Then, they snapped.


    Otis'' pupils shook. A horrendous pain assaulted his mind, nearly sapping away his consciousness.


    However, he remained standing.


    Hatred continued burning from the depths of his soul.


    It overwhelmed his mind, like a tsunami wreaking havoc on a humble vige.


    Otis hated the person who assassinated his father.


    However, he hated himself more.


    He could''ve inherited the legacy.


    He would''ve saved his parents.


    He should''ve been able to live a happy life with them.


    But it was all gone.


    Because of him.


    The skeletal dragon elusively dived down while Otis frowned harder.


    He gathered mana and at this moment, it felt like time itself froze.


    The mana felt different. If he were a fish, then he would be breathing in water after living onnd for his entire life.


    He did not fully understand it, but the mana seemed to bend to his will, letting him explore possibilities he never even imagined.


    The skeletal dragon was just half a meter away from Otis, about to strike. However, before it could do so, a massive tree grew from under Otis, sending him high into the sky.


    The skeletal dragon''s w mmed against the tree, shaking it violently.


    Despite the tremors, Otis was unfazed. The skeletal dragon looked up at him while Otis gave a fleeting nce before turning away.


    The skeletal dragon pped its bony wings, somehow using them to fly high into the air. It charged towards Otis, but he was already gone.


    The skeletal dragon looked around itself to see a massive forest manifesting before its eyes.


    Massive vines shot out towards the skeletal dragon but were mmed aside by the dragon''s ws.


    The skeletal dragon unexpectedly crouched down and remained still.


    Countless vines shot towards it, but before they could reach, the skeletal dragon released a hurricane of bones.


    First, the vines were torn apart, then the trees.


    Soon, the entire forest was dismantled, leaving Otis with nothing to hide behind.


    However, he wasn''t afraid.


    The skeletal dragon and Otis stared each other down.

 Chapter 93 - You Have Done Well

    Shredded foliage and wood littered the ground.


    The bone hurricane continued swirling around the skeletal dragon. The hurricane consisted of countless sharp fragments of bones and dust.


    The skeletal dragon''s body was still the same size. It made one wonder where all these bones even came from.


    Regardless, Otis didn''t care about this fact nor did he have the time to care.


    With such a violent storm around the skeletal dragon, there was little his magic could do. After all, he created an entire forest but that was ripped to shreds in a matter of seconds.


    Yet, the defiant frown remained on his face the whole time.


    The skeletal dragon continued to look at him with disdain. This was despite Otis'' breakthrough in magic. To the skeletal dragon, it was almost like trash that had been polished.


    It was still trash.


    The skeletal dragon dashed forward, prompting Otis to do the same. Stumps appeared from the ground one after another, propelling Otis to travel even faster.


    In a split second, Otis was caught up in the bone storm.


    Large gashes appeared on his body one after another. The bone fragments had no trouble tearing through his flesh.


    If Otis did not receive an enhanced physique forpleting the first step, instead of his flesh, his bones would''ve shattered. At most, he would live for a second, and even that was if he got lucky.


    Otis'' face tensed up from the pain, but his fierce eyes never lost their luster.


    The skeletal dragon showed no mercy, even when his adversary was at death''s door. Its w flew towards Otis, prompting him to block with his arm.


    Bones shattered.


    Otis'' arm had been mangled. It twisted as though he had gained a few extra elbows and joints.


    He could no longer move it.


    Otis was pushed back but regained his footing quickly. Arge stump burst out from the ground under him,unching him upwards.


    A bone fragment pierced through his eye, forcing it shut. As one eye bled the other shone with even brighter hatred.


    He raised his remaining arm, ready to m it down.


    However, the skeleton dragon wasn''t just going to stand by and watch.


    Its jaw opened, darting towards Otis.


    Otis frowned harder. He would die if his rib cage was caught in the skeletal dragon''s teeth. There needed to be a change of ns.


    He held his arm in front of him.


    Then, the skeletal dragon''s jaw snapped, maiming Otis''st good arm.


    For the sake of his survival, he had given up his attack. However, now he had no usable arms.


    What was he supposed to do?


    Otis grit his teeth.


    "...Damn"


    His uninjured eye narrowed.


    "So I''m still a coward in the end, huh?"


    Otis grimaced in pain.


    "...I can''t even look death in the eye."


    His eye closed, joining his other bloody eye.


    Otis saw a blurry vision of his father.


    His father was trying to say something... but it was muffled.


    However, his father kept repeating it.


    "...Not..."


    The words became clearer.


    "It''s not..."


    Suddenly, his father shook his shoulders. He felt his muddled state vanish in a sh.


    "It''s not your fault!"


    Otis shook his head.


    "It is my fault... if I wasn''t so scared..."


    His father looked him dead in the eyes.


    "Everyone gets scared. Everyone makes mistakes."


    A warm smile emerged on his father''s face.


    "What makes us strong is learning from our past faults."


    His father chuckled.


    "As long as one day you change, you can hold your head up high."


    Otis'' eyes flew open.


    His arm was still caught within the skeletal dragon''s jaw, crushed to bits and pieces.


    But Otis wasn''t fazed.


    He let out a scream of anger and sorrow.


    With all of his strength, Otis mmed his head onto the skeletal dragon''s.


    Frightening cracks spread across both of their skulls. However, it was far worse for the skeletal dragon.


    If one didn''t pay close attention, they wouldn''t see that the skeletal dragon already had faint cracks lined across its skull. Although they had mended, they were never truly fixed.


    As such, when the skeletal dragon''s skull was struck, it shattered into pieces.


    Otis fell to the ground, into the heap of bones.


    The bone fragments whirling around in the air dropped to the ground, letting out many little ttering sounds.


    As for the skeletal dragon, it fell with a thud,ying there powerlessly.


    The walls sealing him inside parted.


    Otis took in a ragged breath.


    "I... did it. Thank you, father..."


    The adrenaline slowly slipped away from him, letting him experience his pain for what it truly was.


    There was a strange empty feeling from the loss of his arms. Of course, the pain far outstripped this empty feeling.


    However, this pain his body felt was nothingpared to what he felt in his mind.


    He hit his head on the skeletal dragon so hard he probably got traumatic brain injuries.


    Even as heid his head on the ground, he could feel the cracks in his skull grating against him.


    On top of all that was the pressure. Not only was his mind not recovering, but it was also getting worse.


    There was no time to rest.


    Otis forced himself to sit up using his abs. He could no longer move his arms, after all.


    His body swayed dangerously as he got up to his feet, but he grit his teeth and remained standing.


    His thoughts were bing incoherent while his vision grew blurry.


    Nheless, he continued moving forward.


    It was as though all his other thoughts may disappear, but his will to continue moving would stubbornly remain.


    With heavy steps, Otis reached the fourth step.


    The final step.


    He stared at it for a few moments.


    Otis no longer had his arms to pull him up.


    An obstinate frown emerged on his face.


    Heid his head on the final step and pressed it down.


    The cracks in his skull were inmed, but he didn''t care.


    Otis forced himself up, scraping his disfigured arms along the way.


    He got on the final step.


    Otis got up to his feet with resolve, even though he was trembling.


    "You have done well, son of the Everfield family."

 Chapter 94 - Judgment

    A slow and majestic voice reverberated throughout the trial room, congratting Otis.


    As for Otis, he looked up with confusion.


    The gargantuan stone dragon statue came to life.


    It moved smoothly, as though the stone was stretchy skin.


    Ayer of thick red energy wrapped itself around Otis.


    His shut eye slowly opened. The flesh of his maimed eye squirmed, reforming into something... different.


    The sclera, or outer white part of his eye, became a faint shade of pink. Otis'' iris and pupil shrunk considerably while transforming from a hazelnut color to a deep red.


    The effect of these new changes was not immediately apparent.


    His new eye joined his old one in staring at the overbearing stone dragon statue.


    Otis recalled his father''s remark about the final step.


    "Son, if you make it to the fourth step, you have, in essence, made it. Our ancestor will personally judge you and determine if you are worthy of the inheritance."


    His father smiled.


    "So hope, with all your heart."


    The stone dragon statue seemed to be smiling.


    "Now... kneel."


    Otis didn''t realize this at first, but the pressure from the fourth step didn''t increasepared to the third.


    But then, the pressure suddenly multiplied several times over.


    Otis saw a mountain above him, attempting to crush him into a paste.


    His knees bent...


    Then straightened.


    He refused to kneel down.


    The stone dragon statue hummed with interest.


    "All you have to do is kneel. Why resist?"


    Otis grit his teeth, forcing words through grunts of pain.


    "...I have already decided. ...No matter what stands in front of me..."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "I will not run... I will not cower... and most of all, I will not be afraid"


    Otis coughed up blood.


    He could feel his bones cracking from the pressure while his muscles shivered.


    The stone dragon statue chuckled in amusement.


    "Even if that means you won''t receive the inheritance?"


    Otis smiled disdainfully.


    "Sometimes there are things that a person must live by."


    Blood trickled from his ears, nose, and eyes.


    He was in a bad state, to say the least.


    Suddenly, the pressure vanished, making Otis gasp from the sudden change.


    The stone dragon statueughed.


    "Very well... I suppose I can waive this requirement. However, there is still onest test."


    Otis calmed himself down before staring at his ancestor silently.


    The stone dragon simply smiled.


    Then waved to Otis.


    As for Otis, he cked out.


    ...


    Otis found himselfid down on a grassy in.


    He was in the courtyard of his house.


    Otis rubbed his forehead.


    What was happening?


    "Son!"


    His father ran over. Then, he ced his hands on his knees and began panting.


    "What are you... doing all the way out here?"


    Otis turned his head over.


    "...Dad?"


    His father smiled.


    "Yes, son?"


    Otis rubbed his forehead again.


    "How are you here?"


    His father raised an eyebrow, then burst out inughter.


    "Haha, what are you talking about? This is our courtyard, no?"


    Otis furrowed his brows.


    ...That''s right. This was his courtyard, why was it so strange that his father was here?


    He got up on his feet.


    "Ah, sorry for being weird, dad."


    His father waved dismissively.


    "It''s fine, it''s fine. Come on, your mother is waiting for you for dinner!"


    A fleeting thought shed by Otis'' mind.


    His eyes gleamed... What was it?


    Otis'' father had already gone up ahead.


    He peeked over his shoulder, finding out his son was daydreaming.


    "Son? Are you ok?"


    Otis broke out of his stupor, blinking rapidly.


    "Ah, yes!"


    He hurried after his father and the two of them made their way into the pce.


    Otis was greeted with the savory smell of food.


    There was a long dining table, but there were only a few dishes ced near the edge.


    Otis'' mother set down a te of food before turning to the pair.


    "Ah, you''re here!"


    Tears uncontrobly streamed down Otis'' face.


    His mother gasped and rushed over to Otis.


    She wiped away the tears with her palm.


    "Why are you crying, dear?"


    Otis swallowed.


    "I... don''t know."


    His father patted his back.


    "Then let''s eat first. If you remember after we finish, feel free to tell us."


    Otis nodded.


    With that, Otis sat at the end of the long table while his parents sat to the left and right of him.


    He picked up a fork and started eating.


    At first, Otis could''ve sworn that the food was there.


    But as time passed, it seemed to turn to white mist. For the life of him, he could not remember what he just ate.


    There was a small frown on his face.


    Otis'' mother looked concerned.


    "Are you ok, dear?"


    Suddenly, Otis stood up.


    "This... isn''t real."


    Memories shed into his mind. Otis saw his mother leaving him and his father dying in his arms.


    His fatherughed.


    "Son, you seem a little tired. Why don''t you take a nap?"


    Otis shook his head.


    "I''m sorry, but I can''t"


    His father raised an eyebrow. A concerned expression formed.


    "What is wrong, son?"


    Otis took a deep breath.


    "...I need to get revenge."


    His mother stood up as well.


    "What happened, dear? Did someone do something to you?"


    Otis bit his lip.


    "Not me... but you two."


    He sighed, then turned around to walk towards the pce exit.


    His mother quickly caught up, cing a hand on his shoulder.


    "Dear! Where are you going?"


    Otis did not look back.


    "I must leave."


    His father hurried over and put his hand on Otis'' other shoulder.


    "Son, why are you in such a hurry to leave? You haven''t even finished your dinner."


    Otis closed his eyes.


    "I must kill the people that wronged the both of you. Please, mom and dad."


    Otis clenched his fist.


    "Let me go."


    His mother and father reluctantly let go of him.


    Then, his father smiled bitterly.


    "We don''t mind if others have wronged us. We would much rather you live happily."


    His mother beckoned him.


    "Nowe, let''s finish dinner."


    A tear trickled down Otis'' face.


    "I''m sorry."


    He walked out of the pce.


    ...


    Otis found himself back in the trial room.


    The stone dragon statue hummed.


    "You have finished the trial.... now for my judgment."

 Chapter 95 - Unknown Dangers

    Otis looked up at the stone dragon statue, patiently waiting for a response.


    As for the stone dragon statue, it spread its wings wide.


    "You..."


    It closed its eyes.


    "Are..."


    Otis lookedposed from the outside, but his heart hammered in his chest.


    If he inherited the legacy, he would be powerful.


    If he became powerful he could get revenge.


    If he could get rev-


    "NOT WORTHY."


    The stone dragon statue roared, letting loose domineering gales of wind.


    The winds threw Otis'' body across the trial room, smashing him into the wall.


    The stone dragon statue reverted to its old resting position, then froze. It was no longer willing to talk with Otis.


    As for Otis, he coughed up blood through grit teeth.


    He was angry.


    Why wasn''t he worthy? He wed his way up through all the tests, just to be told he wasn''t enough?


    Otis took a step forward, then a pressure forced him onto the floor.


    The pressure threatened to annihte his entire existence.


    Still, Otis stubbornly lifted his head, looking at the stone dragon statue with fierce eyes.


    ...So his ancestor did not want him to inherit the legacy.


    Otis frowned.


    "Fine. I''ll do it myself. I don''t need your stupid legacy..."


    Then, he cked out.


    ...


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH"


    La had been dragging Apollo along for nearly an hour now.


    It seemed she forgot what their goal was in the first ce, getting lost in the joys of this blue world.


    Apollo was exhausted.


    Part of it was because he had been forcefully brought along by La at terrifying speeds, but it was also because he had been screaming the whole time.


    Screaming gets really exhausting after a while, you know?


    As such, Apollo eventually gave up.


    He had a half dead expression on his face, only uttering a few groans every now and then.


    La noticed this. She looked at Apollo with her beady eyes.


    "Friend?"


    Apollo did not respond.


    La tilted her head to the side but did not slow down her pace.


    "Why did you stop cheering!"


    Apollo''s eyelids were fluttering, nearly closing.


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Ah! You are tired? We should take a break then."


    La ripped open the space, taking him back to the snowy forest.


    Apollo fell onto the snow on his hands and knees.


    Tears were forming in his eyes.


    "t... ground."


    He mmed his face into the snow.


    "How I''ve missed you!"


    La held her hands together.


    "Aww, you missed me! Hehe, I won''t leave, I swear! We will go on adventures in the fluffynd every day!"


    Apollo trembled.


    "No! No fluffynd!"


    La pouted.


    "Ehhh? Why not? Fluffynd is the best!"


    Apollo got up with his shaky feet and ran away into the forest.


    "I don''t wannaaaa!"


    La chased after him while waving her hands in the air.


    "Wait for meeee!"


    With that, the two of them ran through the forest. One was in tears while the other wasughing.


    Eventually, Apollo had reached a clearing.


    He froze in ce, staring at the sight with curiosity.


    La tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his stomach.


    "Hehe, I win!"


    The air was knocked out of Apollo as he hit the ground hard.


    "O..."


    La got up quickly. There was a pout on her face.


    "Ah, sorry! I didn''t mean to hurt friend!"


    Apollo gently rubbed his forehead.


    "Mmm..."


    La grabbed onto Apollo''s hand and helped him up. She looked at him with pleading eyes.


    "Forgive me?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Ok..."


    La raised her hands into the air.


    "Yay!"


    Then, she turned to look at the clearing in front of her.


    "Eh? What is that?"


    It appeared to be a city. Eerie ck walls towered over the duo, not bothering to hide their dominance.


    The overall shape of the wall was a square, with pirs at each corner. These pirs reached up high into the sky with a point, almost like it was trying to pierce the sky. Lined across the top of the walls were smaller versions of these pirs, but that was only rtive to the four main pirs. If one were to get up next to one, they would find it substantiallyrge.


    The walls themselves appeared to haverge veins. Though they were still, they seemed to be squirming around like snakes.


    They could see a gate in front of them, with a texture simr to the walls. The gate was a little shorter than half of the length of the wall but was wider than three-quarters of the wall''s width. This gave it a fat, yet strange appearance.


    There was probably some sort of practical use to this type of gate. After all, it looked quite jarring aesthetically.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I... don''t think we should go there."


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Whatttt? But it looks so cool!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "We were supposed to find the... person to y with!"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Person? Who?"


    Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Em... I think it was Ky... Kaiben knows you?"


    It was Kn Noia.


    La gasped.


    "We have to find we both know you?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "What?"


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Ah, you''re right!"


    Her tail swayed from side to side.


    "I have an idea! We ask the people in the cool ce!"


    Apollo opened his mouth but closed it soon after.


    Suddenly, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his chin. There was a serious pondering expression on his face.


    His eyes lit up.


    "You''re right! Let''s go quickly."


    Somehow or another, La made Apollo forget his concerns. His concern about the people that resided in such a strange ce.


    This ce gave him a strange feeling. It was as though a memory buried deep inside his mind festered, but was not enough to breach the surface.


    And so, La and Apollo ran through the snow, kicking it up behind them.


    ....All the while unaware of the dangers of this city.

 Chapter 96 - At First Glance

    It did not take long for the two of them to get near the wide gate of the city.


    La smiled.


    "We are almost there!"


    Apollo nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah! Let''s-"


    A thundering crash resounded from their front. Snow scattered high into the air, obscuring whatever it was that appeared.


    La waved her hand around, trying to blow away the specks of snow.


    "Gah! Where did all this snowe from?"


    Apollo coughed due to inhaling some of the snow.


    "I think something fell down!"


    A deep and silky voice rang out, making the air vibrate ever so slightly.


    "Referring to me as something is quite rude, wouldn''t you say?"


    The voice spoke slowly, as though it was giving a gift by letting people hear it. By speaking this way, it gave others time to bask in the words he said.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, was it rude?. But everything is something, right? That means I wasn''t wrong!"


    La nodded.


    "Oh! That does make sense!"


    The snow cleared to reveal a demon with five horns on its head.


    It was not too tall, just barely higher than two meters. However, the five-horned demon stood with pride, making it look taller than he really was. Other than its ck skin, it looked strangely close to a human.


    The five-horned demon''s face appeared to be deliberately sculpted by an expert craftsman. This was especially apparent through its sharp jawline and high cheekbones.


    The five-horned demon had sunken cheeks that made its face look a little long. Normal demons had bright yellow irises, but this demon had mysterious silver irises instead.


    The five-horned demon chuckled before lifting up his head. He had neat and shiny silver hair that was just barely long enough to reach the top of his neck.


    His horns were not particrlyrge. They peeked out of his silver hair like ws. Despite their pitch-ck color, they let out a faint luster.


    "Haha, I suppose we should cut to the chase. What are you two doing here?"


    La blinked a few times.


    "Ah, why are we here?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "We were going to ask to find... that one person."


    The five-horned demon used a finger and thumb to smoothen a fold of his white suit jacket. There was a blue vest underneath, however, they didn''t hide its toned body. Either the demon''s body was too big, or the vest was too small.


    "...May I know the name of this mysterious individual?"


    La replied confidently with her arms high in the air.


    "We both know you!"


    The five-horned demon raised an eyebrow. He reached into the pocket of his white suit pants, taking out a sleek silver pen.


    "You two know me?"


    La shook her head.


    "No, no. We both know you!"


    The five-horned demon chuckled while twirling the silver pen in its hand.


    "Are you perhaps weaving an borate jest?"


    Apollo chimed in.


    "I think the name was something like that... Or maybe it was that?"


    A small smile emerged on the five-horned demon''s face.


    "It won''t be easy to find an individual when their name itself is a question."


    La scratched the side of her head.


    "What?"


    Apollo loudly whispered to La while holding a hand to the side of his face. It was as though he believed a hand would block all sounds going towards the five-horned demon.


    "I think he means it will be hard to find him if we don''t know his name."


    La giggled.


    "But we know his name, silly! We both know you!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Oh... that is a strange name."


    The five-horned demon nodded.


    "That is a strange name indeed. Almost as strange as you two."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? How are we strange?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I think I''m pretty normal..."


    The silver pen had been spinning around in the five-horned demon''s hand. Suddenly, it stopped. The demon caught his pen before pointing it towards La.


    "At first nce, you simply seem peculiar. Some human girl that attached the ears of a beast to your head and can endure the cold weather despite wearing an unbuttoned red jacket."


    The corner of the five-horned demon''s lip turned up.


    "However, thenes the tail you can move so freely. If someone watched closely, they would see that your ears do the same. At first nce you appear human, however, you are part of a different species. One that I have never seen before in all my years."


    La jumped up and down enthusiastically.


    "Wow! I sound so cool and mystifying!"


    The five-horned demon chuckled.


    "That is because you are, my visitor."


    Apollo raised his free hand in the air.


    "Oh, oh! What about me?"


    The five-horned demon nodded.


    "Don''t worry, I didn''t forget about you."


    He twirled the silver pen in his hand, pointing it towards Apollo.


    "As for you... You also appear to be a human. However, you are someone that navigated their way through the forest without so much as a scratch."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Eh? But it was mostly La... taking me with her."


    The five-horned demonughed.


    "Regardless, you have traveled through the forest unscathed. Perhaps a veteran could pull such a thing off if this veteran was lucky and had the proper tools..."


    The demon held the end of the pen between his middle finger and thumb. His forefinger had raised before pushing the end of the silver pen.


    A soft click echoed throughout the snowy in as the tip of the pen poked out.


    "The only inconsistency with that is your young age and seemingly useless weapon."


    Apollo waved his bokken around with annoyance.


    "It''s not useless! You can practice swinging the sword!"


    He continued waving his bokken around as though he wanted to prove a point.


    The five-horned demon sighed.


    "Yes, yes. That is part of the reason why I said seemingly."


    The demon proceeded to click his pen once more and put it back into its pocket.


    "However, that is far from the most peculiar thing about you."

 Chapter 97 - Humans And Demons

    Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.


    "Eh? So what is the weirdest thing about me?"


    The five-horned demon smiled, giving its face a silky look.


    "Although subtle, you have the marks of a warrior. This much is obvious from how your muscles have developed. However..."


    The five-horned demon''s eyes narrowed.


    "While you are human through and through, from your bones to your organs..."


    The five-horned demon''s strikingly white tongue peeked out.


    It licked its lips.


    "...You have evolved like a demon. It''s practically a miracle."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Wha... Am I a human or a demon?"


    The five-horned demon leisurely shrugged his shoulders.


    "Perhaps human, perhaps demon. Perhaps both, perhaps neither."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I''m confused."


    The five-horned demon chuckled.


    "That is why I addressed you as strange, after all."


    La giggled.


    "Strange is cool!"


    The five-horned demon nodded.


    "Indeed."


    Suddenly, the smile left the demon''s face.


    "So what do you believe I intend to do when I find two strange individuals at my doorstep..."


    The five-horned demon held his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "...And these two individuals present an unknown threat?"


    Apollo and La appeared to be oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere.


    Apollo simply put his head down while rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    As for La, she tilted her head to the side.


    "Um... invite them in!"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Wow, you already figured it out! La is smart!"


    La giggled.


    "Naturally!"


    The corner of the five-horned demon''s lip twitched.


    ...This was the response?


    In reality, the five-horned demon was doing a test. It genuinely did not know or understand the origins of Apollo and La. As such, The five-horned demon wanted to test how they would react to hostility.


    The demon expected them to either be aggressive or peaceful.


    He envisioned that their muscles might tense up in fear, or they may take on a fighting stance.


    He also believed they may have be respectful or apologized for their actions.


    ...Yet, that was not the case.


    The five-horned demon was confused, though it did not let the confusion show on its face.


    After a small period of deliberation, the five-horned demonughed.


    "You are correct. Now,e on in."


    La and Apollo cheered.


    La poked Apollo.


    "Hehe, call me smart again."


    Apollo smiled.


    "La is smart!"


    A booming m reverberated throughout the forest.


    The gates to the city abruptly fell to the ground like a domino.


    La grabbed onto Apollo by his wrist, dragging him along.


    "Come on! Let''s go."


    The two made their way forward. A grand city was revealed before them.


    There were countless houses lined up next to each other. The walls of these houses were simr to the walls of the city. The main difference was the size.


    While the veins on the city walls wererger than the average person''s arms, the veins on the houses were at most the size of a small snake.


    The streets were wide and made of stone. Unlike the cobblestone path of the majority of human cities, these roads were so smooth, it was weird.


    Quite a few demons were going along their way on these streets. Almost all of them had either one or two horns. If you searched hard, you could find one with three horns.


    However, they appeared different from the demons Apollo had previously encountered.


    The demons he had previously encountered were all cold killing machines that looked the same. Even the one-horned demons had a decently muscr figure.


    However, these demons appeared to be on the verge of starving and all had unique appearances. Their skin wrapped around their bones tightly while their clothes consisted of animal fur that was carelessly draped on.


    There were two demons with one horn running across the street.


    "Why are you so fast, ke?"


    "Hehe, I''m not fast, Robert. You''re just too slow!"


    They ran past Apollo and La,ughing along the way.


    La put both hands on her cheeks in excitement.


    "Wow, I want to y too!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "We have to resist! We still have to ask about we both know you!"


    The five-horned demon appeared behind them like a ghost.


    "Haha, this is ck Scar City. As for my name, you can address me as Serosh. In terms of human terminology, I am a male."


    La giggled.


    "Friend''s name is Serosh!"


    Apollo raised his hands in the air.


    "Hi, Serosh!"


    Serosh smiled. Normally, he would''ve found the fact that the pair didn''t introduce themselves disrespectful. However, their childish attitude let him gloss over that fact.


    "Yes, yes. Now, what are your names?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "My name is Apollo!"


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "My name is La!"


    Serosh snapped his fingers.


    "Well then, wee to my city, Apollo and La. Why don''t I show you around?"


    La pouted.


    "Eh? Friend doesn''t want to show us?"


    Serosh rolled his eyes.


    "Perhaps I should say it differently. I wish to show you my city."


    La perked up.


    "Ah, yay!"


    Apollo waved his hand in the air.


    "Hi people!"


    A one-horned demon looked over at Apollo. It ran over to him.


    "Hi there! Why do you look so weird?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "I don''t look that weird... I think?"


    The one-horned demon scratched its cheek.


    "But your skin is so pale and your horns are gone! You have to go get help!"


    Apollo pouted. He pointed towards La dejectedly.


    "What about her?"


    The one-horned demon turned to look at La, who had a big smile.


    "What do you mean? She has two horns right there!"


    The one-horned demon pointed towards La''s furry ears.


    Apollo gasped as though he was enlightened.


    "Ah! I thought those were ears... So they were horns this whole time."


    The one-horned demonughed.


    "Of course! Why would ears be on the top of someone''s head?"


    As Apollo nodded fervently, Serosh sighed.


    "Don''t mislead our guests, child."


    Serosh put a hand on Apollo''s shoulder.


    "Pretend you didn''t hear what this child said."


    Apollo looked up at Serosh.


    "Oh, ok!"


    Before Apollo could ask further, a womanly voice rang out.


    "Owen! Get away from those two right this instant!"

 Chapter 98 - The Internal Strife Of Demons

    The one-horned demon, whose name was Owen, turned around.


    "What do you mean mother?"


    A three-horned demon, who was apparently Owen''s mother, was distressed.


    Unlike the three-horned demons Apollo had seen, this one only stood at a measly height of two meters and had few muscles to speak of.


    "They are human! Run away now!"


    In a fluster, Owen took onest look at Apollo before running away in a panic.


    Serosh sighed.


    "You are making our guests feel unwee, youngdy."


    Owen''s mother bowed but was firm in her belief.


    "But sire, those two are human!"


    Serosh frowned.


    "Whether or not they are human does not concern you. They are my guests. If you do not treat them with respect, you will be sent to... ''that'' ce."


    Owen''s mother froze, trembling where she stood.


    Apollo spoke up, though he did so sheepishly.


    "Um... it''s ok Serosh. Her words didn''t hurt me."


    La nodded with a smile.


    "Yeah, not me either! We should all be friends!"


    Serosh sighed.


    "It may not offend you, but it offends me."


    He looked towards Owen''s mother.


    "To think my own subjects dare disrespect the guests I personally invited..."


    Owen''s mother fell to the floor, on her knees.


    "My apologies, sire, this will not happen again."


    Serosh''s eyes narrowed.


    "You shall be spared. However, that is only because my guests forgive you."


    Owen''s mother proceeded to hit her head against the floor repeatedly.


    "Thank you, sire."


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "You should be thanking the guests, not me."


    The lips of Owen''s mother trembled. She clearly did not want to do so.


    "...Thank you, humans."


    La sped her hands together.


    "Hehe, it''s ok!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Am I human?"


    Serosh scowled.


    "Now get out of my sight, youngdy."


    Owen''s mother did not dare dy.


    "Yes!"


    She ran away as fast as she could. A few drops of blood fell from her forehead. They came from hitting her head against the floor.


    Serosh smiled bitterly.


    "My deepest apologies for my insolent subjects."


    Apollo waved his hand dismissively.


    "No worries!"


    La''s tail swayed.


    "I don''t find them insolent!"


    Serosh chuckled.


    "I''m d to hear that."


    He walked on ahead.


    "Now,e and follow me."


    Serosh leisurely walked forward with his hands sped behind his back. La and Apollo followed from behind. They matched Serosh''s slow speed but jumped up and down filled with energy.


    Serosh gestured towards the nearby houses.


    "This is where the citizens of my city live. Each house has a few inhabitants sond is not unnecessarily wasted."


    The houses would have been as unassuming as the houses in human viges if it weren''t for the veiny ck walls.


    This oddity was not realized by Apollo and La.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "The houses are like the houses from where I am!"


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "Really? How so?"


    Apollo hummed.


    "Well... they are all the same!"


    Seroshughed.


    "Indeed. The houses were created by my heart. For the sake of simplicity, they all have the same design."


    La gasped.


    "Wow, you have a cool heart!"


    Serosh smirked.


    "It is quite unique."


    The group eventually came across an enormous field of nts. Sets of ck leaves were poking out from the snow all across the field.


    The snow did not seem to cause these nts to wither. In fact, the nts appeared to be thriving.


    All across the field were two-horned demons working hard in either nting or harvesting the nts.


    A two-horned demon that loosely resembled a middle-aged man pulled up a nt that had grown many ck leaves.


    It burst out of the snow, revealing potato-like vegetables attached to the stalks of the leaves. These vegetables had the same size and overall shape of a potato, however, their color was a stark white.


    Serosh smiled.


    "These are the snow potatoes that the vige uses as a food source. The seeds were synthesized with my heart. Not only do they grow rapidly, but are dense with nutrients."


    He sighed.


    "The only problem stems from their short shelf life and the fact it requires a snowy environment to grow. I proposed it as the new staple food for us demons, but it was rejected without much consideration."


    La''s tail shot upwards.


    "What! How could they reject it?"


    Apollo hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "That sounds unfair!"


    Serosh shrugged his shoulders with a smile on his face.


    "Haha, that''s what I told the inspectors. However, they are quite harsh with their judgments. Even if there are countless optimized aspects, a single shoring is enough for a proposition to be canceled."


    La waved her fists in the air with annoyance.


    "How dare they hurt friend''s feelings!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "I can try to convince them! Where are they?"


    Serosh smiled with genuine happiness.


    "Don''t be so concerned with trifling matters. My nts are able to feed me and my subjects and that is enough."


    He snapped his fingers.


    "Anyways, that is almost all there is in this city. There is not much left, but if you wish, I can show you-"


    "Sire, are you attempting tomit treason?"


    Serosh was interrupted.


    The group turned around to take a look at who interjected themselves into the conversation.


    It was a four-horned demon. He appeared to be a male, with a long grey beard. There was arge staff in his hand. It was ck, with many tiny veins lined across it.


    He was wearing a in, but high quality white robe.


    Three other four-horned demons stood behind him, wearing simr attire.


    Their expressions were solemn.


    A small crowd began gathering from behind the four-horned demons, growing in number with every second.


    The encounter somehow attracted countless citizens despite just starting.


    Serosh''s eyes narrowed.


    "You dare use me of treason?"


    The four-horned demon''s expression did not budge.


    "I have not used you of anything. I am simply pointing out a fact."


    It slipped out for only a second, but the four-horned demon smirked.


    "After all, you have brought humans into our city. It appears you are a spy for the humans, no?"


    Serosh did not miss the smirk that appeared on the four-horned demon''s face. He realized what was happening.

 Chapter 99 - Different, But Similar

    The four-horned demons were those that were directly under him. They were supposed to aid him in managing the city as well as act asmanders in wars.


    The only issue stemmed from the fact those beneath him did not like being ordered around.


    It wasn''t as if Serosh forced them to do excessive amounts of work. He assigned reasonable amounts and handled the rest on his own.


    However, Serosh didn''t realize how ambitious the four-horned demons were.


    They wanted to usurp his position as the ruler of this city.


    ...They knew Serosh didn''t break any rules. However, they twisted the truth for the sake of public opinion.


    Serosh grit his teeth.


    "You have gotten quite unruly now, haven''t you, Bryce?"


    The four-horned demon at the front, Bryce, chuckled.


    "The only unruly person here is you."


    Bryce turned to look at the vigers behind him.


    "Don''t you see, my fellow demons? Our ruler has betrayed us! He has brought in our worst enemies, humans, right in our city walls for their reconnaissance."


    The demons in the crowd whispered to each other, giving Serosh heartbroken and angry looks.


    Serosh''s voice boomed throughout the city.


    "If I betrayed our kind, I wouldn''t have created your houses. I wouldn''t have provided the food you all eat each day."


    The anger was clear in his eyes.


    "I created this entire city myself. If I wished to provide intelligence to our enemy, there would be no need to invite them in."


    Serosh took a deep breath.


    "WAKE UP, MY SUBJECTS."


    His roar reverberated throughout the city, disying his clear dominance.


    The crowd snapped out of it. However, before they could ponder any further, Bryce spoke up.


    "Do not listen to him!"


    His eyes narrowed.


    "The traitor simply raises his voice like a barbarian to convince you! Don''t be convinced by his lies."


    The crowd got rowdy.


    Bryce mmed his staff on the ground, filling the air with a deafening tap. The crowd fell silent.


    "Don''t you see where we stand? I am at your forefront, while the traitor hides behind our enemies."


    The crowd immediately began panicking.


    Bryce''s arguments weren''t the most logical. This was especially so for thest one. The position where a person stands was a pretty loose indicator of their allegiance.


    However, this appeared to be enough to convince the crowd.


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "His arguments are logically wed! If you have some semnce of intelligence, you would realize that!"


    Unfortunately, the crowd did not listen to him.


    They looked at Serosh as though he was a freak.


    "Why... the ruler betrayed us?"


    "Heartless! He is just a barbarian that cares for himself!"


    "How could he! Doesn''t he know how hard it is for us to live?"


    Demons weren''t all that different from humans.


    When either side chose between logic or emotion, emotion almost always won.


    The individuals themselves may think otherwise, however, this is rarely the case.


    The leader that gained the support of the masses was not the one that provided the most benefits.


    It was the one that made their rivals look evil.


    Strangely enough, the masses did not prioritize the people that actually wanted to help them. Instead, they chose the person that defamed everyone else.


    "He is not our ruler anymore! He is a traitor!"


    "Dethrone him! We need someone that cares about us demons, not humans!"


    "Dethrone? He should be killed! Kill the traitor!"


    Bryce was originally prepared to say more, however, it appeared there was no need to. A bright smile emerged on his face.


    "Now sire... no, traitor. Will you stand down on your own or do things the hard way?"


    Serosh red at Bryce silently.


    La furrowed her brows.


    "Why are they so mean to friend? We should all be happy together!"


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "...I don''t like those people."


    Serosh sighed.


    "It appears I am a terrible host. Sorry for my unruly subjects."


    His voice was strangely calm. A soft chuckle escaped him.


    "Dealing with so many demons... I''m going to get in a lot of trouble."


    Apollo waved his bokken around.


    "I can protect you!"


    La nodded.


    "Yes, we can protect friend!"


    Serosh looked at Apollo and La for a few moments.


    "It would be improper of me to delegate my issues to my guests..."


    A small smile appeared on his face.


    "But, if you are truly willing, then I ask you to help me."


    Bryce pointed towards Serosh.


    "Look! He''s requesting help from a human! We must put an end to him!"


    Mana began gathering above Bryce''s staff.


    Apollo looked up at Serosh and gave him a thumbs up.


    "Don''t worry! I am pretty good at swinging the sword."


    La''s tail swayed.


    "Hehe, I will protect friend!"


    The other four-horned demons began casting spells while a few demons in the crowd began to charge forward.


    A two-horned demon charged forward with determination. He was still a few meters away when Apollo''s bokken snapped out while his thumb pressed against the hilt.


    The two-horned demon froze. It couldn''tprehend why it stopped moving, but it did.


    Did he lose his will? Was he a coward?


    It couldn''t have been that kid''s sh, right? The kid just had a wooden sword, plus he was so far away.


    Unbeknownst to the two-horned demon, a thin line of blood appeared down the middle of his body.


    Then, he split it two, sshing blood on the snow beneath him.


    Apollo used the technique The Vanquisher showed him.


    The demons that witnessed theirpatriot''s sudden death, couldn''t help but freeze. What in the world just happened?


    Bryce furrowed his brows.


    "Do not falter! For the sake of our race, we cannot back down!"


    This was enough to rile up the demons, making them charge forward once again.


    La pulled back her hand. It was in the position of a w.


    "Wah!"


    Her w started moving slowly, but rapidly elerated.


    A thunderp resounded throughout the vige.


    The group of demons had only taken a few steps forward before they were directly pulverized. The others were utterly terrified and retreated.


    Chunks of flesh and blood flew in the sky, sttering against Bryce.


    Blood fell from Bryce''s face, but his expression was as cold as ever. He finished casting his spell.


    "Die!"

 Chapter 100 - I Dont Care About The Consequences

    A blurry mass of ck shot out from Bryce''s staff. Shortly after, three other ck masses shot out from the other four-horned demons.


    They appeared to be faint and illusory but emanated an intimidating presence.


    Apollo pushed his thumb against the hilt of his bokken before it snapped out.


    One of the ck masses split in two, then dissipated into the air.


    La''s hand pulled back. First, the muscles in her shoulder tensed, bringing it forward slowly.


    Then, she stretched the muscles in her arm taut, speeding up dramatically.


    Finally, her fingers twitched, causing her hand to snap out.


    A sudden thunderp rang out, along with a shockwave of air.


    The three ck masses either darted to the left or right.


    Although La''s attack was sudden, the preparation for the strike gave enough time for the four-horned demons to shift the trajectory of their attack.


    However, La''s attack epassed arge enough area that it caught one of the ck masses anyway, obliterating it.


    One of the remaining ck masses shot towards Apollo while the other shot towards La.


    Apollo''s bokken shed while La''s w swung out.


    ...Unfortunately, they both missed.


    The four-horned demons made the ck mass elusively evade their attacks. The ck masses shot towards their respective target''s heads.


    The ominous pressure they emitted suddenly increased several times over. This attack was hiding its true nature, suddenly exploding with strength.


    Even Apollo and La couldn''t help but feel a little nervous.


    They would not be able to take on this attack ande out unscathed.


    An ear-splitting sound of shattered ss resounded throughout the vige.


    Apollo and La''s eyes were closed. Then, their eyelids slowly parted in confusion.


    Serosh was holding onto the ck masses, one in each hand. He had stepped forward and caught their attacks.


    The ck masses continued to struggle fervently in Serosh''s grasp.


    His hands were covered in cracks the size of a hair while blood slowly seeped out.


    Then, Serosh clenched his fist, directly shattering them.


    Two of the four-horned demons coughed up blood before taking a few steps back. It seemed like they faced bacsh after they empowered the spell and had it destroyed.


    Serosh smiled.


    "I''ve pondered over it. Now, I realize I don''t care about the consequences. I shall kill you, Bryce."


    Bryce narrowed his eyes.


    "Look at your hands, traitor. They are already injured from just a spell. What do you think will happen once we cast more? You will fall soon enough."


    Serosh let out an eerieugh. His strikingly white tongue peeked out as he licked his lips.


    "Bryce... it seems you forgot the reason I was able to obtain a fifth horn...


    Serosh narrowed his eyes.


    "...while you could not."


    Serosh pulled out his silver pen. His forefinger pressed on the end, and with a click, the pen revealed itself.


    Without warning, Serosh stabbed it right in the middle of his chest, where his heart was.


    Bryce, who was stone cold up to now, immediately lost hisposure.


    ...The memories he tried so hard to bury surfaced one after another.


    While Byrce stood there in shock, Serosh took the pen out of his chest.


    Several ck tendrils burst out of his wound. They were covered in amniotic fluid and had squirming veins lined across them.


    Like armor, the tendrils wrapped around Serosh until his entire body was covered. He appeared to be a sea anemone that had taken on a humanoid form.


    Serosh''s hand was covered by ck tendrils, some of which iled around in the air like they were underwater. His silver pen rested in his hand as though he was about to write something.


    One of the four-horned demons shook Bryce''s shoulder.


    "Sir, what do we do?"


    Bryce frowned.


    "Take to the air, now."


    Translucent ck wings appeared on the backs of the four-horned demons. With a leap, they soared high up into the air. They already began gathering mana for a new spell.


    As for Serosh, he fell to one knee and supported himself with one hand. Wings of white flesh abruptly burst from his back, contrasting greatly with his ck tendril body. They lightly resembled the wings of a bat.


    Serosh''s wings slowly raised high in the air before suddenly mming down.


    Serosh shot upwards, piercing the sky. Intense gusts of wind raged out from his takeoff point.


    The clothes and hair of both Apollo and La pped around wildly. They looked at Serosh with curious eyes and somewhat agape mouths.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Look, he''s flying!"


    La turned to Apollo.


    "Yeah! I want to do that too!"


    La proceeded to wave her arms up and down like a child pretending to be a bird.


    "Mm... Why isn''t it working!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Hmm... Let me try!"


    With that, the two pped their arms like they were wings.


    ...Unfortunately, their feet never left the ground.


    While Apollo and La were doing that, the battle in the skymenced.


    The air around the four-horned demons whipped wildly, nearly distorting the air around them.


    Mana gathered on the top of their staffs before exploding out into a couple of icicles.


    A barrage of roughly twenty icicles shot towards Serosh, who was still soaring into the air.


    The icicles moved around like they had a mind of their own, attempting to surround Serosh.


    However, Serosh navigated the air like a fish in the water. His wings pped, propelling him towards the four-horned demons. He would duck, dive, and rise so suddenly that he glided right past the icicles.


    Apollo stopped pping his arms around. Instead, he scratched the side of his head.


    "...Why are they so weak?"


    La tilted her head to the side. As a side note, she didn''t give up on trying to fly.


    "Eh? Who?"


    Apollo pointed towards the four-horned demons.


    "I remember... they could do much more than that."


    He recalled the time he fought against the four-horned demon at the Enberoes kingdom. Compared to these demons, it was a monster.


    Serosh closed in on the four-horned demons.


    Suddenly, a strange smile appeared on Bryce''s face.

 Chapter 101 - Doubt

    The wings of the four-horned demons detached beforeunching towards Serosh.


    They turned into translucent cknces as they traveled.


    Two of the four-horned demons were a secondte. They were the ones that took bacsh from thest attack.


    Serosh did not have time to react to the first twonces. They directly prated his chest, but stopped after piercing a few centimeters. Then, they disappeared altogether.


    As for the other twonces, Serosh was prepared. The tip of his silver pen had not revealed itself, but Serosh used it to draw an arc anyway, almost like he was drawing a line on a paper.


    Thences abruptly shattered into pieces.


    The two-four horned demons coughed up blood as their eyes rolled back. They fell from the sky like a bird that lost its wings.


    As for Bryce and the other four-horned demon, they fell. However, new translucent ck wings grew from their backs. As such, they could stay afloat.


    Bryceughed triumphantly. He had already forgotten that two of his ''allies'' were about to die.


    "Do you feel it yet?"


    Serosh was confused at first. However, a sudden weakness spread throughout his body. Thences had some sort of poison in them.


    Serosh grit his teeth.


    "You... made a poison that targets demons?"


    His voice was no longer silky smooth. Instead, it was far deeper, with a faint gurgle apanying it.


    Bryce''s eyes widened as the corners of his mouth turned up. There was an evil look on his face.


    "Haha, spot-on, sire. As you can see, it is even effective against demons of the five-horned rank! With this, I will rise in rank at record-breaking speed!"


    Serosh could no longer breathe. He began falling from the sky as though he were a bird with injured wings.


    His wings continued to p intermittently, slowing his descent. However, he eventually lost strength and fell to the ground.


    Serosh was on his hands and knees.


    His head lifted, letting him see Bryce''s malicious smile.


    "You... You actually betrayed the demons."


    Bryce gathered mana for a spell.


    "Betray... is an overstatement. I am simply looking out for myself."


    He conjured a massive icicle, reaching a few meters in length. It shot down towards Serosh.


    La looked at Serosh and the icicle.


    "Is friend in trouble?"


    Apollo looked at La.


    "Maybe?"


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "...Are we supposed to help?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I don''t know."


    In the end, the two of them stared awkwardly at Serosh, who was on hisst legs.


    As for Serosh, his hand slowly lifted up. The silver pen was in his hands.


    The icicle was just a few meters above Serosh, about to pierce his skull.


    Then, Serosh''s silver pen clicked. The tip revealed itself before drawing a weak and trembling arc in the air.


    A few drops of silver ink flew into the air, shimmering with a soft white light.


    At this point, the icicle was right above Serosh. But before it could do anything, the drops of ink shone like stars, making its surroundings be a dark night.


    Serosh smiled.


    "...Vanish."


    Bryce narrowed his eyes.


    "What?"


    A deafening explosion rang out along with a blinding white light.


    Countless balls of white light burgeoned within the sky, shaking the air.


    Bryce''s body evaporated into nothing. He could not even process the fact that he died.


    The four-horned demons were dead. Two from falling out of the sky, sttering into a pancake, and two dissipating from Serosh''s silver pen.


    Apollo and La ran to Serosh, who was trembling like an old man.


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "Wow, that was so cool!"


    Apollo nodded in agreement.


    "So cool!"


    The ck tendrils retreated back into Serosh''s heart. His ck skin had be a pale grey while his ck veins were visible from the outside.


    There was a bitter smile on his face.


    "...Thanks. There is currently a deadly poison rampaging in my body. Sorry, but I will be unable to continue our tour."


    Apollo grabbed onto one of Serosh''s arms, putting it over his shoulder.


    "No problem! I can help carry you while you are hurt!"


    La saw what Apollo was doing and imitated him, putting Serosh''s other arm over her shoulder.


    "Yes! I will carry friend!"


    Serosh was lifted up to his feet with the pair''s help. With great effort, he lifted up his head.


    The citizens of the city were looking at him in fear. They were frozen in ce, trembling uncontrobly.


    "The traitor... killed themanders!"


    "He''s going to kill us next!"


    "I''m scared! Someone, help us!"


    Serosh frowned.


    "My subjects."


    Despite his weakened state, his voice boomed with confidence, making the crowd fall silent.


    "You may not believe my words, but the former headmander, Bryce, has created a deadly poison to kill demons. I have been afflicted with such poison as the headmander has used it against me."


    The crowd red at him with suspicion.


    "How can we trust your words?"


    "But... you were the one that killed themander!"


    "How can we believe someone that just murdered our kind?"


    Serosh frowned.


    "Silence!"


    The words that were about toe from the crowd got caught in their throats.


    Serosh spoke slowly and solemnly.


    "Whether or not you trust me is not my concern. I am simply informing you that nobody will be able to manage the vige. As such, you must learn to take care of yourselves in this time period."


    He closed his eyes.


    "You must stay strong. Otherwise, you will fall apart."


    Serosh proceeded to speak softly, so only Apollo and La could hear.


    "Take me away, please."


    Apollo and La nodded. They turned around and carried Serosh''s limp body away.


    The crowd looked at Serosh''s departing figure in an awkward silence.


    "Is our ruler leaving us?... What will we do now?"


    "...Did we jump to conclusions?"


    "No... it can''t be?"


    Until the end, they still doubted the person that sheltered and fed them.

 Chapter 102 - What Do You Have To Say For Yourself?

    Serosh coughed and wheezed. He was so powerless that Apollo and La were essentially dragging him forward.


    Apollo looked at Serosh.


    "Are you ok?"


    Serosh closed his eyes.


    "As long as I concentrate on fighting the poison, I will live."


    He sighed.


    "However, that will take a while. Thank you for helping me."


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Of course! Friend deserves help."


    Apollo had lowered his head in thought.


    "Hmm... how did they find out about our tour so fast?"


    Suddenly, Serosh''s eyes flew open.


    "...It was the youngdy."


    La blinked a few times.


    "Eh? Who is youngdy?"


    Serosh frowned.


    "That woman that begged for my forgiveness. After being spared, she informed themanders the first chance she got."


    Apollo gasped in astonishment.


    "Wow! You already figured it out!"


    Serosh chuckled.


    "I suppose so. Anyways, take a left here."


    The three traversed from the farnd to the houses.


    After walking for a few moments, weakly raised one hand.


    "Wait a moment, bring me over to the side."


    Apollo and La looked at Serosh with curiosity, but did as he said.


    Serosh abruptly vomited arge amount of ck blood and a few rotten ck tendrils. He wiped off the blood that remained on his mouth and stood up on his own.


    "Thank you for carrying me. I have gotten rid of the most troublesome part of the poison, so I can carry myself for now."


    He sighed.


    "Though this poison really is devious. Only after seeping into every part of my body did it react. My only choice is to slowly purge it from the rest of my body."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What does that mean?"


    Serosh smiled bitterly with a hand on his forehead.


    "I will be taking care of this poison for at least a month or so. The sooner I start, the less the poison will damage me."


    La pouted.


    "A month? That''s so longggg!"


    Serosh shook his head.


    "It can''t be helped. This city is going to get fairly chaotic without anyone managing it. I will go back to my residence to recover."


    Serosh sighed.


    "I highly rmend you leave this instant. I must go to my residence now. My apologies for being unable to send you out."


    La''s furry ears drooped.


    "Friend is leaving?..."


    Serosh smiled sadly.


    "We''ve hardly been acquainted for hours. Don''t be so sad."


    La raised her tiny fists in the air and swung them around.


    "But friendddd!"


    Serosh put a weak hand on La''s head.


    "I promise on my honor as a demon I wille to meet you again. How does that sound?"


    Apollo raised his hand.


    "Me too!"


    Serosh chuckled.


    "Yes, you as well."


    La pressed her lips together. Her tail swayed slowly.


    "Ok..."


    Serosh smiled before turning around. He walked with a tall back, but asionally stumbled.


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Em... We didn''t find anything about the person called we both know you."


    La giggled.


    "Then we have to keep searching!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "But... we have no leads!"


    La''s tail shot up. There was a bright smile on her face.


    "Then we just have to find one!"


    La wrapped her arm around Apollo''s waist.


    For a second, Apollo was confused. However, he suddenly came to a realization.


    "Wait, no, no, no, No, No, NO, NO"


    A blissful yet ignorant smile was on La''s face.


    "Yay!~"


    She tore open the space and jumped inside the blue world.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH"


    With that, the two continued on their aimless journey. Who knew when they would find Kn Noia...


    Or even remember his actual name, for that matter.


    ...


    Maya walked through the city of Evermore, stumbling with every lethargic step. Her light blue eyes zed over, unable to truly see what was in front of her.


    The houses around her were lit aze and broken to pieces.


    The scent of charred wood filled the air. However, the smell of charred flesh far overpowered it.


    Maya had killed countless people. The evidence wasid on the floor around her, in the form of dead bodies.


    Blood caked over her body, her own blood.


    Her long brown hair stuck onto her body tightly. It was drenched in blood and had hardened considerably.


    asionally, a scar would burst open, spewing out what little blood was still in Maya''s body.


    Yet her face remained expressionless. It was dull, as though she was already dead.


    The hand Maya was using to tightly hold the gemstone had be dark red. Darker than the blood moon itself.


    A thundering crash resounded in front of Maya. But her expression did not change, as though she could not even tell what happened.


    The snow and dust cleared to reveal a burly young man.


    He was roughly two and a half meters tall. He had very short ck hair, like he was in the army. If his hair was any shorter, then he would be bald.


    He wore intricately sewn clothes made from ox fur. There was a solemn frown on his face, matching his piercing hazelnut eyes.


    "So many innocent lives have fallen because of you... What do you have to say for yourself?"


    Maya''s head tilted to the side like a withering branch.


    "...Nothing."


    She raised her dark red hand, the one holding the gemstone. Her forefinger extended towards the man.


    As for the man, he narrowed his eyes in contempt.


    "I am Edmund. Do you know who my teacher is? His name is Kabito, a crowned! Stand down if you know what''s good for you."


    The corner of Maya''s lips turned up ever so slightly.


    "...I''ve never known what was good for me."


    A fireball coalesced at her fingertip.


    "And frankly, I don''t care."


    Edmund smiled with anger.


    "Then there''s no reason to keep you alive."


    A fireball shot out towards Edmund, but he sidestepped it with ease. His feet pressed against the ground, cracking the path.


    In the next instant, his fistnded squarely on Maya''s stomach.

 Chapter 103 - Dressed Up

    Maya''s body was thrown down the street. She coughed up a mouthful of blood as she scraped her back against the cobblestone path.


    She left a trail that consisted of both dried and wet blood.


    Maya got up to her feet once she stopped sliding. If one were to look at her back, one would see part of her spine and ribcage through the torn flesh.


    Edmundughed.


    "You''re on yourst legs, aren''t you?"


    Maya let out a growl while her head raised to the sky.


    "...I''ve always been on myst legs."


    Suddenly, cracks formed on Maya''s face. A ck horn emerged from her forehead while her flesh regrew. But not her skin.


    Edmund''s eyes narrowed.


    "What, a demon?"


    He clenched his fist.


    "...How is that possible?"


    Edmund leaped forward, throwing a punch towards La while she appeared to be in a daze.


    His fist was just half a meter away when Maya suddenly snapped out of her stupor, grabbing Edmund''s wrist. His bones snapped.


    Edmund looked at Maya in terror, feeling his wrist about to snap off.


    Cracks formed across her hand as it shifted to a deep ck. Her fingernails grew longer and sharper.


    Maya stared into Edmund''s eyes with a dull expression.


    As for Edmund, he looked back at Maya''s cracked face.


    "Demon in human skin..."


    Maya paid no heed to his remark. She raised her red hand and pointed it towards Edmund. A fireball coalesced on her finger.


    Edmund frowned. Only one arm of his arms was held by Maya, thus he still had the other to work with. Without wasting another second, he sent his fist towards Maya.


    It was a direct hit on her stomach, folding her body in half and throwing her back.


    However, Maya also finished her spell.


    A fireball that was over two meters wide appeared before Edmund. There was no time to dodge.


    A fiery explosion shook the air, making its presence known across the city.


    Smoke billowed.


    Once it cleared, it revealed Edmund.


    He was still standing, however, he was definitely not unscathed.


    Edmund trembled lightly. The little hair he had on his head was now gone, leaving a ck patch. This was also the case for his chest. His ox fur coat was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a patch of charred skin.


    Edmund grit his teeth.


    "Damn you! How did a demon get into the walls of Evermore?"


    Maya was sprawled out on the floor, but stood back up the next moment.


    Her head slowly raised to meet Edmund''s gaze.


    "...In the end, we are all demons, no?"


    Edmund furrowed his brows and mumbled under his breath.


    "Have the demons learned how to turn humans to their side?"


    Maya pointed to Edmund once again, coalescing a fireball.


    As she did that, Edmund ducked behind a house. He believed that she would save her energy, opting for a clear shot.


    However, he was wrong.


    A deafening bang rang out.


    The house copsed almost immediately, sending ming nks towards Edmund.


    With a swing of his arm, he deflected the debris falling towards him.


    Someone within the house began screaming. They were burning alive.


    Edmund clicked his tongue.


    "It can''t go on like this... the city will be in shambles by the time she gives up."


    Edmund ran back out to the streets.


    This immediately attracted Maya''s gaze. Like it was natural, she formed another fireball.


    Edmund''s eyes became fierce. He crossed his arms in front of him and ran towards Maya without abandon.


    His body was still charred from thest explosion. Another one might even cripple him.


    However, Edmund threw those thoughts out of his head.


    By the time he was a few meters away, Maya let the fireball loose.


    Edmund braced his mind.


    Another bang reverberated throughout the vige. However, it could not mask Edmund''s roar.


    His figure appeared from the smoke, charging forward.


    Edmund waspletely covered in soot, further ckening his skin. His arms took the brunt of the impact, causing him to lose a huge chunk of his flesh. You could even see parts of his bone.


    However, the fierce look in Edmund''s eyes never left.


    Maya simply stood there, not even attempting to dodge.


    The sound of cracked bones filled the air.


    Edmund crashed into her, throwing her backward once again.


    He panted.


    "...That should be enough... right? Even her bones cracked."


    Mayaid on the floor motionless. However, the next moment, she brought herself up.


    There was a dead look in her eyes, but she was very much alive.


    Maya turned around and walked away, not bothering with Edmund anymore.


    Edmund grit his teeth.


    "Don''t think I''ll let you go, dammit!"


    He took a step forward, then stopped. A sudden weakness overcame him.


    Edmund fell to his knees.


    "What?... Why can''t I..."


    He looked down.


    There was a gaping hole in Edmund''s chest, where his heart used to be.


    Edmund''s eyes widened in fear.


    "This..."


    His breathing became unsteady.


    "The sound of bones shattering was not from her..."


    His eyelids slowly dropped.


    "...But me."


    Edmund''s body fell to the floor, lifeless.


    In the short period where Edmund charged into Maya, she used her ck hand to pry out his heart, crushing his ribcage in the process.


    The calm tapping sounds filled the air.


    A man approached Edmund''s corpse. He had short grey hair, but an average-sized beard. Although he was clearly old, he was iparably burly. He had sharp purple eyes that peered through the curtains of this world.


    There was a dark brown crown on his head, lying quietly like a sleeping beast. It had two spikes that curled upward, almost like horns.


    Carved within the crown was the pattern of Ox faces.


    It was Kabito.


    He looked down at the corpse below him.


    "...Who dares kill my student?"


    Suddenly, Kabito''s head snapped to the side.


    "...You."


    The ground under him cracked, sending him flying into the air.


    As for Maya, she was simply walking down the streets,unching fireballs as she went.


    A thundering boom came from her front.


    The dust and snow cleared to reveal Kabito, looking at Maya with hatred.


    "....So demons have learned how to dress up as a human."

 Chapter 104 - It Goes Like This...

    As lifeless as Maya was, she couldn''t help but take a few steps backward.


    Something was telling her that if she was grazed by this man''s punch...


    She would die.


    A fireball coalesced at her fingertip. However, she was too slow.


    Kabito charged towards Maya, reaching her in the blink of an eye.


    His fist was just a split second away from hitting Maya.


    For the first time in a while, Maya was afraid.


    Death was hanging right above her and there was nothing she could do about it.


    ...Then, she disappeared.


    Kabito''s strike only stirred up wild gusts of wind. His brows furrowed.


    "Where did the demon go?"


    As for where Maya went, she did not know either.


    She felt like she was submerged in water. She could feel pressure pushing down on her like she was slowly sinking into the bottom of the ocean.


    Maya''s body violently rocked around, like she was on the world''s craziest roller coaster.


    The only thing she could register with her vision was pure ck.


    Almost like the world had disappearedpletely.


    Suddenly, there was arge sh of white light.


    Maya immediately closed her eyes, using her ck demonized hand to cover her eyes.


    "How exactly did something like youe into existence?"


    Maya''s eyes adjusted to the bright light to see a guy standing in front of her. He was probably only a few years older than her from his looks.


    He had light orange hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a wolf fur coat that was carelessly made.


    He had a ck suit underneath, with matching suit pants. However, they did not make him look fancy in the slightest. This came from the fact that there were many tears and dirt stains littered over his clothes.


    He was leisurely holding onto a small wooden stake in his right hand while there was a ck crown that pierced into his head.


    The crown was like a ring, but with various sized spikes lined across it. On the front were three spikes, the middle one twice as long as the others. Smaller spikes were lined across the rest of the ring while the back had thergest spike, slightly longer than the one at the front.


    It honestly looked quite painful, to say the least. However, the guy didn''t seem to mind.


    Maya''s ck hand shot out towards the man. She let out a deep growl as she did so.


    The man''s hand shed.


    At the next moment, Maya found she was unable to move her hand.


    The guy held onto her hand as though they were having a handshake. Then, he shook it up and down.


    The guy smiled.


    "Nice to meet you too."


    Maya''s mind was muddled. Ever since the demonic features emerged from her body, she was having trouble thinking coherently.


    Maya continued growling and raised her red hand towards the guy, forming a fireball at the tip of her finger.


    The guy sighed.


    A small ck crystal floated out from underneath his robes, simr to the shape of a diamond. It began to rotate slowly, sending out a wave that caused the air to ripple.


    The fireball disappeared like a puff of smoke while the small vortex in her gemstone disappeared.


    However, the biggest change came from Maya herself. Her demonic features withered, peeling away like melted wax.


    Maya''s consciousness wavered. She could feel her body going numb, as though she was shot with a tranquilizer.


    The cracks remained on her face and hand. Now that her demonic features were gone, blood slowly seeped out of them.


    Maya took a few deep breaths before calming down. She had a look at her surroundings.


    She was in a tree, in the middle of the snowy forest.


    Maya put her hand on her forehead. Her mind was dizzy and the blood seeping out of her did not help.


    The crystal stopped rotating. Then, the guy pointed towards Maya,unching a spell towards her. Maya instinctively blocked despite her numbed senses.


    However, the expected impact didn''t arrive. Instead, afortable sensation spread throughout her body. Maya almost thought she was in her mother''s embrace.


    The cracks in her body mended like they were never there while the blood she lost was restored.


    Maya blinked a few times along with a few deep breaths. She had calmed down by now.


    Maya looked up at the guy before her with confusion.


    "Who... are you?"


    The guy smirked.


    "Where are your manners? If you want to know someone''s name, you should tell them yours first."


    Maya shook her head to get rid of the lingering numbness.


    "Ah, sorry. My name is Maya. What is yours?"


    The guy chuckled.


    "Hello, Maya. Formally, I am known as Lucifer."


    Lucifer tilted his head to the side.


    "But, if we be friends, I can tell you the way I prefer to be addressed."


    Maya slowly nodded, still trying to take in the situation.


    "...What happened?"


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "Ah, you were in some trouble, so I teleported you out. We are pretty far from Evermore city right now."


    Maya scratched her cheek.


    "Oh... thank you."


    Lucifer smiled.


    "No problem. Anyways, can you tell me how you became like this?"


    Maya looked up at Lucifer, about to exin. Her mouth opened, then froze.


    Lucifer was still looking at her with a smile. However, something felt... strange.


    His eyes were almost in a normal position, just a tad bit too wide. Maya felt like when those eyesnded on her, they didn''t see her as a person.


    But an interesting animal.


    Lucifer''s smile wasn''t too different, giving an uncanny empty feeling. Although a smile was stered on his face, it was somehow fleeting.


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "Why aren''t you speaking? Let me repeat myself, how did you be like this? Don''t worry, I have time."


    Maya''s pupils shook. For some reason, she didn''t believe he would ask a third time.


    Maya quickly gathered herself together.


    "...It goes like this."


    ...


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    "AHHHHHHHHHH"


    Apollo and La exited the blue world,nding in the middle of the forest.


    .....Right in front of Willow.

 Chapter 105 - Game Of Cat And Mouse

    Apollo copsed on the ground, unable to make sense of his surroundings.


    "Gah!... No more!... Please!"


    La raised her arms high in the air, stretching them.


    "Wah! So fun~"


    Willow watched the two in shock.


    She wore fingerless gloves and held a jet-ck sword in her hands. Other than that, she was mostly the same.


    Willow wore a tight ck dress, matching her short dark hair. Her dark brown eyes were opened wide with surprise.


    A snowke dropped on her almost eerily smooth skin. At the same time, her lips covered with bright red lipstick opened agape.


    Apollo shook his head, gradually making sense of the situation around him.


    "Gah... Where are we?"


    La giggled.


    "In the forest! But there is something even cooler. Look at this person!"


    Apollo slowly looked up towards Willow, who was frozen in ce.


    There was a confused expression on his face.


    "Mommy?"


    La gasped.


    "She is mommy?"


    Apollo blinked a few times, shaking off his stupor.


    "Ah, yeah!"


    Willow''s heart leaped up to her throat.


    How did Apollo get here?


    How was he able to find her so easily?


    ...Was he going to try to kill her?


    Willow snapped to her senses, not taking another second to ponder over her questions.


    With a bitter frown, she bolted off.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? Why is your mother running away?"


    Apollo panicked. He immediately broke off into a sprint, chasing after her.


    "What! We have to catch mommy!"


    La giggled before leaping off the ground.


    "Then let''s hurry!"


    Willow flitted across the tree branches, revealing her figure for only brief moments.


    Apollo had trouble keeping up. Willow''s direction kept changing erratically, so his eyes could barely catch the corners of her dress.


    Apollo found himself stopping on multiple asions to shift his direction, only to find that he was going the wrong way.


    La had been staying by Apollo''s side as he ran.


    She raised her arms in the air, swinging them around with frustration.


    "What are you doing!? Mommy is going to get away!"


    Apollo anxiously scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, I don''t know where she is!"


    La puffed her cheeks up.


    "Just follow me, dummy!"


    She leaped off the ground,nding on one of the tree branches.


    Although panicked, Apollo did as told. He jumped high in the air and followed after La.


    It was almost as if La could see through the trees. She abruptly changed directions without warning, constantly following right behind Willow.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    Who was this girl and how could she follow so easily?


    Willow stopped erratically shifting her direction. After all, La wasn''t affected. Continuing to do so would simply slow down her pace, doing more harm than good.


    Since Willow no longer bothered with hiding, Apollo was able to see her through the branches.


    He called out.


    "Mommy wait!"


    Willow stumbled, feeling a pain in her heart. Hearing Apollo''s voice made her lose focus. There was even a part of her that wanted to stop running. However, she remembered the look of hatred Apollo stared her down with.


    And so, Willow kept on running.


    Apollo and La would close the distance on asion, but would lose it a momentter. At this rate, it would simply be a test of who had more stamina.


    Willow grit her teeth. Her hand firmly grasped her ck sword before tracing a horizontal arc behind her.


    The strike was silent except for a light humming sound.


    A wave rippled out, directly uprooting trees, causing them to snap. A tidal wave of snow and wood fragments rushed towards Apollo and La.


    Apollo closed his eyes and turned his face away.


    "What is happening?"


    La held her arms in front of her face.


    "There''s lots of snowing for us!"


    The tidal wave battered down on them, but was rtively harmless.


    The pair had not been dyed for long, but they lost direct vision of Willow.


    Apollo held the side of his head with his hand.


    "Ah! Mommy is gone!"


    La pointed in a direction and shook her arm.


    "She''s over there! Look!"


    Apollo''s eyes followed La''s finger, but all he could see was snow.


    "I don''t see!"


    La puffed her cheeks in frustration.


    "Mmm! Mommy is going to get away if you''re so slow! I''m fast, so I will carry you!"


    Before Apollo could respond, La wrapped an arm around his waist.


    Then, she took off.


    "Onwards!"


    The sudden jolt wasn''t that bad, however, it ended up reminding Apollo of his trauma.


    "Ah! Wait, no please!"


    La paid no heed to his cries, essentially dragging him through the forest as he screamed. Their pace had noticeably picked up.


    After a few moments, Willow was once again in sight.


    As for Willow, she realized the pair was catching up. La was faster, so Willow decided there was no point in running further.


    She spun around, holding her sword out in front of her. It was vibrating slowly, but was rapidly increasing in intensity.


    La responded in kind, pulling back her free hand, forming a w. The muscles in her shoulder stretched taut, slowly bringing her arm forward.


    Her w rapidly elerated forward as she exerted across her arm, then snapped out once it reached her fingers.


    By now, Willow''s sword became a blur. It was vibrating so fast that the surrounding snow was blown away.


    Suddenly, Willow''s sword froze in ce, almost like it was still the entire time.


    Two monstrous waves were thrown at each other, not only blowing away the snow, but shredding the nearby trees to pieces.


    A shrill ear-piercing explosion resounded throughout the forest.


    An enormous crater formed on the ground. The shockwave was so strong, the trees far off in the distance bent like they were trying to do the limbo.


    Willow and La were more or less unscathed. However, they were not unaffected by the shockwave. They had been blown back, greatly increasing the distance between them.


    During this time, Apollo was in a daze, still begging La to stop.


    La kept her gaze trained on Willow.


    As for Willow, she decided to disappear.

 Chapter 106 - Did You Forget?

    La gasped.


    "She disappeared!"


    Apollo regained his bearings.


    "Ah..."


    He shook his head.


    "Do you mean mommy?"


    La nodded.


    "Yes... but I can still follow her!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Eh? How?"


    La smiled.


    "Like this!"


    La tore open the space in front of her, revealing the blue world.


    For a few seconds, Apollo did not register what was about to happen.


    It was only when La pulled him forward did he realize what was happening.


    Apollo''s eyes widened in fear.


    "Wait! No, not again!"


    To his dismay, La did not even hesitate to jump in.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH"


    While Apollo freaked out, La''s eyes shimmered with a faint blue light. There was a dull expression on her face, as if her soul had left her body.


    In the next second, La''s eyes lit up. The faint blue light had disappeared while a smile returned to her face.


    "I found mommy!"


    La dragged Apollo across the blue world, in a seemingly random direction.


    After just a few seconds, La tore open the space, sending the two back into the real world.


    As for Willow, she was still running away. Suddenly, she gasped.


    "Wha-"


    Something collided with her, throwing her aside. It was Apollo and La.


    They tumbled across the snowy floor, almost like they were one giant tumbleweed.


    "Gah!"


    "O!"


    "Not my foot!"


    The group crashed into a tree, directly snapping it in half. All three of them were still a little dibobted.


    Apollo was able to recover quickly. His eyesnded on Willow.


    "Mommy!"


    Before Willow could react, Apollo grabbed onto her arm with both hands.


    "No running!"


    Willow shook her arm in protest, but could not put any real strength into it. She didn''t want to hurt Apollo.


    "Let go, let go of me!"


    La pulled her head up, then curiously looked at Apollo and Willow. A smile burst out on her face.


    "Me too!"


    La jumped at Willow with her arms outstretched. Shetched on Willow''s back. Her legs wrapped around Willow''s waist while her arms wrapped around Willow''s neck.


    As if that wasn''t enough, La began to rock back and forth, making Willow stumble around like she was drunk.


    "La~"


    Willow tried to shake Apollo and La off, but the two were simply too attached.


    "Get off! How are you two so hard to shake off?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Because you ran away!"


    La giggled. She raised her hands high in the air like she was celebrating.


    "We aren''t hard to shake off, mommy just didn''t run very well!"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched. Was this girl poking fun at her proficiency in escaping? She had trained for so long just practicing this one point, honing it to mastery. For an assassin, the most important thing was escaping.


    ...So how was she found so easily?


    But more importantly, why was this girl calling her mommy?


    A bitter smile appeared on Willow''s face.


    "My name is Willow, not mommy."


    La stared at Willow with her beady eyes.


    "What? How can that be true?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "How does that make sense mommy?''


    Willow''s head hurt. How was she supposed to deal with this situation?


    "...I am not a mother. I am simply a person called Willow."


    La turned to Apollo.


    "What is mommy talking about? Or is mommy''s name mother?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "...Is mommy confused?"


    Willow sighed with exasperation.


    "I... I really am not a mommy."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "But why, mommy?"


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Yeah, why?"


    Willow took a deep breath. A sad smile emerged on her face.


    "I suppose it''s because... I never truly cared about someone."


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Mmm... I don''t get it."


    Apollo pouted and tugged on Willow''s arm.


    "Ah, mommy doesn''t care about me?"


    Willow looked at Apollo, ignoring the ufortable feeling in her heart.


    "...Not like how a mother is supposed to."


    Apollo blinked a few times. He was speechless.


    La looked at Apollo with curiosity.


    "So... is this mommy?"


    Apollo closed his eyes tightly, almost like he was in pain. He rubbed his temple with his knuckle.


    After a few moments, he took a deep breath and opened his eyes.


    "...No, it''s not mommy."


    Apollo released his grasp on Willow.


    For some reason, despite being the one most insistent on it, Willow felt her heart drop hearing Apollo say those words. She was confused. Why did it feel like this?


    She was supposed to be relieved.


    ...Willow slowly came to a realization. She wanted to be Apollo''s mother, even if it wasn''t the most logical.


    Willow shook her head, casting these thoughts aside.


    "Hah... Yes, my name is Willow."


    Apollo nodded, though he was still pouting.


    "Willow."


    La turned her head to the side.


    "Wah! So not mommy... but Willow! Does Willow want to be friends?"


    Willow coughed a few times. It was only now that she realized how strange the situation was.


    Didn''t Apollo hate her?


    And... who was this girl?


    Willow wanted to pretend that the past never happened. However, she felt that running was no longer an option.


    "Haha, I can be friends if... Apollo doesn''t mind."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "...Why does my opinion matter?"


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Well... our rtionship isn''t the most smooth sailing."


    Apollo blinked a few times, in a daze. He began to remember some of his times with Willow. He saw himself calling her mommy, while Willow would repeatedly stress that wasn''t her name.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Oh! I think I remember you! Sorry for getting your name wrong all the time."


    Willow chuckled.


    "Ah, that''s fine."


    She awkwardly coughed, stalling a little.


    Willow worked up the courage to ask Apollo the question on her mind.


    "Do you remember... when we fought?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What? Did we fight?"


    Willow looked down.


    "Um... yes. You were really mad at me. Then I ran away. Did you forget?"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Hmm...."

 Chapter 107 - A Feeling

    Apollo gasped and raised his finger in the air.


    "Ah, I remember now!"


    La, who was still on Willow''s back, eximed with excitement.


    "You did? What did you remember? Tell me too!"


    She shook back and forth, causing Willow to stumble.


    However, Willow paid little attention to this fact. Instead, all of her attention was on Apollo.


    Willow''s lips trembled.


    "You... remembered?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Willow blinked a few times.


    "So... why were you angry with me?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What? When was I angry?"


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "Um... when we fought and all."


    Apolloughed.


    "Ah! That was just practice, of course I''m not angry!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    The only thought in her mind was...


    What?


    Willow shook her head.


    "No, not that. The other time we fought, you chased after me, remember?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Hmm... not really..."


    Willow opened her mouth.


    Then closed it.


    She heaved a sigh.


    "Well... alright."


    La put her hands on Willow''s head, pressing down to lift herself up. Her head drooped, right in front of Willow''s face.


    "So does that mean we are friends?"


    There was a bright smile on La''s face.


    Willow turned to Apollo, only to see his expectant eyes. She smiled.


    "...I suppose."


    La cheered with her hands high in the sky.


    "Yay!"


    Apollo held Willow''s hand and raised it into the air. There was a smile on his face.


    "Friend!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Haha... Anyways, what were you guys doing?"


    La tilted her head to the side with a finger on her chin.


    "Eh? Were we doing something?"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Oh right! We had to find someone."


    La gasped.


    "Ah, we both know you!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger while nodding.


    "Yes, yes. I think that was it!"


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "Sorry, who are you searching for?"


    La chuckled.


    "Silly, we just told you! It''s we both know you!"


    Willow blinked a few times.


    We both know you? Was this supposed to be some y on words she wasn''t understanding?


    Willow sighed.


    "Do you know the ce where this person stays?"


    La hummed.


    "I forgot!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah... there was a ce. I think it was... Obrad Empire?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Oh, I know of the Obrad Empire. However, I don''t recall any famous people being named..."


    While Willow was at a loss for words, La jumped in.


    "We both know you!"


    Willow held her fist in front of her mouth and coughed.


    "Ah, yes. That..."


    She shook her head.


    "Regardless, I know of the way to the Obrad Empire. If you wish, I can take you there. Coincidentally, I actually have some business to take care of there."


    Willow brushed her hair back.


    "My n was to go elsewhere, but the inconvenience to shift around my schedule is small."


    La gasped with her hands on her cheeks.


    "So you''ll take us there?"


    Willow smiled.


    "Yes, don''t worry about it."


    La giggled.


    "Yay! Off to ''whole bran and pie'' we go!"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "But not with you on my back."


    La pouted.


    "Ehhh? Why not?"


    Willow sighed.


    "It''s ufortable."


    La''s furry ears drooped.


    "Pleaseeee?"


    Willow shook her head.


    "No."


    La grabbed onto Willow''s shoulders, rocking back and forth. She threw a temper tantrum.


    "Please, please, please!"


    Willow stumbled around in the snow, just barely keeping her bnce.


    "Ah! Why are you so stubborn? Is it really that important to you?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side. He didn''t really understand what was happening, but decided to join in.


    Apollo wrapped his arms around Willow''s, holding himself up off the ground.


    "Hehe..."


    Willow looked at Apollo.


    "Oh dear... not you as well."


    She took a deep breath.


    "Alright, alright! I''ll do it! Stop ying around!"


    A smile blossomed on La''s face.


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched. Would caving into La''s desires whenever she freaked out cause her to develop some... bad habits?


    ...Nah. Even if La really did end up throwing a tantrum every time something didn''t go her way, at least it wouldn''t involve her. After all, she would leave.


    That was Willow''s belief. However, she didn''t know that once someone became La''s friend, they never exactly ''got away''.


    Willow heaved, leaping up in the air with La and Apollo. She attempted tond on a tree branch, but overshot it. Shended in the snow.


    After a sigh, she leaped up once more, thankfullynding on the tree branch.


    "...This is quite a different experience."


    Although La and Apollo looked like children, they were both far heavier than grown adults. As such, Willow lost quite a bit of her finesse. This wasn''t an insignificant weight for her.


    As Willow navigated the tree branches, she slowly got used to carrying Apollo and La. They were almost like training weights.


    Willow closed her eyes, feeling the shift in weight.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    Willow suddenly jerked towards the left, smacking her forehead into a tree. This was because La abruptly rocked towards the side, throwing Willow off bnce.


    La looked at Willow with innocent eyes.


    "Ah, why did you stop?"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "...No reason."


    Apollo was giving Willow a nk stare. He seemed to be lost in thought.


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "Apollo? Is there an issue?"


    Apollo snapped out of his stupor.


    "Ah, no! I don''t know why, but I feel like I''m missing something."


    Willow smiled nervously.


    "Ah... I see."


    With that, Willow continued onwards, dashing through the trees.


    La continued to sway around, and Apollo ended up joining in. This increased the difficulty of navigating the tree branches tremendously.


    However, Willow was no longer against it. Instead, she closed her eyes to immerse herself in this ''feeling''. Herck of vision did little to hamper her as she had dashed through the forest at the dead of night on many asions.


    She did not truly understand what this ''feeling'' was, but she could tell it was getting clearer.

 Chapter 108 - A Little Boy

    Willow continued running through the forest with La on her back and Apollo holding onto her arm. They were both swaying around, thus shifting Willow''s bnce.


    In fact, she had even collided with some trees earlier, gaining some quizzical looks from her passengers.


    However, as time passed, Willow collided into trees less frequently. Even when she did, they were light collisions due to the fact she shifted her bnce.


    Eventually, she no longer collided with the trees at all. Her movements were still quite clumsy, but she seemed to be refining it by the second.


    It was almost like Willow could predict the random movements of La and Apollo.


    She found a hint of order within chaos.


    La noticed that whenever she rocked around, that force would be used to direct Willow towards a tree branch. It was like La was piloting Willow. She turned from the left and right, not that different from a joystick.


    Fascinated by this, La became even more violent with her rocking, threatening to break Willow''s spine.


    As for Apollo, he was simply enjoying the ride. They were by no means going slow and even violently jerked from side to side, courtesy of La.


    However, this was nowhere close to what Apollo had to experience in the blue world. To him, this wild ride was somehow calming.


    Willow was able to keep herself steady despite the violent rocking. In fact, she was gradually getting faster.


    These erratic movements caught someone''s attention.


    It was a little boy, shorter than even Apollo and La. He was wearing a blue jacket, but the sleeves were too long for his arms, drooping down. He had a hood and from underneath, his curly dark green hair stuck out. The boy''s face was a pale blue and had traces of baby fat. His irises and mouth were a dark purple.


    If it weren''t for his strangely colored hair and face, he would simply look like a cute kid wearing a jacket that was too big for him. However, one nce at the color would immediately make most wonder what species he belonged to.


    The little boy''s head whipped around so he could keep his eyes on Willow. His lips parted.


    "Fast..."


    The little boy quickly scaled up a tree before dashing after them. It was as though he had the instincts of a dog, chasing after anything that moved.


    As for Willow and the others, they didn''t notice the little boy that came after them. They were simply minding their own business.


    The little boy frowned.


    "So... fast."


    He was by no means slow, however, Willow was not only fast, but moving erratically. This made her incredibly difficult to follow.


    Nheless, the little boy was stubborn. He moved even faster, causing his hood to fly off his head. His curly green hair danced in the air, causing the boy to panic.


    The boy hurriedly put the hood back on with his sleeves, keeping both sleeves on his head to keep it there.


    Willow''s speed was still increasing, however, the boy''s speed was elerating even faster.


    At some point, he was just a few meters behind them.


    This caught Apollo''s attention.


    "Um, who is following us?"


    La turned around and looked at the strange boy chasing after them. A smile blossomed on her face.


    "Oh, another friend! Hehe... so many friends."


    Willow''s eyes flew open, though she didn''t stop running forwards.


    "Ah, all of my attention was put towards dashing forward."


    Her brows furrowed.


    "I didn''t even notice we were being followed."


    The boy''s mouth opened, revealing sharp, but tiny teeth.


    "Rah!"


    La giggled. She grinned, showing her teeth. They were like a normal human''s, the only difference being the exaggerated length of her fangs.


    "Rah!~"


    The boy started to growl.


    "Raaaah!"


    Apollo looked back and forth between the boy and La.


    "What are you guys talking about?"


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "The friend over there wants to y!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "That doesn''t seem to be the case..."


    La smiled cheekily.


    "It is the case! Just watch!"


    She proceeded to turn around, but kept her legs and one armtched onto Willow. As for her other arm, it pulled back before slowly elerating forward.


    Her strike rapidly sped up, snapping out at thest moment.


    The recoil from La knocked the air out of Willow''s lungs, but she was still able to use the force tond on a faraway branch.


    As for the little boy, his figure disappeared, leaving only a puff of dark green smoke.


    A thunderp echoed throughout the forest.


    Trees were uprooted while snow danced violently in the air. However, that was it.


    Once the chaos died down, the boy reappeared at the ce he disappeared, unscathed. Unfortunately for him, the distance had widened considerably in that short moment.


    The boy''s eyes narrowed before he dashed forward, growling as he went.


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "Is this what you call ying?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "What else could it be, silly?"


    Willow sighed.


    "Alright..."


    The boy was much faster thanst time, closing in on the group in a matter of minutes.


    Apollo smiled.


    "I want to y too!"


    He used one hand to hold on to Willow while the other raised his bokken.


    The boy was only a few meters away when Apollo swung. His thumb pressed against the hilt, suddenly speeding up.


    The boy disappeared in a puff of smoke. However, he left a few drops of ck blood behind.


    He reappeared in the next moment, with a small cut on his face. ck blood slowly seeped out of his wound.


    The boy almost immediately disappeared once Apollo''s bokken swung. However, Apollo''s strike was simply too fast. By the time the boy disappeared, the de of wind had already pierced part of his face.


    If he was any slower, he would''ve been split in half.


    The boy kept one hand on his face while the other held onto his hood. He angrily stared at Apollo.


    An eerie purple mist gathered around the boy.

 Chapter 109 - Daycare Worker

    Purple mist gathered around the little boy, growing in density by the second. The purple mist abruptly shot forward, slipping past the trees like a shadow.


    Willow didn''t have time to move to the side. The purple mist was simply too fast. Ittched onto Apollo, prompting him to tilt his head to the side.


    "Hm? What was that?"


    The boy''s purple eyes glowed. Then, his body morphed into a small green ball, rapidly approaching Apollo.


    In just a second, the boy reappeared. He was clinging onto Apollo like a ko.


    Purple mist once again coalesced around the boy. He raised his head into the air and opened his mouth wide.


    "Raaah!"


    Then... the boy froze.


    "Shut up."


    Willow held her ck sword less than a centimeter away from the boy''s face, prompting him to cease his actions and disperse the purple mist.


    They were standing on top of a tree branch, as still as a statue.


    The boy didn''t know why, but he felt like if he continued, death woulde right after. His ability to disappear into the shadows did not bring him any semnce of safety.


    After all, Willow was well versed in the shadows.


    La patted the boy''s head.


    "Hi friend!"


    The boy frowned, displeased with La''s actions. However, he did not dare move while the sword was right in front of his face.


    Willow sighed.


    "Are you going to continue assaulting us?"


    The boy trembled.


    "N-No."


    Willow pulled back her sword.


    "Why are you chasing us anyways?"


    The boy rubbed the ck blood off his face.


    "Em... fast!"


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Fast?"


    The boy nodded.


    "So fast!"


    Apollo giggled.


    "I think he followed us because he liked how fast we were!"


    The boy nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah, yeah!"


    Willow''s eyebrow twitched.


    "...Anyways. Don''t you have somece to be? We have ces to be, so we can''t stay with you."


    The boy rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Mm... no."


    La''s tail swayed.


    "So friend follows us!"


    The boy''s eyes lit up.


    "Follow?"


    Willow furrowed her brows in frustration.


    "Not having a destination does not mean he muste with us."


    The boy let out a small whimper.


    "No want... me?"


    Willow sighed.


    "Well... if you truly desire to join us, you can."


    The boy rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve. He seemed to be deep in thought.


    "...Me follow!"


    La''s ears perked up as she pped enthusiastically.


    "Yay! So many friends!"


    Apolloughed.


    "What is your name?"


    The boy looked down.


    "Me... is Hex."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ah, Hex! This is La and this is Willow. I am Apollo!"


    Apollo pointed amongst the three of them, introducing the group to Hex.


    As for Hex, he nodded in acknowledgment.


    "La, Willow, Apollo!"


    Hex lost all of his previous hostility. It was as if hepletely forgot he attempted to kill the group just a moment ago. Not to mention the fact he almost died from their attacks.


    Hex climbed onto Willow''s head as if that was natural. His small stature allowed him to rest there fairlyfortably.


    As for Willow, her eyelid twitched.


    Hex could follow just fine before, so why did he have to climb on her head?


    Willow opened her mouth to protest, but closed it before the words came out. She shook her head.


    Whatever.


    Willow continued to dash through the trees. The first step was a tad bit shaky, but Willow quickly got into the rhythm again. Hex was light, thus didn''t shift Willow''s bnce much.


    Hex had a small smile on his face. One sleeve held down his hood while the other rested at his side.


    As Willow continued to dash through the trees, she began contemting her life choices.


    How did things end up like this?


    She was an elite assassin that had killed countless influential figures.


    So why was she carrying around three kids like a mother that had way too many children?


    At this point, she may as well be a daycare worker, or even the daycare itself.


    Willow pushed these thoughts aside. She decided to tell herself that there was nothing she could''ve done about it.


    And so, the four dashed through the snowy forest, on their way to The Obrad Empire.


    ...


    The full moon hung high in the sky, gently caressing the ground with its shine.


    Willow kneeled down on the ground. She was on top of a stone wall and in front of her was The Obrad Empire.


    Willow panted. Physically, she wasn''t that tired. However, she was mentally exhausted.


    Willow knew that dealing with three kids wasn''t going to be easy... but it was still more taxing than she imagined.


    Her eyes closed as she recalled the nightmare.


    "Waaaah!~ Go faster, Willow!"


    "Swinging the sword while flying is so cool!"


    "Rah! Me is king of forest!"


    La, Apollo, and Hex hopped off of Willow. They ran towards the edge of the wall, looking into the empire.


    The empire wasrger than even the city of Evermore, spanning a great deal of area. Houses and establishments littered thends, while a couple of pces resided in the middle of the city.


    Hex gasped.


    "So... big!"


    La giggled.


    "But there are even bigger things!"


    Apollo turned to La.


    "Woah! Really?"


    La smiled smugly.


    "Hehe, of course!"


    Willow walked over to the group.


    "Alright. You two said you had to find someone, no?"


    She pointed at La and Apollo.


    La''s furry ears perked up.


    "Yeah! We both know you!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Hmm... how do we find him?"


    Willow smiled.


    "That is simple. Just ask around at taverns and people in the streets. So long as you moderate yourself and state it like an offhand remark, you won''t draw suspicion."


    Hex raised his sleeves up.


    "We find person?"


    Willow chuckled.


    "...You guys can go do that. I will meet up with youter."


    Suddenly, La held onto Willow''s hands with a pout.


    "No leavingggg!"


    Some guards woke up.


    "What the- Who dares?"

 Chapter 110 - You... Arent Human

    A group of five guards charged towards the sound they heard, only to see nothing.


    Willow had casted some sort of spell, obscuring all of their figures. She put a finger to her lips, gesturing for them to stay quiet.


    La looked at that gesture, then tilted her head to the side.


    "What are you doing?"


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Me think Willow wants quiet."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "I don''t think we are being that quiet."


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    Was it really that hard to just stay silent?


    The guards obviously heard them. However, they still couldn''t see them. The five guards kept spinning their heads around, like if they kept looking back and forth they would eventually see these people.


    The guards were holding onto spears. Both of their hands had a tight grip.


    "Show yourself, intruder! Have you no shame?"


    One of the guards gestured towards another. Just a secondter, a guard bolted away.


    They were getting reinforcements.


    Willow sighed.


    "I suppose there is little point in hiding further. We need to get rid of them quietly."


    La whispered with a smile on her face.


    "Ok, quietly!"


    La pulled back her hand, tensing the muscles at the back of her shoulder. Then, it slowly elerated forward.


    Willow had a bad feeling. She reached out her hand.


    "Wait, stop!"


    La continued with an oblivious smile on her face, like she couldn''t hear what Willow just said. Her w snapped forward.


    A thunderp reverberated through the walls, waking up nearly every nearby guard.


    The guards in front of us were obliterated into tiny pieces and a bloody mist. The walls themselves shook, and cracks appeared across them. Part of the floor had copsed, revealing a hallway that was underneath them.


    Hex covered his mouth with his sleeve.


    "Me think that is not quiet."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I think it''s a little loud..."


    Willow sighed, holding her forehead with her hand.


    "If we kill all the guards and hide the bodies, the empire won''t go into a full blown panic as fast."


    She turned to La.


    "And do so quietly!"


    La giggled. Her tail swayed.


    "Sorry! I didn''t say anything, so I thought it would be quiet."


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "...Alright. We should split up to maximize our efficiency."


    Willow hopped down the hole La created, scanning the area for the other guards. She dashed off in one direction. The other three looked at each other for a moment before breaking off into a sprint as well.


    La and Hex each picked one direction to go from the top of the walls while Apollo and Willow split off from the hallway underneath the top of the walls.


    A squadron of ten guards charged forward while Willow was running towards them. The guards continued forward as though they couldn''t see Willow.


    They didn''t even react to her presence.


    Willow''s ck sword glinted with an ominous light and emitted a faint ck mist. She swung the sword slowly, tracing a horizontal arc in the air.


    The guards split in half by their torsos, but didn''t bleed a single drop of blood. They died immediately, unable to even scream. Willow''s hand shed, dropping ck mist on top of their bodies.


    Then, the corpses vanished without a trace, almost like it was just an illusion.


    Willow continued down the hallway, searching for more guards.


    Hex ran across the top of the wall with his arms spread out. His sleeves fluttered in the wind, and his dark purple eyes narrowed.


    "Get rid... of guards."


    Coincidentally enough, fifteen guards appeared in front of him. The guards pointed their spears towards Hex. One of the guards had a blue sash wrapped around his body, probably the leader of the group.


    The leader frowned.


    "Stop! What are you doing here, kid?"


    Hex let out a low hum.


    "Me... get rid of guards."


    The leader furrowed his brows. The night was too dark, so he didn''t notice the strange color of Hex''s hair and eyes.


    He simply thought he was a normal kid that somehow snuck his way up here. Probably the child of some irresponsible guard.


    "Stop fooling around! This is a dangerous area, so if you want to live, get out of here!"


    Hex scratched his cheek with his sleeve.


    "Ok... Me will leave after me get rid of you."


    The faint shadows under the guards began to twist, forming onerge shadow with a faint blue glowing smile on its face.


    The leader was oblivious to this, as were the rest of the guards.


    "Who do you think you are, kid? Stop ying around in your fantasies and listen to the adults!"


    A guard beside the leader sighed.


    "We have to check on the disturbance first. There is no time to waste on some kid."


    The leader clenched his fist. He took a deep breath before shaking his head.


    "Yes, you are right. We must go."


    The guards ran forward with the intention of passing by Hex. They went along by on his left and right.


    Hex began to tremble. He didn''t like having so many people around him. Once the guards surrounded him, a dark green mist gathered around him.


    Hex let out a roar.


    "Stay away!"


    The dark green mist exploded into a shockwave.


    Every guard, without exception, fell to their knees. Their armor cracked while blood seeped out of their orifices.


    The leader was the only one that didn''t nk out.


    He grit his teeth with disbelief.


    Did some little kid just do that?


    The smiling shadow rose from the ground, taking a corporeal form. Two curled horns rested on top of the shadow''s head. It had thin shadowy arms, but incrediblyrge hands that resembled a children''s drawing of monster ws.


    The shadow let out an ethereal giggle.


    The leader turned to look at Hex, who was looking at him with a cold expression.


    The leader saw Hex''s dark green hair and purple eyes.


    "You.... aren''t human."

 Chapter 111 - Smiling Shadow

    The leader looked at Hex''s figure. Despite not even reaching a meter high, Hex seemed to tower over him.


    His smiling shadow rose from behind him, giggling ethereally as though it wanted to taunt the leader.


    He felt a strange fear grasp his heart.


    In reality, the leader wasn''t a coward. He had ventured through the forest alone, fighting the wild animals he came across.


    Though they were nothingpared to the animals currently roaming throughout the forest, it was still an impressive feat for a normal person.


    The leader had charged straight towards a wolf that was baring its fangs at him, challenging it head on. Although he was afraid, he always had the courage to stand up and fight.


    That was how he got to his position in the first ce.


    Yet... when the leader looked at Hex, he could feel despair sprout in his heart. He didn''t even understand why he was afraid or why his body refused to budge.


    The smiling shadow reached out with its abnormallyrge ws. However, it didn''t reach for the leader.


    Instead, it grasped a nearby guard, lifting him up and slowly crushed him. The guard woke up, seconds before his death.


    The guard''s eyes were filled with horror.


    "What is this? No, it hurts! Stop!"


    The smiling shadow paid no heed to his cries, crushing his body.


    Frightening snaps filled the air, the sounds of fractured bones.


    The guard continued to cry out in pain, no longer able to think coherently. The armor did little to protect the guard.


    At best, it let out groans while its shape deformed. At worst, its fragments pierced into the guard''s flesh, further increasing his agony.


    In the end, the guard''s body was crushed into a mangled mess. The only part that remained intact was his head, which still had a grimace stered over it.


    The smiling shadow continued killing the guards this way, crushing them with itsrge ws.


    It did not take long for the other guards to snap out of their stupor. After all, the sounds of crushing bones and screams of terror filled the air.


    The guards began to panic. They wanted to get up and run immediately. However, the smiling shadow did not hurry to kill them all. In fact, it slowed down.


    The guards weren''t going to question it. Their first priority was surviving.


    ...Yet not a single one moved.


    Their hearts violently hammered in their chests.


    They were afraid of Hex.


    Even those that weren''t directly looking at Hex felt a strange intangible fearing from his direction.


    And all Hex was just standing there, harmlessly.


    Their minds tried tomand their body to run with all their might. However, to their dismay, their bodies were limp from fear. It was almost like they were under the effects of sleep paralysis and Hex was the sleep-paralysis demon.


    The smiling shadow giggled ethereally. It continued to harvest the lives of the guards, one by one.


    The only thing these pitiful guards could do was watch with trepidation, and wonder when they were going to be next. Those thoughts tormented them, sending them down the spiral of madness.


    Slowly but surely, the guards thinned. Only five were remaining, along with the leader.


    Thesest few guards had lost it.


    "Kill me! Just kill me already!"


    "Choose me next! I don''t want to listen to this anymore!"


    "No, you have to pick me! I can''t take it, I just can''t take it!"


    They no longer had any hope of surviving. Their only desire was to die sooner.


    As for the leader, he remained silent. His mental state was unstable, but he did not reduce himself to begging.


    The smiling shadow picked one of the guards, who was female.


    This guard got terribly excited.


    "Yes, yes! Thank the heavens, it''s finally my turn!"


    The other four guards groaned in disappointment.


    "No, why her? This can''t be..."


    "This is unfair! How did things turn out like this?"


    "No... why is my existence being prolonged while she gets to die?"


    The smiling shadow crushed the guard, making her cry out in anguish. However, mixed in with those cries was theughter of a maniac.


    "Yes, it is... finallying..."


    There was a smile on the guard''s face. As her soul left her body, the smile disappeared, leaving a dull expression on her face.


    "Now me! You can''t keep me waiting any longer!"


    The process repeated itself until the only one left was the leader.


    The leader used all of his strength to raise his head a few degrees.


    "...What the hell are you?"


    Hex casually blinked.


    "Me is... Hex."


    The leader felt an unbearable pressure fall onto him. His heartbeat sped up violently, painfully forcing blood through his veins.


    His eyes bulged out of his sockets while cold sweat cascaded down his body.


    Then... he died.


    Hex did not touch the man, nor did the smiling shadow. In the end, the man died purely from his own fear.


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Hmm... Me hide bodies now?"


    He spoke innocently, as though he didn''t just torture anybody to death.


    Hex furrowed his brows.


    "But... how me hide?"


    He turned to look at the smiling shadow.


    "Ah, me knows!"


    Hex pointed to the smiling shadow.


    "Get rid of bodies!"


    The smiling shadow proceeded to open its mouth wide, revealing eerie, translucent teeth. It scraped against the floor, letting all of the broken flesh and dead bodies enter through its mouth.


    In just a couple of seconds, the floor was swept clean. Although the shadow''s body was translucent, there was no sign of the corpses within it. The shadow proceeded to meld into the ground, attaching itself to Hex.


    With that, Hex continued running down the wall with his sleeves spread out.


    As for Apollo, he was running down the hallway in the opposite direction of Willow.


    At that moment, a squadron of over thirty guards appeared in front of him.


    "Stop! What are you doing here?"

 Chapter 112 - How Can I Hide A Body?

    Apollo scratched the side of his head, not paying attention to the guards in front of him.


    "How am I supposed to hide the bodies?"


    Both the guards and Apollo were standing still. As Apollo continued contemting his problem, one of the guards stepped out from the rest.


    This guard had a blue sash over his armor, but unlike the previous one, it had golden engravings on top of it. This guard was at a higher position, not a leader, but a chief.


    He pointed his spear threateningly towards Apollo.


    "What are you doing within the empire''s walls? Raise your hands in the air or I will have no other choice but to use force!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Can you be quiet? I''m trying to think here."


    He proceeded to rub his chin with his thumb and forefinger,pletely ignoring the guards in front of him.


    The chief got a little angry.


    "Stupid kid! You brought this on to yourself!"


    He charged towards Apollo, spear in hand.


    As for Apollo, he simply sighed.


    "Can you just give me a moment?"


    He swung his bokken, pushing his thumb against the hilt.


    The chief suddenly froze.


    ''Eh? Why can''t I move?''


    He felt a searing pain spread from a line down his body. One of the guards stared at his chief with confusion.


    "Sir? We still need to investigate the situation, you can''t keep-"


    Blood sshed across the floor, interrupting the guard''s sentence.


    The chief split in two, each half falling to the side.


    The guards watched in horror as they saw a pool of blood form underneath the corpse.


    "Chief! ...How did this happen?"


    "That kid! Don''t let your guard down!"


    "His wooden sword must be a feint. He is definitely a mage since he could attack from that range!"


    While the guards were freaking out, Apollo was still pondering.


    "Hmm... If I cut them alot, then they will just turn into countless pieces. That won''t make them hidden..."


    The guards raised their spears.


    "Since it''s a mage, we must close in!"


    "He will be weak at close range, charge!"


    "Don''t let the mage cast any more spells!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "You guys are so noisy! Can''t you be quiet for a moment?"


    The guards ignored him, letting out roars as they charged. One guard thrust his spear forward, straight towards Apollo''s heart.


    Apollo''s eyes were unfocused. He was still thinking of a solution to his problem. However, despite not consciously processing the situation, his bokken shed.


    Before the guard couldplete his strike, he split in two.


    The other guards were not discouraged by this. In fact, they got more excited.


    "The mage used his spell! We have a grace period to attack!"


    The guards swiftly encircled Apollo and thrust their spears.


    Apollo''s bokken subconsciously shed once more.


    With a ng, the spears were knocked away, flying out of the hands of the guards.


    "How can he still cast spells?"


    "Wait... he used his sword!"


    "What? Did he just use a wooden sword to..."


    Before the guard could finish his sentence, he split in two.


    Apollo closed his eyes and scratched the side of his head with frustration.


    "Why can''t I think of anything? You guys really aren''t helping by being so loud, you know?"


    The guards panicked.


    "Damn, our weapons..."


    "He must be a demon!"


    "We must regroup with reinforcements!"


    They were trained well, as such, they wouldn''t normally let a weapon fall out of their hands. After all, they would always have a firm grasp on them.


    However, the force from Apollo''s strike was simply too strong. Despite being covered in armor, both the fingers and wrists of the guards twisted violently.


    This meant that even if their weapon was right next to them, they would be unable to pick it up, much less fight. As such, the guards began to flee.


    However, they wouldn''t get away so easily.


    Apollo simply swung his bokken towards wherever he heard a noise. It wasn''t because he was trying to kill the guards, he just wanted them to be silent.


    However, he swung so fast that they all died one after another.


    Only one guard was able to get a few steps away.


    The guard screamed out in fear.


    "Don''t kill me, please!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I''m trying to think here!"


    He swung his bokken down, pressing his thumb against the hilt.


    The guard suddenly split in two, falling to the ground and sliding a few meters forward.


    That was when Apollo''s eyes lit up. He found a solution.


    "Ah, I can just ask these guys!"


    Apollo looked around himself, only to see a pile of corpses around him.


    He scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah... They probably won''t be able to answer now."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Hmm... maybe I can find someone else to ask."


    With that, Apollo continued running down the hallway, searching for someone that he could ask.


    Though he probably wouldn''t get an answer.


    After all, his question was, ''How can I hide a body?''.


    Which guard in their right mind would tell some kid how to hide a body?


    In the meantime, La was running across the top of the wall. Her hair danced with the wind, while soft jingles rang throughout the air.


    There was a blissful smile on her face.


    "La~"


    La made no effort to hide or be quiet. As such, it was not hard for a group of guards to notice her.


    A group of roughly forty guards blocked the path ahead, with a chief at the front. The chief raised his spear.


    "Stop! What are you doing here?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Ah, I forgot! I was supposed to be doing something!"


    The chief furrowed his brows.


    "...Anyways, move aside! We have business to attend to!"


    La''s tail swayed.


    "Wait! Do you want to be friends?"


    The chief clenched his fist.


    "No! Just move-"


    "Sir."


    One of the guards put a hand on the chief''s shoulder. The chief was annoyed, but decided to hear the guard out.


    "What is it, soldier?"

 Chapter 113 - Fun With Friends

    The guard pointed at La.


    "...That is not a human. It has the ears of a beast, and even a tail."


    The chief''s head snapped to look.


    "What? It resembles a human so closely. What is that thing?"


    The guard shook his head.


    "I am not sure. I believe it is a beast that learned how to mimic humans to a certain extent. However, it is unable to truly hide its animal traces."


    The chief nodded.


    "Then there is no need to talk with this beast."


    La''s furry ears twitched. She didn''t really understand what the guards were talking about.


    "So you want to be friends? That''s great!"


    The chief narrowed his eyebrows.


    "Be quiet, beast! We already know your true colors."


    He took careful steps forward.


    "We shall attack this beast together. Get ready, soldiers!"


    La giggled to herself.


    "Ah, I remember now! I was supposed to hide you guys!"


    The chief no longer bothered to respond. Instead, the group of guards got into a formation and slowly approached La.


    La didn''t seem to be bothered. She put a finger on her chin.


    "Hmm... but there isn''t really anywhere to hide! This is going to be hard..."


    La looked at the group of guards slowly approaching her. She giggled.


    "Friends want to y? Then we can y first, hideter!"


    La ran forward with her arms in the air, not bothering to defend herself in the slightest.


    Despite how little La tried to defend herself, the chief did not drop his guard. The moment she got close, he thrust his spear forward with all his strength.


    A snap along with a groan of pain rang out.


    It came from the chief.


    The spearnded right on La''s stomach. However, it was as though it hit an unstoppable boulder.


    Although the chief held onto his spear tightly, all that did was snap his wrists and crush his fingers.


    As for the spear itself, it snapped in two.


    The handle was made of metal, by the way.


    In the end, the spear was knocked away, flying off the edge of the wall.


    La stopped to watch the spear fall with curious eyes.


    "Ah! Thanks for showing me!"


    She put a finger on her chin.


    "Friends can hide if they go over there!"


    The chief couldn''t fullyprehend what La was saying. He was more upied by the pain and the disbelief of the small girl''s toughness.


    Only when he was lifted high in the air did hee to his senses.


    "Wait, wait!"


    La had effortlessly picked up the chief. Her tail swayed excitedly while a cheerful smile appeared on her face.


    "Have fun, friend!"


    Then, she tossed the chief off the wall.


    If you wanted to know, the fall was roughly fifty meters down.


    The chief iled his limbs around in the air.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH!"


    La put a hand over her mouth and giggled.


    "Hehe, you sound just like other friend! Have as much fun as you want!"


    The other guards were bewildered.


    "No, chief!"


    Were their eyes working properly?


    There was something terrifying in the way La so innocently killed someone, like she was just ying a game.


    The guards stood their ground.


    "...Hey, wasn''t she hit by that spear?"


    However, the reason they stood their ground was that they were too afraid to move.


    "Yeah... I don''t think she got hurt by the spear."


    The guards were trembling.


    "But... she was able to snap the chief''s wrists."


    La turned towards the other guards. Her furry ears perked up.


    "Don''t worry, I didn''t forget about you, friends! You will get to y as well!"


    La lifted up a guard that was frozen in fear.


    The guard immediately began to struggle.


    "No, no! Wait, please!"


    However, his fate was already sealed.


    La grunted...


    "Nyah!"


    ...then threw him off the ledge.


    The guard screamed in terror.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHH!"


    La cupped her hands together with a bright smile.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    Her tail eagerly swayed.


    "Hehe, friends are having so much fun."


    One guard came to their senses and began running away. As though that was a signal, every other guard began running away too.


    However, not even Willow could escape La. So how could a few measly guards do the same?


    A guard felt two small hands grab him. Despair filled his heart and beads of sweat formed on his forehead.


    "No..."


    "Nyah!"


    The guard was thrown off the edge, joining his fallenrades.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH"


    Like that, the guards fell off the wall, one after another.


    These guards didn''t have a fear of heights. Even if they did, working as a guard made them eventually get used to the height.


    However, when they were being held up in the air, looking down at the ledge, they were terrified. To their dismay, they were all inevitably thrown off, falling into the pits of hell.


    Lined across the outside of the empire walls were mangled corpses, insinuating a sinister story.


    The main character of this sinister story was currently prancing about on the wall, humming a children''s song.


    "There must be other friends, right? Hehe, I aming to meet you all!"


    With that, La continued, trying to find more friends to ''y'' with.


    ...


    Willow took care of any guards she came across swiftly and efficiently.


    A group of twenty guards appeared in front of Willow. With a single sh, all of them died without even realizing it.


    As for Apollo, he tried asking any guards he came across how to hide a body.


    When he came across a group of ten guards, he waved his arm in the air.


    "Hey, do you know how to hide a body?"


    Obviously, none of the guards gave him an answer. Instead, they took on a formation.


    After all, when someone walks up and asks how to hide a body, it has a few ominous implications.


    The guard in front had a fierce expression on his face.


    "So you have killed someone? Seems like we need a few experts to shut you down!"

 Chapter 114 - Meeting Up

    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "But could you tell me how to hide a body first?"


    The guard narrowed his eyes.


    "Attack!"


    The ten guards charged forward with their spears raised.


    Apollo sighed.


    "I guess that''s a no..."


    Apollo swung horizontally, pressing his thumb against the hilt as he did so.


    Every guard suddenly stopped in their tracks.


    The leader''s eyes widened.


    "What?"


    Then, the top half of his body slid off. The other guards followed his example momentster.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Now I have to hide these ones too..."


    He sighed.


    "Maybe the next people will know?"


    Apollo continued forward, asking any guards he came across. However, none of the guards were crazy enough to actually exin it to him. As such, he ended up killing every single guard along the way.


    Apollo furrowed his brows as he dashed down the corridor.


    "If only someone would be kind enough to tell me how to hide a body..."


    That was when Willow appeared in front of him. She seemed a little distressed.


    "Ah, Apollo. Since I''m seeing you here... it appears that we traversed through the entirety of the wall''s interior."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, I guess. Anyways, do you know how to hide a body? I wasn''t able to hide any of the people I came across."


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Ah yes, there is no easy way to hide so many bodies."


    She sighed.


    "Initially, we were only supposed to kill the guards who had woken up, but for some reason, there were many loud sounds. Especially screaming."


    Willow rubbed her forehead with frustration.


    "It would''ve been elementary to hide a couple of bodies, but since nearly every guard woke up..."


    She shook her head.


    "Never mind. I will retrace your steps and take care of the corpses, don''t worry."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Ok!"


    Although Willow said that, she remained still.


    She smiled nervously.


    "Um... before that. Do you mind talking a little?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Um-"


    He was interrupted by a thundering m. A gigantic metal mace hit the floor.


    "It appears some insolent children are running about."


    A man appeared,pletely covered in metal armor. He was somehow four meters high, defying the limits of human growth. His bright blue eyes peeked out of the tiny slit in his helmet. He also had a mace casuallyid on the floor next to him.


    Apollo looked at the man.


    "Oh, hello there."


    Willow sighed.


    "Why was I called an insolent child?"


    The man responded by dashing towards them, raising his mace in the air.


    Although his appearance gave one the impression he would move slowly and awkwardly, this was not the case. The man''s steps were quick and agile, while the mace seemed to be a feather in his hands.


    Willow swung her sword, sending out a shockwave. The man suddenly stopped, taking a few steps backward.


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "You are quite sturdy."


    The manughed.


    "Yeah, every time you attack me, my body gets tougher! If you know what''s good for you, don''t try to fight me!"


    He proceeded to lunge forward once more, raising his mace high in the air.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "You get tougher with each hit? That sounds interesting!"


    He swung his bokken, pushing his thumb against the hilt.


    An ear-piercing screech of metal rang out.


    The man had monstrous reflexes, able to block the majority of the wind de with his mace. What was left of the wind de could only nick his armor.


    As for his mace, there was only a small white mark. It appeared to be made of an unbelievably sturdy metal.


    The man continued onward, smashing his mace down on Willow.


    A thundering boom resounded throughout the halls.


    Before the macended, Willow''s figure disappeared, reappearing a meter or so away. The man''s eyes shifted towards Willow. He dragged his mace across the floor, sending it towards Willow.


    Willow''s figure disappeared for a brief moment, just enough to dodge the mace.


    As for Apollo, he had jumped into the air, raising his bokken with both hands on the hilt. He mmed it down on the man''s back.


    A dull rumbled throughout the halls.


    A small dent formed on the man''s armor, and the man hunched over. He coughed up blood, which sshed out of the small slit in his helmet.


    The man simplyughed.


    "You are fairly strong, but that is far from enough! My armor is made of a metal worth its weight in gold! The craftsman had to use theva of a volcano just to forge it!"


    Willow sighed.


    "You talk too much."


    Her sword traced an arc towards the sky.


    A crack rang out.


    A thin line appeared across the man''s armor, splitting it in half. The man groaned in pain.


    Apollo followed Willow''s example, letting his bokken sh.


    There was another crack.


    The man stumbled a few steps forward. A few momentster, his armor split in two, falling off his body.


    Yet, instead of celebrating, Willow frowned.


    "What are you?..."


    The man slowly stood up. He was wearing a cloth to cover the majority of his body. However, the cloth did not cover several bulging spots. These bulges beat as though they were a heart and had a deep ck color.


    The man had no hair, however, he had three ck stumps on his head. They were horns that had been broken off.


    The man resembled a three-horned demon. Yet, the majority of his skin was a pale white. He was some strange abomination thatbined human and demon features.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Demon? Or human? Maybe both?"


    He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. Serosh''s words came back to him.


    ''While you are human... you have evolved like a demon.''


    "Confusing, like me!"


    The man looked at his armor andughed.


    "Well, that was short-lived.. However, the armor was not meant to protect me."

 Chapter 115 - Apollos Outburst

    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "The armor was not meant to protect you? I think it did a pretty good job."


    The man let out a wicked smile.


    "The true reason for such sturdy armor is that ''those people'' didn''t want my body to be seen."


    He raised his mace.


    "Frankly, I don''t need any protection. Just my new body can take on anything."


    The man swung his mace at Apollo, with even more speed than before. As for Apollo, his bokken shed at a strange angle, diverting the trajectory.


    Another crash resounded throughout the halls.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "Why does it have to be so loud... Even more people are going to wake up."


    Willow pointed her sword towards the man. It began to vibrate.


    The man dragged his mace across the floor, sending it towards Apollo. As for Apollo, he jumped over it.


    However, the mace suddenly stopped below Apollo and swung upwards. The muscles in Apollo''s arms tightened.


    His bokken shed, hitting the side of the mace. The mace was sent flying into one wall while Apollo''s body crashed into the opposite wall.


    At that moment, Willow''s sword abruptly stopped vibrating. A massive shockwave was sent towards the man, rippling through the air.


    The man turned his head around. Then, it snapped forward.


    A deep thud resounded.


    The man''s back exploded into pieces. It looked like a crater had formed on his body. Violent gales of wind blew in all directions while the man fell to the floor.


    Apollo pulled himself out of the wall, scattering a few stones across the ground. He scratched the side of his head.


    "Is he dead?"


    Willow sighed.


    "No..."


    The man slowly stood up. The flesh on his back was gradually repairing itself. However, the parts of his body that originally contained pale white skin grew pitch ck and bulged.


    The manughed.


    "Do you see now? There is nothing you can do! Every time you injure me, I will juste back stronger!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Then why don''t you just hit yourself? Won''t you be the strongest that way?"


    The corner of the man''s lip twitched.


    "...Well, it hurts a lot."


    He shook his head.


    "Anyways! That is not the point! You were doomed to lose once you decided to fight me!"


    The man charged towards Apollo, swinging his mace at him. Apollo diverted the trajectory with his bokken once again, then dashed closer to the man.


    However, that wasn''t the best idea.


    Argence of ice condensed in the man''s free hand before stabbing Apollo. It caught Apollo by surprise, thus skewering his body.


    Willow frowned. Her sword shed the man''s back, drawing a circle.


    The man''s skin tore away and his flesh scattered across the ground. He lost about half of his torso from that one attack.


    Yet, that didn''t phase him.


    The man held Apollo up with the spear while he raised his mace with the other hand.


    As for Apollo, his expression was dull. His eyelid twitched.


    Then... a small smile appeared on his face.


    The man swung his mace down on Apollo''s head. If this hit, he would be maimed pretty bad. However, Apollo didn''t even try to defend himself.


    His muscles tightened while red scars snaked across his arms. His bokken snapped forward, and his eyes widened.


    A deafening explosion reverberated throughout the hallways.


    The man was sted backward, splitting into chunks of flesh. Willow''s figure blurred, letting all the blood and pieces of flesh fly by her.


    As for the mace, it was diverted from the violent impact. However, it still hit Apollo''s shoulder, rather than his head.


    Apollo''s shoulder was smashed with a crunch. There was an outeryer of bone covering his shoulder, like shoulder pads. It shattered immediately. A few cracks formed in the actual bones of his shoulder, but it remained intact and usable.


    The mace fell down to the ground, smashing into the floor. It did not even recoil upwards a single time, a testament to how heavy it really was.


    The icence was still in Apollo''s chest.


    Apollo used his free hand to pry it out, throwing it to the side. Blood leaked out of his abdomen, but stopped shortly after. The wound healed in just a few moments.


    Willow looked at Apollo with concern.


    "I''m really sorry. I should''ve defended you."


    She bowed.


    Apollo replied by letting out an eerie giggle. His head slowly lifted, meeting eyes with Willow.


    "Mother?"


    Willow felt her heart sink. She had a feeling... something bad was going to happen.


    "Wait, Apollo! I am not your mother. I am Willow, remember?"


    Apollo''s neck twisted ufortably to the side.


    "I will... kill you."


    The muscles in Apollo''s legs tightened. He dashed forward like a lightning bolt, and his bokken shed.


    Willow''s sword shed as well, intercepting Apollo''s strike.


    Willow was frowning with frustration.


    "Apollo! Please stop!"


    Apollo paid no heed to her cries. He began tough and swung his bokken even faster.


    "I will kill you!"


    Willow was able to match his pace, blocking every strike.


    The skin on Apollo''s hand tore open while the shockwaves hit the walls, making them crack. This was because of the slight tremble Willow had while swinging her sword.


    Willow''s figure suddenly disappeared, leaving Apollo to strike the air. She reappeared a few meters away.


    "Apollo, can we just talk for a moment? Let''s just settle down for a few minutes!"


    Apollo did not respond. He slowly walked towards Willow with shaking pupils. Hisughter was growing in intensity.


    The muscles in his arm tightened. He swung down his sword while pressing his thumb against the hilt.


    Willow had a bad premonition. She preemptively traced an arc in the air with her sword, sending out a wave of ck mist.


    The crackle of thunder filled the air.


    The ck mist immediately vanished. Willow''s figure blurred, but not on time.


    A line of blood trickled down her face.


    "Apollo..."


    She sighed.


    "Maybe.... if I defeat you, we can have a subdued talk."

 Chapter 116 - For A Subdued Talk

    Willow decided to get serious.


    She dashed towards Apollo, erratically moving to the left and right.


    This did not discourage Apollo. With a wild smile, he bolted forward. His thumb pressed against the hilt of his bokken before it shed.


    A de of wind tore through the air.


    And hit nothing.


    Willow''s figure had disappeared. She reappeared a momentter, but seemed to be flickering.


    Willow would be there in one moment, yet disappear a secondter, almost like a glitch.


    Apollo let out a flurry of strikes, attacking her every time she reappeared. However, he didn''t hit her once.


    Willow would sometimes approach Apollo, but sometimes retreat. She hadn''t even swung her sword the entire time.


    Suddenly, Apollo twisted his bokken to the side. Out of nowhere, a jet-ck sword appeared, shooting towards his stomach.


    The tip of Apollo''s bokken pushed against the side of the jet-ck sword, pushing it aside.


    However, he was not unharmed.


    Although the sword itself did not hurt him, it was vibrating. The moment his bokken touched Willow''s sword, the skin on his hand and forearm ripped off, sshing blood across the walls.


    To the naked eye, it appeared like Willow''s sword was still. The vibrations moved the sword itself less than a millimeter, however, they were terrifyingly rapid. It was as if the sword was a sleeping beast, waiting for a courageous fool to disturb his slumber.


    Apolloughed louder. His bokken shed, but Willow''s figure disappeared once again.


    Willow randomly appeared around Apollo, sometimes right in front of him, sometimes sneakily behind him. She was almost like a shadow, flitting in and out of his vision.


    Apollo''s eyes widened. He kept swinging after the brief shadows around him, but wasn''t able tond a single hit.


    Apollo kept spinning around, trying to keep up with Willow''s erratic appearances. His shes left massive cracks in the walls around him, almost like they were his true target.


    He twisted his neck, letting out several eerie cracking sounds.


    "Stop... disappearing!"


    There was something graceful in Willow''s movements. They were random, that was for sure. However, every step seemed nned.


    She would vanish in one ce, then materialize somewhere else. There was a strange smoothness to it.


    Willow''s expression was tranquil, almost like she was falling asleep. Or dancing in a shower of cherry blossoms.


    Suddenly, Willow appeared on Apollo''s left, tracing a horizontal arc towards his chest. Apollo responded by twisting his bokken.


    He was able to divert the strike once more, but a shockwave traversed through his body, rampaging within him. He could feel his organs tremble, waning under the pressure.


    Apollo wasted no time in swinging once more, but Willow was already gone. He continuedughing, intermittently interrupted by the blood he was coughing up.


    At this rate, Apollo would lose.


    Willow''s figure flitted around Apollo, like a monster that appeared in the corner of a paranoid man''s eye.


    This fighting style was one that Willow recently developed. Although it was elusive, it was also too confrontational for an assassin.


    When she used two daggers, there was always something missing. Her strikes were dangerous and vicious, but theycked something. It was the finishing touch, thest bit of polish needed for a valuable vase.


    Willow could sense it when she used to de. She was nowhere near piercing the limits, but she had a hazy vision of it.


    This was actually jumpstarted by Apollo himself. Long ago, when Willow watched Apollo fight against the other students, she saw something. Almost like a new door was opened, waiting for her to test all of its profound secrets.


    She had touched that surface with the tip of her de.


    Willow appeared on Apollo''s right, shooting her sword out like a spear.


    Strangely enough, the corner of Apollo''s lips turned up. Then, Willow''s eyes widened in shock.


    Almost every muscle in Apollo''s body tightened. His feet spun while his body twisted. Cracks formed on the floor underneath him.


    His sudden change in speed was akin toparing a man running and a lightning bolt. It simply did not seem possible.


    However, it was happening right here, on the ground they stood.


    The jet-ck sword brushed by Apollo. A shockwave rippled throughout his body, but the damage was rtively minor.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, drawing an arc towards Willow''s neck.


    It connected, sshing blood in the air. Then Willow disappeared.


    She reappeared a few meters away. A trail of blood fell down from her neck.


    If Willow disappeared even a fraction of a secondter, the wound would''ve been lethal.


    A short momentter, and a major artery would''ve been cut, leaving her to slowly bleed to death. In the time it took to take a breath, her head would have flown off.


    It was only now Willow realized how little Apollo was holding back.


    She realized that Apollo chose to dodge because her attack was a stab. However, Apollo was almost unable to dodge.


    If he got hit, his ribcage would''ve shattered, leaving his organs at the mercy of her sword.


    Apollo didn''t seem to be concerned about that. He continuedughing, reveling in his sessful hit.


    He held onto the side of his face with his free hand, clutching his skull. His eye peeked out from a thin gap between his fingers, staring right at Willow.


    He stood there, waiting for Willow''s next strike.


    However, it did note.


    Willow closed her eyes.


    She took a deep breath, letting the air slowly fill her lungs. Then, let it flow out.


    A bitter smile emerged on Willow''s face.


    "Apollo..."


    Her eyes fluttered open.


    "If we take it this far..."


    ck mist gathered around Willow''s body.


    "One of us may truly die..."


    The smile disappeared from her face, leaving a cold expression.


    "But..."


    Willow slowly raised her pitch ck sword.


    "If this is the only way..."


    Her hand clenched on the hilt.


    "For us to reconcile..."


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    "Then I choose to put our lives on the line."

 Chapter 117 - Old Memories

    Apollo dashed towards Willow, swinging his bokken at her.


    Willow did not move. Right before the bokken grazed her neck, she disappeared.


    A jet-ck sword traced an elusive angle towards Apollo''s neck. His bokken twisted, reaching the sword in just a moment.


    However, it disappeared before he made contact. The ck sword suddenly appeared on the opposite side, tracing an arc towards his neck.


    Red scars formed on Apollo''s skin. His bokken snapped in the opposite direction.


    Yet, Willow disappeared once again, while the attack did not.


    Although the sword was no longer there, a ck mist in the shape of the sword took its ce.


    Once Apollo''s bokken collided with the ck mist, he felt a tremor pass through his body. His skin tore off in random locations, but mostly so around his arm.


    Before Apollo even blocked the attack, Willow had already swung her de from a different angle.


    By using all of his strength, Apollo was able to twist his bokken fast enough to defend it.


    But... likest time, it turned into a ck mist. As Apollo attempted to deal with it, Willow had already appeared somewhere else.


    Apollo simplyughed harder, despite his unfavorable scenario. He forced his body to move faster, overexerting his muscles and tearing open his skin.


    Willow aimed for various vital points with her attacks. Sometimes his heart, sometimes his neck. She would also asionally try to attack one of Apollo''s joints, namely his wrists.


    Apollo was able to block everything by the skin of his teeth, but he still suffered the aftereffects of each attack.


    The shockwaves.


    They rampaged through his body, just a step away from tearing him at the seams.


    Willow''s attacks didn''t use excessive force, but they were relentless. It was like Apollo had to fight off the raindrops in a storm.


    The only difference was that each seemingly harmless raindrop would kill him if itnded and would damage his body if it sshed near him.


    Apollo didn''t have eyes on the back of his head, so half of the time he couldn''t see where he was being attacked from. Purely relying on his instincts, he confidently struck out with his sword each time.


    Apollo felt as though he was fighting off a hurricane, dancing against its stubborn pull.


    By now, Apollo was caked in blood. His body had heated up tremendously, so hot it even caused difort for Willow. The blood even fell down from his face, entering his eyes and mouth.


    However, Apollo''s eyes were as wide as ever, while the blood could only intermittently interrupt hisughs.


    Apollo was already moving at a speed that stirred up violent gales of wind around him, but it wasn''t enough. He would be hurting Willow more by poking her with a feather then defending against the des of ck mist.


    Apollo knew this.


    He had to go faster... even faster.


    Willow didn''t notice it at first, but as time passed, she found Apollo reacted to her strikes faster. He was gradually able to directly meet her attack face to face, even after dealing with the sword made of ck mist.


    Apollo stood under the rain, dancing like a lunatic. But as foolish as it looked, not a single drop of rainnded on him.


    However, this did note without a cost. His tendons stretched to their limits, threatening to snap at any moment. His bones creaked dangerously, especially the shoulder bone that was damaged earlier by the mace.


    His body was still ravaged by the shockwaves from Willow''s strikes, but he was able to heal before they got to a dangerous range.


    Now, they were evenly matched, to a certain extent.


    A small pool of blood formed underneath Apollo''s feet, his own blood. His body was already noticeably skinnier than before.


    Soon, he would be running off fumes.


    Apollo decided to put everything on the line. Hisughs became raucous while his swings became even faster.


    Willow found herself unable to keep up. She even had to stop her attack a few times so that Apollo''s bokken didn''t take off her head.


    A gleam shed by Willow''s eyes.


    She decided to try something else. Her figure appeared a few meters away.


    Willow traced an arc in the air as though she was holding a paintbrush and wanted to scatter paint across the canvas.


    Then she appeared a few meters to the side, tracing another arc.


    Willow had released two shockwaves towards Apollo. Although they wouldn''t kill him, they would hurt him if he let them be.


    Apollo raised his bokken.


    At that moment, Willow appeared right in front of him, tracing a horizontal arc towards his neck.


    Apollo''s bokken twisted. However, Willow abruptly disappeared before even swinging.


    It was a feint.


    She appeared behind Apollo, already driving her sword towards his heart.


    Yet, Apollo seemed prepared for this. The only strange thing was... he didn''t try to block.


    Instead, his bokken shot out towards Willow''s heart.


    Willow could feel her mind speed up, churning out thoughts at unprecedented speeds.


    Time seemed to freeze.


    In just another moment, their hearts would be pierced by each other''s swords.


    Willow''s life shed before her eyes.


    She saw her memories pass by and she questioned what she wanted to aplish in her life.


    ...


    "Willow, Willow!"


    A boy with a head covered in bright white hair ran over to her. His irises were a bright silver color.


    He was wearing a matching white suit, quite fancy, but one that did not restrict his movement. Lined within the suit were golden engravings, making various patterns that vaguely resembled the ws of a beast.


    From his appearance, he was at most twelve. There was a wooden sword in his hand.


    As for Willow herself, she was also holding onto a wooden sword. Her age was roughly the same as the boy.


    Willow''s hair was already short before, but it was even more so in this memory. Instead of hazelnut, her irises were nearly ck. She wore ck rags over her body.


    "Ok! Just one more spar, alright?"

 Chapter 118 - Bird Filth

    The boy nodded.


    "Hehe, thanks, Willow!"


    He took on a stance, spreading his legs and raising his wooden sword in the air. It was clear the boy was far from an amateur despite his young age.


    Willow sighed, taking on a simr stance.


    "Seriously though, Vicar, we are going to bete for bed!"


    The sun let out a deep orange glow, itsst gift, before disappearing altogether.


    Vicar pouted.


    "I just have a really good feeling right now! I don''t want to lose it."


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "I''m ming it on you when our parents scold us!"


    Vicar giggled.


    "Of course! I will take full me!"


    The two were standing in Willow''s backyard. It was small, to say the least. Snow slowly fell from the sky, gently brushing by their faces every so often.


    A thinyer of snow covered the ground, almost like a small coat.


    Vicar dashed forward, scattering snow in the air behind him. His wooden sword drew an arc in the air, almost like a crescent moon.


    Willow''s wooden sword snapped out, blocking the attack. That was when Vicar''s wooden sword suddenly shifted trajectories,nding on Willow''s shoulder.


    A light tap echoed throughout the backyard.


    Willow raised both eyebrows in shock.


    "What? How did you attack twice so fast?"


    Vicar retracted his sword with augh.


    "Hehe, I had a feeling! Now that I''ve actually tested it out, I can confirm it works!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "You have to teach me!"


    Vicar gasped.


    "Eh? But we are alreadyte for bed! You said only one more spar."


    Willow pointed her wooden sword at Vicar.


    "That was then! Things have changed! We aren''t going back until I learn this as well!"


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "...But our parents said no more sparring overnight!"


    Willow smirked.


    "This is your fault! I won''t be able to sleep until I learn that technique as well! We will just break the rules one more time!"


    Sheughed.


    "It''s not like this is the first time!"


    Vicar smiled. He raised his sword enthusiastically.


    "Hehe, I guess you''re right! You remind me when the sunes up, I can never notice!"


    Willow rolled her eyes.


    "I''ve never noticed either! Once my mom wakes up, she will yell at us, that will be a good indicator!"


    Vicar smirked.


    "Hehe, you''re right!"


    With that, their wooden swords shed from when the sun set, all the way to when it rose.


    Willow and Vicar were heavily panting. Their arms trembled like a leaf in the wind. To them, their wooden swords were heavier than mountains.


    Yet, they still held them up.


    Willow took a few slow steps forward. Her hand traced the side of the wooden sword before snapping out.


    As for Vicar, his wooden sword traced a crescent moon before releasing a horizontal sh.


    Two cks rang out in the backyard.


    The wooden swords flew out of their hands, flying through the air. As for the both of them, they immediately copsed onto the floor, desperately trying to catch their breath.


    Willowughed.


    "Haha... I finally... did it."


    Vicar smiled.


    "That is... such a strange way... How did you do it?"


    Willow turned to face Vicar. She smirked.


    "It was a feeling, like you said."


    Vicar gave her a thumbs up, though his arm was trembling violently.


    Suddenly, their bodies tensed up.


    "WILLOW!..."


    Willow''s mother came out from the backyard. Unlike her daughter, her hair was long. However, they were pretty simr, all things considered.


    Their clothes were essentially the same, just different sizes to fit their different statures. Their hair color and eye color were both the exact same, as were their smooth facial features.


    Willow''s mother sighed with frustration. She held her forehead with one hand while she furrowed her brows.


    "Why did you force Vicar to spar with you overnight? His parents are going to have a word with me again!"


    Vicar smiled awkwardly.


    "Hehe... it''s sorta my fault. I kinda forced her to spar with me."


    He proceeded to stick out the tip of his tongue, clearly not regretting his actions.


    Willow''s mother sighed.


    "You kids..."


    Once they were able to move again, they went back to their respective houses. Then, they were scolded by their respective parents.


    ...Unfortunately, that was thest time they saw each other.


    Their parents used to be close friends, simr to the rtionship that their children had. However, one day, things started to change.


    For whatever reason, something else suddenly became the most important thing.


    As shown by their clothing, Vicar''s family was of a much higher standing than Willow. In fact, they were nearly as far apart as you could get.


    At first, Willow found it strange that Vicar had not visited for multiple days. As such, she wanted to visit him.


    One day, Willow walked up to her mother.


    "Mom, I''m going to go visit Vicar!"


    Her mother was in the middle of washing dishes. Once she heard what her daughter had said, she froze.


    "...Dear. It''s best that you don''t go."


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "What do you mean mother? It''s just one visit! We have done this many times in the past!"


    Her mother slowly shook her head.


    "Things have changed."


    She reached out a hand and gently ced it on Willow''s shoulder.


    "I am sorry, my dear. But you must forget about Vicar."


    Willow was in a state of shock.


    "What? Why are you saying this, mother?"


    A bitter smile appeared on her mother''s face.


    "It isplicated... so veryplicated. We are no longer associated with Vicar''s family, ok?"


    Although confused, Willow nodded.


    "Ok..."


    She spent a few more days by herself.


    It was boring.


    Willow felt lonely...


    So incredibly lonely...


    Eventually, she just couldn''t take it. Willow snuck out in an attempt to meet Vicar.


    She soon saw Vicar''s butler, who she was familiar with.


    But there was a disdainful expression on his face.


    "Stay back, bird filth!"


    ...


    Willow''s eyes widened. She looked at the wooden swording straight for her heart.


    "That''s right, I''m not a human."

 Chapter 119 - Unknown Ruthlessness

    ck wings suddenly exploded out from Willow''s back, the wings of a raven. She suddenly gained a burst of agility and jerked to the side.


    Apollo''s bokken brushed by her dress, forming a small tear.


    Willow had given up on her attack altogether, dashing a few meters away. Once she feltfortable with the distance between them, she began panting.


    Her mind was in pain. She could feel parts of her brain that had been dormant for years, wake up. This part of her brain had shrunk considerably, as its responsibility was controlling wings.


    Willow had been wingless until now. As such, she was disoriented by suddenly gaining wings that were nearly asrge as her. She could feel a strange tingling sensation spreading across them.


    A few drops of amniotic fluid fell from her wings to the floor.


    Apollo turned around to face Willow. His head tilted to the side while trembling ever so slightly.


    "All you do... is run. I am tired of running."


    Willow''s panting gradually calmed down. She looked Apollo right in his crazy eyes.


    "Then I shall not run anymore. How does that sound?"


    Apolloughed a little too loudly.


    "That sounds better..."


    Apollo and Willow dashed towards each other. Swinging their swords at one another.


    They shed, then Willow disappeared.


    She reappeared behind Apollo,unching a flurry of strikes towards him.


    As for Apollo, he was being overwhelmed. Although his speed was still increasing, it was nowhere near what he needed.


    For Willow, speed was only a small benefit the wings provided. In reality, the increase in agility was countless times more meaningful. She was able to go full speed in one direction, then suddenly stop before going full speed in another.


    Her shes became even more unpredictable, appearing from every angle. If before she was a rainstorm, now she was a hurricane.


    The jet-ck sword traced an arc towards Apollo''s stomach. He couldn''t block it.


    There was ayer of bone around his stomach, but it immediately shattered. The shockwave of the vibrating sword rampaged unimpeded within Apollo''s body. His eyes rolled back into his head.


    Willow retracted her de. By then, Apollo had fallen to his knees. However, he wasn''t the type of person to give up so easily.


    He stood up.


    Willow sighed. She mumbled under her breath.


    "Sorry..."


    Her ck sword shed, cutting into his shoulder. It was the shoulder that had been previously smashed by the mace. There was no longer a boneyer protecting it.


    As such, a sharp crack rang out. His shoulder bone split into pieces. He could no longer move that arm.


    Apollo fell to one knee. He was stillughing, despite his terrible situation. The arm holding his bokken was still fine, so he raised it.


    Then, it fell to the ground.


    Willow had cut it off.


    Apollo mmed his head onto the floor. The sudden loss of his arm was a big blow to his mind. He could no longer feel the bokken in his hand.


    Apollo onlyughed harder, while his eyes widened like he had no eyelids.


    Willow crouched down and gently patted his head.


    "I''m really sorry."


    Apollo did not respond, unless you countughing as a response.


    Willow gently hugged Apollo.


    "I''m sorry for taking your arms, but I will help you with anything you need in the future, ok?"


    Apollo violently squirmed in Willow''s embrace. In particr, he was scraping something on his belt against the floor.


    Willow wiped away some of the blood on Apollo''s face.


    "We can just take it easy from now on. There is no longer a reason to fight. You can calm down now."


    Apollo did not listen to Willow''s advice. He kept scraping his belt against the floor.


    As for Willow, she looked at Apollo with a bit of guilt, but she did not regret her actions.


    She realized what she wanted more than anything. A reason to live her life.


    The time she spent with Apollo was short, but it made her feel something she had forgotten long ago.


    Willow came to realize that there wasn''t going to be an easy way to fix her rtionship with Apollo. She wasn''t exactly sure why Apollo held so much hatred towards her, but she understood that she had hurt him.


    Part of her still thought that she took it too far by taking off his arms. However, Willow really didn''t know what else she could do.


    She wanted to repair the rtionship slowly, but Apollo wouldn''t give her the chance to do so. It seemed as if he would fight her as long as he had the ability to do so.


    Therefore, Willow took that ability away.


    She knew full well that taking his arms away would be a horrible thing to do. The inconvenience would be massive.


    Willow gently caressed Apollo''s back.


    "I may have taken your arms. However, from this point forth, I shall be your arms."


    Willow wasn''t saying empty words. She truly intended to take care of Apollo. This extended from the smallest little thing, like picking up a rock Apollo wanted to have a closer look at, to the more challenging parts, like using the toilet.


    However, Apollo was having none of it. He continued struggling until the very end, mming his body around on the ground.


    Willow didn''t seem to mind this fact. Sheid her head on Apollo''s back, already imagining what their future life would be like.


    Willow was a cruel person.


    That might''ve been hard to see, given how she treated Apollo previously, but she was still an assassin. She mercilessly killed more people than she could possibly count.


    Innocent or guilty, it didn''t matter to her.


    Willow herself didn''t truly realize how cruel she had truly be.


    In fact, she thought what she was doing to Apollo wasn''t all that bad, since she would care for him.


    However, for all intents and purposes, she did something ruthless. It was a selfish act, one that did not consider the feelings of the other.


    ....But Apollo would not fall here.

 Chapter 120 - Further Evolution

    Apollo continued to m his waist against the ground while Willow was embracing him.


    What exactly was he trying to aplish?


    He mmed his waist down onest time. A quiet tearing sound rang out.


    Apollo slowly dragged himself backwards with just his feet, carrying Willow with him.


    As for Willow, she was none the wiser. She was still lost in her daydreams.


    Eventually, Apollo stopped. He turned his head to the side, eyes on a small ck pouch.


    It was the pouch with the food pellets inside. The majority of the fifty food pellets still hadn''t been consumed.


    Apollo couldn''t use his arms, so he had little choice. He picked up the pouch with his mouth and directly swallowed it whole.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "What are you doing, Apollo?"


    Willow saw his actions but did not understand what Apollo was going to aplish. Perhaps if she did, Apollo would have lost the battle right here.


    Instead, Apollo abruptly stood up, throwing Willow off of him.


    Once the pouch reached his stomach, it disintegrated without being able to put up an ounce of resistance. The food pellets all boiled within his stomach acid, rapidly bing the nutrients he needed.


    His body rapidly regenerated, releasing intense waves of heat. His bones mended themselves while his flesh regrew. In a matter of seconds, flesh and bones twisted to Apollo an entirely new arm.


    There had been little skin on Apollo''s body. After all, most of it was torn off by the shockwaves he suffered.


    However, what little skin that remained on his body decayed, falling off of him. New skin began to emerge from his body, appearing eerily smooth. The skin was far more pale than his old skin and even shone with a bright luster.


    Apollo had evolved once again.


    While Willow was still in shock, Apollo dashed for his bokken.


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    Apollo''s bokken was still being held by his previous arm, despite being detached. Apollo used both hands in an attempt to pry it open.


    However, he only broke off the tip of his old fingers. The hand still firmly grasped his bokken.


    Willow dashed over with a cold expression on her face. Her jet-ck sword was raised.


    Apollo giggled.


    There was no time.


    He picked up the base of his arm and swung it towards Willow. The des shed. Willow took a step back while the old arm in Apollo''s hand recoiled violently.


    However, the bokken was still firmly within the old arm''s grasp.


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    Someone could even fight this way?


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    "I will only die after taking you with me first!"


    Sinisterughter seeped out of Apollo''s lips. He raised his old arm in the air, letting it il around lifelessly.


    He dashed forward, swinging his new strange weapon at Willow.


    As for Willow, a small frown appeared on her face.


    How did he heal so easily?


    She tossed away that thought quickly. There was no time to wonder.


    Apollo swung his arm, but his strike was rtively slow because of the fact he was essentially swinging the world''s strangest il.


    Willow dodged it easily before thrusting her sword towards Apollo''s head.


    As for Apollo, he did not appear to be concerned. He was able to wield his old arm with a strange deftness that made one wonder if he had practiced fighting like this before.


    Willow''s sword collided with the bokken, hitting just above the base of its hilt. A rippling shockwave spread out, tearing off what little skin the old arm had left.


    However, Apollo himself was fine. The shockwave passed through him, but did not tear his skin.


    Willow disappeared before materializing a few meters backward. Her brows furrowed.


    Why wasn''t he taking damage anymore?


    Willow felt frustrated. If this wasn''t some crazy coincidence, then this fight mayst far too long.


    Her fists clenched.


    She was so close!


    Just a little bit more and she could''ve reconciled with Apollo.


    All because she was holding herself back.


    A fierce light shed in Willow''s eyes.


    There could no longer be any more mercy, else Apollo would slip out of her grasp once again.


    The pitch ck sword let out a faint humming sound and appeared blurry.


    Willow''s wings rose high in the air before mming down, violently blowing wind throughout the halls.


    Apollo raised his old arm, letting it droop down like a limp noodle.


    Willow''s de snapped forth, while Apollo blocked it with his strange ''il''. Willow''s strike let out a terrifying shockwave that was directly visible from the distortions in the air.


    Yet, it seemed to simply pass by Apollo. Almost like they were friends greeting each other as they passed by on their way to work.


    Once the shockwave hit the ground, the stone shattered while a spiderweb crack formed.


    Willow continued swinging while Apollo continued blocking.


    Countless shes happened within just a second.


    The walls and floor around them cracked dangerously, threatening to give way at any moment.


    Just as Willow thought, this was a fight that was going nowhere.


    Dust began falling from the ceiling, but it was blown away by the stray shockwaves before it could even get close.


    Willow''s attacks had be noticeably more vicious. She constantly disappeared and reappeared, but used that in conjunction with her wings.


    Countless swords of ck mist had fallen on Apollo, all the while Willow''s jet-ck sword woulde for him at a different angle.


    Willow used her wings to shift her trajectory during her attack, making it even more elusive than it already was.


    However, Apollo was able to block every single strike. His body had heated up tremendously, to the point it was even causing Willow difort. All of his muscles tightened while thin red scars snaked across his arms.


    He was moving the fastest he ever had been. Unlike the clumsiness one would expect from wielding an arm as a weapon, Apollo was able to block every strike.


    He had a very strong understanding of recoil. Every time the bokken was struck, the arm would snap in a certain direction. He used that fact to his advantage in blocking.


    However, the speed of his attacks slowed down because of this strange weapon, thus he was unable to hit Willow.


    At this rate, Apollo would lose.

 Chapter 121 - Caught In A Flood

    Apollo continued swinging his old arm that was holding onto his bokken. As for Willow, she continued raining down strikes on Apollo without mercy.


    Apollo felt like he was caught in a flood. The water reached his knees, greatly hampering his movement. On top of that, there was a hurricaneing right for him.


    His old arm began to wane.


    Suddenly, a snap rang out.


    Apollo''s old arm directly snapped from the elbow, leaving Apollo with a chunk of flesh. Willow capitalized on this opportunity, thrusting her sword straight towards Apollo''s face.


    The corner of Apollo''s lips turned up. Hisughs continued as though they would never stop.


    Cracking sounds came from Apollo''s neck as he forcefully twisted it. Willow''s pitch ck sword passed perhaps only a millimeter away from his left eye.


    As it did so, Apollo''s eye bulged and reddened considerably. The shockwaves wreaked havoc on his eye.


    Then, it burst.


    Blood sshed, leaving only an empty socket.


    Apollo''sughter continued, simply because it couldn''t be stopped. He let go of the chunk of flesh before grabbing his old forearm.


    Despite all the damage his old arm took, the bokken was still firmly in his old hand.


    Apollo swung his old forearm towards Willow. It was much faster than his previous strikes.


    Willow''s figure disappeared before he couldnd a hit. She immediately reappeared behind him, already halfway through a strike.


    However, Apollo''s old forearm snapped backward, almost like he was expecting the strike.


    Like this, they continued.


    Apollo''s swings were noticeably faster now that he was holding his forearm to swing. He even slipped in a few attacks, however, Willow dodged them either with her wings or by vanishing altogether.


    Although all that remained of his left eye was a bloody hole, his vision didn''t seem to be impacted. It was almost like he never relied on his vision in the first ce.


    To Willow''s surprise, Apollo was still speeding up. She didn''t understand how this was physically possible for Apollo to aplish.


    As if it was matching his speed, the heat of his body rose as well. The number of food pellets he had eaten was by no means small. For the average person, it was nearly enough for an entire year''s worth of food.


    And Apollo downed it all in one moment.


    Granted, the conversion from food to energy wasn''t efficient. This much was evident from the heat he was producing, while further hampered by the energy required to have such a strong stomach acid.


    Not to mention the fact he literally regrew an entire arm and grew new durable skin in the process.


    Still, the amount of energy was too much for him. He could feel his body getting ufortable like it wanted him to exert his muscles more.


    Yet, he was already tearing his muscles at the seams. His current muscles were actually tearing and regrowing with every passing second at an astonishing rate.


    Apollo gradually stabilized the tide of the battle, no longer being pressured by Willow.


    For every strike Willow threw at him, he was able to throw one back.


    But Willow was simply too good at dodging while any attack that came for Apollo was deflected.


    In the end, neither of them had been severely harmed.


    Unfortunately, the same couldn''t be said for the poor wall. It was hard to see a section that was still not cracked, even from the ceiling.


    The ground was getting unstable.


    Willow''s eyes narrowed. She had to pick up the pace, else Apollo would begin to overwhelm her.


    Her figure vanished before materializing a few meters away.


    She took on a strange stance, almost like she was dancing. Her jet ck sword traced a slow arc in the air.


    Apollo did not wait for Willow toplete whatever she was doing. He pounced forward, swinging with his old forearm.


    Willow did not seem to make an effort to dodge.


    Apollo''s bokken cut through her waist easily.


    But there was no blood.


    Like a piece of paper, Willow''s apparent body was torn before disappearing into a ck mist.


    Apollo''s head wildly spun around, looking for a trace of Willow.


    That was when two blurry figures appeared at his front and behind him. They both vaguely resembled Willow, but didn''t have any facial features.


    They almost appeared to be vibrating, but at the same time weren''t.


    They were both in the strange stance Willow was in earlier. For some reason, they slowly traced the arc of a crescent moon.


    Once the blurry figures finished, they abruptly burst forward, dashing towards Apollo. They left a trail of ck mist in their wake.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    "Two of you just means I can kill you twice!"


    He let out maniacalughter, as though he found his remark to be extremely funny.


    The figures didn''t seem to hear him. They dashed forward emotionlessly.


    The one behind him traced a circle with her jet-ck sword while the other thrust forward with her pitch ck sword as though it was a spear.


    An eerie wind stirred.


    Before the two even got close, Apollo felt a violent, twisting sensation. His arms were pressed to his sides while his legs mmed against each other as though there was a strong maic pull.


    The two des wouldnd on Apollo in just another moment.


    Death loomed above Apollo''s head. A wild smile was on his face as he tried to resist the strange force acting on his body. However, his body wouldn''t listen to him.


    Apollo looked upwards. He could almost see the sword of Damocles falling, about to pierce his soul.


    That was when Apollo had a strange feeling. It was almost like it was telling him something, trying to show him a path forward.


    His instincts told him to just go through with it.


    And he never resisted against what his instincts told him to do.


    Apollo no longer fought against the twisting force.


    The two des were just centimeters away from him.


    Then, Apollo''s body shed.

 Chapter 122 - A Loophole

    Apollo''s body whipped around, creating a tearing sound in the air as though it was paper. His old forearm tore through the air, knocking aside both of the ck des.


    The fingers of his old hand, as well as the wrist, directly exploded from the impact, sending his bokken high up into the air.


    Apollo dashed over to it, firmly grasping it in his hand.


    However, he wasn''t really focusing on the blurry figures. As such, the next thing he knew, there was a ck sword right in front of his face and one right behind his back.


    Apollo violently twisted his body.


    The ck swording for his face directly pierced through his eye that was just healed, sshing blood across the walls. As for the oneing for his back, it pierced through the side of his ribcage, scattering flesh and a few bone fragments across the floor.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, directly tearing through the figure in front of him. However, that figure simply distorted before returning to normal.


    The figures backed off for a few meters.


    Apollo''s eye and shattered rib cage rapidly healed. In just a few moments, he was more or less brand new.


    Apollo''s wide eyes shifted from one blurry figure to another.


    How did these things work?


    The one in front of him didn''t take any damage despite being cut through... so what about the other one?


    Apollo dashed to the blurry figure he hadn''t attacked before. The blurry figure responded by raising the ck sword and dashing forwards.


    The figure''s wings pped, erratically shifting the direction it traveled. Once in range, she traced a diagonal arc aimed towards Apollo''s torso.


    Apollo jerked his body to the side. However, he was still hit in the shoulder.


    With a smash, theyer of bones on his shoulder immediately shattered. Countless dangerous cracks formed on the nearby bones as well.


    Then, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    An audible tearing sound filled the air, slicing right through the figure. However, likest time, the figure was only distorted.


    Apollo twisted his neck to the side.


    He was missing something. He just didn''t know what.


    The blurry figure backed off after he attacked it. The other blurry figure hadn''t been waiting all this time.


    In fact, she was already right behind him.


    The figure''s jet-ck sword drew a circle. Apollo''s bokken shot backward, reaching the sword behind him just in time.


    He was given a brief window of opportunity while the attack was parried. Using it, he shed through the figure once more. However, like every other time, it only distorted.


    The blurry figure did not back off. Instead, it continued to relentlessly sh Apollo, forcing him to rapidly twist his bokken to block.


    He found a few opportunities to attack in between, but the blurry figure did not even bother blocking, instead it let the attack through her. In fact, every time he attacked, he would find himself losing the advantage, as it would essentially be a waste of time he could be using to block.


    Yet, it still wasn''t terribly hard for Apollo to keep up.


    That was when he remembered that the other figure existed. But it was simply standing there from a decent distance away, watching.


    Apollo''s frenzied state cooled a little. His eyes narrowed slightly. They were still widened far beyond normal standards, but they showed Apollo had calmed down, albeit only a little.


    Why was the other figure simply standing there?


    ...Not to mention, why did the figures sometimes retreat if they were impervious to damage?


    So long as the figures continued fighting together without restraint, Apollo would fall fairly quickly.


    But they weren''t.


    Something was contradicting itself.


    Or more precisely, Apollo was missing something.


    Sinisterughter seeped through Apollo''s teeth. His strikes suddenly sped up.


    Instead of attempting to block, he simply bashed the blurry figure''s de over and over. Slowly but surely, the blurry figure was losing control of its attacks.


    The figure behind him suddenly charged forwards while the other figure retreated.


    The corners of Apollo''s lips turned up.


    He ran after the blurry figure that retreated. He didn''t bother with the blurry figure behind him.


    The blurry figure he was chasing was very fast and used its wings to go even faster. However, Apollo was elerating faster than it could.


    In the span of twenty seconds, Apollo was just a meter away from the retreating figure. That was when the blurry figure behind him vanished.


    It reappeared right behind Apollo, thrusting its sword towards his heart.


    But Apollo didn''t even bother blocking.


    He swung his bokken towards the figure in front of him, pressing his thumb against the hilt.


    A crackle of thunder rang out, along with a violent humming sound.


    Apollo shed the figure in front of him, like he always had been. However, instead of simply distorting, blood sprayed out like a fountain.


    Willow was hurt badly.


    However, Apollo paid a price for that attack.


    The humming sword had pierced through his back, shattering his spine and ribcage, as well as mangling his organs.


    The blurry figure behind him disappeared while the one in front of him lost its blurriness, revealing Willow.


    Willow fell to the ground, violently coughing up blood before fainting.


    As for Apollo, he fell to the floor like a rock.


    Then, stopped moving.


    He had lost consciousness as well.


    ...


    Screams of pure terror rang out from the top of the walls.


    Some came from people being thrown off and falling for fifty meters. Others were slowly crushed, leaving only their head intact.


    The people responsible were no secret. La and Hex.


    They didn''t take into consideration that things could''ve been dealt with in a more quiet fashion. As such, they ended up waking nearly every guard that resided within the walls.


    This didn''t concern the two. They simply dealt with each and every guard that passed by.


    After many lives were lost, they saw each other in the distance.


    La waved her hand, as did Hex.


    At that moment, they felt a strange pressure weighing down on them.

 Chapter 123 - Me Win

    La giggled when she saw Hex. She called out, not bothering to lower her voice.


    "Hi, friend! I''m over here. Do you see me?"


    Hex smiled softly. He called out as well, though it wasn''t unnecessarily loud.


    "Me see you! La is here!"


    The two of them jogged over to each other.


    However, their reunion was interrupted.


    "Who dares defile the walls of the Obrad Empire?"


    There was a man d in ck armor, blending in with the dark night.


    There was a small pir that held a staircase underneath. The man was standing on top of this pir, holding a massive hammer.


    He was only roughly two meters high, but his presence was overbearing. Not even a small section of his skin was revealed. The armor covered him up thoroughly.


    There were various small engravings made in his armor, only visible if one looked closely. They appeared to consist of skulls and bones, randomly strewn about. However, despite its seemingly random cement, there was a strange beauty to it.


    His helmet had four rtively small horns poking out of it. They resembled his strength ssification, four-horns.


    There was a cape on his back. However, it was heavily torn, leaving only a couple dozen centimeters to flutter with the wind. It almost looked like a rag that was casually put on.


    Within this man''s hand was a massive hammer. While he himself was two meters, his hammer was three meters long, almost dwarfing him.


    The head of the hammer was ck and over double the size of the man''s head. One end had onerge curved spike at the end that resembled a horn. The other end was simply a t surface.


    The handle of the hammer was sleek. Although it was ck, it was a lighter shadepared to the head of the hammer and the man''s armor.


    At the bottom of the hammer was a small ck metal halberd. If it wasn''t for the head of the hammer, this weapon could be used as a spear.


    Befitting itsrge size, the hammer was incredibly heavy. Yet, the man wielded it as though it were a piece of stic. He held one end while the handle rested on his shoulder.


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Hi!~"


    Her hand waved in the air.


    "Do you want to be friends?"


    La''s beady eyes widened, glimmering under the moonlight.


    The man d in ck armor slowly turned towards La.


    "We can be friends if you surrender yourself and willingly ept your execution."


    La blinked a few times.


    "Eh? What does that mean?"


    The man, d in ck armor, paused.


    He was a little dumbfounded by this girl''s strange personality.


    "The only way I shall reconcile with you..."


    The man''s tone suddenly dropped.


    "...is if one of us dies."


    He pulled his massive hammer off of his shoulder, letting it m into the ground.


    A loud crash resounded through the dark sky, while several stone fragments scattered in the air.


    The hammer sunk into the ground, forming hairline cracks within the floor.


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Me think big human is not happy."


    La pouted.


    "Aw... friend not happy."


    She raised both arms in the air. Her pout immediately became a bright smile.


    "If we y, friend will be happy!"


    Hex let out an affirming and light grunt.


    "Ah! Big human will be happy if y!"


    The man d in ck armor was silent. He was getting ticked off.


    "My name is not ''friend'' or ''big human''. Heed my words, ignorant children."


    His hand clenched tightly against the handle of his hammer.


    "Noctis, one of the twenty-five giants in Obrad Empire, will strike you down."


    Noctis dashed towards La. He hardly made a sound, almost as though he was a ghost.


    La smiled innocently. She waspletely oblivious to the anger in Noctis'' words. She simply believed he wanted to y.


    "Hehe, if friend wants to y, we will y!"


    She pulled back her hand, forming a w. The muscles in her shoulders tensed, slowly bringing her w forward.


    Then, her arms tensed before traveling to the fingers.


    Noctis had already reached attacking range by now.


    He held his hammer with both hands, sending it straight towards La.


    As for La, her w snapped out.


    A deep thundering boom resounded throughout the sky.


    La stumbled a few steps backward while Noctis was essentially running backward. His hammer had flown back, just barely restrained by his hands.


    With how he was walking, it appeared as though the hammer was a rope, forcefully pulling Noctis along like a piece of baggage. He nearly fell over.


    La pouted and looked at her knuckles. If one looked closely, one would see a slight pink tint.


    "Mm... that itches! Be more careful, friend!"


    Although it wasn''t visible from the outside, Noctis narrowed his eyes.


    This girl... was strong.


    Noctis caught something ck flitting in the corner of his eye. Without inspecting further, his hammer mmed down behind him.


    A boom echoed throughout the night sky.


    Dust and debris flew into the air. Surprisingly, the wall held itself together. To be able to withstand so much force, it must''ve been built meticulously and with high-grade materials.


    When the dust cleared, Noctis saw a shadow. He always had a shadow, though it was faint since the moonlight wasn''t particrly strong.


    But now it was far darker, like the sun was brightly shining down upon him.


    ...and the shadow had a smile.


    Since when did shadows smile?


    Under Noctis'' watch, his shadow began distorting. His arms became thin while his hands grew into ws with exaggerated size.


    Suddenly, the shadow emerged from the ground. It swiped at Noctis with its giant ws.


    Noctis responded by swinging with his hammer, colliding with the shadow''s hands. He retreated a few steps backward, trying to create some distance.


    However, the shadow did not get any farther.


    Part of it was still connected with Noctis'' shadow.


    Hex sighed.


    "Me win.. Nobody else."

 Chapter 124 - How Did Things Come To This Already?

    After hearing Hex dere his victory so confidently, La puffed up her cheeks with dissatisfaction.


    "No! I will win, I always win!"


    She charged over to Noctis, iling her balled fists in the air.


    As for Noctis, he was trying to think of a way to deal with this strange shadow attached to him.


    Beads of sweat formed on his forehead once he heard La approaching as well.


    "...So it hase to this."


    The strange pressure released from Noctis died down, bing as gentle as a feather.


    Then, it exploded out with renewed intensity. It nearly resembled the gaze of a dragon.


    Small ck mes began flickering above Noctis'' armor and hammer. They blended in with the color of his apparel, making it a little hard to notice.


    Suddenly, a wave of ck mes burst from Noctis.


    The shadow screeched. It disconnected itself from Noctis before retreating back into Hex''s shadow while batting away the mes.


    As for La, she let out a yelp. Her eyes closed while her arms blocked her face.


    The wave of ck mes passed through La, but didn''t seem to aplish anything. A few tiny fires had appeared on La''s clothes, but they were put out the next second.


    La raised her fists in the air and shook them.


    "That was weird! I don''t like it!"


    Hex pouted.


    "Why you hurt ckie!"


    The shadow, or ckie, partially materialized above the ground with a small frown. Hex used his sleeve to give ckie some pats on the head.


    "There, there ckie. Me fight big human now!"


    ckie gave a small nod before merging with Hex''s shadow. An eerie smile formed in his shadow.


    As for Noctis, he no longer bothered talking. Although he did not believe he would lose, dropping his guard was not a pastime for him.


    Noctis decided to go for Hex, since La probably wasn''t going down any time soon.


    His head turned to his new target. Then, he charged forwards like a ghost.


    Hex was not intimidated. In fact, he also charged forwards, raising his sleeve. A dark green mist coalesced above it.


    Noctis felt some apprehension, but swung his hammer anyway, aiming the t part at Hex.


    A deep boom resounded along with a muted explosion.


    As they collided, a giant wave of dark green energy exploded out from Hex''s sleeve, while a small wave of ck me exploded from the hammer.


    Noctis stumbled a few steps backward, but kept a steady grip on his mace.


    As for Hex, he flew backward, like a feather that was blown away. Uponnding, Hex pouted.


    "Owie, ow, ow, ow!"


    Hex vigorously shook his sleeve that hit with the hammer.


    "It hurts! So painful!"


    Noctis'' eyes narrowed. It took him a second to realize, but there was a hairline crack in his hammer.


    This was the first time his weapon was damaged in a fight.


    La saw Hex and Noctis fighting with a pout. She assumed that they began ying without her.


    With a yowl, she pounced forward. Her hands were outstretched and took on the position of a w.


    Noctis immediately noticed as he had been paying attention to La, despite not directly looking at her. He promptly spun around, counterattacking with the t side of his hammer.


    The hammer threaded the needle between La''s arms, then hit her in the chin. A small smile appeared on Noctis'' face.


    But in the next moment, it became a frown.


    La wrapped her arms around the head of the hammer. Although she was struck by the hammer, it hardly seemed to affect her.


    Noctis clenched the hilt tightly. ck mes emitted from the hammer, raging on violently.


    ...But they didn''t do anything to La.


    Noctis then tried to swing his mace around in an attempt to fling La off. To his surprise, it felt heavy to him, making his movements sluggish.


    As for La, she simply giggled.


    "Wah!~"


    Noctis mmed the hammer on the floor in front of him, then raised it up to m it on the floor behind him.


    However, La stubbornly remained like a cat that refused to leave a nket.


    Noctis cursed under his breath. He was at a loss.


    He never considered that someone could fight like this.


    As for Hex, a dark green mist circted around him, almost like a tornado. He dashed forward, with his arms spread out. The dark green mist coalesced intorge opaque ws that resembled ckie''s ws.


    Noctis turned his head to Hex. While one hand was swinging the hammer around, he sent a punch towards Hex with the other.


    A faint glow emitted from Hex''s ws while a violent torrent of ck me gathered around Noctis'' fist.


    Another explosion rang out.


    A shockwave of dark green mist and ck me shot out from the point of impact, melting the surfaceyer of stone.


    Hex''s ws shattered, but he used the recoil to fly out of range. As for Noctis, he slid a meter or so backward, but was rtively unharmed.


    Unfortunately, another hairline crack appeared in his armor, right above the knuckle.


    Before Noctis could ruminate on it, La scaled down the hammer. Her legs wrapped around the handle while she swung her ws at Noctis.


    There was a cheeky smile on her face.


    "Don''t forget about me!"


    La''s first strikended squarely on Noctis'' shoulder, letting out a metallic ng. Noctis grimaced while keeping a tight hold on his hammer.


    La was currently attached to his hammer. As such, once she hit his shoulder, he was shoved backward, while La also recoiled backward. However, since La was attached to the hammer, Noctis had to suffer the full recoil force if he wanted to keep the hammer in his hand.


    La raised her other w and swiped down again, but this time Noctis had the time to respond with his fist.


    A deep bang resounded throughout the air, covering up the light clink that rang out.


    A small frown emerged on Noctis'' face.


    "This is unfortunate..."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "How did thingse to this already?"

 Chapter 125 - Uncanny Giggling

    Noctis'' arms were strained heavily as he refused to let go of his weapon. As for his fist, a few fragments of armor fell off.


    Yet, La waspletely fine. A small smirk appeared on her face.


    "Hehe, looks like I''m going to win again!"


    Noctis closed his eyes. He mumbled to himself.


    "To think I have grown so ipetent that I can no longer handle two intruders."


    The pressure he emitted abruptly died down.


    "Forgive me, Yzan."


    Suddenly, a dragon''s roar resounded, causing the air to tremble.


    Violent ck mes burst out from Noctis'' body.


    La spat and batted the ck mes away.


    "Ew, ew, ew!"


    She jumped off, all the while batting away the few ck mes that remained on her.


    Noctis'' armor could no longer be seen. Instead, it waspletely covered in ck mes. The ck mes flickered, taking on a rough shape.


    In ce of Noctis'' head was the head of a dragon, created by ck mes and bright red eyes. Two draconic ck wings, simrly made of ck mes, emerged from his back.


    The dragon head had a gaping maw, revealing a dark void from within.


    As for his hammer, the ck mes wrapped itself around it. The curved spike of his hammer grew in length.


    The hammer morphed into a massive scytheposed of dense ck mes.


    There was a sudden increase in pressure. It was akin to being at the bottom of the ocean. La felt ufortable, iling her limbs around.


    "Mmm!"


    The dragonposed of ck mes stood still for a few moments.


    Then, he dashed towards Hex, without making a single sound.


    Noctis, or what was left of him, held the scythe with both hands. He shed forwards, emitting a shockwave of ck me.


    Hex held his sleeves in front of him. There was a small frown on his face.


    "Big human be big dragon!"


    Purple mist coalesced in front of his sleeves. Right before the scythe reached him, the purple mist pulsated.


    Then, exploded.


    A massive cloud of purple energy emanated from Hex''s sleeves. The shockwave of ck mes immediately dispersed. Violent gales of wind stirred up, pushed along by the overwhelming force from Hex''s attack.


    As for draconic Noctis, he slid back.


    But only by a few centimeters.


    The ck mes he wasposed of flickered wildly under the force, like a wavering candle. However, his red eyes shone with determination.


    The purple energy continued to emanate from Hex''s sleeves. The wind generated made his clothes p around violently.


    Draconic Noctis pushed against the purple energy. He was slower than a snail, but was able to take a step forward.


    Then...


    He took another step forward.


    Hex furrowed his brows.


    "Me think this is bad!"


    The purple energy suddenly cut off. A dense purple ball coalesced in front of Hex before exploding.


    Hex was thrown backwards while Draconic Noctis was thrown off his feet, flying back a few meters or so. However, Draconic Noctis did not fall on the ground. His wingsposed of ck mes pped, keeping him up in the air.


    Hexnded on the ground with a tap. He hummed.


    "...Me think flying will be annoying."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Wah, I wanna fly too!"


    Draconic Noctis threw a nce at La before turning to Hex. Even with his new form, he doubted La would go down quickly. On the other hand, Hex seemed to be a mage.


    He did not understand what element Hex''s spells were in, but what he did know was that most mages had weak bodies.


    Draconic Noctis'' ck wings pped silently, causing him to dash forward like a phantom. He was countless times faster thanst time, giving Hex little time to react.


    Hex attempted to coalesce more mist above his sleeves, but a scythe made of ck mes was already descending upon him.


    The sound of crackling mes was deafening.


    Hex was knocked backward. A soft sizzling came from the newly formed small ck mark on his face.


    Hexnded on the ground with his back. The air was knocked out of him.


    After a second, Hex stood up with a pout.


    He rubbed the ck mark on his face with his sleeve.


    "Me no like! It hurts!"


    Draconic Noctis hardly waited another second before dashing forwards again.


    Hex narrowed his eyes.


    "ckie!"


    His shadow suddenly shrunk before disappearing altogether. The ck shadow wrapped itself around Hex''s legs, before traveling all the way up to his hood.


    His clothes rapidly shifted from blue to dark purple, nearly bing ck. Two small bright purple horns materialized on top of Hex''s hood.


    Hex''s face was obscured by the shadow. Tworge eyes along with a smile reced it. The features glowed with a light blue.


    Draconic Noctis was not perturbed by the sudden change. His scythe whipped towards Hex once more.


    But... the results were a little different.


    Right before the scythe made contact, Hex''s figure vanished.


    An uncanny giggle filled the air.


    Draconic Noctis turned around to see Hex floating high up in the air. He immediately dashed forwards, swinging his scythe.


    Yet, likest time, Hex vanished right before his scythe hit.


    Hex reappeared a few meters higher. Likest time, he simply hovered there with a strange giggle.


    Draconic Noctis furrowed his brows.


    There had to be a limit on how much Hex could do that, right?


    Determined to see this battle through, Draconic Noctis continued chasing after Hex. He was ready to fight a war of attrition.


    Draconic Noctis shed his scythe towards Hex, while Hex vanished before materializing a few meters higher.


    Hex began to giggle a little louder.


    The two continued on with their cat and mouse chase. However, it was not clear who exactly was taking on the role of the cat.


    After they had reached quite high in the air. Hex would also appear downwards. His reappearances seemedpletely random.


    It was at this moment, Draconic Noctis wondered.


    Why wasn''t Hex fighting back?


    Well, Hex was.


    Draconic Noctis just couldn''t see it.

 Chapter 126 - How Is This Possible?

    Hex reappeared in the middle of the sky.


    Like Draconic Noctis always had, he chased after him with his scythe raised. This was nothing new, but he felt sometimes strange this time.


    The faintly glowing blue smile on Hex''s face grew.


    "Big dragon should watch step."


    Draconic Noctis furrowed his brows.


    "What?"


    Countless purple lines emerged from the air. A couple were connected to Hex.


    It was almost like... a spider web.


    Draconic Noctis frowned.


    "Where did thesee from?"


    That was when he realized something. The purple lines matched the path Hex had taken. Every time Hex vanished, he left behind some sort of thread. It was only now that he revealed them.


    Noctis curled up into a ball and held his scythe in front of him. It was toote for him to escape now.


    The purple lines rapidly expanded while glowing brightly. Suddenly, they froze.


    Then exploded.


    Draconic Noctis was thrown around like he was the only ball in a dodgeball game. The ck mes on his body whipped around violently, seemingly on the verge of being put out.


    Draconic Noctis felt a searing pain spread through his entire body. He had held onto the scytheposed of ck mes tightly, however, while he was rocking within the violent explosions, he nearly beheaded himself with it.


    Thankfully, that was not the way he went out. But he wasn''t so thankful for the fact his body was horribly damaged.


    His wings had been torn off, leaving him to fall back on the empire''s wall.


    A loud crash resounded.


    Draconic Noctisnded on the wall miserably, causing a few cracks to form on the floor and fragments of stone to scatter in the air. There was a bit of white smoke emitting from Draconic Noctis'' body.


    La turned to him.


    "Wah! Friend finally came down to y with me!"


    Hearing those words, Draconic Noctis flew into a panic. He ignored how muddled his mind was and forced himself to get up on his feet.


    La was dashing towards him with a yful smile on her face. However, to Draconic Noctis, it was the devious smile of a devil.


    The ck mes had died down, but not even a secondter, they raged on brighter andrger than ever.


    La swung her w at Draconic Noctis, who responded by whipping his scythe forwards.


    An ear-piercing metallic screech rang out.


    La took one step backward. As for Draconic Noctis, he slid back five meters. He had purposely used the recoil to gain some distance from La.


    La curiously blinked. There was arge mass of ck me in front of her. Suddenly, it coalesced into a scythe before shing at her.


    La batted it away with her hand, causing it to dissipate powerlessly.


    Draconic Noctis'' eyes narrowed.


    She could see the attack?


    In reality, the scythe of ck mes had blended in perfectly with the night sky. Logically, there shouldn''t be any way someone could differentiate it.


    But for La, it seemed to be as easy as blinking.


    This only furthered Draconic Noctis'' resolve to ignore La and focus on Hex.


    Speaking of Hex... where was he?


    Draconic Noctis turned around.


    Ah, there he was.


    Hex was floating in the air next to Draconic Noctis. There was a faint purple mist around him. One of his hands had a massive w. It was one meter in length and dark green, however a translucent shadow extended out from it. In total, this shadowy w extended to a total of three meters long.


    Hex swung his shadowy w at Draconic Noctis. At the same time, he unleashed a strange purple energy that was even faster than the w.


    Draconic Noctis had no time to dodge the purple energy, but it didn''t seem to do anything, so he ignored it for now.


    His scythe made of ck mes twirled, just barely making it in time to collide with the shadowy ws.


    Then, the shadowyyer disappeared, leaving Hex only with the one meter long dark green ws.


    The sudden change caused Draconic Noctis to stumble a step forward. If two people were pulling on a rope and one suddenly let go, the one still pulling would end up stumbling backwards. In essence, this is what happened to Draconic Noctis.


    Hex''s shadowy blue eyes glimmered in the darkness.


    "Be careful!"


    He took a few steps forward before shing with his dark green ws. Draconic Noctis furrowed his brows. He mmed his free hand onto the floor,unching upwards and out of harm''s way.


    Draconic Noctis'' ascent gradually slowed, but two wings made of ck me soon emerged from his back, allowing him to retreat further.


    If he wasn''t currently a mass of me, beads of sweat would''ve formed on his forehead.


    Draconic Noctis had a feeling if he stayed any longer, he would''ve been struck by La.


    Draconic Noctis used this time to regain his bearings. He surveyed the castle walls, easily finding La who was attempting to fly like a bird. He lost interest quickly and tried to search for Hex.


    ...But he was nowhere to be seen.


    Draconic Noctis looked in front of him. He raised an eyebrow.


    Say, what was that strange purple balling for hi-


    Hex suddenly appeared in front of him, clinging onto his arm.


    The blue smile on Hex''s shadowy face grew brighter.


    "Uh oh!"


    An explosion apanied a frightening tearing sound.


    A concentrated st of dark green energy exploded from Hex. The recoil made Noctis snap backward, however, not with the arm Hex was holding onto.


    Because it was ripped off.


    Draconic Noctis let out a roar of pain. As he wasunched across the sky, a thin trail of blood was left behind.


    Draconic Noctis grit his teeth.


    "...How is this possible?"


    He was only able to gain the power in his current state by borrowing it from another being, Yzan.


    Draconic Noctis made sure to borrow very little, as he knew it would sap his sanity.


    ....But now, he no longer had a choice.

 Chapter 127 - New Players

    Draconic Noctis'' remaining hand clenched onto the scythe tightly.


    "How did the situation spiral out of control so fast?"


    He sighed and closed his eyes.


    "If only it wasn''t my shift to guard today."


    The pressure Draconic Noctis was releasing suddenly disappeared, the prelude to something greater.


    The ck mes covering his body disappeared. His armor slowly sunk into his body, merging with it.


    Then, an unbelievable amount of flesh burst out from Noctis'' body.


    ...It was the skin of a reptile, with glossy ck scales. They gradually grew into various features, such as wings or a tail.


    In a matter of seconds, it was finished.


    The old Noctis was nowhere to be seen. However, a ck dragon over five meters tall and ten meters long appeared in his ce.


    The ck dragon had red eyes, but they looked at the surroundings with a strange calm.


    The pressure had returned, with far more force than before.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? What happened to friend?"


    Her feet had sunk into the ground purely because of the overbearing aura of the ck dragon. However, La didn''t seem bothered by it.


    As for Hex, he trembled slightly after feeling that aura. He had dropped the arm he had ripped off of Noctis, letting it fall into some ce in the forest.


    Although the pressure was constant in the force it exerted, Hex stabilized quickly. His shadowy face seemed to darken while his blue eyes and smile brightened.


    "Big dragon became bigger dragon!"


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Hmm... new friend?"


    The ck dragon slowly brought its wings down, yet still caused violent gales of wind to blow. It soared a few meters into the sky before letting out a deep, but majestic, voice.


    "It appears two children have been able to force my follower to his limits."


    La waved her hand in the air.


    "Hi!~ Want to be friends?"


    The ck dragon chuckled.


    "I''m afraid that possibility disappeared a while ago."


    La pouted.


    "Eh? There''s always a possibility!"


    The ck dragon narrowed its eyes.


    "...Perhaps. But one should not treat miracles as an everyday urrence."


    It lifted up one w as though it were holding up a chalice.


    "Frankly, there is little difference between calling it impossible and nearly impossible."


    La puffed up her cheeks.


    "But it''s still different!"


    She iled her arms around in the air.


    "I can show you! If we just y for a little, we will be friends so fast!"


    The ck dragon appeared to smile.


    "Hah. Then how should we y?"


    La smiled.


    "Like this!"


    She bent her knees, before exploding upwards in strength. The floor underneath her directly copsed while La shot up into the air.


    Hex shot a nce at La.


    "Me help too!"


    Hex dashed over, while still hovering in the air.


    As for the ck dragon, a ball of ck mes gathered above his w.


    "...There are limits to what each being can aplish."


    It looked down at La that was rapidly approaching.


    "Only by adhering to those limits, can you survive."


    La had pulled back her hand, flexing it into a w. She slowly elerated forward before snapping out. As for the ck dragon, it casually lowered the w that held the ck me.


    A deafening bang resounded.


    The me on the ck dragon''s w exploded right when La hit it, sending out intense waves of force.


    The dragon hardly moved while La wasunched downwards like a meteor. Landed on the wall, or what was left of it after she caused the floor to copse.


    La found herself buried in fragments of stone and dust. She was pretty dirty, but came out unscathed.


    "Bwah!"


    La burst out of the pile of debris, scattering most of the stone fragments into the air.


    She shook her head and let out a few light coughs.


    "Eek, dirty!"


    Her eyes were drawn to the side.


    "Eh? Why are you here, friends?"


    It was Apollo and Willow. The two of them had been buried by the rubble, but fortunately, La got rid of most of it.


    If she hadn''t... they probably would''ve suffocated.


    La walked over to them and shook each person with one of her hands.


    "Helloooo?~"


    La continued trying to wake them up, but without much sess. While she did that, Hex was rapidly approaching the ck dragon in the sky.


    As for the ck dragon, it was initially watching La fall like a shooting star, but quickly lost interest when it noticed that something else was approaching.


    Purple and dark green mist gathered around Hex, making his figure blurry. However, his bright blue eyes and smile shone through the mist easily.


    He let out a small giggle.


    "Bigger means easier to hit!"


    The ck dragon raised an eyebrow.


    "Haha, but it also means your attacks be less meaningful. If I was in my true form... even the most devastating attack would leave only a scratch."


    It chuckled.


    "Yet for something as tiny as you... the same attack would turn you to dust."


    The ck dragon opened its mouth, letting a ball of ck me condense in front. It seemed like it wanted to prove a point.


    Hex was not perturbed. He continued forth, condensing the dark green and purple mist into a ball in front of him.


    At this moment, the ball of ck me let out a blinding light while the ball of condensed mist in front of Hex expanded violently.


    Deafening crackles of fire reverberated throughout the air along with a thundering crash, like the rushing sound of a river.


    A massive cone of ck mes shot out from the ck dragon''s mouth while a cone mixed with green and purple energy collided with it.


    Unbelievably violent gusts of wind rampaged outwards. They were even able to blow away all the dust on La, almost like she wasn''t covered in debris in the first ce.


    For a few moments, these waves raged on.


    Then an explosion resounded throughout the city.


    Both Apollo and Willow''s eyes shot open.

 Chapter 128 - Are You Afraid?

    At this point, it wouldn''t be a stretch to say that most people in the empire had woken up. Somewhere along the line, the intention to go undetected was forgotten. It was almost as if the goal was to be detected by as many people as possible.


    A shockwave had emanated from the collision of both Hex''s and the ck dragon''s attack. Once this shockwave passed through Apollo and Willow, they both woke up immediately.


    La noticed this, then smiled.


    "Wah! Friends are awake!"


    Willow and Apollo sat up. They slowly turned to each other, with nk stares.


    Then, a smile appeared on Apollo''s face.


    Both of their figures shed. Their swords shed, then trembled in ce.


    Apollo''s eyes immediately widened before a giggle spilled out of his lips.


    The injury on Apollo''s back had healed while there was a scar from the top of Willow''s right shoulder to the left side of her waist.


    Willow''s injury only had a minuscule effect on her strikes, but even that would make a significant difference in their fight.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? Friends are ying already!"


    She smiled.


    "Me too!"


    While Apollo and Willow rained down a flurry of blows on each other, La suddenly joined the fray.


    She was almost like a cat diving towards a big pile of catnip.


    Right when Apollo''s and Willow''s swords shed, La grabbed onto them both.


    Both Willow''s and Apollo''s head snapped towards La.


    As for La, she seemed to be embarrassed by the attention, squirming and blushing. She purred.


    "Fun with friends!"


    Without warning, she threw both Apollo and Willow high into the sky. The ground below her cracked dangerously from how much force she put in.


    While this was happening, the ck dragon and Hex were still engaged in battle. The aftereffects of their attacks did not scratch the ck dragon, however, Hex was thrown back. This was mostly due to the resulting shockwave.


    Hex was able to stabilize himself after a few seconds, hovering in the air. His glowing blue eyes and smile flickered, contrasting greatly with his shadowy face.


    A giggle seeped out of Hex.


    "Bigger dragon is strong!"


    Hex shot forward once more, gathering purple and dark green mist around him.


    As for the ck dragon, it wasn''t in any hurry. It took its time to look at the fight happening nearby.


    When he saw Apollo and Willow fighting, he guessed that one of them must''ve been on their side. However, when La picked both of their swords up and threw them high into the sky, he got confused.


    ...Who was his enemy and who was his ally?


    Or was this some sort of huge free-for-all brawl?


    As for Apollo and Willow, the tides of battle greatly shifted once they were in the air.


    Although Willow was not used to flying, having the ability in the first ce gave an enormous advantage when fighting in a ce with no ground.


    She made full use of her ability. Now, she was also attacking Apollo from above and below. However, she wasn''t as dexterous as she wanted to be. She didn''t realize the source, but the pressure from the dragon made her movements akin to trudging around in murky swamp water.


    The same thing went for Apollo, his movements were not as swift. However, this change in pressure affected Willow much more, simply because Willow''s fighting style required her to move around so much.


    This shift in advantages and disadvantages made it so that Apollo was powerlessly defending, but not overwhelmed while doing so.


    Apollo felt like he was in the middle of the ocean, attacked by various hostile marine life. The inconvenient movement bothered him at first, but he was able to get used to it almost immediately.


    Almost like a fish in the water.


    As this happened, La looked at everyone that had taken to the sky. She pouted.


    "...I shouldn''t have thrown friends so high! Now I can''t reach them!"


    She puffed her cheeks and iled her arms around in annoyance.


    "No fair! I want to y too!"


    While Apollo and Willow were plummeting towards the ground and La wasining, Hex had reached the ck dragon.


    The ck dragon leisurely turned its head to face Hex. It could hardly care, Hex just wasn''t a threat in its eyes.


    A dark green w that was one meter long formed above Hex''s sleeve. Translucent purple energy wrapped around it, extending it further, making the w a total of three meters long. Finally, a faint ck shadow wrapped around the entire thing, making the w a total of five meters long.


    The w hadpletely dwarfed Hex. In fact, some would miss the fact that Hex existed altogether, only seeing a giant w.


    The ck dragon casually swiped with its w, meeting with Hex''s.


    The sound of ss shattering rang out.


    The ckyer of Hex''s ws had broken after a small period of resistance. However, he still had the purpleyer along with the original dark green w.


    The ck dragon''s eyes narrowed.


    "Needlesslyplicated."


    It used its other w, grasping both the dark green and purpleyers.


    The sound of shattered ss rang out once more.


    Hex''s w could hardly put up any form of resistance. It simply broke under the pressure, leaving Hex with no w to work with.


    The ck dragon watched on curiously. Instead of taking advantage of Hex after his attack failed, it wanted to see what Hex would do next.


    The ck dragon chuckled.


    "Are you afraid?"


    A crash reverberated in the distance. Apollo had hit one badly cracked section of the floor, directly breaking through. Willow dived downwards while Apollo immediately stood back up.


    They shed once more, almost like robots programmed to do so.


    At that moment, a tiny giggle seeped out of Hex.


    "Afraid?"


    Apollo and Willow''s swords swung towards each other''s necks.


    Hex''s blue eyes and smile grew brighter.


    "Me should be asking you..."


    The ck dragon raised an eyebrow.


    Hex giggled.


    "Are you afraid?"

 Chapter 129 - Eyes Filled With Disbelief

    Hex boldly reversed the question onto the ck dragon.


    As for the ck dragon, it was confused.


    Where did this little kid''s arrogancee from?


    Did he not remember what just happened?


    The ck dragon scoffed in its mind, letting a disdainful smile spread across his face.


    It guessed that Hex had some sort of short-term memory problem. After all, the events that just transpired clearly showed their difference in strength.


    Obviously, it was Hex that should be afraid, not it.


    Apollo and Willow had been swinging at each other wildly. Neither person held back, using their full strength. Nearly every strike was either towards the other''s vitals or was used to set up for a future attack towards the vitals.


    Apollo and Willow hardly bothered to defend themselves. They were essentially fighting a life or death battle. Their conviction could not be shaken at this point.


    That''s why when their swords went straight towards each other''s necks, they did not flinch. There was no hesitation, no fear, and no mercy.


    They no longer cared about death. The only thing left was to finish what they set out to do.


    As for La, she rushed over to the two with a bright smile on her face.


    Now that some people were finally back on the ground, she could finally ''y'' again. When Willow''s and Apollo''s swords were just moments from beheading their targets, La pounced.


    Hex let out an ethereal giggle.


    Suddenly, everyone froze.


    The ck dragon, Willow, Apollo, and La could no longer move their bodies.


    Faint streams of purple and dark green mist seeped into Hex''s body. The sky around Hex seemed to get... darker.


    The ck dragon''s disdainful smile disappeared in a sh. Its contempt washed away in the sea, leaving the dragon wet from the waves. Its jaw hung slightly agape, unbeknownst to the ck dragon himself.


    Willow''s calm expression was disturbed, like water that suddenly began to boil. Her eyes widened in fear. It was almost like she was on a ship, looking over its edge into the ocean. Then, the ship suddenly swayed, throwing her into the ominous tides.


    Apollo''s maniacal expression left his face. His smile became a small frown, going from raging rivers to a frozen pond. His eyelids fell while his eyes zed over. He was like a pioneer, bravely exploring the seven seas. Then he suddenly came to the realization he waspletely lost.


    La''s bright smile became apprehensive. It was as though she was in a dream, but someone sshed cold water on her face. The fur on her ears and tail stuck up, as they would for goosebumps on human skin. There was a forlorn look in her eyes, like she lost something.


    Hex let out an uncanny giggle.


    "Oh no!"


    The pressure from the ck dragon had disappeared. However, something more sinister reced it.


    Although Hex was the smallest person here, he somehow appeared to be thergest.


    Hex''s giggles were not particrly loud, but they pierced through the air, reaching everyone''s ears.


    Hex slowly raised his head.


    "Don''t be too scared!"


    The corners of Hex''s blue smile turned upwards.


    "Me won''t bite..."


    The ck dragon began falling from the air. Before it fell too far, its ws caught onto the side of the wall.


    The ck dragon scampered upwards, like a puppy trying to keep its head afloat in the water.


    As for Willow and Apollo, they were simply frozen.


    Willow''s sword was only a millimeter away from Apollo''s neck, while Apollo''s sword was only a millimeter away from Willow''s neck.


    If one looked closely, one would notice their swords were trembling ever so slightly.


    As for La, she froze as well. However, this was while she was mid-pounce. As such, she flew right into the middle of the two swords.


    She hit the swords with a tap. Like fragile ss, the swords fell out of Apollo''s and Willow''s hands. They ttered onto the ground.


    La began falling onto these swords like she was a kamikaze.


    There was a massive explosion.


    The empire''s walls were over fifty meters high, yet a massive section of it had directly copsed.


    It was the section where La had fallen.


    Willow and Apollo fell like ragdolls taken in a storm. They rode down the walls like they were falling down andslide.


    As for La, she had essentially plummeted downwards, destroying the walls as she went.


    In the end, Apollo, Willow, and La all fell onto the ground next to each other. They were covered in dust and debris. Both Willow''s and Apollo''s swords fell onto the ground next to them.


    The top of Willow''s sword had been chipped, ruining its otherwise wless appearance. As for Apollo''s bokken, it looked the exact same, save for some dust covering it.


    The three of them remained there silently, still unable to move from fear.


    As for the ck dragon, it had lost its hold. The ck dragon helplessly fell from the wall, traversing downwards. It was as though it fell from the ledge of a cliff.


    Hex''s figure vanished, before reappearing below the ck dragon.


    One of his hands had been pulled out from his sleeve. His hand was pitch ck and terribly wrinkly. It was small, befitting the size of Hex, but the strange old look was jarring.


    Instead of fingernails, the end of Hex''s fingers curved and became a sharp point.


    Like ckie''s ws.


    A dense ck mist coalesced on top, bing a new w. The w itself was over ten meters long, so big that it matched the size of the ck dragon.


    There was a hint of despair in the ck dragon''s eyes. It could already tell something horrible wasing.


    Hex''s w shed.


    The sound of flesh tearing and bones breaking filled the air.


    Each of Hex''s fingers acted like a separate sword, each splitting a different section of the ck dragon apart.


    It sliced through cleanly, like butter.


    The ck dragon''s head was separated from the rest of its body.


    And its eyes were filled with disbelief.

 Chapter 130 - Fallen Giant

    The ck dragon muttered despondently.


    "It appears I will lose a follower..."


    It closed its eyes.


    "I am sorry, Noctis..."


    The ck head''s dragon gradually disintegrated into a ck mist.


    "But you simply chose someone far too terrifying as your opponent."


    After just a couple of seconds, the only thing left from the dragon''s body was ck mist. Like a whirlpool, it violently gathered towards Hex''s ck and wrinkly hand.


    Despite therge amount of ck mist, it all disappeared as though Hex''s hand was a ck hole.


    Hex giggled.


    "All the same..."


    In the middle of the city, at a luxurious watchtower, someone watched this scene unfold.


    It was an old man. He was sitting in a well polished wooden chair. One of his eyes was closed while the other was open all the way. He had short grey hair and a modest beard. While his hair made his old age clear, there wasn''t a single wrinkle on his face.


    The old man was wearing a dark brown suit. While it screamed ''expensive'', its design was very modest considering the fact it was one solid in color. The only bit of color was a woven pattern of four ck horns, forming a circle on the left side of his chest.


    If one dyed the man''s hair ck, he would immediately look perhaps thirty years younger, just like a young man.


    He would''ve looked like any normal old man if it wasn''t for one small detail.


    His opened eye was one solid color, yellow. A faint glow emitted from it, almost appearing holy.


    There was a solemn expression on the old man''s face.


    "...The battle has concluded."


    There was a young man next to him.


    He had messy bright purple hair, as though he wanted the whole world to see him. One of his irises was hazelnut and looked the same as the average person''s eye. However, his other iris was a bright piercing yellow while his pupil resembled a snake''s eye.


    He was wearing a white dress shirt that was unbuttoned at the top. The cor was wrinkly and stuck out awkwardly, showing how little care the young man put into wearing this outfit. He had three tattoos of a horn lined across his neck.


    The young man carried a pair of oversized scissors, over a meter in length. He held it by the de and casually rested the handle on his shoulder.


    The scissors themselves were a bright purple, matching his hair. The tip was noticeably sharp, much sharper than what normal scissors would be. As for the handles, instead of having a circr shape, they were triangles.


    He carried himself like a stereotypical teenager.


    There was a cocky smile on the young man''s face.


    "Heh, it took Noctis long enough. Oddryl, do you think he can be pushed down the ranks? He did such a sloppy job after all."


    The old man, or Oddryl, sighed.


    "Well, your rank will rise, that''s for sure, Talon."


    The young man, or Talon, raised an eyebrow.


    "Huh? Since when did you listen to me, Oddryl?"


    Oddryl let out a singr dry chuckle.


    "One of the twenty-five giants, Noctis, has fallen."


    Talon was speechless for a moment.


    "What, seriously? You have to be joking, right?"


    Oddryl slowly shook his head.


    "I wish I was joking. Not to mention, you know I wouldn''t joke about something like this."


    Talon threw his head back and sighed.


    "I told that loser he shouldn''t be so scared to take some of Yzan''s power. Look at what happened to him now."


    Oddryl furrowed his brows.


    "Yourint would be valid if it wasn''t for the fact he had drawn upon as much as he could."


    Talon froze.


    "...For real?"


    Oddryl tapped his finger against a polished wooden table.


    "Yes. He directly gave up control over his body so that Yzan himself could descend. Unfortunately, that was not enough."


    Talon stuck his head forward, straining his neck.


    "What? But I''ve never seen someone hurt Noctis when Yzan was the one controlling him."


    Oddryl clenched his fists.


    "If the situation wasn''t bad enough, he was killed in a single strike."


    Talon''s demeanor changed after hearing that. He became deathly serious.


    "...How so?"


    Oddryl pressed his forefinger against his temple.


    "There was a little boy wearing a hooded sweatshirt a few sizes too big. Although the battle seemed to be within Yzan''s grasp, something changed."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "Yzan appeared to be... afraid. So afraid that he couldn''t even remain flying."


    Talon raised an eyebrow.


    "Afraid? But he''s just a projection, right? The worst thing on his side would be his personal ve dying."


    Oddryl put his elbows on the table and inteced his hands, holding them in front of his mouth.


    "That is why I believe this is the work of ''him''..."


    Talon blinked a few times.


    "You''re not thinking of that codger, right? He died like, a century ago."


    Oddrylughed bitterly.


    "It is far too easy for someone like him to fake his demise and take on a new form. Else why would he be called The Harbinger of Death?"


    Talon clicked his tongue.


    "What the hell could he possibly want from us? Aren''t we fucked if he wants to mess this city up?"


    Oddryl''s tone dropped.


    "We will suppress the news. If it''s him, he probably had some odd objective but got caught up in the conflict with the guards in the process."


    Oddryl''s eyes narrowed.


    "I will keep watch. That man shouldn''t push The Obrad Empire too far."


    Talon shrugged his shoulders.


    "Sounds fine to me. But what if he just does whatever he wants?"


    Oddryl smirked.


    "He wouldn''t dare."


    Talon gave Oddryl a strange look.


    "What gives you that confidence?"


    Oddrylughed.


    "Don''t you remember?"


    Talon''s expression became dull, lost in thought. A few secondster, he gasped, smacking his free hand onto his forehead.


    "Ah, right! That thing. Can''t believe it actually slipped my mind."


    Oddryl slowly nodded.


    "Someone of his caliber would surely know about it."


    Oddryl stood up from his chair.


    "Therefore, he knows the consequences of overstepping his bounds."

 Chapter 131 - Wake Up!

    Hex was hovering in the air, but intermittently dropped. He was losing consciousness, unable to maintain his flight.


    Hex''s shadow, ckie, retracted from his body. His purple horns shrunk until they disappeared while his purple hoodie rapidly became blue. Hex''s shadowy face dissipated, revealing his dark green hair and bright purple eyes.


    Hex could hardly keep his eyes open. He blinked a few times, trying to wake himself up. However, his eyelids continued to fall, until he fell asleep entirely.


    Hex''s body fell from the air, with nothing to support it.


    As for Apollo, Willow, and La, they were still shaken up from fear. Their minds had not yet recovered fully to process their actual situation.


    Hex was falling from nearly forty meters above the ground. He would definitely get hurt from a fall this high, and even his own survival was questionable.


    However, two ck ws appeared from Hex''s sides. They pped as much as they could. The shape of the ws wasn''t exactly the most aerodynamic, meaning it didn''t slow his fall too much.


    The ck ws made up for this by moving up and down as fast as possible, making it appear like a hummingbird''s wings.


    Hex''s fall was really fast at first, but it gradually slowed down thanks to the ck w''s efforts.


    By the time Hex had reached the ground, he touched the ground gently. It was as though he was a feather falling into a pond.


    The ck ws disappeared. After a few seconds, Hex got up. However, he did so in a strange way. While people would normally push down on the ground and bend their knees, Hex simply floated up while his limbs remained straight.


    It was as though Hex''s body was just willed upwards.


    By this time, La had recovered. She was still a little shaken up, but was more or less back to normal.


    She looked at Apollo and Willow who were still frozen on the ground.


    Her furry ears twitched.


    "Mm... Friends? Are you ok?"


    Apollo and Willow did not respond. They both still had dead looks in their eyes.


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Are friends sleeping?"


    She tilted her head to the side.


    "Then I will just have to wake them up!"


    La grabbed both Willow and Apollo by their shoulders, one in each hand.


    Her tail swayed while a smile spread out on her face.


    "Wake up!"


    Then La threw the two of them high up into the air.


    ...For some reason.


    As for what reason that was, not even La could tell you, as she herself did not know.


    Apollo and Willow were still vaguely aware of their situation, despite their shocked state. It was as though they were in a trance. Their consciousness was wrapped up in a ball of stic, but that stic was translucent.


    While they couldn''t do anything restrained within the stic, they could faintly see what was outside.


    As such, the two were panicking. This didn''t show on their face, simply because they had no control over their body.


    The two were in a strange state. While their bodies were rxed and their expressions were dull, their minds were in a frenzy, desperately trying to reim control over their body.


    It was not too different from sleep paralysis. The only difference was instead of an illusory sleep-paralysis demon getting ready to scare them, they were going to die from a fall of nearly thirty meters.


    As Willow struggled, she could tell that her control was slowly returning. Her wings twitched.


    Although it was going to be a close call, Willow was pretty confident she would survive this. She even had time to wonder how crazy La had to be to throw them up thirty meters in the air to ''wake'' them up.


    Her confidence stemmed from the fact she literally had wings and that some techniques she learned would let her cancel her momentum.


    As for Apollo, he did not have wings or any technique that could do that. In fact, he didn''t even have his bokken.


    Apollo believed he could wrestle back the control over his body rtively fast. His progress was much faster than Willows.


    The only problem was, even if he had control over his body, what good would that do? After all, his proficiency in anything fell dramatically once it left the realm of swordsmanship.


    Then, a memory shed by Apollo''s mind.


    It was the memory of the old man, the one who called himself The Vanquisher. Despite not having a sword, he was able to use his hand to emte the effects of the sword.


    This memory wasn''t the most clear to him. This was because the events that urred while his personality was more ''innocent'', were not imprinted well into his current mind.


    As such, he had to scour through his memories to actually find them. In fact, it was only now that he remembered he had the book that The Vanquisher gave him. But now was not the time to think about those things.


    Apollo was able to move his limbs slowly. There was a strange feeling spreading through his entire body. It was simr to a feeling one would get after suppressing the blood to one limb for a couple of minutes before letting it suddenlye back.


    Apollo''s eyes closed while his hand slowly raised. He decided to use his left hand, the one that did not hold onto the bokken.


    The vision of The Vanquisher slowly appeared in his mind.


    He was roughly ten meters above the ground. However, he had full control over his body now.


    Apollo saw The Vanquisher sh with his hand.


    Then he did the same.


    The sound of crackling thunder filled the air.


    The ground underneath Apollo split open, while he himself recoiled so much he even traveled a few meters upwards.


    As for Willow, when she was five meters above the ground, her wings suddenly pped, greatly lowering her speed.


    They survived La''s ''wake up'' call.

 Chapter 132 - Hit On The Head

    Willow stumbled forward a few feet due to the fact she hit the ground fairly hard.


    As for Apollo, he miscalcted.


    He simply did his strike as soon as he regained control. It canceled out his momentum and even sent him upwards.


    ...However, he was now falling from fifteen meters up in the air.


    Apollo felt the wind blow his hair back.


    His face twitched.


    "...It seems I''ve been a little too has-"


    He was interrupted by a violent m into the ground.


    Willow was unable to catch him, as she was still stumbling while that transpired. As for La, she spread her arms out, holding them high into the sky.


    There had been a bright smile on her face.


    She fully intended on catching Apollo.


    ...However, she was over two meters away from Apollo''s actualnding point.


    In the end, while La was looking up into the sky, Apollo crashed into the ground over two meters to her left.


    Willow blinked a few times. In a few more moments, she would fully regain her bearings.


    "Ah... what just happened..."


    She still remembered the life and death battle she was having with Apollo. However, suffering from the sudden fear Hex produced made her lose the will to fight.


    Willow just... wanted to lie down in the grass.


    As for La, she shot a confused look at Apollo''s crumpled body.


    She puffed up one cheek.


    "What are you doing, friend? Why did you move out of the way from my catch?"


    Somehow or another, La misconstrued the fact she had stood at the wrong spot and believed Apollo was the one that purposely avoided her.


    As for Apollo, hended on his head. Although he tried to twist his body so that it would be his back or even legs, he wasn''t exactly experienced in turning in the air.


    And so, Apollo was knocked unconscious.


    La went over to Apollo, her tail swaying.


    "Friend?"


    Obviously, since Apollo was unconscious, he was unable to respond.


    La was frustrated. In her eyes, she was being ignored by Apollo.


    She grabbed Apollo by his leg and lifted him up. Like a rag doll, he was held up in the air, dangling by his limbs.


    La stared at Apollo for a few moments. She was at a loss.


    After a few moments of hesitation, she violently shook him up and down. A few snapping sounds rang out. They were the kinds of sounds that would make one cringe just from imagining it.


    ...At least there was minor constion in the fact the dirt and dust were shaken off.


    Under the violent jostling, Apollo was eventually forced awake.


    "Ah! Ow, ow, ow!"


    Upon hearing the cries of pain, La stopped and smiled.


    "Friend!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...Mommy?"


    La pouted.


    "You forgot my name already? It''s La! Don''t forget next time!"


    Apollo shook his head, but immediately regretted that action as it caused him great pain.


    "Gah... La?"


    La twirled Apollo around, letting him fall on his feet. Apollo stumbled, but regained his footing quickly enough.


    Apollo rubbed his temple with his palm.


    "Ah... where are we?"


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "We are super close to we all know you!"


    Apollo furrowed his brows, but gasped in enlightenment a second after.


    "Ah! Where is he?"


    La shrugged her shoulders.


    "I dunno."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Oh."


    Willow looked at the interaction between the two with a bit of confusion.


    Did Apollo forget the fight they just had?


    She slowly walked over to her ck sword, trying to lower her presence as she picked it up.


    Willow gave a quick nce over it. She immediately noticed the de was chipped. A small frown formed on her face.


    It was pretty hard for her to get a sword like this, so she was rightfully upset.


    Although a part of her wanted toin at someone, like Hex or La, she remembered their prowess.


    Hex was able to directly immobilize people, meaning they were at the full mercy of his strikes. As for La, it didn''t seem intentional, but it appeared her ''true weight'' was something iprehensible.


    After all, she decimated the empire''s walls just from falling on it. The walls had taken countless shockwaves and suffered the recoil from countless attacks.


    But it seemed to be weaker than paper when La copsed on it.


    This reminded Willow of how La would never mention she was ''fighting'', but ''ying''. It seemed that this was the truth. After all, if she just ced her hand on someone''s shoulder and let it fall naturally, the person in question would be crushed. They might be in a better condition if they were hit by a train.


    Willow shuddered.


    ...It was probably best to drop her grievances.


    At that time, Apollo looked at his open right hand.


    "I feel weird!"


    La followed Apollo''s eyes, staring at his hand.


    "Ah, you don''t have your wooden sword!"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Oh no! Where did it go?"


    La pointed towards it, where Willow was standing.


    Once Apollo''s eyes were cast over Willow, she trembled.


    What was Apollo thinking right now?


    How was he going to attack her?


    When would ite?


    Apollo walked over and picked up his bokken. He shot a nce towards Willow, making her clench her ck sword.


    Apollo waved.


    "Hi Willow!"


    Then hopped back to La, forgetting about her entirely.


    Willow''s eyebrow twitched.


    ...Oh.


    She didn''t understand, but decided to go with it for now. Perhaps she would figure it outter.


    Apollo shed a smile towards La.


    "Thanks!"


    La giggled.


    "You are my friend, after all."


    Suddenly, Apollo looked towards the side.


    "Eh? Is that you, Hex?"


    Hex''s eyes were closed, but walked forward anyway. He moved as though he was a puppet made to walk by various strings. His head jostled like a rag doll while his movements didn''t make sense in terms of physics.


    There was a faint ck shadow that covered him, making him appear a little... ominous.


    Apollo and La didn''t notice this peculiarity and walked closer.

 Chapter 133 - Dysfunctional Family

    Willow''s eyes narrowed when she saw the strange state Hex was in. After a second of hesitation, she dashed over with the help of her wings.


    She got in between Hex and the other two. She pointed her sword towards Hex threateningly.


    La tilted her head so that she could peek over from Willow''s side.


    "Friend? Why are you blocking the way?"


    Apollo looked up at Willow.


    "What are you doing, Willow?"


    As for Willow, she trembled.


    "...Stay back."


    Hex''s body had stopped a meter or so from Willow''s front. He awkwardly stood there, making one wonder what he would do next.


    Willow''s eyes narrowed while her grip on her sword tightened.


    Then... Hex moved.


    A gleam passed through Willow''s eyes as battle intent raged within her.


    ...Then it disappeared like a puff of smoke.


    A ck w had appeared from Hex''s side. It waved enthusiastically, almost like a little kid greeting a close friend.


    Apollo and La went around Willow, stepping in front of her.


    La waved back with simr enthusiasm.


    "Hi, friend!"


    It seemed like she had already forgotten the unrelenting fear Hex gave her just moments ago.


    Apollo giggled.


    "Hi, Hex!"


    Another ck w appeared from Hex''s other side. The two ck ws gave a thumbs-up to Apollo and La.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Why aren''t you talking, Hex?"


    The ck ws froze for a moment to think. After they finished, one ck w pointed towards Hex.


    Apollo rubbed his chin.


    "You?"


    The ck ws gave Apollo a thumbs up. Then, they sped together like a praying gesture before tilting to the side. Hex''s head awkwardly moved on top of the ck ws as though they were pillows.


    He looked like he was sleeping.


    Apollo gasped.


    "You''re sleeping?"


    The ck shadow shed another thumbs-up.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Then how is friend moving?"


    The ck shadow scratched Hex''s head with one finger. After a few moments, it raised its forefinger in the air as though it came up with an idea.


    Hex''s body was slowly lowered to the ground, face-up. A ck shadow emerged from his body, with glowing blue eyes and a smile.


    It was ckie.


    ckie pointed to himself, indicating that he was the one controlling Hex''s body. However, La did not understand.


    Her tail shot upwards.


    "Huh? Who are you? Another friend?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, that must be it!"


    ckie shook his hands, trying to indicate that they were wrong. La giggled.


    "I was right!"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Wow, you''re so smart, La!"


    Willow sighed.


    "I think the shadow is trying to say that it''s controlling Hex while he''s asleep."


    ckie gave a thumbs-up.


    Apollo and La blinked a few times. La raised her hands in the air.


    "Wah! So two friends in one!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yes, yes!"


    ckie merged with Hex once again before willing Hex''s body up.


    Willow''s face twitched.


    The situation was still quite overwhelming for her. After all, she was a rtively normal person. She couldn''t just forget what happened, like Apollo, brush it off like La, or just not care like Hex''s shadow.


    But... it was a reality that Willow just had to ept.


    So she did.


    Willow rubbed her forehead with frustration.


    "It appears our n to take this stealthily has failed..."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Huh?"


    La turned to Willow with a curious expression.


    "But we yed with all the people that saw! They won''t tell, I trust them!"


    Willow sighed.


    "The problem doesn''t stem from the people we killed, but how loud our fight was. It would be a miracle if someone didn''t notice that a battle had taken ce."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Do they know it was us?"


    Willow slowly shook her head.


    "No, but people will be aware that there are some intruders attacking the city. If we wish to enter the empire, we must blend in well. If not, we will be suspected, then caught soon after."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "So... just pretend that I live in the empire?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "That''s the gist of it. Though, we need disguises. The way we look now is far from normal."


    She turned to look over her shoulder.


    "Hm... these things are a little conspicuous."


    Willow''s wings twitched awkwardly for a couple of moments. After a couple of failed attempts, she was able to retract the wings back into her body.


    Willow sighed.


    "Thankfully I won''t have to find a way to hide those."


    She cleared her throat.


    "Anyways, we have to get disguises for all of us."


    ckie, Apollo, and La all turned to look at Willow.


    ...


    La pouted.


    "I don''t like it, I don''t like it, I don''t like it!"


    ckie used a finger to scratch the top of its head.


    It seemed confused.


    Apollo muttered with dissatisfaction.


    "Does it really have to be this?"


    Willow clicked her tongue.


    "There is hardly anything for us to work with in the first ce! Stopining so much."


    She had a long dark green gown and a sleeveless tunic. It matched what mostmoners would wear. She got a dark brown purse from somewhere and filled it with rocks.


    Willow essentially looked like a stereotypical mother.


    As for La, there was a need to cover her cat ears and hide her tail. As such, she was wearing a cap that maids would normally wear and had a fairlyrge ck apron on. The clothes were a little too big for her, making her look a little strange.


    She was supposed to be a maid.


    Hex was wrapped in countless bandages, only letting his face just barely poke out. ckie was still able to extend himself from outside the bandages. Willow carried him with both arms.


    He was supposed to be a baby.


    Apollo was wearing a set of clothes that were far too small for him, stretching against his body tightly.


    He was supposed to be Hex''s ''older brother''.


    Together, they made a dysfunctional family.

 Chapter 134 - Unruly Children

    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Hmm... can we get this over with quickly?"


    The overly tight clothes made Apollo feel quite ufortable. It should be known that most of Apollo''s clothing had torn off by now. His only real clothing was just some bandages. However, that kind of appearance was simply too conspicuous.


    Not to say that someone being constricted in super tight clothes wasn''t conspicuous, but it was definitely better.


    La pouted.


    "Agh! Can we go already?"


    She hopped over to the empire wall, or what was left of it.


    Willow sighed.


    "Wait! We can''t enter through that way. Someone will see us, blowing our cover!"


    La turned around and pouted.


    "Mm... then the entrance over there?"


    She pointed to a far off gate. It was the typical entrance and exit of the empire.


    Willow shook her head.


    "We can''t go that way either. I doubt the guards will let anyone in after what just transpired."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Then... how do we get in the empire?"


    Willow smiled.


    "Just follow me and stay silent."


    ckie peeked up from the bandages Hex was wrapped in. It stared at Willow curiously. As for Willow, she blinked a few times.


    "You will have to remain unseen for most of the time. Sorry for the inconvenience."


    ckie gave a nod before disappearing into Hex''s shadow.


    La and Apollo got next to Willow, though they did so reluctantly. Willow shed a bitter smile before gathering some ck mist.


    In a few moments, a thin veil of ck mist covered them.


    Willow walked towards the wall, far from the massive breach that La had created.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Why don''t we just walk that way?"


    He pointed towards the breach in the wall. As for Willow, she let out a dry chuckle.


    "...Unfortunately, there are too many sharp jagged edges in the rubble. This spell is quite fragile, meaning a tiny cut can dispel it."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...But there are only so many ways to get in, right?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Yes, but that doesn''t mean we have to go that way."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow, but didn''t question it. The group continued walking until they reached a section where the empire''s wall was intact.


    Willow abruptly stopped, making Apollo and La collide with her back. La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Is this the entrance? I don''t see one though!"


    Willow closed her eyes.


    "When there is no entrance, make one yourself."


    She ced one foot on the wall.


    ...Then the other foot.


    It was as though Willow was maized to the wall. She began walking up effortlessly, as though she was walking on t ground.


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    "...I don''t know how to do that!"


    Willow froze.


    "Ah, I forgot."


    La giggled.


    "Don''t worry, I can do it!"


    She proceeded to stick her fingers into the wall, directly causing a few shattered stones to spill out.


    Then, La wrapped one arm around Apollo''s waist. This made Apollo instinctively feel a strong sense of fear, induced by his past trauma.


    His breathing became heavy, but he was able to more or less calm down.


    Willow''s eyebrow twitched when she watched La''s... out of the box way of climbing upwards.


    She sighed.


    "Just make sure you don''t hit the edge of the ck mist screen. If you do, it will burst and reveal us."


    La giggled.


    "Ok!"


    With that, Willow began walking up while Launched herself and Apollo up.


    "Hup!"


    La stuck her hand into the wall once more, catching herself. A small thought began to bubble in her mind.


    She grinned cheekily, then threw herself up once again.


    But... did so with more force.


    Several cracks spread from where La''s hand just was. As for La, she shot upwards like a rocket.


    Apollo held onto La''s arm a little more tightly.


    "Ah!"


    Beads of sweat formed on Willow''s forehead. She quickly twisted the ck mist screen to just barely contain La. With any more tension, it would burst.


    A panicked frown appeared on Willow''s face.


    "La! Not that fast, or you will break the mist screen!"


    La pouted.


    "Hm... ok"


    Willow sighed.


    "I will speed up a little, so that you can go a bit faster too, ok?"


    As promised, she began to jog upwards.


    La waited a few moments for Willow to catch up before throwing herself upwards once again.


    Apollo curiously looked to the left and right, despite there not being much to see. He was simply enjoying the new experience.


    With that, they climbed thirty meters up the wall with no problem.


    ...However, La was getting a little excited. She was unconsciously raising her pace as she went.


    Willow frowned when she noticed that.


    "Not too fast!"


    La did not slow down. Instead, she pouted.


    "This isn''t fast!"


    La shot upwards, once again forcing Willow to distort the ck mist screen. Willow opened her mouth, but no words came out.


    She was honestly a little afraid of La. So instead of chastising La, she sped up to match her speed.


    The only problem was La''s movements were sudden. She would stay still after getting a hold in the wall, then suddenly shoot upwards. This made it really difficult for Willow as the ck mist screen would break if she went too fast, but also if she went too slow.


    As if that wasn''t bad enough, La was speeding up.


    Even more cold sweat appeared on Willow''s forehead. She cursed under her breath.


    On the other hand, La had a bright smile on her face. It seemed she forgot the difort of the clothes after getting a little excited.


    "Yay!~"


    A small smile even spread out on Apollo''s face.


    "Woah!"


    Compared to being in what La referred to as ''fluffynd'', it was quite rxing. It was like going from a rollercoaster that nobody sane would ever go on, to riding up an esctor.


    Willow''s lip twitched.


    These kids were having fun while she had to deal with all the stress.


    ....Figures.

 Chapter 135 - Excuse Me?

    La continued to dangerously pull herself and Apollo upwards. Beads of sweat continued forming rapidly on Willow''s forehead.


    After many close calls, they eventually got up to the top of the walls. There was nobody around.


    La stretched her free arm high into the air.


    "Wah!~"


    As for Willow, she fell to one knee, panting. Her heart was still trying to recover from that stressful experience.


    "Hah... now we made it to the top of the wall."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "What now?"


    Apollo curiously turned his head towards Willow, waiting for her response.


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "Now that we have scaled up the wall, we have to scale down the other side. Our priorities must be taking it slow and sile-"


    "Hup!"


    Without letting Willow finish her sentence, La directly jumped off, taking Apollo with her.


    The ck mist screen strained.


    In a fluster, Willow jumped off after her helplessly. As she began falling, her face twitched.


    ...At this rate, this girl was going to be the death of her.


    The group felt a strong wind blow by them as they descended.


    La closed her eyes to fully embrace the wind.


    "Waaah!~"


    Willow really wanted to tell La to be quiet. However, something told her that La would only be louder if she did that.


    Willow let out a sigh, before preparing a technique.


    The group continued elerating at great speeds, about to m down onto the floor. However, right before they were about to do so, Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    A dense ck mist swallowed the group up, sending them into the shadow world.


    La looked around curiously at the dark world filled with the asional grey mist.


    "Eh? Where did we go?"


    Not even a secondter, they disappeared from the shadow world. Their figures reappeared, standing at the edge of the city.


    The massive crater in the empire''s wall was about thirty or so meters away, meaning they were fairly close to it.


    The ck mist screen still covered them, but was getting faint.


    Willow''s eyes darted around until theynded on a giant piece of rubble they could hide behind.


    She ushered La and Apollo.


    "Over here, quickly now!"


    La curiously looked at Willow, butplied. Once the group appeared behind the rubble, Willow let out a sigh of relief and dispelled the ck mist screen.


    "Now... try your best to attract as little attention as possible, ok?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ok."


    La nodded.


    "Hehe, got it!"


    Although La appeared to be agreeing quite easily, it didn''t give Willow any reassurance.


    ...In fact, she was already thinking of the possible ways La could blow their cover.


    La skipped out from behind the giant piece of rubble.


    "Hehe, so many new friends to make!"


    Apollo trailed behind La, almost like a curious puppy.


    He waved his bokken around in the air.


    "More sword swinging!"


    As for Willow, she followed the two with a sigh. She looked at Hex sleeping in her arms.


    "...Why can''t they be quiet like you?"


    Two tiny ck ws appeared from Hex''s side, giving a shrug. Then, they disappeared like they were never there.


    Though it was still more or less night, a few rays of the early dawn peeked into the sky. The majority of the night passed while Willow scraped together some clothes for them to wear. A few early risers were walking around in the cobblestone streets.


    They were dressed in simr clothes to Willow, either modest gowns for women, or in tunics for men. The colors of their clothes were muted, almost as though they did not want to attract unwanted attention.


    The main difference they had with Willow''s clothing was their clothes had many wrinkles and holes, unlike Willow''s smooth gown. While Willow''s clothing was rtively clean, it was questionable if their clothes had ever been washed.


    Willow understood this peculiarity, but there was little she could do about it. It was hard to make something new look artificially worn. In fact, an attempt to do so might make one look even more conspicuous.


    There was also the consideration to steal someone else''s clothing, to really y the part.


    ...But Willow really didn''t want to do that. Not because she was against stealing, but because it truly was too ufortable for her to wear.


    She consoled herself by reiterating in her mind that her acting skills would falter if she wore something so disgusting.


    As for how true that was, Willow wouldn''t know. After all, she never even tried.


    The nearby houses were all one story high and were made out of wooden nks. There was the asional nk that was rotting, but that was the minority.


    Some people had gotten on top of their roof, sweeping off the snow that covered it. Although this seemed strange at first nce, it was because the roofs of their houses waned under the pressure of the snow.


    If left unattended, the roof may just directly copse.


    Next to each house was a fairlyrge plot of farnd. However, they were all covered in snow.


    The vigers themselves didn''t seem to be concerned about this fact. It was as though they were confident everything would work out fine.


    As the group stepped out on the streets, a middle-ageddy noticed them. She had a dark blue gown and pants that were too short for her. The clothes were quite dirty, as expected of one living here.


    The middle-aged woman walked towards them leisurely.


    Willow''s heart beat a little faster.


    This woman wouldn''t ask them what they were doing all the way out here, right?


    The middle-aged woman waved.


    "Hello there! I haven''t seen your faces from around here."


    La waved enthusiastically.


    "Hi hi!~"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Hello, olddy!"


    Willow''s face twitched. Part of it was because the middle-aged woman mentioned she hadn''t seen them before. Part of it was also because Apollo just called the woman an ''olddy''.


    The middle-aged woman raised an eyebrow.


    "Excuse me?"

 Chapter 136 - Twisted News

    The middle-aged woman gave a questioning look towards Apollo.


    Willow smiled apologetically.


    "Sorry about my... son. He means no harm, I promise."


    The middle-aged woman frowned. It slowly deepened until eventually...


    She rolled her eyes.


    "Bah, children will be children."


    The womanughed.


    "I can''t say anything because mine would do the same!"


    Willow let out a sigh of relief in her mind, while amicably chuckling on the outside.


    "Oh please, I''m sure they are far less unruly than my children."


    The middle-aged woman shed a smile.


    "Hah. You''d be surprised."


    She shook her head.


    "Anyways, my name is Abigail. What about you and all your children?"


    Apollo raised his bokken in the air.


    "My name is Apollo!"


    La enthusiastically hopped up and down.


    "I am La!"


    She was a little too excited and began introducing the others as well.


    "She is Willow and he is Hex!"


    La pointed with her fingers to indicate who she was talking about.


    As for Willow, her lip twitched. She wanted to go by a different name so that she could blend in better. As for everyone else''s name, she was fine with Apollo and La. However, she really didn''t want Hex''s name to stay the same.


    Abigail nodded and waved with her wrinkly hand.


    "Ah, hello Willow and her children."


    Abigail furrowed her brows before turning to Willow.


    "Em... may I ask why you named one of your children Hex? Is it not a little foreboding to have your child take after a curse? Carelessly naming your children can give them bad luck, you know!"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched. She didn''t prepare herself for this situation.


    Willow let out a soft sigh.


    "It''s a long story. His name isn''t actually Hex, but because of a misunderstanding during his birth, my other children believe that is his name."


    Abigail became concerned.


    "Oh dear, what happened?"


    Willow shook her head.


    "Sorry... I don''t want to talk about it as of now."


    Willow was able to weave a lie in a matter of seconds, as though it was nothing new to her.


    Abigail nodded.


    "Ah, my apologies. Let us change the topic."


    She chuckled before pointing towards the massive hole in the wall.


    "You came here to witness the aftermath of the grand fight, right?"


    Willow blinked a few times.


    "What do you mean?"


    Abigail smiled smugly.


    "Hah. Don''t be so surprised by the fact I figured you out so easily. After hearing of the news, everyone must be curious enough to check it out."


    Willow nodded with an awkward smile.


    "Haha, and here I thought I was being discreet!"


    She really wanted to ask Abigail what the ''news'' was, however, she knew that it would be horribly suspicious to say that now.


    However, one person didn''t share her worries.


    "Eh, what news?"


    La spoke up, making Willow''s heart sink.


    Abigail raised an eyebrow.


    "You actually didn''t hear about the news? How will you grow up to be a proper maid if you can''t even do that!"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? My name isn''t maid, it''s La!"


    Willowughed awkwardly, hurriedly covering up for La''s actions.


    "My daughter is against being a maid. This is despite the fact I''ve told her many times that this is the best path for her."


    Abigail shook her head and sighed.


    "I have a daughter like that as well. If only they understood what it meant to live life in a pce!"


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Indeed..."


    La looked back and forth between Willow and Abigail. She was blinking a lot, trying toprehend whatever secret understanding these two had.


    Abigail raised a finger before putting it next to La''s face.


    "I will tell you the news, but you must listen carefully, youngdy! Your mother is trying very hard for you!"


    La only blinked a few times, still finding great difficulty in understanding the situation.


    Abigail sighed.


    "A massive army hade to attack us during the night! However, the guards of Obrad Empire valiantly defended against their great might. Some heroes fell, but they were able to vanquish the enemy, protecting ournds!"


    She pointed towards the massive hole in the empire''s walls with a proud smile.


    "See that? The massive rupture in our wall is due to the aftereffects of one hero''s attack!"


    La followed Abigail''s finger before gasping in awe.


    "Wow! That sounds so cool!"


    It seemed La had already forgotten she was the one responsible for the crack in the wall.


    As for Willow, she furrowed her brows.


    ...How did that make sense?


    She wasn''t unfamiliar with an empire spreading false news, but she was wondering why they decided on such a strange lie.


    An empire painting themselves in a positive light was nothing new, but they usually weren''t so reckless as to dere a loss as aplete victory. They would distort the events of a loss, but would also warn the people.


    This coulde in the form of asking them to report any suspicious individuals or hiding in their houses so they could deal with an intruder without too many casualties.


    ...So what was this supposed to mean?


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "It was a hero that did that?"


    Abigailughed.


    "Why of course! Who else but a hero could perform such a magnificent strike?"


    Apollo gaspsed.


    "Wow!"


    He turned to La.


    "You''re a hero!''


    La pressed her hands together with a shocked face.


    "I''m a hero?"


    Abigailughed.


    "It''s great to have dreams, but we must stay rooted in reality. Focus on growing up to be good farmers and maids."


    Apollo and La turned to Abigail, shooting her a confused look. The misunderstandings continued to arise.


    Willow hurriedly cleared her throat. She could feel the situation would spiral out of control at any moment.


    "Anyways, we should be going. We have things to attend to, after all."


    Abigail nodded.


    "Of course, farewell."


    Willow briskly walked on ahead.


    "Come on now!"


    Apollo and La looked at each other before hurrying after Willow.


    It was time for them to explore the empire.

 Chapter 137 - Strange Place

    This was the hour that most woke up. As Apollo and the others walked, they would frequently see people leaving their houses.


    The streets were not that crowded, but the group was having a little bit of trouble proceeding forward.


    Overall, there seemed to be more traffic heading in the opposite of their direction. Most people seemed excited about something, often bumping into their shoulders as they hastily passed.


    Other than a few nces in their direction due to their oddities, they were left alone.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    ...It seemed that everyone wanted to check out this ''grand battle''. Why were they so excited?


    She sighed.


    How do they care so little about the sudden winter? It''s clear they can''t grow anything with their frozen farnd. And she doubted they actually had enough food stored for the entire winter...


    Willow shook her head.


    She was confident she would find out the reason sooner orter.


    Suddenly, La pointed in a direction with a big smile on her face.


    "Two friends! Look over there!"


    There was a kid ying around in the snow. He had created a small snowman that was roughly his height.


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "But I only see one person!"


    La giggled.


    "Silly, watch!"


    She pointed towards the little kid.


    "One friend!"


    Then towards the snowman.


    "Two friends!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "That''s a person?"


    La nodded confidently.


    "Of course!"


    Apollo nodded with understanding.


    "I see, I see."


    Willow''s face twitched.


    "We still have ces to go, Apollo and La!"


    La hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Just a little bit of ying with other friends!"


    She skipped over to the snowman and kid.


    Apollo looked at Willow awkwardly. It was as though he was saying, ''I don''t know''.


    Willow sighed.


    "We can spend a tiny bit of time... I suppose."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head before smiling.


    "Ok!"


    He ran after La, while Willow reluctantly walked over as well.


    La waved.


    "Hiiii~ Want to be friends?"


    The little boy jumped in surprise. He turned to La with a curious expression.


    "You want to be friends with me?"


    La giggled.


    "You and him too!"


    She pointed towards the snowman.


    The little boyughed.


    "Mm... we can be friends! I don''t think you can be friends with him though..."


    He was referring to the snowman.


    La blinked a few times in curiosity.


    "Why can''t I be friends with him?"


    The little boy tilted his head to the side.


    "He can''t talk..."


    La put her hands on her cheeks in surprise.


    "Oh no! Why can''t he talk?"


    The little boy pressed his lips together.


    "Because... if we say the wrong thing..."


    His eyes zed over.


    "They will take us away, making us disappear."


    La pressed a finger against her chin.


    "Eh?"


    Apollo had caught up at this point. He had overheard their conversation. After all, they weren''t trying to be quiet.


    He was panting, but collected himself secondster.


    "Eh? I don''t want to disappear! What is the right thing to say?"


    The little boy scratched his side.


    "Mm... well first-"


    "Son? Who are you talking to?"


    A middle-aged man stepped out of a house next to the group. He looked at them without hostility, but curiosity.


    The little boy turned around.


    "Oh! I think they want to be friends?"


    The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow, but did not question it.


    "Ah. Hello there, I haven''t seen you before."


    La waved enthusiastically.


    "Hello! I haven''t seen you either!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Me too!"


    Willow had reached the group by this time. She waved awkwardly to the middle-aged man.


    "Sorry, they''re my children. They are a little unruly."


    The middle-aged manughed.


    "Ah, no problem. They hardly did anything wrong."


    He blinked a few times.


    "Say, I haven''t seen you guys here. Do you live on another side of the empire?"


    Willow nodded with a smile.


    "Yes. We visited the ce where the grand fight urred earlier and were on our way back after checking it out."


    The middle-aged man chuckled.


    "Ah, makes sense. Honestly, I wanted to go as well. However, my son wishes to stay."


    He sighed.


    "I don''t n on leaving my son alone, so it seems like I''m staying here too."


    La was looking at the middle-aged man, then turned to the little boy.


    "Why don''t you want to go? It sounded so cool!"


    The little boy frowned.


    "...I don''t trust them."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Trust who?"


    The little boy opened his mouth, but before another word coulde out, his father covered his mouth.


    The middle-aged manughed awkwardly.


    "Sorry, uh... we have to go back into the house."


    He proceeded to walk his son back over into the house. The little boy did not resist. Instead, he muttered a thank you to his father.


    Willow sighed.


    "Well... I suppose we should go. If only we could''ve asked where the nearest tavern was."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Mm..."


    La pouted.


    "Why did friend leave so fast?"


    She turned to the snowman.


    "And friend here won''t even talk!"


    La stormed off angrily back towards the path while Willow and Apollo followed from behind.


    Willow sighed as she walked down the cobblestone path.


    Where were the taverns?


    ...It probably wouldn''t be too suspicious if she asked, right?


    Willow waved towards a nearby passerby, a young man.


    "Hey, do you know where the taverns are?"


    The young man turned to look at Willow, blinking a few times.


    "A what?"


    Willow cleared her throat.


    "A tavern."


    The young man raised an eyebrow.


    "...I don''t know what you''re talking about."


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    Did he mishear?


    What was going on?


    She cleared her throat, deciding to slip in a question within another one.


    "Ah, are there no taverns here? There are a few on my side of the empire."


    The young man shrugged his shoulders.


    "I don''t think there are any on this side."


    He furrowed his brows.


    "Though.... I have been around most of the empire. Are you sure there are things called taverns?"

 Chapter 138 - Exposed

    Willow''s eyebrow twitched.


    What kind of empire didn''t have a tavern?


    Not a single one despite thend this ce epassed?


    ...Even small viges would have at least one. Maybe even a couple.


    Willowughed awkwardly.


    "Haha... I must be mistaken in terms of what a tavern is."


    The young man raised an eyebrow, but nodded after a bit of thought.


    "I guess..."


    He proceeded to walk past them, already forgetting about their existence.


    Willow sighed.


    "This is going to be difficult. How am I supposed to..."


    She shook her head.


    "One step at a time. That''s the only thing left."


    Apollo looked at Willow curiously.


    "Why is it bad that there are no taverns?"


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Taverns are the easiest ces to gather information from. This is mainly for a couple of reasons. First, people congregate there as it is a ce of rest. Second, they are more willing to talk as they don''t intend on going somewhere like a passerby. Third, alcohol is served so they talk more freely than sober people."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Oh... so it''s going to be harder to find things out without a tavern?"


    Willow shrugged her shoulders.


    "Pretty much."


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "So we just have to ask anyone that passes by about we both know you!"


    She meant Kn Noia.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "But... is that the right name?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Well, what else could it be!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "...I guess?"


    At that moment, a maturedy appeared. She appeared to be simr in age to Willow and carried a sleeping baby in her arms.


    Thedy approached them of her own ord.


    "Hi, there! You have so many beautiful children!"


    Willow chuckled.


    "Thank you, thank you. You have a beautiful child as well."


    Thedy smiled amicably.


    "Haha, she''s turning four months old soon!"


    Willow responded in kind, with an amicable smile of her own.


    "Soon you will have a child that can walk and talk! Time will pass by in the blink of an eye, then you will always have someone bothering you."


    Thedyughed as she brushed her daughter''s head that had hardly any hair.


    "I can''t wait! Ah, I will just have to be patient."


    Thedy took a peek at who Willow was holding. It was Hex, who was covered in countless bandages.


    She seemed concerned.


    "Say... why do you wrap your child in so much cloth?"


    The baby in thedy''s hands was in a set of clothes. As such, you could clearly see the baby''s arms and legs moving around slightly.


    As for Hex, he almost looked like a giant cocoon. The only thing visible was his face, not even his hair stuck out.


    Willowughed awkwardly.


    "You see, he gets cold really easily. This is the only way I can take him outside without him getting sick."


    Thedy walked over. She shifted her hold on her baby and reached out with one hand, lightly brushing against Hex''s forehead.


    Thedy gasped.


    "Ah, you''re right! Even with so much cloth, the child still feels cold."


    Willow blinked a few times.


    Wait, really?


    She proceeded to sigh, as though she knew this all along.


    "Hopefully it will get better as he grows up! His body should grow more resistant when he bes a big boy."


    Thedy nodded with sympathy.


    "A pity. I imagine it isn''tfortable for a child to be wrapped in so manyyers of cloth all the time."


    Willow smiled bitterly.


    "Haha, I really wish I didn''t have to do this."


    Thedy shrugged her shoulders.


    "What can you do, right?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Anyways, we should be going. It was nice talking to you. Farewell!"


    Despite giving her goodbyes, thedy didn''t seem to notice.


    ...No, thedy froze in ce.


    Willow raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you ok?"


    Thedy swallowed with a bit of fear.


    "Why does your child have... purple eyes?"


    Willow felt her heart drop. She looked down, and sure enough, Hex''s eyelids were fluttering open.


    Hex yawned before revealing his beady, but purple, eyes.


    Thedy began trembling.


    "But... humans are unable to get purple eyes."


    She took a step back and looked at Willow with trepidation.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? But I''ve seen so many people with purple eyes!"


    Thedy furrowed her brows.


    "You... have?"


    La nodded with a bright smile on her face.


    "Yeah!"


    The cap on La''s head twitched, then fell off altogether. Her furry purple ears were revealed for the whole world to see.


    Thedy took several steps back before falling down onto her behind.


    "W-What are you? There''s definitely something wrong with you!"


    Her eyes narrowed.


    "Wait, your hair... it''s not ck, but purple!"


    Willow frowned.


    Thedy was going to attract too much attention. Willow had to silence her before things got out of hand.


    Hex looked up at Willow.


    "Mm... me no like!"


    He struggled intensely before ripping through all the bandages around him and hopping out of Willow''s grasp.


    As for Apollo... he just scratched the side of his head with confusion.


    Why was everyone freaking out?


    Willow fumbled with the back of her gown before pulling out a jet-ck sword that had been chipped.


    Thedy nearly broke down in fear. She pointed towards Willow usingly.


    "INTRUDER! THERE''S AN-"


    Her head flew in the air.


    Willow had cut it off without hesitation, but did not make the body disappear.


    Thedy had already screamed. If people came over and found nothing, they would suspect either professionals or the supernatural. However, if there was a corpse, they would expect it to be someone within the realm of humans. This was especially so if the cause of death was clear.


    Willow grit her teeth.


    "We have to go."


    Her eyes narrowed.


    "NOW!"


    ck mist gathered around them before making a screen around them.. Then, the group ran.

 Chapter 139 - Kill A Genius

    Apollo looked at Willow as they ran.


    "Is it really that bad?"


    Willow nodded.


    "Yes, it''s really that bad."


    La pouted.


    "Hehe~ Where are we running to?"


    Willow frowned.


    "Away from the scene of the crime!"


    Hex ran while holding down the top of his hood with his sleeve.


    "What happening?"


    Willow sighed.


    "Too much to exin right now, but if we stay, then the crowd will see us."


    Apollo looked over his shoulder.


    "...But there is no crowd."


    Willow furrowed her brows, taking a peek at the ce she left thedy''s corpse.


    As Apollo said, there was no crowd.


    Willow stopped in her tracks.


    That... didn''t make much sense. Although the streets were not filled to the brim with people, it was not a deserted town. It was literally daytime in an empire!


    Her eyes narrowed. She noticed another peculiarity.


    ...The corpse was gone too.


    Beads of sweat formed on Willow''s forehead.


    What was going on?


    "Hello there."


    The group snapped their heads towards the source of the voice.


    It was thedy''s corpse, but the voice of a refined old man came out. The head was reattached to the body, but blood continued dripping down the neck. The corpse stood there rigidly while its eyes were wide open...


    ...and glowing with a bright yellow, almost looking holy.


    Emphasis on almost.


    Willow''s heart hammered in her chest. This was worse than even the most unfortunate situation she predicted.


    The corpse was looking at Hex when it greeted them. This prompted Hex to respond.


    "Hi there!"


    The corpse smiled rigidly.


    "I apologize for my intrusion, but I simply wish to make things a little easier for the both of us."


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Huh?"


    The corpseughed.


    "Sorry, I should be more clear. What exactly is your goal in this city?"


    Hex tilted his head to the side, confused.


    Willow decided to interject. There was a frown on her face.


    "Why do you want to know?"


    The corpse''s head eerily tilted to the side before turning to Willow.


    "...Did I ask you?"


    Willow''s face twitched. She decided to remain silent.


    La tilted her head to the side with curious eyes.


    "Who did you ask?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I think it''s the person he''s looking at."


    La nodded.


    "Oh!"


    The corpse''s head nced at the two, but after a few moments, shifted back to Hex. It seemed like it just didn''t want to deal with the two of them.


    Hex blinked with confusion once he noticed the gaze went back to him.


    "Um... me just follow them."


    He pointed towards the others with his sleeve. Though he didn''t mean any particr person, he was pointing towards Apollo and La.


    The corpse was speechless for a moment. Its gaze shifted towards Apollo and La.


    "...What is your goal, you two?"


    La raised her hand in the air with a smile.


    "We both know you!"


    The corpse fell silent. Then... a chuckle rang out.


    "What exactly do you mean by that?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I... don''t really know."


    The corpseughed out loud.


    "It appears we both know each other then."


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    "What?"


    The corpse smiled rigidly.


    "You noticed my gaze this entire time, didn''t you? I wasn''t trying to hide it after all."


    Willow''s eyes widened.


    They were... being watched the whole time?


    She hadn''t even suspected that. She had been watched before, but she had at least an inkling of that fact.


    Yet... this person wasn''t trying to hide it?


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, that''s why I felt so weird."


    La giggled.


    "Well of course I noticed! You''re watching from so close, after all."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ah! Where was he?"


    La giggled and pointed towards a watchtower far off in the distance.


    "Just over there! Can''t you see him? He looks like an old man, hehe."


    Apollo looked over and squinted his eyes. As expected, he wasn''t able to see anything.


    He sighed.


    "Ah... my vision isn''t so good."


    As for the corpse, it froze when La mentioned that. However, he soon recovered.


    "...Now that I reassess the situation, it seems I was mistaken."


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "Huh?"


    The corpse let out an eerieugh.


    "It was quite the conclusion to jump to. Why would The Harbinger of Deathe here? There are plenty of better locations for him to harvest..."


    The corpse''s eyes narrowed, staring intently at Hex.


    "At most, you are his reincarnation. That means..."


    The corpse''s eyes slowly closed.


    "You are in a vulnerable period. A perfect time to obtain rewards for little work and..."


    The corpse''s eyes shut.


    "...kill a genius."


    Willow''s sword shed, splitting the corpse in half. It fell to the ground lifelessly in four pieces, but Willow knew that her attack probably did nothing.


    Hex blinked a few times in confusion.


    "...Me no understand what happening"


    Willow clicked her tongue.


    "This isn''t good..."


    Apollo looked at La.


    "Where did he go?"


    La looked around herself, spinning around in a full circle.


    "He''s all around us!"


    Apollo''s eyebrow raised.


    "Huh?"


    It was at this point Apollo noticed a light tremor.


    He looked down at the ground and scratched the side of his head.


    "Hmm... shaky dirt."


    It was as though a raging beast was hiding deep under the crust of the world.


    And was rising up to the surface.


    Willow tore off the gown covering her and unfurled her wings.


    "We need to get away!"


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Get away from what?"


    Willow''s eyelid twitched.


    "The shaking ground!"


    La giggled.


    "But we would have to go really far away!"


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "What?"


    La''s tail unfurled from her outfit, pushing off the maid''s clothes, and swayed.


    "The entire ce is shaking!"


    Apollo gave a curious look to La.


    "Huh?"


    As if on cue, the tremors suddenly increased, on par with an earthquake.


    The houses... shot into the sky.


    And grew a pair of legs.

 Chapter 140 - Giggling

    "Wah!~ Are these all friends?"


    La iled her hands in the air with a bright smile on her face.


    The houses were raised nearly ten meters above the ground. Like they had always been there waiting, a pair of legs pushed them up into the sky.


    These legs were dark in color and strangely simr to the skin of a demon. There were indistinct strands of hair all across them that would repulse most. The legs were wide, but appearednky rtive to the overbearing length they possessed as well as the size of the houses they were connected to.


    The houses themselves pivoted around as though they were heads. A strange yellow light emanated from within the houses, out through all the windows. The light was bright enough to be a beacon.


    Altogether, the lights filled the empire, adding to the chaos that was already happening. It was as though a swarm of mutated fireflies descended on the empire.


    Despite the drastic shift in geography, there was no panic from the residents in the empire.


    In fact... the residents were nowhere to be seen.


    The only buildings that did not receive the ''leg'' treatment, were the ones near the center of the empire. These buildings were pces, watchtowers, and noble exclusive establishments.


    Considering howrge the empire was, Apollo and hispanions suddenly found themselves facing an innumerable army of giants.


    The nearby houses suddenly shifted their gazes, looking directly at Apollo and the others. Many beams of light shone on the group, almost like they were put under the spotlight at a grand party.


    Willow clicked her tongue.


    "...This is bad."


    La giggled. Her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "How is it bad? They want to be friends!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Really? To me, they look like they want to fight us."


    Hex raised his sleeves in the air, gathering arge amount of dark green mist.


    "If leg houses want fight, me fight too!"


    The light emanating from the nearby houses began to brighten. The light rapidly became blinding.


    As for Hex, the dark green mist coalesced at a simrly startling rate. Thick clouds of green mist revolved around the group, resembling a tornado.


    Hex''s brows furrowed. He was still weakened when he woke up, but exerted himself nheless.


    "Me..."


    Suddenly, the mistpressed around Hex. His outward appearance became a violently trembling cloud of mist.


    "Is..."


    The light from the houses suddenly dimmed. It was a prelude to disaster.


    "Hex!"


    At this moment, a thought appeared in Willow''s head.


    Weren''t they in the center of this attack? We should probably dodg-


    An earth-shaking explosion rang out, shaking the air.


    Massive beams of light had sted from the glowing houses, raining down upon the group.


    As for Hex, a shockwave of dark green mist burst from their location.


    The dark green mist swallowed up the majority of the energy from the houses, but not all. The wall of dark green mist distorted at the ces where it was pierced.


    The beams of lightnded on the group, simultaneously exploding upon making contact.


    As for Hex''s wall of mist, it burst like a bubble, mangling the nearby houses.


    The dust gradually cleared, revealing the aftermath of the attacks.


    Hex himself was unharmed. The energy was absorbed into his body, helping him more than hurting him. However, his brows were furrowed. He would not be able to repel the light beams forever.


    Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.


    "Me is tired..."


    As for La, she was simply waving aside the nearby dust. There was a displeased frown on her face, but she was unscathed. The explosion couldn''t even wrinkle La''s clothes, though the maid outfit was destroyed.


    Her ears drooped.


    "So dirty, ew!"


    As for Willow, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, but she was fine. The split second the explosion urred, she vanished, taking refuge in the shadow world. The corner of her dress had been singed. Had she been any slower, it wouldn''t be just the corner of her dress that vaporized.


    But her existence.


    Willow sighed.


    "How did I even get in such a precarious situation anyway?"


    As for Apollo...


    He could step into the shadow world like Willow, but wasn''t aware of that ability in his current state. He had never developed a true form of protection.


    As such, the explosions hit him with their full force.


    Apollo''s body was tossed high in the air, while his limbs distorted, letting out uncanny cracking sounds. The undersized clothes on his body had torn apart, leaving only his bandages to cover him.


    His skin stretched and twisted, holding on as best it could.


    Yet, it was torn apart.


    Many bloody gashes appeared across Apollo''s skin. His muscles were stretched taut, but were heavily maimed by the impact.


    As for the extrayer of bones that protected his body, they all shattered into smithereens.


    In summary, he was hurt.


    Apollo felt like someone suddenly clicked off the light, sending his world intoplete darkness. His mind couldn''t even properly process the pain, but it wasn''t hard for him to tell the situation was bad.


    His mind whirled rapidly until his thoughts suddenly disappeared.


    At this point, the others in the group realized Apollo''s situation.


    La curiously looked up at Apollo, with a finger on her chin.


    "Wow, friend learned how to fly!"


    She giggled and began to p her arms, trying to take flight as well. Like always, her feet remained nted on the ground.


    Hex tilted his head to the side. His sleeve rubbed against the top of his head.


    "...Me no think that good."


    Hex stood there awkwardly, contributing little to Apollo''s dire situation.


    He was concerned though.


    ...If that matters.


    As for Willow, she felt her heart ache. Despite nearly killing Apollo countless times in their previous battle, she still cared about his well-being.


    She looked concerned.


    "Apollo!"


    Willow reached out her hand towards him.


    Most of Apollo''spanions were worried for him.


    Yet.... the person in question was giggling.

 Chapter 141 - Make This World Wonder

    Within all the chaos, a faint giggle echoed.


    A small smile appeared on Apollo''s face, while his hair covered his eyes.


    His body was mangled, nearly beyond recognition.


    ...But Apollo didn''t seem to notice that.


    It was as though Apollo was walking through mes. mes that charred his skin, roasted his body, and melted his insides.


    Yet, instead of dying, it was only now that he felt like he was truly living.


    Like an artist.


    Experiencing pain not to ovee, but because that was the only way to create a masterpiece.


    Apollo''s limbs were twisted in the wrong direction.


    So he forced them back.


    Eerie, yet brutal, cracking sounds rang through the air. His limbs twitched awkwardly as they fit into ce while his fingers jolted as though they were experiencing a shock. It made one wonder what kind of will was needed to do something so excruciatingly painful.


    Apollo''s body released waves of blistering heat. Beads of sweat began forming on his forehead, but would evaporate momentster.


    The flesh on his body squirmed violently, recing his lost muscles and mending his skin. While his body had healed, his fresh blood still covered him, giving him quite the creepy appearance.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    Then, he cackled.


    Apollo spun his body while it was in the air. A nearby two-legged house charged towards him before attempting to smash him with its ''head'' by bowing violently.


    Apollo responded by raising his bokken.


    He had little maneuverability in the air, so it was going to be hard for him to dodge.


    Yet, Apollo wasn''t worried.


    The house rapidly descended. In just a moment, it was less than a meter away from him. Apollo could see the fine textures of the house, from the indents to the splinters.


    Then, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    His bokken ripped into the wooden wall, propelling him towards the house''s legs.


    Apollo shifted his body so that his feet were pointing forward like a spearhead. He retracted his legs, with his knees touching his chest.


    Apollo embraced the wind wildly blowing past him.


    In just a second, he reached the house''s knee, close enough to see the disturbing hairs clearly.


    His feet shot out in a blur, almost looking like a needle.


    A satisfying crack rang through the air, both from bones and snapped tendons.


    The house''s knee bent backward violently before twisting nauseatingly. The knee itself had shattered, sttering into a pile of mush.


    The house stumbled, unable to maintain its bnce. After just a few seconds, it crashed to the ground.


    As for Apollo, he shot like a bullet towards another house.


    That house noticed this early, sweeping with its ''head'' in an attempt to batter Apollo.


    Augh that spoke of insanity filled the air. Apollo swung while the house was still five meters away.


    Then, his thumb pressed against the hilt.


    The red tassel of his bokken snapped to the side while the crackle of thunder resounded.


    The house continued moving, but abruptly split in two.


    The two halves brushed by Apollo, one above and one below.


    The bright light shone right in Apollo''s eyes, but he did not squint or blink. If anything, his eyes widened.


    While Apollo''s eyes were burning, theyid on a strange floating crystal. It was shaped like a rhombus and was letting out a bright yellow light. It wasn''t easy to tell due to the ring illumination, but it was transparent.


    Apollo''s vision was red. He was hardly thinking. His only priority was to destroy.


    And so, his bokken shed, splitting the crystal in two.


    The house that Apollo had just shed buckled its legs. It fell to one knee before copsing to the floor lifelessly.


    In the faraway watchtower, Oddryl clicked his tongue.


    "I was careless."


    The houses around Apollo suddenly shifted their gazes towards him. The yellow light they emitted rapidly began to brighten.


    Apollo was still in midair, without anything to push off against.


    As such, he wouldn''t be able to dodge this.


    Apolloughed louder, quickly bing raucous.


    His body had been battered so badly just from residual effects from the light beams.


    So what would happen if they struck him directly?


    Apollo''s pupils violently shook.


    Then, the light from the houses suddenly dimmed.


    In the end, Apollo could only wait for the approaching ruin.


    Beams of light shot out, rapidly approaching him from every angle.


    Apollo raised his bokken towards the sky, as though he wanted to defy the will of the world itself.


    Then, the beams of light reached Apollo.


    A massive explosion reverberated throughout the empire.


    Apollo''s body was mutted.


    His bones twisted and cracked. His blood evaporated in the air. And his tendons snapped.


    ...Yet, he was still holding his bokken.


    Raising it high into the sky.


    The explosion lit his body on fire, burning him alive. It was as though he was thrown in the pits of hell itself. The mes raged, trying to consume Apollo whole.


    But they couldn''t.


    After all, he had always been aze. His fire within came from below, raging on at every moment.


    Frankly, this was nothing new to him.


    Apollo refused to bow.


    It wasn''t in his soul.


    All the hate that rampaged in his bones had turned him into something new.


    His skin had charred and ked off while his flesh rapidly disappeared. What was left, rapidly hardened and ckened.


    But everything that hurt, only pushed him further to see the truths of this world.


    Apollo''s bones shattered, jumbled up into pieces.


    But he could feel... something.


    Apollo''s heartbeat slowed, nearly stopping.


    It was as though he was a grain of sand, slipping down the hourss. But when it was his turn to fall, he remained stubbornly.


    What remained of Apollo was pitiful. A thinyer of charred flesh coated his bones while he no longer had eyes in his sockets. He was one step away from bing a skeleton.


    However, Apollo wouldn''t break.


    His bony hand continued to hold his bokken tightly, pointing it to the sky obstinately.


    ....Apollo was going to make this world wonder.

 Chapter 142 - A Crown

    The debris of the explosion cleared to reveal something that resembled a set of twigs.


    Apollo.


    His charred body hung in the air listlessly. Thin tendrils of his ck skin swayed with the wind and the texture of his flesh could be mistaken for bark on a tree.


    His head and limbs drooped down lifelessly, with the exception of one arm. The arm that held the bokken high.


    However, despite stubbornly holding on, it was hard to believe he was still alive from his appearance.


    In fact, Oddryl himself was essentially certain Apollo had died. He had already cast his gaze towards the other members of his group.


    Hex stared at Apollo''s body with a bit of remorse. A small pout formed on his face.


    "Time short. But me will miss friend..."


    Willow''s eyes widened with shock. Part of her didn''t believe that this was reality.


    "No... Apollo!"


    Perhaps the only person that still believed he was living... was La.


    She raised her arms in the air and giggled.


    "Teach me how to fly too, friend!"


    Without warning, a colossal lightning bolt struck down on Apollo, as though it was answering his call.


    The lightning bolt hit the tip of his bokken before rapidly traveling downwards into his body. His limbs involuntarily trembled, violently moving in erratic directions.


    Blue arcs of lightning danced across Apollo''s body, continuing to rampage across his body.


    Strangely enough, instead of charring Apollo further, it caused bright red flesh to burst out of body. As he continued to convulse, the features of his body rapidly returned. New eyes grew into his sockets, hair grew out of his head, and skin grew on top of his muscles.


    A nearly undiscernible ring formed above Apollo''s forehead. It was essentially transparent, only slightly distorting the light that passed through it.


    It was a crown.


    Apollo''s disy of sheer willpower allowed him to join an elusive rank.


    The crowned kings and queens.


    Those with crowns had a vast reputation and were greatly feared, even by the powerful. It was simply another realm.


    Apollo was at the very bottom of this realm, seen by his hardly existing crown, but he stepped in it nheless.


    Willow furrowed her brows. She couldn''t tell if she was seeing things.


    "What?..."


    Hex''s tiny mouth was agape in shock.


    "Apollo... not dead!"


    La''s furry ears twitched. Her tail swayed enthusiastically as though she was expecting this all along.


    "Friend is so cool!"


    Although Oddryl was not paying attention to Apollo, his eyes were currently cast on the entirety of the city. As such, he noticed the lightning bolt that descended upon Apollo.


    Oddryl narrowed his eyes.


    Somehow... Apollo was uninjured.


    In the back of Oddryl''s mind, he wondered if made a mistake in provoking this group. However, it was toote for any regrets now.


    Currently, Oddryl''s eyes were wide open and shone with a bright yellow glow.


    He turned to Talon, who was casually holding onto his purple scissors.


    "Get the avable giants to help."


    Talon raised an eyebrow.


    "It''s already gotten this bad?"


    Oddryl sighed.


    "Yes."


    Talon shrugged his shoulders.


    "Guess I better hurry."


    He rushed off, on his way to fulfill Oddryl''s request.


    As for Oddryl, he sighed.


    "The opportunity... is simply too great."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "The possibilities of power contained in the purple-eyed boy..."


    Oddryl clenched his fist.


    "If the Obrad Empire can harness it..."


    The glow from his eyes suddenly brightened tremendously.


    "We will be unstoppable..."


    The two-legged houses glowed even brighter. Suddenly, arms burst out of their sides. They resembled their ck and skinny legs, especially with the disturbing hair.


    The hands were abnormally long, especially so for the fingers. Those faint of heart would feel a chill down their spine just from looking at it.


    While that was happening, Apollo was letting out a derangedugh.


    The nearby houses swiped at him with their newly grown hands, scattering aside the snow in the air.


    As for Apollo, the arcs of lightning on his body grew more violent. Suddenly, he shot forward, towards an arbitrary arm.


    Apollo left arcs of lightning in his wake.


    He held his bokken in front of him, while rapidly approaching the arm.


    Apollo''s eyes were as wide as they could be, while the skin on his lips tore open from how wide he was smiling.


    The hand of that arm expanded, attempting to grasp Apollo. However, Apollo''s figure simply shed by, right between the gaps of the hand''s fingers.


    The hand suddenly split apart, while the arm was being torn in two.


    Apollo was dragging his bokken along, ripping into the arm as he went. Like a set of streamers, the two halves of the arms fell down lifelessly.


    Apollo was dashing forward whilepletely airborne. His figure tore through the air, while his hair whipped wildly in the wind.


    When Apollo was next to the house''s ''head'', his bokken traced an arc towards the sky. The walls of the house directly split apart, revealing a bright yellow crystal. It had already been cut in two.


    Apollo''s figure burst out the other end of the house''s head, scatteringrge chunks of wood and debris in the air. The house itself fell on its knees before crumpling down on the ground..


    It was as though Apollo was a bullet, piercing through an unfortunate person''s head.


    As this was happening, the houses around Willow, Hex, and La were not still. Some swiped with their hands while the light in the others began to brighten.


    Willow pped her wings, before taking to the air. Her jet-ck sword let out an ear-piercing hum.


    Willow dodged a ck hand that attempted to swat her. Her figure elusively slipped forward, reaching the house''s ''head'' in an instant.


    Her pitch ck sword shed.


    The house directly split in two. Shards of wood flew in the air, while the cut itself was jagged.


    Willow frowned. She suddenly remembered her sword was chipped.


    She would simply have to get used to it.


    There was no time, after all.

 Chapter 143 - Turning A Disadvantage Into An Advantage

    Willow''s eyes squinted due to the bright light shining upon her. She was able to make out a yellow crystal that was in the shape of a rhombus and slowly rotating.


    Willow instinctively realized this crystal was some sort of weakness. As such, she shed it.


    Along with the sounds of shattered ss, Willow''s de smashed the crystal into many little pieces.


    Willow''s jet-ck sword shed once more, tearing the walls of the house apart.


    Willow''s figure flew out, apanied by shards of wood in the sky. She cast a nce at Apollo, before dashing towards another nearby house.


    As for Hex, purple mist had gathered around him. He looked at one of the houses that began to brighten before shooting out a purple shadow towards it.


    The next second, Hex morphed into a small green ball and recklessly approached it. His body smashed through the wall of the house, letting himy eyes on a yellow crystal. The crystal was particrly bright as it was still gathering energy for an attack.


    Hex stared at the yellow crystal curiously. Then out of nowhere, his mouth opened wide, revealing his tiny, but sharp teeth.


    Hex lunged forward and chomped down on the yellow crystal, stuffing the majority of it into his mouth. The bright yellow light suddenly dimmed, before disappearing altogether.


    Hex began to chew, letting out a satisfying crunch. He swallowed, then licked his lips. It seemed like the crystal was extra tasty to him.


    The house abruptly fell down. Causing Hex''s body to m against one of the walls. ckie appeared from his shadow, before violently mming down on a nearby wall.


    With a crash, a new hole formed.


    Hex''s figure flew out of that hole. While still in the air, his eyes greedily scanned the houses around him.


    Hex wanted to eat more of the yellow crystals.


    La ran towards an arbitrary house. The light emitted from this house was rapidly brightening, signaling disaster. But to La, it was as though the house was inviting her to y.


    She dashed towards the house''s feet. Her hands reached out, grabbing onto the house''s ankles.


    Several frightening cracks rang out. La directly crushed some bones just by holding onto the house.


    The light from the house dimmed while La crouched down.


    A thundering boom rang out throughout the empire.


    Without warning, La leaped high into the air. She left a massive crater in her wake and lifted the house up by its legs.


    It made one wonder... why was she trying to fly so hard if she could just jump countless meters into the sky?


    La held the house behind her back to prepare for an overhead swing. She was rapidly approaching another house. That house nced at her, almost like it was afraid.


    The dim light from the house La was holding, abruptly began to brighten.


    But before it could do anything, La acted.


    With near impossible speeds, she mmed the house onto the other one. Right before they collided, the light of one house became blinding. The other house stared as though it was deathly afraid.


    A thundering explosion reverberated, shaking the air.


    Upon collision, the umted power in the house exploded out, directly blowing it apart along with the other house.


    La smiled cheekily.


    "Fun with friends!"


    And so, a chaotic battle ensued.


    Apollo''s figure streaked through the sky, leaving behind a trail of lightning. Many houses attempted to grab him, but he slipped past, tearing them into shreds along the way.


    His movement was simply too fast for the houses to attack Apollo with a beam of light. As for their physical attacks, Apollo simply slipped past them all. In the end, the houses were helpless before him.


    Apollo tore through one house after another. Crystals shattered from his strikes one after another. It was as though Apollo himself was actually a series of thunderbolts, ripping through the sky.


    Apollo wasughing the entire time. There was an unhinged look in his eyes, one that called for destruction. His pupils were trembling, almost as though it was eagerly anticipating a masterpiece''s climax.


    Countless houses copsed to the ground. They had all fallen by Apollo''s de.


    Willow was speeding through the air as well, pping her raven wings. She furrowed her brows.


    "If only my sword wasn''t chipped..."


    Willow''s attacks had lost most of their power. Her current strike could split apart the wall of a house. But if her sword hadn''t been chipped, she would''ve directly torn through the entire thing and shattered the crystal in the process.


    It was then she recalled something.


    Willow was taken back to the time she carried Apollo, La, and Hex through the snow. Her momentum had been disrupted by La''s violent rocking. It was hard to consider what La did to be ''helpful'' in any way.


    ...But she made it helpful.


    Willow defiedmon sense, turning a disadvantage into an advantage. Logically, this was simply too hard to do. After all, La''s moves were erratic.


    The same went for the chip in Willow''s de. After all, it was now irregrly jagged. Compared to the smoothness Willow was used to, it was now rough. It was as though Willow spent her entire life in cleanliness only to fall into a puddle of mud.


    The drastic shift shocked her.


    But it was then she recalled a line spoken by her old friend.


    Herst memory of him was when he was a little boy, with a head of white hair.


    Vicar.


    ...


    They were attacking each other with wooden swords. It had been snowing heavily while the ground was frozen over in certain areas. These frozen areas acted likendmines, only revealing their true nature once someone stepped on them.


    Whenever Willow''s footnded on the ice, she slipped. If she was attacking, her attack would lose its trajectory. Soon after, Vicar would win that spar.


    However, the same was not true for Vicar.


    It was as though the ice wasn''t his enemy...


    ....but his ally.

 Chapter 144 - Order... Within Chaos

    While Willow would attempt to avoid the ground that had been frozen over, Vicar wouldn''t bother.


    This meant Vicar slipped far more than Willow. However, slipping did not make him lose hisposure. His stance would abruptly shift, while his trajectory elusively slipped towards Willow.


    As for Willow, she could only block maybe half of the attacks Vicar performed like this.


    It was as though Vicar could predict not only when he wouldnd on the frozen ground, but knew which way he would slip. Some would even suspect Vicar was secretly wearing ice skates rather than heavy snow boots.


    Willow was unable to even win one spar when they fought in this environment and they had fought here countless times.


    Willow fell to the floor after slipping on a patch of ice. She hit the ground and grimaced in pain.


    "Oww!"


    Vicar was in the middle of a swing, but stopped after noticing Willow had fallen.


    "Haha, is this my hundredth win? Maybe it''s two hundred by now."


    Willow looked up at Vicar, with a bitter smile on her face.


    "How are you... soposed? Every time I slip on the ice, it takes everything I have to stay standing!"


    Vicar smiled cheekily.


    "It''s because you are trying to fight it!"


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    "What do you mean, fight it? Of course I have to resist it, else I will fall!"


    Vicar proceeded to perform aplicated set of footwork, gliding around violently whenever hended on a piece of ice. Yet, he always remained standing.


    There was a casual smile on his face, as though he didn''t even consider the possibility of falling over.


    "You see how I do it?"


    Willow sighed helplessly.


    "I see it, but I can hardly understand."


    Vicar giggled. He raised his index finger while still performing hisplicated footwork.


    "You should turn your problems into your weapon!"


    A smirk appeared on his face.


    "After all, there is order within chaos."


    ...


    Willow snapped back to reality. She slowly closed her eyes.


    "Order... within chaos."


    She swooped down, rapidly approaching a nearby house. The house''s light was glowing brightly, about tounch its attack.


    However, Willow did not seem to notice. Instead, she dived through the air, feeling the wind glide past her wings. The humming sound from her de gradually became grating.


    It was as though the air itself was being torn apart.


    The light from the house abruptly dimmed. It was about to attack.


    Yet, before it could do anything, Willow''s jet-ck sword shed.


    A violent rip rang out. It sounded like fabric had been torn apart.


    The house was shredded into countless tiny pieces. This was the case for the bottom of its feet to the roof of its ''head''.


    Willow flew by the debris as though she was passing by a shower of flower petals.


    The entire time, her eyes were closed and her face expressionless. It was as though she would remain that way even if the sky fell down.


    A nearby house''s light suddenly dimmed while gazing at Willow. In the next moment, a massive beam of light shot towards Willow.


    But she was not concerned. In fact, she didn''t even n on dodging, but facing it head on.


    While her eyes remained closed, her de snapped towards the beam of light. The air itself was torn apart, sounding as though fabric was being ripped. A violent shockwave shot out from Willow''s de.


    An ear-piercing grating sound rang out, as though metal was scraping against each other.


    The shockwave rapidly tore through the beam of light, making it fly to the sides. It was as though the beam of light was just a ribbon to be cut. As the shockwave traveled upwards, it eventually reached the house itself and exploded its head into pieces.


    Willow''s eyes remained closed the entire time, and she had no ns to open them anytime soon.


    She continued flying through the air, weaving through the sky while following even the smallest currents of air. Like that, she continued to shred the various two-legged houses into pieces.


    As for Hex, he only stood there, but began panting heavily. A nearby house''s light began brightening considerably. It was aiming directly at Hex.


    Hex simply fell to one knee, as though he didn''t notice the house targeting him. Oddryl wasn''t going to show any mercy just because Hex seemed unprepared. He continued to prepare the house''s attack.


    But something that slipped past Oddryl''s vision, despite his wide coverage. The house''s shadow... began to twist.


    Slowly, it began to form a massive smiling shadow with two horns and oversized ws. It was ckie.


    The light emitted from the house dimmed, seconds away from finishing its attack. But that was when a massive hand rose from its shadow, directly crushing the house''s head into pieces.


    While the house crumpled and fell to the ground, ckie rose up, standing tall like a giant. It was as though ckie decided to tag in for the house. The only difference was instead of taking a break, the house fell to the floor, never to rise again.


    Hex dashed over to ckie, while ckie reached out with his w, palm facing upwards. When they were a few meters apart, Hex jumped up while ckie scooped him up.


    ckie put Hex on top of his head, then ran towards a nearby house. As for Hex, he stood up on his two feet and raised his sleeves high in the air.


    "Me is king! Rahhhh!"


    Hex tried to make himself look as big as possible. However, he was already so small normally, and the massive size of ckie made him look even smaller. As such, he looked like a cute kid.


    However, Hex was definitely not just some cute kid. Hex and ckie continued to rampage among the various houses. With every smash, ckie would retrieve a yellow crystal and hand it to Hex.


    Hex happily munched on them, inspiring an uncanny sense of fear.


    But perhaps the most fearful out of all of them...


    ....would be La.

 Chapter 145 - Rhys And Rhea

    "Waaaaah!~"


    La was traveling through the air rapidly, as though she were tearing apart the sky itself.


    There was a blissful smile on her face, one that lived for embracing the moment. And embrace the moment she did.


    La was holding two houses, one ankle in each hand. She violently swung them around while in the air, decimating other houses along with the ones she held. Countless crashes resounded around La while debris scattered within the air, even more so than the snow.


    Like a meteor, La mmed into the ground, forming a miniature crater. The only thing left of the two houses she held was a small stub.


    La tossed the stubs to the side. Her furry ears perked up.


    "So much fun with so many friends!"


    The houses paid the most attention to La,pared to the rest of herpanions. In fact, over ten houses were currently facing La as the light they emitted rapidly brightened.


    La curiously looked around herself, noticing that they were focused on her. The light emitted from the houses abruptly dimmed, signaling the start of their attack.


    As for La, she simply raised her hands high into the air.


    "Hi friends!~"


    Numerous beams of light shot towards La, from nearly every angle.


    An earth-shaking explosion ensued.


    A ball of light burgeoned violently from La''s location, scarring thend ck everywhere they traveled.


    When the light cleared... La was nowhere to be seen.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    Because she was thrown high up into the air.


    La was over fifty meters high up in the air. She pped her arms as though she was a bird with a bright smile on her face.


    "I''m flying!~"


    She giggled freely, without the slightest care in the world. Her furry ears twitched.


    "I must show all friends this great feeling!"


    La looked towards the ground. Suddenly, she plummeted towards the ground at terrifying speeds.


    A thundering bang resounded throughout the empire while huge clouds of dust filled the air.


    The dust cleared to reveal a massive crater... but La wasn''t there. She had already dashed towards a nearby house.


    Before the house could do anything, La picked it up by its ankle and sent it flying in the air over eighty meters high. She continued running throughout the empire while throwing all the houses up in the air.


    There was a wanderer traversing the outskirts of the empire. He looked to his right to see houses flying in the air, iling their ck limbs around in the sky.


    The wanderer blinked a few times.


    "What the fu-"


    It was a peculiar sight that inspired both fear and...


    ...confusion.


    From within the watchtower, Oddryl furrowed his brows.


    "...These fellows are fairlypetent. It appears it was a little ambitious to try and handle them all on my own."


    He sighed.


    "Well... there''s always the others."


    As though on cue, two people joined the chaotic war.


    One of them floated in the air, held up by gales of wind. It was an adult male, with a rather refined look. He had long straight hair that cascaded past his waist. The hair itself was ck, but shined with a bright luster from under the sun.


    His skin was eerily smooth, as though it wasn''t skin, but a porcin vase. His irises were a sharp hazelnut color, giving him a mature look. He wore a light robe and a thick dark blue cloth tied around his waist.


    The man''s fingers were thin and slender. It almost appeared feminine, but there was something in the way his fingers curled that appeared a little too sinister to be so.


    One of his hands held onto a small white paper fan. The fan was open and held just below the man''s lips.


    He chuckled softly.


    "I never thought someone would be so foolish as to challenge the empire. What say you, Rhea?"


    The person standing next to this man, named Rhea, was also young, but a woman. She was standing on a flowing pir of water that rippled asionally.


    Rhea had long straight ck hair like the man, but it only reached past her shoulder des. Her eyes shone with a deep blue, as though they were a serene pond. She wore a white robe and had a thick white cloth tied around her waist, just like the man. She had a small blue flower perched on her shoulder, an iris.


    Like the man, Rhea''s skin was eerily smooth. The only difference being her skin was a little more tender and rosy. Her cheeks sunk in ever so slightly, giving her an elegant look and her lips were cherry red.


    There was almost something... unsettling about the way she looked. Like a beautiful painting, but something about its overall appearance was off.


    Rhea smiled condescendingly.


    "Is it really so strange someone would attack the empire? There are an innumerable amount of fools treading the ground, wouldn''t you say, Rhys?"


    The man, or Rhys, smirked.


    "I suppose that is true. Though so many fools with power is quite a rare sight."


    Rhea rolled her eyes.


    "They may have power, but all of their kind die early due to their witless minds."


    Rhys flicked his fan shut with a sigh.


    "Why must we be the ones to send them off?"


    Rhea raised her hand, pointing her delicate index finger towards Apollo, far off in the distance.


    Sheughed, sounding beautiful, yet malicious at the same time.


    "Is this not our duty as part of the twenty-five giants?"


    A ball of water gathered on her finger before shooting outwards. As it traveled, it rapidly increased in size, until it became a tidal wave that reached a height of twenty meters.


    Apollo''s gaze shifted towards the iing tidal wave. Without the slightest trace of fear, he bolted towards it with his bokken raised, leaving trails of lightning in his wake.


    Rhys leisurely held his fan by his side. He curiously watched Apollo.


    "This child seems eager. If only..."


    Rhys lifted his paper fan.


    "...he understood when to run."


    Then swung it as though he was swinging a de.

 Chapter 146 - Resisting The Oceans Will

    The tidal wave approaching Apollo suddenly twisted violently. In just a second, the tidal wave surrounded him on all ends, ready to copse on him.


    For a moment, Apollo was at a loss. The tidal wave rapidly closed in on him, without mercy. It was as though Apollo was a single man challenging an army of countless people.


    Once the tidal wave was only a few meters away from Apollo, the corner of his lips turned up. He casuallyid his hand on the side of his de while the arcs of lightning dancing on his body increased in intensity.


    It was almost like Apollo wasn''t actually surrounded on all ends by a magical attack.


    His bokken shed.


    The sound of crackling lightning and rushing waves resounded throughout the city.


    Apollo shed in front of himself and behind himself, splitting apart the tidal wavesing after him. It was as though the tidal waves had been a cake, something meant to be cut apart.


    Apollo looked at Rhys and Rhea with his wide eyes. He bolted towards them in a fashion that was not too different from a rabid dog.


    Rhys expanded his paper fan and held it just below his mouth. He smirked.


    "The boy must think he dealt with that attack."


    Rhea raised her hand before rolling her eyes.


    "Just hurry up already."


    Rhys chuckled.


    "Alright, alright."


    He fully opened his paper fan while a solemn expression appeared on his face. The paper fan shed.


    There was a strange ominous feeling that fell down upon the empire.


    The tidal wave behind Apollo abruptly surged and threw itself at him. However, it was as though Apollo didn''t notice this. Instead, he was focusing on his front.


    There was a strange distortion. As though the light was bending around. Apollo held his bokken with both hands, while augh seeped out from his lips.


    However, Rhys wasn''t the only one that attacked. A massive hand of water conjured next to Rhea, in the same shape as her own hand. She clenched her fist, causing the fist of water to clench as well.


    Then, she swung.


    The fist of water shot towards Apollo, but it wasn''t that fast.


    At first.


    Without warning, the fist of water rapidly elerated once it entered the strange distortion. It was almost like a miniature wormhole opened up, letting the fist of water shoot forward at impossible speeds.


    Apollo''s pupils shook as he traced an arc towards the sky with his bokken.


    The fist of water split in two...


    Thenbined together, as though it had never been shed in the first ce.


    With a deafening bang, the fist of water mmed straight into Apollo''s chest,unching him towards the tidal wave.


    Just from the fist of water alone, Apollo''s rib cage had shattered. Even his organs were heavily damaged from and this was despite the extrayer of bones protecting them.


    Apollo felt like he was waiting for a pedestrian traffic light. Once it showed a little walking white man, he walked onto the road.


    Then, a car hit him at speeds that were multiple times over the speed limit.


    Apollo''s body was thrown into the tidal wave as though he were a rag doll. There was little resistance when Apollo was swallowed up by the waves, but it all changed once he was submergedpletely.


    The water began crushing him with abnormally strong pressure.


    Apollo saw himself at the bottom of the ocean, enduring water pressure that threatened to obliterate his body into a pulp. If he didn''t do anything, the only thing waiting for him was death.


    But to remain standing was unbelievably hard, not to mention moving.


    While Apollo was drowning in the waves, Rhea sighed.


    "That should be enough, I imagine."


    Rhys narrowed his eyes.


    "Well... it doesn''t hurt to be a bit more thorough."


    Rhys held out his paper fan as though he was saluting in the army. Then, it twitched.


    Numerous massive gales tore through the air before traveling towards Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he saw faint silhouettes of marine life from the bottom of the ocean. There were great white sharks, killer whales, and hammerhead sharks.


    Though initially faint, they rapidly approached Apollo as though they had smelt his blood. Death itself lingered above his head, ready to swing its scythe at any moment.


    But Apollo was not one to fall when he was thrown into the pits of hell.


    Thunder crackled violently, dancing across Apollo''s body. He held his bokken with both hands while his eyes widened. His muscles stretched taut while countless red scars snaked all over his body.


    Then, his bokken shed.


    Apollo moved against the ocean''s will. His bokken tore through the water, splitting it apart. He stood at the bottom of the ocean, but there was no longer any water surrounding him.


    Instead, there were tidal waves emanating from his direction, directly swallowing up all the marine life that threatened to kill him.


    As for Rhys and Rhea, they saw the massive tidal wave scatter as though it were a pile of sand. Even the des of wind Rhys shot out had shattered from the shockwave of Apollo''s strike.


    Rhys sighed.


    "This one... seems a little troublesome."


    Rhea shrugged her shoulders. She gingerly plucked off the blue iris on her shoulder. It was as though the flower was the most delicate object in the world.


    "All of them are a little troublesome. Else, we would not have been called."


    Rhys snapped his fan shut. Then, he clicked his tongue.


    "Annoying."


    Violent gales of wind stirred around Rhys. His hair and clothes wildly whipped around as a serious expression appeared on his face.


    As for Apollo, he wasn''t in the best condition. Although he broke out of the tidal wave, his rib cage had been shattered. The bones were regenerating, but not at a fast enough pace to resist continuous attacks from the two mages.


    But Rhys suddenly narrowed his eyes.


    "We have to dodge."


    He dashed to the side.


    "Now."

 Chapter 147 - Something Terrifying

    Rhea did not question Rhys. She distorted the water pir below her to dash to the side as instructed.


    At that moment, a girl with long purple hair and two furry cat ears tore through the air, right where the two were previously standing.


    There was a blissful smile on the girl''s face.


    "Teach me how to fly toooo!~"


    It was La.


    She had noticed the fight going on between Apollo and the two mages. As such, she jumped in, reaching out her hands in an attempt to grab both Rhys and Rhea.


    Unfortunately, Rhys was able to notice the distortion in the air caused by La. As such, he was able to give a warning, allowing him and his partner to dodge in time.


    After a brief moment of floating in the air, La plummeted back down to the ground. Although she could jump really high, she couldn''t fly, as much as she wanted to.


    Once La mmed into the ground with a bang, a frown emerged on Rhys'' face.


    "That strange girl is frighteningly strong."


    Rhea nodded. She retained herposure the entire time.


    "However, it appears she cannot cast any spells. Not meaningful ones anyway."


    Rhys sighed.


    "In the end, strength is all that strange girl has. So long as we remain in the sky, we simply have to pay minimal attention to her."


    Rhea spared a nce at Willow and Hex.


    Willow had her eyes closed and was mindlessly flying towards the various houses, shredding them into pieces with her de.


    As for Hex, he was simply rampaging around on ckie''s head. He would asionally munch on the yellow crystals ckie gave him.


    Rhea slowly turned the blue iris around with her fingers.


    "Hmm... if we can distract that little girl, we should be able to deal with the little boy unimpeded."


    Rhys nodded. He opened his paper fan just a tad before cutting the air with it.


    "I''ve sent the message to Oddryl. He should know what to do."


    La lifted her head from where she had fallen. She stood up in the miniature crater that formed underneath her and looked up into the sky.


    "Why are friends not ying with me?"


    La pouted and bent her knees, ready to jump once more.


    "Wait, I can y with you!"


    Out of nowhere, a little boy with glowing yellow eyes appeared next to La. He had a rigid smile on his face and waved both hands in an attempt to catch La''s attention.


    He seeded.


    La stopped herself from jumping and excitedly turned to the little boy.


    "Friend?"


    The boy nodded enthusiastically. So much so, that a few snapping sounds came from his neck.


    "Yeah, follow me!"


    The little boy proceeded to dash away at speeds that were way too fast for a normal child. The boy''s ligaments cracked, but that didn''t seem to bother him.


    La chased after him like a kitten that got distracted by a butterfly.


    Although the little boy was moving fast, it was nowhere near La''s speed. After just a few moments, La was right behind him.


    A cheerful smile was on her face.


    "I win!"


    La casually shoved the little boy with one palm. With a crash, the little boy hit the ground. He had been mangled and twisted into pieces.


    La curiously looked at what was left of the little boy''s corpse. She put a finger on her chin.


    "Friend is sleeping?"


    La shifted her gaze back towards Rhys and Rhea. A bright smile appeared on her face.


    "I''ming, friends!"


    La bent her knees once more, ready to take off.


    "Wait, I can y with you too!"


    This time, a little girl appeared out of nowhere. Just like the little boy, her eyes were yellow and glowing brightly. The little girl waved enthusiastically, letting out a few cracking sounds.


    Once again, La stopped herself. She turned to look at the little girl.


    "Ah, a new friend!"


    The girl giggled.


    "Yes, yes! Now follow me!"


    Like that, La was led around by these strange children with glowing yellow eyes. This was the work of Oddryl. He controlled the vigers with his magic, but it wasn''t the most precise. That much could be seen from the snapping sounds that came just from the children waving.


    In the watchtower, Oddryl let out a sigh of relief.


    "Thankfully this one isn''t too bright."


    Rhea watched La being led around by the vigers Oddryl was controlling. She raised an eyebrow.


    "Oddryl is using the peasants as a lure. That ismendable, finding use in the worthless."


    Rhys leisurely waved around the shut paper fan in his hand. Heughed.


    "He was always a man that made the most of the little things. I wouldn''t be surprised if his middle name was efficiency."


    Rhea nodded approvingly. She looked at the blue iris in her hand. It began to glow ever so slightly. It almost looked like a baby that was waking up.


    "Anyways, Oddryl did his job. Now it''s time to do ours."


    Wind wildly whipped around Rhys once again. His clothes whipped by as though he was a g raised high in the mountains.


    The snow around Rhys scattered, afraid of the consequences of getting closer.


    As for Rhea, the flower in her hand began to glow even more brightly, until it became blinding.


    The two were clearly preparing for a violent attack.


    However, Apollo wasn''t aware of this. He was hovering in the air, as though he was in space. He let out faint giggles every now and then. If one looked closely, one would see steam rising from his body.


    Although Apollo broke out of the tidal wave, it truly cost him. His body violently heated up while his mind was in a daze. He was unable to process the situation, or even see for that matter.


    As such, Rhea and Rhys were able to prepare their next spell without interruption.


    Apollo slowly raised his head, giggling like a maniac.


    He blinked a few times.


    Then, he saw something terrifying.

 Chapter 148 - Kneel Before Dragons

    There was a saying that circted among intelligent creatures, despite the little information that went from empire to city, and city to vige.


    ''Kneel under the presence of a dragon.''


    Most people have never seen such a mythical creature. In fact, there are some that simply believe dragons are things of legends. However, they were very real. They were widely known for the pressure their very existence created.


    As such, there were people that tried to replicate this pressure. In the majority of circumstances, these people would either be of high status and could afford such research, or were intelligent enough to do research on their own.


    The attempts were numerous, but the number of failures was nearly equal. Despite the ability many possessed, hardly anyone could replicate the mythical pressure emitted from a dragon.


    ...But those that seeded, created something terrifying.


    As for one of those sesses, it was right in front of Apollo. Rhys and Rhea coordinated casting a spell, something that required both parties to work together as though they were one mind.


    Large volumes of water shot out from Rhea''s flower while numerous galesunched out from Rhys'' body. Theybined, twisting andpressing.


    Rhea and Rhys created a two-headed dragon, half made of surging water, and half made with violent winds. The moment the spell appeared, an overbearing pressure pressed down on everyone in the empire.


    The two-headed dragon spread its wings wide and roared with indignation. It was as though the very existence of the others insulted the two-headed dragon. Even though it was formed by a spell, it resembled a living entity.


    Apollo''s mind was spinning, which was only further exacerbated by the pressure from the two-headed dragon. However, Apollo was a strange kind of person.


    The kind of person that was only truly awake under the heaviest pressure.


    Apollo''s vision was blurry while his mind was still unable to process the situation.


    But he still subconsciously raised his bokken.


    There was a reason Apollo was bestowed a crown. It was because he proved his persistence. That he would never back down no matter how hard it got, or how dangerous it was.


    And Apollo had no intention of changing that now.


    He dashed straight towards the two-headed dragon, leaving trails of lightning in his wake. As for the two-headed dragon, they opened their jaws wide and rapidly gathered mana. In less than a second, a de of wind and a de of water shot out.


    They tore through the air loudly, almost as though they were screaming.


    Apollo''s eyes cleared, before widening. His hand traced the t side of his bokken.


    Then snapped out.


    Both the de of wind and de of water were cleanly cut through. But... it was a little too clean.


    Although Apollo had cut the des, this simply made them split into two before continuing onwards. Four small des of water and des of wind smashed into Apollo''s body, severely damaging his organs.


    Apollo was teetering on the line of life and death. If he truly decided to continue fighting, he may very well die. Apollo himself was acutely aware of this fact, but something in his soul made him unable to care.


    Apollo bolted forward, letting the red scars on his skin expand. He directly dashed past the heads of the dragon, aiming to attack the part that connected the wind and water together.


    The two-headed dragon was not going to let Apollo do as he pleased. Its two gaping jaws opened wide before snapping towards Apollo.


    An eerie crunch resounded.


    Both of Apollo''s shoulder des shattered under the force of the dragon''s jaws. He could hardly feel any sensation in his arms. But still, he moved. A jolt coursed through his body.


    Apollo''s bokken traced an arc towards the sky. It was as though his bokken was tired of being oppressed, and wanted to oppose the clouds high in the air.


    A violent tearing sound ensued.


    The two-headed dragon split apart into two, forcefully torn apart by Apollo. They both roared in pain, as though it had been their very existence that was split in half.


    ...But they did not disappear.


    The two halves of the dragon dashed away from Apollo. They slowly grew into their own entity. In the end, the two-headed dragon became two separate dragons.


    During this time, Apollo''s body was also healing. However, that didn''t include his shattered bones. His organs were currently severely maimed, which was pretty bad considering they were pretty important for his survival.


    As such, Apollo''s body focused all of its attention on healing Apollo''s organs. As for his shattered rib cage and shoulder des, they were left unattended.


    By the time the two dragons reformed their bodies, Apollo''s organs had regenerated. However, not having his shoulder des meant it was going to be difficult to move. On top of that, not having a rib cage meant he would be easily damaged.


    The two dragons obviously didn''t care about this, and charged towards him. Since they were both approaching from opposite ends, Apollo would be hard-pressed to push back both of them.


    But he didn''t intend on pushing back both of them.


    Apollo held his bokken with both hands, clenching the hilt until his knuckles became white. As the two dragons rapidly approached him, Apollo''s body heated up like a furnace. The snow around Apollo directly melted into water, a testament to the temperature.


    When the two dragons were seconds away from Apollo, red scars snaked across his skin. He tightened his muscles, using them to forcefully hold the shattered fragments of his shoulder de together.


    Apollo turned to the dragon made of water, ignoring the other onepletely. He let out a mockingugh, as though to ask what let them dare challenge him.


    The water dragon''s jaws were wide open, ready to snap down upon Apollo. He could see the gaping void from within. It wasrge enough to swallow him whole.


    But Apollo wouldn''t let it do so.

 Chapter 149 - You Remind Me Of Someone

    Apollo''s bokken tore through the air, as though he was ripping through the fabric of space.


    A thunderp resounded throughout the empire.


    The dragon made of water was split in two before scattering into tiny droplets of lifeless water. It could no longer reform. Just the shockwave from Apollo''s sh forcefully shattered what gave it the strength to hold together.


    Yet...


    While the dragon made of water was utterly decimated, the dragon made of wind was unharmed. As such, nothing stopped it from attacking Apollo.


    The sound of tearing flesh and cracking bones filled the air.


    Apollo''s spine shattered under the force of the dragon''s jaws. He could no longer stand tall, as he had nothing to support him.


    Rhea coughed up a mouthful of blood. She received severe bacsh from her dragon dissipating.


    Rhea covered her mouth and hunched over. Blood continued dripping from underneath her hand while her brows furrowed. She let out a muffled voice filled with pain.


    "Finish him off, Rhys!"


    Rhys sighed, believing the situation had already been taken care of. After all, Apollo''s body had been horribly mangled. He narrowed his eyes.


    "There is nowhere for him to go now. This troublesome fellow is finally dealt with."


    The wind dragon raised its w confidently before bringing it down on Apollo. It swiped forward, finishing what it started.


    ...So why was its w missing?


    Rhea''s body trembled. She moved her hand away from her face, revealing a bloody mess. However, she could care less at this point.


    Rhea let out a scream of anger.


    "What are you doing, Rhys? I said to finish him off already!"


    Rhys furrowed his brows.


    "...I tried."


    Rhea spat out some blood before indignantly ring at Rhys.


    "Then why is he still standing!"


    Rhys took a deep breath.


    "This fellow... is more troublesome than we thought."


    Rhea''s eyes widened. She took another look at Apollo.


    "What?"


    Apollo''s back consisted only of mangled flesh and spine fragments.


    But he stood tall, with his bokken raised high in the air.


    He had no spine to hold him up, so he forcefully twisted his muscles to stand tall. It was painful. After all, he was essentially cutting his own muscles against the cracked fragments of his spine.


    Rhys clicked his tongue and pointed his shut paper fan at Apollo.


    "Why are you so stubborn? You won''t be able to win anyway!"


    Apollo let out augh as though Rhys said the funniest joke in the world.


    "...How are you so sure I won''t be able to win?"


    Rhys frowned. He slowly lowered the paper fan.


    "Just look at the condition of your body! Even if you ran away, you would die! Even if you miraculously defeated us, you would still die!"


    Rhys clenched the hilt of his paper fan tighter. A fierce expression appeared on his face.


    "It''s pointless for you to struggle! What''s the point if you will die from just a gust of wind!"


    Apollo held the side of his face with his hand. His eye peered through the gap between his fingers while a maniacalugh uncontrobly escaped him.


    Suddenly, he fell eerily silent.


    "If I would die from just a gust of wind..."


    Apollo''s head slowly twisted towards Rhys. Apollo''s pupils were shaking so violently, it could easily be seen with the naked eye.


    "...then why are you talking to me, instead of blowing that gust of wind?"


    A nasty grimace appeared on Rhys'' face. He swung his paper fan to the side, as though he was hitting back a ball Apollo tossed towards him.


    "In the end, there is no hope for you! In this state, you have no chance of surviving! It would be easier for everyone if you just gave up!"


    Apollo let out a raucousugh. His throat was torn apart by hisughs, making him intermittently spit out blood. His voice became raspy.


    "You know..."


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    "...you remind me of someone."


    A memory slowly rose up to the surface in Apollo''s mind.


    ...


    "What the hell is wrong with you? How will you ever progress if you are this shit?"


    "S-Sorry mother... it won''t happen again."


    "BULLSHIT. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE YOU SAID THAT?"


    A clear smack resounded through the air.


    Apollo held onto his bloody cheek with a shaking hand. He crouched down on the floor, as though he was trying to disappear from this world. Tears cascaded down his face while his eyes were puffy from crying.


    There were countless bruises on his body. Some were purple, while others were torn open, leaking blood.


    Standing above Apollo was his mother. The inner corner of her brows tried to dig into her eyes. She had a nasty frown, one that twisted the skin that held her face together. Her eyes were bloodshot and red at Apollo. It was as though she wanted to cut him apart with her eyes alone.


    Apollo''s mother was angry.


    She slowly raised her hand. Then, with all her strength, pped Apollo.


    Another clear smack resounded.


    "What are you going to be if you''re this weak? The moment any hardshipes, you just cry, cry, cry!"


    The muscles in her arms ached, while her palm was stinging. But that was not a reason for her to hold back.


    Apollo was only a child. His body had not been built up to take on hits, nor was it used to pain.


    One could only imagine how painful it was for Apollo if even his mother was hurting from her strikes.


    Apollo''s mother continued shouting, even when her voice became hoarse.


    "Your life is fucking pointless! Can''t you realize that now?"


    Apollo continued to sob.


    "I know already, I know!"


    Apollo''s mother hit him again. Her own palm tore open and began bleeding.


    "There''s no hope for someone as worthless as you! You might as well kill yourself!"


    Her eyes narrowed.


    "The world would be better off without you."


    Apollo closed his eyes in an attempt to dissipate into dust.

 Chapter 150 - Something Ive Learned

    Apollo''s eyes slowly opened. He looked at Rhys and Rhea, who were attempting to kill him with their res alone.


    Heughed with an uncanny undertone.


    "There was something I''ve learned..."


    There was a time where Apollo didn''t have confidence in anything he did. It was a time where he refused to try anything new. A time where he never put any effort into anything, not even himself.


    Apollo decided his time was better spent pestering the people around him. He couldn''t even remember for how long he lived like that, in pointlessness.


    Apollo''s eyes widened.


    "Through all the misery..."


    But then... he was assassinated.


    When Apollo made the decision to pick up his bokken, he made it with conviction. For the first time in years, he felt determined to do something. It wasn''t because someone told him to, or because he enjoyed it.


    Apollo''s pupils shook.


    "That I didn''t need to listen to anyone else..."


    Sure, dying was painful. But he was fighting against a trained assassin with very real knives while holding a wooden sword. Far too many would''ve given up.


    Even if they had encouragement from everyone around them.


    Apollo''s lips tore from his smile.


    "Because there was only one person I needed to listen to..."


    Yet... Apollo didn''t. He didn''t have any encouragement. Instead, there was a voice in the back of his head berating him.


    That he was worthless.


    That he couldn''t do anything.


    That he was better off killing himself.


    Those were his thoughts as the voice that took over him. It was when he just stood there as the assassin repeatedly killed him. The entire time, he didn''t try to fight back, nor did he try to run.


    He simply stood there. He epted his fate.


    Apollo cackled, as though he broke off the restraints the world put on him.


    "And the one person I needed to listen to..."


    But there was something deep inside Apollo that rose like a raging me.


    Hatred.


    It was hate for everything he had been through, everything he had been forced to experience.


    It was only then, did he realize it was all bullshit.


    Apollo grabbed his skull with his hand, digging into his scalp.


    "...WAS MYSELF."


    Apollopletely discarded his old way of thinking, and it was freeing. It was as though he was a caged bird that was finally released. For his entire life, he thought he couldn''t fly.


    But when Apollo took a step out of the cage, he realized how natural it all was.


    He felt like his heart was going to burst, but that pain was what unchained him. The one that woke his true self from thea that tethered him.


    And so, Apollo stood, with his bokken in hand.


    Not because anyone else told him to.


    Not because anyone else believed in him.


    But because he knew he could.


    Apollo learned that he didn''t need a pir to hold him up. That even if everything tried to hold him down, nothing could truly stop him from standing tall.


    And stand tall, he did.


    The dragon made of wind roared before attempting to crush Apollo into pieces with its jaws.


    Apollo''s hands clenched until his knuckles became white. Then, his bokken shed.


    The dragon made of wind violently tore apart. The jaws lingered, still trying to bite down on Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he simply stood there. He didn''t even bother looking at it.


    Then... the jaws disappeared as well, almost like a fleeting dream.


    Rhys immediately coughed up blood. He tightly clutched his chest and hunched over as though he suddenly became an old man.


    Rhys continued to cough violently, like a sick patient on their deathbed. The bacsh he faced was many times worse than Rhea''s as he attempted to maintain his control over the dragon despite it splitting apart.


    That was why the jaws remained for an extra moment longer.


    However, he miscalcted. Now, they were in a precarious position, with hardly any strength left to fight back.


    Rhea furrowed her brows. She held her stomach in pain.


    "Impossible. How did this happen..."


    Rhys'' eyebrows twitched violently. He forced out words through the pain.


    "How it happened is no longer important. We must flee."


    Rhys narrowed his eyes.


    "We are no longer in a condition that begetsbat."


    Apollo bolted towards the two, as though set off by the words Rhys said. The entire time, he let out a violentugh. It was as though he was a mastermind viin finally seeing his ne to fruition.


    But Apollo was no mastermind. He was onlyughing because he was still alive.


    Rhys and Rhea hurriedly retreated. Rhys used currents of wind while Rhea propelled herself with a pir of water.


    However, Apollo was faster. He was even speeding up. The trail of lightning he left grew in intensity, as though telling Apollo to continue onward. His eyes slowly widened even further, even when it seemed like they were at their limit.


    A nasty frown formed on the faces of both Rhys and Rhea. They lost the confidence that let them act all high and mighty. Now, they were just rats scurrying away from a predator.


    However, Rhys and Rhea soon realized Apollo was far faster than them. The little hope they still had slowly slipped out of their eyes.


    Apollo raised his bokken. In just a few more moments, he could tear the two into pieces. But at this moment, something changed.


    The bright light of countless nearby houses abruptly dimmed. Oddryl had eyes on every single part of the empire. As such, he did not miss what was happening between Apollo.


    After all, he was using the vigers to lead La around and the houses to lead Willow and Hex around. He was making sure they didn''t interfere with the battle between Apollo and the two on his side. The only way he could do that was if he paid close attention to this battle.


    And so, countless beams of light shot towards Apollo.

 Chapter 151 - To Steal A Crown

    Even though Apollo focused his attention on Rhys and Rhea, he couldn''t help but notice the beams of light. They were simply too ring to miss.


    After he killed the dragon made of wind, there was no longer any pressure bearing down on him. However, the sheer volume and threat of the beams of light had their own set of pressure.


    Yet, Apollo wasn''t afraid. In fact, he felt like he could easily deal with this precarious situation.


    ...because he had a strange feeling.


    It was almost like an instinct, but not quite.


    It felt like a reflex, but that wasn''t right.


    Apollo felt like he could resist the feeling and try his own method. But for some reason, he trusted it.


    Rhys and Rhea noticed the beams of light. The fearful expression left Rhea''s face. She clicked her tongue as though the situation was always under control.


    "Of course Oddryl has to wait until thest second."


    Rhys sighed and shook his head.


    "Don''t calm down just yet. He will stop in order to dodge Oddryl''s magic. We must make use of that opportunity to run."


    Rhea nodded, though she still felt rather calm.


    But Apollo did not stop.


    The blue arcs of lightning on Apollo danced in a frenzy before growing in intensity. They rapidly gathered towards his bokken, almost like a horde of zombies frantically chasing a human.


    Suddenly, Apollo found himself surrounded by blinding lights. It was as though he was in the center of the sun itself.


    Rhys narrowed his eyes.


    "What is he doing?"


    Rhea frowned.


    "I suppose he is more foolish than we thought."


    The corner of Apollo''s lip turned up.


    His bokken weaved through the air leisurely, as though it was a canoe slowly moving along with the tender waves of a calm river.


    Yet, while Apollo''s bokken traveled gently, the arcs of lightning raged violently. It was a storm in the making.


    The lightning wrapped around his bokken, covering it entirely. It looked like Apollo was wielding a bright blue thunderbolt rather than a sword.


    The arcs of lightning continued to snake down, covering Apollo''s hand and partially covering his arm.


    Apollo could no longer see anything other than the blinding light, but he didn''t need to see in the first ce.


    The arcs of lightning surged, then exploded.


    A deafening bang resounded throughout the empire, blowing away the snowkes that fell from the air.


    A wave of blue lightning violently burgeoned from Apollo, swallowing up all the beams of light. It continued to expand rapidly, seemingly fueled by the beams of light.


    Rhea''s mouth was agape.


    "What?"


    Rhys'' eyelid twitched.


    "Shi-"


    The two of them were swallowed up in the lightning.


    After one second, their bodies charred ck.


    After two seconds, their bodies split into countless tiny ck fragments.


    After three seconds... there was nothing left.


    The wave of lightning swallowed up numerous houses before gradually slowing down. However, it did not disappear.


    The blue wave slowly morphed into a couple massive arcs of lightning. One end was attached to Apollo''s bokken while the other was nted in random ces around the city.


    La stopped chasing after the person Oddryl was controlling. Her head flipped around, causing her long purple hair to twirl with it.


    La''s beady green eyes stared at Apollo in awe.


    "Wow, friend looks sooo cool!~"


    Hex was in the middle of eating a crystal, but his head snapped to the side. There were still tiny yellow fragments around his mouth, like food stains.


    Hex''s head tilted to the side before gasping.


    "Big lightning!"


    Willow just shredded a house into pieces with her eyes closed. However, her eyelids suddenly fluttered open. Her head slowly pivoted towards themotion.


    Willow''s pupils dted and her lips parted ever so slightly.


    "Apollo?"


    Within the watchtower, Oddryl mmed his fist on the wooden table in front of him. A fierce frown was stered on his face.


    "Who the hell is that kid? He was essentially harmless just moments ago."


    Oddryl clicked his tongue.


    "Why was he suddenly struck by a lightning bolt, anyway?"


    Suddenly, he narrowed his eyes. Not that it actually changed the effect of his vision.


    "...Wait."


    Oddryl caught onto a faint shimmer above Apollo''s head. For a moment, he was speechless. Then, his mouth slowly moved.


    "The lightning bolt was an indication..."


    Oddryl''s breathing became heavy.


    "...of the birth of a crowned."


    He clearly knew what it meant to have a crown and the power it represented.


    ...But Oddryl was not afraid. Instead, he uncontrobly became excited.


    Oddryl clenched his fist. He shot up from the wooden chair he was sitting on.


    "To think that there were two hidden gems within that group."


    Oddryl paced around the room while rubbing his chin with his forefinger. Despite how refined he looked previously, he resembled an overly excited child.


    "If we can kill that boy... we can take the crown for ourselves."


    At that moment, Talon ran back into the room with his scissors on his back. He ced his hands on his knees and panted.


    "Hah... Hah... I notified a couple people. Rhea and Rhys should be out there now."


    Oddryl waved his hand dismissively. He did not even bother to look at Talon.


    "Rhea and Rhys are dead. They were killed earlier by one of the intruders."


    Talon''s face twitched. His mind repeated what Oddryl said so casually. Only after a few seconds, did Talon process the words.


    "...What?"


    Oddryl shook his head. A small smile emerged on his face.


    "That is not what matters now. One of the intruders is a newborn crowned."


    Talon''s pupils dted while his heart hammered in his chest. The excitement from Oddryl seemed to bleed into Talon.


    Talon''s fingers twitched. Just as excited as Oddryl.


    "...How new?"


    Oddryl chuckled. He sped his hands together and clenched them tightly.


    "He was born just now."


    Talon gasped while his blue veins bulged from his skin.


    "No way! That''s practically a miracle!"


    Oddrylughed freely.


    "It is...."

 Chapter 152 - Kylan Noia

    Apollo continued giggling to himself while hovering in the air. Bright blue lightning boltsrger than him danced around. They seemed to sprout from his bokken.


    The lightning bolts dragged themselves across the ground, leaving deep ck scorch marks.


    Apollo''s head slowly raised. A gleam passed by his eyes, as though he wanted to know who was next.


    Suddenly, something shed towards Apollo. The bright blue lightning bolts coalesced around it as though they were living creatures moving by instinct.


    Yet, when they got close to this object, they suddenly rebounded away. Moments before the strange object approached Apollo, his bokken shed.


    A crisp ng rang out, sounding almost like a metal sword being sharpened.


    The object''s trajectory shifted. At that moment, Apollo''s eyes just barely caught onto it. The strange object was actually a chunk of gold that was in the shape of a cone. It was very thin, long, and smooth. Overall, it looked incredibly sleek.


    The golden spike suddenly spun around, tracing a long arc towards where it wasunched. The golden spike plunged towards the ground until it was caught by someone''s hand. It was a pale and elegant hand, however, there seemed to be hidden strength behind it. The hand looked as though it had never worked a day in its life.


    "Haha, you have good eyes..."


    A melodious voice rang out. It was as though a guitar was delicately strummed, letting out the notes of a soothing love song.


    The owner of this voice was a young man with neat brown hair and sky blue eyes. A subtle smug smile was on his face. He stood there casually, as though he were in his own backyard.


    He had high cheekbones and slightly sunken cheeks. Despite the arrogance his face exuded, there was a strange beauty one could not deny.


    The man was wearing a ck suit that entuated his shoulders. He had a suit lined with gold and engraved with various patterns that lightly resembled leaves one would find in nature. The most noticeable pattern was four golden hours that came together to look like a crown.


    The man twirled the golden spike in his hand and mmed the end on the ground, letting out a clear tap. Except, instead of a golden spike, it was a golden cane. The transition was so sudden, the average person would only realize this change after the transformation already happened.


    The head of the cane was in the shape of a cobra. The man''s fingers restedfortably on the cobra head, gently caressing it. It was as though the man did not see a cobra, but a cute puppy.


    The man''s sharp eyes inspected Apollo in the distance, who was hovering in the air. The corner of his lip turned up confidently.


    "Let me introduce myself."


    The man held his arm near his waist and bowed formally. Yet, despite the apparent respect, it somehow seemed mocking. Then he slowly stood up straight once again, raising an eyebrow provocatively.


    "I am known as Kn Noia. The first prince of the Obrad Empire and one of the twenty-five giants."


    Apollo steadily turned his head towards Kn. He did so wordlessly, as though he were a wolf, unhurriedly stalking his prey.


    At that moment, someone appeared next to Kn.


    "Wah! Are you we both know you? We''ve been looking for you all this time!"


    Kn''s head snapped to the side.


    He saw a little girl with long purple hair staring at him. The two green beady eyes were filled with excitement, akin to a child that found a cookie.


    It was La.


    Her tail swayed enthusiastically, letting out soft jingles in the air. She would also tilt her head from one side to the other every few seconds. That made the bell on her cor jingle as well.


    But despite the sounds those bells seemingly made, Kn did not notice La until she was right next to him.


    Kn''s eyes narrowed while the grip on his golden cane became tighter.


    Who the hell was that girl and how did she get there?


    Despite La''s innocent look and overly friendly way of speech, Kn''s guard immediately shot up. After all, he was not an idiot.


    The empire was under attack, and someone was able to sneak up on him easily. It was rather simple to connect the dots.


    However... Kn decided to try something. A friendly, yet empty smile appeared on his face. He waved casually, as though La was an old friend.


    "Hello there. You said you''ve been looking for me? May I know what for?"


    La giggled and sped her hands together. Her furry ears twitched, filled with energy.


    "To y! After we y I can get the super cool elixir!"


    La raised her hands in the air while her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    As for Kn, the smile on his face twitched. For some reason, when La said ''y'', an ominous feeling rose in his heart. He did not say another word.


    Instead of agreeing, he mmed his golden cane on the ground. A sharp snap resounded throughout the city, while the cobblestone path under Kn cracked.


    La tilted her head to the side. She curiously looked at the small hole Kn made in the ground.


    "...Is friend trying to y with the floor?"


    Knughed with a mocking undertone. He touched the bottom of his lip with his forefinger and middle finger.


    "I wouldn''t exactly call it ying..."


    Suddenly, a massive golden square pir shot out from the ground, sending Kn high into the sky.


    "...but it isn''t too different."


    Countless other golden square pirs shot out around the original. Some were close to the size of the original, while others had the thickness of a rubix cube.


    La was brought up as well by the other golden pirs. However, the unstable footing made La wave her hands wildly in the air in an attempt to bnce. Unfortunately, she ended up tripping and falling down.


    Kn let out a small sigh.


    "Now.... let''s begin."

 Chapter 153 - Broken Hands

    Snow continued gently falling from the sky. Yet, when they came within a certain range of the mountain made of gold pirs, they repelled violently. There seemed to be some conflicting property that rapidly propelled the snowkes away like mas.


    Kn sneaked a peek down at La. He saw her tumble and bounce off the pirs like a runaway tire. Kn let out a small sigh of relief before focusing his attention back on Apollo.


    Giant arcs of bright blue lightning continued to dance around Apollo, but they seemed to unconsciously avoid the various golden pirs. Apollo was giggling this entire time, but suddenly cut himself off.


    His head tilted to the side eerily.


    Without warning, Apollo burst forward like a thunderbolt. As for the bright blue arcs of lightning, they were taken with him, firmly attached to his bokken.


    Kn wasn''t just standing there, however. He slowly raised his golden cane, pointing towards Apollo. His mouth parted ever so slightly, to let out a single word.


    "Go."


    Some of the golden pirs around him rapidly distorted to form countless golden spikes. Theyunched towards Apollo, raining down on him relentlessly. However, Apollo fearlessly shot forwards with a wide smile on his face.


    ...Or, at least, that was supposed to happen.


    Once the golden spikes were a few meters away, the giant blue arcs of lightning rebounded, before disappearing altogether. As for the trail of lightning behind him, it suddenly cut off.


    Apollo still flew forward from his initial momentum, but was also slowly falling to the ground.


    However, before he could worry about that, he had to deal with the golden spikes that were moments away from colliding with him.


    Apollo burst out intoughter, clenching the hilt of his bokken tighter. He let out a flurry of blows.


    Several grating sounds rang out, as though someone was scraping metal together.


    Apollo''s bokken moved rapidly, but also twisted at strange angles. He was unable to damage the golden spikes themselves, but he could still divert their trajectories.


    ...Albeit, slightly.


    A few cracking sounds came from Apollo''s wrist. The force behind the golden spikes was simply too much for his body to handle. The saving grace was that Apollo didn''t get scratched from the golden spikes themselves.


    But after he dealt with that problem, another one came. The fact he was barreling down to the ground.


    Apollo lost his earlier momentum forward and simply plummeted towards the ground.


    Apollo had dealt with something like this before, where La threw her high up into the sky. He didn''t have his bokken at the time, so he used his hand. It should''ve been fine, but there was a tiny difference in this scenario.


    The golden spikes that flew by did a u-turn and came back for him. As if that wasn''t bad enough, a new set of golden spikes were flying towards his front.


    Apollo felt a sense of loss when his feet were not on the ground. After all, that was the way he was used to fighting. His footwork wasn''t anything shy, but it helped greatly in both dodging and attacking.


    Now that he was in the middle of air, there was little he could do to dodge.


    As such, he had to block every single golden spike.


    The golden spikes rushed towards him. It was as though a swarm of locusts surrounded Apollo, all charging towards him. The only difference was his body would be torn to pieces if he let the golden spikes hit him.


    Apollo raised his bokken high. He waited for the golden spikes to approach.


    First fifteen meters...


    Then ten meters...


    Five meters...


    And finally, they were less than one meter away from Apollo.


    His pupils shook, and his bokken traced a sharp arc through the air. Countless ufortable screeching sounds rang out while Apollo''s bokken danced through the air.


    Every time Apollo''s bokken would collide with a golden spike, a small spark would shine in the air. From a distance, they almost looked like shining stars. It was as though Apollo was not swinging his sword, but weaving a starry night.


    Apollo''s swings grew in momentum, as did hisughter.


    But then a clear snap resounded.


    After fighting with all it could, Apollo''s wrist snapped. His hand was bent at a strange angle, nearly ripped off. While the hand itself was tightly holding onto the bokken, the only thing keeping it connected to his arm was a strip of flesh.


    The sudden shift of events was akin to a cord being cut. Then, a massive boulder that the cord was holding, fell.


    Straight towards Apollo.


    The multiple golden spikes directly pierced through his body, shattering the rib cage Apollo''s body just healed after so much effort. Apollo involuntarily coughed up blood, interrupting hisughs.


    However, despite having a throat filled with blood, Apollo continued tough. He could no longer move his bokken and his tight grip meant that changing hands wasn''t really an option.


    There was simply not enough time. Especially considering a golden spike was about to pierce through Apollo''s head.


    Apollo knew this, yet he still had a carefree smile on his face.


    His uninjured hand straightened out like a sword.


    Then, right when the tip of the golden spike pressed Apollo''s head, a sudden bang resounded. It sounded like someone hit a gong with a metal battering ram.


    The golden spike flew to the side, scraping across Apollo''s face as it went. As for his hand, his pinky was now bent at a strange angle. The skin on the side of his palm tore open and blood sshed.


    But as bad as the injury was, Apollo couldn''t stop here. After all, there were countless more golden spikesing for him.


    And so, Apollo''s palm tore through the air. The side of his hand violently collided with the golden spikes, causing his finger bones to crack and the webbing between his fingers to split.


    Unlike the time he swung with his bokken, there was no longer any grace. Instead, it was palm brutally hacking.


    Yet, there was still a strange beauty to it.

 Chapter 154 - Early Celebration

    Although Apollo was holding up for now, his situation was pretty bad. After all, having one hand nearly torn off, and the other mangled in pieces was not the best thing in the middle of a fight. Realistically speaking, Kn should be able to deal with Apollo easily.


    However, Kn relentlessly continued his assault, even adding more golden spikes on top. Despite his arrogant look, he was never one to take things lightly. Perhaps it was because Kn found fighting to be a chore. As such, instead of ying with his food, he finishes up quickly.


    That meant Apollo''s situation was only getting worse by the second. He wasn''t even relying on his bokken, but his hand made of flesh and blood. The fact he was even able to block the golden spears in the first ce was because of his instinct.


    But every time he blocked, he had to pay a price.


    Sometimes it would be his bone that fractured. Sometimes it would be his flesh that tore apart. Sometimes it would be both.


    Frankly, there was only so much his hand could do. If he continued to try and block everything, his hand would inevitably break off.


    Then he would die.


    Apollo cackled as he fell from the air. It was as though he wasn''t actually in a perilous situation where he was about to lose both of his hands.


    It wasn''t as though Apollo didn''t understand his situation. In fact, he was very clearly aware of it.


    As for others, they may see their death as inevitable. Some of those with weaker hearts would directly give up. The others that were persistent would continue defending, but that was only in the hope that someone would save them.


    A golden spike rushed forward towards Apollo''s thigh. His hand was conveniently already in the way, meaning he wouldn''t need to move to block this attack.


    ...Yet, he moved his hand out of the way.


    The golden spear freely pierced through the side of Apollo''s thigh, taking a huge chunk of flesh with it. Blood sprayed like a fountain, but rapidly died down.


    Apollo knew he couldn''t defend against everything. And so... he didn''t try to.


    A golden spike was about to hit the side of his abdomen. With just a twist, his mangled hand could knock it away. But he didn''t bother.


    Once again, a golden spear ripped through Apollo''s body, spraying blood across the ground. Yet, Apollo simplyughed it off, almost as though he only scraped his side instead of actually losing it entirely.


    Apollo twisted his neck and saw a golden spike about to pierce through his head. In just a moment, it was right in front of his eye.


    A sharp bang resounded.


    Apollo''s eye was still intact. He had used his hand at thest moment to bat away the golden spike. By now, all of his fingers had snapped off along with his thumb.


    He was only waving around a trembling stub, but it was that stub that saved his life.


    Like that, Apollo let his body get ripped apart by any golden spike that went for his flesh, but acted whenever one came for his head or heart.


    It did not take long for Apollo''s body to distort. He had taken so many hits it was hard to ssify his structure as humanoid.


    Yet, Apollo was alive.


    Not because someone saved him, not because he got lucky.


    But because of his own efforts.


    Suddenly, Apollo''s back collided with the ground, knocking the air out of Apollo''s lungs. But that wasn''t going to stop him fromughing. Hisughs were terribly weak and wheezy, but he was doing so nheless.


    Apollo immediately focused, raising his hand in the air. He was ready for the golden spikes to continue their assault.


    ...But none came.


    This wasn''t because Kn was being merciful towards Apollo, or that he thought the job was already finished. In reality, he didn''t have the time to direct his attention to Apollo.


    Because La wasing for him.


    La was on all fours, crouched down on top of one of the shorter golden pirs. Then, she leaped onto the top of another one. La let out a small, but mischievous giggle.


    "y, y, y! ying with friends is so fun!"


    The remaining golden pirs were not in an exaggerated quantity and were quite far from each other. After all, Kn used up most of them on creating golden spikes. Yet, La was able to hop from one to the other with ease, slowly making her way up to Kn.


    Kn no longer looked at Apollo. Instead, his eyes remained on La as though they wanted to pierce straight through her.


    Kn furrowed his brows. The tone of his voice lowered.


    "Don''t think I''ll let you do as you please in my domain."


    La leaped towards another golden pir, but right as she was about to set her foot down, there was only air.


    The golden pir dispersed to the side, rapidly falling to the ground fluidly. It was as though the pir was not made of gold, but the water from a waterfall.


    La''s body awkwardly tilted to the side. She put her foot down on where there supposedly was ground and ended up shifting her weight improperly.


    La opened her eyes wide with shock.


    "Eh?"


    She looked down curiously, only to see the ground was rapidly falling.


    "Ehhhhhh?"


    La rapidly waved her arms in the air, stirring up strong gusts of air. However, that hardly did anything.


    In reality, La stood a chance of flying with pure strength alone. However, when she pped her arms, they would both lift her up and send her down. She was simply too dense to realize this fact.


    And so, La fell with an angry frown on her face. She continued to il her limbs as though she were a little kid throwing a tantrum.


    "Waaaaaah!"


    Kn let out a sigh of relief.


    ....Unfortunately for him, he was celebrating just a tad bit early.

 Chapter 155 - Unfair Layla

    As much as La looked the part as a little kid, there were definitely some jarring differences between her and the average child.


    Other than the ears and tail, the most prominent difference was her overwhelming strength. That strength let her... do something strange.


    The surrounding golden pirs twisted into snake heads. They were so life-like, it was hard to believe that they were actually solid gold. The golden snakes bared their fangs and pounced towards La.


    In just a moment, La was surrounded by the gaping jaws of golden snakes in a variety of sizes.


    A loud snap reverberated.


    The golden snakes bit down hard... only to hit nothing.


    Right before they were about to reach La, she suddenly dipped down. The sudden eleration was one that seemed to defy thews of physics. Without any propulsion, La could dramatically increase her falling speed.


    ...Or more urately, she stopped slowing herself down.


    La plunged towards the ground like a bullet.


    A deafening bang resounded as a crater formed in the ground. La was standing in the middle.


    Her head perked up so that she could look at Kn.


    La''s tail swayed around enthusiastically. As for Kn, a deep frown was stered on his face.


    La shed a cheeky smile before crouching down.


    "I''ve yed many times..."


    Then, leaped into the air.


    "...but I always win!"


    La tore through the air with her hands raised like ws. The overwhelming speed caused her long purple hair to whip around violently. Despite the innocent smile on La''s face, Kn could only see a monster.


    Kn didn''t have the time to hesitate. In just a moment, La would reach him.


    As such, he flicked his golden staff to the sky, leaving a faint arc of gold in the air. Right when La was about to reach him, the golden pir beneath Kn distorted.


    The gold morphed and rose as though Kn willed up a tidal wave with his staff. La crashed into this tidal wave of gold headfirst. Countless cracks spread throughout the body of the golden pir. However, they mended in just a few moments.


    La rebounded off the golden pir. She tightly shut her eyes and covered her face.


    "Wah! What just happened?"


    La plunged downwards at unnatural speeds once again. As for Kn, he descended within the golden pir as though it was an elevator. Despite escaping unscathed, there was still a frown stered across his face.


    Kn mumbled under his breath.


    "Physical fighters..."


    He let out a soft sigh.


    "This is not my specialty."


    Kn clicked his tongue and looked towards the center of the empire.


    "...What is taking you so long, Falk?"


    Although La jumped high in the air, it only took her a few seconds to m back down once again.


    Once the dust cleared, it revealed La, who had puffed up her cheeks. She was looking at the golden pir with annoyance while iling her arms around in the air.


    "That''s no fair! Why are you so high in the air?"


    La turned her head to the side and crossed her arms. She shut her eyes, with her cheeks still puffed up. She let out a high-pitched snort with a tinge of annoyance.


    "Hmph! Since you y unfairly, it''s only right that I can too!"


    La crouched down on the ground, but did so a little differently. She got down on one knee while her other leg stretched out behind her. Then, she ced her hands on the floor while her back hunched forward.


    It was the position professional racers took before the start of the race.


    A few strands of La''s hair fell off her shoulders, then gently touched the ground. A dangerous gleam shed by La''s eyes.


    During this time, Apollo was regenerating his body. He had to remain on the floor for quite a while, since the muscles in his legs needed to regenerate before he could stand.


    Although it wasn''t instant, he healed quite fast. As such, it didn''t take too long for him to get back on his feet. His hands slowly regenerated, one growing fingers and one reattaching to his wrist.


    Willow shredded a house into pieces. Then, her eyes narrowed. She scanned the area around her. By now, the houses weren''t as pervasive as their numbers had dwindled down. There were still countless houses spread across the empire, but they needed some time to get near Willow.


    She had broken out of her trance earlier because of Apollo''s outburst of lightning.


    And now, Willow had a desire to rush over and help Apollo...


    ...but she felt afraid.


    Willow didn''t know why exactly, but she kept distancing herself. Despite that, she would still frequently look in Apollo''s direction, even if she couldn''t see him.


    As for Hex, he was sitting cross-legged on top of ckie. There were a few yellow crystals in hisp as well as one in each hand.


    Hex leisurely ate the yellow crystals at his own pace as ckie went on a rampage. It was as though he was on a vacation.


    In the watchtower, Oddryl had sat back down. One of his legsid overtop the other, like how an arrogant prince would sit on a throne.


    Oddryl''s excitement had died down by now. Instead, he was focusing his attention on minimizing the losses for his houses.


    He hardly paid attention to Kn. This was because even if Kn was in trouble, his beams of light would be deflected by the gold.


    As for Kn, he was surrounded by gold. He had strong confidence in the durability of the gold he controlled, and rightfully so. As such, he was pondering on how to defeat La.


    His head was tilted a few degrees downwards while the tips of his thumb and forefinger rubbed against his chin.


    Nobody was aware of the sudden change in La.


    But was as though the air around her got heavier.


    La''s fingers dug a little into the ground, cracking the cobblestone path. Her tail swayed leisurely, like it was underwater.


    Suddenly, a sneaky smile appeared on La''s face.


    "Hehe."

 Chapter 156 - Dammit Falk

    Apollo was standing just moments ago.


    ...So why wasn''t there any ground below his feet?


    Willow turned to look in Apollo''s direction, yet her mind couldn''t process the image in front of her. For some reason, everything was blurry.


    A sudden jolt passed through Hex, causing the yellow crystals he was holding to fall out of his grasp while the ones in hisp bounced away.


    Hex really enjoyed these yellow crystals, so it was rather strange he simply let them fall out of his grasp.


    Oddryl had a dull expression on his face. He was ck-jawed, unable to see anything despite having eyes cast on the entire empire.


    As for Kn, he had his train of thought interrupted. He furrowed his brows in confusion, trying to recall what he was thinking of just moments ago.


    There was one thing every single one of these people experienced. Their heads were fuzzy and light, while warm blood fell from their ears.


    It was almost as though an unbelievably loud sound passed into their eardrums, so loud that their minds could not process it.


    ...Well, that''s what actually happened.


    La exploded off the floor.


    A massive crater formed below her feet, while the tectonic tes underneath the empire violently shifted. She caused an earthquake to ensue.


    The ground cracked apart and surged violently. It was as though below the empire was actually water, while the ground that turned into fragments were ships sailing in a storm.


    La shot towards the golden pir like a shooting star. She arbitrarily chose to hit the middle.


    La crashed through the golden pir as though it was butter. Her speed hardly slowed in the slightest. Though, that was probably a bad thing, considering the fact she was only going higher and higher.


    However, things were definitely worse for Kn.


    The golden shattered so thoroughly it looked like dust. He did not take La''s bodym head on, but was only a few meters above it. Just the resulting shockwave did a number on him.


    Kn''s pristine clothes were torn, now looking like the rags a beggar would put on. His limbs twisted in the wrong directions, like a poorly made rag doll. Kn''s eyes rolled up to the back of his head, while an uncanny amount of blood burst out of his mouth.


    Kn shot up into the air,pletely unconscious.


    At that moment, Apollonded on his back with a deep thump. He didn''t understand what was going on, but regained his bearings quickly.


    The ground underneath him was shifting violently, but he was able to stand up without too much trouble.


    The first thing Apollo saw was Kn''s body high in the sky. And so, he charged towards him with all his might. However, the journey was anything but smooth.


    The ground had split into many fragments. On top of that, they rose and fell without warning. As if the situation wasn''t chaotic enough, the countless houses fell to their knees, before copsing onto the ground entirely.


    Apollo was forced to sidestep countless times to dodge the houses copsing on him. Along with that, he was forced to both jump and fall at heights of over five meters simply because the ground had shifted so much.


    Apollo''s progress was slow, but a wide smile remained on his face while a faint giggle emanated from him.


    Eventually, Kn''s body lost its upward momentum before falling to the ground. With Apollo''s current speed, he wouldn''t reach him before he fell. As such, Apollo sped up.


    It wasn''t because he wanted to save Kn or be the first to loot the corpse like that one party member in MMO games.


    I was simply because... Apollo wanted to be the one to kill Kn. Not for any particr reason.


    He just wanted to kill someone.


    Anyone.


    Such a strange goal was what pushed Apollo to great lengths. Red scars snaked across his legs, increasing his running speed and letting him jump higher onto the various rising fragments of ground.


    Kn''s body slowly elerated, meaning Apollo was hard pressed for time. Suddenly, arcs of lightning appeared across Apollo''s body, and with that, his speed doubled.


    Apollo left a trail of lightning in his wake while his eyes had widened to their limits. It was as though he needed to save something important to him.


    Combined with Kn''s body powerlessly falling to the ground, the scene looked like a hero saving the damsel in distress.


    But... a few details didn''t seem right.


    First off, the supposed hero had an unbelievably sadistic smile on his face. And secondly, the damsel was a damn guy!


    Nheless, Apollo continued. He was now only a few meters away from Kn, while Kn himself was only a few meters from hitting the ground.


    Apollo raised his bokken high, ready to sh.


    In the next moment, Kn''s body was less than a meter off the ground, while Apollo himself was in range for an attack.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    A strangely metallic ng rang out.


    Apollo''s body was thrown backward as though he were in the center of an explosion. At the epicenter, a massive purple shield was on the ground.


    The shield wasrge enough to cover up two adults standing next to each other. There were thin gold linings that made many intricate patterns across the shield. They were quite simr to the ones that were on Kn''s suit. Er... what Kn''s suit used to be.


    The shield was slowly lifted to the side, revealing a man carrying Kn''s body with one hand.


    Kn''s eyelids fluttered open, before closing soon after.


    "Dammit Falk... what took you so long."


    The man holding Kn, Falk, slowly stood up.


    "Haha, my daughter took my shield and hid it. The only reason I came on time was because your golden pir was so noticeable."


    Kn let out a weak sigh.


    "Well... I suppose you did arrive on time. There is little I can do in my condition. This battle will be left to you."


    A smile appeared on Falk''s face.


    "Naturally."

 Chapter 157 - Getting Out Of Hand

    Falk was nearly three meters tall, giving him quite the intimidating look. He had short ck hair and hazelnut eyes that would make him unassuming if it wasn''t for his overbearinglyrge armor.


    He was wearing ted armor so thick that it would berger than a normal person''s arm. Along with the fact his body was bulky, this made him look more like a grizzly bear than a human.


    However, different from the fur of a grizzly bear, the armor was finely made. There were quite a few parts that stuck out only to give the armor some extra ir, but it looked regal nheless.


    After a few moments, one of the houses stuck out their hand, letting it remain right beside Falk and Kn.


    Falk gave Kn onest fleeting look.


    "I''ll leave you in Oddryl''s care."


    Kn nodded.


    "Farewell."


    Like they had done this multiple times, Falk put Kn in the house''s hand. The house immediately wrapped its hand around Kn before making a break for it towards the center of the city.


    As described by Apollo''s request, Kn was a true mage, stage one. That was the weakest stage of true mages, but they still had tremendous power regardless. However, his power was quite a bit more potent than the normal true mage at stage one.


    Rhys and Rhea themselves were also true mages at the first stage. However, if they were to fight Kn, they would lose miserably. This is because gold naturally suppressed magic, and Kn could manipte gold.


    If La and Apollo had their powers focused on magic, they too would fall helplessly. However, there was one big difference between Kn and the average true mage.


    He could not create gold from mana. That meant his power was heavily based on how much gold he had with him. However, La essentially disintegrated the majority of it by crashing her body through it.


    In reality, Kn could still use magic despite his tragic state. He was not a constitution mage that depended on their body to cast, but a collector mage, one that simply gathered mana with their mind.


    However, he had little use for that mana, since the majority of his gold was ruined. As such, he was essentially useless in this battle.


    By now, Apollo had got back on his feet. The ground underneath him immediately cracked apart before rising into the air. Apollo rose up with it and carried an ominous smile on his face. The aftereffects of La''s leap were still prevalent in the empire.


    As for La, she was still skyrocketing into the air at unprecedented speeds. She was waving her limbs around in a panic.


    "Wah, wah, wah! Too highhhhh!"


    However, she was also rapidly slowing down. As in slowing down unnaturally quickly.


    Her momentum quickly tapered off like someone throwing a ball of cotton in the air. But instead of falling down gracefully, La plummeted downwards as though she wanted to rip the sky itself into shreds.


    As she tore through the air, mes began to rage around La''s figure. It was as though La became a meteor, barreling down towards the earth.


    Despite the fact fire was raging across her body, La simply pouted as she dove down.


    "Don''t forget about meeeeee!"


    An earthshaking explosion resounded throughout the empire.


    Apollo had bent his knees, ready to take on his new adversary. However, right before he could move, the fragment of ground he was on shot high into the air, making him stumble.


    As for the ground Falk was standing on, it lowered as though a pit had opened up underneath it. However, a careless smile remained on his face.


    Falk crouched down and hunched over. His back had four deep ck horns engraved with the pattern of a circle, where the tips of the horns pointed inwards. The engravings were smooth and gleamed with a faint light.


    With a grunt, Falk leaped upwards, onto another fragment of ground. The original fragment he was standing on was swallowed up by the earth.


    Falk looked at that fragment and chuckled to himself.


    "Things seem to be getting out of hand."


    He looked up towards Apollo, who was simrly looking at him. Falk''s eyes narrowed, but a calm smile remained on his face.


    "To calm things down a little, I guess I will start with you."


    Apollo leaped off the fragment he was standing on and raised his bokken with both hands. As for Falk, he raised his giant purple shield before shooting upwards.


    Despite only having a shield, Falk was not one to sit back and defend. He would rather charge forwards until he bulldozed all his enemies.


    Apollo mmed his bokken down. A grating bang rang out.


    But Falk did not slow. The corner of Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    A deep thump resounded.


    Falk''s shield collided into Apollo''s body without mercy. The outeryer of bone on Apollo''s rib cage shattered, while Apollo himselfunched back like the strings keeping him in ce were cut loose.


    However, Falk wasn''t nning on giving Apollo a break, even while he was flying in the air. Falk dashed forward with thundering steps, rapidly catching up.


    The air was knocked out of Apollo''s lungs, momentarily stopping hisughing. He slowly lifted his head while in the air to see Falk just a few meters away.


    Another deep thump resounded.


    Apollo coughed up blood before mming into a fragment of ground that rose high into the air.


    Falk mercilessly continued, ready to m into Apollo once more. But something felt off to him.


    ...Why did the corner of Apollo''s lip turn up?


    Suddenly, Apollo burst forth from the fragment of ground. He let out a pervasiveugh as arcs of lightning danced across his body.


    Falk did not falter, and continued his initial n. Operation battering ram.


    Apollo thrust his bokken forward like a spear.


    With a grating bang, the two of them collided. Falk shot backward, tumbling a few times before regaining his footing. As for Apollo...


    Hended next to Willow.


    Falk''s eyes narrowed.


    "The intruder regrouped with his ally."


    Then, his eyes widened in shock.


    "What the-"

 Chapter 158 - Friend Or Enemy?

    Seconds after Apollonded, his head snapped towards Willow. A malevolent gleam shed by his eyes.


    "HAHAHA."


    To Falk''s surprise, Apollo did not even hesitate to swing at Willow. As for Willow, a small frown appeared on her face. However, she easily dodged Apollo''s attack by briefly disappearing altogether.


    Willow reappeared a few meters away, prompting Apollo to get up and charge towards her. Willow took to the skies, while Apollo followed after her, leaving trails of lightning in his wake.


    Falk stared at this scene, speechless for a few moments.


    "...It''s like that kid is some rabid animal."


    Apollo relentlessly chased after Willow. Even though Willow had wings, Apollo''s ability to fly was faster. And so, he easily caught up with Willow and shed at her.


    ...But Willow easily dodged to the side.


    Apollo was definitely faster than Willow, but he was more like a drag racer. His top speeds surpassed the others, but he had huge difficulty in turning. As for Willow, her speeds may not be the highest, but her agility was frightening.


    She could go top speed in one direction before going top speed in the other direction. As such, it wasn''t too hard for her to dodge Apollo''s attacks.


    Falk raised his shield but was at a loss.


    Who was an enemy, and who was an ally?


    Was he supposed to help that woman in a ck dress?


    Or was she an enemy as well?


    In the end, Falk was unable to decide on what to do. As such, he just stood there awkwardly.


    As time passed, Apollo elerated to new heights in speed. It was so fast, that it even brought a bit of trouble for Willow with her agility.


    Apollo let out a gratingugh. He ced his free hand on the t side of his bokken. Then, it snapped out when he was just a meter or so away from Willow. Unfortunately, she dashed to the side easily and dodged the attack.


    Apollo traveled in a circr arc, getting closer to Willow once again. But this time, he began his sh while being several meters away. Then, his thumb pressed against the hilt of his bokken.


    This was not the first time Willow had seen Apollo use this attack. As such, she knew how fast it was.


    Before Apollo even finished his attack, Willow disappeared.


    A crackle of thunder rang out.


    The air was torn apart in ce of Willow. She had dodged again, but was forced to use more cards than she would''ve liked. The moment Willow reappeared, Apollo was already dashing towards her while letting outughs that were just a bit too loud.


    Willow was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Apollo was slowly reversing his disadvantageous situation through brute force, by going even faster.


    Willow dodged one of Apollo''s attacks, then disappeared to dodge the next. However, right when she reappeared, Apollo was right next to her, as though he expected her to be there all along.


    An ufortable humming sound came from Willow''s sword. Apollo''s bokken and Willow''s jet-ck sword shed.


    An ear-piercing grating sound rang out.


    Both Apollo and Willow were thrown back. However, Apollo did not waste a second before charging towards Willow once again.


    Falk frowned. He noticed that the tables were turning, meaning Willow might be overwhelmed.


    He pondered to himself.


    The boy was clearly an enemy. After all, he tried to kill one of the twenty-five giants, Kn.


    The woman in a ck dress had an unknown position, but was fighting against the boy. At the very least, she was an enemy of the enemy.


    Falk narrowed his eyes.


    He didn''t have to guarantee the woman''s life, but taking off the pressure for her would mean the boy would have to face more.


    And so, Falk decided to act.


    He wouldn''t have made this decision if Willow held the advantage, but he saw no reason why he couldn''t take some of the burden off of her if she was going to lose.


    Falk leaped upward, skyrocketing in between the two of them. Apollo didn''t even seem to notice him. All of his attention was on Willow. As for Willow, she immediately noticed Falk. Her brows furrowed because the situation was gradually spiraling out of control.


    Falk tried to bash Apollo with his shield as he rose upwards, but Apollo responded by flying underneath him, like he was just some debris.


    Willow dodged Apollo''s attack like always, but couldn''t understand what Falk''s goal was. This unstable factor meant she had to pay more attention to it, making her cut even more close calls with Apollo''s strikes.


    Falk leaped into the air once more in an attempt to disrupt Apollo. However, Apollo just went around him and shed at Willow.


    As for Willow, she dodged to the side, but split some of her attention on looking at Falk.


    Suddenly, she snapped her head to the side, just barely dodging Apollo''s de of wind. A few strands of her hair were cut off. A deep frown appeared on Willow''s face as her eyes followed the hairs that were attached to her just moments ago.


    If she was any slower, it would''ve been her head instead of her hair.


    Despite everything, Willow was more intent on fighting Falk than Apollo. She simply saw Falk as more of an enemy.


    Willow furrowed her brows.


    How could she attack Falk reliably in such a chaotic situation?


    Willow suddenly widened her eyes.


    Wait... chaotic.


    The answer was so obvious.


    She slowly let her eyelids fall, while her sword began to let out a faint humming sound. Apollo rapidly approached Willow and traced a horizontal arc in the air.


    As for Willow, she responded by diving headfirst towards Apollo. She retracted her wings close to her body and twirled like she was a rotating bullet.


    Apollo''s bokken was just about to hit Willow, but she turned at the perfect moment, letting the sword glide past her back.. She continued moving forward, on her way to Falk.

 Chapter 159 - Collateral Damage

    Falk noticed that Willow was diving towards him, but from what he saw, it didn''t seem intentional. After all, she was just going straight, so it was probably a coincidence.


    Probably.


    Falk did not let down his guard, though. He raised his shield and braced for a possible impact. However, Willow simply remained in front of him, harmlessly.


    This strengthened Falk''s belief that Willow was an ally. After all, she didn''t even attack while right next to him.


    Falk slowly moved his shield to the side, letting him see Willow. She wasn''t looking at him, making Falk drop his guard.


    Suddenly, his face twitched.


    Willow disappeared.


    And in her ce was Apollo, charging forward at full speed. He pointed his bokken forwards as though he was using a rapier.


    Falk had already cast his shield to the side and had no time to bring it in front of him. After all, Apollo was approaching as though he was a lightning bolt itself.


    A thundering crash resounded.


    Although Apollo used a bokken, it was as though he had a sledgehammer and swung it without mercy. Falk shot backward like a sandbag while a spider web crack formed on his armor. A grimace formed on his face. It was clear that hit did a number on him.


    Falk mmed his feet into the ground, skidding across before mming against a fragment of ground that had risen a few meters in the sky. He was buried a meter or so inside the fragment of ground, but burst out of it momentster.


    Falk''s mind felt a little hazy, but he quickly regained his bearings. He held the side of his head and frowned.


    Did that woman in the ck dress intentionally do that?


    Was she the one that led the boy to him?


    Falk shook his head.


    ...That was probably jumping to conclusions.


    What was that woman supposed to do? Not dodge the attack?


    Falk sighed and med himself for beingcent. While still believing Willow was his ally, he charged back in with his eyes set on Apollo.


    In the end, Falk had fallen to confirmation bias. The bias where one would unconsciously take in evidence that supports one''s original opinion, but discard the evidence that didn''t.


    Falk dashed forwards and leaped towards Apollo, who was taking to the air to chase after Willow. As for Willow, she twisted her sword elusively and dashed towards Apollo.


    Falk tried to bash Apollo with his shield, but did not expect Willow to charge instead of run. As such, he would be unable to make it before they shed.


    A metallic ringing resounded. One that made those that heard it strangely ufortable.


    Willow''s pitch ck sword collided with Apollo''s, but slid across it. Like flowing water, Willow passed right by Apollo. By now, Falk was right next to them.


    As for Apollo, he attempted to strike Willow, but his bokken was twisted in a strange way. In the end, his bokken thrust towards Falk, who was right next to him. It was as though Apollo intended on hitting Falk this entire time.


    The sudden turn of events happened in a sh. Falk was caught unprepared, unable to raise his shield in time.


    A thundering boom echoed.


    Apollo''s swing already had great strength on its own, but was amplified further by Willow. As such, when it hit Falk''s shoulder, it directly split apart his shoulder guard.


    Falk shot towards the ground like a bullet. A loud crash resounded as he formed a miniature crater in the ground. Although some doubts about Willow appeared in Falk''s mind, he still believed they were on the same side.


    After all, Willow still didn''t attack him from their exchange.


    And so, while Apollo chased after Willow, Falk chased after Apollo. Then, Willow would always find ways to seamlessly redirect Apollo''s strikes to Falk.


    This created quite the peculiar situation. Apollo tried to kill Willow, Willow tried to kill Falk, and Falk tried to kill Apollo.


    Oddryl was confused too.


    From within the watchtower, Oddryl watched Falk who was engaged in a battle with the two others. His brows furrowed.


    "...What the hell is Falk doing?"


    From an outside perspective, it looked like Falk was just charging in recklessly. In the end, he would be bashed by Apollo while Willow would coast by.


    In other words, Falk looked like an idiot.


    Oddryl sighed helplessly.


    "At this rate, you will be defeated. You can not me me for this, Falk."


    Suddenly, countless houses turned their heads towards the group of three while the light began to brighten rapidly.


    Falk was able to notice this easily, he was no stranger to Oddryl''s attack. However, once Falk realized what Oddryl intended to do, he panicked.


    Why was Oddryl resorting to this already?


    Couldn''t he see that the situation was under control?


    Unfortunately, Falk did not have any way to contact Oddryl and Oddryl had no intention ofmunicating with him.


    As such, Falk was rather helpless in this situation. He broke off from the other two who were fighting, and ran away as fast as he could.


    Falk''s heavy steps cracked the ground. He abruptly leaped, to get on top of a rising fragment of ground. Afternding, he cast his eyes upwards...


    Only to see Willow heading towards him, with Apollo following from behind. Willow''s eyes were closed and her expression was tranquil, almost like she was sleeping.


    Then, she suddenly disappeared, leaving Apollo to charge towards Falk. It was at this moment Falk finally realized that Willow was leading Apollo towards him. With a frown, he lifted up his shield to block Apollo''s attack.


    A deafening bang resounded.


    Apollo was knocked back while Falk took a few steps backward.


    Although Falk came out unscathed, there was a nasty frown on his face. After all, the houses already dimmed, signaling theing of disaster.


    Falk could not distance himself.


    A small frown appeared on his face.


    "Well... shit."


    Countless beams of light shot towards their location. Oddryl used over fifty houses for this attack when he usually used ten.


    ....Even if Willow and Apollo flew up, they would be caught in the explosion.

 Chapter 160 - Will Be Forced To Use That

    The beams of light all shot towards a spot in the air, right above Apollo, Willow, and Falk. Though this was a rather precarious situation, Apollo and Willow didn''t seem to notice it. Oneughed madly with widened eyes while the other was silent with closed eyes.


    The two of them continued to sh with each other, but were unable to truly harm one another.


    As for Falk... he raised his shield above him, but did so with trepidation. It was as though Falk could already foresee the consequences he would have to face.


    He peeked out from behind the shield.


    The beams of light were only a few meters away from colliding. At that moment...


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    A blurry purple figure leaped towards the epicenter of the soon-to-be explosion.


    It was La. With a cheerful smile on her face, she pulled back her hand. It tensed into a w before rapidly elerating forward.


    Falk''s eyes bulged out from their sockets.


    "Who the fu-"


    He was interrupted by a booming thunderp.


    The beams of light that were just moments away from exploding, distorted. As though they were actually wet noodles, the beams of light flew in the direction La swiped.


    Which just so happened to be on the way to the watchtower.


    An earth-shattering explosion ensued.


    The beams of light collided halfway through before exploding out into a cone, rushing directly towards the center of the city.


    From within the watchtower, Oddryl watched on with his jaw dropped to the floor. Never in his many years of living and nning did he think something like this could happen.


    As for Kn... he was resting inside of a two-legged house. That house had been running towards the center of the city, but suddenly stopped.


    Kn was sitting on a small wooden chair, next to a window. Feeling the house suddenly stop moving, he furrowed his brows. With a bit of effort, he moved his pained body over to the window and peeked out.


    The energy from the massive explosion was right outside.


    "...Huh."


    In mere moments, Kn was swallowed up by the explosion. The house he was in disintegrated from the explosion, along with him.


    Right before the explosion was about to rampage through the center of the city, Oddryl regained his bearings. He raised his hand and clenched his fist.


    Suddenly, a translucent yellow dome wrapped itself around the entire city. The explosion violently collided with the yellow dome, then sshed outwards as though it were a plume of smoke.


    The yellow dome shook fiercely and even cracked, but it held in ce.


    Oddryl rxed his fist and let out a sigh of relief.


    "...I need to be more thoroughly prepared."


    The corner of his eyelid twitched.


    "Though it will not be easy to prepare for things like that."


    Oddryl slowly sat back in his chair with a solemn expression.


    "Now even Kn has fallen. How did the situation spiral out of control so fast?"


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "...I never thought we would have to use ''that'' so soon."


    Oddryl furrowed his brows before shaking his head.


    "No, that is unnecessary. The top five giants have yet to show their faces."


    A bitter sigh escaped Oddryl.


    "...Hopefully their gratitude to the empire is enough for them to defend it."


    Talon had been sitting on a chair next to Oddryl. One of his hands casually held onto the hilt of his purple scissors while the de rested on the floor. As for Talon''s other hand, it rubbed against his eyelids as though he was trying to stay awake.


    "What are you mumbling to yourself anyway, old man?"


    Oddrylughed bitterly.


    "It appears I''ve made many miscalctions."


    Talon tilted his head to the side.


    "Is that what all those explosions are about?"


    Oddryl shrugged his shoulders.


    "More or less..."


    Talon waved his hand dismissively.


    "The situation will be handled anyway, right? I mean, some of the twenty-five giants are just too damn scary."


    Oddryl narrowed his eyes.


    "Unfortunately, it seems the intruders match that strength."


    Talon furrowed his brows.


    "Is it the newly crowned? Did he luck out and get some super powerful ability?"


    Oddryl shook his head. In his mind, he still believed Hex was the strongest. However, it seemed his ability to instill fear in others was limited, else he would''ve used it already.


    But that didn''t change how much of a monster La was. If Oddryl didn''t stabilize the ground at the center of the city, it would''ve split apart while the buildings would have copsed.


    Not to mention, that was just the aftereffect of La jumping andnding back down.


    Oddryl rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "There is one... with terrifying physical prowess?"


    Talon raised an eyebrow.


    "Do they have some special magic enhanced by their physical prowess?"


    Oddryl shook his head.


    "No."


    Talonughed, losing his serious expression.


    "Oh,e on. How much of a threat can someone with only muscle be? Even the demons aren''t muscle-headed enough to present a threat to us by brute strength alone."


    Oddryl sighed helplessly.


    "There will always be those that defy the limits iprehensibly."


    Talon rolled his eyes.


    "Alright. So how much can this person do?"


    Oddryl sped his hands together.


    "My dome will onlyst a few hits."


    Talon raised an eyebrow.


    "Never thought I would be the one to say this, but you gotta give yourself more credit."


    Oddryl smiled bitterly.


    "If anything, I''m giving myself too much credit. In fact, it may not evenst one more hit."


    Talon opened his mouth to rebut, but Oddryl raised a hand, signaling him to stop.


    "Enough talking. Call on the top five."


    Talon''s eyebrow twitched. He tightened the grip on his scissors.


    "Seriously?"


    Oddryl nodded.


    "Hurry."


    It was only now that Talon realized Oddryl wasn''t joking. An awkward smile emerged on his face.


    "But, thest time I called on them..."


    Oddryl''s eyebrow twitched.


    "Just try once more."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "If they don''te, we will be forced to use that."


    With that, Talon gave Oddryl onest look.


    Then ran out.

 Chapter 161 - Enemy Of My Enemy Of My Enemy

    Despite La''s sudden intrusion, Willow and Apollo continued fighting. It was as though nothing could stop the two from fighting until one of them died.


    La curiously observed the two that were fighting. She tilted her head to the side as her furry ears twitched.


    "Me too!"


    With that, La leaped up.


    Apollo and Willow were seconds away from colliding once more, but before they could, La appeared between them. She was smiling with uncontainable excitement.


    La''s approach was sudden. She grabbed the wrist of both Apollo and Willow. The two of them had no time to react.


    La raised both of their wrists, lifting their des along with it.


    "Up and..."


    She mercilessly flung Apollo and Willow towards the ground.


    "Down!"


    Two loud crashes resounded together.


    Apollo and Willow were half buried into the cobblestone. It was an impact that would kill the average person or knock them out if they were lucky. Yet, both Apollo and Willow burst out of the ground as though they were never hurt in the first ce.


    Apollo immediately dashed after Willow while Willow herself dashed away. As for La, she plunged towards the ground and ran after them, swiping her w at anyone nearby.


    As for Falk, he stood there dumbfounded.


    Who was that girl with a tail?


    Was she an enemy or an ally?


    He furrowed his brows.


    The girl with a tail attacked the boy, meaning that she was helping him out.


    However, she also attacked the woman in a ck dress, meaning she was attacking an ally.


    Falk scratched his hair.


    But wait, what if the woman in a ck dress was actually an enemy? That would mean the girl with a tail was an ally.


    Then again, now that Falk thought about it, the boy wasn''t really trying to attack him either. Each time he got in the way, the boy decided to go around him and attack the woman in a ck dress.


    Falk held his hand with his forehead and looked at the ground in thought.


    But-


    "Waaaaaaah!"


    La was holding onto Apollo and Willow, forcefully dragging them along. She was falling from the sky, right above Falk.


    Hearing La''s scream, Falk''s train of thought was interrupted. He slowly looked upward to see three shadows about to crash into him.


    Falk''s eyelid twitched.


    "I really should pay more atten-"


    A thundering bang reverberated throughout the vige.


    As a group of three, La, Apollo, and Willow collided with Falk. The bulk of the collision was La herself ramming her head into Falk''s armor. As such, the armor was smashed into pieces, leaving Falk with only a simple ck t-shirt and blue jeans.


    His muscles were clearly defined, nearly bursting out of the clothes he was wearing.


    Now that his armor was gone, he just looked like a casual bodybuilder carrying an oversized shield around.


    Falk coughed up blood. Although his armor had taken on the brunt of the impact, enough of it still transferred over to him.


    Falk began to realize all this hesitation was getting nowhere.


    The four of them pulled themselves out of the ground.


    Apollo wasted no time charging at Willow and La went after Apollo, who just so happened to be closest. Willow dashed towards Falk before disappearing altogether. She reappeared behind Falk so that Apollo would have to go through him first.


    At this point, Falk let out a roar of anger.


    "The enemy of my enemy is my enemy! Everyone is my enemy, even I am the enemy!"


    He turned around and bashed Willow with incredible agility. Hended a clear hit, making one of Willow''s bones snap with a crisp crack.


    Falk lost his armor, losing a good portion of his defensive power. However, his agility increased to heights nobody was expecting. Falk''s armor was simply extremely heavy. So when it was finally off, he caught Willow off guard.


    However, he neglected the others by attacking Willow.


    Apollo relentlessly chased after Willow. Seeing Falk in the way, he tried to sidestep. However, the moment he slowed down, La mmed into his back.


    Like a domino, Apollo crashed into Falk, causing the man to cough up another mouthful of blood and tumble to the side along with the other two. Willow used the opportunity to escape the situation.


    La was first to recover, poking her head up. Falk rose up right after with bloodshot eyes. He noticed La''s figure and immediately tried to bash her with his shield. Falk didn''t even consider who it was.


    He would simply bring down everything that stood.


    "Die!"


    La giggled while pulling back her index finger, using her thumb to hold it securely in ce. Right when the shield was about to hit her, she flicked it.


    A sharp ng rang out.


    Falk was thrown back and felt his wrist nearly crack from keeping a firm hold on his shield. Apollo shot up from the ground and dashed towards Willow, but La swiped at his back.


    Apollo instinctively blocked with his bokken, but was still blown away, right towards Falk.


    Falk lifted up his shield and swung it at Apollo, almost like he was ying baseball. However, this ''baseball'' wasn''t going to just wait to be hit by the baseball bat.


    Apollo thrust his bokken as though it was a spear, meeting Falk''s bash.


    With a grating screech, the two of them recoiled backward.


    Apollo used that momentum to dash towards Willow, leaving trails of lightning in his wake. As for Falk, he chased after him once he regained his footing.


    La skipped along from behind Falk, humming a children''s song to herself.


    In short, it was a shitfest.


    Willow pped her wings, rapidly tearing through the air. She was heading towards Hex.


    As for what Hex was doing, he continued harvesting yellow crystals from the houses. However, he was a bit displeased since he lost a few earlier.


    Willow turned around to face Apollo since he was catching up. As for Falk, he was right behind him.


    Then La leaped, violently crashing into Falk and bringing all four of them forward.


    Hex watched ckie reach for a crystal in a house.


    ....But there was a clump of four bodies shooting towards the house like a shooting star.

 Chapter 162 - Lets Try This Once More

    Hex eagerly watched as ckie was about to seize another yellow crystal. He could already imagine how tasty it was going to be and how satisfying the crunch would be.


    An excited smile appeared on his face, and his mouth was slightly agape.


    Then Apollo, La, Falk, and Willow, crashed through the house. They directly shattered the crystal along the way.


    Hex''s smile froze on his face. It was as though time stopped for him.


    The group of four that crashed through the house quickly lost their momentum and began falling down. They tried to attack each other, but were simply in too awkward of a position to do so.


    However, someone was very willing to take their ce.


    Hex.


    He raised his sleeves in the air with anger with a deep frown stered on his face.


    "Me food!"


    Hex looked towards the group of four sailing through the air.


    "Grrrr... me kill you!"


    Purple mist gathered around Hex before shooting out as a blurry purple wave. The purple wavednded right on to the group as they fell towards the ground. Immediately, Hex morphed into a green ball, rapidly traveling towards the group.


    As for ckie, he simply stared on with confusion at the group in front of him. After a bit of hesitation, he continued smashing the various houses around him and collecting their crystals. He put them on the top of his head, but most of them tumbled off soon after.


    The houses were basically powerless against ckie''s attacks. Even when they attempted to attack with their beam of light, ckie would be able to either crush the house before itpleted the attack or absorb the energy from it.


    As for Hex, he appeared and got attached to the rest of the group right before they hit the ground.


    With a crash, the group of five tumbled away from each other, but were still fairly close. Hex opened his mouth wide, revealing his sharp but tiny teeth. He proceeded to bite down on the person closest to him, which just so happened to be Falk.


    "Raah!"


    Falk had just figured out which direction the sky was and which way was the ground. But before he could do anything about it, he felt numerous sharp teeth sink into his forearm, the one that wasn''t carrying his shield. Beads of sweat formed on Falk''s forehead as he grimaced in pain.


    "Damn, where in the world did youe from?"


    He had already coughed up blood not too long ago, proving he endured damage before. However, something about Hex''s bite made it hurt way worse than anything he ever experienced.


    Falk grit his teeth.


    "Get off of me, you strange thing!"


    He began swinging his arm around in an attempt to shake Hex off, but to no avail. It was as though Hex was a rabid dog, stubbornly holding on to the end.


    La got up and saw what Hex was doing. Her furry ears perked up as a cheery smile appeared on her face.


    "Me too!"


    Falk raised his shield and was going to bash Hex with it, but before he could, La acted.


    A frightening crunch resounded.


    La bit down on Falk''s other forearm, but instead of piercing, she shattered it. Topare Hex and La, one would be a needle while the other would be a sledgehammer.


    While a needle could easily prate one''s skin, the sledgehammer simply had too much brute force behind it.


    Falk let out a muffled groan and dropped his shield, letting it hit the ground with a thump. The situation was bad for him, to say the least. However, he continued to struggle until the end.


    Falk spread his arms out wide, indirectly holding both La and Hex. Then, he smashed the two together with all of his strength.


    Hex was blown off, however, he took along arge chunk of flesh with him.


    Hex pouted.


    "Gah!"


    Hended on the ground with his back, but took only a second or two in order to stand back up. He didn''t seem satisfied with this result.


    As for La, she fell off as well, but only because the forearm she was attached to had shatteredpletely, leaving her nothing to remain on.


    La easilynded on her feet. There was a mischievous smile on her face as her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    Falk''s vision was rapidly bing blurry. Although he was strong, he was also a human. This was the first time his body was broken through so easily, as though he was a piece of butter.


    La''s bite tore off his forearm, leaving only a stub. He was rapidly losing blood from both there and the wound on his other forearm.


    At this rate, he would bleed to death.


    Falk smiled bitterly.


    "...I never thought I would actually have to use that."


    He sighed.


    "My daughter, please do not be afraid of me..."


    Falk''s eyes narrowed.


    "I''m still your father."


    Suddenly, threerge ck horns burst out of Falk''s head. ck spots burst from his skin and began beating like hearts. The wounds in his forearms rapidly healed, even giving him a new hand. However, the healed sections were now a deep ck instead of the pale white they were before.


    Falk clenched his fists, feeling the power course through him. His voice became deep and booming.


    "Let us try this once more."


    While this was happening, Apollo and Willow were having their own battle. The both of them shot up from the ground the moment theynded.


    Without hesitation, Apollo gave chase while Willow retreated. Arcs of lightning danced in the air along with some ck mist.


    Apollo caught up fairly easily. The moment he was five meters away from Willow, he shed and pressed his thumb against the hilt.


    At that moment, Willow disappeared. Apollo continued moving forward. Suddenly, Willow appeared in front of him.


    He shed with his bokken, but Willow got past him, pushing aside his sword with hers.


    Then.... she headed towards Falk.

 Chapter 163 - As Though He Became A Beast

    Falk suddenly found him surrounded on all sides.


    Willow was leading Apollo over to Falk. Although she had no intention of attacking Falk directly, that didn''t mean she wouldn''t use Apollo.


    As for La, she was giggling mischievously. Her tail swayed, causing the bell attached to let out soft jingles. She had a w raised, prepared to attack Falk.


    As for Hex, he was angry at the entire group. However, Falk just so happened to be the one at the front. As such, Hex gathered dark green mist in preparation to attack him.


    Falk leisurely picked up his shield, as though he wasn''t being attacked from three sides at once. His breathing was ragged and heavy. The sudden transformation clearly wasn''t something easy for his mind to bear.


    In fact, Falk could hardly process the situation he was in. If his instincts couldn''t pick up on the threats around him, he wouldn''t have even realized his perilous situation in the first ce. As of now, he had to make a choice.


    Falk could only hold his shield in one direction.


    So which direction should he choose?


    Falk''s mind was muddled, but countless thoughts shed by in just a second. It was almost like a raging fire began to burn down a murky swamp.


    Falk''s eyes narrowed.


    The girl with a tail was strong, but he believed he could handle most physical attacks even before the transformation. Now that he had taken in a demon''s genes, he was even more so.


    As for the woman in the ck dress, she hadn''t attacked him this entire time. Instead, she would lure the boy to attack and amplify his strike. By redirecting the attack, it woulde straight for Falk.


    However, the boy didn''t seem to use magic much. At most, there was lightning improving his eleration. However, it was a physical attack in the end. Using the same logic Falk used with La, he dismissed Apollo.


    That left the strange... thing. It clearly had some magical skills, as it suddenly appeared before him. And now, it was gathering dark green mist for some sort of spell.


    Falk had no idea what that spell was or how bad it could possibly be. As such, he settled on blocking Hex.


    La''s shoulder muscles tightened, slowly bringing her w forward. Then, that tightness traveled down her arms, elerating her w further. Once it reached her fingers, it snapped out.


    Willow was standing behind Falk. Apollo charged after her and traced a horizontal arc with his bokken. Suddenly, Willow''s pitch ck sword shed.


    She traced the t side of Apollo''s bokken with her de, pushing it towards her own neck. But right when Willow was about to be decapitated, she disappeared. In the end, Apollo''s bokken was tracing an arc towards Falk''s neck.


    As for Hex, the dark green rapidly condensed around him. He held his sleeves in front of him and let it be a small dark green ball. Suddenly, it shot outwards as a dark green wave of energy, shaped like a wide cone.


    First, Hex''s wave of green energy hit Falk''s shield. Like water, the waves of energy spilled out to the sides of Falk. Other than a pain in his wrists, he was unharmed.


    However, then came Apollo''s bokken. It traced a horizontal arc in the air before shing into Falk''s neck. Falk responded by tightening the muscles around his neck, forcefully stopping it from going any further. It was as though a lumberjack used an axe to cut down arge tree. While the ax pierced into the bark, to actually cut the tree, countless swings were needed.


    Finally, there was the shock wave emanating from La''s w. It traveled rapidly before colliding with Falk. He was immediately blown off his feet,unching into the sky. As for Apollo, he recoiled as well, but only from the remnants of the shockwave.


    Falk''s limbs bent in the wrong direction as he coughed up blood.


    In reality, although Falk forced himself to think in a muddled state, his judgment was still heavily impaired.


    The moment he picked up his shield, he saw the possibility of blocking someone''s attack. From there, his mind remained hardwired to think in this direction.


    However, Falk could''ve chosen a halfway point in between two of the threats and dashed in that direction. From there, he could hold his shield behind him and block the majority of whatever came after him.


    Although the attacks were fast, so was Falk. Ever since his armor fell off, his speed increased tremendously. There was no need to be at the epicenter of the attacks and face them head on.


    However, Falk was unable to realize all of these things. Although Apollo''s bokken did not pierce too far in his neck on its own, La''s shockwave forced Falk into it. As such, his neck was cut through by nearly two-thirds.


    For any normal human, this was fatal.


    However, Falk already discarded his chances of being a normal human. ck flesh immediately grew from his neck, forcefully connecting it together. Then his limbs twisted back in the correct direction with frightening snapping sounds.


    Falknded on his knees and one hand. His other hand held up the shield above his body.


    Falk''s eyes zed over and a faint growl came from deep in his lungs.


    It was as though he became a beast.


    Falk''s judgment was already impaired before, but as of now...


    It would be a miracle if a coherent thought passed through his mind.


    ...


    Talon rushed down several steps in a hurry. His footfalls made countless tapping sounds, almost like the pitter patter of rain.


    Talon''s breaths were ragged. It was clear he had traversed countless steps by now without break.


    Talon stopped in front of a wooden door and got on both knees humbly.


    "Lord, there are intruders in the empire. May I request for your help?"


    It was as though he became a different person, fromid back to extremely formal.


    As for the response....

 Chapter 164 - Talons Last Hope

    Talon remained there silently, patiently waiting.


    Eventually, there was the sound of a deep sigh. An unhurried feminine voice came from behind the doors.


    "What makes you think I am so free as to help you?"


    Talon furrowed his brows.


    "I... I see. Sorry for disturbing you."


    An ufortable silence descended upon the hallway. Talon got up and hurried off, on his way to the next door.


    Although it was only a few minutes, Talon felt like the tapping sounds of his footsteps were echoing on for hours.


    Talon stopped in front of arge metal door engraved with the symbol of a ck rose. He got on his knees and bowed down.


    "Lord, there are intruders in the empire. May I request-"


    "No."


    Talon was cut off by a deep booming voice. From the tone, it was clear the man couldn''t care less about the issue the empire was facing. In fact, Talon could tell there was even a bit of condescension.


    As for whether that was directed to him or the empire, he wouldn''t know.


    Talon balled his hand into a fist.


    "I see. Sorry for disturbing you."


    He expected to be rejected. However, it was still painful for him to hear.


    A disdainful snort came from behind the door before silence descended upon Talon once more.


    With a soft sigh, he got up to his feet and ran further down the hallway. The tapping sounds of his footsteps began to resemble a metronome. Ticking over and over, repeating its monotonous tune until the end of time.


    Talon didn''t know why, but it began to bother him. He ran faster to disrupt the strange feeling, but it only made things worse. It was as though the metronome was only clicking faster.


    Talon sped up faster and faster. He was panicking a little too much for just running down a hallway. The stress continued to build up in his mind. Right when Talon felt like he was going to burst, he noticed he made it to the next door.


    This one was actually a metal double door, making it muchrger than the others. It was coated with a light grey sheen and had intricate ck carvings resembling a set of vines.


    By now, Talon was panting heavily. He took a few moments to calm down his breathing. Once his body no longer requested for excessive amounts of oxygen, Talon kneeled and bowed down.


    "Lord, there are-"


    A sharp crack resounded in the hallway.


    Talon flinched.


    He looked to his right and saw a bright red scorch mark right next to him. It was in the shape of a cut one would make with a sword. There was a faint sizzling sound as well as some smoke rising from the scorch mark.


    Talon hurriedly stood up, not daring to remain a second longer.


    "S-Sorry!"


    With that, he continued running down the halls, with only two more people left to ask. A seed of hopelessness seeped into Talon''s heart. For personal reasons, he hoped one of the top five would answer the call.


    That was because...


    The empire''sst resort would cost him. And it was not something small either. Talon knew that his best chances were with the first, and weakest of the top five.


    However, he was rejected.


    As Talon went down the hallway, the people he asked became far stronger than thest. As their strength increased, so did their indifference. Ever since he was first rejected, the reality of the situation slowly became clear to him.


    It was almost like Talon was haunted by a specter, threatening to crush his heart at any moment.


    He lost his initial enthusiasm, going at a pace of a light jog,


    Eventually, Talon made it to a massive double door made purely from gold. Countless engravings rested on the door, forming the pattern of two lions. The lions were covered in excessive amounts of armor, standing on their hind legs. With their paws, they seemed to be attacking one another.


    Talon solemnly stared at the door for a few moments. After a few moments, he got down on his knees. As Talon lowered his head, he could feel despair swirl within him.


    Why was he even trying?


    It was futile in the end, Talon knew this for a fact.


    So why...


    Suddenly, he saw his sister. Unlike Talon''s short brown hair, hers was long and smooth. She had eyes clear like the empty sky, as though it gave one permission to be free.


    Talon steeled his mind. He opened his mouth, ready to request once more.


    But...


    Before the words coulde out, a relentless pressure exploded out from behind the doors, sting Talon back.


    He crashed into the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.


    "Gah!"


    After copsing to the ground, Talon held his chest in pain. Without another word, he stood up and walked further down the hallway.


    Talon was no longer in any hurry. He took his time walking down the halls, despite how long they stretched.


    Compared to the rest of the doors, this one was much farther away from the rest. It was almost like the halls were endless, magnified by Talon''s slow pace.


    Yet, for Talon, it was the opposite. It was as though the end was rapidly approaching him. He walked forward slowly, as though by doing so he could dy the pain.


    Talon had known about the empire''sst resort for a long time. However, he was sure that there would be no need for that. After all, there were so many strong people residing within the empire.


    It would be a miracle if someone even dared to attack it!


    ...Yet, here he was.


    Talon began to feel a chill, despite the temperature of the hallway being the same as it had always been. He felt the hallways twist and turn while they were straight.


    Far off in the distance, the hallway came to an end. There was a small door at the end.


    It was Talon''sst hope.

 Chapter 165 - Truth Of The Empire

    Talon''s steps slowed down to a crawl.


    The door in front of him was rather unassuming. Other than being pure white, it looked just like any other door.


    However, there was some sort of illusory pressure Talon felt just by looking at it. This was because he knew what that door represented, and the power of the person behind it.


    Talon walked forward with trembling steps. He walked forward as though he were wading through murky waters.


    There was a strange custom in the empire. The people that resided in this empire would train their daughters to be obedient maids and the sons to be strong and healthy.


    This was because of the offer that the empire provided.


    Every month, there would be an assessment where young children wouldpete with each other. For the girls, it would be whoever could follow orders the best. As for the boys, it would be their strength and ability to endure pain.


    The assessment was rather cruel, but the empire justified this by saying that was the only way to truly test them.


    ...So why were they being tested?


    It was because a certain quota of the children would be epted into the center of the empire.


    To the masses, this was seen as the best way for their children to go. It even gave them the opportunity to be a noble!


    The girls would get far better lives, with plenty of expensive food and a grand room. They still had the responsibilities of a maid, but they would be small. It would be a far greater life than one that involved farming every day.


    The boys would get simr treatment, just more rare foods. Ones that would greatly increase their strength. From there, their responsibility became guarding a certain noble in shifts. Although their shifts would be longer, they would slowly gain strength with the food provided, making it a worthy tradeoff.


    In the center of the empire, there were perhaps three or so maids for each noble. On top of that, there would only be roughly one hundred guards patrolling around for the sake of surveince.


    This number hardly changed in the years that passed.


    ...Yet, nearly one hundred children would be epted every month.


    By now, the streets should be filled to the brim with guards, while the nobles would have a maid tending to each corner of the pce at the same time.


    The masses could not go to the center of the empire, so it was hard for them to know this fact. However, they should have been suspicious about how many people were sent into the center of the empire.


    Somehow or another, that logic slipped past them.


    As for most children, they were quite resistant to bing maids or personal guards. That was because it was well known that children sent into the center of the empire would never see their parents again.


    However, there were countless children. Enough of them were convinced by their parents that they should try their hardest for this assessment as that was the ''best'' thing for them.


    Talon stopped. He was only a few steps away from the white door.


    As for Talon, he was one of those children that took part in these assessments. Talon was fully convinced that bing a guard for the nobles would be the peak of life.


    And so, he trained hard.


    Once the time for assessments came, Talon won by andslide. He was the very top of all the boys. As for his sister, she also believed being a maid would be the peak of life. She worked hard and also performed quite well, but only reached the top five.


    Not that it wasn''t a stunning achievement, but it was simply overshadowed by Talon''s sess.


    Since Talon was at the top of his group, he was invited to meet with Oddryl, along with the top maid of the girls.


    Oddryl exined all the processes they would have to go through to be a maid and a guard. After that, they were dismissed.


    Talon found it quite strange that only the top of each group was invited to meet with Oddryl. After all, so many people were epted to be maids and guards.


    As promised, he was given the life of a guard. However, he was unable to find any of the other kids that supposedly joined the corps with him.


    Talon was a sharp kid. He wouldn''t let peculiarities slip by him, and thus pondered on the possible reasons every day.


    Talon examined the other guards and tried to strike up a conversation with them, but they weren''t the most talkative. He had little to work off of, but came to a realization.


    The stronger the guard was, the quieter they would be. Talon determined the strength of a guard by their aura and posture, since he could see those kinds of things.


    And so, Talon decided to spend all of his free time training and trying to find out the secrets of this ce. As he expected, his efforts did not go unnoticed.


    In just a few days, he participated in a contest and was promoted. In the meeting, he was told various misceneous pieces of info and had his duties changed. Talon continued training, doing his best to rise further.


    He got promoted once more, despite only training for less than two weeks in total. From there, Talon was told only the best of each group would actually be picked to be maids and guards.


    He couldn''t help but ask about what happened to the others. After all, his sister was one of those people.


    However, he was not given an answer.


    Within less than a month, his position skyrocketed, as did his knowledge of the empire. Even he was surprised by how strong he had be.


    That was when Talon was offered a spot among the rank of giants. He epted it immediately. After all, that was his goal in the first ce.


    He was invited to a meeting.


    And from there, he learned the truth of the empire.

 Chapter 166 - What The Missing Children Are Used For

    Talon pushed open a dark brown door. The door itself was regal, glistening with a faint luster as well as clearly establishing this room was specialpared to the others. He stepped inside while making several nking sounds.


    This was because Talon was still in his iron armor, making him look rather generic. Although it was clear from his short stature that he was a young teenager, he stood tall and proudly.


    Talon had the aura of a matured and refined gentleman, unlike the sarcastic teenager he was now. Instead of a pair of scissors, a standard iron sword was sheathed on his belt.


    Talon had a heavy aura around him, but the moment he stepped into the room, it was overshadowed.


    Oddryl was sitting at a luxurious desk iid with a few fancy gold patterns. He had his elbows on the table and hands sped in front of his face.


    Talon gave the room a quick nce. There was hardly anything inside. A single potted nt remained in the right corner of the room, next to Oddryl. In the left corner, was a small bookshelf with books containing variousbat techniques.


    The room itself was rectangr. From Talon''s left to right, was the width.


    From Talon to Oddryl, was the length. However, the length of this room was greatly exaggerated, nearly making it look like a hallway.


    Except for the few things around Oddryl, the rest of the room was empty. Since the walls were white, it further contributed to this effect. It was almost like someone stretched the room out, warping the appearance of what would''ve been a perfectly normal interior.


    There were two empty seats opposite to Oddryl. They were made out of dark brown wood and had a soft luster. The seats were simr to Oddryl''s own, except it had a smaller backrest and slightly lower elevation.


    Talon had noticed this before and knew this was a man that cared about the difference in status. If Talon did not clearly match this in his expression, Oddryl would make him know it.


    Thankfully, there was no need for that as Talon had caught on to this detail before.


    Oddryl lightly tapped the table with his finger.


    "Come now. You havee a long way in such a short while. Although you are not fully suitable for your role considering your strength, your potential overshadows that."


    Talon gave a small bow.


    "Yes, sir."


    He walked across the room, which was more of a hallway than anything. The light nking sounds of his armor was the only sound that echoed within the room.


    Talon felt the pressure bear down on him, but he reached the chair before he knew it. Talon sat down slowly and kept his hand on his knees.


    "Hello, sir."


    Oddryl nodded with a small smile.


    "Haha, there is no need to be so formal. From today, you will be joining my rank. You should pat yourself on the back."


    Although Oddryl said those words, Talon did not dare drop his formality. He nodded.


    "Thank you, sir."


    Oddryl chuckled.


    "Anyways, your duties will change as one of the giants. From now on, you will be called upon should the empire face an unrivaled adversary. As for your previous patrol schedule, discard it."


    Talon nodded like he was an automated reply you get from an email.


    "Yes, sir."


    Oddryl rubbed his chin with a bit of amusement.


    "As a side note, would you like to work for me as my assistant? I will increase your allocated resources."


    Talon gave a small bow, as much as he could within such a small chair.


    "That would be my honor, sir."


    Oddryl raised an eyebrow.


    "You didn''t even ask about how much you would receive?"


    Talon was silent for a moment.


    "...Those trivial matters are secondary, sir."


    Oddrylughed.


    "Well, my first order is you drop the sir. It''s getting annoying."


    Talon nodded.


    "My apologies."


    Oddryl clicked his tongue.


    "I can still hear the sir afterwards even when you don''t say it."


    Talon remained silent. Oddryl stared at him for a few moments and decided he might as well stop fooling around.


    "Anyways, now that you have joined the ranks of the giants, there are some things you should know, even if you are at the lowest rung."


    Talon took note of the fact Oddryl subtly tried to remind him of his inferioritypared to the rest. He did not show it, however.


    Oddryl sighed.


    "Now, we will be talking about the empire''s research. That is where all the boys and girls go."


    Talon couldn''t help but raise his head a little. After all, this was his goal in the first ce.


    Oddryl tapped the table with his finger.


    "Keep in mind only the giants and a few select people are allowed to know of this. If you see any townsfolk learn of this information, kill them on sight. As for the few select people, you will get to know them soon."


    Talon solemnly nodded.


    "Understood."


    Oddryl smirked confidently.


    "Back on topic, the empire has found a method by which we can harvest the genes of a demon and transnt them to a human. A sessful transnt means the person in question gets a massive boost to their physical strength and regenerative capabilities."


    Talon''s pupils shook, but that didn''t show from below his helmet.


    Oddryl continued.


    "There are only two small caveats. We have yet to find a way to negate its side effects, especially so on one''s sanity. On top of that, sessful transnts are very difficult to achieve."


    Talon remained eerily still. He was slowly realizing how this had a connection to the other children.


    Oddryl raised a finger in the air.


    "But, we are working on ways to slowly ovee these two obstacles. We found that by stitching together the limbs of a boy to the torso of a girl, the sess rate increases several times over."


    Talon''s eyelid twitched.


    Oddryl smiled uncannily.


    "And so, that is what the missing children are used for."

 Chapter 167 - Talons Sister

    Talon remained calm despite what Oddryl said. It was not that he didn''t care about his sister, but he knew freaking out now would have no meaning. As for the other children, they could all die and he wouldn''t mind.


    Talon wished to ask about his sister, but thought it would make his intentions too obvious. Instead, he decided to express interest in the subject, so he could ease into it.


    "Oh, why are children selected? Are adults unable to take on the transnt?"


    Oddryl waved his hand dismissively.


    "It''s not so much the adults themselves, but the fact it''s so much easier to mold children into what you want them to be."


    Talon tilted his head to the side.


    "Ah, how does this help with the transnt?"


    Oddryl smirked.


    "Children are... easier to convince. By the time they realize something is wrong, it would already be toote. On top of that, there are certain qualities that greatly improve sess."


    He sighed.


    "First, the boy must not die as their limbs are cut off. If they are strong on top of that, then the resulting demon will be proportionally stronger as well. A small bonus. Second, the girl must be very submissive and obedient. If they reject too violently, the transnt will cause them to implode."


    Talon nodded, trying not to think too much about what Oddryl just said.


    "I see. Why aren''t the highest scorers of each group selected? Won''t they be the most suitable to create demons?"


    Oddryl raised an eyebrow.


    "What? You want to have your limbs cut off?"


    Talon shrugged his shoulders.


    "I simply assumed I was excluded from the experiment, else I wouldn''t be here. My reason for asking simply stems from curiosity."


    Oddryl let out a small snort.


    "Smart one, aren''t you?"


    He chuckled.


    "Originally we would use every child, but we realized it was a waste. While the transnt makes one stronger, it also cuts off their path for growth. Your meteoric rise is proof that decision was correct."


    Talon did a small bow.


    "You tter me."


    Oddryl sighed.


    "As for the maid, that was just because some of the giants couldn''t bear seeing all of the well-trained maids go. However,pared to nurturing a powerful force, they were secondary."


    He tapped his finger on the table.


    "Speaking of, another factor is the two bodies must be of a simr size. That means we manipte the rankings in the case the first ce maid is more suitable for experimentation due to their size. After all, not only is obedience subjective, making it easy, but a good maid isn''t that important anyway."


    Oddryl shrugged his shoulders.


    "We usually just push the first ce maid down to fifth so they are rtively high, but won''t be closelypared with the other top rankers. That just so happened to be the case for your selection process."


    The corner of Talon''s lip twitched.


    ...His sister ranked fifth.


    From what he gathered, that meant his sister would be living an easy life if it wasn''t for the fact he was the winner of his group. Instead, she was being experimented on because of him.


    Anxiety began to swirl within Talon, like a whirlpool. However, he quickly brushed it aside. This was an opportunity to slip in a question without being too conspicuous. There was no time to be anxious.


    "Oh, speaking of, I think my sister ranked fifth. Do you think it''s possible for her to be excluded from the experiments? If possible, I don''t want my family to be hurt."


    Oddryl narrowed his eyes.


    "...And why do you care?"


    Talon shrugged his shoulders.


    "Well... if the giants can get maids, it shouldn''t be too much to ask to have thest top rank maid. Because she is my sister, it is unlikely she will stir up trouble while serving me."


    Oddrylughed.


    "I suppose an arrangement can be made."


    Talon felt his heart leap to his throat.


    "Thank-"


    "But."


    Oddryl raised his hand, cutting Talon off.


    "Your sister has already been prepared for the transnt. While she doesn''t have to go through it, that doesn''t mean she will be free."


    Talon felt like he was sent from heaven to hell. However, this was already better than he expected.


    "What do you mean?"


    Oddryl cleared his throat.


    "Should the empiree under a disastrous threat, we will activate a special trigger among the transnted. This will also affect those that are only prepared, or in other words, your sister."


    Talon nodded.


    "Then so long as the empire does note under this threat, it will be fine?"


    Oddryl chuckled.


    "Yes. I doubt the empire will experience such an event, however."


    Talon did a small bow.


    "Thank you for the rification."


    Oddryl smirked.


    "No problem."


    With that, the meeting was over. Although Talon did not believe he slipped up, there was something about how Oddryl talked that made it seem as though he was seen through.


    Talon couldn''t shake this uneasy feeling. Once the truth was out, the empire was no longer on the same side as him. As promised, his sister was given back to him as a maid. However, there was a strange ck mark at the bottom of her neck.


    From here, Talon wanted toy low and draw as little attention as possible. However, being promoted to one of the giants made some of the other giants interested in him. Talon tried to distance himself, but realized that only made them more curious.


    Why was it so hard to remain inconspicuous?


    It was then he came to a realization.


    The empire did not try to hide the fact it collected children, but announced it loud. Ironically, it was a method that worked far better than collecting them in secret. Secrecy begets investigation, whileying it all out for people makes them lose interest.


    And so, Talon discarded his armor and wore a smug smile all the time. Then, he switched out his sword for overly shy scissors.


    People lost interest in an overconfident teen quickly. And so, he could spend time happily with his sister.


    ...Well, until now, that is.


    Talon kneeled before the white door.


    And opened his mouth.

 Chapter 168 - Silence

    Talon closed his eyes and let the words pass through.


    "Lord..."


    He felt a swirling sense of despair creeping into his heart as he asked.


    Would he be rejected once more?


    Would the strongest within the empire be polite?


    Or would the strongest within the empire be slighted by his request and kill him on the spot?


    "...there are intruders in the empire..."


    Talon couldn''t help but think of his little sister. She held a special ce in his heart over his parents. This was because their parents were rather strict. They spent the majority of the time lecturing on how to be either a better maid or a stronger guard.


    It got to the point that Talon felt his parents were more like machines, programmed to issue him and his sister tasks toplete.


    In fact, it was hard for Talon to even register them as living beings. At one point, he believed that they were pretending to breathe just to appear more life-like.


    They were simply too... emotionless.


    However, it was different when it came to his sister, Lena.


    Their parents started to train them ever since they were very young. Lena was forced to learn etiquette as well as learning how to pick up on the emotions of others. As for Talon, he went through various exercise routines and was routinely whipped.


    Because of the nature of this training, Lena was fairly cultured, while Talon was rather timid and fearful. This made for a rather strange looking brother and sister pair.


    Lena was as gentle as a flower, but had maturity and confidence. As for Talon, was built so burly, it was as though he was a sculpted statue. Yet, he was more timid than the gentle flower.


    When it came down to it, Lena was the one thatforted Talon when he felt things were getting too tough. She always had such a gentle smile that seemed to wash away the pain.


    And so, Talon had formed a strong reliance on her over time. It wasn''t so bad that he needed to be next to her all the time, but he would only feel reassured if Lean was unharmed.


    That''s why...


    "May I request for your help?"


    ...Talon was so desperate.


    Though he was not weak all things considered, the gap between him and the top was simply too far.


    Although Talon couldn''t truly tell how far this gap really was, he knew that it was significant enough to make him powerless before it.


    And so, if none of the giants were willing toe help, he believed his sister''s transformation would be set in stone.


    Talon remained there, kneeling for a few more minutes. He was slowly beginning to realize what was happening.


    The strongest within the empire did not bother with him, not even willing to acknowledge his existence.


    As though Talon was just a piece of dust.


    He expected this.


    Ever since the very start.


    But now that it wasid out in front of him...


    A soft patter echoed throughout the hallway.


    There was a tiny wet stain on the ground below Talon''s face.


    He was crying.


    Two thin trails of tears fell down from his face and merged together at his chin, falling onto the stone floor.


    Talon mmed his head against the ground as an ugly frown appeared on his face.


    "Dammit all..."


    He clenched his trembling fists.


    "How did ite to this so quickly?."


    ...


    Falk had lost most of his rationality. At best, he could be seen as a rtively intelligent beast. However, the regenerative powers, as well as the increase in strength, were dramatic.


    Falk ended up abandoning his shield altogether, showing he couldn''t even distinguish that it was something other than a piece of rubble. However, it would be more of a hindrance in his case.


    After all, there was little need to protect himself with his new regeneration capabilities.


    There was hardly anything left to protect, anyway.


    Hex was still in a rage over his yellow crystal. He charged towards the nearest person to him, which just so happened to be Apollo.


    As for Apollo, he was still locked onto Willow. It was as though she was the only thing in his sight.


    Willow immediately flew away, prompting Apollo to chase after her and cause Hex to follow indirectly.


    Falk''s vision was blurry, making it hard to tell people apart. However, even if he could, it was questionable as to whether he would use that information. Falk made out a vague figure and leaped towards it on all fours, like an animal.


    The ground underneath him caved in with a bang, shooting him forward. The force behind his leap was great, no doubt. However, there was one small caveat.


    Falk was leaping towards La, who was more than happy to reciprocate many times over.


    There was a bright smile on her face.


    "Friend!"


    La didn''t try to dodge, letting Falk easily close in. He raised his hand and swiped forward, trying to tear out his adversary''s eyes.


    Unfortunately, as Falk swiped, La took a step forward. In less than a heartbeat, her w tore through the air, reaching his chest.


    A crisp bang resounded throughout the empire.


    Before Falk''s hand even got close to La, his chest was hit. The bones around his torso had all shattered into pieces. As for the bones in his torso itself, nearly all of them were missing. In fact, most of the flesh and organs were missing as well.


    Falk sted backward. His head and limbs were only attached by thin strips of flesh.


    La pped with excitement.


    "Wow, friend can fly!"


    Before Falk even hit the ground, ayer of muscle wrapped around the thin strips of flesh keeping his body together.


    With a smack, he hit the ground. Behind him was a fragment of ground about ten meters high, meaning there was no longer a path to retreat.


    However, it wasn''t like Falk was going to retreat in the first ce.

 Chapter 169 - Could You Do Me A Favour?

    The moment Falk hit the ground, ck tendrils shot out from his flesh and connected together where the heart used to be.


    In mere seconds, a new ck heart was created, and it began pumping. Shortly after, his spine regrew while rudimentary bones attached themselves to his limbs.


    With that, Falk stood up. There was still a massive hole in his torso, but now there were a few bones and a heart inside. He released an unyielding aura.


    Falk grabbed his heart with his hand, forcing it to beat faster. The missing flesh gradually regrew, the only difference being its ck color. He stood there silently for a few moments, letting his body make its finishing touches.


    Falk lifted his head up to see La curiously staring from less than a meter away. She shed a cheeky smile.


    "Ah, we can continue now!"


    In the meantime, Willow was fending off Apollo while he was forced to deal with Hex. Willow was still, hovering a few feet above the air. She was facing Apollo, holding her sword out, almost as though she were trying to reach something with it.


    Willow''s eyes were still closed, not fully processing the situation.


    Although focusingpletely on the battle in front of her increased her fighting capabilities, there was a need to deal with the root of all the fighting.


    Dealing with the center of the empire.


    Apollo held his bokken with both hands. His knuckles became white while red scars snaked across his arms as he raised it.


    As for Hex, he opened his mouth wide, revealing his sharp and tiny teeth. He lunged forth.


    Apollo mmed his bokken down on Willow, but at that moment, she acted. A violent humming sound came from her pitch ck de. With a sh, it scraped against the edge of Apollo''s bokken.


    An unbelievably loud grating sound tore through the air. The type that would cause an average person''s ears to begin bleeding.


    Apollo''s bokken was deflected. His bokken mmed down behind him, right towards Hex. As for Hex, he suddenly woke out of his rageful stupor. His figure disappeared, letting the bokken smash into the ground.


    Countless cracks extended from where the bokken hit the cobblestone path. A few scattered fragments of stone shot through the air like bullets.


    Willow shed by as though she was an unrted passerby. As for Hex, he reappeared with the bokken in between his feet. The corner of his lip twitched.


    ...That was close.


    Apollo spun around, coughing up blood as heughed.


    "You can''t run forever!"


    Apollo was looking at Willow off in the distance,pletely ignoring Hex, who was below him.


    As for Hex, he looked up curiously at Apollo with one sleeve pressing down on top of his hood.


    "Me think you hurt."


    It was as though Apollo didn''t hear it. His knees bent, he hunched his back. With a bang, he shot forward. Hex hurriedly moved to the side, blinking a few times with confusion.


    "...Me think that rude."


    Willow just so happened to be traveling towards La and Falk, who were still fighting one another.


    Falk swiped at La, prompting her to reach for his hand.


    A clear smack resounded.


    Falk''s hand was caught in ce. Although he tried to move it, there was no reaction. Almost like he became a statue.


    As for La, she smiled cheekily while casually holding onto his hand.


    "I win!"


    With nearly impossible speeds, La flung Falk backward, right towards Willow.


    "Nyah!"


    Falk''s arm broke off in the process. Although Willow could dodge most things, this was simply too fast. She understood the surface level of order within chaos, however, this was different.


    If order was predictable while chaos was unpredictable...


    La''s sudden attack would be an anomaly.


    The speed was simply too unnatural, like a glitch within a program.


    And so, Falk collided with Willow, sending both of them tumbling to the side. They ended up colliding with a fragment of ground that rose a few meters in the air.


    Willow''s eyes flew open as she spat a mouthful of blood. She had been hurt pretty bad ever since she stepped on the empire''s walls.


    This was the first time in several years that she had been injured to this extent. As she and Falk tumbled onto the ground, many thoughts passed through her mind.


    Willow realized that continuing on like this was pointless. They had to deal with their real enemies. Then she would have to find a way to deal with...


    "HAHAHA HAHA HA."


    Apollo madly charged forth, leaving lightning bolts in his wake. He held his bokken out in front of him as though it was a spear.


    Willow frowned as blood fell from the corner of her mouth. She looked towards Falk, who was just now getting up with a low growl.


    Willow murmured to herself.


    "Sorry."


    Falk''s vision cleared, but before he could process the situation, someone grabbed him by the arm.


    Then threw him.


    A trace of shock crossed by Falk''s face. His eyebrow twitched, then...


    A brutal bang reverberated throughout the empire.


    Apollo''s bokkennded on the base of Falk''s neck, destroying his corbone and causing his head to fly off into the distance. It was as though Falk''s body was a cannon while his head was the cannonball, flying off into the distance because that had been its destiny.


    As for Falk''s body, it recoiled backward. The body stumbled for a few steps before falling to its knees.


    Then, it copsed lifelessly on the ground.


    While that was happening, Hex walked over with a sleeve holding onto his hood. As for La, she was skipping over with a bright smile on her face.


    Her hands were raised high in the air.


    "So many friends! So much ying!"


    Upon hearing La''s voice, Willow remembered her existence and suddenly came up with an idea. She turned to La.


    "Hey."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Does friend need something?"


    Willow suddenly disappeared, letting Apollo pass by her as he charged forth. Once Willow reappeared, she coughed awkwardly.


    "....Could you do me a favor?"

 Chapter 170 - Shot Put

    La gave Willow a curious look. Her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Hm? What does friend want?"


    Willow smiled awkwardly.


    "Could we change the location of our... ying."


    La''s ears twitched.


    "Eh? But ying is always fun everywhere!"


    Suddenly, Willow disappeared, letting Apollo pass by. She then reappeared, while the sound ofughter trailed off.


    Willow coughed.


    "You see..."


    She pointed towards the center of the empire, towards the watchtower.


    "Didn''t you say there was a... friend over there? It would be more fun, plus it''s a change of scenery!"


    La gasped and raised both hands in the air.


    "Ah, you''re right!"


    Apollo once again charged towards Willow, with his bokken in front of him. La turned to look at him.


    A cheerful smile appeared on her face.


    "Let''s go there, friend!"


    Suddenly, La dashed towards Apollo. Before he could even react, he was grabbed by the shoulders. Apollo stopped in his tracks while hisughter cut off.


    He looked at La.


    "...Huh?"


    La smiled brightly.


    Her furry ears twitched.


    "Have fun, friend!"


    La lifted Apollo up easily, brought him behind her back, then...


    "Nyah!"


    ...flung him towards the watchtower, cracking the ground below her.


    A few sharp cracking sounds rang out, evidence that Apollo''s bones cracked from the throw. Like a shooting star, his body shot towards the watchtower, bing a dot in the blink of an eye.


    Willow blinked a few times as she stared off into the direction Apollo went.


    "What..."


    Hex''s eyes followed Apollo''s sudden takeoff. His mouth was agape from shock, revealing his tiny and sharp teeth. Suddenly, Hex was grabbed at the sides.


    It was La.


    Her tail swayed enthusiastically, letting out soft jingles. It almost sounded soothing, but the brutal tendencies of the person making that sound disrupted such a feeling.


    La smiled cheekily.


    "Up you go!"


    She lifted up Hex up and brought him behind her back. Hex''s hood almost fell off, prompting him to hold it down with both sleeves. He squirmed violently and kicked his legs.


    "Me no want! Me no want!"


    La giggled.


    "Wah, friend sounds so excited!"


    Hex whimpered like a kid throwing a tantrum.


    "Me no want! Me no-"


    Suddenly, La flung Hex.


    "WAAAAAAAAAAANNNNT"


    His eyes widened in fear as he catapulted across the empire. However, with how tightly he held down his hood, it seemed like he was more afraid of the hooding off than anything else.


    ckie noticed Hex''s sudden takeoff and looked at his figure with concern. ckie warped and twisted, turning from a towering giant to a thin line. He snaked towards Hex, with the goal of merging shadows.


    Another crater had formed underneath La. Then, her gaze shifted to Willow, who began tough nervously after noticing that gaze.


    Willow pointed to her wings.


    "I can go there myself! That''s what these wings are for!"


    La giggled mischievously.


    "But that''s not the best way! Look at how much fun other friends are having!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched. She pped her wings, taking off from the ground.


    "There''s no need for that!"


    Willow waved towards La.


    "I can just go like this!"


    As for La''s response, she sped her hands together and raised her shoulders. It was as though she became a maiden in love that saw her crush.


    "Friend is so cute!"


    The side of Willow''s face twitched.


    She had a bad feeling.


    La crouched down before shooting up like a lightning bolt. Willow''s figure disappeared right before, letting La pass through.


    Upon reappearing, Willow let out a sigh of relief.


    Suddenly, her eyebrow twitched. She felt something wrap around her waist.


    "What?"


    It was La''s tail.


    With a violent tug, Willow was torn from the air, catapulting to the ground. With a bang, she mmed face down into the floor. If Willow moved her arms and legs, she might be able to make snow angels.


    ...Well, it would be rock rather than snow, and nothing about it would look angelic, but still.


    A sudden sense of vertigo assaulted Willow. Before she could regain her bearings, she was pulled out of the ground.


    Willow shook her head as she was being raised.


    "Wait, this is unnecessary!"


    La giggled, bringing Willow up and behind her back.


    "Friend doesn''t have to pretend!"


    She smiled brightly.


    "Just enjoy the fun!"


    The corner of Willow''s lip twitched.


    "Shi-"


    Suddenly, she was flung towards the center of the empire. A few cracking sounds came from Willow''s rib cage. She was already fairly injured, and this further pushed her down the edge.


    Willow soared through the air, but was eventually able to gain control over herself by using her wings. After stabilizing, she coughed up a mouthful of blood.


    Willow was not like Apollo, who had such a frightening regeneration ability. As such, her injuries were slowly taking a toll on her.


    She would not be able to continue on for much longer.


    La took a nce at her surroundings. Other than the toppled fragments of ground and houses that stayed far off in the distance, there was nothing left.


    She put her hands on her sides and stuck out her elbows confidently, as though proud of the work she had done.


    "Hehe, now for me to join friends!"


    La crouched down into the position a professional runner would take.


    She smirked.


    Then, a devastating bang rang out.


    La ended up leaving another massive crater, shifting the tectonic tes once more. She went so fast that her figure zipped past Willow. As Willow felt her hair st over to the side, she looked on at La in shock.


    Meanwhile, in the watchtower, Oddryl had his jaw slightly agape.


    Before he could truly process the strangeness of the scenario, another disaster urred.


    Apollo was really confused by the strange turn of events, but he still held his bokken in front of him like a spear. The wind caused his hair to whip around wildly, resembling a flickering me.


    In just a few moments, Apollo found himself seconds away from crashing into the yellow dome covering the empire.

 Chapter 171 - Fighting Oddryl

    The yellow dome covering the center of the empire had several cracks across it. As for Apollo, he and his bokken shot forth, almost like the two of them were challenging the yellow dome''s authority.


    However, this was mostly unintentional on Apollo''s part. After all, he was involuntarily flung towards the center of the empire.


    Nheless, it was him who would pull open the curtains to this violent y.


    A thundering boom reverberated through the empire.


    Apollo pierced straight through the dome and lost most of his momentum. However, he was still en route to the watchtower.


    The sound of shattering ss echoed throughout the empire as cracks spread across the yellow dome, before it crumbled into pieces.


    A few moments before Apollo was about to crash into the watchtower, a blurry figure zipped past him.


    It was Hex.


    He directly crashed into the side of the watchtower, demolishing the wall and tumbling into the very room Oddryl was in.


    Apollo crashed down on the floor next to Hex. Stone bricks were scattered about while clouds of dust filled the air.


    Apollo and Hex began coughing.


    Once the dust settled, it revealed Oddryl. He was staring at them with a bit of incredulity. After a few seconds of shock, Oddryl chuckled.


    "Well... it seems the prizes were delivered right to my doorstep."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "All that''s left is to take them."


    By the time Apollo and Hex stood up, strands of ck flesh burst from the ground and held down their feet. The two of them looked down at their feet in confusion.


    Oddryl raised his arm, pointing his forefinger towards them. A bright light shed on his fingertip, before dimming right after.


    Although Apollo and Hex were bound, neither of them freaked out. They casually looked back at Oddryl and were able to guess what he was up to.


    Hex raised his sleeves, rapidly gathering dark green mist on top of them. As for Apollo, He swung his bokken, then pressed his thumb against the hilt.


    A beam of light shot out from Oddryl''s hand. It was just as strong as the beam the houses produced, but had been cast within a second.


    Yet, the moment it shot forward, it had been split apart by Apollo''s strike. Then, Hex let loose a beam of dark green energy, heading straight for Oddryl.


    Apollo cleared the way, while Hex made use of the path created.


    The dark green beam traveled quickly, causing Oddryl''s pupils to constrict. Moments before it reached him, a wall of stone and ck flesh burst from the ground.


    The beam hit the wall with a bang, causing cracks to form as well as blood to spill out. However, it stood strong. The wall almost looked like it was living with how the ck flesh pulsated, wrapping around the stone like it was moss.


    Oddryl chuckled.


    "Why do you think I stay here the entire time? It''s because every part of this building can be controlled by my will."


    He stood up from his chair.


    "If you dare fight me here, then..."


    Oddryl suddenly stopped talking. He looked off into the sky.


    There was a faint sound in the distance that was rapidly getting louder.


    "waaaaa..."


    Oddryl frowned, looking at a ck dot in the distance.


    "What the-"


    "...AAAAAAAAH!~"


    It was La.


    A thundering bang resounded.


    Shended on the floor next to Apollo and Hex. The floor of the watchtower directly copsed while the roof broke off, almost like a crown falling off someone''s head.


    The four of them began to free fall.


    Before Oddryl hit the ground, some ck flesh burst out of the walls and caught him, forming a small tform.


    Landed easily, like she knew the floor was going to copse the entire time.


    As for Apollo, he didn''t have the most finesse, plus his feet were bound by the ck flesh. As such, Apollo hit the floor with his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs.


    On the other hand, Hex held his hood with both hands, ignoring everything else. In the end, he hit the back of his head with a clear thump.


    Hex pouted.


    "Ow..."


    Oddryl looked at his surroundings, then clicked his tongue.


    "...I spent so much time building this too."


    The walls of the watchtower had frighteninglyrge cracks that snaked all the way to the bottom. In the middle of these walls was a lump of pulsating ck flesh. Theyy there like a monster that hid within the gaps of a house.


    Blood was spilling out from the cracks in the walls, evidence that the entity of ck flesh had been injured.


    A soft sigh escaped Oddryl.


    "No matter. Everything can be rebuilt."


    As Apollo and Hex got back up to their feet, hands of ck flesh burst from the walls and ground.


    One ck hand appeared right next to Apollo and tried to grab him. However, before it could get close, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The hand was split in half. ck blood sprayed out from its wounds while the hand itself was shaking, as though it was in pain. However, it did not die.


    The two halves of the hand reached for Apollo, but were cut by the base by him before they could get started. The two halves fell to the ground lifelessly.


    As for the other hands, they shot out from their positions and made their way to the three. Their arms werenky and had no clear bones from the way they twisted. They almost resembled wet noodles. The only difference being they were far greater a threat than an actual noodle.


    La raised her hands in the air and cheered.


    "Wah, so many friends!"


    She pulled back her hand, making it into the shape of a w.


    Hex raised his sleeves and rapidly gathered purple mist.


    "Me stronger than you!"


    Apollo raised his bokken as a smile spread out across his face.


    "HAHAHAHA."


    Oddryl raised his forefinger as a smirk appeared on his face.


    "And so, it begins."

 Chapter 172 - No Other Choice

    The numerous ck hands rapidly approached the group, swarming them. It was as though there were an endless amount of theming from a void.


    It did not take long for Hex, La, and Apollo to be surrounded, covered by their shadows.


    At that moment, a wave of purple energy burst out of Hex. All of the ck hands were blown back helplessly and crashed into the walls. It was as though they were autumn leaves blown aside by a strong gust of wind.


    A bright light appeared above Oddryl''s finger before dimming. At the same time, La had brought her w forward, tensing her fingers.


    A beam of light shot out from Oddryl, while a shockwave rippled from La.


    The explosion reverberated throughout the empire.


    The beam of light exploded upon contact with La''s shockwave and was then blown back towards Oddryl. It was as though the beam of light was a baseball, thrown by the pitcher, Oddryl, before being hit back by the swinger, La.


    A secondary explosion urred on Oddryl, stirring up clouds of dust. The cracks within the watchtower expanded under the force.


    Apollo leaped upwards, right into the dust, almost like he could see through the hazy air.


    As for Oddryl, he was still standing on a ledge made of ck flesh with a small translucent yellow barrier surrounding him. A crack or two formed on its surface, but he himself was unharmed.


    Suddenly, Oddryl saw a ck figure in the hazy air.


    He raised an eyebrow.


    The clouds of dust parted to reveal Apollo with his bokken raised high. There was a sinister smile on his face, while his eyes were widened in excitement. In a certain sense, it resembled a fish jumping out of the water.


    Though more than a fish, Apollo would resemble a killer whale.


    He mmed his bokken down on the yellow shield.


    Like ss, it shattered into pieces, filling the air with sharp sounds.


    Although Apollo''s bokken slowed, it continued to fall down.


    Oddryl''s eyes narrowed. His hand shot out.


    A dull thump resounded.


    Oddryl caught Apollo''s bokken. Although his hand was bleeding and he himself was forced back a few steps, the harm was negligible.


    Oddryl smiled derisively.


    "Did you really think I would be weak physically just because I was a mage?"


    He threw a punch towards Apollo''s stomach, while the person in question responded in kind.


    A dull bang resounded.


    Both of their fists collided. Apollo was forced off the ledge from the recoil, but that didn''t mean Oddryl got off scot free. In fact, his wrist let out several cracking sounds from the impact, nearly snapping off.


    Oddryl forced his wrist back in the correct position while his other hand pointed towards the group, coalescing another ball of light.


    By now, the ck hands had recovered from the shock. They dived towards the three of them once more.


    Hex simply charged forward as he gathered dark green mist that formed into a w above his sleeve.


    A ck hand shot forth, prompting Hex to step to the side. Another hand came from above, attempting to crush him. Hex directly shed that hand, turning it into ribbons.


    From there, he directly stepped onto one of the arms and began running on it.


    La also ran forward with a cheery smile on her face.


    "Wahaha!"


    A ck hand shot towards her, however, she batted it aside. With a bang, the ck hand violently recoiled and mmed into the wall.


    Countless more hands reached for La, yet she didn''t seem to mind. It was as though this was a casual trip through her own backyard.


    A ck hand reached for her, but La jumped up andnded on it. As for the other ck hands, she swatted them aside like they were files, violently knocking them aside.


    As for Apollo, he was currently falling in the air. From below, numerous ck hands came for him. It was as though the souls of the damned wanted to drag Apollo down into the abyss with them.


    If that wasn''t bad enough, from above, Oddryl was about to finish his spell. The ball of light at the tip of his finger rapidly dimmed.


    In this less than favorable situation, Apolloughed. Without warning, he bolted towards Oddryl, leaving trails of lighting in his wake. It was as though the thought of dodging never even crossed Apollo''s mind.


    The beam of light shot out, while Apollo held his bokken in front of him like a spear.


    They collided, but instead of exploding, the beam of light sprayed out in all directions. It almost looked like a flower bud blooming.


    Apollo continued forth, piercing through the beam of light while the ck hands continued to hunt him down. It was as though they became a pack of rabid hounds.


    The ck hands closed in, but were not fast enough. The bright light surrounding Apollo made it seem like he was piercing through the sun itself.


    Then, the bright light disappeared, revealing Oddryl. He was frowning as though he didn''t expect this.


    However, hisposure remained.


    An ufortable rending sound of flesh filled the air.


    Oddryl had reached out with his hand, letting Apollo''s bokken pierce through it. Now, the sword was lodged within his bloodied hand. To the average person, this would be quite the horrifying situation.


    Yet... Oddryl smiled.


    His fist tore through the air,nding squarely on Apollo''s stomach.


    Apollo recoiled back. As his bokken retracted, it split Oddryl''s hand in half, but there was no time to celebrate such a fact.


    After all, he was about to fall into the embrace of some less than friendly ck hands. The hands surrounded him, almost like a beast trying to swallow him whole.


    But Apollo wasn''t the only person here.


    A green wave exploded forth along with a shockwave, ripping all the hands into pieces. Hex and La shot up from the destruction they made, heading straight for Oddryl.


    As for Oddryl, he clicked his tongue.


    "I suppose there is no other choice."

 Chapter 173 - Everything... Can Be Rebuilt

    Hex lunged towards Oddryl, ready to swipe with his dark green translucent w. La was doing the same, but with a bright smile on her face.


    Once they were right next to Oddryl, his eyes began to glow brightly.


    "Everything... can be rebuilt."


    Immediately, something changed. The atmosphere within the entire empire shifted.


    It had be stagnant... yet antsy.


    Empty, yet crowded.


    ...Silent, yet loud.


    What remained of the watchtower instantaneously shifted into ck flesh, swallowing Oddryl within.


    In the end, Hex''s and La''s attack only shed into the ck flesh, while their target, Oddryl, got away.


    Apollo hovered in the air, watching as the watchtower rapidly lost shape, bing something...


    ...new.


    There was no longer ground underneath La and Hex, prompting them to fall.


    As for the ck flesh, it quickly formed into a massive maw before lunging upwards. Its appearance resembled a giant ck worm with countless teeth that burst out of the ground, trying to swallow up a few victims in the sky.


    Thankfully for Hex, ckie arrived timely.


    Hex smiled happily.


    "ckie is back!"


    ckie slipped into Hex''s shadow before wrapping around Hex''s legs and traveling all the way to the top of his hood.


    His clothes went from blue to dark purple, while two bright purple horns appeared on his head.


    Hex''s face was reced by a shadow with tworge blue eyes and a smile. An uncanny giggle proceeded to resound throughout the empire.


    During this time, Hex and La had fallen, while the monster rose high enough to chomp down and devour them.


    And so, that''s what it did.


    However, Hex suddenly disappeared before the maw could consume him. He reappeared up in the air, hovering next to Apollo.


    As for La...


    She was simply looking around herself curiously, as though wondering what was happening.


    Then, it became dark.


    In the distance, Willow was still flying from afar. Her eyebrow twitched. She was watching the events that proceeded.


    "Oh dear... will she be-"


    Willow was cut off by an explosion that consisted of flesh. The average person that heard it would cringe in disgust from just the sound.


    The ck monster blew up into tiny chunks of flesh and blood. A tiny figure shot upwards from this explosion.


    "E! Gross, yucky, gross!"


    It was La.


    She wrapped her arms around herself and squirmed violently. La now had a fear of giant ck worms with lots of teeth.


    Though, the reason for the fear was a little different from why most people would be afraid of that kind of monster.


    Willow let out a soft sigh.


    "Ah... it seems she is fine."


    She clicked her tongue.


    "But..."


    Willow looked around herself. The houses that used to be standing on two legs all fell to the ground, suddenly losing their limbs. The resulting debris littered the ground, adding to the chaotic nature of the city.


    However, there seemed to be a reason for this shift.


    The houses were no longer necessary. After all, there was no need to keep a dog after you tamed a pack of wolves.


    From seemingly out of nowhere, countless figures appeared across the empire. They were humanoid, but the majority appeared simr to...


    ...children.


    These beings were made exclusively out of ck flesh that slightly pulsated. Some of them even had wings of a bat, while all of them seemed to have one to three horns on their head.


    The overwhelming majority of them consisted of a feminine head and a muscr body.


    However, there were also countless variations among them. Some had the head of a male and a feeble body. Some of them were far taller than the others, but seemed to have a stumble in the way they walked. Some of them had a few extra limbs, while others had no arms.


    But there was one thing inmon, that they were all grotesque abominations.


    Willow frowned.


    "...What the hell is happening? I suppose I shouldn''t have taken the investigation mission so lightly."


    She narrowed her eyes.


    "Something sinister is happening in this empire."


    When La shot upwards, she just so happened to hover right next to Hex and Apollo. As of now, her body was covered in bits of flesh and blood, looking quite grotesque.


    La had been cringing in disgust, but upon noticing the other two, her expression lit up. It was as though shepletely forgot they were just there.


    "Ah, friends!"


    At that moment, Hex was letting out a strange giggle while Apollo wasughing a bit too loudly. La interpreted this as them having fun, making her smile as well.


    "I want to fly too!"


    Just as she began to fall, she looked at Hex, then Apollo.


    "Mm... Nyah!"


    La came to a decision, and that decision was to grab onto Apollo''s shoulders. Because of the flesh and blood that covered La, the feeling of her hands was rather disgusting.


    It even made Apollo stopughing. He began to squirm, trying to get out of La''s grasp.


    However, that was easier said than done.


    La giggled when she noticed his struggle.


    "Now I can fly with friend!"


    To Apollo''s dismay, La wrapped her arms around his neck while her legs clung onto his waist. Now, Apollo''s body was also covered with flesh and blood.


    Apollo freaked out, iling his limbs around.


    "Gah, get off, get off!"


    La smiled cheekily before tightening her grip.


    "No!"


    After Apollo realized iling his limbs wouldn''t work, he began elerating in an arbitrary direction as fast as he could, grimacing the entire time.


    However, La easily held on. In fact, she held up one hand high in the air, feeling the wind brush by her face and blow aside her hair.


    "Waaaaaaah!~"


    Several ck beings with wings soared up into the sky,ing straight for Apollo. But before they could reach, La would smack them, sending them barreling towards the ground.


    La giggled with innocent bliss while Apollo was growled with frustration.


    At the same time, a couple of winged ck beings soared towards Hex.


    At that moment, Hex''s giggles suddenly stopped.

 Chapter 174 - I Have To Stop Him

    Dark green mist gathered around Hex''s body. As for Hex himself, he simply remained still.


    The ck beings with wings rapidly closed in, almost like a swarm of locusts. They opened their mouths wide, tearing open their cheeks in the process.


    Countless ear-piercing screeching sounds rang out. They were clearly not afraid of making their presence known.


    Their hands were ws, with particrly sharp ends. The ck beings raised these ws and swiped at Hex.


    Right before their attacksnded, Hex''s blue eyes shone a little brighter.


    A dark green wave shot out from Hex, directly blowing back all the ck beings and tearing them into shreds. The situation resembled moths being bewitched by a me.


    To the moths, the me was irresistible, but if they got too close...


    ...they would burn.


    Hex proceeded to let out a faint giggle.


    "Oops!"


    He raised his sleeve, letting a dark green translucent w coalesce above his sleeve. As for the other ck beings, they continued to charge towards Hex mindlessly. The fact that numerous of their kind had just fallen to him did not seem to intimidate them.


    This time, Hex didn''t sit idly by. He dashed in an arbitrary direction and shed at the ck beings with his ws, rending them apart.


    Like that, Hex flew through the air, shing any ck being he came across. None of them were able to resist, or evennd a hit in return. There was simply no time for them to swipe their ws.


    In just a few moments, hundreds of these ck beings were torn apart, their flesh and blood littered the ground.


    ...But they were not dead.


    The pieces of flesh rolled across the ground like they were stones blown by the wind. They merged together,bining into ck beings once more. The only difference was that they were about one and a half timesrger and had grown extra features.


    Some of these new ck beings had two heads, while others had longer arms. There was one that grew a long tail, and a few that grew longer horns.


    The total number of ck beings had decreased, but they increased in size and made various adaptations to their body.


    Hex didn''t seem to be discouraged by this change. In fact, his giggles seemed to imply excitement. He continued to cut up the ck beings into pieces, just as easily as he had before.


    It''s not that the ck beings didn''t resist, but before they could even finish half of their swipe, their ws would no longer be attached.


    After a few moments, the scattered pieces of these ck beings once again rolled across the ground and converged to evenrger ck beings.


    While that was happening, Hex was hovering about a meter above the ground and rapidly flying across the empire. He would sh up any ck beings on the way with a faint giggle.


    If one looked from afar, they would see Hex leaving a trail of carnage...


    ...but that trail he left behind began to move and be something new.


    As for Willow, the ck beings didn''t spare her either, even if they were rtively simr in appearance.


    Like how the ck beings did for Hex, they swarmed Willow in such great numbers, they looked like a ck wave. It was as though they were the jaws of a beast trying to swallow their victim up.


    However, Willow was not helpless just because a few injuries were weighing her down. A strong humming sound came from her sword, one that would cause great difort to those that heard it.


    As the ck beings screeched and swiped their ws, Willow drew a horizontal arc around her with her pitch ck sword.


    An ear-piercing screech rang out, as though Willow''s sword was not moving against air, but metal.


    The ck beings were immediately torn into ribbons, sshingrge amounts of blood into the sky.


    Once the flesh hit the ground, they started to roll together once more. Willow noticed that a simr situation was happening for the ck beings attacking Hex.


    However, one difference was that the ones below Willow seemed to be... struggling.


    In the end, although they formed into severalrge ck beings, their numbers were a decent amount smaller.


    Willow continued fighting off the ck beings as they came for her, but was more focused on understanding the strange difference she experienced as opposed to Hex.


    Willow shed apart another ck being, tearing it into ribbons. Blood sprayed out, filling the sky with a ck mist. Suddenly, she came to a realization.


    The ck beings were unable to bring back the blood that they lost. It seemed that while the pieces of flesh were sentient, allowing them to merge, the same was not true for the blood.


    However, when they did merge, there was a substantial increase in power.


    Willow looked towards Hex, who was tearing through all the monsters with his ws.


    She frowned.


    "...If he kills them like that."


    The ck beings below her merged once more to form a single five meter tall version.


    Willow clicked her tongue and shed at the five meter tall ck being. However, it did not split into ribbons like the others.


    Only a thin wound appeared from his head to his torso.


    Willow''s eyes narrowed.


    "This situation will spiral out of control far too quickly."


    She held her sword out in front of her, letting it vibrate violently. It was as though a beast had woken up and roared to warn those that wished to disturb it.


    The ck being reached out its w, which suddenly shot forward. It was as though its arm was actually an extendable baton.


    However, Willow was too fast.


    Right before the w hit her, the pitch ck sword suddenly stopped moving.


    A shockwave rippled forth, blowing back the w and making it explode into a bloody mist. It continued on and even wreaked havoc on the ck being''s body, tearing it to ribbons.


    Willow sighed and then looked at Hex.


    "....I have to stop him."

 Chapter 175 - A Choice To Make

    Willow pped her wings, streaking through the sky. Several ck beings attempted to attack her, but were thoroughly torn apart by just a swing from her sword.


    However, it was far from the number of ck beings Hex was cutting up.


    Willow frantically flew towards Hex, asionally disappearing and reappearing along the way. However, she wasn''t even sure what there was to do once she got there.


    Frankly, she wasn''t confident in stopping Hex, whether through convincing or killing. After all, if he just did that strange fear spell, Willow would be helpless to resist.


    However, she continued on, in hopes that things would work out once she got there.


    It truly begged the question...


    Why wasn''t Willow just running away?


    Surely it was a more feasible optionpared to killing countless creatures that had some strange capacity to reform into stronger ones.


    In fact, Willow herself considered taking the simple option of fleeing. This wasn''t something below her, after all.


    However, she tossed aside that consideration immediately.


    Because it reminded her of something.


    ...


    When Willow was called bird filth by Vicar''s butler, she was just more confused than anything.


    She made an attempt to calm the aggression or pacify the man, but only further aggravated him.


    Not wanting to escte the conflict, Willow decided to leave, as much as she wanted to see Vicar. Willow went home distressed.


    But that was just the beginning.


    Willow almost dodged a bullet by arbitrarily choosing that time to leave. That was because this was the time a ''cleaning'' happened.


    There were many people with white hair marching into the town. Their goal was to capture those with ck hair.


    It should be known that this ce was inhabited by two main races. One that had naturally urring white hair, while the other had ck hair.


    These two races existed peacefully for centuries. They just so happened to have different specialties and used them to help each other in their own way.


    Those with white hair were known to be physically stronger, and more intuitive with their carpentry. Thus they cut down trees and made houses for both themselves and those with ck hair.


    As for the people with ck hair, they were dexterous, able to weave warm clothes and create various tools. There were a select few that had even sprouted wings.


    Nobody truly understood what it took for one to sprout wings, as the individual experiences of those that had, were radically different.


    Regardless, it was those with wings that solved a food crisis during an unfortunate winter. Together as a group, they flew up a treacherous mountain to obtain the seeds of a nt that lived in the cold for its entire life.


    Together, they grew these seeds into luscious crops, letting them coast by winterfortably.


    Unfortunately, once summer came, these nts would die. However, every winter, those with wings would fly up the mountain to bring down the seeds once more.


    This was the history told and epted by the people that lived here.


    ...Which was why Willow could not understand.


    Why her mother was being beaten by a person with white hair.


    The person had a nasty frown.


    "Stop resisting!"


    Across the streets were countless people with ck hair either bound by rope or running away.


    It was a group of roughly ten adult men with white hair orchestrating such an event. They had stern expressions on their faces and long bundles of rope attached to their belt.


    One of them yelled.


    "Do not resist capture! The effort is pointless!"


    Those with ck hair were in a panic. Some let themselves be bound, mostly because of the shock from confusion. As for others, they ran away.


    Willow could''ve run away as well, considering how far she was, but that was not her primary concern.


    "Mother!"


    Willow ran frantically towards her mother, who was beaten ck and blue.


    Contrary to those that tried to run away, she was fighting back along with a man. Willow''s mother was hit in the side, sending her barreling backward, straight towards Willow.


    Willow took the chance to catch her mother, stumbling a few steps back from the impact.


    Her mother looked up at Willow while faintly trembling.


    "...Thank you, kind stranger."


    Willow cried.


    "Mother, it''s me! Quickly, let''s run away!"


    Her mother blinked a few times before shaking her head.


    "Ah, that''s you, Willow? ...You can run if you wish, but I will stay here."


    She stood up on her own and began walking back.


    Willow looked at her mother in bewilderment.


    "What? But those people clearly want to do something bad!"


    Her mother chuckled as blood fell from her forehead.


    "It''s because of that I must go. Look at him."


    She pointed towards the man who was currently fending off the ten others. He was in far worse conditionpared to Willow''s mother. His body was terribly bloodied, while his knees were trembling.


    However, he stood his ground and threw punches at the men with white hair.


    Unfortunately, just one of these men was far stronger than him. Not to mention ten.


    The brave man''s hand was grabbed, then spun, letting out frightening cracking sounds. As if it was a signal, Willow''s mother bolted forward.


    When the white-haired men tried to attack her, she dodged and wed at their eyes. Although her attacks weren''t strong, she could easily dodge their attacks.


    The brave man let out a roar before a set of raven wings burst from his back. He wrestled out of their grasp and employed simr tactics to Willow''s mother, dodging and attacking soft points.


    Although ck-haired people were not physically powerful, they were not weak. This much was evident from the two, nearly suppressing the ten men.


    Willow looked towards the people fleeing, then towards her mother and the man.


    Willow desperately wanted to run. She wanted to preserve her peaceful life.


    But that peaceful life was only possible with her mother.


    Why couldn''t her mother juste with her?


    Willow held her head in distress.


    ....She had a choice to make.

 Chapter 176 - The Only Thing She Could Do

    Willow continued to look at those that fled and her mother with the man. It looked like those that ran were getting away, but her mother seemed to be suppressing them with the man.


    ...Both options seemed genuinely feasible.


    And so, Willow hesitated.


    But she hesitated for too long.


    One of the white-haired mennded a punch on her mother''s shoulder, cracking it and causing her to lose function of the corresponding arm.


    From there, the two of them were rapidly oppressed.


    The reason the two were able to hold on until now was that they dodged the majority of attacks. However, every single hit they took would nearly cripple them due to the difference in strength.


    Willow lost hope in fighting back, thus fled then and there.


    She picked up speed, running faster and faster.


    ...Then slowed down until she was just standing there.


    In front of her, nearly fifty white-haired men appeared from the direction they were fleeing. All of the people who tried to run away were helplessly caught.


    Somebody expected the ck-haired people to run.


    And wished to take full advantage of that for a clean sweep.


    In the end, Willow was punched in the gut, forced to her knees, and had her hands bound with rope. Like everyone else, she was carried as though she were a piece of luggage.


    Willow realized that if all the ck-haired people gathered together to resist the ten, they would have been overwhelmed.


    No, even if just Willow helped, there was a chance.


    ...But the only thing she could do was hesitate.


    ...


    Willow opened her eyes and charged after Hex with determination, despite not knowing how to salvage the situation.


    Willow''s past experiences didn''t mean she never ran away. In fact, she did just that countless times.


    However, Willow realized that not everything can be fixed by running away. If there were people trying to fight, and they were people that mattered, then she couldn''t find it in herself to run away.


    Especially not while Apollo was still here.


    Thankfully, Hex wasn''t going in any particr direction, meaning although he was fast, it wasn''t hard for Willow to catch up.


    Hex directly shed up five ck beings with one swing, giggling as he did so. While Hex continued on, the flesh from those ck beings rolled together and merged to form arger ck being.


    The ck being joined a few others in chasing Hex down.


    But suddenly, they were all torn to ribbons.


    Willow sighed.


    "...There are far too many."


    She looked at the direction Hex previously passed through. There were countless ck beings that became reformed ck beings.


    It gave Willow the urge to go back and sh through all of them. However, she controlled herself.


    Willow realized that the best way to control the situation wasn''t to try and fix everything. With Hex like this, the situation would continue to escte. If she tried to kill all of the reformed ck beings here, Hex''s massacre would not be tended to.


    In the end, Willow would have to get to Hex after the distance increased anyway, and in that time, things would get far worse.


    The reformed ck beings that Willow killed merged together to form a five meter tall version, a secondary reformed being.


    The secondary reformed beings presented a genuine threat. Willow had to use one of her strongest attacks to deal with them, while she just had to use a swing for those that were weaker.


    Suddenly, Willow furrowed her brows as she flew behind Hex.


    ...Was she just making the situation worse?


    Willow was turning the reformed ck beings into secondary reformed beings. Essentially turning negligible threats into genuine ones.


    She clicked her tongue and shed through another group of reformed ck beings.


    ...In the end, they would have to be killed anyway.


    As the ck flesh hit the ground and attempted to merge, Willow shed once more in frustration.


    ...Then, the ck flesh split further and stopped moving.


    Willow felt as though she was enlightened. There was nothing stopping her from attacking them before they reformed, so why wait for them to do so?


    Willow ignored the next few reformed ck beings so that she could target the squirming flesh behind Hex.


    She shed, splitting them further. They stopped moving as well.


    Like that, Willow followed behind Hex, cleaning up after him. She asionally took a nce behind her to see the change.


    As it turns out, even as the flesh split into tiny pieces, they still became reformed ck beings. However, the flesh was heavily reduced from Willow''s attacks. As such, the rate of reformed ck beings increasing dropped dramatically.


    A small smile formed on Willow''s face.


    The situation didn''t look so bad anymore.


    In the meantime, Apollo wasughing madly while La was clinging onto his back, cheering loudly.


    "HAHAHA."


    "Waaaaah!~"


    Apollo tore through the air as fast as he could, trying to shake off La. As for La, she was just enjoying the moment, enjoying the feeling of flying through the air.


    Several winged ck beings closed in on the two. However, Apollo couldn''t care less. All of his focus was put on elerating even faster. As for La, she simply pped any ck being that got close to them.


    Those ck beings were smashed into paste, killed even more thoroughly than how Willow had. It was as though La was ying whack-a-mole.


    She had both hands in the air, smacking the ''moles'' as she used her legs to cling tightly to Apollo. The recoil force of her ps made Apollo shift to the side and cause a few cracks to form in his bones.


    However, he focused on moving forward.


    Apollo realized that this wasn''t going to work, so he shifted his focus towards the buildings in the city.


    And directly smashed through a wall.


    Stone and dust scattered, but La securely remained.


    Apollo was in for a wild ride.


    And at the same time, Talon was dealing with his own set of problems.

 Chapter 177 - Why Are You Lying To Me?

    Talon had prostrated with his forehead on the cold stone ground. His fists were clenched tightly, while his pair of scissors rested on his back.


    Talon was still quietly crying, unable to ept this turn of events.


    Eventually, he was able to pull himself together, albeit just barely.


    Talon slowly stood up and looked at the door with his slightly puffy eyes. He swallowed before turning around to leave.


    His steps were slow and lethargic.


    But suddenly, he copsed to his knees.


    Talon grimaced in pain and clutched his heart tightly.


    "W-What?"


    There was a strange squirming feeling from inside his heart, as though some sort of parasite awoke and attempted to take over his body.


    Beads of sweat formed on Talon''s forehead.


    The pain was unlike anything he had experienced before. He had been whipped countless times, developing sturdy skin. However, the same couldn''t be said for his insides. After all, it wasn''t like he could just whip his internal organs.


    Talon''s eyes bulged as a muffled groan of pain escaped his clenched teeth. He immediately clenched his chest muscles in an attempt to suppress whatever this thing was. Unfortunately, the effect was limited.


    Talon felt a sudden loss of motivation, as though he couldn''t be bothered by this pain. It was as though something sedated him, sapping away his will.


    His expression dulled, while the hand clutching onto his heart began to rx.


    However, like a raging fire, Talon''s will stormed through, waking him up.


    He clenched his teeth and held his heart once more. Whatever this thing was, it had spread out from his heart.


    In the brief moment Talon lost his motivation, this thing already expanded greatly, nearly covering the entirety of his lungs.


    Once Talon recovered himself, the thing no longer festered as much. However, the pain was still strong and fresh. After steeling himself, Talon slowly removed his hand from his chest.


    He looked down, only to see a wriggling mass of ck flesh on his chest. Talon''s pupils constricted.


    "I''ve... been lied to."


    Although Talon was never directly involved with the experiments, he had helped out before. That''s why he immediately recognized what the ck flesh on his body meant.


    He had been prepared for the experiment as well.


    Which meant... thest resort of the empire had been activated.


    Talon had one hazelnut eye and one yellow eye with the pupils of a snake. That yellow eye began to glow brightly, then Oddryl''s voice echoed through the halls.


    "Haha, I do not recall lying to you. At most, I have hidden the truth."


    Talon frowned.


    "You... you never intended on trusting me in the first ce."


    Oddryl''s etherealugh resounded throughout the halls.


    "That''s the kind of person I am, remember? There''s always a failsafe..."


    Long ago, Oddryl made Talon go through an eye recement as part of his ascension to one of the giants.


    Although Talon was suspicious, there was little he could do in such a situation, as it wasn''t truly a choice for him to make. And so, one of his hazelnut eyes had been reced by the yellow one.


    Oddryl never said anything about this eye, but Talon intuitively guessed what they were for.


    In essence, it was a monitoring device. One that closely watched every single action he performed.


    Talon suspected this, thus acted ordingly. He stuck to his personality as best he could and did not show too much affection to his sister. However, it didn''t seem like it was enough.


    Talon''s eyes narrowed.


    "...You used the eye surgery to also prepare me for your sick experiments?"


    Oddryl''s confident snort echoed through the halls.


    "Every single viger on the outside has already been prepared since birth. From the beginning, you lot were always sheep, while we at the top were the shepherds."


    Talon smiled bitterly.


    "So inviting me to join the giants was always for show?"


    Oddryl''sugh reverberated.


    "Of course. As you can probably tell, I''ve activated thest resort."


    Talon''s tone dropped, while his expression dulled.


    "...That much is obvious."


    Oddryl''s voice became sinister, as though the devil were whispering.


    "That means your sister is already gone, transformed into a monster. While you are about to join her."


    Talon remained silent for a moment.


    Yet, without warning, he burst out intoughter.


    Talon smirked confidently.


    "Is that so?"


    Oddryl''s tone clearly showed confusion.


    "...It is exactly so."


    Talon continuedughing. It was as though he won the lottery.


    "Oh, Oddryl... why are you lying to me?"


    After a moment of silence, Oddryl''s t voice came through.


    "And in what capacity am I lying? Is it not clear you will be transformed into a monster?"


    Talon felt his mind ze like a blistering inferno.


    "Don''t you remember how long I''ve been under you, following your everymand?"


    Oddryl scoffed.


    "What does that have to do with your current situation?"


    Talon chuckled.


    "Just answer the question."


    Oddryl seemed reluctant, but continued.


    "...Nearly five years."


    Talon clutched the side of his face with his hand.


    "And don''t you think I''ve gotten to know you over these long years?"


    Oddryl snorted.


    "Isn''t that natural?"


    Talon smirked.


    "Why yes, it is."


    Oddrylughed.


    "You sound so confident, yet that hardly changes the fact you will be a monster."


    Talon was not discouraged. In fact, his momentum grew further.


    "Oh really? Howe it sounds like not even you believe that?"


    Oddryl''s tone became mocking.


    "And how exactly do you know what I believe?"


    Talon took a deep breath.


    "Oddryl... I know the way you work like the back of my hand."


    Oddryl didn''t seem concerned.


    "So what?"


    Talon smiled brightly.


    "I know... that you are a man of efficiency."


    He got up to his feet.


    "That means if an enemy is thoroughly dealt with, you will no longer bother with them."


    Talon began cackling, as though he figured it all out.


    "The only situation where you would taunt me over my misfortune..."


    He snickered.


    "....is if you''re afraid of something."

 Chapter 178 - So You Are Strong

    Talon came to a realization.


    Somehow or another, he was able to resist whatever transformation the empire''sst resort tried to put on him. Not only that, but his resistance genuinely made Oddryl worried.


    But most importantly, from how Oddryl sounded, there was a high chance his sister was actually alive.


    Talon was fairly certain Oddryl would''ve found a way to show him his transformed sister, thus breaking his mentality down immediately.


    He was in despair just moments ago, but was pulled up from the depths to see the light.


    Talon''s burst of confidence let him tighten his muscles fiercely. He began to suppress the strange thing in his body. Talon did so slowly, but began to stand up.


    Oddryl snorted.


    "I have multiple ways to deal with you!"


    Talon''s yellow eye began to glow brightly.


    Suddenly, he crashed down, falling onto his knees. There was strong pressure bearing down on him, threatening to make him break.


    This pressure also affected the strange thing in his body, but not in a way that benefitted Talon. He could feel the strange thing spreading downwards, slowly iming his intestines, liver, stomach, and more.


    Talon could hardly keep himself from crumpling down on the floor, much less suppress the infection.


    Oddryl could not help butugh.


    "You boasted to the skies, yet look at where you are now!"


    Talon was beginning to feel dizzy. There was a nauseating and piercing pain in the ces where the infection spread through his body.


    He had to do something... but what was there to do?


    Talon slowly raised his hand. The pressure made cracking sounds ring out from his arm. Talon did not cut himself any ck, even if that meant nearly breaking his joints.


    Oddryl snorted.


    "And what exactly are you trying to do?"


    Talon had a solemn expression on his face.


    "I am going to... survive."


    He slowly brought it up to his glowing yellow eye.


    A memory of Talon''s sister, Lena, shed by his mind.


    ...


    "Can you handle one more?"


    Talon''s father was holding a whip in his hand, staring at his son nkly.


    As for Talon, he was standing up with his hands facing the wall, while his back faced his father.


    At this moment, Talon was trembling as though he was shivering from the cold. Several bright red wounds swelled up on his back. They were injuries caused by theshes of a whip.


    Talon''s breathing was ragged. His vision would blur intermittently, and a faint ringing sound seemed toe from his ears.


    Talon''s father lifted up his whip in a monotonous manner.


    "I said, can you handle one more?"


    Talon could only make out bits and pieces out of what his father was saying, but could guess what was said at this point.


    He slowly nodded.


    "...Y-Yes."


    The crack of a whip resounded.


    Talon''s father mercilessly swung the whip, making another bright red mark appear on Talon''s skin.


    As for Talon himself, he let out a cry of pain. His vision blurred considerably, while his consciousness nked out for less than a second. His legs and arms gave out, causing him to fall down and smack his forehead along the way.


    Talonnded on his knees, scraping them against the rocky floor. He sharply inhaled and began uncontrobly spasming from the pain. There was a ring ringing sounding from his ears, as though he was just nearby a massive explosion.


    Talon spent a few moments in this state, barely able to make sense of the world around him. Everysh on his back seemed to be lit ame, burning him away. The oldshes were covered by new ones. It was as though Apollo''s back was a wall that was going to be repainted.


    Talon''s vision slowly cleared while the ringing sound died down.


    He could just barely hear a few faint noises that vaguely resembled his father''s voice. It was as though his father was mumbling.


    Talon closed his eyes shamefully and clenched his fists.


    "I... I can''t! Not anymore..."


    His mind cleared up, allowing him to hear his father''sst remark.


    "Try tost longer next time. Only by pushing yourself can you break out of the shackles of weakness and join the center of the city."


    With that, Talon''s father left.


    As for Talon, he copsed onto all fours, panting like he was moments away from death. Although theshes stopped, his injuries continued to hurt as they always have.


    Talon could feel his consciousness wavering just from the piercing pain that assaulted his mind. It was as though a balloon was being filled with water. The water flowed into the balloon slowly, but it wasn''t stopping any time soon.


    As such, the balloon stretched a little wider every second, straining itself to the very limits.


    Talon grit his teeth and let out a muffled roar.


    He could feel his mind go numb. Other than a warm heat, he no longer felt anything from his wounds.


    However, not even a secondter, the pain rushed back to him.


    Talon vomited, spilling out the contents of his stomach onto the floor. He spat and furrowed his brows.


    "I... I''m so weak."


    "I don''t think you''re weak."


    Talon slowly turned to the side to see his sister, Lena, looking at him curiously.


    Lena was looking at the wounds spread out on Talon''s back. She gently touched his back, in a way that was more gentle than a feather.


    "Yousted very long."


    Talon smiled bitterly, as he felt itchy from Lena''s touch.


    "...But I wasn''t even able tost half as long as a few days ago."


    He coughed violently.


    "I''ve been getting worse and worse... it''s not long at all."


    Lena crouched down next to him and shed a gentle smile.


    "Brother, you''ve been doing this every day. You''ve already been working so hard."


    Talon shook his head.


    "But... I''m only getting weaker."


    Lena patted Talon''s head.


    "You have been able to endure every day. The fact you can still stand shows how far you havee."


    She giggled.


    "So you are strong."

 Chapter 179 - Thank You For Reminding Me

    Talon''s breathing became unsteady.


    "Thank you, sister..."


    He brought his hand closer to his face.


    "...for reminding me..."


    Talon pressed his fingers against the edges of his eyelid, blocking the yellow glow.


    "...of how far I''vee."


    Oddryl''s voice resounded throughout the hallway.


    "What are you doing? You can''t possibly be-"


    Suddenly, Talon shoved his fingers into his eye socket.


    "AHHHHHHHH"


    Although he had experienced many levels of pain before, in terms of intensity, this was the worst. That''s not to say what Talon experienced before was that much better. Constantly living under pain for many years would cause nearly everyone to break down.


    But Talon pushed through it, and that was what he nned to do now as well.


    His fingers dug deep, squeezing his eye to make room to go further. It was already horribly painful to just touch the eye, so going farther than that...


    Oddryl fell silent for a moment.


    "You... You''re insane!"


    Talon screamed at the top of his lungs from the agony he subjected himself through. Talon''s fingers wrapped around his eyeball. For a moment, his screams cut off.


    Blood and tears fell from Talon''s eye socket.


    "I am... strong."


    He pulled hard on his eye.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."


    Talon was able to pull it just barely out of the socket. However, his efforts appeared to be in vain. Several muscles held tightly onto the eye, preventing it from moving any farther. However, his fingers continued to pull until his knuckles became white.


    After a few moments of watching this disy, Oddryl went from afraid, to confident.


    "Hahaha, do you really think it''s that easy to remove your eye? With how essential vision is, it is only natural that several muscles grasp the eye with great strength!"


    Talon didn''t react to Oddryl''s taunt. In fact, he couldn''t even hear it. His mind was overloaded by the suffering he set upon himself. The only thing he could register was the pain in his body.


    If an ordinary person was exposed to this kind of pain, they would die on the spot. In fact, even some of the extremely resilient people would be sent to the afterlife as well. Their deaths would simplye from shock.


    As for why this would happen, it is because the human body goes into shock from pain. If there is too much...


    That shock will directly kill them.


    Talon himself was on the verge of dying right then and there. However, he remained alive. His body had adapted to extreme amounts of pain.


    This was because Talon was always pushing himself to the limit. Lena''s words had stuck with him the entire time, even when he wasn''t consciously aware of it.


    There had been many times when Talon nearly died from shock. However, by some miracle, he just barely pulled through each time.


    He was essentially dancing on the tip of a knife, carelessly brushing by death time and time again.


    Eventually, his body had to make amodations, else death would not be long for him.


    As such, Talon was still able to survive despite being subjected to terrifying levels of pain, breaking through the limits that a person should be able to experience.


    However, despite his tenacity, he was not able to pull out the eye.


    It was simply too difficult to tear off a tendon as it was made to resist extreme amounts of force. Not to mention, there were several connecting the eye to the socket.


    Talon realized this was going nowhere and pulled out his fingers from his eye socket. A frightening amount of blood and tears dripped down from his eye as his hand violently trembled.


    Oddryl scoffed.


    "You finally recognize the oue is set in stone! You might as well give up now to reduce your suffering!"


    The pressure Oddryl was emitting continued to bear down on Talon, making it terribly difficult to lift his hand.


    However, he raised them both anyway. His arms let out many uncanny cracking sounds, but at this point, he could hardly even tell.


    Talon grasped the pair of scissors on his back.


    Oddryl seemed to be panicking.


    "Your struggling is pointless! Not only are your chances for survival abysmally low, but the process you will have to go through is an unworthy trade-off!"


    His voice became louder, unbeknownst to him.


    "For you, the cost of living is too great!"


    Talon couldn''t hear Oddryl, but even if he could, that wouldn''t change anything. His arms were trembling violently as he took off his scissors.


    Talon brought it over his head before letting it m onto the floor.


    He was going to cut away what kept his eye in ce.


    In a certain sense, Talon was fortunate in swapping out his sword, as it would make what he would do next far easier.


    He wielded a pair of scissors and was going to use them to cut away the tether that tied him down.


    Talon put the handle of his scissors on the ground, while the de pointed towards him. He grabbed the two handles with his hands and slowly opened the scissors.


    Courtesy of his own hands shaking, the de shook as well.


    It wasn''t going to be the most precise, to say the least. However, Talon lowered his face closer to the de.


    He carefully moved his face forward, trying to fit the giant scissor des around one of the muscles binding his eye.


    Unfortunately, the shaking caused him to stab himself in the eye. Talon instinctively wanted to whip his head back as far as he could, but didn''t.


    As more tears and blood spilled out from his socket, the scissors were gradually moved into position. The sharp tip stabbed into the walls of his socket, but Talon couldn''t do much about that.


    Then, he pushed the handle together.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"


    Talon did not use enough strength, meaning the scissors only cut through part of the muscle. He grit his teeth and let out a muffled scream.


    Talon pushed even harder, pushing the des to cut even deeper through the muscle.


    Until a soft snip rang out.

 Chapter 180 - Always Had A Choice

    Talon cut one of the muscles holding his eye in ce.


    Blood immediately began spilling out of his socket while his eye loosened ever so slightly.


    Now... it was time for the rest of the muscles.


    Oddryl could hardly say anything as he watched this.


    "...You are mad."


    That was the only thing he said before falling silent. Oddryl focused on increasing the pressure as much as possible, because he came to the realization that Talon was unaffected by the words he said.


    As for Talon, he continued on, resisting the pressure put on him.


    Once again, the des of his scissors went into his socket, cutting up some of his flesh in the process.


    Talon sucked in a deep breath. His knuckles whitened from how hard he was clenching the handle. Then, he cut.


    A fairly loud snip rang out, along with Talon''s muffled groans of pain.


    This time, Talon used excessive amounts of force to cut the muscle in his eye. In the end, that excessive use of force made him push the scissors deeper into his socket, piercing his flesh.


    Talon slowly pulled it out and let the blood pour out.


    His eye loosened further, slightly dangling from the socket.


    If he cut with too little strength, the muscle wouldn''t be cut through fully. That would make the cut very messy and even more painful.


    However, if he used too much strength, his control over the scissors would becking, leading him to injure himself in other ways. In the end, he would still face unnecessary amounts of pain.


    And so, Talon attempted to find apromise. There were only two muscles left to cut, but he may as well do it properly.


    With ragged breaths, Talon brought his face closer to the des of his scissors. He opened the scissors up slightly, before wrapping the des around his muscle.


    Talon sucked in a deep breath before firmly pressing the handles together.


    A muffled groan of pain rang out.


    Talon had cut through the majority of the muscle, but a few strands remained. He pushed on the handle once more.


    With a gentle snip, the muscle was cut.


    Talon''s eye dangled and sent immense waves of pain to his mind. It was as though the eye realized what he was trying to do and was doing everything it could to stop him from going through with it.


    However, Talon wouldn''t stop now.


    He pulled out the scissors once more before slowly putting it on thest muscle.


    Talon felt himself touch the edge of insanity.


    The delirium of how close he was, got to him.


    With this, Talon would finally be free. He would go and find his sister, then leave this horrid empire behind with her.


    Talon couldn''t help but think of the test he took to be a guard in the first ce. The one where he won first by andslide.


    In the first round, everyone was whipped one hundred times while holding a pail of water. Talon found the people conducting the test whipped him even harder than his father did, who already did it with great intensity.


    Over half of the boys fell down, sshing the water in their pail across the floor.


    Of the boys that remained, over two-thirds lost most of the water in their bucket. In both cases, they were disqualified.


    As for Talon, not even a drop leaked out.


    Then from whips, it became swords. The people conducting the test shed at them another hundred times, but only let the tip break through their skin.


    These people were quite skillful, making sure the wounds were painful, but not lethal.


    The boys who made it up to this point were all resilient. However, many of them ended up failing. Some even voluntarily poured out the water from their pail and ran away.


    After this round, there were only a hundred or so left.


    The instructors all lit up torches for the new round.


    And directly pressed the me onto the back of the boys.


    Several of the contestants immediately fell down, while others fainted directly.


    Although the torch was pressed to their skin for only a few moments, over half of them fell.


    Fifty boys were left, which was the quota for thatpetition. The winners were determined, however, the rankings were not finished.


    The next round began. The people conducting the test took out metal mps made to squeeze down as though they were pinching.


    Only a few moments after the boys had their skin twisted by these mps, most of them gave up. After all, the boys knew that they were winners, thus didn''t care much for this test.


    As for the rest, they tried their best to continue on, but either lost consciousness or could not stand it any longer.


    It did not take long for only Talon to remain standing.


    He could''ve just given up. After all, he was already first.


    But Talon chose to continue.


    Going through torment was always a choice for him.


    His father always asked if he wanted to be whipped. It was never against his own will.


    Most people would take it easy because of this, especially children who were impulsive by nature. However, this was not the case for Talon.


    Every day, he would let himself beshed by a whip at least one hundred times. Even when he was on the verge of nking out, or when it really felt like too much, he continued.


    By being so cruel to himself, he surpassed what he believed was his absolute limits each time.


    Talon even found a way to temporarily suppress the feeling of pain, albeit only for a short moment.


    And so, when he was thest one standing, he continued on for an unbelievably long amount of time.


    Instead of him giving in, it was more so the person testing him that did so.


    ...By taking out a sledgehammer and directly knocking Talon out.


    Talon always had a choice to go through the pain.


    And so, he chose to go through it all.

 Chapter 181 - My Turn To Protect You

    It was not easy for people to go through pain like Talon, that was for sure. However, there was a fundamental difference in what made his feat so much more impressive.


    He was the one inflicting the pain on himself.


    It was one thing to endure pain that was forced, but it was far harder to be the one causing it as well. The simple fact was, the ability to slow it down or stop it all together was far too tempting.


    But for Talon, this was how he grew up. Even after he became a guard and nobody forced him to, he continued to increase his pain tolerance.


    This was the choice he made.


    And that was how Talon was able to cut away the muscles in his eye in the first ce. With a burst of willpower, the average person might be able to cut their muscle once. However, after most experienced the horrifying pain afterward, they would immediately give in.


    But Talon was able to go through it multiple times.


    He held tightly on the handles before firmly pressing them together.


    A clear snip rang out.


    Blood sttered on the floor and the scissors. A strong sense of vertigo assaulted Talon''s mind. In reality, a small part of him couldn''t believe he was able to endure this amount of pain.


    But now... it was finally over.


    ...Well, that was what he thought anyway.


    Although no muscles held Talon''s eye in ce, it continued to dangle. It was still attached to the main nerve of the eye, the one that sent the actual information of vision to the brain.


    Talon found himself sinking into despair.


    He wasn''t a machine. The only reason he was able to go through so much in the first ce was that he had already forced himself through his limits.


    The motivation that moved him forward was how close he seemed to be to the goal.


    Right when Talon thought he crawled out of the abyss, he was thrown back in.


    After a few moments of silence, Talon grit his teeth and continued. He had already made it so far... it was only right to see things through.


    Talon brought the de of the scissors close to his socket.


    But he found a newplication.


    The muscles he previously cut through were near the outside of his eye. However, the nerve he needed to cut through was all the way behind.


    ...The des of his scissors couldn''t just conveniently bend to reach that part.


    It meant he would have to force his eye aside and endure the consequences of such an action.


    As this realization began to sink in, Talon began to falter. As Oddryl said, the amount of suffering he had to go through in order to stay alive was not worth it.


    Life has ups and downs, but doing something like this was just too far.


    Talon began to hesitate.


    ...should he really go through with this?


    Why go through so much to survive?...


    The hallway was quiet except for the faint sts of his blood hitting the stone ground. Talon slowly pulled his face away from the des of his scissors.


    ...He was about to give up.


    But before he could, his life shed before his eyes.


    Talon saw himself with his sister, while they were still toddlers.


    He saw himself being whipped, but also saw his sisterforting him.


    In a sh, Talon saw himself joining the ranks of the guards. He saw himself exercising and the otherpetitions he had that let him rise in rank.


    Talon saw the time he got promoted.


    Then... the time he finally saw his sister again.


    ...


    "This ce... is really dirty."


    Talon was tightly holding onto his nose with furrowed brows. He was following behind a man wearing a ckb coat.


    The man shrugged his shoulders.


    "It''s not like we can ask people to clean it, can we? It''s a secret only the top people know about."


    Talon rolled his eyes.


    "And what exactly is stopping you from cleaning this ce?"


    The man looked at him and raised an eyebrow.


    "You want to try and clean it up?"


    Talon took another look at the hallway he was walking through. Countless dried bloodstains, along with mold, covered every inch of this ce. There were even a few bloodstains that were still wet.


    Talon chuckled.


    "I guess you got a point there."


    The man sighed.


    "Not to mention, even if it was cleaned, it would just be sttered with blood the next day. After all, you know how this ce works, don''t you?"


    Talon shrugged his shoulders.


    "More or less. Though, once I get my sister, my next stop is far away from this ce."


    The manughed.


    "Can''t me you for that. Unfortunately, I don''t have that kind of choice."


    Talon shivered.


    "Sounds terrible."


    The man smirked.


    "Heh, you might get forced toe back here a few times if the higher ups want you to."


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "So you will probably get a little taste of what I go through."


    Talon scoffed.


    "You really had to remind me?"


    The manughed and pushed open a door.


    "Anyways, we''re here."


    Talon was breathing through his mouth, but the scent of blood became so strong he could even taste it.


    There were countless metal tables, justrge enough to contain a kid on top.


    Lo and behold, that was exactly the case. Countless children were bound to the top of these tables with their metal bindings.


    The man waved his arm around.


    "Agh, quickly find your sister. I don''t want to stay in this ce anymore."


    With that, Apollo searched.


    Some of the children were already dead, while others had grotesquely infected wounds. But all of them had dull expressions on their faces. It made him more anxious for his sister with every passing moment.


    ...Until he found her.


    Talon rushed over.


    Sheid there silently, heavily emaciated and barely breathing.


    Talon held onto her frail hand and looked into her dull eyes.


    "....It''s my turn to protect you, sister."

 Chapter 182 - The Price For Freedom

    Talon remembered the reason he pushed through so much pain and difficulty in the first ce. Yes, he could choose to die here and leave it all behind.


    But he promised his sister.


    He was going to protect her.


    Talon brought his face closer to the des of his scissors before sliding them into his eye socket.


    He had no intentions of breaking his promise.


    And so, he slipped in the des even further. They cut against both his eyeball and the wall of flesh in his socket.


    Talon grimaced from the pain, heaving ragged breaths. His nose was running with mucus while saliva leaked out of his mouth.


    He was a disgusting mess.


    Yet, Talon was at his strongest in this very moment.


    "AHHHHHHHHH."


    His eyeball reddened considerably from how much he was pushing it to the side. Right when it seemed like it was going to burst, Talon finally wrapped the de around the nerve of his eye.


    ...But to do so, he had to open up the scissors. That meant his eyeball pressed against the de, cutting itself against the de.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."


    Another roar of pain escaped him.


    Talon couldn''t help but see her sister''s smiling face. He knew that if he closed the de of his scissors, he would partially cut into his eyeball first, which was far worse than cutting through itpletely.


    Instead of a clean cut, Talon would have to deal with a partially cut eyeball as he tried to cut off the nerve.


    Yet, Talon still firmly grasped the handles of his scissors and pressed them together.


    A muffled cry of pain resounded throughout the halls.


    As expected, he cut partway through his eye in an attempt to cut off his nerve.


    It was unbelievably painful.


    Talon felt like his head was about to burst at any moment. The pain overwhelmed his senses, making him believe the only thing that existed was his head and the de of scissors.


    It was as though the de of scissors was actually an air pump, while his head was a basketball. The basketball was already full of air, yet the air pump kept going, determined to continue until the basketball directly burst.


    Talon wanted to give up.


    He wanted to give up so badly.


    Talon''s breaths became sobs. A nasty frown formed on his face, one that only those that fully broke down would have.


    It was as though his mentality went from an imposing muscr man to a whining and crying baby.


    Talon used a fair amount of strength to close the de of his scissors. It was enough force to cleanly cut through the muscle of his eye.


    ...Yet, it could only nick the outside of his nerve.


    It was as though he was trying to cut a thick and sturdy rope. One that could withstand more than it had any right to.


    Talon wanted to give up.


    But he just couldn''t.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."


    Against every instinct screaming at him to stop, Talon pressed the handle of the des together.


    His knuckles whitened while his hands uncontrobly trembled.


    There was a time when Talon wondered if life would ever get easier.


    Sometimes he would tell himself it would get better to help him get over the pain.


    Yet, deep in his soul, he always asked...


    Does it ever?


    Talon didn''t believe so.


    If it did, then why exactly was this happening to him right now?


    There was a time when Talon could only desperately think of one thought.


    ''Somebody help me.''


    ''Someone, anyone.''


    Talon felt like he needed someone else to push him forward, else he wouldn''t be able to continue any longer.


    And it was now, that those thoughts almost seeped into his mind.


    Almost.


    Talon saw his sister once more.


    When she wasying on the table, emaciated and half dead.


    After Talon''s promation that he was going to protect her, Lena slowly turned her head to the side.


    She blinked. A bit of light returned to her eyes, and a weak smile formed on her face.


    Lean''s lips parted ever so slightly.


    "...Thank you, brother."


    The veins on Talon''s arm bulged violently, almost like little snakes wrapping themselves around him.


    At the time, he only muttered the words.


    But now, he screamed them with everything he had.


    "JUST TRUST YOUR BROTHER."


    The scissors violently trembled under the strength Talon was exerting.


    He felt like he was crawling in his skin.


    Like the walls around him were caving in, trying to crush him into nothing.


    But Talon came to a realization.


    He always wanted someone''s help in order to continue on, and his sister did just that.


    However, there was something that pushed him farther than anything else.


    Wanting to help someone else.


    Slowly but surely, the nerve was being cut through.


    Talon was sobbing, but right now, it wasn''t for himself.


    "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH."


    It was for something greater than himself. A reason to push him to live past his own reasons.


    Something deep in his blood.


    A soft snip echoed, like the soft snap of a hypnotist that dispelled an illusion.


    Talon cut off his eye, which sttered onto the ground soon after.


    The pressure suddenly disappeared.


    At this point, Oddryl lost hisposure. The yellow eye glowed brightly.


    "You''re mad! You''re absolutely mad! Who in their right mind would do something like this?"


    Talon slowly pulled out the scissors from his eye socket.


    He raised the scissors with two hands, ready to smash it down.


    Talon chuckled softly as a small smile emerged on his face.


    "I don''t know but..."


    He mmed the scissors down on the eye, causing it to stter across the floor.


    "...I don''t feel mad."


    Talon cut away everything holding him down.


    For the first time in his life, he was free.


    The price for this freedom was by no means small, but he was free nheless.


    Talon shakily got up to his feet before dashing down the hallway.


    He still had his sister to save, after all.

 Chapter 183 - The Same Type Of Person

    Two figures burst out of a pce wall, scattering debris everywhere.


    "HAHAHAHA."


    "Waaaaaaaah!~"


    It was Apollo and La.


    Apollo was smashing through buildings in an attempt to get La off of him, but not with much sess. At best, she was just having more fun because of it.


    La had both hands raised high in the air, and was cheering with excitement. Her legs casually wrapped around Apollo''s waist, but to Apollo, it was tighter than the grip of a dying person.


    Although Apollo would shift his body so that La would take the brunt of the impact upon crashing through the walls, he was still bruised. Ironically enough, La was unscathed, save for some dust on her clothes.


    The center of the empire was quiterge, enough to make a vige on its own. However, despite its size, the poption was quite sparse.


    The pces coveredrge amounts of ground, some covering thend that four normal houses would take up, while others nearly covered fifty.


    With each pce having one resident and a few maids and the asional guard, the low poption density was expected.


    However, that didn''t mean Apollo and La hadn''t met any along the way. Those people would''ve been scared to death seeing someone burst through the walls, but they had been transformed into ck beings.


    Their appearance was rather jarring, as they either had the clothes of a maid or a few pieces of armor that pierced into their skin.


    They recklessly charged towards Apollo and La, screeching as they did so. Yet, the two of them didn''t seem to care.


    Apollo ignored every ck being for the most part, unless they were directly in his way. In that situation, he would cut them in two, then continue on without looking back.


    As for La, she continued ying her strange version of whack-a-mole whenever any of the ck beings came close, by pping them. As such, there were certain sections of the wall covered in a bloody paste, the remnants of La''s work.


    Like this, the two of them continued smashing through pces, while slowly getting closer to the center of the city.


    Apollo and La burst out of another pce wall before soaring high into the sky. Then, the two of them plummeted downwards, going straight for a ratherrge pce.


    This pce was different not just from its grand size, but how it was decorated. The walls were generously lined with gold, with seemingly inconsistent patterns.


    On top of that, given the fact it was in the very center of the empire, it seemed to have some importance over the other buildings.


    Apollo didn''t realize this fact, but even if he did, it wouldn''t change anything. His current goal was to get La off of him by any means possible.


    That meant when he saw a roof he could crash into, he plunged down towards it without hesitation.


    A thundering bang rang out.


    Apollo and La burst into the pce, stirring up arge cloud of dust. When it cleared, it revealed a long hallway with floors made of stone. Currently running down this hallway, was Talon.


    One of his eyes was missing, still bleeding profusely. That much was clear from the trail of blood behind him.


    As for his body, there were countless ck veins that bulged from his skin. It almost made him look like a monster, but his back remained straight, showing the control of rationality.


    Talon frowned.


    "Get out of the way!"


    Apollo couldn''t care less, and began charging towards Talon. It was as though he did not hear what he said.


    Talon held his scissors in front of him while Apollo held out his bokken.


    A rather frightening sound of pierced flesh rang out through the room.


    Neither Apollo nor Talon held back. They stabbed towards each other without reservation, and without defending.


    As such, the two of them pierced the other in the stomach. Their weapons were trembling as they tried to cut through the other''s flesh. Blood dripped from the corner of their mouths.


    The two of them slowly got closer to each other. Apollo looked at Talon with widened eyes whileughing like a maniac. As for Talon, he had an ugly frown on his face, but his eyes were filled with determination.


    They were essentially in an awkward stare off with each other.


    The two of them steadily got closer, ready to see this fight till the end.


    But out of nowhere, a thundering bang rang out, along with several cracking sounds.


    La had pped Talon on the shoulder.


    "Hehe, I''m so sneaky!"


    As for Talon, he catapulted backward, breaking several bones from La''s strike. Apollo was simrly pushed back from the recoil, but was not damaged.


    The wound in Apollo''s stomach rapidly healed over, while a ck patch of flesh quickly covered Talon''s.


    It was as though Talon wasmanding the ck flesh. And the ck flesh would respond obediently, like it was a dog of sorts.


    Apollo and Talon charged towards each other once more.


    A few moments before they made contact, Talon opened his scissors, treating each de as a different sword.


    A strong metallic screeching sound rang out.


    Talon used one of the des of his scissors to parry against Apollo''s bokken, while the other traveled towards Apollo''s chest. Talon rapidly closed the scissors, speeding up the strike.


    In the end, Apollo''s chest was pierced through, while his bokken was caught in between the des of Talon''s scissors.


    After being promoted to a giant, this was the way that Talon fought. He was used to fighting other swordsmen, so he would capture their de before stabbing them with the ends of his scissors.


    Talon drove his scissors further in, trying to capitalize on his advantage. After all, most normal people would try to back off upon being stabbed.


    However, Apollo was not normal, but rather, the same type of person as Talon.


    He walked forward, letting the scissor de pierce even further into his chest, passing through his bone.


    All the whileughing.

 Chapter 184 - Strength And Cruelty

    Talon was at a loss. He had never expected that someone would actually do something like this.


    ...To voluntarily walk forward and be pierced by a de.


    Talon was not a stranger to fighting like this, because he himself went half suicidal in his own fights. That was part of the reason he was able to win so many battles and rise to his position.


    More than strength, he had cruelty.


    However, this was the first time Talon saw someone even crueler to themselves than him. In fact, he never saw anybody fight in this way before. Normally, people used techniques for more elusive footwork and versatile strikes.


    As such, Talon adapted to fighting against that.


    That meant when Apollo slowly began approaching him... he hesitated.


    And for that tiny moment of hesitation, Talon paid a price.


    Without warning, Apollo''s free hand shot out and grabbed onto Talon''s head. Before Talon could react, his head was mmed downwards.


    A clear bang rang out alongside a cracking sound.


    Talon''s head was bashed against the de of his own scissors. It was not enough to disorient him, but his skull was cracked nheless. ck flesh quickly seeped into the cracks of his skull before mending it.


    Talon immediately resisted, trying to pull his head out of Apollo''s grasp, but not too much sess. The reason he didn''t want to use his hands was that they were holding onto the scissors.


    If Talon let go, then all the effort he put into trapping Apollo''s bokken would be for nothing. But if he didn''t let go, Apollo was just going to continue trying to bash his head on the de of his scissors.


    Once again, Talon hesitated.


    That moment was enough for Apollo to take Talon by surprise, suddenly increasing his strength and bashing Talon''s head on the de of his scissors.


    A frightening cracking sound rang out.


    Talon''s skull had cracked once more. Blood poured from his forehead, some of which fell into his empty eye socket. He was damaged pretty badly, to say the least. But instead of hampering him, it would be more urate to call it a wake up call.


    One that told him to stop thinking, and just fight.


    The outeryer of Talon''s face had molted, turning into ayer of ck flesh. Because of that, Apollo lost his grip, with only some ck flesh to prove he was holding on before.


    Talon retreated a few steps and pulled out his scissors from Apollo''s chest. He opened them all the way and twirled them.


    One of the des headed towards Apollo''s neck, while the other went for his thigh. Talon closed the scissors as they traveled, making a rather strange trajectory.


    Apollo ducked under the de, letting it pass over his head. He thrust his bokken towards Talon''s neck, giggling sadistically as he did so.


    As for Talon, his eyes widened in shock.


    But there was no time to ruminate about it.


    Talon whipped his head back, but didn''t forget to forcefully close his scissors.


    Several cracks rang out.


    Apollo hit Talon squarely on the chin, while Talon cut through Apollo''s thigh and shoulder.


    Talon''s head snapped back, along with his body. He felt his consciousness blur while the cracks that just mended reopened. To make things worse, they spread even further.


    As for Apollo, theyer of bone covering his shoulder was smashed apart, while a long gash formed on his thigh. All things considered, this wasn''t too much damage to him.


    In fact, it was already healing right now.


    Talon mmed onto the ground and got the wind knocked out of him. However, he wasted no time in standing back up. He hurriedly forced the ck flesh to mend the cracks in his skull.


    A frown formed on his face as he wondered how high of a chance he had to win this fight.


    After Talon cut off his old eye, he actually forgot about the ck flesh entirely. After all, his mind was preupied with other things at the time.


    As Talon ran down the hallway, he suddenly remembered it. This made him panic a little, making him wonder if he let the ck flesh take over his body due to his negligence.


    Yet, when he checked on it, it was lying dormant in his heart.


    The ck flesh retracted the hold it had on the other parts of his body, before lying there stationary.


    Originally, Talon felt ufortable with it being there, so he tried to force it out. But before he could even try shifting his organs around manually, the ck flesh moved on its own, as though willed to.


    It exited out of his chest, before falling into Talon''s hand.


    This confused Talon, but he didn''t question it. For a second, he had the intention of crushing the ball of ck flesh by squeezing it like a stress ball, but gave up on that notion.


    After all, it was now fully subdued by him.


    And so, Talon reinserted the ck flesh into his heart, and let it seep into his blood. That was what produced the exaggerated veins passing through his body.


    That was clearly the correct decision, as it had already saved his life. Without the ck flesh, Apollo would''ve shattered Talon''s skull, and there was not much living to do after that.


    However, while the ck flesh did considerably strengthen him, the gap between their power was quiterge.


    Before Talon could think of anything else, Apollo dashed forward.


    Talon''s eyes narrowed.


    He took on a stance, no longer caring about the difference in strength. Talon had defeated those that were far stronger before.


    In just a moment, Apollo was in range. His bokken shed.


    Suddenly, Talon''s pupils dted.


    He twisted his scissors, letting the bokken travel down the edge. But before the bokken reached him, he opened up the scissors.


    Apollo''s bokken smashed hard against the triangr handle, before being deflected to the side.


    Talon suffered recoil, but just grit his teeth.


    He closed his scissors, then thrust it towards Apollo''s unguarded stomach.

 Chapter 185 - Im Sorry, Sister

    Talon felt a little proud as his scissors shot towards Apollo''s abdomen.


    He was able to create an opening and was about to capitalize it. Deflecting Apollo''s bokken was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The triangr handle was no ident.


    After all, Talon designed them in that way purposely.


    And thanks to that, he was able to shift the tides.


    It was as though Talon was piercing through the foggy mist.


    The tip of his scissors prated Apollo''s abdomen.


    With a fierce expression, Talon mercilessly opened them.


    A loud grating rang out.


    Talon tore apart Apollo''s organs.


    ...Or, at least, that''s what he thought was going to happen.


    His eyes widened in disbelief.


    Apollo''s stomach was cut open, revealing ayer of bone. There was arge horizontal gash spread out on top, what was left by Talon''s strike.


    However, other than that, Apollo was unharmed.


    Talon couldn''t help but freeze.


    "...What?"


    Under normal circumstances, Talon would''ve been able to heavily main his opponent with this kind of attack. After all, having all their organs torn up would be extremely painful, and could easily be fatal.


    It was the kind of attack that took into consideration many factors.


    Talon could''ve aimed for the heart, but if one was fast enough, they could shift their body, causing the de tond on the ribcage.


    As for the stomach, it didn''t have to be precise, as any general ce would do. But that didn''t change the fact it was deadly.


    Yet, despite taking these factors into consideration, it appeared that it wasn''t enough.


    He just... didn''t consider that some people had bones covering their abdomen... for some reason.


    Eerieughter filled the air.


    Apollo had raised his bokken as his stomach was torn open.


    As for Talon, he looked up helplessly.


    "I''m sorry, sister, but..."


    A bitter smile formed on his face.


    "...it looks like I won''t be able to keep my promise."


    Apollo mercilessly mmed his bokken down, while Talon closed his eyes.


    But then...


    "Nyah!"


    A deep bang resounded.


    La was still here, and she felt as though the others had forgotten about her. As such, she randomly lunged to the side, mming Apollo into the wall with her.


    Talon''s eyes fluttered open with a bit of incredulity. He looked at Apollo, who was prying himself out of the newly formed hole in the wall.


    Then, Talon ran.


    Perhaps it could be considered cowardly, but he could care less about his pride right now. Only when his life was about to be taken, did he remember the reason he wanted to live in the first ce.


    To save his sister.


    Even if Talon stood a high chance of winning, his first priority should be to run. It was no longer about surviving, but doing what he set out to do.


    What he promised he would do.


    As for Apollo, he didn''t bother chasing after Talon. Frankly, he couldn''t care less. Right now, his priority was finding a way to deal with La.


    He mmed her against the wall, causing loud bangs to resound. Debris scattered into the air, but La remained on tightly.


    In fact, she had both hands high in the air, along with a bright smile.


    "Hehe, thank you for the massage, friend."


    Apollo responded by shoving her towards the wall once more, all the whileughing.


    Yet, before La hit the wall, she suddenly threw her hands backward, almost like she was doing a breaststroke.


    "Wah!"


    A deafening bang resounded.


    La hit the wall hard, causing it to cave in. But more importantly, sheunched herself along with Apollo towards the opposing wall.


    Another bang rang out.


    This time, the source was Apollo mming his face against a new wall and bursting out the other side.


    Apollo''sughs were interrupted by the asional cough, because of the dust that was kicked up.


    By the time it cleared up, he saw a ck being that was five meters tall. It was a secondary reformed being, one that had consisted of ck beings that had already been killed twice.


    There were three prominent ck horns on its head, but as for the rest of its body, it consisted of various heads and limbs.


    Despite the strange amalgamation of parts, the secondary reformed being was able to move as though it was actually made of muscle and bone.


    And it did just that, by swiping at Apollo with its ws.


    The w was fast, evident by the sharp whistling sound, as though it was tearing apart the air.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    A booming crash resounded.


    The secondary reformed being''s w collided with Apollo''s bokken. As a result, Apollo was thrown to the side by the brute force of the attack. A few bones in his wrist ended up breaking in the process.


    As for the secondary reformed being, there was a long, deep gash that spread from the top of its hand and nearly reached the bottom of its forearm.


    Apollo''s attack wasn''t weak by any means, but...


    The secondary reformed being''s wound healed rapidly. The ck flesh twisted in strange ways and wrapped itself around the wound. It was as though a scar was being forcefully formed.


    The healing process did not take long, and once it did, the secondary reformed being charged towards Apollo. Like its previous attack, it moved fast. Right from the start, it was already streaking through the air.


    It was as though the secondary reformed being could forgo the need to elerate altogether.


    As the thundering steps rapidly approached, Apollo raised his bokken with both hands, clenching so hard, his knuckles turned white. As he was doing that, La tilted her head back so that she wouldn''t be hit by Apollo''s bokken and curiously stared at it.


    Suddenly, the secondary reformed being hunched over and pounced forward like a four-legged animal. Its jaws opened wide.


    Apollo dashed forward, while arcs of lightning danced on his body.


    And shed the being in two.


    ....However, it was not dead.

 Chapter 188 - Giant Reformed Being

    Willow''s arm was trembling violently. However, this action wasn''t voluntary. It was because of how badly injured Willow was that her body began trembling reflexively.


    But she made use of that trembling, making her attacks even more violent and through.


    The time Willow spent fighting off the three secondary reformed beings was short. However, in that short time span, the situation turned from really bad, to worse.


    This was because Hex was left unattended to. He already cut through hundreds of ck beings, letting their fleshbine into countless reformed ck beings.


    In fact, there were even some secondary reformed beings that were created because of this.


    Willow was in a pretty bad situation now. Before, things were still alright because there were no secondary reformed beings interrupting her.


    But now, she was unable to properly deal with Hex''s aftermath, meaning even more secondary reformed beings had appeared.


    It was like a switch turned on, changing a game''s difficulty from easy, to hard.


    However, despite all these troubles, Willow''s face was tranquil. In fact, even if the situation was far worse, she would still have the same expression.


    Because she wasn''t thinking about how bad the situation was, but rather, focusing every thought she had on fighting.


    Willow instinctively went after Hex, almost like a dead man performing theirst action even after theirst breath.


    Several reformed beings got in her way, but she dived and rose among them, dodging all of their attacks. It was almost like a y was being acted out, where the beings were skillfully ying their role as actors, just barely missing Willow.


    Several of the beings she passed by exploded into a bloody mist, while those farther off were torn to ribbons.


    But that wasn''t the end of it.


    Five secondary reformed beings charged towards Willow with the intention of smashing her into a pulp.


    They approached rather quickly, surrounding Willow from the front, like a crescent moon.


    It was as though Willow was approaching a council of giants, where each member had a giant, imposing statue behind them.


    Just their presence alone was enough to make some turn back.


    But not Willow.


    She slowly began to spin, as though her body became a rotating bullet.


    Suddenly, Willow began spinning faster, elerating at rates that didn''t make sense.


    The secondary reformed ck beings didn''t care about this change. They continued charging forth ready to smash Willow into paste.


    But when they were a few meters away from each other...


    Willow suddenly jerked to the left.


    An ufortable metallic screeching sound filled the air. One that resembled nails grating against a chalkboard.


    Willow traced a horizontal arc with her flight path, one that went through all the secondary reformed beings.


    Making them all explode into a bloody mist.


    It wasn''t as though the secondary reformed beings didn''t try to attack Willow. In fact, they swung at her.


    But before their w couldnd, it burst like a bubble.


    It was as though Willow was a natural disaster, something that living things could only run away from, not fight back.


    She continued to rip apart countless ck beings, swooping and rising unpredictably until eventually, she reached Hex.


    This time, while Willow took care of the bodies Hex left behind, she also ripped apart the surrounding ck beings. It was far more efficient and thoroughpared to how Willow was doing it before, but at the end of the day, there were still too many.


    It did not take long for corpses of the secondary reformed beings to litter the ground. As such, their chunks of flesh gathered together, forming something... new.


    These new ck beings were nearly ten meters tall, double the height of those before them. This size made them giant reformed beings.


    Their limbs were noticeablyrger in rtion to their body, while their arms were long enough to reach the floor. It made them look clumsy.


    Unfortunately, this was not the case.


    Although the secondary reformed beings were grotesque, consisting of scattered flesh and limbs, the giant reformed beings were even more so.


    It looked as though flesh was haphazardly put together. Various limbs would awkwardly stick out from its body, while several faces with dull expressions appeared across the giant reformed being''s skin.


    It was not trying to hide what it was made out of. Instead, it proudly disyed itself for all to see.


    And coincidentally enough, Apollo was going in its direction, with La on his back.


    Apollo was flying a little over a meter above the ground, while La wrapped her legs around his waist, clinging onto him tightly.


    A secondary reformed being charged forth, straight towards Apollo. As for Apollo, he dashed forward even faster, leaving trails of lighting in his wake.


    The secondary reformed being swung its w.


    But missed.


    Apollo suddenly sped up, slipping past the w. Then, his bokken shed.


    The secondary reformed being was split in two. Apollo continued forth, passing in between the two halves.


    At that moment, La smiled brightly as her hands shot out to her sides.


    A deep thud resounded.


    La hit both halves of the secondary reformed being, smashing it into paste, and killing a few other ck beings that were unluckily in the way.


    They had a bit of synergy, which made flying through all the monsters a smooth journey.


    However, it could only be smooth for so long.


    Apollo''s gaze naturally drifted upwards to take in the full grandeur of the giant reformed being.


    Although the secondary reformed beings were also tall, there was also the consideration of pure volume.


    To put it into perspective, a child that was only a meter tall would be rathernky. However, an adult that was two meters tall would not only be taller, but have a muchrger width.


    Altogether, doubling the height made an effect far greater than one plus one.


    So when Apollo looked up to the giant reformed being, there was an invisible pressure.


    Especially when it looked back with its hollow eye sockets.

 Chapter 189 - Darkest Of Nights

    The giant reformed being and Apollo stared at each other for a few moments. As for La, she curiously looked ahead and tilted her head to the side. Nheless, there was an invisible tension, as though a rope was being stretched to its limits.


    Then, the rope snapped.


    The giant reformed being lunged towards Apollo with frightening speeds. But Apollo didn''t retreat.


    Instead, he bolted forward, soaring through the air, leaving trails of lightning in his wake. Hisughs grew louder.


    La raised both hands in the air and cheered.


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    She was having the time in her life, basking in the feeling of flying through the air.


    It was a little strange considering the fact she could experience far more thrilling experiences from traveling through the blue world, or even just jumping from her strength.


    But for La, it didn''t have to make sense.


    The giant reformed being''s w approached like a bullet train, appearing in front of Apollo in moments.


    However, Apollo''s eyes were able to follow it, albeit just barely.


    His bokken traveled like a snake. The tip of Apollo''s bokkennded on the top of a giant reformed being''s w despite how fast it was moving, as though it was choreographed.


    The muscles in Apollo''s arm tightened considerably,unching him up above the w and out of the attack. The resulting wind violently blew, making both Apollo''s and La''s hair whip around wildly.


    Apollo dug his bokken deep into the giant reformed being''s arm and viciously dragged it along with him, ripping apart its flesh.


    The giant reformed being obviously wasn''t going to let him do as he pleased. His other w tore through the air, barreling towards Apollo.


    It reached him in less than a second, hardly giving him any time to react.


    But he didn''t need to.


    "Nyah!"


    A deep boom resounded.


    La retaliated against the w swipe with one of her own, knocking it back effortlessly. The giant reformed being''s arm twisted back as though it smelled something really bad before recoiling in disgust.


    It smelled so bad that the arm directly broke off the giant reformed being''s shoulder, flying off into the distance and leaving it with only a stump. That arm wanted nothing to do with this situation.


    As for Apollo, he faced heavy recoil, but was able to bear it by supporting himself with his bokken buried in the giant reformed being''s arm.


    With that, he continued upward, continuing to tear apart the arm.


    The giant reformed let out a deep and booming roar, clearly expressing its anger. Suddenly, countless normal sized ws burst out of its stump.


    The ws shot out towards Apollo. They had ufortably long arms that bent like wet noodles, making them look rather unsettling.


    The ws each took different trajectories in order to attack Apollo from every angle. In a matter of seconds, the ws swarmed around him, blotting out the sun.


    It was as though Apollo was suddenly cast into a dark night.


    However, a wide smile remained on his face.


    Because Apollo didn''t need a light to guide him ahead in even the darkest of nights.


    Although he couldn''t see through the ck sky, he never had to.


    After all, his soul burned with a raging fire, one that was even brighter than the sun.


    And so, Apollo pierced through the darkness.


    Like an illusion, the ws were sliced into pieces and blown back. Blood sprayed into the sky like it began raining heavily.


    Apollo''sughs filled the air, breaking the calm of still water.


    La''s tail swayed enthusiastically as she watched Apollo explode forth. She giggled.


    "Bah!"


    The pieces of flesh fell from the air powerlessly while the giant reformed being let out another deep roar.


    Suddenly, the arm Apollo was traveling up split in two from where he cut it. They became two separate ws and twisted back to chase after Apollo.


    Along with that, two more giant arms shot out from the giant reformed being''s neck.


    Apollo focused on the two arms in front of him as though he didn''t notice the twoing from behind him.


    Apollo''s muscles tightened violently, but his hand leisurely traced the t side of his bokken.


    Once the two ws were right in front of him, his bokken snapped out.


    Two clear thuds rang out simultaneously.


    Both ws recoiled back, and split in two with a frightening gash that snaked down from their palms and even part of their arm.


    However, there were still two ws approaching from behind.


    Apollo had no time to deal with them after attacking the ones in front. But thankfully, there was someone else that could take up the responsibility.


    La''s eyes gleamed with excitement when she noticed the two ws approaching.


    They snapped forward like vipers, appearing as a blur to the naked eye.


    But then... they just suddenly stopped before hitting Apollo and La.


    Because La was holding onto each w by their middle finger.


    A wide grin spread out on her face.


    "Wah!"


    Without warning, she spread her arms out. The force traveled down the split arms into the main arm, splitting it in two like it was paper.


    But La wasn''t done. She was still holding on tightly to the two ws.


    Then flung them up.


    The ws shot towards the sky along with the attached arm.


    An aggressive tearing sound rang out.


    The giant reformed being''sst arm was ripped off as well, shooting up high into the sky. Unlike the previous arm that left because it was repelled by a smell, this one was simply too ambitious for its own good.


    As such, it went high up into the sky, trying to be one with the stars.


    Apollo bolted towards the giant reformed being''s face.


    The two of them looked at each other menacingly.


    Without warning, its head extended forth while its neck elongated several times over.


    The giant reformed being''s jaws opened wide.


    But Apollo continued forward without hesitation while La curiously peeked over his shoulder.

 Chapter 191 - Strange Synergy

    Hex''s blue eyes and mouth glowed brightly, while his unsettling giggles continued to echo. It was as though he could no longer contain his excitement.


    Hex shed three reformed beings in front of him before sending out a wave of dark green energy that directly exploded a secondary reformed being.


    Then, he raised his head to see three giant reformed beings charging towards him.


    ...There wasn''t even a moment of hesitation.


    Hex flew up towards the giant reformed beings, fully intent on killing them.


    Just a step behind him was Willow.


    She had her eyes closed as she twirled and swooped, further mashing the pieces of flesh Hex left behind. It was as though Willow was a professional figure skater that learned how to fly.


    After Hex took off, she followed from behind.


    A giant reformed being swiped at Hex with its massive ws, but before it could hit, Hex disappeared. He reappeared closer and continued moving forth.


    The other two giant reformed beings joined in, trying to sh them with their own respective ws.


    Yet, Hex disappeared before it hit each and every time. It was as though three grown men were trying to swat a fly from the air, but were failing to the point it was embarrassing.


    As for Willow, she did not directly follow behind Hex. Instead, she soared high into the sky, above the giant reformed beings.


    Then... began circling around.


    It was as though she was preparing for something.


    ...Or more urately, waiting.


    As Hex continued disappearing and reappearing, he slowly made his way from one giant reformed being to another. There was no rush, meaning it took quite a while for him to finish.


    At the moment Hex reached past the third giant reformed being, Willow suddenly plunged down.


    It was as though she became a vulture, swooping down towards a dead animal after circling it for a few moments. The ck wings on her back made it look like that even more.


    Large amounts of ck mist gathered around her, while she began to spin. It did not take long for her to elerate to exaggerated speeds, as though she became a spinning top.


    One of the giant reformed beings immediately noticed her. It tried to swipe, but like Hex, she disappeared.


    The only difference was a spinning cloud of ck mist was left behind, directly tearing the giant reformed being''s arm into ribbons.


    She appeared while keeping her initial momentum and continued to swoop around the giant reformed being.


    Just the shockwaves she emitted were enough to tear through the giant reformed being''s flesh. While it did have extremely strong regenerative powers, Willow was rending it apart too fast for it to keep up.


    The giant reformed being anxiously swiped at Willow once more, but she disappeared again. Not without leaving a cloud of ck mist, of course.


    The giant reformed being''s other arm was torn apart viciously, only leaving two stumps. It roared out of anger as the flesh of these stumps began to squirm.


    Countless new arms burst out, almost like a swarm of tentacles.


    Yet, before they could even reach her, the giant reformed being''s body split apart into pieces, along with its new arms. ck tendrils immediately shot out from these pieces of flesh to reconnect them.


    Even as the giant reformed being was not finished regenerating, its pieces reached out to Willow.


    But she didn''t spare a single nce.


    It still had all of its attention on Willow. As such, it was unable to realize the threat from the purple lines that were gradually forming in the air.


    The ones that Hex left behind.


    These purple lines formed just behind Willow, as though she was the one leaving behind.


    Seconds after they appeared, they would suddenly expand and glow brightly.


    Before exploding.


    The giant reformed being that was still in pieces blew up into paste. Willow continued forth towards the second giant reformed being, tearing it to pieces as well.


    The giant reformed being tried to fight back, but Willow kept disappearing before any of its attacksnded. It would even be injured heavily from the cloud of ck mist Willow left behind, while it was being ripped apart by Willow herself from another side.


    Purple lines snaked after Willow as though they were trying to catch up to her.


    Seconds after they appeared, they would expand and shine like the birth of a star.


    Then... explode.


    The massive waves of purple energy rippled out from behind Willow, almost as though she was a rocketship and the explosion was a ming trail behind her.


    The giant reformed being was helpless.


    Right after its flesh was torn apart, an explosion would ur right after. There was no time for it to regenerate. The only thing left was to embrace death.


    Thest giant reformed being was not discouraged, despite how easily hispanions were dealt with. It swiped at Willow while letting out a deep roar.


    ...But despite its courage, there was little a bit of bravery could do against overwhelming power.


    The giant reformed being''s w reached for Willow, but it burst into several pieces before it could touch her. Willow slipped past the giant reformed being''s w and slithered down its arm like a ghost.


    Everywhere she passed would be torn into pieces.


    And right behind her were the purple lines. They followed her path before exploding momentster.


    It was as though Willow was a spearhead, leading the charge, while violent explosions followed from behind.


    There was a certain beauty to it all. Almost like it was a carefully crafted firework show.


    And once all the fireworks disappeared, the giant reformed beings did as well.


    But it was still far from the end.


    There were simply far too many ck beings.


    ...


    Talon''s footsteps were loud and sharp. This was despite the fact he was running past ck beings that screeched at the top of their lungs.


    They didn''t seem to notice him, or even care.


    And so, Talon ignored them as well.

 Chapter 197 - Until Everything Becomes Prey

    Falk grew a new body, oneposed of tentacles.


    That, along with his human face, made him look like a sea creature from some horror movie. His dull expression didn''t help, making him look lifeless. It gave off the impression that Falk''s head was just moving on some kind of instinct.


    That the consciousness was already dead.


    Yet... while Falk''s eyes were nearly closed, his mouth parted.


    "I... a-am... am..."


    Falk''s head twitched eerily.


    "...still y-your.... your..."


    His ck tendrils gradually raised in the air.


    "...father... my d-daughter."


    Falk''s ck tendrils pulled back, getting ready to pounce.


    "...Don''t be a-afraid... afraid."


    Contrary to his words, he did something that was...frightening.


    Falk''s ck tendrils shot out towards the nearby unsuspecting ck beings. Screeches of pain and agony filled the air, before suddenly cutting themselves short.


    Because they died.


    Falk''s ck tendrils pulled the corpses before shoving them inside the conglomeration of ck flesh that he was made of.


    The corpses slipped in easily as though his body was slime. In just a few moments, they had been consumed entirely.


    Falk''s body bulged and burgeoned uncannily, soon reaching a height of three meters.


    At this point, the surrounding ck beings and reformed ck beings noticed something strange was happening. That the one they considered their own did not reciprocate those same feelings.


    Aftering to this realization, both the ck beings and reformed beings ran away.


    However, it was already toote.


    Countless ck tendrils shot out of Falk''s body as though they wereser beams. They extended to over twenty meters away from him, thus capturing arge amount of prey.


    The ck beings could only let out one dying screech before their voice trailed off and their life left their vessel.


    As for the reformed ck beings, they struggled for longer. Their veins bulged and squirmed violently, the result of whatever toxic substance Falk''s ck tendrils were able to release.


    The reformed ck beings each grabbed at the ck tendril that pierced through their chest. Then, they were lifted into the air, prompting them to kick aimlessly in an attempt to break free.


    But secondster, they died all the same.


    Falk''s many ck tendrils retrieved the prey before absorbing it into his body. Falk''s body expanded once more, bing six meters tall.


    He did not have a proper figure.


    Unlike the beings that were at least humanoid, Falk had be a grotesque blob of flesh. It would look like a pile of trash if it wasn''t for the unsettling squirming it did.


    And on top of this revolting blob was Falk''s head.


    It was as dull and expressionless as ever, almost like it just couldn''t care less about what it had be.


    From there, Falk began to move towards new prey.


    His method of movement was forcefully dragging himself along. There was a trail of amniotic fluid behind him, only making his progress even more unsettling.


    The surrounding back beings and reformed ck beings didn''t immediately recognize the threat Falk possessed. Though even if they did, it wouldn''t change their fate.


    Although Falk was forcefully dragging himself along, he had already reached speeds that got quite close to a giant reformed being''s. And from there, any ck being or reformed ck being within fifty meters was pierced by a ck tendril.


    Screeches filled the air, as though it were a ughterhouse. Their cries had a monstrous tone. If an average person heard these cries, they would find themselves afraid of what exactly could ughter monsters like pigs.


    It did not take long for a few secondary reformed beings to appear near Falk''s vicinity. Before they got within fifty meters of him, they ran away.


    But they could only move so fast.


    Falk chased after them. It was as though he wanted to prove who was the real monster.


    Even as he set his sights onrger prey, he did not let go of a single nearby ck being or reformed ck being. It was as though arge pack of deer was being chased after by a ferocious lion.


    Within the pack were countless baby deer. They were simply unable to move fast enough, thus were mauled by the lion.


    However, while the adults survived for now, their time wasing too.


    The ground was shifted from the earthquake-like impact of La''s previous attacks. As such, the secondary reformed beings found themselves scampering up ledges and jumping off miniature cliffs.


    As for Falk, he easily clung to the side with his blob-like constitution, allowing him to easily go both up and down.


    Eventually, the secondary reformed beings found themselves at a six-meter high ledge, while they themselves were only five meters. They jumped up nheless.


    But before they could catch the ledge, their bodies had been pierced through.


    The secondary reformed beings struggled wildly, even as their body burgeoned and contracted eerily.


    This continued on for a few moments. Falk seemed to be getting impatient as he wiggled the secondary reformed beings up and down.


    They remained alive.


    Without warning, Falk mmed the secondary reformed beings onto the ground.


    Cracks formed along the cobblestone path while rocks scattered into the air from the impact.


    Falk lifted them up once more and mmed them down onto the floor.


    He continued to repeat the process again and again.


    A cacophony of bangs and roars filled the air.


    Until eventually, they fell silent.


    The secondary reformed beings resembled a pile of mush, covered with countless bruises and bleeding cuts.


    They were unable to regenerate their wounds, courtesy of the strange toxin Falk injected into them.


    With that, Falk''s ck tendrils dragged the lifeless prey to be consumed once more.


    He grew evenrger.


    By now, he reached a height of fifteen meters.


    And all of it was just a disturbing mass of flesh.


    Falk set his sights on a few giant reformed beings. They were his prey. After all, he was steadily moving up the food chain.


    Falk was determined to continue growing.


    Until everything became his prey.

 Chapter 198 - Abomination

    Falk rushed over to three giant reformed beings. Despite his size and blob-like physique, he moved very fast. It looked rather unsettling, as one might expect.


    Like a bloodied snail was somehow able to move faster than a car.


    The three giant reformed beings almost immediately noticed Falk, but unlike the others, they did not turn to run.


    They charged towards Falk, filled with hostility. After all, it wasn''t hard to tell they were on opposing sides when he never paused in killing the surrounding beings for even just a moment.


    It could be said these giant reformed beings were brave.


    But there was a reason why living things felt fear.


    Countless ck tendrils shot out likeser beams, piercing the three giant reformed beings on nearly every inch of their skin. Their bodies would''ve looked like a sieve if the tendrils pulled back.


    The giant reformed beings roared, still raging with the intent to fight.


    However, the ck tendrils prevented them from moving.


    The three giant reformed beings struggled fiercely, but couldn''t even take a step forward. At best, they were able to squirm around. By now, grotesque veins appeared across their bodies.


    The toxins were taking their toll on them.


    As time passed, the giant reformed beings were unable to struggle with nearly as much fervor.


    ...Until eventually, they couldn''t bring themselves to struggle any longer.


    The ck tendrils began pulling their bodies in.


    The three giant reformed beings began to struggle wildly once more. Except this time, they were not trying to fight against Falk.


    But run away.


    Unfortunately for them, it was toote.


    Far toote.


    Desperate roars reverberated throughout the empire, before slowly dying out.


    Falk had grown once more, nearly reaching twenty meters in height.


    And from there, he rampaged across the empire.


    The beings ran.


    ck beings, reformed ck beings, secondary reformed beings, and even giant reformed beings.


    But hardly any of them were able to escape Falk''s tendrils.


    It was almost like the ck beings were the cells of a body, while Falk was an out-of-control virus, or cancer cell.


    Though, from Falk''s perspective, he was more of a white blood cell. Something that killed off the impurities.


    Because only once these impurities were removed, could perfection be attained.


    Falk continued growing.


    From twenty meters, to thirty meters.


    From thirty meters to fifty.


    Willow had her eyes closed, but suddenly opened them. She felt a strong sense of fear from the thing that Falk became.


    To the point her first instinct was to flee.


    Willow looked at the mass of flesh that was Falk. A frown formed on her face.


    "...What is that?"


    With every passing moment, she felt the threat of death grow stronger. Before, Willow had the intention of seeing this fight through.


    But not anymore.


    Her eyes darted around until they eventuallynded on Apollo. He was still fighting against a few winged reformed beings with La on his back.


    Willow let out a soft sigh.


    As much as she wanted to run, there would always be a pressing worry if she just left Apollo here.


    ...Though Apollo would probably attack Willow the moment she got near, meaning there was no easy way to get him out of the empire.


    She frowned.


    "It seems there is no other choice..."


    Willow pulled out a strange ck talisman with her free hand and held it close to her chest. The talisman was small, making it easy for Willow to hold. On top of the talisman were golden engravings. They formed a half-opened eye on top of a door.


    Willow continued following after Hex as the path behind him was where the least amount of beings were. After all, they would be shed apart.


    If they were in a race, Willow would be taking advantage of Hex''s slipstream.


    However, her eyes continued to dart towards Apollo and Falk.


    She came up with many ns, but also discarded them because of theirck of feasibility.


    Like that, Willow continued to follow after Hex, shing apart any beings that were left behind.


    And the entire time, she tossed several ideas around, hoping one would let her get closer to Apollo.


    On Apollo and La''s side, they had killed several winged reformed beings. From the original four, there were only two left.


    Apollo was bolting after one of the winged reformed beings while the other chased after them.


    Then, like he had done multiple times before, Apollo suddenly turned around.


    The winged reformed being expected this and opened its jaws wide in response.


    However, Apollo flew inside without hesitation.


    Then, La acted.


    A booming explosion resounded throughout the empire.


    The winged reformed being directly exploded into pieces under the terrifying force of La''s strike.


    Apollo began coughing up blood, but stillughed in between.


    The recoil force from La''s strike crushed his bones and organs, but he remained alive and even regenerated that damage.


    The winged reformed being they were chasing after turned around the moment it noticed Apollo and La were, but could only reach them after itspanion had exploded into pieces.


    The winged reformed being roared in anger, and swooped towards the two, prompting Apollo to nce at it.


    Blue arcs of lightning rapidly gathered around his body, crackling noisily. In just a moment, they coalesced around his bokken, making it look like a lightning bolt.


    The winged reformed being appeared in front of Apollo, opening its jaws wide.


    But at that moment, his bokken shed.


    Countless crackles resounded together,bining to create a thundering roar. It was as though a lion bellowed.


    A massive wave of lightning swept past the winged reformed being, stopping it in its tracks. Its entire body was charred, releasing smoke as though it was an overcooked steak.


    And then... it fell from the sky powerlessly.


    But while Apollo and La were focusing on their front, a winged reformed being streaked through the air towards them.


    The one that they injured, but didn''t kill.


    It opened its jaws to roar, ready to avenge its fallenpanions.


    Then a massive ck tendril pierced it.

 Chapter 199 - Overpower The Darkness, Even If For Only A Moment

    The winged reformed being froze in ce, as though it could not process the situation it was in.


    The ck tendril pierced through its body as though mocking it.


    It looked like a skewer with an awfullyrge piece of burnt meat. Except it wasn''t burnt meat, but a living thing.


    Suddenly, the winged reformed being began to struggle, like it realized what was happening.


    But less than a secondter, countless other tendrils pierced through it.


    The winged reformed being roared in pain, before falling silent. Not because it was dead, but that the tendrils pierced and blocked its throat.


    Without warning, the winged reformed being became a sieve. It attempted to struggle until the very end, even as its body burgeoned and contracted.


    However, it could hardly move.


    At most, the winged reformed being squirmed like a fish on drynd.


    Then... it stopped moving altogether.


    The winged reformed being was pulled back and swallowed up by the huge amalgamation of flesh that Falk had be.


    The only indication that connected this amalgamation with him was the tiny head that rested on top of the massive blob.


    Falk had never once stopped at absorbing anything he could. Even though some of the beings were akin to mosquitospared to his size, Falk still devoured them greedily.


    Sometimes he would directly run over them like awnmower, while other times he would use his ck tendrils.


    But no matter what, any being that faced him was as powerless as a newborn baby.


    The shrill screeches of ck beings along with the gtinous squirming filled the air.


    Apollo looked at Falk while twisting his neck eerily.


    "...Barks loudly."


    He began giggling to himself, while La joined in. The sound of both Apollo''s crazedughter and La''s innocentughter was quite jarring considering their different tones.


    La pped her hands excitedly.


    "New friend looks so yful!"


    Arcs of lightning gathered around Apollo''s body as his eyes widened.


    "...Then let''s y."


    He bolted towards Falk, prompting La to raise her hands in the air like it was a rollercoaster ride.


    Once Willow noticed what Apollo was doing, she half broke down.


    Why charge towards the giant abomination when the only logical course of action is to run?


    Willow furrowed her brows and grit her teeth.


    Should she chase after Apollo?


    Or continue waiting for an opportunity?


    The reason why Willow was so hesitant was because of her injuries. In reality, she was struggling to even keep her consciousness, like a flickering me on a candle fighting the violent winds.


    The only constion was the new way of fighting she learned that didn''t require her to truly be conscious.


    Unfortunately, Willow doubted this was the kind of situation that could end by fighting.


    They were already finding it difficult to deal with the giant reformed beings and winged reformed beings. Yet, whatever Falk had be was far stronger than them.


    Willow knew that just from the presence he emitted, so when she saw the winged reformed being die so helplessly under Falk''s attack, she was not surprised.


    He had simply be something far too strong and vicious.


    Yet, Apollo didn''t seem to notice this despite witnessing it firsthand.


    All of Willow''s impulses told her to go to Apollo right now, to find some way to save him.


    But she also knew the only thing she could be was a burden. The only saving grace was the fact La was with Apollo, and her strength was no joke.


    Willow sighed, but continued to hold her ck talisman close to her chest.


    "I truly did not wish to use this but..."


    She smiled bitterly.


    "I might not even have a chance to use it."


    La may have been attached to Apollo, but their overall size was still nothingpared to the giant mass that Falk was.


    In the short time after consuming the winged reformed being and several others, he had already grown to over fifty meters, meaning he was just barely visible from outside the city walls.


    Falk shot out a single, but massive, ck tendril towards Apollo and La. After all, there was no need to do so much work for an ant, right?


    ...Well, perhaps things were a little different for this ant.


    A glint shed by Apollo''s eyes as his muscles tightened to their limits.


    The sharp end of the ck tendril appeared right in front of him instantly.


    But Apollo''s eyes had caught on to it earlier on.


    And so, he drew a horizontal arc with his bokken.


    A sharp cut split the ck tendril in two, filling the air with blood.


    La proceeded to grab both of these halves. A cheeky smile appeared on her face.


    "Hehe."


    Suddenly, she tugged on the ck tendril.


    "Wah!"


    A vicious tearing sound rang out.


    La pulled the ck tendril up and above her head. It was so sudden, that it was directly ripped off of Falk''s body. She proceeded to wave the ck tendril that was countless times longer than her around, as though it was a trophy.


    The recoil force from La''s tug forcefully pushed Apollo forward, making him bolt towards Falk even faster.


    As for Falk, he realized something was different, even though his mind was essentially lost. That despite the fact Apollo and La were small, the same did not go for their power.


    As such, he treated them seriously.


    By sending over fifty massive ck tendrils.


    The sheer volume of this attack was overbearing.


    La threw aside the ck tendril she was holding onto and looked ahead with amazement.


    "Wow! It''s like friend just became many friends!"


    Apollo suppressed hisughter and let out muffled giggles in the process.


    "...All the same."


    The arcs of lightning on Apollo''s body crackled with renewed fervor before gathering towards his bokken.


    As for the ck tendrils, they spread out in order to attack Apollo from every angle possible.


    It was as though the darkness of night was attempting to suppress a thunderstorm.


    But lightning would always overpower the darkness, even if for only a moment.

 Chapter 201 - A Talisman

    Willow couldn''t believe she hadn''t thought of it earlier.


    ...But Willow began to hesitate.


    Because it wasn''t exactly the most ideal solution for her. Yet she couldn''t think of anything else that could possibly work at this point.


    After all, her solution was...


    To call out to Apollo and dere that she was his mother.


    Although she was fairly confident he would immediately begin rushing towards her, the damage to their rtionship would probably be astronomical.


    But at this point...


    As Willow continued to hesitate, Apollo continued forth. The ck tendrils pierced through nearly his entire body along with his organs, but that was hardly a reason to run for him.


    If anything, it was a reason to continue forth.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, cutting through the ck tendrils that pierced him, but not even a secondter, others pierced through him once more.


    Holes were punched through him like he was a sieve. The main target was his torso, but the ck tendrils also pierced through his arm and legs.


    The only saving grace was that they skimmed past his neck and head, but if Apollo kept moving forward, it was only a matter of time before the ck tendrils would do a little more than skimming.


    Although it wasn''t too clear, Willow could tell Apollo''s condition was far from ideal. In the end, she steeled her heart.


    And opened her mouth.


    "Apollo!"


    She shouted at the top of her lungs.


    However, it didn''t seem like Apollo could hear. His senses were muddled from having his bones and organs shattered, after all.


    Apollo could hardly even hear his own thoughts. The only reason he kept pushing forward in the first ce was an instinct engraved into his bones.


    Willow despaired when she realized this. Hex was still mindlessly going on a rampage, but he was slowly getting further away from Apollo.


    Willow did not think she would survive for long enough if she left Hex''s side, so she only had one more chance.


    She furrowed her brows before putting her all into onest shout.


    "APOLLO, YOUR MOTHER IS HERE."


    Willow tore her throat up, coughing up blood as she spoke. Yet, she continued anyway.


    "COME TO YOUR MOTHER."


    Although Apollo couldn''t make out the majority of what Willow had said, the word ''mother'' simply gave him too strong of an impression.


    The first time Willow said it, he could only faintly distinguish it. The second time she said it, the words sounded vague, like he was underwater.


    But he heard them.


    A fire seemed to be lit in Apollo''s mind. An anger that made him forget about Falk entirely.


    Without a single second of hesitation, Apollo turned around, locked onto Willow, then bolted towards her.


    Naturally, Falk wouldn''t just let him leave. He roared, sending out several ck tendrils. Apollo didn''t even notice them, as he was too fixated on Willow.


    The ck tendrils whipped towards him, reaching him in mere moments.


    If they pierced through, Apollo may very well die.


    Yet...


    "Nyah!"


    Several thundering bangs resounded throughout the empire. La bashed away all of the approaching ck tendrils, directly turning them into paste.


    To her, it was like a game of whack-a-mole. Though Falk didn''t look at it the same way.


    He let out a roar of anger before nearly two hundred ck tendrils burst out from his body. They shot towards Apollo and La mercilessly, nearly blotting out the sky from their sheer volume.


    This time, the ck tendrils came from different angles, opting to surpass Apollo before circling back around towards him, meaning La wouldn''t be able to defend him from all of them.


    La continued to batter away the ck tendrils that were nearby, but did not bother to try and get all of them.


    As for Apollo, he didn''t seem to notice the ck tendrils.


    And so, his body was pierced by them once more.


    Apollo coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his eyes became bloodshot. Yet, through it all, he continued tough.


    Apollo''s body was a bloody mess. But he was also getting faster.


    Willow cringed a little, seeing Apollo nearly dying as he got closer. However, she focused on what was more important.


    Making sure she correctly timed activating the ck talisman.


    The process required to activate it was just to inject some mana. However, the talisman itself needed roughly one second to activate.


    Willow knew this because she had used it before. However, the number of times she had used it could be counted on one hand.


    It was a talisman that had saved her life but also cost her dearly to acquire. Although Willow wouldn''t hesitate in using it when needed, the feeling of loss erupted from deep in the back of her mind.


    After all, Willow quit her league in order to walk the path of the sword. Acting as a lone wolf meant she had far fewer resources. Even when she was in the league, she could hardly bear to pay for them.


    As for now...


    Willow shook her head.


    There was no time to think about anything else anymore. Apollo was approaching.


    Although Apollo did not bother with the ck tendrils that pierced him, La eventually decided to bash those away as well. As such, his sorry state was fully revealed.


    Mangled beyondpare, any sane person that saw his condition would think he was dead. It was as though Apollo became a rag, flesh loosely hanging onto his bones.


    But Willow was familiar with Apollo''s frightening regeneration ability. After all, she directly pierced through his back and smashed his organs up. And now, he was still alive and kicking.


    Apollo continued getting closer, and eventually, Willow felt now was the moment. Her eyes narrowed as she injected mana into the talisman.


    It immediately began to releaserge amounts of ck and grey mist. There was even an asional line of silver mist.


    Apollo was only a few meters away from Willow, while the ck tendrils were ready to pierce him once more.


    Then, he was in front of Willow, ck tendrils millimeters away.


    ....and a golden radiance filled the air.

 Chapter 207 - Protecting... Something?

    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    He really should''ve ounted for how reckless La was. If she wasn''t stopped, her strike would''ve directly obliterated all the two-horned demons, meaning there would be no gemstones to harvest.


    There were ten surviving one-horned demons, but most of them were critically injured. As for the two-horned demons, there were only three, just enough for Apollo toplete his request. And for the three-horned demons, only two remained standing.


    La gave Apollo a strange look.


    "Why did friend push me?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "I still need the gemstones from the two-horned demons for the request."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh?... So you want to y with them too?"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "...Yeah, basically."


    La nodded.


    "Ok, ok! The rest of them will be for you!"


    A small smile rested on her face as she stared at Apollo innocently.


    As for Apollo, he just sighed.


    "Thanks."


    Strangely enough, the demons looked afraid. They fidgeted around, unable to hold their weapons with conviction. Though the demons weren''t the brightest, they could at least feel fear.


    Yet, stranger than the fear they felt, was the fact they didn''t run.


    The demons remained standing, as though running away was somehow scarier than the threat in front of them. Though that just made things more simple for Apollo.


    He directly charged forwards. The corner of his lip turned up on its own.


    The one-horned demons were the first ones to try and face Apollo. They definitely seemed more confident because La wasn''t the one attacking, but most of them were already injured.


    Not to mention, Apollo was far stronger than his past self.


    Apollo''s bokken blurred.


    Then blood sprayed into the air.


    He let out a flurry of strikes, directly splitting apart each one-horned demon. They didn''t even have time to react.


    Or even realize they had been cut.


    Their bodies copsed onto the ground, unable to hold the line for even a second.


    Apollo stepped over their dead corpses to make his way towards the two-horned demons. Instinctively, he wanted to attack their chests, to make their ribcage cave in. After all, this would instantly kill most of the demons that he had fought before.


    However, that would also mean their gemstone would shatter, defeating the whole purpose of this entire fight.


    As Apollo was approaching, the two-horned demons each lifted a foot up. Each of their raised feet glowed brightly before mming down on the ground.


    Ice rapidly spread from their feet. After spreading several meters across, ice walls encapsted Apollo and the two-horned demons within. Six icicles shot towards Apollo, three from the left and three from the right.


    This much was hardly a challenge for him, especially considering he went head on against the numerous icicles from a four-horned demon. Apollo decided to try something new.


    He dashed towards the left, getting frighteningly close to three of the icicles. His bokken shed.


    Three sessive light taps rang out.


    Apollo''s bokken lightly brushed past each icicle, diverting their trajectory. Momentster, they collided with three other icicles, shattering each other.


    Such fine control was rather impressive since each icicle had a sharp tip. If Apollo was even slightly off, they would have slid past each at most. However, the icicles hit each other dead on, ensuring mutual destruction.


    Apollo continued unobstructed.


    The two-horned demons prepared a swing with their sabers. After all, they could no longer run at this point.


    They swung preemptively, so that if Apollo kept running, he would essentially be running into their strikes.


    But to Apollo, they were simply far too slow.


    His bokken shed.


    Violent ngs rang out.


    The three two-horned demons all stumbled backwards, while their sabers recoiled behind them. They had to strain both their arms just to keep holding onto their weapons that almost flew out of their hands.


    However, that also meant they did nothing to protect themselves.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    In just a moment, the two-horned demons each lost their limbs. As for their torsos, they smacked onto the ground.


    They began bleeding heavily, each of them slowly dying.


    At this point, the two three-horned demons directly broke through the ice walls and let out deep roars.


    Apollo giggled. He rushed forth partially because he didn''t want the gemstones to be destroyed, but also just because he wanted to.


    The three-horned demons raised their maces, but Apollo had already reached them before they could swing. His hand rested on the t side of his bokken.


    Then, it snapped out.


    The two three-horned demons were sted backwards. They tumbled in the snow for a few meters or so before hastily standing back up.


    As it was a hasty strike, while Apollo had shattered the rib cage of both three-horned demons, he was unable to do the same for the gemstone.


    And so, the two three-horned demons were heavily injured, but still alive. Both of them began gathering mana violently, stirring uprge gales of wind. Their bodies grew substantially while red veins appeared on their skin.


    Apollo patiently waited for them, but they ended up doing something unexpected.


    Instead of charging towards him, the two three-horned demons ran towards each other and away from Apollo.


    Once they got next to each other, they both turned to face Apollo, maces at the ready.


    It was only at this point did Apollo realize a strangerge mound of snow behind the two three-horned demons. Instead of attacking, their goal was to get in between Apollo and the mound of snow.


    ...As though they were protecting it.


    As Apollo realized this, a sinister smile formed on his face.


    "What is so precious to you that it became more important than your life?"


    Without waiting for an answer, he bolted forwards. He raised his bokken and brought it down while he was several meters away.


    Then, his thumb pressed down against the hilt.


    The crackle of thunder rang out.


    One of the three-horned demons helplessly split in two, despite its transformation. As for the other demon, it took a step forward and mmed its mace down.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, directly breaking off the three-horned demon''s arms.


    At that point, the three-horned demon began violently gathered mana, creating a small-scale snowstorm.


    ....Then stopped.

 Chapter 208 - Something Strange

    The three-horned demon was on itsst legs and decided to use itsst resort. It gathered mana for onest mysterious attack.


    But stopped.


    Although Apollo was right next to the three-horned demon, he did not do anything. Instead, it decided to stop gathering mana on its own.


    It was as though the three-horned demon was moving on instinct, but had a sudden realization.


    Before Apollo could even do anything, a small explosion came from the three-horned demon. Arge hole had formed on his chest, but was otherwise intact.


    Yet, in the end, it was dead.


    Apollo''s smile slowly disappeared from his face.


    "Huh..."


    He raised an eyebrow, then looked towards the mound of snow.


    "What were they trying so hard to protect, anyway?"


    La jogged over and raised her hands up high.


    "That looked like so much fun! What should we do now?"


    Apollo looked towards the corpses of the two-horned demons.


    "Well, first..."


    He walked over to the two-horned demon''s corpses and peeled away the flesh above their chest, using his bokken as a scalpel.


    A set of bones, along with a small translucent gemstone, was revealed.


    Apollo took the three gemstones without much hesitation, even though they made strange squelching sounds and got blood on his hands.


    After pocketing them, he turned around to see La eagerly looking at him.


    She tilted her head to the side, letting her furry ears flop to the side.


    "Do we y now?"


    Apollo looked towards the mound of snow.


    "Before that, let''s check out this thing."


    La turned to where Apollo was looking, then pouted.


    "But it''s just snow!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Is it?"


    He took in a deep breath while the muscles in his arm tightened considerably.


    Then drew a horizontal arc, as though he was trying to slice apart the horizon.


    Like a tidal wave, the snow on the floor lifted up. The bare ground was revealed, then... something else.


    It was as though a band-aid was being peeled off, unable to protect the wound any longer.


    As for what this wound was, it was a strange house.


    The house was fairlyrge, enough to house many people. It was in the shape of a dome and white in color, blending in with the snow. It was quite unassuming while snow was all around it, but now that it was dry soil, it had be quite apparent.


    La looked at it curiously.


    "What is that?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Only one way to find out."


    There was a hatch at the very top of this house. The two of them walked up next to it.


    Apollo stared at it for a few moments.


    Were they hiding some sort of precious resource?


    A special technique?


    Or maybe a special demon?


    He pulled open the hatch, ready to release the pandora''s box.


    ...And when Apollo looked inside, he furrowed his brows.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Eh? Are they friends?"


    If the house was filled with monsters, Apollo wouldn''t have been weirded out. Even if there was some sort of creature, he still wouldn''t have been perturbed.


    But...


    "Ah!"


    "No!"


    "Don''t hurt me!"


    They were children, human children.


    Onemon thing between all of them was their ragged clothing and dirty appearances. They seemed to be prisoners trapped, but not at the same time.


    While the floors and walls were stone, like a prison, there were no bindings on any of them, or a cage of some sort.


    Instead, there were beds evenly spaced out within the room and plenty of food rations scattered about. There were several candles within the ce that seemed to light it up.


    Apollo narrowed his eyes.


    Why would the demons protect these children?


    ...Was there something wrong with them?


    Despite all the food in the room, many of the children were emaciated. They were clearly hungry, but did not touch the food. It was as though they were scared to eat.


    Once Apollo opened the hatch, many of the children either averted their eyes or covered them with their arms.


    In any case, they seemed to have been captured only recently, judging from how clean the beds were. Despite the children being so dirty themselves, the beds only had a few stains.


    Apollo tried to understand, but really couldn''t.


    Although he was curious, he wasn''t one to solve any mysteries. As such, he quickly lost interest.


    As for La, she nced at a few children. As though they could feel her gaze, they stumbled backwards and cowered.


    La pouted.


    "These friends look boring."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah..."


    There was adder to the hatch, meaning the children could leave at any time. However, a few of them were already shivering from the draft of the open hatch. In the end, it seemed like this was the only ce they could survive.


    Apollo did onest scan for any valuables. After finding nothing, he closed the hatch.


    Apollo sighed with a bit of disappointment.


    "More importantly, the request was finished easily enough."


    He turned to La.


    "The hardest part was just finding the demons, but you covered that, I suppose."


    La bashfully giggled with her hand over her mouth.


    "I''m not that good~"


    Apollo''s face twitched.


    "...Yeah."


    With that, he stepped into the shadow world. Among the grey mist was a trail of red mist.


    Apollo followed that mist until he reached the association''s symbol.


    With just a touch, he was back in the request room. Likest time, La appeared from a crack of space.


    Her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "So now friend gets a technique?"


    Apollo walked over to the grey desk, pulling out his iron coin as he walked.


    "Yeah, it should be."


    Upon flipping the coin, plumes of mist shot out. After a few moments, a bowl and parchment appeared.


    La peeked over Apollo''s shoulder.


    "Is that the technique?"


    Apollo took out the three gemstones and put them in the bowl.


    "No, just wait a moment."


    The parchment tore in half, whilerge clouds of mist covered the table.


    Once the mist cleared, two condensed lines of white mist appeared, along with a ck crystal that glimmered softly.


    Now, he could finally learn what exactly this technique was.

 Chapter 214 - The Stars Align

    Once Apollo started to disappear, La no longer directly looked at him. In fact, she didn''t even bother turning her head.


    Apollo continued to circle around her, but only glimpses of his figure could be seen. He appeared in one ce, then another.


    It was as though he was a ghost.


    ...No, as though he were a group of specters, all surrounding La and gradually making their way to her.


    And so, when Apollo appeared behind La, there was basically no sign of iting.


    Yet before he couldnd a hit on La, she disappeared even though both of Apollo''s eyes were right on her.


    A cheery voice came from behind him.


    "Hehe, I never thought about doing it like this!"


    It was La.


    Apollo preemptively disappeared, reappearing a few meters away. However, La hadn''t even swung at him. She simply stood there with a bright smile on her face.


    Apollo turned around and looked at her closely.


    How did La even disappear in the first ce?


    ...Did she have the same technique?


    Or was she just that fas-


    Without warning, La disappeared once more.


    "Boo!"


    To Apollo''s dismay, she appeared right behind him. He stepped into the shadow world once more.


    Apollo had only ruminated over this for a few seconds. However, it seems he spent too long thinking over it.


    Apollo reappeared, only to be greeted by an empty forest.


    And a voice behind him.


    "This is friend''sst chance!"


    La casually stood behind Apollo as though she was there the entire time. Apollo furrowed his brows. He decided to try the same.


    Apollo partially stepped into the shadow world, reappearing behind La. Yet, he could only catch a glimpse of her figure. In the next moment, she reappeared behind him.


    Like this, the two of them continued appearing behind the other, almost like it was some sort of game.


    Eventually, Apollo realized this was going nowhere. Instead of reappearing behind La, he decided to teleport forwards and turned around while still partially in the shadow world.


    That was when he saw it.


    It was the tiniest glimpse, but it was of something he could never forget.


    The blue world.


    And in the next moment, La was behind Apollo once more.


    Although La could''ve moved even faster, directly suppressing Apollo with raw strength, she decided to limit herself.


    This was just something La always did, not that she was looking down on Apollo or anything. In other words, she may be moving fast, but not enough to suddenly disappear from Apollo''s vision.


    In reality, La was tearing open the space and entering the blue world. She was essentially doing what Apollo was, but just entered a different realm.


    When La stopped following Apollo with her eyes, that was actually because she was using her other senses to find out where Apollo was.


    La realized that Apollo was able to speed himself up and remove himself from sight by entering some kind of other realm.


    She thought that was really cool.


    And so, La began thinking to herself.


    What if she did that too?


    However, there were fundamental differences between the properties of the shadow world and the blue world. Just the method of entering each ne was enough to make the basic shadow step technique invalid for the blue world.


    But that didn''t mean La couldn''t improvise.


    While she would tear open the space in order to enter, she noticed that Apollo would seemingly just disappear into it.


    It was as though La pushed aside the dirt on the ground in order to go deeper, while Apollo could simply submerge himself as though he was passing through water.


    And so, La decided to see if she could copy how Apollo did it. Instead of tearing open the space, La decided to press herself against the fabric of this realm, and then rip it apart. From the results, it was clearly a resounding sess.


    There was also another difference. While Apollo had to let himself be taken by the shadow world''s pull, La had to move herself within the blue world.


    She wasn''t able to do the strange partial entry Apollo did.


    That meant it took her a little longer to exit the blue world, which was what gave Apollo enough time to react to her sudden disappearances.


    However, this also meant that La could reappear wherever she wanted.


    And so, she reappeared behind Apollo as though humiliating him.


    La swiped with her w, but Apollo disappeared before it couldnd. He took back to the trees. His feet pressed hard against the trunk. Then, he disappeared altogether.


    Apollo reappeared with his foot on another tree, while La was right next to him, swiping her w. Apollo disappeared once more, just barely dodging her strike.


    In the end, La hit the tree, blowing it out of the ground and splitting it in two.


    Like this, Apollo kept stepping on the trunks before appearing on another faraway tree. However, La would appear next to Apollo at nearly the same moment. No matter how seemingly random his path was. Then, she would destroy the tree he was just on.


    Apollo no longer had the freedom to attack. The only thing he could do was step into the shadow world the moment he stepped out.


    One after another, trees were blown away, scatteringrge amounts of snow into the air. At this rate, the forest would be littered with broken trees.


    But Apollo didn''t n to just do the same thing over and over again.


    The more he disappeared, the more he felt in tune with both the real world and the shadow world.


    It was as though he had listened to the same song so many times, he could repeat the lyrics by heart.


    Apollo stepped on one tree, then disappeared.


    He appeared on another, then disappeared once more.


    Left, right, forward.


    It was as though the stars began to align for Apollo.


    Right, forward, left.


    ...Then backward.


    Apollo reappeared behind La with a fierce smile.


    While his bokken traced an arc towards her back.

 Chapter 215 - Never Lost, Never!

    Snow had scattered high into the air, along with a few trees here and there. Violent gusts of wind filled thendscape, almost like a tornado was nearby.


    And within that chaos, La had chased Apollo, appearing next to him each time he did. She would swipe her w, but was always just a little bit toote, hitting the tree Apollo had been on.


    La wasn''t too concerned despite none of her strikesnding. She was confident one would be fast enough.


    As for Apollo, he had meticulously remembered wherever La appeared each time. Whether it be in front of him, behind, or to the side.


    Each time, they were seemingly random. And in a certain sense, they were.


    La had arbitrarily chosen a ce to appear each time.


    There was hardly a pattern to speak of, but Apollo felt like he picked up on something.


    He had partially stepped into the shadow world, just barely dodging La''s w. In the shadow world, he only had one thought.


    ''Forward''


    Apollo had reappeared and let out augh.


    ...And La was at his front.


    He had disappeared once more, while the tree behind him was decimated.


    ''Left''


    Apollo had reappeared with both feet on a tree and his knees bent.


    La was towards his left.


    Right in the nick of time, Apollo vanished, letting the tree take the fall for him.


    ''Backward.''


    This time, Apollo shifted his trajectory within the shadow world. He had appeared on the snowy ground, while La was swiping her w towards a tree.


    And that was how Apollo had appeared behind her, tracing an arc towards her back.


    As though he was a painter flicking his paintbrush onto the canvas.


    With how fast La was moving, she wouldn''t be able to dodge. In reality, La knew the moment she appeared that Apollo was actually behind her.


    In other words, La knew she was about to lose.


    After all, the rule of their game was whoever hit the other first. There wasn''t even time for La to regret taking it so easy before.


    ...But she didn''t want to lose.


    La''s eyes lost their glimmer.


    She never lost, never!


    La''s expression dulled.


    After all, she always won!


    An uncanny serious expression appeared on her face, a big contrast to her normal cheery self.


    No matter what game La yed, she was always the winner!


    That... that had to be true.


    Something within La released. It was as though she was wrapped in countless chains, nearly restricting her movement entirely.


    Then, one of these chains fell off, giving her a little wiggle room.


    And with that wiggle room, she moved.


    Apollo''s bokken was just a second away from striking La''s back, but at that moment her feet tensed.


    In a sh, she twisted her legs and slid her feet across the floor, digging deep into the ground. Vast amounts of dirt and snow flew up into the air, while La herself turned around.


    With her w tearing through the air.


    Apollo could just barely process that something bad was about to happen, but there was no time for him to think about it any further.


    Apollo''s bokken was only a few millimeters away from La''s head, while La''s w whipped through the air towards Apollo''s abdomen.


    At the exact same moment, the tip of Apollo''s bokken hit La''s forehead, while the very end of La''s nail touched Apollo''s stomach.


    A light tap rang out, but was covered by a deafening bang.


    Vast amounts of snow rose into the air like a series of tsunamis while several nearby trees were directly uprooted and thrown up into the air.


    As for Apollo, he was violently sted back as though he suddenly became aet, streaking through the air. He coughed up vast amounts of blood. The bones around his abdomen were directly shattered into tiny pieces while all the other bones in his body had some sort of crack within them.


    Apollo''s lower organs had been pulverized while the rest of the organs in his chest peeked out. The only saving grace was that Apollo''s spine held on strong, keeping his body attached.


    Albeit barely.


    Apollo directly smashed through several trees until eventually tumbling on the ground. His eyes were concerningly red while blood dripped down his mouth like a pancake with too much syrup on top.


    Apolloid there powerlessly while his body frantically tried to repair itself.


    As for La, she blinked a few times like she just realized what she had done.


    "Friend?"


    Then, La pouted.


    "That... that doesn''t count! I always win, so that doesn''t count!"


    She ran across the wastnd that the forest had be, stepping over fallen trees and a ground filled with a mixture of dirt and snow.


    Eventually, La reached Apollo''s side. She crouched down over her body and pointed at him usingly.


    "That game doesn''t count because I hit friend and friend hit me at the same time! Because of that, we are restarting!"


    A righteous expression appeared on La''s face, one so shameless, that it would remain that way even if the sky fell down.


    "And we start... now!"


    With that, she poked Apollo''s forehead before giggling.


    "I win!"


    As for Apollo, he was rather speechless. His throat was too damaged to talk, but even if he could, he would still be silent.


    This... this girl...


    Apollo couldn''t evene up with a word to describe both how shameless, yet powerful La was.


    In the end, he simply remained on the ground silently, other than coughing up mouthfuls of blood.


    La puffed up her cheeks and looked to the side stubbornly.


    Like that, they spent a few moments silently.


    Apollo''s main concern was that his body didn''t have enough to repair itself, but that was a needless concern.


    It seemed like whatever those rainbow colored fish were, they were very dense with nutrients, not too unlike the food pellets.


    Apollo coughed up even more blood, letting it splurt out of his mouth.


    And at that moment, his iron coin heated up.

 Chapter 216 - Personal Reputation Request

    Apollo''s body had made significant reparations. His organs were restored, while theyers of bone returned. As for the cracks in his bones, they mended seamlessly, like they were never there in the first ce. His skin regrew on top of his body, without losing the toughness it had before.


    And the craziest part was that a healthyyer of muscle and fat remained on his body. Despite performing an action that would seemingly use up so much energy, he was still fine.


    Essentially as good as new.


    At this moment, his iron coin that was still miraculously in his pocket began heating up tremendously, almost like a fire had started.


    Apollo sat up with a little bit of difficulty, letting out an exasperated groan. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the iron coin that was shining brightly with the pattern of a smiling devil on one side and the association''s symbol on the other.


    La had puffed up her cheeks while looking to the side. However, once she saw the iron coin, she couldn''t help but stare curiously.


    "Wah! What''s happening?"


    Apollo gave a long look towards La.


    Part of him wanted to yell at her.


    To vent out his frustration.


    After all, La really didn''t hold back with her attack earlier on. For a second, Apollo even thought he was going to die.


    But... something told him berating La wasn''t going to be worth the effort.


    So when La asked Apollo about the coin...


    He let out a sigh and shrugged his shoulders.


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


    Apollo stepped into the shadow world. He could make out a slightly-parted eye in the distance and walked towards it.


    Upon reaching the symbol, Apollo touched it, sending him into the request room.


    La appeared momentster, curiously looking around.


    There was a familiar grey desk along with the grey league board. Nothing seemed different.


    La tilted her head to the side and pouted.


    "It looks the same..."


    Apollo pulled out his iron coin and looked at it. It was no longer hot, but had the same familiar patterns.


    "Well, they must''ve called me here for something."


    He walked towards the desk made out of grey mist and prepared to flick his iron coin. Yet, before he could...


    White mist began gathering on the corner of the table.


    The closer that Apollo got, the more white mist appeared. Then, when he finally reached the grey desk, the white mist parted.


    To reveal a wax sealed envelope.


    The envelope itself was a standard size. As for the wax, it was red and had the pattern of a smiling devil.


    Next to the envelope was a fairlyrge slip of paper with neat cursive writing on it, like the time he was given the basic elixir of flexibility.


    Apollo picked it up and began reading it. At the same time, La hopped over and curiously stared over Apollo''s shoulders, reading the paper with him.


    ''Congrattions, you have received a personal reputation request.


    Whenever members of The Shadows ept a request, the person that issues the request is notified. This is simrly so when the request ispleted.


    The person that issues the request is told both your alibi and the current league you are in. This is the main method your reputation is spread within this association.


    The reason why this reputation is important is that a person can directly request either a person or a league toplete their request. This is the origin of personal reputation requests and league reputation requests.


    People that directly request must pay an extra price, especially if it is a personal reputation request.


    These missions are exclusive to the person or league that it is issued to and provide extra rewards rtive to the corresponding difficulty. Unlike normal missions, they do not consume any of your chances to view the requests.


    One of the requirements for promotion includespleting a certain amount of personal reputation requests.


    Althoughpletion of this request is optional, the association heavily rmends you do so.''


    La hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Hmm? I don''t understand what it means."


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    "Basically, someone liked how Ipleted one of their missions and gave one only to me because of it."


    La blinked a few times. Then, as though she came to a realization, she lifted both arms up high.


    "Wah, friend is popr!"


    Apollo nodded absentmindedly. He looked towards the envelope on the corner of the desk and began to wonder.


    ...Reputation.


    Since the person that gave the request would be notified of both when it was epted andpleted, that meant how fast the request was done mattered.


    After all, people would probably favor those that finished what they wanted sooner rather thanter. Though that meant the expectation toplete it was higher.


    Apollo sighed.


    Regardless, this was a good thing. He hadn''tpleted that many missions, yet his reputation was still good enough to receive a request.


    With a bit of curiosity, Apollo picked up the wax-sealed envelope.


    He ced his thumb and forefinger on the wax seal, then pulled.


    ...But it didn''te off.


    Apollo put in more force into it this time, feeling his fingers strain and shake. Yet, other than shaking with Apollo, it did not budge.


    He furrowed his brows.


    "Seriously?... Isn''t this supposed to be for me?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Just open it!"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "I... can''t"


    La puffed her cheeks.


    "Let me try!"


    She picked up the envelope and put her thumb and index finger on the wax seal.


    La pulled, but nothing happened.


    Then, she pouted, and pulled harder.


    The seal immediately began to brighten dangerously, prompting Apollo to instinctively pull the envelope back.


    "Wait, wait, stop!"


    La let go, then looked at Apollo curiously.


    "Eh? What''s wrong?"


    Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "Just... let me."


    He looked at the seal once more.


    Suddenly, Apollo realized his coin was exactly the same size. He raised his iron coin and put it on the seal.


    And the envelope opened.

 Chapter 217 - Rank Silver

    Apollo''s iron coin fit perfectly onto the seal of the envelope. The side of the smiling devil sunk into the wax seal while the side with the association''s symbol began to glow faintly.


    A small amount of white mist gathered towards the coin, while a faint sizzling sound filled the room. The wax seal had burned away, releasingrge amounts of red mist.


    The room gradually became foggy with the red mist, but by the end the wax seal had disappearedpletely, leaving an unsealed envelope with an iron coin on top.


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Wah! Friend did it!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...Yeah, guess I did."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "But I also would have opened it easily! Why did you stop me?"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "I had a feeling it was going to explode, destroying the envelope in the process."


    La puffed her cheeks.


    "B-But I am careful!"


    A bitter smile appeared on Apollo''s face.


    "...Sure."


    La iled her arms in the air.


    "I am!"


    Apollo ignored La. He pulled off the iron coin gingerly with his thumb and forefinger, prompting the envelope to open ever so slightly. He ced the coin in his pocket, then opened the envelope, revealing a piece of parchment.


    When La saw the contents, she immediately lost her angry expression. Her furry ears twitched.


    "Ohhhh~ What is it?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "I imagine it''s the personal reputation request. Hopefully the reward is something good."


    He didn''t know what the mission was, as it could be anything.


    Though it was still a good thing regardless.


    After all, his chances to use the iron coin were only a measly two. He remembered he needed a certain amount of chances in order to be promoted, so the fact a personal reputation request didn''t use one up mattered quite a bit.


    Not to mention a certain amount of personal reputation requests needed to bepleted for a promotion.


    ...If only he was told how many.


    After setting the envelope on the table, he slipped the paper in between his forefinger and middle finger. Then, pulled it out.


    The side visible was nk and the paper itself was folded in half. After opening it up, the contents of it were revealed.


    ''Rank: Silver Coin


    Target: Evermore City


    Description: Unknown events happened within Evermore city. Unknown danger level. Uncover as many secrets as possible. Prioritize information rted to the party responsible for events and the method by which these events urred.


    Requirements: Investigate Evermore City, providing a certain extent of information. Additional rewards may be granted for thorough details.


    Reward: Flicker of me from The Undying Phoenix''


    Apollo''s emotions soared and fell like a rollercoaster reading through the parchment. He initially was about to gloss by the rank, but his eyes suddenly snapped back to it.


    ''Rank: Silver Coin''


    His current coin was an iron one, meaning the silver coin was far beyond his rank. Even when he had the copper coin, the most he had seen was copper coin, iron lined.


    And now, it seemed like this mission was an entire rank above his rank.


    As for the direct implications of this, Apollo wasn''t too sure. After all, he didn''t know how hard a silver ranked mission truly was.


    When Apollo''s eyes moved on to the target, Evermore city, countless memories shed by his mind.


    Maya...


    The innocent girl that never really knew how to stand on her own.


    Karn...


    The hopeless man that had given up the moment he was born.


    And his promise.


    That he woulde back to kill everyone in that city.


    Apollo felt his blood boil and his mind re up as though his entire being caught fire. It was almost as though a dormant volcano had awakened, but only smoke rose from its crater.


    A warning of what was toe.


    Apollo had grown far stronger. He did not know if it was enough to overpower the people in that city, but it was enough to warrant an attempt.


    As for the mission itself, it was to investigate. That itself didn''t sound so appealing, but...


    ...who said investigating couldn''t be apanied by a little bit of violence?


    A smile gradually began to form on Apollo''s face, while his eyes began to widen ever so slightly.


    Then, Apollo looked at the reward.


    ''Flicker of me from The Undying Phoenix''


    In all honesty, while he knew that legends told of the existence of a phoenix, he had no true understanding about them other than they were supposed to be immortal and some rtion to fire.


    Though that didn''t really help him in this situation since the reward itself had both the word, ''me'', and ''undying''. It wasn''t too hard to infer those things about a phoenix just from that.


    However, Apollo did not understand what the reward was supposed to be. For all he knew, it could be something you were supposed to eat, or some kind of weapon. Though for all intents and purposes, it seemed to be something rare, though probably not toorge in quantity given the word, ''flicker''.


    Apollo saw no reason to reject this mission, but he really wished things could be a little more clear.


    The only problem was that Apollo was a little confused on how to ept it. Normally, if he just picked up the request sheet, it would automatically be epted. As of now, he already had the request sheet in his hand.


    After a few moments of hesitation, Apollo tried throwing it up into the air. The parchment flew up, then fell down after fluttering a little, like a normal piece of paper.


    La looked at him as though he was a foolish baby.


    "What are you doing, friend?"


    Apollo coughed and picked the request sheet back up.


    "I... dropped it by ident."


    He ced it on the desk, after which the envelope dissipated into grey mist and converged around the parchment.


    Apollo sighed.


    He epted it, but that only made him wonder how he was supposed to reject it. Apollo decided to push off thinking about it until he got a request he wanted to reject.


    And so, it was time for him toplete the request.


    ....Though, things wouldn''t be as he expected.

 Chapter 218 - Maya?

    Apollo turned towards La.


    "I''ve epted the mission."


    There was an eerie smile on his face, while his eyes were opened just a little too much. It was as though Apollo was a mountain, having overbearing strength, but also a strange calm.


    As for La, her tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Ooh! What is it? There is ying, right? There must be ying!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Well, the mission doesn''t need me to y."


    His head slowly tilted to the side.


    "But that doesn''t mean we can''t y."


    La raised both hands in the air and cheered.


    "Yay! Let''s go now! Where do we go?"


    Apollo cracked his neck.


    "Just follow me."


    He stepped into the shadow world. After doing a quick scan of his surroundings, he saw a red line of mist.


    With that, Apollo took a few steps forward and left the shadow world. There was a huge mound of snow to his left along with scattered trees that were broken into several pieces.


    It was the aftermath of their spar earlier.


    La appeared next to Apollo momentster. She sped her hands together while her tail swayed eagerly.


    "Can I fly with friend?"


    Apollo figured out what she meant almost immediately. La wanted to have a piggy back ride as he flew through the air.


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "No."


    La iled her limbs in the air.


    "Ehhhh? Why not?"


    Apollo stared at her nkly.


    "No."


    La pouted.


    "Pleaseeee?"


    "No."


    La pressed the tips of her fingers together.


    "Pleaseeeeeee?"


    This time, Apollo did not respond. He simply began walking towards the direction he remembered the line of red mist was in.


    A small frown formed on La''s face.


    "Mmm..."


    She didn''t n on taking no as an answer.


    "Nyah!"


    Without warning, La lunged towards Apollo and wrapped her legs around his waist. Apollo immediately freaked out, squirming around.


    "Gah, get off me!"


    La giggled.


    "No!"


    Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "...You have to get off once we get there!"


    La nodded.


    "Ok!"


    With a sigh, Apollo leaped into the air, scattering some snow. Arcs of lightning gathered on his body as he began to fly.


    And so, Apollo headed towards Evermore city, leaving a trail of lightning and with La on his back.


    ...


    "Wahaha!"


    La raised both hands in the air, enjoying the wind brushing past her face. As for Apollo, he furrowed his brows.


    Although Apollo was flying fairly fast, they had note upon any sort of city for quite a while. There was only snow, trees, and more snow.


    Just when Apollo wanted to go into the shadow world and check if he was going in the right direction...


    "Wah! What is that over there?"


    Apollo looked over, expecting to see the city.


    In just a moment, he could feel several emotionse over him. However, they all merged together to form one.


    Rage.


    It was unassuming, as though it became a hot stove countertop. Although there was no clear indication of its temperature, it was searing hot.


    Yet, as soon as that emotion came over him, it began to seep out, like a balloon gradually losing its air.


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "...What?"


    La bobbed her head a few times.


    "Is this the ce? Will there be friends to y with?"


    Apollo did not respond.


    Instead, he shot towards the ground,nding with a deep thud. After the snow scattered, Apollo took a deep breath.


    "Let me check something."


    La got off of him and watched curiously.


    "Ok!"


    Apollo stepped into the shadow world. He scanned his surroundings until his eyesnded on the line of red mist.


    ...Which cut off just a few meters ahead of him.


    After Apollo stared at the line of red mist for a few more seconds, he stepped back into the real world, forced to ept the reality presented before him.


    La turned to him.


    "Um"


    She blinked a few times, trying toe up with the words to say.


    "There don''t seem to be many friends here."


    Apollo slowly nodded.


    "Yeah..."


    He began walking forward, but did so slowly.


    Like there was no reason to hurry.


    After all, what was left of Evermore city...


    Was a wastnd.


    A massive crater had formed from the center of where the city used to be. The entirety of the crater consisted of ck ash.


    Apollo paused when he reached the edge of the crater.


    ...Where did the city go?


    There was a strange sense of mncholy that coursed through him. It was like he was about to scratch a sneaky itch on his back after many troubles, but before he could scratch, it went away.


    All of his aspirations to massacre the city couldn''te to fruition. Not because he was too weak, or that the people were too strong.


    But because they were already dead.


    Apollo took a step forward into the crater while La just watched him. His foot sank into the ck ash with a squelching sound. It was wet.


    The ash was still emitting a fairly intense heat, almost like it would never disappear. Like the terrifying force that had befallen this city refused to stop, even when its target was already destroyed.


    Any snow that touched the ash melted to water, giving it the wetness it had.


    Apollo continued to walk through the swamp-like ash. The farms were nowhere to be seen while the towering walls had crumbledpletely. The only trace left of them were tiny burnt stone fragments littered among the ash.


    As Apollo continued to walk further inside the crater, it gradually became hotter and the ash became drier.


    After Apollo made it closer to the middle of the crater, faint steam began to rise from the dried ash.


    ...Falk''s house should''ve been somewhere around here.


    Apollo continued walking further, almost at the epicenter of the crater. There was a mini crater of ash that glowed with a dull red at its edges, and bright orange at its center.


    Apollo crouched down to pick up some of the red ash, which began to sizzle in his hand.


    "....Maya?"

 Chapter 219 - Would You Like To See Them All Die?

    Apollo stared at the burning red ash in his hands. Although the ash was searing hot, it only made Apollo''s skin redden slightly.


    He let the ashes fall down between the gaps of his fingers, then looked around.


    "Did you do this, Maya?"


    La walked up next to Apollo.


    "What is friend doing here?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I guess you could say I''m thinking about old friends."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Ah, friend had other friends?"


    Apollo nodded slowly.


    "I just wonder."


    He stood up and looked towards the sky.


    "What happened to her?"


    As for the answer to that question, that would require a little backtracking.


    ...


    "So, how were you able to partially transform into a demon?"


    Lucifer stared at Maya with his empty blue eyes that seemed to look through her. There was no open sense of hostility, but it still made Maya afraid.


    She didn''t actually know how she transformed. As far as Maya was concerned, she was a normal human.


    "I-"


    Maya cringed with a little fear, hoping that Lucifer wouldn''t be displeased by her response.


    "I don''t know."


    For a few moments, it was silent. Beads of sweat formed on Maya''s forehead, while the anxiety began to creep in.


    Then, Lucifer simply nodded.


    "Alright, then exin to me how you have lived your life up to this point."


    To Maya''s surprise, he didn''t seem angry. At least, he didn''t show any signs of such. Maya immediately began to panic as she thought of her past.


    "W-Well"


    "Do a brief summary of what happened before it began snowing, then tell me in more detail afterward."


    Lucifer calmly said those words, prompting Maya to nod hastily.


    "For my entire life, I''ve lived inside my vige. But I did make several attempts to leave the vige, but it was hard to get the courage to until..."


    She continued to summarize how her life went. Lucifer would asionally nod and give an encouraging look, prompting Maya to feel morefortable sharing, almost like he was actually an old friend.


    Eventually, Maya got lost in her own memories, describing the events as she relived them.


    Then, she got to the unexpected early winter.


    "The vige was supposed to be prepared for the ten year winter as we would''ve prepared enough during thest year of summer. However, once it started snowing one year earlier than usual, everything changed."


    Lucifer nodded.


    "Say, where is your vige?"


    Maya blinked a few times in confusion. After all, it wasn''t like she just had coordinates to pinpoint where it was.


    Lucifer noticed this confusion and let out a small chuckle.


    "Just tell me the general path you took from the vige."


    Maya nodded hastily.


    "Um, I walked straight for a long time. Maybe... ten hours? Then made it to the city."


    Lucifer leisurely rubbed his chin with his forefinger and thumb.


    "What side of the city were you facing?"


    Maya blinked a few times.


    "Th-The entrance!"


    Lucifer nodded, then pointed towards the gemstone in Maya''s hand.


    "Why do you hold onto that so tightly?"


    Maya paused for a moment, trying to think of some kind of excuse.


    Lucifer''s eyes widened ever so slightly.


    "Don''t lie to me."


    Maya flinched.


    She didn''t even speak yet! How did he know?


    Maya was too intimidated and decided to justply.


    "I-It''s the only way for me to gather mana."


    Lucifer was rather disinterested hearing that and nodded.


    But Maya continued, not realizing she could stop.


    "And how I learned my spells."


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "...You can?"


    Maya pressed her lips together.


    "I-It shows me a picture that I can copy."


    Lucifer reached out his hand with an empty stare. Maya brought the gemstone closer to her chest, understanding his intentions but not willing to give in to them.


    Lucifer let out an unhurried voice.


    "I simply wish to look at it. Then, it will be given back to you."


    Maya hesitated, but ended up slowly bringing the gemstone over to Lucifer''s outstretched hand. Her fingers slowly let go of the gemstone, like it was a meaningful memento.


    Once it plopped into his hands, Lucifer gently brushed the edges.


    "You see... a spell diagram?"


    Maya curled up.


    "Y-Yeah. I just touch it, then I see the diagram."


    The corner of Lucifer''s lip curled up ever so slightly.


    "...Interesting."


    Like he just forgot, Lucifer handed back the gemstone moved on.


    "So, what made you leave the vige?"


    Maya grabbed the gemstone hastily, then looked down slowly.


    "I wandered off a little and saw this boy named Apollo lying in the snow. He was next to the bodies of a few small demons and in the distance, there were countless demon corpses. Then I picked him up and-"


    Maya froze.


    She slowly looked up at Lucifer, who was looking at her the same as he always had been.


    Yet, it was somehow different.


    Maya wasn''t sure if it was just her imagination, but Lucifer seemed...


    Mad.


    Maya''s voice got caught in her throat. A few moments of silence passed before Lucifer spoke up.


    "Please continue. Describe who this boy is."


    His tone was a little more t than usual, sending chills down Maya''s spine. However, she quickly regathered herself.


    "Apollo has a wooden sword. Though he doesn''t use any magic..."


    Maya proceeded to describe what she knew about Apollo, but ended up stuttering and pausing every so often.


    It was because Lucifer was staring at her intently, far too curious for the simple information she was giving. Soon, she came back to her story and described how she got to the city.


    Maya neared the end of recounting her story. She was able to get through describing her father''s death without so much as a sniffle. However, her hands began to tremble now.


    "Apollo. H-He tried to fight against the people in the city."


    A tear formed in the corner of Maya''s eye.


    "...And died."


    Lucifer nodded absentmindedly.


    Maya began to shiver uncontrobly, as though she had been putting up a facade.


    "I hate them. I hate them so much."


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "Would you like to see them all die?"

 Chapter 220 - Watch Closely

    Lucifer''s words echoed in Maya''s head.


    ''Would you like to see them all die?''


    She grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Maya''s breathing became unsteady, while a sudden dizziness assaulted her.


    "I..."


    Maya thought about the carefree life she wanted. For a moment, she saw herself with Apollo and her parents, ying around in a river.


    "I..."


    But that was impossible now.


    After all they were dead, weren''t they?


    Maya''s breathing became shaky.


    "Do."


    Her eyes became bloodshot.


    "ALL OF THEM, ALL OF THEM."


    She grabbed onto her head with both hands, pressing the gemstone fiercely against her skull.


    "I WANT TO BREAK THEIR BONES."


    An ugly frown formed on Maya''s face.


    "I WANT TO BURN THEIR FLESH."


    The skin on Maya''s face and arm began to crack as though it were ss. A ck horn appeared on the side of her head while her hand began to cken rapidly.


    "THEY DON''T DESERVE TO LIVE. NONE OF THEM."


    Suddenly, Maya lost her furious expression.


    She looked up to the sky.


    Maya''s lips were parted ever so slightly, like they were on the verge of saying something. Her eyes looked into the snowy and dreary sky, like she had asked it a question.


    It was as though the soul had been sucked out of her body.


    A teardrop overflowed from one of her eyes, slowly dropping down her cheek. Maya reached with her demonized ck hand, trying to wipe it away. However, her fingernails had elongated considerably and trembled, making the process rather clumsy.


    Maya''s voice became softer than a feather.


    "Why do they get to live..."


    Her vision blurred.


    "If the good people die?"


    Luciferughed as though he heard an amazing joke. After he gradually calmed down, a deep breath escaped him.


    "Well said."


    Without warning, the tree that they were standing on sunk into the ground, startling Maya. It was as though the ground was water, letting the tree pass straight through.


    Suddenly, a clear bang resounded.


    Maya abruptly fell down, but used her hands to catch herself. She thought that the force of gravity suddenly increased. However, that was not the case.


    Wind relentlessly whipped past, causing Maya''s hair to p wildy in the wind.


    As she brought her face up, she realized the scenery was rapidly changing. Then, Maya stood uppletely and let out a small gasp.


    "W-What?"


    She was on arge chunk of earth that was being propelled into the sky by strong wind currents.


    Lucifer stood tall with his hands behind his back. He looked forward with a small smile on his face. Lucifer''s wolf-pelt coat pped with the wind, lifting high into the air. However, it was firmly attached to his shoulders.


    Maya peered off the edge of the chunk of dirt. She saw countless tiny little trees far below and a vast blue sky.


    For a second, Maya felt like she was above everything, like it could all fall with a touch of her finger.


    In the distance was Evermore city. Even from up high, it still looked quiterge.


    But not enough to be intimidating.


    They continued rising, making the air thin. Maya began to heave, speeding up her breathing. Yet it felt like no matter how hard she tried, the oxygen just wouldn''t get into her lungs.


    On the other hand, Lucifer waspletely fine. He noticed Maya''s poor condition and pulled out a small ck stalk. It appeared to be part of a nt, like a flower. However, unlike the bright green most nts had, this one was pitch ck.


    Lucifer held the stalk in between his forefinger and middle finger. Blue and green mana seeped out of his hand and into the stalk, making it wriggle and grow.


    A white bud rapidly formed, before blossoming into a beautiful flower. Then, a ck fruit began forming on the middle of the flower, growing to the size of a tangerine.


    Lucifer ced his index finger and thumb on the fruit and gently plucked it off with a soft snap. He tossed it to Maya, who caught it easily.


    Lucifer gave her a quick nce.


    "Consume it."


    He continued to inject mana into the stalk and plucked two more ck fruits one after another.


    Lucifer handed one more ck fruit to Maya.


    "As for this one, keep it safe. I will be needing itter."


    He directly tossed the remaining ck fruit into his mouth, giving Maya the courage to do the same.


    It tasted ufortably sweet and was thick like honey.


    The moment it reached Maya''s stomach, she felt full, like she had eaten far too much. A strong vitality passed through her body, strengthening it several times over. Maya''s horn grew a littlerger while her fingernails extended out a little longer.


    The cracks on Maya''s body extended further and ergened, revealing ck flesh underneath.


    She blinked a few times in surprise.


    Breathing became easier for her. Not because she needed less air, but rather, she was able to forcefullypress the air into her lungs.


    Maya gradually shifted her gaze to Lucifer, who began lifting his finger into the air.


    Seemingly out of nowhere, countless translucent gemstones appeared in the air, hoveringzily. Maya immediately recognized them.


    After all, they were the same as the one in her hand.


    Those gemstones came in various sizes and shapes, belonging to demons with one to four horns. The smaller gemstones littered the sky, outnumbering the snowkes. Therger gemstones were noticeably less, but considering they each represented a dead high ranked demon, it was a frightening amount.


    Suddenly, a fierce wind began to swirl around Lucifer, who pointed his finger up into the sky. His skin ripped open, forming many thick crimson lines across his body. Blood sprayed out and swirled with the wind.


    Lucifer let out a soft breath as his small smile widened ever so slightly.


    "I don''t n on doing this much since it''s a pain, so..."


    Lucifer snuck a nce at Maya from over his shoulder.


    "Watch closely."

 Chapter 221 - Burn

    The snowkes gently falling in the air began to swirl. At first, it was slow, but in just mere moments, it became violent.


    As though they knew what wasing.


    Despite bleeding from countless tears in his skin, Lucifer kept his finger pointed high. It was like he couldn''t tell how badly his body was being destroyed.


    Gusts of wind raged around Lucifer. A tornado gradually began to form, circting Lucifer.


    The countless gemstones, both big and small, began to glow faintly. Small streams of blue mana seeped out of them, wildly swirling along with the streams of wind around Lucifer.


    Maya''s eyes gradually widened, then looked up at him.


    Suddenly, a tiny wisp of me formed at the tip of Lucifer''s finger. It was so small, maybe even a candlelight would berger. That me whipped in the wind and was nearly put out on several asions.


    However, no matter how many times it seemed like it would die, the me burned once more.


    It did so weakly, but stubbornly.


    If that me was a person, it would be someone that was at the very bottom of a pit, but had the confidence to soar past the clouds.


    And soar past the clouds it did.


    Suddenly, the tiny me burgeoned as though it was actually flowing water. It became the size of a basketball, but contracted right after to the size of a baseball. Soft, but sharp crackling sounds filled the air as the tongues of me danced uncontrobly.


    The small vortexes with the gemstones in the air began to rotate rapidly and glow even brighter.


    The cracks in Lucifer''s body began to shine with a bright blue due to the massive amount of mana he was taking in. Then, his eyes and mouth followed suit, making him look more like an elemental being rather than a human.


    The me rapidly expanded once more, nearly bing the size of a hot-air balloon. It continued to burgeon and contract erratically, as though letting the world know how unstable it was.


    Yet, despite this instability, the me remained just above the tip of Lucifer''s finger.


    The winds became even wilder, whilerge streams of blue mana appeared within the gales, almost like the northern lights.


    Maya forgot to breathe for a moment, staring at the beautiful colors.


    Under normal circumstances, mana would be invisible. The only times it could be seen, is if it werepressed heavily, which usually urred in the process of casting a spell.


    However, the gathering process was different.


    For normal mages, it would be unbelievably hard topress the mana they gathered unless it was in very small amounts. Not to mention, there wasn''t much of a point.


    The only advantage was absorbing mana faster. However, most weren''t able to use all of the mana they gathered immediately, so why even bother?


    Yet to Lucifer, it was like the mana was far too sparse for him.


    Large quantities of invisible mana along withpressed visible mana forcibly entered his body.


    asionally, there would berge amounts of blood spraying out of Lucifer''s skin, as though moving out of the way to let even more mana inside.


    Maya watched all of this happen, and gradually came to realize something.


    Lucifer was a constitution mage, the same kind of mage Maya was.


    These kinds of mages had the reputation for not only being able to cast very few spells, but unable to cast any higher level spells. This was simply because they had to damage their body in order to cast anything.


    Maya''s mother had told her many stories, so she was acutely aware of this fact.


    So what was this sight in front of her?


    Suddenly, Maya was thrown up off her feet.


    Without warning, the ground under Lucifer broke apart, sending out spider web-like cracks throughout the floor. Many tiny andrge fragments of dirt and rock flew up into the air, further adding to the chaotic scene.


    Maya fell onto her back and had the wind knocked out of her.


    She opened her eyes to see a massive fireball. One that had expanded to the size that seemed to be as big as the city itself.


    The smaller gemstones in the air all shattered one after another into tiny fragments, unable to produce any more mana. As for the fireball, it continued to burgeon fiercely, not willing to stop expanding despite reaching such a size.


    Lucifer began to smile, looking especially ethereal because of the mana shining from his eyes and mouth.


    Once all the smaller gemstones broke apart, therger ones began to follow suit.


    Suddenly, the massive fireballpressed violently, until eventually reaching the size of a ping-pong ball.


    Then, exploded outward with a new grandeur.


    Maya watched the me gradually fill her entire vision. Just being near it made Maya feel like she was in a pool of magma. This was despite her improved constitution from both the strange ck fruit Lucifer gave Maya and her current demonized form.


    Maya moved her head to the side, trying to catch the end of the fireball. However, she could only see it seemingly disappear into the horizon.


    Maya felt like the fireball was at the size of a itself, if not infinitelyrge.


    Lucifer simply stood still the entire time as though he were a statue. The fireball gradually stabilized. It appeared as though orange magma was swirling within it, not unlike the sun.


    The movement of the magma calmed down as well, gradually bingzy.


    The violent storm of wind around Lucifer died out as well, causing several fragments of rock and dirt to fall to the ground. He had finished making the fireball, but was in no rush to throw it.


    For a few moments, there was an eerie silence.


    The kind one would feel in the eye of a tornado.


    Although it was calm and peaceful now, that was because it was a prelude.


    A prelude to disaster.


    Lucifer''s eyes and mouth were still shining with a bright blue.


    Yet, he forced out his voice anyway, distorted greatly by the mana.


    "Burn."

 Chapter 222 - What Any Proud Man Would Do

    Within Evermore city, a small dot had appeared in the air. It was the tform of earth Lucifer and Maya were on.


    Hardly anybody noticed that strange dot and those that did just assumed it wasn''t anything worth paying more attention to.


    Unfortunately, that wasn''t the case.


    At some point, an unassuming light appeared far off in the distance. A few of the townsfolk turned their heads towards it.


    "Hey, what is that?"


    "Huh, is that a star?"


    "But it''s the middle of the day!"


    Although it caused a ruckus among a few of the people, there was not much they could do to find out what the strange light was. After all, it wasn''t like they had some sort of ne to fly up there.


    And even if they did, so long as it didn''t directly concern them, why should they care?


    ...Then, something changed.


    A visiblyrge fireball formed in the distance along with a few streams of shimmering blue light. This immediately attracted the attention of most people.


    "Hey, what happened to the light? That''s definitely not a star."


    "Huh, it looks really nice though, those blue lights are like a painting in the sky."


    "...Hey, isn''t that a fireball?"


    People began standing rooted at the spot, staring at the strange spectacle in the sky. Almost like a disease, more and more joined the crowd, just looking.


    The streams of mana got longer and thicker, spanning quite far across. As someone said before, it really did look like a nicely done painting.


    However, it wasn''t just a painting.


    The fireball began to burgeon and contract erratically, until eventually bing what looked like a second sun.


    At this point, nobody could shrug this off casually.


    "That''s... that''s a fireball!"


    "No, no. For how far it is, that thing has to be enormous. Nobody could cast something like that!"


    "Unless... the gods?"


    The gemstones began shattering, causing many tiny bright lights to fill the air. It was as though a firework show began.


    "I-It must be the gods!"


    "But gods don''t exist! Are you crazy?"


    "Look at that! It must be the work of a god, you''re the crazy one!"


    Then like it was a dream, the fireball disappeared entirely, causing confusion among the people.


    "Eh? Where did it go?"


    "Ah, maybe it was some kind of explosion?"


    "Hmm, that must be the case."


    Without warning, the fireball reappeared and expanded several times over. While before, the mor gradually increased, now, a sudden silence descended on the people.


    It was simply too huge.


    Perhaps if the sun were to begin falling towards the earth, it would look like this. After a few minutes, someone got the courage to speak up.


    "That... That isn''ting for us, right?"


    "W-We have to run!"


    "Run to where? We won''t be able to escape that!"


    An eerie silence descended while the massive fireball remained still.


    Kabito had been rubbing one of the horns on his ox-engraved crown. He was currently in the middle of the streets, wondering how Maya could''ve disappeared. However, no matter how thoroughly he scanned through his memories, this was the first time he had seen something like this.


    Teleportation was something that a fairlyrge amount of people could do. However, it involved entering a separate realm or using some spell to emte it. In other words, it should''ve involved tearing the fabric of space to enter another realm, or require mana.


    On top of that, most of these spells would have some kind of limitation. This came in the form of a dy in teleportation, or only teleporting within a certain distance. That distance was typically at most line of sight.


    Yet, this wasn''t the case.


    Although Kabito relied mostly on his physical strength, he had a very strong sense for mana and didn''t sense any fluctuations. His natural senses were also unnaturally strong, letting him sense most of the people within the city.


    Yet Kabito couldn''t find Maya no matter how hard he looked. Before he could ruminate any further, a bright light appeared in the sky.


    Kabito snapped to it.


    "What?"


    He narrowed his eyes.


    Kabito crouched down until his knees were pressed against his chest and ced both palms against the floor. Then, let out a deep grunt.


    A thundering bang resounded.


    The cobblestone path underneath Kabito shattered while some passerby in the distance were startled. As for Kabito himself, heunched up high into the sky, drawing an arc with his flight path.


    After streaking through the air for a few moments, hended on top of the walls of Evermore city with a crash. Several cracks appeared in the stone walls, but Kabito could hardly care about that.


    After all, a massive fireball spread out right in front of him.


    He stared at it for a few moments. Kabito was as still as a statue, but his mind was racing as several thoughts passed by at the same time.


    He was able to guess that the fireball was heading towards this city. It would not make sense for something like that to be untargeted, and the only target was the city. As for why someone decided to do something so exaggerated, that was unknown.


    Kabito took a deep breath.


    For a few moments, he thought about using every single trump card to fight this off, but...


    Kabito didn''t think he could fend this off with everything he had.


    However, this was the city Kabito promised to protect and been a part of for many years. Kabito narrowed his eyes and tightened the muscles in his legs.


    Then only did what any proud man would naturally do.


    Run away.


    Kabito leaped off the wall scattering snow high into the air uponnding, then ran as fast as he could away from the city, kicking uprge amounts of snow and dirt as he went.


    Some would call it cowardly, but Kabito would tell you it was logical.


    He wasn''t going to deal with something like that!

 Chapter 223 - Follow Me

    Lucifer curled his finger.


    And the fireball followed, rushing relentlessly towards the city.


    Nearly every single citizen panicked when they saw this.


    Some fainted, escaping in a certain sense. Some ran away, as though that could actually do something. And some simply stood there, losing control over their bowels.


    However, there was hardly any time to even properly process their fear, as the fireball had reached right above the city in just a few seconds. It seemed like the city had a roof for a moment.


    A roof made of excessive quantities of magma.


    And then, the roof fell down.


    The earth shook.


    Wind blew.


    And a bright light outshone the sun.


    A massive explosion reverberated throughout the forest, followed by a relentless rumbling sound.


    Maya''s eardrums directly burst, causing some blood to spill out of her ears. She had lifted her head to witness the explosion, but...


    "AHHHHHHHHHH"


    The light was too blinding. She lost both her hearing and her sight at the same time, hearing a ring ringing and a searing pain in her eyes.


    Maya''s eyes were bloodshot and watery. She covered them with her hands, but it was already toote.


    The damage had been done.


    Lucifer looked over and chuckled faintly. He was trembling ever so slightly, while frightening amounts of blood began trickling down his body.


    Lucifer unraveled one of Maya''s fists, the one that was holding the ck fruit. The fruit itself was a little crushed, but still rtively intact. Lucifer tossed it into his mouth, and in just a moment, his injuries healed rapidly.


    Then, he pointed a finger towards Maya, casting a healing spell on her.


    Maya''s burst eardrums directly healed, able to hear once again. Her burned eyes reverted to their original condition, able to see once more.


    Her hearing gradually returned to her.


    Maya slowly moved her hands away from her face, still panting heavily. She was about to look towards the explosion, but hurriedly averted her eyes.


    Luciferughed.


    "You can look now, it won''t hurt your eyes."


    Maya worked up the courage to sit up and look forward. A gigantic mushroom cloud had formed above where the city used to be. At the top of the mushroom cloud was another cloud, but in the form of a ring.


    Even now, they were still expanding.


    Maya let out a gasp of awe, simply due to the sheer size.


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "Looks pretty cool, no?"


    Maya slowly nodded.


    "Y-Yes."


    Without warning, a wave of wind and heat passed over them. Maya immediately mmed back into the ground, while her body was partially roasted, including her demonic features.


    As for Lucifer, water began to drip off just above him, as though a small screen formed around him. He turned to La and blinked a few times.


    "Ah right, sorry."


    The small screen expanded into a tiny dome, fighting off the waves of heat and wind. Lucifer casted another healing spell, restoring Maya once more.


    She began gasping for air, still partly traumatized about the explosion. After a bit of hesitation, Maya was able to stand up.


    She looked towards Lucifer, then at the explosion.


    A tidal wave of snow picked up, ripping like water. The surrounding trees were directly uprooted and thrown to the side, while the ones further away bent dangerously, on the verge of snapping.


    As for where the city used to be, there was only a massive crater. The edges of the crater were bright red, which gradually transitioned from orange, then a blinding yellow the closer it was to the center.


    Lucifer looked over to Maya.


    "Well, all the people there died."


    Maya stammered for a few moments before finding the words.


    "Y-Yeah... they are."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "So, what are your current aspirations? Your goal has been achieved, after all."


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    ...What did she want to aplish?


    In reality, she still was having difficulty epting the entire situation. Even harder to ept than the massive fireball, was the fact her wish for the city to be purged had already been granted.


    It happened too fast.


    Ended too soon.


    Maya blinked a few times and stared at the still rising mushroom cloud.


    "I..."


    Her demonized features gradually retracted. Her ck horn sunk back into her head, while her hand shrunk in size. The cracks in her skin began to mend, while her skin itself went from ck to a healthy pink.


    Tears overflowed from her eyes, trailing down her cheeks.


    "I don''t know."


    Luciferughed.


    "Great answer."


    Maya turned to Lucifer, confusion apparent in her eyes.


    "W-What?"


    In response, Lucifer smiled softly.


    "That only means one thing."


    He spread his arms out wide, as though trying to grasp the entire world.


    "There are countless oues waiting for you. The possibilities are endless!"


    Maya wiped away her tears with her index finger.


    "But..."


    She sat back down on the ground and curled up into a ball, wrapping her arms around her legs.


    "I-I just want to go back. I don''t want to be here anymore. I don''t want to live like this!"


    Lucifer''s arm dropped to his sides. He looked at La a little strangely, then let out a soft sigh.


    "You can''t go back."


    Maya began to rock back and forth.


    "B-But"


    "You can''t."


    Lucifer shook his head.


    "Even if you could, you would be a different person. Because of that, they would also be different people. Going back doesn''t revive them."


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "It only means they have truly died."


    Maya shivered.


    "But-"


    "I am not arguing with you."


    A dangerous glint shed by Lucifer''s eyes.


    "I am simply telling you the truth."


    Normally, Maya would be scared. However, she just continued to rock back and forth, faintly sobbing.


    Frankly, she could hardly care about anything.


    Everything just felt...


    Empty.


    Maya took in a haggard breath.


    "Then... what am I supposed to do?"


    Lucifer peered over at her.


    "Well, for starters, you have to repay me for blowing up that city and I want to get to know you."


    A smirk formed on his face.


    "So follow me."

 Chapter 224 - Request Completed?

    Apollo stood up and looked around himself, soaking in the enormity of the crater he was in.


    "How could this have happened?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "I don''t know!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Whatever..."


    He pointed his bokken towards the crater.


    "I suppose there won''t be anybody ying with us. Somebody already did that, so there''s nobody left to y with."


    La pouted.


    "Aw!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "The only problem, is I have no idea how toplete this investigation mission."


    He looked around himself.


    "...After all, there is hardly anything to investigate."


    Suddenly, Apollo furrowed his brows. The iron coin in his pocket had heated up. He didn''t notice initially, since he was preupied with staring at some red ash in his hand.


    Apollo pulled out the coin, which was glowing with the usual patterns.


    "Huh?"


    La peered over, staring curiously.


    "What is it this time?"


    Apollo narrowed his eyes.


    "I don''t know."


    With that, he stepped into the shadow world. There was one of the association''s symbols nearby. For a moment, Apollo wondered if the fireball had destroyed the request room as well and if there were any possible ramifications to stepping inside it that were the case.


    However, Apollo didn''t care that much about ying it safe.


    He touched the symbol, and was transported to the request room. Luckily, everything was intact, which made Apollo wonder where exactly this ce was.


    But he lost interest the next second.


    Apollo simply didn''t find any use in thinking about things any deeper. Instead, he pulled out his still glowing iron coin and walked over to the grey desk.


    Like always, La appeared and followed from behind.


    As Apollo got closer, the original request parchment revealed itself. Next to it, was a nk piece of paper, a feather, and a bottle of ink. Once he got next to the grey desk, white mist began to form a question.


    ''Who is Maya?''


    Seeing this, Apollo raised an eyebrow. Why did they want to know about Maya?


    Despite his confusion, he picked up the feather and dipped it into ink with familiarity. La peered over Apollo''s shoulder and watched him write swiftly.


    Although the writing was rough around the edges, it was quite neat, showing he had practiced it quite a bit.


    Apollo sifted through his memories and wrote down anything meaningful he could think of.


    Her appearance. A little girl with long light brown hair and blue eyes.


    Her origin. A girl that belonged to a vige, but the people in that vige were all dead.


    Her personality. Seemingly naive, but determined to some capacity.


    Her abilities. Somehow learned fire spells from a gemstone of a three-horned demon.


    Apollo held the feather above the paper, wondering if there was anything else he needed to add, but couldn''t think of anything.


    In the back of his mind, Apollo wondered if he should keep part of her identity a secret. After all, Jaguar had told him that secrecy was rather important in this line of work.


    Then, he remembered Maya wasn''t even in this line of work.


    With that, he set the feather into the bottle of ink and let out a small sigh. Following that, plumes of grey mist covered the table, covering all the items that were there before.


    After a few moments, it cleared to reveal the request paper torn in half, a small ck crystal, and a slip of paper.


    The mist converged into six separate lines of condensed mist. Since he used to only have two lines of white mist, that mission gave him four chances to use the coin.


    On top of that, it didn''t consume one in the process, essentially giving an extra one for free.


    Apollo then looked down at the things on the table.


    The slip of paper had a few words on them.


    ''Investigation score: Fragmented Core Information


    Bonus awards: Five Contribution Points''


    La''s furry ears twitched with curiosity.


    "What did you do?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "I''m not sure."


    He was a little startled that the investigation mission waspleted so easily. Wasn''t he supposed to be investigating Evermore city?


    How did it be Maya?


    Although Apollo felt the information he put was ratherckluster, for whatever reason, the association saw it as rtively valuable. At least enough to exceed the mission requirements.


    Apollo had no idea what five contribution points meant, if that it was a lot or a little. However, it signified the mission waspleted fairly well.


    ...Maybe investigation missions were naturally easy?


    Somehow or another, the mission ranked silver was the easiest one so far.


    Apollo picked up the ck crystal and turned it over a few times. It was in the shape of a rhombus and was engraved with a simple symbol of fire on one side and a phoenix on the other. The actual engravings themselves were almost unnoticeable visually, but could be clearly felt from the texture.


    La''s tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Wow, there''s a little fire!"


    Apollo turned to La with confusion.


    "You can see something inside?"


    La nodded.


    "Yeah! Just look at it!"


    Apollo turned back to look at the crystal. After focusing, he was able to just barely see something. The ck crystal was translucent, but just barely.


    From within, a very tiny me flickered, on par with the size of a candle. The ck crystal itself was a littlerger than the average apple, making it seem needlesslyrge to contain such a small me.


    Apollo hummed.


    "I guess this is the flickering me of a phoenix or something?"


    La curiously stared at the ck crystal.


    "Is it a friend?"


    A bitter smile formed on Apollo''s face.


    "I... don''t think so. Though I have no idea what else it could be."


    La raised her hands in the air.


    "So it could be a friend!"


    Apollo shook his head.


    He was going to flip his coin to see what other requests there were, but-


    "What''s that?"


    La pointed to the wall, where some mist was converging into something.

 Chapter 225 - A Shop

    Mist began to converge and form what looked like a street stall. There was a fairlyrge bowl-like structure attached to the left of it, while there was a small board on the right. At the top, there was a sign in elegant cursive writing, created with bright white mist with the words...


    ''Contribution Purchases''


    As well as a few items to buy. They were separated into two categories.


    ''Contribution Points


    1 Point - 2 Basic Shadow Step Technique Crystals


    3 Points - Pre-Intermediate Elixir of Flexibility


    5 Points - An Unassuming ck Cloak


    10 points - Secondary Forged Core ck Steel Greatsword


    Current Bnce - 5 points''


    Apollo didn''t see any use in buying more of the technique crystals given he had already learned it. As for the greatsword, he was even less interested. Apollo didn''t n on giving up on his trusty bokken any time soon.


    Apollo was quite interested in both the elixir and whatever the ck cloak was supposed to be. As always, he really didn''t understand what they meant because of how vague these titles were.


    However, the association had proved to give rather valuable things. As such, Apollo didn''t think that they would be bad.


    His eyes moved onto the next category.


    ''Gold Coins


    10 Gold Coins - 10 One-Week Food Pellets


    50 Gold Coins - ck me Match''


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    Although he didn''t know whatever that match was, those food pellets looked especially appealing to him.


    However, Apollo had yet to acquire even a single gold coin.


    He knew that gold coins were exchanged for a hundred silver coins by the market price. But what he didn''t know, was the inherent value gold had over silver, thus making it a far greater currency.


    Apollo could have been considered quite rich in terms of silver. He was a noble, after all. Just in his house alone, Apollo had nearly a thousand of them. However, in terms of gold, there was very little. He didn''t have a single gold coin, but did have a few golden ornaments, like a small chalice.


    However, while he had many silvers, they were also in his house.


    Meaning he might as well be a beggar right now.


    Apollo shook his head and decided his next request would be one that awarded gold coins so that he could buy some of these food pellets. His life had essentially been saved by them, after all.


    If the average person knew Apollo thought that a gold coin for a week''s worth of food was a good trade, they would be terribly shocked.


    This was because if an average person was rtively frugal, they could buy enough food to feed themselves for an entire month with just two silvers. In other words, one hundred silvers would be enough for fifty whole months, or more than four years.


    And even then, a gold coin was worth far more than just one hundred silvers.


    Simplyparing one week worth and over four years, was enough to feel terribly scammed. But this was actually a rtively fair price, because it really wasn''t that easy to create such tiny pellets that contained a week''s worth of food inside.


    Many members of the association would at least buy a few, simply because this allowed them to carryrge amounts of rations without being burdened by them. They were especially valuable in requests that required one to enter ces with little to no food for long periods of time.


    But for Apollo, it was even more useful. These food pellets would give his body the energy it needed to regenerate and improve itself because of how his current constitution worked. In other words, these pellets were a second life.


    Apollo was about to buy the ck cloak because he had just enough points for it. But before Apollo did, he made out a few small words made out of mist.


    ''Purchasable goods may vary. Certain terms will increase variations, such as rank, bnce, andpleted requests.''


    Apollo realized the reason this shop opened up in the first ce was either because hepleted that mission, or the fact he obtained contribution points, or maybe both.


    He would naturally get more items offered as he worked with the association, but buying something meant that his contribution point bnce would decrease, thus lowering the number of items he could see.


    And so, Apollo decided to save his contribution points for now, just to see a little more of what the store had to offer.


    Hopefully, they weren''t too hard to get.


    They were rather easily acquired the first time, right?


    With that, Apollo was exposed to many different strange items, but didn''t take a single one back with him.


    As so, he had ended up with five contribution points and a flicker of me from the undying phoenix, in the form of a ck crystal.


    Apollo walked over to the grey desk while looking at that crystal.


    He would have to figure out what it was used for at some point, but had no idea how to go about it. There was alwayster, so Apollo simply pocketed it.


    He took out his iron coin and flipped it.


    In plumes of mist shot out, gradually clearing and converging into five lines of condensed mist.


    There were three parchments on the table.


    Apollo quickly scanned the various rewards.


    ''Reward: 200 gold coins


    Reward: The Eye of An Adult Unicorn


    Reward: An Intermediate Grade Curse''


    In all honesty, Apollo had a strong desire to take on either of the other two missions, for the sole reason they sounded valuable. And valuable things could increase his strength.


    However, he stood firm in his decision and picked the mission that offered gold coins. Getting more food pellets would let him tackle far worse situations, and save his life in critical moments.


    Apollo picked up the parchment.


    ''Rank: Copper Coin - Iron Lined


    Target: High-Level Toxic Creature.


    Description: Resides in the toxic wastnd. Estimated danger level of three horns. Varying appearance, see pictures provided.


    Requirements: Capture a High-Level Toxic Creature Alive.''

 Chapter 226 - Toxic Wasteland

    Apollo had no idea what exactly a high-level toxic creature was supposed to be, or what the toxic wastnd was. However, the danger level of three-horned made it sound like a fairly easy mission. After all, three-horned demons were fairly easy for Apollo to kill.


    The only issue was the requirement to catch them.


    While he was fairly confident in his ability to kill things, capturing alive was another thing altogether. What Apollo was most concerned about was how ''alive'' the creature had to be.


    If he cut off the limbs of a creature, it should be easy enough.


    Then, Apollo looked towards the pictures at the bottom of the request paper.


    And furrowed his eyebrows.


    La pped excitedly from behind Apollo.


    "Wow, those friends look so different!"


    Apollo let out a dry chuckle.


    "...They sure do."


    There were pictures of three main different variations. Each variation contained a front body shot, a side shot, and one from above.


    The first variation was rtively humanoid, but instead of having a head, it was a thick strand of flesh attached to an eyeball. As for its chest, there was simply a gaping mouth. The picture itself was depicted in ink, so its color was not readily apparent from just the picture.


    The second variation looked simr to a dog of sorts, but its body was a little more circr and had eight legs to match. If nothing else, the head was very unassuming.


    The third variation was simply a blob. Though it had a front view, side view, and top view, it hardly looked different from any side. It was simply an amalgamation of flesh that didn''t seem to have any particr purpose.


    Apollo was a little unsettled by the strange appearances, but was more concerned about how he could capture them alive. As for the humanoid and dog version, it shouldn''t be too hard to cut off their limbs to render them immobile. However, there didn''t seem to be an easy way to capture the blob.


    Apollo sighed.


    "I suppose it is time to find out what this toxic wastnd is all about."


    La''s tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Yay, toxic wastnd!"


    Apollo stepped into the shadow world and was greeted with a familiar red line of mist. Upon reappearing, La simrly appeared.


    She threw herself towards Apollo, but the person in question disappeared before she reached him.


    Apollo reappeared to the side and looked at her strangely.


    "What are you doing?"


    La pouted.


    "I want to fly with friend!"


    The side of Apollo''s face twitched.


    "...Why is that necessary?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Because I want to fly!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Only for a little bit."


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Yay!"


    With that, La got onto Apollo''s back, while Apollo himself shot up into the air, leaving trails of lighting in his wake.


    And so, he began to travel through the air.


    The snow lightly battered his face, in a seemingly endless fashion.


    Apollo continued to travel through the air.


    ...And continued.


    Until eventually, he realized he had been going for an unnaturally long time. Apollonded on the ground to step into the shadow world, surprising La who suddenly fell to the ground.


    He saw the line of red mist, and it was roughly in the same direction he was heading.


    Apollo reappeared in the real world, greeted by La who had her arms crossed and a small pout.


    "Where did you go?"


    Apollo rubbed his temple with his knuckle.


    "Sorry."


    They had been traveling for roughly an entire day, and not at a slow speed either. In other words, this toxic wastnd was really far away.


    As such, Apollo wanted to use another method in order to reach the destination.


    "...Can you carry me through that blue world?"


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Hm? Friend wants to y there?"


    Apollo nodded and pointed towards where the red line of mist went.


    "Yes, can we go in that direction?"


    La smiled brightly.


    "Ok!"


    She wrapped her arm around Apollo''s waist and tore open the space in front of her. As for Apollo, he simply grit his teeth and readied himself for a journey.


    Unfortunately, that didn''t stop him from screaming.


    "AHHHHHHHHHH."


    "Waaaaaah!~"


    ...


    For what felt like days, La dragged Apollo across the blue world. She arbitrarily decided to go back into the real world, as she was getting bored.


    Apollo and La tumbled across the snow. While La got up immediately, Apollo needed a few moments to get rid of the violent spinning feeling.


    La pped excitedly, then pointed in a direction.


    "New friends! Look over there!"


    Apollo stood up while holding his head, then looked towards where La was pointing.


    Far off into the distance, there was some sort of giraffe-like creature, except it had two long necks. As for its body, it consisted of pink flesh, almost like someone tore off its skin.


    Not too far off were several bugs. They were dark green in color and looked simr to a locust.


    Currently, Apollo and La were still standing within the snowy forest. However, the floor under them had already partially transitioned into a mixture of brown, yellow, and ck.


    They were at the borders of the toxic wastnd.


    It was filled with several valleys and hills, rising up and down unpredictably. Various debris was scattered across thends. The debris at the outskirts consisted of thin chips of wood, fragments of stone, and what looked like ck tar.


    The most peculiar thing about this ce was theck of snow, especially considering that it was snowing just outside. But while no snow touched thosends, it was still strangely moist, like a swamp. There were several tiny puddles filled with discolored water. Sometimes it would be yellow, while other times it would be green.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "...This ce is disgusting."


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "But it will be fun!"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders and took a step forward.


    "I suppose."

 Chapter 227 - Tasty?

    Ufortable squelching sounds rang out as Apollo and La walked through the toxic wastnd. Several of the dark green locust-like bugs scattered when they approached, seemingly afraid.


    Apollo took a brief scan of his surroundings, noticing there were countless strange variations of living beings. The ones around him were quite small, perhaps the size of a puppy.


    Their features were seemingly random, such as an extra head, or unusually long body part. However, as Apollo walked through, he found several reurrences of the same variation. Rather than some gic mutation, it was more like they had evolved this way.


    To survive in a ce as barren as this.


    Apollo noticed that a few mushrooms were growing around the ce and that most of the small creatures were eating them. When he approached, they would flee quickly, making space for him.


    A white mushroom with a yellow tint was revealed before him.


    Apollo hunched over to pick it up. With a light tug, the mushroom came off, revealing some mycelium that looked like roots. Apollo turned the mushroom over, which had a small bite on it.


    The mushroom felt slimy with the texture of a sponge. It would be rather unassuming if it weren''t for the slight yellow discoloration and where it was growing.


    La tilted her head to the side.


    "Why is friend holding that?"


    Apollo turned to La.


    "It seems to be food, right?"


    La pouted.


    "But it doesn''t look very tasty."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Why so?"


    La giggled.


    "Just look around, friend!"


    She spread her arms out and waved towards the small creatures.


    "There are so many tasty things around us."


    At first, Apollo couldn''t understand what La was referring to. However, there were only so many things to eat within this wastnd. The mushrooms, and the small creatures.


    Although there was dirt, that wasn''t exactly the most edible.


    However, the small creatures didn''t look too appealing to eat as it looked like their skin had been peeled off. It was as though they came straight from a weird horror movie.


    Apollo coughed.


    "I''m sure we can find better things to eat elsewhere."


    La''s tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Does friend not believe me?"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "No, no I believe you."


    He didn''t believe her.


    La pouted, but smiled soon after.


    "Ah, I will show friend how tasty they are!"


    Before Apollo could say anything more, La took off, barreling towards a creature that looked like a dog with two heads. That creature quickly realized what was happening and whimpered as it bolted off.


    The two-headed dog was both fast and had arge amount of initial distance. Unfortunately, La was faster.


    Far faster.


    In a couple of seconds, she caught up and grabbed it by one of its necks. The two-headed dog immediately began to struggle violently, iling its limbs violently and twisting its heads around.


    Unfortunately, it was toote for it.


    La skipped back happily, singing a tune to herself. Once she got next to Apollo, she extended her hand forth, bringing the struggling two-headed dog next to Apollo''s face.


    His eyebrow twitched.


    It should be known Apollo had almost never eaten meat before leaving the vige he grew up in. The only exception was when he was near death, but that was for survival more than anything else.


    Apollo was presented with a still struggling animal that was not only deformed, but veiny pink skin. He took a step backward, unwilling to eat it for the sake of eating.


    La pouted.


    "But just look! It''s very, very tasty!"


    The two-headed dog had ck beady eyes, some of which looked at Apollo desperately, asking for help. He waved his hand dismissively.


    "Um... I would rather not eat that."


    La puffed her cheeks up.


    "Mmmm!"


    She raised the two-headed dog up and shook it around.


    "I will show friend how tasty it is!"


    Without hesitation, she opened her mouth wide and...


    Bit down on one of the two-headed dog''s necks.


    The respective head struggled for a few more seconds before falling listless, unable to move anymore. As for the other head, it began to struggle even more wildly, partially from fear and partially from pain.


    Blood spurted out from the dog''s neck and dripped down La''s chin. She continued to munch happily, contrasting greatly with the gruesome scene in front of her.


    Apollo blinked a few times, watching La eat with a bright smile.


    Eventually, she lightly smacked her lips a few times. She had finished her mouthful.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Is it really tasty?"


    La nodded eagerly.


    "Yeah, try it!"


    She stuck it out in front of Apollo once more, prompting him to stare at the struggling dog curiously.


    Was it really tasty?


    After a bit of hesitation, Apollo bit down on the remaining neck of the dog. It whimpered miserably, but it was soon cut off.


    Apollo had bit off a ratherrge chunk, though La still ate more. The warm blood dripping down his chin felt a little strange, but surprisingly enough, it was actually pleasant to eat.


    It tasted simr to a steak, but was far more tender. The blood which initially made Apollo feel disgusted was actually the best part of the whole experience, a strange blend of both saltiness and sweetness.


    Before Apollo knew it, he had finished his bite.


    La smiled proudly, like a kid that impressed their parent.


    "Tasty, right friend?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "...Tasty."


    La giggled.


    "Does friend want to share the rest?"


    Apollo shrugged.


    "Sure."


    With that, the two of them ate a good portion of the dog. Once they started to reach the bones, they no longer bothered so much.


    Both Apollo and La were now covered with quite a lot of blood, mostly on their hands and face. Other than looking a little menacing, there was no real problem.


    ...Well, almost no real problems.


    The smell of blood was very attractive to some things in the toxic wastnd.


    Some things most would call predators.


    A deep roar came from the distance, signaling theing of something new.

 Chapter 228 - Hard To Kill Cougar

    Booming thumps reverberated through the air, the sound of footsteps.


    Apollo and La looked towards those sounds to see what looked like a giant cougar.


    This creature was different from the others in that its skin was a muddy green, as opposed to the fleshy pink the others had. Although the creature was still fairly easy to see, if it wasn''t moving, it would blend in fairly well with certain sections of the toxic wastnd.


    It was roughly ten meters long, not counting its tail, and opened its mouth wide to reveal bright white teeth.


    Apollo scratched his cheek with his index finger, then turned to La.


    "Is that tasty?"


    La pouted.


    "Mm... it''s ok. Not too tasty, more for ying."


    Apollo nodded and began walking towards the cougar. He had a neutral expression on his face.


    His pace slowly increased to a slow jog, while a small smile formed on his face.


    It increased even further, bing a brisk run, while the smile on his face grewrger.


    Then, he began sprinting without abandon, giggling to himself with a wide smile.


    In just moments, they were only several meters away from each other. The cougar roared defiantly while Apollo pulled his bokken back.


    Suddenly, a little bit of lightning crackled around Apollo, specifically his legs. He pushed off the ground, causing the repulsive dirt of the toxic wastnd to ssh into the air.


    As for Apollo, his figure shed as though he became a lightning bolt.


    Before the cougar realized anything, Apollo was behind it.


    Its first instinct was to try and turn around, but before it could...


    The cougar split in two.


    ck blood sshed onto the ground, while the dark red flesh of the cougar was revealed. Something noticeably strange was that its bones were not only ck, but split cleanly apart along with the flesh.


    It was as though the bone was flexible, like skin.


    Apollo turned around to admire his work, however, the smile suddenly left his face.


    The two halves of the cougar began to rbine. At the point where it had been cut, the flesh and bone seemed to begin dissolving, bing some sludge-like substance. That substancebined with each other, reforming to be the cougar once more.


    In just moments, it reverted back to its original state. It was as though the cougar was never cut in the first ce.


    Apollo twisted his head to the side and beganughing.


    "Alright then..."


    The cougar turned around and swiped its w at Apollo without hesitation. But before itnded, Apollo leaped, letting the w m into the ground. He rested his hand on the t side of the bokken.


    Then, it snapped out.


    Two clear cuts appeared on the cougar''s body, splitting it into four. The pieces fell to the ground, but did not remain dead. Instead, it continued to squirm, forcefully piecing it back together.


    Apollo did not simply watch as this happened. He let out a flurry of shes, but it was as though he had been hitting water.


    In the end, the cougar easily continued reforming into its original state, essentially unaffected by Apollo''s strikes.


    Suddenly, the cougar lunged forth with its jaws wide, despite the fact it was only half reformed.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    A clear snap rang out.


    He mmed his bokken against the cougar''s bright white teeth, causing them to snap off entirely. However, the cougar continued forth, not caring about losing its teeth in the slightest.


    Apollo''s body swayed to the left while the cougar''s jaws snapped shut.


    Yet, before they onlynded on air.


    As for Apollo, he had pushed off the ground and disappeared into the shadow world. In less than a second, he reappeared to the side of the cougar. As Apollo pulled back his bokken,rge amounts of lighting gathered around it.


    Then once it looked like a lightning bolt, Apollo swung.


    A thundering crackle rang out.


    The cougar was bisected, while its body was charred around the cut. Unfortunately, although the wound looked promising, it wasn''t enough.


    The charred section peeled off, like a snake shedding its skin. Then, the cougar rbined.


    Although it seemed that the damage was somewhat permanent, the amount was far too little. Apollo would end up spending so much time shing, he would probably die of boredom before the cougar was finished off.


    Apollo raised his bokken once more, gathering more lighting. The cougar roared, almost reformed.


    But those two weren''t the only ones here.


    "Waaaaah!"


    La came from above,ing down from the sky like a meteor. She had a bright smile on her face as she tore through the air. Her feet were kept close together, while her arms were raised high in the air.


    La somewhat resembled a needle.


    However, her attacks were more like a sledgehammer.


    A booming thump reverberated.


    Right when the cougar had reformed, La mmed down onto it. The cougar sttered onto the ground like a tomato, while a miniature crater had formed on the ground.


    Apollo froze, holding his bokken awkwardly in the air. The smile slowly left his face as he lowered his bokken.


    "I suppose that is one way to deal with that."


    La giggled.


    "It can still y, but we have to give it some time!"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "What?"


    La pointed towards the stter that formed on the ground.


    "This friend is not sleeping yet! We cane backter."


    Apollo looked down at the slime.


    The sttered remains of the cougar were still moving, trying to reform. It was several times slower than before, but was doing it nheless.


    It would probably take a few hours for it to reform.


    Apollo shed at what had be of the cougar, but only caused it to ssh around. At that point, he gave up.


    La grabbed onto Apollo''s hand.


    "Come on, there are still more tasty things!"


    Although Apollo felt being dragged along was a little unnecessary, he let himself get pulled around by La.


    Until they reached a strange honeb.

 Chapter 229 - Strange Honeycomb

    "Look, friend, look! Doesn''t it look great?"


    La pointed excitedly to a strange honeb as she dragged Apollo along.


    As for Apollo, he simply blinked a few times, stumbling because of La''s tug.


    "That looks like something, that''s for sure."


    The strange honeb was veryrge. The entirety of it was roughly thirty meters high and fifty meters wide. The honeb was nted to the side and consisted of various hexagonal cells that were nearly overflowing with some strange viscous translucent green substance.


    These shapes were not the most perfectly made. They were not only irregrly shaped, like what a hexagon would look like if drawn by a child, but also cracked. There was even a section that looked somewhat like a teacup, while one in the middle of the honeb was half draped over.


    In fact, certain sections of theb had directly broken off.


    Whoever or whatever made them, did a really sloppy job.


    The honeb itself was a deep brown color. Paired with the viscous translucent green liquiding out of them, they seemed far from appealing, prompting Apollo to question if this was really something they wanted to try.


    However, the two-headed dog tasted fine, so he imagined this wouldn''t be too bad.


    Countless dark green locust-like insects swarmed around the honeb. Some of them seemed to be adding to the honeb, while others were consuming it.


    As La continued pulling Apollo towards the honeb, something else approached from the opposite side. It was a massive light green insect, nearly five meters long.


    It was the queen.


    The queen settled down on top of the honeb, causing it to let out concerning creaking sounds. As for the surrounding dark green insects, they immediately fled, getting far away from the queen.


    Apollo looked towards La, who continued to go forth as though nothing was wrong. Then, he pointed to therge queen insect in front of them.


    "What do we do about that thing?"


    La looked towards where Apollo was pointing, then waved her hand dismissively.


    "Friend is overreacting! It may bother you for a little bit, but there is nothing it can do!"


    The queen insect began inspecting the honeb, but not without sticking out its straw-like tongue and greedily sucking at the green contents within. However, once it found the strange part of the honeb that seemed to be draped over, it froze.


    Without warning, it let out a high-pitched roar and smashed that part with its arm.


    La gasped.


    "Ah! It''s not okay!"


    She let go of Apollo and dashed towards the honeb. The queen insect repeatedly mmed its arm against that section of the honeb, until it directly burst and the honeb itself copsed into multiple pieces, causing quite a bit of the dark green liquid to ssh into the air.


    The queen raised its head to let out a roar, but before it could...


    A deafening bang reverberated, shaking the air.


    La had leaped upwards and pulled back her hand before pping the insect queen, turning it into green sludge that sttered across the floor. Although there was the asional insect arm within that green sludge, it would be hard to figure out that it used to be an insect queen.


    Apollo slowly walked over to La, who let out a sigh of relief. She turned around and showed off a big smile.


    "It''s ok now! The tasty stuff is saved!"


    La proceeded to pick up several of the overturned hexagonal cells from the honeb and set them upright to prevent its translucent green content from slipping into the ground.


    During this time, Apollo walked over and inspected the hexagonal cell that was draped over and had been mmed by the queen insect. What remained of it was only several pieces and some dark green liquid that sttered across the floor.


    Apollo narrowed his eyes.


    ...Actually, there was something else. It was something that remained within the green liquid and was moving. As for what exactly, Apollo couldn''t tell since he only saw a fuzzy ck figure.


    He proceeded to stick his hand into the green liquid and pull out whatever was inside with far less hesitation than what a normal person would have.


    It was a rtively small light green insect.


    The insect had ck beady eyes that looked at Apollo and blinked curiously. After only a few moments, Apollo lost interest.


    He set it back down into the green liquid, but it crawled back out and touched his foot.


    Apollo''s face twitched.


    Was this thing feeling attached to him?


    However, he had bigger problems than being considered a mother.


    Because the surrounding dark green insects began swarming him.


    Apollo immediately shed the few that got near him, causing them to burst into green fluid. However, that was only the beginning.


    The number of insects quickly became too much for Apollo. Some of them evennded on his body, but burst into green fluid right after. As time passed, more and more of themnded on his body, until he had to focus all of his attention on the bugs covering him.


    As for La, she was simply idling away, sticking her finger into the green liquid housed by the hexagonal cells, then sticking that finger into her mouth.


    "Mm, tasty!"


    La herself was not being attacked by any of the bugs, despite eating their food right in front of them. She looked over to Apollo who, on the other hand, was being swarmed by them.


    "Hm, friend seems to be having fun!"


    Then, she went back to her own business, eating some more of the green liquid.


    As for Apollo, unlike how La put it, he was not having fun.


    The bugsnded on his body faster than he could kill them. As such, some of them had enough time to open their tiny jaws and bite down.


    Apollo grit his teeth from the sharp pain of having pieces of his flesh being torn off.


    However, even with grit teeth, he did not forget tough.

 Chapter 230 - Refine

    The dark green insects swarmed Apollo, almost like they had be a hurricane. As for Apollo, he was shing his bokken. It appeared like a blur to the naked eye, proving that it was moving fast.


    Unfortunately, it was not fast enough.


    The dark green insects continued to bite at Apollo, rending away more and more of his flesh. Although he was healing, it was not enough to rece how much he was losing.


    La wasn''t helping and had no intentions of doing so, meaning Apollo was on his own. His body began releasingrge amounts of heat, red scars snaked across his skin, and his muscles tightened to their limits.


    Apollo''s strikes became faster.


    Hisughs gradually climbed in volume, while his eyes began to widen.


    ...But it was not enough.


    There were simply far too many bugs. In just a second, hundreds of bugs would die from a few of Apollo''s shes, but a hundred and one would rece them.


    It was as though he was a corpse nailed to a wall, being pecked away slowly by crows.


    The insects crawled under his clothes, skittering freely with their little legs. It did not take long for nearly all of Apollo''s skin to be peeled off, while his flesh began to follow.


    To rece the skin, was a nastybination of both his bright red blood and the dark green blood of the insects.


    Apollo waspletely overwhelmed.


    Not by strength, but by numbers.


    With every strike of his bokken, the insects would be reduced to liquid. If this was a video game and the insects had health bars, the damage would be enough to overkill them several times over.


    However, that excess damage did nothing for Apollo, as it did not matter how fast he killed the insects, but the fact that they died.


    Apollo was acutely aware of this fact, but he couldn''t think of any true method to fix it. After all, increased speed also meant increased strength, right?


    Arcs of lightning crackled around Apollo''s body. He wanted to throw a giant wave of lightning and blow each of them away.


    They rapidly gathered towards his bokken.


    ...Then disappeared.


    As the arcs of lighting traveled up to Apollo''s bokken, they would end up zapping one of the many insects nearby. While many of the insects were being electrocuted and killed, it also meant that Apollo was unable to gather the lightning on top of it.


    The extra killing power provided by the lightning did not do that much as swinging his bokken normally already killed any insect that it touched. The only thing the lightning did was zap the bugs that were already going to die and catch a few stragglers on the side.


    Apollo decided to keep channeling the lightning for as long as he could anyway, despite theck of effectiveness.


    After all, he needed anything he could get right now.


    Within the hurricane of insects, streaks of lighting traveled across it. However, the small amount of lightning was insignificantpared to the sheer size of the hurricane.


    The insects had already peeled away most of the fat on Apollo''s body and began peeling away his muscles.


    That was bad. Like, really bad.


    Although Apollo was strong, he depended on his muscles to move.


    If he could no longer move, he would be unable to swing his bokken.


    If he couldn''t swing his bokken, he wouldn''t be able to fight back against the insects.


    If he couldn''t fight back against the insects, he would die.


    Apollo could sense his death hanging over him, like a sword held up with a thin piece of string.


    Ready to fall at any moment.


    Apollo continued swinging his bokken madly,ughing with a needlessly loud volume. In a certain sense, it was like the struggles of a drowning man.


    The man iled his arms around wildly, causing water to ssh around pointlessly. It not only used up far too much energy, but did very little to keep the man afloat.


    Apollo''s first instinct when overwhelmed was to use brute strength and if that didn''t work, just use more brute strength.


    Like a certain saying about duct tape.


    But that wouldn''t work.


    Suddenly, Apollo saw himself back in his own room, being attacked by Willow on all ends. He did not have strength or speed, but had to fight against someone both stronger than him and faster. Not only was the force behind each attack enough to snap his wrist, but the experience was like being surrounded and being attacked on all ends.


    It was here he refined his technique several times over, dying countless times in search of a light that would let him pierce through the darkness.


    Apolloughed even louder.


    So why was he like this?


    The insects tore even more flesh off of him, making even his bones visible in certain sections.


    Apollo had fought off Willow, someone both stronger and faster than him. How did it make sense that he was having so much trouble with these insects?


    Sure, there were countless of them, but their strength could not even bepared to his.


    Apollo''s eyes widened further.


    He had be rusty.


    Anger boiled up, not targeted towards the insects, but himself.


    Refine.


    He had to refine his technique.


    The synapses in Apollo''s brain fired madly, causing his perception of time to slow down.


    He had to go faster, like the wind.


    No, not the wind, like lightning.


    An insect directly bit into Apollo''s eyeball, sending strong signals of pain to his brain. But it was not enough to interrupt his thoughts.


    Apollo felt light, almost like a feather.


    And that wasn''t because most of his body had disappeared.


    Refine...


    Apollo gradually came to a familiar feeling, one he had as he fought against Willow.


    Refine it.


    Apollo felt he was in perfect control of his body, but this time he seemed to be surpassing it, surpassing perfection itself.


    At some point, Apollo no longer saw himself swinging a sword, but flowing through water.


    Refine it, to be something greater than perfect.

 Chapter 231 - Starry Expanse

    The dark green insects swarmed Apollo, who responded by swinging his bokken. His swings were gradually bing light, yet faster.


    Small arcs of lightning danced in the air, seemingly everywhere and nowhere at the same time.


    Apollo was able to kill numerous dark green insects. However, a few still slipped by him. In particr, was the arm that wielded the bokken. After all, he would have to change his grip on the bokken to hit that location.


    Apollo could greatly minimize the damage he took if he focused on shing normally, but he couldn''t ignore the insects gnawing on his arm, as losing the muscles on his arm would spell doom.


    Yet, trying to sh his arm with his bokken would also spell doom.


    ...Wait, why did he have to use his bokken?


    Apollo had a hand that waspletely free, ready to attack, but didn''t take advantage of it. It wasn''t like he hadn''t used his hand as a sword before.


    Apollo was simply too conditioned to swing just his bokken. It was what he had been doing for so long.


    But only through change, could one adapt and be stronger.


    Apollo stretched out his fingers, pretending his hand was a sword. Then traced an arc towards his arm.


    Apollo''s hand blurred while several insects on top of his arm burst into dark green blood. He felt as though the entire time he had been trying to make his way through the darkness on his own, as aimless as he could be.


    However, a tiny light had formed high in the air.


    It was a star.


    The arcs of lightning that were initially gathering on Apollo''s bokken shifted to his hand. Now, anything that touched his hand would be electrocuted to death, giving it a simr lethality to his bokken.


    Focusing on two hands was noticeably harder than just one, forcing Apollo to strain his attention to his limits.


    Thankfully, his brain was able to keep up, albeit just barely.


    As time passed, Apollo refined his technique further, moving around both his bokken and hand fluidly. If there weren''t any insects, the way Apollo swung didn''t appear to be for the purpose of fighting, but as a dance performance.


    His bokken shed, splitting several insects into two. What remained of them fell to the ground with a plop, letting out dark green blood.


    His hand blurred. Several insects were electrocuted, bing ck. They fell to the ground while sizzling, but were otherwise intact.


    While the insects were still able tond on Apollo, they would die immediately afterwards. As such, his body was gradually regenerating.


    However, Apollo wasn''t done here.


    He continued to improve his technique, not getting faster, but appearing to increase in speed.


    Apollo looked up into the darkness. One after another, stars appeared.


    Until a vast starry expanse was before him.


    The light was weak, hardly giving Apollo vision. But it was enough.


    He moved his arms around like snakes. To the naked eye, it even seemed like Apollo didn''t have bones.


    Several tiny arcs of lightning danced within the swarm along with faint blurs.


    The insects were pushed back further and further and at some point, they couldn''t even get close to Apollo''s body.


    Apollo looked like a mess, covered with the amount of blood he had on him. However, he was stillughing proudly.


    After a few minutes of this prolonged assault, the insects retreated in sync, then flew far away. Despite their suicidal tactics earlier, it seemed they were afraid of Apollo once they realized they stood no chance.


    It was as though the clouds parted, revealing a sunny day.


    Apollo survived.


    His breathing was haggard, while his vision was blurry.


    Under his feet were countless insect corpses, killed in various ways, and dark green blood.


    Viscous dark green blood slowly dripped off his body, which was quite disgusting, to say the least. Under normal circumstances, Apollo would be repulsed by the situation he was in.


    However, he was simply too weak to care.


    As the dark green blood continued to slide off, it revealed bright red flesh. Even if one tried really hard, they would be unable to discern a single piece of skin still attached to his body. In fact, even one of Apollo''s eyes was missing, plucked off during the fight.


    Not even his lips had survived. They were torn offpletely, revealing Apollo''s white teeth that were especially striking with the dark red flesh around them. Naturally, Apollo could no longer smile in this state, but he was still giggling.


    Such a sight was unsettling, but...


    "Ah, friend is finished ying?"


    La looked over and tilted her head to the side, not caring about Apollo''s appearance in the slightest. Her hands were covered with a thick amount of dark green liquid, while her mouth was messily covered by it too. She had finished one of the hexagonal cells in its entirety.


    As for Apollo, he just had enough with La, not bothering to even spare a second nce.


    Apollo limped over to the nearest hexagonal cell, put his hand on the edge, then dipped his head straight into it. He definitely had his concerns over what effects this dark green liquid would have, but could hardly care about it at this point.


    Apollo directly swallowed as much of it as he could. It was ufortable, but he did not slow.


    The dark green liquid was very sweet. So sweet, that it was nasty.


    There was nothing inherently wrong with the taste other than being too strong, simr to food that was far too spicy. Perhaps if a small amount of this dark green liquid was added to a meal, it could make it several times more appetizing.


    However, Apollo didn''t have anything like that.


    And so, he burned his tongue in order to consume it. The hexagonal cell was rapidly drained of its contents.


    Suddenly, Apollo lifted his head up high and took in a deep breath.


    At the same time, a light green insect innocently tapped him on the ankle.

 Chapter 232 - You Dumb

    After consuming an absurd amount of the dark green liquid, Apollo''s body regenerated. His heavily maimed muscles were restored, his fat grew back and skin covered over all of that. As for Apollo''s missing eye and lips, they grew back too.


    Large amounts of dark green blood cascaded down his body, almost like his skin was a raincoat.


    Apollo shook his head, shaking out some of the dark green blood in his hair.


    For a few moments, Apollo just remained there, breathing heavily and holding onto the edge of the hexagonal cell.


    During that time, something was poking the bottom of his foot. Upon turning to look, he saw it was the light green insect.


    Apollo blinked a few times, clearly displeased.


    "What do you want?"


    The insect blinked a few times and tilted its head to the side.


    "Wha- wha-"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    Was the insect seriously talking?


    The insect''s voice was high-pitched and soft. It clearly struggled with each syble, but did it nheless.


    "Wha- zoo yew wan?"


    La skipped over and looked at the light green insect with surprise, putting both hands on her cheeks exaggeratedly.


    "New friend?"


    The insect turned to La.


    "Nyew fwend?"


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Friend!"


    The insect repeated after her, simrly raising its arms in the air.


    "Fwend!"


    Apollo looked between the two and felt a headacheing on.


    This was probably going to be a little annoying.


    ...


    When Hex had been caught up in the talisman that Willow used, he broke off far from the group.


    After being thrown around chaotically in the shadow world, he reappeared in the middle of the vast forest.


    His clothes were still dark purple, while two bright purple horns rested on his head. Hex''s face was still a shadowy blur, with glowing bright blue light eyes and smile.


    He slowly turned around, looking at his surroundings all the while letting out a tiny giggle.


    Hex slowly flew up into the air, getting battered by the asional snowkes falling from the air. It was as though he wasn''t satisfied and wanted to find something he could destroy.


    Unfortunately, the only thing before Hex was barren snowynd. He began to fly across the air, not at a particrly fast speed, but it was still faster than walking speed.


    After coasting through meaninglessly for quite a while, Hex''s giggles gradually began to die down. He gradually came to a stop, remaining still ominously.


    For whatever reason, Hex simply remained still for several minutes on end.


    Then, without warning, he let out a frustrated high pitched roar. A disproportionatelyrge ck w grew out of his sleeve.


    Hex pulled it back and shed the forest below them.


    Large amounts of dark mist shot out from his ws, rapidly expanding in size.


    A deafening thud reverberated throughout the forest.


    The dark mist mmed onto the ground, directly tearing apart the trees and ground. The snow scattered high into the air along with a few trees. Strangely long ck marks formed in the ground, stretching across the forest like a natural disaster had struck it.


    Hex''s clothes went from dark purple to blue while the shadow that obscured his face left along with his glowing features. The bright purple horns on his head disappeared entirely and something behind him began to form, materializing in the middle of the air.


    It was ckie who formed within the air, appearing like a shadow. However, it was a little strange since shadows didn''t usually form in the middle of the air.


    While normally, Hex would have fallen asleep, he was fine right now. In fact, he didn''t even look tired.


    Hex began falling from the air. His clothes fluttered, especially so for his hood. It prompted him to hold it down with one sleeve.


    His speed gradually increased, but that didn''t seem to concern him.


    Hex''s figure began to blur as he descended, then...


    A thundering bang resounded.


    Hexnded on the ground, kicking up a decent amount of snow. He was in the middle of the carnage previously created by his sh. After looking around, he walked forward, stepping over the fallen trees.


    But suddenly, he froze.


    "I was wondering where you could have been."


    A voice rang out from right behind him. Hex turned around casually, as though it was a friend he expected to be there.


    It was an old man hunched over, holding onto a cane and in ragged clothes. He had a fairly long white beard, with frail strands of hair. Overall, this person looked like a dying old man. Put him in the middle of the street with other people and that was the conclusion anybody woulde to.


    However, the context of this meeting made it a little strange.


    After all, it was a weak old man in the middle of a snowy forest. Under normal circumstances, they would be long dead.


    The old man chuckled.


    "I suppose there are only so many people that could have caused damage like this."


    Hex pouted.


    "You is annoying."


    The old manughed, before suddenly cutting himself off. He looked at Hex with an empty smile.


    "And you have some nerve, kid."


    Without warning, the old man''s hand shot forward in an attempt to catch Hex''s head, but when his hand was a millimeter away, Hex disappeared.


    He reappeared a few meters back with a pout on his face.


    "Rude."


    The old man narrowed his eyes.


    "I''d say you are more rude."


    He let his outstretched hand fall to his side, almost like he never tried to attack Hex in the first ce.


    "I had been terribly close to making the world believe The Harbinger of Death was dead. Yet, because of your antics, the mortals think the person of that title has resurrected."


    Hex tilted his head to the side.


    "Not me fault."


    The old man''s eyelid twitched.


    "And how does that logic hold up?"


    Hex scratched the side of his head with his sleeve.


    "You dumb."


    The air suddenly became heavy.

 Chapter 233 - Bye Bye

    The old man red at Hex. Although a smile rested on his face, it was clear he was pissed off. The old man tightened the grip on his cane, making the old and wrinkly skin on the back of his hand stretch out. He hadrge blue veins that squirmed around, almost like they were joining in the rage of the old man.


    "I am not helpless just because I have been weakened!"


    Suddenly, the old man flicked his cane upwards, pointing it at Hex. The guise of frailty waspletely dropped. He stood up straight, clearly not needing the cane.


    In a certain sense, it was a ridiculous looking scene. If he were in the middle of a city, just barely limping forward with a cane, his actions would draw many looks.


    However, the results of his actions would draw even more looks.


    The old man''s pupils constricted ever so slightly, while an invisible force shot towards Hex. As though expecting this, ckie''s foot shot out, pressing hard into the ground andunching Hex to the side.


    A clear whoosh sound filled the air.


    The force shot past Hex, forcing the trees on the ground to the side. A few seconds after, a massive wave of wind rebounded, blowing aside snow while causing both Hex''s and the old man''s clothes to p wildly.


    Hex immediately gathered some green and purple mist and raised his sleeve, pointing it towards the old man. However, the old man wasn''t just going to stand there and take it.


    He pointed his cane towards Hex once more, but this time his figure distorted, like paint being swirled around. Then, he disappeared altogether.


    Hex immediately stopped gathering mist and vanished as well.


    The old man reappeared right next to where Hex had gone missing and was in the middle of swinging his cane horizontally.


    Before his swing even finished, a wave of force shot out, pushing up snow and trees like they were a tidal wave.


    Hex reappeared a few meters back once more.


    This time, he only gathered a little bit of mist, making a translucent green w form above his sleeve in just a few seconds.


    The old man broke out into a sprint, reaching out with his bare hand.


    Hex returned in kind with his dark green w.


    A clear bang rang out.


    Hex''s w immediately shattered, while he himself wasunched backwards. As for the old man, he was unscathed. It was quite the strange scene, seeing an aged and wrinkly hand repel glowing ws that were several times its size.


    The old man showed off overbearing strength despite openly revealing he had been weakened. As for Hex, he was also slightly tired because prior to this fight, he hadbined with ckie.


    Not to mention, he did not hold back when he shed the ground out of frustration. It was probably what let the old man find him in the first ce.


    ckie''s w shot out towards the ground, digging deep into the ground and slowing down Hex until he was no longer speeding through the air.


    Although Hex had no clear injuries, he still pouted.


    "Me no like."


    Hex gatheredrge amounts of dark green mist, letting it seep into his body. As for the old man, he responded by mming the end of his cane on the ground.


    An unassuming light thump rang out.


    Then, a long fissure appeared, starting from the cane and passing through Hex''s location.


    The ground had split apart.


    Two massive chunks of earth burst out of the ground and folded, attempting to crush Hex. However, he did not even pause to stop gathering dark green mist.


    For a moment, it seemed Hex was doomed.


    The area around Hex rapidly darkened as the massive chunks of earth blocked out the sun. Yet, before they could crush Hex like a bug, two massive ck ws shot out from his sides, over five meters in length.


    A boom resounded.


    Cracks snaked across the massive chunks of earth, originating from where the ck hand had mmed against them.


    A bit of snow and dirt trickled down,nding onto Hex''s hood. Despite all that happened around him, he continued staring forward, right at the old man.


    Hex leisurely raised his sleeve which had a tiny dark green ball of energy right on top.


    A clear explosion reverberated.


    The two massive chunks of earth around Hex were blown away, while a thin line of green mist shot towards the old man. It was like a bullet, but far faster.


    The old man''s eyes narrowed.


    He whipped with his cane, tracing an arc towards the sky. It was as though he was themander of a legion and was giving the signal for his army to attack.


    The line of green mist stopped less than a meter away from the old man before exploding into an overpowering amount of green energy. However, there seemed to be an invisible barrier in front of the old man, preventing any of the energy froming too close.


    The energy itself was quite dense, thus was able to obscure Hex''s figure.


    Suddenly, the energy vanished as quickly as it appeared, revealing Hex swinging a dark green w towards the old man.


    As his w closed it, it suddenly slowed to a stop before it could touch the old man. Not wanting to waste this opportunity, the old man reached out with his hand.


    However, before he could reach Hex, a massive w shot out from his shadow, attempting to grab his body.


    The old man turned his head ever so slightly, able to see the w in the very corner of his vision. He gave up on his original attack and mmed his cane down towards the w. Yet, the ck w dissipated into ck mist before the cane reached it, causing it to m down onto the ground.


    The old man shifted his attention back to Hex, who held arge ball of condensed purple and green energy.


    Hex had an empty look in his eyes.


    "Bye bye."

 Chapter 234 - Three Creatures

    A massive wave of energy had shot out from therge ball of condensed purple and green energy in Hex''s hands, straight towards the old man.


    An earth-shattering explosion resounded.


    The purple and green energybined into onerge wave of destruction that spread out like a cone.


    A massive pit had formed before Hex. A nearby tree creaked a little before snapping off, then tumbled down the pit.


    There was no trace of the old man within.


    "Your insolence has gone too far."


    But that was because he dodged.


    The old man appeared several meters high up into the sky, as though there was some invisible t ground he was standing on. Not even a second before the purple and green energy reached him, his figure distorted, allowing him to escape the st radius.


    Hex looked up to the old man.


    "Me is stronger."


    The old man responded with an empty smile.


    "You seem rather certain, despite speaking such foolish words."


    Hex shrugged his shoulders.


    "No you."


    The old man narrowed his eyes and chuckled.


    "I suppose there is only one way to find out."


    His aura suddenly changed, making the air feel heavy. Three ck creatures materialized behind him. Their bodies seemed to consist of ck mes, but the way the tongues of me danced was rather slow, making it clearly different.


    Each of the creatures had eyes and a smile that were both glowing white. Their eyes were a circle, while their smiles were wide with a very simple overall shape, like standard shapes.


    The creature on the left resembled a dragon. Rtive to other dragons, it was on the smaller side, but was still several timesrger than the old man. Normally, most looking at the figure of a dragon would feel awe, but the strange smile distorted the image too much. It inspired both power, and fear.


    The creature on the right resembled a phoenix. The size of the phoenix itself was also on the smaller side, but still dwarfed the dragon because what appeared to be ck mes extended far out from its body. Normally, it would look majestic, but now, it looked like it was sneering.


    The creature in the middle looked rtively humanoid. The only reason it didn''t appear to be a human, was because of the six prominent horns on its head. In other words, it resembled a demon. Those that understood what six horns meant would almost all be afraid. However, the smile made it give off more of a strange fear.


    Unsettling not because of the power behind it, but a strange sense of mischievousness.


    Hex pouted.


    In reality, he was stalling this entire time, hoping to restore his energy as much as possible.


    The old man actually knew that Hex was attempting to stall, but in a sense, he too was also trying to stall. The old man needed to gather his energy from outside sources that could bepared to a battery.


    The power was there, but he still needed to take it out.


    As for Hex, his body was trying to digest the yellow crystals he ate from when the houses came to life in the Obrad Empire. Those things weren''t designed for eating, making them especially hard for Hex to digest.


    However, he had gainedrge amounts of energy because of them.


    This could be clearly seen from how he directly passed out the first time hebined with ckie, while the second time, he only felt a little tired.


    Nheless, Hex knew he couldn''t stall anymore.


    "ckie!"


    His shadow wrapped around his body,bining with ckie once more. His face was immediately obscured by a shadow while glowing blue eyes and mouth formed on his face.


    The features of the three creatures and Hex were not too different.


    However, it appeared they couldn''t reconcile despite being so simr.


    The creature with six horns slowly raised one of its hands. As for the creature that resembled a phoenix raised its head, as though preparing for something. Thest creature, the one that looked like a dragon, directly charged towards Hex, emanating a heavy pressure.


    It roared, but the sound was heavily distorted. In fact, the dragon''s jaw didn''t move, almost like it was forbidden to stop smiling.


    As for Hex, he took to the air and rapidly retreated. His sleeve slowly pulled back, or more urately, something came out. A ck wrinkly hand with unnaturally long fingernails was revealed.


    The creature that appeared like a dragon was slower than Hex. However, it was not helpless. The dragon was over ten meters away, but then its head shot forward.


    It was as though the dragon was either made out of stic or moldable y. Its neck was stretched to its limits, bing a thin string.


    The head reached Hex in less than a second, but before its head would collide with him, he disappeared altogether.


    Hex materialized to the side of the dragon''s neck and shed with his ck hand.


    Although it did not make direct contact, the dragon''s neck was shed into several pieces, while the ground underneath was shed apart as well, leaving several ck marks.


    While the size was nothing like the other times Hex shed, it still contained quite a bit of power.


    However, the dragon itself was not dead.


    Its head turned around while hovering in the middle of the air. As for the body, one of the ws raised, attempting to sh Hex.


    Hex paused for a moment, seemingly hesitating. However, he made up his mind in less than a second.


    Hex pulled out his other hand, though it wasn''t really a hand.


    After all, there was no flesh. Instead, there were pearly white bones that moved flexibly despite theck of muscle.


    Hex pulled back both hands before letting them snap out.


    The ck hand tore the dragon''s body into pieces while the skeletal hand greatly deformed the dragon''s head, turning it into a thin line.


    The dragon was no more.


    But then, the phoenix acted.

 Chapter 235 - Face To Face

    The dragon''s body that Hex shed with his ck hand split into several pieces, like meat on a chopping block, then fell to the ground. As for the dragon''s head that Hex hit with his skeletal hand, it stretched out into a thin line before disappearing.


    The creature that resembled a phoenix pulled its head back. The glowing white eyes and smile seemed to shimmer a little more brightly than usual. Then, its head shot forward, while a huge nket of ck me shot out of it. As for the old man, he pulled back a little, getting behind the creatures he summoned.


    Hex disappeared just before the ck me hit him, letting itnd on the ground below him. The nket of fire did not die down once it hit the ground. In fact, it grew in intensity, making it look as though a wildfire was raging through the forest.


    Hex reappeared a few meters forward, then charged towards the phoenix. As though offended, the phoenix let out a distorted screech. The mes raging on the ground formed numerous thin scrawny ck hands that shot up, reaching out.


    Hex noticed this and turned his head slightly to look over his shoulder. He saw the hands reaching out to grab him and rose his own in response.


    Hex''s skeletal hand swiped through the air. The ck mes twisted into a long and thick line before disappearing altogether.


    Then, Hex turned around and shed with his ck hand, tearing the phoenix into several pieces that fell to the ground, as the dragon did.


    However, there was still one creature left.


    Thest creature that looked like a six-horned demon had raised its hand with the palm facing upward. Suddenly, it clenched its hand into a tight fist.


    It was a bright day, but suddenly, the sky became dark.


    The light from the glowing white eyes and mouth of the six-horned demon shone bright, almost like spotlights. The same went for Hex''s blue glowing eyes and mouth.


    Three tall pirs burst out of the ground, in a circr pattern, far apart from each other. They began to bend towards the center, as though some strong maic pull caused them to curl up. This force made Hex himself begin to twist. In particr, his clothes began twisting strangely.


    However, Hex was still able to move.


    His hood fell off, but his first priority was killing the creature that resembled a six-horned demon. His ck w shed, splitting it apart like the others.


    As for what was revealed after the hood came off, it was a set of shiny white hair. As for the bright purple horns on his head, they somehow seemed to growrger.


    Hex wished to put his hood back on as soon as possible, however, before he could regain himself, the old man reappeared right in front of him, just staring.


    A wave passed through the air.


    Every single tree within one hundred meters began to decay rapidly, bing ck ash in just a few seconds.


    An eagle far off in the distance suddenly stiffened up, before plummeting to the ground.


    The three ck pirs began disintegrating, seemingly dissolving into the air.


    As for Hex, he froze.


    The old man had used some kind of fear-rted power, the same one Hex had ess to. Seeing that Hex could no longer move, the old man felt reassured of his victory.


    He gradually retracted the fear he was emitting and reached out with his hand.


    "Checkmate."


    However, a simr fearful aura burst out of Hex, prompting the old man to reactivate his own to counterattack.


    The old man frowned, clearly filled with disbelief.


    Was Hex not afraid?


    In reality, Hex had been terribly afraid when the aura had covered him. In fact, he even flinched.


    ...However, there was something that he was even more afraid of than this suffocating feeling of fear.


    Once Hex recalled that memory, he broke out of that state easily. Hex was still afraid, but he was also brave enough to face it.


    And so, face it he did.


    An eerie silence filled the air. The old man and Hex stared at each other silently. From the outside perspective, it seemed rather unassuming. However, even the snowkes in the air were afraid, scattering to the side so as to not get closer to Hex and the old man.


    It was almost like the two were sharing a silent conversation, or long lost family, finally reuniting. However, that was most definitely not the case. The both of them were using their strongest attack.


    And the result was just the two of them standing there.


    A few seconds passed and in those few seconds, there was not even the sound of a gust of wind. The both of them currently had a head full of white hair, making them match.


    And for a few moments, it seemed like this standoff would never finish.


    However, after only five or so seconds, the old man began to panic. Several thoughts shed by his mind, which came together to be one single question.


    How?


    How was Hex able to maintain this state for so long?


    The old man no longer had the energy to support this form freely, but he was stubborn, thinking it was impossible for Hex to continue for much longer.


    The strange emanating fear that came from the old man did not pause. However, his body began to change.


    The already wrinkly skin of the old man wrinkled even further, almost like it was drying up. The old man''s hair began to weaken, bing thinner. The eyes of the old man quickly became bloodshot.


    As for Hex, his ck skinned hand was undergoing something simr, wrinkling further as though drying up. The same went for his head of white hair, which also began to thin.


    The old man narrowed his eyes.


    He quickly realized that Hex was determined to take this to the end.


    However, the old man did not share this determination.


    His figure began to distort, before he disappeared altogether, leaving Hex alone in the middle of the snowy forest.

 Chapter 236 - Return Of The Cougar

    Once the old man disappeared, Hex cut off his powers, stopping himself from emanating fear.


    He reached up to his hood with a shaking ck hand and slowly put it back over his head, covering his weak white hair. At the same time, ckie removed himself from Hex, getting rid of the purple horns and reverting the color of Hex''s clothes back to blue.


    As for Hex himself, his face returned, but there were a few wrinkles on it. His hair returned back to being dark green, but the ends of his hair had be white.


    Although the power of fear was terribly strong, it also had a great cost. This was the case for both the old man and Hex.


    It caused them to age.


    If the energy they had was not enough, they were required to trade years of their lifespan just to use the ability for a few seconds. It was a high price, but worthwhile depending on the situation.


    Their engagement earlier onlysted for a few seconds, but that was when both of them lost the most. The old man was already weakened and wasn''t willing to cripple himself any further, thus he escaped the situation.


    The old man did not know if he could win, but even if he could, the price he would have to pay was too much for him right now.


    And so, he fled.


    Hex stumbled, then fell forward.


    A ck w shot out, holding Hex up. ckie had appeared next to him, looking rather concerned.


    Hex turned to ckie weakly, hardly even able to keep his eyes open.


    "Me need... food."


    ckie nodded hastily.


    Hex gave up on trying to keep his eyes open altogether and let out a few more words.


    "Find fast... ckie."


    With that, he passed out. ckie hurriedly put Hex onto his back before transforming into a fairlyrge shadow bird and taking to the skies.


    And so, ckie''s journey of finding the ''food'' Hex requested, began.


    ...


    "Friend!"


    "Fwend!"


    Apollo rubbed his temple with his knuckle as he walked across the toxic wastnd with his two friendlypanions, La, and a small light green insect.


    In the back of his mind, he was still wondering why those dark green insects wanted him dead so bad when he didn''t do anything, while La waspletely ignored despite eating the dark green honey right in front of them.


    Eventually, Apollo sighed, giving up on understanding altogether.


    As for what actually happened, the dark green insects were under great pressure from their previous queen. For whatever reason, that queen had not only eaten far more of the dark green liquid than needed, but would even go as far as to damage the honebs for no real reason.


    In short, the queen was just a big asshole.


    As such, the insects were attempting to foster a new queen to rece their old one entirely. The queen had discovered this fact, thus it attempted to kill the prospective queen by smashing its arms onto the honeb, causing it to break into several pieces.


    However, the little green insect miraculously survived.


    The aftermath of the queen''s rampage meant that most of the dark green liquid had spilled onto the floor. There were only two rtively full hexagonal cells filled with the stuff that had survived.


    La finished the first one while Apollo fought off the insects while Apollo consumed the entirety of the other one to restore his injuries.


    After the light green insect made its presence known to the two, its attention shifted to what was left of the dark green liquid. The insect ate what little was left from the remaining shattered hexagonal cells, but did not even touch a drop of what had spilled onto the floor.


    It seemed like this was an evolutionary instinct given how polluted the grounds were.


    And so, Apollo, La, and an insect began walking aimlessly through the toxic wastnd.


    The insect was to Apollo''s left, while La was to his right. Both the insect and La would not stop talking. It made Apollo wonder why they decided to have him in the middle, when they could''ve been next to each other if they wanted to talk.


    ...It was almost like they wanted to annoy him.


    La pped noisily.


    "Yayaya!"


    The insect looked at La with its ck beady eyes as it walked.


    "Wawawa!"


    Apollo took a deep breath, trying to pretend that nothing was happening.


    Suddenly, there was a roar in the distance. It was quite loud, but to Apollo, it felt far too quietpared to the incessant chatter around him. He turned to look at the source of the roar and saw something familiar.


    It was the cougar that just wouldn''t die earlier.


    Apollo stopped, prompting La and the insect to turn around and look at him.


    La put a finger on her chin.


    "Is friend ok?"


    The insect looked at La before imitating her, putting one of its tiny arms on its chin.


    "Izz fwend okie?"


    Apollo shot a nce at the two before looking back at the cougar.


    "Just a minute. I want to try something."


    He began walking towards the cougar that bolted towards them mercilessly.


    A small smile formed on Apollo''s face as he raised both his bokken and his outstretched free hand. Lightning began to crackle across his body, gathering towards his hand and the bokken.


    "...Faster."


    Apollo''s eyes gradually widened as his walk became a full on sprint.


    The cougar pounced forth, attempting to capture Apollo with its jaws. As for Apollo, he simply continued straight as though he had no intention of dodging. However, right before it hit, Apollo disappeared.


    He reappeared to the side of the cougar, letting out numerous shes with both his bokken and hand. The cougar received several ckceration marks that dug deep into its skin.


    However, the cougar was still none the wiser. It thought that Apollo was the same as before. After all, it hadn''t even been that long.


    However, it woulde to regret attacking Apollo.

 Chapter 237 - Pointless Struggle

    The cougar swiped at Apollo in anger, but found his target disappeared before itnded. Apollo appeared next to the cougar, letting loose a flurry of strikes.


    In just a moment, several deep wounds appeared on the cougar''s skin. The wounds were covered with thin ck lines at the edge. Moments after the wound formed, the hardened ck section began to peel off.


    However, Apollo continued shing before it could, causing more and more ckcerations to appear.


    And eventually, the cougar split in two.


    The cut between the halves was terribly messy, consisting of ck sh marks within the flesh and the asional strand of flesh that hung on the outside. This was not enough to kill the cougar, but it wasn''t able to connect its two halves for the time being.


    While Apollo was shing it, the cougar turned around to face him. However, in the time that it took for that action, its face and neck were shed several times over.


    The cougar recoiled while letting out a roar, but halfway through was cut off.


    Because its throat had been cut through.


    Apollo''s eyes widened as though he was trying to catch every single detail possible, from where the cougar moved to how the air trembled after each swing. However, what Apollo saw wasn''t a cougar in front of him, but a set of stars.


    He used both his free hand and bokken to sh at these stars, in an attempt to cut them free from the sky.


    The cougar didn''t want to fight anymore.


    It attempted to retreat, but the cougar''s front legs were cut off, leaving the front half of the cougar to fall on the ground powerlessly. It tried its best to heal, growing back flesh the moment any charred section fell off.


    However, Apollo would continuously sh any wound that was about to heal, not letting it do so.


    In the end, the front half of the panther could only take down the shes that were more relentless than the raindrops from a storm.


    The cougar looked like a mangled mess, missing the majority of its facial features, while its limbs had turned into a pile of ck powder. Apollo kept attacking, slowly deepening each ck wound.


    The skin at the edges of his free hand had already ripped off, to the point one could see the bone. At some point, his pinky and thumb broke off with a crack.


    However, he refused to stop attacking, fully suppressing the cougar.


    Lightning crackled continuously, almost like Apollo was a needlessly active thundercloud.


    In just several seconds, the cougar no longer had a face, reced by countless cut marks and ck ash. Only a bit of the back of its head remained. In this time, the top half of the cougar had grown two tiny makeshift arms out from its initial sh wound. They were ck in color and had tiny hooks at the end.


    These tiny arms hooked into the ground and pulled backward. However, it didn''t even get farther than half a meter with that initial pull. Apollo simply had to walk forward casually, not even needing to stop attacking.


    Despite theck of sess, those tiny arms continued pulling with all they could. asionally, a new arm would join, attempting to speed up its retreat as much as possible. However...


    Its struggle was futile.


    As for the bottom half of the cougar, it desperately attempted to grow a new set of legs. First, two ck bones extended out of it. Then, a bit of flesh wrapped around them.


    The bottom half of the cougar was clearly panicking, as it considered that was enough, despitecking the proper joints and actual feet. It began to gallop awkwardly, especially since its new front legs were much shorter than its back legs.


    The bottom half of the cougar obviously wasn''t used to this form of running. The front legs would sometimes propel the body forward, but would also sometimes push against the ground the wrong way and get rid of all of its momentum.


    Sometimes it even went backward.


    In the end, the bottom half of the cougar could only move forward slightly faster than the speed of the average small child.


    While this was happening, La and the insect were watching curiously.


    La''s furry ears twitched. Then, out of nowhere, a bright smile appeared on her face as she raised her hands high into the sky.


    "Yay! Go friend!"


    The insect gave a nce to La, then raised its two tiny arms as well.


    "Eay! Wo fwend!"


    Within the time of their cheers, Apollo was nearly finished with disintegrating the entire top half of the cougar.


    ck ash floated into the air, scattered by Apollo''s electrical strikes. The top half of the cougar slowly disappeared, almost like its very existence was being erased by a really ineffective eraser.


    The bottom half of the cougar just so happened to be running towards both La and the insect. While La just continued watching on passively, the insect tilted its head to the side.


    After a bit of hesitation, the insect slowly took a step forward. As though that step brought it encouragement, the insect slowly sped up, until it began running.


    The speed of the insect wasn''t anything sensational but was much faster than an adult man. Considering how young it was, that was quite impressive.


    The bottom half of the cougar lugged itself forward, clumsily stepping forward and backward. That was when the insect flew up with its wings andnded on top of it.


    The bottom half of the cougar noticed the insect, but continued on as though it didn''t. As of now, it wanted to focus its everything on fleeing.


    Not that it fled particrly well, but it was trying at least.


    Uponnding on the bottom half of the cougar, the insect raised two of its arms out and let out a battle roar.


    "Waaaaaaa!"


    Then, it began to il its two arms wildly.

 Chapter 238 - The Horror!

    The insect let loose on the cougar underneath it, putting its all into mauling its skin.


    There was not a single trace of mercy. The insect never paused its attack for a single second, shing it with one arm, then the next, over and over again.


    A battle cry was let out by this mercilessly savage beast!


    "Waaaaaaaa"


    It was a massacre, some people wouldn''t be able to stop themselves from saying, the horror!


    ...Well, at least from the insect''s perspective.


    It truly was raining down countless strikes in the matter of seconds, but each would only slightly tear through the cougar''s skin which would heal right after. The damage was so little that the cougar didn''t even bother shifting its attention.


    It would hardly take any effort for the cougar to create a new makeshift arm on top of its body and then crush the insect on top of it, but that would just be a waste of time.


    However, the cougar was still panicking fervently. As of now, it was only its bottom half. Because the cougar was too hasty in creating new legs, it moved forward awkwardly, sometimes stopping in ce and sometimes even going backward.


    Instead of taking a couple extra seconds to form real limbs, the cougar decided to continue stumbling as though it was an old man trying to breakdance.


    Together with the insect on top letting out a confident warcry, it looked like a strange alternate universe version of bull riding.


    As that was happening, Apollo continued to sh at the top half of the cougar, or what was left of it.


    By now, there was only a small pile of ck ash with several makeshift hook arms at the end. Although there were over ten arms, only one of them could move.


    And it did so slowly while faintly trembling.


    The arm lifted into the air andnded into the ground. However, before it could pull, there was nothing left to pull. The body that it was attached to hadpletely turned into ck ash.


    Then, each arm followed, all disappearing one by one.


    Once thest arm became ck ash that ked off, Apollo didn''t even spare a second nce before charging towards the bottom half of the cougar.


    It only took several seconds to reach it, since the distance covered really was too small. The insect paused its shes and turned to look at Apollo. Then, as though it understood something, the insect jumped off and ran back to La.


    With that, Apollo was left to swing mercilessly at the cougar. He did not hold back at all, using both his free hand and bokken to swing. This was despite the fact his free hand was missing both the thumb and pinky.


    It was as though the cougar was a log going through a woodchipper, essentially being ground into ck ash.


    As for the insect, it was standing to the side, but simrly whipped its arms around. Although the power behind its attacks was far too weak to be of any threat, it was able to imitate Apollo almost perfectly.


    If nothing else, it was a very quick learner.


    On the other hand, the cougar wasn''t doing too well. Till the very end, it tried to use its faulty front legs to bring itself forward but aplished nothing.


    In the end, the cougar faded into the wind, in quite a literal sense.


    By the end of it all, Apollo lost both his index and ring finger. That meant he was constantly sticking up the middle finger like he was a teenager with bad taste.


    Apollo''s breathing was ragged,bined with suppressedughter.


    After twitching his head to the side a few times, he calmed down.


    Apollo wasn''t hit the entire time. The only injury he got was basically self inflicted, on his now constantly profane hand.


    He walked over to the insect and La while new flesh and bone squirmed around to rece his lost fingers.


    "It''s done."


    La pped a few times.


    "Then let''s go! There are still many more fun things to see!"


    Apollo took a deep breath, still calming down from the previous fight.


    "...Have you been here before?"


    La skipped ahead with her arms spread out to her sides, but still answered Apollo''s question.


    "Yeah, once or twice!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "So do you know where the high-level toxic creatures we were supposed to capture alive are?"


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    "Mmm... Those friends can be all over the ce! But there is one over there!"


    She proceeded to point in front of herself.


    Apollo''s eyes followed her finger, but couldn''t see anything up ahead. However, he trusted her.


    "Then let''s hurry."


    Apollo sprinted forth.


    Seeing this, La followed after him, not wanting to be left behind.


    "Wait for meeeee!"


    As for the insect, it began to panic seeing the two of them run away.


    "Waiy fur meeeee!"


    With its tiny legs, it skittered on ahead, but was unable to match the pace of La and Apollo. It was as though the mom and dad had abandoned their kid.


    Though to be fair, it wasn''t as though Apollo and La were actually the insect''s parents. There were several points that made that obvious, such as the fact the supposed parents consisted of a human and a cat girl, while the child was an insect. Though the biggest point was definitely the fact Apollo and La were children.


    Still, the betrayal the insect felt was very real, though that didn''t stop it from running after them.


    As for Apollo and La, it did not take long for them to reach a high-level toxic creature, the humanoid version. La had good eyes, which was pretty convenient.


    Apollo looked at La, recalling how she almost killed all the two-horned demons when they were supposed to take the gemstones.


    "Don''t kill it."


    La pouted.


    "Ok, ok!"


    One of the creature''s eyes pivoted towards Apollo and La.


    The creature spotted them.

 Chapter 239 - Hehe...

    The high-level toxic creature had skin with colors ranging from ck, brown, and yellow randomly stered across its skin. It matched the natural ground below it pretty well, meaning it would be fairly hard to make out while lying down on the ground.


    This variation wasn''t extraordinarily tall, standing at three meters high. However, it was still quite a bit taller than Apollo and La.


    The creature did not have a head, but rather two eyes attached to two lines of flesh. Those two eyes were independent of each other, so each eye could look in one direction.


    As for the set of jaws in the middle of its chest, they were open a little and moved a little as though breathing.


    Upon noticing La and Apollo approaching it, the creature dug its w deep into the ground, then pulled upwards, scatteringrge amounts of dirt towards the two.


    La raised one hand and made a pping motion, stirring uprge gales that directly blew the dirt aside.


    Once it cleared, the creature was revealed.


    ...And it was running away.


    La giggled.


    "Too slow!"


    As she said, the creature was running fairly fast, but it was still slower than both of their speeds. However, the creature kept one eye forward to see where it was running and the other eye backward to see how close they were.


    Thus, the creature was able to tell that they were fast approaching.


    However, instead of turning back to fight, it was insistent on fleeing. Suddenly, the creature dug into the ground, escaping into the earth as though falling into a pool of water.


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched. He didn''t have any real way of following the creature. However, La simply dived into the ground as though it wasn''t actually solid.


    Before La left, Apollo called out to her.


    "Remember, don''t kill it!"


    La had dug partway into the ground, causing her voice to be muffled.


    "I know!"


    With that, Apollo''s steps slowed to a stop. He stood there awkwardly, waiting for La to be back with the creature.


    Apollo looked around asionally, but there was nothing to see. He tapped his foot against the ground and rested his bokken on his shoulder.


    There was a faint rumbling sounding from the ground. Suddenly, the high-level toxic creature burst out of the ground, flying high into the sky, dispersing quite a lot of dirt into the air. One of its arms was missing while dark red blood spilled out of the stump that remained.


    La hopped out right after, shooting towards the creature.


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    "No killing!"


    La had her w pulled back all the way, ready to attack. However, once she heard Apollo''s words, she calmed herself down.


    "No killing!"


    La decided to go for a grab instead of attacking.


    The creature iled its remaining limbs around, but La easily caught onto its ankle. Before it could struggle any further, La flung it downwards, causing its leg to directly snap off.


    The creature shot towards the ground like aser beam.


    A thundering boom reverberated through the air.


    The creature hit the ground hard forming arge crater in the ground. However, despite taking on such arge impact and losing both an arm and a leg, it was alive.


    The creature pushed off the ground and awkwardly hobbled on its remaining leg. Seeing this, Apollo let out a sigh of relief. He charged forth, wanting to take care of it from here as it was a bit hard to trust La''s process.


    The creature saw himing with one of its eyes and raised its remaining w. Apollo didn''t bother dodging as he didn''t see the need to and met its strike with his bokken head on.


    A deafening bang resounded.


    Apollo''s feet sank into the ground, even cracking the ground underneath him. He was pushing his bokken against the creature''s w. They were interlocked together and faintly trembling.


    The two of them pushed against the other with as much force as they could muster. Like Apollo, the creature''s foot had sunk into the ground.


    This was a little surprising to Apollo as the first impression it gave off was a helpless weak creature. However, it had a surprising amount of strength.


    It was much more than the cougar''s, though its regenerative power seemed far weaker.


    However, their stalemate wasn''t going tost long.


    After all, La wasn''t just going to sit still.


    "Wah!"


    She plunged down from the air, aiming straight for the creature. Apollo looked up and noticed what was about to happen. This immediately caused him to panic as he wasn''t confident in the creature surviving.


    Apollo took a step backwards, breaking their sh. The creature tripped forward from the sudden change in force.


    Then, a boom reverberated.


    Landed on the creature''s remaining leg, smashing it into paste. She continued on, mming into the ground and scattering stone fragments high into the air.


    As the creature fell over, Apollo''s bokken shed.


    The creature''sst limb, its arm, was cut off.


    The process wasn''t the cleanest, but at least now the creature should be impaired pretty badly due to the loss of its limbs.


    Apollo let out a soft sigh and began thinking how he could bring this thing to the shadow world.


    That was when the mouth on the creature''s chest opened wide, spitting out several red tendrils. Apollo instinctively shed the onesing for him. However, La simply stood there, letting them wrap around her arm.


    Cold sweat formed on Apollo''s forehead.


    Not because he was scared for La, but for the creature.


    La raised her arm, lifting the creature high into the air.


    Apollo reached out with his hand.


    "Wait!"


    However, he warned toote.


    La mmed the creature down onto the ground. With a bang, another crater formed. As for the creature, its body became a mangled mess and no longer moved.


    Apollo turned to La and looked her dead in the eye.


    "...I said no killing."


    La looked away.


    "Hehe...."

 Chapter 240 - Abandoned

    Apollo looked at the dead high-level toxic creature next to him, then to La who was bashfully touching the tips of her fingers together. He pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a sigh.


    "...We need to find another one now."


    La''s tail swayed slowly.


    "Um, sorry friend."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    Although La definitely pissed him off, there was also the consideration that she was the one that found the high-level toxic being in the first ce. On top of that, if it wasn''t for her, it would''ve escaped after digging underground.


    Apollo shook his head helplessly.


    "Whatever. Can you see another one?"


    La''s furry ears twitched.


    She spun around, doing a quick scan of the area.


    "Oh, I see one there!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Lead the way please."


    At that moment, a little insect had caught up to them after running as fast as it could. Upon seeing the two, it felt relieved.


    Then, La bolted off.


    The insect felt shock, but was still reassured by the fact Apollo was still-


    ...Nevermind, Apollo left too.


    The insect stood there for a moment, at a loss.


    It angrily stamped the ground as tiny tears formed at the edges of the insect''s eye. Then, it began to chase after the two once more, despite its aggrieved feelings.


    This time, it took a decent amount of time for Apollo and La to reach their new target.


    They soon found themselves before a high-level toxic creature. Except this time, instead of the human variation, this was the dog variation.


    This creature resembled a dog, but had eight legs, making it something like a spider dog. It was also three meters tall like the humanoid version. However, because most of its length came from how wide it was, this creature wasrger than the humanoid version.


    The skin of this creature was a deep ck. While the dog itself did not appear to have eyes, it was somehow able to sense the two as they approached.


    Like thest high-level toxic creature, the first thing it chose to do was flee. What was noticeably strange looking was the fact the creature didn''t have to turn around to flee. This seemed to be because of its eight legs that let it run in any direction. So while it was scampering away, its body was positioned horizontally.


    Compared to the humanoid variation, the spider plus dog variation was much faster. In fact, at the current speed Apollo and La were going at, they would be unable to catch up.


    However, it wasn''t like they couldn''t speed up.


    Arcs of lightning danced across Apollo''s body. Then, trails of lightning appeared behind him as he ran. As for La, she moved her feet a little slower, but each time she pushed off the ground,rge amounts of soil got lifted up into the air while she herself shot forwards.


    They were much faster than the creature, about to catch up in just a few seconds.


    The creature seemed to realize this as it stopped running. Then, the creature jumped towards them, but towards the side so that it wouldn''t collide with them.


    Itnded to the side of them. Then, the creature extended its head out a few meters. Its neck stretched out while the jaws of the dog began to rapidly expand until they became wide enough to swallow the both of them whole.


    It was a rather surprising sight, but it wasn''t much more than that.


    Apollo''s bokken shed, tearing the creature''s jaw in two. The cut continued past to the neck, essentially giving the creature two heads and necks.


    It was at this moment Apollo realized he was rather reckless and might''ve killed it. However, he was just overthinking it. The two separate halves of the jaws recoiled from the force of Apollo''s strike, but both of them were still fine and lunged towards Apollo.


    But that was when La sent out a p.


    With a smack, the two necks were sent to the side, extending to their limits before snapping off.


    What remained of the creature was just its body, which immediately began to run away once more.


    However, it couldn''t outrun them before and wouldn''t be able to now.


    Apollo turned his head to the side to re at La.


    "No killing!"


    La nodded sheepishly.


    "No killing!"


    Apollo and La bolted forth. If the creature still had its head, it would probably be whimpering in despair.


    La grabbed onto one of the creature''s legs, forcing it to stop. The rest of the seven legs continued to perform the running motion, but only dug holes into the ground.


    Apollo''s bokken shed several times, cutting off all of the creature''s limbs one by one. With that, the body fell down, unable to move.


    Apollo sighed.


    "It looks like wepleted the mission."


    La nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Apollo stared at the creature for a few moments. Although he and La were able to take care of it rtively easily, they were definitely not weak.


    Yet, the creatures they encountered so far all decided to run. They even seemed to have adaptations to run away. The human variation had a digging ability and camouge while the dog spider variation was able to run in all directions without the need to turn.


    ...They adapted features as though they were prey.


    That implied that they had predators thatpletely overwhelmed them. The only versions that survived were those that found a way to hide or run away.


    Whatever those predators were, they were probably far stronger.


    Apollo shook his head.


    He had to first turn in his request before the creature bled out or something.


    Apollo heaved, picking it up with both the t side of his bokken and his other arm. Then, he stepped into the shadow world.


    La did the same soon after.


    That was the moment when the insect had finally caught up. Yet, right when it did.


    They disappeared.


    The insect was about to have a breakdown.

 Chapter 241 - King-Level Toxic Creature

    Apollo carried the body of the high-level toxic creature awkwardly into the request room. He could tell that the creature was still alive as the body continued to squirm in his hands, but there was little it could do without its limbs.


    La appeared soon after and watched as Apollo walked across the room.


    As for the request room, the request table shifted and dispersed. The mist gathered to be a fairlyrge cage. The cage looked far from reliable given that the bars seemed to be fading in and out of existence, but Apollo didn''t question it.


    The front of the cage was just a gap, so Apollo tossed the creature in that gap. Itnded with a thump, then mist rapidly gathered around the cage before disappearing altogether along with the creature.


    The request table returned, but this time with the parchment on top torn and a sack of two hundred gold coins. Above it were six lines of condensed mist.


    Without much hesitation, Apollo picked up the sack and headed over to the shop section of this room that looked like a street side stall. He looked at the gold coin section of the shop once more.


    ''10 Gold Coins - 10 One-Week Food Pellets


    50 Gold Coins - ck me Match''


    The purpose Apollopleted that mission in the first ce was because he wanted to get the one-week food pellets, so there was no way he wasn''t going to buy them. However, he was also quite curious about what this ck me match could be.


    In the end, Apollo was caught between the decision of spending all his coins on food pellets, or buying one match and spending the rest on food pellets.


    La got next to Apollo and looked at him as he stared intently at the price board.


    Her furry ears twitched.


    "Is there something tasty here?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Not something tasty, but I can get things to eat."


    La puffed up her cheeks.


    "Ehhhh? Why eat if it isn''t tasty?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "To survive?"


    La tilted her head to the side, clearly confused.


    "I don''t get what friend is saying."


    Apollo shook his head.


    "It doesn''t matter."


    After a bit of deliberation, he supposed La had a point in a certain sense. Not that things had to be tasty, but what was the point if there wasn''t a bit of excitement. Buying one couldn''t hurt, at least not physically.


    The fifty gold coins weren''t a small price, but having one hundred and fifty food pellets should be enough for at least a little while.


    Apollo decided on what he wanted to buy, but then was at a loss as for how he could buy them.


    He looked over to the small bowl attached to the side of the misty street side stall, then connected two and two together.


    Apollo dumped all of the gold coins into the small bowl and watched them disappear down the funnel. First, the One-Week Food Pellet section of the price list glowed brightly and the ck me Match lit up soon after.


    After shaking out the veryst coin from the sack, Apollo walked over to the price list, then after a bit of hesitation, tapped the ck me match item with his index finger.


    A small amount of mist converged on top of the stall before revealing a small match. It waspletely ck and had a bulbous tip. Apollo pinched the match with two fingers and brought it up next to his face, inspecting it closely.


    Other than the strange color, the match didn''t seem to be anything special.


    He then pocketed in and tapped the respective part for food pellets. Instead of immediately giving the food pellets, a few extra lines of mist appeared. They showed fifty, one-hundred, and the maximum he could buy, one-hundred and fifty.


    Apollo tapped the one-hundred and fifty and mist began to converge on top of the table. A familiar ck sack appeared on the table, but was a little bitrger this time.


    After Apollo pocketed that sack too, La couldn''t help but ask a question.


    "What are those things?"


    Apollo waved his hand dismissively.


    "Nothing too important. Some vorless food and something that I don''t understand yet."


    La pouted.


    "They aren''t tasty?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Probably not."


    La hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Why don''t you get the tasty things?"


    Apollo sighed.


    "I might and I might not."


    He walked over to the request table and pulled out his iron coin to flip it. Plumes of smoke appeared, before condensing into five lines of mist.


    There was only one parchment, prompting Apollo to raise an eyebrow.


    ...At least it was better than no parchments.


    ''Reward: The Eye of An Adult Unicorn''


    Apollo remembered seeing this reward several times and recognized the parchment. In other words, nobody took this parchment for quite a long time.


    This made Apollo think that the reward was probablyckluster. However, there was no other choice for him to make and he did not want to waste the chance he used up to flip his coin.


    And so, he picked it up and read it.


    ''Rank: Iron Coin - Silver Lined


    Target: King-Level Toxic Creature


    Description: Resides in the center of the toxic wastnd, the perpetual raining section. Estimated danger level of four horns. Heavily mutated appearance. Extremelyrge. Takes on the color of the filth rain that falls upon it. Will be provoked by any living creature thates within the perpetual raining section.


    Requirements: Assassinate King-Level Toxic Creature''


    The attached picture below showed something that somewhat resembled a demon. That was because the general shape appeared to be humanoid while the head had three horns. However, the actual appearance consisted of extra limbs that appeared to be haphazardly ced on its body along with extra jaws. The skin was either badly drawn, or had several irregr bumps.


    It was as though a three-horned demon had mutated in this ce.

 Chapter 242 - Testing The Black Flame Match

    There was a weeping insect, brushing away its tears. It was upset over being abandoned.


    That was when Apollo stepped out of the shadow world and into the real world while La tore open space from the blue world to the real world.


    Once the two of them set foot on the soil, the insect looked up to them and then raised its arms.


    It hadn''t been abandoned!


    The insect immediately ran over to Apollo and touched his foot, prompting him to look down at it with confusion.


    "What do you want?"


    Surprisingly, the insect seemed dejected, as though it understood what those words meant.


    For a second, Apollo was wondering what this thing even was, until he eventually remembered it was the insect that began following him a while ago.


    La''s tail swayed enthusiastically.


    "Do you want to see more tasty things?"


    Apollo lost interest in the insect and turned towards La.


    "Not right at this moment. For now, I need to kill the thing in the center of this ce."


    La tilted her head to the side and ced her index finger on her chin.


    "Oh, ying and new friends!"


    She raised both hands in the air.


    "I can''t wait!"


    Apollo shrugged.


    "Then let''s go right now."


    La nodded.


    "Ok!"


    With that, the two of them ran towards the center of the toxic wastnd. Apollo left trails of lightning in his wake, while La kicked uprge amounts of dirt with every step.


    As for the insect, it looked on in despair, then began chasing after them as it cried.


    Apollo found that they were running for quite some time, but saw no trace of any filth rain to indicate they were at the perpetual raining section.


    He decided to multitask during this time and discover what the ck me match did.


    Apollo pulled out the match, staring at it for a few moments. It jostled up and down because he was running.


    Although Apollo had heard about matches before, he had never seen a real one in person. From what he knew, it needed to be rubbed against a rough surface and would be lit ame.


    Apollo looked at his bokken, then the ck me match. With less hesitation than he should''ve had, he scraped the match against his bokken, setting it ame.


    For a split second, Apollo saw a ck me appear. Then, his surroundings became pitch ck while the me on his match became white.


    ...No, that wasn''t urate.


    Apollo could still see the ground below him and La next to him. However, everything past ten meters was reced by darkness.


    La''s furry ears twitched after the match was lit. She gasped in surprise.


    "Wah! It''s so hard to see now!"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "I guess. This thing doesn''t seem very useful."


    La remained silent. She turned towards Apollo''s direction, but didn''t look directly at him. Then, she looked to her right.


    La couldn''t see Apollo.


    "Where did you go, friend?"


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    "I''m right next to you, what are you talking about?"


    Yet, La did not respond. She eventually slowed to a stop, prompting Apollo to do the same.


    "Why aren''t you saying anything, friend?"


    Apollo blinked a few times, slowly realizing that the match he was holding might be more than what he expected. From what La said, it seemed that while this match cut off his vision of everything farther than ten meters, it would not only make him invisible, but silent as well.


    "Ah, friend is here!"


    Suddenly, La appeared in front of Apollo who had his head down in thought. He recoiled slightly.


    "Ah, you can see me?"


    La''s eyes were glowing blue ever so slightly. She nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah!"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Can you hold this for a second?"


    He extended out the hand that was holding on to the match. La curiously stared into the white me before nodding. She pinched onto the match with two fingers.


    Almost immediately, Apollo''s vision was restored. He could now see farther than ten meters like normal. As for La, she had disappeared entirely.


    Apollo spun around to confirm that La really wasn''t anywhere nearby, then held out his hand. After a few moments, he found the match was back in his hand while his vision past ten meters was blocked.


    La had been holding onto the match and then let go.


    "That thingy is so weird!"


    Apollo chuckled.


    "It really is."


    As onest experiment, he stuck the match into the ground. As expected, his vision returned, while the match itself disappeared.


    Other than a small unassuming hole in the ground, there was nothing to indicate that anything was there. As for the dirt, although it was ''holding'' onto the match to a certain extent, it did not disappear like La.


    Apollo''s eyes narrowed.


    There were still a few nuances he wasn''t sure on, like what would happen if a corpse held onto the match. However, he could just test those thingster.


    Apollo picked the match back up and turned to La.


    "Tell me when you see any rain."


    La tilted her head to the side, then nodded.


    "Ok!"


    She began running forward while Apollo made sure not to fall behind. It felt a little strange being unable to see that far ahead, however, it wasn''t like Apollo was in a horror movie or something, so he didn''t have to worry about jumpscares.


    As the two of them ran, Apollo counted the seconds to determine how long the match wouldst. Although he wasn''t the most urate, it would at least give him a sense of their duration.


    Eventually, La''s furry ears twitched. She turned to Apollo as they ran and pointed forth.


    "I can see some rain and a new friend!"


    Apollo gave La a nce.


    "Alright."


    By counting, he determined roughly thirty minutes had passed. Along the way, he did several other experiments and found holding onto the match with his clothes would not restrict his vision.


    So he pinched the match with the corner of his clothes.


    And raised both eyebrows.

 Chapter 243 - Undetected

    A dark sky was before Apollo, to his surprise. However, it was not because the sun was down. In fact, it was in the middle of the day. What made the sky dark was somerge ck spot. It was as though all the clouds in the toxic wastndbined together here to create this.


    From that ck spot, was a constant downpour. Though there wasn''t too much light, it was still easy to see the discoloration within the individual raindrops. It definitely wasn''t the most weing thing out there.


    La continued running forward, prompting Apollo to follow as to not be left behind. He put the ck me match back into his hand. Currently, half of the match had burned away while roughly thirty minutes had passed.


    From this, Apollo determined that the matchsted roughly an hour total. He continued to run forth with La while holding the match.


    As they got closer, the ground became damper while the asional raindrop would fall down. La didn''t seem to mind it. Apollo definitely preferred not experiencing dirty rain falling on him, but he continued through it without a change in expression.


    Minutes after the two of them walked through the dirty rain, a series of deep thumping sounds resounded, rapidly approaching them.


    Apollo couldn''t see what it was because the ck me match was still active, restricting his vision. However, it wasn''t too hard to tell that it was something big.


    La looked up and gasped.


    "Wah! A friend ising over!"


    Apollo slowed down a little, after which La quickly left his vision. Although it was inconvenient having his own vision suppressed, he wanted to see if concealing himself had any effect.


    Apollo heard a rather loud roar from above which he guessed was the king-level toxic creature. Along with that, there was a quieter roar that came from La.


    "Rah!"


    A few loud bangs rang out one after another. The ground under cracked a little and shook. It was at this point Apollo realized that the mission might not count if he wasn''t the one that killed it.


    There were a few requests that werepleted where he wasn''t the sole person thatpleted it, such as killing Kn Noia. However, Apollo didn''t want to risk it.


    He rushed forward with a bokken in one hand and the match in the other. Soon, Apollo saw the foot of the king-level toxic creature. It was lying on the ground. The skin of the creature was ck, but had a slight green tint to it.


    Once he continued further, he saw that La was standing on the stomach of the creature with her hands on her hips with her elbows stuck out. She stuck her chin up confidently, clearly proud of the results of her action.


    "Hehe, I win again!"


    Even from this position, Apollo couldn''t see the creature''s head. He guessed that it must''ve been at least thirty meters tall. There was a fairlyrge wound on the creature where La was standing, but it didn''t look that bad.


    Without warning, the creature''s w shot towards La. It was a swift and decisive strike, but it wasn''t enough to catch La off guard. She responded in kind with her own w, mming the creature''s arm back down onto the ground. A bit of brown blood splurt out, but the injury was rtively light


    After letting out another roar, a maw filled with sharp teeth formed on the creature''s chest. It opened and tried to swallow La, but she hopped back before it could.


    The creature stood back up, staring vigntly at La. It did not notice Apollo at all. Trying to take advantage of this, Apollo flew up into the sky and behind the creature''s head.


    Despite having a head, there were no facial features anywhere on it. There weren''t even ears or some kind of hair. There was only one thing where three misshapen horns that were all different sizes.


    Apollo raised his bokken high into the air and began to gather lightning. In all honesty, he found the experience of not being seen by his opponent a little strange. The only thing he had gone through was head on fights for quite a while.


    The creature was backing up slowly, unaware that Apollo was right behind. It was as though the creature was willingly walking towards him.


    Apollo began to smile, enjoying this strange feeling.


    He clenched the hilt of his bokken as hard as he could, causing his knuckles to whiten. His muscles tightened to their limits. Arcs of lightningpletely covered his bokken. Even the majority of his hand was covered by them while a few overflowed onto his arm. It made his body look like they were glowing blue.


    Apollo would''ve used both hands if he didn''t need to use one to hold the match.


    But that didn''t mean his strike would be weak.


    The king-level toxic creature continued to back up slowly, getting closer and closer. Apollo waited patiently and when it was right next to him...


    He swung.


    A ring crackle reverberated throughout the wastnd.


    Brown blood and pieces of ck flesh filled the air, adding to the amount of things in the filthy rain. As for the creature, its head disappeared entirely. There was arge wound in his torso that appeared like a miniature crater. A few traces of lightning zapped around in its wound.


    The creature stumbled forward, disoriented from the strike, but still alive.


    Confused, it began to il all of its arms around wildly, but Apollo easily flew out of its range before it could hit him.


    A few remnant arcs of lightning danced across his body.


    Heughed freely, a little surprised by how easy it was for him to attack at full power. The feeling was a bit addicting.


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Again, again!"


    Apollo smirked and raised his bokken once more.


    The creature continued to il its limbs around as though it was drowning, but gradually slowed when it didn''t achieve any results.


    And so, Apollo could approach easily.

 Chapter 244 - An Old Face

    A thundering boom resounded throughout the wastnd once more.


    Apollo brought his bokken down on the already critically injured king-level toxic creature. The fact it was still alive despite taking on Apollo''s full power strike spoke of its tenacity. However, facing another strike, it was not so lucky.


    Even more brown blood sshed into the air along with charred flesh.


    The king-level toxic creature split in two entirely, without even knowing what attacked it. What remained of the two halves was little, consisting mostly of charred flesh.


    They mmed into the ground, no longer moving. However, something inside continued to squirm. Suddenly, the outer skin of the two halves burst, each revealing a rtivelyrge worm-like creature with arms and legs.


    They could bepared to an oversized lizard, but instead of having a head, they had a jaw filled with teeth.


    As for the king-level toxic creature, it was dead. However, the things inside it weren''t. These things acted as parasites, constantly draining at their host''s vitality. In reality, the king-level toxic creature had been weakened considerably.


    Thisbined with the fact the creature could not see Apollo, it was essentially a helpless baby.


    The two parasitic creatures looked around before locking onto La. They pounced towards her, trying to consume anything they could now that their previous host died.


    Thought that probably wasn''t the best decision.


    La tilted her head to the side and pulled back her hand.


    When the two parasitic creatures were right in front of La, she acted.


    Tworge bangs rang out.


    La directly pped the creatures, causing them to explode into abination of brown and red blood.


    Apollo sighed.


    "That was easy enough."


    He looked at the ck me match which was nearing the end of its life.


    "Maybe I should get another one of these sometime."


    Apollo began descending, wanting to im his rewards forpleting the request. Yet as he did, La cried out.


    "Ah, new friend! Wait, don''t go so fast!"


    Apollo couldn''t see what was happening, but assumed some other creature appeared. However, a very human voice rang out.


    "Shut up and get away from me!"


    It was the voice of a young boy.


    La giggled.


    "Don''t be shy! It''s very fun to y with friends, just try it!"


    The young boy audibly growled.


    "I don''t have time to waste on some little girl, I''m finally so close! You better leave me alone if you know what''s good for you!"


    La hummed teasingly.


    "Hehe, don''t be scared, I will show friend!"


    The boy seemed distressed.


    "I don''t need you to show me anything! If you mess this opportunity up for me I swear I''ll-"


    He was cut off by a loud smack. It seemed that La had hit him.


    "Hehe, I win again!"


    The boy seemed angry.


    "Why you!"


    Apollo couldn''t help his curiosity and held onto the match with the corner of his clothes. His vision was restored and saw a boy standing on a massive mushroom trying to wrestle off La, but not with much sess.


    The boy had short brain hair and was wearing the clothes of nobility, though they were quite dirty. The thing that made him stand out was that while he had one normal hazelnut eye, the other was a little different. The sclera was pink, while the pupil was a deep red.


    There was a big frown on the boy''s face.


    "Get off of me, damn you!"


    La had a bright smile on her face as she grabbed the end of the boy''s sleeve.


    "Have some fun first!"


    Apollo blinked a few times. He was a bit confused on how a kid got all the way out here.


    Not to say that he and La weren''t kids, but they were different.


    La turned to Apollo and waved.


    "Friend, help me!"


    The boy turned to look at Apollo as well. However, once he did, his eyes widened considerably.


    "...You."


    Because the boy was Otis.


    "You bastard!"


    And Apollo was the one who killed his father.


    Otis furrowed his brows and pointed at him.


    "I''ve finally found you!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Huh? Who are you?"


    La gasped.


    "Friends already know each other?"


    Otis grit his teeth.


    "I am Otis the second! I told you to remember me, this day is yourst!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "...Still have no idea who you are."


    Otis'' face twitched. A nasty frown formed on his face.


    "No matter. Whether you remember or not, you will pay with your life!"


    Suddenly, several wooden spikes burst out of the ground under Apollo''s feet. He immediately took to the air, dodging them.


    La curiously stared at Otis, then raised both hands in the air.


    "Yay, ying with friends!"


    As for Otis, he leaped off the giant mushroom and was caught by a tree that burst out of the ground. Severalrge trees and foliage rapidly grew, rapidly changing the terrain from a toxic wastnd into a lush green forest.


    Apollo looked down at a wooden spike that was growing right below him. The speed at which it grew was not enough to catch up to him. However, several vines shot out from the tree, immediately wrapping themselves around Apollo''s feet.


    Seeing this, he shed the vines below him, disconnecting them.


    In that time, a massive wooden spike grew out of the forest andunched towards him, aiming straight for his heart. Apollo tried to fly out of the way, but it followed him like a tracker.


    In the end, he was forced to parry.


    Apollo shed with his bokken, but only tore through part of the wooden spike. It continued to grow and push towards him.


    Apollo continued to sh, but with more force this time.


    The wooden spike broke apart faster than it grew, unable to harm him anymore. However, Otis wasn''t done with just one wooden spike.


    Several more wooden spikesunched towards him.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    It seemed things were getting out of hand.


    ...


    At roughly the same time, Willow was having her own set of troubles.


    A ragged breath steadily filled the forest every few moments along with the crunching sound of snow. It was Willow, barely holding on as she traversed the snow. She had her hands covering her various injuries in an attempt to slow the bleeding, however, the effectiveness of that was proving to be limited.


    The longer she traveled down this way, the more memories of the past appeared. She had participated in a war.


    It was a war between her species, those with ck hair, and her childhood friend''s species, those with white hair. After being captured as a ve, Willow ended up spending many grueling months in a prison. It was a miserable experience as she was not able to clean herself properly, nor was she given a reasonable amount of food to eat.


    As Willow began thinking this was going to be the end, something eventually changed. There was a prison riot. One of those with ck hair was able to free themselves and began to free many others. When a man suddenly approached her cell and directly broke the metal lock of her cage, Willow felt a strange feeling bubble up within her after so long.


    Grievance.


    Why was she forced to endure this for so long?


    Willow didn''t understand why those with white hair had done this, but she wasn''t going to sit back and take it. A sudden turning point urred. While the people with white hair had attacked the others, they did not kill anybody directly.


    Instead, they arrested them.


    As such, it allowed Willow to join several others in freeing her kind, before starting a revolution. It immediately became a bloody battle, as the hatred of those with ck hair could not be quenched. The same went for Willow.


    In her eyes, those with ck hair were her allies and those with white hair were her enemies. It was a simple as that, no more exnation was needed.


    Within this war, Willow found herself cold, unable to wear the best clothing for the situation. There were no longer many houses people could take residence in, not destroyed ones anyway. On top of that, Willow was starved and injured.


    Naturally, she couldn''t help but be reminded of the past in this condition.


    Her thoughts back then became the thoughts now. Almost like her younger self was ovepping with her current one.


    Endure.


    Endure so that in the future, revenge can be taken.

 Chapter 245 - A Charade

    Several wooden spikes rapidly closed in on Apollo. They were not only sturdy, but would follow his path, making them very difficult to dodge.


    Apollo was able to handle one wooden spike, but not two.


    He looked towards the ck me match he was holding onto by pinching from under his clothes. The majority of the match had been burnt through, but still enough tost a decent amount of time.


    Without hesitation, he grabbed onto the match.


    Apollo''s vision beyond ten meters immediately disappeared while he himself disappeared from Otis'' vision.


    The wooden spikes continued forth towards hisst location, but since they were no longer tracking him, Apollo easily flew out of the way.


    Otis clenched his fist.


    "Show yourself, coward!"


    He was a bit of a hypocrite considering Otis was hiding within the foliage, but the technicalities weren''t too important to him right now.


    Apollo hovered in the air for a moment and scanned the forest below him.


    It was hard to see anything because of the excessive amount of leaves. There weren''t too many trees, but their branches extended far, covering nearly the entirety of the view from the sky.


    The overall radius that this new forest spanned was roughly a few hundred meters, meaning Otis'' location was going to be hard to determine.


    Apollo decided to dive into the forest and try his luck. He flew through quickly knowing that there wasn''t too much time left for him to continue using the match.


    In his rush, Apollo brushed by a vine. To his surprise, the vine jumped at him like a snake and wrapped around his arm. He immediately shed at it with his bokken, but several wooden spikes formed right next to him.


    One wooden spike formed to Apollo''s left. He was barely able to dodge it by twisting his body. Another formed underneath him, prompting him to shoot his bokken out towards the previous wooden spike and rebound off of it.


    The wooden spike brushed by Apollo''s face, blowing his hair aside.


    After that, another wooden spike shot towards him from the front.


    Apollo giggled, feeling the pressure bear down on him.


    Right when the wooden spike was about to hit, Apollo pivoted his body and stepped on the wooden spike behind him.


    And disappeared.


    He reappeared to the side and continued flying out of the way. The wooden spike ended up crashing into another one. Right after, countless vines shot out in the surrounding area, scouring the area for any trace of Apollo.


    Unfortunately, he had already left.


    Apollo realized that Otis was able to use the forest to feel as though it was part of his body. Not to mention the ease of control Otis had over the various nts.


    He took more care so Otis would not be alerted, but inevitably went slower because of it.


    Apollo looked around, but despite the vastness of the forest created, he could hardly see further than ten meters. There were simply too many leaves, vines, and other nts that blocked his vision.


    He also noticed that vines would randomly shoot out in various directions and attempt to capture as though something was there. Thankfully, none of them got Apollo so far. He guessed that Otis was randomly attempting to attack him throughout the forest.


    Apollo mentally prepared himself in case any vines appeared next to him.


    So far, none of the vines reached for him. In fact, they were quite far away. Thus, Apollo kept flying through the forest essentially unimpeded.


    However, things were not so simple.


    He quickly realized that the vines appeared to be closing in on him, almost like they knew his general location. The attacks the vines sent out before were not to get Apollo, but to create a boundary that gradually closed in.


    Apollo let out a soft sigh and hovered just above one of the tree branches. He waited patiently, watching the waves of vines close in faster and faster.


    Right when one of them was about to touch Apollo, he ced his foot onto the tree branch.


    And disappeared.


    The vines snapped towards his location frantically, almost like desperate snakes. There was even a wooden spike that pierced through his old location.


    However, their target was already gone, setting his sights on other parts of the forest.


    Apollo figured that it would be difficult for Otis to create another situation where the vines slowly entrapped him since he could''ve been anywhere.


    However, momentster, Apollo was proven wrong.


    Although the vines didn''t appear next to him, they already appeared rtively close around him. This couldn''t have been a random sweep, as it did not epass all the ces he could''ve gone.


    In other words, Otis could track Apollo to a certain extent. It definitely wasn''t the most urate given how he had to check the area around Apollo, but because of this tracking ability, Otis would end up wasting quite a bit of both their time.


    Given that the ck me match would run out sooner orter, Apollo was on the losing end of a stalemate.


    He decided to reveal his location by stepping on a tree branch. Numerous vines immediately shot towards him as did several wooden spikes, but he disappeared before they could hit.


    Soon after they missed, Apollo stood on top of another tree branch.


    The vines and wooden spikes changed their direction to get towards Apollo. However, he disappeared once more.


    Apollo continued this charade for quite a long time, going in a fairly clear path.


    His foot touched a tree branch, causing it to jostle up and down. Vines and wooden spikes shot towards his old location. Once they hit nothing, they began to scour the general area.


    However, this time, Apollo did something different.


    Instead of stepping down on a branch, he lifted his bokken high into the sky. Apollo''s thumb was firmly nted on the hilt.


    It looked like he was going to swing, which was true.. However, it wasn''t a swing aimed to kill.

 Chapter 246 - Seen

    Apollo brought his bokken down and pressed his thumb against the hilt.


    Yet, right when it seemed like he was going to put all of his strength into it, his thumb rxed. It was as though a vicious knife suddenly became a harmless feather.


    A wind de whipped through the air, but its overall shape was quite distorted and it didn''t travel that fast.


    Then, itnded against a tree branch far away.


    Numerous vines and several wooden spikes shot towards that tree branch, snapping the poor branch in the process. It was as though the entire forest was a venus flytrap. However, despite trying so many times, it was unable to catch its elusive prey.


    Apollo continued to fly in a direction, while sending out wind des in another direction.


    He was essentially creating an illusory situation, where ''Apollo'' was going in one direction, while he was going in another. None of the vines or wooden spikes went for him, but instead the fake Apollo.


    Instead of having the fake him go in the opposite direction, he made their paths rtively parallel. However, as time passed, Apollo was getting farther from his fake version.


    Naturally, this meant that it was much harder for him to keep this illusion up. After all, he had to send out a wind de through severalyers of branches without letting it so much as brush by them.


    Not to mention, it would be essentially impossible once the distance was greater than ten meters as that was where Apollo''s vision was cut off due to the ck me match.


    However, Apollo seemed to be doing it with ease.


    This was because he had memorized the terrain. Earlier on, when Apollo had been stepping on the tree branches, he wasn''t just doing it for the sake of keeping a pattern up.


    Apollo had spent twenty minutes just doing that, which would''ve been a bit excessive just for fooling Otis. However, that also meant his ck me match was nearing the end of its life. The only thing Apollo was holding was a tiny stub, still burning on stubbornly until its inevitable end.


    He had also made the assumption Otis would evade him, but not do so by going to the opposite side of the forest. That was because if Otis had some tracking ability, it would basically be impossible to reach him undetected if that was the case.


    By traveling through most of the forest already, he forced Otis to move.


    With this, Apollo predicted his direction.


    It was a big gamble, but he was right.


    On Otis'' side, he was being carried around by a set of vines. His red eye was wide open, while his normal one was fully closed. Otis was putting all he could to see the world through his red eye.


    Part of the ability brought by that red eye was a tracking method whose effectiveness varied depending on a few conditions. It was how Otis was able to find Apollo in the first ce.


    He was frustrated by how slippery Apollo was, but didn''t panic. Otis believed that he would get Apollo sooner orter. After all, in his eyes, Apollo was just running around aimlessly.


    So long as Otis stayed away from Apollo, he would be fine.


    However, that wasn''t exactly the case.


    When Apollo started sending out wind des to fake his position, Otis did not expect anything at first. In fact, he didn''t realize anything even when Apollo started throwing out wind des and began diverting his path.


    For a while, Otis was simply focused on attacking and evading what he thought was Apollo. However, Otis began to have a strange feeling.


    It was one that told him something was off, but he couldn''t tell what exactly it was.


    Apollo was still in the general rage Otis could tell he was in, but for some reason, he was always at the very side of it.


    Until eventually, he left it altogether.


    This sent countless warning signals into Otis'' mind, but it was toote now.


    Apollo reached Otis and raised his bokken high. Then, it shed.


    A clear snap rang out and blood scattered into the air.


    Otis was struck, but at thest second before he was hit, he instinctively whipped his arm around and blocked the attack. The result was a now horribly mangled arm.


    Apollo hardly dyed with his second strike, but countless vines shot out and constricted his movement while a flower grew out of the tree and wrapped around Otis, before disappearing into the tree.


    Several wooden spikes shot towards Apollo. He twisted his body, but it was simply too hard topletely dodge with all vines binding him.


    A few dull thwacks rang out one after another.


    Apollo was hit in the back first, knocking the wind out of him. Then, another wooden spike hit him on the shoulder, nearly ripping it off. Lastly, the final wooden spike mmed into his stomach, piercing through it entirely.


    It was as though Apollo was beingboed by several people.


    The wooden spike that pierced him continued to shove him downwards. Apollo''s eyes widened whileughter began to seep out of his clenched teeth. He attempted to push the wooden spike off of him, but the speed at which they were going downwards was simply too much.


    Apollo was barreling towards the ground.


    However, he came up with an idea.


    Apollo stuck his legs down as much as he could. Then, two audible snaps rang out before a loud bang.


    Right when Apollo''s feet touched the ground, he performed the basic shadow step technique and disappeared. Unfortunately, it came at the cost of broken knees.


    Once Apollo reappeared, took to the air.


    His legs dangled uselessly whilerge amounts of blood spilled out of his stomach wound. As though adding insult to injury, countlessrge purple flowers burst out of the ground.


    They spat out some reddish-purple mist.


    As Apollo flew through the sky, he moved the mist.


    Letting Otis ''see'' him.

 Chapter 247 - Cutting Through The Foliage

    Apollo beganughing harder and harder.


    He tried so hard to use his advantages in an attempt to outsmart Otis, but in the end, this was his state. Although Apollo was able to injure Otis, the following counterattack made him suffer so much.


    Apollo looked at the ck me match in his hands. It was nearly at the end of its life, perhaps still able to provide a minute or two of stealth. However, Apollo simply dropped it, letting it fall to the floor.


    Although it could continue to obscure his figure, it was only so useful when the purple mist would reveal his location.


    Vines and wooden spikes immediately shot towards his location, prompting Apollo to streak through the air, leaving trails of lightning in his wake.


    Whenever any vines got close, they would disappear in the next instant. They were simply too weak, meaning that even Apollo''s casual strike caused them to snap.


    In Apollo''s eyes, he saw several stars fill up a dark night. And by cutting those stars, he shed the vines.


    As for the wooden spikes, he couldn''t just casually bat them away. Red scars snaked across Apollo''s arms while his body rapidly heated up. His hand clenched tightly onto his bokken before snapping out towards a wooden spike.


    A clear bang rang out. Arge portion of the wooden spike directly cracked off while the rest of it recoiled violently. As for Apollo, he was thrown back by the recoil force, allowing him to dodge another wooden spike.


    Apollo found himself needing to deal with vines, then the need to deal with wooden spikes. This meant he had to rapidly transition between swinging rapidly and using heavy handed strikes.


    During this time, he snuck a hand into his pouch containing one-week food pellets and pulled out three, which he directly tossed into his mouth. Without even chewing, he swallowed all the food pellets.


    By the time they fell down, his stomach regenerated. Then, they touched his stomach acid and dissolved instantly. With that, his frightening wound rapidly regenerated while his broken knees mended.


    In just a few seconds, he was as good as new.


    Apollo continued pushing his body to its limits. However, he wasn''t used to suddenly transitioning between strikes with full power and maximum speed. As such, he was asionallyte to the change.


    And paid the price.


    After cutting through ten vines that attempted to bind him, his bokken snapped out to the wooden spike behind him. Yet, it didn''t hold enough power.


    And so, the wooden spike knocked Apollo''s bokken to the side and mmed into his back.


    Frightening cracking sounds rang out.


    Apollo''s spine cracked dangerously. However, it mended soon after.


    Apollo rapidly shed the vines around him before sending his bokken out towards a wooden spike. With a snap, it was blown away andnded with a crash.


    Then, vines show out towards him.


    Apollo attempted to sh them, but was too slow, only able to cut through one of the vines. They bound his limbs from all directions.


    It was as though Apollo was a puppet with way too many strings attached.


    He struggled fiercely, straining the vines. It would only take a few seconds for him to break out. Yet, it was a few seconds too long.


    A wooden spike shot out towards Apollo, directly piercing through his chest.


    Without mercy, another shot out towards him while he was still bound by the vines. Apollo''s eyes widened further, matching the severity of the situation.


    With all his strength, he pulled against the vines. However, it wasn''t for the sake of breaking free, but moving his body.


    The wooden spike rammed against Apollo''s feet, but before it could do further damage, he disappeared entirely. Right when Apollo reappeared, his heart hastily regenerated, while his other organs and rib cage followed soon after.


    However, before he could get used to his healed body, several vines and wooden spikes shot towards him once more, attempting to im his life.


    At this time, Otis was feeling confident.


    Having one of his arms crippled was a surprise, since he found his body had been unnaturally hard after he had passed some of the trials in his attempt to inherit his family''s legacy.


    Even when a burly man shed at him with a sword at full strength, it only just barely broke through the surface of his skin.


    In reality, while Otis failed in inheriting the legacy, the powers he had gained by passing the trials were still quite fearsome.


    While Apollo got the upper hand earlier, that was using the fact he was practically invisible. As of now, Apollo was out in the open and even if he could be invisible once more, the purple mist in the air would reveal him.


    Put simply, Apollo''s situation didn''t look the best. Yet, that didn''t get him down. As the vines and wooden spikes approached, he straightened out his free hand like a sword.


    Arcs of lightning rapidly gathered around his body as red scars snaked across his body. Then, he moved both his hands and bokken.


    The vines were shed through easily while the wooden spikes were blown away.


    Otis furrowed his brows.


    He couldn''tprehend how Apollo was faring better despite being visible.


    Apollo flew through the forest, tearing up anything that came for him including the surrounding terrain. Trees creaked before falling while cut and burnt leaves filled the air.


    Apollo no longer bothered hiding. There were definitely merits to it, which he recognized. However, with the advantages, came their downfalls.


    Apollo had to hold onto the match with his hand. If he put it in his pocket, the match would be ineffective. However, giving up his hand was essentially relinquishing an additional sword.


    When he originally saw a set of stars before him, he used both hands to cut through him. Naturally, using only one would be more difficult.


    The foliage was thick, but Apollo cut his way through, one swing at a time.

 Chapter 248 - More Important Than Ones Life

    Several vines shot out to bind Apollo''s legs. Yet before they could reach, part of them was cut before falling helplessly to the floor. The location around the cut was ever so slightly charred.


    Originally, the vines would simply regenerate after being cut. However, the fact that they were charred interrupted that. The vines first had to push off the charred part forcefully, peeling them off like a scab, before they could regrow.


    This process did not take long, but within the context of this situation, it was far too long.


    Two wooden spikes shot towards Apollo, one towards his head and the other to his shoulder.


    After shing through a vine with his hand, he ced it onto the t side of his bokken. The transition was practically seamless.


    Then, Apollo''s bokken snapped out.


    Both of the wooden spikes were blown away, while the top part broke off entirely.


    Apollo was slowly gaining momentum. He was learning how to transition between maximizing his speed and maximizing his strength, adapting to what kind of attack shot towards him.


    Apollo dealt with the attacks so effectively, he even had the time to rip into the surrounding forest. As Apollo shot through the air, the asional tree would fall to the ground.


    Seeing this, Otis frowned. Although his life wasn''t threatened, he was now the person facing the pressure. Creating such a lush forest wasn''t exactly easy in such an environment like this.


    It was called the toxic wastnd for a reason.


    Otis was spending most of his mana supplying the forest with what it needed to grow and maintain itself. If he was in the middle of an area filled with vegetation, or just fertile soil for that matter, there would be no need for that.


    In fact, Otis could drain the environment and use that to further enhance his attacks.


    The feeling was quite stifling, like he couldn''t move properly because there was no air to breathe. On top of that, the rate at which Apollo cut down trees was faster than the rate that Otis could create them.


    He felt panic begin to set in.


    And felt anger boiling to the surface.


    Otis desperately wanted revenge. He worked so hard to finally catch up to his father''s killer, overcame many trials he believed to be impossible, yet couldn''t do anything about it?


    Currently, several flowers were covering Otis'' arm that had been mangled. It was fixed in the right direction, but blood seeped out from between the petals, showing that it was not fully taken care of.


    While Otis'' constitution was not weak, he did not have the frightening regenerative ability Apollo had.


    There was a limited number of trees in this forest, meaning it was only a matter of time before Otis had no more ces to hide.


    Then, Apollo would find him.


    Fear seeped into Otis'' mind. Doubts appeared one after another.


    He had thought about getting his revenge time and time again, but never sat down to consider whether or not he had the power to fulfill it.


    Otis looked down at his arm that was being held intact by several flowers. Apollo''sughs rang out in the distance, almost like a warning.


    The enemy was too strong.


    Otis was unable to defeat him in this condition.


    ...So naturally, he should run.


    Apollo''sughs became clearer, as though Otis was being haunted by some ghost.


    Countless thoughts rushed into his mind. They were different, but all had the same meaning.


    Flee.


    Beads of sweat trickled down Otis'' forehead. This reaction waspletely normal, and in fact, logical. He knew that.


    He knew that but...


    "Coward."


    Otis clenched his teeth as a fierce expression formed on his face.


    There was something within Otis that refused.


    Something that pushed away all the thoughts he had to escape.


    It was more than just doing what made sense or what would have the highest chance of sess. Sure, Otis could get away right now ande back at a better opportunity.


    However, he made a promise to himself.


    A promise that he wouldn''t be a coward.


    Perhaps Otis would die, but this was also the only way he could live. Otis had principles he decided to live by.


    Persisting with them might just kill him.


    But sometimes there were more important things than one''s life.


    Apollo''sughs were right above Otis, prompting him to look up.


    Apollo shed the tree below him, revealing Otis, who was inside. He wasted no time in plunging downwards, sending his bokken out without holding back.


    A thundering bang resounded.


    The tree shattered into pieces while the nearby leaves were blown away. Apollo and Otis were staring at each other, one had eyes filled with insanity while the other had eyes filled with anger.


    Apollo''s bokken was stationary. It had been stopped by Otis'' arm, but not without a cost. His arm was bent at a strange angle, as though it had a few extra joints. The skin reddened from being stretched too far.


    The forest around them rapidly decayed. Otis stopped supporting them with his mana, letting them die.


    Now both of Otis'' arms were out ofmission. He could no longer use them to block another strike.


    Apollo raised his bokken which was now covered by Otis blood.


    However, before he could bring it down once more, a giant mushroom suddenly grew between them, expanding at a rate that was simply ridiculous.


    Apollo shed the mushroom and cut through it. However, he found his bokken rebounded. The cut rapidly mended before continuing to grow, pushing both Apollo and Otis away from each other.


    Otis'' arms hung uselessly at his sides, but he no longer needed them. Otis was carried away by a thick stalk of hypha, or the roots of the mushroom. Flowers grew on the arm that was just injured, forcefully pushing the pieces back in ce.


    As for Apollo, he continued to fly towards Otis, but countless mushrooms got in his way.

 Chapter 249 - Bones, Muscle, Skin

    The old forest that Otis had created was abandoned, left to rot and die. Creating a forest was the way he was used to fighting. However, Otis came to the realization that sticking to old ways wouldn''t always work.


    He needed to change.


    And that started with using the environment to his advantage instead of letting it hamper him. Otis had grown a mushroom in the toxic wastnd before, but didn''t see a way to attack with them. That was why he didn''t use them earlier.


    However, his old strategy clearly wasn''t going to work.


    And so, he adapted to the situation.


    Otis didn''t have to create anything new for these mushrooms. The mycelium, or roots of the mushroom, did not go incredibly deep. However, they spread through nearly every inch of the toxic wastnd.


    Taking advantage of that mycelium, Otis could forcefully grow mushrooms as needed. On top of that, he could use the individual hypha of the mycelium like the vines. The hypha was better than the vines, bothrger in size and more durable.


    Apollo got to experience that firsthand.


    Countless hyphae shot towards him, giving Apollo no choice but to fight back. He shed at the hyphae around him.


    Apollo used strikes that prioritized speed in order to hit every hypha that went for him. However, he quickly found out that they were not as easy to cut throughpared to the vines.


    As such, his body was pierced by the hyphae.


    It was as though Apollo''s body became a sieve. He forcefully moved his hand towards his pouch, twisting the hyphae as he moved.


    After a great amount of difficulty, Apollo pulled out a few food pellets out of his pouch and tossed them into his mouth. After aplishing that, Apollo twisted his body until he could ce his foot directly onto one of the hyphae.


    Then disappeared.


    Right when Apollo appeared, the hyphae twisted and shot towards him. Now understanding that they weren''t so easily dealt with, he tightened his grip on the hilt of his bokken until his knuckles became white.


    Apollo also tensed his free hand, ready to let it take a beating.


    He let out a flurry of strikes.


    Apollo''s bokken cut through many hyphae while his hand forcefully bashed some more away. However, some of the hyphae were still able to reach him.


    They pierced through his thigh and stomach.


    Apollo quickly cut them off, then found that even more hyphae came for him. Once again, his bokken shed while his hand whipped around.


    The sides of his free hand were pretty badly maimed and were bleeding quite a bit. Both the pinky and the thumb were bent in strange directions and were close to snapping off.


    Likest time, Apollo was unable to block all of them and was pierced in the stomach and arm. He rushed to cut them off, but the split second before he did, the hyphae spread through his arms.


    Apollo cut it off, however, he still had an invasive mycelium within himself. Though it was definitely a problem, Apollo couldn''t spend any time taking care of it.


    The unending wave of hyphae wasn''t ending anytime soon. Apollo continued to swat most of them away, breaking off a few fingers of his free hand in the process. Unfortunately, a few of them slipped through anyway, piercing his body.


    The split second that they remained in his body, they spread through like a virus.


    As the mycelium in Apollo''s body grew even further, his movements gradually stiffened up. In the end, more and more hyphae slipped through, piercing him and worsening his condition.


    The situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.


    Apollo''s movements slowed further, finding it far more difficult to block the attacks. Even hisughter slowed down. If he kept doing this, then his end was inevitable.


    Apollo no longer bothered with blocking the hyphae and reached for the pouch. His body was pierced on all ends while the mycelium deepened further. As Apollo''s motor functions slowed, he continued forcing his arm to move, pulling out nearly fifty food pellets.


    He raised it up to his mouth, but with each second, it was as though time slowed further.


    Apollo''s arm trembled fiercely, resisting the tug of the hyphae. It continued to rise until his hand was in front of his mouth.


    ...But then, his hand couldn''t move.


    Yet, when it all seemed like it was toote, his head suddenly shot forward, biting down on his hand. Apollo even ended up tearing off some of the flesh on his palm. However, he seeded.


    For a moment, Apollo waspletely still.


    But momentster, he twitched.


    Once a second passed, Apollo began to move as though he had be msses.


    His body was already emittingrge amounts of heat before, but once he had eaten all those food pellets, the heat rapidly ramped up. As for the red scars across his skin, they began mending, but before it could fully heal, they would rip open again.


    It was as though a tug-of-war battle was going on.


    The heating from Apollo increased even more. It was so intense, the ground under his feet began to sizzle. As for the myceliumwork that formed in his body, the heat was even more overwhelming.


    And so, it rapidly burned away entirely.


    Apollo let out countless counterattacks, mming aside the hyphae. His broken fingers regenerated quickly even though they repeatedly suffered from the recoil of his attacks.


    Apollo''s eyes widened while hisughs gradually became louder. His momentum simrly grew further while fewer hyphae were able to pierce him.


    However, while he was essentially performing extremely strenuous exercise, the excessive energy in his body was hardly consumed from it.


    After all, he recklessly tossed nearly fifty food pellets into his mouth, which is almost a year''s worth of food. In the past, when Apollo had eaten too much food, he evolved.


    First, it was his bones.


    Second, his muscles.


    Third, his skin.


    And now....

 Chapter 250 - Breaking A Stalemate

    For just a moment, Apollo didn''t see any of the hyphae around him, nor did he see Otis taking to the air by using the mycelium and the mushroom forest that was being created.


    Instead, he saw glowing blue lights that were so bright, everything became dark inparison.


    It was mana.


    Somehow, by consuming normal food, Apollo was able to evolve and increase his magic affinity. Even in a fantasy world, it didn''t make the most logical sense. However, that was what happened.


    There were very few ways to increase one''s magic affinity. In fact, it was considered impossible to the majority, most of which didn''t even consider it a possibility.


    Themon knowledge was that one was born with a certain magic affinity and had to deal with that.


    Considering that Apollo didn''t even learn a single spell, such a great boon wasn''t used to the greatest extent. However, that didn''t mean it was useless.


    One of the powers he was bestowed because of the crown was lightning. Though Apollo did not have any magic affinity, he was still able to use it.


    And now that he did have magic affinity...


    Various loud zapping and crackling sounds filled the air. Apollo''s body was mostly obscured from bright blue lightning that snaked around his body. As for his bokken and hand, they were essentially reced with a lightning bolt and a smaller lightning bolt.


    Thick unstable arcs of lightning would frequently discharge from his body, forming an arc between him and the ground. Any of the dirt that was touched by the lightning bolt charred almost immediately.


    Countless hyphae shot towards Apollo, but once they got within a five meter radius, the excessive lightning on him would move. It automatically discharged from his body andtched onto the hyphae, turning it to ash.


    There was something almost disconcerting with how unstable they were, like malicious snakes ready to snap out at anything that got close.


    In the end, he didn''t have to have to defend against a single hyphae. They would be dealt with before they could even reach him.


    Apollo took off into the air, several times faster than usual.


    His sights were set on Otis, who was currently shooting up into the sky. At this time, Otis had a nasty frown on his face. Each time he thought the situation was finally going to be under his control, things were overturned.


    However, that didn''t mean Otis was going to give up.


    Several giant mushrooms had already formed, rising high into the air. From them, hyphae shot out, but not for the sake of attacking Apollo. Instead, they formed a myceliumwork in the air. In a certain sense, it was like looking at a nt in a ss of water growing roots.


    As Apollo shot upwards, he found mushrooms sporadically grew out of the myceliumwork, blocking his path. Apollo shed with his bokken which was covered by blue lightning.


    The mushroom in front of Apollo was sliced in two easily and heavily charred in the process. He continued through, but could hardly travel a meter forth before another mushroom blocked him.


    Apollo slowly swung his bokken before sending out arge wave of lightning, swallowing up several mushrooms entirely. He shot forth, trying to take advantage of this gap. However, after traveling for just a few meters, he found himself surrounded by mushrooms.


    Although these mushrooms did not present a threat to him by themselves, they blocked his way. In the end, he even lost vision of Otis.


    Apollo did not give up. He used both his bokken and free hand to sh at the surrounding mushrooms wildly. Lightning crackled like a chained beast that had been let loose after years of imprisonment.


    A strong smell of burnt mushroom filled the air and numerous tiny ashes drifted down out of the sky. It was as though they were cherry blossoms.


    They were far uglier than cherry blossoms, but theparison still applies.


    However, while the number of mushrooms that were destroyed was numerous, the rate they were growing surpassed that. This kind of mushroom naturally grew fast on its own, thus when forcefully grown by Otis, it grew far quicker than normal.


    Apollo would not be able to catch up to Otis like this.


    He couldn''t even see Otis.


    Nheless, Apollo continued to stubbornly sh through the mushrooms, slowly making his way upward. In a sense, he was simply aimlessly moving onwards.


    Though it was unbelievably difficult for Apollo to reach Otis and kill him, that didn''t mean Otis was having an easier time. In fact, he was under quite a bit of anxiety.


    The fact was, Otis didn''t have anything to harm Apollo. At best, he could just keep Apollo at bay.


    However, this was not Otis'' goal.


    He was here because to kill Apollo, not barely survive his attacks.


    Otis continued rising higher and higher up, feeling the filthy rain of this ce get heavier and felt a gust of wind above him. Several thoughts shed past his mind, trying to search for some way to turn the tables.


    However, Otis simply didn''t have any more abilities that were applicable to this situation.


    He grit his teeth.


    The only choice left was to try and trick Apollo.


    "You will never win, just give up already! You will never be able to destroy the mushrooms fast enough."


    In the end, the only response was a series of maniacalughs. Apollo wasn''t deterred in the slightest.


    Otis furrowed his brows.


    ...The only way he saw this situation ending was if one of them gave up.


    Otis tried to clench his fists but found that they didn''t respond because of how badly injured they were. Nheless, his anger remained the same.


    "If I wanted to, the rate at which they grow could be even faster! Don''t think that I will be finished just because you keep shing. I am a collector mage! That means I gather mana from the air, which is limitless!"


    Otis yelled with all he could.


    "The only possible way you could burn it all down is with a phoenix me!"

 Chapter 251 - Burning Until Finished

    Apollo wasn''t exactly thinking straight, but he could still hear Otis'' words. Especially when Otis said that the only way he could burn it all down was with a phoenix me...


    The familiarity of that word struck a chord in his mind.


    After all, he currently had a flicker of me from the undying phoenix in his pocket. In other words, it was the very weakness that Otis mentioned.


    Apollo attempted to reach into his pocket. However, in that short moment that hand wasn''t attacking, countless mushrooms surrounded him, essentially suffocating him. While they didn''t cause any real harm, they restricted Apollo.


    He put his all into channeling the lightning in his body, then let it burst out into a wave. The surrounding mushrooms all turned to ash. Now, only the asional arc of lightning appeared on Apollo''s body. He was out of energy for now.


    Once more, he attempted to reach for the ck crystal on him, but quickly realized he wouldn''t be fast enough.


    Apollo immediately shifted to defending with both his hand and sword, no longer blocking all the mushrooms as easily due to theck of lightning. Otis'' eyes lit up when he saw this and thought it was an opportunity.


    Countless hyphae shot towards Apollo with the intent to damage his body like a spear. Yet, right when they were about to reach,rge amounts of lightning gathered around Apollo''s body and zapped all the nearby hyphae.


    In the end, they were still in a stalemate.


    Although Apollo had something that could potentially turn the tables, he couldn''t get to it. Apollo continued to try, but found his attempts were unsessful.


    Otis furrowed his brows.


    He noticed Apollo was acting a little different, but didn''t know what changed.


    Otis thought that his previous taunt might have worked to a certain extent and decided to continue.


    "My senses are connected to every single nt I control. I will always know where anything is so long as they touch my nts. No matter what, every action is transparent if it''s next to my nts!"


    He smirked.


    "You won''t be able to escape me, nobody can!"


    "Peek-a-boo!"


    "AH!"


    Otis'' head snapped to the right, where he heard the voice, while his body recoiled backward. La was there. She had covered her face with both hands, then suddenly parted them to reveal her face.


    It was as though La became a parent trying to entertain their child.


    Otis let the mycelium carry himself away.


    "How did you get there?"


    He asked in genuine astonishment as he was not lying about his remark earlier. Otis really could tell where anybody was so long as they touched their nts.


    Well, almost anybody.


    For whatever reason, Otis could not even catch the slightest sign of La. Ironically enough, the only thing she was trying to do was have some fun.


    La watched on for a little while but felt she was forgotten rather quickly. As such, she made her presence known.


    This made Otis panic and doubt his senses.


    He focused on growing mushrooms between him and La.


    However, by doing so, Apollo was left unattended.


    As such, he was free to do what he needed.


    So naturally, he took out the ck crystal in his pocket.


    The flicker of me from the undying phoenix.


    Though Apollo wasn''t certain on how to activate it, he simply followed his intuition and pressed down hard with his index finger and thumb in an attempt to crush it.


    As he expected, the ck crystal cracked.


    me immediately seeped out, reaching out far as though the crystal had grown a freakishly long tongue. Apollo''s hand immediately began to feel the heat. Without hesitation, he threw it towards the nearest mushroom.


    The ck crystal rapidly melted until it was simply a fairly small ball of me.


    Ittched on to the mushroom, letting out sizzling sounds. For a moment, it simply remained there, not spreading like how a normal me would.


    Otis'' attention shifted from La to the me that suddenly appeared. He raised an eyebrow, assuming that Apollo casted someckluster fire spell in an attempt to burn the mushrooms.


    Otis was about to shift his focus back on La, but...


    Within just a second, the me spread across most of the mycelium and mushrooms in the air. If one blinked during that time, it would seem like a new slide in a slideshow.


    Suddenly, Otis screamed out in pain.


    "AHHHHHHHHH!"


    It was a cry of pure agony. The cry did not originate from an emotion, or even supported by it for that matter. It was simply a cry that came from pain.


    While Otis'' senses were shared with the nts he controlled, he also felt pain when they were destroyed. However, if he simply disconnected his senses or lowered the degree of connection, the pain would be negligible.


    Otis hurriedly cut off his senses to get rid of the burning pain.


    ...Yet, that pain didn''t disappear.


    The mushrooms stopped growing such intensity and were even being burned, causing their numbers to rapidly decrease.


    Otis was confused, but didn''t think that the me was a phoenix''s me. After all, those kinds of things were more of legends than anything else. He decided to bite the bullet and put his all into growing more mushrooms.


    Apollo was able to get much closer in that short time. However, now the sky was nearly being blotted out by mushrooms, forcing him to pause. Though that didn''t stop the mes from spreading across them.


    Like a virus, they bubbled up violently. Yet, they rapidly wilted bing ash momentster.


    Otis'' eyes were bloodshot from the pain he was experiencing, muddling his thoughts. However, he was still forced toe to the realization that this me was not normal.


    ...It may very well be a phoenix me.


    The legends say that those mes will burn until they are satisfied.


    There were two conditions for this.


    One, they had to burn a certain amount.


    And two, anything they began burning had to finish burning.

 Chapter 252 - Lost Senses

    Otis began foaming at the mouth because of the severe pain. He exerted himself fully, growing as many mushrooms as he could. Unfortunately, just a few seconds after any mushroom formed, they burned to ash.


    Apollo had a rtively clear path, but if he recklessly shot forward some of the fire might catch onto him. Although Apollo didn''t understand how the me of a phoenix worked, it didn''t take a genius to realize getting touched by it was probably a bad thing.


    Otis realized the futility of his actions and fully disconnected his senses from the mushrooms. Unfortunately, the pain didn''t disappear, just likest time.


    The mycelium and mushrooms stopped growing.


    As such, what remained quickly burned to ashes and began falling to the ground. Since Otis depended on the mycelium to remain so high up in the air, he ended up falling through the sky.


    However, that was the least of his concerns at this point.


    The pain from controlling the mushrooms forcefully was immense. However, the pain did not settle even slightly after Otis disconnected it.


    In fact, the pain only increased.


    The me of the phoenix was persistent, burning things that shouldn''t be able to catch fire. It was as though the fire was vengeful and would stop at nothing.


    Which was quite ironic in Otis'' case.


    The pain continued to rise further, from torturous to unbearable.


    And right when Otis felt his mind was about to break...


    The pain disappeared.


    Otis did not feel a single ounce of pain. In fact, he couldn''t feel anything.


    Because the me burnt that function away.


    In the end, Otis was only left with a slightly cold feeling, like he had truly be a statue. He slowly opened his eyes, but instead of being purely filled with anger, there was a tinge of emptiness.


    Suddenly, Apollo came crashing down with his bokken pointed forth like a spear.


    Otis couldn''t react in time.


    The bokken pierced through his heart easily, causing Otis to cough up a mouthful of blood. However, he did not scream in pain, nor did he grit his teeth.


    After all, Otis could no longer feel it.


    Instead, he red at Apollo, then somehow wrapped his supposedly disabled hands around the de of the bokken.


    Apollo was about to sh at Otis with his free hand, but in the middle of his strike, he suddenly stopped.


    Otis'' red eye widened considerably and locked on to Apollo.


    One of the abilities provided from the red eye was tracking rted, but there was one more. A temporary tether was connected between the two of their souls.


    Both of their bodies were restricted from moving while any damage one of them shared would also be borne by the other.


    The condition for using this ability was not only being close to the target, but also making direct eye contact with them. There was also a limitation to using this ability, one that created increasingly greater pain in one''s mind.


    However, that was not a problem for Otis now.


    A vine from below them shot upwards. The two of them were falling like statues until they were eventually caught by the vines.


    At first, Otis'' expression was filled with rage while his eyes appeared to be seething. However, that expression gradually left his face. Not because Otis had calmed down.


    If anything, he was angrier.


    However, there was no longer a way to channel that anger into his body. There was simply no feedback from gritting his teeth or clenching his fists.


    The only thing left was for the negative emotions to swirl around in an empty abyss. Even though Otis only experienced it for a few seconds, he already thought it felt torturous. Otis wanted to vent his emotions so badly, but couldn''t.


    There wasn''t even the feeling of adrenaline.


    In the end, the only thing he could do was hold onto Apollo''s bokken with all he had.


    As for Apollo, while he could no longer move, that wasn''t the same for the lightning around him. Apollomanded the lightning to travel down his bokken and flow into Otis.


    The effects were immediately apparent from Otis'' rapidly ckening body. However, that didn''t seem to concern him.


    Their descent was abruptly interrupted by the vines Otis grew. The vines were zapped by the lightning, charring immediately. The lightning emitted by Apollo was simply too violent.


    Otis'' face looked dull, but his determination was far from being quenched.


    Without warning, vines burst out of Otis'' chest. The majority of them covered his body while some of the rest got underneath the two of them, acting as a tform.


    Apollo''s lightning zapped at these vines, causing a huge hole to form on them. Instead of a nt like substance as one might expect, the inside was fleshy. The smell of burnt meat filled the air.


    However, while the vines took damage, they were able to hold on.


    With that, the vine below them was able to push the two of them upwards. The vines from Otis'' heart could only protect his body and the vine that carried them for so long before bing ash. However, like an unending fountain, more vines poured out of him to rece the charred ones.


    But that was not what Otis was putting the most effort in maintaining. It was actually the force he used to push the two of them up. Both Apollo''s bright yellow hair and Otis'' light brown hair danced wildly in the wind.


    It was as though Otis was in a rush.


    Like something was waiting for them high up in the air.


    That was because Otis had a n. Earlier on, when he was far up into the air, he could feel an unnaturally strong gale. The effects rapidly dropped when he got out of range, but Otis could tell that the pull was terrifyingly strong.


    And so, he continued to endure Apollo''s electrifying assault.


    Until eventually, they reached a certain point.


    And Otis tossed Apollo upwards.

 Chapter 253 - Seperation

    Apollo wasn''t expecting it. Otis suddenly canceled the ability and used the vinesing out of his heart to shove Apollo up with all he had.


    It wasn''t necessarily strong. If Apollo was prepared for it, he could''ve easily resisted and rendered it ineffective.


    However, he didn''t react in time.


    Apollo felt a strong pull, almost like he was being forcefully dragged away by several people. His immediate reaction was to resist the pull and fly downwards.


    But it was already toote.


    Apollo was essentially caught up in a tornado. The force was so strong, it didn''t feel like wind, but some resilient solid object pushing him around. He didn''t give up on resisting despite that.


    Apollo''sughs reverberated throughout the air while his eyes were bloodshot from the wind that was pressing down on him.


    He truly was exerting his body to its limits.


    Unfortunately, it just wasn''t enough.


    It was as though Apollo became a leaf, helplessly taken by the wind. He constantly rose up higher, almost like the direction that gravity was pulling him wasn''t down, but up.


    As for Otis, he began to tremble. It was unknown whether or not Apollo was killed or even harmed by his actions, but that wasn''t what mattered. Otis did not back down and eventually won the fight, in a certain sense.


    He himself was probably more injured than Apollo and might even die right here. However, that fact stood. Otis didn''t realize it, but his body was trembling violently. The damage he took while pushing both him and Apollo up was tremendous.


    As for how bad they were, Otis couldn''t really tell since the only thing he could rely on was a visual assessment of the wounds.


    Since Otis lost the ability to feel, the severity of the pain wasn''t known to him.


    Otis attempted to move, but found his limbs stopped responding to him. It seemed that his body forcefully shut down those functions due to the sorry state that it was in.


    With a bit of resignation, Otisid down on the vine below him and covered up his wounds with white flowers that somehow grew on top of his skin.


    From there, he simply carried himself away.


    Otis hadn''t given up on Apollo, but before that, he had to make sure that death wasn''t imminent. After all, how was Otis supposed to know it seeded if his eyes didn''t witness it.


    The whole process appeared slightly off as Otis'' expression was dull, as though he were dead. On top of that, it was pretty easy to tell that the condition of his body was in bad shape, life-threatening even.


    Yet, Otis looked at his wounds with an eerily calm expression.


    It almost looked like a corpse came to life, looked at itself, and said something along the lines of, ''Oh, that''s my body.''


    With that, Otis began leaving the toxic wastnd. As for his destination, not even he knew.


    Currently, La was on the ground. The ground below her was coated with a thick pile of ash. Though before this ce was very damp from the filth rain, it was quite dry now.


    La was pouting and looking up to the sky, where Otis and Apollo were.


    "I want to y too!"


    After a bit of sulking, she pped both arms up and down like a child pretending to be a bird. Unfortunately, other than blowing aside the nearby ashes, her body remained stationary.


    For a moment, La simply stood there looking up into the sky. After several minutes passed, she began stamping her foot against the ground.


    Once La realized that not only Otis was leaving, but Apollo wasn''ting back down, she got really upset.


    "Where is friend goinggggg!"


    La let out a distressed hum while throwing a tantrum. In frustration, she kicked at a hill in front of her.


    A deafening bang resounded.


    The majority of the hill was now in the air in the form of scattered dirt and stones, flying far off into the distance. A cone-shaped crater had formed on the hill. What remained of it were a few pieces of debris that were left out.


    La did not seed in venting out her frustrations. She stood there quietly for a few moments before crossing her arms.


    "Friend is so mean!"


    After a few more moments, La stamped her foot on the ground, causing tremors to reverberate within the ground of the toxic wastnd.


    "Why did friend leave?"


    Eventually, La stopped and looked upward once again with a sad expression. She began to p her arms once more, trying to fly, but without any sess.


    "Mmmmm!"


    Then, La crouched down on the ground and pressed her lips together.


    Suddenly, an ear-splitting bang resounded, shaking the air.


    La shot up into the sky at frighteningly fast speeds. She quickly reached the strange section of wind that carried Apollo up. However, something strange happened.


    While Apollo was carried upwards, the winds seemed resistant against La. Although she pierced through the wind at monumental speeds, it slowed down rapidly.


    It was as though La''s speed was working against her.


    In the end, she was sent back down to the ground like a meteor. After crashing, several massive fragments of the ground shot into the air.


    At this point, La sat down on the ground with her hands wrapped around her legs. Sheid her head in between her knees as tears began to form.


    "Friend... if only I could fly, then I could see friend."


    At that moment, a familiar light green insect skittered over to La. It was covered in dust, probably from the destruction La caused earlier. Yet, despite witnessing it first hand, the insect wasn''t afraid and even began approaching La


    Once the insect reached La''s foot, it tapped that foot a few times.


    "Fwend?"


    La perked up and looked at the insect curiously.


    "...Can friend teach me how to fly?"


    The insect scratched the side of its head with its arm.


    Then nodded.

 Chapter 254 - ...City?

    The sound of rushing wind and the crackling of lightning came together to make a violent cacophony.


    Apollo grit his teeth and fiercely resisted.


    The wind carried him away easily.


    His body was still covered by blue lightning. Though it did little to actually resist against the gales, it was a symbol of his struggle.


    Apollo could hardly make sense of which way was up and which was down. His general direction was up, but his body jostled from the left and right, not by his own volition. It could be said that Apollo would go wherever the wind took him.


    In his struggle, he eventually got closer to the ck spot in the sky. Yet, it seemed that the wind was also repulsing him from the ck spot as it sent him upwards.


    At first, the sky was dark. But after quite some time, Apollo found himself squinting due to the bright light.


    He was brought over the ck spot. Though that was probably a bad description for what it was.


    Apollo couldn''t truly make sense of what he saw as before his vision could focus, his head would be thrown to the side.


    However, he did catch asional glimpses.


    It was of a city.


    This was a city that was floating in the middle of the air, on top of a massive chunk of earth. The city was far cleaner than the toxic wastnd underneath. The sudden transition between two ces almost made it seem like two sides of the same coin.


    In the center of the city stood a needlessly tall pce that took enoughnd that the average vige used. Surrounding that were many more houses and farms. As for the very edges, they seemed to be abandoned.


    Not even a single house was there, though that was probably understandable considering it would be really easy to fall off from there.


    Apollo continued to rise, high above this floating city. Right when he thought that he was going to go up for all eternity, the wind suddenly stopped blowing.


    And so, he was left to fall onto the city.


    Naturally, because Apollo had the ability of flight, he wasn''t just going to watch himself take this fall. And so, he attempted to fly in order to stabilize himself, leaving trails of lightning.


    Unfortunately, this would turn out to be a mistake.


    Before Apollo made it even a few meters out, a violent gust of wind came back for him. The gales caused him to uncontrobly plunge towards the city at dangerously high speeds.


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched.


    Something bad was probably going to happen if he didn''t make it out of this. He attempted to resist the wind, going upwards. Yet, ironically enough, his speed down only got faster.


    Noticing this, Apollo hesitated, not sure if he wanted to resist any further, but there was hardly any more time for him to do so. In the end, within those few seconds, it already became toote for him to change anything.


    A rather loud crash resounded along with a frightening crack.


    Apollonded head-first into the roof of a house, breaking right through it. You''d think he would think of protecting his head by now, but maybe the mental trauma might''ve made him forget about that.


    Anyways, Apollonded right in the middle of someone''s room. Arge amount of dust gently fell from the air. Apollo remained face down on the floor with a few broken wooden boards next to him, from the broken roof. A ray of sunlight shone from above.


    If nothing else, there was a new window in the room now.


    The room itself was a modest size and looked rather ordinary, but not shabby. There was a simple bed along with a rtivelyrge wardrobe and desk.


    Moments after Apollonded, a shocked gasp rang out.


    "Heavens! Is this a blessing from the sky?"


    There was a young woman with her jaw dropped and her hands blocking her face. She was at an age where she could''ve been Apollo''s older sister. Along with that, she had matching bright yellow hair that reached her waist and clear blue eyes.


    Perhaps this woman really was Apollo''s long lost older sister.


    She had a casual light blue dress on. Although it wasn''t anything overly luxurious, it definitely showed the woman was well offpared to the averagemonermonly found.


    She began coughing and waved her hand, trying to blow the debris away. Once the dust settled, the woman brought her hands down and had a proper look at Apollo.


    She blinked a few times in surprise.


    "...A person?"


    The woman bent down and brushed off some of the wood chips on Apollo''s body. Then, she hoisted him up and put him down on the bed. The woman didn''t seem slightly concerned about dirtying her bed.


    Granted, it was already covered in wood chips, but the fact still stands.


    After a few seconds, Apollo''s eyelids parted ever so slightly. He slowly blinked a few times before sitting up. Upon turning to the side, he saw the woman, then tilted his head to the side.


    "Mommy?"


    The womanughed.


    "Silly one now, are you? I am not old enough to be a mother yet!"


    She smirked.


    "You''re lucky. If you weren''t so cute, I would hold that against you."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head and pouted.


    "...Not mommy."


    The woman sighed softly and gently put a hand on Apollo''s cheek, making him face her.


    "My name is Eden. May I know yours?"


    Apollo gave a few light nods.


    "Apollo!"


    Eden got a little closer, inspecting him closely.


    "Are you an angel that has fallen from the skies?"


    Apollo blinked a few times with confusion.


    "What is an angel?"


    Eden smiled sweetly.


    "Why, angels are those that bring blessings down from the sky! Without them, there wouldn''t be enough to provide for all the people of our city!"


    Apollo put a finger on his chin and blinked.


    "....City?"

 Chapter 255 - Angel?

    Everything was cleaned up, more or less. Floors and furniture were no longer covered by wood chips and dust. Apollo and Eden had a fresh pair of clothes. They were also no longer covered by debris. Eden was pretty good at cleaning.


    The room was as good as new, save for the hole in the roof.


    Apollo was sitting on the side of the bed, not because he wanted to but because of Eden''s insistence. As for Eden, she stood close by and was fully convinced that he was indeed an angel.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "What is the city like?"


    Eden excitedly sped her hands together with a smile.


    "Ah! The holy messenger is interested in the state of our humble city?"


    Apollo blinked a few times before looking around himself. He was a bit confused.


    "Who are you talking to?"


    Eden giggled sweetly.


    "Why, you of course! Who else could be referred to as the holy messenger but an angel?"


    Suddenly, she raised a finger.


    "Ah, I see! You must be jesting! Your sense of humor is amazing, as expected for an angel."


    Apollo continued to blink awkwardly, a little overwhelmed by this woman''s strange attitude.


    "Um... ok?"


    Apollo looked up to the hole in the roof and pointed towards it.


    "Did I do that?"


    Eden nodded several times enthusiastically.


    "Ah, yes! You fell from heaven, didn''t you? It''s natural for you to hit something on your way down."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Oh. Sorry."


    Eden frantically waved her hands in front of her.


    "No, no! It truly isn''t a bother! Blessings fall from the sky all the time, though you must not be used to that in heaven."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Huh? What are you talking about?"


    Eden began stuttering, unable to form the words in her head for a moment.


    "Oh dear, those terms were created by humans, so of course you don''t understand what it means!"


    Her eyes drifted upwards as she anxiously tried to formte a proper response.


    "Blessings are the things that fall from the sky, bestowed by the angels! Most of the time they are chunks of fertilend, allowing us to grow the food we need to survive!"


    Eden smiled brightly.


    "You probably know this already as an angel yourself, but sometimes the sky will bestow us with other gifts such as clothing, refined metals, or even tools!"


    She crouched over in an attempt to make herself look shorter.


    "As for heaven, I was simply trying to say the ce you live. It probably doesn''t have any blessings that fall from the sky because they are always there!"


    Apollo put a finger on his chin. It was indeed true that people didn''t randomly crash down from the sky.


    "...I don''t remember any blessings falling down from the sky."


    Eden pped excitedly.


    "Of course, of course!"


    The misunderstanding went a little deeper.


    Eden sat down on the ground with a smile on her face.


    "Angel... no, that is simply the term we humans created. What should I call you?"


    Apollo scratched his cheek with his index finger.


    "By my name? If you forgot, it''s Apollo."


    Eden nodded hastily.


    "Apollo, Apollo! Sorry for that. I''m just a little startled after seeing an angel fall from heaven!"


    She gasped.


    "Oh no, I forgot to ask you, are you hurt? Do you need any care?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Not really."


    Eden let out a sigh of relief and put one hand over her heart.


    "I''m d then. Are you here to send us a message?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Message?"


    Eden tensed up.


    "Oh no! Did an ident ur that made youe here?"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Um, I think so."


    Eden gave a salute as though she were a kid pretending to be in the army.


    "I understand! As one that has received many of your blessings, I will help you find a way back to heaven!"


    Apollo hummed.


    "Can I see the city first?"


    Eden smiled delightedly.


    "Of course, of course!"


    She then held out her hands, in a position that would let her cradle Apollo.


    "Would you like to be carried?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Walking is fine."


    Eden tensed up as a guilty expression appeared on her face.


    "My apologies! Surely you wouldn''t want to have too much contact with us lesser beings."


    Apollo looked at her a little strangely.


    "Eh? I don''t mind that."


    Eden blushed a little.


    "Then... then you wouldn''t mind me carrying you?"


    Apollo looked at the woman strangely.


    ...


    Eden walked out onto the streets with Apollo cradled in her hands, like he was a baby. Given their matching hair and eye color, they really did look like siblings. If Eden was a little older, she would look like Apollo''s mother.


    From this position, Apolloid his bokken on top of his waist and curiously looked at his surroundings. The city wasn''t bustling by any means, but was still quite lively. There were many people chatting with each other. They were quite loud, meaning many people could overhear.


    However, nobody minded. In fact, they seemed to enjoy that.


    The passerby consisted of people of all ages. Though nobody was wearing anything luxurious, their clothes were undamaged, just like Eden''s.


    As the two of them went out onto the street, someone immediately recognized them. It was a middle-aged man with a friendly smile on his face. He was fairly tall and slim. The man had ck hair with a few grey strands and a modest beard.


    He walked up to the two of them.


    "Eden! Good day to you."


    Eden jumped slightly. She had been in a minor trance thinking that she was holding onto an angel.


    Eden turned to the man.


    "Good day, Bernard."


    Bernardughed.


    "You had a younger brother all this time, howe I never knew?"


    Eden shook her head with a bright smile.


    "No, no. This is not my brother, but an angel!"


    Bernard furrowed his brows.

 Chapter 256 - Apollo Is An Angel!

    Eden had an excited expression on her face. It was easy to tell she couldn''t wait to share the fact an ''angel'' had descended.


    Bernard looked at Eden straight in the eyes with a serious expression.


    "It is sacrilegious to dere that a mere human is an angel. Watch your mouth, Eden."


    A distraught expression appeared on Eden''s face.


    "What? No, he really is an angel! His name is Apollo, a wonderful name for an angel!"


    The man sighed a little helplessly.


    "Eden. Jokes like this aren''t funny."


    Eden began to stutter.


    "B-But!"


    The man frowned slightly.


    "I understand your situation, but you cannot proim your family members to be part of heaven just so you can shift your standing!"


    Eden opened her mouth, but no words came out. However, despite herck of a response, it was clear she was still resistant.


    A small crowd was beginning to form.


    "What is going on Bernard?"


    "Eden... are you doing that again?"


    Bernard waved his hand dismissively.


    "It appears that Eden has fooled herself."


    Eden pressed her lips together, then looked down at Apollo, who curiously stared back at her.


    Bernard smiled bitterly and looked towards Apollo.


    "As the younger brother, why don''t you tell your older sister that you are not an angel. It appears she truly needs it."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Sister? I don''t have a sister."


    Bernard raised an eyebrow.


    "What are you doing here then? Where are your parents?"


    Apollo frowned.


    "...They are somewhere."


    Bernard looked at Eden with a bit of distress.


    "Did you kidnap this child? Where did you take him from?"


    Eden blinked a few times. Her voice began to shake ever so slightly.


    "He came from the sky and fell into my room!"


    Bernard clenched his teeth. He appeared to be getting furious.


    "And who would believe that?"


    Apollo scratched his cheek with the tip of his finger.


    "But that''s what happened."


    Bernard froze for a moment, then shifted his gaze to Apollo.


    "You im that you came from the sky?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Not im, I did."


    Bernard scoffed.


    "If you came from the sky, then you must be an angel! You dare to im that you are an angel?"


    Apollo blinked innocently.


    "I guess I''m an angel then?"


    Suddenly, Bernard''s aura changed. Although he was harsh on Eden before, it was with the intention of having the best for her. However, he didn''t seem to share the same sentiment with Apollo.


    Bernard let out a few fakeughs.


    "It appears I have misunderstood you, Eden. This child has fooled you into believing he was an angel."


    There was a certain truth in his statement, but falsehood at the same time.


    The crowd gradually became bigger, as the attention of others was attracted.


    "Is that a boy who ims to be an angel?"


    "He tricked the poor woman!"


    "How could he!"


    Eden''s lips parted. She intended on defending Apollo, but no words coulde out. Eden was simply too scared.


    The only thing she could do was pull him a little closer. However, it was unclear whether that was to protect Apollo or tofort herself.


    As for Apollo, he continued looking around obliviously as though the entire situation had nothing to do with him.


    "Angels sound really cool from how you guys talk!"


    Bernard disdainfully red at Apollo.


    "That is a horrendous understatement. The angels are holy beings! One of their natural abilities includes flying in the air. You say you''re an angel, so that much should be possible for you, no?"


    Apollo put a finger on his chin, thinking for a few moments.


    "Ah, yeah. That''s right! I guess I really am an angel!"


    Except he wasn''t actually an angel.


    Eden looked down at Apollo with slightly glowing eyes, bringing him even closer. Seeing this, Bernard got angry.


    "Eden! Put him down, he is clearly lying!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "But I''m not lying!"


    The crowd got antsy as well.


    "Who''s child is so rampant? They need to be educated on basic parenting!"


    "Of course you are lying. If you were an angel, you would just fly to prove it!"


    "Just put down your pride and admit the truth!"


    Amongst all the screams, Eden met eyes with Apollo. In all honesty, despite seeing him crash straight through her roof from the skies, Eden was beginning to have a few doubts about Apollo.


    Though, he was most definitely not an angel.


    Still wanting to keep this belief, she bit her lip and softly asked him a question.


    "Can I see you fly?"


    A small smile formed on Apollo''s face.


    "Ok!"


    Bernad crossed his arms as a disdainful smirk formed on his face.


    "Hah. I''d like to see your so called-"


    He cut himself off. Bernard''s arms slowly fell to his side. His jaw began to drop while his eyes widened.


    The same thing happened for the majority of the crowd.


    Apollo slowly took off to the air while a few arcs of lightning appeared, jumping across his body. He seemed a little confused, scratching the side of his head and furrowing his brows.


    "Hmm... this could be done much faster."


    Apollo continued to soar into the air, but seemed to have already forgotten why he did so in the first ce. Instead, he did a few circles in the air, leaving a few trails of lightning in his wake.


    Apollo ced a finger on his chin.


    "...I can go faster."


    As for everyone else, this was the first time they had ever seen someone fly in the air. Naturally, they were astonished. After a few moments of silence, someone began stammering.


    "I-It''s an angel! It''s really an angel!"


    Bernard furiously rubbed his eyes, time and time again. He truly wasn''t able to believe that Apollo was flying before him. However, there was no way to deny the sight before him.


    "Dear heavens..."


    The crowd got loud.


    "Angel! It''s an angel!"


    "His name was Apollo, right?"


    "Apollo is an angel!"


    He wasn''t.

 Chapter 257 - Managers Of The City

    Apollo continued to think with his head tilted down slightly and two fingers rubbing against his chin. Hepletely ignored the mor underneath him of people eximing in shock and calling him an angel.


    Instead, Apollo was more interested in this sudden understanding he came across. His eyes started to drift upwards, looking up into the bright blue sky.


    Then, simply out of curiosity, he tried something.


    Apollo began to rapidly gather lightning, making his body glow like a lightning bolt. This sight made the people below gasp in astonishment once more.


    "W-What is the angel doing?"


    "Is the angel mad?"


    "The angel must be punishing us!"


    Eden herself began to cower slightly, ashamed that she didn''t hold a stronger stance in protecting Apollo. However, Apollo himself didn''t really care about all themotion.


    Instead, he raised his hand to the sky while his bokken pointed downwards.


    Then, his figure shed.


    Suddenly, Apollo appeared nearly fifty meters higher in the air. Although he had flown fast before, it was still at a speed that could be more or less followed. However, this time, it was so fast that many people could misconstrue it for teleportation.


    Apollo had his bokken pointed upwards, while his hand was downwards. Although it was hard to see, he brought his hand down and his bokken up.


    Apollo was happy that he figured out a new technique, but found himself in a small pickle. The lightning around his body hadpletely disappeared, save for a single arc of lightning that discharged off his body.


    From there, Apollo began falling as he relied on his lightning rted power to fly.


    However, he didn''t seem all that concerned. Apollo even took a look downwards as he began plummeting to the ground and went back to thinking about his ability to fly.


    Eden noticed he began falling, then hurriedly held out her hands to catch Apollo.


    A loud thump filled the air along with a feminine groan of pain.


    Eden caught Apollo, but was surprised by the amount of force she experienced by catching him. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn''t have tried to force herself. However, this was for an ''angel'' and there was also the shame she felt from not defending Apollo earlier.


    The result was heavily straining her arms and copsing to her knees.


    Eden grimaced, but forcefully pulled that expression back.


    "A-Apollo!"


    Hearing this, Apollo turned to Eden casually, as though he just noticed she was there.


    "Oh, hi Eden!"


    Although Apollo was as friendly as can be, to Eden it was somethingpletely different. Her arms were trembling both because of her emotions and the overexertion. She hung her head low in shame.


    "Sorry for being so silent."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow, clearly confused by what she meant.


    "If you don''t like being silent, then be louder."


    Eden nodded hastily. A ratherrge crowd had formed. The mor had been about the fact an angel had descended, but it got much quieter after Apollo''sment.


    The various townsfolk began to whisper to one another.


    "Did we make the angel angry?"


    "Of course we made the angel angry, we said he was a fake!"


    "T-The angel won''t punish us, right?"


    From that crowd, Bernard awkwardly walked up. It was as though he was a kid that did something wrong and wanted to apologize to his parents, which was a strange look for a middle-aged man.


    Bernard cleared his throat.


    "Sorry for doubting you earlier, angel. I am willing to receive punishment for my arrogance."


    Apollo looked over at him, still not really understanding what anyone was really talking about.


    "Um, it''s ok! Sometimes people are dumb and it''s ok! But it''s better that dumb people don''t exist."


    Bernard bowed with his hands sped in the prayer position.


    "Understood, angel."


    Apollo looked around.


    "Who is angel?"


    A few confused and nervous expressions formed on people''s faces. Before they misinterpreted it as a sarcastic jab, Eden spoke up.


    "From where Apollo is from, they aren''t called angels! It is simply a term that we humans created. Please just call him Apollo."


    The other people quickly came to ept this.


    "Sorry, ang- er, Apollo!"


    "Apologies, Apollo!"


    "Thank you, merciful Apollo!"


    Although everyone seemed to be very excited, Apollo was getting a little annoyed. He was trying to think about something, but couldn''t focus because of the people around him.


    "Can you be quieter, please?"


    The crowd apologized and backed off, but many remained from a distance, still watching. Eden looked down at Apollo, still a little taken aback by the situation.


    "D-Do you want me to leave too?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "I don''t care. If you want to leave, then leave."


    Eden held Apollo a bit closer.


    "I won''t leave! If you don''t want me to, that is."


    At that moment Bernard walked a bit closer. He didn''t back off while the rest of the crowd did and was a bit nervous because of that. He spoke quietly.


    "Eden, did Apollo really fall from the sky."


    Eden nodded.


    "Yes, he came through my roof."


    Bernard fumbled around with his hands.


    "This... are we supposed to report it to the council?"


    Eden gasped.


    "Ah!"


    She furrowed her brows.


    "But this isn''t a blessing, but an angel!"


    Bernard shook his head.


    "Although they say they require all foreign blessings, I''m sure they mean anything that falls from the sky that isn''t conventional."


    Eden''s lip twitched.


    "But Apollo wishes to see the city. I believe the word of an angel should be fulfilled first."


    Bernard frowned slightly.


    "I see, but we can also do both at the same time."


    He turned towards Apollo.


    "Ang- Apollo! Would you like to meet the managers of the city as part of your journey?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "I guess so."


    Bernard bowed.


    "Alright, I will lead the way."


    Eden held Apollo a little closer and didn''t move immediately, almost like she didn''t want to give him up. This prompted Apollo to look at her curiously.


    "Why are you standing still?"


    Eden jumped slightly.


    "Ah, right!"

 Chapter 258 - Leave The Angel With Us

    Bernard led Eden and Apollo further into the center of the city. The more they traveled, the more luxurious everything looked. This was the case both for the attire that people wore and the buildings.


    There wasn''t too much of an increase in height, but there was a noticeable difference in how muchnd each house covered. There was also a minute difference that most houses had additional supports on the side of the walls, but the closer to the center they got, the less frequent they appeared.


    Among the people, they would asionally have some sort of trinket, like a small metal bird hanging from their clothes. It was like a keychain essory.


    A few people from the crowd that believed Apollo was an angel followed behind, but from quite the distance. As for the passerby, they didn''t think anything more of Bernard, Eden, and Apollo. This was magnified by how Eden and Apollo appeared to be rted to each other.


    And so, their trip was rtively uneventful.


    Eventually, Bernard made it to arge building. This one was noticeably different from the others because of its height. Among the houses, this was one of the few that stood out simply for that reason.


    The overall shape was simr to a watchtower, but a bit thicker than the average one. Bernard pushed aside the wooden double doors without much hesitation, but Eden simply froze outside of the entrance.


    In fact, the entire time Eden seemed slightly reluctant. Whatever the reason, she didn''t like this ce. Eden knew exactly how to get here though, as it was familiar to her.


    Which was why it had been a bit strange that Bernard decided to lead the way.


    Bernard remained in the doorway, with one hand pushing the door in. He looked over his shoulder towards Eden.


    "Come on now."


    After a few moments of obvious hesitation, Eden put her foot forward and walked in. Apollo looked at her with a curious expression, but did not say anything.


    Upon walking in, they were greeted with a room that had a high ceiling. The wooden floorboards underneath were very solid, making sharp tapping sounds as they walked.


    There was a set of wooden chairs on the left and right and a wooden desk at the front. A man was there, sitting there a little absentmindedly. He had what looked like a white gown that a priest would wear along with an overly tall white hat.


    The man looked at the group walking into the room and looked a little confused.


    "Is something the matter?"


    Bernard began shaking his head, then paused.


    "In a certain sense, yes. We have found an angel, your holiness."


    The man looked at Bernard as though he was an idiot. After a few moments of silence, the man sighed.


    "And what exactly makes you believe that?"


    Bernard snuck a nce behind him. Eden was trembling slightly while Apollo was just off in another world, thinking about something. Bernard cleared his throat.


    "An angel named Apollo has fallen from the sky. He is the child being held over there."


    The man looked at Apollo and raised an eyebrow.


    "...This boy fell from the sky?"


    Bernard nodded.


    "Yes. He has the ability to fly, as the tales of angels have said."


    Despite hearing what shocked all of the other townsfolk, this man''s expression did not change. Instead, he narrowed his eyes ever so slightly.


    "This boy can... fly?"


    Bernard nodded.


    "Yes, he has demonstrated that ability in front of many people."


    The man was eerily silent. Right when Bernard thought he wasn''t going to speak up, the man cleared his throat.


    "Very well. Please leave the angel with us."


    Eden frowned and spoke up for the first time.


    "My apologies, but I promised the angel that I would show him around the city. As angels are holy beings, it would be too improper to go against their wishes."


    The man blinked a few times, slightly taken aback by this response. He took a few moments to formte his words.


    "We shall take care of showing the angel around the city."


    The man looked at Apollo and shed a smile.


    "Apollo, was it? Why don''t youe with me? I can arrange many events. You can feel rest assured bying with me."


    Eden''s grip on Apollo subconsciously tightened. She pressed her lips together before speaking up once more.


    "There is no need for that. It is a promise I made, so failing to fulfill it will reflect badly on me."


    The corner of the man''s smile twitched.


    "...Well, we can let Apollo choose."


    He shifted his eyes to Apollo.


    "Would you prefer a standardized tour, one arranged by the city, or one by ayman?"


    Eden bit her lip in frustration.


    "I know this city well! I am not ayman."


    Bernard sighed.


    "Eden, leave the professional things to the professionals."


    Eden frowned slightly.


    "But..."


    The man behind the counter raised his hand in a way that indicated to stop.


    "Regardless, it is up to Apollo. Whether or not he wants the superior option is up to him."


    Eden''s eyelid twitched.


    "You-"


    "I want to go with Eden."


    Apollo cut her off, directly saying his stance. The man frowned slightly, but smiled soon after.


    "My friend, I understand you are more familiar with the one that carries you. However, for an overall improved experience, you shoulde with me."


    Bernard nodded.


    "They truly understand all the good spots in the city and can properly structure the stay."


    The manughed.


    "Exactly, and you would only have to wait a moment as the most suitable tour guide is summoned."


    Apollo looked a little interested at first, but lost interest soon.


    "Mm... sounds boring. I don''t want to wait."


    A small smile formed on Eden''s face.


    "Then that settles it."


    She walked outside confidently.


    As for the man, a frown slowly formed on his face. He looked towards Bernard with a cordial smile.


    "I have to go somewhere.. Please be on your way."

 Chapter 259 - Wooden Carvings

    Eden ran out in a bit of a fluster. Apollo remained in her arms, just curiously looking at the nearby people.


    Eden was able to take a few steps forward, but slowed to a stop. She bit her lip.


    "Apollo... why did you choose me?"


    Apollo looked up to Eden and tilted his head to the side.


    "Because you sound less boring. I don''t like boring people."


    Eden smiled bitterly.


    "B-But what the priest said was true. They would be able to do a much better job than me."


    Apollo scratched his cheek with a finger.


    "Mm... ok? Where are we going to go first?"


    Eden was a little taken aback by how little Apollo cared. She wondered why this was the case, then came to the conclusion that Apollo wanted her to do the tour. Eden felt touched.


    Though the truth was Apollo really just didn''t care all that much.


    Not knowing this, Eden smiled.


    "Then let''s go to one of my favorite spots first! It''s really close by, so we will get there quickly!"


    She proceeded to walk down the street. As promised, it did not take long for them to reach their destination.


    Eden looked at the sight in front of her with a big smile.


    "This is where Zack sells his wooden carvings! He''s always carving away, so there will always be something new after a few days which makes each visit exciting!"


    There was a man that had a fairlyrge desk at the front of a house, but off of the streets. Behind him were several sets of neatly cut logs. On the desk in front of him were a few intricately made carvings. One of them was a statue of a person with arge base while another was a wooden tomato.


    The man himself looked fairly young. He looked like he just crossed the age where most people lose their baby fat.


    Within the man''s left hand was one of these logs, but it looked like a stump. In his right hand was a small metal carving knife.


    The man was deliberately cutting through the log in front of him. He kept his eyes wide open and didn''t blink once, a testament to the concentration he was putting in.


    This man was Zack.


    A fairlyrge crowd had formed, taking up quite a bit of the street. Eden slowly walked up and whispered to Apollo.


    "Zack is using the best part of the log, the stump. Since this is the most valuable part for carving, he is trying his utmost to make sure there are no mistakes!"


    Apollo took a peek at Zack, who was carving away, then turned back to Eden.


    "Why is the stump the most valuable?"


    Eden let out a soft gasp, so as to not disturb the craftsman at work.


    "Sorry, I forgot you are an angel, not from our world. You see, the earth will sometimes shake. This means putting wooden carvings on shelves or at eye level means they might fall and also might break."


    She turned to look at Zack carving away.


    "Although we could put it on the floor, wooden carvings are admired more easily at higher ces. Since the stump naturally has a thick secure base that will resist rocking, it is considered most valuable."


    Apollo looked towards the carvings with curiosity.


    "Oh, that sounds cool."


    Eden shifted her hold on him so that he had an easier time watching.


    "Just wait, it should be done any moment now."


    The wooden carving Zack was holding gradually took shape, forming into what looked like tworge sunflowers growing out of the stump. However, they were wooden.


    As he continued to refine the edges, the carving looked more and more real. Despite being stationary and wooden, it looked lifelike.


    Suddenly, Zack let out a long breath, sounding exhausted. Then, he set the wooden carving down on the desk, prompting the crowd to let a few gasps of awe. A confident smirk appeared on his face as he looked at the person in front of him.


    "So, you buying?"


    The woman in front of him was holding onto an adult chicken. She looked at the carving with glowing eyes, then at the chicken that was in her hands. Hesitation was clear on her face, but the woman eventually handed the chicken over.


    Zack took the chicken happily while the woman took the carving away, admiring it as she walked off.


    An excited man walked up to Zack.


    "Could I get a custom carving as well?"


    Zack set down the carving knife. He waved his hand dismissively and rubbed his temple.


    "Sorry, but I''m really too tired right now. Maybe tomorrow."


    The man nodded.


    "I see, I see."


    With that, the crowd dispersed. As for Eden, she walked up.


    "Wow, Zack! You even got a chicken! I wonder if I will ever be able to get one."


    Zack happily stroked the chicken in his hands and chuckled.


    "With this, I can finally set up my own chicken farm. There really were too many close calls with that carving."


    He sighed and leaned back against the wall.


    "I imagine that you could get a male chicken if you work hard, Eden."


    Zack smirked.


    "As for the female chicken, I wish you luck."


    Eden pressed her lips together.


    "Gah... you could give me your first female chick. We are friends, right?"


    Zack looked off in another direction with one hand on his eyebrows, as though he was trying to look far away.


    "What? Where did you go?"


    Eden rolled her eyes.


    "It was worth a shot."


    Zackughed.


    "I could trade it to you for something worth a little less."


    Eden sighed.


    "Then I''ll buy it from you if I ever get the chance."


    Suddenly, Apollo pointed to one of the cut logs behind Zack.


    "Can I have that?"


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "Sorry, Apollo... I don''t have anything to buy it."


    Zack waved his hand dismissively.


    "Haha, is that your younger brother? Don''t worry about it, I can give him one."

 Chapter 260 - Wooden Figurine

    Zack picked up one of the cut logs behind him and held it out in front of him. Seeing this, Apollo hopped out of Eden''s hold and eagerly walked up. He took the log and smiled.


    "Thank you!"


    Eden gasped, wondering why Apollo had to leave her hold, but kept silent.


    Zack was clearly tired, but stillughed amicably.


    "So your name is Apollo? I never knew Eden had a younger brother until now, you look just like her."


    Eden opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, Apollo spoke up.


    "Yeah, anyway, I want to try this too!"


    Zack raised an eyebrow.


    "You mean carving? I suppose my skills really were too impressive. Here, take this carving knife for now. Be careful not to cut yourself."


    He held out the knife, but Apollo shook his head.


    "I have this!"


    He held up his bokken and waved it around.


    Zack smiled bitterly.


    "...I see. If you ever have trouble using that and want the carving knife, you can always borrow it."


    Apollo nodded, then looked at the wooden block in front of him intently. He appeared to be at a loss. Seeing this, Zack decided to speak up.


    "When carving, you first have to envision the entirety of what you wish for it to be. This is because every cut is permanent. In other words, a single mistake will ruin the entire thing."


    Apollo muttered as he inspected the cut log in his hand.


    "Every cut is permanent..."


    Zack nodded.


    "Especially for your first time, you want to be care-"


    To both Eden and Zack''s surprise, Apollo tossed the cut log into the air with a tiny bit of spin. Right before it fell, his bokken shed. A chunk of wood fell off while the cut log bounced upwards.


    As it beganing down again, Apollo shed once more. Another chunk of wood fell off, but this time it didn''t bounce as high. He continued swinging at the cut log.


    Apollo was slowly moving faster and the cut log went from bouncing, to vibrating in the middle of the air. Then, in just a minute or so, he was done.


    The wooden carving fell from the air and Apollo caught it. By now, a fairlyrge crowd had formed, interested in this new way of carving.


    Someone in the crowd called out.


    "Ah, the angels are talented as expected!"


    Zack and Eden both walked up and looked over the final product with Apollo. It was a figurine. Overall, the edges were cut fairly crudely. While Zack''s statues were very smooth, Apollo''s consisted of several t sides to imitate that.


    Though that was pretty normal considering Apollo just kept shing at it.


    As for the structure, it was a man in a suit with five horns and a pen in his hand. Or more urately, a demon. Specifically Serosh.


    Zack nodded several times.


    "This is pretty well done, not to mention how fast you did it! Have you done carving before, Apollo?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "No."


    Zack gasped as his eyes widened.


    "You have great potential then! Though there are a few mistakes you made."


    He pointed towards the carving.


    "For starters, the cuts are a bit on the sloppy side. Also while hair is hard to make, nobody''s hair sticks out like that! It almost looks like horns."


    Zack then pointed to the pen in the figurine''s hand.


    "You messed up on the hand here. You added an extra finger that sticks out awkwardly. Also, you didn''t give the carving a stand!"


    Eden sighed.


    "If this is his first time carving, he''s practically a prodigy! These small details are trivial."


    Zack chuckled.


    "Yes, yes, they are. But I''m just telling him how to improve even further. He can be a master!"


    The crowd got boisterous.


    "Woah! Who is that?"


    "It''s an angel, he''s an angel?"


    "An angel?"


    Murmurs spread amongst the crowd. In just a few moments, people came to the consensus that Apollo really was an angel. It seemed some of the people that witnessed him flying stuck around.


    Zack sped his hands together enthusiastically.


    "Apollo, with just a little practice, you could be a famous carver! Why don''t you try once more?"


    Apollo gave Zack a quick nce before looking back at the figurine in his hand.


    "No thanks."


    Zack''s eyelid twitched.


    "But-"


    "Zack."


    Eden cut him off and sighed.


    "Apollo... isn''t my younger brother. He is an angel, so he probably doesn''t have the desire or need to be a carver."


    Zack raised an eyebrow.


    "Angel?"


    That was when he noticed the murmurs of the crowd around him. He blinked a few times, finding the overall situation a little surreal.


    "What?"


    Zack shook his head.


    "I must be dreaming."


    He then picked up the chicken, opened the door to his house, and shut it behind him.


    Seeing this, the corner of Eden''s lip twitched. She shook her head and turned to Apollo.


    "You are very talented in swordsmanship. I should have noticed it earlier, you carry the sword with you all the time, after all."


    A small smile formed on Apollo''s face.


    "Yeah!"


    Eden reached out towards his bokken, gently touching the de. Her eyes widened once she realized it was very dull.


    "...Wow."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Where do we go next?"


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "Would you like to visit the dojo? It is where many people practice swinging swords for fun."


    Apollo''s eyes lit up when he heard that.


    "Oh, yeah, yeah!"


    Apollo raised his hands in the air and jumped up and down.


    "It sounds like fun!"


    Eden coughed awkwardly.


    "W-Would you like me to carry you there?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Why?"


    Eden cleared her throat.


    "No specific reason. But it will be easier for you to be carried!"


    Apollo blinked a few times, then nodded.


    "Ok!"


    He jumped up while Eden promptly caught him. She smiled slightly before pushing through the crowd.


    "Make way please!"

 Chapter 261 - Every Cut Is Permanent

    Eden pushed through the crowd while holding Apollo. Although the passerby wanted to get a closer look at the ''angel'', they were also slightly afraid. As such, they did not resist Eden''s shoving and backed out of the way.


    The crowd appeared to disperse, but there were still some people trailing from a distance.


    By now, Eden was panting slightly, a bit worn out from maneuvering through the crowd. She looked towards Apollo, who was simrly looking at her.


    "Sorry, Apollo. The dojo is a little far away, so it might take a while."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok!"


    Then, he began staring off in the sky, thinking about something. He held the figurine of Serosh he created close to himself.


    As Eden said, it took a fair amount of time for them to reach the dojo. Along the way, some of the people following from behind either lost them or stopped following of their own volition.


    The dojo was much further into the center of the city, but not by too much. It was quiterge, even after considering a lot of space would be needed to swing swords around.


    The dojo had two floors and was made out of red wood. There was nothing particrly fancy about the ce, but it wasn''t sloppily made. Eden pushed through tworge double doors.


    They were greeted with a female attendant with long hair at a desk. She gave a nce at the two before losing interest.


    "Hurry along, the people inside are already practicing."


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "Ah, just go in?"


    The attendant sighed and pointed at the bokken in Apollo''s hand.


    "You''ve already bought the wooden sword, no? That grants entry to the dojo. Go in the door to my left."


    Hearing that, Eden nodded hastily and just decided to go in the door.


    Inside, was a wide expanse that had a set of tatami mats. In the middle of the room was a fairlyrge wooden stage, polished well. Many cking sounds rang out from within, courtesy of people using wooden swords to hit training dummies or sparring with each other.


    Since Apollo had a bokken, he looked like he belonged here.


    There were people of all ages practicing in casual clothes. However, the majority of the people here were kids and young adults.


    Eden looked around, at a loss, then turned to Apollo with a bitter smile.


    "We have made it to the dojo. But... I haven''t been here before. Um, I don''t know what we are supposed to do."


    Apollo gave a nce at Eden, then jumped out of her hold. He held out the figurine in his hand towards Eden.


    "Can you hold this for now?"


    She nodded absentmindedly.


    "Ah, ok."


    From there, Apollo ran inside, looking left, then right at all the people around here. Eden hurriedly walked after him, trying not to get left behind.


    A middle-aged man took notice of Apollo and walked up to him with a friendly smile.


    "Hey, I haven''t seen your face here before."


    He was noticeably different from the others because of his loose-fitting white clothes.


    Apollo looked up to the man.


    "Yeah, I came here to see other people swing the sword!"


    The manughed.


    "Then you came to the right ce! Since it''s your first time, I rmend you try swinging at the training dummies."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "But I''m very good at swinging the sword already!"


    The man chuckled, clearly not believing him.


    "Why don''t you try using the training dummy for a little to show off your skill?"


    Eden had caught up and smiled amicably.


    "He has the best swordsmanship I''ve ever seen."


    The man looked at her and raised an eyebrow.


    "And have you ever been in the dojo?"


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "Well... no."


    The manughed and waved his hand dismissively.


    "Everyone has started by practicing swinging the sword. It is only natural."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Swinging the sword is important for learning!"


    The man gave him a thumbs up.


    "Exactly!"


    With that, Apollo ran over to a free wooden training dummy. Both the man and Eden followed from behind. Once Apollo reached the training dummy, he simply stared at it for a few moments.


    Apollo looked to the side at a kid smacking the training dummy filled with vigor, adding to the cking sounds that filled the air. He turned to look back at the training dummy in front of him.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger and muttered to himself.


    "...Every cut is permanent."


    He slowly lifted up the bokken while his pupils constricted ever so slightly. Then, Apollo swung.


    He didn''t hit the training dummy. Instead, his bokken brushed right by its side. The strike was less than a millimeter away.


    The man smiled bitterly.


    "Try again! You will hit it this time, I''m sure."


    As for Eden, she furrowed her brows.


    What was Apollo doing?


    Apollo pulled his bokken back before suddenly stabbing forwards like he was using a spear. Once more, it brushed right by the side of the training dummy.


    Although the difference wasn''t visible to the naked eye, his strike was even closer thanst time. Apollo continued to swing his bokken, letting it whip right by the training dummy. He wasn''t swinging particrly fast, but every strike was unbelievably close to hitting, but still missing.


    After a while, Apollo stopped and rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. After a few moments, he turned to the man.


    "I want to try fighting with someone else now!"


    The man nodded with an amicable smile.


    "...You did swing at the training dummy, so you can fight against someone. However, that doesn''t mean you are done with practicing! After this fight, you should go back to swinging the training dummy."


    Apollo nodded with a smile.


    "Ok!"


    The man took a deep breath, then searched for someone that would take it easy on Apollo.


    "Suki! Come here to spar with our friend here!"

 Chapter 262 - Stop To Watch

    A young girl practicing on her own in an empty section of the dojo suddenly stopped. She looked over to the man, then hurried over.


    Once the girl reached, she bowed courteously.


    "You called?"


    The man nodded.


    "Yes, Suki. This boy here is new to the dojo and wishes to spar against someone. Could you help with that?"


    Suki smiled genuinely.


    "Of course!"


    The man cleared his throat, got closer to Suki, and muttered.


    "Take it easy on him please."


    Suki nodded, then turned to the person she was supposed to be sparing with.


    "Hello! My name is Suki, what is yours?"


    Apollo raised his bokken high up in the air and began waving it.


    "Hi Suki! My name is Apollo!"


    Suki giggled.


    "That''s a great name! Apollo, I heard you want to spar?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Suki brushed her long hair back.


    "Alright then, follow me!"


    She began walking over to an empty set of tatami mats, while Apollo and Eden followed. The man also kept watch from afar.


    It was a little different here because it was a rectangr tatami mat that was farrger than usual. Suki pointed to it.


    "We will use this ce as our stage. If someone steps out of the boundaries or gets hit by the other''s wooden sword, they lose, so be careful when fighting!"


    Apollo gasped.


    "Ah, I see!"


    Suki walked over to one side of the tatami mat. Then, she turned to face Apollo with her knees slightly bent and her wooden sword raised above her shoulder.


    "I am ready when you are."


    Apollo stepped onto the tatami mat. He casually had his bokken at his side, pointing towards the ground.


    "Ready!"


    Suki nodded.


    "Then I will start."


    She slowly walked over, taking deliberate steps forward. As for Apollo, he simply stood still, not even bothering to take on some sort of stance. Suki remembered the man''s words, to take it easy on Apollo.


    However, she did not know what to do if he simply stood there. Once Suki got into range, she hesitated slightly before sending her sword towards Apollo.


    Finally, as though he woke up from a slumber, Apollo moved. He stepped backward leisurely and just barely dodged Suki''s strike. The wooden sword was roughly a millimeter away from touching the tip of his nose.


    Suki noticed that Apollo wasn''t just going to stand there, so she decided to go a little faster. Suki took a small step forward and shed horizontally.


    Apollo took a step back, letting the wooden sword brush right by his stomach. Suki quickly followed up by taking another step forward, but this time it was a little bit of a longer step.


    She whipped her wooden sword down upon Apollo. It looked fairly promising, but Apollo stepped to the side at thest moment, letting it brush past his shoulder.


    Suki missed once more. However, she was not done yet. Suddenly speeding up, Suki lunged forward, letting her wooden sword shoot right towards Apollo''s abdomen. As Suki let loose with this attack, she wondered if she overdid it.


    Most people would not expect the change of pace and were at least caught off guard by these series of attacks.


    However, Suki''s worries ended up being needless.


    Apollo didn''t move from his spot. He turned to the side, just barely dodging the attack. At this point, Suki realized that Apollo wasn''t a pushover. She didn''t understand why he wasn''t trying to attack, especially with how vulnerable she was in this position, but decided not to question it.


    After fixing her posture, Suki decided to take it up a notch, but not all the way just in case that was somehow a fluke. She let out several strikes one after another. The way Suki fought was very structured, using various stances to give her certain advantages.


    Her feet would m against the ground with every attack while her arms would swiftly shift between different positions.


    Suki clearly practiced before, able to execute stances with near perfection. Yet, she couldn''t hit Apollo. Every time she would get unbelievably close, but end up missing all the same.


    Initially, Suki took stances that allowed her to easily shift to defending or dodging, but quickly came to realize Apollo wasn''t even trying to attack. His bokken remained at his side the entire time.


    Although doing something like this could be considered offensive, Suki just saw it as Apollo trying tost without attacking.


    And she was right.


    Apollo wanted to learn how to dodge each attack with the least movement possible.


    In the end, Suki unleashed all of her technique, sending out a series of swift and tricky attacks. As for Apollo, he matched her swiftness and trickiness by just barely dodging her attacks.


    Apollo was essentially running around the stage in a circle while Suki was chasing him.


    As the fight continued, Suki felt like she was fighting against an apparition. Each time, her attacks would only hit the air. Apollo would never parry, block, or attack. Only dodge.


    That meant there was essentially no feedback from her strikes. It was as though Suki was practicing with herself, but that was most definitely not the case.


    Their fight began to speed up and even ended up attracting some attention.


    Suki gradually found herself in an extremely high state of focus. She found herself able to execute her technique more seamlessly and faster than ever. Her breaths were orderly, but also loud.


    Suki''s figure blurred several times one after another, as did Apollo''s.


    Her swings went faster than the speed of sound, making several clear whipping sounds ring out one after another. Unfortunately, the most they aplished was blowing some wind onto Apollo''s clothes or skin.


    The man who initially set Suki against Apollo was staring with his eyes widened and his jaw agape. At first, he thought Apollo''s dodges were a fluke but had to ept it wasn''t now.


    Eden clenched her fists, rooting for Apollo in her heart.


    As for the other people in the dojo, just about everybody stopped to watch.

 Chapter 263 - What Do You Mean?

    The tapping sounds of feet mming on the ground was prevalent, as well as the whipping sound of a sword. Due to theck of any actual collision sounds, it sounded like someone was practicing their swordsmanship, swinging their sword along with some footwork.


    Yet, that was not the case.


    There were countless people in the dojo, but most of them weren''t making a single sound. Not even their breathing was audible.


    That was because all of them were watching the fight on one of the tatami mats.


    Suki and Apollo seemed to be flying, flitting to and fro across. Yet, despite moving so fast, they did not move out of the borders that constrained their fight.


    Suki''s long hair seemed to be dancing with the wind. Despite trying to attack Apollo with as much speed as possible, she did not forget her form. As such, Suki was rapidly shifting between stances one after another.


    The way her feet moved almost made it seem like she was doing a choreographed dance. Suki constantly released and grabbed the wooden sword once more, letting it whip through the air.


    In the back of Suki''s mind, she was in amazement of her own skill. Suki never thought she would be able to execute her technique this fast. However, there was something Suki was more amazed by.


    How Apollo dodged all of her attacks. It was surprising enough that Apollo was able to evade without the need to swing his bokken once. However, his feat was far more impressive because of how close he was to getting hit each time.


    To the people watching, it looked like Apollo got hit because of the angle and how close it was. However, Suki''s wooden sword would continue past, making it look like it went through him.


    Eden had her fists clenched tightly while the man that set up the spar was still rubbing his eyes.


    Suki was panting hard. Sweat poured down across her face, while the asional drop of sweat was flung to the side. By now, a cramp was beginning to form in her arms.


    Suki quickly realized that at this rate, she would run out of stamina. Apollo would end up winning because her arms wouldn''t even be able to lift her wooden sword.


    However, despite theck of sess previously, Suki had no ns of giving up. She remembered that while they were trying to hit each other, there were also bounds set. For a while, Suki was being led around by Apollo, following him wherever he went.


    But now, she realized that she might be able to herd Apollo to the corner.


    Suki swung her wooden sword, tearing through the air towards Apollo''s abdomen. However, right when it was about to hit, Apollo''s body moved backward. Suki continued shing, forcing him back time and time again.


    As they were nearing the edge, Apollo attempted to slip by Suki and get behind her. However, before he was able to do so, a wooden sword blocked his path along with a leg.


    Apollo hopped backward so he wouldn''t get implicated. Unfortunately for him, that was the first step of no return.


    Apollo made another attempt to slip by Suki, but she shut it down immediately by stretching her legs as far as she could. Suki grit her teeth because of the pain from how much she stretched, but at this point, Suki was trying with everything she had.


    Apollo tried a few more times to slip by, but Suki blocked it off each time. Under normal circumstances, the move she made would leave her wide open for a strike. However, Apollo established earlier on that he would not attack.


    And as such, Suki was not punished for those moves.


    What that did mean was Apollo was forced to a corner all of sudden. With a triumphant smile, Suki took full advantage of this and swung as fast as she could. Apollo did not give up, however.


    He continued to dodge the strikes, one after another. Suki slowly approached, meaning Apollo was losing more of his real estate each second.


    Suki swung her wooden sword horizontally.


    In ast ditch effort, Apollo leaned back as far as he could, with only his toe holding up his entire body within the tatami mat.


    He dodged the strike once more.


    However, with Suki''sst ounce of strength, she brought the bokken down on Apollo. Her hands trembled violently while the bokken fell down slowly. It was moving slower than a snail but there was no longer a way for Apollo to dodge while remaining within bounds.


    And then, a soft tap resounded.


    Suki''s wooden swordnded on the center of Apollo''s chest.


    For a second, there was silence.


    Then, resounding cheers and pping resounded throughout the dojo.


    "Woah! That was so cool!"


    "How did those two move so fast?"


    "It must be some footwork technique! I must have it!"


    Eden looked a little dejected, but pped loudly anyway. As for the man, he stopped rubbing his eyes. He could no longer run away from the fact the sight in front of him was true.


    Suki let out a long sigh. Then she smiled brightly as she looked at Apollo.


    "It was a good spar. Although I won, I''m sure you would''ve easily won over me if you used your own wooden sword."


    Apollo still had only the tip of his foot on the tatami mat while the rest of his body leaned backwards. He was initially smiling, but tilted his head to the side with a confused expression after hearing Suki.


    "What do you mean?"


    Suki blinked a few times.


    "Huh? Did I say something incorrect?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "I won!"


    Suki furrowed her brows.


    "You did basically win, but strictly speaking I won this fight."


    Apollo pointed to the ground.


    "But you lost!"


    The crowd overheard this and got confused.


    "Huh?"


    "But he didn''t attack, how could he win?"


    "Well, I guess he could''ve won..."


    Suki looked to the floor with a confused expression and gasped.

 Chapter 264 - Another Spar

    Upon hearing Suki''s gasp, most of the crowd was simrly disturbed.


    With confusion, they turned to what she was looking at, the ground beneath her.


    Half of one foot was outside the boundary.


    There were two conditions to win. Either hit your opponent directly or have them step out of bounds.


    Suki lost.


    A bitter smile formed on her face.


    "You did win."


    She copsed to her knees and let her sword drop to the ground with a tter. Suki''s entire body was trembling violently. It was clear she overexerted her body in this spar.


    Once the crowd realized what had happened, they roared in excitement, eximing over how impressive Apollo was.


    "Did he n for that? Is that even something you can n?"


    "No, no it must be a fluke! There is no way that happened on purpose."


    "But he perfectly dodged it all! It must''ve been nned, everything was nned!"


    While it would be a bit of an exaggeration to say that Apollo nned everything, he was the reason Suki stepped out of bounds. As he retreated, Apollo swung out his foot to one side, pretending that he was taking a step.


    This gave Suki the illusion that the boundary was further than it actually was. There shouldn''t have been a reason to check, as if it was out of bounds, Apollo would already be out.


    However, he never fully brought his foot down.


    Eden still had trouble processing the situation despite seeing that Suki had stepped out of the tatami mat. After a full few seconds, she gasped.


    "A-Amazing!"


    That was the only thing Eden could say.


    As for the man that arranged for the spar to happen, he hurriedly walked over, but found it difficult. That was because the crowd was also rushing over, wanting to get a closer look at the person who pulled off such an impressive feat.


    In the end, the man was lost in the swarm. He raised his hand and called out towards Apollo, but several other people copied him soon after, drowning out any presence he had.


    Apollo looked at Suki who was trembling and on her knees.


    "Why are you on the ground?"


    A bitter smile formed on Suki''s face.


    "I... I''m just too tired to move."


    Apollo gasped.


    "That''s not good."


    Suki shrugged her shoulders.


    "It''s fine. Don''t worry so much about it."


    Apollo hummed while rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Ah, I can carry you!"


    Suki blinked a few times.


    "No, no. It really is-"


    "Hup!"


    Apollo didn''t bother waiting for Suki to finish her sentence and picked her up. He used his free hand to hold up Suki''s back and carried her legs with his bokken. Then, Apollo looked at Suki and tilted his head to the side.


    "Where do you need to go?"


    Suki couldn''t say anything for a moment. She really didn''t desire to be in this situation, but decided to go along with it anyway.


    Suki turned towards a direction and pointed with her chin.


    "Can you take me over there? I think some benches were at that ce."


    Apollo nodded with a casual smile on his face. He ran forwards at a brisk pace,pletely disregarding the fact a crowd of people was in front of him. However, instead of colliding, the people made way for Apollo, almost like they were a sea being parted.


    Along the way, he passed right by Eden. She reached out her hand towards him, but let it fall down soon after.


    Eden remembered that there wasn''t any real connection between the two of them. Not to mention how much more capable he was.


    A small frown appeared on Eden''s face.


    There was even the status gap, as Apollo was an ''angel''.


    It did not take too long for Apollo to reach the bench. There was no trouble since everyone moved out of the way for him. He set Suki down on the bench.


    After letting out a sigh of relief, Suki smiled gently.


    "Thank you. Apollo was it?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Suki giggled.


    "You are so sweet."


    With that, she deted like a balloon and fell down on the bench. At that moment, someone called out from behind.


    "Ah, Apollo!"


    It was the man from earlier. He was pushing through the crowd and was waving his hand around. Although his actions could be considered to be rude, whenever anyone the man shoved saw who it was, they did notin.


    Or more so, they didn''t dare toin.


    Apollo turned around to be greeted by a man giving him a cordial smile.


    "Who are you?"


    The manughed.


    "Haha, you joke around too much. Regardless, you put up quite the impressive disy!"


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "It was ok I guess."


    The man gave a thumbs up.


    "Humble! Anyways, while you won that fight, you never swung your sword. I''m sure that someone like you has impable swordsmanship, so why don''t you have a fight where you show that off?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Um, ok?"


    The man smiled confidently.


    "If you are thinking that your opponent will fall too easily, don''t worry!"


    He pointed his thumb towards himself.


    "This time, we will spar! I am the best at swordsmanship here. I was even the one that created the dojo."


    The man stood a little bit straighter and a little more smugly.


    "Don''t let your guard down, I might end the spar before you expect!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Ok."


    The man pointed towards the elevated wooden stage in the middle.


    "We will be using that stage! It will let everyone else see more easily too."


    He then hurriedly walked over to the wooden stage. The man was clearly very excited. It seemed like he truly enjoyed sparring with others, but was unable to find someone that could either match or surpass him.


    The man got on the stage and turned around.


    Apollo casually walked over and stepped onto the wooden stage.


    The two looked at each other silently.

 Chapter 265 - That One Was Too Fast!

    Upon getting on the stage, Apollo casually held his bokken at his side. It was clear he didn''t really care. As for the man standing on the other side of the stage, he slowly shifted his stance, raising his wooden sword vigntly.


    The man smiled enthusiastically.


    "I apologize for not letting you fight right away earlier. It was my fault for being unable to see the signs of someone skilled. I hope that you can fight with your full strength and disy the prowess of your swordsmanship."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Do we fight now?"


    The manughed.


    "Alright, alright. We will use the same rules as your previous spar. I am ready. Are you?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    The man took a deep breath.


    "Then..."


    He bent his knees slightly and tensed his feet.


    "Go."


    The man bolted forward. He was not the fastest, still within the realm of normal humans. However, it was an impressive speed nheless.


    Although he saw Apollo''s ability to dodge, his actual ability to attack and simple strength were unknown. As such, the man swung his wooden sword just to test the waters. He made sure not to put in too much strength so that he could back out as needed.


    As for Apollo, he didn''t even take a single step forward. In fact, even when the man began swinging, Apollo had yet to move at all.


    But right when it seemed like it was going to be over, Apollo moved.


    He did not directly meet swords with the man. Instead, his sword snaked past right next to it. Then, the de of the man''s wooden sword collided with the hilt of Apollo''s bokken.


    The man immediately put more strength into his wooden sword, trying to overpower Apollo with strength and taking advantage of this sh. From what he could tell, since he was a grown man that practiced swinging his sword all the time, he should be able to beat Apollo. And that was despite the fact Apollo had an advantageous angle to push against because of how their swords met.


    Unfortunately, his assumption was incorrect.


    One would imagine he would think twice after making a wrong guess the first time, but at least they were fairly reasonable in nature.


    Apollo pushed against the man''s wooden sword using the hilt of his bokken forcing it to the side. However, he was not done just yet.


    Apollo walked forward, letting the man''s de move past him while his de shot forward.


    A light tap rang out.


    The man was hit squarely in the chest.


    There was a moment of silence. The man had an expression of disbelief, eyes wide open and jaw dropped. As for the crowd, they were caught off guard. There was supposed to be a grand battle between two masters, but instead, it seemed like one of them slipped up and lost straight away.


    Eden was clutching the figurine of Serosh tightly unconsciously. She expected to be happy that Apollo won, but felt a sense of anxiety that slowly crept into her heart.


    Someone within the crowd began pping, prompting the rest to do the same. Everyone seemed to be in a partial daze, almost like they were hypnotized to continue pping.


    The man retracted his bokken. He scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly.


    "Er... It appears you have won this fight."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yup!"


    Then, he turned around and began walking off the stage. Seeing this, the man hurriedly spoke up as he took a step forward.


    "Wait!"


    Apollo turned around with a curious expression on his face.


    "What?"


    The man cleared his throat.


    "There are so many people watching us. I am sure they were not satisfied with watching when our battle ended so quickly. How about we have a rematch? If I win, we can then have a best of three!"


    Several excited sounds came from the crowd.


    "Another spar! That one was too fast!"


    "I missed most of it because I blinked!"


    "I want to be able to learn from watching two masters fight!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side, then looked at the man.


    "Ok!"


    The manughed.


    "Thank you, thank you. Let us get into position again."


    The two of them got back into their original ces. Apollo casually stood there, while the man took on a stance, but more seriously this time. The man believed that thest fight was just a fluke.


    It was just that Apollo got lucky.


    He shared a simr mentality to certain people that y certain video games.


    This time, the man did not n on challenging Apollo''s strength in a disadvantageous position. However, that didn''t mean he wasn''t going to challenge it head on. The man still had confidence that he was the stronger one of the two of them.


    With that, the man took a deep breath and looked Apollo dead in the eyes.


    "...Go."


    He shot forwards while Apollo stayed in the same spot, a repeat ofst time. This time, the man suddenly stopped a few meters away and gauged Apollo''s reaction.


    However, there was no reaction to gauge.


    The man thought that Apollo might at least flinch, giving him a slightly advantageous situation to strike, but it was as though Apollo didn''t even see him. A small frown formed on the man''s face.


    He slowly paced from the left and right, trying to see if Apollo would lose patience and take a step forward.


    A few displeased mutters came from the crowd. After all, nothing was really happening. Hearing them, the man decided just to charge in.


    He no longer bothered with a strike that tested the waters and went all in, doing a heavy handed strike aimed to overwhelm Apollo with brute strength.


    Unfortunately, nobody told the man that his strength was not only lower than Apollo''s, but it was something that wouldn''t work against this particr person.


    A swishing sound rang out.


    The man''s sword twisted to the side, while Apollo''s bokken shot towards his chest.

 Chapter 266 - Overwhelmed

    A clear tap rang out.


    Apollo had struck the man''s chest with the tip of his bokken once more. A nasty expression appeared on the man''s face. He didn''t understand what just happened. For whatever reason, he felt the force behind his strike shift to the side, making it look like he missed horribly.


    Because of that, Apollo was given the easiest win ever.


    All he had to do was swing at him!


    The crowd was also displeased. They shot disdainful looks at the man.


    "How did he lose so fast again?"


    "The founder of the dojo missed entirely... and I thought the previous round was a blunder."


    "Even I could do better than him and I''m pretty bad at using the sword."


    Eden blinked a few times, holding the figurine of Serosh close to her chest.


    "Eh? How did that happen?"


    The man was able to hear those voices of dissent pretty easily. They made him feel very embarrassed. For whatever reason, he had bad luck with these rules.


    Apollo smiled.


    "I win again!"


    Then, he turned around.


    With a bit of exasperation and desperation, the man called out to Apollo once more.


    "Wait?"


    Apollo turned around and raised an eyebrow.


    "I had another spar with you like I said, right? Or do you think that you won?"


    The man took a deep breath, forcing out the words with a twitching smile.


    "Yes, yes you won. There is no need to harp on that. Once again, this fight was far too short. It appears to be a w with the rules we set."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "The rules? Isn''t it just because you aren''t very good?"


    The man''s face twitched. He was offended simply by the fact Apollo had the audacity to say that. However, the man kept silent about that.


    "Haha, you are a good swordsman, that''s for sure. You might even be better than me! However, since you only have to get hit once to lose, that means it ends up being over too soon."


    He cleared his throat.


    "That is why we should try again, but this time we will use more realistic rules. Getting hit will not cause one to lose. Instead, we fight until one side says they give up or they are unable to continue fighting. Stepping out of bounds still applies though."


    This kind of rule wasn''t exactly the most sensible for a spar. Despite being in a floating city detached from the earth, this fact remained true. However, nobody questioned it, mostly because the fights really did end too quickly.


    Perhaps if this rule change happened before, nearly everyone would protest against it. But now...


    "I think these rules are good!"


    "Yes, it will be a more realistic spar."


    "Now it won''t end in one single move!"


    The man felt satisfied hearing this kind of response. He decided on this kind of rule so that even if his opponent got ''lucky'' he would not lose immediately. Instead, they would have to hit each other multiple times, thus the person that was truly more skilled should win most of the engagements.


    Then, that person would win.


    The man also still believed his strength was higher along with his endurance. From his perspective, even if Apollo hit him many times, he should be able to bear them pretty easily. On the other hand, if Apollo was hit a few times, it should hurt pretty bad considering his childish body. And because of how young he was, Apollo should be in tears and give up after a few hits.


    Maybe even just after the first hit.


    The man definitely thought that this way was both unfair and shameless, but he wanted to win some of his pride back, even if it was done in a way like this.


    The two of them got into position once more. Apollo appeared casual likest time, but also a bit annoyed. On the other hand, the man was far more serious, holding his wooden sword tightly.


    But there was still a confident smile on his face.


    "Go!"


    Thinking that Apollo wouldn''t move, the man took a slow step forward. However, Apollo did move this time, and did so quickly.


    He was so fast that he reached the man by the time he finished his first step, catching the manpletely unprepared. Apollo''s bokken shot forth like a spear.


    As for the man, he couldn''t process the situation fast enough. As such, he swung his sword in a random direction.


    A sharp ck rang out.


    To his surprise, he blocked Apollo''s bokken. Although the man thought it was essentially luck, he still got more confident. Finally, his bad luck was turning around!


    ...Or so he thought.


    That initial sh was quite rough. Despite the fact the man was holding onto his wooden sword tightly, he nearly lost his grip.


    This wasn''t too concerning by itself, but before the man could recover himself and retaliate, another strike hit his wooden sword in a different spot. The man was about to lose his grip on the sword, but just barely held on.


    He took a step backward to give himself a bit more breathing room and stabilize himself. Apollo simrly took a step, but it was forward.


    A sharp ck rang out.


    Then another one.


    And another one.


    Apollo relentlessly rained down his attacks, hitting a different spot on the man''s wooden sword each time. As for the man, he didn''t have a single second to catch his breath. He kept getting forced back time and time again.


    The man felt like he was drowning, but barely holding on because of a life vest.


    He was frustrated, thinking that this was happening because he didn''t get the first strike in.


    Apollo''s bokken continued to dance through the air. In reality, he didn''t actually care that much about winning this fight. Instead, he wanted to try and hit each part of the man''s wooden sword, which was proceeding on smoothly.


    And once he did hit every part...


    The man was at the very edge of the wooden stage.

 Chapter 267 - Run Circles Around The Stage Crying For His Mother!

    The man was forced a step backward from all the attacks Apollo rained down. However, the man was also at the edge of the stage. As such, when he took a step back, half of his foot hung off the ledge.


    The man wasn''t prepared for this, thus attempted to push down on the stage with the heel of his foot. Unfortunately, there was nothing to push on.


    Apollo stopped attacking at this point. He only stared at the man who was desperately trying to stop himself from losing bnce. His body teetered as he iled his limbs around wildly.


    For a good few seconds, the man put up a good fight, staying on the stage. Though his disy did look rather... strange. However, the man was unable to recover himself and fell off the wooden stage,nding with a clear thump.


    The wind was knocked out of his lungs, apanied by more embarrassment.


    As for the crowd, a few of them were pping, while the others seemed disappointed.


    "That... that was a longer fight."


    "But the dojo master didn''t even attack once!"


    "Is the dojo master sick? He must be, right? Maybe we can reorganize this fight for when he''s better!"


    Unfortunately, the man, who was the dojo master, was not sick. The dojo master coughed a little, trying to y it off. He still did not feel resigned to his fate, however.


    From the dojo master''s perspective, he just lost because he lost the initial momentum. Because he didn''t expect Apollo to move, he was pushed to one side, then that little bit of disruption was enough to be barely maintained between the two of them.


    As far as the dojo master was concerned, he put up quite the fight because he ''blocked'' every strike. They were basically at the same level of skill and strength in the dojo master''s eyes. It was just that small advantage at the start.


    Apollo once began to step off the stage once more, but before that happened, the dojo master called out.


    "Wait!"


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched. He was getting a little bothered.


    "What."


    The dojo master cleared his throat.


    "To be the most realistic, there shouldn''t be any restraint for where we fight. It should only end when one person admits defeat, or is knocked unconscious!"


    This made even less sense than the rules of thest spar, but he decided to go with it anyway.


    Because desperation.


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "But I don''t want to!"


    Several unsatisfied people from the crowd called out.


    "Just one more spar!"


    "Surely, this one will be amazing!"


    "The rules will make it a true battle between masters!"


    Though they said that, the tone of the voices wasn''t exactly the most confident. In all honesty, most of them lost faith in the dojo master entirely. They were only clinging onto theirst hope that maybe the dojo master would be able to finally pull through.


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, pondering over it for a moment. Suddenly, his eyes lit up as though he came to a realization.


    "Ok! One more."


    It wasn''t that Apollo thought this battle was going to be worthwhile. However, he did want to try something out.


    The dojo master smiled with a twitching eyebrow.


    "Thank you, thank you."


    They got into position once more. In the back of the dojo master''s head, he said a few encouraging thoughts.


    He was going to beat Apollo so bad, he would run circles around the stage crying for his mother!


    After psyching himself up, the dojo master took a deep breath.


    "Go!"


    He immediately charged forwards, as did Apollo. The two of them met in the middle of the stage. The dojo winded up a strike as he moved, straight towards Apollo.


    ...But it just barely missed.


    The dojo master hurriedly tried to pull his wooden sword back, which was pretty easy since he didn''t put too much power into the strike. Unfortunately, that short amount of time was more than enough for Apollo to take advantage of.


    The dojo master''s eyes widened in shock.


    Countless after images appeared. To him, it appeared like Apollo had one hundred translucent arms, each holding a bokken.


    The dojo master immediately felt numerous merciless stabs on his body. It was painful, but not lethal. It wasn''t as though he had never suffered injuries. After all, as a person that manages the dojo, there were a lot of spars to be had, which means getting hit was something normal.


    However, they were never as painful as this. The dojo master was sure he could survive, as each time he was hit, Apollo would pull back his bokken before pushing too far. However, it still heavily damaged the surface of his skin.


    As the dojo master was being battered, he swung his wooden sword within the storm of bokkens. His wooden sword miraculously traveled through the countless swords, almost like it was a shooting star.


    Then, it missed Apollo.


    The dojo master took countless hits. His skin began bruising heavily. In an attempt to fight Apollo off, he iled his wooden sword around, hoping to stop at least one strike or hit Apollo.


    Unfortunately, Apollo''s bokken snaked past every single strike, while he himself was unscathed.


    The dojo masterpletely lost faith. He finally realized he was no match for Apollo.


    "I- Ow!"


    He held his arms in front of him, but that didn''t prevent any of Apollo''s attacks from hitting his body.


    "I give up!"


    The dojo master waited for Apollo to stop.


    ...But he didn''t.


    In reality, Apollo had forgotten about the spar rules. His only goal was to try and hit every single spot on the dojo master''s body with the tip of his bokken.


    With how many stabs heunched out, it was as though Apollo was actually using a spear.


    The dojo master didn''t want to go through so much pain. His skin was turning purple and blue.


    And so, he ran away.


    "Mommy!"


    Tears formed in his face as he called out for his mother.

 Chapter 268 - Lion In A Flock Of Sheep

    The dojo master ran off the stage, attempting to get farther away from Apollo. As for the crowd, they hurriedly got out of the way, not wanting to get involved.


    The dojo master uncontrobly cried, unable to stand the pain.


    "Mommy! Mommy!"


    Apollo continued chasing after him, attempting to stab him further. He had yet to aplish his goal of attacking every part of the dojo master''s body, thus had no ns of stopping here.


    As for the dojo master, his reputation had fallen as low as it could possibly get. This fact was not apparent to him now, as he just wanted the pain to stop.


    Eden watched all this happen with a confused expression. She felt like she was supposed to do something, anything. This strange situation should stop for the better of everyone.


    Yet, Eden also had no idea what sort of action she could take.


    The dojo master passed by Suki, who was still sitting on the bench. Her eyelid twitched once she saw the sorry mess the person she looked up became.


    As Apollo passed, Suki hurriedly called out to him.


    "Apollo!"


    Hearing this, Apollo stopped and turned to Suki.


    "Hm?"


    A bitter smile formed on Suki''s face.


    "You have already won as the dojo master has given up. Stop chasing him, alright?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "But I still didn''t finish what I started!"


    Suki blinked a few times, not understanding what exactly he meant.


    "I understand, but it is also unfair that you continued to hit the dojo master after he gave up."


    Apollo hummed with dissatisfaction.


    "Ok..."


    The dojo master noticed that Apollo stopped chasing him. He let out a sigh of relief and copsed onto the ground, directly passing out.


    The crowd didn''t really know what to feel. Most of them here wanted to either watch a magnificent disy of technique or learn something. Unfortunately, the only thing they got to see was a beatdown.


    Suki noticed this, thus she tried to salvage the situation.


    "Apollo, you have the best swordsmanship out of all of us by miles. We are all so curious about your technique. Do you mind trying to teach us?"


    Eden saw this and felt a little ashamed of herself. If only she was the one saying those words, making everyone feelfortable.


    Apollo opened his mouth, about to respond to Suki''s question. But someone spoke up beforehand.


    "Wait!"


    A young man stepped out from the crowd. He had defined muscles and from his sleeveless shirt, it was clear the man wasn''t afraid to show it.


    "I don''t think his swordsmanship is better than mine! The dojo master is simply a pushover that can''t hold his own!"


    Suki smiled bitterly.


    "I apologize sir, but I have seen your ability. It does not match his."


    The man was clearly offended.


    "Hah, as if! I''vee to practice here so many times. Despite participating in many spars, I have never lost one in recent times!"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "What Suki said was a little inurate."


    The man smirked confidently.


    "Exactly!"


    Apollo smiled as well.


    "After all, even if all of you tried to attack me, none of you would be able tond a single hit!"


    The expression on the man''s face froze. Along with that, several displeased expressions appeared within the crowd.


    "That is just nonsense! How can one person beat so many others?"


    "If you want to boast, be realistic about it!"


    "My swordsmanship is not as good as yours, but saying that is taking it too far!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "I am just telling the truth!"


    The corner of Suki''s lip twitched.


    "Calm down everyone, we can surely settle this peacefully."


    A boy from the crowd raised his wooden sword in the air and eximed righteously.


    "I will calm down after he apologizes."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Apologize for what? Not lying?"


    The crowd got more incensed.


    "How dare you say that!"


    Suki opened her mouth while her mind whirred as fast as it could to find some way to fix this.


    ...But then, she began to wonder if Apollo really could beat everyone here without getting hit once. From what she saw, it was definitely within the realm of possibility.


    Suki coughed awkwardly.


    "Then we can do it like this! Apollo will stand in the middle of the wooden stage and fight anybody thates after him!"


    In the end, the person who was supposed to make peace was the one that instigated the fight.


    She turned to Apollo.


    "Are you ok with this arrangement?"


    Apollo nodded with a small smile.


    "Yeah!"


    Suki''s eyebrows jumped a little. In the back of her mind, she thought Apollo mighte up with an excuse or may be bluffing. But that didn''t seem to be the case, as he took the challenge head on.


    Many among the crowd nodded as well, happy with the new rules.


    Apollo made way to the middle of the stage.


    Suki wanted to do a countdown, but before she could, a young man jumped on the stage and charged towards Apollo with a battle cry.


    As though that was a spark, countless other people jumped on as well.


    The first man shot swung at Apollo, but just barely missed. Before he could retract his sword, a strong force suddenly hit his chest, causing him to be sted backwards.


    An old man charged forward with a cry, holding his wooden sword high with both hands. However, before he could attack, his chest was hit.


    Then, Apollo was surrounded by three people who all swung their swords, but halfway through their swing, they were sted back.


    After that, people didn''t recklessly charge in, a little afraid now. This prompted Apollo to dive into the crowd himself, like a lion into a flock of sheep.


    One after another, pained cries came from the crowd.


    Apollo weaved through wooden swords and people seamlessly, slipping by the tiniest of gaps.


    Nobody could stand against him.

 Chapter 269 - Swing The Sword!

    In just a few moments, nearly everybody was on the floor groaning in pain. The only people not doing so were Suki, Apollo, and Eden.


    Suki''s eyes were wide open.


    Although she believed Apollo would be able to take everyone down, she thought it would either be close or with some sort of struggle. Yet, Apollo walked through the dojo incapacitating each person that he came across easily like he was just walking through his backyard.


    Eden was randomly standing up among the sea of people sprawled out on the floor. She looked around herself, as though trying to process the situation.


    As for Apollo, he did a simple scan of the ce around him. After confirming everyone was on the ground, he rested his bokken on his shoulder.


    "That took a while."


    Suki''s eyebrow twitched.


    "Did it?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "More than I expected."


    Suki smiled bitterly as she shook her head.


    "...Huh."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Can I leave right now?"


    Suki blinked a few times.


    "Of course. Even if someone here wanted to stop you, they wouldn''t be able to."


    She took a deep breath.


    "But if you would like to teach us, I would appreciate it."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Well, I am good at teaching!"


    Suki''s eyes lit up.


    "That sounds exciting! I''m sure everyone here would like to learn something from you."


    A person in the crowd gave a thumbs up and let out a pained response between heaves of pain.


    "I definitely want to learn if it''s from you!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ok!"


    He walked up to the stage. Although most of the crowd was battered or bruised, they looked up. Some people had frowns or appeared to be filled with disdain. They were obviously displeased with Apollo beating them up but still looked over to see the lesson.


    Even the dojo master who was beaten until he cried looked up.


    Apollo raised his bokken high in the air.


    "To be skilled at using the sword, there are many steps!"


    A few nods came from the crowd, which was mostly silent.


    Apollo slowly lowered his sword, pointing it ahead of himself.


    "The first step!"


    Everybody''s eyes widened. Nobody dared blink less they missed this precious lesson.


    Apollo swung his sword.


    "Swing the sword!"


    Several confused expressions appeared within the crowd, while a few others nodded, trying to justify in their heads by saying this was just an introduction.


    Someone in the crowd raised their hand and called out.


    "What is the next step?"


    Apollo put his hands on his hips and stuck his elbows out proudly.


    "After swinging the sword, you swing the sword!"


    After that, he pulled back his sword and lunged forward with it. Many people among the crowd were astounded.


    ...Because of how unique Apollo''s lesson was.


    A young boy in the crowd raised his hand.


    "I don''t understand!"


    A young man scoffed.


    "That''s because there is nothing to understand! He isn''t doing anything!"


    An old man furrowed his brow.


    "Maybe this is part of the lesson?"


    Despite thements from the audience, Apollo continued to swing his sword after saying the next step was swinging the sword. Voices of dissent gradually came from the crowd. They were beginning to think Apollo was making fun of them.


    He pulled back his bokken and bent one knee.


    "After swinging the sword when you have swung the sword because you swung the sword-"


    "Apollo?"


    Suki cut him off.


    Apollo turned to look at her with a curious expression.


    "Do you have a question?"


    Someone in the crowd called out.


    "Why aren''t you teaching anything!"


    Suki cleared her throat.


    "Apollo has been teaching. He is using various forms so we can watch."


    Hearing this, the sounds of dissent got a little softer.


    As for Apollo, he scratched his cheek with his finger.


    "What is a form?"


    The corner of Suki''s lip twitched.


    "Um, a certain way you swing the sword."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Oh!"


    Suki tilted her head to the side.


    "Do you not know any terms? Are you self taught?"


    Apollo smiled and waved his bokken in the air.


    "My mommy taught me by fighting with me!"


    A small smile formed on Suki''s face.


    "Perhaps if you learned the terms, you would be able to describe your actions better?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Oh! I think I have something with terms!"


    He pulled out a book.


    It was light brown, and quiterge. The title was, ''Proper Application of Wind Attacks for Sword Wielders''.


    Apollo opened it up, before being greeted with a huge wall of text.


    "Hm... what does lunge mean?"


    Suki raised an eyebrow.


    "Uh, when you take a long step forward. Usually, you stab forward along with it."


    Apollo nodded. A few secondster, he turned to Suki once more.


    "What does sweep mean?"


    Suki furrowed her brows.


    "Um... some people consider it as a horizontal sh, generally aimed close to the ground."


    Like that, Apollo continued to ask questions while Suki would answer. The crowd was a little annoyed, but the general consensus was that if Apollo learned how to describe things properly, he would also be able to teach properly.


    And so, there was a tedious exchange between Apollo and Suki. At this moment, Suki felt like she was bing a glorified version of a dictionary. However, she persisted anyway because she really did want to learn something from Apollo.


    Right when most people were getting bored enough to leave altogether, Apollo closed the book shut with a loud p. He smiled brightly.


    "Ok! I think I got it now!"


    The crowd immediately snapped to attention. Most people looked at him with wide eyes as they covered their injuries.


    Apollo raised his bokken up in the air.


    "The first step..."


    Everyone held their breaths.


    Apollo swung his bokken down.


    "Is to swing the sword!"


    Many aggrieved cries came from the crowd.


    But then, Apollo swung horizontally with his hand.


    "And the hand!"

 Chapter 270 - Fallen Angel

    For a moment, nobody suspected anything when Apollo''s hand swung through the air. That was when a loud bang resounded within the dojo. A wind de had shot out, before embedding itself into the wall.


    It formed a veryrge gash along with surrounding cracks, a testament to how strong the strike was. Everybody looked towards this crack, speechless.


    Silence hung in the air, but only for just a moment.


    People began freaking out one after another.


    "How... How is this possible? What level of swordsmanship is this?"


    "The peak of swordsmanship is far greater than any of us imagined!"


    "I want to do that too! How do I do that? You have to teach us!"


    Eden held the wooden figurine closer to herself, as though it would somehow protect her. Although she knew there was arge gap between her and Apollo, seeing it so clearly in front of her...


    Well, Eden was insecure.


    She didn''t think any of her qualities were redeeming enough to even be near him. Eden began to feel ashamed for insisting on holding Apollo.


    How could she have that kind of audacity?


    As for Suki, her eyes boggled. Originally, she only wished to improve her swordsmanship because it was fun. Yet, that all suddenly changed when Suki noticed the devastation of Apollo''s strike.


    She wanted to do that.


    It opened Suki''s eyes as to what a technique meant. More than a new way to attack, it also meant power.


    Overwhelming power.


    Suki anxiously stood up from the bench. Her legs trembled slightly before giving out entirely, making her copse. However, Suki still reached out to Apollo.


    "Please... please teach me how to do that!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side, confused as to why everyone was asking that.


    "But I already taught you how to do it! You swing your hand."


    As though he wanted to prove a point, he raised his hand before bringing it down on the wooden stage.


    Another deafening bang rang out. The wooden tform cracked in two, split apart by Apollo''s strike.


    The crowd got even louder.


    "But that doesn''t tell us anything!"


    "Please exin it to us with proper swordsmanship terms!"


    "There has to be something more to just saying to swing with my hand, right?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "But I fully exined it all to you already."


    Several groans of disappointment came from the crowd. They continued toin, all desperately wanting to be taught the technique. As for Apollo, he truly did believe that he taught the others. This was his version of ''fully exined''.


    Suki furrowed her brows. For a moment, she got angry.


    From how Suki saw it, Apollo had no intention of teaching them. He just wanted to show off. After all, Suki went through so much work to exin what the terms meant, but he used none of them!


    She began thinking, what else could Apollo''s intentions possibly have been?


    Suddenly, Suki''s eyes widened.


    What if Apollo was trying to tell them all something?


    Clearly, he had no intention of exining his form, as even when he should''ve had the vocabry, Apollo just continued to say, ''swing the sword''.


    Suki closed her eyes tightly.


    Time and time again, he just emphasized that one point. But why?


    If Apollo was able to refine his swordsmanship to that extent, there was no way he was dumb, right?


    That meant there had to be a meaning behind it.


    Suki felt enlightened.


    Apollo must''ve described how he grew and became a swordsman. He swung the sword.


    In other words, he practiced.


    Forms and techniques are all great, but they are inevitably more suitable for different people. In the end, none of the ones made for the general public won''t be fully optimized for the individual.


    There was no way to ount for the body size or flexibility.


    That must''ve been why Apollo said all those things. It was because he couldn''t teach others how to be a swordsman, as the very peak was a path one had to discover by themselves.


    Suki let out a soft sigh and crawled back onto the bench. She no longer desperately cried out among the others in the crowd. Instead, she closed her eyes and meditated.


    In Suki''s heart, she eximed how much of a genius Apollo was.


    ...Though that wasn''t Apollo''s thought process at all. Frankly, he was trying to exin his form and technique. However, the way he did so was just far too vague for anybody to understand.


    Eden had been paying attention to Suki from the corner of her eye. As such, she ended up noticing the change within her. Eden made her way over to Suki to ask her a question.


    "Do you... understand?"


    Suki nodded enthusiastically and began to whisper.


    "Apollo is sending a message, but you have to decipher it. Only those that can somewhat follow his genius will be able to understand his teachings!"


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "I-It''s like that?"


    Suki nodded.


    "Yes! He is trying to tell us that to rise to the peak of swordsmanship, we have to practice ourselves, without any forms. By being formless, we slowly create an optimized way to attack, a form specifically for oneself!"


    Eden gasped then looked at the floor.


    "I... I didn''t think of that at all!"


    Suki chuckled.


    "That''s because his message truly was too cryptic! There seems to be meaning in everything he does."


    Eden remained silent for a moment.


    "Then what does it mean if he gave me this wooden carving?"


    She slowly turned over the wooden figurine in her hand, inspecting it.


    "I-Is it a parting gift?"


    Suki tilted her head to the side.


    "I don''t know the context. Maybe you should ask him?"


    Eden looked up to Apollo who was still trying to teach in his own unique way. She walked up to the wooden stage, ready to ask a question.


    But that was when several armored guards burst into the room.


    "Get away from the fallen angel!"

 Chapter 271 - Detained

    Panic immediately arose among the people when the guards said the word ''fallen angel''. Most of the people were still on the ground, holding onto their injuries. As such, it wasn''t the easiest for them to move.


    "Fallen angel?"


    "There is an angel?"


    "But angels are unable toe down to our earth! They simply provide blessings!"


    Eden seemed to be in shock, unable to process the situation. Apollo started looking around, searching for this ''fallen angel''.


    As for Suki, she quickly surmised that the guards appeared to be talking about Apollo. She understood what angels were, but had no idea what a fallen angel was.


    Suki wanted to ask, but felt the situation was a little too tense for that. She didn''t want to stand out in any way.


    Among the guards was a little boy. He was shivering in fear.


    One of the guards shook the little boy and pointed at Apollo.


    "Is that the fallen angel?"


    The boy looked up at Apollo, who simrly looked at him. One of them had fear in their eyes, and the other was curious. The boy simply looked down at the ground, unable to decide if he should speak.


    There were a few seconds of silence.


    Pretty much everybody looked at each other awkwardly, some wondering what was happening, and some trying to find an angel.


    The guard noticed that the boy had no ns of speaking up soon. So the guard shouted.


    "Speak! Is he the angel?"


    The boy cowered, unable to take the pressure.


    "Y-Yes!"


    With that, the guard looked forth.


    "On the stage is a fallen angel, move away now!"


    The people on the ground dragged themselves away, but were still confused. Someone muttered to themselves.


    "What is a fallen angel?"


    The guard that spoke heard this. He took a peek at the person before announcing to the people here.


    "Some of you do not seem to understand the severity of the situation. A fallen angel is one that was originally part of the angels."


    The guard raised his sword.


    "However! There are some that have simply done terribly despicable deeds, and are thus banished from heaven! The chances of an angel turning bad are unbelievably rare, but when it happens, they are the epitome of evil!"


    Fear immediately began to spread within the crowd.


    "T-That''s why he was able to do that strange attack!"


    "But why didn''t the fallen angel kill us if he is the epitome of evil?"


    "The fallen angel must be trying to convert us to be evil!"


    Although it was painful, many of the crowd pulled themselves away from the stage, now fearful of Apollo. The only person left standing awkwardly in the middle, was Eden.


    Her mind was currently in turmoil. Countless thoughts raged within.


    Was Apollo really a fallen angel?


    But he seemed so innocent!


    ...Then again, angels weren''t supposed to fall from the sky. Not to mention, Apollo didn''t seem to want to return to heaven.


    The reason he wanted to check out the city must''ve been because he wanted to survey the new ce he was going to live in!


    Eden trembled violently. She slowly looked down to the figurine in her hand and parted her fingers. From what Eden could tell, this definitely represented a person. She thought it was too specific to be anyone random.


    As such, Eden came to the conclusion Apollo met someone that looked like this before. However, angels were depicted as beings with halos and wings. There were no halos or wings on this person.


    Instead, there were horns.


    Eden quickly realized she might be holding onto a statue that represented some evil being. She was oblivious to it earlier as she didn''t even consider the possibility that Apollo was evil.


    Eden tensed up.


    She had to throw away the statue. It was evil.


    But for some reason, Eden just couldn''t let go of it. She wasn''t even exactly sure why.


    Once the crowd got out of the way, the guards slowly moved forward. They all had their swords out, taking each step forward carefully and even taking on a formation.


    The guard in the lead turned to Eden, who still wasn''t moving.


    "Get out of the way!"


    Eden jumped, then hurriedly ran away.


    The guard at the front then turned to Apollo.


    "Fallen angel, are you willing to surrender now? There''s no way out for you."


    Apollo turned around, then looked back at the man. He tilted his head to the side.


    "Who are you talking to?"


    The guard let out a contemptuous scoff.


    "Who else could I be talking to?"


    Apolloughed.


    "Then why did you call me fallen angel? My name is Apollo!"


    The guard narrowed his eyes.


    "Well then, Apollo. Will youe with us peacefully, or make things difficult?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Mm... I don''t like difficult things. Can it be easy instead?"


    Although there was a metal helmet on the guard''s face, obscuring most of his expression, it was still clear he was confused. The guard did not expect this situation.


    "If you wish for it to be easy, thene with us."


    Apollo blinked a few times, then nodded.


    "Ok!"


    He stepped down on the stage then began walking towards the guards. The guard did not trust him. After all, who wouldn''t even try to run away?


    The guard yelled out to his group.


    "Surround him!"


    The guards immediately went forth, circling around Apollo and all pointing metal swords at his neck.


    It looked a little strange, especially with the fact Apollo was a child and how he was smiling casually. Apollo looked around himself.


    "What are you doing?"


    The leading guard narrowed his eyes.


    "This is the only way to safely transport you."


    Apollo pouted.


    "What! You guys value safety too much. I don''t need to be protected."


    The guard''s eyebrow twitched.


    "Too bad. This is how it has to go."


    Apollo let out a soft sigh.


    "Ok, ok.. Just don''t be too slow."

 Chapter 272 - Familiar Man

    Apollo began walking out of the dojo with a circle of guards around him. He was in no rush, walking at a normal speed. However, that made the guards very tense.


    Who treats walking with swords pointed at their throat like a stroll in the park?


    Although Apollo waspliant, the leading guard did not believe he wouldn''t try something. Apollo proimed he didn''t want to be protected earlier, but the guard believed Apollo was making a sarcasticment. After all, who believes they are being protected when there are several swords pointing right at their neck?


    From the guard''s perspective, Apollo was either confident in escaping, or had a n he could somewhat rely on. Either way, he had no ns of letting him escape.


    As Eden watched Apollo leave, she felt confused.


    Was she really holding onto a fallen angel all this time?


    Eden''s grip on the wooden figurine got a little tighter. There was part of her that wanted to say something, but rationality told her that it was pointless anyway. Not to mention, Apollo didn''t seem against it.


    Suki furrowed her brows, wondering why Apollo was being detained. She assumed that since the guards should be upholding justice, they wouldn''t lie. In other words, Suki believed Apollo really was a fallen angel.


    However, she also didn''t think Apollo exactly screamed ''evil''. Although he was a bit rough on the people here, he never went overboard.


    So what exactly could''ve gotten him banished from heaven?


    Then, an answer came to Suki. Apollo clearly spent a tremendous amount of time practicing his swordsmanship. Even his teaching was to practice more.


    She came to the conclusion that Apollo neglected his duties as an angel to practice his swordsmanship.


    As irresponsible as it was, Suki felt respect for what she believed Apollo did.


    To pursue something without hesitation, over everything else.


    This must''ve been how Apollo attained his level of swordsmanship.


    Suki watched him leave, but felt that he must''ve had his own ns.


    Though he didn''t.


    Suki began to think over her own life. If she could really dedicate everything she had to swordsmanship. Her eyes slowly shut.


    And Suki''s mentality began to change.


    ...


    Apollo and the guards attracted a lot of attention. It wasn''t like they were trying to, but it was a little hard not to when they took up the entirety of the road.


    The guard walking backwards began sweating.


    "Go a little slower!"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "But I''m already going so slow. Is there even a reason to go so slow?"


    The guard frowned.


    "Go slower if you don''t want to lose your head!"


    Apollo pouted.


    "How would I lose my head?"


    The guard narrowed his eyes.


    "You better listen right now or I''ll-"


    "Excuse me."


    A man with long yellow hair appeared. He had a cordial smile on his face as though he was meeting with friends.


    The guard looked over his shoulder and shouted.


    "Get out of the way! Do not interfere with detainment! The punishment is severe so-"


    "Wait."


    The leader of the guards spoke up.


    "...Let''s hear what he has to say."


    The guard that was initially shouting turned to the leader.


    "But-"


    "Shut up."


    The leader of the guards sounded a little too serious. At least, far too serious for the sake of some random citizen.


    The man looked over to Apollo and waved.


    "Haha, hello. It has been quite a while since west met, no?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "We met before?"


    The man nodded.


    "Haha, it seems I didn''t make the strongest impression. My name is Mark."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Hmm... I don''t remember."


    Mark let out a soft sigh.


    "I suppose our encounter was indeed short, but I told you a story, remember?"


    Suddenly, Apollo''s eyes lit up.


    "Oh yeah! You told me about the demons and the crowns!"


    Mark nodded.


    "Yes, yes. It appears you have done well for yourself in the time that we were apart."


    Apollo smiled brightly.


    "I have!"


    The guard that initially yelled looked at Apollo, then Mark.


    "You know the fallen angel?"


    The leader of the guards clicked his tongue.


    "I said shut up!"


    Mark chuckled.


    "There is no need to be so uptight. Yes, we know each other, but it was a short encounter."


    The leader of the guards took a deep breath.


    "Do you... want him released?"


    The other guards in his group were surprised. It appeared that Mark was a person that held higher power than even their leader.


    Mark waved his hand dismissively.


    "I simply came by to have a look. No need to release him. Though I do wish to apany him and have a little chat."


    The leader of the guards slowly nodded.


    "Alright."


    He turned to the other guards.


    "Lower your swords. We will escort these people."


    After a second of hesitation, they did as instructed.


    And so, a strange scene urred. A little kid with a wooden sword walked side by side with a man with long hair and was surrounded by guards.


    Mark looked down at Apollo.


    "So, have you met any people with a crown yet?"


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Mm... I don''t think so."


    Mark nodded a few times.


    "That is fair. They are quite rare."


    Apollo waved his bokken around in the air.


    "Have you met any?"


    Markughed.


    "A few, I am not the most popr person."


    Apollo hummed.


    "I think you are popr!"


    Mark smiled.


    "Thank you, thank you."


    One guard whispered to another.


    "What is a crowned?"


    The other guard responded exasperatedly.


    "How am I supposed to know?"


    Eventually, they reached a rather tall building. They went inside and eventually reached a few cells.


    The leader of the guards looked towards Mark.


    "Um sir, we need to lock him up now."


    Mark waved his hand dismissively.


    "Just leave. I will do it for you."


    After a second of silence, the guard nodded.


    "Alright."


    They left, then Mark turned to Apollo.

 Chapter 273 - Are You Sure About This?

    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "What do you guys mean by lock up?"


    Mark smiled cordially.


    "It means you are going into a prison cell and are to be kept there for a certain amount of time."


    Apollo pouted.


    "That sounds boring."


    Mark nodded.


    "Indeed, it is. However, there should be a group that will break you out soon enough."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "That sounds cool!"


    The corner of Mark''s lip turned up.


    "It should be, indeed."


    He took a deep breath.


    "Say, how did youe to this ce?"


    Apollo scratched his cheek with a finger.


    "Um... someone threw me here."


    Mark furrowed his brows.


    "...Really?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    Mark rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "That is quite strange. The natural winds that lift this city up usually repel anything thates from below. They are able to use someone''s speed against them, even if they have extremelyrge amounts of initial momentum."


    Apollo copied Mark, also rubbing his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "I wasn''t thrown very fast. It was like a slow throw."


    Mark nodded.


    "Interesting. That is nice to know."


    He smiled cordially.


    "Anyways, it was nice talking to you. Please step into that cage now."


    Mark pointed towards a prison cell. It was quite small, only with a small bed inside. There was a lot of dust covering it, but other than that it was clean. They definitely didn''t see much use.


    Apollo looked towards the cell and walked in through the door.


    "This one?"


    Mark nodded.


    "Yeah."


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "So how long do I wait for someone to break me out."


    Markughed.


    "It should only be a day. If it goes longer than that, just break out yourself."


    Apollo nodded with a smile.


    "Ok! Goodbye then!"


    Mark waved his hand.


    "Goodbye."


    With that, Apollo was locked up in a jail cell.


    He looked around before sitting on the bed. For a few minutes, Apollo continued to look at the cell as though something novel would appear if he did so.


    Then eventually, he lost interest.


    Apollo pouted.


    "Hmm... what is there to do."


    Then, he gasped.


    "Oh, I know!"


    Apollo pulled out the book he had with him and began reading it.


    ...


    "Are you sure about this?"


    A young man wearing a white rabbit mask carved out of wood looked towards another person wearing the same mask.


    It was a young woman.


    She scoffed.


    "This is our best opportunity. Do you really think we should wait any further?"


    The woman flicked her sleeve, causing the white robes she wore to flutter. As for the man, he let out a soft sigh.


    "It''s just... this is the first time we ever decided to openly take action. I''m not sure if our members are prepared."


    The woman smirked.


    "If they aren''t prepared, they don''t deserve to be part of the revolution."


    The man looked down at the floor, still uncertain.


    "But didn''t you hear what they said about him? They say he''s a fallen angel. This could be dangerous."


    The woman sighed.


    "It was always dangerous. In addition, why are you just believing what the council spouts? They only tell the truth when it is convenient to them. Chances are, he is simply a true angel."


    Her eyes narrowed.


    "And even if he is a fallen angel, that only benefits us. It will be easier to convince someone that doesn''t only believe in justice."


    The man gave her a long look.


    "Even though we are supposed to be the ones that bring justice?"


    The woman let out a disdainfulugh.


    "Justice was never about abiding by some standard, but creating that standard that everyone must follow."


    After a few seconds of deliberation, the man nodded.


    "Alright then."


    With that, the woman walked off down a corridor while the man pushed open a door. He walked onto a stage made of wooden nks. This ce was underground, made clear by the fact the walls and ceiling were made of stone. Torches lined across the walls, giving the area some poor lighting.


    There was arge group of people kneeling on the floor and heads down. They had matching white robes and wooden white rabbit masks. The man took a deep breath and stood up as straight as he could.


    "My fellow rabbits. We have been oppressed our entire lives under the rule of the council. As rabbits, we live burrowed under the ground to stay safe. But now, that must change."


    The man spread his arms open wide and upwards, almost like he was trying to hold onto the entire world.


    "They have gone further than just taking the blessings that are rightfully ours. Now, the council defiles the very existence of angels themselves. An angel has fallen, attempting to guide us on the right path. But the council has captured him!"


    The people kneeling on the floor generally remained silent, but most of them were clenching their fists tightly. It was clear they were angry.


    The man took a deep breath before continuing.


    "It is because the council knows that the angel hase to correct all of their misdoings. The rise of the rabbits muste so that the angel may spread the truth! This is more for just us, but the greater good of everyone on this ind!"


    The man fell silent, but only for a moment.


    "All of you were specifically selected to take part in this mission because you have proved yourselves as warriors. Now, we must enforce justice on behalf of the angels, or humanity as we know it is doomed."


    He put both hands behind his back and looked up.


    "For humanity!"


    The people in the crowd simrly stood up.


    "For humanity!"


    One after another, people pulled out their weapons, concealed underneath their robes. The man did the same, pulling out a metal longsword.


    "Now, let''s go."


    He turned around and walked out the door. The group followed from behind.


    A battle wasing.

 Chapter 274 - Traitors

    As the man and the other people wearing rabbit masks walked down the corridor, they asionally split up to go somewhere different. Until eventually, they had all split up from each other.


    Then, one after another, people with rabbit masks appeared on the surface. Some of them came out of people''s houses. Others came out of ake. Then there were people that actually just burst out of the ground.


    Regardless, they were sprouting up like actual rabbits.


    The rabbit masks were rather conspicuous, so most of the passersby noticed them. However, most came to the conclusion that it was just a strange person when there was only one.


    It was only when they started to group up, showing multiple people with the same mask, did the passerby realize something was wrong. There was one that decided to report this strange group of people to the council.


    The rabbit people gradually grouped up. They began walking towards the center of the city with the goal of freeing Apollo. There were some people with metal swords. Others had wooden shields along with a wooden spear that had a metal tip. Then there were some with a wooden bow along with arrows that had stone tips.


    As the group approached the prison area, they were interrupted.


    "Halt!"


    The guard at the front of the group demanded they stop. Honestly, he didn''t expect that the people wearing rabbit masks would listen.


    ...But they did.


    The guard thought that there might''ve been some sort of misunderstanding, so tried to ask them about it.


    "What is your business walking across the streets like this? You are frightening the people, not to mention you all are showing your weapons so brazenly!"


    The rabbit person at the front spoke up slowly.


    "We choose to fight for justice."


    The guard furrowed his brows.


    "We don''t need you to fight for justice as that is what we are doing."


    The rabbit person at the front shook his head.


    "We will be the new justice."


    The guard at the front raised an eyebrow, then scoffed disdainfully.


    "Oh really? Sure you may have weapons, but none of you have any armor! But of course you wouldn''t, as this stuff is far too precious and difficult to acquire."


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "If you really wish to fight a battle where you will die in one hit, when we will be unharmed after several, be my guest."


    The rabbit person at the front remained silent.


    The guard crossed his arms confidently, thinking he had intimidated him.


    "If you''re so scared, just return to whatever hole you crawled-"


    Suddenly, the guard''s head came off.


    But it wasn''t because of one of the people openly wearing rabbit masks. One of the guards from within the squadron had walked up to the leader and personally cut off his head, fitting the sword between the gap in his armor.


    This immediately caused panic among the guards.


    "Traitor!"


    They attacked the person who stabbed the guard previously. However, he slipped by the guards, pushing through them. Within the chaos, the guards were unable to tell who was who. They started to attack one another, misunderstanding who the traitor was.


    This made the innocent people think that they were being attacked by the traitor and retaliated.


    The confusion was at an all time high and people were dying one after another. That was when the people with the rabbit masks acted.


    Some people charged forward, into the fray. Others drew back their bows, waiting for just the right moment.


    A guard saw a rabbit person approaching him. Although he didn''t trust the other guards around him, he could be sure that the rabbit person was his enemy.


    And so, the guard and rabbit person shed swords.


    The two of them were roughly equal in strength. Their swords both began to tremble. However, the guard could tell he was just barely losing, mostly because of how heavy his armor was.


    The guard shouted to the one next to him.


    "Kill him!"


    That guard nodded.


    "Alright."


    Then, cut off the head of the guard that asked. One guard pointed their sword at the traitor.


    "He is the traitor! Make sure to focus on him!"


    Knowing who the traitor was, he confidently showed his back to the other guards.


    Then lost his head as well.


    The actual guards quickly realized it was best to just avoid the others in case they were a traitor and focus on the rabbit people first. And that was what they did.


    One charged towards a rabbit person with a wooden shield and spear.


    He gave a light sh with his sword, just aiming to force the rabbit person to block and it worked. The rabbit person lunged and stabbed forward, but the guard easily dodged by sidestepping. From there, he did an overhead swing, taking advantage of when the rabbit person lunged.


    But then, one of the rabbit people in the far back released their arrow, letting it streak through the sky.


    Itnded right in the guard''s eye, making him stumble backwards and cry out in pain. From there, the rabbit person easily stabbed the guard in the skull, finishing him off.


    As the number of guards got lower, there were a few among them that took off their helmets and put on rabbit masks that they hid on them.


    Now knowing all their allies, the rabbit people surrounded the guards, giving them nowhere to go.


    The guards put up a valiantst stand. One directly threw their body at a wooden shield before shing off one of the rabbit people''s heads, but lost his own right after.


    But in the end, all of the guards were killed.


    There were also people injured among those wearing rabbit masks, but they were few. Upon aplishing this, the leader of the rabbit people issued amand.


    "Before they can send more reinforcements, we must free the angel and spread the truth."


    And so, they charged into the prison and were met with Apollo, who was still reading his book.

 Chapter 275 - Let Me Finish This Page

    The leader of the people wearing rabbit masks walked up to the cage Apollo was being held in. He called out.


    "Angel! We havee to free you. I apologize that you were captured by some of our kind, but I can assure you that we are different from those people."


    There was no response. Unless flipping the page to a book qualifies as one.


    For a few moments, the person wearing a rabbit mask was at a loss. He coughed awkwardly.


    "We havee to retrieve you, angel. The people who have detained you are from the council. However, we are the force against the council."


    Apollo remained silent. He continued looking at the page of his book, not even noticing the presence of someone else.


    The person wearing a rabbit mask took a deep breath.


    "Angel, if I am bothering you, then I will take my leave."


    Other than tapping his foot, Apollo didn''t do anything.


    The person wearing a rabbit mask let out a soft sigh.


    "I apologize, we will take our leave."


    He turned to the side, but at that moment Apollo stretched his arms high into the air and yawned. Apollo then looked around and noticed that there were several people with rabbit masks outside his cell.


    An innocent smile formed on his face.


    "Ah, are you the group of people that are supposed to free me?"


    The leader of the rabbit people froze. Although only his eyes were visible because of the mask, he was still visibly stunned.


    "Someone told you that we wereing?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah!"


    The leader took a deep breath, calming himself.


    "May I know who that person is, angel?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "His name is Mark. Do you guys not know him?"


    The leader took a moment to respond.


    "No..."


    He shook his head, deciding it was better to think about itter.


    "Regardless, do you wish toe with us? The council has arrested you, but please know that not all of us wish to be represented by them."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Ok."


    The leader internally let out a sigh of relief.


    "I will free you right now."


    The gates were locked by a key. He ced his hand on the keylock, trying to judge if it was possible to brute force open.


    But to the leader''s surprise, the door made way once heid his hands on it. In other words, it was never locked in the first ce. This set off multiple warning bells in the leader''s head.


    He immediately turned around, trying to see if this entire thing was an ambush. Then, he turned back to Apollo, wondering if he was a bait.


    ...But nothing happened.


    The leader mumbled to the people behind him.


    "Keep watch on the entire area for enemies."


    The rabbit people made a circr formation while each person looked down in a specific direction. The leader walked into the cell, but did so slowly and with his sword at the ready.


    "...Would you like to go now?"


    Apollo swung his feet up and down.


    "Mm... after I finish reading this."


    The leader did not like the sound of that. From his perspective, that meant he was trying to buy time for the guards to show up. However, the leader also wasn''tpletely sure.


    Thus, he asked a subtly probing question.


    "May I know what is so interesting for an angel to read?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "It''s very boring! But there was nothing else to do. The only good thing about the book is it helps me figure out something I am thinking of!"


    The leader raised an eyebrow, still suspicious.


    "May I have a look?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Sure!"


    He lowered his hand, giving an angle for him to see the book. The leader could barely make out ink at first, thus knew that there was writing on the page. However, as more of the page was visible to him, so was a white lighting from the pages.


    It all happened too fast.


    The leader saw an unbelievably blinding white light.


    He dropped his sword, covered his eyes with his hands, and stumbled backwards.


    "Ah!"


    After falling andnding on his rear, the leader gradually calmed down, taking heavy breaths. The other rabbit people looked over and showed concern, but did not say anything.


    The leader stood back up and gave a deep bow.


    "My apologies for distrusting you, angel."


    He then picked up his sword.


    "I now understand you have brought down the holy book for us to change our ways. However, since the holy book is too much for us mortals, you have personally descended in order to spread its truths."


    Although the other people wearing rabbit masks did not say anything, the faint sounds of their breathing could be heard. They were excited.


    As for Apollo, he wasn''t even paying attention to what they were saying, instead of focusing on the book.


    For a few minutes, there was only the sound of faint breathing.


    Then, Apollo stood up and put away the book.


    The leader perked up.


    "Are you ready to go, angel?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah, but let''s go this way."


    He turned to the wall of the cell, confusing those that saw him. Then, Apollo pulled back his free hand.


    Right when the leader was about to ask what he meant, Apollo''s hand shed.


    At first, there was only a soft swish.


    Then, a thundering explosion rang out.


    The entire wall was blown away. In fact, even the attached walls and ceiling were implicated, partially damaged.


    All of the rabbit people, including the leader, froze up.


    Apollo then walked out of the doorway he just created. His footsteps lightly tapped against the ground, but they were louder than thunderps to the others.


    Then, Apollo stopped after he had walked a few steps.


    "Um, I don''t know the way forward."


    The leader snapped out of his stupor.


    "Ah, yes! Apologies for my ipetence."


    With that, he hurriedly ran up.

 Chapter 276 - Stuffed Bunny

    Once the leader turned around, he noticed that his fellow rabbit mask-wearing people were still frozen in ce, shocked from Apollo''s explosive strike. This immediately made the leader anxious. Not wanting to displease Apollo, he called out to them.


    "We are escorting the angel. Now!"


    The rabbit people shook before hurriedly running after. They made a formation around Apollo, giving a healthy distance so that he could feelfortable.


    And so, they began walking.


    Apollo looked at the leader with a bit of a curious expression.


    "By the way, you keep calling me angel. It is pretty close, but my name is actually Apollo!"


    The leader at the front hurriedly nodded.


    "Yes, Apollo. Please do not misunderstand when I have called you angel, I simply did not know what else to call you."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow, but decided to drop the subject.


    "Anyways, what is your name?"


    The leader hesitated for a moment.


    "...Do you want my real name or my nickname?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Your name is whatever you want to be called."


    The leaderughed and nodded.


    "Alright, then call me Hare."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Ok, Hare."


    Hare cleared his throat.


    "Are there any truths that you wish to tell us?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Huh?"


    The corner of Hare''s lip twitched.


    "I am not forcing you. My only intention is that we can spread your messages on your behalf."


    Apollo put a finger on his chin and let out a soft hum.


    "Truths..."


    He closed his eyes.


    "Some people are good and some people are bad."


    Apollo''s eyes slowly opened.


    "But they can change, so it doesn''t really matter if they are good or bad."


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "I''m pretty sure that''s true?"


    Hare fell silent for a moment. Then nodded.


    "Thank you for imparting your wisdom. I shall impart it to the people."


    Apollo also nodded, but was a bit absent-minded. He stared off into the sky, thinking of something else.


    ...


    Eden left the dojo, but was so muddle-headed she didn''t even realize it. By now, the only people on the streets were those that were a few passersby that were gossiping about what just happened.


    One of them, a young woman, walked up to her.


    "Ah, you came from the dojo! Did you hear about what happened?"


    Eden held her head with a pained expression.


    "Please leave me alone."


    The woman was taken aback.


    "Oh... sorry."


    With that, Eden went back to her home. She hadn''t known Apollo for long.


    In fact, it wasn''t even a whole day.


    However, it wasn''t the fact she missed Apollo. At most, they could be considered acquaintances. It was because of how she couldn''t even try to defend him when he was randomly detained.


    Eden knew from their time together that Apollo was essentially just a child. He may be an angel and maybe even a fallen angel. However, from what she saw, Apollo wasn''t anything evil.


    This wasn''t the first time Eden convinced herself it was ok to watch someone innocent be taken right in front of herself.


    ...


    "Daddy, can I have that flower?"


    Eden was at an age even younger than Apollo. She pointed to a pink flower within a vase of many flowers. Her dad chuckled.


    "You can have it, but you must take good care of it, or it will wilt!"


    Eden nodded.


    "I will take extra good care of it!"


    They were standing in a courtyard. Their house was quite big and was also quite far in the center of the city. Eden''s father gently took out the pink flower from the vase.


    There was also the sound of nking metal far off in the distance, gradually getting closer.


    As Eden''s father brought the flower over to his daughter, there was a shout in the distance.


    "Cease all actions immediately!"


    Eden''s father didn''t seem to mind. He continued to hold out the flower. As for Eden, she froze up confused as to what was happening.


    Eden''s father smiled softly.


    "Ignore them, they are here for me, not you. Take the flower, princess."


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "W-What?"


    She did not take the flower.


    Eden''s father sighed.


    "I''m sorry, princess. This is probably a bit abrupt, but goodbye."


    He was uncannily calm about this. It seemed he saw this daying a long time ago.


    Two guards each grabbed onto a shoulder of Eden''s father, restraining him.


    "You are being detained for attempting to lead a cult!"


    Eden''s eyes widened


    "Father?"


    The guard looked towards her.


    "Don''t interfere, kid!"


    Eden shook and froze in ce.


    As for her father, he simply closed his eyes.


    "You have to be brave, princess."


    With that, Eden''s father was dragged away.


    For several minutes, Eden simply stood there, in shock. It was simply too abrupt for her. Just a little while ago, she was standing next to her father, asking for a flower.


    And in the next, he was detained, never to be seen again.


    For the longest time, Eden didn''t even feel sad. She was still processing the situation.


    Then, she broke down.


    Eden sniffled as tears streamed down her face. She ran into the house, all the way to her mother.


    "They took daddy! They took daddy!"


    Despite hearing such news, Eden''s mother was not even slightly shocked. She brushed Eden''s hair and let out a soothing voice.


    "The council has taken him. There is nothing we can do about it now, as they are too strong."


    Eden wrapped her arms around her mother, still sobbing.


    "But daddy!"


    Eden''s mother shook her head.


    "He is gone now. I believe we will also be moved from this residence as our status has fallen without him, so think about what you want to bring."


    Eden looked up, speechless.


    How could her mother care so little?


    Eden''s mother pulled open a drawer and pulled out a tiny stuffed bunny.


    "Take this. Make sure the guards don''t see it, as it is illegal.. Keep it to remember you are defying the council."

 Chapter 277 - A Golden Key

    Eden sat in her room. She began thinking about the tiny stuffed bunny that her mother gave her so long ago.


    After taking a deep breath, Eden walked over to one of the walls of her room and pulled on a nk. That was because it was a hidden drawer.


    She slid it open and inside was a stuffed bunny.


    It was incredibly dusty. Not just the bottom of the drawer, but the bunny too. Eden gingerly picked the bunny and lightly blew on it, getting rid of the dust.


    Her mother had made this hidden drawer for her, to hide the bunny. Yet, thest time Eden interacted with it was when she first put it there all those years ago. It wasn''t that Eden didn''t like the stuffed bunny, she actually thought it was cute.


    However, it also reminded Eden of her father who was taken away. Because she wanted to forget, she never opened it up again.


    Yet, even though it was not in front of her, Eden always thought about the bunny hiding away in her wall. It was to the point she remembered the exact location of the hidden drawer despite how long it had been.


    Eden brought the bunny a little closer to her face. There was a tear where one of the ears connected to the head, making it droop. Not wanting it to tear any further, she held onto the ear gently.


    But as Eden lifted it, her eyes caught onto a strange glimmer within.


    "What?"


    Eden furrowed her brows and pulled back the ear. The shine became a little bigger, revealing a tiny bit of yellow metal. She pulled on this strange object, but it remained lodged inside.


    Eden pressed her lips together and pulled harder.


    The rabbit ear that she was trying to save earlier was getting torn off more and more. Until it came off altogether.


    Eden''s breathing got a little heavy. She then slowly removed the metal object.


    It was a fairly small golden key.


    "What is this?..."


    ...


    Hare kept asking Apollo a few questions after a few awkward breaks, trying to get more ''lessons'' out of him.


    "Do you have any more lessons to impart?"


    Except Apollo wasn''t really cooperating.


    "Not really."


    Hare cleared his throat. He tried to take a different approach.


    "Could you further exin what you meant earlier?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "I meant I don''t really have any more lessons."


    Hareughed awkwardly.


    "Sorry, I meant when you said some people are good and some people are bad. But since they change, it doesn''t really matter."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "It just means that how good or bad a person is shouldn''t change how you feel when you k-"


    "Stop right there!"


    A guard called out from behind. Apollo and Hare turned around to see a man with a thick beard leading several guards.


    The man pointed his sword at them.


    "You have uwfully freed the angel from their cell! Hand over the angel immediately, or there will be consequences!"


    Hare smirked and let out a quiet scoff.


    "Whether we hand the angel back or not, it''s not like you are going to let us go. Why even pretend at this point?"


    The leader of these guards narrowed his eyes.


    "So you choose to make us use force?"


    Hare sighed and shrugged his shoulders sarcastically.


    "I just told you that we never had a choice, you guys already made it for us. Why do you even pretend we had a choice?"


    Apollo pouted.


    "Can you all do thister? I want to check out the city right now."


    Hare put his fist in front of his face and coughed.


    "I apologize Apollo. We also do not wish to fight but there is nothing we can do if they do not share the same sentiment."


    Apollo rubbed his temple with the palm of his hand.


    "Can you do it quickly then?"


    Hare nodded.


    "Naturally."


    The leader of the guards snorted and said nothing more. He led the charge forwards, with his sword pulled back. The other guards quickly followed up, doing the same.


    All of the guards had the same weapon, a reasonably sized sword. Along with that, they had a set of armor. There were no shields or bows. It was a fairly big contrastpared to the rabbit people with arge variety.


    Those with wooden shields and spears hurried to the front, holding it down. From the back, several loaded their bows with an arrow, aimed, but did not fire.


    As the leader of the guards charged forwards, several spears shot towards him. However, they all mmed against the metal armor on his abdomen. While the leader felt the impact, other than a bit of soreness, there was no real damage done to his body.


    With a grunt, he mmed his shoulder against one of the rabbit people''s shields, making the stumble backwards.


    The guards behind quickly followed up, imitating their leader by mming into the shields as well.


    At the end of the day, the thick metal armor that covered the soldiers was very effective. The only reason they were able to win thest fight so easily was the panic from the traitors within the group.


    Once the formation was broken, the fight immediately became a messy one.


    One of the rabbit people lunged forth with his spear, but the guard tilted his head to the side, letting it bang against the helmet. Then, the guard retaliated by mming his sword down on his foe''s shield.


    The rabbit person groaned in pain and let go of the shield. From there, another guard shed at the now exposed person, shing through their chest. The rabbit person copsed to the floor and slowly bled out.


    Like this, the spearmen attempted to attack at the gap in the guard''s heads as that was the only way they could inflict lethal damage. However, it was much easier to move one''s headpared to other body parts.


    They needed something to turn the tables.

 Chapter 278 - Fool Myself

    Apollo watched the people wearing rabbit masks die with a neutral expression. Well, more of a bored expression.


    "This is taking a while..."


    The corner of Hare''s lip twitched.


    He felt Apollo''sment was a little unreasonable as only a minute had passed, but did not say anything.


    A rabbit person let out a horizontal swing with their sword, aiming to behead a guard. Unfortunately, the guard raised his arm, letting it hit with a loud ng on his armguard.


    Then, he shed at the rabbit person.


    The rabbit person dodged that strike, but another one from a separate guard came soon after. Due to the chaotic battlefield, there was no space to dodge.


    As the rabbit person had no armor, there was no way he could survive the blow. And so, he decided to go out with onest strike.


    The rabbit person lunged forth, straight towards the sword, almost like he was trying to hug a long lost friend. Then, thrust forth with his own sword, straight to the guard''s neck.


    Two fleshy squelching sounds rang out.


    The guard cut the rabbit person through the abdomen, digging in deep. On the flip side, the rabbit person slipped his sword into the guard''s neck, piercing through part of it.


    Blood spilled out of both their wounds before they copsed onto the ground, sharing theirst moments of death together.


    One of the rabbit people sprained their hand while defending and involuntarily dropped their shield. Taking advantage of that, one guard raised his sword high.


    Yet, before he could bring it down, an arrow pierced through his eye.


    The guard immediately cried out in pain. He threw his head back and reached towards his wound with his hand. The rabbit person did not waste his saved life and thrust his spear.


    With a loud snap, the spear mmed against the skull of the guard, sending cracks across. There was not enough force to pierce through, so it messily tore through the flesh of his face.


    Strictly speaking, it was not enough to kill. At least, not fast enough within the context of this battle. However, the guard copsed to the ground soon after, passed out from the pain.


    But right after sessfully taking down a guard, that rabbit person was open to an attack. He soon received that attack, losing his head entirely.


    Wanting to avenge his fallen brethren, a rabbit person traced a horizontal arc towards the neck. The guard being targeted tried to sidestep.


    But his foot wouldn''t move.


    He looked down to see one of the rabbit people bleeding to death held onto his ankle tightly. The rabbit person smirked as blood dripped down from the corner of his mouth. It was clear his hatred was deep.


    Then, the guard''s head flew off.


    Like this, the guards and rabbit people traded their lives for one another, brutally taking each other down.


    It did not take long for the ground to be littered with dead bodies.


    The numbers of both guards and rabbit people were reduced significantly, making both sides look quite paltrypared to before.


    The leader of the guards was still standing strong, though there were several visible dents within his armor.


    With ragged breaths, he shouted.


    "Continue on!"


    Then, the leader charged forth while the other guards didg behind. Hare responded by dashing forwards as well, meeting him head on.


    The leader looked Hare right in the eyes.


    ...Then winked.


    The two continued towards each other without hesitation. Hare thrust with his sword, straight towards the leader''s neck. But at thest moment, the leader pulled on one of the nearby guards.


    Hare shifted his trajectory and stabbed that guard.


    The victim''s eyes widened. He turned around to look at his leader, despite the fact he had to further cut his neck in the process.


    "You-"


    Before the guard could get another word in, the leader grabbed onto his head with one hand and his shoulder with the other.


    Then pushed his neck further down the de.


    Gurgling sounds came from the guard. His eyes widened frighteningly. Then, blood overflowed from both his mouth and nose.


    Only once the guard was very clearly dead, did the leader let go.


    Several nearby guards saw this and freaked out.


    "Commander? W-Why?"


    The leader did not respond. Instead, he took off his helmet before pulling out a rabbit mask from within his armor and wearing it.


    The sudden betrayal shook up the remaining guards badly, causing their morale to drop drastically. The rabbit people took full advantage of this, shing at them.


    Soon, there was only one left.


    The leader pointed his sword towards thest guard. However, that guard no longer had the will to fight.


    Instead, he just looked at the leader dead in the eyes.


    "You betrayed us,mander?"


    There was no response.


    The guard had a pleading expression.


    "Were all those things you told us lies?"


    After a moment of silence, the leader spoke up.


    "They were not lies."


    The guard dropped his sword and clenched his fists.


    "...Then why?"


    The leader took a deep breath.


    "Some things are greater than you and I."


    And with that, he let his sword loose, beheading thest remaining guard.


    The few remaining survivors were covered in blood. Hare looked up to the guard now wearing a rabbit mask.


    "You put on a pretty good show. I couldn''t tell you were on our side until you gave me a sign."


    The guard sighed.


    "Living such a long life undercover, I have learned how to fool myself."


    Hare nodded.


    "Well done. Do you have a status report to offer?"


    The guard frowned slightly.


    "The council has already found out about the existence of traitors. However, they are having difficulty in locating them. I have nted fake evidence to confuse them."


    Hare chuckled.


    "Smart. I like it."


    At that moment, Apollo raised his hand.


    "Hey, why did you just change who you were fighting? Are you confused?"


    The guard turned to Apollo and chuckled.


    "Well...."

 Chapter 279 - Thats It?

    The guard looked at all of the dead bodies around him and the blood that covered his armor.


    "Living in this city is not easy, so long as you are not one of the top few. When some guards find out about a rebellion, they desperately attempt to join it, such as me."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "But everyone seems fine."


    The guard shrugged his shoulders.


    "There is no problem with our livelihood, but just barely surviving is too little to justify the work that we do."


    Hare sighed.


    "Well, I wouldn''t say that we are not given much. It''s more so the prices set by the council are simply too unreasonable."


    The guard rolled his eyes.


    "Is there really a difference between the two?"


    Hareughed.


    "I suppose not."


    The guard took a deep breath.


    "Regardless, the only reason our lives are somewhat nice is because of how much we work. It has been normalized through many of the council''s announcements that it is normal to work for over half the day."


    He shook his head.


    "As a guard, because I have the position of amander, I am given morepared to the other soldiers. Yet, I am required to patrol for eight hours a day to get enough rice for the sake of living. If I wish to have anything else, I need to spend another four hours."


    Hare giggled.


    "It really does make a person go crazy eventually."


    The guard grumbled.


    "Only those that were able to sessfully establish a business of their own that gets popr have any sort of leeway. Yet, to be able to reach that point in the first ce, you need to work hard and skimp in order to build it up in the first ce."


    Hare sheathed his sword and crossed his arms.


    "As a person that created a business, I must say that it doesn''t feel like anything has changed. In the end, you have to work yourself to the bone anyway."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "You have a business?"


    Hare chuckled.


    "Well... I make some wood carvings. Using that as a cover up, I can get away with making rabbit masks for all of our members to use."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "I remember someone that does something very simr to you!"


    Hareughed.


    "Ah, that''s cool. I bet he''s probably a respectable person."


    The guard cleared his throat.


    "I''m sorry to cut this chat short, but we have to move. I imagine there will be reinforcementsing soon."


    "I second that. They areing pretty soon."


    The guard nodded at first, then froze.


    "Wait, who said that?"


    He looked towards Hare, who shook his head. Then at Apollo, who was looking somewhere else.


    Or rather, someone else.


    It was a man with long yellow hair.


    Apollo waved his hand.


    "Hi, Mark!"


    Mark waved back.


    "Nice to see you again Apollo."


    There were three middle-aged men standing behind Mark. They all had arrogant expressions, like they were entitled to better treatment. Their clothing was bedazzled with various gems. However, the colors looked a little off.


    Whoever created those clothes either didn''t have an eye for fashion, or put them together haphazardly.


    Regardless, they still stood proudly, clearly not afraid of showing off their luxurious clothes. It was as though they were afraid others would not notice that they had better clothes than the others.


    It was quite the contrast to the rags that Mark was wearing.


    The guard narrowed his eyes.


    "The council."


    Sure enough, these people were part of the various leading positions within the council. However, the guard was not intimidated. Instead, the corner of his lip turned up.


    "You showed up without a single guard? Do you really think we''ll let you escape now that you showed up?"


    One of the council members with a beard scoffed and smirked confidently.


    "We have the most powerful person protecting us right now! I''d like to see you try it."


    Hare raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you talking about the guy that looks like he stole from the trash bin?"


    The council member chuckled.


    "Hah! He is a true angel that stands on our side! Unlike this imposter you have brought."


    Mark rolled his eyes.


    "I told you I''d help you if you promised to help me. A simple exchange."


    The corner of the council member''s lip twitched.


    "...That wasn''t necessary to say."


    Mark looked over his shoulder, towards the council member and narrowed his eyes.


    "And your life isn''t necessary to keep."


    The council member flinched and remained silent. He still tried to keep an arrogant expression, but the squirming of his eyebrows made it clear hisposure was shaken.


    Mark turned back and sighed.


    "Regardless, I have brought you to the escaped angel. Shouldn''t you also be sincere and provide me with what I requested?"


    Another council member with a thick mustache pointed towards Apollo.


    "You haven''t captured the fallen angel yet! We can talk after that."


    Mark chuckled.


    "I have essentially done half the work at this point. After you provide me with what I know, I will give the other half."


    The council member with the mustache furrowed his brows.


    "But how can we guarantee you hold up your side of the deal?"


    Mark sighed.


    "Whether I hold up my side of the deal is entirely up to me. If my mood is bad because someone keeps asking questions, then I may have to shut them up."


    The council member fell silent.


    Thest council member, with no facial hair, slowly nodded.


    "Very well, I shall tell you what you wish to know."


    The guard, Hare, and Apollo were all getting a little confused. For whatever reason, the group that arrived seemed to forget about them entirely.


    Though the council member did mumble it, so only Mark and the other council members could hear.


    After some time, Hare frowned.


    "Don''t think you will be getting the angel so easily. I will defend him with my li-"


    "That''s it?"


    A frown formed on Mark''s face.

 Chapter 280 - Is That All?

    Mark narrowed his eyes.


    "You really think I will believe ''heaven''s forces'' are what keeps this ind afloat?"


    The council member stiffened up.


    "That is simply the truth. Whether you believe it or not will not change that fact."


    Mark smiled.


    "Oh, really?"


    He chuckled.


    "Then how about I say the fact you are dead is the truth? Whether you believe it or not will not change that fact."


    The council member raised an eyebrow.


    "But that is just a falsehood. Surely my lifespan is limited, but as of now I am indeed alive."


    Mark put a finger on his chin.


    "Are you sure?"


    The council member nodded with a bit of confusion.


    "Of cour-"


    Without warning, he exploded into a mass of blood and flesh that sprayed across the ground, almost like something crushed him into that mess. The other two council members stumbled back in fear, while Hare and the guard tensed up.


    As for Apollo, he scratched the side of his head.


    "Why didn''t you wait for him to finish? How do we know what he was going to say now?"


    Mark shrugged his shoulders.


    "He wouldn''t have said anything meaningful, so that is unnecessary."


    Apollo widened his eyes.


    "Woah! You already knew what he was going to say?"


    Markughed.


    "Yes, yes. It''s called predicting."


    The council member with a mustache pointed a trembling finger towards him.


    "Y-You killed him! This vites our agreement!"


    Mark turned to him and smiled cordially.


    "And if you didn''t lie and make me upset, I wouldn''t have needed to."


    The council member furrowed his brows.


    "This is prepostur-"


    Before he could finish his sentence, he also exploded into mush. Thest council member trembled in fear. He fell to his knees and raised his hands.


    "D-Don''t kill me."


    Mark tilted his head to the side.


    "Well, you didn''t do enough to warrant your death."


    The council member let out a sigh of relief.


    "T-Thank you."


    Mark narrowed his eyes.


    "But it would also be inconvenient to leave you alive. After all, you saw me kill the other two council members. This is the only way to cover it up easily."


    The man''s eyes widened.


    "W-Wait!"


    Unfortunately, he exploded as well.


    Mark turned to Apollo.


    "Hey, if anyone asks, you guys were the ones that did this, ok?"


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "We were?"


    Mark chuckled.


    "Just pretend for me."


    Hare and the guard were shaken up. Hare said earlier he would protect Apollo with his life, but now all of his conviction seemed to disappear. As for the guard, he remained silent, too afraid to say anything.


    Apollo looked up to Mark with curious eyes, not caring about anything that happened earlier.


    "What were you trying to find out from those people?"


    Mark cracked his neck.


    "I wanted to understand the origin of these winds that keep the ind up. However, it seems I was a bit foolish to think such low ranked people would have any idea about it."


    Apollo nodded.


    "That makes sense."


    Mark let out a soft hum.


    "Apollo, would you be interested in confusing everyone in this city?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "What do you mean by that?"


    Mark rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Something like... a pretend fight."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "You mean a spar?"


    Mark chuckled.


    "Sort of, yes. But more urately, I would like to put on a small show for the city to watch."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "Nothing too serious, just enough to make the people a little afraid."


    Apollo looked down to the floor and began thinking.


    As for Hare and the guard, they both wanted to tell Apollo not to fight with the strange man, but were also far too afraid to say anything with the strange man so close.


    And to their dismay, Apollo went against their wishes. He perked up with a bright smile.


    "Ok, let''s try it!"


    Mark nodded.


    "Thank you. Let''s take this to the air to get the most eyes."


    With that, he bent his knees ever so slightly.


    Then, soundlessly leaped up into the air like a rocket.


    Apollo floated up as well, chasing after Mark and leaving trails of lightning in his wake.


    As the two of them soared in the sky, the guard turned to Hare.


    "What just happened?"


    Hare looked back.


    "I... don''t know."


    Mark paused in the air, waiting for Apollo. The two stared at each other for a moment.


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Do we start now?"


    Mark raised a finger up.


    "Wait just a second, I need to make sure the people notice."


    There were already quite a few eyes in the sky the moment two figures shot up into the sky. Then, several houses were ripped straight out of the ground.


    Now, everyone''s attention was grabbed, whether they liked it or not.


    Those houses soared high into the sky before revolving around Mark. A strong gale of wind blew, causing Mark''s long hair to blow in the wind.


    "Now we can start."


    Apollo dashed forwards.


    "Ok!"


    Mark started off by throwing several houses straight at Apollo. In response, Apollo swung with both his hand and bokken. des of wind shot out, violently ripping through the sky.


    Two thundering explosions rang out together.


    The des of wind mmed into a house, smashing it into pieces. The biggest chunk that remained was a section of the wall. However, it was now those pieces that began to fly around in the air.


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Hmm..."


    Suddenly,rge amounts of blue lightning gathered around his body. In a matter of seconds, most of his figure was obscured by that lightning.


    Apollo shot forth, ignoring the debris. After all, whenever it got close, the lightning on his body would automatically discharge and turn it to ash.


    Right after, two houses shot towards Apollo both from the left and right.


    He closed his eyes and rested his hand on the t side of his bokken. Large amounts of lightning gathered before it snapped out.


    Both houses were turned to ash.


    But then that ash surrounded Apollo, blocking his vision.


    From that ash, came a voice.


    "Is that all?"

 Chapter 281 - Let Me See It Then

    Apollo''s eyes swiveled, keeping watch on his surroundings. Suddenly, a hand shot out from the side, reaching out to grab. Apollo twisted his body and darted back, dodging it and bursting out from the ash.


    He was immediately greeted by a house flying towards him.


    Apollo shed with his electrified bokken.


    A clear bang resounded.


    The house split in two, passing by Apollo. However, those two halves gradually shifted their trajectories before going back to him as another house shot towards him. As for the ash, it had scattered to reveal Mark, but continued to swirl around in the air.


    Apollo seemed to realize that attacking the houses was going to get him nowhere, thus dashed towards Mark, leaving trails of lightning in his wake.


    Unfortunately, Mark was simply faster.


    The houses closed in on Apollo, forcing him to do something about it. Large amounts of lightning gathered around his body before traveling onto his bokken.


    Shadows were cast upon Apollo. The shadows of the houses.


    They were close, but he still swung his bokken slowly.


    A nket of roaring lightning formed, swallowing up the houses. All that was left was ash. But then, that ash joined in swirling around the air.


    Apollo began to cough.


    Every time he breathed in, some ash would sneak its way in, damaging his breathing tract. Mark chuckled.


    "You are a crowned. This can''t be the extent of your strength, right?"


    Apollo spoke between coughs.


    "I can... still do more!"


    He continued to chase after Mark, who had his hands behind his back as he floated away. Apollo''s body rapidly gathered lightning, until his entire body glowed like one massive lightning bolt.


    He held one hand in front of him and pointed his bokken behind him.


    Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "What is this?"


    Then, a frown appeared on Mark''s face. His body began to glow white.


    Suddenly, Apollo''s figure shed.


    He abruptly appeared at Mark''s original location with his bokken outstretched like a spear. Other than a few dying arcs, there was no lightning on Apollo''s body.


    As for Mark, right when Apollo moved, his figure also disappeared and reappeared where Apollo used to be.


    The two of them swapped positions.


    Mark chuckled.


    "That wasn''t too bad."


    As for Apollo, he began falling from the air.


    "But it''s not good!"


    The ash continued to circte around him, making him uncontrobly cough. On top of that, several houses came after him.


    Now that Apollo couldn''t fly, there was no way to dodge them. Yet, if he broke them up, the pieces that remained would continue after him, even in the form of ash. With that, Apollo came to the conclusion that he shouldn''t hit the houses.


    So even when one came barreling straight for his face, he did not attack it.


    Instead, Apollo twisted his body, shifting his position in the air so that his feet would face the house which came after him with frightening momentum. When Mark saw this, he simply thought that Apollo would break his legs trying to fend off the house.


    Yet, things went against Mark''s expectations.


    Right when Apollo''s footnded on the wall of the house, a tidal wave of force rushed over to him.


    Yet, right before it could do anything, he disappeared entirely.


    Apollo reappeared in the middle of the air. Lightning began to gather around his body once more, allowing him to fly.


    Mark rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger in amusement.


    "...The Shadows."


    There were a series of houses in the air, some floating around Mark, some shooting forth towards Apollo. As one approached, Apollo shifted his position so that he could step on the house.


    And once he did, Apollo disappeared once more.


    He appeared further ahead, getting closer to Mark.


    Like that, Apollo used the houses as footholds and continuously narrowed the distance. Mark quickly noticed that the houses were working against them, thus pushed them all away.


    The houses tore through the air, stirring uprge gales of wind as they passed. Then, they crashed down on the city, causingrge amounts of panic from the debris and destruction.


    Now, Apollo no longer had anything to use as a foothold, so his speed decreased. Though he closed the gap considerably, it began to widen once more.


    Lightning gathered on his body once more, until he looked like a glowing lightning bolt. Mark could predict what Apollo was going to do. His body began to glow white as well.


    Apollo''s figure shed forth.


    He pointed his bokken forward. As for Mark, he appeared behind Apollo.


    From experience, Mark believed Apollo would temporarily lose the ability to fly. Thus he slowly turned around without much concern.


    But to his surprise, Apollo''s body was still crackling with thunder, albeit less.


    Apollo immediately turned around and pointed his hand towards Mark.


    Then, his figure shed once more.


    He appeared right in front of Mark, while his bokken was just a few centimeters away. Unfortunately, not only was the lightning on his body gone, but a strong gale formed between them, pushing them both away from each other.


    Apollo got really close, but it still wasn''t enough.


    Now, he was helplessly carried away by the relentless wind.


    The reason he was able to blink forth twice in a row was because of the distance. When Apollo first used that move, he continued until he couldn''t. But now, because he closed the distance in on Mark, he still had some leftover power to go back.


    As Apollo was carried away, Mark was still smiling cordially.


    "I suppose you haven''t done bad, but there is much to be desired. Perhaps you can surprise me a little more?"


    Apollo iled his limbs as the wind carried him away.


    "I will get you next time!"


    He then coughed, as more ash went into his lungs.


    Mark let out a soft sigh.


    "Alright, let me see it then."


    Lightning gathered around Apollo''s body once more.


    The corner of Mark''s lip turned up.


    And there was a faint whistle.

 Chapter 282 - One Last Try

    Apollo didn''t think much of the whistling sound, but instinctively tilted his head to the side anyway.


    A violent gust of wind passed by. It tore through the air loudly, almost like a woman in a horror movie shrieking. Although it left Apollo unscathed, his ear still felt ufortable.


    It was as though another him in a parallel universe told him how much it would hurt if he got hit.


    Nheless, Apollo shot towards Mark, attempting to close the gap once more. As he did so, several faint whistling sounds filled the air. Knowing better than to ignore them, Apollo paid close attention to each.


    His chest shot forth, while his head pulled back. A gust of wind passed right by his back, causing his clothes to flutter.


    Apollo then twisted his body to the side and raised his hand.


    Another gust of wind shot right below his armpit, nearly sting off his arm. And at the same time, a loud shrieking sound passed by his chest. Apollo got through it all unscathed.


    However, he had to stop moving forward in order to dodge it all.


    In other words, Mark was only getting further and further away.


    Apollo pouted and ducked down, letting a sharp gale pass over him.


    "This isn''t fair!"


    Markughed and shrugged his shoulders.


    "It was never supposed to be!"


    Apollo coughed. Despite having such a great upper hand, Mark continued to mercilessly fill the air around Apollo with ash, forcing him to breathe it in.


    More whistling sounds filled the air. In fact, one of them came from right behind his back. Apollo could''ve twisted his body out of the way, but suddenly didn''t feel like it.


    Instead, he moved his bokken to behind himself, almost like it was a backscratcher.


    Wind burst forth, piercing towards Apollo like a spear.


    A thunderous bang rang out.


    The wind hit Apollo''s bokken, which then mmed against his body. He shot forth with far more momentum than he had before. All the other gales of wind only pierced through where he used to be.


    Seeing this, Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "Your weapon is quite sturdy. Not to mention, you are quite creative."


    He smiled cordially.


    "Though, that will not be enough to reach me."


    Mark''s eyes narrowed.


    "After all, I''m the one choosing where those winds go."


    Numerous whistling sounds came from in front of Apollo. Now, he wouldn''t be able to use the momentum of them to his advantage.


    Many sharp gales shot towards Apollo, like spears but invisible.


    His body remained still, crackling violently with lightning.


    The winds rushed forth, rapidly approaching Apollo. The only thing that let him know they were there was the slight distortion in the air along with the ear-piercing sound.


    It did not take long for the shriek of wind to fill Apollo''s ears. His eyes widened slightly as they caught on to the slight distortions right in front.


    Then, Apollo''s figure shed.


    He appeared on the left, dodging every single spear of wind. The lightning on his body was noticeably less intense, but not too significant.


    Right when he appeared, more whistling sounds filled the air in front of him. This time, Apollo just a few moments after he heard them. His figure shed to the right. The expectation was that the winds would shoot at his original location.


    But they didn''t.


    Instead, they headed straight towards Apollo, shifting their original direction. His figure shed once more, just barely dodging those winds. Apollo let out a soft humming sound afterward.


    He made a small guess.


    It seemed that those whistling sounds weren''t exactly the sign of a wind spear shooting towards him. Instead, it was more like something that took a second to ascertain his position, then fired.


    Once more, numerous whistling sounds came from his front.


    Apollo decided to do something quite bold. The moment he heard them, his figure shed forth. The remaining lightning on his body was getting fairly low, meaning he couldn''t keep testing forever.


    But he didn''t have to.


    Just a momentter, piercing gales of wind shot towards his back Apollo''s bokken shed, hitting one of them and making himself shoot forth. His wrist definitely took quite the burden blocking that, but it was nothing too bad.


    Mark nodded slightly when he saw this.


    "You also seem quite intelligent and courageous for that matter."


    By now, from their chase, they were nearing the edges of the city, where hardly anybody was. Mark tactfully slowed down to avoid getting too close to the edge. On the other hand, Apollo didn''t care. He dashed forth, finally catching up somewhat.


    Yet, right as his bokken was a few centimeters in front of Mark''s face, it suddenly wasn''t.


    Mark''s body had glowed white before suddenly appearing behind Apollo. On the other hand, Apollo couldn''t stop his momentum anymore.


    Suddenly, he felt extremely strong rushing winds. Apollo could not help but shut his eyes as the winds battered against him. As Apollo shot into them, his speed suddenly slowed. Then, he abruptly sped up in the opposite direction, towards the city.


    Apollo''s body was thrown so fast, he essentially became a bullet. Mark promptly moved to the side and let him fly by.


    Apollo was still coughing. The strong winds from earlier made it so he couldn''t breathe, thus his breaths were a little more rushed, which also meant he took in more ash. For a moment, his consciousness got blurry from theck of fresh air he could intake.


    Apollo couldn''t help but think of the time he sparred with Suki. This situation was simr in a certain sense, except he was the one chasing now and Mark was the one effortlessly running away.


    But then, Apollo thought of how Suki was able to corner him by using the natural boundaries to her advantage.


    ...What if he did the same?


    Granted, the boundaries now were the entirety of the city, but it was still worth a shot.


    Apollo stared Mark down.


    "Onest try!"

 Chapter 283 - Not Truly Random

    Apollo dashed towards Mark, but did not do so at full speed. On the other hand, Mark began floating back.


    This continued for a few moments until Mark shifted to the side. Apollo immediately changed directions to follow him. He made sure not to go too quickly so that he wouldn''t end up charging into the wind boundary itself, or let Mark slip by.


    It appeared that Mark realized what Apollo was doing. He didn''t want to use his previous wind attack or use otherrge objects as Apollo had proved he was able to take advantage of them and get closer.


    But that didn''t mean Mark couldn''t do anything.


    Apollo suddenly found several forces pressing against him, almost like rushing river currents. Although they didn''t have a particr direction, they came together to push Apollo away from Mark.


    Apollo pouted as he found himself helplessly pulled away. His bright yellow hair pped wildly in the wind and his clothes were pressed tightly against his body.


    Mark attempted to slip by, but Apollo suddenly gave up on resisting the winds, letting them take him back. Along with that, he moved to the side and cut Mark off.


    Then, the winds shifted, carrying Apollo to one side, while Mark went towards the other. Lightning gathered around Apollo''s body until it nearly covered his entire figure.


    Then, his figure shed.


    However, the moment Apollo began charging up, Mark''s body had begun to glow white. The both of them swapped positions.


    Mark chuckled.


    "I suppose if this is the extent of your power, it is not bad growth."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "But it is quiteckluster. Especially for someone that ns on getting strong enough to resist the ever increasing power of the demons."


    Apollo turned around. Lightning gathered on his body once more. Mark shook his head when he saw this.


    "You will not win a battle of endurance against me."


    His body glowed white.


    Then, Mark vanished before materializing where Apollo was. As for Apollo, he did not move.


    Apollo giggled as he lifted his bokken up.


    "Tricked you!"


    Mark chuckled.


    "I must admit, that is quite embarrassing on my part."


    As Apollo brought his sword down, he suddenly found it twisted to the side, avoiding Mark entirely. Then, his body was taken away by a strong gust of wind. Mark too began swirling around with these winds.


    They did not blow in a straight line. Apollo''s body was taken up and down randomly, until he eventually was tossed out of his wind current and into another one. Then, he was taken in another direction, thrown around like he was on a terrifying roller coaster.


    There was no pattern to which way Apollo went, thus it was far too difficult for him to control himself. In this time, Mark began slipping away.


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "Wait!"


    Mark waved with a cordial smile on his face.


    "Bye."


    Apollo pouted.


    What could he do to catch up?


    Apollo coughed from the ck ash entering his lungs. It was then he came to a realization.


    The ck ash would flow in the direction of the wind. Although Apollo couldn''t see it directly, he could still figure it out using the ck ash.


    Apollo quickly spotted a current that led in Mark''s direction. A bit of lightning gathered on his body before he did a small blink. From there, the wind current carried him straight towards cutting off Mark.


    Naturally, Mark noticed this. To avoid getting close to Apollo, he backed up and shifted the direction of the winds once more.


    The ashes in the sky briefly paused in ce before following the current. Apollo quickly scanned the ash and figured out a new current. This one was right next to him, so just by twisting his body, he was able to fit into that one.


    And so, he got closer to Mark once more.


    Mark raised an eyebrow. He watched Apollo''s eye movement, thus was able to easily figure out what he had been doing.


    "Hm. I suppose that it is my blunder for keeping such obvious signs that tell you what is supposed to be arbitrary."


    Suddenly, the ash scattered.


    Apollo continued to cough and even coughed up some ash in the process. He lost his method of navigating the winds, but at the very least, he could now breathe in clear air.


    Mark rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Is there anything you can do now?"


    Apollo continued to cough up ash, but intentionally. Though it was quite a disgusting process, he wanted to use them to determine which way the wind was blowing. Unfortunately, any ash that escaped him seemed to ignore the wind currents entirely before leaving the proximity.


    Mark started to slip away once more. Unless Apollo found a way to catch up, then Mark would no longer be cornered and had the entire city to run away in. If he wanted to save himself a lot of pain, then he would have to change something.


    Under normal circumstances, most people would continue to struggle even as they thought. But Apollo simply closed his eyes and let his body be taken away by the wind.


    He felt all the forces of wind acting upon him.


    Although they were certainly random, they also reminded Apollo of something.


    The time when he was stuck in a time loop fighting Willow. Granted, there was no threat of death from where the wind blew. However, the randomness felt simr. When Apollo fought against Willow at that time, he would frequently use the recoil of one strike to block another.


    And that was despite not being able to see either attack.


    This was because this kind of randomness wasn''t truly random. It was the way a human perceived it. In an effort to be unpredictable, a person would not frequently repeat the same thing several times over.


    That was because it no longer seemed random if that was the case.


    And with that, Apollo began shooting towards Mark.

 Chapter 284 - Keyhole

    Apollo''s eyes were closed. Yet, he rapidly approached Mark as though he knew exactly where he was going. This time, Mark raised both eyebrows, genuinely interested in how Apollo was able to pull something like this off.


    In fact, Apollo was no longer blinking from one location to the next. Instead, he spread out all of his limbs and twisted them around frequently, especially with the arm that was holding on to the bokken.


    His body would rock from side to side and sometimes even twirl in the air. He constantly felt the current using his limbs and found a direction that way.


    As Mark watched Apollo approach, he decided to snap his fingers. Suddenly, not only did the direction of the wind currents change, but the amount of them did as well. Apollo suddenly found himself going backward.


    They were more than double the wind currents there were previously. Because of that, theplexity of trying to navigate them increased by several times. Now, one wind current might send him forth, but trying to take advantage of that meant experiencing another one that would blow him to the side.


    Mark was fairly confident this would stump Apollo.


    However, after only a few seconds, Apollo began shooting towards Mark once more. Strangely enough, his movements were even more fluid.


    Mark narrowed his eyes.


    "...Interesting."


    He continued to move back, avoiding Apollo''s approach. Mark continuously shifted the directions of the winds. However, each time would only interrupt Apollo for less than a second.


    And eventually, Apollo was somehow able to predict when the winds would shift, changing his position right as the winds did.


    Mark let out a soft sigh.


    "And how exactly were you surprised when I predicted something earlier? You can clearly do it far better than me."


    Apollo didn''t respond. In fact, his face was almost expressionless, like he was sleeping.


    But Apollo was definitely moving.


    Mark tried to go to one side, then another. But each time, Apollo would cut him off before he could slip by. As Mark realized this wasn''t going to work, he decided to try something different.


    His body glowed white, then Mark vanished.


    Yet, right when he materialized, Apollo was right in front of him swinging his bokken down. Mark easily dodged out of the way, but was forced back once more. Several weak lightning bolts danced across Apollo''s body.


    He had blinked in order to catch up to Mark, but did it at the same time, allowing him to get up close.


    Mark tried this a few more times, but each time he was interrupted as Apollo appeared right in front of him. Mark continued to get closer and closer to the edge of the city. The violent rushing winds rang out in his ears loudly, almost like the crashing sounds of a waterfall.


    As for Apollo, he continued to close in.


    Eventually, Mark sighed.


    "Alright, alright, I won''t run away anymore."


    Apollo opened his eyes with a bright smile on his face.


    "I finally did it!"


    Mark nodded.


    "Yes, yes you did."


    The corners of his smile stretched out ever so slightly.


    "However..."


    Mark''s eyes narrowed.


    "I was never afraid of getting close."


    In the blink of an eye, his hand shot out. Before Apollo realized anything happened, Mark had a hand around his neck.


    Mark gradually increased the pressure, making it harder and harder for Apollo to breathe.


    It quickly became painful. Apollo''s eyes widened as a trace of insanity flitted by them. Apollo felt like he was falling into a sea and at the bottom was death himself, looking up at Apollo.


    Energy began to bubble up in Apollo''s body, despite having no air.


    It was as though a volcano was getting ready to erupt.


    Everything began to darken, and then...


    Mark let go.


    "We should end it here. Let''s just say you overwhelmed me and I was forced to retreat, ok?"


    Apollo coughed violently, spitting out some more ash as he did so. After recovering he looked up to Mark and tilted his head to the side.


    "Ok?"


    Mark nodded.


    "See you, Apollo."


    Apollo waved to him.


    "Bye, Mark!"


    After watching him leave, Apollo pouted.


    "Wait, wasn''t someone supposed to show me around the city?"


    He looked around himself, as though someone was going to be there.


    "Mm... I forgot who it was."


    ...


    Eden walked down to the door to the basement of their house. It was where her mother lived. There was a time Eden tried to convince her mother to take one of the few empty rooms upstairs as nobody was using them and they were more intended for someone to live inside.


    However, Eden''s mother insisted that she preferred the basement, something about the light from the window exposing her.


    Under normal circumstances, Eden wasn''t supposed to bother her mother while in the basement, as she was sleeping. That was one of the ground rules they established a while ago and was ingrained into Eden''s brain. However, the golden key she found in the rabbit simply weighed too heavily on her mind.


    There were no keyholes in their house other than the door to the entrance. Eden already had that key, so the golden key obviously didn''t serve that purpose.


    Since her mother was the one that gave her the rabbit, Eden figured that she may know something about it.


    Eden raised up her hand to knock, but hesitated.


    She knew that her mother had a broken leg all her life, which was why she always had a wooden cane with her. It was probably hard for someone with a missing leg to do anything and even sleep.


    Was it really right for Eden to disturb her?


    With a sigh, Eden steeled her resolve and did it anyway. If it got her reprimanded, then whatever.


    Yet, the moment Eden knocked the first time, the door immediately gave way. It was never locked or even closed for that matter.


    She looked inside.


    And found there was an unassuming box with a keyhole.

 Chapter 285 - For Power

    Eden looked around the room. It was quite dark and dingy, reminding her why she didn''t want her mother to be down here in the first ce. While the walls of the rest of the house were made of wood, down here they were stone. It was because the basement was carved out from the ground.


    Honestly, Eden didn''t think she could remain sane if she had to stay in a ce like this.


    There was only one bed, a small bookshelf, and a makeshift closet in the form of a small drawer. On top of that drawer was a small box resting against the wall with a keyhole.


    However, that wasn''t what attracted Eden''s attention the most. Instead, it was a familiar wooden cane resting on the wall.


    She looked around.


    "Mother?"


    There was no response.


    Eden immediately felt a strange sense of dreade over her. Did something happen to her mother? She didn''t think that her mother was out, especially because of the cane resting on the wall.


    But then where was her mother?


    Eden furrowed her brows.


    "I hope you are alright, mother."


    After a few moments, she decided to try out the key on the box on top of the drawer. She did feel that this was somewhat a vition of privacy, but the curiosity within her was simply too strong.


    And so, Eden walked over to the drawer and put the key inside. She attempted to turn it, but found that it was quite difficult. From what she could tell, the key did fit the lock, but faced a lot of resistance turning.


    Her curiosity red up even more.


    What was in the box?


    Eden grabbed onto the key with both hands and began turning. Her fingers reddened while her hands trembled.


    She grit her teeth and grunted.


    Then, with a soft snip, the key turned all the way. Right when she was about to open it up, a loud m resounded within the room. Eden hurriedly turned her head in that direction.


    ...To see a small hole at the bottom of the wall.


    Eden blinked a few times, partially in a daze. She gingerly ced her hands on the sides of the box before opening it up.


    "...What is this?"


    Within the box was a rope that went into the wall, leading to somewhere else. It was almost like an electrical cable. However, that rope was cut.


    And attached to the keyhole was a rtively small de.


    The chest was actually a mechanism the entire time, without anything inside. Eden then turned to the hole in the wall.


    It wasn''t thergest, but it was still big enough for her to crawl through if she squeezed a little.


    Eden muttered to herself.


    "Did you make all of this, mother?"


    She got down onto her hands and knees and slowly made her way through the newly formed hole in the wall. It did not take her long to reach another room, one that was quite cold and humid.


    She looked around, and found that there was a rabbit mask along with a white robe hanging from the wall. Further down was another corridor and on the right was a small table with a small piece of leather.


    Eden let out a long breath.


    "What is all this?"


    She took a nce at the strange mask and dress, then looked at the table on the right. She slowly picked up the piece of leather that was slightly moist by the corner, revealing a parchment underneath with plenty of ink scrawlings.


    Her eyes widened slightly.


    ''Dear Eden,


    If you havee across this letter, then it probably means you identally stumbled onto the key you found in the gift I gave you. But more importantly, it means you went against my orders and went into my room.


    Not only that, but you began fiddling with things that were not yours.


    Do not worry Eden, I am not upset that you have done this, nor will there be any punishment. After all, by reaching this letter you have disyed the quality I enjoy the most.


    Defiance.


    You may not fully understand now, but the council has ripped power from the hands of others without having true leadership qualities in themselves. They have taken that power from me.


    They created stories, to create a religion. Then, they deemed themselves as the holy ones, people that deserve to stand above the rest. However, these roles are nothing but an empty shell that houses the pathetic.


    This city is being led to ruin by those fools and everyone seems to be fine with that.


    I am confident in my own leadership abilities, thus have created my own force of resistance. And naturally, it has expanded greatly.


    Your father personally sacrificed himself for the cause. So naturally, you can understand the significance.


    Surely you''ve felt the injustices from the council by now.


    All blessings are to be provided to them and to get the very things we have collected, we have to buy it from them.


    Now don the rabbit mask along with the white dress. Walk further down the corridor and you wille across a selection of weapons. Take whatever suits your fancy.


    Join the force that will lead humanity to freedom, my child.


    Sincerely,


    Your mother.''


    Eden immediately clenched her hands after reading the message, crumpling it up. She grit her teeth furiously as a tear fell down her face.


    "...Mother."


    Eden''s face reddened.


    "You bastard."


    Her breathing got heavy as images of her past shed into her mind.


    The times when she still had her father.


    Eden had very few memories about her parents in general, but she kept each of them close to her heart.


    Tears flooded her eyes.


    "You gave up on our family just for some measly power?"


    Eden couldn''t help but think of the simple and stupid games they all yed together, like tag in their courtyard. She didn''t realize it, but she was clenching very tightly onto the wooden figurine.


    Which became emitting ck mist.

 Chapter 286 - Was I Wrong To Think That Way?

    "W-Where are we going?"


    Maya wrapped her arms around her knees, sitting down on a flying chunk of earth. Lucifer, who was standing tall with his hand behind his back, looked at Maya.


    "We are going to meet a certain special someone."


    Maya narrowed her eyes from the wild currents of wind and the snowkes battering against her.


    "Special?"


    Lucifer pointed towards his eye.


    "Someone with good eyes. He should be able to find something out about your strange situation."


    Maya shivered.


    "What?"


    Lucifer proceeded to rub his finger against one of the spikes of his ck crown.


    "The whole demon transformation you got going on."


    Maya pouted.


    "I don''t care about that."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "Well, I care. And it never was about what you wanted anyway."


    Maya''s eyebrow twitched. She tactfully decided not to respond.


    For a while, there was only the sound of rushing wind.


    Eventually, they reached a strange city. The walls were ck and towering, along with several ck pirs shooting high up into the sky. If one paid closer attention, they would notice various veins on the walls, almost making it look alive.


    Maya''s eyes widened. She couldn''t help but stand up to take a closer look.


    Lucifer caught onto Maya''s reaction from the corner of his eye.


    "Haha, would you believe it if I told you that these walls were created by someone''s heart?"


    Maya furrowed her brows, clearly confused, but did not respond. There was a tinge of fear in her expression.


    Lucifer smirked, noticing that fear.


    "There is even a chance that you two are rted. Don''t be afraid! Maybe he''s your long lost grandpa."


    Maya frowned.


    "...What?"


    Lucifer opened his mouth to respond but suddenly froze. He raised an eyebrow, almost like he was a moment away from stepping onto dog poop.


    "This is... rather strange."


    Maya took a peek too, and the moment she did, her eyes widened.


    There were countless dead bodies littered across the ground along with debris. The only thing left that proved many houses used to be standing were the orderly pits in the ground where they used to be.


    As for the farms, they were messed up entirely. Several white potatoes were scattered across upturned dirt, most of which were crushed.


    The corpses lying on the ground seemed to die in a variety of ways. Some of them were cleanly bisected, mostly horizontally. However, the majority of them were in the form of several pieces, such as hands, heads, and torsos. And more than even that, was the mush, seemingly from crushed bodies.


    But that was not the most notable thing to Maya.


    It was because they were all demons. In other words, this was a city filled with demons.


    Maya took a deep breath.


    "I guess this a good thing."


    Luciferughed.


    "How could you be so heartless? Demons have feelings too!"


    Maya furrowed her brows.


    "They do?"


    Lucifer put a finger on his chin.


    "Ah, well... not all of them, but they all do at the start. Regardless, you should care more. You are part demon, aren''t you?"


    Maya scoffed.


    "I never chose to be this way. Why should I care about someone just because we are the same species?"


    The corner of Lucifer''s lip turned up.


    "While I do agree with you, that is logic that applies to most people."


    Maya pouted.


    "Whatever."


    Further in the city was what seemed to be the aftermath of a series ofrge explosions. Several craters were next to each other, casually scattered about, forming a cone-like formation.


    And at the tip of that cone, was a demonying there.


    Lucifer lowered the earth tform down next to that demon, which sunk into the ground seamlessly. He chuckled.


    "You don''t seem to be in the best of conditions."


    The demon looked up at Lucifer. He had five horns on his head along with a head of white hair. There was also a suit that covered his body, but it was quite dirty now.


    "...Have youe here to kill me?"


    Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "Why are you just jumping to conclusions? This isn''t like you at all, Serosh."


    Serosh narrowed his eyes.


    "You... know my name?"


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "You are a famous five-horned demon. Is it not natural to know your name?"


    Serosh frowned.


    "For a demon, yes."


    He forced himself to sit up and sucked in a sharp breath. Then, red at Lucifer.


    "But not for a human."


    Lucifer waved his hand dismissively.


    "The fine details aren''t important."


    Serosh looked at him with confusion clear on his face. After what seemed to be a bit of internal struggle, a bitter smile formed on his face.


    "I suppose so."


    Lucifer rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Say, what happened here?"


    Serosh immediately frowned. Heid back down on the ground with a soft thump and sighed.


    "In essence, I was a fool."


    Lucifer scoffed.


    "I already knew that part."


    Serosh''s eyebrow twitched.


    "Anyways, the managers of the city rebelled, turning the city against me. After killing them, I attempted to convince the townsfolk that I had their best interests. If not, why would I build houses for them and create a special seed for them to grow food during the winter."


    He took a deep breath.


    "But a spiteful three-horned demon I let off previously decided to rally them up against me once I left to recover from my wounds. I tried to convince them again, but they just wouldn''t listen. In the end, I killed them all."


    Luciferughed mockingly.


    "What did you think was going to happen?"


    A bitter smile formed on Serosh''s face.


    "I thought that they might have taken into consideration how much I''ve done so that they could lead a proper life. How much I cared for them. In my eyes, we were something more than just a group of people. We were one big family."


    He closed his eyes.


    "Was I wrong to think that way?"

 Chapter 287 - A Leader

    Maya had her jaw dropped the entire time the two had their conversation.


    "You can speak?"


    Serosh looked over to Maya.


    "What? You can do it, why can''t I?"


    Maya stuttered over herself, unable to form any words.


    Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "Anyways, back on topic. You actually put your faith in other people being somewhat rational?"


    The corner of Serosh''s lip twitched.


    "...They are intelligent beings, no?"


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "They can be defined as intelligent beings, yes. But in the end, they are unbelievably weak to maniption. If they are not taught anything, then they won''t be able to do anything."


    He smirked.


    "And if they are taught to bend to your will, then they will naturally do so. Otherwise, what is referred to as intelligent beings is no different from mindless animals. When ites down to it, most are frankly incapable of thinking logically."


    Lucifer''s eyes widened slightly as a strange smile formed on his face.


    "The only thing they can do is think with their emotions. Just use that next time."


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "...But I have single-handedly taken care of their entire livelihood by myself. The ce they live, the food they eat. I even protect this city from those that try to invade it."


    Luciferughed.


    "And how many times have you told them about it?"


    Serosh narrowed his eyes.


    "A few, but how is that rted?"


    Lucifer shook his head with a smug smile.


    "If you don''t drill that fact into their heads, they will not know. You have given them their housing and food for free. It may seem like you should receive gratitude, but when people are met with the expectation that they are supposed to gain a house and food for free, they do not treasure it."


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "You must make them pay."


    The corner of Lucifer''s lip turned up.


    "If they want a house, they must cut their arm off and offer it to you. Otherwise, they must sleep on the streets. Either way, the person will see the value of the house either by the payment they gave up, or by the impracticality of not having one."


    Serosh looked at Lucifer solemnly.


    "How can that method foster gratitude? And why must I collect their arms? It presents no value to me!"


    Lucifer tilted his head to the side.


    "My friend, this fosters fear. Not to mention, it is not the value that it presents to you that matters, but what it means to them."


    Serosh scoffed.


    "As if a prosperous city could be created that way."


    Lucifer used his hand to gesture towards the devastation around him.


    "And the city you took care of is so much better? Isn''t it?"


    Serosh shut his mouth and frowned.


    Lucifer sighed.


    "Sorry, sorry, didn''t mean to rub it in. Gratitude is honestly overrated, but if you have to go with it, then you have to make sure they understand to be grateful."


    He pointed to the farms.


    "Set up some sort of tradition where they thank you each time they wish to harvest. Every time they are outside their house, make them thank you for creating it. Each time they eat, make them thank you for providing the food."


    Serosh sighed.


    "But I do not give for the sake of receiving recognition."


    Lucifer shrugged.


    "Well too bad. Even if people do not say it without really meaning it, they will still remember who it was that gave them everything. It will seep into their brains whether they like it or not. With that, you gain control over them."


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "That does not sound like someone who is worthy of gratitude. The only kindness imparted was for the sake of controlling them."


    Lucifer got up close to Serosh, almost like he was trying to closely inspect him. A strange smile appeared on his face.


    "Do you really not understand what I''m trying to say?"


    Serosh''s eyebrow twitched.


    "...What is it?"


    Lucifer sighed with disappointment.


    "Truly good people will not be tolerated by the public."


    Serosh narrowed his eyes.


    "And how does that make any sense? They will condemn their leaders if they have done anything wrong."


    Lucifer raised a finger.


    "Correction. What they perceive to be wrong. If a person is openly sphemous, sure. However, whether or not they actually did something does not depend on fact, but what they want to believe."


    He stood back up.


    "If you wish to maintain a good public image, you must not only appear proper, but be ck-hearted enough to manipte people into thinking that you are proper."


    Serosh fell silent for a moment.


    "...But then it will never be a true rtionship between the rulers and the people."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "There never was an opportunity for a true rtionship in the first ce."


    Serosh clenched his bloody fists.


    "Then what''s the point?"


    Lucifer smiled.


    "It may be a fake rtionship, but you can still lead them to sess. The results of trying to be transparent and generous areid bare before you."


    Serosh took a deep breath.


    "Lead who to sess? All the people I have once protected are dead by my own hand."


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "What''s to say you can''t lead others?"


    Serosh closed his eyes tightly, almost like he was in pain.


    "I do not deserve to."


    Lucifer clicked his tongue.


    "Since when did it matter if you deserved to or not? Let me be honest with you. I nned on killing every single person in this city except for you before taking you with me whether you like it or not. So there''s no reason for you to be upset over their deaths."


    Serosh blinked a few times.


    "You came here... with the intention of massacring the city?"


    Lucifer opened his mouth, then shut it.


    "Oh, that wasn''t actually the main goal. It was a side thing I was nning on doing since I was already here."


    He scratched the back of his head.


    "I actually wanted you to take a look at her."

 Chapter 288 - Ask You Again

    Lucifer pointed at Maya, who jumped slightly. Maya had been trying to follow along with their conversation from earlier, but honestly didn''t understand what they were trying to convey to one another.


    The only thing she really gathered was that Serosh seemed to be quite the caring person, while Lucifer was...


    Not exactly caring, but cruel was an overstatement in her opinion.


    At this time, Serosh lifted his head up from the ground in confusion.


    "Sorry, what did you say earlier?"


    Lucifer put his fist in front of his mouth and cleared his throat.


    "Could you please take a look at Maya?"


    Serosh raised an eyebrow before shifting his gaze to a trembling girl.


    "Ok?"


    For a moment, there was only the faint sound of the wind blowing, rudely hitting the three of them with snowkes. Maya curled up like she was cold, while Serosh stared at her nkly.


    Eventually, Serosh turned back to Lucifer.


    "Is that enough?"


    Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance.


    "Do you not have an ability that can see through a living creature''s anatomy?"


    Serosh''s eyes widened.


    "You know about that?"


    Lucifer waved his hand dismissively.


    "Details that don''t really matter. Just use that ability."


    The corner of Serosh''s lip twitched.


    "It will cause quite a great burden on my body in this condition."


    Lucifer sighed.


    "Alright, alright."


    He took out a small nt stalk and injected it with mana. In moments, a ck fruit formed at the end. After plucking it, he threw it to Serosh, who caught it easily.


    Serosh took a closer look at the fruit and hesitated. After all, he wasn''t so trustworthy that he would eat anything someone gave him. But at the same time, there was little he could do if Lucifer wanted to force him to take it.


    After all, Serosh could hardly even move his body.


    And so, with those thoughts in mind, he swallowed the ck fruit. The sudden sensation of warmth spreading through his body and the chill in his mind was quite refreshing. Serosh immediately found that his body was injected full of vitality.


    He had been poisoned before, but was able to easily force it out now. He could even easily heal the internal injuries he had before.


    But that was not what was most shocking to Serosh.


    This fruit was able to give him a substantial increase in permanent strength and magical ability, not just the ability to heal. He was able to easily assess his own condition, thus understood the magnitude of the effect of such a tiny fruit was nothing small.


    Yet, Serosh was given it so easily.


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "You can use it now, right?"


    Serosh blinked a few times.


    "Ah, yes I can."


    He looked over to Maya, but wasn''t really into it as he was still astounded by the effects of the ck fruit.


    However, it took only a second for him to forget about the ck fruit entirely.


    He furrowed his brows so hard it was like he was trying to dig into his own skull.


    "...What is this?"


    Lucifer crossed his arms.


    "You tell me."


    Serosh stood up from the ground, no longer wounded, and got a little closer to Maya, making her flinch. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "This seems somewhat familiar to a child I examined earlier."


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "Who?"


    Serosh took a deep breath.


    "It was a kid who said his name was Apollo."


    Maya immediately sprung up.


    "What!? Did he have yellow hair and a wooden sword?"


    Serosh blinked a few times.


    "Well, yes?"


    Maya grabbed Serosh by the shoulders and began to shake him.


    "When did you see him? Was it recent? It had to be recent, right? It was recent!"


    Serosh looked at her with a bit of confusion. He resisted the urge to smack Maya off.


    "It was not too long ago, perhaps a week or so."


    Maya trembled. Her breathing became heavy and her eyes widened considerably.


    "R-Really?"


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "I suppose so? Is it someone that matters to you?"


    Maya did not respond, instead, she fell to her knees, as they were unable to keep her up.


    "Where did he go?"


    Serosh shrugged his shoulders.


    "I do not know. Not the direction nor the destination."


    Maya looked down.


    "O-Oh."


    But then clenched her fist.


    "He''s still out there..."


    Lucifer looked at Serosh.


    "Anyways, what do you have to say about Maya''s anatomy?"


    Serosh nodded.


    "Ah, right. The child I was talking about earlier had the body of a human, but went through several evolutions like a demon would. As for this girl..."


    His eyes narrowed.


    "She appears to be somebination of a demon and human."


    Lucifer nodded.


    "Do you think it is some sort of imntation?"


    Serosh remained eerily still for a moment.


    "...That was what I initially thought, but it is not the case. This is the first time I''ve seen abination of demon and human that is so... natural."


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "What do you mean?"


    Serosh sucked in a sharp breath.


    "I have seen the human race imnt demonic features into their body to forcefully enhance their abilities. In their case, the demonic and human aspects are shing with each other. The mostmon is when the demonic features essentially feast on the human ones, almost like parasites."


    He gently held Maya''s hand like she was a delicate sculpture and examined it closely.


    "However, in this case, the features are actually not fighting each other, which is the first I''ve seen. But even more shocking than that, is that they are mutually supporting each other."


    Both of Lucifer''s eyebrows raised. He had another good look at Maya, like she was a piece of modern art.


    "...Interesting."


    Maya pulled her hand back from Serosh''s grasp and squirmed ufortably.


    "Um, can I go search for Apollo? I don''t want to follow you anymore."


    Luciferughed.


    "I too am nning on searching for this mysterious fellow."


    He turned to Serosh.


    "Do you wish toe with?"

 Chapter 289 - To Apollo

    Serosh looked straight into Lucifer''s eyes.


    "Why do you even want me toe with you? The only thing I''ve proven I could do is to fail."


    Lucifer let out a soft sigh.


    "Because I know that you are not only a capable person, but one that wishes to protect the people of this world."


    Serosh blinked a few times before smiling bitterly.


    "And how exactly do you know that?"


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "Let''s call it intuition."


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "Regardless of what you believe, the end result is that I''ve killed the very city I was supposed to protect."


    He shut his eyes and put a hand over his heart.


    "I am not worthy of another attempt."


    Lucifer rolled his eyes.


    "Listen."


    He took a deep breath.


    "You fucked up. You did not fulfill your responsibilities. You weren''t even noble enough to sacrifice yourself so that your city could continue. I''m not disputing that."


    Lucifer looked straight into Serosh''s eyes, as though he wanted to pierce into his soul.


    "But why does that matter? People make mistakes. They always do. There was never a handbook that would tell us what would happen as a result of our actions. The only thing we can do is guess."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "The important thing is what you learn from a mistake. At the very minimum, you learned that it wasn''t correct. In other words, you have be smarter."


    He smirked.


    "I would much rather prefer someone that has failed in everything they did over someone that seeded. The one that seeds surely has natural capability, but they do not understand failure."


    Lucifer raised a finger and put it in front of his face.


    "They do not understand what it means to suffer. They do not understand what it means to bear the consequences. And most importantly, they have never learned how to stand back up."


    He sighed.


    "If they have only risen their entire life, the moment they fall, they lose everything. In the end, I cannot trust that they will rise once more. A pir shoots up to the sky, but the moment it falls, it falls hard."


    Lucifer narrowed his eyes.


    "A person that has only failed has never felt what it meant to go higher, but as long as they are willing to try, it means they have stood up. Perhaps the only thing they have is a base, but that base is strong. The hardest thing was never to seed, but try when you''ve failed."


    Serosh pressed his lips together.


    "Perhaps. But in the end, the one that seeds is more capable. Perhaps they will find it difficult to tolerate failure, but if they have learned to take that hit, they will be far more valuable than the one that has shown no capability."


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "I guess you could look at it that way. But my goal is to protect this world. And frankly, the task is essentially impossible."


    Heughed.


    "I don''t need someone with a little bit more skill or talent. What I need is a person that will try no matter what, even when it doesn''t make sense."


    Lucifer smiled.


    "Someone that will fight even when it''s toote."


    Serosh did not respond for a moment, but eventually opened his mouth to say the words.


    "I admire your mentality and your lofty ambition to protect the world."


    His expression hardened.


    "However. I am no longer a good person. The blood on my hands will never go away."


    A bitter smile formed on Serosh''s face.


    "These hands are not fit to save the world."


    The corner of Lucifer''s lip twitched.


    "What kind of thinking is that?"


    He took a deep breath.


    "I''ve killed far more people than you. Far more people than you possibly could in your lifetime. Some of them were evil, some of them were innocent, some of them were people I trusted."


    A strange flicker passed by Lucifer''s eyes.


    "And some of them were people that trusted me."


    He began lifting his hand up, almost like he was getting ready to attack.


    Suddenly, Lucifer moved.


    The sounds of bones cracking apart filled the air.


    Serosh flinched before widening his eyes in shock. Not because he was hit.


    But because Lucifer dug into his own chest, pulling out his heart.


    Blood immediately spilled out of the wound and even began overflowing from the corners of his lip. Yet, Lucifer''s expression didn''t even twitch.


    "You can take a look at my heart for yourself. It is bright red, yet I myself am ck-hearted. The burden of my sins have long outweighed my right to live."


    The wound in Lucifer''s body immediately began to heal up.


    Lucifer motioned with his chin to Serosh.


    "You yourself already have a ck heart. Committing a few evil things here and there is only natural."


    He smirked.


    "But I don''t care."


    The blood seeping out from his wound and mouth slowed to a stop.


    "Only someone that truly understands the evil of this world will know how to fight against it."


    Lucifer tossed his still beating heart.


    "Now I''ll ask again. Will youe with?"


    Serosh caught the heart.


    He watched as it slowly stopped beating. Then, he slowly looked up to Lucifer.


    "If you say that much..."


    Serosh sighed.


    "I''ll try."


    The corner of Lucifer''s lip turned up.


    "I like that response."


    Suddenly, the ground underneath them shot upwards with a bang, before flying off into the distance.


    Maya blinked a few times. She didn''t understand the conversation they had, but still remembered what mattered to her.


    "Are we going to Apollo?"


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "That''s the goal, but we have no way to track him."


    Out of nowhere, Serosh gasped.


    "Wait."


    Lucifer turned to him.


    "Hm?"


    Serosh slowly closed his eyes, like he was falling asleep.


    "I didn''t notice this before... but that child, Apollo, created a statue of me."


    Maya''s eyes widened as she grabbed onto him.


    "So you know where he is?"


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "I can sort of tell where the statue is. Apollo has already given it to someone else, but he should still be nearby."


    Luciferughed.


    "Then what are we waiting for?"


    Serosh pointed in a direction.


    "Go that way.. In the meantime, I will have a chat with someone."

 Chapter 290 - Something New

    Eden took several deep breaths, trying to calm her emotions down. However, the moment her tears seemed to stoping out, they poured out all over again. She was always the type of person to repress her emotions and thoughts and in that way, it wouldn''t hurt her.


    At least, not at that moment.


    Eden was still trying to repress her thoughts, but memories of her father kept appearing one after another. Every time she tried to begin building a dam, the water blew it all away. Eden couldn''t help but wonder why he was so willing to be taken away, never to be seen again.


    She hunched over, cradling her head with her hands.


    Even Eden was surprised she was crying so much. In reality, she thought that her own mental state was fine. Yet, it appears that wasn''t really the case.


    Though Eden felt like any other average person for most of the time, the memories stuck in the back of her mind. It was like she had a tiny bit of dormant poison within her. Although it remained inactive at first, that was because it was biding its time, slowly festering into something deadly.


    All of Eden''s emotions spilled out at this moment. She had broken down, stumbling from to the left and the right, mming against the walls. Eden threw her body so hard that the rabbit mask and white dress fell down from the vibrations.


    With the ground being moist dirt on top of stone, they were dirtied immediately.


    But Eden didn''t notice all of this.


    In fact, her vision was so blurry from the crying, she didn''t even notice the ck misting out of the wooden figurine in her hand. Eventually, the figurine ckened considerably, bing far smoother than it once was.


    And more lifelike, too.


    As more time passed, eyelids gradually formed, bing defined. Then, they abruptly shot open.


    Serosh was greeted with the sight of a woman that hadpletely broken down. He remained silent, just observing for quite a while.


    It took a while, but Eden eventually calmed down from her tantrum. However, it wasn''t because she was feeling any less aggrieved, but rather she was just too tired to continue. Soon the only sounds became rushed breathing and the asional sniffle.


    Serosh cleared his throat.


    "Do you wish to talk?"


    At first, Eden did not respond. Then, she slowly turned her head to the figurine in her hand. After being stared at for a while, Serosh raised his hand to wave.


    "Hi."


    In response, Eden smiled bitterly.


    "I really lost it, huh?"


    Serosh shrugged his miniature shoulders.


    "Maybe. But if you have, why not embrace it?"


    Edenughed strangely, with several croaking sounds mixed in between.


    "Yes, yes..."


    Serosh sighed.


    "That was supposed to be a joke, why are you taking it seriously?"


    Eden covered her eyes with her hand before tilting backwards.


    "Haha... ha. Sorry, sorry, good joke you have there!"


    The corner of Serosh''s lip twitched.


    "...You don''t seem to be in the best of conditions."


    Eden narrowed her eyes as a grin spread across her face.


    "Heh, what makes you say that?"


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "Well, you seem to be crying andughing, like you can''t decide which one you are supposed to do. I imagine most people would choose one."


    Eden paused for a moment. She blinked her puffy red eyes several times.


    "...Well, I don''t want to choose."


    Serosh let out a soft sigh.


    "Do you want to talk?"


    Eden frowned, with trembling lips.


    "Why do you care?"


    Serosh smiled courteously.


    "To put it simply, you are friends with that child and I consider that child my friend. By extension, I naturally hold goodwill to you. He even gave you this statue."


    Eden bit her bottom lip.


    "...I was only supposed to hold on to it. The only reason I have it is because I let him get captured."


    Serosh nodded along with a helpless sigh.


    "I see, I see. But since he entrusted it to you, that means he believes you are a person that would return it. As such, my goodwill still extends to you."


    Eden remained silent for a moment.


    Serosh blinked a few times.


    "Is there anything on your mind?"


    Eden swallowed her saliva painfully.


    "Why do people fight for power?"


    Serosh raised an eyebrow.


    "Are you referring to individual power or political power?"


    Eden sat down on the floor.


    "The one that lets you control others."


    Serosh nodded.


    "Well, it''s only natural for people to vie for control when there are others tomand."


    He frowned slightly.


    "It is something that I know all too well about."


    Eden wrapped her arms around her legs, bringing her knees up to her chest.


    "...So if there are no others, nobody will have to fight for power?"


    Her voice sounded a little off. It was almost like a child asking for a piece of candy, but sounded dangerous at the same time.


    Serosh blinked a few times.


    "Well, naturally. But-"


    Eden smiled.


    "Then that''s great!"


    She abruptly stood up with a blissful smile on her face. Serosh paused for a moment before speaking.


    "It seems you havee to a decision."


    Eden giggled.


    "Yeah!"


    Her smile suddenly disappeared as she opened her mouth, bing ck-jawed. It was as though she died right then and there.


    But then, she perked up again.


    Serosh looked at her for a few moments.


    "What are you thinking of?"


    Eden sped her hands together.


    "I want to try something!"


    Serosh rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Try something..."


    He gave Eden a once-over.


    "You are only a frail human. Can you stillplete it?"


    In response, Eden only smiled.


    "It doesn''t matter! I''m going to try!"


    Serosh closed his eyes for a moment.


    "Then do you want something extra?"


    Eden tilted her head to the side.


    "Why not?"


    Serosh nodded.


    "Very well. I shall bestow you a ck heart that will let you create things. Use it creatively and best of luck."


    The wooden figurine began trembling fiercely, leaking more and more ck mist. Until eventually, it shattered altogether.


    From there, the ck mist seeped into Eden''s heart.


    Making it something new.

 Chapter 291 - All Fall Down

    Eden began twitching around as the ck mist seeped into her. She had a pained expression and made faint gurgling sounds. Eden''s eyes bulged and became bloodshot.


    She transitioned between a face that showed she was in agonizing pain and a blissful smile. It was as though Eden couldn''t make up her mind on whether she was hurting or happy.


    Her heart began to beat faster before transforming into something else.


    First, it began to cken.


    Then it squirmed around like a parasite, slowly expanding itself. The feeling was quite diforting, like an itch on the inside of her body. Even if she wanted to scratch it, she couldn''t.


    Unless she peeled away her skin, that is.


    However, the heart was already in the process of doing that. A hole gradually began forming on the skin above her heart, like something inside was crawling out. Eden''s vision became blurry, but her mind was getting clearer.


    She wasn''t exactly paying attention when Serosh said that she could create something with her heart. However, Eden intuitively came to that understanding as the heart within her transformed.


    It became something flexible. Something she could move like her own hand.


    No, it was even easier to move than her own hand.


    But Eden wasn''t really focused on that. Instead, she saw an old memory, it was so lifelike it was like she had been hallucinating.


    "Alright Eden, let me show you how it''s done!"


    Eden heard Zack''s voice and slowly got up to her feet.


    "Ah... then show me."


    She saw Zack hold an axe with both hands, slowly pulling it back for a horizontal swing. Then, with a grunt, he flung it forward, making itnd on a tall tree with a clear thunk.


    Edenughed to herself.


    "Isn''t that a little underwhelming? You hardly cut into the tree!"


    Zack smirked.


    "What? You expect me to cut through the entire damn tree with one swing?"


    Eden covered her mouth with the tips of her fingers and giggled.


    "I expect more than that!"


    Zack rolled his eyes.


    "It''s not about getting the farthest you can in one hit, but doing it at a rate you can handle. There''s no point in making a huge cut if your arms can''t move afterwards."


    He pulled back the axe before mming it against the small indent he made before.


    "Little by little, you get through the entire tree."


    Zack continued to chop the tree down.


    "If you want to cut down the biggest tree, more than strength, you need patience and endurance."


    Eden nodded.


    "Hmm... ok. I believe you."


    Zack smirked and held out the axe.


    "You want to have a go then?"


    Eden smiled.


    "Yes."


    She reached out.


    Then, ck flesh sprouted out from her chest, slowly molding itself into an axe. It was unbelievably close to the axe she saw in her old memories, even having the same abrasion marks from use.


    The only difference was the fact that the axe was not only ck, but had a few veins crawling across it.


    Eden held onto that axefortably, like it was meant for her. Then, she giggled to herself.


    "I''m going to cut down the entire forest! Just watch."


    She bent down to pick up the dirtied rabbit mask and ced it on her face without much hesitation. Then, she put on the muddy dress as well.


    Eden began humming to herself.


    It was a luby that her father would sing to her when she was supposed to go to sleep.


    With that, she began walking down the corridor.


    The tune of her humming echoed across the cave several times, making the tunes ovep over each other at different volumes. The cacophony of sounds was extremely chaotic, but had its own unique charm to it.


    Eden eventually came across a wide assortment of weapons, such as swords, bows, shields, and moreid across arge wooden table.


    She gave a brief nce over them before losing interest.


    After all, there were no axes made for cutting wood among them. She let out a drawn-out hum like she was thinking but singing at the same time.


    "More axes would be better..."


    The flesh above her heart parted once more, spewing out more ck flesh that became another axe. She now had an axe in each hand.


    There was still another corridor further below, that seemed to lead to darkness. Eden walked down this path, twirling her newfound weapons. She did it with such dexterity, that one would think she had been doing it her entire life.


    As the path got darker and darker, Eden eventually came across a wall. But that didn''t bother her. She continued to walk forth and mmed one of her axes on it.


    The wall immediately gave way, copsing in on itself. Though that was a bit excessive as it also would''ve given way if she just pushed on it a bit as it was a door.


    A weak light came out from where the door was busted open.


    There was no clear floor ahead, but that didn''t stop Eden from jumping through. After falling for a few seconds, shended on the floor with a clear smack while bending her knees.


    The room was fairlyrge, with torches lined along the side.


    And as of now, there was a woman wearing a rabbit mask pointing a spear straight at Eden. However, she calmed down soon after realizing that the person also had a rabbit mask.


    "Ah, are you a new recruit?"


    Eden nodded dreamily and seemed to respond.


    "The trees in the forest stand tall and strong~"


    But it was actually just her singing to herself.


    The woman furrowed her brows.


    "Are you ok? Also, what are those weapons you have?"


    Eden slowly raised the axe in her hand, winding it back.


    "But it won''t take long for them all to fall down!"


    The woman hadpletely let her guard down.


    That was why she was so surprised when she saw an axe flying towards her.

 Chapter 292 - As Many Times

    A frightening crunch resounded in the air.


    There was currently a woman with her jaw agape and her eyes wide open. She also had a rabbit mask on her face, but there was arge crack on the part that covered the forehead. That was because a ck axe had pierced through.


    But it didn''t just pierce through the mask.


    It split apart the woman''s skull as well, before getting lodged halfway inside. She didn''t even have the time to scream before she died.


    On the other side was Eden, still humming a luby to herself. She didn''t actually put that much strength into the axe she threw. However, it still carried impressive power. The dim lighting from the torches in this underground expanse made her look a little ominous.


    Especially since they would flicker, almost like Eden was a monster trying to hide in the darkness.


    She began walking towards the only doorway in this room.


    As for the woman that was just killed, her body had frozen up like a statue. The ck axe in her head gradually lost its shape, like it was melting. Veins bulged out from the point that the woman was hit.


    Then, the ck axe turned into flesh that began swallowing up the woman''s body. In just a few moments, a set of bones and organs were on the ground, coupled with a broken rabbit mask.


    By this time, Eden had reached the doorway. A mass of ck flesh beside the remains of the woman hurriedly scampered over to its creator.


    It wrapped itself around Eden''s leg before traversing up and back into her heart. Soon, it came out once more and reformed into another ck axe, like it never left.


    Eden found herself in a hallway. It was quite dark and the air here was especially ufortable. However, she didn''t mind.


    Instead, Eden continued humming to herself and twirling the axes in her hands.


    For a while, she was unable to find anyone. However, She ended up catching a faint sound from far away. It was a continuous banging, like something was being hit. Eden walked down towards the sound, ignoring the other doorways along the way.


    The banging sound eventually became clearer, along with the sound of hoarse coughing, like an old man on his deathbed.


    Eden walked into the room that the sound wasing from and saw a fairly young man with a rabbit mask doing the duties of a cksmith. He dutifully pounded on a bright red piece of metal on top of an anvil. Thick smog-filled this room in particr, which was probably not the smartest thing to breathe.


    The man would constantly cough, as a dying old man would. In fact, even his hands trembled like he was at the end of his years.


    Noticing someone else in the room, he stood up and walked closer to greet them.


    "Are you here to request a weapon?"


    Eden did not respond, other than humming and slowly raising the ck axe in her hand. The man''s coughing acted up severely at this moment. It was so bad, he didn''t even realize someone was trying to kill him.


    The man began to wheeze, like he was trying to suck in what little breathable air still existed in the room.


    Eden threw her axe.


    But the man fell to his knees, letting the axe cascade right above his head. He just brushed by death but didn''t even notice it. The man''s breaths became weaker and weaker.


    Until eventually, he wasn''t breathing at all.


    Like that, the man died.


    Eden fully intended on killing the man before her, but the deadly working conditions he was put into got to him first. He would''ve died regardless.


    The thrown ck axe turned into a liquid substance before scampering back. As for Eden, she only gave the man a nce before turning back and getting out of the room.


    That man wasn''t the only person working like that. And this was also the case for people that weren''t in this organization of rabbits. Many people that were overworked sought refuge here, thinking that their lives would improve. If not now, perhapster.


    However, things remained the same.


    The leader of the group of rabbits never cared about what the council was doing to the people, but rather, cared that they weren''t the ones able to do it.


    In other words, there were different leaders, but shared themonality of not caring about the people underneath them.


    Eden continued to aimlessly search for people, only with the intention of killing them. After some time, she met a few people here and there, thus threw her axe at killing the few people here on the spot.


    The path she was taking gradually went upwards and eventually ended at a trapdoor in the ceiling. Eden mercilessly smashed that trap door, forcing it open by destroying it. After pushing it aside, she walked up to find herself in a house.


    There was lighting in from the windows, which felt blindingpared to how dark it was in the cave.


    Eden had made it back into the city.


    She slowly navigated her way out of the house and stepped onto the streets. The moment she did, several passersby noticed her.


    "Ah! It''s a person wearing a rabbit mask, they are the supporters of the fallen angel!"


    "What? Run away!"


    "Shit!"


    Eden was still humming to herself and winded up both axes once she saw the people around. They ran away, but the axes were faster.


    Two clear cracking sounds rang out. The axes Eden threw into the skulls of two innocent victims. However, there were still far more than just two. She had to kill more.


    ck flesh rapidly squirmed out of Eden''s heart, turning into another pair of axes. The moment they did, she threw them without abandon, harvesting another life each time.


    Eden was cutting through the tree.. It wasn''t the fastest process, but would swing as many times as she needed to make it fall.

 Chapter 293 - Broken Record

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    After realizing that all of his previous ''tour guides'' were gone, Apollo felt a little aimless. Hended back down on the ground and began walking back to the city. Panic ran fairly rampant among the people.


    After all, several houses were pulled from the ground before being sent crashing down once more. Thankfully, rtive to the overall size of the city, the destruction caused by those houses were fairly small.


    Nheless, people were getting out of their houses in a panic, in case their house would be lifted up next. Others were just running aimlessly, almost like that could somehow increase their chances of surviving.


    However, the strange thing was that nobody died. Some people injured themselves by tripping over things in a hurry, but the actual destruction by the houses from Mark did not harm anybody.


    Well, at least not physically.


    There were a few people in grief either because their house was taken away, or heavily damaged by another house colliding with it. As Apollo walked through the streets, nobody paid attention to him.


    They were all off doing their own thing.


    As he continued to walk through, his mind began feeling a little fuzzy. Everyone was ignoring him.


    It reminded Apollo of something.


    The time when he walked through the streets of his own hometown. Nobody attempted to find trouble with him unless he wanted to find trouble first.


    Apollo walked up to one of the passersby and tugged on their sleeve.


    "Hey, hey!"


    The person in question was an old man that had bloodshot eyes. He was distressed, having just lost his home. As such, when Apollo attempted to ask for help from him, he just flicked his sleeve, before leaving to somewhere else.


    Apollo pouted.


    His vision got a little blurry.


    He then saw himself at the vige again, walking through the streets. Apollo reached out with his pudgy hands to grab onto the hem of the shift of some random person walking by.


    "Mm..."


    This person was a fairly young woman who was carrying a bunch of potatoes in her hand. Upon noticing Apollo''s tug, she looked over and lowered her head slightly.


    "Hello, child. If I recall, your name is Apollo. Is something wrong?"


    Apollo pressed his lips tightly together.


    "I-I... I''m sad. I''m really, really sad."


    The woman had a sympathetic expression. She got down on one knee and brushed Apollo''s hair.


    "Oh poor boy, what is the problem?"


    Apollo bit his lip.


    "M-My mother is making me do things I don''t want to do."


    The woman raised an eyebrow.


    "Eh? What is she making you do?"


    Apollo rubbed his eyelids.


    "She is making me write words. M-My wrists hurt, but she won''t let me stop!"


    The woman blinked a few times. A few momentster, a bitter smile formed on her face.


    "Oh child, your mother is just looking out for you! She just wants you to learn a few more skills, don''t disappoint your mother."


    Tears began forming at the sides of Apollo''s face. He tightened his grip.


    "But it hurts! It hurts really, really bad! I don''t want to do it anymore!"


    The woman let out a soft sigh.


    "Just go through with it ok? It will hurt a little, but you will learn so much in the end."


    Apollo''s hands began to tremble.


    "It doesn''t hurt a little! I just want to take a break! I''m so tired."


    The woman clicked her tongue.


    "Child. Your mother has put in so much effort for you. Don''t you know that? How could you just abandon her wishes like that? Do you think she is doing all that to help herself? It''s to help you!"


    Apollo slowly let go, trembling.


    "But-"


    The woman took a deep breath.


    "Don''t be ungrateful."


    And with that, she left Apollo to himself. He watched her go with a bit of a lost expression.


    But that wasn''t enough for Apollo to give up. He continued to search among the people walking across the streets. He was looking.


    Looking for someone that would listen.


    Someone that would consider his opinion.


    But...


    "Do you know how much your mother does for you? Where would you be without her?"


    "What? You just want to be a child with no talent that depends on their parents forever?"


    "Your mother is trying so hard for you. Can''t you see that?"


    "Don''t be such an unfilial kid! What is wrong with you?"


    "Your mother just wants the best for you."


    "Your mother just wants the best for you."


    "Your mother just wants the best for you."


    Apollo began walking through the streets. The sun was setting and nighttime was close.


    There were several people walking past him, but he didn''t seem to notice. Apollo''s eyes had already zed over. He was mumbling to himself, like repeating a mantra.


    "My mother has done so much for me."


    "Without her, I would be nothing."


    "She just wants the best for me."


    Apollo eventually reached the front door to his house.


    "I must listen to my mother."


    He pushed open the door.


    "Because she is right."


    Apollo looked up, to see her mother fuming and with a hand raised.


    "Because she is always right."


    The entire city seemed to be in a panic, with people running about like headless chickens.


    "What just happened?"


    "The angels were fighting!"


    "I remember! One of them was a fallen angel, he was captured by the council but was able to escape!"


    Unlike the others, Apollo slowly walked through the city. He did so slowly, which looked quite strange among the panic.


    Several guards appeared to be rushing out on the streets, but they weren''t concerned about checking up on people and if they were safe.


    Instead, they were yelling out various remarks.


    "The fallen angel is the person responsible for this destruction!"


    "Beware, anybody that wears a rabbit mask, they are supporting the fallen angel!"


    "The council is working hard with their own angel to defend the city!"


    They repeated this like a broken record.

 Chapter 294 - Is That You?

    Despite all the panic surrounding the fallen angel, the very person that was considered a fallen angel himself didn''t seem to be noticed. In fact, one of the guards announcing this very fact bumped into him and still didn''t notice.


    The chaos in the city was gradually building up and practically everybody was contributing to making the situation even more hectic.


    This was especially magnified by the woman with a rabbit mask pulling out ck axes from her heart before throwing them at people. It was Eden.


    She seemed to have already forgotten about Serosh''s warning, not to use the ck heart too much as it would ce a burden on her body. It was almost like Eden was trying her best to do the exact opposite, making ck axe after ck axe.


    Almost all of her throws would hit their target. Few people were in a calm enough state to dodge, and even then, some were unable to because of the people around them pushing and shoving.


    After these ck axes hit and killed their targets, they would transform into flesh that would partially consume the other person''s body. Though they were already dead, the process to onlookers was quite terrifying because of the bones and organs that were leftover.


    From there the ck mush would hurry as fast as they could back to Eden, before bing axes once more. They seemed anxious to return, almost like a pet.


    In fact, they seemed to be desperate.


    As for why, that could be seen from Eden''s body. She was gradually getting more pale, and bing thinner. Although the ck heart gave her the ability to create, it didn''t mean it could just create something out of nothing.


    The ck heart that Serosh gave her was a modified version that could use human flesh to create things. The way it did so was very safe for Eden herself, but that was if she didn''t overexert herself.


    And at this point, she really didn''t care about that.


    The various ck flesh Eden had created also were born with intelligence. That meant they could tell she was dying. The ck flesh couldn''t do anything to stop Eden from creating more, so they did the best they could,ing back as fast as possible so she didn''t need to create any more.


    However, it still wasn''t enough. Eden stopped caring so much about aiming as time went on and prioritized speed, worsening her condition further.


    She just basked in all the blood and screams from the people around her. She reveled in the cries of fear.


    And most of all, she felt a strange satisfaction whenever someone died.


    Almost like she was killing pests.


    Eden continued to walk forth in the city, bing paler and thinner, almost to a degree that seemed impossible.


    The arms she used to hold the axes began to shake. But still, she winded up her axe before letting it loose once more on the nearest victim.


    And this person just so happened to be Apollo.


    As of now, Apollo waspletely lost in a trance. He may have been walking down the city streets, but it was not the city streets he saw. Normally, his instincts would make him avoid danger.


    But this time, even though the axe wasing straight for his face, he did not move.


    A frightening crunch resounded.


    The ck axe lodged itself into Apollo''s head, splitting apart his skull. Large veins immediately appeared on his skin around the wound.


    However, Apollo himself did not seem to notice.


    But what was even stranger, was the fact he began to smile gently. It was a smile that held both sorrow and relief. Apollo had been reliving his own memories, being ovee with grief once more.


    But through it all, he still smiled happily.


    "Ivy? Is that you?"


    Eden paused. She looked at Apollo intently, but couldn''t see well because her vision was blurry. Yet, despite that, she was feeling a strange sense of familiarity from him. A lot of ck flesh rapidly made its way back into Eden''s heart.


    And as they did so, Eden''s condition rapidly improved.


    With that, came her vision. She was able to see Apollo and the ck axe pierced through his forehead.


    An eerie cold swept past Eden. It was as though she had been thrown into an icyke.


    "A-Apollo?"


    Apollo''s eyes began to close, while his expression became dull.


    "Sorry Ivy... I got your clothes dirty again..."


    He began to fall backwards.


    Eden took off the rabbit mask and reached out to him, but something else happened before she could.


    Without warning, a massive thunderbolt came down from the sky, striking Apollo. It was awfully simr to the one that struck Apollo that first gave his crown. However, the difference was that this one was farrger.


    For a moment, Apollo''s figure waspletely covered by that lightning.


    Then, when it cleared, he wasying on the ground.


    Apollozily rubbed his eyelid before slowly opening his eyes.


    "Mm..."


    Most of the passersby had been running away in fear. After all, Eden had just been killing people left and right. However, that lightning bolt simply drew too much attention. What''s more, is that every person that turned to stare just... kept looking.


    Because Apollo''s crown had be a faint yellow halo just above his head.


    After several moments of silence, frenzied screams came from the crowd.


    "T-The yellow halo! Just like how it is told in the stories!"


    "It''s really an angel! An angel has descended to protect us!"


    "Bless the angel! Bless the Heavens!"


    People gathered around quickly, but even faster than all of them was Eden, who dove forward before cradling Apollo in her arms.


    In response, Apollo looked up at Eden, still without his eyes fully open.


    "Mm... Ivy?..."


    Eden looked down at Apollo with both guilt and relief.


    "I-"


    "What are you doing with the angel! We have to stop her!"


    The crowd pointed fingers with both anger and boldness.

 Chapter 295 - Unlike The Other Me

    Eden was at a loss for words. She really didn''t have any intentions of harming Apollo, but that was hard tomunicate. After all, she had not only been killing people left and right, but also directly hit Apollo in the head with a ck axe just now.


    Granted, that ck axe and the wound from it was nowhere to be seen. However, that was still a fact and many people knew that.


    As for Apollo, he didn''t seem to be concerned about all themotion around him. Instead, he nuzzled his head in Eden''s grasp, letting out soft sounds almost like he was a cat purring.


    "Ivy..."


    Now that they knew an angel was with them, the crowd suddenly gained a lot of courage, daring to confront Eden who was murdering wantonly just now.


    "What do you think you are doing?"


    "Don''t think we will just watch you take away the angel!"


    "The heavens have not abandoned us, yet you continue with such sphemous actions!"


    Eden''s expression twitched. She simply stood still, not knowing what she was supposed to do. The crowd gradually got closer and they definitely weren''t afraid of getting violent.


    Right when Eden was about to pull out another ck axe and start a massacre, Apollo spoke up.


    "Quiet!"


    A shockwave rippled out, directly blowing the nearby people away and off their feet. The asional arc of lightning rippled across the ground and on those that wereunched away. Eden''s jaw dropped, shocked at Apollo''s new disy of power.


    As for the people that were knocked away, they were confused. A middle-aged woman spoke up, with a slight grimace from hitting the ground.


    "Angel? But why?"


    A middle-aged man furrowed his brows as he sat up.


    "It appears the angel doesn''t want us to bother him."


    There was a young man that pressed his lips together.


    "But why?"


    A little kid spoke up.


    "I don''t think the angel needs our help, right? If he is an angel, he can already do whatever he wants!"


    The crowd made various sounds of agreement. And as such, they backed off, but did not leave the general area.


    However, the ground surrounding Apollo was electrified. The charge was not only spreading further, but growing in intensity. In the end, the crowd had been forced to get away so as to not be zapped.


    Apollo seemed to be sleepy. Granted that he hadn''t slept in quite a long time, this could be seen as natural, or strange.


    He murmured as his eyes slowly opened.


    "Mm... you don''t look like Ivy."


    A bitter smile formed on Eden''s face.


    "Sorry, I''m not sure who Ivy is, but I''m not her. My name is Eden, do you still remember me?"


    Apollo put a finger on his chin.


    "I remember! To me, you feel a lot like Ivy."


    A silly smile formed on his face. In response, Eden smiled slightly as well.


    "Ah... Do I?"


    The crackling of lightning around her was gradually getting louder as massive arcs of thunder gradually formed nearby. Yet, she didn''t seem to notice it.


    Instead, Eden smiled slightly.


    "Could you tell me about Ivy?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side and began to think.


    "Well... Ivy is a really nice person. Really, really nice!"


    Eden''s eyes brightened up slightly.


    "Oh, what makes you say that?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "She would always take care of me, making me feel less sad."


    Eden blinked a few times.


    "That is nice. Um, y-you were sad before?"


    Apollo nodded with a small smile.


    "Hehe, yeah."


    He closed his eyes.


    "A lot of the time I would be crying. So much crying."


    Eden held him a little tighter when she heard that.


    "Oh no..."


    She couldn''t help but be a little surprised that angels could be sad. For the longest time, Eden thought that angels were beings that never felt these aggrieved emotions and were happy all of the time. From her perspective, angels and humans were extremely different things, even though their appearances were simr.


    She began to feel a little strange. The resistance Eden felt from Apollo''s status as an angel began to melt as she realized how simr they actually were to each other.


    Though, despite the glowing yellow halo, Apollo wasn''t an angel.


    So Eden''s thoughts weren''t exactly the most correct.


    As for Apollo, he was not aware of all the thoughts going through Eden''s mind because of his offhandment. He just continued on with his story.


    "Many times I would cry so much that I couldn''t stand up. I would hit the grass, getting myself all dirty because of it."


    His expression softened.


    "But then Ivy came to me. She didn''t care that I was all muddy and tried tofort me."


    Apollo giggled a little mischievously.


    "Um, but I didn''t really listen to her. As she tried to calm me down, I hit her several times."


    He cleared his throat.


    "Ivy wasn''t too happy about it, so she grabbed onto my arms really tightly. I couldn''t even move because she was so strong!"


    Apollo waved his bokken around excitedly.


    "I really tried to move my arms, but I couldn''t at all. And then, Ivy put my head down on her leg."


    He mumbled.


    "It felt really nice."


    Apollo closed his eyes and let out unintelligible sounds, kind of like a baby. Under normal circumstances, it would be cute to a certain extent, but the extremely loud sounds of lightning more or less ruined it.


    It got so intense, that it became hard to see from the outside.


    Apollo let out a soft hum.


    "I was always really dirty, and moving around a lot on the ground. So Ivy had to get down on the ground too if she wanted to hold me. It always got her dress really dirty, but she did it anyway."


    Eden lightly brushed his forehead.


    "What made you so sad?"


    Apollo put a finger on his chin.


    "Well, there were a lot of things, but I just dealt with it."


    He tilted his head to the side.


    "Unlike the other me."

 Chapter 296 - Two In One

    Eden furrowed her brows.


    "Other you? What are you talking about?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "There''s another version of me. Right now, he''s sleeping."


    Eden blinked a few times, clearly confused.


    "What do you mean?"


    Apollo pressed his lips together.


    "Ummm. He always tries to find a way to make it stop hurting, even though he shouldn''t be."


    Eden tilted her head to the side.


    "What about Ivy? Didn''t she make it hurt less?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Em. I don''t really see it that way, but he does. For me, it''s someone that makes me happy, not something that makes it hurt less."


    Eden paused before sitting down.


    "So is this person your brother? Is he still in heaven?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Eh? What are you talking about?"


    Eden was at a loss for words.


    "Is he not your brother?"


    Apolloughed.


    "Of course not, silly! It''s another me!"


    Eden''s jaw dropped slightly.


    "Another... you?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Basically he really doesn''t like it when it hurts. He will do anything to make it stop hurting. That''s why heughs a lot, it makes him feel better."


    He scratched the side of his head.


    "As for me, I don''t really care so much about numbing the pain. Instead, I focus on the happy things!"


    Eden paused before gently brushing Apollo''s hair.


    "That sounds... confusing and difficult. It must''ve been hard for you."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Not really. He just sleeps for most of the time. The only times he ever wakes up is if he thinks something scary is going to happen to me. Then, I just let him do what he wants."


    Eden''s eyes widened slightly.


    "Eh? Two people?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yeah, I can show you him if you want."


    Eden looked at him curiously.


    "Oh, is he nice?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Kinda."


    Eden put a finger on her chin.


    "So how will you show me if he is sleeping?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Wake him up."


    Without warning, his bokken shed, traveling full speed straight towards his neck.


    A loud crack rang out.


    Apollo''s eyes were now wide open, partially in disbelief. His other hand held onto the end of his bokken, but it was now covered in blood and the bones were shattered. Apollo was able to just barely block it before it hit his neck.


    Eden''s eyes were wide open.


    "Apollo! What are you doing to yourself?"


    Apollo stood up and held the side of his head with his hand, not caring about how bloody it was.


    "...What?"


    His breathing was getting heavy, while his eyes lost focus.


    He remembered thest few events that happened.


    In other words, Apollo heard the entire thing his other ''self'' was talking about. For the longest time, he thought that although it was strange that he had two personalities, he was the one that was dominant.


    ...But from what that other self just demonstrated, this wasn''t the case. Ironically enough, from his words, he even held disdain for the current Apollo.


    Eden stood up with concern.


    "Apollo, are you alright?"


    She had to scream in order to make a sound over the crackling lightning.


    Apollo was able to hear it, but he didn''t react. Instead, he closed his eyes tightly, trying to understand the situation he was in.


    In a bit of panic, Eden rushed over, wanting to tend to Apollo''s broken hand. However, it had already healed. She let out a small gasp from this knowledge.


    Apollo slowly turned to look at Eden.


    "...Why."


    She blinked a few times.


    "Huh?"


    Apollo slowly breathed in, almost like a wheeze.


    "Why am I like this?"


    Eden furrowed her brows. She really didn''t understand what Apollo was talking about until she thought of a possibility.


    That Apollo actually had two personalities stuck in the same body.


    Eden swallowed audibly.


    "Um, don''t worry too much about it. I''m sure the two of you can get along."


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    "I... I don''tugh because I want it to stop hurting. That''s not true."


    "But it is!"


    He spun his head around, as though trying to figure out where that voice came from. Apollo eventually turned to Eden, pointing towards her usingly.


    "Did... Did you say that?"


    After a few seconds, Eden slowly shook her head.


    "Um, no? What did you hear?"


    "Obviously it wasn''t her! How does my voice even slightly sound like hers!"


    Apollo spun around, as though he would somehow find someone else if he kept doing so.


    "You..."


    "What?"


    Apollo took a deep breath.


    "Have you... always been here?"


    "Not really. I have to sleep too, you know? Plus, it gets boring to watch you."


    Eden watched him talk to the air, like he had an imaginary friend. She didn''t know what to say, thus stayed silent.


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "Why do you act like you''re so much better than me?"


    "Because I don''t cling to life so tightly!"


    Before he could respond, The lightning around him gathered in the sky to form one massive lightning bolt.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "What? Are you doing that?"


    "Yeah silly, who else could?"


    Suddenly the lightning bolt shot straight towards Apollo. He furrowed his brows and pushed off the ground, disappearing entirely.


    However, right when he appeared, there was a massive lightning bolt right in front of him. Apollo grit his teeth and blocked it.


    A thunderous bang resounded, echoing through the room. Apollo shot backwards. His wrists had snapped, bloody from the recoil of that strike.


    A voice rang out in his head.


    "Haha, silly! You made your next action so obvious!"


    As he tumbled backwards, Eden caught him. She looked quite concerned.


    "Apollo... what are you doing?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I am currently attacking myself."


    Although he blocked the lightning bolt from before, it did not dissipate. Though it was a little smaller than before, it had returned to its previous size in a matter of seconds.


    Apollo''s eyelid twitched as a smile uncontrobly formed on his face.


    "What the hell do you want?"

 Chapter 297 - A Deal

    The lightning bolt paused in the air.


    A voice rang out in Apollo''s head.


    "What I want?... I never really thought about that. I''m just doing things!"


    His eyebrow twitched.


    "You''ve got to be kidding me. Why are you trying to fight me? Don''t you care about this body too?"


    Apollo heard the sound of someone clicking their tongue.


    "What? Why would I care about living or dying? It''s not like staying alive is all that fun anyway."


    He furrowed his brows.


    "But... being alive is still better than being dead."


    Apollo heard a soft sighe from inside of him.


    "Come on, why are you so silly! If we die, then we just get sent back to that time, remember? There''s literally no point!"


    A frown formed on his face.


    "...What?"


    "Did you seriously forget about that?"


    Apollo took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.


    "I suppose things are not as simple as how I saw them."


    "Well, duh! Why are you so dumb anyway?"


    He grabbed onto the side of his head, not offended, but confused.


    "I... don''t know."


    Eden slowly walked up to Apollo. She was still confused as to why he was talking to himself, but noticed that the situation had calmed down somewhat.


    "Are you alright?"


    Apollo slowly closed his eyes.


    "Not really."


    He continued talking to his other self.


    "...It appears we are going to have to deal with each other for a while, granted we are in the same body. Perhaps we should learn how to work together."


    "Mm? I guess so? I don''t really care though."


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "Then let''s start off with what you do care about."


    "Hmm... how about we ask what Eden cares about?"


    He then turned to Eden.


    "...Hey. What do you care about?"


    Eden blinked a few times, caught off guard by this sudden question.


    "Um, I''m not sure."


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    "Come on, it has to be more coherent than that."


    Eden fell silent for a moment. Suddenly, she began crying silently.


    "I don''t want people to destroy themselves and the people around them for the sake of power. I would rather that everyone dies."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Alright, so..."


    "I guess we can kill everyone!"


    He let out a soft sigh.


    "Maybe we can do a trade. We can cooperate or, we can take turns to aplish things for the other. Like turns."


    "Hmm... but you have to first help me kill everyone except for Eden!"


    He shrugged his shoulders.


    "That sounds fine to me."


    "Ok! I can just move the lightning while you move the body."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow


    "And how do you do that?"


    "Hm? What do you mean? The nice thunder thingy gave it to us!"


    He blinked a few times.


    "Thunder thingy?"


    "Bah! Whatever, the people are getting away! I can''t attack them if they are too far!"


    Apollo sighed.


    "Alright."


    Eden watched as he slowly stood up.


    "Apollo? What are you doing."


    Apollo turned around and smiled.


    "Doing what you said you wanted."


    Then he dashed into the crowd. The massive lightning bolt danced in the air like it was a fish swimming in water. A middle-aged man simply stared at it in shock.


    Then, he suddenly no longer had anything to stare at it with.


    Because the lightning bolt pierced through his head, leaving a big ck hole in the middle. The man fell to the ground as screams resounded throughout the ce.


    "What? Why is the angel doing this!"


    "No, I remember now! That was the fallen angel!"


    "We need to find the council! Hurry, they said that they have their own angel!"


    Although they tried their best to run, Apollo was simply much faster. He couldn''t help but smile as he rapidly closed in on a little boy.


    Without mercy, his bokken shot out.


    Before the boy could even react, a wooden sword pierced through his head. It split through his skull, cracking it in two. The two halves ended up separating before falling to the floor, the contents of what was inside spilling out.


    At this sight, Apollo began tough, but he couldn''t help but pause.


    "Say... are we doing something bad right now? By killing all of these people."


    "What? How is this a bad thing? Don''t you remember what these people do?"


    As the moving lightning bolt around Apollo grew with more intensity, the voice in his head got really passionate.


    "They ignored us! They always ignored us, no matter how hard we tried to talk to them! Why are you even thinking about them as things that deserve to live?"


    A smile crept up on Apollo''s face.


    "...Yes."


    And so, he dashed into the crowd without abandon. The giant lightning bolt would circle around, killing as many people as it could while he himself would cut apart any person he could get his hands on.


    Eden watched this happen.


    She couldn''t help but wonder if she was the one that brought this on. That if she said something different, it might''ve meant that Apollo wouldn''t be killing all the people around her.


    Eden knew that she was supposed to feel bad.


    She knew that.


    But for some reason, it gave her a strange sense of satisfaction watching Apollo kill through the people brutally, ending their lives one after another. Especially since he was doing it for her sake.


    After a few seconds of just watching, she ended up pulling out another ck axe from her heart. A shaky smile gradually formed on her face as she joined in on the fun.


    Several squadrons of guards had arrived not too long after this all started.


    "Eliminate the fallen angel!"


    However, groups of people wearing rabbit masks did too.


    "The angel is doing his cleansing! Support him at all costs!"


    And so, a rather chaotic battle began.


    ...


    High up in the pce, in the center of the city, was Mark.


    He was sitting across a long table to someone wearing a royal mantle.

 Chapter 298 - What Are You Doing?

    "Sir, you must understand that I only barely escaped from the clutches of the fallen angel. There is nothing I can do about him at the moment."


    Mark smiled cordially as he said so.


    The person across the table wearing a royal mantle sighed.


    "If there is nothing you can do, then how is this deal supposed to proceed?"


    Mark shrugged his shoulders helplessly as a slight frown appeared on his face.


    "It is unfortunate, but you must show me first. That is the only chance we have at defeating him."


    The corner of his lip turned up.


    "After all, I''m your only chance."


    The person wearing the royal mantle mmed his fist on the table.


    "Nonsense! I am the king of this city, yet you dare order me around?"


    He was a man with short ck hair, but no crown on his head. Though he really did want to get a gold one, beggars can''t be choosers when they live on a floating ind detached from the rest of the world.


    Mark pouted exaggeratedly, like he was a child.


    "My apologies, but I will not defend your city from the fallen angel simply because I do not have the capability. You don''t want to forsake the entire city because of your stubbornness, now do you?"


    The king clicked his tongue.


    "You speak as though you both aren''t from the same ce! I-"


    "Sir!"


    He was cut off by a guard, who rushed in, panting. Clearly displeased, the king turned to the guard.


    "What makes you so bold that you are even willing to interrupt my conversation?"


    The guard saluted before bowing.


    "Sir, the fallen angel has begun killing people of this city along with the rabbit cult. We are being overwhelmed. I don''t think we canst much longer."


    The king''s eyes widened.


    "What?"


    Mark''s eyelid jumped slightly as well. He was surprised, but decided to suppress his reaction. Though, he couldn''t help but smile a little wider.


    "It appears that the situation is dire, sir. Won''t you finally make an exception for the city you rule over?"


    The king clenched his fist.


    "...Did you do this?"


    Mark shrugged his shoulders as a chuckle escaped him.


    "Hey, I simply fought with him earlier. You know I couldn''t have done this as I have hardly been in contact with him."


    The king took a deep breath. After a few moments of silence, he spoke.


    "You have to deal with him afterwards."


    Mark nodded with a small chuckle.


    "Naturally, naturally."


    The king stood up from his seat, then turned to the guard.


    "Leave. Nobody is to enter until I explicitly give permission."


    The guard nodded.


    "Yes, sir."


    With that, he got out of the room and shut the door. After confirming that the guard indeed left, the king stood up.


    "Follow me. The secrets of the winds around this ce stem from a certain being."


    He walked over to the side of the wall, which was pure white, while Mark followed from behind. The king took a deep breath, as though preparing himself for something.


    Suddenly, his hand shot out, going into the wall before clutching onto something. Then, he pulled back, which had be bright red.


    The wall that was there just moments ago began to distort. After a few moments, it began to transform into... wind. At first, there was only a whistle, but in a matter of moments, it became a howling wind.


    It was strong enough to cause both Mark and the king''s clothes to p wildly.


    In front of them, was what looked like a canyon. There were white walls that continuously went down, almost like a bottomless pit. However, what caught the most amount of attention was the being floating in the middle of the sky near it.


    It was an elemental made of wind. Although its body wasn''t the most corporeal, beingposed of winds, it had a rtively humanoid shape. In a certain sense, it looked like a ten meter tall baby that was curled up, sleeping.


    The king frowned slightly.


    "This is the being that should be responsible for the winds. The pce itself was never actually created by us, but by that being. And the material it is made out of is actually wind."


    He turned to Mark.


    "Be very careful. Even if a small stone is thrown into these currents, it will be enough to greatly disturb the flow and cause the ind to be thrown off bnce."


    Mark raised an eyebrow, clearly very interested.


    "Mm... and nobody has ever found this ce other than you?"


    The king clicked his tongue.


    "Why does that matter? I''ve already shown you the ce, why can''t you take care of the fallen angel now?"


    Mark lifted up his hand.


    "The reason I wished toe in the first ce is to gain enlightenment from it. This is your only chance at saving the city, so please cooperate."


    The king furrowed his brows.


    "...I am the only one that knows of this ce, as I found out by coincidence. Everyone believes that the sudden jostling of this ce is caused by a natural disaster, but it was actually me."


    Mark nodded.


    "And nobody has been suspicious of the strange gap in the middle of the pce or tried to explore it?"


    The king shook his head.


    "This gap is well known. There is a hole at the bottom which we use to dispose of all our waste. However, because of how it is designed, the only way one would see the being here is if they have fallen within."


    Mark took a closer look down.


    Sure enough, he saw little bits of garbage being thrown far down below. The hole itself wasn''t thatrgepared to the canyon. First, the trash would tumble down a steep incline before being picked up by the winds and forcefully shoved out.


    As for what happened after, it was hard to tell.


    Mark smiled.


    "Hmm..."


    Then approached the wind elemental.


    The king widened his eyes.


    "What are you doing!"

 Chapter 299 - Dont Be Too Scared, Little Baby

    The king attempted to pull Mark back, so that he wouldn''t get closer to the wind elemental. Unfortunately, he somehow just barely missed, even though he should''ve been able to grab on easily.


    Mark was rubbing his chin with great interest as he approached the wind elemental,pletely ignoring the warning altogether.


    The king visibly panicked.


    "Wait! You can''t do that! You''re going topletely disrupt the flow of the wind that keeps up the city!"


    Unfortunately, Mark couldn''t care less about the state of the city.


    Which the king realistically should''ve seening.


    Though there really wasn''t anything he could do other than hope Mark would keep up his end of the deal.


    However, something as fickle as honor, did not matter to that man one bit.


    Mark''s eyes widened considerably as he got closer to the wind elemental.


    "...So that''s what he meant when he said to just go to this city."


    The king continued to shout various warnings and threats, until eventually just pleading for him toe back.


    Mark heard those cries, yes. But he didn''t even process the meaning behind the sounds, sessfully ignoring it. As he approached, he couldn''t help but chuckle.


    "To think that I could actually find a wind elemental... I suppose it''s only natural if there is one of fire."


    Mark continued getting closer, letting the winds batter against his clothes. For the first few moments this urred, nothing happened.


    However, after about ten seconds, the entire floating ind began to tilt to the side.


    The king immediately slid across the room before hitting the wall on the opposite side, knocking the air out of him. Mark himself wasn''t affected, but the walls around him did move a little too much forfort.


    As for the other people scattered about in the city, that shift of the ind was absolute havoc for them. All of them began to fall to one side,nding on the sides of houses or just tumbling across the streets like a tumbleweed.


    Though the rabbit people and the guards were having a heated fight earlier on, now neither of them could even bother sparing the other a nce. They were just trying to survive.


    One of the rabbit people stuck their sword into the side of a house to slow down their fall while a guard purposely got his leg caught into an open door, to catch their breath.


    Most of the townsfolk were screaming at the top of their lungs.


    "An earthquake!"


    "But this is way worse than anything we''ve had before!"


    "Heavens! Please save us!"


    A few people were already near the edge of the floating ind and were unable to catch onto anything, thus began flying towards it. They were extremely afraid.


    Which did make a certain amount of sense, but it was well known that if you tried to walk off the ind, the winds would push you back.


    The only thing was, it was also well known that during an ''earthquake'', there was a certain chance that one would not be pushed back. The chances increased tremendously depending on the severity of the earthquake.


    ...And this was thergest magnitude earthquake they have evere to experience.


    As such, several people began flying off the edge. In that time, they were able to see that there was an entire world underneath them this entire time.


    Since the fall was tremendously long, they still had quite some time to take in all in before they died. Some were able to ept their death, while others were aggrieved.


    A few of them felt incredibly happy to see a new world, but felt pity that they would be unable to explore it.


    Back to the situation at hand, Apollo simply used a little bit of his flight powers and was able to stay on the ind. As for Eden, she began falling, but was able to keep herself up by creating sticky ck flesh on the soles of her shoes, allowing her to cling on.


    At the moment, the person who caused all this mess, had gotten right up next to the wind elemental. Naturally, this person was Mark.


    For the longest time, he would always have aposed expression. However, excitement couldn''t help but slip out, in the form of widened eyes and a smile. It was simply because the boon of an elemental for him was far too big.


    It was so big, that Mark needed several seconds toprehend it.


    He reached out to it and touched it.


    ...And that was when a cry rang out.


    It sounded like the cry of a baby, but it was far louder.


    Mark chuckled.


    "Come on now little one, I won''t harm you... too much."


    Two lights gradually began shining from within the wind elemental.


    It had woken up.


    And it was not happy.


    The entire pce disappeared, bing wind. Furniture and people like the king all began to fall from the air, which was quite concerning for those in question.


    There wasn''t much they could do about it though.


    However, the wind elemental wasn''t trying to harm those people, but fight against Mark. A heavy aura sprouted out of the wind elemental along with a loud cry.


    Several tornadoes began to form and crash towards Mark, prompting him to raise both eyebrows.


    However, he did not panic. Instead, heughed.


    "I suppose it''s only natural that I should not suppress myself so much anymore."


    His body began to glow white. However, unlike before, it wasn''t to dash to some ce.


    Suddenly, the white light scattered, almost like it was wind itself.


    Which revealed Mark.


    However, this time, he had six ck horns on his head. They curved with elusive bends, almost like they weren''t actually horns, but waves of wind themselves.


    The horns peeked out from his nowpletely white and long hair. As for his skin, it had not fully transformed to ck skin, but the ck seeped down from the top of his head, almost like an infection.


    Mark smiled.


    "Don''t be too scared, little baby."

 Chapter 300 - Maybe I Dont Have To

    Chapter 300 ¨C Maybe I Don¡¯t Have To


    The tornadoes whipped wildly, lifting up debris and even some people in the process. They screamed loudly as they flew around in the air suffering an unfortunate fate. However, as violent as the tornadoes were, it did not concern Mark.


    He had fully revealed the six horns on his head, showcasing both his power and his status as a demon.


    As the tornadoes got closer, he simply stuck out his hands. Right when they were about to reach him, they distorted.


    The tornadoes twisted as though they were grabbed,pletely losing their original shape. However, they were not canceled out. Instead, they shot towards the ground before pulling up once more. Large amounts of dirt flew up into the air, almost like a tidal wave was forming.


    And that shot towards the wind elemental.


    In response, the wind elemental let out a loud screech, trying to retake control over the winds. However, while the waves distorted, they still plunged towards the wind elemental. All of the dirt ended up colliding straight into it. But the dirt only began revolving around it.


    In the end, there was no visible damage done.


    Mark narrowed his eyes slightly when he saw this.


    "Hmm¡­ So it''s true that elementals arepletely immune to their respective element. I need to hit it with something stronger."


    And so, the two of them entered a stalemate. While Mark could easily overpower the winds of the elemental, he also wasn''t able to harm it significantly.


    Apollo noticed the fight going on above. However, he ignored it. Although he was definitely startled by the sudden shift of the ind, for him, it was more of a boon as opposed to anything else.


    After all, it became far easier to kill people that could hardly fight back.


    He rushed over to a rabbit person that was hanging from a house and a guard that got his leg caught in the doorway of the same house. The rabbit person got excited when he saw Apollo.


    "The angel is here! Please save me, your loyal follower, and kill the member of the council."


    A voice rang out in Apollo''s head.


    "What is he talking about? Since when did he follow us? Why is he lying! He is lying, right?"


    Apollo smiled.


    "Yes."


    The rabbit person smiled, thinking he was being saved. However, the voice in Apollo''s head seemed to get angry.


    "Why do they listen now? They only listen when it''s easy for them!"


    His eyes began to widen as he approached the rabbit person. Seeing this, the rabbit person got a little afraid. However, he soon calmed down. After all, the angel promised to save him, right?


    The guard that had been paying attention to this conversation began falling into despair. However, before he could think about running away, he saw something that made his jaw drop.


    With a giggle, Apollo poked at the hand that the rabbit person was using to hold onto the sword. This immediately made that person panic.


    "A-Angel! What are you doing? I need this to stay up!"


    Apollo began tough.


    "I am just¡­ saving you."


    His bokken shed, while two fingers of the rabbit person came off. A grimace of pain rang out, however the rabbit was still holding onto the sword.


    ¡­If he did let go, there would be little to prevent him from falling off. And so, despite losing most of his fingers, the rest clenched on tightly, whitening under the pressure.


    "Please angel! Don''t do this!"


    Apollo let out a suppressed giggle.


    "Do what? This?"


    He lightly pressed the tip of his bokken onto the rabbit person''s finger. Then, he used more force, until he prated into the skin, making it bleed. As this happened, the rabbit person desperately pleaded.


    "But we are on the same side, angel? Why?"


    He could no longer keep holding on with that finger due to the pain. His grasp slowly loosened, until his hand let go of the sword altogether.


    Apollo''s eyes widened significantly as the rabbit person screamed and fell off.


    "You were never on my side. None of you were on my side. For so long, there were so many people around me, but I was still alone. Always alone."


    For a moment, the guard thought that maybe this angel was actually on their side. After all, he had just killed one of the people that were supposed to be his enemies.


    It¡­ It made sense, right?


    The guard had onest thought.


    Oh, he was on nobody''s side.


    As a lightning bolt came straight for his skull and pierced through it entirely.


    Like this, Apollo went around killing the people in this city. He didn''t care if they were guilty, if they were a little kid, or if they expressed kindness to him.


    Like a mantra, he continued to chant several things, but their meaning came down to one thing.


    "None of you were willing to help me."


    As for Eden, she wasn''t able to match Apollo''s pace. However, she collected the dead bodies where she could by consuming them with her ck flesh. Although Eden did not fully understand what doing such an action would entail, it gave her a sense of satisfaction.


    Thus, she continued, even if that meant she had to kill the people herself.


    As Mark continued tobat the wind elemental, using any nearby debris he could to attack it, he sighed.


    "It appears I can only slowly wear it down¡­ then I should be able to harvest it."


    It was at this time, Apollo began charging towards a certain girl.


    Suki.


    She was currently on the side of a wall, practicing her swordsmanship. Under normal circumstances, practicing one''s swordsmanship wasn''t strange.


    However, it was quite strange to be casually doing it in the middle of a natural disaster where one''s life could be forfeit with one small misstep.


    Apollo didn''t care about Suki''s suicidal tendencies or about the moments they shared together before. He fully intended on killing her.


    And so, he shot forth.


    However, Mark ended up looking at Apollo.


    "¡­.Maybe I don''t have to slowly wear it down."

 Chapter 301 - Fighting The Wind Elemental

    Chapter 301 ¨C Fighting The Wind Elemental


    Apollo rushed towards Suki, who didn''t even seem to notice him. Nheless, he was still fully intent on killing her. Apollo pointed his bokken in front of him while he soared forth. In the meantime, the lightning bolt circting around him directly roasted a nearby old man.


    In just moments, his bokken was right behind Suki''s head.


    However, he stopped.


    To Apollo''s confusion, he couldn''t move at all. The voice in his head shouted.


    "Hey! What is happening?"


    His smile slowly disappeared from his face. Before he could do anything else, his body was yanked upwards, almost like he was being dragged along by a mouse on aputer screen.


    Apollo struggled fiercely by iling his bokken and limbs around, but it amounted to almost nothing. As for Suki, she didn''t even notice Apollo was nearby. Insane in her own right, she continued to practice swinging the sword.


    The person responsible for suddenly pulling on Apollo was Mark. He had a cordial smile on his face even while his hair had suddenly be white and six horns were now sticking out of his head.


    Apollo suddenly found himself hovering next to Mark, who was looking at him with a friendly smile. It would''ve been a little more warming if ck flesh wasn''t seeping down from the top of his face like an infection.


    But it is improper to judge based on appearances.


    "Hey there, kid. I just wanted to ask you something."


    Apollo frowned.


    "What do you want?"


    Mark cleared his throat.


    "I just want some help in defeating this elemental."


    All around the two of them, wild waves of wind circted, distorting and moving like no tomorrow. However, the two of them also seemed to be in their own world,pletely ignoring it all.


    Apollo waved his bokken around with frustration.


    "I don''t care about this elemental! Let me go!"


    Mark chuckled.


    "Wait, wait. Before you decide so quickly, let me offer to you¡­ a uniqueness."


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I don''t know what that is."


    Mark narrowed his eyes.


    "Well, with the path of power you have decided to embark on, you may find that you require a uniqueness to progress forth. While before excessive amounts of energy was enough, you need far more now."


    The voice in the back of Apollo''s head rang out.


    "What? What is he talking about?"


    He furrowed his brows.


    "¡­Are you talking about the times my body evolved?"


    Mark nodded.


    "Yes. Your case is special as I have never seen it before. However, regardless of whether or not you wish to use this particr uniqueness, it is still extremely valuable nheless. It won''t be difficult for you to figure out why."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Hmm¡­"


    "We still have to kill everyone! Remember? This was part of our deal!"


    He blinked a few times.


    "¡­I can''t take this deal right now. I still need to kill everyone!"


    Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "Well why can''t you do that after helping me kill this? If anything, assuming your goal is to kill everyone, you would also have to kill this."


    Apollo rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "Hmm¡­ I guess that makes sense."


    "Wah! Take the deal, take the deal!"


    He raised his bokken in the air.


    "Ok, ok! I will do it!"


    Markughed.


    "Alright, then let''s get started."


    As he said that, a massive amount of wind had coalesced to turn into what appeared to be a gargantuan fist made of marble. It shot towards the two of them.


    Apollo slowly turned around to see that his entire vision was filled with that very fist.


    "Wah."


    However, right as it was supposed to hit him, violent gales stirred up around his body, shredding the fist back into gales of wind.


    Mark pointed towards the wind elemental.


    "Just try your best to injure it. I will make sure to help you along the way. Ah yes, since you agreed, take this."


    He tossed a tiny white translucent crystal towards Apollo, who caught it fairly easily. Even within the chaotic gales that stirred up around him, it was still easy to tell that this crystal was naturally forming a miniature tornado on its own.


    Apollo was beginning to feel a little strange. He heard a voice in the back of his head.


    "Woah! I can move the lightning so much faster now! I didn''t know that he could do that!"


    Mark shot him a nce.


    "Ah yes, try using that attack you''ve used before that sends out a wind de. It should work a little better with my help."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Hm. Ok."


    He slowly looked over towards the wind elemental. It had been slowly growing in size, while losing density, bing nearly twenty meters tall. The two bright glowing eyesing from within seemed to be radiating with fury.


    Nheless, Apollo charged towards it recklessly.


    Though he didn''t do anything different, his speed was drastically faster, boosted by the air around him. He almost seemed to be tearing through the air as howling sounds of wind.


    The massive lightning bolt around Apollo snaked towards the wind elemental.


    "This will beat you!"


    At the same time, he swung both his bokken and hand, but not without pushing his thumb against the hilt.


    Two des of wind snapped out along with the lightning bolt. They elerated to frightening speeds and seemed to grow in size as they traveled. Although the wind elemental could move, it was not prepared, thus could not dodge in time.


    All of the attacks smashed against it hard before dissipating. However, they only seemed to be able to disperse a thinyer of wind that was coating the wind elemental. Apollo could tell that it was already beginning to reform. The voice in the back of his head spoke up.


    "Quickly! Attack it! The shield broke!"


    Apollo did exactly that, charging full speed towards the wind elemental.


    And as he got closer, he looked it straight in the eyes.

 Chapter 302 - Light Itself

    Chapter 302 ¨C Light Itself


    Although the wind elemental seemed to take the general shape of a baby and even let cries that somewhat sounded like one. However, it was definitely not as weak as a baby.


    That much could be subconsciously felt from anyone that witnessed the gleaming eyes of the elemental up close.


    Which Apollo just so happened to be doing.


    Naturally, he felt a strong feeling of mental pressuree down as he closed in. However, that did not stop him. He refused to stop just because what was in front of him looked scary.


    Apollo''s bokken shed.


    Then, a deafening bang resounded.


    Apollo was unable toplete his swing. As of now, his body was currently shooting back like a bullet, leaving behind arge trail of blood and guts as he went. With him being so close, the wind elemental was able to fully exert its powers, while Mark was unable to defend him.


    Almost immediately, both of Apollo''s eyes exploded into a mass of flesh while the bottom half of his jaw snapped off. As for his upper chest, his rib cage directly shattered while many of his organs flew through the air. Even the bones covering the lower part of his body shattered too.


    The injuries were so severe, they even destroyed Apollo''s heart and lungs.


    In other words, there was no longer anything to indicate that he was still alive. Mark furrowed his brows as he watched Apollo''s body shoot across the air.


    "¡­It appears I should''ve warned him a little more."


    He sighed.


    "Though I suppose it was a little ambitious of me to think he was powerful enough."


    Mark didn''t think that Apollo survived. After all, from what he could tell, Apollo was a human. That didn''t mean he couldn''t tell that several evolutions happened in his body.


    But for Mark, he had hardly seen anybody able to survive an injury like that.


    Even among the demons.


    That''s why he was rather startled when he saw Apollo''s body hand twitch.


    Right now, a ring voice was echoing in Apollo''s head.


    "Get the food pellets! Hurry! Reach a bit further down¡­ no more to the left! What are you doing?"


    It was enough to get him to continue moving despite his rapidly slipping consciousness. As he catapulted across the air, Apollo''s trembling hand reached for the bag tied to his waist. He used his fingers to slowly part open the bag and pulled out five food pellets. Though Apollo tried to grab for more, he simply couldn''t support that action right now.


    As he brought it up to his mouth, the voice in his head began shouting again.


    "Why are you trying to eat it with your mouth, dummy? You already lost your jaw, just put the food pellets inside your stomach, it''s already opened up!"


    Apollo did as told, slowly bringing the food pellets towards his stomach. However, before he got there, his stomach had regeneratedpletely, meaning there was no easy way to fit it inside.


    The voice was clearly annoyed.


    "Gah! You took too long! Now you have to open up the stomach yourself!"


    Apollo''s fingers suddenly tensed up before plunging into his stomach area. It was surprisingly early to pierce through, and his hand was greeted with the stomach acid within.


    Apollo attempted to just put in the pellets, but ended up sticking his own fingers in as well. Though he pulled out quickly, by the time he did, the tips of his fingers had melted to mush, while what remained of his bones were just tiny stubs already half eroded away.


    His body immediately kicked it into high gear, repairing his heart and arteries that took blood to essential locations. However, while it was doing that, there was still no blood going towards Apollo''s brain.


    His consciousness began to flicker. Even the voice in his head was beginning to feel it.


    "Don''t¡­ Don''t fall asleep¡­ silly."


    Though ironically enough, the voice in his head stopped talking soon after because it had fallen asleep.


    Right when Apollo was going to ckout, a rush of blood shot towards his head, jolting him awake. However, it was also very painful. The process of taking that injury was already painful enough on its own, but he now had a massive headache from the time his brain was deprived of blood.


    It hurt so much.


    And so, Apollo began tough. They sounded rather distorted, almost like a monster trying to do so. Though that was fairly reasonable given that his jaw had been blown off, making it hard for him tough like he used to.


    As his injuries rapidly regrew, hisugh not only got clearer, but louder. Almost like the gradual approach of an rm from a police car.


    Apollo curled up his body, causing several cracking sounds toe from his newly formed bones. HIs free hand twitched eerily as the flesh gradually regrew on it. His body was producing tremendous amounts of heat.


    Mark watched all this happen and let out a soft gasp.


    "I see¡­ most of your strengthes from your unbelievably strong tenacity to live."


    He smiled.


    "Very well then. Perhaps you are more than I thought."


    Right when his skin and muscle healed, Apollo tightened his muscles. Red scars snaked across the entirety of his body as his newly grown and widened eyes appeared, fully bloodshot.


    Large amounts of lightning immediately gathered around his body, zapping about like they were fervently excited.


    Then, monstrous gales of wind formed around him.


    Apollo shot forth, straight towards the wind elemental once more. He found that the winds were now blowing onto him without mercy. In fact, he could feel his flesh tear and pull as he was being carried along.


    And because of that, Apollo shot forward at speeds he had never traveled before.


    As Apollo pulled back his bokken, he felt that he had be¡­ something more.


    His senses began to blur as though he really was transforming.


    Transforming into light itself.

 Chapter 303 - Reckless

    Chapter 303 ¨C Reckless


    Apollo''s figure streaked through the sky like aet in the air. The wind elemental could hardly even tell that he wasing.


    A clear bang resounded.


    It was only until Apollo pierced directly through, did it notice.


    "HAHA¡­ Kiekekie."


    Apollo held onto the side of his face with his free hand. Well, what was left of it anyway. Almost all the skin covering his body had been torn off. But it wasn''t actually from the collision with the wind elemental itself.


    It was because Mark hardly held back in pushing Apollo forth, even if that meant his body would break down in the process. That didn''t mean crashing through the wind elemental meant no injuries, however.


    Many of his bones cracked while his flesh had clearly distorted. On the other hand, the wind elemental had only lost a bit of its shape, distorting slightly in the process.


    The rtive damage was quite disproportional, but Apollo still had the ability to regenerate.


    He took another five food pellets from his little bag. However, he didn''t stuff it into his mouth.


    Given his raucousughter, they would immediately be ejected out anyway.


    Instead, he stuck his hand into his abdomen, pushing aside the flesh and bone until eventually reaching the stomach. Once he pierced through and left the food pellets behind, he immediately retracted his hand.


    The tips of his fingers melted off likest time, but not to that much of a serious extent.


    As Apollo was doing this, the wind elemental tried to harm him.


    Wind gathered inrge amounts, condensing andpressing themselves several times over. They soon formed nearly thirty white spears that looked like marble. These spears surrounded Apollo on all ends before shooting towards him.


    He did not take any action to evade them. However, before any of them got within ten meters, they all distorted heavily, before turning into wild gales. The lightning mixed in with the wind, making it even wilder than before.


    It was almost like a thunderstorm wasing from his body. The small wind crystal on him that Mark called a ''uniqueness'' earlier seemed to be joining in, exerting winds and taking in some of that thunder itself.


    Apollo shot towards the wind elemental once more, prompting it to cry.


    A deafening crash resounded.


    As Apollo pierced through the wind elemental once more, he found that a massive white wall was in front of him. Mark attempted to distort it but simply did not have enough time. And so, Apollo crashed directly into it, causing a clear crack to form across his skull.


    As blood poured out from the inside, Apollo took another few food pellets and pushed them into his stomach.


    His body worked overtime and healed the injuries sustained once more.


    He felt a little dizzy and was tempted to charge straight in once more. However, if the wind elemental did that again, Apollo felt he might lose consciousness.


    He breathed in, thenughed. After controlling his breathing, he slowly thought of what he could possibly do.


    The wind elemental tried several times to attack him in the process, but Mark would always distort the attacks before they came.


    Apollo began to observe the wind and lightning around himself.


    He wondered¡­ how were they able to stick together like that?


    If only the other him was awake, then he could maybe ask.


    Apollo decided not to think about it too much, but instead try and feel it. His bokken gatheredrge amounts of lightning, crackling violently.


    The chaotic winds that blew his hair around made it seem even more chaotic. The pure blue energy became denser, turning his bokken into what seemed like a giant lightning bolt. It even further snaked down onto his arm, making it seem like it was actually an extension of his body.


    Apollo locked eyes with the wind elemental, even though they were ufortably bright. Then, he let out a crazedugh.


    And shot forth.


    This time, Apollo started swinging the moment he went. The wind elemental darted to the side, but Apollo could easily follow its movements.


    After less than a second passed, he ced his thumb on the hilt of his electrified bokken.


    A deafening crackle resounded, almost sounding like the roar of a mad dragon.


    The lightning from Apollo''s bokken extended outwards, reaching over fifty meters long. It became an enormous whip that came crashing down onto the wind elemental. The result was that the wind elemental was shed in two.


    It left out a cry filled with agony, clearly inrge amounts of pain. However, it was still alive. Apollo''s body only had a few arcs of lightning on it right now, but he still charged in recklessly, intending on shing his way through.


    Mark couldn''t help but feel a little shocked when Apollo dived straight into the middle of the wind elemental.


    "¡­It appears courage is also one of your strengths."


    He shed at the wind elemental fiercely, messing up the winds. It was like he was stirring up the elemental''s insides.


    However, the two halves of the wind elemental ended up closing in on Apollo. Although his bokken sped through the air like a light dancing in the night, it wasn''t enough to fend it all off.


    Apollo''s body got injured very quickly. First, his skin that just regrew was torn off while his eyes exploded once more.


    However, he still fought it off as best he could.


    Unfortunately, this might have been a little too ambitious even for Apollo. He attempted to reach into his bag for the food pellets, but the wind elemental made sure that any time his hand got close, it would be ripped away.


    Mark clicked his tongue.


    "Thankfully you only recklessly went in after it was severely injured."


    He reached out with both hands. Then, they began to glow with a bright white.


    Suddenly, the wind elemental was ripped apart. It let out an ear-piercing screech as it died.. The eyes lost their luster before shattering into some strange misty white thing that floated over Mark.

 Chapter 304 - I See

    Chapter 304 ¨C I See


    Apollo was caught off guard by the sudden death of the wind elemental. He was just getting ready for a huge fight, but now there was no fight to be had.


    Apollo continued tough, but he grabbed the side of his head and tried to muffle breathing, trying his best to calm down. As for Mark, the white mist seeped into his body. The winds around him grew stronger the more mist got inside.


    Once he was finished, he let out a soft breath, shooting out a tiny de of wind.


    Mark''s body quickly reverted from his demonized form. The horns went back into his head, his hair turned from white back to a healthy yellow and his infected-like skin reverted.


    But now, his eyes slightly parted to reveal blue irises, but white pupils.


    By now, Apollo gradually calmed down. He shot a look at Mark.


    "It''s finished, right?"


    Mark nodded.


    "Yes, yes."


    Apollo let out a soft sigh.


    "Ok, then I''m going to do what I need to finish."


    He flew down towards the floating city that was tipped halfway to the side.


    However, as he did so. Apollo found his body couldn''t move.


    He looked up to Mark.


    "What are you doing?"


    In response, Mark looked at him.


    "What exactly are you nning to do to the people in the city?"


    At that moment, the city that had been tipped over gradually returned and the person responsible was Mark.


    Apollo frowned.


    "I still have to kill them all!"


    Mark raised an eyebrow.


    "That sounds a little drastic. Is there a justified reason you wish to do so?"


    Apollo clicked his tongue.


    "Basically, I was told to do so by someone. I already said that I was going to do it so-"


    Mark narrowed his eyes.


    "And why exactly do you have to listen to this person?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "¡­Why do you care?"


    Mark simply smiled cordially.


    "Just curious."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Well, I already did what you wanted. Why are you trying to stop me now?"


    Mark did not respond for the next few seconds. However, he let out a soft sigh.


    "Sorry, kid."


    Apollo looked up at him with confusion.


    "What?"


    Before he could ask any more, his body was no longer under his control. The winds that grabbed onto him were like mountains, restricting his movement almost like he was a robot that suddenly shut down.


    Apollo grit his teeth, trying his best to struggle. However, the only thing he could do was stretch and tear his skin.


    "What the hell is this for?"


    Mark looked at Apollo with the same cordial smile, but his eyes seemed to be looking at him differently. And the entire time, he was silent.


    Among grunts of pain, Apollo found himself sinking deeper, going into the pit at the center of the city. As he sank deeper, the smell got far worse, indicative of both the trash and human waste around here.


    Thankfully, there was none of that stuff at the moment, as the people dumping the trash were currently panicking for their life at the sudden earthquake.


    However, Apollo shot through the center of the ind, helplessly shooting towards the ground. Lots of lighting built up all across his body, crackling violently like a lion. However, that lion was captured in a cage.


    For a few moments, everything became really dark. As he found himself really deep in the pit. He could only see a tiny light above him and below him.


    At first, he was only feeling anger, wondering why Mark suddenly shifted his mood.


    But the ind really was huge. Though he wasn''t exactly forced down slowly, it still took quite a while. After quite some time, Apollo gave up on struggling.


    Instead, he just looked at the light above him slowly bing smaller and smaller.


    ¡­


    Willow was beginning to see things.


    Hallucinations in the forms of memories formed as she trudged through the snow.


    Originally, she had the intention of searching for something to heal her debilitating wounds. However, as the cold was seeping into her body, her judgment was bing impaired.


    Willow''s blood cloak was ck. But at some point, she began to see her cloak as blue.


    Instead of a ck sword, she had a bloody iron sword.


    Willow''s breathing was very shallow as a heavy burden began to form over her shoulders.


    She was covered with the blood from herself, her enemies, and her allies.


    Behind her, was an army. All of them had ck hair and were simrly bloody like her.


    They did not talk.


    They did not even look at each other.


    All of them simply moved forward, for what seemed to be a noble reason. However, it also seemed like they had forgotten what that noble reason was again.


    Far off in the distance was a fairlyrge pce.


    They were going straight towards that pce. As they got closer, people began pulling out their weapons or tightening the grip around their hilts.


    Closer¡­ and closer.


    Until eventually, they were at the foot of the pce.


    And right there, was Vicar.


    He was now a young man. There were muscles lined across his body, but he was quite slim. There was a massive white greatsword resting on his shoulder.


    Though he was only standing there with a tranquil expression, there was something rather unsettling about it.


    It was probably because he was covered inrge amounts of blood, from his sword to his clothes. Even the ground around him was covered with it.


    And they were people that all had heads covered with white hair.


    Even when countless people began approaching him, Vicar''s expression did not even fluctuate.


    Willow slowly lifted her stained sword and pointed it at him.


    She did not say anything more.


    As for Vicar, he slowly shifted his gaze to look into Willow''s eyes.


    "Do you consider us enemies?"


    Willow frowned.


    "You are part of the evil ones."


    Vicar slowly shut his eyes.


    "I see."

 Chapter 305 - Lion In A Flock Of Sheep

    Chapter 305 ¨C Lion In A Flock Of Sheep


    There wasn''t the slightest bit of hesitation as over a hundred people charged straight towards Vicar, Willow included.


    However, this didn''t even seem to disturb Vicar. His expression would make one think that he was actually rxing in a spa. Though, the people that were fighting him definitely did not see that image.


    As the army approached, it seemed like Vicar wasn''t going to move. Yet, once they were just a few meters away, he did.


    Not backwards, but straight into the middle.


    It was as though a lion made its way into a flock of sheep.


    As he dived in, a man attempted to swing his sword at Vicar, but it glided past and ended up lodging itself into the shoulder of one of his teammates.


    Immediately, agonizing cries filled the air despite Vicar himself not attacking. Another man with a spear thrust it towards him, fully determined to either kill the opposing person, or die here.


    However, it seemed his spear was just slightly off, as it went just past Vicar''s stomach and hit someone else''s sword, preventing them from bringing it down. Then, Vicar swung his greatsword.


    It was fast.


    Too fast.


    The man with the spear could only see a white blur before he couldn''t see anything at all.


    Because his head exploded into a mass of flesh.


    As for Vicar, he didn''t seem fazed at all that he just killed a man like that. In fact, he even slowly closed his eyes as though he considered this situation to be one where he could just sleep.


    Vicar''s greatsword flew around him almost like it was actually a mirage. It made it seem as though it was light, but that was not the case.


    One person attempted to sh, but halfway through, his sword was hit.


    With a loud bang, it shot out of his hands and pierced another person''s neck. The person that lost his sword had snapped both wrists, his hands now dangling. And soon after, his head came off too.


    Despite the bloody massacre and how badly the army of people had been losing, not one person ran. Perhaps everybody knew the consequences of charging in, that it was almost certain death.


    But nobody decided to back off.


    Willow was originally at the front, but Vicar slipped past her easily. She too wanted to join in the battle because she was just as suicidal as the others. However, there were simply too many people with the same thought, thus couldn''t get closer.


    Instead, she just grit her teeth and waited for her turn toe along.


    All of Vicars''s movements were smooth, like polished butter. It was to the point that it made him seem like he was moving slow, even while he was moving fast.


    He had his eyes closed, but it was as though he could actually see everything. Nobody''s actions escaped his sight. Each attack either was deflected into someone else or was rendered useless altogether.


    It seemed nearly impossible, or at least unfair.


    Vicar had the heaviest weapon, but swung it faster than the person with the lightest. A woman holding onto her longsword proudly waited for an opportunity instead of rushing forth. Eventually, Vicar swung his greatsword into someone, directly splitting their body into several pieces.


    That direction was the exact opposite of the woman, thus giving her the opportunity to lunge forth with her sword. However, she suddenly found her bnce was lost, throwing her strike just barely off course.


    Then, a white gleam came straight for her neck.


    It was because Vicar tripped her, sweeping his leg past. Despite having his back turned, that didn''t matter.


    The fresh smell of blood permeated the air while the dead bodies continued to stack up. Willow watched as therades she fought countless life and death battles with perished.


    It was as though they were just livestock, meant to be ughtered.


    She grit her teeth as fury zed in her eyes, but it could not stop everyone from dying. She could not stop their furious and hardened expressions from turning into dull and lifeless ones.


    It was not as though the people with ck hair were just recklessly swinging at the people in front. They were actually putting their all into it, creating formations they have used upon surrounding people before.


    They would either attack in sync, or use the opportunity from one person''s attack for their own. It was clear that each and every single one of them had gone through countless bloody battles.


    But it was all pointless in front of Vicar.


    His movements were strange. They didn''t seem to be structured or have a proper reason for their execution. Yet, it was him that came out unscathed while his opponent was dead.


    One person aimed to grapple him by attempting to grab his arm. Yet, Vicar''s elbow shot out and hit the person square in the face, cracking their skull.


    Two others attempted to take advantage of his outstretched elbow. Vicar''s hand shot out like a needle,nding onto someone''s wrist and causing them to cry out in pain.


    That person let go of their sword and ended up ramming their own face into it.


    As for the other person, it looked so promising when his spear shot straight towards the side of Vicar''s abdomen. Yet, the moment it was going to connect, Vicar folded his body as though he was a piece of paper and let it pass on right by.


    Then, he wrapped his abdomen around the hilt of the spear and yanked the person holding it. As that person stumbled forwards, a hand grabbed onto his head, before pulling it off entirely.


    Finally, Willow was given an opening from that man''s death.


    She stepped over the corpse of her partner that just died and charged in recklessly. Willow knew by now that Vicar wasn''t an easy opponent, but knew there was only one way to beat this kind of opponent.


    Overwhelming them.


    That meant she was just going to swing.


    And hope.

 Chapter 306 - I Thought, At The Very Least You

    Chapter 306 ¨C I Thought, At The Very Least You


    Willow knew that her attack didn''t have to hit, but so long as it took a bit of his time, then that was all that mattered. It wasn''t going to be her bringing him down, but as a collective.


    However, as her sword went forth, so did a gleam of white light. She suddenly found her sword shooting to the side. Before she could even do anything about it, her sword was lodged into one of herrades'' necks.


    The victim of her sword began to gurgle. His eyes rolled back before blood uncontrobly spilled out of his mouth. Then, he fell to the floor.


    Willow took half a second to recover. She knew that she didn''t kill him and that there was nothing that could''ve been done.


    After all, before Willow could even register the white gleam, her sword had already been deflected.


    However, this did a huge mental blow to her psyche. But instead of thinking about it too hard, she decided to turn it all into anger against Vicar.


    And so, she resolutely attempted to fight once more.


    Willow put her hand on the t side of her de before it snapped out.


    Vicar responded with his own de. A familiar crescent moon shape appeared.


    Two violent ngs rang out.


    And Willow''s sword shot up high into the sky, far away from the battlefield. Her hands were shaking violently, in tremendous amounts of pain. There were clear tears overtop and the skin that was supposed to be coating the hand was mostly peeled off.


    Her wounds slowly and painfully bled, like they were melting away.


    At this point, even if Willow wanted to, she could not properly wield a weapon.


    Vicar killed several people right in front of her, giving her a strong sense of helplessness.


    Soon, there was only one person left on her side.


    Willow resolutely decided to give up her life. She lunged forward with the intention of constricting Vicar''s movement. Even if it was only one second before she died, she would proudly die giving that second.


    However, Vicar''s body elusively shifted out of the way. Willow ended up stumbling forth with her arms outstretched butpletely missed the target.


    A young man had been swinging his sword down, trying to hit Vicar. However, when Willow appeared in front, his sword froze in ce.


    It was only for a second, but it was a second too much.


    The man''s head flew off. His neck began spewing blood as it toppled over.


    Willow fell to her knees, losing all hope.


    She grimaced in shame as all the people that had been sacrificed along the way had all been for naught. Her eyes closed.


    And a greatsword pierced straight through her heart.


    Willow''s body tilted backwards, but could only get so far as it was forcefully propped up by the greatsword.


    As critical as this injury was, it wasn''t enough to kill her. The strike was very clean, thus hardly any blood seeped out. Only until the sword was pulled out, would death fast approach.


    Vicar simply looked at her.


    "It appears I am the fool."


    Willow''s eyes slowly opened. She grit her teeth with pure hatred and forced out the words.


    "You won¡­ how are you the fool."


    Vicar shook his head.


    "What have I won?"


    He gestured with his bloody free hand.


    "Everyone except you and me is dead. They have all died. And for what?"


    Vicar narrowed his eyes.


    "All of this fighting. As though there was some purpose behind it."


    Willow''s eyes widened. They were bloodshot.


    "YOU DID THIS. YOU ARE THE REASON."


    A small frown formed on his face.


    "What? Because I have white hair and the person that did it also has white hair? I guess that must mean we are the same person."


    Willow had an ugly frown on her face.


    "If it wasn''t for you all¡­ this never would have happened."


    Vicar''s furrowed his brows.


    "Sure. Perhaps not. But why exactly did this have to happen? What happened to how we helped one another before?"


    He let out a soft sigh.


    "Our group was responsible for creating countless homes while yours provided food during the harsh winter."


    Vicar''s tone dropped.


    "Yet who knew all of that goodwill we all had towards each other, whether we had different hair colors or not¡­"


    His eyes closed.


    "Could fall apart so easily."


    Willow spat out a mouthful of blood.


    "If it wasn''t for you all capturing us, then this never would''ve happened."


    She clearly venomously hated Vicar.


    In response, Vicar simply raised an eyebrow.


    "Perhaps. Capturing everyone was a little out of hand."


    Willow shouted hoarsely.


    "Of course it was out of hand!"


    She began to feel dizzy, especially because her heart couldn''t pump blood properly anymore. Because of being stabbed and all that.


    Vicar took a deep breath.


    "My sister was killed by someone. The only thing my mother saw was someone with ck hair. And so, she attempted to capture everyone to find the culprit."


    Willow''s expression twitched.


    "So what? That doesn''t justify anything!"


    Vicar did not seem perturbed.


    "The person responsible was found. But as the prisoners were being released, they killed the guards that released them."


    Willow''s eyes were as fierce as before.


    "They deserve it!"


    Vicar sighed.


    "In the end, it led to a full blown war where the sides were entirely dependent on hair color. Innocent children were killed and tortured just because they had white hair. I saw one, not older than ten years old muttering to himself and trembling in pain as all of his skin was torn off."


    Willow did not respond.


    And so, Vicar continued.


    "I first thought that there were only a few select people that decided to act out of line. The kinds of people that wouldn''t even stop to think a little bit."


    He frowned.


    "Then, I thought that only half of the people thought that way."


    His tone noticeably dropped.


    "Then, I thought that there were still a few people that could be open-minded, and understand that things weren''t simple."


    Vicar opened his eyes.


    "Then, I thought, at the very least you."

 Chapter 307 - If I Ever See You Again

    Chapter 307 ¨C If I Ever See You Again


    Vicar looked at Willow with mncholy. It was almost like disappointment was seeping out in waves out of his eyes.


    Like the hope in his heart on the verge of death had finally died.


    His expression was unbearably cold, like emotion did not matter to him anymore.


    "I thought that if nobody else, you would not be like them."


    Vicar shook his head.


    "But I was naive."


    Willow grit her teeth.


    "What? Like all the raven people? You think we don''t deserve to livepared to you because of your white hair?"


    Vicar narrowed his eyes.


    "No. All of you. You are all the same. The only thing that distinguished you were appearances. In the end, all of your hearts are the same¡­"


    He frowned.


    "Disgusting."


    Willow screamed.


    "What do you know? You know nothing! All you''ve been doing is living in your privileged pce!"


    Vicar raised an eyebrow.


    "I was told to participate in the war, but because I said that I didn''t want to, I wasbeled as a traitor. And as such, they attempted to kill me."


    He gestured towards the dead bodies scattered around the pce.


    "So I killed them."


    Willow''s lip twitched. She began to smile.


    "So you are scum! You can''t even stand with the side you belong to!"


    Vicar looked deeply at Willow, then sighed.


    "The side I belong to, is it?"


    He chuckled.


    "So because I was born this way, I have to be on a certain side?"


    His expression suddenly became dull.


    "¡­It appears I drastically overestimated you."


    Willow had trouble keeping her head up, but still screamed with all she could.


    "What? So I am weak. But until the end, I will fight for what is right!"


    Vicar didn''t seem to be listening to her anymore.


    "It almost seems like I am the one that is wrong."


    He mumbled to himself.


    "After all, I am the only one that decided to think in such a huge poption. By logic, it seems that I am the anomaly."


    Willow didn''t understand what he was going on about, but that didn''t stop her aggression.


    "Fuck you!"


    An ugly smile formed on her face.


    "Haha¡­ you should''ve seen the look on your mother''s face when I killed her!"


    Vicar shrugged his shoulders.


    "I did."


    While Willow froze up, he continued.


    "You were also smiling very proudly when you put the sword through her heart as well."


    Blood spilled out of the corners of Willow''s mouth. She frowned.


    "What do you know? All you are is a pampered prince living a life filled with luxury! You will never understand what it is like to be oppressed like me!"


    Vicar nodded.


    "Yes. I will never understand what it is like to be you."


    Willow smiled with a trace of insanity.


    "So even you see how depraved you are! I bet you''re so happy that you finally got to kill thest of my kind! Even with your limited mind view, you can still see how pitiful I am and how privileged you are!"


    Vicar simply remained silent. His expression did not change. Willow took this as a time to continue hurling insults.


    She said anything that came to mind.


    "I made sure to twist my sword when it pierced your mother''s heart! She cried out in so much pain, you couldn''t even imagine!"


    Anything possible that could hurt his feelings.


    "I bet your sister deserved to die! She probably did depraved acts ever since she was born, whoring herself out for old men to use!"


    Willow began speaking faster and faster. Shepletely closed her mind off and continued insulting him.


    Because it gave her¡­ a sense of satisfaction.


    "You''re sick! A murder! The blood on your hands will never be cleaned! No matter what you do, you will always be a terrible person!"


    But eventually, she simply got too tired.


    "You¡­ you¡­"


    Her brain was having difficulty functioning, as there wasn''t proper blood flow. The fact she held on until now was quite impressive.


    As for Vicar, he simply stood still.


    He listened to it all, without saying a single word.


    Once Willow''s mutterings finally became quiet, Vicar opened his mouth.


    "On the ount that we were once friends, I will spare your life."


    Before Willow could retort, the sword was suddenly pulled out of her chest. She felt herself bleed out. However, before death came for her, a gentle feeling spread across her chest.


    After a few moments, her vision cleared up, while the life-threatening wound in her body disappeared. In fact, even the cold and hunger she had been feeling disappeared as well.


    Her eyes drifted upwards, to meet with Vicar''s.


    He used to be in a simple, but formal white shirt and pants. However, now pristine white fur had grown on the back of his arms. His normally short hair was now fairly long, reaching just below his shoulders.


    However, his overall body shape did not change.


    Vicar''s mouth wasn''t fully closed, but that was because of the new sharp and long teeth he had that did not fit within. And the most noticeable feature was his faintly glowing blue eyes.


    He took a deep breath.


    "As of now¡­"


    Vicar turned away.


    "We are no longer friends."


    He began to walk while Willow was still lying on the floor.


    "And if I ever see you again."


    Suddenly, Vicar stopped in ce. He slowly looked over his shoulder and narrowed his eyes. As for his tone, it dropped several times over.


    "I will kill you."


    It seemed that all of the anger and rage in Vicar exploded out at that moment from those clearly enunciated words. There was a strange pressure he exuded. It wasn''t like the ones that dragons did, but one from pure emotion.


    Vicar''s heart had been hollowed out before being reced with anger. That much was obvious from the new frightening demeanor he carried.


    Willow couldn''t help but freeze in fear, unable to respond.


    And with that, Vicar continued walking away, making crunching sounds in the snow.

 Chapter 308 - Poison

    Chapter 308 ¨C Poison


    Only until Vicar waspletely out of sight, did Willow regain the courage to move.


    And the first thing she did¡­


    Was scream.


    "I WILL KILL YOU. YOU WILL DIE PAINFULLY. AHHHHHH"


    She grabbed onto the sides of her head, mming it down onto the ground, sending some snow into the air.


    For the longest time, she only continued to scream, venting her anger in the only way she knew how. However, even in such a frenzied and unstable state, she felt like something was off.


    It unsettled her so much.


    Willow decided to deal with it by burying it deep within her, pretending that it didn''t exist. And that was how she dealt with it for years.


    Now, at present, she was on her knees in the middle of the snowy forest. She was looking up into the sky, as though looking for an answer.


    It was then she finally realized.


    That was the first time in Willow''s life she ever saw Vicar get angry.


    No, it was the first time she saw him without a smile on his face.


    Vicar had always been an extremely nice person. Even when things didn''t go his way or he was treated unfairly, he would smile and simply let it go.


    Even when Willow wouldin and y unfairly.


    Even that one time she began beating him up with a wooden sword because she was upset from losing.


    Vicar simply smiled, even as his body had been bruised.


    For the longest time, Willow just took his epting personality for granted. In fact, she didn''t even realize how mean she had been, acting on impulse all the time.


    In reality, Vicar really was naive for thinking that Willow could be more epting and think with more than just emotions. After all, that was how Willow always operated.


    She never thought about the other person''s perspective.


    The only reason Vicar did so was the goodwill that had been built up over many years.


    But now, witnessing the memories once more, Willow finally realized how terrible she had been.


    Tears began to fall down from her face.


    "S-Sorry¡­"


    She felt guilty for the first time in her life.


    "Sorry, Vicar."


    Willow slowly breathed in, trembling slightly.


    "Sorry¡­ Apollo."


    Every time, she told herself that she would talk to Apollo and make things right. Yet, each time she was given the opportunity, she just pretended nothing was wrong.


    Like it would all be fine if Willow ignored it.


    That was just how she dealt with her stress. It was a habit built up somewhere along the way. In a certain sense, this habit was almost like a slow acting poison.


    Willow wouldn''t deal with it, as she knew that it would be painful. However, that only let it fester within her, bing even worse. If Willow dealt with it after that, then it would only be worse than how it was before.


    So, she would continue to suppress it.


    But eventually, the poison would be enough to kill her and would jump out on its own.


    And that was almost what happened as Willow kept it buried for so long. But now, though it was not entirely her choice, she opened up the truth.


    Willow now fully epted how disgusting of a human she had be after so long. But now, she wanted to fix that.


    She had actually been searching for Vicar for a long time, but was never able to find him. It was as though he disappeared. However, that was for the sake of revenge.


    Willow had no leads on him, but she did know that Apollo wouldn''t be too far away. At least not across the world. Thus, she decided to first make things right with him.


    She definitely made things harder for Apollo. That was clear from the hatred he held for her. Willow didn''t fully understand, but now she would truly take her time to think.


    And so, Willow stood up, wiped the tears off her face, and walked forwards.


    She was going to find Apollo.


    ¡­


    "Dammit."


    Talon grimaced painfully as sizzling sounds came from his mouth.


    "Why does it still hurt so badly even after it is cooked?"


    He was in the middle of the forest with Lena, a campfire, and a dead wolf a few meters away. The wolf had been harvested for its meat, evidenced by the clean cuts over its body. There were also several skewers of meat above a campfire.


    It should''ve been a nice meal considering there wasn''t much to eat in the snowy forest, but there was something wrong with it.


    Despite the flesh being cooked, it was still extremely harmful when consumed. However, that didn''t seem to matter to Lena.


    She sat down on a log from a tree they cut down and constantly took bites out of a meat skewer. It was very clearly painful as sizzling sounds of burning flesh came from her as she ate, but it was as though Lena couldn''t hear those sounds.


    Talon hurried over and held onto Lena''s arm when he noticed this.


    "Don''t eat too fast. It will be too painful."


    Lena giggled.


    "You don''t have to worry about me brother. It may be painful, but it is the only thing we have to eat. So long as we are alive, that is what matters."


    Talon''s lip twitched.


    "O-Ok¡­"


    He slowly, but reluctantly let go of Lena''s arm, letting her continue eating the meat. As for Talon himself, he too sucked it up and began eating as much as it hurt.


    The skin on the inside of his mouth began to tear up. Sections of the skin simply dangled, but there was little he could do about it.


    Thankfully, the ck flesh in his body promptly repaired the damage he took from eating these kinds of things.


    Soon, they were finishing up their meal.


    That was when a small child wearing a blue hood on the back of a shadowy bird came into sight.


    It was Hex.

 Chapter 309 - Food?

    Chapter 309 ¨C Food?


    Hex was fast asleep, still on top of ckie. He was still in a bad state from hisst fight, aged horribly by overusing his powers. The only thing that indicated he was still alive was the weak breathsing from his mouth every couple seconds.


    The moment Talon realized that something was above him and Lena, he stood up. There was no hesitation when he took the giant scissors off of his back and opened them up, pointing the end towards the unknown object.


    On the other hand, Lena had noticed the shadowy bird, but didn''t take any action. Instead, she began kicking her legs about and humming a tune to herself. Her eyes were trained on the ck veinszily squirming about, as though that was more important.


    As for ckie, he took notice of the people below him, but didn''t see any merit in talking to them. Thus he continued to fly, about to pass.


    At that moment, Talon caught a glimpse of the person on the shadowy bird''s back.


    "You!¡­"


    He distinctly remembered seeing someone sh through all the transformed people like awnmower. It made quite the impression because Talon doubted he could fight against that person. The powerlessness made it feel simr to a horror movie, where he just had to hope that the killer didn''te his way.


    As for ckie, the moment he heard Talonmunicate, he stopped flying to turn and look. It was quite strange to see a bird stationary in the middle of the air without pping its wings. However, when Lena turned to look at it, she didn''t seem to mind.


    "Ah, is that your friend?"


    Talon frowned.


    "No. He is a very dangerous person. We have to run now!"


    Despite the extreme urgency in his voice and the fact he turned around to run away, Lena just stayed sitting on the log. She curiously looked at the shadowy bird in the sky and waved with a smile.


    "Hello there!"


    The shadowy birdnded next to Lena. Hex''s body gently rested against the floor while ckie transformed into his original form, a ghost with long arms, big ws, and a giant mouth.


    Talon spun around and the moment he saw this scene cold sweat formed on his back. He lifted his scissors up and opened them up before charging in.


    "I''ll save you, Lena!"


    As for Lena, she turned to Talon and raised an eyebrow.


    "Please keep it down, brother. It is rude to be screaming randomly."


    At the same time, ckie had given Lena a friendly wave. Then, he turned to Talon with a curious expression before waving as well.


    Talon''s steps slowed until he froze in ce, still holding up the scissors.


    He was very confused, to say the least.


    Lena waved back to ckie before clearing her throat and shooting a look towards Talon.


    "Brother. It is rude to not greet someone back when they have gone through the trouble of doing the same to you."


    Talon blinked a few times before hurriedly putting away his scissors and waving.


    "H-Hello?"


    ckie nodded enthusiastically with a wide smile across his face. Then, he pointed towards Hex and shook his arm around. It was as though he was a little kid saying, ''Look, look!''.


    Lena slowly walked over and crouched down next to Hex, prompting Talon to open his mouth. He was about to say get away, but realized that Lena probably wasn''t going to listen to him.


    Talon felt his concerns were very reasonable, but maybe he was overreacting a little.


    He walked over and inspected Hex''s situation. The immediate reaction was shock.


    Shock at the simple strangeness of the situation.


    Talon furrowed his brows.


    "He looks so much like a little boy, but also looks aged like an old man."


    Lena let out a concerned sigh.


    "Oh, dear. What is the problem with him?"


    ckie quickly opened his mouth, which made Talon extremely anxious. However, ckie followed that up by pointing into his mouth repeatedly.


    Lena tilted her head to the side.


    "He needs something to eat because he''s hungry?"


    ckie hurriedly nodded with a wide smile.


    Talon rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger. He still wasn''t sure if helping out a violent killer was the best idea, but decided to give it a shot. Lena probably would force him anyway.


    "Um, we have a bit of wolf meat leftover. It will be a bit tough to chew, but other than that, it should work as a food source."


    ckie tilted his head to the side, then began tapping onto his chin with the tip of his finger.


    Then, he shook his head.


    Talon raised an eyebrow.


    "Why not?"


    Lena looked up to ckie.


    "Is it because he requires a specific diet?"


    In response to this, ckie turned to her and hurriedly nodded.


    Lena nodded.


    "Alright. Is there any way you can describe such a food?"


    ckie seemed stumped. He tilted his head in certain directions before pausing. Then, began tapping onto his chin.


    Suddenly, he raised one finger up and smiled. ckie got an idea.


    He proceeded to stick both hands into the sky, then slowly part them. It was almost like he was trying to make a rainbow.


    Talon blinked a few times.


    "Do you mean¡­ a really long piece of bread?"


    ckie shook his head


    Lena wrapped her thumb and index finger around the sides of her chin, hugging it gently.


    "Is it some kind of animal?"


    ckie frustratedly scratched the side of his head. Then, he began to il his arms around in the air, like they were jelly. asionally, he would add in shooting both hands to the side and add in a low hiss.


    Unfortunately, no matter how hard he tried, his meaning wasn''t properly conveyed.


    A bitter smile formed on Talon''s face.


    "Gah¡­ I can''t tell at all."


    Lena bowed slightly.


    "I apologize as I do not understand. Perhaps you would like me to try to¡­. heal him?"

 Chapter 310 - Go Find Friends

    Chapter 310 ¨C Go Find Friends


    ckie looked visibly confused when Lena mentioned she wanted to try and heal Hex. After looking down at Hex for a few moments, he nodded.


    Lena put one hand on her heart.


    "I will try my best."


    It was at this point, Talon couldn''t help but raise an eyebrow.


    "I can''t really think of anything that would heal him. It''s not like there are any wounds to bandage."


    Lena smiled.


    "The ck flesh is more than what you think, brother."


    She brought the tip of her finger above Hex''s chest. Right when Talon was about to ask what she meant, her finger began to glow with a bright white.


    Eventually, milky strands of white light slowly moved out. Over time, it coalesced to form a fairlyrge white sphere. Though it glowed brightly, it was not ring or unpleasant to the eyes. In fact, it was the opposite.


    The surface of that white light rippledzily, making it look like some extremely viscous liquid.


    Talon had his eyes wide open in shock.


    Since when was his sister a magician?


    Lena was satisfied with the size of the white orb, then began to lower it to Hex''s chest. However, before she could imnt it within, Hex''s eyes suddenly flew open.


    Warning signals filled Talon. He pulled his scissors off his back and cursed himself for keeping his guard down. Unfortunately, it was already toote for him to change anything.


    Hex opened his mouth wide and shot forth.


    Talon could feel his life sh past his eyes from the bright gleam of Hex''s many tiny and sharp teeth.


    "NO!"


    Then, Hex bit down.


    ¡­Onto the white orb. Lena looked at Hex with a slightly shocked expression. As for her finger or just general wellbeing, it was fine.


    As for Hex, he looked back with puffed up cheeks. Without waiting, he began to chew and then swallow.


    Talon blinked a few times. His breathing was a little heavy while his eyes had be bloodshot. However, he soon came to realize that his sister was fine.


    "Sister, it''s not safe next to him!"


    Lena pouted slightly.


    "That''s not the right way to treat a sickly person. You should lower your volume."


    Talon was unable to respond. As for Hex, he turned to look at his situation and the people around him. Then, he swallowed.


    Although it wasn''t the most noticeable, Hex''s skin became a little less wrinkled. ckie began jumping up and down, excitedly raising his arms in the air.


    Talon furrowed his brows.


    "What is going on?"


    Lena raised an eyebrow.


    "It appears that the spell that I casted is part of the food that he can eat."


    Talon put a finger on his chin.


    "That¡­ is a rather strange type of food."


    Hex soon realized that he had gotten the ''meal'' from Lena. Thus, he immediately got closer to her and grabbed her arm with both of his sleeves.


    "Me want food!"


    Talon frowned.


    "Not so close!"


    Lena sighed.


    "Brother, what is it with you today?"


    Talon''s lip fiercely twitched. He couldn''t help but feel wronged.


    And at the same time, he was beginning to wonder if he was the unreasonable one.


    Lena turned back to Hex.


    "Would you like more of the spell?"


    In response, Hex nodded fervently.


    "Yes, yes! Me hungry!"


    A small spread out on Lena''s face.


    "Alright then."


    She stuck out her finger, letting it grow brightly once more. Soon, a milky strand of light came out. Hex greedily bit down on it, nibbling on it the moment it appeared. Lena simply watched on with a pleasant smile. As for ckie, he seemed really excited with a big smile spread out across his face.


    However, there was one person that wasn''t in a good mood.


    Talon clenched tightly onto the hilt of his scissors, but did not say a word. Logically, there shouldn''t have been a problem with what Hex was doing. However, Talon really didn''t like it.


    He continued tightening his grip on the hilt of his scissors.


    The nibbling sounds Hex made caused Talon to feel even angrier. However, the thing that ticked him off the most was the fact Lena was intently looking at him.


    Talon justified this in his head, saying that he was just concerned for his sister''s safety. However, this was not actually the case.


    He could more or less tell that Hex had no hostile intentions.


    However, Talon made sure to pretend that he couldn''t. As for the real reason¡­


    It was because Talon was jealous.


    Incredibly jealous of the attention Hex was getting.


    He himself did not know this. Though if Talon did, he would still vehemently deny it.


    After about thirty or so minutes, Hex was finally beginning to look much better. His whitened hair had returned to its normal dark green. The wrinkles on his face all disappeared, making hisplexion look much better.


    Hex smiled brightly as he looked at Lena.


    "Me like you! Friends!"


    Lenaughed.


    "Then I suppose we shall be friends now."


    Hex then turned to look at Talon, but had a less friendly look.


    "You is not friend for now."


    Talon pressed his lips together tightly. It was as though if he didn''t, all the curses and profanities he could think of would spill out.


    His entire face was twitching spastically, but in the end, he controlled himself and did not say anything.


    Lena cleared her throat.


    "Do you have somece to go? Or would you like to follow us? We would love to have youe along."


    Talon definitely wouldn''t, but he didn''t say that.


    Hex tilted his head to the side.


    "Mm¡­ Me want to go see other friends. Me first ever friends!"


    He pouted.


    "Me miss them¡­"


    Lena patted his head sympathetically.


    "Oh, well how about we help you find them?"


    Hex''s eyes lit up.


    "Wow, really?"


    Lena nodded.


    "Of course."


    Talon calmed down a little bit. He remembered that the person in front of him was actually really powerful, meaning that his friends should be in the same league. And so, he came to a decision that definitely didn''t have any ulterior motives.


    "Yeah, why not?"


    Hex smiled brightly and pointed at Talon.


    "Hehe, you can be friend too!"


    He stood up and raised his sleeves in the air.


    "Let''s go find friends!"

 Chapter 311 - Far Away

    Chapter 311 ¨C Far Away


    Serosh, Lucifer, and Maya were floating on arge chunk of earth, shooting through the air.


    Serosh pointed in a certain direction.


    "It should be over there, but higher up."


    Maya was taking in several deep breaths, one after another.


    "Apollo¡­ is there?"


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "Well, if that was where the statue was, he shouldn''t be far."


    It took some time, but they eventually came across the toxic wastnd. The ground was extremely dirty and severalrge creatures filled the ce, making it look rather noticeable. However, that was not what everybody was focusing on.


    Maya''s eyes were widened all the way.


    "What the-"


    Serosh sucked in a cold breath.


    "My word¡­"


    Lucifer simply blinked a few times.


    "Ah, I guess he got to it."


    They were all looking at a giant ind floating in the middle of the air that was tilted all the way horizontally. Though it wasn''t very easy to tell, they could see all of the people falling off as tiny little specs. Along with that, they were given a topographical view of the entire city.


    It was a pretty fascinating sight. The only problem was all the death and destruction that came with it.


    It was fairly easy to see a giant wind elemental in the center because of the raging winds that appeared around it.


    Maya pointed anxiously.


    "Is Apollo on that ind?"


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "He should be, yes."


    Maya''s demonic features suddenly began sprouting out of her body.


    "W-We have to save him! Go please, go faster, go!"


    Lucifer raised his hand.


    "Don''t worry so much about it. If he got up there in the first ce, it is very likely for him to have some sort of flying ability. The only exception is if someone personally tossed him up there, but that is unlikely."


    Though that is what actually happened.


    Maya calmed down a little bit.


    "O-Ok¡­ then hurry up and go! What if he goes somewhere else!"


    Lucifer smirked.


    "Got it. Speeding things up a tad."


    Suddenly, the tform of earth shot forth at staggeringly high speeds. Serosh couldn''t help but take a few steps back while Maya directly fell onto her back.


    Serosh''s eyebrow twitched as he felt the winds batter against him.


    "A warning would have been appreciated!"


    As for Maya, she couldn''t even talk as the wind made it too hard to breathe.


    Lucifer simply smiled.


    "Haha, this is how one should be living! Straight through the violent gales of life!"


    Serosh furrowed his brows.


    "Weren''t you just maintaining a wind barrier before? Why did you bring it down after speeding things up?"


    Lucifer coughed.


    "It is called living life, young one."


    The corner of Serosh''s lip twitched.


    "I am over three hundred years old¡­"


    Luciferughed.


    "Yes, young."


    Serosh was looking at Lucifer, but eventually decided just to face forwards.


    "¡­Maybe it was a bad idea to join this strange man."


    "I heard that!"


    Though they were traveling quite fast, the floating city was also very far away. As such, by the time they were halfway there, the elemental was already killed and the city began tilting back to its proper direction.


    As they were getting closer, Serosh couldn''t help but narrow his eyes.


    "Wait¡­"


    He took a few steps forward on the earth tform and even leaned forwards.


    "That''s¡­"


    Luciferughed.


    "Azazel. He seems to have seeded."


    Serosh''s eyes widened.


    "¡­One of the six-horned demons."


    He then turned to me.


    "How did youe across the name Azazel?"


    Lucifer shrugged his shoulders.


    "Just uh¡­ met him once. Then we got along pretty well."


    Serosh blinked a few times, clearly in disbelief.


    Before he could work up the courage to ask another question, they had reached the center of the city, where Mark was.


    Or rather, Azazel. He currently looked rather unassuming, with his eyes closed and rags over his body. Along with the long yellow hair, the only thing that gave him away as something more was the fact he was hovering in the middle of the air.


    Lucifer rolled his eyes the moment he was near.


    "Did you really have to kill so many people?"


    Azazel shrugged his shoulders.


    "My first priority was the wind elemental. Not to mention, even if left alone, those people would simply kill each other."


    Lucifer raised an eyebrow.


    "Alright. But those people don''t sound the most reliable, now do they?"


    Azazel nodded.


    "Yes, but they are malleable. So long as you say that you are an angel, they will listen to anything you have to say."


    Luciferughed.


    "That is convenient."


    Serosh furrowed his brows. He couldn''t believe that one of the highest ranking demons was so chummy with¡­ a human?


    Though he was definitely intimidated by the status of a six-horned demon, the burning curiosity was simply too much for him.


    "How¡­ How is a human so friendly with a high-ranking demon?"


    Azazel looked at Serosh, then turned back to Lucifer.


    "Is this thepanion you were talking about?"


    Lucifer nodded.


    "Yes, yes. However, it would be a waste of time to talk about how we met. Instead, we should focus on-"


    "Apollo!"


    Maya coughed and hacked violently. She had not taken a breath for quite some time, thus writhed on the ground for a little while as she recovered herself. However, she was still focused on one thing.


    "W-Where is Apollo?"


    Azazel ced the tip of his finger on his chin.


    "Apollo? Is that the boy with short yellow hair, blue eyes, and a wooden sword that is perpetually within his hand?"


    Maya nodded enthusiastically.


    "Yeah, yeah! That is him!"


    Lucifer chuckled.


    "Ah, you already know him? That''s great! Where is he?"


    The corner of Azazel''s lip twitched.


    "Well, you see¡­"


    Maya''s eyes were bloodshot. She could tell that everyone here was far stronger than her, but didn''t care about that right now.


    "What? Tell me now!"


    Azazel coughed.


    "¡­I may have sent him far away. As in, extremely far away."


    Lucifer blinked a few times.


    "¡­.Huh."

 Chapter 312 - An Old Memory

    Chapter 312 ¨C An Old Memory


    Tears began forming in Maya''s eyes.


    "Wh-What? But Apollo was supposed to be right here!"


    She began banging her fists against Azazel''s leg, using her full strength. However, there was little effect.


    "Bring back Apollo!"


    Azazel looked down at her.


    "Um¡­ Apologies."


    Maya pouted, eventually realizing the futility of the situation.


    "Where is he?!"


    Lucifer scratched the back of his head.


    "If we hurry, perhaps he has not gone too far?"


    Azazel lowered his chin slightly.


    "Unfortunately, he has already gone quite far."


    Lucifer sighed.


    "How far?"


    Azazel kept his hands behind his back.


    "The Everwinter region."


    Lucifer visibly cringed.


    "Did you really hate that child?"


    Azazel shook his head.


    "No, he was a rather pleasant child, save for some tendencies. I simply overdid it."


    Lucifer held his forehead with his hand.


    "Overdid it all the way to the Everwinter region?!"


    Azazel cleared his throat.


    "I initially thought that I may have been overestimating the power from the wind elemental. However, it appears to be the opposite."


    Lucifer was silent for a moment.


    "¡­Well, I suppose we shall head off to the Everwinter region now."


    ¡­


    Taking a step back, Apollo was still falling through the center of the city, where all of the trash and waste was disposed of.


    He tried to struggle, but quickly came to realize that no matter what he did, his body was simply powerless.


    Once the light got really small, he began to speak.


    "Hey."


    There was a moment of silence.


    "Hey."


    And another one.


    "Hey, wake-"


    "I''m trying to sleep!"


    A voice rang out in Apollo''s head. He responded softly.


    "Ah, hi again."


    The voice was displeased.


    "Mm¡­ Hi. Why did you wake me up?"


    Apollo scratched the back of his head.


    "I wanted to talk?"


    The voice internally sighed.


    "But¡­ wait, where are we?"


    Apollo crossed his arms.


    "Currently falling down the center of the city because Mark won''t let us do anything."


    There was silence for a moment before the voice spoke up.


    "What?! Then did we get to kill all those people?"


    Apollo shook his head.


    "No."


    The voice freaked out.


    "Then go back up and do it!"


    The corner of Apollo''s lip twitched.


    "I tried to!"


    He sighed.


    "Mark just suddenly turned on me and decided to shove me out."


    The voice internally grumbled, like a little kid denied candy.


    "Ok¡­ then we will go back soon!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Alright, that sounds good."


    There was a moment of silence. The voice let out a bored groan.


    "Mm¡­ I''m going back to sleep."


    Apollo cleared his throat.


    "Wait."


    "What?"


    The voice was displeased, but Apollo continued on.


    "How were we¡­ separated?"


    He scratched the side of his head.


    "It just doesn''t really make a lot of sense. Most people only have one person inside their body, right?"


    The voice let out a soft hum.


    "¡­That is a little weird."


    Apollo sighed.


    "I guess it was that time when we were forced to fight against Mother. After all, it hurt really bad."


    The voice paused.


    "Hm¡­ that is right. But I wouldn''t really call it a fight."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "But we had been fighting for so long, over and over again."


    The voice seemed confused.


    "Hah? We fought against Willow lots and lots! But mother¡­ it wasn''t really a fight."


    Apollo grabbed onto the side of his head and furrowed his brows.


    "Willow? Who are you talking about?"


    The voice paused.


    "¡­Oh, I forgot to tell you, oopsies."


    Apollo shut his eyes tightly. His breathing began to be disorderly.


    "No¡­ I was doing all of this because I have to kill mother. I have to kill her!"


    The voice paused, waiting a few minutes for Apollo to calm down slightly.


    "Um, do you not remember?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Remember what?"


    The voice let out a faint humming sound.


    "I think this was the time that we split, but it is a little bit foggy for me."


    Apollo grit his teeth.


    "Wait¡­ stop, don''t say any more."


    The voice seemed confused.


    "Eh? Why not? I don''t really remember it well, but I think we-"


    "STOP."


    Unfortunately, despite Apollo screaming at the top of his lungs, the voice in his mind continued cluelessly.


    "-killed our mother."


    Apollo began to let out a groan of pain. He held onto his head and began twisting around in the air, as though trying to exorcise himself.


    The voice was quite confused.


    "Hm? What''s wrong?"


    ¡­


    Apollo was standing at the front of his kitchen, staring out the window. It was night, but the moonlight gave off enough light to see things fairly clearly. The full moon was out, making it look quite beautiful.


    Yet, Apollo had a rather dull expression, almost like he couldn''t see it. His head was tilted to the side slightly, but that fact didn''t seem to register with him.


    Almost like he couldn''t really tell if things were crooked or straight anymore.


    Apollo slowly reached out. His fingers trembled fiercely.


    Then, wrapped his hand around a handle. The handle of a kitchen knife. As he did so, his face twitched. Even the action of flexing his fingers had be painful to him.


    Afterwards, Apollo slowly pulled it out of the knife block. It made a rather soft sliding sound as it did so, and upon finally being freed, an ethereal swish.


    It almost sounded like a banshee had been shrieking far off in the distance.


    Apollo slowly brought the knife up to his neck as his eyes drifted towards the moon. His head felt empty.


    He had cried until it no longer got rid of his stress.


    He had vented his anger until he lost the will to be angry.


    When Apollo rested the de of the knife against the side of his neck, there wasn''t a single ounce of hesitation in his mind.


    He had already realized that it was simply too much for him. There was nothing he could think of to fall back to.


    But then, he thought of Ivy.


    And began crying.

 Chapter 313 - Love

    Chapter 313 ¨C ¡®Love¡¯


    Apollo had been through some things. Most of which wasn''t the most pleasant. Looking at things logically, it wasn''t even worth it to stay alive.


    The suffering far outweighed anything else.


    But¡­


    When Apollo thought of how Ivy held onto him and brushed his hair, he couldn''t do it. At the end of the day, it was a rather small thing. Compared to everything else he went to, that could hardly matter.


    Yet, as small as it was, that was enough for Apollo to want to cling to life. It was enough for him to want to stay within all the hate.


    But it was still hard.


    Apollo slowly lowered the knife, but still looked out the window with the full moon. The glow seemed gentle, almost like it was reassuring him.


    Eventually, he walked over to his mom''s bedroom, with the knife behind him. Without hesitation, he opened it up then walked up to the bed, where his mom was sleeping.


    He faintly called out.


    "Mother?"


    Other than faint breathing sounds, there was no response.


    Apollo called out, but with more volume.


    "Mother?"


    His mother grumbled, but didn''t so much more than that. This time, Apollo used his normal tone, repeating the same thing like a broken record.


    "Mother?"


    She woke up.


    "Hm¡­ what, what, what?"


    Apollo''s mother held the side of her head, then looked up to him with a frown.


    "Do you know howte it is? Are you seriously not sleeping? This is why you never have energy for anything!"


    Apollo''s expression did not change.


    "There is something on the roof."


    His mother furrowed her brows.


    "What? Go deal with it yourself, then! Are you that ipetent?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yes. Yes, I am."


    His mother clicked her tongue.


    "Fuck¡­ alright, fine. I guess you''ll just be useless when you grow up."


    Apollo nodded.


    With that, his mother got up, still in a white gown. Then, she led the way towards the rooftop.


    It was a rather windy day and the t stone roof didn''t make that much better.


    Upon reaching there, his mother furrowed her brows and hugged herself from the chill.


    "What the hell is it? I don''t see anything."


    Apollo hummed to himself.


    "Are you sure? Look a little closer."


    His mother took a few steps forward and scanned the area. She frowned deeply.


    "There clearly isn''t anything here!"


    Apollo hummed.


    "But there is something."


    Then pulled the knife out from behind his back. Before his mother realized what was going on, he stabbed it straight through her hand.


    "See? There is blood."


    His mother immediately screamed at the top of her lungs and backed away. She held onto her hand tightly, trembling slightly.


    "What the fuck is wrong with you!"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "You seem to know. Why don''t you tell me?"


    He was standing tall, holding the knife casually. His expression was nk, almost like nothing could perturb him.


    On the other hand, his mother had a nasty frown. She hunched over, gasping for air from the pain. Though she held onto her hand tight, it couldn''t stop the bleeding.


    "Piece of shit, get out of the way!"


    She ran towards the doorway to the roof, but Apollo simply stood in the way.


    "No."


    His mother''s eyes widened.


    "You¡­"


    And quickly became bloodshot.


    "Do you have no gratitude for all the work I''ve put into you? Where would you be if it wasn''t for me? Nothing!"


    Apollo nodded.


    "That''s why I have decided to show my gratitude. Going down the stairs right now isn''t healthy for you."


    His mother''s face twitched.


    "What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"


    A small smile crept up Apollo''s face.


    "Just trust me. I have the best intentions for you."


    His mother grit her teeth.


    "Get the fuck out of my way!"


    She kept her eyes on the knife and tried to shove Apollo out of the way. However, it was kind of stupid to try and do when someone had a knife.


    Apollo used that opportunity to slice into his mother''s uninjured fingers, causing blood to spill everywhere. Along with another scream, his mother stumbled backwards. Her fingers trembled as they leaked out its warm contents.


    At this point, tears began falling from her face. Apollo''s mother was losing her vision. Her knees trembled violently, until they gave out altogether. Shended on her rear and her bottom lip began to tremble.


    "Why¡­ Why are you doing this?"


    Apollo took a deep breath, still with a rather calm smile on his face.


    "I am just doing what''s best for you, can''t you see?"


    In response, his mother screamed.


    "How the fuck is this the best for me?!"


    Apollo''s voice softened strangely.


    "But you were the one that taught me! Don''t you remember? Broken hands are better. They will help you so much!"


    His mother''s breathing got worse.


    "What? I never said that! You sick fuck!"


    Apollo let out a soft sigh.


    "Don''t worry! You will understand soon! When you grow older you will understand everything!"


    His mother used her feet to slide herself backwards.


    "Get¡­ away from me."


    Apollo''s eyes widened slightly.


    "Don''t worry, I remember you taught me this too! If you love them, never listen to anything they say! Always do the opposite!"


    With that, he walked a little closer, all the while raising his knife and letting the blood trickle down onto his arm.


    His mother freaked out.


    "Get away! Fuck off! Just leave!"


    Apollo''s body tensed up, bringing his limbs in closer to himself, almost like a girl that was shy.


    "Don''t worry, mother! I will show my gratitude by going faster!"


    Suddenly, his walk burst into a full on run. His mother screamed.


    "No, no!"


    She tried to scramble away, pushing hard with her feet. But how was someone supposed to go fast when they were rubbing against the ground?


    Once Apollo reached her, he grabbed onto one of her hands and began cutting at the wrist, sawing it off.


    Bloody screams filled the air.


    Apollo''s eyes widened further.


    "I will show you even more love!"

 Chapter 314 - Not Done Yet

    Chapter 314 ¨C Not Done Yet


    Apollo''s mother nearly nked out. Her vision was hardly functioning. The agony of having her wrist sawed through gradually made every other sense she had dull.


    This made it far easier for Apollo to diligently get to work, slowly cutting off the hand. The sound was quite fleshy, muscle and tendons were moved around like slush. Paired together with the gushing red fluids, it almost looked like a meal.


    So why not make it one?


    Eventually, a clear smack rang out from Apollo''s knife hitting the floor. As for his mother''s hand, it hade off.


    Extremely loud screams came from her as her eyes rolled back.


    Apollo began to pant as well.


    "You darein while I help you? How ungrateful are you?"


    He mmed his knife down on his mother''s face, cutting diagonally through her mouth andnding on her teeth. As for her gums, they were also shed through.


    She began to scream, but they became muffled. She was trying to suppress them because screaming so loudly hurt, but was unable to fully stop.


    Apollo then took the hand he cut off and slowly sliced off the pinky finger. Upon doing so, He raised the finger up as it bled profusely.


    "I have made your dinner! It''s healthy for you!"


    He stuffed it into his mother''s mouth. She immediately attempted to spit it out, but Apollo covered her mouth. His smile became dangerous.


    "What are you trying to do? I made this for you! How else are you supposed to be fed? You can''t even finish your food?"


    His mother struggled fiercely, trying to move her head out of the way and even using her bloodied hands to try to push off Apollo''s. However, it just didn''t work.


    Apollo''s eyes became bloodshot.


    "EAT IT. YOU DON''T HAVE A CHOICE. NOW EAT IT."


    He put the back of his knife behind his mother''s head, then began shaking her head up and down.


    Muffled choking sounds came out. Blood and foam began seeping out from his mother''s mouth, until eventually, she swallowed it.


    Almost immediately, she began gagging trying to force it out.


    Apollo raised his knife once more.


    "What are you doing? You really want to waste my food and my time again? Is that it?"


    He used a reverse grip before plunging down, straight into his mother''s eye.


    She spasmed and convulsed fiercely, now not holding back in her screaming. However, it was still muffled because of Apollo''s hand, who began to giggle.


    "This is just how I show my love! So what if I make a few mistakes? This is just how I show my affection! I can''t believe you are such a piece of shit you can''t even ept that!"


    He twisted his knife, stirring up the eyeball and creating rather unpleasant gushing sounds.


    "I''m looking out for you! Can''t you see? I cook and clean for you! Look, now your hands are so clean and you even have a meal!"


    Apollo then dropped the knife and forcefully pulled out the bloody mess that was left of her eye. A bright smile formed on his face.


    "I even made extra food for you! You should be grateful you have such a caring parent like me!"


    His mother could hardly make sense of the situation through the pain, but could still sense something bad wasing. She struggled hard, moving her head, trying to squirm away with her body and even push Apollo off with her hands.


    However, removed his hand before tightly holding onto his mother''s chin. Apollo''s fingers dug in deep within the skin and caused it to bleed all on its own. His mother kept her mouth shut, thus making the process a little more difficult.


    And so, Apollo started by sticking in the tips of his fingers before forcefully opening them. The teeth pierced into the skin of his hand, causing him to bleed, but he still continued pushing.


    Once the contents finally spilled down, his mother had aplete freak out. Apollo quickly covered her mouth with his hands, and sped the other around her neck.


    She jostled violently, almost like a raging bull.


    Unfortunately for her, Apollo had a tight hold.


    He began tough.


    "Look at you! Where would you be without me? Look at how much I''ve done for you! Why aren''t you thanking me? Break your skull against the floor bowing if you want to show you even slightly understand!"


    Apollo strained himself dearly just keeping his mother down. Both his arms trembled violently. However, he was still able to manage.


    "Why are you resisting! If you had some semnce of care, you would suck it up!"


    Hisughs became a little more violent.


    "This is why you have no energy! This is why you are so useless! You can''t even eat food, of course you''re so worthless!"


    Suddenly, his mother let out a rather disgusting sound. She began to vomit. However, Apollo kept his hand forced against his mother''s mouth. In the end, some of it spilled out from her mouth, but most of it came out through her nose.


    Apollo mmed his mother''s head against the ground.


    "Piece of shit! You can''t even keep the food I made for you in your stomach? So it doesn''t matter if you even eat, you will just throw it all back up! Just go die on the streets then! Starve! See if I care!"


    At this point, his mother lost consciousness but was still alive.


    Apollo couldn''t control the excitement bubbling up in his body.


    "HAHAHA HAHA HAHAHA."


    It made him feel all warm and tingly, along with that addictive rush that filled his once hollow mind.


    And if it felt so good, why should he stop?


    Apollo grabbed onto his mother''s arm, lifting it up high.


    "If you aren''t punished, you will never learn anything!"


    Then, he pressed down on the elbow, pushing harder and harder.


    Until it snapped.


    His mother''s eyes flew open along with a garbled scream.


    Apollo wasn''t done just yet.

 Chapter 315 - Split

    Chapter 315 ¨C Split


    After breaking his mother''s arm, Apollo began to twist it. Though the bones had snapped, it was still attached because of the skin and flesh holding it together. To remedy that, Apollo just kept twisting.


    The skin on the outside of the arm clearly wasn''t used to this kind of treatment, both stretched and wrinkled up.


    Apollo''s mother was on the verge of death, but still resisted slightly, tensing up her muscles so as to not be twisted up. It wasn''t so clear if she even consciously did that or instinctually did so as to not lose an arm.


    Unfortunately for her, it was not enough to stop him.


    The skin around the arm began reddening, looking even more grotesque than before. Until eventually, Apollo was able to tear the skin apart. Blood burst out, while the muscles underneath were torn up badly.


    "AAAAAAAAAAHHH."


    "HAHAHA HAHAHAHA."


    Apollo had essentially lost it. He picked back up the kitchen knife to sever the muscles still holding the arm together.


    "I am working so hard to improve you! See?"


    He then cut open his mother''s stomach, revealing all the organs inside. Apollo''s mother could no longer feel anything at this point. Her mind had be so overloaded, that nearly no sensations even registered.


    Nheless, Apollo peeled off the skin, revealing his mother''s rib cage which still had quite a bit of flesh covering it.


    He wasn''t discouraged by this. He used the gap underneath the rib cage to directly stab at the heart, before lodging the end of the arm he cut off within.


    Apollo smiled brightly.


    "Look at how much better you are because of me!"


    His mother did not respond.


    After all, she was dead.


    However, Apollo just kept on talking.


    "Can''t you see that I know what''s best for you? If it wasn''t for me, you would be nothing!"


    He held onto the side of his head and beganughing.


    "The only reason I am tough is because I love you! And look where it got you!"


    Apollo continued stabbing her body, mushing up the internal organs and such.


    "I care about you so much! That''s why I think about your future!"


    The things he was saying started to make less sense.


    "From all the way to when you were born, you were useless without me! But because I loved you, you were able to grow up!"


    However, they all centered around one general theme.


    "I love you soooo much!"


    Apollo continued to break limbs, peel off skin, and cut through flesh.


    "That''s why it doesn''t matter what I do to you! That''s why it doesn''t matter what I say!"


    His head tilted to the side far, stretching his neck to its very limits, nearly tearing his skin and pulling his muscle.


    "Your opinion never mattered! Because I know more than you! You think you''re in pain, but you''re not! You''re just a kid, you can''t feel pain! You don''t know the adult world! You''re not mature! How could you do anything by yourself! Why should I give you the chance to do something on your own? You will clearly fail! You always have to rely on me! That''s why you will always be a failure! What will you do when I''m gone? Nothing! Nothing at all! The only thing you can do is die after! That''s all you''ll ever be worth!"


    Apollo''s pupils shook violently.


    He was running out of things to cut apart and break. At this point, most of the body had already been torn up or ground to mush.


    As for the blood, it had coated the majority of his body and was beginning to dry.


    Apollo paused. He was still on his knees and panting heavily, but he didn''t do anything for now.


    His eyes looked over the bloody mess that was underneath him. Then, he gasped.


    "What?"


    Apollo slowly ced the knife on the ground.


    "I¡­ did this?"


    He shook his head.


    "No, no¡­ I would never do something like this."


    The ironic thing was the smile stered across his face as he said that.


    "Mother?"


    Apollo giggled.


    "Oh¡­ what are you doing, mother?"


    He threw his head back, looking up to the sky with a depraved smile.


    "Stop doing all these weird things, I know we love each other!"


    Apollo continued to say various weird things that somehow made sense to him.


    Eventually, his mind began to shift.


    In order to forcefully circumvent this event, his mind forced him to forget. However, the process wasn''t taken care of well because of how much blood and dopamine was rushing through his head.


    Memories continued scrambling up.


    Until eventually, his expression became a little duller.


    "Hmm¡­ I need to practice calligraphy tomorrow¡­ I probably need to make about twenty nearly perfect character representations¡­"


    His eyelids began to fall.


    "Why¡­ why do I feel so sleepy?"


    His personality forcefully tore in two. One was on the outside to live his life, while the other was tucked away.


    However, in both, the memory of killing their mother had been buried deep.


    They each had a tiny part within them, far beneath the surface.


    One held the hatred.


    While the other held the actions.


    And once this all finished, Apollo opened his eyes. He looked down at the bloody mess, filled with shock.


    "Mommy?"


    Then, he began to cry.


    "Mommy!"


    He cried and shouted while shaking the corpse until morning. Even when the blood ended up going into his clothes or across his body, he continued to shake her.


    "Mommy Mommy!"


    Apollo didn''t even wipe the tears off his face.


    "No, no!"


    There were quite a few people that heard themotion from earlier and got out of their houses. However, they could only hear the screaming from the roof. Some people wanted to rush in to help, but the door had been locked.


    Eventually, someone decided to smash through a window in order to get in. Several people followed, going up to the roof.


    And saw Apollo.

 Chapter 316 - Forgotten

    Chapter 316 ¨C Forgotten


    The moment people got onto the roof, they let out shocked gasps.


    "Oh no¡­"


    "Poor boy."


    "Who could have done this?"


    There were many signs pointing towards Apollo being the killer, in particr, the blood sshed all across his clothes. Along with the fact that the screams were fairly recent, it would be hard for anyone to get away with doing this from the roof.


    However, this was also a world of magic and the people here knew that.


    Seeing Apollo crying over the dead body was enough to convince them that it was just an unfortunate child that had his mother murdered.


    Apollo''s crying had gotten rather violent as he twisted his body around. A person from the crowd rushed forth and grabbed onto Apollo''s waist.


    "Child, don''t look anymore."


    It was Seth.


    Apollo fiercely struggled, hitting his elbows against the person restraining him. However, Seth held on strong despite the pain. A deep frown was stered across his face as he saw the mutted body parts on the floor.


    He sucked in a cold breath and muttered to himself.


    "¡­So this type of thing could even happen in this vige."


    Apollo continued to resist, iling his limbs around.


    "Let go of me! Let go!"


    Seth let out a soft sigh.


    "Child¡­ you have to forget."


    He noticed that Apollo was still looking at the corpse, thus held his hand in front of Apollo''s eyes.


    "You have to forget."


    ¡­


    Apollo came back to his senses, gasping for air. The fingers of his free hand dug into his chest as though he was trying to pull out his heart.


    He blinked a few times before realizing he had finally finished falling out of the city. However, that was not his focus.


    Apollo grabbed onto the side of his head.


    "I¡­ I killed my mother?"


    "Mm¡­ I think so?"


    The voice in his head was rather nonchnt. It seemed to bepletely unfazed.


    "My memory of it isn''t that good. Do you remember anything?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "I¡­ I remember it all. Everything that happened¡­"


    A trace of insanity shed by his eyes and a smile formed on his face. However, it quickly disappeared.


    "There¡­ there was so much blood. But then who was our mother?¡­"


    The voice in his head let out a soft hum.


    "Well, don''t we have a few mothers?"


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "What? What the hell are you talking about?"


    The voice seemed equally confused.


    "Hm? Did I say something weird?"


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "It''s only possible to have one mother, right?"


    The voiceughed as though Apollo was sorely mistaken about something obvious.


    "Are you kidding me? That doesn''t make any sense!"


    Apollo paused, unable to understand.


    "¡­Could you borate?"


    The voice audibly clicked its tongue before speaking up with disdain.


    "That''s justmon sense! After all, I''ve heard-"


    Before it finished, an unbelievably strong gust of wind took control over them. It was so loud, that Apollo couldn''t even hear himself think, and by proxy that voice. He immediately tried to resist, but quickly found that this was not the kind of force one could resist.


    It was as though a mountain had fallen down onto him while he was just an ant. Sure, he could try to hold up the mountain, but at the end of the day, he would always be crushed.


    Nheless, Apollo struggled. He let out painful grunts as the overly fast wind tore through his skin.


    However, it did not take long for Apollo to feel overwhelmed. The wind prevented any air from entering Apollo, thus making it impossible to breathe. Various cracking sounds came from his bones as the wind pulled his body to the very limits.


    His vision of the surroundings had distorted severely. It was as though the world around him wasn''t actually real, but a very realistic painting on a piece of rubber. Then, that rubber was stretched to its limits.


    Thest thing Apollo could remember was that his body was catapulting through the air. It was so fast, that it beat anything he had experienced with La and did so multiple times over.


    Before the fear could even really settle into his mind, he lost consciousness.


    ¡­


    Suddenly, Apollo sat up while his eyes shot open.


    He wasying down in a deepyer of snow. It was enough to reach his waist while standing up, thus only his head poked up once he did sit up.


    Apollo furrowed his brows.


    "Where am I?¡­"


    He then thought about the other personality he had.


    "Hey¡­ Hey. You there?"


    There was no response. It seemed that somehow along the way, his other personality ended up falling asleep.


    Apollo did feel a little cold, but was able to easily shrug it off. After standing up, he took a survey of his surroundings. However, it was a little hard to do so.


    Though it was snowing in the ces he had been at before, it was not nearly as intense. On top of that, there were trees that ended up blocking some of the snow. However, there were no trees in sight here.


    Instead, there was just violent billowing snow, that was far louder than it had any right to be.


    Suddenly, Apollo thought about something.


    The Shadows.


    It had been so long since he hadst entered that ce. He had almost forgotten that there was a finished mission for him to im. Though¡­ would there really be one of those bases here?


    Apollo decided to try despite not having much faith, stepping into the shadow world.


    To his surprise, there was actually one fairly nearby, despite this being in the middle of nowhere.


    Apollo went into it and found himself in a familiar ck room right by a desk made of grey mist.


    He walked over and flipped his coin.


    Mist immediately formed and a few things formed on the table in front of him.. There was a torn piece of parchment along with an eye that seemed a little bloodshot.

 Chapter 317 - How Hard Could It Be?

    Chapter 317 ¨C How Hard Could It Be?


    The eye itself had a rainbow iris and was covered in some sort of almost clear grey crystal.


    Next to it, was a tiny piece of paper exining how it worked. Apollo picked it up and read it.


    ''Unicorn eye. Used to gauge the purity of those itys its eye upon. Holding it will let one see a living being''s sins in the form of red light.''


    Then, the paper disappeared.


    Apollo looked at the unicorn eye for a moment before picking it up. Almost immediately, he saw thick and dense red tendrils of lighting off of his body. They were dark red, almost ck.


    Apollo smiled bitterly.


    "It seems I''m not exactly the purest of people."


    He brought the unicorn eye closer to himself, and looked at it. Almost immediately, the eye got a little bloodshot.


    It was as though the eye hated to look at Apollo.


    After a bit of hesitation, he decided to stick it into his pocket, causing those visions of the red tendrils to disappear.


    Apollo''s eyes drifted towards the table, where his iron coin was lying. He picked it back up and was about to flip it, but suddenly felt at a loss.


    Why was he even doing this?


    It was so he could kill his mother.


    But he already killed his mother.


    Apollo hunched over and grimaced in pain.


    "Who¡­ who was that?"


    He shut his eyes tightly, as though the more closed they were, the easier it would be for him to envision his imagination.


    However, Apollo was unable to find out in the end.


    Eventually, he looked up at the swirling white mist at the ceiling.


    "What am I supposed to do?"


    Obviously, there was no response. Apollo continued to stand there meaninglessly for quite a while.


    But eventually, he grit his teeth.


    "¡­I still need to be stronger. I am far too weak."


    Apollo narrowed his eyes, thinking about how helpless he was before Mark.


    "It''s not enough. Not even slightly enough."


    A fire seemed to be raging within his pupils.


    "Until all are dead¡­"


    Apollo flipped the coin, causing plumes of mist to shoot out. They gathered together to form five condensed lines of mist.


    And below him¡­


    Were a lot of parchments.


    Apollo raised both eyebrows in shock from how many there were. They were messily scattered around the table, forming a fairlyrge pile by being on top of each other. By a conservative estimate, there were at least one hundred of them.


    Considering that four used to be on the high end, this truly was a crazy amount.


    Apollo gave them a quick nce.


    The immediate thing he noticed was that almost all of them had one picture. It appeared to be a dinosaur with an especially long neck. A brontosaurus to be exact.


    As for the ones that didn''t have that picture, it was instead of an egg.


    Apollo scanned over an arbitrary parchment.


    ''Rank ¨C Silver Coin ¨C tinum Lined


    Target: Adult Male Colossus


    Description: Appears to be a variant of a lizard. The adult version is at least five hundred meters tall and one thousand meters wide. Males can be identified by the red tuft on the top of their head.


    Requirements: Recover a rtively intact corpse of a Colossus. Bonus rewards for better preservation.


    Reward: 10,000 Gold Coins and 2 Contribution Points''


    Apollo''s eyes widened in shock for several reasons.


    The first was definitely the giant reward attached, plenty of gold coins and even contribution points on top.


    The second was also the actual rank of his mission. His current rank was iron, but he still had ess to the higher missions.


    ¡­It was probably because the association had received way too many missions of this kind and allowed anyone to ess it. That was also probably why one of the bases was just in the middle of nowhere here.


    This was a very popr location in terms of issued requests.


    As for the final thing that shocked Apollo, it was the size of five hundred meters tall and one thousand meters wide.


    However, it didn''t shock him too much. From his perspective, it was just something really big. And he had taken down several big things before.


    Though¡­ this was mostly because Apollo just couldn''t envision or trulyprehend how tall five hundred meters actually was. In reality, these things were essentially the size of a small vige.


    Apollo wasn''t really aware of this, thus didn''t focus on it too much.


    He continued looking through more of the missions.


    ''Rank: tinum Coin


    Target: Fertile Adult Female Colossus


    Description: Appears to be a variant of a lizard. The adult version is at least five hundred meters tall and one thousand meters wide. Females can be identified by the absence of red hair on their head. Fertile females will have red tipped tails.


    Requirements: Capture Alive and Deliver to the Grayson Family in the Conquerer Kingdom. Must be undamaged.


    Rewards: 10 Contribution Points, 100,000 Gold Coins, Adult Male Earth Dragon Tooth.''


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    The rewards were even higher than the previous one, as was the rank. It was a whole two ranks above his own!


    Though it was tempting to take, Apollo didn''t. Not because he thought it was too hard, but the sounds of delivering something somewhere sounded far too troublesome.


    He continued to scan for something that seemed to be on the easier side, and was attracted to a picture of an egg.


    ''Rank: Iron Coin ¨C Silver Lined.


    Target: Colossus Egg


    Description: Female Colossus willy one egg every fifty years on average. After a few years, Colossus will hatch from those eggs. They reside within caverns that are believed to be created by a Colossus themself.


    Requirements: Recover Five Eggs Worth of Shattered Egg Shells.


    Reward: 2000 Gold Coins.''


    Apollo looked through the other parchments and noticed there were around ten others with an egg picture. The eggshells seemed rather popr.


    After a bit of hesitation, he epted it.


    How hard could it be?

 Chapter 333 - Won, But...

    Chapter 333 ¨C Won, But¡­


    Apollo dashed forth, sshing the water around as he ran. He preemptively swung with his bokken before pressing his thumb against the hilt. A de of wind shot through the water, parting it as it traveled towards Vicar.


    Along with that, a lightning bolt shot towards him.


    Vicar let out a soft sigh.


    "The same tricks."


    The gleam of a crescent moon appeared, before the de of wind was directly blown away. As for the lighting bolt it was also mmed aside.


    But right as that happened, Apollo pushed off the ground before disappearing.


    He reappeared to Vicar''s side, halfway through a swing. As for Vicar, he was also in the middle of a swing.


    A loud ng rang out.


    When their des shed this time, Apollo was overwhelmed. This was a stark difference to when they were both evenly matched earlier. However, this did not catch Apollo off guard.


    After all, he was only using one hand to hold onto the bokken.


    As for the other hand, it whipped at Vicar''s torso, sending out a violent point-nk wind de. And for the first time, Vicar was unable to dodge.


    A crisp metallic bang rang out.


    Vicar''s armor was cut through while a thin line of blood appeared on his body. Before Apollo could be happy about finally getting a hit in, the momentum of the greatsword pushed his bokken back and mmed it against him.


    With a clear thump, Apollo was sent backwards once more.


    However, despite his cracked rib cage, there was a confident smile on his face. After stabilizing himself, he began to eat more food pellets to speed up the healing process.


    Vicar slowly looked down at the injury that appeared on his body.


    "You have injured me."


    After a few moments, he chuckled.


    "Well done."


    Apollo took a deep breath before dashing in once more. Together with the lighting bolt, he continued to attack. The lighting bolt was taken care of easily by him like before, however, it wasn''t so easy to deal with Apollo''s other attacks.


    Both his bokken and hand whipped through the air, sending out several attacks towards Vicar.


    However, though before Apollo was able to hit him, it wasn''t so easy this time. It appeared Vicar was prepared for it this time, thus was able to swing in such a way that blocked both.


    As a wind de and bokken traveled towards Vicar, the greatsword traveled in an elusive trajectory that blocked both.


    However, this didn''t make Apollo give up. Before the force behind the greatsword would overwhelm him, he pushed off the ground and appeared on the other side of Vicar, attacking with both his hand and bokken once more.


    And once again, his attacks were blocked.


    Like this, Apollo continued to appear around Vicar, letting loose several swings and forcing him to block multiple. Various shes and bangs rang out in session.


    It seemed like they were in a stalemate for a while. However, Apollo was slowly speeding up.


    The rate at which he sped up was very slow, but it definitely existed.


    At first, both his bokken and hand danced in the air like sharks, violently moving around with murderous intent. However, as time went on, they became more like slippery eels, hard to catch onto.


    As Apollo continued, he eventually saw a set of stars.


    And as such, he did everything he could to sh all of them.


    Apollo let out several strikes all at once, but they were all blocked by the greatsword. Before he could get hit by the greatsword, he pushed off the ground and attacked from a different angle.


    However, this time, he suddenly found that his free hand had been cut off entirely.


    Vicar had caught him.


    Apollo retreated in order to give time for his hand to regrow. His breathing was steady, mixed with someughter in between.


    Vicar narrowed his eyes as he watched Apollo''s hand slowly reform, from the bones to the skin.


    "You have quite the strong natural regeneration ability."


    In response, Apollo dashed forth, fully intent on doing the same thing. He let out a flurry of strikes the moment he could, but all of them were defended by Vicar with a few whips of his sword.


    Apollo pushed off the ground, appearing at a different angle and tried again.


    Normally, the biggest problem with using his hand as a weapon was that it was far weaker than his bokken, thus would be heavily injured after hitting the opposing weapon. However, since he could use wind des instead, that fixed the biggest part of the problem.


    And with that, he continued to ramp up the amount of attacks he let out.


    And eventually, another attacknded.


    It was another wind de which directly tore apart Vicar''s armor and made another thin red line appear on his torso. Right afterwards, his hand was cut off.


    However, Apollo simply backed off and waited for it to heal. Then, charged back in once more.


    After a few minutes, another attacknded, this time his bokken mmed against the armor, leaving a huge dent that greatly damaged it.


    Then, one minuteter, hended another attack.


    Then thirty secondster.


    Slowly but surely, various wounds began appearing across Vicar''s body. Until eventually, a lightning bolt shot towards Vicar''s back.


    With the gleam of a crescent moon, it shot back, and Apollo''s strike was defended against. But right after that, Apollo whipped with his free hand, sending another wind de into Vicar, mming hard against his chest.


    Vicar coughed up a mouthful of blood, now in bad condition.


    Apollo was beginning to feel very confident.


    However, in the next moment, all of Vicar''s injuries suddenly mended, and his heavily damaged armor restored to normal.


    Apollo''s eyes widened, as the adrenaline suddenly left his body.


    "What?"


    Vicar coughed.


    "Ah, I will count that as your win. I thought I could still hold on without using my healing ability."


    And so, Apollo won the fight.


    But it felt like he lost.

 Chapter 334 - Friend!

    Chapter 334 ¨C Friend!


    The red scars that snaked across Apollo''s body gradually closed up while the intense waves of heat died down.


    As for Vicar, his elongated hair shortened while the fur on his body retracted as well.


    Apollo gave him a look.


    "So¡­ you changed your mind now?"


    Vicar chuckled.


    "I suppose so. I did fully intend on epting change if you won, but did not truly expect you to win."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Though if you decided to fight to the bitter end, I''m not sure if I would be able to win."


    Vicar shrugged his shoulders.


    "That battle would end up taking far too long. I figured I might as well save some time."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Ah¡­ I''m going to collect the eggshells now."


    Vicarughed.


    "Yes, you go do that."


    And Apollo began to do just that. Several of the eggshells were scattered from their fight earlier, but they weren''t damaged. He hoisted the biggest one up, then made sure to empty it of any leftover water, then used it as a base to carry the rest.


    Vicar was silent for the first few moments, but eventually decided to speak up.


    "Now that I truly calm down and understand the situation for what it was, I now understand it is impossible for the world to remain the same."


    Apollo pouted.


    "Well, that is obvious, right?"


    Vicar chuckled.


    "Yes, yes it is."


    He shut his eyes.


    "Even when things appear to be the same, they have still changed. Every tiny interaction has had some sort of impact over the person who I was, and the environment around me."


    Apollo let out a soft hum.


    "It may change the person you are, but at the end of the day people have a choice. You can choose to be brave, or you can choose to be afraid."


    Vicar smiled.


    "I suppose so. Though I must say, it truly is difficult to choose and be brave, even when it should be so easy."


    Apollo let out a soft sigh. He thought about how he had spent the majority of his life essentially in the state Vicar was in, pointlessly wasting away. It was only when the perpetual time loop urred that he was forced to learn how to stand for his own sake.


    To do something because he decided to.


    "¡­Yeah. It really is hard for no real reason."


    Vicarughed.


    "I wonder why that is."


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders as he picked up another eggshell.


    "I don''t know. Maybe there is no reason."


    Vicar looked at the wall as though there was some sort of work of art ced on the wall, despite it just being a in rock wall.


    "No reason¡­"


    The corner of his lip turned up.


    "Haha, it just makes me wonder why there is no reason, as contradictory as those thoughts are."


    Apollo lifted up thest eggshell he could find, then turned to Vicar.


    "What do you n on doing now, then?"


    Vicar blinked a few times, caught off guard by such a question.


    "¡­What I n to do?"


    ¡­


    "Waaah!"


    Hex had both of his sleeves raised high in the air as the wind battered against him. He was currently the back of a ck shadow in the form of a giant bird, ckie.


    "This is quite the convenient mode of transport."


    Lena satfortably on the middle of the ck shadow and gently brushed its smooth back, fascinated with the texture.


    "It doesn''t feel the most secure, though."


    Talon was sitting behind Lena, closer to the end of the bird. He grasped onto the ck shadow, slightly anxious about falling.


    After all, the four of them were currently flying high above in the sky.


    Though Talon was quite confident he could survive many injuries by using the ck flesh residing in his heart, the fall truly was truly too far. He would almost certainly die, after which there would be nothing to heal.


    Hex giggled.


    "This is the most secure! ckie is best, after me!"


    Lena pped gently.


    "Wow! That sounds amazing."


    Hex put both sleeves against his hips, sticking out his back confidently.


    "Of course! Me is always best!"


    The corner of Talon''s lip twitched. He decided to pretend thest few seconds never happened.


    "Hey, how long will it take to get to your friends?"


    Hex hummed.


    "Dunno!"


    Talon''s eyelid twitched.


    "Well¡­ how far away are they?"


    Hex shrugged his shoulders.


    "Dunno!"


    Talon blinked a few times.


    "Then¡­ do you know where they are?"


    Hex iled his sleeves around.


    "Dunno!"


    Talon nearly choked.


    "Then how are we supposed to find them?"


    Hex turned around to look at Talon and tilted his head to the side.


    "Dunno!"


    Lena giggled.


    "It appears we may end up searching for quite a while."


    Talon opened his mouth, but closed it right after.


    "I suppose so."


    And so, the group ended up sailing through the air for quite some time. Other than the wind and snownding on them, it was rather uneventful.


    That is, until another voice came from the distance.


    "Waaaaaaaaaah!~"


    There was a ck dot, far off in the distance shooting through the air.


    Talon narrowed his eyes.


    "What is that?"


    Hex pressed his sleeve down onto the top of his head and stuck his head out.


    "Mm¡­ me don''t know."


    Talon frowned.


    "We should probably steer clear of it."


    Lena looked at him and tilted her head to the side.


    "Why should we do that?"


    Talon''s eyelid twitched.


    "What if it''s dangerous!"


    Lena waved her hand dismissively.


    "Brother, you shouldn''t be so judgmental all the time. Why do you assume that the person is dangerous?"


    Talon really wanted to retort, saying that he wasn''t assuming anything. Rather, he was just being cautious. However, he also felt like he wouldn''t win the argument, thus just kept his aggrieved emotions to himself.


    Eventually, the ck dot became clearer and clearer.


    At some point, Hex stood up with an excited expression. He pointed at the dot with his sleeve.


    "Friend!"

 Chapter 335 - Return

    Chapter 335 ¨C Return


    Talon and Lena stood up and looked curiously, trying to get a better look at who Hex was referring to as friend. It was still rtively hard to tell, but the dot was swooping downwards and rising upfortably, clearly very familiar with flying.


    Lena let out a soft hum.


    "Ah, what a free spirit."


    Talon''s eyebrow twitched.


    "What the¡­"


    It was a little girl with long purple hair and two tiny cat ears that stuck out of her head. Along with that, she had a long purple tail trailing behind her. There was a red fluffy jacket on her, but right now, she had the corners of the jacket in her hands, sticking it out far as though they were wings.


    It revealed a cute purple shirt she had underneath.


    It was La.


    On her back, was a fairlyrge insect, raising both hands in the air, having a fun time.


    Hex waved with both sleeves excitedly.


    "Friend!"


    La looked towards Hex with some curiosity, then smiled brightly.


    "Ah, other friend!"


    She began waving with her hand, letting go of the corner of the jacket. Then she began falling out of the sky.


    "Eh?"


    La''s eyes widened.


    "Wawawawawawa!"


    The insect began chirping too. As for whether it was out of excitement or fear, that was unclear.


    Hex gasped when he noticed that La began falling. He walked over to the edge of the ckie and looked down.


    "Friend?"


    Lena looked concerned.


    "Oh dear!"


    As for Talon, he was a little too bbergasted to react. At that moment, Hex pointed downwards.


    "ckie! Catch friend!"


    ckie did as told, diving downwards at full speed. Lena and Hex were fine, but Talon''s eyes immediately widened all the way as he grasped onto the side of ckie for his life.


    La was fumbling around with the jacket, trying to catch the corner. After a few failed attempts, she grabbed onto it. She smiled brightly.


    "Got it!"


    Then, unaware of ckie diving down above her, she raised both hands high in the air, then pped downwards, shooting up into the air like a rocket.


    ckie was not prepared for this. And neither was anybody else.


    La shot upwards like a bullet, directly piercing through ckie. In the end, it was forced to retreat back into Hex''s shadow, thus leaving the three in the middle of the air.


    After shooting through ckie, La looked around, but only saw an empty sky.


    "Eh? Where did friends go?"


    The insect chirped a little before pointing downwards. La looked down and they were indeed there.


    "Ah, why are you there friends?"


    Currently, the three of them were falling downwards at high speeds, down into the snowy forest. Two ck hands came out from Hex''s sides, pping rapidly in order to slow down his descent.


    As for Lena, she had a neutral expression on her face despite catapulting down through the air. It was as though this was no different from resting in bed to her.


    On the other hand, Talon was essentially of theplete opposite mind. He iled his limbs around in a panic while gritting his teeth.


    "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit!"


    Talon wasn''t sure if he could survive a fall from this high up, thus quickly began thinking of some sort of solution he could use. That was when he thought about the scissors that were attached to his back.


    He quickly grabbed onto the scissors while he was falling, then looked below him. The trees were still quite far away. Talon tried to aim with his scissors, guiding himself towards the trees. Then, he opened up the scissors, holding onto the hilt tightly. His n was to m the scissors against the branches and slow his descent.


    Before Talon knew it, he found himself above the tree falling at incredibly fast speeds.


    One thing that didn''t reallye across his mind until now was that his arms probably wouldn''t be strong enough to stop his fall at this speed.


    Unfortunately, it was toote to change anything.


    With a clear crack, both of Talon''s shoulders dislocated, prompting him to grimace in pain. From there, he crashed through the various branches, getting scraped and cut all over. Until eventually, his back mmed against the floor, getting the wind knocked out of him.


    Not too far from him was Lena, who mmed against the ground like a cannonball, causingrge amounts of snow to scatter into the air.


    She sat up and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her body was faintly trembling and obviously not in the best condition, but she stood up anyway. She looked down, examining herself.


    Large amounts of blood began trickling down her legs.


    She hummed.


    "I should probably heal this."


    With that, she stuck out a finger, after which a white ball formed on top. Then, she sent it towards herself, causing her injuries to heal quickly. As for Talon, he was still in a dazed state. However, he recovered soon enough.


    Talon immediately used the ck flesh to repair his more serious and life-threatening wounds. Afterwards, he pressed his shoulder against the ground, forcefully reversing its dislocation. He inevitably grimaced in pain and would be sweating if it wasn''t so cold.


    With a snap, one of his shoulders snapped back in ce. Then, he promptly did so for the other one. Lena watched him do so and let out a soft sigh.


    "You shouldn''t be so reckless with your shoulders. You can get hurt really badly!"


    Talon''s face twitched. The reason why his shoulders were dislocated was to slow his fall so that he didn''t die. While he was contemting whether or not he should argue his case, Hexnded rtively gently next to them.


    "Me is ok! Is you ok?"


    Talon was about to nod, but a loud sound came from up above them.


    "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"


    La was shooting down straight towards the ground at an incredibly fast speed.


    As for why she was doing that¡­


    She didn''t know either.

 Chapter 336 - Golden Talisman

    Chapter 336 ¨C Golden Talisman


    An earth-shattering m rang out.


    La had mmed into the ground right next to Talon, Lena, and Hex. The surrounding trees were directly uprooted and shot away along with a tidal wave of snow. A massive crater had formed under La, along with arge amount of dust.


    As that dust cleared, it revealed La in the middle of standing up, then shaking her head. The insect was still attached to her back, somehow unscathed. It looked around curiously, as though wanting to survey the scene.


    Hex was lying on his back, t out unconscious.


    Lena had been lying down, but got up casually once more. There weren''t any apparent wounds on her body, but the blood spilling out from the corners of her mouth showed that she was far from unscathed.


    As for Talon, he was lying underneath a toppled tree on the verge of tears. The shoulders he had just put back into ce were now dislocated once more. The pain was even stronger this time. Many of his muscles, nerves, and ligaments had snapped.


    With a grunt, he once again pushed back his dislocated shoulders back, but not without several concerning snapping sounds. He had to use the ck flesh to keep his shoulders together at this point, then forced the tree off himself.


    Lena had just finished casting the healing spell on herself, then looked at La. She bowed courteously as though the events that happened just now didn''t transpire.


    "Hello. My name is Lena and my brother over there is Talon. May I know your name?"


    La grinned.


    "It''s La!"


    Lena nodded.


    "Nice to meet you La."


    The corner of Talon''s lip twitched as he held back the urge to retort."


    La giggled.


    "Yeah! What are you guys doing?"


    Lena smiled.


    "Hex wanted to find his friends, so we were on a journey to do so. Considering that you are one of his friends, the journey has been quite sessful."


    La raised both hands in the air.


    "Yeah!"


    Suddenly, her eyes widened as she gasped.


    "Wait! I have to find friend too! I forgot!"


    Lena looked concerned.


    "Ah!"


    She then turned to look at Hex who waspletely unconscious, lying on the floor.


    "I suppose we should get to it after having a little rest. It appears some of us are still quite tired."


    La let out a soft hum.


    "I am pretty tired. So much flying makes me sleepy!"


    Talon limped over, trying to ignore the piercing pain in his shoulders.


    "Haha, some sleep does sound pretty nice about now."


    La nodded.


    "Hmm¡­"


    Then, her eyes began to close as she fell over.


    Right afterwards, everything seemed to go quiet. However, that was actually just because it was far too loud.


    The next thing Talon knew, he was in the middle of the air with both shoulders dislocated. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as he mmed against the ground once more.


    It seemed like the trip was going to be quite eventful.


    ¡­


    Apollo had finished turning in the eggshells, getting three out of the five he needed. By his request, Vicar led him to other caves to gather even more eggshells. Along the way, Apollo thought of the missions that required him to kill the colossus. He wondered what Vicar''s opinion on that would be.


    "Hey, do you not like the killing of the colossus?"


    Vicar turned to him and raised an eyebrow.


    "Eh? I don''t see the point in that. Then I wouldn''t have any food."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Mm¡­ What if I killed one of them?"


    Vicar rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "I would not appreciate such actions, that is for sure."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Because you want to eat their tails? Or is there anything else?"


    Vicar let out a soft hum.


    "I suppose I have gotten somewhat attached to them. Though the main issue is still the sustenance that they could''ve provided."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Well, what if I killed one."


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "I wouldn''t favor it, but I also wouldn''t stop you."


    Apollo paused before nodding.


    "Ok."


    Eventually, with Vicar''s help, he was able to find all the eggshells he needed and turned it in as a reward. Upon doing so, a torn parchment appeared on the grey desk along with a fairlyrge sack of gold. After all, it was two thousand gold coins.


    Though the individual coins themselves were quite small, they stacked up to quite the amount.


    The first thing Apollo thought of was to replenish his food pellet supply. Although he still had a little less than fifty left over, he figured it would be best to get a lot of spare ones.


    And so, he walked towards the shop, but was caught off guard by two of the items disyed as they were new.


    ''Gold Coins


    10 Gold Coins ¨C 10 One-Week Food Pellets


    50 Gold Coins ¨C ck me Match


    500 Gold Coins ¨C Golden Talisman: Banish


    1000 Gold Coins ¨C Golden Talisman: Escape''


    Apollo was a little put off by the fact that one of them said escape, as that was not something he nned on doing. When he continued to think about it carefully, he could guess that this was actually the Talisman that Willow had used long ago, causing all of them to separate far away from one another.


    As for the other one, the word banish didn''t really make him think of anything special. And because it was cheaper than the banish one, he imagined that it couldn''t be that good.


    ¡­However, he was still fairly curious.


    So he dumped the gold coins in, and selected the golden talisman that said banish. Some grey mist appeared, before disappearing to reveal a golden talisman with golden linings across it. In the center was a door with a closed eye.


    Apollo was then about to spend a lot of money on buying food pellets, but then suddenly thought of Vicar.

 Chapter 337 - A Gift

    Chapter 337 ¨C A Gift


    Apollo remembered that Vicar was wanting to change. However, there probably wasn''t much to change if he kept staying here.


    ¡­And more importantly, if Vicar decided to leave, he shouldn''t care too much if the colossus were killed.


    Apollo remembered that the talisman would teleport the user quite far away, so maybe that could be useful to Vicar. It was definitely quite the expensive gift when it was just to teleport someone away, but it was a gift Apollo was willing to give.


    And so, Apollo spent a thousand gold coins to purchase the golden talismanbeled escape. Many people who at least somewhat understood the value of the golden talisman or even just the golden talisman would call Apollo insane.


    After all, it''s not like Vicar couldn''t just choose a direction to go, leaving that way.


    But that was his decision.


    And so, he found himself left with five hundred gold coins. He was now deciding on how many food pellets he wanted and if he should get any of the ck me matches.


    After a period of deliberation, Apollo decided to get two hundred food pellets, two ck me matches, and left the remaining two hundred coins for future use.


    After collecting all of his items, he then flipped his coin above the grey desk once more.


    This time, eight lines of white mist condensed. If the requirements for the promotion were simr tost time, that would mean ten lines of white mist were needed. Afterpleting another rtively hard mission, he should be able to rise in rank.


    That is, assuming he had already met the other requirements.


    Then, Apollo looked down at the various pieces of parchment below him. Just likest time, there were arge amount of them, filling up the table.


    He looked through the various parchments, trying to think of which one he wanted to do.


    Apollo picked up one of the parchments, eyeing it with great interest.


    ''Rank ¨C Silver Coin ¨C tinum Lined


    Target: Adult Male Colossus


    Description: Appears to be a variant of a lizard. The adult version is at least five hundred meters tall and one thousand meters wide. Males can be identified by the red tuft on the top of their head.


    Requirements: Recover a rtively intact corpse of a Colossus. Bonus rewards for better preservation.


    Reward: 10,000 Gold Coins and 2 Contribution Points''


    It was one he had seen before, and the rewards that came with it were quite ludicrous. However, Apollo ended up hesitating when he picked up this parchment.


    He couldn''t help but think of when he looked at the old colossus from earlier while holding the unicorn eye. From what he had seen, it didn''t have a single sin shown on its body.


    Apollo closed his eyes.


    Then, he slowly lifted up the parchment until all of the others disappeared.


    Apollo epted the mission.


    With that, he left.


    He soon reappeared within the snowy wastnd, right next to Vicar. The snow and wind battered against the two as they looked at each other.


    Vicar spoke up.


    "So you finished your mission?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Yes."


    Vicar nodded.


    "What did you get?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "There were a lot of gold coins, which I then used to buy some stuff."


    Vicar raised an eyebrow.


    "You were able to buy things?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "I got some food, these weird matches, a talisman with effects I don''t understand¡­"


    He then pulled out a golden talisman. In the center was a picture of a half-opened eye. It was the escape version.


    "And also something you might want."


    Vicar blinked a few times, then slowly took the golden talisman from his hand.


    "Thank you. May I ask what this does?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "I''m pretty sure I know what it does. It should send you really far away in a random direction."


    Vicar lifted up the talisman and looked at the half closed eye closely.


    "Haha, and why exactly did you get this for me?"


    Apollo shrugged his shoulders.


    "Just thought you might want to go somewhere."


    Vicar looked at him.


    "Was this expensive to buy?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Well, it was half of the money that I got from the mission. But you also helped meplete it, so it''s pretty fair."


    Vicarughed.


    "You really didn''t have to, but¡­"


    He took a deep breath.


    "Thank you for the gift."


    Apollo looked up at him.


    "No problem."


    The two of them stood there for a few moments. Apollo ended up taking out the unicorn eye and looking at the thick nearly ck tendrils emanating from Vicar.


    He had a slightly lost expression on his face.


    ording to the eye, Vicar was an unbelievably evil person. However, Apollo just couldn''t see him in that way. Not to say that he thought Vicar was a saint, or even a rtively good person.


    Apollo just thought he was someone.


    Someone trying to live their life.


    He then began to wonder what Karn would look like while holding the unicorn eye. However, Apollo quickly forgot about it.


    After all, he didn''t need the eye to tell him what kind of person Karn was.


    Regardless of what Apollo would see, that wouldn''t change his opinion. So the eye didn''t really matter.


    Apollo began to realize that the way he judged morality seemed to be quite different from how unicorns did. From what he could tell, unicorns saw people for every single bad thing that they have done.


    Whether or not someone was good or bad was directly corrted with this fact.


    However, Apollo just couldn''t see people like that.


    It was a view that neglected all the good things that person may have done. It didn''t see what that person had to go through.


    And most importantly, it didn''t take into consideration that some people were just trying to live the best way they knew how.


    Vicar looked towards Apollo.


    "Hey, want to go somewhere?"


    Apollo nodded.


    "Sure."

 Chapter 338 - Yzan

    Chapter 338 ¨C Yzan


    Vicar and Apollo walked side-by-side, walking across the boundless snowy wastnd. They had walked for quite a while and even passed by a few passing colossi along the way.


    Vicar and Apollo didn''t really react to the various colossus and they didn''t react to their presence either.


    After a while, Apollo couldn''t help but speak up.


    "Where are we going?"


    Vicar shrugged his shoulders. His index finger lightly tapped against his chin several times, thinking about something.


    "It is a rather¡­ different ce."


    Apollo rubbed his chin.


    "What do you mean?"


    Vicarughed.


    "It is actually the home of a dragon."


    Apollo let out a soft gasp.


    "Wow! I think those things are pretty strong."


    Vicar nodded.


    "Stronger than me, at least."


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "Did you try to fight it?"


    Vicar brought up his arm up to his face and began coughing. He had closed his eyes as though that would help him escape the situation.


    "Perhaps a little bit."


    Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    He couldn''t help but wonder how, ''a little bit'', applied to a yes or no question. Apollo let out a soft sigh.


    "How was it?"


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "It felt¡­ unfair."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "What do you mean?"


    Vicar closed his eyes as he recounted the events.


    "¡­He is very, very strong. Under normal circumstances, I would use the forces acting on me as well as the environment to my advantage. What would be a disadvantage for the short-sighted would either benefit me, or at the very minimum not hinder me."


    He narrowed his eyes.


    "However, it was different with him."


    Vicar took a deep breath.


    "There was¡­ some sort of strange pressure. It wore down on my shoulders making it incredibly difficult to move. My first instinct was to use it in order to amplify my overhead strikes. However, the biggest problem was that the dragon was flying in the air."


    A bitter smile formed on his face.


    "Not even mentioning an overhead strike, I wasn''t even able to reach him. In the end, the dragon came down to me to give me a chance."


    He sighed.


    "However, his strength was far greater than mine. Other than being able tost for a few hits, there was nothing else I could do. My body was thrown far away as though it was a piece of trash."


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "That sounds really strong."


    Vicar chuckled.


    "Yes. Though other than the rude pressure he exerts all the time, that dragon isn''t that bad of a person. Just a tad bit¡­ outspoken."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah. What is his name?"


    Vicar rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.


    "To be frank, my attention wasn''t the most rapt while that dragon was speaking. However, I am fairly certain that it stated its own name as Yzan."


    Apollo nodded.


    "Hm, ok. Yzan."


    The two of them continued through the snow for quite a while. The sun that had been high in the sky was now beginning to set.


    However, they eventually reached their destination.


    Vicar pointed up ahead.


    "He''s over there."


    Apollo followed his finger.


    "Hm, I don''t think you needed to tell me that he was there."


    Vicar raised an eyebrow.


    "Why not?"


    Apollo blinked a few times.


    "¡­He''s really big, you know?"


    In front of them was a dragon that stood at a height of five hundred meters. The dragon was ck, like the night. There was a slight gleaming from his scales that reflected the light.


    Though it was hard to tell what kind of expression it had due to the fact it wasn''t a human, Apollo could still tell that the dragon was confident within itself.


    Like there was nothing that could stand before it.


    The eyes of the dragon were amber colored and had a faint glow.


    As for its wings, they were spread out wide, almost like a swan spreading out its wings.


    The dragon was currently resting on the side of a mountain. The section that the dragon was resting on was bare stone, while the other side was covered in snow.


    To the other side of the dragon was a fairlyrge stack of silver-colored rocks.


    Vicar waved.


    "Hey, dragon. I brought one of my friends."


    Yzan looked at Vicar with annoyance, and let out a sigh.


    "Is it truly so difficult to refer to me by name?"


    Vicar didn''t even flinch.


    "I don''t like your name."


    Yzan blinked a few times.


    "I truly dislike people like you."


    Vicar gestured towards Apollo.


    "And that''s why I brought another."


    Yzan shifted his gaze.


    "Hello there. What exactly did Vicar here see in you?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Um, hi. I''m just a person walking around."


    Yzan scoffed.


    "Is that so? Though you may be a person walking around, you are also walking next to that freak."


    Apollo raised an eyebrow.


    "Freak?"


    Yzan pointed towards Vicar with his snout, like how a person would with their chin.


    "That man."


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "He doesn''t feel like a freak to me."


    Yzan blinked a few times.


    "You truly don''t think he is a little different from the norm."


    Apollo shook his head.


    "Not really."


    Vicar scoffed.


    "I told you that it was your misconception."


    Yzan stared at the two of them for a while before letting out a sigh.


    "You two truly don''t have any respect for me. Do you not realize I am a dragon? One of the esteemed ones?"


    Apollo rolled his eyes.


    "Well obviously you''re a dragon. I''m not that dumb."


    Yzan stared at him and was speechless for a moment.


    "You two are the kinds of people I hate the most."


    He sighed.


    "Though I suppose life would be too boring without your shameless kind. What are you doing here anyway?"


    Vicar shrugged his shoulders.


    "Just a whim. I felt like he might''ve wanted to see you."


    Apollo raised his hand.


    "Could we spar?"

 Chapter 339 - Nothing Better To Do

    Chapter 339 ¨C Nothing Better To Do


    Yzan looked at Apollo strangely, as though trying to contemte whether or not he wanted to fight.


    After a few moments, it spoke up.


    "Why do you wish to fight?"


    Apollo tilted his head to the side.


    "Why not?"


    Yzan took a deep breath, obviously unsure of whether or not he wanted to do this.


    "You¡­ are you going to be like that guy?"


    He pointed towards Vicar, who innocently pointed at himself.


    "Who? Me?"


    Yzan nodded.


    "Yes, you. Thest time we had a spar, you would not stop charging in after healing yourself over and over again. It took nearly a day for me to convince you to stop."


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "What are you talking about? That wasn''t even that long of a spar. At most, it was a third of the day."


    Yzan mmed its w against the side of the mountain.


    "That''s still an unreasonably long time to have a spar! Especially when it only consisted of me hitting you away and youing back to get hit once more!"


    Vicar cleared his throat.


    "I was simply experimenting with the various techniques that I was able toe up with."


    Yzan seemed a little aggrieved.


    "But was it truly necessary to do so for so long?"


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "It''s not like you have anything better to do."


    Yzan was speechless for a moment.


    "I''ll have you know enjoying my rest is quite liberating, alright?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "So¡­ can we spar then?"


    Yzan looked towards Apollo, giving him a long stare. Then eventually, it sighed.


    "I suppose there truly isn''t that much more for me to do. Very well. We can spar"


    Suddenly, an extremely strong pressure assaulted Apollo. Though his knees did not buckle, a few cracking sounds came from his body as it resisted. It was so oppressive that Apollo could feel his bones grinding against one another just when he was standing still.


    Then, he tried taking a step forward.


    Several cracking sounds resounded as his skin stretched strangely just to move around. Apollo''s eyebrow twitched.


    ¡­He couldn''tprehend how Vicar was able to fight despite being subjected to pressure like this.


    Apollo was already on the precipice of losing, and Yzan hadn''t actually moved himself. Vicar looked at Apollo then tilted his head to the side.


    "Why are you taking so long just to walk up to him?"


    Yzan stared at Apollo for a good few seconds before letting out a chuckle.


    "It seems that people can''t normally walk towards me while facing my pressure, while you are the anomaly, Vicar."


    Vicar ended up raising an eyebrow.


    "What? It isn''t that strong, alright? I am not an anomaly."


    Yzan clicked his tongue.


    "Then why is it taking your friend so long to walk forwards?"


    Vicar shrugged his shoulders.


    "I don''t know."


    Yzan sighed.


    "It''s because not everybody is like you! Don''t you understand that? People like us aren''t normal!"


    Vicar blinked a few times.


    "And now here you are, proiming that we are some sort of special species."


    Yzan seemed to be at a loss for words. Eventually, it turned to look at Apollo and sighed.


    "You can''t possibly fight with the condition you are in. Why don''t you just give up?"


    Apollo ended up smiling.


    "What? You think I can''t win?"


    Yzan opened its mouth and closed it a few times.


    "It does not appear that you are faring well under the pressure that my body exudes, isn''t that just the natural belief that I should have?"


    Apolloughed a little bit.


    "Don''t get ahead of yourself."


    He reached towards his bag of food pellets with his free arm. It ended up letting out quite a few frightening cracking sounds as it did so. Until eventually, he got a few of them and put them into his mouth.


    Yzan simply stared curiously.


    "¡­What exactly are those concentrated balls of sustenance supposed to do?"


    Apollo had suffered various internal injuries just from existing underneath the pressure. However, other than that, it wasn''t able to do much. He beganughing a little more intensely, while his eyes widened.


    Apollo unattached the entire bag of food pellets, then without really thinking about the consequences, dumped all of them into his mouth.


    The dragon blinked a few times.


    "Are we having a food eating contest?"


    Almost immediately, Apollo''s body exploded out into extremelyrge amounts of heat. The extra energy nearly overloaded his senses, and even let him resist the pressure on his own.


    Apollo''s body could sense the extra energy provided, and thus progressed on its way to another evolution. The energy gathered, ready to make an explosive change¡­


    But it suddenly stopped.


    The excess energy nearly made Apollo go insane as it felt like there was no ce to channel it towards.


    All of the build up had gathered to eventually reach a bottleneck.


    Apollo grit his teeth, trying to think of some kind of solution.


    Then, he pulled out a wind crystal from his pocket that caused the surrounding snow to swirl around it slightly.


    He could remember that Mark had said something about this being useful to him. And so, Apollo decided that the use he had for it was to swallow it.


    If Mark saw this, he would probably freak out a little, as if a normal person tried to consume it, they would probably end up dying in the process.


    It was an object one was supposed to slowly refine, then by the end, they would''ve gained a ''uniqueness''.


    However, it wasn''t like Apollo knew that.


    The sensation of the wind crystal slipping down his throat felt cool. Until eventually, it hit his stomach acid.


    Almost immediately, violent surges of wind were stirred up, circling around Apollo. The surrounding snow whipped around in the form of a tornado around him.


    Yzan''s eyes widened.


    "On my, what is this?"


    Vicar tilted his head to the side.


    "Eh, why didn''t you just do this earlier?"


    Apollo''s eyes began shifting colors, bing entirely white.

 Chapter 340 - Fire In A Dark Night

    Chapter 340 ¨C Fire In A Dark Night


    The violent surges of wind continued to pick up, making a miniature tornado that circted around Apollo. As of now, the excess energy began to overflow from both his mouth and eyes. Now, they had both be a solid white that began to glow.


    The smile on his face and widened eyes made even more light shine through, making the rest of his face look dark.


    Currently, Apollo wasn''t truly aware of what was happening. All he could feel was that his body was beginning to change tremendously, as though remolded from the base. Yet, at the same time, it also seemed like his body wasn''t changing.


    Lightning began to gather around Apollo, snaking around the snowy tornado that had formed around him. It was as though a storm wasing.


    The excess energy that was in Apollo''s body had drained almost immediately, while his body continued to emit excessive waves of heat. It came to the point that the snow a few meters away began melting into water.


    After a few minutes passed, he could feel¡­ something flow through his body. It felt cool, especially since his body was overheating tremendously. As it continued to move throughout his body, he could tell that he was gaining some sort of ability.


    It felt like he was gaining an extra limb, simr to how his lightning ability worked.


    Apollo could feel his entire body feel considerably lighter. And eventually, a soft feeling covered his entire body. The evolution had beenpleted.


    However, before he could think about it any further, a massive lighting bolt came down from the air, striking Apollo. This lightning bolt was disproportionatelyrge, making even Yzan gasp in surprise.


    The floor underneath Apollo was razed, while snow and water were scattered up high into the air from his position, making Vicar block it with his greatsword.


    As all of the snow cleared, it gradually revealed Apollo, who was staring up at the sky, as though wondering what was up there in those clouds.


    And at that moment, a voice rang out inside his head.


    "Mm¡­ W-What the heck? What is happening?"


    "¡­I''m going to fight with the dragon."


    Apollo spoke without much concern, not caring about the confusion it probably caused Vicar and Yzan. The voice in his head seemed a little perplexed.


    "What? Why are you in a fight with this dragon? Does it have something valuable?"


    "Um, I just wanted to fight it. I don''t think that there are any valuables."


    The voice in his head was speechless.


    Yzan tilted its head to the side.


    "¡­What are you doing?"


    Vicar looked towards Apollo with a questioning look.


    "Who are you talking to?"


    Apollo scratched the side of his head.


    "Ah, there''s this other person in my head that is sometimes awake and we can talk."


    Vicar raised both eyebrows.


    "That sounds quite interesting. You will always have someone to talk to that way."


    Apollo pouted slightly.


    "I don''t really like him though."


    "What?"


    The voice seemed displeased. Apollo shook his head.


    "Anyway, I''m going over to fight the dragon."


    Yzan''s eyelid twitched.


    "My name is Yzan¡­"


    Apollo smiled.


    "And mine is Apollo!"


    This time, he walked forwards with rtive ease. The pressure still had quite the effect on him, but it was nothingpared to before. He began to gather lighting¡­ and wind.


    The snow around him began rotating around him in a circle, while arge amount of lightning gathered among it.


    Yzan raised both eyebrows.


    "Youpleted an entire breakthrough¡­ in a matter of moments?"


    Apollo didn''t respond.


    Instead, he continued to charge forth. His eyes and smile began to glow with an incredibly bright white. The voice in his head seemed confused.


    "What the heck happened while I was asleep? Why are you- Woah!"


    Suddenly, a thundering bang resounded.


    Apollo shot off of the ground explosively, leaving remnant trails of lightning. Wild gales of wind caused both his clothes and hair to p around violently, almost like he was skydiving.


    The voice in his head was speechless for a moment, but eventually, let out a sigh.


    "I guess I''ll help then."


    Lighting began gathering in the air around him. However, along with it, visible winds began to form around them, coalescing to be a part of them.


    At first, Yzan was watching without much interest. However, his eyes widened ever so slightly when he saw the sight in front of him.


    The voice in Apollo''s head was also a little surprised.


    "What the- when did you get this wind thing?"


    Apollo tried to respond, but the only thing he could do wasugh. And as such¡­


    "HAHAHA HAHAHAHA."


    That was the response he gave.


    Propelled by both the winds and lightning, he began shooting towards Yzan. As he got closer, the pressure also got stronger. However, Apollo was still able to force his way through.


    The lighting around him continued to gather andbine with the winds, quickly amassing to be something massive.


    In a matter of moments, the wind and lightning burgeoned with one another, seemingly on the verge of bursting.


    After a few moments, Yzan ended up opening his mouth, letting a ck ball condense in front of his jaws. He decided to take this a little seriously.


    As for Apollo, his figure had disappeared entirely within the winds and lightning. They hadbined together to be a massive dragon head, several timesrger than even Yzan''s.


    It''s main body consisted of wind, but lighting ran through all of it. The eyes glowed brightly with bright blue lightning, as did the interior of the dragon''s mouth.


    In mere moments, Apollo had already gotten close.


    Yzan suddenly let loose with the ck mass, causing massive waves of ck energy to shoot out from his mouth.


    The dragon that Apollo had formed began to distort. Even the lighting from its eyes began to dull.


    However, despite being wrapped up in ck energy, the dragon head continued to shoot through.


    Like a fire doing its best to light up the dark night.

 Chapter 341 - Why Not?

    Chapter 341 ¨C Why Not?


    Apollo continued to push through the ck energy, maintaining the energy of the dragon the best he could. The ck energy still wasn''t anything to scoff at though, The form of the dragon head distorted greatly, both twisted and dimming.


    Nheless, Apollo continued pushing through.


    It was rocky, almost like he could copse entirely at any moment, almost as though he was on a ship in the middle of a violent storm.


    However, Apollo continued getting closer. He didn''t stop for a single second, just pushing onwards. The sensation was painful, not physically, but mentally. It was as though his very mind was being distorted as the wind dragon was, giving him an unfamiliar pain.


    However, Apollo continued tough, shooting forwards without any restraint. He was pointing his bokken forwards from within the dragon head and had no intention of pointing it anywhere else.


    Miraculously, Apollo got closer and closer. Yzan''s eyes widened when he saw this happen in front of him, genuinely shocked that someone could push through his full force attack.


    Spewing out this ck energy was simr to breathing in a sense, in that Yzan could only do this for so long. It was as though it was running out of breath, shrinking his lungs to the very limits in order to blow out thest.


    Apollo got closer. Only a faint glimmer of blue light could be seen from within the ck energy, but it was a stubborn one that refused to be put out.


    Once Apollo was just a meter away from Yzan''s face, he found that he was unable to spew any more of the ck energy.


    And out from the ck energy, it revealed Apollo.


    However, the dragon head was nowhere to be seen. In fact, even his skin ripped off, showing his bright red muscles, both of them were stripped off.


    However, Apollo was still pointing his bokken forwards while a bright yellow crown hovered above his head, with one bright curved horn at the front.


    And he continued forth, hitting Yzan''s snout with the tip of his bokken.


    ¡­With a light tap.


    Then, Apollo began falling out of the sky, unable to support himself any longer. As for Yzan, he was a little bbergasted, not knowing how to react.


    In the end, Apollonded hard onto the side of the mountain before tumbling down it like a ragdoll, mming hard against the various indentations along the way.


    The voice in his head wasining.


    "Why did you think that was going to work? Did you not see how big that thing is?!"


    Apollo spoke distortedly, and he was asionally interrupted whenever he hit something on the way down.


    "If I didn''t¡­ try then how¡­ do I know?"


    The voice in his head seemed a little annoyed.


    "By usingmon sense! Is it really needed to do that? Why are you even doing that!"


    Apollo opened his mouth, but hit a rather sharp jagged edge really hard, spitting out a mouthful of blood. From there, he rolled down the rest of the mountain like a log, before finding himself in a pile of snow.


    Yzan tilted his head to the side.


    "You certainly put up a much stronger fight than I was expecting. If I was unable to defend myself, then that attack could cause quite the damage to my body."


    Apollo pulled himself out of the snow. His injuries rapidly healed, while his eyes and mouth were still glowing white.


    Apollo let out a distorted voice and raised his bokken, pointing it towards Yzan once more.


    "This time¡­ it will be different!"


    The voice in his head seemed confused.


    "Wait, what are you talking about? We just figured out that we can''t fight against him!"


    Apollo did not even try to listen and began running forwards once more.


    As for Yzan, he blinked a few times.


    "Wait, no, no, no."


    Apollo did not bother stopping, which seemed to provoke Yzan even more.


    "No, NO, NO, NO, NO."


    Yzan lunged forth and swiped with his w, shooting out frighteningly fast. Massive waves of winds were stirred up along with a mini tidal wave of snow.


    A deafening bang resounded along with the clear sounds of cracking.


    Apollo was only able to bring his bokken up to defend, but the force was simply too much for him to handle, smashing into him as well. Nearly every bone in his body cracked as he was sent flying far away like a rag doll.


    After mming hard against the snow and tumbling around, Apollo remained there for a second, letting the more important parts for movement repair themselves. Then, he stood back up.


    The voice in his head just seemed confused at this point.


    "Why are you being so silly?"


    Apollo let out a distorted chuckle.


    "¡­Why not?"


    The voice was speechless for a moment, but eventually spoke up anyway.


    "Mm, I guess I can help then."


    Large amount of lightning gathered within Apollo''s surroundings, jumping around in the form of arcs. Eventually, the voice in his head spoke up.


    "Ah, I can sense¡­ a new ability? When did this happen?"


    Apollo did not respond. His head tilted to the side slightly and let out countless tiny little cracks.


    As for Yzan, it sucked in a deep breath.


    "You¡­ you do not intend on repeating the same actions repeatedly, correct?"


    Apollo began walking towards him.


    Yzan seemed to be on the verge of losing it.


    "I''m not doing this for a whole day again, alright?"


    Apollo continued walking forwards as the lightning around him grew more violent, making it seem as though he had be a thundercloud itself.


    Yzan seemed to have some past trauma from sparring, possibly because of Vicar. Though he didn''t have much to do, he also didn''t want to be fighting for the rest of his life, and understandably so.


    Unfortunately, Apollo had no intention of backing down.


    Yzan decided not to hold back, suddenly increasing the pressure several times over.

 Chapter 342 - No Thanks, No Thanks

    Chapter 342 ¨C No Thanks, No Thanks


    The sudden increase in pressure caused Apollo''s bones to creak. Yet, he continued forwards anyway. As for the lightning around him, it had be extremely violent, jumping around like overly excited children.


    Then, it began to gather.


    However, it didn''t be a lightning bolt, but rather, a miniature lightning dragon. Once it had formed, it created a pressure of its own, considerably relieving the burden of pressure.


    As for Yzan, he was only expecting a spar that wouldst one exchange, maybe two. From what he could tell, this was going tost a while if Apollo was just going to stand back up each time.


    And as such, it longer wanted to y around. It sucked in a deep breath and opened its mouth wide. A giant ball of ck me formed at the end of his mouth.


    As for Apollo, winds began to stir around him, causing the snow to lift and his hair to dance wildly. It gradually became corporeal, creating grey colored winds that obscured his figure.


    Suddenly, Yzan let the giant ball of ck me loose, shooting it towards Apollo. It expanded rapidly as it traveled, soon bing a diameter of twenty meters, nearly filling up Apollo''s entire vision.


    In response to this giant thing, he pushed his foot off the ground and suddenly disappeared.


    Apollo shot forwards while within the shadow world. However, he could only go so far before he was pulled back out.


    And unfortunately, it wasn''t enough topletely evade the fireball. In the end, he suddenly found himself within it, immediately burning away at his skin and singeing his hair.


    However, Apollo soon burst out of it, almost like he shot above the water to gasp for air. Though in this case, he gasped for augh. His skin had mostly burned away, including his eyelids. His heavily charred body continued to charge forth, while the lightning dragon also came to support him, swooping out from the fireball.


    ck mes gathered on the end of Yzan''s w before he suddenly swiped, throwing arge nket of mes. Apollo pulled his bokken back, letting corporeal grey winds gather around it, whipping around violently.


    Then, he swung, pushing his thumb against the hilt.


    A loud screech filled the air, almost like the sound of nails against a chalkboard.


    Apollo had thrown a giant wind de ahead of him, tearing through the air and even the ground. Upon hitting the me wall, it burst through, also creating a giant gap for him to pass through.


    He dashed on through, along with the lightning dragon, soon to be right in front of their target.


    Yzan seemed really annoyed. He gathered arge amount of ck energy in front of his mouth, and even brought up both hands to hold it up, expanding it further.


    Then, Yzan let loose, spewing out an enormous wave of energy. The lightning dragon hurried out of the way, just barely escaping the range with its quick flight. On the other hand, Apollo was unable to do so.


    He was hit full force by the energy, immediately feeling his skin peel away. Though Apollo pointed his bokken ahead of himself, the ck energy was simply too pervasive. His regeneration could not keep up at the rate at which he was taking damage.


    In other words, if it kept going on like this, he would soon find himself dead.


    As though death was inspiration to him, like an artist on fire, Apollo came up with something on the fly. Strong forces of wind gathered at the tip of his bokken, swirling violently in a spiral. It assisted in diverting the ck energy away from his body.


    It helped him greatly, slowing down the rate at which he was taking damage. However, it couldn''t block all of it. In the end, Apollo was taking more damage than he could handle.


    First, it was his skin that peeled away, then the various fats covering his body. His eyelids had peeled offpletely, making his eyes immediately bloodshot from the blck energy. His muscles reddened considerably, on the verge of tearing apart.


    ¡­Until eventually, Apollo was blown away.


    Hepletely lost his footing, taken away by the winds. Soon after, Yzan also couldn''t spew any more of that ck energy.


    However, there was something else also going for Yzan. The lightning dragon.


    It let out an electrifying howl, crackling violently as it charged straight towards Yzan''s neck with its mouth wide open.


    This seemed quite promising, yet right when it was about tond, ck mes suddenly sprouted from Yzan''s body, raging violently.


    The lightning dragon had caught fire, burning up rapidly. Nheless, it stubbornly bit down onto Yzan even as it burned into nothingness, until eventually it disappeared altogether.


    The ck mes obscured Yzan''s figure entirely. At the ce where there used to be two amber eyes, were now glowing with a bright red, almost matching Apollo''s glowing white eyes.


    ¡­Well, at least how they were glowing before.


    Currently, Apollo was lying on his back with no more strength to spare. Under normal circumstances, he would take out a few food pellets and eat them, thus letting him still have the energy to fight.


    However, he had already consumed all of them to evolve. There was simply none left for him to use.


    Yzan stomped onto the ground ferociously, causing a thundering boom to ring out. It let out a drawn out breath, ready to take on Apollo with all his might.


    Yet, once the snow cleared, it revealed that very person lying down on the ground powerlessly.


    Yzan blinked a few times, almost unable to take the situation in.


    "¡­Oh."


    Vicar tilted his head to the side.


    "If you still want to fight, I can participate."


    Yzan clearly flinched, quickly dispelling the ck mes around him. Then, he proceeded to shake his head back and forth as fast as he could, almost like a kid offered some extra vegetables.


    "No thanks, no thanks."


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