The Demon Monarch System

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Meanwhile, inside the Ashiraem Tower…

After forcing the retreat of Irzanach and the others, Asteroth appeared disgruntled, constantly swearing while banging the top of his warhammer against the ground, causing the entire room to tremble.

A demon hightailing it out of there with no sense of pride truly infuriated Asteroth. It showed just how much the will of a demon had deteriorated. In the past, even if it meant death, a demon stayed and fought until the perilous end.

Sometimes, through a stroke of fortune, the perilous outcome never came. At other times, that perilous end would be a sweet gift.

Eventually, Saehtyn approached Asteroth followed by Lucifer, who possessed an oddly wary expression in place of his usually confident countenance. Obviously, learning that Asteroth was outside the realm of control was a frightening piece of information.

Should they ever end up on opposing sides, Lucifer wasn't sure how the outcome of that battle would unfold..

"Ahem. Did you say your name was Asteroth earlier?" Saehtyn questioned, attempting to gain Asteroth's attention and stop him from creating any more damage. It was reaching the point of becoming alarming.

Fortunately, although he was still disgruntled by the earlier events, Asteroth turned around, but with an infuriated grunt, nonetheless.

"Yeah, what of it?" Asteroth said with narrowed eyes. His foul mood wasn't one that would change in a matter of moments. It would take some time for him to get over what happened. Though, he wouldn't truly get over it.

As he said earlier, he intended to beat those four senseless if they ever appeared before him again. So instead of forgetting, Asteroth was instead prone to repressing his fury until a later date.

"I would like to thank you for your help, Asteroth. If it wasn't for you, I'm not sure if we would've made it out of that situation alive," Saehtyn said in a respectful tone after noticing Asteroth's irate behavior. The last thing he wished to do was anger this uncontrollable fellow with a short fuse.

All it took was one remark for Asteroth to mark Irzanach for a frightening beating.

"My help? I didn't appear here to help you all," Asteroth scoffed. "You all think too highly of yourselves. I could care less whether you live or die. I simply came here in search of someone but instead became infuriated!"

Asteroth then glared at the space before him while shaking his head, "Oh how the standards of use demons have fallen."

Both Lucifer and Saehtyn grimaced at his response. They should have expected as much from this individual. Was he truly the type to accept gratitude? Perhaps the most fitting display of gratitude would be to give him some type of reward. But, the question was, is there any in their possession that would interest him? If not, then they only ran the risk of being scolded even more.

While they were silent for now, there was only so much someone like Lucifer could take. Even if he was astute, there was a bottom line to the number of insults he was willing to take. 

"Still, while your actions may not have been for our safety, they helped us nonetheless. So you deserve our gratitude," Saehtyn answered back.

"He's right mister~! You very much deserve it!" Asmidia said with a faint giggle and a wink.

However, Asteroth turned towards them with a disgusted expression and sat on the ground. "Look at you all. You're a disgrace. There is such immense potential in you all granted by who knows what yet, you squander it."

From their initial grimace, all of the Lords frowned. Squander?! Just how did they squander their potential? 

"How so?!" Lucifer scowled with widened eyes. This was the first time in his life that someone dared to tell him he squandered his potential. He stood at the pinnacle of the current demons. Before even being able to accept this power, Estran forced these 7 to train ceaselessly until they arrived at a leave adequate enough to accept the granted power.

Therefore, having someone tell him that his potential was squandered felt like a ruthless slap in the face.

"It's quite simple. Do you understand that Sin is a vehicle of power? So why is that you're not the ones at the forefront?" Asteroth countered, narrowing his eyes while looking at each of the 7 Lords.

Until now, they felt their current path of handling the Sins was correct, but Asteroth seemed to think otherwise. He felt nothing but utter disgust for the way they employed their Sins.

"What do you mean? We wield our Sins without fail," Lucifer answered, even conjuring a golden orb to display how easy it was to manipulate his Sin. But, to his surprise, a few meager strands of Ira coated Asteroth's fist.

"If that's so, tell me why this happens." Asteroth punched his first forward, launching the thin gathering of Ira forward. Lucifer didn't defend, simply standing still as he watched the auras collide.

At a glance, Lucifer felt the power embedded in the thin cluster was far too weak to accomplish anything, but he couldn't be more wrong. His eyes widened comically as he watched the insignificant aura tear his orbs to shred.

"But...how?!" Lucifer scowled.

"My evolutionary state is even lower than yours, but you don't understand the Sins properly, and that's why you walk a path with a dismal end, especially since it is once granted and now earned," Asteroth voiced before walking towards the gaping hole in the side of the tower.

However, before he could leave, Saehtyn called out to him, "Wait! If we walk a dismal path, do you understand the right one?"

"Of course I do! I could never blasphemy the Monarch and fail to learn even the most basic information. It was his gift to us!" Asteroth roared before turning back towards them.

All of the Lords blanked as they heard this. 'The Monarch created the Sins as a gift? Then... what exactly is his origin?!' Saehtyn wondered as he contemplated the words spoken by Asteroth. While some of it was hard to believe, it was difficult to doubt performance.

Asteroth used less than a fifth of the sin volume Lucifer did, yet Lucifer's actions didn't stand a chance. It was absolutely destroyed!

"Would you be so kind as to teach me? Something tells me that it will be needed. I don't understand it… but our positions, our Rings―I feel it is all in danger," Saehtyn pleaded, even falling to one knee before Asteroth.

However, he merely clicked his tongue in response, "Bah! Stand up. You just need to realize one simple matter and your destined path will come to you."

"That is?"

"The Sins are vehicles. Therefore, they are meant to be controlled, not the opposite. Your Sin should not be the one in control. You use its power, but should never give in to its whims," Asteroth answered with caused the Lords to look at him oddly.

Though it sounded easy, from what they sensed when they were being taught by Estran, the sins were boundless. Just how did Asteroth expect them to compete with something with indiscernible limits.

Especially one that was complete at that. Therefore, while they were appreciative of the pointer, they were clueless about how to enforce it. It was simply a theory that sounded good on paper but was hard to actualize.

"I appreciate the advice, but it seems to be an uncertain road for now," Saehtyn replied with a pitiful expression.

"Not quite. You just lack the vision. But since you lack it, I can't help you. Perhaps the needed inspiration will find you later on. Now, excuse me as I wait for my person of interest once more."

Asteroth didn't even wait for a reply before jumping down from the gaping hole in the side of the tower. Although the height was unimaginable, Asteroth seemed unperturbed by the flight as he dropped down.

'That was the power of Estran I sensed in them, wasn't it? It's no wonder that they don't understand how to control them. Estran was a being who took the nonviolent and least invasive route, so he never sought to control the Sins,' Asteroth thought to himself.

Just before touching the ground, Asteroth shifted his gaze downward and delivered a ruthless punch to the air. A horrifying force neutralized his momentum, allowing him to land softly as he glanced at the top of the tower.

"Many fragments of the old order remain scattered, yet the notable figures remain hidden. Just when will you show yourselves? I know that you have made an appearance once again from the reestablishment of the household. My question to you is... just how thinks they are so worthy?!"