The Demon Monarch System

----

Immediately, Apollo's attention turned towards Fuhrer after the prompt to create a Household appeared. Although he couldn't see the consequences of forming one now, perhaps the wiser Fuhrer would be to shed a more in-depth light on their current situation.

After all, while a noble ranking of a Demonic Earl didn't affect their physical prowess, it did have its fair share of uses back in the Nihilistic Rings. For example, a special marking was embedded on a Demon's body the moment this title was conferred. This marking allowed a few choices, with one being the ability to locate the current council.

However, seeing as this marking was bestowed by the Demon Monarch System, this ranking wasn't based on the current powers, but the Lost Council. In short, the distance between the Lost Council close and Apollo's party shortened. In fact, after becoming an Earl, Fuhrer could more or less sense a few of the beings hiding within the Rings Apollo had already visited—Ashiraem and Suprenis.

Once he realized this, Fuhrer turned towards Apollo with apparent astonishment, "Did you just bestow a noble ranking upon me? Which one was it? I didn't expect this authority to arise so early, has your Domination Intent evolved yet again?"

A prerequisite to forcefully assigning a noble ranking was the presence of such an Intent. However, it also required a strong version of it. But, according to what Fuhrer saw, Apollo had yet to reach that baseline, hence his current surprise.

However, Apollo immediately denied that assumption, "Not at that. I just happened to chance upon an ability behind by the Old Monarch. But, it's very limited as of right now. At most, I can only create 3 Earls. As you all are my strongest weapons, that privilege has been given to you three—Fuhrer, Furcas, and lastly, even the insufferable Valac.

"Hey, that's bullying dammit! Why am I the only one to get talked about?! Not to mention I'm standing right here," Valac snarled with indignation. Compared to the rest, he truly never caught a break from the jabs. Sadly, Apollo's current expression seemed overly amused.

"Oh? What about it? Do you wish to learn with your hand?" Apollo chuckled. Simultaneously, his arms morphed into the Infernal Arms of Damnation, followed by a thick coat of dark energy encompassing it. This caused a shocking flood of nefarious energy to wash over everyone.

Furthermore, while Apollo's left arm interacted with Ira to form a blackened-crimson color, his right arm surged with a blackened-gold color. Valac's eyes narrowed upon noticing this. His ensuing reaction happened quickly with both his sharp wings appearing while coating in azure flames.

Meanwhile, Fuhrer could only shake his head and step back, 'I won't intervene in this matter. This can be seen as a much-needed rematch. Not to mention, Valac is someone who needs dominance asserted upon in the harshest ways possible. Only the Old Monarch was capable of that horror.'

Whoosh!

Valac charged towards Apollo moments after his wings appeared. Yet, Apollo didn't move. Instead, he unfurled a set of majestic wings of his own with obsidian gemstones and inscriptions embedded throughout. When compared to Valac's wings, despite being much younger, Apollo's wings appeared archaic and unmatched!

Once Apollo's wings unfurled, an oppressive force assaulted Valac, but with his unwillingness to give in, Valac shrugged it off and kept advancing towards him. Arriving just a few seconds later, Valac's expression turned increasingly savage.

Suddenly, a spear covered in azure flames enlarged within Apollo's sights. However, once again, his Languished Perception activated, which slowed down Valac's rapid. While it wasn't needed, the supportive benefits were appreciated.

First, Apollo stepped to the side, dodging the downward slash. Afterward, he followed up with a sharp double kick with little delay. Regrettably, as a demon trained in combat, Valac's reflexes were well trained, allowing him to bring up his spear's bottom half to successfully block Apollo's strike.

While there was no apparent winner, Apollo's expression also remained casual the entire time. 'Let's see if you're trained in this technique as well.' A flicker of dark energy occurred and Apollo's figure disappeared right after.

"Lord, don't be a scurrying rat hiding in the dark. You are supposed to fight me head-on. This isn't dominance if you don't confront me head-on!" Valac snarled. Subsequently, he shifted his gaze around the battlefield before experiencing an odd sensation on his chest.

The appearance of such an odd feeling led Valac to raise his guard. Yet, despite his preparatory actions, he was powerless to defend against what came next.

"This isn't cowardice. This is taking advantage of my strengths," Apollo commented with his voice reverberating from the darkness that encased him.

An instant later, a strong attractive force dragged Valac forward. While he was in flight, Apollo's body appeared right under him.

Boom!

Only a frightening explosion was heard after Valac received Apollo's direct hit. Even the other flinched upon hearing it.

"My god, that lad is heavy-handed," Destrys muttered while spectating the entire situation. First, Apollo used the suction property of Gula to draw in Valac. But, before it could cause any unforeseen damage, Apollo canceled it.

Instead, he used his amplified right arm to land a crushing blowing on Valac's jaw.

To a normal person, this type of strike was enough to obliterate their heads, yet Valac rose from the dust and corrected his dislocated jaw. A crunch echoed followed by a spitting sound, "That punch had some meaning behind it, Lord. But it's far from enough!"

Before Apollo could respond, Valac followed up with yet another rapid rush, except this time he employed varying flight paths. It wasn't a simple straight line. As to confuse Apollo, he performed several sharp turns and angle shifts.

Unfortunately, his tactics were for naught. With Apollo's morphed perception, following Valac's movements was an effortless ordeal. In fact, Apollo even intercepted his final flight path.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Numerous deafening noises rang out followed by a horrifying impact. Valac once again stood no chance against Apollo in this exchange! Regrettably for Valac, it seemed he bit off more than he could chew because Apollo didn't seem satisfied just yet.

"Get up," Apollo ordered while landing before a large crater. Valac's body laid in the center with many dents on his torso and even a misshapen arm! Obviously, Apollo's earlier relentless blows didn't hold back in the slightest.

With a groan, Valac dug himself out of the hole. Furthermore, signs of infernal rage flickered around his body with a deep-red hue. Crimson veins appeared on his body while his physique swelled.

While in combat with Apollo, Valac was tapping into his Second Awakening.

Meanwhile, Apollo simply smiled. "I've been waiting to test out this form. As my next highest affinity, it was only right that the system allowed me to tap into this form.

〈System Alert: The Sin Vessel «Dauntless Vertebrae» is being stimulated heavily.〉

〈System Alert: Transformation complete, «Suprana Form» achieved.〉

Superbia deluged Apollo's body as the inscriptions along his spine shimmered with a dark-gold light. Furthermore, his horns and even his eyes gradually radiated a blackened-gold color. Not to mention, his hair morphed into a gray color, reminiscent of light soot.

As he took on this form, Apollo emanated an air of unsurpassed confidence. Even the way he looked at Valac revealed a tinge of disgust. "Get up, or I will make you get up."

"Oh yeah!? I'd like to see you try," Valac retorted. Ignoring the healing damage, he slashed his weapon horizontally. An astronomical amount of Ira hurtled towards Apollo because of this. 

However, instead of moving, Apollo received this strike with his body. For a moment, there was a gaping gash on his chest, but in the next second, it started to heal at a visible rate.

"Is that all you have? If so, then allow me to indulge in showing you a true demonstration of power."

Fwoom!

A flash of gray light zipped through the sky faster than Valac could react. Despite its small magnitude, upon the impact, the flash of light caved in Valac's chest.

Gasp!

The sheer force behind the blow caused Valac to kneel in pain, yet before he knew it, he was no longer kneeling. Now, Apollo held him by the throat, gazing directly into his eyes. Unlike his Iraym Form, where any angering moment was amplified several-fold, the Suprana Form induced a state of insufferable pride.

In short, Apollo felt omnipotent and untouchable. So much so, he grinned at Valac's weakness, which was then followed by him burying Valac's face in the ground. "A disgusting masochist. So, you like to be dominated? Very well. Let's break your defiance once and for all.'

Gradually, Apollo's free right hand changed to reveal a spiraling drill composed of Superbia.

Meanwhile, the expression of the other's changed upon witnessing this, "Shouldn't we stop this? He's going to end up killing him."

"No, he won't. You might think he's not in control of his actions Furcas, but Apollo is of sound mind. He's just allowing his repressed pride to surfaced unabatedly. Besides, Valac asked for this, he should welcome the consequence," Fuhrer responded.

"But-"

"No, buts," Fuhrer interjected. "It was his error in believing to be on par with the Lord while still in the same evolution stage. Therefore, he shall suffer the consequences. Just witness how the events unravel."

Furcas could only nod helplessly while continuing to watch.

On the other hand, Valac was far more defiant than Furcas was worried. "T-tch. You are still weak, young Lord!'

Crunch!

All of a sudden, Valac's words were cut short by the pain of having his ribs crushed. His eyes even widened, but Apollo's expression remained unmoving. In fact, Apollo crushed each side of his limbs individually.

"I expect you to heal nicely, so as much as you resist is as much torture you receive. Your choice," Apollo stated nonchalantly. Then, a blade made from sweltering Ira sizzled when pressing against Valac's chest.

At this point, Valac began questioning his decision.