—-

By the time Apollo reached her, Melina’s reactions slowed due to her hyperventilation. Despite her earlier display of cruelty, when push came to shove, she had never been in a situation wherein death was a possible outcome. Moreover, this was especially true when it came to the threat of death from someone so much weaker.

​​

Although she knew he didn’t possess a body fueled by Mana, those eyes and his aura terrified her. Even if he couldn’t utilize Mana, his presence felt bizarre. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but something told her that this boy in front of her wasn’t the same “brother” she knew.

There was something amiss with his body.

Fortunately for her, Verina intervened at the last moment. She dashed in front of Melina and lifted her wand towards Apollo. Without a shred of hesitation, she cast another immobilization spell on Apollo. However, to her surprise, it didn’t stick to his body. 

The weird aura around his body neutralized the spell. In fact, the moment the mana inside the spell touched his body, there were faint signs of the entire spell decaying. As she saw this, she came to the conclusion that this odd aura was some type of protection.

Therefore, she took on more straightforward means.

“I don’t know what unorthodox means you have utilized, but I am warning you; yield now, or I will attack!” Verina exclaimed.

Thin streams of Mana started to accumulate at the tip of her wand, coalescing into a large cluster. As the atmosphere grew tense, the Mana she collected took on a different shade symbolizing an element’s activation.

In short, the preparations for a counterattack were nearly complete!

Meanwhile, her words appeared to enter some void because Apollo didn’t acknowledge her existence in the slightest. There was only hatred in his eyes; pure unadulterated wrath. Even the serfs felt his palpable fury.

Furthermore, it wasn’t just for Verina but Melina alike. He seemed hellbent on seeing their demise. Upon noticing this issue, Verina confirmed her lack of options.

‘This boy is out of hand. We might as well get rid of him. If immobilizing spells don’t work on him, then there’s no other way to control him,’ Verina inwardly thought. It was at that very moment she also made up her mind to stop restraining herself.

The cluster surged upon Verina pointing her wand and the earth beneath Apollo’s feet. A collection of large earth spires threatened to pierce through the ground with their minor points.

Be that as it may, Apollo moved the moment Apollo felt these vibrations. Because of his movement and the dark aura, the onlookers thought he disappeared, but that wasn’t the case. He merely turned into a blur while encased in a purplish-black aura.

Suddenly, Apollo’s eyes regained a tinge of clarity. 

As he looked around he noticed something, “This is the darkness that appeared in my dreams, but why… does it feel so comfortable? Also, how is this possible? I thought my body couldn’t sense or emit Mana,” Apollo mused with an incredulous expression.

Nevertheless, this state couldn’t be held for long. Pain wracked Apollo’s body, causing him to slow down. Shockingly, when he reappeared he was over 10 yards away from where Verina conjured the torrent of earth spires. 

This odd display caused Verina’s narrowed gaze. There was no way someone who couldn’t use Mana could move that fast! Nothing about this situation made sense, but she didn’t want to allow this to bud into any further issues. Hence, she conjured a large ball of water and aimed it at the deconstructing earth spires. 

The result was earthen sludge with a muddy consistency.

However, she didn’t stop there. She combined her spell with another, “Tier 2 Spell, Freezing Wind,” she chanted. As the temperature dropped, the surface of the mud rapidly solidified into ice. As this happened, Apollo struggled to retain balance.

The sudden loss of friction and the lack of Mana to stabilize him in an upright position proved to be his disadvantage. Clamor ensued as everyone, including the other serfs, watched this scene. By now, they had long since separated themselves from this conflict.

However, Clarice stood at the side with fidgeting fingers, ‘Oh no. No, no, no. This isn’t good. He’s going to be punished.’ Soon, her fidgeting fingers clenched into a fist. The more she watched, the more courage she worked up to take a step forward. 

Through luck, Apollo managed to dodge the lacerating winds Verina conjured every time he slipped. Not only was her mana reserves being spent, but for some reason, Apollo’s consciousness was also becoming foggy. 

Suddenly, a loud bellow was heard as a large fireball fired directly at Apollo.

“Die, die die!” Melina shrieked. After turning towards it, the brilliance of the flame shimmered in his eyes.

Out of nowhere, a shadow appeared before Apollo. When the features of the face became clear, Apollo’s pupil constricted. He wanted to scream, but the intention was stuck in his throat.

Apollo could only watch in shock as Clarice summoned a thin water barrier before them. Although there wasn’t much of a difference between Clarice and Melina’s mana output, Melina had much more time to accumulate. Thus, when the fireball collided with the barrier, it tore it apart.

The fireball continued forward and landed directly on her chest. The resulting collision sent both Apollo and Clarice flying, coming to a stop after a few painful tumbles.

Apollo turned his writhing body toward Clarice. Even now, there was a gentle smile on her face while she looked at Apollo. The skin from her neck to bust was singed, thus she could only mutter weakly, “You…don’t deserve it. Return to peace.” 

Afterward, she lifted her finger and fired a condensed wind bullet between Apollo’s eyebrows. When everyone watched this, they paled. There wasn’t any present who was capable of healing this type of wound.

Meanwhile, Apollo couldn’t wrap his mind around what was happening. Even though her words sounded like they were consoling him, was death truly the only way to release himself and return to peace? As this question dawned upon Apollo, something inside him bubbled.

While his life was on the terrible side, death wasn’t something he wished to experience. Yet, as he laid on the floor, the embers of his life waned. Be that as it may, something buried deep inside Apollo’s mind thrummed. His body may have died but something much more important with his soul took place.

There was a voice in his head talking to him! It possessed a regal aura that also felt quite familiar to him.

〈My descendant, the time of your awakening has come.〉

〈Become one again. Follow the determined path and you will end up at the rightful destination. I hope your trial has fixed the issue that plagued you. If you are to rule, then that weakness can’t be present. Whatever you have faced, it should be enough to prepare you.〉

〈 It has been vacant for too long. The leaders of the race don’t hold the key nor do they come close to the true principle of a Demon Monarch.〉

〈 Therefore, you must remember you are one of them; no, you were born above them and shall return to rule them. The Rings await you… The De… Mo… Sys… awaits you, Tem. Join with your warden and unleash hell.〉

Apollo didn’t catch part of the message towards the end. His waning consciousness made it difficult until the final moments.

A familiar darkness engulfed his mind, except this one seemed to attract him towards something else.