The Demon Monarch System

----

Although the outward appearance of Amduscias' dark lightning didn't experience much change, Apollo could tell at a glance that he had just activated a Dominion. After all, this wasn't the first time he was in the presence of an active Dominion.

While Fuhrer reduced the effects significantly, Apollo experienced the greatness of a Dominion firsthand. So, he realized Amduscias's actions the moment he performed them. Besides, he felt the Aura he released before the Dominion was more than sufficient to power one.

The only issue now was that Apollo was unfamiliar with this type of Dominion. At times, it felt like his skin was being burned or pricked, whereas it felt like it was being pierced through as other times.

Be that as it may, the dark lightning never made direct contact. Seeing this, Apollo stayed still for a moment while he analyzed everything that had happened up until now. Additionally, he dissected Amduscias's original Aura to determine the possible effects of this Dominion.

In the most common cases, a Dominion was simply an extremely powerful manifestation of one's Aura. However, there were also cases where the Dominion adopted properties that agreed with your power but weren't directly linked to its current effects.

Fuhrer's case was the latter. His Dominion suppressed all within its range and did so relentlessly. Luckily, because of his expertise and baffling control, Fuhrer randomly selected the Dominion's effect targets.

Apollo could tell Amduscias didn't possess nearly as much control over this Dominion compared to Fuhrer's display. Violent arcs of dark lightning even assaulted Amduscias's body as well, but unlike the rest, he was immune to the effects of the dark lightning because of the dense amount covering his body.

"Quite an interesting Dominion you have here. Care to reveal its purpose? I can't tell," Apollo said while shrugging. At the same time, his eyes darted around, attempting to find a weakness in the Dominion or a tell-tale sign that would give him enough indication of upcoming attacks.

Unfortunately, the chaotic pattern of the dark lightning arcs made it challenging for Apollo to guess the trajectory and timing of the attacks. Not to mention, as the seconds passed, it was becoming increasingly harder to sense Amduscias's body.

"It's simple, actually. Normally, one wouldn't disclose information about their Dominion unless they were talking to their trusted allies. However, disclosing information surrounding my Dominion wouldn't assist in battle because it's sometimes beyond my control as well," Amduscias said.

'I suspected as much, but it is still interesting to experience nonetheless,' Apollo thought to himself before raising his gaze towards Amduscias. There was a brief silence between the two that Amduscias finally broke.

"Simply put, you're within my Sea of Dark Lightning, also known as the Dominion of Flash Acceleration," Amduscias said in a tone that seemed as if he was cherishing the sight of his own power. He lifted his palm, gently placing it upon a snaking arc before his eyes.

However, this gentle action possessed a severe intention behind it. Once the lightning touched his palm, Amduscias flung his hand towards Apollo. A shocking scene occurred as what seemed to be a horizontal lightning strike flashed, appearing before Apollo in an instant.

Since he wasn't prepared for this situation, the lightning strike hit Apollo's strike with perfect accuracy. He took a step back as a searing pain appeared on his sternum, but both the jewel embedded in his collarbone and the Infernal Ira Stigmata thrummed with power.

While the jewel healed the roasted skin, the Infernal Ira Stigmata burned the residual dark lightning left behind after the abrupt attack. Apollo's expression remained the same despite the surprise attack as he slowly glided his finger across his chest.

'Is everything inside of this Dominion accelerated, or is there a requirement for the acceleration to activate?' Apollo wondered. The attack happened faster than he could respond, which was shocking, seeing as his bloodline refined his mind first of all things, allowing his reaction speed to undergo qualitative upgrades.

Yet, he was unable to respond to Amduscias's attack in the slightest. Even a Noblesse would find it difficult to overpower Apollo in his current state. On top of the slight boost for his Iraym and Suprana From, the double activation of his Stigmata provided a shocking increase to his current attributes.

Since he failed to react, Apollo judged himself harshly. 'I believe I'm still too weak. Suffering against a subordinate means I'd die within a few hits from someone of the upper races, nor am I strong enough to go against Irzanach.'

Although it seemed like Asteroth was much stronger than Irzanach and the rest, that wasn't the case. In fact, his original attributes paled in comparison to Irzanach and even Saehtyn. However, the mastery of his Aura and its ability to negate most attacks through destruction allowed him to bypass attacks that lacked Aura. 

Therefore, neither the Lords nor Irzanach was a match for his relentless onslaught with their attacks that sorely lacked the empowerment of an Aura. Of course, Apollo wasn't aware of this matter, so he judged his strength harshly.

Inadequate strength was unacceptable in his eyes if he were going clash against individuals famed for their power. How could he assert his dominance if he was weaker? If he lost against them, with their personality, Apollo would be reduced to a laughing-stock.

Admittedly, Apollo was glad that he ran into Amduscias before Asteroth. Although Valac warned that Amduscias was stronger, Apollo begged to differ. From what he saw, the only reason Asteroth lost to Amduscias was because of this Aura.

It moved too fast for him to destroy and the dark lightning was tiny enough to pass through the crevices of his incomplete Dominion at that time. But, after all this time, even if his power dipped, Apollo was confident that Asteroth's mastery of his Aura advanced to another level. 

If not, he wouldn't be worthy of his title as a Duke. After all, it was the second strongest echelon of demons within the Dominus Household aside from the Kings. Their power was in a league of their own that was only compared to Fuhrer, Estran, and the Monarch themselves.

"Heh heh, you like that feeling? If so, there's more of where that came from. I didn't activate this power for no reason, it's time to put its abilities to use," Amduscias chuckled before flicking his finger towards Apollo.

A few arcs of dark lightning straightened into needles before zipping towards Apollo. This time, a sound reminiscent of a thunderclap accompanied the movement of the needles as they flashed towards Apollo.

As soon as he sensed how dangerous the attack was, Apollo closed his eyes while picking his Gram to defend his chest. Regrettably, before he could raise Gram, four of the lightning needles pierced past his defense, lodging themselves within Apollo's shoulders and biceps.

Noticing the placement of these needles, Apollo realized something. 'Is he trying to make my arms useless? In other words, he's trying to tear my defenses to shred. Interesting, that's quite a brutal way of battling. Severing one's control of their body to reduce the difficulty of battle later on.'

Sadly, Amduscias didn't know that Apollo possessed something that other demons didn't. Once again, the jewel in his chest released a ripple of vitality, except the surge seemed twice as strong this time.

The needles stuck inside Apollo's body was repelled as the holes caused by their puncture closed almost instantly.

Meanwhile, Amduscias's eyebrows rose in surprise. Although Apollo dealt with the direct attack earlier, he didn't expect him to deal with four lightning needles so quickly. After all, dark lightning was much worse than regular lightning. Once it entered someone's body, it sent a tyrannical energy to their system, disabling their power channels with haste.

If the recipient of the attack was too weak, then the dark lightning could also paralyze them instantly. Yet, Apollo seemed unaffected by these effects. Of course, even if the dark lightning wasn't expelled, Apollo had other ways of dealing with its aftereffects, such as his Complete Immunity.

Since dark lightning was technically a byproduct of Sin mixed with unique emotions, Apollo's Complete Immunity also worked on this power. There were multiple stages and variations of corruption; the temptation of Sin wasn't the only one. 

'This won't do,' Apollo thought. Afterward, a gush of black Aura seeped out from Apollo's body, turning his body into a half-corporeal state. Next, his figure split into two then three, and even four.

By now, there were slight signs of strain on his face as another afterimage appeared. 'Come on. We spent all of that time training to perfect this technique. As a technique made by your Father, it'd be hilarious if I fail to properly perform it!'

Whoosh!

Finally, six phantasms with a figure identical to Apollo appeared around him. He had finally revealed the mastered version of the Umbra Mantle―the Six Phantom Shifts.

However, just as he revealed a technique capable of increasing his movement, Amduscias grinned. Following his smile, a maelstrom of dark lightning appeared, flickering with a faint blue glow.

"Don't you know the best property of lightning is how fast it moves? Now you get to experience its greatness firsthand! Hahaha!"