The Laughing Swordsman

Willow couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it earlier.

...But Willow began to hesitate.

Because it wasn't exactly the most ideal solution for her. Yet she couldn't think of anything else that could possibly work at this point.

After all, her solution was...

To call out to Apollo and declare that she was his mother.

Although she was fairly confident he would immediately begin rushing towards her, the damage to their relationship would probably be astronomical.

But at this point...

As Willow continued to hesitate, Apollo continued forth. The black tendrils pierced through nearly his entire body along with his organs, but that was hardly a reason to run for him.

If anything, it was a reason to continue forth.

Apollo's bokken flashed, cutting through the black tendrils that pierced him, but not even a second later, others pierced through him once more.

Holes were punched through him like he was a sieve. The main target was his torso, but the black tendrils also pierced through his arm and legs.

The only saving grace was that they skimmed past his neck and head, but if Apollo kept moving forward, it was only a matter of time before the black tendrils would do a little more than skimming.

Although it wasn't too clear, Willow could tell Apollo's condition was far from ideal. In the end, she steeled her heart.

And opened her mouth.

"Apollo!"

She shouted at the top of her lungs.

However, it didn't seem like Apollo could hear. His senses were muddled from having his bones and organs shattered, after all.

Apollo could hardly even hear his own thoughts. The only reason he kept pushing forward in the first place was an instinct engraved into his bones.

Willow despaired when she realized this. Hex was still mindlessly going on a rampage, but he was slowly getting further away from Apollo.

Willow did not think she would survive for long enough if she left Hex's side, so she only had one more chance.

She furrowed her brows before putting her all into one last shout.

"APOLLO, YOUR MOTHER IS HERE."

Willow tore her throat up, coughing up blood as she spoke. Yet, she continued anyway.

"COME TO YOUR MOTHER."

Although Apollo couldn't make out the majority of what Willow had said, the word 'mother' simply gave him too strong of an impression.

The first time Willow said it, he could only faintly distinguish it. The second time she said it, the words sounded vague, like he was underwater.

But he heard them.

A fire seemed to be lit in Apollo's mind. An anger that made him forget about Falk entirely.

Without a single second of hesitation, Apollo turned around, locked onto Willow, then bolted towards her.

Naturally, Falk wouldn't just let him leave. He roared, sending out several black tendrils. Apollo didn't even notice them, as he was too fixated on Willow.

The black tendrils whipped towards him, reaching him in mere moments.

If they pierced through, Apollo may very well die.

Yet...

"Nyah!"

Several thundering bangs resounded throughout the empire. Layla bashed away all of the approaching black tendrils, directly turning them into paste.

To her, it was like a game of whack-a-mole. Though Falk didn't look at it the same way.

He let out a roar of anger before nearly two hundred black tendrils burst out from his body. They shot towards Apollo and Layla mercilessly, nearly blotting out the sky from their sheer volume.

This time, the black tendrils came from different angles, opting to surpass Apollo before circling back around towards him, meaning Layla wouldn't be able to defend him from all of them.

Layla continued to batter away the black tendrils that were nearby, but did not bother to try and get all of them.

As for Apollo, he didn't seem to notice the black tendrils.

And so, his body was pierced by them once more.

Apollo coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his eyes became bloodshot. Yet, through it all, he continued to laugh.

Apollo's body was a bloody mess. But he was also getting faster.

Willow cringed a little, seeing Apollo nearly dying as he got closer. However, she focused on what was more important.

Making sure she correctly timed activating the black talisman.

The process required to activate it was just to inject some mana. However, the talisman itself needed roughly one second to activate.

Willow knew this because she had used it before. However, the number of times she had used it could be counted on one hand.

It was a talisman that had saved her life but also cost her dearly to acquire. Although Willow wouldn't hesitate in using it when needed, the feeling of loss erupted from deep in the back of her mind.

After all, Willow quit her league in order to walk the path of the sword. Acting as a lone wolf meant she had far fewer resources. Even when she was in the league, she could hardly bear to pay for them.

As for now...

Willow shook her head.

There was no time to think about anything else anymore. Apollo was approaching.

Although Apollo did not bother with the black tendrils that pierced him, Layla eventually decided to bash those away as well. As such, his sorry state was fully revealed.

Mangled beyond compare, any sane person that saw his condition would think he was dead. It was as though Apollo became a rag, flesh loosely hanging onto his bones.

But Willow was familiar with Apollo's frightening regeneration ability. After all, she directly pierced through his back and smashed his organs up. And now, he was still alive and kicking.

Apollo continued getting closer, and eventually, Willow felt now was the moment. Her eyes narrowed as she injected mana into the talisman.

It immediately began to release large amounts of black and grey mist. There was even an occasional line of silver mist.

Apollo was only a few meters away from Willow, while the black tendrils were ready to pierce him once more.

Then, he was in front of Willow, black tendrils millimeters away.

....and a golden radiance filled the air.