Chapter 371: Ultimatums and Threats

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Encased in the protection of the Umbra Phantom Mantle, Apollo avoided detection as he flew towards the Administration Hall. Based on what he sensed, there was indeed an increased number of people on its grounds. This was only true when a meeting was underway. 

At the same time, Apollo also detected Fuhrer's appearance from within a void portal. This led Apollo to question himself. 'Have I gotten that much faster? Fuhrer's Void Shuffling is some of the fastest movement I've ever seen, yet I'm not too far behind him.' 

After evolving, each of Apollo's stats surpassed the 1,000 point threshold with ease. As a result, every one of his stats received the respective boost. Although the numbers didn't change exponentially, the factor of each point did.

If 1 point in Strength was equal to 5kg of strength prior to his evolution, the current factor was 15. In other words, a simple transformation resulted in an immense upgrade. However, that wasn't the end. His Supreme Demon Body, which held more than one effect now that all 7 Stigmata were engraved on his body, caused another unforeseen change.

Unfortunately, despite evolving, Apollo was still unable to peer into its contents. It seemed other requirements remained for him to gain complete access to his given skills. In the meantime, Apollo was also focused on another matter, which proved to be extremely important.

'For now, most of my abilities are tied up in traits. That means I'll need to increase my familiarity with the Annihilations. Now that I have multiple Sin Sources, I should be able to comprehend them without a hitch. Granted, there are no other ridiculous requirements,' Apollo thought.

The first technique that came to mind was the Devouring Nebula Strike. Now that Gula flowed throughout his body, there was no need to emulate the sensation. Instead, he just needed to stimulate the Gula to act accordingly. Once done, learning the Devouring Nebula was only a matter of time.

Unlike his crude usage in the Anomaly Realm, the Devouring Nebula Strike required a refined usage of Gula. Haphazard usage would only produce an undesirable risk of the nebula imploding, which might lead to everything within a 500-meter radius being swallowed.

Nevertheless, Apollo pushed this matter to the back of his mind. Until he gained a chance to practice it, it held no meaning for him to brood over its uselessness right now.

Eventually, Apollo landed right before Fuhrer, who accompanied him through the grand doors of the Administration Hall. The lobby was empty at a glance, with most of the staff occupying the conference room.

With that being the case, Apollo advanced towards the only occupied room without hesitation. Following right behind him, Fuhrer smiled faintly. 'There are signs of innate confidence in his gait. Perhaps he's recovering his true identity. It's only a shame that I can't verify it as such, else I would have begun the needed training regiment. His evolution was longer than desirable. Time isn't on our side.'

Now that the Goliath had transmitted their existence, staying in Astarat risked introducing them to needless danger. After all, the Goliath wasn't just aware of their presence, since the human he made a deal with originated from Astarat, he was also privy to its position as well.

If this information was transmitted along with Fuhrer's presence, then grave danger was inbound. Especially so if Fuhrer's enemies managed to regain a semblance of their original power. That type of strength could sunder Astarat with a mere flick! The flimsy defense of Astarat held no effect over the action.

Thus, Fuhrer felt Apollo needed to enter the Archdemon stage as soon as possible. Although it was weaker than a Noblesse, it gave Apollo the option to stay in the Nihilistic Rings indefinitely.

Compared to the Greater Demon level, an Archdemon's body was nigh impervious to temporal forces. Thus, trying to reject Apollo's body at that point would be nearly impossible. Not to mention, the prerequisite to this stage was merely the purity of his Sin.

Now that he has proven himself, Demonic Conduct no longer held his evolution hostage. It was all based on his personal acquirements.

Meanwhile, Apollo pressed the doors to the conference room to reveal Geneva, Robyn, Rezar, Sylvester, and a few others with grim expressions. Naturally, the first topic of discussion was the way the situation before the Anomaly Realm's entrance unfolded.

"Why so serious~? You all seem as if your children have died," Apollo chuckled while glancing around the room. Initially, Apollo's comment appalled the room's occupants, but his next actions left them stupefied.

As if they meant nothing to him, Apollo waved his arm and discarded numerous items on the table. After killing the people within the realm, he had Valac claimed their storage items. So, there was an abundance of items in his possession, especially the ones found on the falsely believed top floor.

"W-what? Didn't the realm only permit one item for retrieval? Why does he have multiple from the top floor?" Robyn asked with widened eyes. 

"W-wait what? Robyn is right! I remember seeing these items during my early years, but the price to retrieve them was too exorbitant," Rezar commented as well.

However, Geneva remained uncharacteristically quiet as she glossed over the items. 'Something is wrong. He wouldn't just reveal these items for no reason. There's got to be more behind his actions.'

Noticing her expression, Apollo smiled, "Could you be pondering my partial request? As I said before, the time will come. I won't force it. In the meantime, these are yours. Especially you Robyn. The item you seek should be there as well."

Robyn's face changed drastically upon hearing this. He couldn't believe his ears. After all, he didn't truly consider Apollo relinquishing his own chance to gain a worthwhile item to choose one for him. However, with the current situation, it was definitely possible for his item to remain within the pile.

Conversely, Sylvester felt this behavior was disastrous. "No, I don't think we should accept these items. They can misconstrue our stance if we do. Remember, the ire of the Great Families is almost inevitable."

"Can't we just request the aid of the Supreme Families?" Robyn countered with apparent greed surfacing in his eyes. His cultivation was stuck at one level for far too long, driving him to search for drastic means to change this fact.

"Were you not listening or has greed clouded your judgment?! There is no assistance from the Supreme Families, they've already washed their hands of the situation," Sylvester exclaimed. His frustration was permitted as they had gone over this topic right before Apollo entered.

"No, no, no. That can't be true. We house their beloved Paragon. How could they let the school grounds be endangered?" Robyn returned. However, everyone in the room looked at him differently upon hearing this. A frightening outcome appeared in their minds for a moment.

"The destruction of the academy isn't within their worries, just the safety of that girl. I'm sure they'll dispense an expert to extract her from the premises should the situation turn awry," Rezar muttered after pondering the current situation.

Generally, someone in the positions of the Supreme Families didn't bother themselves with the strife of their underlings. In their eyes, if they killed each other, that just meant fewer resources to trickle down the chain. But, that also meant the retrieval process would take a hit as well.

At least, this was the public's understanding. 

In truth, the Supreme Families typically employed rogue cultivators using the threat of death. After all, although they thought they escaped the radar of the families, that was never truly the case.

"Why don't you just recruit two of the Great Families to assist you. I'm sure the academy is a neutral area of experts. Thus, I'm sure the reservoir of adequate experts should be enough when paired with them," Apollo suggested.

Everyone turned towards him with looks of confusion. Why would the Great Families help them after the atrocity that took place?!

"Are you truly mad? Has reasoning never been your strong suit?" Sylvester scoffed.

However, Fuhrer didn't appreciate the tone he used, causing him to unsheathe Brynhildr partially. Though, Apollo stopped him before he could complete his actions.

"I understand you're frustrated, but I suggested you watch your tone," Apollo stated in a calm tone. Then a torrential pressure burst forth from his body as a horrifying light emanated from his eyes.

Although the pressure wasn't enough to stifle everyone, it was powerful enough to astonish them. Since when did Apollo's pressure get so strong?!

"Now, as I was saying. Two of their children are still alive. They should be more than willing once you reveal this information," Apollo continued, which caused a few murmurs.

"If they're still alive, then to assure their safety, they might very well assist us. But how would we incite them to act?" Geneva asked after quieting everyone down."

"Well, first, we have Typhir. My trusted follower. His mother would be more than willing to help. But, it might be more limited to our safety. No worries, Typhir can change this."

"And the other?"

"She isn't from this academy but," Apollo paused with an unsettling grin, "I can fetch her whenever. Granted, I'll have to be here to do so," Apollo shrugged with a nonchalant demeanor.

"What does that mean? Where do you intend to go?"

"Where I always go. Except, my departure shall be much longer this time. So, I suggest you determine what your plans are at this very moment. Because I leave in a few minutes."

"Preposterous! We are the staff. How can you tell us what you will do?" Sylvester exclaimed with stupefaction in his tone.

"Simple, I am the one keeping him from killing you," Apollo retorted while pointing directly at Fuhrer.

Everyone quieted down once Apollo brought this matter to light. Subsequently, Apollo released a playful chuckle. "So, what will it be~?"