Chapter 335: Awakening the Juggernaut

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Apollo and Valac trembled in their current position. The shock continued to decimate the ground beneath their feet. The blow from the golden figure was unusually powerful, rendering the defense of the area null.

'If I was hit with that, I don't even want to think about the amount of damage I would sustain,' Apollo thought, judging the damage done to flooring to be beyond his capabilities. Earlier, when his strike landed on the ground, only a faint mark was left.

Furthermore, this was after his usage of Nether Severance, not the Perfected Demonic Massacre Wave. Even though it wasn't perfected, the base damage of Nether Severance far outclassed that of a Demonic Massacre Wave, even in its mastered form.

Yet, only a faint mark was left after Apollo's attempts. This alone spoke volumes of his surrounding's sturdiness. To cause it to collapse would take a short burst of unbridled force, allowing it no time to repair the damage inflicted.

On the other hand, Fuhrer wasn't affected by this development in the slightest. For a moment, he revealed himself, but the golden figure was shocked to find him hovering 3 inches above the ground.

As Fuhrer walked forward, he disregarded the shattered pieces and walked on the air above it, as if it were a tangible surface to do so. To an untrained eye, it may seem this way, but what Apollo perceived was different.

'Is he turning the mantle into a bridge and walking upon it? No, not quite, something else seemed mixed in the mantle to give it a stable material form. Could this be...yes, it just might be,' Apollo nodded to himself, chancing upon realization.

There were fragments of tenebrous energy interspersed throughout the stretched mantle, acting as a catalyst to maintain the mantle's integrity long enough for Fuhrer to walk across it. Of course, the duration was solely up to Fuhrer, exhausting a tiny portion of his soul strength in the process.

Nevertheless, the exchange was worth it.

"Foolish actions. The only thing you have done is make the area inconvenient for yourself. I, on the other hand, find no difference in how this situation with play out."

"Tch, truly an opponent capable of producing a headache," the golden figure spat.

A second later, it stamped the ground, producing a shockwave that propelled its body forward. Unlike before, the ambient energy reacted to its actions, turning in a vortex above their heads.

The center of the vortex opened up, revealing a pool of exuberant energy, which then fell, gravitating towards the figure.

"Hmph, outsides means to try and augment yourself? It just displays the fears you feel and the inadequacies that you hold," Fuhrer chuckled, making a move of his own. As he drew a horizontal line with his blade, a droning whine was heard from the space before him.

A slender scar appeared before Fuhrer, releasing a ghastly energy that changed forms constantly. Initially, it was similar to a cloud of murky energy, but a moment later, it condensed, turning into numerous independents tendrils.

Each tendril fired towards the golden figure, with half of them changing their trajectory mid-flight.

The golden figure's eyes widened when they noticed what Fuhrer was up to. "Oh no, you don't!" The figure clapped its hand, a burst of silverish energy hurtling towards Fuhrer's tendrils.

Some of them were obliterated in an instant, but the rest persisted, ultimately overcoming the brunt of the figure's strike. However, his retaliation wasn't over just yet. The golden figure withdrew his hand before thrusting it forward with only two fingers extended.

An eruption of energy rippled from its fingers, puncturing Fuhrer's tendrils numerous times until finally, it dissipated under the constant barrage. Afterward, it turned its attention back towards Fuhrer with a solemn gaze.

"As long as I focus, you're not that hard to deal with either. None of you pose any problem. I will eviscerate you and fulfill my task. Most of all, I will cause that odd individual to perish," the figure said, his attention on Apollo.

When Fuhrer noticed his gaze, he turned towards Apollo for a moment, "Are you...perhaps threatening my lord? I don't think you have the gall do so," Fuhrer spoke with a grim tone. The grip he held around his sword tightened, spilling a malicious aura in the process.

A trace amount of his killing intent begun leaking from his body.

One thing Fuhrer didn't tolerate was threats towards Apollo from individuals who held no relations. If the threats came from hidden pieces, then Fuhrer was willing to overlook it in the event that he dealt with it himself.

But, for those who presented threatening intention for no rhyme or reason, Fuhrer moved to dispel them quickly. 

"Your Lord? What part of this boy is a lord? At the very best, he's a tool," the figure chuckled, closing the distance between it and Fuhrer at the same. Once he was close enough, its movement changed.

They became erratic but also faster, akin to teleportation. Any other individual would have been shocked by this sudden change, but Fuhrer was prepared for most situations. He closed his eyes, sensing the puppet's actions.

A path of his "teleportations" appeared, leaving lingering marks on space. These were signs of him rupturing a particular barrier with usually inhibited one from moving freely. Unfortunately, unless it was approached a certain way, if your senses were strong enough, then it was easy to perceive.

Shortly after, Fuhrer pieced together the pattern of the puppet's movement and opened his eyes abruptly with a black aura pulsating from within. "I found you."

Fuhrer turned around instantly, slashing Brynhildr downward before following up with a vertical slash, sending a black-gold cross slash forward. 

The familiar sound of metal grinding against metal sounded, the puppet's figure appearing a few steps away. Once again, its expression was odd, "How? I concealed my movements and even reflected the light away from me!"

"Tsk, when the eyes can't see, the soul feels. No matter where you run to in this area, all of your actions are within my grasp. Now, I believe it is time for you to perish!" Fuhrer responded, rushing forward. His overpowering momentum split apart the rubbish on the ground, arriving before the puppet in an instant.

The puppet raised its defenses in an attempt to guard Fuhrer's attack, but unfortunately, he wasn't playing around this time. The weight of his strike was amplified many times over.

The already damaged ground was further destroyed when the puppet's feet sunk into the floor.

Swiftly, another strike collided against the puppet's guarding, giving it no time to accumulate energy. Even though its gathering process was extremely quick, a serious Fuhrer was even quicker, unleashing hell upon him.

One strike.

Two strikes.

Five… Ten… Twenty strikes. The speed of Fuhrer's strikes continued to increase until his arms resembled a blur, pummeling away at the puppet's defense. Although he seemed calm on the surface, Apollo could see a fury roiling within Fuhrer's eyes. One that caused Apollo to feel excitement for some odd reason. 

'He hasn't even used his Tenebrous Sword strikes. This is pure physical strength to deal with this enemy. He intends to thoroughly destroy it and enjoy himself in the process,' Apollo realized, gleaning Fuhrer's intent. 

Finally, the aura of his unique sword techniques appeared as Fuhrer raised the tip of his sword to the puppet's throat. 

"Tenebrous Sword Technique: Silent Darkness," Fuhrer uttered, a thin line appearing across the puppet's neck. Afterward, the line parted off and spread throughout its body, releasing dark fumes as the lines expanded into cracks. 

Unlike his other strikes, this particular strike destroyed his enemy from the inside out by injecting his formidable energy into his opponent. The weaker their defense, the quicker they perished, but the higher their defenses, the longer the pain persisted.

Either way, this terrible technique was one to produce despair.

"W-what is this?! What have you done? Calm down. I suggest you cease your actions or I will be forced to bring out my ultimate creation," the puppet exclaimed, its voice sounding odd. Unlike the other puppets, this puppet's worth was immeasurable. In fact, Apollo felt this was the closest thing to a created human he had ever seen.

Sadly, Fuhrer didn't budge, observing as his energy ran amok within the puppet's internal framework. "It doesn't matter what you say, your outcome is inevitable."

After a pause, Fuhrer leaned closer, "You can release whatever creation you intend to, but they will all suffer the fate. I will defeat them and you, wherever you reside, will bear witness to their destruction."

"B-blasphemy! I will see to it that my ultimate creation brings about your destruction!" the puppet snarled, but Fuhrer couldn't care less.

"Regardless of you what you say, I await your action," Fuhrer responded, suddenly swinging his sword downward. The puppet's exterior was split in half, revealing the ghastly fumes that Fuhrer absorbed back into himself.

All of a sudden, their surroundings began to rumble, growing more intense by the moment. Naturally, this was all done in response to Fuhrer's actions.

"You have brought this upon yourself, now you'll have to face my perfection!" A voice echoed throughout every corridor, finally gathering at the center of the clearing. 

At the same time, an alert appeared before Apollo.

〈Alert: A large change has taken place, the difficulty of the trials has been combined into a final yet difficult trial. [Estimated Difficulty: Utmost.〉

〈Alert: Your opponent has been determined. You will face the Juggernaut.〉

"Juggernaut?" Apollo muttered. Suddenly, Apollo had a premonition that the events taking place didn't follow the original order of this trial. He was certain, his actions had caused a chain reaction.

But, it was too late to undo what was to follow. In light of this, Apollo chose to move forward.

"If this is the utmost difficulty, then there can be no more surprises. Everyone, appear!"

Portals opened, revealing Jorgun, Zarkath, and Furcas. 

Meanwhile, one of the walls shattered, revealing a gargantuan figure with vast blue eyes similar to sapphire gems. 

"Roarrrrghh!" Everything trembled as a result of this thunderous roar.