Supreme Monarch

Magic Artifacts were the highest-ranking magic items in this world. Made by a method that had been long forgotten even by the gods, they were exuberant items that were impossibly rare, with a value to match.

As the method to forge such items no longer exited. It stands to reason that they would be lucrative items that were eagerly sorted out for. However, even among such rare items, there were a very limited number of them that defied the logic of this word itself.

These were none other than God Tier artifacts. The highest rank amongst magic artifacts, with powers that far outstrips the other artifacts.

Although these items were insanely rare and hard to find, the Void Library contained 701 of such Magic Artifacts as the demon king had spent the better part of a millennium locating and retrieving these items for an unknown reason.

Having raided said library of more than half of these items, Tyler had ended up with exactly 501 of them. However, amongst the original 701, only 17 of them were classified as God Tier artifacts.

Even after spending centuries upon centuries in his search, the demon king had only ended up with 17 of them. This only showed the massive difference between God Tier artifacts and other magic artifacts as only a very limited number of them existed.

Besides those 17 world-bending artifacts, there were still 684 magic artifacts left in the Library. 400 of those, were Special grade artifacts. They were the lowest ranking artifacts but still had powers that surpass those of Legendary ranked magic items.

Naturally, 200 of the remaining artifacts were Celestial grade. The remaining 84 were obviously Divine grade and only 17 were God Tier. When it came to differentiating between different artifacts, the line was very thin for special grades up to divine grades.

However, God Tier artifacts were in a world of their own. Artifacts were usually judged based on the number of effects they had but God Tiers were different. They normally had only one ability or effect but their strength could destroy an entire world.

Amongst the 17 God Tier artifacts in the Library, Tyler had taken out exactly 10 of them which was a bit much if he had known about it. One of them was the Monarch Ring that had been in his possession since the beginning and another was the golden bracelet he was gifting Rain.

Unlike the Celestial grade artifact he had given to Liz, this was leagues apart and even he felt like it may be too much for a simple reward.

The emerald bracelet was a level below that as it was only a Divine grade artifact but its compatibility with the God Tier one was instantly high. Combining their effects and in the right condition, it could perform almost at the same level as a God Tier artifact.

Tyler didn't know how many God Tier artifacts were in this world but according to Uriel, they should be less than a hundred of them. Her exact estimate was 55 but she wasn't 100% sure about it, as World divination could not locate the ones that were being concealed or hidden.

However, the fact that there were a hundred or even just 50 of such terrifying items out there scared him.

Naturally, he didn't think any entity or organization had more than the Void Library but even one or two of those items was enough to level the entire Darknar region before he even had time to blink.

Although there was still a silver lining as a few of these items were apparently one-use items or would degenerate with each use. So using them casually would be the epitome of foolishness.

During the Great War a thousand years ago, the five heroes that slew the demon king each had a God Tier artifact of their own, they probably even had God Class magic weapons.

According to the rumors he heard during his time in the human continent, the Holy sword that the hero wielded was a weapon capable of splitting the heavens and earth itself. A weapon that was even powerful enough to cut time and fate.

He had originally thought that was just a bogus rumor spread by the church to increase their followers but perhaps he had been mistaken.

From what he now knew about artifacts, even the three churches in the Ruz kingdom each had a holy weapon of their own which was scary now that Tyler thought about it. If even a small Kingdom like the Ruz kingdom had that many God Tier artifacts, then what about the larger kingdoms and empires.

There was also the mysterious elven continent to worry about. They were creatures with an advanced civilization that far surpasses that of the dwarves even if they were inferior when it came to craftsmanship and blacksmithing.

If every single superpower in this world had one such item, it made sense why they are all currently in a stalemate and why half of the world had joined forces to take down the demon king, the only person that had attempted to break the status quo by actively seeking more power. They had even enticed his generals to betray him.

Well, at the very least there weren't that many of these items around as every single one of them were incredibly dangerous especially for him.

Of course, this was only going by the explanation Uriel had provided him with as he didn't have the time to go through the details of every single item he had in his storage space. After all, he didn't even know the name of the bracelets he had gifted Rain even though he had told her that he had specially picked them out for her.

Although Tyler had been ignorant about God Tier artifacts when offering it to Rain and had felt a moment of hesitation. That thought only lasted a moment as he didn't think he needed it.

He also wanted to reward her for taking care of the scouts in the safe zones while also using the items' power in motivating the others under him in the upcoming battle. He thought it was important for a master to properly reward the hard work of their subordinates.

Besides, Uriel had assured him that aside from the Monarch Ring and two other God Tier artifacts in his storage. He had no use for the other God Tier artifacts with him.

They were items that wouldn't increase his strength by any noticeable margin and thus, would be wasted on him completely. He also didn't have any compatibility with those items skills and thus, could not assimilate the skills directly into his soul.

•••••••••

Rain, who had received the bracelets from Tyler thinking her beloved master was only giving her a simple accessory based on their earlier conversation suddenly felt the immerse powers emanating from within the item that had just touched her hand and her body froze.

Her somewhat cheeky smile had disappeared as her body trembled slightly. Her heart pounded rapidly as her eyes suddenly lost their shine. It was as though her mind had vacated her body as a certain memory was replayed in her head countless times over and she was reliving her past.

A conflict of emotion swirled around in her as she just stood there silently staring at the bracelets with a blank and empty look in her eyes.

Sensing something was wrong after not getting a reaction from Rain for a while, Tyler called out to her but his words had failed to reach her. He placed a hand on her shoulder but didn't get any response.

"Hey, Rain. What's wrong? Snap out of it."

Tyler tried several more times but got nothing so he asked Uriel instead.

"Hey, Uriel! What the hell did that item do to her?"

[The artifacts recommended for the individual known as 'Rain' should not possess such an effect. However, signs of brainwave synchronization were detected. While the artifact's abilities did not cause this, the item itself may have triggered an instilled command that had been drilled into her system by various means including torture.]

"What that hell are you taking about?"

Tyler was at a loss for words. While he could grasp the details of Uriel's words, he didn't want to believe it until he suddenly hear something come out of Rain's mouths.

"…I'm sorry… I failed my mission. Please forgive me… I'll try harder next time…"

It was an endless loop of an apology with the same dead look in her eyes that told Tyler she was not referring to him but someone from a distant memory.

Although Tyler was a little flustered by the whole situation, he remained calm as he thought about the various possibilities. For the first time in a while, he was looking at a serious Rain but her expression told him everything he needed to know.

The situation of Dark elves in the Demon continent was not exactly a well-hidden secret and of course, Tyler was aware of it. However, Tyler had never bothered to ask Rain about the specifics on her situation with the Alcars as he had assumed she wasn't bothered by it.

Yet it would seem like that was not the case and she had just been putting up a front.

Even to this day, Dark elves were still beings that were not seen as equals and were only used as tools or pawns for the nobles.

They didn't have a ounce of freedom and were literally bred to be expendable but deadly tools. Living the entirety of their lives in complete isolation from the rest of the world. They were literally treated like livestock as they were rewarded when they succeeded in their assigned mission and punished when they failed.

Based on that and what Rain was muttering. Tyler got a general idea of what had happened. Although this was no longer the case, Rain still considered herself to be Liz's bodyguard and her failure to protect her in the Darkin mountain range must've been eating down on her even though she had done her best with the information given to her.

Seeing Tyler hand her the bracelets must've triggered a memory from her past of being punished based on her strong emotions about it. Perhaps she had even felt in the back of her mind that Tyler would eventually punish her for her mistake.

However, that situation had just been far beyond her control. Tyler constantly had Erin scan a massive area around the castle, and yet, even though she was a demigod, she had been unable to the presence of sense anyone, most likely due to the effects of an high grade artifact.

He had failed to comprehend the powers of artifacts and thus had made a mistake from the very beginning. If even Erin who specializes in divination couldn't sense them then Rain and Liz had stood no chance, to begin with, and that was his fault.

Moreover, she had lost one of her daggers which were probably Divine Tier artifacts and in a suppression barrier. Only Liz who had Iris Tear had been equipped to take on the enemy.

This was the importance of information. His lack of all the right information had led to several mishaps in his plans so he could not let her shoulder such blame. Of course, he also had no intentions of shouldering the blame himself. It's not like he asked for this.

He would just have to make sure he thoroughly makes the Brimstone family pay for this.

"Uriel. You said her brainwave synchronized with the artifact which triggered a memory within her right?"

[Correct.]

"Can I disrupt it?"

[Yes. With energy manipulation, Master can disrupt the synchronization, pulling back her consciousness from within.]

Although Tyler didn't know what Energy manipulation was, it was apparently a skill he had learned after improving his mana control and when he had made those mana bullets.

He just moved closer to the immobile Rain and held her head as he focused. What Uriel did not tell him was that what he was doing was essentially a neurological procedure and any minor mishaps would lead to killing Rain.

This was not because she had disregarded Rain's life but simply because she hadn't considered the possibility of failure from her Master who was now a Magic Prodigy.

Without that information to distract him, Tyler was able to focus as he located the part of her brain that was actively syncing with her visual nerves as she stared at the bracelets while trapping her in her own mind. He then disrupted the connection in an instant. Gaining a far better mana control than he could've imagined. It's was now almost as perfect as his body control.

The moment he was done, eyes slowly regained their luster but her muttering continued. Whether or not she was trapped in her head. The emotions remained the same.

Smiling at his success and unintentional improvement, Tyler took the bracelet from her open palm which had garnered a reaction. However, he did not take back the items as that would mean blaming her.

Whatever hardship the Alcar family had put her through did not matter to him. It didn't matter if she succeeded or failed, as long as she held no malicious intent towards him. He wouldn't enforce any torturous punishment or sadistic rewards.

After all, to him. She would always be dark elf that was an adorably obnoxious girl that was strangely in love with him for some reason.

Tyler took her slender arm and placed the item on her. God Tier artifacts were generally bond items unless they had limited use so the item bonded to her immediately.

"No, I can't, I failed. Please don't punish me."

This was the first time Tyler had seen Rain genuinely frightened as she tried to pull her arm away from his grip but he wouldn't let go. He pulled her into his arms as he caressed her head whispering softly into her ears.

"It's okay. You did nothing wrong and you did not failed. So trust me. After all. My word is law don't you think?"