The Demon Monarch System

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Due to the pause in his actions, Nadida and the others found the time to catch up to Apollo. However, this also meant they came in contact with what he saw. It appeared the situation inside the Dark Ruin Labyrinth was even worse than they thought.

"Are those teams...killing each other?" Leone blanked. Right in front of them, two teams surrounded by 3 large Dark Beast carcasses remained in combat. In addition to those bodies, there were 5 more that seemed to be mangled contestants. From their current state, they couldn't discern whether this was caused by the beast or the fight taking place.

"Precisely. To be honest, this is the smartest choice. By reducing the competition, they increase their chances in the long run," Apollo nodded, finding these actions justified. Meanwhile, the others were stupefied by his words. 

"You...you don't feel anything while witnessing this? I mean, at the end of the day, aren't they still people?" Leone countered, his expressing carrying with it a pang of remorse for the fallen.

"Are they my people? Why would I spare any feelings for the dead? They aren't my issue. My main concern is reaching the end and that is all. The trail of bodies and those who perish mean nothing to me," Apollo shook his head, but continued, "However, if you take a closer look, you'd realize something."

"What?" Klaus blurted.

"Take a look at the person who isn't taking part in the fight. In his grasp are numerous identity cards that I presume belong to the opposing side's dead members. Beyond that, he also seems to be doing something. If I'm not mistaken, then points can also be stolen from another team. In other words, this trial itself supports ruthlessness. Your childish way of thinking will only lead you into a perilous situation," Apollo said, a trace of disdain appearing on his face.

"I-..." Leone muttered but found himself unable to retort Apollo. Upon noticing this, Nadida stepped forth, seeking to alleviate the tense atmosphere between the party. To her, it seemed as if Apollo's leading goal was to create emotional distance with the party.

"That's enough Apollo, don't you think? Don't beat up little Leone like that," she frowned. In response, Apollo shrugged.

Moreover, he took a step forward approaching the two parties in confrontation. Holding out his hand, he once again summoned a weapon conjured of Hellfire. Surprisingly, it once again took the shape of a scythe. It appeared to be a form he felt the most comfortable with. Even with him advancing, the other parties didn't notice. His presence was not only concealed but his steps were soundless!

A predatory gleam flashed in his eyes, before stamping his foot with an explosive noise. Finally, because of that move, the parties were alerted. Sadly, before they could respond, Apollo had already enclosed on their position.

"Who are you!?" one of them shouted but all they received was Apollo's cold eyes and unsettling smile.

"Your death," Apollo uttered. However, his target wasn't those in combat but rather the one wielding all the identification cards. When they realized this, his team members attempted to avert their attention from their current battle.

Needless to say, that wasn't a smart choice. It was late, but they finally understood what Apollo's words meant. He didn't physically cause their death, but in that window of time their attention was vested elsewhere, the opposing landed both vicious and fatal blows.

"Y-yo-....ugh...Heartless…" A dying participant uttered as their body lifelessly fell to the floor. After killing them, the other set of individuals stepped over their corpses and rushed towards Apollo who grasped all their cards.

"I should thank you for these," Apollo chuckled, dropping the lifeless body in his hands. Although they wanted to pounce on him, the emotionless eyes peering back at them doused all thoughts of retaliation.

"Tch… what is your name? Why do you seem familiar?" one of them uttered.

"I don't know," Apollo responded. Soon after, he stuck his fingers in his mouth and whistled. At first, they thought this was a call for back-up lurking in the distance, but they soon realized they committed a grave mistake.

With a casual swing of his scythe, he lobbed out the remaining 4 people's heads. Using minimal effort, he had recovered plenty of points. After all, obtaining two new sources of points was by no means a small deal.

(Individual Points [+2,560])

(Team Points: [+6,300]) 

(Current Team Ranking: [6,104th out of 30,136])

(Current Individual Ranking: [2,020th out of 301,318])

(Individual Points: [3,580] | Team Points: [8,440])

"The fall was that great? There are over 6,000 teams ahead of us. If we factor out those comprised of the Scions and Glories, then there are still just barely 6,000 teams. Apparently, the Nine Glories don't account for the talents in the Supreme Families who exist at that level. It seems to be some type of baseline that their progenies must surpass," Apollo surmised.

As the weapon in his hands dissipated, he inspected the walls of the labyrinth. Compared to before, the area covered by moss was massive. Along the wall, it seemed the moss grew at a universal rate. Because of this, Apollo questioned what would happen if the moss reached the ground.

Of course, this was just curiosity and not something he wished to witness come to light. Something told him the situation would turn awry if that were to happen. Not just for the others, but for him as well. After all, if everyone was to perish and the atmosphere was filled with the likes of this moss, how would he advance?

It hadn't become apparent, but now that there was even more of it present, he came to realize the moss was interfering with the mental image he was forming. On the area the moss was located, the image became blurry and indiscernible. Even after focusing his undivided attention on that spot, the image wouldn't become any clearer.

Hence, he concluded allowing the moss to grow to that point was something that couldn't be allowed. 

"We need to move quicker. I'm not sure how much of this labyrinth we have covered, but we need to do so at a hastened pace. This moss' propagation rate is accelerating and my image of this place is deteriorating. We move," Apollo warned, tossing aside the useless cards.

"What?! Let's move then!" Nadida exclaimed, rushing even before Apollo could react. However, Apollo was met with a thought. Approaching a wall, he scaled it. From their initial angle, while it was colossal, it wasn't to the point of making one believe it was impossible to scale.

Unfortunately, that did ring true from Apollo's thoughts, 'Why does it feel like the walls are stretching endlessly? According to what we saw, I should have reached the top already but..' 

As Apollo looked up, he found himself at an equidistance on the wall. Shifting his gaze from the top back to the surface, whenever he moved, the wall moved along with him. Unbeknownst to him, this wall was embedded with a defensive formation.

In addition to confusing the senses, it liquidated part of the wall causing whoever tried to scale the wall to be unaware of them perpetually slipping down. This was another reason behind the moss, it camouflaged the formation beneath it. Furthermore, to perceive the formation, one's perception and knowledge of formations would need to be quite high.

Naturally, after multiple attempts, Apollo dismissed the idea of climbing the wall to get a bird's eye view of the labyrinth. 

"I should have expected some measures to be put in place to thwart us from climbing the walls. If not, that'd make the progression of the trial entirely too easy. One would virtually be able to climb above and simply transverse the labyrinth from above the walls," Apollo sighed as he flicked his finger. 

Further along in the distance, the miniature Demonic Massacre Wave came in contact with something and created an odd noise that reverberated back towards them. Just as that happened, Apollo dodged to the side.

Shockingly enough, where he stood, a large fissure spanning for countless meters appeared. Slow, even steps were heard as a familiar face presented itself.

"I knew I had felt that aura before. Did you detect me or did you just haphazardly launch that move in my direction? Hmm, I don't think the latter is the case. You should be a strong contender with your results so it'd be in my best interest not to downplay your capabilities."

'Hoh? It's him,' Apollo smirked.