33 Ray of Light

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[Retreat! NOW!! You've been spotted and this tree will not provide suitable cover.]

Azridan's warning came quickly as the trees continued to topple and cause resounding crashes throughout the forest. Almost immediately, Apollo took notice of the intense glares from the two warring beasts.

Although his presence was weak, one thing these predators didn't welcome was vermin who schemed for their spoils of war. Not only did it infuriate them, but it caused an even worse outcome!

They ceased their fighting and instead worked together to eliminate Apollo as quickly as possible. An anomaly could always produce some unforeseen circumstances, therefore, the beasts couldn't allow Apollo to remain, especially since he wasn't a similar beast. 

Hence, they began a retaliation.

The first to act was the Scarlet Blaze Panther, firing a torrent of small flame orbs that landed on multiple trees. Its rapid-fire was astonishing, akin to a continuous fire beam, and their damage was not to be questioned.

The repeated blasts ignited the tree of mention into a fiery blaze, which caused the area surrounding Apollo to be engulfed in even more brutal falmes. So much so, the heats produced a searing pain on Apollo's skin.

〈System Alert: Your current condition(s) will cause you to lose 5 Health every 3 seconds. [This decrease can exacerbate if the condition(s) worsen.

'Tch… why are they reacting so violently? I shouldn't possess an aura powerful enough to foster this type of sudden reaction. It's almost as if I'm their greatest threat,' Apollo thought while crossing his arms before the heat to resist against the scorching heat.

[Partly. Though they aren't wrong. Towards the possession of their item, since you were hiding in the dark, you are their absolute threat. In their case, all they have to do is fight directly. But, with you, your employed tactics require stealth.]

[In short, they hate you and want to eviscerate you.]

'Oh fu-...'

His thoughts were interrupted by a burst of sharp winds hurtling towards him. The Zephyr Wolf launched a myriad of them from the crown object around its neck. At the same time, the patches of white fur illuminated with a mellow glow. 

When the panther's attacks missed, the wolf followed up without pause. It was a grim situation capable of putting Apollo on high alert and then some.

[This situation isn't looking too well. Even running away isn't an option because, despite their wounds, they'll catch you within mere seconds!]

'I know, but what do I do in this situation… Here they come!' Apollo responded. 

Both the panther and wolf rushed towards Apollo without remorse. Their savagery bolstered to new heights when their attacks failed to take over. Finally, Azridan decided to use his trump card.

[Let me take over.]

'Let you take over? How?' Apollo thought.

[Just relax and try to sense my intrusion. If this works, I may be able to get us out of this perilous situation.]

Apollo's expression brightened when he heard this. Without delay, he followed Azridan's direction, only to be engulfed by a monstrous sensation.

'W-what that hell is this?' Apollo wondered.

[Relax, don't fight the sensation. It's just my soul.]

Despite Azridan's words, Apollo couldn't help but be amazed. He felt as if he was suspended into a boundless sea of dark powers, leading him to thoroughly question Azridan's original strength.

Soon enough, an aura many times worse than what the beast emitted appeared from Apollo's body. It was an innate desire aligned with destruction that didn't originate from this world!

A faint tremble occurred the instant before Apollo's appearance altered slightly. His previously purely violet eyes possessed elliptical crimson pupils alongside two budding horns on his forehead! Compared to its original appearance, the horns were no more than two knots on Apollo's forehead.

Furthermore, his expression possessed an irrevocable dignity.

"It seems because I am something like a soul, I am capable of performing this. Unfortunately…" before continuing, Azridan looked down at his hands opening and clenching them.

"I won't be able to wield any of those moves as there is no anima in this body but… I should be able to mitigate the situation," Apollo thought before throwing a punch wrapped in a weird aura.

Azridan's fist impacted the tree splintering it. However, an odd event took place! It didn't shatter randomly, but rather it took on the shape Azridan desired. He virtually created a suitable weapon within an instant. Gripping this weirdly shaped long weapon, Azridan exhaled.

'Since you have stopped damaging each other, I will try my best,' Azridan thought.

Whoosh!

Azridan dashed towards the two beasts which caused them to react instantly. Both wind and fire attacks hurtled towards Azridan but he weaved through their openings with ease as if they were traveling in slow motion.

'Absolute garbage. If I had my original body, this wouldn't even require a flick of my finger. Nevertheless, dwelling on the past won't bring it back,' Azridan thought before continuing with his actions.

'I can't let these attacks touch this body. Just a simply hit with render him incapable of surviving.'

Suddenly, Azridan slashed the weapon three times, creating 3 arcs of ominous aura that traveled and collided with some of the opposing launched attacks—it was a contest of power.

At that moment, Azridan scoffed because instead of his intended purpose, the arcs only managed to redirect the attack paths instead of destroying them.

He then accelerated, utilizing some trees to turn his movement pattern irregular. 'This is all aura-based attacks with no energy behind it, so I'll have to advance mindfully.'

In the next moment, Azridan turned into a blackened crimson blur and entered hand-to-hand combat. To survive, he'd have to eliminate their use of Natural Essence. In other words, he'd have to keep their body occupied, disrupting their chance to channel it.

After all, utilizing Natural Essence at this level wasn't an instant process. If interrupted, dire consequences could follow. Hence, it was crucial for Azridan to disrupt it preemptively.

Regrettably, his desire surpassed Apollo's parameters.

'This isn't enough, they're far too strong for his body. I can't deal enough damage to reveal the opportunity to flee. Not to mention, the control I have over this body is fading. It can't contain the immensity of my presence. It'll shatter if I push it. Is there really no other option?' Azridan thought.

The longer he occupied Apollo's body, the more apparent the damage it was causing became. Small ruptures appeared on at odd places of Apollo's body, with each of them dispensing a foul aura, matching Azridan's.

'I can't stay here any longer. It's not worth it to cause irreparable damage to this body. It hasn't even entered true demonhood yet. Assuming it was strong to hold while I dealt with them was childish,' Azridan thought with a sigh.

A moment later, the abrupt change Apollo experience ceased, returning him to his original state. Fortunately, Azridan created some distance before doing so.

Once he returned, Apollo gazed at the weapon in his hand curiously, 'Hmm? When did I get this?'

While Azridan took over, it felt as if his soul had frozen over. After all, his mind nor soul had yet to mature, so there was absolutely zero chance of him remembering actions committed by Azridan.

[Young lad, it seems the situation is more perilous than I estimated. Unless we come across some unorthodox method, perhaps we'll have to relinquish our fate to destiny.]

"W-what? What do you mean? How can we simply give up here? I just started to gain strength so I refuse!" Apollo bellowed. A hateful expression appeared on his face as he gnashed his teeth resentfully.

'There has to be a way out of this situation, there has to! Irauk warned me of the dangers here. Wait, Irauk...' Apollo thought. The chances of him being nearby was extremely slim because at least half a day had already passed, but there was something else.

'He left me on my own, without knowledge of Azridan, so there's no way he wouldn't prepare something to help me in dire times, right? If we are truly as valued as he says, then that'd be a basic necessity to guarantee my safety,' Apollo surmised.

[Dodge!]

Apollo moved instinctively, narrowly dodging a death induced by flames. Unfortunately, his body was still riddled with the earlier wounds despite the pendant's help.

Left with no other choice, Apollo dove into the contents of the pouch given to him by Irauk. Finally, he came across something presenting a very useful effect. 

"This is it!" Apollo exclaimed as a shred of light returned to his infuriated eyes.