Shortly after Adelio and Venenum's match was agreed upon, Guy placed the two of them at the center of the banquet hall and spread a barrier.
It was a barrier spell that used the space attribute to sever the inside from the outside and expand the interior to an absurd degree.
By human standards, it was the kind of barrier magic that would easily qualify as high-level magic.
Guy cast it effortlessly with a single gesture, then produced a wineglass from somewhere, filled it to the brim with blood-red wine, and finally spoke.
"There are no particular rules for this duel. If you wish to stop midway after proving your abilities, that is fine. And if you choose to follow [Survival of the Fittest] and kill your opponent, that is also acceptable."
If a Demon Lord took part in a duel, then naturally it had to be brutal and merciless.
Putting your life on the line was a given.
I hadn't been especially surprised. I'd already expected this from the moment Guy told me to fight Venenum.
Among monsters, battle was always built on survival of the fittest, and in hell, every fight was a blood-soaked struggle with your life at stake.
And even if I died here, I was a demon. It wouldn't be long before I could revive.
'Though I never planned on losing in the first place.'
Just as that thought crossed my mind, Guy raised his ice-cold glass high and spoke again.
"The duel will begin the moment the wine in this glass touches the ground. Both of you, prepare yourselves."
It was very similar to the old warrior custom of throwing a stone between two rivals and starting the duel the instant it hit the ground.
It really was a very Guy-like method.
'Feels like we're about to fight to the death.'
Maybe because my opponent was a monster who had earned the title of Demon Lord, the demon in me was boiling.
'If I think about it calmly, this is overwhelmingly disadvantageous for me...'
My opponent was a Cryptid, the original lineage of the insect-type race that naturally had poor compatibility with demons.
At the same time, he was a true Demon Lord who had reached the level of an [Awakened Demon Lord].
His intellect may have been dulled by that clown mask, but Cryptids originally fought by surrendering themselves to the battle instincts of a monster.
In other words, for a Cryptid, lacking intelligence could be both a weakness and a strength.
On top of that, I couldn't use the power of a Hero inside this banquet hall.
Guy still hadn't explained my true identity yet.
And I didn't particularly want to show Kazaream the power of a Hero, either.
Which meant the conditions were completely stacked against me.
But...
'...I don't feel threatened at all.'
I didn't feel like I was in danger in the slightest.
*
"Grrrrrr!!"
A sinister surge of magic power.
Even before the duel had begun, Venenum was already releasing [Demon Lord's Haki].
He was probably planning to crush my will from the very start.
'A Demon Lord, and he's already trying cheap tricks?'
Fwoooosh...!!!
But I answered by releasing [Demon Lord's Haki] myself and crushing his pressure in return.
'Compared to when Guy stands in front of me, this is far weaker.'
Guy's aura wasn't on this level at all.
It felt like an enormous [Divine Demon] large enough to cover the world was pressing me down with a single finger.
That was Guy's aura.
But Venenum's was so feeble and frail it couldn't even be compared to Guy's.
'It's laughably light.'
I drew the [Sword of the Conqueror] from my waist, completely shut out the sage's power I had gained from the [Hero's Egg], and refined the magic power I possessed as a monster.
Grrrr...
Across from me, Venenum also realized his [Demon Lord's Haki] wasn't affecting me at all. As he raised his magic power again, he gripped a different weapon in each of his four arms.
A massive blade and a long spear, both jagged like they were covered in thorns, in his two huge arms.
A giant axe and shield bound in purple chains in his relatively smaller pair of arms.
He had fully settled into a perfect combat stance.
.........
'[Answerer]. What rank are those weapons?'
"Answer. The four weapons possessed by the individual Venenum have all been identified as [Legend-grade]."
...All of them were Legend-grade.
They were completely wrapped in demonic energy, so I figured they'd be decent weapons, but I hadn't expected every last one of them to be Legend-grade.
Still...
'That doesn't matter.'
The [Sword of the Conqueror] was only Unique-grade, but it had been forged personally by old man Gran Dwargo, the emperor of the dwarves, and thanks to its inherent indestructibility, it would never break even against Legend-grade weapons.
And unlike our weapons, when it came to level of skill, I was far above him.
I'd spent years enduring extreme training under Guy. There was no way my level of skill could be low.
'I'm counting on you, [Answerer].'
I trusted my skills too.
The alter egos that had always led me to victory.
"......Answer. Of course."
.........
"...Looks like both sides are ready. Then..."
The hand holding Guy's wineglass slowly tilted.
"......"
At that, both Venenum and I turned our eyes toward Guy.
"........."
And soon, the gaze of every Demon Lord gathered there as well.
...
The wine slowly descended toward the floor—
drip...
—and became the signal for battle.
"Begin."
KWA-BOOOOM!!!
"Grrrrrrr!!!"
The instant the droplet hit, Venenum charged at me wrapped in sinister purple magic power and poisonous miasma.
It was a simple approach, one that made it painfully obvious he had no intention of blocking my attacks.
'...Well, against demons, who mostly specialize in magic, close combat is the standard answer.'
I didn't know whether it was instinct or just a method born of arrogance, but it wasn't a bad move.
If I were the kind of demon who could only use magic, that was.
'Dwargo Second Secret Art, [Earth Flower].'
Wooooong...!
The moment I used the secret art, the inside of the barrier shook as if an earthquake had struck.
Then the tremor transformed into beautiful golden magic power and took the shape of flower petals.
'Scatter.'
The petal-like sword strikes, shaped like marigolds, obeyed Adelio's command and swept brilliantly through the air toward Venenum.
"Grrk?! This is..."
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