The Demon Monarch System

Chapter 109 - Sacrificial Imprint, Forming The Stigmata

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Apollo's face turned grim when he heard that he would be on his own. It wasn't like this world possessed someone else well versed in the ways of being a demon. After all, they didn't originate from this world nor had they ever ventured here. Hence, he was left in a rut. ??

Much of which caused by the fact that Azridan's word provided him with a sense of clarity. It enabled Apollo to take a step back and digest exactly what Azridan was trying to tell him.

'It is my fault. I couldn't face the fact that I have barely made any progress in power. While it may appear that I have, that is only when pinned against my peers. I don't hold the power to guard myself against unknown or powerful threats,' Apollo thought to himself.

[I've told you already, don't mull over this anymore. My successor, you must come to understand; things happen because they are supposed to. We must take a step back and come to realize, you are far from normal and so is your situation. Reincarnation, the mixing of souls; all of these things are acts that defy the natural order.

[Thus, it is only natural you face extreme hardship in your pursuit of power. If you didn't, I don't think you would come to accomplish much. Those without obstacles become complacent. But that is a matter for another time; we have to tend to your devolving internal condition.]

'You're right. I can't let myself be defeated but that doesn't take away from the fact that I will be causing unknown damage to you,' Apollo replied, sighing ruefully.

[I, who no longer possesses a body, will have to place my desires on you. That just means the weight on your shoulders becomes that much greater. When I recover, I will reveal to you a tale. One that will shed light on your purpose as my successor.]

'I'll accept it unconditionally at that time,' Apollo instantly conceded, lowering his head. For a moment, his body trembled. The violet hue of his eyes deepened bringing the progress of the corruption to a halt.

"Hooo…It's been a while since I've used this technique let alone attempt it without the suitable body, however, I will not fret. This is what must be, I will reverse or at the very least, stifle this grim situation," Azridan said, taking possession of Apollo's body.

There was only one way to deal with the condition of his body. It was to suppress and confine the overabundance of Sin elsewhere. In this case, it was a special technique. Azridan lifted his finger, slicing his palm, near molten blood seeped from the wound.

'It has degenerated to this state already? This is Purgatory's Blood! If we waited any longer his vitality would have been utterly ruined. As I warned him, Wrath is the most volatile Sin of them all. This is strictly due to the Hellfire's different variations. Of course, Ira awakened the most dreadful of the bunch.'

For Hellfire, its color determined its potency. The darker it was, the more dreadful the flames that came along with it. Furthermore, Hellfire was an obscure flame in that it could be manifested through two different scenarios.

One being the harnessing of Sin, the other being the extraction of it from a sinful corpse. The former was the direct cultivation of a demon whereas the latter was more of a combative technique. It could only be done if one possessed a certain other Sin. As it was now, it wasn't something Apollo was capable of.

On the contrary, Azridan manipulated the Hellfire with ease going as far as extracting it from Apollo's body for an instant.

"Invoke Acedia!" Azridan roared, a ripple spreading from his body. Albeit short-lived, the ripple accomplished a lot; the surroundings froze. In that window of time, Azridan drew a symbol around Apollo's navel.

It looked like a "Z" surrounded by a ring, intersected with three crossing lines. When it was completed, a sizzling noise sounded from his skin as it soon branded. However, the process was far from done.

Azridan's expression filled with indescribable agony as a black, ethereal fog was extracted from his forehead. When it landed on the lines of the seal, Azridan's countenance paled whereas the drawn symbol shimmered exuberantly.

"Ugh… Suppress the rampant Ira! I invoke the Daemonic Restraint Imprint: Sin Suppression!" Azridan roared formed a type of star hand seal. Numerous crimson chains first ejected from the imprint then inverted piercing Apollo's body.

Like a devouring whale, it swallowed almost every bit of the surplus Ira in Apollo's body, only stopping when Azridan performed another seal. With this, his eyelids felt heavy as he swayed, failing to muster sufficient strength.

"As I thought...this is extremely taxing. Although it was only 30% of my soul, I require all of it to remain active as the system's warden. Sadly, I'll have to relinquish that title for a set period until I recover. It is done," Azridan said, the deep hue in Apollo's eyes disappearing.

At the same time, Apollo looked at himself incredulously, however, not in a good sense. He felt nearly identical to the moment before amassing the Infernal Nucleus. At a glance, he could tell his body had entered a weakened state.

As Azridan said, this option came with immense drawbacks. Be that as it may, Azridan still urged Apollo to continue with his action. Needless to say, the danger had subsided by a large degree.

[Immediately form the Stigmata. Your internal state is disastrous, you need its effects now!]

"Right!" Apollo hurriedly responded. He took a moment to calm himself before urging all the Ira in his body to flow towards the obscure symbols above his chest. As he did so, the symbol grew, soon covering his entire left pectoral. When his body was nearly devoid of that power, he executed another action.

He urged the last of the Ira toward his Infernal Nucleus. As such, a faint connection strengthening by the second was created. With that, a shred of power returned to Apollo's body. It was farfetched but he had weathered the storm.

[At last, you have created it.]

Albeit faint, there was liveliness flowing from Apollo's heart. Although it was out of rhythm and shoddy, it was just enough to revitalize Apollo to a certain extent. This was all thanks to the creation of a small silverish crystal embedded in his heart. It was what was known as the Infant Heart of Wrath.

With the appearance of this faint power, he knew he was still alive. Unfortunately, it was long before his joy turned into reluctance. A score of system alerts appeared before his eyes. The first of which he didn't want to see come to light despite being warned it was a repercussion.

?System Alert! The system warden will enter slumber in 10 days for an undetermined period of time. During that time, the system and rewards will still be active, however, guidance will be naught.?

"I'm sorry Azridan...this is all my fault," Apollo sighed ashamed of the transgressions taking place in this independent space. If he had resolved the situation in a more suitable manner, perhaps this wouldn't have happened.

[I've already told you. Drawbacks and obstacles are inevitable. I for one should understand this notion. Falling from my position is a pristine example of this. Nonetheless, we still have time. As the system told you, you have 10 days.]

"Very well. I won't dwell over the matter then. But what I will say is, I'll make sure to uphold the demeanor of a demon in your absence," Apollo proclaimed with a resolute gaze. Concurrently, he glimpsed over notifications.

'So that's why I feel weak despite advancing.'

?System Alert! The rampant energies previously damaging your internal state have been suppressed and the immediate threat to your life has been resolved. Due to the damage, based on this world's standards, all Experience will be diverted to healing.?

?System Alert! Progress has been compromised. Affected stat: -Vitality 20.0. The rewarding stat gain of these aforementioned stats from achieving the Zul Warrior Realm equivalent will be halved.?

?System Alert! Congratulations, the equivalent to the Zul Warrior Realm has been achieved. The Infernal Ira Stigmata has formed and linked with Infernal Nucleus: Strength +50.0, Agility + 35.0, and Vitality +25.0.?

?System Alert! Congratulations, all objectives of the Journey to Sovereignty Part One have been completed. The rewards will be computed.?

'That's right. All the rewards were question marks. I wonder what I'll be rewarded,' Apollo thought, dismissing the notifications.

[Hmm, your current state will take ample time and resources to restore. Furthermore, the seal on you won't suffice forever. It's simply keeping your problems at bay. You need to become a Greater Demon as soon as possible and advance your mastery with Sin.]

"Consider it done," Apollo replied.

[Music to my ears. Now, we have other matters to take care of. For example, the summoning item. With your state, you'll need a reliable partner. Not to mention, I have to assign new things to you before my status is frozen.]