Scarlet

The two continue clashing against each other, using magic alone at first. Then magic and physical attacks, which – to my and everyone else’s surprise – Aria doesn’t lose at. And after proving that they’re equally matched in term of physical strength, probably because Aria’s magic has a large focus on physical strength unlike Anthony’s, they both back away and begin the next part of their little battle.

Anthony begins to glow with the light of both void magic and death magic, whereas Aria glows with multiple different shades of blue light. And right after she begins glowing, her body begins to heal any wounds she had received in seconds.

I’m pretty sure I saw it before, but Aria’s physical capabilities are rather high. Most likely because her and her father’s magic is largely focused on krakens and transformation, alongside the healing aspects of it. Meanwhile I think I remember hearing that Anthony’s capabilities were more like Amelia’s. With a large focus on magic without as much physical focused capabilities.

So the sight of them having relatively equal strength isn’t too surprising. What is surprising though is their relatively equal magic along with it.

But that changes when he starts to use his death magic alongside the void magic. The healing she is undergoing quickly begins to fall apart and redo itself over and over again, leaving Aria gritting her teeth in pain as the two continue fighting.

Now though, the tides have turned. She is on the losing end when the death magic begins to cause necrosis all across her body, only for said necrosis to heal up thanks to her healing or regeneration.

And the sight of it leaves me clenching my fist so hard my claws pierce into my palms.

Maybe I’ll be having that talk with Anthony after all.

The blood from my palm drips, but I make sure to catch it and put it back into my hand before it can mess up whatever magic the Fae King is using to keep things together.

Aria and Anthony’s fight continues on for a while until eventually, Aria loses. And I almost lose my patience.

“Calm down, you know she wouldn’t want you stepping in or doing anything,” Tar points out, making me take a deep breath. “Especially since this is a duel.”

You’re right.

I must not go kick him in a place he’ll feel it next week.

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“I’m pretty sure if you kicked him, he’d die,” Tar comments with more than a little dark humor. “No, I’m serious.”

Okay, maybe not humor.

Maybe I can kick him really gently? Like, just nudging him with my toe?

“No kicking him,” Tar scolds while shaking his head from his spot floating next to me.

A pity.

Doesn’t stop me from glaring at him when he returns.

Anthony himself seems to shiver, likely from my glare, but by the time he looks at me, I turn my attention back to the Fae King, who is currently revealing the next pair of duelists. Which are actually Belle and some random demon. One that is at Class IV, the same as Belle.

But their duel doesn’t really last long, considering that Belle’s a defensive Guardian. Her skills are mostly mental barriers and the like. So her strong suit, while is pretty good at leveling, isn’t the greatest at a one on one duel.

So she is eliminated rather quickly, letting the next pair go up next.

And then the next after them.

And the next after them.

Eventually it ends up being a rather interesting duel, to say the least.

A duel between a Knight of Humanity, and a Demon Lord.

One between the Red Knight and Vorgrim.

An ironic twist if there ever was one.

This time the duel arena is nothing but some sort of scorched wasteland surrounded by black flames all around them. Likely because they both have the exact same magic, even if the Demon Lord’s level is higher along with his capabilities. Both of which give him a clear edge.

Honestly, this battle isn’t even a question of who will win. It’s a question of how long it takes Vorgrim to win.

Noah, the Red Knight of Humanity, couldn’t last against his son, even if Satan was powered up by the Demon Moon at the time. There’s no way he can take on the man’s even stronger father.

To my surprise, neither of them move once the duel begins. Instead, they both just stand there staring at each other. And Vorgrim is a hell of a lot calmer than I’ve ever seen him before.

Then again, he no longer has his Sin of Wrath driving his anger forward. So it makes sense.

Gradually, the excitement in the stadium begins to die down as the audience realizes they’re not fighting. And soon enough, all I can hear are whispers and mutters around the stadium.

Finally, Vorgrim speaks, “Noah Walker, Red Knight of Humanity and one of the people who was responsible for my son’s demotion. I am here to pay back a debt owed by my clan to yours.”

Not too surprising. He’s always been a bit of a-

“I forfeit this duel.”

-hothead… what?

My eyes widen in shock, meanwhile the whispers grow more numerous across the stadium. But to my surprise, a collective roar echoes out, making me look around to find each and every oni within the stadium raising a clenched fist to the air as they let out a roar of support.

I turn back to Vorgrim as he continues speaking to the equally shocked Noah in front of him, “It was because of my son that you were very nearly killed, and even though it was war, the slate needs to be wiped clean.” He bows his head to Red once and straightens up again. “This is the Oni Clan way.”

Right. I forgot about their obsession with honor. A rather ironic obsession considering their old Wrath.

“I’ve heard their honor came about because of their Wrath,” Tar says as we watch Vorgrim and Red vanish from the arena with the victory going to Red. “It came about from them wishing to restore their clan’s honor whenever one of their own lost themselves to their Wrath.”

That makes me think of how apparently Vorgrim’s father volunteered to help in the subjugation of Vorgrim not too long ago. Before I removed the curse.

Honor, huh?

Interesting.