Mana and ki began to blend like a whirlpool while the mithril spear turned into armor that magically merged with his clothes. Blue, glowing markings began to appear on Apollo''s skin and clothes, and the two chanting bracelets that adorned his wrist were replaced with blueish energy that morphed into gauntlets.

    Under the golden field of seemingly endless sand, a ruined temple held two strong beings that stood with two colliding energies against each other.

    The air yet again changes, and two shadows disappear, followed by a continuous barrage of explosions. The surrounding barriers shook in rhythm as if following the fierce tune of the battle. Apollo continues battling the demon, switching from close combat to mid-range spear weaponry. However, as he continued with an intense exchange of blows, Apollo began to see the flaw of his attack. Despite being good at martial arts and weapons, he was still lacking in terms of strong techniques that were powerful enough to be called a finishing blow. In the end, Apollo''s skill-related techniques in martial arts and weapons can only get him to a specific level. He needs to upgrade his arsenal and simply upgrading the skill may not be enough to fill the part of what he is lacking.

    "Guess this is what they call a wall," he thought so while dodging a whip-like compressed attack; it was fast and one of the first attacks that almost shattered Apollo''s barrier ever since his latest upgrade. He changes the rhythm of his fighting style and switches to boxing.

    "Since I can''t acquire any strong martial arts or weapon techniques right now, I will just use whatever I have," he thought so as he used the footwork in boxing to dodge the continuous rain of attacks; then he seized the split-second pause in between the attacks to fought back.

    Apollo immediately formed his stance and released his own attack. The dense amount of ki and mana was packed inside Apollo''s sword, and as soon as it came out, the pent-up pressure in it created the force that made the bladed energy savage the area once it was released.

    The wind waves violently to the extent it could cut through Apollo''s barrier; it seems the reaction from the boy''s attack and the defense put up by the demon created a chaotic form of impact.

    [I didn''t see how your attack got blocked]

    "I didn''t see it either. The only thing I noticed is how my barrier almost shattered from the impact," he answered while bending the space to redirect the impact from somewhere else; this was also his way of making sure that the rest of the shockwave wouldn''t reach him.

    "Slow down," he commanded, and time obeyed his will, turning the demon in front of him slower.

    "Good now then, let''s be extra serious now," with his enemy slowing down, the system equips the boy''s eyes with gears for better analysis, while Jeremiah finally finished analyzing the cleansing spell that permeated the entire temple. Immediately, Apollo combined it with his sword, and the mana that dwells in it glowed, powering the spell that Apollo had conjured.

    The clock of time moved according to a command, and now Apollo could put his focus on piercing the demon; all his distractions were now gone. Skills are not made out of mana and do not fall on normal rules of the world, so they won''t be devoured by corruption, it''s the same as the authorities. After all, nothing is above the power of God, and no one can cancel it unless, of course,, you have Nirvana''s skill.

    Back to the battle, Apollo was still struggling to kill the demon because even when he was unaffected by the mana, its firepower continuously blasted him, making it hard for him to move. So he decided to beat fire with fire. He released his own mana, but to make sure it wouldn''t be devoured, he synergized it with his ki; although he was a demon as well, he just wanted to make sure. And thus the battle between the two demons started. Two different types of demonic energy clash together, stirring the area.

    As the blade dug deeper into the demon''s body, signs of struggle finally appeared, and like a bomb, the clash would explode with every passing second. The demon finally tried to move, fighting over the gravity that pins it in place, but Apollo made the command even firmer, increasing the pull by a hundredfold.

    [Creator that demon is planning to do something]

    Jeremiah warned; Apollo nodded and began analyzing its possible moves while still pushing his sword forward. His synergies energy pumped in while flames began blazing in. The power of purification was called fort, and it began to burn the corroded mana, purifying it in the process. Four authorities had now been used, the one from Agnes, Kieth, Aaron, and Samael. The problem is he can''t fully use them since he got used to relying on spells to control them; now, he can''t cast any spells, so he is left with the basic use of authority.

    The sacred flames kept burning the corroded mana; however, it seemed the demon had an endless supply of energy because it didn''t show any signs of stopping. This made Apollo change the command and instead made the flames burn the demon instead. With this command, the battle immediately shifted; the flames skipped the corrupted mana and went straight toward the demon''s body.

    A howl unlike any other echo at the ruined temple; it was so loud it even shook the barrier that covered the ceiling, though the barrier made by the authority of space didn''t. The painful howling continues as if a colossal beast is dying. Apollo remains still; he continues pushing the blade until a cloud of lightning finally hits him.

    "So that is the attack it was planning?" He questions as he nimbly shifts his body to the side, causing the lightning attack to miss its target.

    The flames were relentless, but so was the demon''s regenerative ability; every second, a part of it would turn into ash and then immediately repaired like it never happened. Apollo then strengthens his command, speeding up the burning process, but in response to that command, the healing process of the demon also speeds up.

    To the boy''s frustration, he could not land the final blow; unexpectedly, despite using authorities, it wasn''t enough to finish the enemy. Black and blue then surge, turning into beautiful colors of power; Apollo''s demonic mana and aura combine, creating a barrier that stops all the strikes that relentlessly attack him. He was frustrated on how to properly end the fight but a sudden idea came to him.

    "Right, let''s give it a try," he thought so as he summons his power.