—-

Gradually, the phantasms surrounding Apollo’s body dispersed into a ghastly mist that spiraled around Apollo, turning his presence into something extremely difficult to discern. Evidently, the presence of his bloodline entering the second stage precipitated a change within this technique.

The change was great enough to catch Fuhrer’s completion as a faint grin appeared across his lips. From what he observed, this technique could no longer be considered the second step. After all, the Second Step only covered the creation of phantasms by manipulating a blanket of darkness to accelerate the user’s movement. 

What Fuhrer witnessed now went beyond utilizing a blanket of darkness. The created phantasms appeared to break down and turn into a type of screen capable of distorting Apollo’s image. Beyond this ability, Apollo’s presence continued to lighten as mysterious took place around him.

During this time, the system alerted Apollo of the situation at hand.

〈System: The influence of your Abysmal Conqueror Bloodline has stimulated a large change in your technique Baleful Steps: Phantasmal Daemos. As a result, your actions exist on the precipice of unlocking this technique.〉

An intrigued smile appeared on his face as soon as Apollo read this message. Almost unlocking the Third Step had truly exceeded his expectation, seeing as they were set low from the beginning. After all, Apollo vested most of his available time in understanding the Fourth Annihilation, so there wasn’t much time left for him to explore the intricacies of Baleful Steps.

Fortunately, it appeared he was closer to completion of the Second Step than he thought. Aside from learning the Six Phantom Shifts, he didn’t realize that most of his phantasms, when created, possessed an unusual ability not typically found in users of the Second Step.

The phantasms would sometimes disappear unexpectedly, but Apollo would still be able to see their forms clear as day. While others were unaware of their presence, it was as if nothing had changed for Apollo. This matter was something he intended to look into but didn’t spare enough attention for it.

Thus, this current development took  Apollo by surprise. Nevertheless, after revisiting the properties of his phantasms, Apollo had a pretty good idea about the comprehensiveness of the skill. Granted, it was still untested, so Apollo didn’t know the true extent of the skill just yet.

Nevertheless, Apollo didn’t worry about this issue since it would only be a matter of time until the system generated the information related to the technique. The system merely required Apollo to finish unlocking the technique before quantifying the number related to its usability.

Meanwhile, Asteroth narrowed his eyes as his destructive power permeated the constant eruptions, gathering the energy into a huge ball of molten flames high up above his head. Numerous streams appeared from the ball as Asteroth’s Dominion supplied copious amounts of Aura into this attack.

Although he witnessed Apollo pierced through his aura firsthand, Asteroth understood this a power beyond Apollo’s current control. It wasn’t an ability that he could use endlessly to prolong or prematurely end the fight. Therefore, Asteroth estimated that unleashing an overwhelming amount of Aura would overpower Apollo’s ability to neutralize it.

Even Apollo understood this fact as he faze upon the immense sphere of destructive orb with slight apprehension. ‘Just how much of his Aura remains? I can’t deal with it the same way I did the shield since my bloodline power is completely consumed. Will I have to explore the power of this armor in the little time left?’

Because his bloodline reserves were severely lacking at this moment, Apollo entertained the idea of utilizing the armor shielding his body, despite the numerous dull areas. The dull area symbolized the weakness in the related Sin as well as the armor’s inability to process it properly.

Meaning, any attack unleashed through the dull areas of the armor would fall short of its true power. Be that as it may, as a technique that existed above the Daemonic level, even the slightest boost granted by this armor should amount to something worthwhile.

Hence, Apollo chose to take the risk as the phantasms surrounding his body completed the assimilation process. Once it finished, Apollo felt as if a new world had opened up to him as all of the information related to the skill flowed into his mind. The first thing that caught Apollo’s eye was the absurd difference between the Second and Third Step’s agility boost!

「Technique Name: Third Baleful- Formless Phantasm

Rank: *Archaic Art (Unique)

Mastery: 1%

Information: As the third step within the Baleful Practice, it includes a comprehensive upgrade of the power that preceded it. By empowering one’s self with sacrificial phantasm, the seamless blend of man and Tenebrous Winds appears. The more phantasms that are sacrificed, the stronger the empowerment becomes. However, fair warning: imminent danger arises when one overestimates themselves and accepts the unabated corruption of the entities created by Abyssal Tenebrous Winds. 

Description: Every assimilated phantasm increases Agility by 20 percent. (It isn’t recommended to exceed 6 phantoms with your current Demon Body.)

Consumption: 25,000 units of Demonic Anima per the creation of each unique phantasms.

*Note: Consumption and limitations are bound to lift as your mastery over the technique increases. 」

Since Apollo created six phantasms from the beginning, his Agility experienced a sizable increase, ballooning it past 10,000 points. For reference, each of the evolution possessed a general guideline for the average demon in each stage. Needless to say, this guideline didn’t involve the inclusion of items, it was only judged using a demon’s raw power.

As such, a Lesser Demon generally possessed anywhere from 125 to 1,200 stats. A Greater Demon possessed a strength roughly two times greater than that, ranging from 1,500 to 3,200 stats. In comparison, Archdemon’s were much stronger with initial stats exceeding 3,600 and ending around 7,400. 

Following an Archdemon, a Noblesse received a comprehensive upgrade in power, possessing an approximation of 9,000 stats upon initial transformation and by the time it was time to attempt their evolution into a Daemos, their strongest stats averaged 20,000 points.

The large disparity in strength was the reason most demons who fought against Apollo were unusual. Although they didn’t possess any concrete item to quantify their strength like Apollo did, it was basic knowledge that each successive transformation was stronger than the last.

However, Apollo obliterated this knowledge by utilizing unprecedented techniques and immaculate items. Once Apollo Agility broke past 10,000 points without the inclusion of his Stigmata, his speed had steeped into the realm of a Noblesse.

The exhilarating feeling excited Apollo, giving him the impression that he could finally go toe to toe with Asteroth. Glancing at the corner of his eyes, Apollo noticed the timer had fallen to twelve seconds. Once those twelve seconds elapsed his fate was sealed.

Therefore, Apollo didn’t waste another second as he stomped his left foot, creating a terrifying dark tempest as he was formless. One of the reasons the third step was dubbed the formless phantasm was because each movement was accompanied by a dark tempest potent enough to remove one’s form from battle.

While inside the dark tempest, Apollo zoomed past Gram and snatched it from the ground. Afterward, his eyes narrowed as he focused on the immense sphere suspended within the air. A sharp aura appeared around Gram as Apollo held it horizontally but at the same time, a Devouring Nebula appeared in the palm of his right hand.

A green light shimmered from his tongue as it flowed directly into the core of the Devouring Nebula, amplifying its properties by at least three times over. As expected, the amplification of the armor shielding his body was not to be underestimated. Despite its incomplete state, it improved the Devouring Nebula by three times!

Even Apollo felt the attraction coming from this attack, which usually ignored his presence. This was a clear indication that its power was on the verge of escaping his control. Before that could happen, Apollo hurled the Devouring Nebula at the center of the sphere before coming to a sliding halt as he placed both hands on Gram’s hilt.

The atmosphere surrounding Apollo stilled as the overbearing sharpness surrounding Gram increased by at least 5 times. Since the armor interacted with Apollo’s Superbia better than it did Gula, the increase exceeded the latter.

Soon enough, even Asteroth sensed the change in Apollo’s actions. ‘Oh? This boy isn’t using the same means? I guess it’s safe to assume that it’s no longer at his disposal. Haha! But, because it’s gone, does he think he’s enough to  go against my own attacks?’

“Laughable! No matter whose child you are, there is a vast difference between our attacks!” Asteroth said through uproarious laughter.

“That’s what you think. As for me, I have faith in the techniques of the Monarch; the same techniques that allowed him to remain undefeated throughout the history of the demons,” Apollo responded. 

After his response, Apollo released the monstrous Nether Severance the moment the Devouring Nebula made contact with Asteroth’s destructive sphere. Following his attack, Apollo didn’t wait around as he created an immense distance between the two in an instant. 

Apollo was sure that the backlash of these attacks colliding would not be small, especially since he injected Ira into the Nether Severance without a medium to contain it. Granted, this was Apollo’s aim all along. To increase his confidence in the success of his attack, Apollo replied upon the disharmonious nature of the Sins.

Not to mention, after being bolstered by the presence of this armor, not even Apollo would want to suffer a direct hit, despite the fragment of Bahamut’s Heart he possessed. In fact, Apollo felt it was possible that the result wouldn’t be far from perfected Sin explosions!