A gamble disguised as a wager.
The outcome of that gamble, bound up with a [Contract] made with the Tyrant of Ruin, had been decided.
By the narrowest margin, in the form of my victory—along with the strange sensation that [something] had shattered.
After sliding [Overlord Black Star] back into its sheath, I let out a long breath.
'...That was far harder than I expected. If our physical conditions had been equal...'
In the end, I had won, but it had been a match I could easily have lost because of a single factor.
Right. If I hadn't had the [Body of a Sage], I might have been able to drag it to a draw, but I never would have won.
'...I set those terms because they were the kind Jonne would accept, but honestly, that was dangerous.'
I had needed to propose a wager difficult enough that even [Jonne] would find it convincing, but it had gone beyond merely difficult. It had been genuinely risky.
'I can't believe he's already grasped the secret of the [Oboro Style].'
I knew very well how high Agera's level of skill was, but even so, I had never imagined he would catch hold of the clue to a secret art through instinct alone.
At least it had been incomplete. If it had been a perfected secret art, even I would have been in real danger.
...Then again, now that I'd won, it still felt like I was in danger.
Crackle... crackle...!!!
"...How is this possible? I... we lost...?"
[Jonne] radiated vast waves of yellow magic power, her emotions a tangled mix of disbelief, fury, and obsession.
Anyone could see she was unable to accept the result.
But in her current state, she couldn't recklessly come at me the way she had rampaged in [Eldorado].
"......"
Agera had fallen before me, and through his 'defeat,' he had become [Subordination] to me. Which meant that if she wanted to undo that, she needed my help.
And since this duel had already been bound by [Contract], she couldn't reject the result no matter how much she disliked it.
"...The result has been decided, so it's time for you to fulfill the [Contract], Jonne."
In short, my position as the one holding the advantage had not changed.
Her pride in matters of combat was immense, and there was no way she would simply let Agera, one of her closest retainers, slip away like this.
...Humiliation.
Once again, the spark of humiliation flickered to life.
It had been a wager she had thought she could win.
She had believed that this time, at least, she would surely win—but the result was even more humiliating than before.
She had never imagined that merely spending a few years as [Rouge]'s subordinate could give him the skill to seize the highest seat in hell.
A few years ago, aside from his soul of nothingness, he had been an unremarkable demon. An [Arch Demon] with room to grow, but still painfully lacking.
But that was no longer true.
Just as she had felt when he first cut through the Abyss Core, he had become a completely different demon.
If not for the seven [Primordial Demons], he would surely have been the strongest demon of all.
...Then why?
'Why in the world are you trying to follow [Blanc]...?'
If he only made proper use of his own power, he could create a new eighth faction.
He already had a body. He could build a vast power base in the Central World.
...There was no reason for him to remain beneath someone else.
'...Why aren't you aiming higher? Why are you serving [that woman]...?'
Jealousy.
A sticky, murky emotion.
The desire to possess him, and the obsession that clung to it.
'...Damn it...'
She had never felt anything like this in her entire life.
Never once had she become so desperate over a single thing.
'At first, I only wanted his soul...'
But every time he revealed another kind of worth, her desire to have him only grew clearer.
She wanted to see [that woman], who always stood so loftily above everyone else, wear a face stained with humiliation.
And... she wanted a subordinate who would serve his master with such sincerity.
But now, it was impossible... no, it had become impossible.
The favor he would ask as the price of victory would surely be non-aggression. And after winning the wager, he would return to [Blanc]'s side.
"What I wish to ask of you is—"
While she stood with her head lowered, lost in thought, his voice gradually reached her.
Was it because she had realized there was no way out? Rather than wanting to resist, she simply found herself wanting to hear what he would say.
But contrary to [Jonne]'s expectations, he did not ask for non-aggression.
Instead, what he asked for was something simple and easy—hardly a favor that seemed particularly valuable.
"—while I'm in [Eldorado], I want you to share the authority over the [Netherworld Gates] with me, so I can move freely through hell."
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