Leon woke up, muscles aching.

He reached inside of him, smiling as he felt the developed Mana channels.

He could now use [Mesmeric Trance] and [Heat Death] without too much trouble, able to maintain each for about 30 minutes.

He had also improved his swordsmanship. Although he did not have a sword art yet, Leon could now use his falchion with moderate consistency.

He pulled on his rough clothes, sighing as he remembered what day it was.

Clement woke up in the cot in the middle of the small cottage. “Damn boy, can’t you just let me sleep?”

Grumbling, he stood up, stretching his muscles. “I’m an old demon. Don’t wake me up so early.”

Leon ignored him, wishing that he could eat as he looked on as Clement devoured a sandwich made from savory eggs and meat. He had tried to eat of course, but it always tasted like sand, and it was tasteless.

‘Hopefully, I’ll be able to eat if I ever get out of this place.’

After Clement’s breakfast, they headed outside, squinting at the sun.

“So we’re going to the Inner Colonies? Anything I should expect?”

Clement mumbled, “Keep your head down, don’t talk to anyone, survive.” He summoned his dimensional storage, pulling out the same mask Leon had worn while going into the black market.

“Here, wear this again.”

With Leon’s face securely hidden by the mask, they walked out of the grounds of the protection Skill, arriving at a small rock embedded into the black soil.

“Why is there so much secret stuff inside rocks?”

“Do you see anything else out here?”

Leon looked around. ‘He has a point.’

Clement reached at the rock, activating some kind of Skill.

The rock began to glow yellow, runes appearing on the sides.

“Hold my arm. We’re going into the Mirror Realm.”

As soon as Leon complied, the world quaked and shifted, until it finally became shimmering and murky.

He began to feel sick, nausea rising to his throat, as a set of glimmering oval mirrors appeared in front of them.

And suddenly, both were pushed through it as sounds of cracking glass ensued.

As soon as Leon felt the hard ground beneath him, he quickly took off his mask, and he began to throw up, acidic white liquid sliding out.

‘Wh-what was that shit?’

Clement laughed, seeing Leon pitifully puking. “So weak body, weak Mana, and now weak stomach?”

Leon grimaced, flashing the middle finger at Clement. “Shut up.”

He got up, fitting the mask snuggly back into his face. Looking around, he could see that he was inside a stone room surrounded by pillars, almost the same as the one in the black market.

The stone door opened, letting in multiple demons, their horns flashing. However, these had wings, and jagged flaps of skin that jutted out of their spine.

“The ones that have wings are known as the Lost. They're the weakest of us all. The only real purpose for them is to be meat shields.” Clement mumbled, eyeing them, “but they could easily kill you, so be careful.”

Leon nodded, as the guards separated, revealing a figure dressed in a black robe, crimson eyes flashing. This one didn’t have wings, signaling that he was someone of importance.

“Ah… Charon. I didn’t think you would come so soon.”

They both did the pinkie thing that Leon had to do when he had first woken up in Clement’s cottage. As they did so, the demon removed his hood, revealing his face. He looked to be in his 40s, with multiple scars around his face.

“Now, come. All our leaders are in hiding. There have been multiple duels in the 24 sectors, but we have only won 4 of them. We need you for the duel in the 7th sector. If we lose that, we’ll lose this revolution.”

Clement nodded, motioning at Leon. “Keep this lad safe. I’ll go and get ready for the duel.”

Turning to Leon, he added, “You can trust this guy. He already knows who you are.”

Saying that, he turned around, exiting out of another door.

The demon turned to Leon. “I’m Lord Alecto. I’ll see to it that you’ll be safe. You’ll be giving a speech, so we need to go and make you seem as mysterious and powerful as possible.”

As they both headed towards the door, Leon asked, “Why are you all even trying to support my growth so much? There’s no way all you want for me to do is a single speech.”

Lord Alecto shook his head. “As you humans would say, that is classified. We’ll tell you in due time, however.”

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Holding the door, he opened it wide. “First, let me introduce you to the Inner Colonies.”

***

As soon as Leon stepped through the door, his mouth fell open in wonder.

Weird, but aesthetically pleasing triangular-shaped skyscrapers lunged towards the crimson sky. There were millions of demons walking, most having wings, but some confidently striding around without.

Most were staring at their hands, where a small device was showing a hologram image in front of them.

‘Is that the cellphone of the demons?’

As he walked forward with Lord Alecto, he became aware of the bustling noise. It was almost deafening. Street vendors shouted, while pedestrians laughed or screamed into the hologram cell phones. Leon also noticed the darker parts of the Districts, as he soon spotted a group of demons nestled into the corner of an alley, shivering due to lack of food.

“This is the 7th sector. We just won this one yesterday. It’s our pinnacle of strength as of right now.” Lord Alecto had to shout to be heard over the crowd.

“Yesterday? Why isn't there any damage then, if there was a war?”

Alecto laughed. “No, of course not. We don’t do stupid things like you humans do We instead do duels. As of right now, we own 4 sectors. However, there are 24 sectors in total. We need to own all of them to win this revolution.”

Leon thought back to Alecto’s and Clement’s conversation. “Isn’t Clement going to participate in a duel?”

Alecto nodded, a flash of worry on his face. “He’s going up against Archlord Belial. Although I’m certain Charon could have defeated him in his prime easily, he is now old. I’m quite concerned.” He shook his head as if trying to get rid of dark thoughts. “Come now. Our leaders are interested in what a human has to offer us.”

They both walked through the bustling streets. As they did so, Leon marveled at how it so closely resembled human cities, as if not for the obvious appearance of the demons, he could imagine himself back home.

Finally, they arrived at a small building inside an obscure alley. As Alecto pushed open the door, the entire building shook, as if something was happening.

Both entered, Leon wincing at the musty smell that reminded him of the room where he had arrived.

Looking around, he saw that the place he was in seemed much bigger inside than outside, with painted walls and a soft carpet. It was lit by multiple lights that appeared to be run by Mana.

“Follow me.”

Hearing Alecto’s voice, Leon began trailing behind him, fascinated by the feeling of the carpet. ‘To think it's been so long since I felt something so soft.’

Pretty soon, they both approached a door. Upon opening it, Leon found himself inside a room that was surrounded by thrones.

On those thrones, there were demons seated. All of them had a suffocating feeling, signaling that they were even more powerful than Clement.

Alecto strode forward, his gait suddenly tense. “I bring a human, from the lands afar. He seems to be in good condition, with his Mana skills moderate at best compared to one of our weakest. I believe he is perfect for the job.”

Some of the demons began mumbling, eyes flashing at Leon. Finally, one of them stood up, a demon with pure gold eyes.

“Lord Alecto, do you believe that this human is capable? Remember, there are demons in that place that could even beat you in a fight.”

Alecto nodded, glancing at Leon. “Although he may seem weak, humans are famous for being the most adaptive out of all of us. If we provide enough support, he should be capable enough to be able to infiltrate into the place.”

After a couple of minutes of more muted chatter, the demon once again stood up.

“Very well, we’ll agree to your plan. After all, there are not many other options.”

Alecto nodded, signaling to Leon that it was time to leave.

As they both left, Leon wondered why it took so little time for the demons to agree to Alecto’s plan.

“What did you sign me up for?” Leon asked, fidgeting with his clothes in worry.

Alecto sighed. “We shall talk in private later. As of right now, Charon’s duel is happening soon. We must go watch.”

“Okay.”

***

They soon arrived at a stadium, almost similar to the Colosseum that Leon had once seen on a vacation with his family. However, this was much more high-tech, with soft, cushioned seats, and multiple giant TVs that would show the duel in a closer perspective.

As they both sat down on the seats, a flying black drone provided Leon and Alecto with fizzy drinks, however, Leon’s remained untouched as he couldn’t taste it.

Soon, the applause started as two demons stepped onto the field. One was Clement, dressed in fine black leather armor, while the other - Archlord Belial? - was dressed in metal armor that seemed to radiate power itself.

“Wow! It’s Charon, the former general of the King’s Army against Archlord Belial, who was proclaimed to be ‘The Shattered Heart!’”

The announcer's voice echoed across the stadium, a cute girl that seemed to never get tired.

“Now… summon your weapons!”

Both nodding, the demons summoned their storage, Clement grabbing his dagger, while Belial heaved out a war scythe, its black blade dripping with a crimson liquid.

“And…”

“Let the duel begin!”

As soon as the words were spoken, Clement charged forward, propelling himself in front of Belial in a split second.

However, Belial reacted quickly, sweeping his scythe in front of Clement, and causing him to block the attack with his dagger.

[Hellfire’s First Step: Damnation]

A sweeping fire erupted across the stadium, causing Clement to activate his skill as well.

[Light’s Fourth Step: Photon Movement]

Clement disappeared from reality, turning his body into pure photons just a second before the fire crashed into where he had been.

He appeared behind Belial, cutting deep into a crack in his armor. Belial cried out, grabbing Clement and lobbying him into the stadium wall.

However, Clement recovered quickly, sending out multiple beams of light.

[Light’s Third Step: Bending Rainbows]

[Mana Conversion]

Leon leaned forward in his seat. ‘This is the combo from my vision!’

The light rays crashed into Belial, sending him down into a crater in the soil.

[Hellfire’s Fifth Step: Torment]

Clement suddenly fell, gasping in pain, as Belial struggled.

Luckily, it only lasted a second as Clement charged forward, seeming to abandon using his Skill Tree completely.

Both of them slammed into each other, blades flashing. They moved so fast that Leon couldn’t keep up with them at all.

Leon stared incredulously at the sight.

He remembered seeing an interview with a Reborn on TV, watching as they stated how battle arts were sometimes more powerful than Skills.

Back then he couldn’t believe it. How could a couple of sword swings keep up with blasts of magic?

Now, however, he could see why the Reborn had said that.

‘How long did they practice their arts to become this good?’