The Laughing Swordsman

The debris of the explosion cleared to reveal something that resembled a set of twigs.

Apollo.

His charred body hung in the air listlessly. Thin tendrils of his black skin swayed with the wind and the texture of his flesh could be mistaken for bark on a tree.

His head and limbs drooped down lifelessly, with the exception of one arm. The arm that held the bokken high.

However, despite stubbornly holding on, it was hard to believe he was still alive from his appearance.

In fact, Oddryl himself was essentially certain Apollo had died. He had already cast his gaze towards the other members of his group.

Hex stared at Apollo's body with a bit of remorse. A small pout formed on his face.

"Time short. But me will miss friend..."

Willow's eyes widened with shock. Part of her didn't believe that this was reality.

"No... Apollo!"

Perhaps the only person that still believed he was living... was Layla.

She raised her arms in the air and giggled.

"Teach me how to fly too, friend!"

Without warning, a colossal lightning bolt struck down on Apollo, as though it was answering his call.

The lightning bolt hit the tip of his bokken before rapidly traveling downwards into his body. His limbs involuntarily trembled, violently moving in erratic directions.

Blue arcs of lightning danced across Apollo's body, continuing to rampage across his body.

Strangely enough, instead of charring Apollo further, it caused bright red flesh to burst out of body. As he continued to convulse, the features of his body rapidly returned. New eyes grew into his sockets, hair grew out of his head, and skin grew on top of his muscles.

A nearly undiscernible ring formed above Apollo's forehead. It was essentially transparent, only slightly distorting the light that passed through it.

It was a crown.

Apollo's display of sheer willpower allowed him to join an elusive rank.

The crowned kings and queens.

Those with crowns had a vast reputation and were greatly feared, even by the powerful. It was simply another realm.

Apollo was at the very bottom of this realm, seen by his hardly existing crown, but he stepped in it nonetheless.

Willow furrowed her brows. She couldn't tell if she was seeing things.

"What?..."

Hex's tiny mouth was agape in shock.

"Apollo... not dead!"

Layla's furry ears twitched. Her tail swayed enthusiastically as though she was expecting this all along.

"Friend is so cool!"

Although Oddryl was not paying attention to Apollo, his eyes were currently cast on the entirety of the city. As such, he noticed the lightning bolt that descended upon Apollo.

Oddryl narrowed his eyes.

Somehow... Apollo was uninjured.

In the back of Oddryl's mind, he wondered if made a mistake in provoking this group. However, it was too late for any regrets now.

Currently, Oddryl's eyes were wide open and shone with a bright yellow glow.

He turned to Talon, who was casually holding onto his purple scissors.

"Get the available giants to help."

Talon raised an eyebrow.

"It's already gotten this bad?"

Oddryl sighed.

"Yes."

Talon shrugged his shoulders.

"Guess I better hurry."

He rushed off, on his way to fulfill Oddryl's request.

As for Oddryl, he sighed.

"The opportunity... is simply too great."

His eyes narrowed.

"The possibilities of power contained in the purple-eyed boy..."

Oddryl clenched his fist.

"If the Obrad Empire can harness it..."

The glow from his eyes suddenly brightened tremendously.

"We will become unstoppable..."

The two-legged houses glowed even brighter. Suddenly, arms burst out of their sides. They resembled their black and skinny legs, especially with the disturbing hair.

The hands were abnormally long, especially so for the fingers. Those faint of heart would feel a chill down their spine just from looking at it.

While that was happening, Apollo was letting out a deranged laugh.

The nearby houses swiped at him with their newly grown hands, scattering aside the snow in the air.

As for Apollo, the arcs of lightning on his body grew more violent. Suddenly, he shot forward, towards an arbitrary arm.

Apollo left arcs of lightning in his wake.

He held his bokken in front of him, while rapidly approaching the arm.

Apollo's eyes were as wide as they could be, while the skin on his lips tore open from how wide he was smiling.

The hand of that arm expanded, attempting to grasp Apollo. However, Apollo's figure simply flashed by, right between the gaps of the hand's fingers.

The hand suddenly split apart, while the arm was being torn in two.

Apollo was dragging his bokken along, ripping into the arm as he went. Like a set of streamers, the two halves of the arms fell down lifelessly.

Apollo was dashing forward while completely airborne. His figure tore through the air, while his hair whipped wildly in the wind.

When Apollo was next to the house's 'head', his bokken traced an arc towards the sky. The walls of the house directly split apart, revealing a bright yellow crystal. It had already been cut in two.

Apollo's figure burst out the other end of the house's head, scattering large chunks of wood and debris in the air. The house itself fell on its knees before crumpling down on the ground..

It was as though Apollo was a bullet, piercing through an unfortunate person's head.

As this was happening, the houses around Willow, Hex, and Layla were not still. Some swiped with their hands while the light in the others began to brighten.

Willow flapped her wings, before taking to the air. Her jet-black sword let out an ear-piercing hum.

Willow dodged a black hand that attempted to swat her. Her figure elusively slipped forward, reaching the house's 'head' in an instant.

Her pitch black sword flashed.

The house directly split in two. Shards of wood flew in the air, while the cut itself was jagged.

Willow frowned. She suddenly remembered her sword was chipped.

She would simply have to get used to it.

There was no time, after all.