The Demon Monarch System

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Whereas Valac prepared to voice his complaints, Tirasha dashed towards Valac's hurtling body while tightening her grip on her spear. Since Typhir had given his okay, her wrath wouldn't dissipate unless she unleashed copious amounts of pain upon Valac.

As a result, Valac's pupils constricted the size of needles as he narrowly dodged a lethal pierce from Tirasha's spear. Though the attack didn't make contact with his body, Valac could sense the appalling power behind her blow. 

Based on what he sensed, he wasn't sure if he could withstand suffering an extensive array of those attacks. While it was nothing compared to the attack Apollo revealed during his first dual transformation, it was still an attack fueled by a genuine Archdemon's essence.

Therefore, it wasn't something Valac could take lightly. Still, after sensing her attack, Valac was even more reluctant to fight.

"Tirasha, spare me, please! We can just talk our problems through!" Valac exclaimed. Unfortunately, his words did not affect Tirasha's decision. Or rather, they posed an adverse effect because Tirasha's expression became more severe after listening to Valac's pleas.

"Do you deserve mercy? What about those who stood in the same position, yet you ignored them? It would be best if you learned to suffer the same punishment you dispensed," Tirasha scoffed.

In the next moment, a golden light blazed, and Tirasha disappeared sight, leaving a trail of golden wisps behind. Because of how fast she was, it was difficult for Valac to track her movements. 

'What the hell? Just evolving once has made her so strong? What type of movement technique is this?!' Valac wondered as he kicked his foot against the ground, intending to separate himself from Tirasha.

Regrettably, a chill on the back of his neck caused Valac to pause abruptly―an action that essentially saved his life. A scar opened up in space just centimeters away from the back of his neck as Tirasha's stunning figure materialized from within a cluster of golden flames.

It was easy to see she was displeased by the discontented scowl on her face. 'Those rodent-like senses continue to save his life at the most desperate moments. He should've been tracking the Deception Blaze, yet he responded to my weapon.'

However, Tirasha didn't know that after suffering from Apollo's punishments and entering the Adamantine Servitude, Valac received a minuscule portion of Apollo's perception.

While it didn't help in most cases, the particular portion he received was limited to extreme conditions such as imminent death. Since his original Sin and power revolved around creating chaos, the system's greatest priority for Valac was ensuring his safety.

But, the sensation wasn't as complete as Tirasha thought it was. While it did protect Valac, it required almost all of his focus to sense it. So if he were too enamored in combat, he would fail to notice the faint warning.

"Tch, the more I see you, the more I detest how lucky you are," Tirasha spat. Afterward, she lunged forward, stabbing her spear relentlessly. At first, her stabs took place at a manageable rate, but after the first few, Valac noticed the gradual acceleration of her attacks.

Simultaneously, her horns glimmered with a blackened light.

'Am I seeing things? Or is this woman growing faster?' Valac muttered in shock. The amount of time he witnessed a demon's horns react to their power usage didn't number more than ten.

Because that usually meant a demon was burning through either Sin or Anima to empower themselves without using a stigmata. However, doing so came with huge drawbacks. 

The change in one's horns meant their physique was emitting a substantial amount of power to keep their body from breaking. However, from what Valac saw, there was something unusual about how Tirasha's horns were glowing.

Meanwhile, Sapphyr and Typhir looked at each other with similar expressions. Both of them were making subconscious comparisons to Tirasha.

"Do you think you could take her without suffering extensive damage?" Typhir asked while rubbing his chin in thought. Though it was difficult to compare her to the reanimated corpse inside the ruins, Typhir felt Tirasha was more or less a match for it.

However, compared to back then, Sapphyr had made some advances in her strength. While defeating the corpse effortlessly was still out of the question for Sapphyr, it shouldn't require nearly one hundred percent of her resources and techniques.

"Errr, maybe? I still feel like she's hiding more methods. There's no way that she's an Archdemon yet doesn't use any special demonic techniques. If they're strong, then she may be able to defeat me," Sapphyr admitted.

But, from Typhir's reaction, it was clear that he thought otherwise.

"Don't forget that you have a special bloodline and a wide variety of Sin choices. If you play your advantages, then the playing field should be pretty much equal," Typhir commented. 

After listening to his explanation, Sapphyr's expression changed slightly. "Then… do you think you can be her?"

"Undoubtedly," Typhir answered without pause. It wasn't overconfidence but rather the truth. There were only two factors Typhir needed to cinch victory―speed and power. And, once his bloodline activated, he possessed both of these factors in an abundance.

Therefore, unless Tirasha could find a way to match Typhir's power and speed miraculously, her chances of winning against Typhir were slim to none. Not to mention, the inclusion of Typhir's void techniques turned him into an even more colossal monster.

In response to Typhir's answer, Sapphyr frowned slightly. 'I guess remaining by the Lord's side had given him the right to this confidence. But, I promise I'm not that far behind.'

Suddenly, Typhir raised his hand, "Shh, it's getting good. It appears she still has more to reveal, as you said."

Gradually, the armor covering Tirasha's body filled with a deep golden as the horns on her head connected. While the appearance resembled a crown, it was too small to be considered a full-fledged crown.

Still, horns in the form of a crown were an indication of a demon becoming a Noblesse. However, Valac was certain that Tirasha was exceptionally far from touching the boundary of that state. So the current situation didn't make any sense to him.

'What is going on? This was almost impossible even during ancient times. There's no way she could have skipped an entire stage, right?' Valac inwardly thought. Despite the impossibility of that happening, Valac prepared himself by creating extra distance.

Once he was far enough, he took up a stance that braced his spear against his arm and back with the tip pointed in Tirasha's direction.

"Before you came to this stronghold, you were unaware of my identity. The first thing you should've done was collect information on the background of this place instead of acting on a whim," Tirasha said all of a sudden.

Immediately after, the armor covering her body underwent a change. Just as a demon's body possessed a stigmata, the engravings on her armors shifted about until it took on a shape eerily similar to a stigmata.

This came as a surprise to both Valac and the other two watching as well. Even Apollo had never performed something like this, so this was a first for all those present. Fortunately, Tirasha was feeling generous as she revealed the secret behind her actions.

"You see… the Royal Council wasn't created from seemingly nowhere. Just as there were the seven Lords, there was an eightth creation. We know of them as the first Head of the Council but our family knows of them as the vessel," Tirasha said.

In addition to separating his power into seven parts, before falling into his powerless slumber, Estran split his power once more. However, unlike the rest, it wasn't the power of Sin; instead, it was pure comprehension—a vessel with an unmatched affinity for combining capabilities.

However, what happened if that vessel was broken down and stored as fragments. A forger could use it to give items the potential to learn methods that were exclusively available to demons.

One such fragment was infused into the armor Tirasha wore, which was a treasured item passed down in the family. As a result of the infusion, this particular item could emulate the presence of a stigmata without conflicting with a demon's initial stigmata as long as they were of the same Sin.

This was why Valac felt as if Tirasha's pressure resembled a Noblesse. The superimposition of two stigmata generated a massive increase in her pressure.

As soon as this appeared, Tirasha released a stunning smile while stabbing her spear into the air. "You will be repaid."

BOOOM!