Chapter 405: Disadvantageous Odds

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Fuhrer donned in his illustrious black armor and Geneva dressed in an enthralling outfit which accentuated her defined curves immediately caught the attention of the Archdemons. However, it wasn't their attire that took them by surprise, but the method in which they appeared as well as the fluctuation of power rippling off of their bodies.

Evidently, these two were newcomers and from their body language, both Xonnomor and Gallmath could tell they appeared with the intentions of protecting the one currently in combat with Arleo. 

Still, they found this situation to be quite odd. Because, inside Ashiraem, seldom was a demon loyal to another that was weaker than them. There were only two reasons for this to happen, with one being mindlessly clear—they were loyal to a weaker demon because of their background.

Whether it be family or perhaps affiliations, both of them were viable sources for gaining protection. And, it was the conventional route, since after achieving a notable level of strength, it was imperative to preserve the name of their household.

Granted, this logic only existed for the already established households. The current order didn't allow for this possibility since the state of their resource were already reaching alarmingly scarce levels.

Secondly, the protection was acquired with wealth; another typical strategy. But, from what these two sensed, the newcomer's actions hinted at the former. It was obvious that they weren't moved by material gain.

After all, the Dakea Stronghold's financial stability was within the top ten of all the strongholds listed within Ashiraem, yet they appeared before them with hostile intentions. 

"Should we be worried?" Xonnomor muttered while gazing towards Fuhrer. He locked eyes with him and didn't recoil in the slightest. After years of tampering with countless flames, emotions weren't something that could strike fear in Xonnomor's heart.

However, as the leader of a stronghold, he also needed to take into account the safety of everyone present within these walls. Because, all that followed with a fight between Archdemons was carnage, especially when they moved on to wielding their sins.

"That old man over there, while not an Archdemon, produces an extremely odd energy signature. It raises even more alarm than the woman who is a genuine Archdemon. Isn't that odd?" Gallmath voiced skeptically. 

Generally, it was almost impossible to find a Greater Demon whose aura outclassed an Archdemon, but this was Fuhrer we were talking about. His mere existence remained outside the realm of reason. Besides, the aura they sensed was something outside of Fuhrer's control.

Due to his earlier action, his aura grew unstable frequently. This was all caused by his interaction with the Goliath. Unlike a regular demon, Fuhrer's energy was special, so there were only two options when it came to reabsorbing it—absorb all of its remnants or none at all.

If not, the results were his current situation; an aura that raged out of control on peculiar occasions. After all, the energy attached to a Daemonic Soul was far too volatile for his current vessel to contain.

Therefore, it had to release the excess energy to avoid any damage being done. Hence, the reason for his wild aura.

"I believe battle is inevitable," Xonnomor said before extending his right hand to his side. A spark occurred which soon turned into a rampaging inferno. However, this wasn't an attack at all. The flame soon dissipated to reveal an azure warhammer with silver etchings around the thick base.

Despite its extremely heavy appearance, Xonnomor wielded its massive frame with a single arm.

In response, Gallmath unsheathes a pair of twin swords with slender edges. Rather than appearing as a uniform weapon, the edge of his twin swords seems almost liquid. However, if it was liquid, how could he ever expect to cut something?

As a result of their actions, Fuhrer unsheathed Brynhildr entirely, generating a gust of dark winds that lacerated the void. Just as his aura was unstable, Brynhildr reacted to the surge in his energy, restoring itself to 20% of its former glory.

Immediately, both Xonnomor and Gallmath revealed solemn expressions. Admittedly, Fuhrer's aura turned out to be more of a fright than previously assumed.

"Do you have some sort of business here?" Xonnomor questioned while moving his gaze between Fuhrer and Geneva. Afterwards, he also looked towards the fight between Apollo and Arleo, which took an abrupt turn when Arleo decided to increase the frequency as well as the intensity of his attacks.

At first, Fuhrer entertained the idea of assisting Apollo, but he decided against it when he noticed his expression. Although he was in a strenuous situation, Apollo seemed excited. At the same time, he hadn't pulled out all the stops just yet. There were still a few actions hidden in his repertoire.

"Business? I guess you can say that. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here right now," Fuhrer responded before looking towards Geneva, "Which would you like to take?"

"The thin one. The other one seems to be more of your opponent than mine," Geneva responded. Although it seemed like they were on par with each other, Xonnomor's strength outclassed Gallmath.

While they decided to run the stronghold together, when it boiled down to the truth of the matter, then Xonnomor was the true master of the stronghold. However, split responsibilities were more convenient, as it allowed him to continue his exploration into the art he adored.

"Very well," Fuhrer nodded. 'Hopefully, this matter is resolved in a way that doesn't escalate any further.' After this thought, Fuhrer rushed forward at lightning speed while holding Brynhildr in a horizontal position.

Simultaneously, Geneva's wings opened and took to the skies, approaching Gallmath from high above. 

'Decisive,' Gallmath thought before preparing to engage. The liquid surface on weapons erupted as he launched a ranged attack towards Geneva. Three wisps of crimson energy morphed into pythons seeking to swallow Geneva.

However, how could she allow the battle to be over so quickly? While the attack was strong, it wasn't beyond Geneva's capabilities. Typically, she chose to play around with her Luxuria, but not in this case.

She chose to use Ira to retaliate. Because of her variant race, both her affinity for Luxuria and Ira was identical. Thus, she could also use them interchangeably. For the initial attack, she flapped her wings to produce a tempest of infernal winds.

Gallmath's expression tensed when he sensed the strength of her attack. According to his senses, Geneva's was only an initial Archdemon, yet her strike was on par with his, which was the attack dealt by a primary Archdemon!

After reaching the Archdemon state, the disparity between the small stages was at least 3 times greater that the differences found in a Greater Demon's distinctions.

Therefore, Gallmath was forced to take this matter seriously. A cold expression appeared as several crimson yet tattered cloths encased his body, covering him from head to toe except for his eyes.

Whoosh!

A blast of terrifying heat assaulted the area as he stepped on warped air, traveling closer to Geneva in an instant. At this stage, whether a demon possessed wings or not was inconsequential. As long as they were strong enough, then they could employ techniques to match the advantage of a winged demon.

A playful smile appeared across Geneva's lips as she drifted to the side, summoning a whip made of Hellfire. The tip crackled as she lashed it towards Gallmath, who deflected the strike with a swing of his weapon.

"Oooh~ So strong," Geneva giggled before waving her arm with even more vigor. The results were her whip moving at a momentum that caused numerous afterimages. To deal with her attack, Gallmath employed a movement technique that caused his image to flicker between her strikes.

Obviously, his thin physique wasn't just for show. His redeeming quality was his speed. When compared to Geneva, he was much faster than her. But, his speed was achieved at the expense of adequate weight behind his strikes.

So, whenever Geneva increased the strength behind her attack, Gallmath's movement stalled for a moment. Since this occurred more than once, Geneva took note of this matter.

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Apollo's breaths grew heavy as he continued to fend off Arleo's heated assault. Admittedly, this battle was much more difficult than he presumed. The divide between a Greater Demon and an Archdemon was not something he could overcome through the use of one sin alone.

Therefore, Apollo entertained the idea of activating the usages of another sin. After all, during the spar with Typhir, he learned that activating two stigmata at once, while putting an immense strain on his body, elevated his strength to shocking heights.

Perhaps if he used this course of action, he would be able to at least be on par with Arleo. On the other hand, he also started to entertain other ideas. For example, the Noble Art that Fuhrer had once discussed with him.

Unfortunately, Apollo's worst fears were coming true. The atmosphere outside seemed to be riled up, but he was too focused on the matter at hand to pry into the reason linked to this change.