The Laughing Swordsman

Altogether, four of the winged reformed beings surrounded Apollo and Layla, while the heavily injured one flew far away, but stopped soon to watch over the situation.

Apollo hovered in the air, simply watching the winged reformed beings around him. His bokken casually rested to his side, while he turned his head around a few times, but lost interest quickly.

It was as though the appearance of the winged reformed beings was nothing more than a piece of dust flying past him.

Though faint giggles continued to seep from his lips.

As for Layla, her legs were still latched onto Apollo's waist, while her hands rested on Apollo's shoulders. She stretched her neck and back to look at the winged reformed beings around her.

Her tail swayed in curiosity.

"Hmm... new friends? But why are friends so shy?"

The winged reformed beings circled around the two of them slowly, from a safe distance. They were rather hesitant. It was as though they were vultures, circling around prey they were not confident to take on by themselves.

It was quite the spectacle, given that these beings were over twenty meters tall, while Apollo himself wasn't even two.

It could be compared to a pack of wolves circling a newborn baby, too nervous to actually take on the seemingly harmless foe.

Though, Layla and Apollo could hardly be considered harmless, even if they looked like children.

Layla looked around for a few more moments before letting out a hum of dissatisfaction. She pouted in boredom.

"Why friends no play?"

Her furry ears and tail drooped. She rested her chin on Apollo's shoulder comfortably and spoke directly into his ear.

"We should go play with friends, they are too shy to approach us, so we go to them!"

Although Apollo's head did not move, he looked to the side, barely able to catch Layla's face from the corner of his eye.

"HAHA Haha ha... playing does sound fun."

Layla raised her arms high and cheered.

"Yeah!"

Apollo bolted forward, leaving trails of lightning in his wake. His eyes began to slowly widen.

As for the winged reformed beings, they immediately acted as though they expected Apollo's movement.

The one Apollo was chasing for flew away, while the one behind him hounded him down. As for the other two, they flew nearby, ready to take action when needed.

Apollo simply ignored them and focused on accelerating forward. He would catch up in time.

As for Layla, she casually bobbed her head back and forth, humming a nursery rhyme to herself.

The winged reformed being had accelerated full force while Apollo chased after it, but he still closed in.

This went on from when they were twenty meters away, and even ten meters.

But when they were five meters apart, the winged reformed being suddenly turned around.

It opened its jaws wide and bellowed loudly.

In response, Apollo simply brought up his bokken. His muscles tightened, preparing themselves.

The winged reformed being was right in front of him.

Then, Apollo's bokken flashed.

A clear thud resounded along with the sound of bursting flesh.

The winged reformed being's jaws were completely crushed, leaving only a stump. Apollo raised his bokken once more to follow up, but the being immediately swooped downwards.

That was when three roars reached his ears, eerily close by.

The three other winged reformed beings shot towards him from behind and at his sides.

There was little time to react, but Apollo continued to laugh carelessly. He did not even bother to turn his head.

Red scars snaked across his arms as he placed his hand on the flat side of his bokken.

All of the reformed beings had three sets of jaws opened wide. Each of them was large enough to swallow a small house.

As such, when all nine jaws surrounded Apollo, they partially blotted out the sun, casting a shadow over him.

It was as though a dark night suddenly arrived.

But at that moment, two lights flickered within that dark night.

A deafening bang rang out, making the air vibrate.

The two winged reformed beings at Apollo's sides were launched back, with two crater-shaped injuries on their body. If one looked closely, one would find crushed teeth scattered among those wounds.

Apollo's bokken had snapped out, directly crushing their jaws.

However, there were more than just two winged reformed beings.

Apollo had entrusted his back to Layla.

But that might've been a mistake.

Layla had wrapped her arms around Apollo, just below his shoulders. Her chin was still snug on top of Apollo's shoulder, and there was a dreamy look on Layla's face.

She had no intention of actually counterattacking.

Instead, her priority became rubbing her neck against Apollo's shoulder, and everything else later.

As such, the winged reformed being had a free attack.

A clear bang resounded.

Apollo had been launched forward, with the wind knocked out of him. His hair whipped wildly as he tried to stabilize himself.

As for Layla, it was as though she hadn't noticed. It seemed her perception of the outside world disappeared when she found how cozy it was on Apollo's shoulder. In fact, she even ended up purring.

The winged reformed being had tried to swallow the two whole, but its large teeth had worked against it. One of the winged reformed being's teeth had collided into Layla's back.

However, other than launching Layla forward, the most it did was ruffle her red jacket.

Apollo looked at Layla with his pupil in the corner of his eye.

"...You aren't fighting?"

Layla suddenly raised her head.

"Ah! I forgot to play!"

Apollo tilted his head to the side as a sinister giggle seeped past his clenched teeth.

"...Don't forget next time."

Layla nodded.

"Ok!"

The four winged reformed beings once again circled around the two, sticking with their previous strategy.

Apollo wasted no time in charging forth, prompting the one he charged after to run, and the one behind to chase.

The winged reformed beings had the same plan in mind.

But before they could execute it...

Apollo turned around.