The Demon Monarch System

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Despite defending against Fuhrer and Apollo's combined attacks, the goliath failed to do so properly. Two large gashes opened on his arm once the two Perfected Demonic Massacre Wave landed on his forearms. If not for moving away at the last moment, each of his arms would have been severed below his elbows!

In response, the Goliath screamed with fright. After all, it wasn't often that a Demon's strike bypassed a Titan's defense like this. It required an unparalleled mastery over energy potent enough to burrow through their exterior.

"W-what the crap!? Has the young Lord just evolved? But what's with his transformation," Valac exclaimed while marveling at Apollo's current appearance. Besides his power signature completely changing, Apollo felt fundamentally...different. 

However, Furcas was much more shocked by Valac's slip up, "Did you finally refer to him as young Lord? Then, that must mean you also accept him now. Just... why is that so?"

"U-uh... I don't know what you're talking about. Ahem, don't focus on me. Instead, you should focus on just what happened to the young Lord. Something has changed and I feel the need to basically worship him. Does this mean his control over us has deepened?" Valac responded.

Besides the evolution, it also appeared as if Apollo's system unlocked itself as well. After all, as the system is tasked with grooming him into the next Monarch, activating his Seven Sins was akin to completing the first major task.

As a result, Apollo was introduced to even more power. For example, his Domination Intent purified of its own accord. Hence, why the Demons felt even more compelled to follow Apollo.

"Typhir, sword," Apollo ordered before holding out his hand.

Without hesitation, Typhir tossed the sword towards Apollo. Snatching out of the air, Apollo brandished it in a way that resembled Typhir's style. As he did so, his left eye shimmered with a golden blaze.

〈System Alert: The ability of the Covetous has been activated. «Eye of Mimicry» in use.〉

Gradually, Apollo stepped closer to the Goliath without any indication of fear. A swirl of dense Ira released from his body and continuously flowed into the Goliath. 

"You're just like us. Your confident display is all a facade. Although the ruse fooled me at first, I have awakened. I understand that you're a mere fraction of what you could be. An Archdemon? While it may have worked before, your bluff is no longer enough!"

Whoosh!

Apollo executed a sharp slash. Although it didn't contain the Tenebrous Sword practices, it drew upon the vast Ira he emitted and condensed it into an attack, mimicking the style of a Demonic Massacre Wave.

Compared to the actual attack, this wave was many times more lethal. For one, the purified Ira carried a scorching heat, double the prior strikes. The feeling of dread it conferred was so great that the Goliath was forced to retreat rather than defend!

A wary expression crept upon his countenance as he observed Apollo closely, "Just what are you? It makes no sense. A Demon shouldn't be able to sense a Titan's internal reserves. No, not at all."

As a Titan, their specialty included the ability to camouflage their reserves. None of the demonic inspection techniques were capable of penetrating their dense protective layer, yet Apollo was doing exactly that. No matter how he tried to justify this, the Goliath couldn't achieve an answer.

Meanwhile, Fuhrer couldn't curb his joy as he watched Apollo's anterior. Although it was faint, he could see a vague projection of the old master. This was the exact way he weaponized the Sins, albeit a much weaker interpretation. 

"Young Lord, have you awakened your Stigmata?" Fuhrer questioned. The only way to truly claim his power would be to unleash the stigmata. However, after this transformation, even Fuhrer lost the ability to peer into Apollo's body. Thus, he was forced to inquire about the information directly from the source.

"No, I can't cement it yet. It requires focus, and it's unfortunate to say, but I don't have that luxury right now. Once we leave this place, I will complete it. However, I did manage to do this," Apollo responded before lifting his hand.

A singularity appeared before the palm of his hand. One that Fuhrer was all too familiar with. After all, he had emulated this effect many times despite not possessing the actual Sin.

"Gula! Damn, that abominable Sin!" Fuhrer exclaimed with widened eyes. Although every Sin produced its fair share of danger, gluttony gave birth to conditions that affected others as a consequence.

Yet, Apollo merely gave a cryptic smile before crushing the singularity in the palm of his hands. Afterward, he opened his mouth and inhaled.

At first, it didn't appear to cause any effect, but the Goliath's expression changed a few seconds later. From his perspective, Apollo's action was ridiculous. Contrary to the sight, Apollo wasn't just breathing, he was devouring every ounce of energy in the atmosphere.

Without the subsistence of this energy, the Goliath's combat abilities would take a nosedive!

"Preposterous! Cease your actions!" 

Shockingly, Apollo obliged with a chuckle, "Oh, by all means, I will. But your death is imminent either way. You'll be pertinent to my growth."

Woosh!

Apollo disappeared under the embrace of the shadows. By utilizing the Umbra Phantom Mantle, Apollo traveled through the shadows and appeared from under the Goliath. While possessing the element of surprise, Apollo executed yet another slash.

Aimed at the earlier wound, the slash successfully severed the Goliath's arm. However, because he was privy to their regeneration abilities, Apollo extended his arm and created another singularity.

In mere moments, the arm shriveled up before soon disappearing into nothingness. "Quite delicious, I must say. Now, let's move onto the entrée," Apollo said with a smirk.

"Get away from me! Something is wrong with you!" The Goliath swung its sole arm frantically, exhausting a sizeable amount of the energy stored within. Although the Titan's unique energy was powerful, the Gula was even more terrifying to go up against.

Granted, it required an extreme affinity with Gula to achieve this. One of the reasons Saehtyn loathed his meetings with Belphegor was due to his nature to randomly devour what he wished. And, getting him under control was awfully difficult to do.

Not to mention, seldom was Belphegor satisfied. As the Demon closest to the embodiment of gluttony, his appetite was near bottomless. 

On the other hand, if Apollo didn't establish his stigmata, then this control over Gula would be superficial and vanish eventually. Stigmata were required to stabilize a Demon's evolution. In Apollo's case, one stigmata—Infernal Wrath—wouldn't suffice.

Every Sin required separate stigmata to contain it. Fortunately, after completing his metamorphosis, a complete one at that, the information previously obscured on the large obelisk in his mind became clear as day.

While there was no order to it because of his anomalistic evolution, it was perfect for his conditions. So, Apollo wished to leave this place as soon as possible because odds were as soon as he killed this Goliath the space was bound to collapse.

"Tell me, just how was this place created? What is the history behind it? Surely this isn't your handiwork. A Goliath would absorb the energy before being given the chance to construct this intricate display," Furcas questioned.

"Why should I tell you?" 

Because of his response, Apollo's expression darkened before giving Fuhrer a sign to act.

Boom!

The Goliath was forced to his knees under the presence of Fuhrer's oppressive pressure. As a denizen of the upper races, suppressing the Goliath required all of Fuhrer's focus.

"Although you will die, depending on how cooperative you are, it can either be excruciatingly slow or painless as well as quick. Your choice," Apollo offered before stepping in front of the Goliath.

In response, the Goliath chuckled and shook his head. "Do you think this scares me? As if! We've experienced training where dying would've been a pleasurable escape."

"Tsk tsk tsk, wrong answer. Yet another falsehood. Very well," Apollo nodded before dragging his nail down the Goliath's chest. Once he reached the middle, he thrust his hand forward. Since his natural arms were now the Infernal Arms of Damnation, Ira flowed through them endlessly.

In other words, the puncture was seamless.

"Gahh!" 

"You see? Prolonging your life was this place's purpose. So this display of courage is...should we say, inappropriate? Now, allow me to present my theory."

Apollo smiled playfully before continuing, "I'm guessing you found a human from Astarat. Possibly during the time of the Spirit's assimilation. The human proved useful and so you gave them the knowledge needed to concoct this place. In time, it matured into the setup you needed, and then here we have it—a place that doubles as a so-called treasured space."

The Goliath trembled indiscernibly, or so he thought. Even though it was faint and almost unnoticeable, both Fuhrer and Apollo saw it.

"Are you telling me you gave a human the means to learn secrets from a higher race? Even if you deny it, these claims will be broadcasted back to your source. So tell me, would you like us to kill you, or your own kind?" Fuhrer said with a cold smirk.

Apollo glanced at him before nodding. Even without discussing it, both of the demons were on the same page. Clearly, their tacit understanding experienced growth.

"Heh, you know what else they will figure out? My suspicions about you! Only a single race can peer into the guard of a Titan. A C-"

Pucht!

Before the Goliath could finish, Apollo lobbed off his head with a clean horizontal strike.

"No need for the extra nonsense, just do us a favor and disappear now."

〈Congratulations, you have reached Level 150.〉

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