Genetic Ascension

1573 Stand [Bonus]

[Bonus thanks to MrBaller. We all know what happened the last time a German evaded taxes. How about we learn from history and relax, hm?] "Stand," Sylas said calmly.

Ba'ruk tried to fight against the impulse, but nothing he did worked. By the time he was standing once more, towering over Sylas and Cassarae, everything about him had ebbed into a calm as well. Whatever emotions or distaste he had were fully restricted.

Sylas didn't feel like dealing with his emotions, so he forced him to suppress them.

'It seems that knowing a Demon's True Name isn't all-powerful. It's only so strong now because I'm using Demonic Envoy abilities. But even then, if my Will weren't so strong, my control would be limited. A D-tier is probably my limit. If I came across a C-tier...'

That said, there was a 10x jump in Ba'ruk's strength just now. Clearly, there was a price that came from trying to hide from the system.

Any Demon Sylas would have to face now would more than likely be facing the same issues. Meaning, while Ba'ruk was now free of the suppression, those others would not. In that case, the gap between Ba'ruk and a C-tier wouldn't be as exaggerated as usual.

Whether it would be small enough to make a difference was doubtful. The gap between tiers only grew the higher up you went.

"Is this who you based your progression on?" Sylas asked Moose.

Moose blinked. But after a while, he realized that he should stop being surprised at Sylas' ability to deduce things.

While Moose had always been far larger than his counterparts, that was a measure of his body trying to compensate for his powerful Will. After the Summoning, though, there was no reason for his body to continue to grow to such an exaggerated level.

Since these mysterious figures in the dark were relying on Rune Armors of the Beast Emperor Sanctum, Sylas correctly deduced that some abilities of Demonic Envoys allowed them to incorporate the strengths of Demons into themselves.

It had to be remembered that Sylas had been told many times now that the Sanctum was more of a Sect of Will than a Sect of Rune Masters. The bridge between these two concepts was much closer than it seemed.

That was all to say that Moose was very likely using a method similar to what Sanctum disciples would use to gain from these Demons and strengthen himself.

However, whatever that method was, though it obviously required more sacrifice than the Sanctum's methods did, the rewards were obviously far superior as well.

"Yes."

"What were the limitations?"

"... I can only comprehend what I can control. What is beyond me is impossible. I had to start with the fledglings of the army and slowly work my way up. I never managed to make it to the Minotaur King."

"And what about now?"

Moose froze. At first, he didn't quite understand what Sylas meant by all of this until his eyes slowly widened.

"You..."

Until now, there was still some faint light at the corner of Moose's heart, a faint hope that he would be able to reverse things eventually. Albeit small and mostly forgotten, it was there.

Right this moment, it was extinguished-stomped out like an ant.

Sylas cared so little about him managing to become a threat in the future that he was actually offering him such an opportunity?

"I'll give you his True Name. What you manage to do with it will be up to you. I don't have the time to come back to Earth constantly, and it's obvious that my world's enemies have a strong foothold in the Demon World. You will take control of the situation here. You will lead this army of minotaurs to collapse the other bridges."

Sylas looked up.

"The time dilation here is not bad. There are two months left in the outside world. That's worth at least two years here. That is the amount of time you will have."

"You are... sure?" Moose asked.

He didn't mean to say these words out loud; he just couldn't believe it at all.

This power was unfathomable. Why wouldn't Sylas want it for himself?

With Sylas' current abilities, he could become a True Demon King-an existence that ruled over the Demon World with a fist that could blot out the skies.

Why would he give this to someone else?

In fact, if Sylas took this route, rather than needing fifty years to wipe out the Sanctum,

he would only need three. And even that might be conservative.

However, taking this route would mean becoming a Demon.

Sylas himself didn't care. He could mold himself to any society and creed. He could eat flesh and drink blood if he had to. Rape, pillage, rule-it was all the same to him.

But it wasn't all the same to his family.

There was one other reason he didn't take this route either-a reason just as important and one that would help him avoid suffering a loss in the future.

If all that was needed was a powerful Will to pull this off, Sylas didn't believe that this mysterious figure of the Purvon lacked one. So why the insistence on using external pawns? And why did all of this just feel like a setup to reach Demi-Godhood in the Real World, when they seemed to already have such a strong foothold in the Demon World?

Then there was the matter of the imprisonment of the Duchess and her people- Demons with powers beyond belief.

That question had loomed in Sylas' mind forever.

Like he had said, he always found it foolish when fantasy books wrote historical figures that had the power to seal Demons and monsters away but lacked the power to kill them. It felt like the worst sort of plot device and would never be a thing to play out in real life.

That was all to say that... if the Demons had been sealed away instead, and this Purvon genius was making painstaking efforts not to become one themselves despite all the strength it represented... The question was-why?

Sylas wouldn't be the guinea pig to find out. But he would gladly take all the hard work of this mysterious figure for himself.