He quickly used his space rule and teleported instantly, but even as he evaded it, he closely felt this attack's horror. As it razed everything, even rules seemed to be annihilated by the mysterious energy.

He was a bit shocked, as he understood the rule of destruction, and yet he could not achieve this; at least with his current understanding, he could not do it.

But that wasn't it, as this mysterious power wasn't the rule of destruction but something else, something eerie and sinister.

Before he could analyse further—the puppet moved again.

It didn't give him time to think. With a violent burst of speed, it charged toward him, its six weapons slashing down one after another.

Each strike carried black-and-gold energy, swirling like yin and yang – yet filled with that same eerie annihilation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The battlefield of these two descended into chaos and destruction.

Apollo stepped forward. This time, he didn't retreat.

His movements became sharper, faster—each step bending space, each motion controlled beyond measure.

He dodged.

Countered.

Deflected.

But every clash sent tremors through his arms. Even he couldn't take those attacks head-on repeatedly.

He was sure that its destructive powers definitely reached the fourth-order supreme level. Even if it just entered the supreme level, it was still beyond the third-order transcendent level.

Now Apollo cannot be careless; he had to give his all, and instantly the eternal sword rule surged to its peak.

He attacked combined with his space rule, creating fifteen spatial mirror clones attacking at the same time.

The puppet seeing didn't stop, as it didn't care about his life and death and continued to attack with his terrifying power.

Boom!

Its six arms unleashed devastating strikes, black-and-gold annihilation energy sweeping across the battlefield like a storm.

The two sides collided.

And space… collapsed.

Fragments of space shattered apart, forming unstable void pockets that devoured everything nearby like miniature black holes.

Light vanished.

Darkness twisted.

Even the rules of the world seemed to break under the pressure. The temple trembled violently.

To any observer, it looked like an equal clash—fifteen Apollos against a monstrous existence of destruction.

But—that was only the surface.

Hidden within the chaos—a sixteenth presence appeared.

Silent.

Undetected.

A mirror image, formed through the deepest layering of space, slipped behind the battlefield.

Behind the puppet. Behind Seraphiel.

Right before the altar.

Its sword rose.

This strike contained everything. It encompassed the entire mystery of the Eternal Sword Rule.

All of Apollo's comprehension. All of his focus. Compressed into a single, absolute slash.

It tore through the heaven and earth and attacked the altar.

Boom!

Crack!

The sheer force of the attack overwhelmed the barrier surrounding the altar, shattering it in an instant. Without losing momentum, it struck the altar itself, finally breaking the mysterious formation.

Aaah! Screech!...

This sudden turn of battle shocked everyone as, the moment Apollo's attack destroyed the altar, a horrifying inhumane scream was heard that seemed to shake everyone's souls to the core, knocking almost everyone out.

Whether it was Lucifer or any other warriors, all of them lost consciousness as their minds weren't able to handle soul shock.

Apollo and Seraphiel were the only ones remaining standing, but even they felt their souls were torn apart.

Apollo stopped his attacks as he felt his head was about to burst due to the terrifying scream. But he forcefully calmed his mind and looked at the altar which was now finally destroyed.

The moment he destroyed the altar, the runic formation trapping them within the temple disappeared, and the swallowing aura covering the land also disappeared.

The puppet, which had been rampaging like a force of destruction, suddenly froze mid-motion.

Its six arms stopped in its way. Its twelve wings stiffened. It became completely still.

Yet—

He didn't feel even a trace of relief. Instead, his expression grew more serious than ever.

Because the altar was destroyed. But its core… remained. At the centre of the broken structure, the mysterious finger still hovered in place.

Untouched.

Unaffected.

Not even a single crack marked its surface. As if everything that had just happened meant nothing to it.

And now a new power was rising within it.

Slowly.

Steadily.

A creeping, suffocating aura began to spread from it.

"Human..."

A soul-destroying yet calm, inhumane voice rang throughout the temple. Time seemed to be stopped, and it was only Apollo who could hear or see what was going on.

"Good… such a perfect body, such an understanding of the mysterious rules that can hurt me. Haha… I did not expect that the very moment I awakened, I would be granted such a vessel."

"Human, be proud, as you are going to become my vessel."

The voice echoed within Apollo's mind alone. He tried to move, to resist, but no matter how hard he struggled, his body refused to respond. Not even a single inch.

In the next instant, the severed finger dissolved into a surge of black light and shot straight into his body.

His expression changed seeing this, as he couldn't do anything to stop the mysterious being even with his current strength, but he wasn't troubled.

Within his mind, his soul took form. And there, before him, hovered a mass of black mist threaded with golden lines, watching him in silence.

Then it spoke again.

"Hmm… you've accepted it so easily?" Its voice carried faint amusement.

"But don't be disheartened."

"You are about to become part of something far greater than you can imagine." The mist pulsed, its presence expanding within his soul space.

It carried overwhelming authority—as if it had devoured countless beings before.

Apollo's soul appeared to be calm, and finally he looked at the floating mist with an expression of pity and something deeper—an almost hidden delight.

"Snort."

"Looks like your mind is weaker than your talent," the mass of black mist said, its voice filled with disdain, unable to grasp Apollo's thoughts.

Apollo tilted his head slightly. "You are strong… but why come here only to meet your death?"

"Human, it seems your mind has truly broken under the weight of hopelessness and despair," the black mist replied coldly.

Apollo remained unmoved. "Is it? Turn around… and then say that."