Chapter 234: Garnering Attention From All Corners

----

"This is preposterous! How can you be so hostile towards a world's will? It doesn't matter if you aren't an inhabitant of this place. Any foul play and there is a chance that the place they all live in will be eradicated. Is that something that sits right with you?" Astraya shrieked while looking at the destructive change in Fuhrer's aura.

She could tell at a glance that he didn't mind following through with his threat. Furthermore, she wasn't exactly sure of his strength. The more he appeared, his body rejected her origin scan to determine his level. Thus, she retired to reasoning with him.

Unfortunately, she underestimated the ruthlessness of a demon who had seen ample flames of war and countless sights of death. He was inured to the thought of witnessing even more. This was especially true when it came to the fact that it was a race he had zero attachment towards.

"Do you believe the eradication of this planet means anything to me? In fact, I welcome this, maybe if that were to happen, I could take my liege from this dreary planet," Fuhrer said. Afterward, he raised the tip of his sword to Astaraya's nose causing a short aura to prick.

"Now, make your decision. Will you hinder my liege or will you accept my demands," Fuhrer questioned with an unmoving aura encompassing the both of them. Due to his actions, the atmosphere of all of Astraya underwent a change. 

Not just the environment of the Vermillion Night Academy, even Pangea Island was affected by the ripple of true destruction that Fuhrer emitted, "While my liege may be unable to perform certain actions, your restrictions can't exist on me. At best, you're at my level, at worst, even in my current state I am stronger than you."

At first, Astraya wanted to give in but then she presented a radiant smile. "That may be true, but as you know, the Will of a Lower Planet isn't the true line of defense. Thank you for arriving at the perfect time, Ragna!"

From behind Astraya, a middle-aged man donned in golden armors with black etching in the form of scales appeared. As he walked between the two, his eyes remained locked on Fuhrer. Quietly, he inspected Fuhrer's strength to discern whether or not a battle could take place.

But, under Astraya's reassurance, he simply nodded, "If you can truly contain the aftershock of our battle, then I don't mind dealing with the issue that has risen before you. However, as a cost, you'll have to supply me with adequate source energy of Astarat. Although it may damage the planet, it is nothing in comparison to what this individual seeks," Ragna said before holding his hand out before him.

Slowly, a black greatsword with a golden line and insignia flowing through it manifested in front of his hand. Compared to Fuhrer's sword, it was at least twice as big. However, what everyone didn't know was that Brynhildr's image changed based upon the strengths of its wielder. 

Since Fuhrer was skilled in matters relating to longswords, that was the image it took on. In the meantime, Fuhrer scoffed, "Repugnant. You come to the immediate defense of this repulsive false image of a woman. The destruction of this world doesn't implicate you in the slightest. It is just a sense of superiority that incites you to move."

In response, Ragna chuckled. "It may not implicate me, but my master has given me strict orders. At the sign of the prophecy coming true, I am to intervene to quell the matter from arising. To me, it seems as if you're the bridge that allows this to happen. Hence, I must deal with you both efficiently and accordingly."

After saying this, Ragna made his move. With a flick of his shoulder, an explosive slash hurtled toward Fuhrer that caused his gaze to sharpen. Before responding, he looked back at the position of Apollo. He sent him a mental message to exhaust as many Anima Crystals as his body could withstand.

In the meantime, he finally made his move. With a violent step, he kicked the air causing numerous dark voids in space. Unlike when he trained Apollo, he wasn't holding back. A portion of his true strength was being revealed. If he sought to overwhelm the guardian of the world, he had to utilize techniques that would increase the strain on Apollo's body.

Once again, the limitation of his subordinates was a direct reflection of the Monarch. This was why the Monarch was supposed to be an individual whose power was boundless. All of his subjects were to draw power from him in dire times and vice versa. 

Sadly, in his current state, Apollo was severely lacking. This was no way he could sustain that type of mutual bond. Thankfully, the Daemonic Avatar of Fuhrer also possessed its own power source. The only issue with utilizing it was that took extremely pure quantities of Demonic Anima to refill.

Still, Fuhrer decided it wasn't the time to dwell on such matters. As long as he could thwart this issue from the first clash, then it was worth it. He would simply have to find a way for Apollo to obtain even more Anima Crystals.

As their two weapons collided, both Ragna and Fuhrer were forced back a few steps. Simultaneously, they shook off the aftereffect of their collision before once again storm in for another set of strikes. This time, neither of them retreated from the blows as their sword struck together faster than could be perceived.

"If you didn't move at the whim of this insignificant world, you would make a worthwhile subordinate. It is truly a shame for such strength to be wasted," Fuhrer chortled before encasing his sword in the aura of a Demonic Massacre Wave.

Unlike when he fought Apollo, he never released it. On the contrary, he let it infuse into the copy of Brynhildr and empower each of his strikes. Slowly, he started to push back Ragna with each subsequent strike.

Then, a change took place. Two horns appeared on Ragna's forehead as his combat ability bolstered to new heights. Immediately, he retaliated with a powerful attempting to knock away Fuhrer. However, before he could so, Fuhrer finally released a perfected Demonic Massacre Wave.

The two attacks neutralized each other as Fuhrer gazed silently at Ragna while the smoke clear. Similar to Ragna, two dark horns started to protrude from Fuhrer's forehead. Unlike Apollo, Fuhrer had no qualms with exposing his demonic form.

But, then again, their presence couldn't be sensed as Astaraya was currently concealing this battle to the best of her ability. Be that as it may, after each collision, her skin paled a shade further. It was clear that she was approaching her limit.

In truth, she didn't expect these two to possess such monstrous fight ability. If she left them alone to fight to their heart's content, then she was sure the integrity of Astarat would be at risk.

This thought was further exacerbated when she witnessed Fuhrer start to utilize Nether Severance. Any area that the strike touched seemed to turn into a void. As a result, a small portion of the ripple of their battle escaped from Astaraya's grasp.

Her eyes widened as she tried to reclaim it before it completely eluded her. Unfortunately, the collision of their aurae was too volatile for her. It traveled much quicker than she could influence, 'These two...this isn't going anywhere!'

To quell Fuhrer's strike, Ragna executed a golden slash to seem to even cripple the heavens above. Slowly but surely, the void that Fuhrer's strike created returned to normal. Be that as it may, the damage was already done.

The destructiveness present in Fuhrer's aura and the omnipotence inside Ragna's ran amok on the surface of Astarat.

----

Inside the Catastrophe Line,

A male with a dignified appearance withdrew his spear from the body of a dark green towering being as he raised his head, "Isn't this the aura of the Guardian? Who is he fighting against to make him utilize this much strength? There must be an unruly Spirit who has decided against the restriction.

"Hoh? Wait a minute, there's another aura of equal magnitude but it feels deadly. This certainly isn't the strength a Heroic Spirit should have. Is it a Legendary Spirit? But what youth has the potential to attract a Legendary Spirit to this plane?" the man questioned.

While he talked to himself, similar scenes took place all over Astarat. In fact, a gorgeous lady appeared before the man without any prior signs, "Suren, did you feel that?"

"I did. Those auras appear to be stronger than even my Spirit," Suren muttered before glancing in the distance at a colossal figure slaying those same beings with ease. The spear it held shimmered with valiance as it slew them and prey upon their essence.

"It seems Ascalon is becoming even stronger," the woman uttered before glancing at the origin of the ripple.

Suren agreed as he soon looked at the same spot, "Tell me, Valeria, who do you think is strong enough to attract this kind of spirit? Or rather, whose mind can handle a burden like that?"

Despite ample deliberation, neither of them could come to an answer. As of right now, these two from the Dongguang and Crux were unaware of the implications surrounding this fight.