Chapter 78 Celestial
There are ninety-five Apollos currently ready to pounce on a single enemy.
But despite their numbers, the archbishop remained quiet until he finally broke the ice.
"This is interesting, I can see it is a cloning spell but I strangely can't see the original, wait.... no....."
His eyes lingered on each enemy as if he were scanning them.
"I can see that every singe one of you is the real, and no one is a mere copy or clone..... interesting" he concluded but his calmness made the situation even more intense.
Apollo looks at his opponent, and an underlying sense of dread covers him.
"This is the first time I've felt something like this"
He could only say while bracing himself for a fight.
Mana and ki began to radiate in his body before they emerged out of his skin. A subtle thin coating covers his armored body. His demonized form gave a contrast to his blue mana.
This level of mastery may not be in the level of Aura users but it was enough, because this state signifies the growth he achieved after all the training he received and the training he did by himself.
The archbishop Eleven looked at him apathetically.
"A perfect synergy of ki and mana, you are a different breed of demon, because demons don't have ki, they can only harness mana. This only means you are a half demon and half human....pfft...HAHAHAHAHA"
Apollo was taken aback when his opponent suddenly made such a burst of laughter.
"I am fighting a mentally challenged individual"
[Better be careful we don't know what this guy can do]
"I agree-..!?"
It was only a split second but this man came so close to him that he never anticipated his next action. Apollo stood face to face with his opponent still confused about his motive.
"Calm down demon I am only curious about your heritage"
"My heritage?"
"Demons are known to be creatures of destruction and madness, they don't have any sense of reasoning only the will to devour makes them keep moving forward. However, you are different, not only you can communicate but your scent is a mix of a human, and you are maybe a hybrid between a human and a demon. One that shouldn't exist in this world"
"This guy thinks I am the real deal"
[Essentially demons can't reproduce with humans since they have a tainted mana and they are biologically different from humans. Devils on the other hand are different since they are humans to begin with, they just undergo metamorphosis]
"I do know that"
While me and Jeremiah converse Eleven spoke again.
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"Tell me, creature, what do you think will happen if a demon that is known for its destruction, suddenly gains sanity? What if they begin to think? What power do you think such a being may gain?"
Apollo was getting confused on which direction their conversation is heading. However he still answered him in a way that might excite him.
"If such a being exists he might become the strongest"
This answer wasn't something he didn't think through, the thing is a similar problem arose in the tower once before.
The possibility of high-ranking demons gaining intelligence became a source of debate. It was dangerous because the higher the rank of a demon beast, the more powerful skills it has. Imagine such a being having the capacity to think and plan for every attack it would do.
That possibility created chaos among the scholars of the empire and even Apollo felt that such a thing could pose a threat to everyone.
Eleven smirked as he heard the answer from Apollo. It was a proud smile as if he won a fight.
"What's the point of this question?"
However, instead of an answer crazy laughter escapes from the deranged priest.
"Many believe Celestial was the threshold of power but..."
The air began to vibrate when Eleven finally summoned a fraction of his mana.
"But our lord Nirvana reach beyond such a level and gain Enlightenment!"
"So what is the connection with demonic beast talk earlier?" the boy just thought while letting his opponent spill out his absurd thoughts.
"I'm bored" he concluded when the priest continued to laugh.
[Why don't you just kill him?]
"I need to know first about the connection between the monastery and the demon beast. I still remember how everyone told me they could summon and even manipulate those beasts based on their wishes"
[But how long can you endure his chattering?]
"I'll try my best"
[Can't you just extract his memory?]
"Oh right I can do that"
But then Eleven stopped his craziness and turned to look at Apollo, who only stood a few meters away from him.
"Nirvana was a demon beast"
"!?"
[That is new]
"He was just a normal savage monster that once roamed the dark continent, not until he received an Enlightenment! From there his thoughts formed,his sanity was given and became an entirely new species that emerged from a line of savages!"
Eleven made such a boastful remark while spreading his arms widely.
"My initial curiosity is turning into bloodlust because of his crazy way of talking"
[It is best to kill him before he even spouts any more nonsense]
"Agreed, we will just extract his memories"
Ninety-five Apollos no longer waited any longer they began to attack.
This action led to the archbishop's change in behaviour.
"I see you no longer wanted to hear my words, even though you may be one of his children"
[So that is what he believes]
"What a load of crap"
Lighting crackles while the sky turns dark.
"Fusion magic, Wrath of the Lightning God"
A spell made by ninety-five mages turns the entire forest hellish. The ground melted while the trees were blown away, as the ground broke apart a cloud of dust hid the the silhouette of the deranged priest. Then from the cloud of smoke a voice can be heard signifying that the enemy is still alive.
"Third gospel of the holy book. Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to you"
The gospel that copied Apollo's Thunder aura spell made an appearance again.
"Your spell truly is extraordinary" the archbishop said while the clouds of dust completely disappeared.
Right before Apollo's eyes, Eleven multiplied into one hundred.
[You are short of Five]
"Nah my numbers are enough"
Mana began to shake the earth hinting that a spell was about to be cast.
"Hear me book of Nirvana"
Mana domain was established putting the entire area within his control.
[Notification Alert!
Mana domain is fully established!
The mana of the surroundings is frozen
Proceed to cancel it?]
If Apollo failed to destroy the mana domain it could hinder one of his skills, Light of Aegis which heavily relies on the surrounding mana.
"Now one of my cards for defence is gone"
"Break it, Jere-..."
However Eleven's spell overpowered Apollo's thoughts.
"I will not be afraid, for my lord shall be with me"
The gospel was fully cast and from the sky a giant light came down. One hundred huge towering lights turn into one.
"Behold demon, the avatar of light! This gospel is the highest tier out of all the gospels of the book, because it summons a fragment of our lord Nirvana!"
[The skill Unbreakable has been activated!
The effects of the gospel have been nullified!]
The huge burden that had been pressuring him was finally lifted. This made him see the entity that his enemy summoned.
A ginormous being with a body being protected by a pristine white exoskeleton. Its head was similar to an ant with two giant antennas attached to each side of its head. Clear transparent wings similar to a dragonfly were attached to its back while two legs and arms completed his limps.
This being was too big that it occupied half of the forest.
[It's huge!]
"Scan it!"
The boy with his demon-like appearance spread his black wings and flew to dodge the fast-coming attacks of the avatar.
"HAHAHAHAH!!...do you now see demon! This is just a fragment of our lord Nirvana!"
"Don't worry I can handle this fragment"
A crack suddenly appeared on the avatar's face surprising the priest.
"How? One hundred celestials had cast this gospel how come it's breaking apart!"
"Ah about that, it's because you didn't fully copy my spell, Eleven"
"What?"
"I already learned my lesson from fighting Sergio so I took some protective measures so my spells won't be copied easily"
"CRACK!"
The sound of breaking reaches Eleven's ears making him look at the army of himself.
The other him began to crumble scarring the remaining ones.
"What is going on?"
Dread coursed through his body when he felt a sudden cold aura seeping through him.
"No!"
Fissures began to spread making him look at the monster right in front of him.
"What have you done!"
"Ah, I just put a curse on the spell"
Eleven made a painful expression causing Apollo to further explain the concept of his spell.
"A curse will latch out on anyone who used my spell without my permission. And since you used my spell without my consent, a curse immediately activated"
"No damn it!"
He summoned the holy book trying to access the gospel that could help him but then time suddenly hit slowly.
The book moves in slow motion while his body begins to disappear at a frightening speed.
"How!?"
It was all the thoughts of the remaining Eleven because all of them were experiencing the same thing.
They all look at the source of it. A demon with pitch black armor, his wings were as back as him.
Apollo feeling their gaze only spoke two words.
"Time Dilation"