Chapter 458 - A Battle Within Darkness

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Apollo's nonchalant remark made Tanath's eyes narrow. After all, there were over 60 demons on their side, and on Apollo's side, he was the only individual to make a move. Essentially, the situation was a one against many!

Yet, Apollo's current disposition indicated that he was unfazed by this development. In fact, it was a situation that he welcomed! Although his level was locked again until he visited all of the Nihilistic Rings, there were other ways for him to gather strength outside of leveling up.

The quickest and alternative to leveling up was to engage in arduous battle and catapult the techniques at his disposal to the next level. Therefore, the current situation was ideal for Apollo.

Even Fuhrer felt this way since he sensed the type of aura Apollo's body was emitting. Though it was far from becoming a Dominion, Apollo's title augmented his aura to a level just below that caliber.

Thus, a notification appeared before Apollo's view that made him smile. 

〈System: Your Aura of Domination had reduced your foe's stats by 15%.〉

'The effect only applies to the Archdemons within my aura's immediate radius, the other demons haven't been affected yet, or the numbers would appear much greater,' Apollo thought to himself as he shifted his gaze to one of the Archdemon incoming rush.

In response, Apollo raised his guard and immediately split into three afterimages as he flapped his wings to dodge a crushing strike from the large Archdemon. Although its strength seemed higher than Apollo's, his expert use of his attribute made Apollo a problematic opponent.

Since young, he spent his time honing his instincts amidst challenging battles. So, when it came to perception and danger sense, Apollo's current standard surpassed most entry-level Archdemons. 

"Tch… what the hell is this technique? He's like a scurrying rodent that you can't hit!" The Archdemon scowled while shooting Apollo a hostile glance. A large mace appeared in its grasp as its body released a strong wave of powerful Anima.

A moment later, it mixed with the remnants of Ira that flowed towards its legs. After its muscles swelled, the Archdemon performed a rush backed by an excessive speed! However, Apollo smiled at this development and rushed forward as well.

Amidst Apollo's rush, the terrifyingly sharp aura of the Nether Severance appeared as he slashed his arm horizontally. At first, the Archdemon thought of contesting this strike since a Greater Demon employed it; however, he changed his mind midway through his retaliation.

Instead, he sidestepped the large arc of dreadful sharpness before resuming his rush towards Apollo.

Regrettably, he didn't realize that Apollo never intended to attack him. He was banking on the Archdemon dodging the attack, which exposed the position to his rear―the location of the helpless Lesser Demons.

'Predictable reactions, but I should be thanking you,' Apollo thought with a slight chuckle. Once his attack landed, a generous addition to the current experience pool would occur.

Unfortunately, his grin disappeared as he noticed a change.

Whereas the Archdemon storming his current position failed to notice his intention, Tanath was a different story! After learning of the trajectory of Apollo's attack, he immediately conjured a weakened version of the attack used to open the doors and intercepted Apollo's strike.

As a result, Tanath's strike knocked the Nether Severance off its prior path and slammed it into a wall, causing a vigorous rumble. It was enough to stir the others awake from their absorption.

"What the hell?!" Valac exclaimed with widened eyes as he saw a large number of unfamiliar demons. Shortly after, he saw Apollo in combat with at least two and immediately stood up to join in.

However, Fuhrer raised his hand and stopped him in his tracks. "Leave it. It's the young Lord's orders. If not, do you think I would be standing by idly?"

"B-but Fuhrer!" Valac exclaimed.

Still, Fuhrer shook his head. Although he understood what Valac wanted to say, it was a request from their leader. And, unless it was a dire situation, Fuhrer wasn't one to disobey direct orders. 

"That's too many opponents for the Lord to face all at once! At least let me clean up the insignificant ones. They could interrupt the flow of the battle at any time," Valac said in an animated tone.

While Lesser Demons were typically inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, that fact changed when there was an overwhelming number of them. Their insignificant strength added together then became a monumental problem for most individuals.

"Says who?" Fuhrer answered with an amused chuckle while looking towards Valac. If there was one thing Fuhrer found exhilarating, it was a battle with innumerable enemies, which was why he could understand Apollo's desire.

If it was him, and he wished to test his current limits, he would do the same. In fact, he had performed this action numerous times. Some were even done on the battlefield with Astraval, using the chaos of war to hone himself indefinitely.

"Arghh! You're just unreasonable," Valac groaned before planting his butt on the rock with a grumble. He couldn't get past Fuhrer even if he wanted to, so Valac chose to take a seat without being forced.

Similarly, Typhir's eyes opened with a destructive glimmer that soon subsided. The Ira fluctuations from his body were much purer, indicating the increase in purity. And, it was also within his control, which was surprising.

'As expected of a Perfected Bloodline like his, his aura can conceal the Sin perfectly,' Fuhrer thought before returning his attention to the battle before his eyes.

Apollo extended his hand and formed another giant aura claw that caught the rushing Archdemon's mace and tossed it aside. Every time he used the Dominator's Clutch, his familiarity with the technique rose tremendously, especially when the title's effect amplified its effects and decreased the difficulty of increasing the skill's compatibility.

Of course, the Archdemon didn't appreciate being tossed around by Apollo's attack. It used a second mace to crush the dark claw around its dominant hand. Once free, he smashed the mace heads together, sending a demonic attack hurtling towards Apollo.

At the same time, another Archdemon took Apollo's flank while revealing a bow. Its slender amethyst design with a deep blue bowstring was shocking. But, that wasn't what caught Apollo's eyes. 

An arrow formed from deep blue flames appeared once the Archdemon drew on the bowstring. It didn't seem to be Hellfire since Apollo failed to sense any Ira in the strike. Instead, a unique flame and pure Anima mixed to form this attack.

'Is this similar to the Nether Flame within Xonnomor's forge? I suppose demons can awaken unique qualities with the right conditions,' Apollo thought. He then smashed his hand against the ground an instant later, sending a growing wave of darkness in all directions.

After experiencing some of Destrys' application of darkness, it spurred Apollo's own utilization methods. 

Because of Apollo's abrupt actions, darkness enveloped the surrounding area, and it was dense enough to restrict mostly everyone's view. Yet, a pair of crimson gold and amethyst eyes blazed with the darkness.

"Tch. A futile attempt to remove our sight of the battlefield," Tanath commented before taking a step back. He looked towards Apollo's earlier position before attacking directly across from it.

Typically, an individual would use a smokescreen to cover their actions while rotating. However, Tanath was a demon familiar with the conventional battle tactics, so he was prepared for Apollo's actions.

Or, so he thought.

"Is that so?" Apollo snickered.

Suddenly, the darkness surrounding the demons morphed into individual void blades hidden within the cover of the darkness. Except for the Archdemons and a few Greater Demons with sharp senses, the rest were unaware of the baffling change.

Additionally, Tanath couldn't provide cover because the Lesser Demons made a premature move, shifting away from their earlier.

Within a few moments, a few notifications appeared before Apollo's eyes as the void blades reduced the numbers of Lesser Demons steadily.

The screams of pain echoed in Tanath's ear leading him to rush towards the sounds. However, how could Apollo allow him to render aid? Before Tanath could arrive at the correct position, Apollo raised his hand and aimed a ridiculous number of void blades at Tanath.

This forced him into a passive state while trying to defend against each blade.

Furthermore, Apollo learned a few things from his defense. 'Not just stronger than the rest, his application is leagues above. Not even a single blade has slipped past his defenses.'

Though Apollo praised his actions, Tanath still wasn't able to stop the inevitable.

By the end of Apollo's attack, only six Greater Demons remained standing, whereas the Lesser Demons were simply annihilated!