The Demon Monarch System

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The clamor of battle grew more pronounced as Apollo advanced towards the origin. Undoubtedly, from what Apollo discerned, there were multiple people involved in this battle. The sounds were becoming increasingly distinguishable and even echoed in Apollo's ears.

Soon enough, perched on a tree, Apollo spectated the unfolding events from a suitable distance. Although his expression didn't show it, he was surprised by the situation. 'Hmm? It seems to be Rank 1 Spirit Beast fighting with... oh? How interesting.'

Apollo chuckled while looking at the small group.

[Fate is a funny thing. It would seem you have returned to the same spot from earlier. Except, the beasts here now are entirely different.]

"Yeah," Apollo answered while examining the Spirit Beast in mention. There were a few large monkey-type monsters. They were 3 meters tall in height possessing violet fur. However, their red eyes burned with rage as they assailed their foes.

Surprisingly, their means of attacking weren't much different from a human. They had a larger stature but compressed Natural Essence in their hands. Afterward, they clapping, releasing large sonic waves towards their enemies.

Furthermore, small compact air blasts occurred whenever they punched the air. Apparently, their ability was related to sound of some sort. Meanwhile, Apollo critiqued the battle and was disappointed by what he saw.

'While they are strong...they aren't used to battle at all. They use too many large movements; all they are doing is exhausting themselves. It's truly painful to watch.'

'Eh, this is boring to watch.' Finally, Apollo couldn't take it any longer and turned to leave but he suddenly turned back and tilted his head. Shockingly, although he was relatively far, he noticed a lady looking in his general direction.

"Danyul, Ashur, I think I sense someone," the lady said before focusing her gaze even more.

This soon warranted both Danyul and Ashur's curious gazes.

'I guess Cynthia has sensed me,' Apollo thought before dropping down from the shadows of the tree.

Immediately, Ashur snapped his neck and roared towards the direction Cynthia look. However, Apollo didn't answer and instead silently approached the small team.

Needless to say, this team was made from people Apollo was all too familiar with.

On the other hand, Danyul and Cynthia remained silent and continued to look at the incoming person. They tried to realize who exactly it was they were looking at. Yet, they drew blanks. It was understandable, after all, the person who neared couldn't be compared to his old self.

Still, Cynthia looked at Apollo with a slightly perplexed expression, 'Why does this boy look so familiar? I feel as if I know him. Why is my heart tugging like this?'

However, compared to the others, Aaron's response was much different. Despite being engaged in battle, a mere glance to his side caused him to freeze in shock. It took a moment to register, but afterward, he yelled the name on his mind, "Apollo!"

In light of his exclamation, everyone widened their eyes in shock. This was especially true for the confounded Ashur.

"Apollo? What Apollo? That absolutely can't be Apollo," Ashur muttered as he wordlessly blinked at him. On the other hand, Danyul stepped closer, widening his eyes at Apollo's shocking change.

For starters, Aaron was already slightly tall for his young age, standing at 1.78m (5'10), however, Apollo was even taller than him standing at 1.81m (~6'0) with a lean physique!

Compared to his former pipsqueak appearance, the change was just too astonishing. Additionally, he was becoming more handsome but in a devilish way. His violet eyes silently inspected everyone here.

「Name: Aaron

Cultivation: Level 5 Zul Warrior

Health: 4,100 (100%)

「Name: Lily

Cultivation: Level 7 Zul Warrior

Health: 3,900 (100%)

「Name: Axel

Cultivation: Level 6 Zul Warrior

Health: 4,400 (100%)」

'Mm, they're all well into the Zul Warrior Realm. Well, it's been quite some years, so I guess they have fulfilled that Grand Elder's wishes,' Apollo thought after viewing their information.

"Yo," Apollo nodded towards Aaron before glancing around. For a moment, his callous gaze fell on Ashur, but it continued to move around.

"Your body...what happened?" Aaron sputtered with an incredulous expression. But, his expression soon changed as his eyes fell upon the still-healing scar on Apollo's shoulder. Gradually, he noticed numerous signs of deadly encounters.

"Life happened," Apollo shrugged before asking a question based on what he saw. "Is this your first live combat training?" Apollo asked.

"Yes...how did you know?" Aaron responded in an odd tone.

"Because, if I may be blunt, your movements are terrible. They lacked practicality and are overly flashy," Apollo critiqued

Pfft!

Everyone sputtered when they heard Apollo's critique. After all, only they knew just how much effort he put into training.

"O-oh… I'm just following my technique's directions."

"Those techniques are just paper, they aren't alive like a beast. You need to be able to adapt; can I take your beast?"

"Y-you want to? It's a Rank 1 Spirit Beast, you'd need to be at least a Rank 8 Mortal to attempt fighting it."

"Don't worry. I know how to handle myself," Apollo said before releasing a portion of his aura.

Immediately, the party's eyes widened when they sensed the aura he released. At the very least, it was on par with a Rank 9 Mortal.

However, there was a tinge of hate in Axel's eyes, 'This idiot has reached Rank 9 Mortal? With his talent? How?! Wait...why does he feel so different though? What is this feeling?'

"What the heck have you experienced in these 4 years?" Aaron murmured as he took a step back, "Go ahead and fight it."

"I've experienced enough," Apollo responded before walking towards Ashur and Axel, "Move."

Both of them narrowed their eyes. However, after sensing Cynthia's gaze, they stepped aside. Though, it wasn't needed since Apollo could simply MAKE them move if he wished.

Nevertheless, he looked at the information giving on these monkeys.

「Monster Name: Violet Sonic Ape

Cultivation: Late Stage Rank 2 Spirit Beast

Health: 2,950/2,950」

Unlike the others, Apollo simply walked towards the rampaging monkey with a calm gait as he cracked his knuckles. Since this was his first fight after coming out of his seclusion, he wished to understand just how far his strength had advanced in this period.

But, when he saw the movements of the ape, Apollo could only shake his head in dissatisfaction.

'This will be simple,' Apollo thought.

Although the Violet Sonic Ape delivered a fast punch, Apollo dodged it with ease by swaying to the side and tapping his palm on its forearm. Afterward, apollo threw a nonchalant punch, yet the impact sounded like a cannon being fired!

〈System: 800 Damage dealt!〉

A pained howl escaped its throat. However, Apollo was far from done. His style was simplistic. Following up, Apollo made an abrupt turn, landing a swift kick on the side of the Violet Sonic Ape's neck, sending it flying far back.

〈System: 800 Damage dealt!〉

Again, Apollo walked towards its body calmly.

However, the ape rebounded and launched an infuriated strike. It was at least twice as fast as its former strike, yet Apollo dodged the smash that landed next to his body. This time, Apollo used a simple kick to utterly destroy its arm, which made them go limp.

'This is an offensive monster; its defense is slightly lacking,' Apollo mused.

Finally, Apollo's arm thrust through its throat, effectively ending the battle. Meanwhile, his emotionless eyes watched as the Spirit Beast's body fell limp.

Nonplussed, they could only stare in shock as Apollo effortlessly dealt with a beast meant to give Zul Warrior a challenge. For one, he killed the beast without a flinch. It was evident from this he had murdered numerous beasts.

On the other hand, Axel experienced a change of expression, 'Holy fuck...he might be dangerous.'

Conversely, Lily looked at him curiously. The once powerless boy was no more. Shifting her gaze to Aaron, she began thinking about things.