- Three Days Later -
In Phoenix Mansion
The wine glass caught the firelight casting crimson shadows across Riser's hand as he swirled it with a smirk on his face. Even resting on the velvet couch after the early morning training with his father couldn't subdue the growing anticipation for the duel in few hours.
Today, he would annihilate that pathetic human. Not just defeat—annihilate him! He'd grind the bastard's face into the dirt until the worm crawled on his belly, begging forgiveness before the entire Underworld. The fantasy played behind his eyes like a beloved fantasy movie he watched last night, each imagined humiliation more exquisite than the last. Perhaps he'd let the human grovel for a full minute before finishing him.
'Hm! The crowd would absolutely love it'
Across the chamber, Lord Phenex sat calmly as a responsible leader behind his desk, fingers steepled beneath his chin. The disappointment radiating off his father wasn't visible to him at all. Deep lines carved shadows into the old devil's weathered face, and his eyes calculating as usual, held none of Riser's amusement.
The fire crackled, a log collapsing in the grate with a shower of embers.
"Don't overestimate the Phenex clan's power, my son"
Riser's smirk faltered. He set the glass down with more force than intended, spilling some of it.
"This battle isn't merely between you and that human" Lord Phenex leaned forward, the chair creaking slightly "It is the Phenex clan's honor and future you'll be shouldering in that arena...I trust, you comprehend that this is no trivial contest, no game for your amusement"
"Father, surely you're not giving excessive significance to this... human?" Riser couldn't quite keep the sneer from his voice, the word 'human' dripping with contempt like poison from a viper's fang.
"And why, do tell, should I not?" Lord Phenex's brow arched at his son's ignorance. He spread his hands flat on the desk "This human succeeded where our finest medical researchers failed, he discovered a cure for the sleep disease that has plagued our kind since the days when our great ancestors walked the depths of the Underworld"
"Furthermore, he has crafted a potion that rivals...rivals, Riser, our sacred Phenex Tears, the very foundation of our clan's reputation and wealth. Only the Satans know what other alchemical miracles this human has concealed within his arsenal"
Thud.
Riser's fist clenched, as the vivid images of engagement party flashed through his mind. A montage of humiliation, that insufferable smirk on the human's face. The gasps rippling through the assembled nobility like a wave of shock. The shame that had clung to his skin afterward like a curse he couldn't scrub away, no matter how many purification rituals he performed.
A mere human had humiliated him. Dragged the Phenex name through filth and mockery before the entire high-class society. The memory burned way worse than any phoenix flame.
Riser shot to his feet, the couch groaning at his sudden movement. He stormed toward the desk, his footfalls heavy on the floor, fists trembling with barely contained rage.
"So what would you have me do, Father?! How am I supposed to—"
Lord Phenex raised a single hand, a gesture that commanded absolute obedience. The old devil's authority filled the room like an invisible pressure, making Riser's words die in his throat, swallowed by decades of ingrained deference.
Silence descended, broken only by the fire's whisper.
Lord Phenex reached into his desk drawer with deliberate slowness. Wood scraped against wood, a sound that seemed amplified in the sudden quiet. He withdrew a lacquered box, black as a moonless midnight, its surface adorned with gold inlay, with marks crawled across its surface, glowing faintly in the firelight.
He slid it across the table toward his son with the reverence reserved for hol- the unholy relics.
"Now that you have regained a measure of perspective, my son, I believe you are prepared to receive this"
Riser stared at the box as if it might sprout fangs and lunge for his throat. The gold inlay seemed to writhe in his vision, and a faint heat emanating from it. His father's eyes bored into him with an intensity that made him straighten despite his wounded pride.
"While tradition dictates that only the Head of the Phenex Clan should wield this artifact when our clan's honor and very future hangs in the balance—" Lord Phenex's voice carried the weight of centuries "—since you shall bear that sacred burden in today's battle, it is my decision to entrust this to you"
Click.
The box opened with a sound like a lock tumbling in a crypt. Riser's eyes went wide, his pupils dilating as golden light spilled across his face, bright enough to eclipse the firelight. For once—perhaps the first time in years—his arrogance crumbled like a sandcastle before a giant wave, replaced by genuine, breathtaking awe.
The light bathed his features, turning his blonde hair to spun gold, and for a moment, he looked like the legendary Phenex of old—proud, powerful, worthy.
Riser, the weight of our legacy now rests upon your shoulders. You must not fail. You must not falter. Restore what was taken from us, my son. Lord Phenex's thought hung between them like a prayer offered to ancient demon lords, with expectation and desperate hope.
- - -
- The Training Room -
CRASH.
The training room doors exploded inward, slamming against the reinforced walls with a sound like thunder splitting the sky. Sona gasped, her hand flying to her chest, glasses nearly sliding off her nose from the shock.
The destruction in front of her was beyond what she expected.
The entire chamber looked like a war zone, cracks across the reinforced floor in a chaotic display of madness, trenches gouged deep enough that carved through solid stone, chunks of wall and ceiling scattered like broken bones of giants. Scorch marks blackened sections of the walls. The enchantments that should have protected the space flickered weakly, overwhelmed by whatever force had ravaged it.
In the center of the devastation stood Motohama.
His right fist was wreathed in fading white light that flickered like dying embers, casting stark shadows across his features. A crow, no, something that resembled a crow was perched on his shoulder. As he turned to face her, the creature dissolved into black smoke dissipating into the air.
Sona's breath caught in her throat as her eyes met with his.
The boy in front of him wasn't the scrawny pervert who used to measure bust sizes with binoculars and idiotic grins. The boy before her stood at least two inches taller, his frame packed with lean muscle adorning his well built physique. His shoulders had broadened, his posture straightened with unconscious confidence.
She blinked twice, thrice, certain she was hallucinating...but no.
His features had sharpened, transformed into someone entirely different, yet somehow she knew...she knew it was him. But, his eyes were more intense still holding that calculating gleam in them.
He strode toward her, shirtless, and Sona's diamond like composure shattered like a glass.
Blush crept her face, crawling down her neck and burning the tips of her ears. She'd seen attractive people before, lived most of her life in a world of supernatural beauty, dealt with devils whose very existence was designed to tempt and seduce. But this was different. He was her age, flesh and blood and real, radiating enough raw presence to make her forget the fundamentals of staying calm.
"What... what happened to you, Motohama-san?" The question tumbled from her lips before her brain could process a better way to approach him. She tried her best to sound professional, not like some hormonal teenager.
Motohama reached into the air nonchalantly, his fingers tracing patterns that made the magic circle appear. A shirt materialized in his hand, conjured from the storage magic. He pulled it on, adorning and defining himself rather than concealing the transformation his body had undergone.
"It appears my latest potion enhances life force with each dose" He rolled his sleeves up to his elbows then gathered his longer hair back with one hand, tying it "In addition to granting approximately one hour of enhanced supernatural capabilities....This won't cause any issues for the duel, I trust?"
The question snapped Sona back to reality like a bucket of ice water splashed to her face.
She coughed into her fist, adjusting her glasses with perhaps more force than necessary, using the gesture to buy time while her brain rebooted. She shook her head quickly.
"No. The rules stipulate no such things. Personal enhancement potions fall within acceptable usage of you" Her voice came out mostly steady, which she counted as a victory. Then as if she remembered something very important, she fished the vial from her pocket "I brought it, like you requested it"
Motohama's lips curved into that infuriating smirk, as he extended his palm over the vial without making contact, his fingers spread in a precise configuration she watched it in awe which she kept hidden behind her stoic face.
Blue energy spiraled outward like smoke, dancing between his hands in mesmerizing patterns that defied usual magic display. The essence coiled, compressed, transformed into a single perfect droplet of concentrated power that he caught in an empty vial he summoned from his storage with a casual flick of his wrist.
The entire process took perhaps five seconds.
"My thanks, Sona" He nodded at her with what might have been genuine appreciation, pocketing the concentrated essence.
Sona pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, studying him like a particularly complex chess problem that refused to yield its secrets. Her gaze swept the demolished training ground once more, taking in the destruction with new context that raised more questions.
"So this was the foundation of your confidence?" She raised a brow, while looking at the destroyed training room she lent him "But I must confess, I don't fully comprehend your strategy. If this enhancement was your primary requirement for victory, why subject yourself to all the... other preparations?"
Motohama looked around at the destruction then acted like something was indeed a miss.
"Wait...Where are the others? I anticipated being welcomed by everyone upon completion of my training" His tone carried genuine confusion, perhaps a hint of disappointment "Where are they?"
Sona sighed helplessly.
"The others departed for the Bael Stadium approximately thirty minutes ago. The opening ceremonies have likely already commenced. We need to depart immediately if we're to arrive before the formal introductions conclude"
She turned toward the exit, her mind going through possibilities and probabilities, running scenarios that all ended in variations of no answers.
The weight of what was about to unfold settled on her shoulders. Whatever will happen in that arena would reshape the Underworld, either for better or worse.
She just hoped it's not the latter one.
- - -
[ The Bael Stadium ]
The Bael Stadium stretched toward the artificial sky like a colosseum built by satans drunk on power and bloodlust, a monument of violence that would make even the grandest human structures look like children's sandcastles.
Thousands upon thousands of devils packed the stands in a sea of excitement and noise. Their cheers bounced off enchanted stone that protected the walls of the arena. Banners hung from every tier, house sigils in various sections snapping in wind conjured purely for their position display to signify their high presence among low class devils.
Grayfia Lucifuge's hologram at the center of the arena appeared in a flash of silver light. Her presence commanded immediate attention, silencing the chaos with the authority of someone serving the Lucifer himself in both ways.
[[ I am Grayfia Lucifuge, appointed judge and arbiter for today's officially sanctioned Rating Game duel ]]
Her voice magically amplified to reach even the furthest seats in the upper tiers where the common devils congregated.
[[ The match between Riser Phenex of the Phenex Clan and the human known as Motohama shall conclude when one contestant formally accepts defeat or falls into unconsciousness ]]
She paused, her eyes sweeping the crowd with the kind of authority that made even high-class devils sit upright.
[[ Victory by death is expressly prohibited under the terms agreed upon by both parties and witnessed by one of the Four Great Satans. Any violation will result in severe consequences ]]
The eastern entrance exploded with a golden fire that scorched the very air, flames that didn't burn but announced the first participant.
ROOOOAAARRR!
Riser Phenex emerged like a conquering emperor returning from a glorious campaign, his crimson suit so perfectly tailored it might have been painted on his body. His blonde hair was styled to impossible perfection, each strand in place despite the flames that had just surrounded him. That signature smirk plastered across his face like he owned not just the stadium but the entire Underworld, and was currently considering eviction notices for anyone who displeased him.
The cheers swelled into the waves of sound that made the previous noise seem like a whisper. His clan's reputation preceded him like a herald announcing royalty, and every devil in the stadium knew what that meant- immortality, phoenix flames, power that laughed at death itself.
"PHENEX! PHENEX! PHENEX!" The crowd cheered his name until the very foundations of the stadium trembled.
Riser basked in it like a cat in sunlight, drinking in the adoration with the casual entitlement of someone who'd never known anything less. He raised one hand, and the crowd's fervor doubled. The phoenix flames blazed around him displaying the Phoenix family power, a reminder of what he was.
Then the western entrance opened.
Silence.
Absolute, dead silence crashed over the stadium like someone had cast a muting spell over sixty thousand devils simultaneously.
Motohama stepped into the arena, and every single eye in the stadium locked onto him with the intensity of starving wolves spotting fresh meat, of scholars glimpsing forbidden knowledge, of gamblers seeing their fortunes shift in one night.
He stood taller than their memories served, a scrawny human most of the Underworld nobility that would've dismissed him if it wasn't for him being useful. Several female devils in the audience forgot how to close their mouths, whether it was commoners or from elite noble sections.
But it wasn't just his appearance that commanded attention.
It was his presence. Something had changed, the aura around him felt different, like he existed in slightly different dimension than the world surrounding him. His eyes, no longer hidden behind glasses, scanned the arena with the casual assessment of a king evaluating the battlefield.
Riser's confident smirk wavered. His eyes narrowed, confusion and something that might have been genuine wariness flickering across his expression for just a moment before his pride reasserted itself. His fingers twitched toward the pocket where his trump card rested.
Motohama crossed the arena floor with deliberate steps. Not the stride of someone afraid, but of someone who knew exactly where they were going and what they would do when they got there.
He stopped precisely opposite to Riser at a certain distance. He gazed at the Phenex heir without saying a word.
The silence stretched until.
FWOOOOSH.
White light covered around Motohama's right arm, the familiar glow from the engagement party, the one that had humiliated one of the arrogant heir before the assembled nobility.
Recognition rippled through the crowd like electricity through water, spreading from those who'd been at the party to those who'd only heard the rumors, creating a wave of realization that crashed against every tier of the stadium.
"YEAAAAAAAAAAH!"
The stadium roared into noise that transcended sound, that made the magical barriers flare with strain. Devils screamed themselves hoarse, pounded their feet against the stands until the entire structure groaned, creating an earthquake of pure enthusiasm that threatened to tear the very foundations apart.
The sound wasn't just approval or excitement. It was bloodlust for what about to come next. It was anticipation. It was the collective desire of thousands of beings to witness something unprecedented, to see whether the impossible would become real before their eyes.
Grayfia raised her hand, as her voice cut through the chaos one final time, clear as a bell tolling judgment:
[[ The duel begins now ]]
The magical barriers flared to full power, sealing the arena with the crowd's roar of pure amusement.
And in the center of it all, two figures stood against each other, one wreathed in flames of rebirth, while the other in white glow of tremors.
. . .
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