The Demon Monarch System

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Inside the Dakea Stronghold…

Xonnomor watched as both Saehtyn and Xorgrah appeared from inside a fiery portal. His expression was odd because of Saehtyn's current pressure.

Compared to before, when Apollo was still present, absorbing the large quantity of Ira in the deepest level of the tower, which was akin to an active volcano, allowed Saehtyn to heal in record time. From what Xonnomor saw, it was impossible to sense that Saehtyn had recently experienced a grave battle.

"So? How long will we be occupied?" Saehtyn questioned while glancing around Xonnomor's forge. His attention instantly fell upon the mold used to forge Gram. Since it gave off a presence almost identical to his axe, it drew his attention seamlessly.

'Someone's received a weapon on par with mine? Could they have already started the forging process?' Saehtyn wondered before returning his gaze towards Xorgrah and Xonnomor.

"At least one month. That should be enough to forge the weaponry needed. Let's hope the success rate is sufficient. Although there is a sizeable amount of material, the supply is finite," Xorgrah replied.

Since the Council approved these drastic actions, they gave Xorgrah the entire reserve supply of ancient materials. Their safety was of the utmost importance, so the Council spared no expense at ensuring their safety.

Eventually, Xorgrah placed an aquamarine ring on the ground. A subtle fluctuation occurred, causing the ring to open up a small portal, roughly ten times its size. However, that was only the entrance.

Both Xonnomor's and Saehtyn's expressions changed when they looked inside. They witnessed small piles of material categorized based on their effectiveness and possible equipment choices.

"At the very least, we expect to see weapons, armor, and even accessories capable of increasing the effectiveness of their respective Sin. While you'll be handling the Ira equipment, I'll be venturing around the rings to find a forger of a similar standard to forge the rest," Xorgrah revealed.

"Why don't you let me do it?" Xonnomor asked after averting his gaze from the substantial collections of items.

"All you hold is Ira. We need forgers to work closely with a forger that can imbue the proper Sin without outside help. The assistance is only there to increase the item's purity," Xorgrah answered.

Although a forger didn't need the corresponding Sin to make equipment to hold its power, Xorgrah refused to take any chances. The Council expected only the best gear from the valuable materials in Xorgrah's possession.

"True, but grandfather's technique doesn't rely on Sin Energy to forge. The energy of the Hellfire remains contained and only used for the purification process," Xonnomor retorted. 

A proper demonic forger comprised two abilities―the ability to forge the weapon's mold, which was essentially an empty husk, until the second ability's introduction, which was the ability to engrave demonic runes into weapons.

It was the second step that genuinely made the equipment come to life. Depending on the set of runes used, the item needed a different Sin Signature. For example, the group of runes used on Gram allowed only Ira to flow through it. 

Because of these engravings, Gram couldn't be used with other Sins outside of Ira. If the wielder tried, there was a chance of a heavy backlash because of the rune's large energy channels. 

"If you can convince them, I suggest asking the Lords for help. If you're looking for equipment of the highest quality, then you should use the highest power available. Granted, you'll experience some headache if you take this route," Saehtyn said with a shrug.

Although they didn't get along, Saehtyn was confident that other Lords would come back here at the request of Xorgrah, especially if they were offered a piece of equipment on par with Saehtyn's axe. 

The only other demon with an item on par with his was Asmidia. However, it was a gift from Estran, who managed to retrieve it from Asmodeus, the Salacious King. A ring that increased their lust tenfold, which was the reason for Asmidia's incredibly salacious behavior.

Fortunately, no matter how much her behavior was affected, as a High Succubus who kept her innocence, the Luxuria she produced was incomplete, just like the others. Until she performed the act, her link to Luxuria would remain incomplete.

"That's the plan. If we don't find any other forgers on par with Xonnomor, we'll have to request the Lord's presence," Xorgrah admitted.

In response, Saehtyn nodded.

He was sure that after experiencing Irzanach's dangerous abilities, the perspective of the Lords would undergo some changes. Especially Lucifer, who loathed Irzanach's comments alongside Saehtyn.

'Fakes? Placeholders?' Saehtyn muttered to himself with a savage gleam in his eyes. The surrounding atmosphere boiled because of his anger. It wasn't the fact that Irzanach belittled them; it was because he was right.

That fight was an extreme eye-opener for the Lords. Just three individuals kept 7 of them at bay while suffering little to no damage. It was simply unheard of! They possessed over double the numbers, yet Irzanach neutralized their advantage in an instant.

"Calm down, Saehtyn. We're doing what we can to prepare. Maybe you should take the time to explore the possibility of collecting information about the Daemos Transformation," Xorgrah said, attempting to appease Saehtyn's anger.

However, he didn't understand that their presence came at a price. A price that, until now, was never revealed because it was unneeded.

"That's quite impossible. We'd have to find the Primal Source of our Sin to entertain that thought. We Lords… need a double cleansing," Saehtyn sighed with a defeated expression.

After a moment, he disclosed the warning Estran gave them before implanting their power.

"There are two extra rings?" Xorgrah uttered in shock.

The Council was unaware of these last two rings. Since these Rings were unrelated to any Sin, they were, for the most part, uninhabited. Unlike the Lords, the Council didn't possess access to the tomes that listed the historical events of the demons.

Therefore, anything beyond the creation of the Lords and the Council was a mystery. 

"So… you guys need to find a realm that has gone missing for countless millennia? But, it's a place that summons you, not something that we can seek?" Xorgrah muttered in a mystified tone.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It sounded like a fable. While the Monarch was a widely known name, the Abyss Ring wasn't, which was understandable. After all, it was a Ring created for the Dominus Household. Only those closely affiliated with the household were granted access.

"Correct. Now, should we get this process started? Unless the Ring mysteriously appears, I doubt us Lords will ever become Daemos," Saehtyn said as he summoned his completely purified Hellfire. The core seemed to be overwhelmingly hot since it was composed of Purgatory's Blood.

Part of the reason Lucifer said he would burn to death from the inside was because of this flame. However, Saehtyn's current vessel was strong enough to handle thirty percent strengthened Hellfire.

Since he understood his limits, Saehtyn didn't go beyond this number after his first attempt. Even a single percent caused him to feel a ridiculous amount of pain because of the uncontained Purgatory Blood.

The additional percent caused his stigmata to go haywire, allowing some Purgatory Blood to flow through his body uncontrollably. It took a while for the rampant influx to subside and fall back under Saehtyn's control. 

"Understood," Xonnomor nodded before sitting in front of the forge. He watched as Saehtyn injected a steady stream of Hellfire inside the forge's pit. Within a few moments, the bottom of the forge's melting pot emitted a white smoke.

Once that happened, Xonnomor tossed in a handful of Dark Mythril.

At the same time, Xorgrah waved his arm, causing four immense molds to appear. One was the mold for Saehtyn's axe. Another was a slender longsword with an obscenely sharp blade.

The last two were a long lance and a twin sword mold. Each of them were on par with Gram's mold, except each of the other molds possessed a different Sin Presence. Whereas the heavy weapons focused on Ira, these others were of another Sin.

After sensing those molds, Saehtyn smirked. "Lucifer would lose his mind if he discovered the existence of these molds. After all, he still hasn't received a weapon."

"We just received them recently. Speaking of which, that brings up another matter. We'll have to speed up the process of excavating the ruins," Xorgrah said before pausing.

He turned towards Xonnomor, "Prepare a team to enter that ruin early. We'll need to fortify our collection for any unforeseen circumstance."

Xonnomor froze for a second but then returned to normal with an imperceptible frown.. The situation just grew worse.