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WHAT—WHAT JUST HAPPENED? WHAT WAS THAT?

Everything had unfolded so quickly that the audience still inside the arena couldn't comprehend what they'd just witnessed before it was already over.

They weren't physically present at Samudō—they could only watch the events unfolding on that eternal battlefield through the broadcast beacons the Council had set up in advance.

One second, Lord Leohart had been locked in fierce combat with that human youth. The next, a massive summoning circle opened in the sky, and a mountain-sized figure slowly emerged from within.

Then in the very next second, that mountain-sized figure simply shattered to pieces.

What kind of random nonsense was this?

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"Wait, that thing just now was—!"

In the lounge, Liala—who'd caught a glimpse of the scene through the broadcast screen—suddenly called out.

They were watching on the lounge's smaller screen. Though it received the same signal from Samudō's broadcast beacons, it was still an independent viewing window with some operational controls.

Right now the remote was in Venelana's hands. Hearing Liala's voice, she turned with a questioning look.

"What is it, Miss Liala? Is something wrong?"

Liala nodded. "Yeah... could you rewind it a bit? Not too much—I think I've seen that big thing somewhere before..."

"Oh, I see."

Venelana used the remote to rewind the broadcast a few seconds, stopping right at the frame where the three-headed, six-armed demon-like figure descended from the summoning circle.

Liala frowned in concentration, studying it carefully for a moment before slowly exhaling. But the furrow between her brows didn't ease.

"Just as I thought... This must be the Council's so-called 'TRUMP CARD.' I don't know exactly what it is, but Leo-chan showed me before—it's from a giant coffin they excavated from underground in Current Demon Lord faction territory under the Council's orders. They claimed it was a 'relic from the Demon God War era.' The feeling it gives me is exactly the same as this massive figure..."

"A RELIC FROM THE DEMON GOD WAR?"

Venelana tilted her head.

"So that's what it is. I initially thought it was a familiar your brother summoned."

"Well, whatever."

Kuroka looked completely unconcerned.

"Even if the Council prepared all kinds of backup plans, Bokue already punched it to pieces, right? It's already been taken out—what's there to worry about?"

"..."

"..."

Actually... she had a point?

After a brief silence, everyone in the lounge who'd been worried by Liala's words suddenly relaxed.

Though it might be a bit results-oriented to say so, who cared if it was some Demon God War relic blah blah blah? No matter how impressive the lore, what good did it do?

Still got one-shotted, didn't it?

However, just as everyone was thinking this, another voice suddenly spoke from behind.

"—No, it's not that simple."

Hm??

At that voice, everyone in the lounge turned to look.

Surprisingly, the speaker was Sapphire—the previous Demon Lord Wilbert's sister and Mio and Maria's aunt.

"Lady... Sapphire?"

Venelana raised an eyebrow slightly in surprise. She hadn't expected her to speak up at this moment.

After all, Sapphire's relationship with them was somewhat delicate.

On one hand, while the Gremory family was nominally her ancestral house, their ancestors had parted ways hundreds or even thousands of years ago. Now, aside from still having red hair, they had virtually nothing in common. Even meeting face-to-face brought no sense of kinship.

On the other hand, Bokue Keikain wasn't just her niece Mio Naruse and Maria's man—he was also the one who'd killed her brother Ramusas. Though his ultimate goal had been protecting Mio, the fact remained that he was her brother's killer.

Add to that the subsequent actions—occupying what should have been her family's Old Capital in the Northern Territory, eating and living in the royal castle...

Whether from disgust or simply not knowing how to face them, Sapphire had barely interacted with Bokue's group since they'd met two days ago.

Yet now she'd chosen to speak up.

"Lady Sapphire, what did you mean by 'not that simple'?"

Rias asked earnestly.

"It's complicated. Let me explain slowly."

Sapphire kept her eyes fixed on the screen as she spoke steadily.

"What we're looking at now—according to my brother... my eldest brother, the previous Demon Lord Wilbert's description—is the ultimate being who commands all ancient Heroic Spirits. The Demon God bearing the name of Infernal Flames, the King of Heroic Spirits—Demon God Chaos."

"So what?"

Kuroka snorted dismissively.

"No matter how powerful he is, my Bokue still shattered him with one punch, didn't he?"

"—You're missing my point."

Sapphire shook her head, continuing her explanation.

"The reason he can command all ancient Heroic Spirits is because he possesses the abilities of every Heroic Spirit—and he's stronger than any of them!"

"Remember that Ancient Heroic Spirit that boy summoned in the first match against Lady Venelana?"

"Hmm~"

Venelana tapped her lip thoughtfully.

"I vaguely remember. The destructive power was decent, and it had strong regeneration—probably High-Class Devil level. But it seemed pretty dull, with that pointy head..."

"That was just the lowest-ranked Ancient Heroic Spirit in Demon God Chaos's legion."

Sapphire's gaze swept across everyone in the lounge.

"What if I told you Demon God Chaos possesses power hundreds or thousands of times greater, and can summon High-Class Devil level Heroic Spirits almost infinitely?"

"WH—WHAT?!"

Venelana's mouth fell open in shock.

True, High-Class Devils weren't the strongest in the vast demon realm, but they weren't common cabbage either. The fact that the seventy-two noble families were collectively called the Seventy-Two Pillars of High-Class Devils proved as much.

Generally speaking, High-Class Devil strength was enough to protect a region. Even without noble birth, they could at least manage a town or even an entire city.

To endlessly summon High-Class Devils—even if only entry-level ones—would undoubtedly be a disaster threatening the entire demon realm!

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Just then, another wave of gasps rose from the audience outside.

[WHAT... WHAT'S HAPPENING?]

[WHAT'S GOING ON AT SAMUDŌ? WHY ARE THERE SUDDENLY SO MANY TELEPORTATION CIRCLES IN THE SKY?!]

Teleportation circles??

As if realizing something, Venelana pressed the remote to switch back to the live feed.

On screen, the mountain-sized King of Heroic Spirits on Samudō's ground had already restored itself and risen back into the sky.

Meanwhile, countless summoning circles lit up overhead, blotting out the sky as innumerable Ancient Heroic Spirits rained down like a torrential downpour—

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