Chapter 237 - Discord Sown By Fuhrer's Tyranny
----
Despite his earlier actions to retract all signs of battle, certain events were already underway due to Fuhrer's monstrous ability. The environment of the Vermillion Night Academy was turned upside down as everything was thrown into an uproar.
Due to his abrupt absorption of nearly every morsel of energy inside the Outer Barracks area, the other students' cultivation, as well as other endeavors, were promptly interrupted. This caused the atmosphere of the outer area to become unsteady.
Of course, every living quarter wasn't the same. Not to mention, the large defensive formation of the Academy caused all living quarters to become soundproof as to not interrupt their cultivation. Unfortunately, that part of the formation was insufficient.
It wasn't the noise that riled everyone up, it was the lack of resources that typically existed in abundance. Once they became used to a way of life, when it was taken away without warning, it was like introducing a domesticated dog to the wild.
Their wits couldn't survive. To these youths, every moment of cultivation lost was equivalent to beating their seemingly fragile future with a hammer.
Be that as it may, the youths weren't the only ones in dismay. Furthermore, living inside those didn't allow them to become privy to this information. With security protocols activated, the exit and entrance of the facility required high clearance.
Hence, why Geneva immediately visited Apollo in addition to her curiosity. She was almost certain that if he was the person behind this incident and found out that most areas were in lockdown, he might have destroyed the door, or at the very least, his enigmatic Spirit would have.
On the other hand, Fuhrer squinted while looking at the leaving Geneva. He could tell there was an anomaly in the area. However, when he looked further, he chuckled, "Young lad, you're about to have your hands full. This entire area is in disorder. When this anomaly is lifted, I'm sure your peers are gonna have many questions."
"Hmm, how much of an effect did your powers have on the area?" Apollo questioned while glancing back at Ouroboros and rubbing his head.
Based on the rumbling of his body, Apollo could tell that he was about to morph back into a sort of human form. The only difference was the fact that some of his features didn't match a human. For example, his tongue was a lot longer than the typical human. Additionally, his elliptical pupils also gave away the fact that he wasn't a human.
In his current state, he wasn't capable of changing his features. However they weren't much of an issue for Apollo as Ourobrous was almost always under his supervision. On the other hand, he was much more interested in the fact that there was some sort of discord in the atmosphere.
"Long story short, I should have woken up every single individual in the area. Compared to Ashiraem, or any of the other Nihilistic Rings, the energy saturation levels of this place are exceedingly thin. If we wish to unleash our power once you arrive at my level, we have to make the ambient energy submit as well. Just your power alone will be insufficient against some enemies," Fuhrer answered.
In response, Apollo nodded. Truthfully speaking, he guessed this back when he fought with Fuhrer in Ashiraem. Before each of his strikes, there was a small reaction in the atmosphere. Although it didn't televise how he would attack, it did alert Apollo that Fuhrer was about to launch a retaliation.
Be that as it may, the divide in strength was something insurmountable at the moment, thus, Apollo's remained on the losing end. Nevertheless, since he had dealt with this matter, he wasn't too worried about it now. All he needed to do was have Fuhrer continue to train him in the ways of the Monarch's Tenebriosity and unlock different Sin paths.
Once all that was said and done, his own unquestionable power would be created. After thinking about this, Apollo approached the door and tried to open it. However, to his surprise, he found out that he couldn't. Naturally, his first thought was to use force.
He started to collect the energy needed to launch a Demonic Massacre Wave, however, Fuhrer stropped him, "There is no need. The restrictions surrounding this door are weakening by the moment. Once it is down, we'll exit. In the meantime, just wait and continue to gather your energy. In the event of a disturbance, you'll need to fend for yourself.
"Based on what I have sensed in the area, there isn't a single enemy that requires me to intervene. While some may pose a great challenge, it still isn't to the extent that warrants my movement," Fuhrer stated before withdrawing his hand from Apollo's shoulder.
Meanwhile, Apollo's mused silently, 'Enemy? I'm not very sure that I'll find those. Even though there may be hostile individuals, it shouldn't be towards me. They'd just be incensed by the fact their corruption was interrupted. As for the person responsible, they shouldn't be able to find out it is me.'
Apollo then turned back toward Fuhrer, "You may sense malice but this place has rules. Not to mention, I don't think there is a single person in this area capable of withstanding the punishment that follows the act of breaking them. Scratch that, there may just be enough to be counted on hand," he said after some thought.
----
Meanwhile, as two conversed, Geneva reappeared back in the Administrator Hall's penthouse office. Upon landing, there was a slight frown on her face, 'It's definitely him, but I have no proof. But, there's another issue, I don't want to deal with him. His flame may be the secret to dealing with this…'
While the room was empty, she lifted her shirt. A gruesome scar with faint black veins stretched out from her ribs. Unbeknownst to many, the reason she gave up her illustrious reputation on the battlefield was due to this injury. In the past, there was an upper-echelon Terror on the verge of evolving into a Disaster-Grade. If that were to happen, this injury would have been the least of her worries.
At the cost of part of her legion, the Terror was defeating. Sadly, not before suffering a wound that caused her cultivation to plummet to what it was now. This was another reason she found it difficult to deal with Fuhrer's aftershocks. While utilizing small techniques was no issue, combatting those violent waves only exacerbated the injury.
As she fell back against the seat, Geneva winced and gently applied a serum acquired from the distilled blood of Valerie. Even then, the corruption of a near Disaster-Grade being was just too great to counteract. At least, that was until she came in contact with Hellfire.
Just the wisp she devoured seemed to momentarily halt the progression of the wound. The only issue now was that the Hellfire was far too weak. As of right now, what she needed was either a large amount of it or for Apollo to grow in strength so that his Hellfire would reciprocate.
Shortly after she arrived back, the hallway outside of her door filled with clamor. Before anyone entered, she retrieved her shirt and took up her poised manner. One by one, people burst through the door, there was Robyn, Sapphyr, Corvin, and many other unfamiliar faces.
However, all of them spoke about a single incident. In light of this, Robyn took the lead, "Headmaster, I need to warn you, most of the facilities of the Academy failed for a short period of time. I'm unsure if any of the areas were damaged by those ripples, we'll have to run comprehensive diagnostics."
"Oh, I can tell you right now, there has definitely been damage. The Outer Barracks went into lockdown mode! Moreover, the entire area was devoid of energy. I tried to reverse it, but everything is happening autonomously as the energy levels continue to return to their usual proportions," Corvin exclaimed in response.
Silently, Geneva listened to the information being shouted around the room until she exhaled. "I'm aware of all of this already. What you all need to know is that I fear the being that fought against the world's will is moving unrestricted. Unless you have reached the Spirit Emperor Realm, you wouldn't have been able to read the fluctuations properly."
Although she wanted to continue, Robyn butted in, "That's right! I just recalled something. The last and strongest ripple of them all carried zero traces of Astrarat's source signature. That means the destruction was brought about by that singular existence. My god, how strong could it be? Could it be a strong Heroic Spirit? Only something nearing that level should be able to go against her."
"No, it wasn't Astraya who was fighting. Think deeper, what being do you know that has might like that? Astraya is more of a defensive entity, she wouldn't attack."
"That's right! Ragna! How could I forget? But wait, that's a Guardian that came to this world around the same time Spirits did, no? Furthermore, he shouldn't reside here anymore," Robyn muttered.
"That's why I fear this new Spirit isn't something on the Heroic, but something possesses Legendary abilities. You know the implications of that type of being," Geneva stated. At the same time, she snapped her fingers. That small action caused all of the formations to override.