CHAPTER 396: SAVING THE GENIUSES

Apollo’s hand clenched slowly. "Who are you?"

The statue did not answer immediately. Instead, it moved. One arm lifted—just a little—and the runes in the basin surged in response, turning blood red for a moment before returning to gold.

Then, the voice spoke again. Calm. Absolute.

"I am the First Titan, or, to be exact, the creator of Titans."

Apollo’s expression turned grave.

The creator of Titans?

Even with all his knowledge and intuition, even with the strange truths he had begun to unravel about this land, this was not something he had expected.

The being before him wasn’t just a slumbering remnant of ancient might—it was primordial. The source.

The ancient statue now fully radiated a different kind of majesty—not the kind born from dominion or conquest, but from sheer origin. Even with his current strength, he cannot even gauge the true depth. It was like he was facing the Black Flame Sovereign, the creator and lord of the Black Flame Sovereign realm.

"You’re draining them," Apollo said coldly, his divine will still crackling at his fingertips. "Those runes aren’t blessing the geniuses... They’re extracting something vital. Is this the will of the so-called Creator?"

Although he didn’t believe he was the creator of the titans, he still asked him. It was clear it wasn’t a simple person but was a terrifying being.

Apollo’s words echoed through the basin, but the being did not react like a mere mortal caught in a lie. Instead, it chuckled softly—a dry, ancient sound that stirred the dust on the rocks.

"You are sharp," the being said, his voice both far away and unbearably close. "But still young. Even though even I cannot fully see through you, it still wouldn’t change the outcome."

Apollo’s eyes narrowed further, divine circuits flaring subtly around his skin.

Then the voice deepened. Final. Like a gate closing behind him.

"Since you are here, forget about leaving."

A sudden shift cracked through the space around Apollo. The basin trembled. High above, the sky distorted—stars twisting into strange constellations. And within the ritual circle, the unconscious geniuses began to convulse as bloodlines were forcibly awakened, torn, and reforged.

A howl echoed—not from any throat, but from the land itself.

Apollo didn’t move. Not yet.

Instead, he exhaled slowly.

"Fuck you!" And suddenly exploded with terrifying power. He didn’t hold back and slashed with the rule of destruction along with his Eternal Sword rule.

That single slash split the sky, a jagged rift stretching from the heavens to the core of the earth. The power of the sword slash instantly reached the level of the peak eternal god, which surprised the so-called ancient entity who supposedly created Titans.

Its fingers twitched.

The attack struck head-on.

BOOOOOM—!!

An eruption like the collision of two realms surged through the ancestral land. The cliffs surrounding the basin crumbled. Most of the basin was flattened. Half of the runes shattered. Dozens of the unconscious geniuses were flung backwards, a mysterious protective divine energy barely shielding them from being turned to dust.

The ancient entity, the self-proclaimed Titan creator, was forced to raise a hand—no longer with careless indifference, but with cautious attention. As it collided with the almighty attack.

Bang!

The statue seemed to glow with mysterious power that seemed to transcend the divine energy, taking the attack head-on, stopping the sword strike. But although it appeared to ease the cracks on the statue, they deepened, which was naturally noticed by Apollo.

"...Interesting," the voice murmured again, this time no longer quite so calm. "You wield more than power. That sword... that rule... it’s like it isn’t from this world alone."

He didn’t seem to care even though it appeared the statue body of his was crumbling.

Apollo, on the other hand, had a grave expression and was cursing. What the fuck is happening on Rion? Why are there so many monsters hidden on Rion, and why am I actually meeting them one by one?.

He cannot help but curse his luck. But even this mysterious being seemed to be held back by the mysterious seal on Rion, meaning he still had a chance.

It was impossible for him to truly defeat such an ancient and transcendent being, but he can save a few of the geniuses here.

Apollo’s eyes narrowed.

"I can’t kill him."

"But I can save a few." He was sure this ceremony was important to him, and hence, he had to stop him.

His gaze swept over the unconscious geniuses, their bodies still glowing faintly from the drained energy. If this ritual continued, they’d either be hollowed out completely or turned into something else entirely.

He clenched his fist.

"I’ll rip them out at the same time."

The Titan Creator’s eyes slowly opened further, a faint smirk playing on his divine features. "You are bold, child. But that will require more than strength."

Apollo didn’t respond.

His body blurred.

—SHRAK!—

In a flash, ten Eternal Sword Rules materialised around him, forming a brilliant formation of destruction. His foot slammed onto the ground, and space bent beneath him.

He raised his hand—and at that moment, all forty geniuses were marked in his vision.

A space rule merged with his Eternal Sword power.

He was going to pull them all out at once.

"HEAVEN-SUNDERING THREAD—!!"

With a roar, hundreds of thin, invisible sword threads erupted from his palm, latching onto the auras of the unconscious geniuses. In that split second—

The ancestral land howled.

The ancient runes tried to resist, flaring red with anger. The formation roared in protest.

The Titan Creator’s hand twitched, and the sky darkened.

But Apollo moved first.

"NOW!"

He pulled.

Dozens of radiant threads ignited, ripping through space, slicing into the ritual’s foundation. The runes cracked. The basin trembled. Dozens of unconscious bodies were torn from the ritual, sent flying into the void—and Apollo, gritting his teeth, caught them with a layered divine net formed from his power.

Ten. Fifteen. Twenty—twenty-six!

But as he reached for more—

BOOOOOM!!

A hand, massive and divine, descended from the sky.

The Titan Creator had finally moved.

"That’s enough," he said, and reality froze.