The Demon Monarch System

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Upon hearing Yvaine's chuckle as well as his noticing his gaze, Apollo stared back at him. Due to his position, it was quite easy to come to the realization that most of Yvaine's attention was falling on him. For the most part, on this stage, although it wasn't the strongest, Apollo had the thickest aura.

With their sights locked on each other, Apollo's eyebrows rose with intrigue, 'Is he targeting me? I wonder if he's gone as far to increase the difficulty.'

While he pondered this, another wave of imposing pressure billowed forward. At a glance, this one would without a doubt knock some of the contestants off the platform.

'BANG!'

If the prior collisions were comparable to ramming into a stone wall, then this one was glorified steel. Forget defending against it, many of the participants were swept off the platform without a chance at resisting. As this happened, there wasn't the slightest change in Yvaine's expression.

In truth, he hadn't even utilized 10 percent of his upper limit. With crossed arms yet lax shoulders, he looked at the remaining participants. In his eyes, the number was still far too large. So, Yvaine lifted a finger and tapped it against the elbow of his armor.

As a result, another shockwave struck the contestants, but this one was even more ruthless than the last. The pause was nonexistent! In other words, from the perspective of those on the receiving end, it felt as if the tides had superimposed. 

At this point, many youths began summoning their Essence Aegis' to increase their defenses. Sadly, their attempts proved to be nearly worthless. Outside of those who achieved near mastery of the technique, a majority of the youth's futile defenses were torn to shreds.

When they saw this, a tinge of horror appeared in their eyes. They couldn't believe how strong a Spirit was. This only led them to speculate the strength of a Terror if it required one to possess a Spirit to go against.

Meanwhile, a flash of indignance flashed within Apollo's eye. The entire time Yvaine performed these actions, his eyes hadn't left Apollo. He wanted to test his endurance. That earlier question rose a few suspicions.

Yvaine sought an answer. If Apollo was privy to Kraydin's power, then how strong was he truly? After all, that was a Spirit that belonged to a member of a Supreme Family.

Of course, what he didn't know was Apollo never witnessed Kraydin's power firsthand. It was just the Tainted Temple producing a general range of Kraydin's power. Nevertheless, Yvaine continued was he was doing.

This time, however, he tapped his elbow three times sending a true superimposed barrage of pressure. In truth, although less than 5 five seconds had passed, he was growing impatient. To him, his time could be better spent, attempting to break through to the next level or familiarize himself with his restraints in attempts to shatter them.

However, that was easier said than done. Save for one, no Heroic Spirit had ever broken the restrictions placed on them by the world. To do so would prove to be a monumental task. Thus, many wanted to achieve it but could never touch the boundary. 

After all, accomplishing this feat was a sign of true strength. To possess the power to combat a world's laws was an unimaginable power to possess. Nonetheless, while unimaginable, it was also seemingly unobtainable. 

When he thought about this, a low grunt was heard from Yvaine. For a moment, the pressure he released was far too strong for those present. In fact, some even suffered immediate fractures, falling unconscious.

Upon noticing this, Gabriel sent Yvaine a mental message, "Restrain some of your power. If you eliminate too many of them or wound them too severely, the next part of the trials will be plagued with an imbalance."

"Ah, my apologies. My mind wandered," Yvained replied, reining in some of his pressure. Be that as it may, the damage caused by his actions was done.

Out of the former 20,000 youths present on the platform, under Yvaine's dominant force, only 8,000 remained standing or still inside the confines of the ring. In light of the ring being capable of housing around 200 battles, that was only when accounting for a battle's large area. In this current situation, it could contain a much vaster audience.

With the youths standing in a rooted position, there was ample enough space to fit their large volume. However, with each elimination, the breathing room of each individual expanded. Thus, space became the least of their worries.

"You all are doing well to endure the torment of this spiritual pressure. An estimated 900,000 still stands among you. Until this number dwindles to around two-thirds of this value, the unpleasant impacts will continue," Gabriel uttered, keeping a watchful eye over each of the platforms.

The Spirits continued to assault the youths with ruthless waves of pressure. Many who were unable to withstand it fell. Yet, on the stage Apollo was located on, an anomaly took place.

It wasn't his doing but in the space around Apollo, small spatial distortions absorbed a great deal of the force behind the waves. So, anyone near Apollo was subject to pressure far less than what Yvaine released.

Some present noticed this but didn't talk about it. Around Apollo were those already of high talents. So, even if they passed due to the actions of another, not much would be said about it.

With that being said, Nadida turned towards Apollo in surprise. At first, she couldn't understand why the pressure she felt was progressing in the opposite direction. But, when she looked at him, she understood what was happening.

Through the use of the Spatial Element, a portion of the unrelenting pressure was displaced somewhere else. In fact, that pressure was forced on many unsuspecting people, the difficulty of their experience increasing by many folds.

'Hoh? What an uncanny use of teh Spatial Element. However, his understanding of the element seems vague. Allow me to show you how it is done,' Yvaine thought, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.

However, when Gabriel noticed this, his expression twitched. He was crestfallen and conflicted if he should allow Yvaine to continue. In the event of him drawing that weapon, the power he could wield would multiply indefinitely.

Fortunately, his worries were thwarted by Yvaine's reassurance, "Don't worry, I will not increase my pressure to an unbearable level. I'm sure you see it, I'm just curious to know how much this kid is able to withstand my pressure if I manipulate it."

"Ah, very well. But, don't make him your focus of elimination. His potential is amongst the highest five. Even if he is eliminated, there will definitely be exceptions made for him. Furthermore, I'm unsure whether you'll actually be able to do that. As you see, unlike the others, he hasn't even fallen to his knees despite you continually changing the direction of your pressure," Gabriel responded.

"That is true, which is why he has stimulated my intrigue," Yvaine added. Finally, lifting his wrist, he unsheated his sword, a wave of pressure cascading outward. Unlike before, this one felt like was wreathed in two elements—Spatial and Metal.

At the same time, as soon as it appeared, it disappeared but not completely. The blanket of energy, reappeared around Apollo, canceling the spatial fluctuation around. This, in turn, caused Apollo to bear the brunt of the attack.

Due to this, Apollo's eyes narrowed. 'So you are focusing on me… Very well then. This pressure, while different from that of Natural Essence, should still be within my capabilities.'

Similar to the rest, Apollo formed his variation of the Essence Aegis. However, the shape of his carried with it his demonic properties. Moreover, the Hellfire interspersed throughout sought to burn the Spatial Element Yvaine was wielding.

Albeit insufficient, it showed signs of completing this purpose. But, before it could do so, everyone's actions were halted.

"That's enough! The numbers have dwindled to a suitable degree! We'll now make the preparations for the Elimination Round. All Spirit ceased your actions," Gabriel commanded, the sea of pressure birthed by the Spirit vanished in an instant.

Though the youths thought they would receive a period to recuperate, that wasn't the case. The unusually jovial Vellore interjected immediately after Gabriel finished, "Now, let's us proceed forth into the Battle Royale Elimination stage! All of you are now enemies. The round will not end until there is only half of you remaining."

What followed was a scene of chaos. The platforms lacked any specific order to the madness, the youths turned on each other with hast. Their main purpose now was to remain standing. It was either them or the opposition. Therefore, now was not the time to be merciful. trying to eliminate anyone nearby without mercy.