The Author's POV

While everyone focused on the empty grounds below, the crowd cheered raucously throughout the arena.

Everyone's attention was focused on a certain demoness as she stood in the middle of the arena with a bright smile on her face.

Opening her mouth, she emitted a sweet, seductive voice that filled the arena.

[For today's match on our left side we have DeathBringer, the current Emperor of the King bracket.]

As she spoke, the gate on the left side opened, and a demon appeared from the other side of the arena.

Seeing bat wings splayed across his back and a frame so enormous that it even put some orcs to shame, the crowd became even more enthralled.

"Kill!"

"Destroy that elf!"

"You better make me something you traitor!"

As he stopped in the middle of the arena, he did not bother to look at the crowd. Despite being a demon, he had no sense of attachment toward them. Rather, he despised them with all his being.

As he lowered his head to examine his right hand, his eyes lingered on a small black bracelet.

'Suppressor.'

It was an artifact created by demons that suppressed the wearer's rank. He had no choice but to wear it since the fight was between two Emperor ranks of different brackets.

The more he stared at the bracelet, the bigger the scowl on his face became.

"How fucking dare they..."

Flap—

He flapped his wings once, casting a huge shadow on the ground. An evident display of might by him.

In response to his readiness, the demoness reached across the arena with her right hand. There was an air of excitement in the crowd as her sweet voice swept through the air.

[And on our right side we have SilverStar, the current Emperor of the Duke bracket, and the challenger!.]

Slowly, the gates on the right began to rise. Unlike DeathBringer, SilverStar was met with a lot of hostility.

"Die you eleven scum!"

"I can't wait for you to die!"

"You better die, I bet a lot of money on you."

This was to be expected. Given their pride, the demons would still rather support someone from their own race over someone from another race, regardless of whether that person was a prisoner of war or had committed a hideous crime like ingesting another demon's core.

As SilverStar walked slowly toward the center of the arena, he ignored the noise from the crowd. At this moment, the only thing that was in his mind was his opponent.

DeathBringer.

As soon as he was a few meters away from DeathBringer, his feet stopped. As he stood at the opposite end of DeathBringer, everyone could see their differences in size.

It felt as though an ant was fighting up against a large monster. Their difference was incomparable.

While those who bet on SilverStar regretted their decision, those who bet on DeathBringer secretly rejoiced. The difference in size was enough for most people to feel more secure about their choices.

[Are you two ready?]

In that moment, the voice of the demoness was heard. The arena grounds instantly became intense as everyone stopped speaking for a moment.

"Yes."

"…Yes."

The two contestants answered at the same time. A satisfied smile spread across the demoness' face as she raised her hand and lowered it.

[You may begin!]

the crowd became even more heated and

"Yes!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

Crack! Crack!

figures scrutinized one another closely, cracks

disappeared from their

Booom—!

figures disappeared and reappeared in front of each other, an explosive sound echoed throughout the arena. Their figures soon reappeared in the middle of the arena, and everyone

his arm in a clawed movement, directly aiming for his head. His attack was fast and fiercesome, leaving

was not an

the claw, and several magic circles formed at the tips of each nail,

a couple of seconds as cracks soon started to

Crack. Crack. Crack.

the attack, the circle's power was not sufficient to stop the claw from reaching SilverStar's

the momentum by the time this had happened, so SilverStar only had to tilt his head to

was exactly

Swooosh—!

pushed his body back as a breeze blew and his hair scattered. With a simple wave of his hand, his hair tied back together behind

he aimed it at the demon. A large magic circle formed at the

an elegant tap of his staff,

"Here."

circle transforming into a blue transparent energy beam

at the incoming

"Hmph."

expanding his wing, a majestic black hue began to form out his body.

squeezed into a fist, and the beam headed toward him was directly dispersed in the air, much to the

he quickly followed up with his own attack. Raising his hand that was clenched into a fist, he

crowd. The opposite could be

casual, and only SilverStar could sense the strength underlying

magic circles materialized next to him, forming a large shield around him. The punch

Bang—!

sound, the shield started to ripple as

Crack.

supplement the depleting

Crack.

form on the shield. It wasn't long before a glass-shattering sound echoed out, and the first shield

"Kh..."

a step back and blood started to seep down his

teeth, he continued to

Crash—!

collapsed, causing SilverStar's face to pale

enough as a smile soon formed

because after the second barrier collapsed, the attack finally ceased, leaving behind one last barrier. As SilverStar glanced at DeathBringer, he could hear the

head to look at the crowd, he could feel their malice-filled eyes and words wishing him

was honestly

had become too much for

teeth tightly. However, his anger disappeared as fast as it appeared. Taking a deep breath,

head he glanced toward one of the platforms. After a while, a soft smile appeared on his

'I should start now.'

front of him. In the meantime, DeathBringer had already rushed in his

then that something

and a horrified look appeared on

happened so fast that no one was able to notice it.

"Goodbye."

stand stopped moving and looked at one another as a bright wave of energy shot

***

the spell, Lightning Dragon snapped his eyes open. His attention quickly turned toward the arena grounds below and

"Hmmm..."

bracelet that rested on Deathbringer, his eyes flashed in a certain hue before they

"I see..."

to gaze in a certain direction.

and lazy eyes sharpened for a brief

Dragon saw SilverStar standing in the middle of the arena with a cold

was clear that in that short moment he had turned to look