The Demon Monarch System

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With the Dominator's Clutch added to his arsenal of skills, Apollo felt that his means were more complete. After all, he would need everything at his disposal to deal with an enemy of Asteroth's caliber. Even now, Apollo understood that the disparity in their strength was essentially an insurmountable chasm.

'For now, I'm not the only one who needs advancing,' Apollo thought to himself before glancing towards Fuhrer. Although the environment of Ashiraem and Firaria was hectic, the last thing Apollo wanted to do was sit around being idle.

While the Sin of Acedia was amongst his traits, its effect on Apollo rivaled Luxuria. Both of them were negligible since, while Apollo possessed an affinity, he never dabbled with them.

"Gather everyone up. We should continue to act while the environment is still as it is," Apollo said while looking towards Fuhrer.

"What do you intend to do?" Fuhrer questioned in return while also rising to his feet.

"Well, Saehtyn and Xonnomor's stories have intrigued me. And, you said it yourself. The Monarch left ample deposits for times for war, which are now ruins. So, shouldn't we search for some of our own as well?" Apollo answered with a faint smile. 

At first, this was never in his plans, but the more Apollo thought about doing so, the more he felt exploring one of the ancient ruins would be beneficial. Not only would he be able to chance upon some required materials, but he would be able to accomplish his primary goal―becoming stronger.

As mentioned in the stories told by the demons, there were many demons who searched for the ruins independently. While many of them failed, that wasn't the part of the story that attracted Apollo. Or rather, it wasn't the possibility.

What Apollo sought was the prospect of said ruins attracting demons of negligible intelligence, similar to the Scorching Ifrits he eradicated while in search of Fuhrer's body.

However, the Ifrits were no longer suitable enemies. Not that his level was so high, the amount of experience they rewarded was trivial. He would have to kill an ungodly amount of Ifrits just to increase a single level. The issue came from the fact that they were Lesser Demons.

The number of Ifrits with enough potential to become a Greater Demon was few and far between. Therefore, Apollo needed to take more extreme measures to either continue at his current pace or amplify it.

Either way, both decisions required a difficult choice. 

"That's actually not a bad idea. You should do quite well in those ruins. In fact, some of them even have built-in mechanisms to increase your Sin Purity," Fuhrer revealed.

However, as he did so, Apollo revealed a faint frown, "As appealing as that may sound, it won't pose any benefit to me. My Ira is fixated at a certain point for the time being."

"Ah, have you reached the threshold of your current demon body? That was... quick," Fuhrer muttered in surprise.

Although Apollo's demon body held many stigmata, they were all in their infantile stages. So, while he trained in the Monarch's Supreme Demon Body, it was only stronger than a typical peak Greater Demon.

"Yeah. So if the chance arises, I'll just pass it along to the others. They'll benefit from it much more than I would," Apollo answered with a faint nod.

After this fact, Fuhrer disappeared from where he stood. Since Apollo requested something of him, he acted without delay. As expected from a trained general of the Monarch.

Meanwhile, as Fuhrer moved to accomplish that task, Apollo left the room while moving towards Xonnomor's forge. Although it seemed like no time had passed at all, Apollo spent more than two days learning the basics of the Dominator's Clutch.

Therefore, Apollo wanted to check up on Xonnomor's progress. While two days wasn't an extremely long time, Apollo wanted to grasp an understanding of Xonnomor's current skill. Just how quickly and efficiently could he forge useful equipment?

Especially equipment made from pristine materials.

Soon enough, Apollo arrived at the entrance of the forge, which was shielded by a piece of thin cloth. However, despite how thin it was, the heaviness of the material surprised Apollo.

'How odd,' Apollo thought to himself. But, it was to be expected. After all, forges dealt with extreme temperatures, so the entrances needed to be cordoned off with suitable material.

Still, the sight was mesmerizing. In fact, Apollo had some thoughts about the material.

'This type of material would do well in soft armor. It's flexible and light yet durable,' Apollo judged while stepping inside the forge. Contrary to his expectations, Xonnomor wasn't at work. At least, not physically.

Instead of pounding the gigantic hammer by his side, Xonnomor leaned over the anvil inside the forge and examined a piece of Dark Mythril with a diligent expression. It was unknown just how long he sat in this position, but Xonnomor was frozen in place despite Apollo's appearance.

Typically, an Archdemon's senses were sharp, so to be so absorbed in a material that he didn't sense Apollo's presence only highlighted how fascinated Xonnomor was with the forging process. 

In fact, if it wasn't for him sparing so much time to perfect his craft in forging, Xonnomor would have long since reached the peak of the Archdemon state.

Finally, Apollo cleared his throat and gained Xonnomor's attention after standing there for over 5 minutes.

"Oh! Pardon my appearance, Lord. I was just studying these materials. I've thoroughly examined them all and this Dark Mythril was the last one," Xonnomor said while placing the piece of Dark Mythril down on the forge.

"I see," Apollo said while glancing around the forging room. It was just as Xonnomor said. Every piece of material given to him by Apollo was strewn across the floor. Although it seemed like the room was a mess, Apollo noticed a pattern in the separation of materials.

Metal ores were by themselves. Minerals were in another pile, and lastly, any miscellaneous items to be added later were placed elsewhere.

"So meticulous," Apollo said with a light chuckle before taking a seat next to Xonnomor, "Mind if I watch as you make a reference piece?"

"Not at all," Xonnomor answer before firing up the forge. Instead of his own Hellfire, Xonnomor used a flame Apollo was all too familiar with. A cluster of pure Dark Abyss Flames appeared under a large smelting pot.

The first item to be tossed in was the Purgatory Ores. However, Xonnomor's expression soon changed when he realized that the current heat had no effect on the metals.

Once Apollo saw this, he started to frown, 'Could it be that an Archdemon is too weak to interact with these materials?' 

Although Apollo didn't wish for this to be true, it was possible. Because even the forge design of the Hell Bringer weapon revealed that only Purgatory Blood could smelt some of the items on the list.

While Purgatory Ore wasn't one of the items on that list, it was still an extremely durable material. Hence, it was quite possible that the amount of heat needed was something beyond Xonnomor.

Granted, the flames he used weren't his own. It was an outside source, so Xonnomor was incapable of adding his own energy to augment the flames. As a result, Xonnomor opted for another choice.

He opened a flask, reabsorbing the Dark Abyss Flames before presenting his own personal hellfire. Compared to Apollo's, which still possessed a tinge of murkiness inside, Xonnomor's Hellfire carried a silver hue.

Clearly, it was of quite high purity.

"Slaving away behind a forge has given me adequate control over Hellfire. So while I'm not Noblesse, my flame rivals theirs," Xonnomor said before pointing his fingers underneath the pot. A continuous stream of Hellfire bombarded the pot as a bubbling noise was heard within minutes.

Curious, Apollo took a gander at the situation going in the pot. This time, he was satisfied as the ore melted at a steady rate. From its original black color, it became a sight identical to magma.

While that took place, Xonnomor looked towards his molds before stopping, "Although it is a reference piece. Do you have any preference for the weapon forged?"

"Actually, I wouldn't mind you forging a greatsword. I've been meaning to test out their uses," Apollo said after giving the idea some thought. After using Typhir's weapon, Apollo felt that it was quite enjoyable to wield a weapon capable of insane amounts of destruction.

"Ah! Good choice. I happen to have a ridiculous number of greatsword molds.. But, for you, I'll give you this one," Xonnomor said before pulling out a mold that made Apollo's eyes widen.