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While Apollo smiled at those above, the people under him began to rush towards the opening in the barrier. As they got closer, the pressure from the steps was alleviated, making the journey much easier. The lack of stress made their progress skyrockets.

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Unfortunately, they soon came across an issue. 

Apollo looked towards those capitalizing on his actions, "I don\'t recall giving you permission to follow me, did I?" 

"EH?! Who do you think you are? Just because you opened this hole doesn\'t mean you hold the right to govern who uses it!" A male exclaimed while glaring daggers at Apollo.

In response, Apollo gave a plain smile.

\'Fwoosh!\'

Apollo appeared before the individual, embers of shadow flickering everywhere, "On the contrary, that is precisely why I hold governance over that hole. You can see it as my property."

\'Bang!\'

Apollo landed a violent punch on the individual\'s stomach, causing them to gasp and retch as a result. Before they could respond, Apollo rotated. A lightning-quick kick sent the fool hurtling into the wall.

Due to the display of power, some felt apprehensive of moving closer. After all, that fellow was left groaning in the wall, partly unconscious.

"You all can take this as an example of what will happen if you\'re just like him. Of course, if you think you\'re strong, you\'re welcomed to try your luck," Apollo chuckled. 

Some of the people felt his words were far too overbearing. After all, everyone here was amongst the upper echelon of their generation. Along with that stature came an ego. Needless to say, most of them couldn\'t handle Apollo\'s condescension. 

A male with yellow spiky hair and sharp markings under his eyes dashed towards Apollo, his body wreathed in lightning. As he moved, the crackles of lightning left motes of light in his wake.

"Very well," Apollo nodded, rushing towards the incoming opponent. Unlike his typical behavior, Apollo didn\'t conjure any Hellfire or use any Anima. After reaching the cusp of the Lesser Demon stage, Apollo felt the presence of some dormant strength. 

Although it was repressed, tapping into the power temporarily wasn\'t impossible. In fact, it was quite easy. It only required Apollo to incite his Diabolic Heart of Wrath. This was because the later evolutions were centered around deepening one\'s connection with Sin rather than honing the vessel as a primary target.

The individual thrust his hand forward but his attack missed due to Apollo leaning to the side. At the same time, Apollo mimicked the same strike, aiming for his opponent\'s neck. 

Sensing the danger of the strike, the individual leaned to the side but a small cut appearing, trickling blood.

"Name?" the spiky-haired youth questioned.

"Apollo," Apollo answered, focusing on the blood leaking from his opponent\'s neck. Surprisingly enough, even his blood was electrified, small cracks of lightning conducting throughout his blood.

"You\'re strong but too overconfident. The thing about lightning is it\'s too unpredictable. My title as Tristan the Blue Flash isn\'t for show," Tristan exclaimed.

He advanced once again, but this time, his acceleration was astonishing. Apollo just barely managed to dodge the next strike.

Despite dodging, there wasn\'t a window for Apollo to take advantage of. Once Tristan executed his attack, he continued his dash immediately after. His pause was negligible. 

Shortly after, Tristan switched angles and blitzed towards Apollo again. Taking a step back, Apollo scrutinized Tristan\'s movements.

\'He\'s fast, but it\'s not very efficient. His movements lack flexibility and are too linear. For example…\'

Apollo shifted his body to the side and stuck out his foot at the last possible moment. A forceful impact was felt in his leg but he didn\'t focus on that. Instead, he chuckled at the tumbling Tristan.

It was truly a funny sight to witness a so-called talented individual eat dirt as if it was a sublime delicacy. Before he stopped, Apollo jumped towards him. He didn\'t give Tristan the chance to recover properly.

Apollo was right on his back, using the same dangerous strike. Regrettably, Tristan\'s evasion was sloppy. Apollo\'s hand caused a large gash in Tristan\'s leg. As someone who utilized a high-tempo battle style, damage to his legs was devastating.

As he stood to the side, blood dripped down Tristan\'s right leg, \'Damn...this guy is crazy. Not even batting an eye when I\'m that close. While many people know my weakness, it hard to overcome the instinct to flinch when I\'m near.\'

Generally, Tristan\'s opponents would shirk back from his advance due to the accompanying winds. Most of the time, the winds disrupted their sight, allowing Tristan to land blows with ease.

Yet, when it came to Apollo he couldn\'t find an opening. Despite the winds blasting his face, Apollo didn\'t flinch nor acknowledge the wind. On the contrary, Tristan was more aware of them than he was.

Due to his Wind Affinity, most of the opposing winds weren\'t able to affect him. Especially so if they were winds birth from the aftereffects of someone\'s attacks. If it wasn\'t controlled by essence, then it was useless.

Glancing at Tristan\'s leg, Apollo moved closer once again, favoring Tristan\'s wound.

Although he wanted to move away, it was proving difficult. Not only did flowing Lightning Essence through his leg hurt, but he was limping as well. Apollo\'s attack had burrowed deeper than he thought.

Not to mention, the residual Anima on Apollo\'s hand injected enough Demonic Anima to start deteriorating the area around the wound. 

  "Wait…wait! I yield!" Tristan shouted. Unfortunately, his exclamation didn\'t make Apollo feel anything. There wasn\'t a shred of remorse in his eyes.

"You should have thought about that when you confronted me," Apollo responded, finally conjuring a collection of extremely dark energy in his palm. He intended to make an example out of this person as well.

"A-are you insane? Just because I fought you I have to die? Have you never participated in a friendly duel?" Tristan retorted, he couldn\'t wrap his mind around Apollo\'s logic. The mere fact of going against Apollo warranted his death?

"Not necessarily, I\'m just doing it because I feel like it. Also, I don\'t fight \'friendly\' battles. You should enter each and every fight with the intention of dying. Only then will you try your hardest to earn your survival. Nevertheless, goodbye," Apollo smirked.

\'Pucht!\'

Apollo\'s hand punctured Tristan\'s heart, a look of horror plastered across his face, "M-madman. You\'re...y- insane…" His breath trembled as he continued to sputter blood; a sight that would traumatize many. Yet, Apollo\'s expression was unmoving throughout this entire process. 

"And death is a consequence~"

While looking around, Apollo thrust his hand, discarding the blood located upon it. At the same time, his appearance was confrontational, seemingly egging the others on. However, after witnessing this spectacle, they had already made their decision—taking a shortcut wasn\'t worth their lives.

\'Hoh? My lord, it seems as if you\'re growing merciless,\' Fuhrer chuckled lightly. Truth be told, he wished for Apollo to be even more ruthless because there were some demons who wouldn\'t think twice about going against him.

For example, the other candidates. If he couldn\'t control them, then he would have to eviscerate them and deal with all rising issues.

\'Yes, perhaps that is true,\' Apollo nodded. Since no one else intended to confront him, Apollo gathered the others and ascended the platform steadily. While he advanced, his gaze was locked on the Glories up above.

"Don\'t worry. I\'m coming for you. It\'s about time we settled our unfinished business. If you have any worries—I won\'t be gentle," Apollo sneered. 

Although he wasn\'t loud, Apollo was heard and the others were incensed by it. They were able to discern his lackadaisical view of them from his tone.

"Who does he think he?" Lazaro scoffed, tightening his grasp around two short swords. The veins in his forehead throbbed as his mind filled with infuriated thoughts.

"What do you think. He\'s insane. Haven\'t you heard the rumors surrounding his name? I didn\'t know if it was his at first due to some changes in people\'s stories, but once they revealed the name, it was clear," Aeon muttered. He withdrew a slender longsword, polished and extremely sharp.

Since Apollo was coming towards them and would reach their position without fail, it made no sense for them to run. Instead, it was better to defend their reputation and fight this fight.

Afterward, portals opened behind Claire, Typhir, Aeon, and the others one by one. Large figures of varying strengths and elements appeared, highlighting their intention to fight.

In accordance with their increased numbers, Apollo summoned his last two demons as well. Auras inducing trepidation appeared; Typhir and Furcas revealing themselves. Apollo alongside his 6 demons advancing with an imposing gait and an air of slaughter.