The Demon Monarch System

----

Arleo's eyes widened and his mental clarity returned as soon as he realized what Apollo was doing! An excruciating pain swept through his body as his personal Ira was being forcefully extracted.

Unlike a Greater Demon where only the vessel was augmented, evolving into an Archdemon meant the demon was required to meld their Infernal Nucleus and/or Tainted Temple with their body. In others words, their entire vessel became the container to hold their energy.

Similarly, this meant that the pain would increase exponentially if it were ever to be extracted. Because, the Anima and Sin Energy didn't just exist within their Sinful Organ and other independent containers anymore, it permeated their flesh and bones.

So, Apollo manipulating his Gula to extract the Ira from Arleo's body generated absurd amounts of pain. But, he couldn't scream out loud due to Apollo's tight grasp on his throat. Admittedly, it seemed this was Apollo's purpose for doing so.

"You don't necessarily have to die, but I certainly have to be ruthless," Apollo voiced with an unsettlingly calm smile. It was as if the fear in Arleo's eyes didn't bother Apollo one bit.. In fact, Apollo stared directly into his eyes as an incorporeal figure made from Ira departed from Arleo's body.

It was identical to his shape, except it lacked any type of defining features. It was just a cluster of Ira, albeit not up to Apollo's standards just yet. Despite unleashing such a devastating attack, Arleo still possessed a surprising amount of Sin Energy remaining in his body.

At Apollo's current rate, extracting enough of Arleo's Ira to warrant punishment would take at least 5 minutes. However, after ample testing, Apollo found that actively restoring his reserves only took him 50 seconds when uninterrupted.

Yet, it would take nearly six times that just to extract the remainder of Arleo's Sin.

Granted, this was vital Sin essence and not just energy used for fueling attacks. In other words, it was the purified Sin that facilitated his evolution. If it were to be extracted, there were bound to be untold consequences, perhaps even devolving back to a Greater Demon.

Upon realizing just what Apollo was absorbing, Arleo clawed at Apollo's hand frantically, aiming to escape his grasp. After all, the greatest humiliation for a demon was not only to lose to someone weaker than them, but to be forced to experience the torture of devolving.

Sadly, no matter how much Arleo clawed, he couldn't get Apollo to release him. On the contrary, his hand tightened, causing Arleo to nearly lose consciousness. 

"Accept your punishment for it is inevitable," Apollo stated slowly, speaking each word in a clear tone. 

BOOM!

Before Arleo could continue his actions, Apollo slammed his body into the center of the crater. As a result, a secondary pit formed in the crater's core. Afterward, Apollo lifted Arleo's twitching body with a callous expression.

"Let's prevent any further interference," Apollo said. The frighteningly sharp aura of the Nether Severance appeared around his free hand before taking on the form of a blade as Apollo manipulated it. 

In addition to that aura, Apollo pulled an even more heinous move by funneling some of Arleo's Ira into this strike, creating a thin layer of sweltering energy around the hastily formed blade.

Still, it was more than strong enough to serve its purpose.

Apollo pressed the blade against Arleo's stomach before thrusting it forward at an appallingly slow rate. Arleo felt every movement as the blade punctured his flesh without much resistance. Then, it made contact with his spine.

"I have faith in your ability to heal. You'll just be out of commission for a while," Apollo said with a light chuckle before thrusting his hand forward, effectively severing Arleo's spine.

As a result, his limbs went limp without the constant command of his brain. Furthermore, without his earlier resistance, Apollo continued to extract the energy.

〈System Alert: Extracting a source of Sin of higher purity.〉

〈System Alert: Amount exceeds your current limits.〉

〈System Alert: The determined amount has been reduced to the devouring threshold]. [Estimated Time Remaining: 4 minutes, 44 seconds.]〉

Apollo read the notifications before nodding. 'So it is indeed possible. But, there's a limit to it. Perhaps the system doesn't want me to weaken our race too greatly. Though, I don't intend to.'

…

Meanwhile, as Apollo dealt with Arleo, the situation with the rest of his subordinates bordered on pure animosity. On one side, Jorgun, Valac, Fuhrer and Typhir teamed up to absolutely pummel Xonnomor. 

Whenever one of them landed a strike that Xonnomor blocked, another would pop up at the best position possible and unleash a ruthless strike. And, since these four were the most violent of Apollo's subordinates, their methods were rather alarming.

For example, Jorgun ripped off Xonnomor's arm after Fuhrer's unsurpassed swordsmanship nearly severed it in one stroke. And, unlike Arleo, Xonnomor was of a single Sin, so the option to unleash a suicidal attack escaped his grasp.

Conversely, Gallmath's state was no better. His opponents were the remaining Geneva, Sapphyr, Furcas, and Zarkath. And for their first even group brawl, their teamwork was phenomenal. Granted, it was all due to Furcas' intrusion.

Unlike the other three, he didn't physically enter the fight. Instead, he stayed at a distance while employing his inscription circle to create a formation. As Gallmath was a demon focused on speed, Furcas was a terrifying opponent for him to go against.

He telegraphed the movements of Geneva, Zarkath, and Sapphyr to seal off all routes of retreat. And, his special practice allowed him to gleam the complete scope of Gallmath's actions before he could even employ them.

As a result, Gallmath's expression darkened greatly. Especially after sensing the odd flames in Sapphyr's possession, 'Just how did we end up in such a situation?'

"Watch out. He is becoming desperate, but his movements won't become sloppy," Furcas warned. He could tell that Gallmath was the type that exceeded his usual limits when put under pressure. 

Especially since he managed to reduce the damage he received while battling against 3 demons simultaneously. Although only 1 of them posed any real initial threat, the instruction of Furcas' accurate judgment turned them all into potentially fatal adversaries.

Suddenly, Zarkath slammed his palms against the ground, which caused a stream of Ira to rush towards Gallmath before creating a ring around him. A second later, over a dozen Infernal Ramparts rose from the ground, forming a prison.

Seeing this moment as an opportunity, Sapphyr stabbed her rapier forward. A blast originating from a tiny sphere at the end of her blade engulfed the interior of the Infernal Ramparts in dense black flame.

Although they were only summoned for a moment, the walls formed by the ramparts started to shake. Numerous cracks appeared at the center of one specific rampart. Although Zarkath provided an extra influx of Ira, the cracks appeared faster than he could repair them.

Soon enough, it shattered, revealing Gallmath, whose body was engulfed in persistent black flame. His frenzied and bloodshot eyes stared at Sapphyr before rushing towards her at breakneck speeds.

Unfortunately, this wasn't a fight involving two single parties. 

Geneva intercepted his mad dash, forcing Gallmath to block a strong kick at the last moment.

"Don't bully my little girl, or I'll have to bully you~ You want me to be nice, don't you?" Geneva giggled, but there was a cold gleam in her eyes as she looked at Gallmath. The former state of Apollo appeared in her mind, and as Arleo's comrade, she felt he deserved punishment.

"Your benevolence is something I'll have to refuse," Gallmath said while clicking his tongue. Anyone could tell from Geneva's tone that her words didn't match her intentions.

Suddenly, a horrifying collision was heard as Gallmath's eyes widened while looking at the horrifying sight before his feet. The battered state of Xonnomor entered his eyes as almost half of his body possessed some gruesome holes.

It hadn't even been  2 minutes since the start of the fight, yet Xonnomor was left in such a dreadful state. That's when Gallmath understood something. He dropped his weapons while looking at the rest of the demons who closed on his position with a slow yet menacing gait.

This was an unwinnable fight! If he didn't surrender, then his state would be no better than Xonnomor, because this bunch of demons was merciless!

"I surrender," Gallmath uttered while dropping to his knees before looking down at Xonnomor's gruesome wounds.

"That isn't your decision. You'll have to take that up with my Lord," Typhir uttered before striking his sword downward. It made it as far as right before Gallmath's forehead before stopping suddenly, as if he had received an order.