Chapter 332: Producing Errors

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"Three such enemies?" Apollo muttered to himself. Just a single exceptional puppet was enough to give him a headache, if he had to deal with three of them simultaneously, a headache would be the least of his worries. On top of this, it would only worsen if each of them possessed unique special abilities. 

As a result, Apollo began to entertain the idea of summoning his Demons. As of now, he had gained enough combat experience to justify this idea. Furthermore, he also gained insight into fusion techniques. Just this alone was enough to speak volumes of his benefits.

However, the thought of summoning his Demons, stimulated another string of question he kept hidden in his mind, 'If I summon Fuhrer and the rest, will the difficulty increase accordingly? So far, the difficulty has scaled in light of a talented opponent. But, if I introduced allies, then this might turn into a different story altogether.'

While the gears on the wall clicked, Apollo continued to ponder his course of actions. In the meantime, the 3 exceptional puppets deemed to be his opponent descended upon the battlefield but didn't move an inch.

For a moment, it seemed as if they were measuring Apollo's strength, analyzing his past battles. Their pupils moved rapidly, breaking down a large amount of information in a matter of moments. Their actions resembled the software of a supercomputer rendering cryptic information until it was easily readable.

After a few short moments, the movements stopped and each of the puppets adopted a  freakishly human expression. At the same time, they came to the same conclusion, uttering identical phrases simultaneously.

"Not strong enough to go against us at the same time. This is the end of him," they said.

At the end of their words, each of them made a move without hesitation. They moved much faster than the prior enemy and their movements were precise, following a path that changed minutely with each propelling step.

Apollo, on the other hand, was roused from his contemplation, slowly opening his eyes. Despite the abrupt awakening, there was a look of clarity within his eyes. It was clear his choice had been made. 

Apollo exhaled and responded in response to their actions, but his eyes shimmered with opaque light that soon turned blacker than the abyss. Although it was incomparable to Furcas' ability, Apollo's perception of time reduced to half of what it was before.

Thus, even though they were moving at obscene speeds, Apollo could sense their movements better than better. However, this wasn't a state Apollo could uphold forever, it put a huge strain on his Tainted Temple to emulate this technique.

After all, it wasn't his, but Furcas's technique. Due to the absorption of Furcas's fragment, Apollo finally arrived in a situation that warranted the use of the ability that accompanied it—a watered-down version of Furcas's eyes.

Nevertheless, no matter how reduced the effects were, it was still potent nonetheless. A 50 percent reduction to time perception was a god-like ability in a conflict against multiple enemies. It gave the time needed to assess the possible route and concoct a viable retaliation plan.

Of course, this didn't do anything to Apollo's body as a whole, hence, his lack of movement. Only his mind was affected, creating an imbalance in which Apollo didn't wish to deal with. 

If he moved while in this state, then he would have to account for the change in his sense of time. Even the slightest incorrect calculation would result in a catastrophic outcome. There was even the possibility of his mistiming his movements and missing his target completely!

While fighting against enemies of the current caliber, mistakes weren't luxuries that he could afford to make. Granted, it could all be solved by a simple summoning of his Demons, but then that would defeat the purpose of his prior action.

Soon enough, after absorbing enough of the puppet's behavior, Apollo canceled the technique, the puppets' speed skyrocketing as a result. However, because they moved too fast, they didn't possess the ability to alter the path of their strike.

Because of this, Apollo was able to react preemptively. In that slowed state, he had already comprehended and estimated just where their strikes would land. Luckily, it seemed they were just testing the waters with light blows. 

This was perceived from the lack of essence within their strike. To Apollo, they just seemed like pure, deadly strikes. Nevertheless, without essence, there wasn't a threat to Apollo's like.

Meanwhile, Apollo made his own guesses surrounding the reason for their hold on using essence, 'If I compare this to my earlier actions, aren't they identical? Could it mean they been instilled with my movements and reaction preferences? If so, then isn't it the same as fighting against myself?'

After numerous clashes, Apollo started to conclude his guesses were correct. The pattern of their attacks and reactions all matched his. Furthermore, their bodies were nearly identical when taking their energy signatures out of the equation. 

In other words, neither side was gaining the upper hand. In fact, Apollo felt as if they were toying with him because they possessed the advantage in number. Yet, despite this fact, none of the puppets made any sudden changes.

This led Apollo to understand their words, 'It seems they believe I'm unable to win, so it is justified to toy around with me? Very well, I have someone you can very much toy with. Valac, come forth!'

A portal appeared above Apollo's head, and from within a figure stepped forth. Holding a majestic spear with a malignant expression, Valac donning his demonic form stepped forth. Since this space was cordoned off, there was no threat of revealing his identity.

Furthermore, Apollo permitted him to reveal this form. Even if these puppets were linked to someone, it was clear that person wasn't part of Astarat. Or, at the very least, said person never made a public appearance. This was proved to be true from the lack of information surrounding this realm.

Its origin was unknown, and the only information recorded was thanks to the efforts of those who had already experienced this place. If not for them, then this place wouldn't even exist in the records, yet remain a presence that was right under their noses.

"Ah, time to let loose. You sonnuva bitches are mine. I like to play as well," Valac exclaimed. In the next movement, he disappeared from where he stood, turning to numerous afterimages in the progress. Additionally, a single wing sprouted from his back. 

Unlike his other fights, he had no intention to take the squabble into the air. While two wings provided flight, one wing produced a noticeable increase in his speed. Unsurprisingly, the sharp exterior of the wing pierced through the resistance against his body, inhibiting his top speed.

No matter how the air impacted him, it could longer affect his speed in the slightest. On the other hand, while the puppets didn't voice displeasure or present much of a change in expression, their movements changed, adopting an unfamiliar movement pattern.

Moreover, they immediately resumed the use of the source's essence. The increase in difficult excited Valac, but unfortunately for the puppets, they weren't aware of the fact that Valac and Apollo couldn't be compared in their current form.

During their last fight, without the help of Ouroboros, Apollo would have never won. 

Suddenly, Valac rushed forward, hosting a menacing grin. He responded to one of the puppet's attacks with his claw, while he dealt with the other two by swinging his spear in an arc, a pale blue flame dancing across the space before him. 

Although they tried to handle the strike, the puppets were devastated to find out the weight behind this individual's attack outclassed their own. Another change in momentum took place, most of their energy pooling towards their limbs.

"Newcomer unaccounted for. Restraints lifted. Output amplified 50 percent," the puppets uttered together, mechanically.

An immediate change took place, their actions grow both stronger and faster. Be that as it may, it wasn't enough to faze Valac, who took pleasure in clashing against strong enemies. If he didn't there wouldn't be a reason for him to butt heads with Fuhrer and the others. 

Albeit slower than before, Valac gradually took control of the battle, avoiding their strikes and sometimes redirecting towards another puppet. Even when they control elements such as wind, lightning, and earth, Valac's odd flame melted all their attempts. 

The remnants of the flames even burnt some of the puppet's outer shell. Compared to Valac who was untouched, the puppets weren't faring well.

"Come on, you should be capable of more than this? Don't doubt a demon's adaptation ability. You may have thought the upper hand was yours, but sadly, that isn't the case. I AM the upper hand," Valac said, bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter. 

At the same time, he lifted his hand, a large image form from ludicrous amounts of his manifested flame appeared above him. Slowly, it grew to encompass half of the area present. Even if they wished to dodge his next strike, doing so would prove difficult, after all, there weren't many options for them to rely on.

On the other hand, as Valac witnessed their stuck figures, he could only release an amused chuckle, "Bye-bye ~" He teased, dropping his hand.

'Bang!' 'Fwoosh!'

Without fail, the hand descended with a loud explosion accompanied by a deluge of flames that presented a prolonged sizzling noise. Before Apollo's eyes, the alert of the cleared phase appeared. However, that wasn't the only thing that appeared.

[Error! Recalculating difficulty! The introduction of a new foe will now increase the difficulty! The next phase will experience further changes!]

The smashed puppets vibrated before flying to the sky, revealing another spectacle. 

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Announcement for June 1st and moving forward. (Won't affect chapter cost.)

First of all, I want to thank all of those who stuck around during my hard times, throughout the sporadic release schedule. You don't know how much your actions helped me. But, let's got to the announcement. 

As the release has stabilized, two things will be happening. I will be going full-time, devoting my time to writing. In other words, this will become my sole source of income.

On the other hand, this also means the chapter output will increase. From June 1st (EST Zone), you can expect 2 chapters per day, but we also need to recover and tackle the new Win-Win that is coming out. 

We are in this together as this is my only means of income now. Side note, since I am shifting to full-time writing, another story will be published soon. If you join the discord, you can read the chapters in advance up to ~Ch.15.

Discord: https://discord.gg/EX63KcUWjG