The Demon Monarch System

Chapter 368 - A Shared Glimpse

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"W-what are you doing? What's... happening?" Geneva muttered as she stared into Apollo's left eyes. A hypnotizing swirl appeared within the depth of his pupils as a devilish smirk crept upon his lips. After locating the residual traces of Sin left in his body from his evolution, Apollo assessed the best ways of exhausting them.

A few moments into sifting through the various ways present to a demon, he came across the method conducive to his plans. There was no easier way to corrupt Geneva than to utilize two Sins of ghastly nature—Invidia and Acedia.

With Invidia, Apollo reversed the output.

Rather than having it steal someone's ability, he had it project his desire upon the target. Just as Ira was harmful to one's self, the infernal heat birthed by it singed everything in its path. Thus, Invidia possessed a mirror ability as well; two sides of the same coin.

It could either take what Apollo wished or deliver what Apollo felt others deserved. Either way, each principle was based on the fact that Apollo felt envious of something. No matter how little the reason was, as long as it existed, it was enough to spark the process of this ability.

"Don't worry. Just slip into the comfortable embrace of what you need. That wound on your torso, don't you wish for it to heal perfectly?" Apollo suggested while taking a step closer. Before others could realize the situation, Apollo requested Fuhrer's assistance.

"Make sure no one can trouble us," Apollo demanded before silently gazing at Geneva.

In response, Fuhrer nodded. A moment later, a dense amount of Ira collected above his palm before dissipating into the surroundings. To the others, this energy was undetectable, but for Apollo, it was a different story. A crimson barrier he was all too familiar with surrounded them on all sides.

"Wrath's Blanket," Apollo muttered before giving a faint nod. Afterward, he redirected his attention towards Geneva, whose mind was slipping further away. Admittedly, the temptation of regaining her former strength was too enticing to give up. If she was healed, she could possibly step onto the battlefield once again.

However, a part of her was also reluctant because just as the battlefield gave her life, the events that transpired also haunted her. Simply healing her wound wouldn't mend the scars left on her psyche. 

"Please don't do this, I didn't agree to this. I just wanted to accept your energy every so often. What are you doing to me?" Geneva muttered powerlessly. As she looked at Apollo, she could feel faint changes currently unexplainable to her. Her immediate surrounding began fading while a budding heat surfaced from her wound.

Even though Apollo hadn't injected Geneva with excess Anima or Hellfire outside of their few contact, the remnants of the undigested energy reacted to Apollo's signal. Since they shared the same signature, only Apollo held the power to direct its actions.

Although she didn't want to believe it, Geneva had truly sealed her fate the moment she accepted the first dose of Apollo's Hellfire. Especially the Hellfire that mutated after absorbing that earlier source.

"This is all the result of your own actions. Tell me, did you think my assistance was for free? After learning of my secret and feeling the extent of my flame, did you truly believe this world held any of my interest? Truth be told, only you interested me. With that odd bloodline, you're stronger than the average human," Apollo responded.

With a light touch, he traced the outline of Geneva's cheek. Under the guidance of Apollo's flame, Geneva's body reverted to its initial enrapturing form. Honestly speaking, once her phoenix bloodline was stimulated, even Tirasha's concealed beauty was a level below Geneva's appearance.

In truth, she seemed more like a phoenix than a human. As her ancestor was a True Phoenix, one who attained a human form after reaching its peak, most of the human traits in Geneva were rewritten. To date, she was the only Vermillion to possess such a pure bloodline.

Unfortunately, her innate abilities never got the chance to activate as it required both death and maturity of her bloodline. The Dark Nirvanic Rebirth symbolized a dark phoenix awakening to their true abilities, but for some reason, the Terror's energy was decrepit enough to disrupt this event.

The only way for Geneva to overcome this was for her to have the hidden energy purified. However, her only option of doing this scared her just as much as surrendering to the wound. In this case, it was a matter of her choosing the lesser of two evils.

"Deep down, I knew accepting it wasn't the right thing to do. However, I don't know why but I felt it was possible for me to change your attitude. Maybe if I led by example and was more trusting, you would do the same," Geneva admitted.

Judging by her vulnerable appearance, it seemed like she was telling the truth, but Apollo didn't seem to react to it. Conversely, he squatted before Geneva with an unusual expression. 

"Let me tell you something I've learned about myself. I could've taken ahold of a people as my birthright and led. But, you know what happened? Another side of me was too weak, too fragile to take that place. As to not introduce me to danger, my father sealed me. Which means not just my own people, even our enemies were unaware of my actual presence.

Apollo examined Geneva before smiling faintly and continuing, "You don't know what that feels like, do you? To have everything you should have known stripped from you in order to protect you? It may be in the best interest of everything, however, its effects are long-lasting nonetheless."

Earlier, during the insurgence of Sin, Apollo's temporarily unlocked an isolated memory. However, this memory differed greatly compared to the prior one. According to what he learned, he wasn't sealed at the time of the first memory.

The true events were much different. The First Monarch gave Apollo enough time to experience the culture of the demons. Introduced as his heir to the ancient demons, Apollo failed to live up to what the First Monarch expected. With a split bloodline, he held too much compassion, which overshadowed his potential as a demon.

As such, once they verified that he didn't have the heart to go against the Titans or keep the demons in order, the First Monarch and his empress made the decision. For his safety, Apollo's true soul was sealed and split in two.

However, things weren't always as smooth as one hoped. Or rather, this experiment happened too smoothly. Both sides of Apollo's sealed soul experienced events outside of the First Monarch's calculations. Moreover, it took far too long for the process to begin.

Apollo should have immediately found adequate host bodies and assimilated with them. However, the act took eons, causing an unforeseen mishap. During that time, Apollo's souls were subjected to prolonged darkness.

Hence, why each of his souls held such a high affinity for it. Furthermore, this sustained exposure resulted in mutation hidden within the depths of his soul. Now, every time he evolved, and his soul regained its rightful power, more of that darkness would surface.

Gradually, Apollo's expression grew stoic and emotionless. "So don't be scared. Just know that this process will make you greater. Because you'll be alongside me and accomplish great things. But, not now. I'll wait for you to arrive of your own accord."

Suddenly, the swirling sensation in his eyes stopped, and Apollo stood once again. Consequently, Fuhrer also canceled the Wrath Blanket encasing them. While he and Apollo walked further away, Geneva was left with a blank expression.

After all, Apollo didn't just tell her about his experience. A glimpse of his words projected into Geneva's mind. Despite it being a few seconds, the short immersion into the boundless darkness appalled Geneva. 

Thus, she could only imagine the damage done to Apollo's mind. 

Though she was curious to know more, Geneva eventually rose to her feet and inspected the remainder of her team. Shockingly, she was left with more survivors than the others. Unlike the rest of the academies, Apollo had already eliminated the one from his school during the small "incident".

Be that as it may, this wasn't done out of kindness to the others. It was just Apollo knew when to monitor his own actions. Since he accomplished the needed Demonic Conduct and didn't possess the ability to devour at that time, there was no need for him to go any further. Especially since he caught the culprits.

"What do you wish to do? That was odd of you. Why did you begin the process only to stop?" Fuhrer wondered.

Apollo stopped because of this question. The answer might seem clear on the surface, almost as if Geneva's word had penetrated his heart, but that wasn't true. Doing so was easier said than done. Mere words weren't enough to affect his heart.

"It wasn't enough. The residual Sin burnt out faster than I could corrupt her. I guess her mind is more solid than I expected. No worries, it's only a matter of time. In the meantime, what do you say we go meet another demon."

"Another one? Just who do you suggest? With your soul linked to Suprenis, there aren't many options. The only one I know left in that Ring would be…"

"Correct. I think we'll go in search of Asteroth next. He should hold the power we need before venturing back to Ashiraem," Apollo responded with a light smile. Yet Fuhrer could only look at him with caution.

'Oh, that's going to be a terrible idea…'