The Demon Monarch System

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Unlike the others, Apollo didn't wait for the Demonic Beasts to reach them. Instead, he dashed ahead of the rest, turning into a hurtling shadow. Now that he was a full-blown Lesser Demon, his body suited this technique exceptionally well.

The Partial Shade Silhouette turned him into a half indiscernible shadow as he moved forward, crossing over 50 meters with each step. More impressively, the strain on his stamina was far less than it used to be. Of course, this had something to do with the increase of his vitality as well as the stronger effects of his Lesser Demon Body.

"What the fuck? This dude is fast!" Aaron exclaimed, trying his best to catch up. Unfortunately, they existed on two different planes. Apollo's Agility eclipsed the speed of simple Zul Warrior children to the point that they'd require an extremely powerful cultivation technique, of at least Heaven-Grade to bridge the gap.

Regrettably, that wasn't something that existed within the family. At most, they possessed Spirit-Rank cultivation methods of the highest level. Hence, a shred of envy, as well as reverence, surfaced on the youths' expressions.

'Hm? Could it be that the phenomenon earlier wasn't only limited to his internal physique? No… perhaps it's just a byproduct of such a high-level physique, allowing him to utilize speed and power beyond his current level,' Kayn mused as he observed Apollo's rapid movements.

Soon enough, Apollo arrived before the horde of incoming Demonic Beasts. His calm gaze analyzed their movements, the impact their limbs made with the ground, and how strong the Essence ripples emanating from their bodies were.

After absorbing this information, Apollo understood one thing. 'Good, they're stronger than the earlier wave. It's a perfect time to… Oh…'

Out of instinct, Apollo had reached for the Dark Cutter but forgot the weapon shattered in his heated battle. Therefore, he clicked his tongue and retrieved the remaining set of throwing knives he took from Slaid's dead body.

Now that he could better understand the technique, Apollo experimented with the upper limits of his Partial Shade Silhouette, turning into a black blur a moment later as he maneuvered through the horde. Numerous whizzing sounds and the ring of sharp blades piercing through the air echoed, soon followed by fountains of blood filling the air.

Tiny puncture wounds appeared on the throats of many Demonic Beast, with some even having deep gashes across their neck.

Despite this display, Apollo still frowned. "Not enough. I can increase it further."

The shadowy embers flickering from the Partial Shade Silhouette gradually crept up to Apollo's torso as he swayed back and forth with a few throwing knives being coated by the excess Tenebrous Winds circulating his body.

The knives began to rotate uncontrollably under the influence of the winds until they spun so fast their shape appeared disk-like. Once that happened, Apollo waved his arms, launching eight spiraling throwing knives.

Pained roars, howls, and yelps filled the air, but Apollo was far from done as he put all his strength into a throwing knife spinning around his index finger. Following his faint smirk, Apollo flung the knife forward, puncturing numerous Demonic Beasts in a straight line.

The weapon only stopped once it impaled an extremely dense stone over 200 meters in the distance. 'Not bad, quite a large increase to my strength to be able to do that. However, I wonder where the limits of the Partial Shade Silhouette exist right now.'

A subtle hum appeared from the embers flickering around Apollo as a light tap of his foot allowed him to perform near soundless movement. But, if one listened close enough, they'd be able to locate the sound of his movement, symbolizing his current ineptitude with the technique.

Nevertheless, it was more than enough as using this technique ballooned his Agility to over two hundred! According to what he knew, Apollo wouldn't be surprised if that speed was on par with the raw Agility of an early-stage Zul Commander.

Next, Apollo blitzed around the battlefield to extract the used throwing knives from the dead Demonic Beasts as well as the cracked stone. While that happened, the other youths finally caught up while revealing incredulous expressions.

However, that was to be expected considering the spectacle that unfolded before their eyes. All they saw was a black blur followed by Demonic Beasts falling one after another.

Of course, the Demonic Beast wouldn't take this willingly. The ones who had survived until now underwent a sudden change as their behavior became more savage than before. They roared, shrieked, and bellowed with snarling expressions, baring their fangs.

Despite their aura spiking crazily, Apollo licked his lips with excitement. This abrupt change only added to his enjoyment. After all, he also had a few more things in his arsenal that he wanted to test.

But, Apollo also didn't become greedy as he glanced to his side. "Don't just stand there. Come take on a beast that you're capable of fighting. It should be more exciting for you guys now."

After riling up the beasts, Apollo retreated while winking at the others. If they had faced these beasts in their previous state and numbers, it would have taken too long for them to be cleared.

Regrettably for the others, Apollo didn't want to waste any time. As such, he incited the beasts' rage by killing many of them. Part of it was for his pleasure, but he also did so for another reason as well.

"A-Apollo! What did you do? Look at the damned beast. It was bad enough they were in a frenzy before but look at this mess now," Aaron shrieked, drawing his sword and slashing down abruptly.

A tusk of a Demonic Boar was cleaved off by the attack. However, that didn't stop the targeted beast's maddened rush, which inevitably led to it ramming right into Aaron's chest.

Aaron was forced back from the impact and, because of the beast's hard physique, anger surfaced in Aaron's eyes. Silver tendrils appeared around his sword as Aaron rushed forward.

'Hoh? How funny. I'm sure some of these kids absolutely hate him right now, seeing as he made their fight many times more difficult. Then again, it has its benefits though I don't know if this arose from impatience or altruism,' Kayn thought as a profound light shone in his eyes.

"Don't just give it angry looks; kill it also," Apollo said while looking at Aaron's expression. Sadly, there were still approximately twenty beasts remaining. And with their increased savagery, some managed to make it past the youths.

But, rather than killing those who made it past the youths, Apollo merely moved up and grabbed the limb of said beast, forcefully throwing them back to their initial position.

Either way, his actions further incensed the beasts. Some even threw caution to the wind and attacked their allies in their mania. At this, Apollo chuckled. Their behavior was laughable. In a rage, they attacked any and everything.

Soon enough, the faces of the youths once again became pale. However, more than half of the beast still remained.

"Well, that's enough. You've all battled enough, I suppose. And truth be told, I would like to get a move on," Apollo commented, glancing at the bated breaths of the others.

"Wait! I-... I can still go on! I won't give up yet," Aaron exclaimed, stabbing his sword in the ground to help him stand back up. But, his exhaustion overshadowed his will since he suffered some injuries.

Shockingly, however, Apollo pulled him up to his feet, looking him directly in the eyes.

"That's what I like to hear. Only you can defeat yourself; no one else will care for you. Therefore, even when you can't stand, YOU STAND!" A blackened crimson aura coated Apollo's entire arm at the end of his bellow.

In the next moment, a colossal wave billowed forward and massacred the rest of the Demonic Beast, leaving a mass of mutilated corpses strewn across the floor.

Kayn's eyes widened but then settled down when he noticed Cynthia's unfazed expression. "Have you seen this technique before?"

"Of course. How do you think we truly slew that Wyvern?" Cynthia chuckled in return. However, she also looked at the scene, pensive, 'I think that technique he just used was the first one. It also seems to be stronger. That means…'

Meanwhile, Apollo was more curious as to why there were no Essence Cores.

[That energy which ran amok in their body decomposed the core and forced the energy into their flesh, which is why they're somewhat stronger than the beast before. But, that's only on the physical front.]

'I see, I should have expected as much,' Apollo thought while also looking at the bodies. Though there was no Essence Core, perhaps he could find another use for the bodies.