—-

It wasn’t long after Apollo and Fuhrer’s conversation that they stepped through the portal and arrived on the other sides. Immediately, Fuhrer carrying Asteroth’s unconscious body took everyone by surprise, especially Saehtyn who continued to look at it in awe.

Part of his awe was due to the fact that he didn’t know whether it was Apollo or Fuhrer who “defeated” Asteroth. After all, neither of them presents an evolution remotely close to Asteroth’s power. Granted, Saehtyn understood that Fuhrer could unleash bursts of absurd power, he didn’t feel it was sufficient enough to defeat Asteroth.

After all, Saehtyn felt there was a finite limit to the amount of power Fuhrer could muster while maintaining his Greater Demon presence. What’s more, Saehtyn felt it would be even more bizarre if the culprit of Asteroth’s unconscious body ended up being Apollo.

  Unlike the member of the Dominus Household, who were privy to the rules of combat linked to the ancient members, Saehtyn was clueless. He didn’t understand that it was up to Apollo to independently conquer his subordinates. Even if he were aware of it, there wasn’t much guarantee that he’d believe it.

Not only was this madness in Saehtyn’s eyes, but just thinking about it caused a shred of fear to creep into his mind. ‘There’s no way a Greater Demon can be that strong right? At the very least, it’d take a Noblesse, and a very strong one at that, to defeat that individual. Are you telling one of these two is as strong as my assumptions?’

Of course, Saehtyn also didn’t ignore the fact that both of them could’ve fought with Asteroth simultaneously. However, once he remembered that both of these individuals revealed Sins of Superbia in the past, he immediately dismissed the idea.

One of the main characteristics of a demon possessing this Sin was that they’d rather lose in combat than accept help from another, especially as the Sin became purer since it had a greater impact upon one’s character.

Eventually, Apollo noticed Saehtyn’s silence and unusual expression, causing him to look in his direction. “Is something the matter?”

“Not necessarily,” Saehtyn responded with a sudden shake of his head. His expression returned to normal soon after but he couldn’t help but voice the thoughts on his mind. “I just didn’t expect you to succeed. I mean, I witnessed his power firsthand. The walls of the tower aren’t something just anyone can destroy.”

Because of the valuable material used to craft the towers, their durability was off the charts. Not even an all-out attack from a Noblesse could damage the walls, yet Asteroth accomplished this effortlessly. Granted, Saehtyn didn’t understand that Asteroth’s power compromised the fundamental integrity of the walls, allowing him to destroy it with ease.

Without his Aura of Destruction, even Asteroth would find it difficult to cause untold damage to the sturdy walls of the tower.

“Once doubt enters your heart, fear follows. Even if you don’t travel the path of Superbia, I suggest you adopt some of its traits to help you in the future. In fact, operating on a single power, while it’s true you can grow faster, it’s best if your draw inspiration from other Sins,” Fuhrer said suddenly. 

Needless to say, he spoke from experience, because many of Fuhrer’s techniques were formed after drawing inspiration from the other sins. Although his fundamental Sin was still Ira and Superbia, he could still emulate the effects of other Sins to a certain extent.

For example, the technique he wished to teach Apollo originated from countless years of studying Gula. However, there were some minute differences between the ability grated by the pure version of this Sin and the ability that Fuhrer wished to teach Apollo.

In truth, the ability in Fuhrer’s hand was combat-based whereas Endless Devouring could be used in any situation. Simply put, the technique Fuhrer wanted to teach Apollo was known as Autonomous Absorption. As long as the resources were correct, such as an agreeable Sin and Demonic Anima, the energy channels linked to the Infernal Nucleus remained in a dormantly active state.

In this state, it could continuously absorb small amounts of the targeted resource, allowing the user to replenish a significant portion of the exhausted resource once this technique was mastered.

However, instead of teaching Apollo the technique, Fuhrer spent the time constructing a method of merging the principles with the Endless Devouring ability in Apollo’s possession to empower his endurance in battle.

After all, Fuhrer had a feeling that an absurd reserve would be needed once Apollo moved forwards with his plans, especially if he wasn’t strong enough once the invasions of the upper race began.

As of now, the looming question was no longer if they would invade the Nihilistic Rings, it was a when will this inevitable invasion take place. Even now, Fuhrer could sense the deterioration of the protective barrier hastening. ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if the invasions appeared as growing waves instead of an overwhelming insurgence of enemies.’

In addition to blocking their presence completely, the barrier protecting the Nihilistic Rings also possessed a layered seal. When each layer was broken, it revealed the presence of the demons starting from the weakest. The process was designed to give the stronger demons time to grow even stronger.

Similarly, as the lower demons would be exposed, characters of a similar level would no longer be barred from entering the Nihilistic Ring’s territory. Despite the insignificance of those characters, their worth as scouts couldn’t be overlooked.

“You want me to study the other Sins…? Why exactly would I do that? I don’t see the worth in doing so,” Saehtyn muttered with a skeptical expression. Despite Fuhrer’s knowledge and experience, Saehtyn couldn’t picture himself studying a power that belonged to the likes of Lucifer. He’d sooner rather perish than good through that type of torture.

“You don’t see the worth? Then, tell me, what is the worth in your Noble Demon Body burning to ash once you try to absorb even one more percent of Purgatory’s Blood? That’s right, I can see the limitation plaguing your power,” Fuhrer commented while also placing Asteroth down.

While he did so, Fuhrer gestured for Xonnmor to come closer and handle his body. Once Xonnomor was close, Fuhrer gave a thoughtful expression before passing a message to Xonnomor.

“Truly?!” Xonnomor yelped in surprise. Evidently, whatever message Fuhrer passed along had truly excited Xonnomor to that point that he couldn’t contain his outburst.

“I speak no falsehoods. That man in your person is responsible for the blade in my hand. I’m sure the urge to study its intrinsic properties has passed through your mind. But, I have a better option; just coerce the creator to pass along the knowledge,” Fuhrer said with a faint smirk.

On the other hand, Apollo shook his head. He doubted that Asteroth would be willing to pass along any of his practices. It’d most likely required absurd amounts of trust before Asteroth even entertained the idea.

However, Apollo also felt that Asteroth would be willing if the Monarch asked. Unfortunately, Apollo knew that once Asteroth recovered he would no longer be able to use that ruse once again. If he was of sound mind, the chances of him seeing through Apollo’s facade were extremely high.

Apollo wasn’t willing to jeopardize the shaky relationship between him and Asteroth. The system had already warned him of the chance of failure.

Thanks to Fuhrer’s input, Xonnomor handled Asteroth with care, bringing him to his individual quarters while also requesting Furcas’s services. However, Furcas’s jaw dropped when he witnessed the unconscious Asteroth.

“He actually succeeded?! If he looks like this, then what in the hell does the young Lord look like? My goodness! I should have expected this outcome. I mean, neither side was the type to give in, so it’s only expected that the battle would be concluded by unconsciousness,” Furcas muttered before taking a deep inhale of his pipe.

A moment later, he released a dense cloud of smoke that altered quickly, soon forming a formation. Once finished, the formation overlapped Asteroth’s body, as six pupils activated in Furcas’s eyes, with a seventh threatening to peek through.

Apparently, Apollo and the others weren’t the only ones practicing. In his free time, Furcas put all of his attention on increasing the current capabilities of his eyes. The six-pupil form was far from his strongest state.

Meanwhile, Apollo’s ears perked up as he heard the rhythmic tapping of heels on the ground behind him. Afterward, a sweet scent wafted into his nose causing his eyebrow to jump. However, aside from this, there weren’t many other reactions from him as the system delivered a message.

〈System: Your Complete Immunity has negated the effects of the Luxuria nearby.〉

After seeing the message, Apollo didn’t need to turn around as there was only a select few demons capable of wielding Luxuria within Ashiraem. However, contrary to Apollo’s expectations, he was completely wrong about the individual standing behind him.

“You know, you look pretty tasty~ Much tastier than those other boys and you smell better too~. Shall you give this older sister the time of her life~?” An alluring yet unfamiliar voice sounded next to Apollo’s ear.

‘Mm?’ 

Apollo turned towards the voice’s owner with an unusual expression.