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"Finally... finally, FINALLY! The true final battle everyone's been waiting for is about to begin!"

As a second figure materialized on Samudō's shattered ground on the arena's giant screen, the cat-eared referee girl's voice—already hoarse from six straight matches of commentary—once again echoed across the colosseum.

"First up! Representing the Old Demon Lord faction—the young man who claims to be pure human yet somehow entered Samudō—BOKUE KEIKAIN!!"

"And facing him, the one who now rules the entire Northern Territory, founder of the Current Demon Lord faction—the great LORD LEOHART!!!"

[YOUR MAJESTY, FIGHT!]

[YOUR MAJESTY, VICTORY!]

[YOUR MAJESTY IS INVINCIBLE!]

Compared to the previous six battles, the cheers that erupted when the camera focused on Leohart far exceeded anything before.

But this was perfectly normal. For demon realm citizens, what mattered most about a faction wasn't the faction itself, nor any particular officer within it—only the Demon Lord themselves.

One could even say that for the Current Demon Lord faction, Leohart's existence itself embodied everything the faction represented.

Of course, all this excitement remained confined to the arena, unable to reach the two figures standing thousands of miles away in Samudō.

❁❁❁❁

Scene shift to Samudō.

With Leohart's arrival, the two figures began what appeared to be an official standoff.

At least, that's how it looked to the audience.

In reality... they were just standing on separate boulders a hundred meters apart, having a chat.

"Finally made it."

Bokue picked at the corner of his eye.

"So have you guys found the signal source yet?"

"Not... yet."

Leohart pressed his lips together slightly.

"Luka and the others are searching at full capacity for the Council's location, but it's still in progress. We probably... need a bit more time."

His hesitation made it clear he had no real confidence in this "bit more time."

Bokue caught the implication and rubbed his forehead slightly.

"Still not ready? What do we do then—should we exchange a few moves for show? We can't just stand here chatting forever. The audience will demand refunds..."

"Hmph, naturally. I was planning to do that anyway, even without your suggestion."

Leohart's lips curved upward as he raised his hand. The dark greatsword Loki—which he'd wielded as a weapon before—materialized in his grasp from thin air.

"Perfect timing to continue our last duel!"

Huh?

Bokue instinctively leaned back slightly at those words.

Still, he managed to keep his composure, just scratching his temple as a reminder.

"Whatever you want, but don't forget we've still got the main course coming."

"I'm well aware."

Leohart lowered his stance slightly into an attack position.

He understood what Bokue meant. Ever since this decisive battle began, they'd been in open warfare with the Council.

Their side needed to trace the signal to find the Council's location, while the Council needed to stay hidden until they could spring something big during the final battle to wipe them all out at once.

This was the final moment of the final battle—they absolutely couldn't let their guard down now!

"Alright then, here I come!"

With a low shout, Leohart suddenly launched forward, the ground beneath his feet shattering instantly from the reactive force as his form vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye.

No—not vanished, just moving too fast for the naked eye to track.

WHOOOM—!

The torn air created massive shockwaves that scattered debris along his path, the visual effect resembling a sonic boom breaking the sound barrier.

The next moment he reappeared directly in front of the young man, body airborne with his greatsword raised high overhead, ready to deliver a devastating downward strike.

However...

"Oh~ Going for real, huh?"

In slow motion, Bokue maintained his hands-in-pockets stance, glancing up at Leohart who'd crossed the distance in an instant and now loomed overhead. He merely shifted slightly to the side.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

The blade—combining both weight and sharpness—finally descended. It grazed past the young man's clothes and buried itself in the ground, the resulting sword-wind storm carving a hundred-meter gash across the already fractured earth, adding yet another scar to this broken land.

Impressive and dramatic, but it had missed completely.

Having dodged the strike, Bokue spun three-quarters counterclockwise on the spot and kicked out, his sneaker sole—wrapped in magnetic field energy—landing squarely on Loki's broad blade surface.

CLANG—!

Shoe met sword, the impact resonating like a temple bell, sound waves condensing into visible ripples spreading slowly through the air.

Bokue hadn't used much force in this kick—for him, it barely qualified as an attack. At most, it was playful sparring level.

Yet even so, this level of force was still beyond what Leohart could withstand.

The young Demon Lord shot backward like a cannonball, man and sword together, his form breaking the sound barrier mid-flight as he crashed through three or four tilting tower ruins before finally embedding himself deep in a thick castle wall.

"Cough... cough cough..."

From the shattered wall debris, Leohart used his greatsword to support himself as he stood.

Demons were tough—he hadn't actually suffered any real damage, but the journey through all that rubble had left him rather disheveled.

Or rather... somewhat tilted.

He was, after all, the Demon Lord ruling the entire Northern Territory, and this battle was being broadcast live. Getting beaten this badly in front of his subjects—his pride took a definite hit.

"W-why are you dodging? Fight me properly!"

"Fight properly? Seriously?"

Bokue scratched his head.

"Just reminding you—everyone's watching our battle right now. If I don't dodge and they see your full-power strike can't even scratch my skin, wouldn't that be even more embarrassing?"

Leohart: "..."

He'd suspected this guy was incredibly strong, but to claim his full-power strike couldn't even break his defense—was that even possible?

Had to be bluffing...

❁❁❁❁

Just as the young Demon Lord was muttering internally, the young man in the distance—perched atop a broken flagpole doing his best lamp post impression—suddenly looked up, gazing toward the sky above.

WHAT WAS IT?

Leohart instinctively started to follow his gaze upward, but before he could complete the motion, an extremely intense magical wave filled with terror and despair emanated from above them.

The next moment, a summoning circle large enough to blot out the sky opened overhead. As that ominous magical power intensified, a mountain-sized figure descended from within.

It had three heads and six arms, sitting cross-legged, wielding twin swords and twin tridents, with hundreds of purple tails behind it forming a lotus pattern.

"Ah..."

Bokue opened his mouth hesitantly.

"No need to go that hard, right? It's just an exhibition match. You're pulling out your ultimate summon from one basic attack?"

"What's that got to do with me..."

Leohart snapped back from his shock with an immediate rebuttal.

"Oh, I get it. So this is the Council's surprise for us."

Bokue nodded.

"Didn't expect it so soon. Thought we'd have to wait a bit longer. Well then—"

He uncurled his fingers, clenching both fists.

[God-Slaying Overlord Fist]!

❁❁❁❁❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in a cave somewhere in the Northern Territory, the elderly demon's near-maniacal laughter echoed off the stone walls, so loud the ground beneath trembled faintly.

Madonis's eyes bulged as he stared at the screen showing Samudō, excitement causing fine blood vessels to burst across his sclera.

"YOU'RE ALL FINISHED, LEOHART! Old Demon Lord faction, Current Demon Lord faction—all of you can die! Prepare to meet your deaths as living sacrifices for the King of Heroic Spirits' descent!"

"Demon God Chaos—DESCEND!"

But before he could finish speaking, in the next second, the mountain-sized figure in the sky on screen simply shattered.

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