The Laughing Swordsman

Apollo slowly swung his bokken, as though he didn't care about how fast the black tendrils were approaching him. The blue lightning covering his bokken crackled violently, as though it wanted to roar out in anger.

The black tendrils got far too close for comfort, which would make any sane person anxious. Even the most patient person would be desperately trying to swing faster. But not Apollo.

He wasn't exactly sane, after all.

Apollo's eyes widened. The sharp end of a black tendril appeared right in front of his pupil. There was even a reflection of the black tendril on the glossy surface of Apollo's eye.

But at that moment, a thunderclap rang out. 

A wave of lightning exploded forth. Like an unending tidal wave, it swallowed up the black tendrils, reducing them to ash. The wave of lightning continued on, but seemed to lose power dramatically as it continued to disintegrate the tendrils, before disappearing altogether.

Apollo was able to destroy over half of each tendril, which was quite a feat given their excessive number.

However, each tendril transformed its ends into a sharp point before shooting out once more. Falk had hardly taken any damage.

After that wave of lightning, Apollo's body only had a few remnant arcs of lightning. He didn't exactly understand how this power worked, but what he did know was that he couldn't perform another attack like that any time soon.

The black tendrils reached him in just a moment, with the same fervor they had before. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Apollo.

He looked up slightly, as though a mortal was looking up to an almighty god.

Apollo felt a strange sense of powerlessness, simply because the natural presence Falk gave off was too monstrous.

But something like that wouldn't stop Apollo.

His body heated up tremendously, while red scars snaked across every inch of his skin. He tightened every muscle, stretching his tendons to their limits.

And swung his bokken.

Countless deafening bangs rang out one after another.

With near unbelievable speeds, Apollo's bokken danced around him. The red talisman at the end seemed to be holding on for dear life, doing everything it could to just keep up.

The black tendrils recoiled back violently, as though it was a child that touched a stove countertop. Blood, along with small chunks of flesh, flew into the air, almost looking like mashed potatoes.

Falk roared with anger, though the damage was insignificant to it.

Apollo continued forth, charging forward fearlessly. It was as though he didn't care about the fact he was charging right into the black tendril's grasp.

Under normal circumstances, most people would run.

And the black tendrils showed Apollo why. After recoiling, they quickly regained a hold of themselves. While the end of the black tendrils did a U-turn to charge towards Apollo, the bodies of the black tendrils rapidly collapsed in an attempt to crush him completely. He was completely enclosed.

It was as though Apollo was at the bottom of the ocean and was swarmed by countless marine life. They threatened to crush him just with their presence.

...And so, Apollo cut through.

His bokken violently tore apart the black tendril below him. The cut spread out countless meters away, as though Apollo's sword was actually far longer than what it actually looked like.

His bokken flashed, splitting apart another one.

Then, Apollo planted his bokken within another tendril, before viciously tearing through it as he passed.

Apollo laughed raucously the entire time.

He forced himself through a path that didn't exist.

It was as though he was a mortal that decided to challenge an almighty god. A god that could kill him on a whim if chose to do so.

It was foolish.

But brave.

However, Apollo's efforts were still not enough. The black tendrils continued to close in, almost like they were inevitable.

It became dark, like the sun was being covered by clouds.

But once all the light disappeared...

"Nyah!"

A thundering boom reverberated throughout the empire. Layla had shot her palms out, forcefully bashing aside the black tendrils that closed in.

The clouds were forced aside, revealing the sun once more.

Layla took a deep breath. Her furry ears twitched.

"Mm... the air feels better like this~"

Apollo gave a quick glance at Layla.

"...It does."

With that, he continued forth.

Falk roared in annoyance. He had been harvesting the other black beings like they were stalks of wheat. But now, it decided to focus all of its attention on Apollo and Layla.

Which meant even more black tendrils were coming.

They burst out of Falk's grotesque body, rapidly approaching Apollo and Layla. As for the tendrils behind him, they quickly closed in as well, surrounding him on both ends.

Apollo raised his bokken in preparation.

In a flash, the black tendrils were right next to him. He entrusted his back to Layla and let out a flurry of strikes with his bokken.

The tendrils in front of him were knocked aside one after another. As for the ones behind, they attempted to pierce through Layla, but without any success.

Apollo continued forth like he was unstoppable.

Yet, stopped in his tracks a second later.

Even more black tendrils appeared behind the ones Apollo knocked away, catching him unprepared.

What he had to deal with before was just a taste.

Apollo couldn't block them.

Several frightening cracking sounds resounded.

The black tendrils directly pierced through his body, shattering through his bones as though they were plaster.

Apollo coughed up a large mouthful of blood.

Layla tilted her head to the side and looked at him curiously.

She didn't seem to understand the precarious situation Apollo was in.

However, there was someone else that did.

Willow.

Although Apollo was fairly far away, she was still able to see him. An ugly frown formed on her face.

"...Apollo!"

Willow dashed towards him, but before she even got a meter away, she was struck by a secondary reformed being.

She coughed up blood before hurrying behind Hex for safety.

Willow was at a loss.

What could she possibly do?

Suddenly, her eyes widened.

It was all so clear now.