Chapter 87: Truth of the War Demon Art

He either needed enough strength to survive such an encounter or enough speed to simply run away.

"Add 40 Attribute Points to Strength, 30 to Agility, 1 to Charm, and 4 to Perception," Arlo said.

He had chosen to add one point to his Charm simply to make it an even number, while the remaining points went into Perception, which was also one of the reasons he had been able to discover the assassination attempt so quickly.

Still, while Arlo expected an immediate response from the System, he felt absolutely nothing.

"Hmm, what’s wrong?"

Arlo couldn’t help but turn toward the System.

[It will be painful. Prepare yourself...] the System said.

In the next instant, Arlo’s knees suddenly went as weak as jelly.

His legs gave out beneath him, and he collapsed headfirst onto the ground as his entire body began convulsing violently.

Green veins wriggled beneath his skin, squirming like tiny snakes.

Every so often, one of them would suddenly light up with a golden glow that flashed through the network of veins, causing those it passed through to swell slightly.

Yet Arlo didn’t feel the pain he had expected.

Instead, an intense numbness spread throughout his body, and his ability to sense his own body rapidly disappeared, as though some unseen force had forcefully hijacked control of it.

Thankfully, the sensation didn’t last long.

After roughly half a minute, it gradually faded away, and Arlo’s senses slowly returned.

Placing his hands against the ground to push himself up...

CRAAAACK!

CRAAAACK!

The sound of tiles shattering beneath his palms rang out, and Arlo raised an eyebrow before slowly lowering his gaze toward his hands.

A spiderweb-like pattern of cracks had spread across the tiles beneath them.

"Huh?" Arlo muttered.

Still unable to believe what he was seeing, he pressed both hands firmly against the ground and attempted to push himself up.

The moment he did, the ground beneath his hands instantly shattered apart, and Arlo forcefully rose to his feet.

He looked down and saw a small crater beneath him.

"Is this... strength?" Arlo muttered as he stared at his own body.

He had always imagined someone possessing tremendous strength would have a muscular and bulky physique, yet his body looked almost the same as before.

His hands were simply more defined now, and he could feel an incredible amount of strength packed into every part of his body.

But what could have caused such a massive difference?

[It’s because you’ve reached exactly 200 points in a stat. Those thresholds are areas where an immediate increase in strength can be noticed.]

[Right now, your strength should be enough to tear that Joan guy apart and match the Captain even if she uses all of her strength.]

[You’re using roughly the same amount of energy that I recorded from her.] The System explained.

Arlo’s eyes flashed with shock.

"I’ve really grown that strong?" Arlo muttered.

In just a few months, he had already reached a level of strength comparable to Captain Ennessa, a woman who had been working relentlessly since the age of sixteen.

He had covered a journey that would have taken others years in a matter of mere months!

"Soon. Soon, I’ll have enough strength to leave this place and return to Umbrasol..." Arlo muttered hopefully, his hands clenching tightly.

[That’s still a long way to go...] The System said, immediately pouring cold water over his hopes.

"Like how long? How many points would I need to be able to tear open a wormhole to Umbrasol?"

Arlo asked hopefully, eager to at least know how much stronger he needed to become before he could return.

"You’ll know when you know," the System replied before falling silent.

Arlo rolled his eyes, having half expected an answer like that.

"Part of your brain is still damaged. I’d be sleeping if I were you..." the System advised.

Arlo walked into the bedroom and dropped onto the comfortable bed, the moonlight streaming through the window and illuminating half of his face.

Slowly, he turned his gaze toward the moon.

He didn’t know why, but tonight, it seemed like the moon was the most beautiful he had ever seen.

He could almost see his father laughing at him from within it, pride evident on his face, along with the unwavering gazes of his clansmen, all of whom had been robbed of what rightfully belonged to them.

That was his source of motivation to keep pushing forward and grow stronger as quickly as possible.

And silently, within his heart, he made them a promise.

He wouldn’t disappoint them.

"Tell me, System, why do you keep refraining from telling me the reason I shouldn’t use my War Demon Stance..." Arlo whispered.

The System had warned him the last time not to use the War Demon Stance.

But it had never actually explained why, simply ordering him not to use it again without its approval.

And then there were the events of yesterday, that hellish scene.

According to Professor Igris, Arlo himself had been responsible for it, specifically through his War Demon Stance, as that was the only part of the battle he could not remember properly.

It seemed as though a portion of his memory had been erased the moment he activated the Demon Stance.

He couldn’t remember anything afterward, only waking up to find the dead bodies piled around him.

Yet the System had still refused to explain the specifics, telling him that he would receive his answer from Professor Igris.

It was strange.

The System seemed to be deliberately avoiding the subject of the War Demon Stance, almost as if it were extremely reluctant to reveal its secrets to him...

"Perhaps you should start with how you obtained the art in the first place," the System asked in return.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed.

"It’s a royal art accessible only to the royals of the Eclipsion Kingdom."

"Every royal I know has practiced the art, including my father and my two brothers. My father introduced me to it, and Orion taught me more of it."

"It’s just a basic self-defense art..." Arlo replied honestly.

The War Demon Stance was simply a normal art within the Eclipsion family bloodline.

Although commoners were forbidden from accessing it, Arlo had never considered it to be particularly extraordinary. It was simply a signature battle art of his family.

[The War Demon Stance... is no defensive art.]

The System spoke cryptically, and Arlo’s eyes flashed as he noticed the seriousness and gravity hidden beneath its words.

"Then what type of art is it?" he asked, probing for more information.

[It’s a calamitous World-Ending art! One I never thought anyone would possess...] The System mused.

Arlo’s eyebrows relaxed slightly.

[Let me guess, only your Eclipsion family possesses such an art, right?] The System asked.

"Yes, that’s true..." Arlo replied curtly.

Even the commoners of the Eclipsion family were prohibited from learning it. The same was undoubtedly true for the other kingdoms.

It was the signature battle art of the Eclipsion family.

[Then it must have been because my original Bloodline fused with it. It tries to copy everything, after all...]

[The War Demon Stance is the Battle Art of my last opponent, powerful enough to shatter my existence and even imprint itself so deeply within my fallen remnants.]

[It’s a painful memory, one recorded by the Black Sun Shard and passed down to the one with the purest bloodline.]

[Your father must have been able to rule Umbrasol without rival, most likely because of this art, and his death may have only been caused by another who had also practiced it.]

[The War Demon Stance is an art of destruction, of blood, of pain, of death!]

[It’s an art that should never have existed, born from nothing but mad rage and an insatiable greed for greater and greater power.]

[Anyone who practices it will eventually be swallowed and controlled by a demon whose desire for more power is endless.]

[Once it takes complete control of you, that will be the end of everything.]

"You weren’t the one who caused that scene of carnage. It was the demon’s slumbering will. That’s what took control of you."

"And my guess is that if you use it again, he’ll have complete control over you, in which case, even I will try to end you. That’s why I don’t want you to use it.]

The System finally said, and Arlo hummed deeply.

"But that’s strange. I’ve seen many royals use the War Demon Stance. It’s a very beautiful art that almost looks like a dance when they use it."

"When I watched my father perform it, it looked as though he was actually dancing rather than fighting."

"How can it be a destructive art?" Arlo asked doubtfully.

[Go to sleep, Arlo...] The System replied.

Arlo turned his gaze away from the moon, pulled the mattress over himself, and quickly drifted off to sleep, the gentle sound of his snoring soon filling the room.

_____________________

"HOW INFURIATING!!!"

The furious roar boomed throughout the dark chamber.

The only thing visible within the pitch-black room was the faint gleam of crimson light emanating from a levitating coffin.

"I NEVER THOUGHT THAT TRASH WAS SO WEAK! UNABLE TO EVEN TAP INTO MY POWER BEFORE GETTING REDUCED TO NOTHING."

"STILL, YOU CAN’T ESCAPE MY DEATHLY GRASP."

"I WILL GET BACK TO YOU THROUGH YOUR MOST TRUSTED, YET WEAKEST AREA."

"THE FALLEN ANGEL BLOODLINE WILL COME TO BE MINE SOON!"

"MUHAHAHAHAHAH!"

The voice echoed throughout the pitch-black room, sending a chill of death down the spine of anyone unfortunate enough to be within its vicinity.