The Demon Monarch System

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After Fuhrer relayed the information related to the Nebula Shard to Apollo, he quietly took a step back and proceeded to watch what Apollo did with this information. Before doing anything, Apollo silently examined the energy inside the shard. Since he wasn't all too familiar with it, he took the time to allow his body to attune with any of the aura leaking from the shard.

When his body found the shard to be comfortable, he then moved forward with his actions. Unlike the other crystal in which he crushed to extract the aura in the quickest manner possible, this wasn't something he could do with the Nebula Shard. First and foremost, it was far too durable. Even when he applied all of his strength, he couldn't crack the item in the slightest.

Of course, this was to be understood. After all, it was a condensation of one of the strongest powers from the Nihilistic Rings. If Apollo's meager strength could damage it right now, then it wouldn't be a practice worthy of learning. 

'I guess my doubts were unwarranted, this item should be rather expensive inside the Inheritance Tab. However, how many of these are there? While the energy inside is immense, something tells me it is far from enough to both temper my intent continuously and allow my Tenebrosity to reach the level of blending Sins,' Apollo thought silently. 

Since there was no way to verify his questions at the moment, Apollo didn't dwell on the matter for too long. As of right now, he wasn't sure whether the Nebula Shard came from the Azridan's possession or the untouchable descendant tab. All he knew is that the Lucky Draw never specified as such.

Once he settled his thoughts, Apollo first stimulated his Dominance Intent before sending it inside the Nebula Shard. At first, there was little to no reaction, however, Fuhrer sent a message explaining that this is to be expected. Since his Intent was lacking intensity, he would have to make up with volume.

Continuously, Apollo channeled the intent he mustered inside the Nebula Shard. Yet, even when Apollo started to feel faint signs of weakness, there were zero indications of the  Nebula Shard reacting in the slightest. Upon noticing this, Fuhrer fell silent while he pondered any possible issues.

'Could it be that his intent is too weak to invoke the Tenebrous Path? If he has its guidance, there should be no issue even if he is to face simultaneous trials of Sin. After all, the First Monarch used this technique to draw the Primal Sources under his grasp. Maybe there is another reason why it isn't reacting,' Fuhrer thought before shifting behind Apollo's back.

"Continue your actions," Fuhrer instructed before raising his hands to APollo's back. Silently, he searched through Apollo's flowing Intent to find any inadequacy and sure enough, he found the issue, "Lad, when you use your intent, try to remember the imperious aura you felt upon awakening it. The Tenebrous is to control Sin. It doesn't balance, it assumes command. Hence, you must command this shard but don't fight its retaliation."

Apollo took in the instructions and nodded slightly. He then recounted the sensation that flowed through his body when he awakened the Domination Zone for a brief moment. He then commanded the Nebula Shard which finally garnered a reaction. 

However, almost as if it was testing the authenticity of his strength, it appeared like it wanted to reject him. When this happened, Apollo kept calm. He didn't go against this as per Fuhrer's instruction. On the contrary, he opened up his Intent and allowed the retaliation to flow through him.

Once his mind felt as if it was fully saturated and could hold no more, his Intent slammed together and trapped the energy that was pulled from the shard. At the same time, Apollo's eyes opened. The moment he retracted his Intent, the energy inside the Shard became motionless.

"It seems you have a knack for this practice. It is known as seizing from one's path. You must have a mind strong enough to withstand the pain of seizing things from any path. As for the Tenebrous Path, it requires your Intent to be worthy. But, as I showed you, for those who can't go against it, for the time being, the Monarch developed another way of practice. Now, digest that energy as I retire to guiding that other lad," Fuhrer voiced before looking in Typhir's direction.

Up until now, Typhir had been repeating the motions of the eight foundational strikes with minimal pauses. In addition to the fact that Fuhrer forbade him from utilizing any of his inner energy, he also had to withstand the aching pains from Fuhrer manipulating the air around his arms.

After every 1,000 swings, Fuhrer increased the Suppression Intent that acted upon Typhir's arms. At this point, after 3 continuous days, the suppression on his arms was so great that it required nearly all of his efforts to execute a single motion. Be that as it may, there wasn't a shred of wanting to give up in his eyes. Before they started, Fuhrer put him through the same experience as he did Apollo.

However, for Typhir it was slightly different. While Apollo grew up weaker than everyone, Typhir was partially blessed. Thus, Fuhrer had to delve deep into Typhir's desires to understand which course of taunting would work the best. Once he realized there was a deeply embedded desire to overcome an individual named Lazaro, he preyed on this fact.

Naturally, Fuhrer's first course of action was to have Typhir understand how overwhelmingly weak he was. Before executing the strikes, they underwent a small spar. During this time, while Fuhrer was weaponless, he lent Typhir Brynhildr. As a result, it took on the optimal form for Typhir, a greatsword with a sharpened edge.

In a matter of seconds, Fuhrer not only disarmed Typhir of the weapon, but he also left him nearly unconscious. Once he regained his wits, Fuhrer then had him begin his actions. 

By now, however, something that shocked Fuhrer took place. 'Is this Void of Conscience state? Interesting, his talent in the sword must be high for him to fall into this state while training in basic movements. Furthermore, his comprehension should be rather high as well.'

Each of Typhir's strikes became increasingly refined as his action shifted from mechanical to thoughtless. Unbeknownst to Fuhrer, inside of Typhir's mind, the scenes of the earlier strikes repeated ceaselessly. In other words, he was mirroring what was replaying in his mind. Moreover, the more he thought about it, the clearer the scene of the strikes played back in his mind. 

Since the system had created him, the system also presented small benefits that a normal demon wouldn't possess. For instance, his comprehension wasn't stagnant. Due to the fact he was bonded to Apollo through the Tainted Temple, he also shared the ability to continuously increase his comprehension and the matters included. Thus, his potential as a demon was also something that wasn't etched in stone. 

Soon enough, the fundamentals of Typhir's strikes surprised even Fuhrer. The only thing that it lacked was the years of experience accrued in battle. This meant it lacked the sensation of endless variations felt inside Fuhrer's strikes. However, that was understandable. Whereas Fuhrer only showed him a single strike, Fuhrer's attacks were honed in ceaseless battle wherein enemies encased him on all sides.

In this scenario, it was imperative he learned how to attack with an absolute defense. 'Good, excellent progress indeed. You truly have the makings of the sword's successor. Very well, when you've utterly mastered the basics, we'll continue. The basics can only be considered mastered when they also seem as if they are touching upon their own techniques,' Fuhrer inwardly thought.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Apollo was also continuing with his own actions. Due to the presence of the energy for the Nebula Shard, he felt as if there was a void within both his Infernal Nucleus as well as Tainted Temple. More importantly, he could also feel a faint yet formless connection with his Diabolic Heart of Wrath. Although it wasn't confirmed, Apollo was sure it had something to do with the fact that the Tenebrous Path was to rule over the Sins. 

All of a sudden, Apollo was hit with a thought as Geneva's energy inside his hand thrummed. 'If this is making a small void inside me, what if I use it to devour her essence and make the process faster? Compared to her energy, the one inside the Nebula is at a much higher degree.'

As he peeked over to Fuhrer and Typhir, he decided to experiment on his own thoughts.