The Laughing Swordsman

"Wah!~ Are these all friends?"

Layla flailed her hands in the air with a bright smile on her face.

The houses were raised nearly ten meters above the ground. Like they had always been there waiting, a pair of legs pushed them up into the sky.

These legs were dark in color and strangely similar to the skin of a demon. There were indistinct strands of hair all across them that would repulse most. The legs were wide, but appeared lanky relative to the overbearing length they possessed as well as the size of the houses they were connected to.

The houses themselves pivoted around as though they were heads. A strange yellow light emanated from within the houses, out through all the windows. The light was bright enough to be a beacon.

Altogether, the lights filled the empire, adding to the chaos that was already happening. It was as though a swarm of mutated fireflies descended on the empire.

Despite the drastic shift in geography, there was no panic from the residents in the empire.

In fact... the residents were nowhere to be seen.

The only buildings that did not receive the 'leg' treatment, were the ones near the center of the empire. These buildings were palaces, watchtowers, and noble exclusive establishments.

Considering how large the empire was, Apollo and his companions suddenly found themselves facing an innumerable army of giants.

The nearby houses suddenly shifted their gazes, looking directly at Apollo and the others. Many beams of light shone on the group, almost like they were put under the spotlight at a grand party.

Willow clicked her tongue.

"...This is bad."

Layla giggled. Her tail swayed enthusiastically.

"How is it bad? They want to be friends!"

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"Really? To me, they look like they want to fight us."

Hex raised his sleeves in the air, gathering a large amount of dark green mist.

"If leg houses want fight, me fight too!"

The light emanating from the nearby houses began to brighten. The light rapidly became blinding.

As for Hex, the dark green mist coalesced at a similarly startling rate. Thick clouds of green mist revolved around the group, resembling a tornado.

Hex's brows furrowed. He was still weakened when he woke up, but exerted himself nonetheless.

"Me..."

Suddenly, the mist compressed around Hex. His outward appearance became a violently trembling cloud of mist.

"Is..."

The light from the houses suddenly dimmed. It was a prelude to disaster.

"Hex!"

At this moment, a thought appeared in Willow's head.

Weren't they in the center of this attack? We should probably dodg-

An earth-shaking explosion rang out, shaking the air.

Massive beams of light had blasted from the glowing houses, raining down upon the group.

As for Hex, a shockwave of dark green mist burst from their location.

The dark green mist swallowed up the majority of the energy from the houses, but not all. The wall of dark green mist distorted at the places where it was pierced.

The beams of light landed on the group, simultaneously exploding upon making contact.

As for Hex's wall of mist, it burst like a bubble, mangling the nearby houses.

The dust gradually cleared, revealing the aftermath of the attacks.

Hex himself was unharmed. The energy was absorbed into his body, helping him more than hurting him. However, his brows were furrowed. He would not be able to repel the light beams forever.

Hex rubbed the top of his head with his sleeve.

"Me is tired..."

As for Layla, she was simply waving aside the nearby dust. There was a displeased frown on her face, but she was unscathed. The explosion couldn't even wrinkle Layla's clothes, though the maid outfit was destroyed.

Her ears drooped.

"So dirty, ew!"

As for Willow, beads of sweat formed on her forehead, but she was fine. The split second the explosion occurred, she vanished, taking refuge in the shadow world. The corner of her dress had been singed. Had she been any slower, it wouldn't be just the corner of her dress that vaporized.

But her existence.

Willow sighed.

"How did I even get in such a precarious situation anyway?"

As for Apollo...

He could step into the shadow world like Willow, but wasn't aware of that ability in his current state. He had never developed a true form of protection.

As such, the explosions hit him with their full force.

Apollo's body was tossed high in the air, while his limbs distorted, letting out uncanny cracking sounds. The undersized clothes on his body had torn apart, leaving only his bandages to cover him.

His skin stretched and twisted, holding on as best it could.

Yet, it was torn apart.

Many bloody gashes appeared across Apollo's skin. His muscles were stretched taut, but were heavily maimed by the impact.

As for the extra layer of bones that protected his body, they all shattered into smithereens.

In summary, he was hurt.

Apollo felt like someone suddenly clicked off the light, sending his world into complete darkness. His mind couldn't even properly process the pain, but it wasn't hard for him to tell the situation was bad.

His mind whirled rapidly until his thoughts suddenly disappeared.

At this point, the others in the group realized Apollo's situation.

Layla curiously looked up at Apollo, with a finger on her chin.

"Wow, friend learned how to fly!"

She giggled and began to flap her arms, trying to take flight as well. Like always, her feet remained planted on the ground.

Hex tilted his head to the side. His sleeve rubbed against the top of his head.

"...Me no think that good."

Hex stood there awkwardly, contributing little to Apollo's dire situation.

He was concerned though.

...If that matters.

As for Willow, she felt her heart ache. Despite nearly killing Apollo countless times in their previous battle, she still cared about his well-being.

She looked concerned.

"Apollo!"

Willow reached out her hand towards him.

Most of Apollo's companions were worried for him.

Yet.... the person in question was giggling.