The Demon Monarch System

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Amduscias's eyes narrowed as he watched each of Apollo's phantasms release an Aura slightly inferior to his own. Even he felt surprised because he had only witnessed a handful of demons unleash an Aura through a medium while simultaneously activating one themselves.

Not only did accomplishing this feat require ample amounts of focus, but the consumption of mental fortitude was also quite severe. After all, funneling Aura through mediums also required the usage of one's Tainted Temple in addition to their Cardinal Sphere.

Unless one was a perfected Noblesse where one Sphere and Temple melded as one, it was extremely difficult to pull off, yet judging by Apollo's expression, it didn't seem to be quite taxing for him. 

Furthermore, Amduscias also paused while he analyzed the aura seeping from Apollo's body. 'It possesses a presence even more terrifying than the Aura of Destruction. I can only assume that this is the lauded Aura of Dominance that possesses the innate power to overwhelm all.'

Contrary to what he expected of himself, Amduscias grinned with excitement once he realized the origin of Apollo's Aura. Although he experienced the Monarch's power countless times in the past, he had never gone up against it. So, the fact that he could battle with someone possessing identical powers excited Amduscias beyond belief.

At this point, the purpose of the fight shifted from Apollo proving his superiority to Amduscias to Amduscias wondering how far his power extended. Therefore, Amduscias's expression became solemn. Setting aside his current discoveries, he also realized another matter.

'As far as I know, the Monarch never traveled without Lord Fuhrer. If that's the case, where is he? I'm certain he's alive because that boy wields his swordsmanship. If I were to damage this child too severely, I'd probably suffer the wrath of Lord Fuhrer,' Amduscias thought.

He didn't understand that the other ancient members of the Dominus Household were forbidden from retaliating against anyone that Apollo battled against to gain dominance. Thus, some would be like Amduscias and act cautiously once they unearthed the true identity of Apollo.

Meanwhile, Apollo was intrigued by Amduscias's sudden motionlessness. "All that momentum, yet you stand still? Are we continuing this battle or not?"

Amduscias remained silent for a moment before taking a step that caused the ground to shatter while flying in many different directions. Since his dark lightning was brought to peak performance, it also possessed a faint destructive quality. 

Finally, Amduscias lifted his gaze and looked Apollo in the eyes while speaking in a deep tone. "I'll continue only if you can guarantee while safekeeping from Lord Fuhrer's wrath due to what is to come."

In response, Apollo chuckled. "That's what worries you? First, I doubt you can inflict as much damage as you assume. Secondly, Fuhrer is neither here at the moment nor is he interested in retaliating against the other members of the Household. This was simply a task given to me that I must fulfill to rightfully succeed the throne."

Although Apollo's words sounded overconfident, it was the truth. The jewel embedded in his chest emitted too much vitality for any injury suffered to jeopardize his life. Unless the attack came from someone of Destrys's standard, then recovering was always a possibility.

"Understood," Amduscias said in a lightening tone. Since his worrying thought dissipated in an instant, his demeanor changed in a snap of a finger. In addition to the change of his conduct, the lightning began raging as winds appeared as well. 

However, it wasn't any natural winds. It was the reason behind the darkness embedded in the lightning. Although it paled in comparison to the rest, Amduscias was skilled with Tenebrous Winds!

Once the Tenebrous Winds merged with the violent arcs of dark lightning, even Apollo took a step back as he stared at Amduscias standing in the middle of all the chaos. It was then that he understood why this individual was known as the Dark Lightning Duke.

'A named befitting a worthy demon,' Apollo thought. In the next moment, a small orb of Hellfire with a core formed from Purgatory's Blood appeared in Apollo's right hand. Apollo closed his eyes and pressed the sphere onto Gram's surface instead of unleashing the attack as a projectile.

As a result, numerous runes on the surface of the weapon illuminated with a blood-red light. Afterward, a torrent of Ira spilled from Apollo's body. Since Amduscias pulled out all of the stops, Apollo reciprocated by sacrificing an absurd portion of his Ira to Gram.

Gradually, the manifestation of a dark dragon raging in flames appeared behind Apollo. Although it seemed incomplete and wasn't as large as the manifestation Fuhrer summoned, the sensation of the beast was stifling nonetheless.

Even Typhir, who excelled in strength, trembled and inevitably fell to one knee after experiencing the pressure that rolled off the body of this manifestation. Besides the boundless rage, he felt from this manifestation, there was also an overbearing air of dominance.

Admittedly, Typhir sensed this manifestation was partly linked to the origins of Apollo's bloodline. While there was no proof of this assumption, it was hard not to think so as the image possessed trait nearly identical to Apollo.

Boom!

After sensing the terrifying power behind the manifestation, Amduscias didn't wait any longer. Something told him that this creation would become dangerous and perhaps even threatening if he allowed Apollo to continue funneling Aura and Sin within this creation.

Amduscias arrived before Apollo with a flash of lightning while sweeping his arm towards Apollo. A collection of dark lightning trailed Amduscias, gathering momentum and size as it inched towards Apollo's face.

However, just before the attack landed, the rightmost phantasm performed an upward slash. Though it seemed powerful, it was incapable of knocking away Amduscias's attack, which forced Apollo to control the second phantasm. 

It performed the same movement, hitting Amduscias's wrist and forearm. Unlike the first attack, this one shifted the attack's trajectory slightly. Once he sensed this matter, Apollo snapped his fingers and the manifestation finished the job, swiping its terrifying claw at Amduscias.

If one looked closely, they'd realize the claw of the manifestation was an empowered Dominator's Clutch! In other words, activating the technique through Gram producing a few interesting effects. 

Apollo couldn't relax despite successfully thwarting the attack because his instincts told him that even more danger followed. As the attack was knocked away, Amduscias twisted his body, launching a kick towards Apollo's left side.

The edge of his dark lightning armor's shoes sharpened, resembling the shape of a blade as it pierced the air, moving without restrictions. Apollo once again moved to thwart the attack, but unlike last time, the force of this attack was much more significant, and it possessed a focused point, whereas the previous was merely a cluster of lightning forming the shape of a beam.

Thus, it was many times more difficult for Apollo to stop this attack. The first phantasm and second phantasms were punctured easily, but Apollo didn't move from his position.

Instead, he felt that Gram was ready to be wielded, so he slashed towards the incoming kick. Needless to say, with the power embedded in each of their strikes, an explosion of flames and lightning occurred.

Whoosh!

The area was deluged by the aftershock of their attack, causing Typhir to move before the rest of them while stabbing his sword into the ground. A destructive aura appeared, shielding them from the blast but not completely.

Approximately halfway through dealing with the blast, Typhir roared in pain as the screen made of destructive aura presented signs of crumpling. It wasn't because his Aura was too much; Typhir had simply consumed too much of his Aura during his brief fight against Amduscias.

Simply put, he was running on fumes. Noticing this cry of pain, Apollo glanced towards the others before flinging his arm. A shadow zoomed towards Typhir, which soon changed in his eyes. It wasn't a shadow that was thrown towards them, it was Ouroboros!

During his flight, Ouroboros's body started expanding. Once he  was large enough, he coiled around Typhir and the others, using his massive body to protect them from any future blasts. At the same time, his body emitted a soft crimson mist that empowered their Ira.

'Now that is taken care of…' Apollo redirected his attention towards Amduscias. However, he had committed a mistake. Taking his eyes off one of the fastest demons within the ancient household was a mistake!

Boom!

Apollo's head was knocked back as Amdsucias landed a kick that sent Apollo stumbling backward.

While it was a clean hit, Amduscias looked at Apollo in surprise. 'He… wasn't sent flying back?! I accelerated at the perfect moment, it should have been more than enough to jolt his body.'

Meanwhile, Valac's eyes widened as he watched this scene. Despite his lacking view, Valac watched the events through a small space in Ouroboros's overlapping body. As he watched the kick land, he shook his head while inhaling sharply. "Oooooooh~! You probably shouldn't have done that!" 

Apollo's head gradually angled downward as he spat blood on the ground with a sharpened gaze. "Clean hit, but it was more a tickle. I'll return the favor!"

Fwooom!

A frighteningly sharp aura appeared on Apollo's sword as he swung it downward. Amduscias instinctively dodged the attack, but when the dust cleared, he realized the half of the building was split in half!