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The date for the decisive battle had been set long ago—this wasn't some last-minute decision.

And so, time flew by to the next day. At exactly nine in the morning, Bokue Keikain and his group followed the address from the Council's notification to locate the battle venue.

The battle site was located over a thousand kilometers from the Old Capital—right on the border between the Current and Old Demon Lord factions' territories.

Under the scorching summer sun—a massive cylindrical open-air arena stood majestically on the borderlands, surrounded by small frontier towns.

Beyond the towering white circular walls, they could clearly hear the thunderous cheers and chants from inside.

Most of them were cheering for the Current Demon Lord faction.

❁❁❁❁

"This doesn't feel like a decisive battle at all—more like some World Martial Arts Tournament."

Bokue looked up at the arena's outer walls and deadpanned his observation.

"And knowing full well it's a fixed match, Leohart still brought this many people to cheer? He's taking this way too seriously."

"No, I don't think this was the Current Demon Lord faction's decision..."

Purple magic flashed as Sheila teleported beside the young man through a magic circle. She'd been walking behind with Sapphire and a certain maid who'd been holed up in self-imposed isolation for two whole days.

Hearing his comment, she came forward to explain.

"From what I understand, these are ordinary civilians invited by the Council."

"Hm? The Council?"

"During this time, besides building this battle arena, the Council has been blanketing the Northern Territories with propaganda about the final showdown. Today, practically every civilian in the North who cares about the outcome has come here."

"...What exactly are they planning?"

Bokue slowly formed a question mark in his mind.

But Sheila simply shrugged in response.

"Who knows~"

Soon enough, the group reached the colosseum's entrance.

Greeting them at the door was a rather scantily-clad, voluptuous cat-eared girl. Her tight-fitting outfit bearing the battle event's logo accentuated her sexy figure, and she immediately approached upon seeing Bokue's group.

"Hello, are you Mr. Keikain's party representing the Old Demon Lord faction?"

"That's us—"

"Then please follow me. The competitors' lounge is ready, and the matches are about to begin. Once you reach the lounge, please prepare quickly—the first match starts in about ten minutes."

"Got it."

❁❁❁❁

The scene shifts—

Bokue's group has been escorted from the main entrance to the competitor's lounge.

Called a lounge, but for some reason the vibe was more like a karaoke room—just wall-mounted leather sofas all around with a large magic screen up front currently displaying the arena.

Since the matches hadn't started yet, the screen only showed scenes from the spectator stands.

With nothing else to do, Rias and the others could only sit down on the sofas for now.

"Competitors, please take a look at this..."

The cat-girl receptionist who'd brought them here had somehow returned, now holding a magic crystal tablet.

She clearly intended to hand it to Bokue, but before she could reach him, Kuroka darted out from the side and snatched the tablet away.

"Ooh! This looks fun—does it work like human world tablets?"

"Uh... yes." Follow current novels on NoveI★Fire.net

Since the tablet had been grabbed, the cat-girl receptionist could only explain from where she stood.

"This is the competitor selection system. Before each match begins, you confirm the fighter on this interface. Once confirmed, stand on the teleportation circle outside, and it will automatically transport the competitor to the battle stage."

"Alright, got it. You guys try it out first—I'm going to check on Leohart's side."

Understanding the gist of it, Bokue nodded to show he understood, then vanished from the lounge in a flash.

❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in the Current Demon Lord faction's lounge, Leohart was still giving last-minute instructions.

Standing before him was a boy who looked like a child—a bespectacled youth with hands clasped nervously in front of him, toes touching together in obvious anxiety.

"Luka, you're up first. Don't be too nervous—the outcome's already been arranged. You just need to drag out each fight as long as possible."

"I-I understand, Your Majesty."

The boy named Luka answered timidly.

"Good, then there shouldn't be any problems..."

Leohart nodded with satisfaction, about to signal the boy to prepare for his match when he suddenly noticed an extra person had appeared in the lounge.

Naturally, it was Bokue who'd just teleported over.

"Oh~ so you've already decided who's fighting first?"

"When did you—"

Seeing the suddenly appeared youth, Leohart's mouth twitched slightly.

Sure, it was a fixed match, but couldn't they at least pretend a little? They'd already coordinated everything beforehand—what was with this direct visit to their lounge??

But before he could voice these complaints, Liala—who'd been lounging lazily on the sofa behind them—rolled over and bounced up. Barefoot, she pitter-pattered across the floor to stand before the three of them with a bright smile.

"Hehe~ Big sis was wondering when Bokue would show up. Speaking of which, according to the script, today's final match is supposed to be a showdown between you and Leo-chan, right? Big sis will be cheering for both of you~"

"Sis..."

Leohart grew even more exasperated.

If they already knew it was scripted, what was the point of cheering?

But saying that would definitely get him called a buzzkill by his sister, so never mind.

Swallowing his words, Leohart turned to Bokue beside him.

"Just to be clear—we'll lose the first match, but remember not to hurt Luka. He's important technical personnel—we'll need him for signal tracking later."

"Got it, I'll pull my punches."

Bokue made an OK gesture in understanding.

"That's all then. I should head back—the match is about to start, and I need to prepare a bit too."

"Yeah, see you later."

After exchanging final words, Bokue's figure vanished from the spot.

❁❁❁❁

Scene shift again—

Back to the Old Demon Lord faction's lounge.

When Bokue reappeared from thin air, the girls were huddled around the tablet, apparently discussing something.

"So, have we decided who's going first from our side?"

"Of course, we've already decided!"

A fair, slender hand rose from among the group of girls.

"Auntie's going first~ After all, as Bokue's [Queen], I have to fire the opening shot."

It was Venelana, raising her hand as she emerged from the group to stand before Bokue with a cheerful smile. Completely ignoring Rias watching from the side, she stood on her tiptoes and planted a kiss on the young man's cheek.

"Don't worry—Auntie will bring back a good start for us. Mwah~!"

!!!

While Venelana was happy, Rias—who'd witnessed the whole scene—widened her eyes in disbelief.

"Mother! What are you doing... how could you...??"

"Hmmmm?"

Venelana turned to look at her daughter, seeming confused for a moment before apparently realizing what she'd just done.

"Oh, I almost forgot about our little Rias-chan. Looks like Rias-chan is still a baby. Come here, Mommy will give you a kiss too~"

"I-I'm not talking about that..."

While mother and daughter playfully bantered, the arena's broadcast system announced the start of the matches.

"IT APPEARS BOTH SIDES ARE READY. THE FIRST MATCH OF THE DECISIVE BATTLE WILL NOW BEGIN—OLD DEMON LORD FACTION'S VENELANA VERSUS CURRENT DEMON LORD FACTION'S LUKA!"

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