The Demon Monarch System

Chapter 225 - A Glimpse At A Mystery

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After Fuhrer let Apollo heal to his peak condition, he took Apollo to the center of the cave and had him release all control over his Demonic Anima. To be honest, the best way to train the Annihilations was to first grasp their underlying intent. However, since Apollo had the system, he was able to execute them by simply providing enough Demonic Anima. 

Hence, why he was unable to maximize any of the Annihilations. In Fuhrer's eyes, this was unacceptable. To be the Monarch, one needed a mastery in all. If they possessed a weakness, they do one of two things to correct it.

First, ceaseless training until that technique became as easy as breathing. As the process was inscribed into one's being, the matter of it being a weakness would soon vanish. Furthermore, this would also boost the image of the Monarch in the eyes of others.

On the other hand, he could recruit a subordinate that specializes in the area he lacked in. While this seemed to be the easier of the two, it all depended on the capabilities of the people in question. So, there was more room for failure with this option than the former.

Nevertheless, the tactics of the Monarch were something that could be trained to an absolute threshold. In Azridan's case, he failed to train himself to this point, thus he experienced an early demise. Fortunately, there was more in store for his fate. Just like him, Apollo would soon undergo the same hellish training.

As Apollo stood in the center of the cave, Fuhrer circled around him in an unchanging pattern. Compared to before, he felt more like a drill sergeant. When Apollo's eyes started to follow him, a shadow blade ripped past Apollo's chest leaving a large laceration.

"Eyes forward. This is where you learn discipline. To instill discipline in others, you must learn it first. The way to create variations or derivatives of a singular Intent is to possess the correct mindset. As you are now, that is far from it. Let alone dissecting your Intent, you can't utilize it at a whim," Fuhrer stated while holding his arms behind his back.

Unlike before, he used his will to executed finely controlled Demonic Massacre Waves. Not only did Apollo's mind need to become accustomed to the proper usage of his mind, so did his body. 

In response, Apollo tried to refrain from giving in to his urges. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. Trying to change someone's nature was a monumental task. After all, this meant you needed to strip all of their idiosyncrasies bare and turn them into a blank canvas once again.

On the bright side, Azridan didn't train Apollo too heavily in this aspect. Thus, as Fuhrer continued to drill his behavior, Apollo started to catch on at a quickened pace. Once Fuhrer felt it was adequate enough, he once again began to impart knowledge to Apollo.

"Now, the Intent you have learned is something that sits at the pinnacle of all Demonic Intents—the Dominance Intent. However, because it is at the pinnacle it possesses a great weakness; the wielder must also be at some sort of a pinnacle," Fuhrer announced.

At the same time, he released Intent as well. In regards to strength, it was leagues above the one that Apollo utilized. However, when it came to purity or the feeling it exuded, it was slightly inferior to Apollo's innate disposition.

"This is my intent, Suppression. Or, it could also be called Superiority. It could be seen as a weakened version of Dominance. Moreover, this was birthed in my time spent with the Monarch. In other words, you could say that my Intent was given to me by him," Fuhrer said with a half-smile.

"Did you look up to this Monarch?" Apollo questioned all of a sudden. He could by the look in his eyes that Fuhrer was reminiscing about his past. Typically, it was during this time that people would reveal cherished answers.

"Of course. In fact, I made him a promise, should his legacy ever disappear. I will find the one to reawaken it. With all his enemies, he was bound to one day suffer his demise.  This is why, even though I told that boy Azridan that this wasn't his destiny, I still trained him. Perhaps it is my fault that he has been led to an early grave. I'm more than sure the ones who killed him were the other Monarch Candidates.

"But, unlike him, they never received my guidance so they couldn't have been as strong as him. They must have teamed up with one another to bring him to an end. Remember lad, until you are an expert in the absolute phase, never try to accomplish everything on your own. A swollen ego only contributes to a fading name," Fuhrer warned in a solemn tone.

"I will make this promise now, I will not be so childish as to do so. When the time comes, if my strength is insufficient, I will find those who are able to become my pillars," Apollo responded. At the same time, he was reminded about the words Nadida told him.

"Good, because you must always keep this in your mind, even if you don't seek out any enemies, there will always be many that appear. The road to strength itself is something that garners enemies. Without them, your growth would be incomplete," Fuhrer voiced.

'Even a demon is speaking about camaraderie, perhaps I should look more into it. There is only so much I can accomplish on my own without suitable assistance,' Apollo internalized while digesting all of Fuhrer's warnings.

"Very well, now that I have your attention, let's move onto the more vital information about Annihilations and how Intent is so closely related. As I said before, an Intent can be molded by your state of mind," Fuhrer stated before conjuring a tiny Demonic Massacre Wave in his hand.

It grew by the second until it was soon the size of Apollo's head, "Take the Demonic Massacre Wave, for example. It is supposed to be an unstoppable technique when used as its peak. It is meant to slaughter any and everything. With that being said, can you reveal to me what this Intent should be?"

"Murderous Intent," Apollo immediately responded. But, Fuhrer shook his head.

"No, it's the Slaughter Intent. This is even stronger than murder. While murder may appear more often; when a slaughter happens, the impression it leaves on those who witness it is greater. Hence, the Slaughter Intent is held to a higher degree. Now, I want you to attempt to mold your intent into one suitable for slaughter. Remember, your mind is what drives action." Fuhrer said while tapping his armored finger against Apollo's forehead.

As a result, Apollo nodded and first cleared his mind of any thoughts. Then, he thought about the Intent he now possessed, 'The Dominance Intent; it can be broken down into an innumerable amount of paths due to the pinnacle it stands at. Wait, what if I don't try to break it down but instead covert half and mix the two.'

Struck with inspiration, Apollo voiced his opinion to Fuhrer. In response, Fuhrer rejected the idea, "That is a path that exists already from your predecessor. However, it isn't something you want to immediately jump to. Don't try to run before you learn how to crawl. Familiarize yourself with Intent first."

Apollo obliged and dropped the idea for now. In exchange, he started to grasp the newborn Intent inside his Tainted Temple. At the same time, images he didn't understand played in his mind. But, when he thought about the few stories Fuhrer had revealed, there was a matching scene present.

'Is this is a war…?' Apollo thought. In his mind, there was a scene of numerous demonic beings standing behind two inviolable entities. As for the other side, Apollo couldn't quite make it out as it was blurred.

However, he came to an immediate assumption, 'This Intent, I was made to awaken it. It seems as if it is connected to a source. Otherwise, there's no way I would be able to spectate these scenes.'

On the other hand, as he watched the scenes, the aura of the being at the vanguard was emitting started to emerge on Apollo's body. Of its own accord, his Dominance Intent started to strengthen. At this pace, it wouldn't be long before he could continue with Fuhrer's training. 

Soon enough, he would even be able to unleash what he wished to!

This caused Fuhrer's eyebrows to raise with delight, 'Perhaps this kid has been blessed after all. His other aspect may be slowly coming along, but his mastery Intent is moving by leaps and bounds.'