The Demon Monarch System

….

Glancing over at the conversation between Lily and Aaron for a moment, Apollo silently studied their expression, 'They must have interacted more after I left. It appears there is a slight bond festering between them.' ​​

"Probably not, I think I'm going to stay with Apollo. It has been too long since we've interacted with each out and I have enough cultivation resources to last me," confirmed Aaron as he shook his head. Nodding dejectedly, Lily's slightly maturing features looked back toward the 3 elders.

However, Danyul and Ashur immediately shook their heads, "This is something that can't happen. While Aaron can stay, the Grand Elder will without doubt reject your plea to stay out here Lily. Keep in mind, you're of the highest talent in the family."

"En!" nodded Lily, however, her expression became downcast. But to placate her expression, Aaron softly patted her head with a small smile. Now that she was 14, she was also a decent height, just more than half a head shorter than him; 1.65m.

"Don't frown. It isn't all concrete yet. But, if it happens, I'll return soon enough. At that time we'll take the academy trials together, okay?"

"Okay, I will wait for you," after speaking Lily glanced toward Apollo silently for a moment before blinking and opening her mouth once again, "Hi, Apollo."

Nodding toward her, Apollo acknowledged her existence but didn't verbally answer causing Lily to purse her lips in budding discontent. However, this was his personality now. With anyone other than Azridan, Aaron, and Cynthia, he was sparse with words.

Glancing towards the others Apollo raised an eyebrow. For some reason, they weren't moving. However, he didn't voice his thoughts as he felt no concern. That was until Danyul nudged Cynthia prompting her to speak up.

"Apollo, we'll be entering near the Central Area, would you like to tag along?"

Thinking about it for a moment, Apollo rubbing his chin. However, in the middle of his thoughts, Azridan's voice interrupted.

[Go along with them. You'll have greater numbers and you'll possibly be able to venture deeper into the Central Area of this forest. Not to mention, don't forget what I mention resided within the depths.]

"Okay," simply answered Apollo to both Cynthia and Azridan.

"We'll take a small break to let Lily and Axel recover their stamina. In the meantime, why don't we converse." Cynthia sat next to Apollo with a warm smile, caressing his cheek.

He didn't mind her touch and let her be but his gaze held a tinge of curiosity. 'She wants to converse?' Looking into her clear eyes, Apollo faltered, "About what Aunty?"

"How about your talent, and in turn, I tell you what happened to you?" stated Cynthia as her gaze scoured Apollo, landing on particular spots—his scars. 'I feel as if he's purposely keeping these. Based on his vitality, he should be able to heal them to a better degree if not completely with the help of certain healing medicines.'

'What happened to me?' pondered Apollo with a silent yet intrigued glisten.

[She means about the state of the previous owner's body. She'll most likely tell you of the events that transpired.]

"Okay, that works. My talent now? It's at the Middle of the Earth-grade," lied Apollo. There were a few reasons why. A 14-year-old with an Earth-grade talent was normal in a family like the Kaisers. It just meant that there was a certain chance that the individual would reach the Zul Knight in their lifetime. As for Soul Cultivation that would rely on perseverance and fortuitous encounters.

Secondly, he didn't know if he wanted to deal with the headache of them possibly venturing here to collect him and bring him back to the family to use as a springboard for their reputation. However, as he assessed this notion, he found himself formulating his own scenarios.

A slight frown came upon Cynthia's face. She would be lying if she said she didn't expect him to be approaching the Spirit-grade, "I see, don't worry. Although you're 14, there are still nearly 9 months until the selection exam. Who knows what events could take place."

'Is his talent really only at the Middle Earth-grade? But his father possessed a Heaven-grade and even his mother possessed a Peak Spirit-grade.'

Pausing for a moment, Apollo glanced around and motioned with his finger causing her to lean in. Concealing his voice, he whispered, "Spirit...don't release this information." For a moment, she was in shock. Her assumptions were correct! Soon after, her expression became neutral. Luckily, her back was to the rest.

Shrugging, Apollo paid it no mind and continued with the facade, "I'm not really worried about it, however, I would like to know what happened to me."

"That is easy to tell you as I was present at the time. This goes back to a time before you were born. At that point, you were an existence but just an unborn child in your mother's womb. There was an invasion on the outskirts of this area. Of course, the culprits were the Terrors. There was an order sent down through the Astarte Family which is the Great Family that reigns over our Zephus Domain.

"All cultivators over the Zul Knight realm were to confront the invading Terrors. However, little did we know that the vague information they received was terribly wrong. There was a Rank 4 Terror amongst the invading forces. One must know that a Rank 4 Terror is equivalent to a Zul General but that is only the case on the surface! At that time, the two strongest people in the group were only Level 1 and 3 Zul Generals. Which were your father, and his older brother; Lily's father—my brothers.

"Unfortunately, even when teaming up together their combined strength paled in comparison to that vile beast. It turned out it was on the cusp of reaching Rank 5. They fought valiantly but time proved to be a cruel existence.

"Reinforcements were sought, however, by the time they came the damage was done. Not only did both my brothers perish," for a moment, Cynthia's expression filled with sorrow while Apollo silently gazed at her, "Your mother with you in her womb was mortally wounded. The trace amounts of blythe that this species carried then flowed through you...corrupting your insides before you could be born. As a result, it ran rampant throughout you mutilating your talent."

As she spoke, Axel in the distance slightly raised his eyebrows, 'Apollo's father was the person strongest in talent in the family? All this happened to him? Should I apologize to Apollo? This isn't something the family talked about. I didn't know.'

"Mn, so that's what happened," nodded Apollo and he gazed over at Cynthia. It was unclear from his unperturbed facial expression what was exactly going through his mind, "Thank you for clarifying this and offering me the information I needed to know. I always wondered about the origin of my condition."

"There are no thanks needed, it's your history, however, I do think you will lead a stellar destiny. Although your starting point was far less than others, don't let it discourage you; steel yourself on the path of cultivation," reassured Cynthia as she warmly placed her hand on Apollo's head.

"I won't be disheartened. But, I will be seeking out my enmity. After all, someone or something has to bear my hatred right," lightly chuckled Apollo as a menacing smirk crept upon his face.

'Mn, my little nephew isn't that small defenseless boy he was before. He's already showing signs of maturity beyond his age. He is able to remain calm after listening to all of this,' thought Cynthia as she ruffled Apollo's hair.

The passage of time was brisk as both Lily and Axel recovered. Ending the small recuperation period, everyone stood as they began moving deeper into the Shadowy Forest.