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ABSOLUTE DOMINATION.

Just as Venelana had declared in the lounge before taking the stage—she would secure the opening victory for this decisive battle.

Even though the fight's outcome had been predetermined before the battle began, the fundamental truth remained unchanged—in the demon realm, strength was everything. Even in a staged match with pre-arranged results, both fighters would still want to test their mettle against each other.

Hence, Venelana's speedrun demolition of the Ancient Heroic Spirit.

Her stunning performance left even the cat-eared referee so shocked that she only snapped back to reality after Venelana had already left the stage, hastily announcing the match results at the top of her lungs.

"Th-that was unexpected! The winner of the first match is—VENELANA!!!"

The referee's voice carried from the arena into their lounge.

At the same moment, Venelana—having just descended from the platform—returned to the lounge.

❁❁❁❁

The elegant milf was clearly in high spirits after claiming first blood through sheer skill, greeting everyone cheerfully the moment she walked through the door.

"Yahooooo~ First match secured!"

"Excellent work, Lady Venelana," Akeno Himejima bowed with a smile.

"That was amazing, Lady Venelana," Koneko added softly.

Meanwhile, Grayfia in her maid attire stepped forward with perfect timing, carrying a tea service.

"Lady Venelana, you must be parched after your match. Please, replenish your fluids."

"Mm, thank you, Grayfia-chan."

Venelana accepted the teacup from the silver-haired maid with a warm smile, taking a delicate sip before approaching her daughter, who seemed lost in thought.

"So, how did Mommy perform on stage? Pretty good, right?"

"Uh... yeah."

Rias nodded absently at the question.

To be precise, she was still somewhat stunned.

Her mother's display of combat prowess had completely exceeded her expectations. After all, her lifelong impression of her mother had been of gentle, nurturing warmth—she'd never even seen her mother argue with anyone, let alone engage in actual combat.

Seeing her daughter's vacant expression, Venelana pouted with mild dissatisfaction.

"Mou~ Rias-chan's reaction is so flat. It's not giving Mommy any sense of accomplishment. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to ask Bokue-kun instead..."

With that, she started walking toward the young man.

!

As if those final words had jolted her back to consciousness, a giant exclamation mark appeared above Rias's head. She blinked rapidly, then moved with lightning speed to intercept her mother, blocking the path between them.

"Wait, wait, wait! Mom, you're not going to..."

The girl's words trailed off abruptly. Rias paused, swallowed nervously, then continued in a more diplomatic tone after collecting herself.

"Mom, what exactly are you planning to do?"

"Hm?"

Venelana tilted her head in apparent confusion, as if completely baffled by her daughter's reaction.

"I'm not planning anything special—just wanted to chat with Bokue-kun about my performance on the battle platform. After all, our Rias-chan doesn't seem very interested in talking to Mommy anymore, sob~ sob~ sob~"

She even rubbed her eyes and pretended to cry.

"I... I wasn't ignoring you! I was just thinking about something!"

Seeing her mother's theatrical display, Rias twitched at the corner of her mouth.

Trying to show off her battle performance to someone—at her age, really? Who's supposed to be the child here?

Women really are girls until the day they die...

"However, this means the Current Demon Lord faction can officially begin their operation."

A voice came from behind them as Bokue rose from the wall-side sofa and approached the mother-daughter pair.

"That Luka you faced, Aunt Venelana, is the Current Demon Lord faction's technical researcher. He'll be handling the tracking of the Council's location. It was the right choice to only destroy the Ancient Spirit without harming Luka."

"Hehehe, well, it was something our Bokue-kun asked me to do~"

Receiving praise from the young man, the elegant milf's expression visibly brightened with joy.

But Rias's face, by contrast, didn't look so good.

"Wait... wait just a minute! What do you mean by 'our Bokue-kun'??"

"Eh? Isn't that accurate?"

Venelana tilted her head again.

"Bokue-kun is our Rias's boyfriend. Though they haven't officially held a wedding yet, calling him 'ours' shouldn't be excessive, right?"

"Mmph..."

Rias found herself speechless again.

Right, that was correct...

But somehow—maybe it was just her imagination—she couldn't shake the feeling that her mother's intentions went beyond simple family references, as if she were hinting at something else entirely. Though she still couldn't figure out what.

Just as the mother and daughter reached another stalemate, the arena's broadcast system crackled to life again with the cat-eared referee's powerful voice.

❁❁❁❁

"Now for the second round of the decisive battle! Both sides will select their fighters. The Current Demon Lord faction has already chosen their combatant—the man known as Lord Leohart's right hand—GENERAL GALD!"

Almost simultaneously, their lounge screen flickered, displaying a photo of the Current Demon Lord faction's chosen fighter.

It was the white-haired, bronze-skinned powerhouse who had previously supervised the excavation alongside Leohart at the dig site. His imposing, battle-hardened face and steely, determined gaze conveyed an aura of tremendous strength even through a photograph.

"What...?? It's actually Gald??"

Hearing Gald's name, Sheila shot up from the rear sofa in shock.

"It's really that guy!"

"What's the problem?" Bokue asked curiously.

"What problem? Gald might very well be the strongest person in the entire Current Demon Lord faction right now."

Sheila shook her head.

"From what I know, when the Current Demon Lord faction was deciding their leader, it came down to Gald and Leohart in the finals. Based on the battle situation, Gald should have won, but for some reason he chose to forfeit, giving the leadership position to Leohart. In terms of pure strength, Gald is undoubtedly the strongest in the Current Demon Lord faction!"

"Speaking of which, are we supposed to win or lose this fight?"

"Let me check."

Bokue pulled out the small note he'd received from Leohart before the matches began.

"Hmm~ According to our agreement, we're still supposed to win this round."

"So who should we send?"

"Me!"

While Bokue was still considering who to send to make the match look convincingly even, Kuroka had already raised her paw and bounded over.

"Bokue, let big sister handle this! I'll beat that muscle-head until he's crying for his mommy!"

"...Just make it look even. No need for the crying part."

That's right—if the enemy sent their strongest, naturally they should send their strongest too.

While Kuroka might not have the highest starting potential among everyone present in terms of racial advantages, she was the one who had received the most extensive and prolonged "Training."

She was their undisputed "Strongest" aside from Bokue himself!

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