As he continued to watch the match, Leon was able to build a picture of what was happening in his mind.

As Clement himself had stated, he was mainly focusing on speed, traveling lengths that shouldn’t be possible for such an old demon. His dagger seemed to rely on feints and tricks to cut into its mark.

However, the demon named Belial seemed to completely counteract his fighting abilities, as he was mainly using his scythe to make sure that Clement couldn’t get close to him.

“It seems Archlord and Charon are locked in a stalemate!”

Pretty soon, Belial began going on the offensive, exposing his style. He seemed to rely on using his scythe almost like it was water, shifting until there was no place where Clement’s dagger could penetrate.

He was like a fiery tornado.

Just as Belial seemed to push Clement back into the wall, Clement suddenly went so fast that he disappeared, appearing at the other side of the stadium.

However, his speed didn’t stop, he began leaping over great distances as Belial desperately began shooting out streams of hellfire at him. But not one flicker of flame reached Clement, as he ran in such a complex pattern that not even the announcer could see what was happening.

Soon, Clement reached Belial, lashing out at him.

[Hellfire’s First Step: Damnation]

The sudden onslaught of fire pushed Clement back, his armor cracking under the intense heat.

[Light’s First Step: Lightspeed]

As Clement activated his first Skill, he heaved his dagger, the metal crackling with lightning as it sped through the air, embedding itself into Belial’s armor.

For a second, nothing happened.

Until Belial’s armor suddenly shattered into a million pieces, revealing the Archlord’s muscled figure.

Belial roared, an intense aura spreading out of him.

[Hellfire’s Third Step: Inferno]

An explosive hurricane of fire began raging, turning up the soil of the ground of the stadium.

Clement reacted quickly, grabbing his dagger from the ground, and then defending against a triad of earth-shattering blows from Belial’s scythe.

As the two weapons clashed, the sonic boom from each hit sent the audience flat into the seats.

“Oh! Look! It would look like they are using their level 6 fighting styles!”

‘Level 6? I would hate to see someone use level 10.’

Turning to Alecto, he asked, “Is there anyone who has ever had a level 10 fighting art?”

Alecto nodded. “In demon history, there have only been two who have ever reached that level. King Asmodeus and King Abbadon. However, one of them is now gone, leaving only King Abbadon with the most powerful style that ever exists.”

Leon nodded, his attention turning back to the duel as he realized something.

‘Wait… is Clement losing?’

As Clement fought, his wounds outnumbered Belial’s by three to one. The reason was that the scythe could reach so far, while the dagger had such limited range.

Although Clement could get the occasional hit in, he had to take severe injuries to do so.

[Hellfire’s First Step: Damnation]

For the third time, Belial’s Skill sent a wave of fire towards Clement. However, Clement made no effort to block or dodge it.

He simply walked into it.

[Light’s Sixth Step: Gamma Ray]

“It would seem that Charon has used the Skill that helped him to become the General! The most powerful Skill in his arsenal!”

Following the announcer’s cheerful shout, Belial collapsed, blood spurting from his nose, mouth, and ears.

“AGHH!”

The scream tore through the arena as Belial desperately clawed at his face.

‘Oh.’

Leon finally realized why Clement had wasted so much Mana just to destroy Belial’s armor. Initially, he had thought it was just because it would have been easier for him to injure him. However, could it have been because Belial’s armor defended him from electromagnetic waves?

“It would seem that Charon has activated his Skill output to 100%! This would mean that the gamma rays can instantly kill Archlord Belial!”

Belial groaned, collapsing onto the ground. His skin turned a sickly green, his rich dark hair falling off, reducing the once-majestic Archlord into a quivering mess.

Quickly, a couple of demons wearing armor that closely resembled hazmat suits climbed down, creeping toward the twitching body.

However, as the demons reached the Archlord, the body’s twitching stopped, and one of the demons made a sign with his hands.

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The announcer smiled brightly. “It would seem like the winner of the duel is Charon, the ex-general of the King’s Army! The 7th Sector now permanently belongs to the Nephilim!”

As applause started and demons began moving around, chattering loudly, Leon followed, leaving his seat to follow Alecto.

“Where are we going now?”

“We’ll meet up with Charon. But not for long, he’ll need to rest for the next duel. After that, I’ll explain to you what’s going on,” Alecto replied, walking out to the stairs leading out of the arena.

“Sure.” Leon walked behind him, too stunned to start any kind of conversation.

‘How is Clement so strong? And to add, he's so old.’

As they both left the stadium, followed by alert gazes from the two Lost guards that were guarding the entrance.

Soon, they were once again attacked by the deafening noise of the Inner Districts.

As they stopped at a stand for lunch, Leon watched in pure jealousy as Alecto ate a hearty meat broth.

‘Agh… Let me eat…’

Seeing Alecto slap down some of those weird-shaped coins, Leon asked, “What’s the deal with the currency in this world?”

Alecto shrugged in reply. “Ours is pretty simple. There’s Rener, Aitall, and Sere. 15 Reners equal to 1 Aitall, and 1 Sere equals 15 Aitalls or 180 Reners.”

After nodding in reply, Leon again trailed behind Alecto, as they stopped at a triangular-shaped building that was all black.

Entering, they registered with the nurse inside the counter. After, they both took the stairs until they reached a room that smelled weirdly strong of silver.

There, nestled on the bed, laid Clement.

Wincing as he propped himself up, Clement looked at his two visitors.

“What do you want?”

Alecto took a seat on a stand. “Our leaders have finally decided on your plan. They weren’t too happy about trusting a human on such an important task, but what other choice did they have?”

Cement nodded. Then turning to Leon, he said, “Boy, I was lying about you having to do a speech. But I guess you figured that out already?”

After Leon’s nod, Clement continued. “We can’t force you to do this. Though I would appreciate it due to how much money I spent on you.”

Leon mulled it over for a minute. Although he wasn’t in a hurry to get in more trouble, if he declined, where would he go? He would be the weakest one in a land full of demons.

“I’ll do what you guys want. But for a price.”

Clement laughed. “Is all the money I spent on you not enough? I used up 15 Seres just for the Resurgences.”

Leon shook his head. “I get to get one thing of my choosing, or I won’t do it.”

Clement laughed harder. “Alright. You’re smart. Fine. Now, what I’m about to tell you is to stay in this room. If word of what you’ll do gets out, all of us will die. King Abbadon doesn't care about revolutions and such. But he won’t stand for what we’re planning.”

He continued, “You’re going to infiltrate an institute. Velereth is the best academy we can offer in this world. Inside the place, you’ll find demons that have parts of the Seven Cores. You must locate those seven demons and report back to us.”

“What’re the Seven Cores?”

Alecto chimed in. “The most powerful Mana cores in existence. King Abbadon developed them when he was in his prime. He gives them to multiple demons, who are known as the Ensnares. You should know how lucky you were when you fought Astarte. She had only recently been accepted into the Ensnares. If she was a bit older, she would have obliterated you.”

Leon nodded. “So when am I going to do it?”

Alecto looked at Clement, then nodded. “You’ll be going in a month from now. In that month, I’ll be providing you with the resources that you’ll need. And for King’s sake, get some more branches of your Skill Tree unlocked.”

Nodding, Leon clenched his hand.

‘I’m going to return, and get my revenge.’

‘I promise.’

***

Soon, Leon and Alecto arrived at a huge skyscraper that glistened almost like the scales of a dragon.

Alecto nodded at the Lost guards, then entered the building.

As soon as Leon entered, his eyes were nearly blinded by the flash of the gold chandeliers and silver-plated floors.

Alecto chuckled. “Who says that we demons can’t have beautiful and shiny stuff?”

Climbing the stairs, Leon felt his legs burn.

‘Why can’t they make elevators?’

Reaching a certain floor, they both entered a hallway that was quite similar to the ones that were in human hotels.

“This is your room. I’ll be sending a couple of Resurgences up here, so be ready for that. Oh, and I’ll take you to a doctor to check on why you can’t taste anything.”

Saying that Alecto left, entering another room a couple of doors left of Leon’s room.

Sighing, Leon entered his room.

And instantly felt tears enter his eyes.

‘I-its… it's a couch!”

Running up, he instantly leaped onto it, groaning in relief.

He removed his mask, relishing the soft air that was finally free of the smell of brimstone.

More carefully looking around the room, he noticed that it was rather simple, with a soft bed and a table.

Looking closely at the table, he noticed that there was a note and a package on it.

(Here’s another mask. You need a better one. This one is a Skill. And yes, you can transfer Skills by items. You have to eat it. - Clement)

Leon chuckled. He could practically feel Clement’s eyes rolling.

Tearing open the package, he found a small orb that looked almost exactly like a Resurgence. Swallowing it, he prepared for the metallic taste, wincing as it finally came.

[Charon, the former General of the King’s Army has gifted you a Skill!]

[You have been given the Skill [Hunter’s Seal]

‘Ooh!’

Activating the Skill, and then standing in front of a mirror, he smiled at the sharp mask that was sharply detailed by small marks of black paint. Now, looking at the mirror, his own eyes made his skin crawl.

It was like his eyes had become the abyss.

Remembering the Reborn’s mask just before he had killed him, Leon’s grin became more twisted.

Deactivating the Skill, Leon sat down on the couch, deciding to try and circulate Mana around his body more. Now that he had a Mana core, it was much easier.

‘But I wonder why it said 1/7 Mana cores…’

‘Could it be that I have 7 cores?!’

This was epic. He remembered Clement telling him how most demons had one core, and even the best only had at most three. But seven?

‘I better focus on my Mana.’

***

Astarte’s POV

It had been weeks since the ‘incident’.

I had yet to bring the human boy up to my father, but at least he had become less tense towards me.

As I trained in the gym, my hatred was still as fiery since that defeat.

‘Who was that human? How dare he defile me, an Ensnare?’

As I pummeled a wooden dummy with all my strength, I felt my Mana core expand considerably, supplying me with infinite energy.

Activating my Skills, I exploded the dummy’s head, reducing it to ashes.

Now that I think about it, my studies will start soon at Velereth. Although I was certain I would receive some ridicule because of my mistake, I would ensure I would be the best of all of them.

I straightened my combat gloves, smiling at my progress.

I was much more powerful than before.

I would make sure that no one would ever shame me again.