The Demon Monarch System

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A terrifying tremor took place as Sapphyr redirected the corpse's attack. Although it came from the corpse, the Ira was in truth ownerless, belonging to the ruin. Therefore, it could unleash damage upon the corpse just as it could Sapphyr.

Meanwhile, Sapphyr could only redirect the strike because her body was used to channel Ira. If it wasn't, then redirection would have been impossible. Because, the redirection wasn't as simple as it seemed.

After she accomplished it, the violet aura around her was only half as vibrant as before. Avoiding that strike required half of her usable Invidia! In other words, returning two of such blows was her absolute limit.

Furthermore, the reason it drained so much of her Invidia was that the inherent trait of Invidia was to plunder and mimic. Hence, the simplified process of Sapphyr's actions was that she first took temporary control of the attack before mirroring a pathway and returning it through that mirrored pathway.

It was similar to when Apollo emulated Typhir's sword style almost perfectly, despite never having trained in it. The only issue with this Sin was that everything surrounding the ability was temporary and would eventually vanish.

In Sapphyr's case, it vanished immediately. The higher the copy was, the faster it drained one's Invidia. And, just having the mirror active for an instant consumed a significant portion of her Sin.

Still, the sacrifice was worth the reward, as one of the corpse's arms was blown off after receiving its own attack.

"Mm, not bad," Apollo praised with a faint smile. Though it sounded like their utilization was the same, there was a faint difference. Whereas Apollo copied a technique, Sapphyr copied something more intricate―the Ira's unique signature.

"Yes, but I don't think I want to do that again," Sapphyr frowned. Although it wasn't apparent at a glance, her earlier actions caused discomfort. After all, the Ira in mention was at the late stage, whereas Sapphyr's Ira was a sliver away from entering the primary stage.

Nevertheless, despite the discomfort, Sapphyr pushed through and unleashed the same attack from earlier, except it was more condensed and aimed directly at the newly created weak spot on the corpse's body.

Rooarrrrr!

Of course, just like earlier, the corpse wasn't the slightest bit happy. However, different from its two earlier roars, this one didn't carry any hidden effects. It was simply channeling its rage as unnecessary as it was.

It didn't even pay attention as Sapphyr's attack collided with its body, causing the wound created by its missing arm to emit a ghastly smoke.

Clearly, the battle was nearing its later stages.

As such, Sapphyr increased the tempo of her actions, unleashing a flurry of thrusts, which produced a horrifying number of shadowy afterimages. But, with the durability of the corpse's body, it required more than one strike to produce a crack in its body.

On the other hand, Apollo looked past the current battle into the corridor beyond. Similar to the staircase, the same silver flames illuminated the path from what Apollo could tell. 

'Once she's done here, we'll see what else the ruin has to offer,' Apollo determined before looking towards Typhir. Occasionally, his hand twitched and tapped against his elbow impatiently.

"Itching for battle?"

"Yeah, I haven't been able to stretch enough," Typhir nodded before leaning to the side. He played a minor role in the earlier fight against the Xonnomor and Gallmath. Most of the damage was imparted by Fuhrer, who was just as enraged as Typhir was at the time.

"Don't worry. There should be ample opportunities for you to let loose," Apollo remarked with a calm smile. It was faint, but he could sense other enemies deep in the ruins. Though, some of them felt odd, making Apollo uncertain as to whether or not they were animated corpses as well.

Typhir gave a simple nod before settling down.

Meanwhile, Sapphyr became infuriated when, despite her relentless attacks, the corpse was still moving. "How do I kill this thing?!"

"Well… is killing it even the right word? It's already dead. No?" Furcas muttered while scratching his cheek with a bitter smile. Everyone turned towards him because he had a point. What were they going to do, re-kill a corpse?

Since no one possessed an answer for Sapphyr, she gave in to her frustrations. The rapier in her hands disappeared as she focused on melee for the remainder of the fight. 

"Die! Die! Die!" Sapphyr shrieked as she clawed and even used her wings to rip apart the corpse piece by piece. Either this corpse had really pissed her off, or she was venting some earlier frustrations because as time went on, she became increasingly brutal with terrifying screeches.

"Wow…" Apollo muttered with an incredulous expression.

"I understand what you mean, young Lord," Valac muttered with an endless number of nods, "I think I'm in love!"

BOOM!

Valac was blown into the wall by a punch from Apollo, causing everyone to snicker at his misfortune. Apollo, on the other hand, looked at him with disgust, "Shut up."

"F-fwogib me, young Lord," Valac pleaded while fixing his dislocated jaw. Those words had slipped out of his mouth, yet he had suffered a world of pain. He felt it was simply unfair.

Because of Apollo's action, Geneva held his arm tighter with a visible frown as she spoke in a whisper, "Will you react that way for me as well~?"

Apollo didn't give a verbal answer but just smiled instead. Although he wasn't exactly experienced with females, he understood that saying the wrong thing could incite chaos. Thus, instead of words, Apollo appeased the curious demon by rubbing her cheek.

Of course, this didn't escape Sapphyr's attention, provoking her absurd rage even further. She grabbed the corpse's skull before pummeling into the ground over and over.

Eventually, Apollo made a move and arrived next to her while placing a hand on her shoulder, "Something you needed to get off your chest, I suppose?"

Sapphyr stood with a small pout before looking towards Geneva who stood by Fuhrer, "It's not fair. I was first. I don't want a competition."

"Hoh? Are you saying that you want everything to come easy? Where's the satisfaction if there was no struggle to obtain the glory? That's simply an empty fulfillment. Besides, we have time. No choices will be made until later," Apollo said in a tone that grew firm towards the end.

After sensing his tone, Sapphyr stood with a docile nod, "Okay. I guess there are much more important things for us to handle."

"Precisely. Now, claim your reward," Apollo instructed while leaning against the wall next to her. As he was the object of her earlier rage, Apollo was sensible enough to understand what the situation called for.

Still, that didn't mean Apollo wasn't cursing his situation in his mind. 'Two divas. These two are family and have similar personalities, or at least, similar desires? Either way, I should have expected this!'

Though his expression was calm, Apollo was groaning internally. And, if there was anyone who knew of a poker face, it was Fuhrer, who chortled lightly.

Soon enough, Sapphyr leaned over the unmoving corpse and inhaled. A thick stream of crimson aura flowed down her throat as a look of euphoria appeared on her face. Though Ira usually burned, the sensation that accompanied such pure Ira was pleasant.

Especially when a small ripple emitted from Sapphyr's body, indicating that her Sin Purity had just undergone a sizeable transformation. She continued to absorb the Ira until every trace of it vanished.

Standing up, Sapphyr licked her lips with a satisfied look as she turned towards Apollo, "That was… delicious." There was a tinge of allure in her actions that caused even Apollo to feel a stir. 

However, he soon cleared his throat and turned towards the corridor. "As I said, we have some things to accomplish."

Apollo went on ahead of the others lest the two women caused more trouble for him. But, he didn't advance haphazardly. Despite his fast movements, Apollo kept his attention focused on his surroundings.

However, while walking, Apollo began to take notice of a few things on the walls leading to him stopping.

"Is this entire ruin filled with materials?"

"Yep," Fuhrer nodded. "Typically, all the deposits were made to store as much material as possible. As such, the storage quarters aren't the only place filled with material."

Apollo placed his hand on what seemed to be a jewel with an orangish tint embedded into the wall and pulled. Even though he possessed over 2,000 Strength, simply pulling the jewel didn't cause it to budge.

Next, Apollo gave the wall a light knock, yet the sound that accompanied his actions was dense!