The Demon Monarch System

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'Asteroth is here already?' Apollo silently thought to himself.

It wasn't long before he looked towards Saehtyn since he wanted to ask a few questions. However, he didn't want to seem too desperate. So, Apollo first worked out how he would approach the topic before asking away.

"How did you know he was outside of your control?"

"Well, how do you think? From experience! I tried to tap into his Ira, but it was ironclad. It was simply impossible for me to enact my authority," Saehtyn answered with a wry smile.

For the first time in thousands of years, he felt powerless. And, it wasn't from one but two sides. The Monarch Candidates gave him the same exact feeling despite being from separate parties.

"I'm guessing that he was quite strong from your expression," Apollo remarked. His roundabout way of acquiring information was hilarious to Fuhrer, even causing him to chuckle.

Yet, Apollo paid him no mind, since he could sense the origin of his amusement.

"Strong? I suppose you can say that. Although, I would call him irregular. He alone took on 4 demons that left us at an impasse. But, he did so in only a handful of moves," Saehtyn answered while recounting the experiences within his tower.

Apollo didn't ask any other questions. Now, he just wished for Saehtyn to leave as quick as possible so he could release his pent up stress. The jarring news just kept pilling up on his shoulders without end. 

On the other hand, Saehtyn started to take notice of something while autonomously absorbing the Ira in this area. 'Am I still sensing his aura despite being so far? I still get this sense of not being able to control Ira properly.'

Again, Saehtyn overlooked the true issue. Although his purity far outclassed Apollo, Apollo had a special ability―the ability of dominance. So, while weaker, his body emulated the same effect as Asteroth and even Fuhrer.

Fortunately for Apollo, Saehtyn couldn't stay for long. After sending off the other Lords, the tower was not only vulnerable; it was for the most part, unguarded. Due to the swarm of demons as a result of his earlier battle, the guards of the tower were busy fending off an endless stream of demons.

Therefore, after making sure Xonnomor received the correct message, he forced open another infernal portal that linked directly to his throne room. However, before leaving completely, he turned towards Apollo.

"Make sure to remain safe, young one. I feel treacherous times are inbound. And, with those times, perhaps the order of power will shift."

Apollo watched as Saehtyn stepped inside the portal before nodding, "I feel as if we demons will survive those times once again."

After hearing that answer, Saehtyn turned around with a faint smile before vanishing behind the embers of his portal. Although the smile was cryptic, Apollo more or less understood that Saehtyn probably felt he was being groomed well.

After all, there weren't many young demons who would have given such an answer. Their response would more often than not be flustered.

On the other hand, Apollo beckoned towards Fuhrer and Xonnomor. First, he revealed that he would be staying within Xonnomor's quarters for the time being, since there was nowhere else suitable from lodging.

Most of this area was destroyed. So all that remained out of the three large huts were Gallmath and Xonnomor's residence. Arleo's hut was the first to be destroyed in his own actions since his and Apollo's fight didn't move too far from its position.

Secondly, Apollo gave Xonnomor the materials. Since the forge was in the hut and Apollo held no qualms about revealing his technique to his followers, he allowed Xonnomor to stay inside as well.

Once inside, Apollo was surprised by how spacious it was. The exterior truly betrayed the extravagance of the inside. It was able to comfortably fit at least 5 demons without counting the room dedicated solely to the forge.

"What exactly did you need me for, young Lord?"

"To conceal my aura. If Asteroth is truly near the Lord's tower, then we need to be extra cautious. We can't risk having an early confrontation when I'm far from ready," Apollo answered.

"Ah," Fuhrer nodded before spreading his arms. A blanket of dense crimson aura formed a 10-meter sphere around Apollo, giving him enough room to maneuver inside.

Once this was set up, Apollo turned his attention towards some he had neglected for quite sometime―the Abysmal Conqueror Record. The forge design of the weapon reminded him of this record.

Even after evolving, he hadn't checked for any updates with the record. After all, the first two techniques were only made accessible because they were vital for Apollo at the time. In addition to needing his core practice, he needed both an offensive and a movement skill to assist in combat.

[«Abysmal Conqueror Record»]

Technique 1 - «Baleful Steps: Phantasmal Daemos»

Technique 2 - «Nine Infernal Annihilations»

Technique 3 - «Dominator's Breadth»

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.

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Sure enough, as he looked through the record, there was an additional technique available to him. And, judging by its name, it appeared to be centered around domination.

'Although it isn't what I expected, I guess it will turn out to be something that I need,' Apollo thought to himself before focusing on the information pertaining to the technique.

「Technique Name: Dominator's Breadth

Rank: Abysmal

Information: Only the descendant of the Monarch can bear the title of a dominator. Awaken the presence of boundless domination as nothing can shy away from your imposition.

«Dominator's Clutch» - Greater Demon Technique

Allows you to use both your Demonic Anima and Aura of Domination to form a miniature domain of dominance. Within that zone, you are the dominator.

Requirement: «Monarch's Bloodline»」

...

'Dominator's Clutch,' Apollo thought to himself before stimulating his Cardinal Sphere. A potent aura of domination released from his body, but as that happened, it blocked anima from seeping out completely, which dumbfounded Apollo.

'I guess this won't be easy either,' Apollo thought with a visible frown.

Meanwhile, Fuhrer's expression became odd when he sensed Apollo trying to force his anima past a blockage, 'Another one of the Monarch's techniques. However, the balance for that technique is a delicate one. The Monarch always said it was an ironic technique.'

When it came to this particular technique, it required a delicate yet steady stream of the two energies to form a forceful conclusion. 

Nevertheless, Apollo didn't expect this matter to be easy. After all, it was his first technique that started with a Greater rating. Therefore, it was bound to be of higher difficulty.

Continuously, Apollo tweaked the ratio of the two energies but all of his attempts shared the same outcome. Contrary to the simplicity of the words, achieving a balance of these two powers was quite difficult.

At least, from the conventional standpoint.

Eventually, Apollo changed the way he employed his energy. Instead of allowing one or the other to seep out, Apollo hampered the flow of energy and contained it within his body, forcing it to remain under his control at all times.

But, while they were both present, Apollo kept them separate for the time being, 'Although it wasn't listed, the consumption of this technique is shocking.'

While he had yet to exhaust his reserves, that was because up until now, every attempt resulted in a failure. Still, each failure exhausted a substantial amount of the resource that he led with.

Finally, Apollo mixed the energies together before releasing it at once. The end result was a bizarre feeling, similar to how it felt to control his demons, except it was the world itself that was at his him.

'So this is what it feels like to truly dominate?' Apollo thought to himself while basking in the glory this feeling presented. In fact, he had felt this once before when watching the brutal scene during the time of his evolution.

It was fleeting, but Apollo sensed an incomparably pure aura of domination. Naturally, it belonged to the Monarch in his vision, or simply put his father.

〈System Alert: Congratulations, you have learned «Dominator's Clutch».〉

〈System Alert: Improve your familiarity to unlock the Auto-Unleash feature.〉

As mentioned before, all skills carried a mastery level with Apollo's system. Only after reaching a certain level of mastery did it allow him to unleash his skills without any delay.

Nevertheless, the learning part wasn't an issue for Apollo. Although the system only took over after a certain threshold, Apollo learned a thing or two after analyzing the system's effects.

Although it didn't possess a 100% accuracy rate, as long as Apollo recalled the sensation perfectly, then unleashing a technique wasn't difficult after doing it once.