The Demon Monarch System

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A large explosion took place seconds after Tirasha stabbed her spear. Valac couldn't dodge the strike and was rendered immobile when he felt the sharp aura of her attack pass by her cheek. 

All hearing in his right ear vanished as his ear that was once there disappeared. When Valac turned to the side and tapped the right side of his face, he felt the warm texture of blood seeping down his face while watching the scene of utter destruction on the ground beside him.

'W-what?!' Valac thought to himself. Tirasha's spear strike burrowed through the once sturdy ground while appearing as if it was cut using a precision item.

Its perfectly circular shape and extremely smooth texture like Valac appalled. 

'Would I even survive if that was aimed at my body? This isn't the work of her power alone… it's that damn armor assisting her. Was she recently given this crap,' Valac grumbled internally. 

Meanwhile, Tirasha appeared disgruntled. Only claiming Valac's ear was not her intention. She wanted him to pay dearly, but the overwhelming recoil from her attack was beyond her expectation. 

As a result, her attack veered off its intended path. However, the irritation vanished almost instantly as her aura spiked once again, indicating another usage of that attack.

"I won't miss this time," Tirasha said in a cold tone. She paused for a moment before continuing, "It's funny how the tides turn. It was you who was unreasonable at first, but now you're powerless and even worthless in the eyes of others."

Listening to Tirasha's words, Valac started to tremble. The whole reason behind his chaotic behavior was to attract attention, which in turn gave him a sense of worth. Therefore, Tirasha mentioning him being worthless struck a nerve in his heart that not many could tickle.

"I-I am not worthless," Valac muttered as his eyes trembled frantically.

However, Tirasha disagreed with him. "Yes, yes you are. You're as worthless as they come because you know nothing about loyalty or decency. At least the savage demons have their nonexistent intelligence to blame, but you, on the other hand, don't. You squander your intelligence!"

Again, Valac started to tremble even more. This time, he went back to the words Apollo shared with him right before giving this task to him. 'I am not the weakest link… and I have strengths to offer! I do!'

Meanwhile, as Valac's mind went haywire, Tirasha's power continued to surge until its presence became tangible. There was a mix of golden and greyish-black colors present that didn't attempt to blend as one. While their signatures were agreeable, controlling this armor was beyond Tirasha at the moment.

If she tried to, Tirasha would expend a substantial amount of her mental strength. If that happened, how could she enjoy this long-awaited revenge? 

All of a sudden, Typhir turned towards Valac after inspecting his body language closely. "Hmm? Valac's in a precarious state."

"Yeah. I remember seeing this before. Wasn't it right before he gave in to the Lord?" Sapphyr commented. However, Typhir felt this presence was different. It didn't appear as if Valac wanted to give in.

On the contrary, Typhir felt a wave of hidden anger rising. But, he didn't mention it just yet because he wasn't sure what would come of it. He wanted to understand what use this reaction had. 

Could it mark a new beginning for Valac? Or, would it just symbolize his reverting to his old methods?

In the meantime, Tirasha finished preparing her attack and pointed it towards Valac once more. "I can't kill you because that would be stepping upon Apollo's toes. But I can very much return the same pain and embarrassment you gave me!"

Zweeeeee!

Tirasha's spear emitted a shrill cry as he stabbed it forward. Unlike her last strike, she adjusted her angle while accounting for the monstrous recoil. As a result, a focused beam hurtled towards Valac's chest without remorse.

Yet, Valac presented zero reaction towards the incoming strike. This lack of response nearly caused Typhir to move as he placed his hand on Armageddon's hilt, but a sudden change caused his hand to freeze.

Because he returned to Suprenis, Valac was currently in his middle-aged form. But, his body started to condense out of nowhere while remaining suspended in mid-air.

Gradually, Valac lifted his head, allowing a pair of fiery azure-colored eyes to appear in place of his previous amethyst eyes. At the same time, his soft-feathered wings were replaced by a hardened metallic texture, which possessed azure veins that carried violent flames towards the tip of his wings.

Lastly, two azure-colored claws appeared around his hands as he raised his right one.

Bang!

Tirasha's attack met Valac's claw the moment he raised it. Initially, the collision forced him back, even slamming his feet into the ground while sliding endlessly. However, despite being pushed back so far, Valac's savage eyes remained locked on Tirasha.

Valac had activated his Second Transformation in a fit of anger, but compared to the one used against Apollo, the current appearance of his second form originated from ancient times. 

In short, this was his genuine transformation. Unfortunately, using this power came with an issue. The madness that accompanied this form was too overwhelming for Valac's current stage, which was why he abandoned it once before.

It was the influence of this form that caused his heinous actions in the past. So, the reappearance of this form made Tirasha tremble subconsciously. Although she was much stronger than before, her fear of this transformation prevented her immediate reaction.

Thus, it was difficult to bury her reaction in a short amount of time.

Meanwhile, Valac's momentum gradually slowed as a cracking sound echoed from the beam in his palm. "You see me as weak, but I see my actions as safe. I know what I've done in the past, and it is terrible. I have tried to take other routes, but it seems the past is something we can't escape."

Crrrcccccck!

Finally, Valac clenched his hand, shattering the beam altogether. 

"But, if you can beat me, I will apologize thoroughly for all that I have done. I serve a Lord, and their opinion of me isn't great. So, I'd like to change that."

Though his words were genuine, Tirasha remained skeptical. After all, Valac was an individual with a reputation that preceded him. He was seen as a troublemaking trickster throughout Suprenis.

Still, Tirasha was willing to hear him out, seeing as he had yet to advance towards her despite shattering her attack. 

"Is that a promise? Could you finally be stepping away from your distasteful ways?"

"Perhaps," Valac nodded. 

"If that is true, then I accept," Tirasha answered.

As soon as she agreed, Valac vanished from his position. A wave of heat assaulted Tirasha's cheek, causing her to swipe her spear upward. As a result, the echo from clashing metal rang out.

However, a violent spiral of azure-colored flames coated Valac's spear, inciting Tirasha to retreat and collect herself. Unfortunately, while Valac agreed to an upfront battle, that didn't mean he would allow her time to recollect herself.

Valac advanced the moment she retreated, revealing a shocking spear-wielding style that shocked even Typhir and Sapphyr.

'I suppose this is the true skill of the ancient demons,' Typhir thought to himself. Every pierce, lunge, and slash performed by Valac compounded into a flurry of attack with difficult-to-read angles.

At the same time, an intense stream of Sin was weaved into every simple attack, turning a simple pierce into an attack reminiscent of technique. Tapping into their ancient pool of methods was an ability only granted to them now that Apollo accepted his identity.

Aztraval didn't just inflict this limitation upon just Apollo. The members of the Dominus Household could only draw out their full power when a genuine member of the bloodline held the seat of the ruler.

Now that the condition was filled, the ancient demons could enter their Second Transformation as long as they fulfilled all of the criteria. Fortunately, this was only available to those who accepted Apollo.

If a demon such as Asteroth were to have access to their Second Transformation, then Apollo wouldn't be able to go against him with his current strength.

In the meantime, Valac kept up the pressure yet didn't invoke any of the techniques in his possession. From what he saw, Tirasha's spearmanship revolved around simplistic strikes taken to the extreme.

So, Valac wanted to respond in kind, because he was rated within the top ten of the entire ancient Dominus army when it came to the spear.