----

The cataclysmic tremor from Asteroth's strike lingered for quite some time as he continued to laugh boisterously while ostensibly standing above Apollo's body. A surge of delight flowed through him as he felt the weight of his grudge slip away with each hammer strike he aimed at the ground beneath his feet.

However, a deranged look entered his eyes as he glanced down. "This isn't enough! Although it feels good, it's far from enough. You need to know the meaning of true suffering; you need to know how it feels to run without purpose after facing peril!"

Boom! Booooom! BOOOOOM!

Each successive strike Asteroth released grew at an alarming rate. By the time Asteroth finished his rage-filled words, a crater at least 300 meters deep was burrowed within the ground. Even Fuhrer felt some surprise as he witnessed this scene.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be so passionate about that matter. Out of all the demons, I would've expected you to care the least with your demeanor. But, I guess my assumptions couldn't be more incorrect," Fuhrer said while watching as Asteroth floated up from within the deep hole.

Despite the considerable alteration to the terrain resulting from his rampage, the rage on Asteroth's face didn't dissipate in the slightest. On the contrary, he felt even more incensed.

"What is this?! Why is this damned fool so weak? How will I feel relieved if this is a one-sided beatdown?! Old man, just what have you brought before me? This is simply a disappointment!" Asteroth snarled.historical

Asteroth's disappointment resulted from the expectations created after witnessing Apollo's Aura of Domination. This power immediately convinced Asteroth that he was in for a delightful, one where he could vent his repressed anger. Yet, from what he had seen thus far, it appeared that he wouldn't even get the chance to unleash any of his more significant attacks.

However, Fuhrer merely chuckled in response before creating more distance, "You put too little faith in the bloodline of the Monarch and his special Aura. I suggest you take a moment to realize what you've done."

"Tch.. I already understand what I've done. I've put down a toothless wolf. While he may bear the appearance of a beast, he is without the essence of one. I'm thoroughly disappointed," Asteroth replied with a derisive scoff.

He lifted his hammer above his head in the next moment, collecting a dense cluster of destructive Aura. Once it grew it to the size of a basketball, it floated to the forward-pointing face of the hammer while taking on a faintly black tinge.

"You should've just sent Amduscias in place of this guy. At least he would've given me a challenge since he caused me to develop an application of my power that countered his own," Asteroth commented.

Despite Asteroth's disrespectful comments, Fuhrer remained silently, simply shifting his gaze to the pit underneath Asteroth with a delighted smile. As he crossed his arms in anticipation, a single thought appeared in his mind. 'And so the real fight begin.'

Suddenly, a cold voice sounded from within the pit. But, shockingly, aside from the voice, there was a lack of any presence coming from the deep hole. "You know.. you talk a lot for such light blow. That inflated ego seems to have sapped a large portion of your strength. Is this truly the power that gave birth to all those rumors?"

Just as Asteroth was about to respond, his pupils constricted as he tilted his head to the side, narrowly dodged an incoming weapon. However, three breezes followed after the weapon, producing an eerie feeling, similar to a cold chill brought about by a phantom.

Soon enough, those three breezes took on the form of Apollo's phantasms, which then condensed into his actual body as he snatched Gram out the air before it flew too far. All this was done in a fraction of a second as Apollo's back was close enough to touch Asteroth.

Be that as it may, there was something extremely odd about Apollo's current appearance. It was neither a Suprana nor an Iraym. In fact, judging from the enigmatic presence undulating from Apollo's body, Fuhrer drew an almost instant conclusion.

'Oh? Using his original demon form? I wonder where he's going to take this. There are many options available for this particular form. I suppose we're in for a good show after all.'

Meanwhile, a notification flashed within Apollo's eyes as he spat a bit of violet blood, clearing the metallic taste from his mouth.

〈System: You have entered the first stage of the ?Abysmal Conqueror's Bloodline?. All techniques linked to Domination or Darkness will experience a 25% increase in their effects.〉

This notification was the source for Apollo's ghastly movement. Increasing the Second Baleful Step's effect by 25% propelled it to a level that was nearly on par with the rudimentary stage of the Third Step. Therefore, it was only logical that Apollo's Agility experienced a sizable increase.

Granted, since it was a technique, the boost was only active when Apollo during moments of action. Because he was motionless while standing against Asteroth's back, Apollo's Agility reset to its former level.

"Oh? You think just because you've become faster, your confidence is allowed to r-"

Initially, Asteroth wanted to continue with his rowdy words, but Apollo wasn't in the mood to entertain his folly. Thus, Apollo wrapped his right arm around his torso, blasting Asteroth away with a thick beam formed from a dense amount of Ira.

Asteroth slammed into the ground near the pit; however, his trail wasn't long as he hit the hammer into the ground, bringing his momentum to an abrupt halt. After experiencing this attack, a look of excitement appeared on his face.

"That's what I'm talking about! Fight back! Make this fight worth it," Asteroth bellowed. His excitement was derived from the fact that the previous attack was by no means something a Greater Demon could muster. At the very least, it would require all of a Greater Demon's Sin Reserves to unleash a Sin blast of that magnitude.

Unfortunately, Asteroth once again couldn't enjoy the delight flowing through him as Gram hurtled towards him. This time, a thick pressure encapsulated the blade that dominated the atmosphere surrounding it.

Although the incoming strike wasn't frightening in Asteroth's point of view, he froze for a moment. After all, the application behind this attack was similar to the principles of the two attacks he used not too long along.

'Is this just a coincidence?' Asteroth wondered while narrowing his gaze on the incoming weapon. Just before it made contact, Asteroth shifted half of his body on an axis and caught Gram's hilt before spinning around and returning the weapon at a more incredible speed.

Afterward, he performed a rush that decimated the ground, following close behind the greatsword. If Apollo chose to deal with the attack, the window between Gram reaching Apollo and Asteroth closing the distance was almost nonexistent.

Thus, Apollo was left with two decisions; either deflect the first attack and risk receiving a gruesome attack from Asteroth or avoid Gram and place all of his attention on Asteroth. Unfortunately, this option meant that Gram would end up an unknown distance away.

Judging from its current speed, Apollo wouldn't be surprised if it flew tens of kilometers away.

Apollo didn't even flinch as he extended his left arm before him despite the difficulty. In what seemed like an instant, an enormous appeared in the space right before Apollo. His gaze then shifted to Gram for a moment, "Forgive me for my harsh actions; I will be sure to make it up to you."

Apollo swiped his hand down following his words, causing the colossal claw to smash down on both Asteroth and Gram. needless to say, Apollo chose the first option as Gram was forced towards the surface below, impaling the ground directly until the top of its hilt.

On the other hand, Asteroth swung his hammer, tearing apart the giant claw as a reddish-black Aura appeared around him. He felt forced to use his Aura for the first time, granted it was only at the fourth degree for now.

'Tch.. I hate to admit it, but this boy is growing stronger. That claw is much different from the one that initially thrust me to this place,' Asteroth thought to himself. Eventually, the hammer underwent a change as numerous holes appeared.

Once the holes appeared, Asteroth's Aura flwoed through the weapon unabatedly, following a number of spikes formed purely from Asteroth's Aura.

'Hmm? That's a first,' Apollo thought to himself. Until now, he had never seen a weapon change the appearance of a weapon so greatly. Then again, he also remembered that Asteroth was an extremely talented forger, so it should be expected that his weapon existed at the epitome of his craft.

Though the new appearance of the weapon was alarming, Apollo couldn't ignore the feeling coursing through him. Both of his arms transformed as he activated the special techniques related to Ira, but during the process, Apollo received an astonishing alert.

The previously bulky arms received a shocking upgrade as they slimmed down and shifted from a crimson color to a predominantly black color with sparse accents of silver and crimson. Overall, it fit Apollo's current pitch-black hair profoundly dark eyes.

〈System: The ?Infernal Arms of Damnation? has mutated due to the activation of the ?Abysmal Conqueror's Bloodline?.〉

〈System: This technique is now known as the ?Conqueror's Arms?〉

'What a befitting name,' Apollo thought to himself as he brought up the information linked to this technique to confirm any change in the effects of these arms.. Besides the apparent increase to his crushing power, Apollo needed to make sure he could make full use of what this technique had to offer.