Apollo felt like this battle was going in circles, after they tried to approach him he would cast a spell and then repeat. The sequence was making him feel doubtful.

    He must do something to change the tide.

    So he charged his body with more mana making his speed go even faster.

    "I don''t know if this fight is going like this because they want me to run out of stamina"

    However, those men were truly incredible they were still able to track Apollo''s added speed. Arrows persistently follow while a spear strikes out of nowhere.

    The young mage didn''t really care instead his body began to emit a black tainted veil. The stone of death is now active and with its power, his presence began to disappear.

    With their target gone the five weapon masters spread their senses to locate him, but they couldn''t find any trace about the boy''s whereabouts. Not until they heard a voice.

    "Gravity 1000 times"

    It said and a force began to pull them immediately.

    Their mind screamed asking for the shield to protect them but with Jeremiah jamming the artifact, their voices couldn''t reach the shield.

    It''s as if a flying aircraft is falling at maximum speed right on top of their shoulders, its strength is too strong for them to move. Though Apollo knows their bodies can immediately adapt to each damage it takes. That''s why he can''t repeat the attack he already did before.

    "Even if they are being pushed by a strong gravity it seems their armament is still there" It only means their will and mind are still in a stable state because their aura is still on.

    At this rate, Apollo''s spells won''t be able to penetrate if those armaments don''t break, though the boy has a different plan.

    A dreadful force began to invade the space and a being corrupted to the core emerged.

    It was a demon-shaped human, while dark armour encased his body.

    "Damn it"

    They could only scream in their minds when a humanoid demon clutched the mithril handle of a bluish-black spear.

    "Explode," said the being and the ground began to glow revealing something dangerous.

    Written on the ragged surface of the soil, are symbols most mages are familiar with. All of a sudden there is a three-layered magic circle drawn on the ground.

    "I wasn''t mindlessly running around, since I can''t cast properly I decided to draw it instead," said the vicious voice.

    A powerful conquering spell went down towards the five bodies, knocking their only way of defence. The armament is gone with their abilities drop to the bottom. Try as they might they couldn''t gather their thoughts as if something was blocking it. With their will and minds in shambles, their aura can''t be used.

    This chance was well taken by Apollo, as he held the spear in his hand symbols began to glow. Then the blue symbols started to part until the weapon turned into pure energy. Darkness then combines with it until it becomes tainted.

    "What can this change I already killed them" he could only say as he witnessed how those mages broke the kid''s innocence. He can''t help but clench his teeth as the experiment starts. Flesh was cut, limps were mutilated and blood was spilled. The children that were abducted were all used and discarded if proved useless.

    Apollo remained watching until the season began to change.

    "How come no one came for them" he muttered almost like a whisper, as he continued to listen to their grieving cries.

    He never knew mages could be this cruel. It was a side he never knew existed. He never knew they could discard lives like this as if they were merely tools for their curiosity.

    "Curiosity is what drives mages to grow stronger.....hah, so was this what you mean?"

    He spoke while looking at the young teenager amongst the prison children.

    It was Lumen''s king and his younger brother, to think they too were abducted, but unlike the other kids, they look determined to get out.

    Apollo continues to observe until another mage arrives and notices the eyes of the two little boys.

    "What''s this? Wanna fight? Hah! Go ahead and try. I highly doubt you can even hurt me" he smugly said while giving those two boys a shock through his magic device.

    "Ah! I almost forgot your older brother shall be crowned as king! How nice isn''t it? ...well it wouldn''t be surprising considering how much he earns from selling you two. Our very promising test subject...HAHAHAHA!"

    His maniac laugh almost drives Apollo to travel back in time to kill him. He is very irritating to the extent the boy wishes he could forget all the consequences of time travelling so that he can cut that guy to pieces.

    If it weren''t for the fact he might change more than he intended he would have travelled back in time and prevented this event from happening.

    As he began to think that way the scene changed again and it was the day they were saved by the imperial soldiers.

    Apollo felt a sudden happiness as he watched them get rescued however that happiness was short-lived as he saw the victims suffer even after being rescued from those cells. Although they are free now their memories are still trapped inside that place. They weren''t able to move on and instead suffered from those memories.

    They especially reacted whenever they saw mages, their bodies would react in such a way that violence would become the answer. Their emotion wasn''t stable and they became highly sensitive to anyone who used magic.

    Some tried to heal but repeatedly failed, years of torment were too long for the scars it left to be removed. Their desperation and journey, all of this was witnessed by Apollo and slowly the scene changes again.

    They became members of the council while steadily trying to live normally until someone approached them. Their offer was too tempting and their words pulled the strings they tried to cut down.

    "Don''t you want to live happily without having those nightmares? Without the fear of being a prisoner again?"

    "Come allied with us"

    They knew it was wrong however their words made them crave for a normal life. A life without remembering the beings that created their endless nightmares.

    And just like that, the memory ended without showing how to save the World tree from dying.

    On the other hand, Apollo finally opened his eyes though what''s hidden behind them is something he will only know.