The Demon Monarch System

Multifaceted Intentions of Conquest

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Apollo ultimately agreed to Fuhrer's suggestion as he listened to him and Forcalor recount many of Eligos's feats as well as his attainments during the era before the household's disappearance. If any other demons possibly retained their power, then it had to be Eligos.

His mutated Demon Body, which was stuck between a Noble Demon Body and a Daemonic Demon Body, should be relatively resistant to the erosion of time, primarily if he actively maintained his Sin Purity and level of physical strength like Forcalor did.

All he needed was a setting with Sin Purity that was not much weaker than the Primal Sources and an occasional battle with someone that could stimulate the portion of his power he kept repressed.

Meanwhile, Apollo moved to the reason for his summons. "As I mentioned before, everyone moved to make themselves stronger, so our household is due for a conquest. A change of scenery and mint source of power should work wonders for our current members."

"Wahaha! I get to kill some motherfuckers! I'm telling you, I'm going to shove this spear of my so far up someone behin- ooof... uummf!"

Valac was immediately overwhelmed with excitement causing him to spew unpleasantries like an open faucet. However, Amduscias appeared beside him and covered his mouth to shut him up while nodding towards Apollo as if he was saying: "I've got this under control; you may continue, my Lord."

"Heh," Apollo snickered lightly. After a short pause, he continued. "As I said, we'll be going on a conquest. However, we'll be making a little detour before we arrive at our true destination."

Geneva's expression changed as she listened to Apollo speak. "A detour?" There was only one possible detour on her mind, and it had been quite some time since she had been there. She could only speculate how much the situation had changed. After all, time passed differently between these two worlds.

As a more robust plane of existence, all of the rules belonging to the Nihilistic Rings were strengthened in comparison. Thus, even the flow of time was significantly reduced, allowing the demons the luxury of incredibly robust lifespans compared to the likes of humans.

"Yes, we'll be returning to Astarat. You can think of this as a test," Apollo said before panning his gaze through Typhir, Sapphyr, and Geneva―the three who possessed former intimate ties for this world. Sadly, Apollo had other plans for it as he understood the immensity of certain inevitable events he had to engage in if he ever wanted to unseal the sealed Demonic Providence.

'A test?' Geneva thought while frowning for a brief moment. A string of memory flashed in her mind as her gaze gradually found its way back to Apollo. It wasn't easy to dispose of all the memories etched on her soul.

Conversely, Typhir seemed entirely unaffected by Apollo's word as he matched the look given to him with almost equal indifference. Unlike Geneva, Typhir's life wasn't as long, and except for a select few, Typhir didn't have many intimate ties to Astarat.

Even the other progeny of the other Great Families were only acquaintances. But, they were no longer of this world after experiencing the onslaught of Typhir and Apollo working together to eradicate them.

Lastly, Sapphyr's expression seemed conflicted. On one hand, she wanted to completely forget about Astarat and her terrible standing. But, she also wanted her half-sister Sarai to suffer the same torture she felt. Hence, the confliction in her eyes.

Apollo noticed the struggle in Sapphyr's eyes but didn't address it. Some situations could only be solved by the individual who experienced the turmoil. And, the person who emerged from the darkness of the struggle would no longer be the same.

"So you've made up your mind. I expected this to happen," Fuhrer commented. The glimmer in Apollo's eyes that appeared when Fuhrer told him about the conquest told Fuhrer all he needed to know at the time. Apollo most likely began to devise his plan at that very moment.

"It's just inescapable," Apollo said with an indifferent shrug. The fate of Astarat mattered little to him as he was searching for something much more profound. For one, he needed to understand why the wandering part of his soul ended up on that world, a world in a destitute region outside the detection of the Upper Races but inadvertently linked to them in many ways.

Evidently, it was no mere coincidence for him to end up there. Even if he had to cause shocking amounts of mayhem, Apollo wouldn't stop until he obtained his answer. And, even after receiving his explanation, that didn't mean he would simply up and leave. He couldn't just leave his actions unfinished.

"At least you understand this much," Fuhrer said with a faint smile. Truth be told, he patiently awaited the day this conversation appeared because he needed Apollo to complete the last rite of a demon to fully adjust to the role he'd have to play later on, just on a far more exorbitant scale.

Besides, although he hadn't mentioned it before, Fuhrer felt as if Astarat was still a crutch for Apollo, a symbol of his faint attachment to humanity. If that attachment, no matter how small it may be, continued to exist, it meant there was a slim chance that Apollo wouldn't have the best graces of the Demon Race in his mind at all times.

His mind would be fragmented and tied to another world as well, which was unacceptable in Fuhrer's eyes. Regardless of Apollo's unique circumstances, he was a true-born Dominus, so his loyalty couldn't preside anywhere else but in the Demon Race.

"Hmm?" Apollo looked towards Fuhrer with an intrigued expression. Based on Fuhrer's tone, he felt Fuhrer already knew his intentions in returning to Astarat, although he had yet to disclose it.

"It's nothing important. As always, I will accompany you to anywhere you must go, whether it be impractical or inhumane," Fuhrer said. There was a proud glint in his eyes as he mentioned the last inhumane part since the Demon Race as a whole was spawned from odious, inhumane sources.

"That's not something that needs to be spoken. You've already shown through your actions that's what you intend to do, and after experiencing some of these memories, I believe it," Apollo responded.

For a moment, Fuhrer looked at Apollo silently. A tinge of shock was apparent in his gaze as he didn't expect Apollo's soul to be mature enough to experience ancient memories through his stigmata linked to trace amounts of the Primal Sin Sources.

However, Fuhrer didn't know that he was still far from that point. Apollo's experience originated from Azrtraval's actions themselves. But, while Apollo trusted Fuhrer, he couldn't reveal the system even if he intended to.

There were times he thought of addressing the system and making Fuhrer aware of it, but an unknown influence immediately negated it. But, the odd part was that influence was absent when he thought about introducing it to someone like Typhir or even Sapphyr, which Apollo found to be strange.

'The only difference between Fuhrer and the rest is that the system has established zero control over him. He is an anomaly in the system's perspective, so perhaps it will only allow those under its unwavering control to become wary of its existence,' Apollo thought to himself with an expression that was hard to read.

Afterward, Fuhrer glanced in Forcalor's direction with a meaningful expression. "Will you be bringing him along as well?"

"Mmm…"

This was a question that Apollo hadn't considered in the slightest. First of all, he didn't factor in the surprise visit of such a powerful member, which created a number of opportunities for Apollo to capitalize on. Although their presence would considerably reduce the difficulty of his conquest, there was also an adverse effect of ruining the experiential gain of the weaker household members.

Then again, there was also Tirasha, who Apollo intended to leave in the Nihilistic Rings to complete her change thoroughly. So, she would be the only member of the Dominus Household who wouldn't participate in the conquest, at least not initially.

Meanwhile, Apollo turned his attention towards the winded Lords and pale Xorgrah. "Are any of you interested in leaving the Nihilistic Rings for the time being?"

"Negative." Xorgrah declined.

"After how bad I've been treated, I'll have to respectfully decline the offer, even if it's coming from a handsome man such as yourself~," Asmidia said with a faint pout. Evidently, she hadn't got over the torturous pain.

"You damned dimwit, you know what he did to us?" Belphegor snarled.

"Mmn," Saehtyn grunted softly, not giving a definitive answer like the rest.

Nevertheless, Apollo turned towards Fuhrer. "How long will it take to create a spatial channel linking more than one destination?"

"Linking them? It will take quite some time depending on the distance and number of dimensional membranes I have to cut through," Fuhrer answered.

"I see, then you may begin soon. But, not from here. Let's return to that place," Apollo said.

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