----
Although the idea of intruders imposing on the exploration was annoying, Apollo thought little of it. For one, if they were hostile, it would just give him a reason to retaliate and turn them into an experience source.
After all, when Sapphyr tore apart the animated corpse, it granted him a decent amount of experience since it was judged as an Archdemon. While it wasn't anything ridiculous, like an entire level, it rewarded enough experience to move the bar by 25%.
Compared to the inconsequential experience given by the Ifrits they destroyed, the experience granted by the corpse was much more appealing. And, if the demons who walked into this place were mere Greater Demons, then they would be forsaking their safety.
Even Sapphyr had to pull out of her cards to kill the Archdemon animated corpse. So, at the very least, anyone who wished to visit this ruin would need to be an Archdemon or suffer the dire consequences.
"Do we continue, or should we just await their arrival?" Fuhrer asked while clenching and unclenching his hand. Truth be told, he could always take them by surprise and unleash one of the Tenebrous Sword techniques, but he wasn't sure if Apollo wished to deal with the intruders personally.
"I suppose we can wait. There's no rush anyhow. The longer we stall, the greater the chance of Xonnomor's father being gone when we get back," Apollo answered. In addition to this reason, Apollo also wanted to test out his new technique in combat. How would it fare?
"As you wish," Fuhrer replied before standing by his patiently. The sounds of many rushing footsteps grew closer at a rapid pace. It was only a matter of seconds before they appeared.
As such, Apollo pointed Gram forward with his left hand while his right hand emitted an intangible ripple followed by a burst of pitch-black aura that soon faded out of existence. He was in a battle-ready state, yet it barely looked to be the case.
A dozen colossal figures appeared wearing crudely made tribal armor. There were thick marks, at least the size of Apollo's arm, running across their limbs. However, Apollo sensed a familiar aura from those marking.
'Stigmata? They're quite simple,' Apollo thought to himself.
Suddenly, Fuhrer snickered, "Those Stigmata are simply eyesores!"
The reason for Fuhrer's amusement was simple, quite literally. With stigmata, complexity meant strength, as it meant a higher attunement with the Sin it was affiliated with.
Conversely, the simpler the markings of a stigmata, the weaker the amount of power amplification it could generate. And, from what Fuhrer saw, the stigmata on this bunch of demons was as simple as they come―thick lines of a black tint.
"What are you laughing about!?" A demon from the other side snarled. As he heard what Fuhrer said, he was incensed. This was simply the stigmata that awakened after they trained their Sin. It wasn't their fault that their stigmata were so weak.
"Oh. Not only are they dumb, but they're deaf as well," Valac cackled hysterically. He was the first to start his fit of hysterical laughter when he saw the disappointing state of their stigmata. It was too much for him not to have a merry laugh.
"DAMMIT!"
A surge of Ira burst from the lead demon as they rushed toward Valac. He couldn't stand the fact that Valac was mocking them so openly. Did he think that he could do so just because he was in the presence of his allies?
This particular demon didn't think so! Therefore, he rushed blindly.
Sadly, he should have looked before rushing towards Valac.
"Sorry, but this fool is my punching bag, and my punching bag alone," Apollo said before appearing in the cross-section of the demon's rush. Without a moment's delay, Apollo slashed towards the demon.
Boom!
The demon was thrown backward after guarding against Apollo's slash. He slammed into the wall, but Apollo raised his hand and pulled. The demon's body flew from within the cloud of debris, hurtling towards Apollo as the Dominator's Clutch was active.
At the same time, his Infernal Ira Stigmata emitted a soft crimson glow as he once again slashed Gram. Except that this time, there was a visible shell of Ira encasing Gram and Apollo executed a downward slash, pummeling the demon into the ground.
Bang!
The floor was blown apart as the demon who rushed them earlier was left unmoving in a deep crater before Apollo.
On the other hand, Apollo was shocked by how much activating the Infernal Ira Stigmata coupled with Gram's Infernal Marks increased his strength. All it took was but a single hit from him to render an unimpressive Archdemon immobile.
Though Apollo's techniques were overpowered after receiving the inherent boost of his late stage Ira, that wasn't the real reason behind his overwhelming display. One thing he overlooked was the number of stats he absorbed from Xonnomor, Gallmath, and Arleo.
As they were all Archdemons, the amount of stats he absorbed in one sitting was virtually equal to at least a quarter of his prior strength. Therefore, after experiencing the effects of the Infernal Ira Stigmata and Gram, Apollo's strike possessed a shocking amount of strength behind it.
So much so, it compelled Apollo to check for the changes in his stats and determine just how frightening they had become.
----
(Demon Monarch System) Lv.5
Name: Apollo Kaiser
Race: Greater Demon [82.00%]
Title: Monarch's Descendant, Azridan's Successor
Age: 18
Level: 175
Experience: 25.12%
Health: 100%
Demonic Anima Reserves: 84,375 units
-----
Strength: 3,040.0
Agility: 2,570.0
Intelligence: 2,230.0
Vitality: 2,134.4
Comprehension: 253.0
Willpower: 223.0
-----------
[«Traits»]- 7
«Supreme Demon Body»
«Gluttonous Soul»
«Vacant Soul»
«Eye of Mimicry»
«Eye of Desire»
«Intrepid Mind»
«Tempting Corruption»
-----------
[«Techniques»]- 5
«Demonic Imposition: Adamantine Servitude» [Partially Awakened]
«Demonic Providence: Domination» [Sealed]
-----------
[«Sin Margins»]
Ira - Late [Infernal Hellfire]
Gula - Primary [Endless Devouring]
Avaritia - Initial [Boundless Desires]
Superbia - Primary [Adamant Will]
Invidia - Initial [Covetous Eye]
Luxuria - Initial [Corrupted Eye]
Acedia - Initial [Languish Perception]
…
Apollo's eyes widened in shock as it fell on his Strength attribute. It was over 3,000! That meant that when the Infernal Marks were applied, his attacks were as strong as a demon with at least 6,000 Strength!
However, in exchange for such a high raw increase in power, Apollo gave up his ability to last in fights. After all, Gram was simply a glutton for his Ira. Though, the reason for this lied in the fact that the nature of its base material required at least a Noblesse to wield it.
And, in its current incomplete form, Apollo didn't have the ability to tweak the output of this effect. Hence, why the system displayed a solid number of 125% and not a range. A range typically meant that Apollo was free to decide how much of a resource he wished to instill in a technique.
"W-what the hell! Bergon! Bergon!!" One of the demons screeched. Unfortunately, Apollo's overwhelming strike, on par with a peak Archdemon, annihilated this demon in one hit.
As a result, Apollo was excited but also confounded at the same time.
'One strike absorbed nearly 20% of my Ira Reserves. That means after the 5th strike. My stigmata will immediately deactivate.'
After making this estimation, Apollo didn't dawdle at all. On the contrary, a savage aura appeared around him as he launched a Demonic Massacre Wave towards the shocked group of simple demons.
However, while they were simple, that didn't mean they didn't possess basic instincts. Each of them unleashed an attack fueled by Ira. Sadly, Apollo's attack was truly monstrous. After all, the Demonic Massacre Wave was already an attack that delivered 10 times Apollo's Strength attribute.
So, when coupled with Gram, the amount of destruction he unleashed was absurd. Apollo's attack destroyed not just the demons, but even the halls of the ruin suffered a bizarre amount of damage. However, Apollo also realized the twenty percent consumption was only when he used a normal attack.
When Gram's usage was fused with a technique, the consumption was amplified. Just that one strike consumed over 75 percent of his Ira Reserves, forcing him to cancel his activation of the stigmata.
Still the exchange was worth it since Gram allowed him to make quick work of the intruders.
According to the system, a few were Archdemons, but most were Greater Demons. As such, while he didn't level up, Apollo was close.
〈System: Experience absorbed. [Current Experience: 85.25%]〉
"We can move again," Apollo said while turning around. However, everyone gave him a blank stare.. Or, more importantly, the weapon in his hand.
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