The Demon Monarch System

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'Could it be as this woman said, or is she just promoting an idea that is nearly impossible to grasp ahold of? Sure, I felt something unique from Apollo, but what proof do they have that their words are authentic?' Tirasha thought to herself.

However, it soon dawned upon her that aside from Valac, she didn't know anything about these two people before her. Despite Typhir's presence during Apollo's first visit, he never gave an introduction.

Therefore, before making a drastic choice, Tirasha turned towards these two. "How can I join you and place my trust if I have no idea who you are? Introduce yourselves; let's at least lighten the atmosphere."

Taking her suggestion into consideration, Typhir nodded. "That's easy to do. Though I'm sure you know my name, I'm Typhir Estrada, Lord Apollo's second in command."

"Ah?! Who said you're the second in command? That hasn't been made official yet! For all you know, it could be me that ends up as the second in command. In fact, I believe it has a greater chance of happening," Sapphyr retorted while shaking her head repeatedly.

While both of them sought the position, neither of them realized that Apollo sent them on this task for a reason. In short, their bickering was needless, but they didn't understand that just yet. Before they could realize that, it appeared they'd have to settle their differences first.

"Unlikely. We share a bond only found between brothers. Therefore, it'll be me to take the role of his second in command. I was willing to die for our Lord, can you say the same," Typhir said with a proud smirk.

Though the pain of dying was something he didn't wish to forget, he didn't forget how Apollo's view of him changed due to this action. From a rash brute to a loyal brother, Typhir felt the change was worth it.

Meanwhile, Valac lifted his head between the two and shook his head, "Brothers are nice, but they can't keep your bloodline going. So, you both have a fair chance unless a child comes into the picture, bwahaha."

"It still isn't the same. The child would become the heir, not the second in command. The incompleteness of your brain truly baffles me. Do you ever think before you speak?" Typhir questioned with a disappointed expression.

For a moment, Valac was wordless, but he jumped to his feet. "Oi! Oi! You wanna say that again? We can go right now!"

"Oh?" Typhir muttered with an intrigued expression. He didn't stand, but he placed his right hand on Armageddon and flung it towards Valac. An oppressive and savage aura appeared around the blade in flight, growing more fearsome as it neared Valac's body.

Eventually, Valac's eyes widened after sensing the power within the seemingly ordinary throw. While it wasn't comparable to Tirasha's strike, Typhir's effortless movements generated at least sixty percent of the force she used, making Valac question how high the strength Typhir concealed was.

'No way… has his strength already stepped into the threshold of an Archdemon?' Valac wondered. However, since he started this scuffle, he didn't wish to back down. He withdrew his spear and pierced towards the center of Armageddon's edge.

As a result, a small shockwave occurred following their collision, but Valac didn't budge from where he stood. Nearly all of the muscles strained as he pushed against the sword.

Fortunately, whereas he was a body that could continuously unleash his power, the throw was a single movement done without the assistance of mental strength. So, aside from the initial burst of momentum, the sword's vibrant force petered out quickly.

Still, Typhir accomplished what he intended to do. Extending his hand, he recalled Armageddon while shaking his head, "You're not quite my match despite your expertise with the spear. On top of strength, I also understand the sword because of Fuhrer."

Afterward, Typhir turned towards Tirasha. "This display is a portion of what following Apollo's command could reward you, but don't take my word for it. There's her as well."

Typhir pointed at Sapphyr towards the end of his sentence, who stood up slowly and released a dense cloud of darkness. Although it was incomparable to the realm of darkness Apollo employed against Tanath, it still left Tirasha in awe.

The dense darkness blocked every last one of her senses, even reducing her perception to less than one-tenth of what it truly was. She couldn't sense Sapphyr or Typhir despite sitting 3 meters away from him. These continuous displays of their power made Tirasha question how strong they would become once they evolved into Archdemons.

"And your name?" Tirasha asked.

"Sapphyr. Just, Sapphyr. I've abandoned who I was once before, so there is no other name attached, Sapphyr answered, which caused Tirasha to look at her differently.

"Are you saying you weren't always a demon? In other words, you're one of the turned ones?" Tirasha muttered in shock.

"Yes, why?" 

There was a shred of skepticism in Sapphyr's voice as she asked this because of Tirasha's expression. Clearly, learning that Sapphyr wasn't born as a demon came as a shock. Because, Tirasha couldn't wrap her mind around the current situation.

"Well, you see… How should I say this? Demons who are turned into demons later in life usually present signs of being turned. However, you don't possess any of the signs. To me, it seems as if you're as authentic as they come," Tirasha answered truthfully.

In most cases, a turned demon would take ample time to locate the Sin that best agreed with them. Then, they'd need to spend even more time just learning to channel it at the basic level, which is the reason why most turned demons began as a Lesser Demon of the lowest level.

But, the system expunged all of Apollo's followers and replaced their bodies with a genuine Demon Body. So, instead of being turned, it was more fitting to say that all of Apollo's followers were reborn and given an optimal starting point.

Of course, hearing this came as a surprise to Sapphyr, but not Typhir. This was a subject he and Fuhrer visited once during training. Fuhrer frequently mentioned how lucky they were to serve someone of Apollo's bloodline. 

As the single most unique blood of the demon lineage, even calling it treasured was an understatement.

"Well, if you follow Apollo, perhaps you can experience the effects of the enticing unknown. I can vouch as well; I was once a human," Typhir said.

Suddenly, Tirasha's eyes widened, "HUMAN!? Did you just say you were a human?! As in the race that we send our underlings to conquer?!"

"I suppose so? I didn't know that the demons send their underlings to conquers?" Typhir said with a bit of shock in his tone. Though Apollo mentioned that they would start their adventure by conquering, he thought it was limited to the Demons.

However, based on Tirasha's words, it seemed that Apollo had other ventures in mind as well. Even though it came as a surprise, Typhir didn't think much of it since he looked forward to venturing to areas unknown.

"Yes, but it's more so the household and strongholds that do the conquering—operating on the resources of the demons aren't enough. We have to absorb power from outside sources to continue to reign supreme over the lesser individuals," Tirasha admitted.

After learning of this, both Typhir and Sapphyr grew silent. Eventually, Sapphyr asked the gnawing question. "Why is that?" 

"Unfortunately, I don't know. Even with my background, I'm unable to learn the reason why. It seems to be a tightly guarded secret of the higher-ups of the Council," Tirasha said with a defeated sigh.

Similar to Xonnomor, she wished to have the answer to questions but couldn't receive them. Fortunately, they were in luck. After all, Valac wasn't in the same situation as the rest. He was a genuine ancient demon. So, there were matters he knew about that the others didn't.

"It's not a secret. They just don't understand why they need to do it. But, it because of the state of a demon's power," Valac revealed

Sadly, his answered was too vague for anyone to understand. It still lacked the important bits to settle their minds.

"What about it?" Tirasha asked. "If you truly want your image to be changed, you can start here. Start by telling us what you know. The truth is something that can empower us all."

"That's just it. We have to do it to empower ourselves. Take a look at our power and our home. Do you know the other name home this place?"

"The realm of the demons?" Sapphyr muttered. But, Valac merely shook his head in response.

"Well, our home will be complete once all of the rings overlap and return to their original position. The Corrupt Nebula, the gathering place, also known as Hell itself, will rise once again," Valac answered. 

Contrary to what he expected, the three just looked at him with a mystified expression.

"Sheesh! I'm trying to tell you that we conquer to fuel the Rings. Their absorption isn't strong enough to fuel every demon alive without creating new pools of Sin to suck dry."

"So what you're saying is…"

"The =Primal Sources of Sin fuel us, and we help fuel the primal sources.. As long as Sin remains in this world, our power is inexhaustible. This is the reason we create chaos!"