"You''re calculating," the swordmaster growled, his eyes narrowing. "But let''s see how far how you calculated everything"

    "Hooo..." Apollo controlled his breath trying to reign free from the mighty wave of energy brought by the enemy''s weapon. The authorities were with him as well, giving protection even with the constant feeling of its power slipping away from his grasp.

    "Come on, you got this," he said to himself as the energy from Excalibur increased.

    Excalibur''s glow intensified almost as if it would swallow the entire canyons. The energy surged outward, creating a shockwave that disrupted Apollo''s footing. Seizing the opportunity, Nero closed the distance, launching a flurry of attacks designed to overwhelm his enemy.

    Apollo activated the authority of the time, slowing the flow of time around him, but it was immediately absorbed by Nirvana''s flesh inside Nero''s artifact, though the small window it gave was all Apollo needed to teleport away. However, the battle intensified, and each swing carved through the air with devastating force, leaving Apollo no room to retaliate.

    With every clash, Apollo''s hold of the authorities cracked further as if the sword was stripping him of his power.

    "Are you still there Jeremiah?"

    [I am Creator]

    "Is it ready?"

    [It is]

    "Good we should wait for the right opportunity then"

    The two were still calm despite the situation, and deep within their conversation, a plan lay ahead to lead them to victory.

    While this fight consumes not only stamina and mental strength, the Apollo that remains learning inside the ruined walls of Mahika has taken the bold step to start the plan.

    . Your journey continues at empire

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    "Excalibur!" Arevano exclaimed shaking Apollo as if trying to shake off the words he just heard.

    "P-please..let me speak.." the boy pleaded. Fortunately, the wizard was able to hear him; he then put the boy down, showering him with apologies.

    "So is there anything I can use to defend against that?"

    Apollo''s question putting the wizard in deep thought; he began to think while the Sage''s circle remained hovering in the air.

    "Let''s see all I knew it can only be countered by another sacred weapon, boy aren''t you a Lionheart? Can''t you summon the staff?"

    "Only the heir can summon that, besides the current me who is fighting right now can''t summon a holy weapon; I am a demon, remember!"

    Arevano''s words came to him but he had no such weapon.

    "Damn weapons," he cursed, wishing that the sacred staff of the Lionheart could come to him.

    Under the current circumstances, brute force wouldn''t work, not with an enemy who has a super weapon; Apollo focused entirely on reading his opponent. His mind raced, calculating probabilities and outcomes.

    "When he steps forward, his left knee buckles slightly. That''s where I''ll counter."

    As Nero lunged forward, Apollo sidestepped, narrowly avoiding Excalibur''s edge. He retaliated with Void Lock a spell that borrowed the power of black holes. This disrupts the flow of energy around his opponent and slightly weakens Excalibur''s runes.

    Nero frowned urging the weapon to draw more power, with one swing of Excalibur he was able to dispel the void, but Apollo was already moving, exploiting the delay to land a direct hit with Planetary Maelstrom, a chaotic vortex of fire, lightning, earth, water and wind borrowed from the planets'' characteristics close to Bunag.

    The attack forced Nero back, creating a momentary gap.

    "Did it hit?"

    [It did but the sword healed him]

    "Aizz," he could only react; despite his calculated moves, it wasn''t enough, and now Apollo''s energy was waning. His breathing grew labored, and the gathered energy from the stars flickered weakly. For the first time, he felt the weight of exhaustion.

    "I can''t keep this up," he thought. "Not against a weapon like that."

    Yet, even as his body screamed for rest, his mind refused to yield, not until more of him were free to join the battle.

    Nero sensed Apollo''s fatigue as the demon in front of him began to react more slowly than before. It was an opportunity so he pressed his advantage, Excalibur carving through the air with terrifying speed. Apollo dodged each strike by fractions of an inch, his calculations keeping him alive. Even when he tried to keep his distance, Nero would close it immediately with the aid of the sword''s boost. This keeps Apollo on edge for the upcoming attack, but then, the enemy changes his approach. He began feinting, testing Apollo''s limits. One feint nearly caught Apollo off-guard, Excalibur grazing his shoulder and sending a jolt of pain through his body.

    [I am handling that wound and energy berserk] Jeremiah showed up again, erasing any pain that might affect Apollo from thinking.

    "I''m running out of time," Apollo thought.

    [Don''t worry, observe you gave yourself an opportunity]

    The boy felt confused but still looked, and just like what Jeremiah said, an opening emerged. One of Apollo''s skills activated and returned the attack a thousand times the accumulated damage.

    [I manipulate the skill since at the start the Excalibur would just tank the return damage from the skill, so instead of returning the damage every time you get hit, I stored all the damages you receive and released them all now with a thousand times its original power]

    Even with Excalibur, it was too much to handle the amount of damage it received since the skill mainly targets the wielders. The amount of damage the sword can absorb is limited since Nero wasn''t the original wielder; he couldn''t draw its full power. The pain ran through Nero''s body, and even the sacred sword''s power wasn''t enough to subside the pain he was feeling. This was the opportunity Apollo was waiting for, so with all his might, he aimed the power of the authority at the heart of his enemy. He made sure the artifact of Nero wouldn''t interfere and swallow it. With a heavy breath, Apollo gave his command to the five authorities of the Gods.

    "Please obey me," he said as his vision slowly blurred due to exhaustion, his consciousness slowly disconnecting from the body.

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