The Devouring Dragon-Chapter 77: Sirzechs Lucifer

As I held out my sword in front of me, staring into the furious eyes of Sirzechs, the chaos of the stadium around us faded away. My body tensed, and I was ready to fight with my life on the line.

In terms of raw physical ability and stats, I should wipe the floor with Sirzechs. While inside the stadium, which I had claimed as my [Territory], the stat boost I got was insane. Along with that, I was already getting a huge stat boost from my armor and sword.

My stats had also increased greatly in my preparation for this battle, and now, even if Tiamat used [Karma Control] on me I'd be able to handle her easily. I was far stronger than the man who had been running through the forest months ago, desperately spamming skills as I wore down the Dragon King.

On paper, this should be an easy fight. But that was only on paper.

As Sirzechs' dark aura flared around him wildly, disintegrating the very ground under our feet, I knew it wouldn't be that easy. This was a man who was considered within the top ten strongest beings in the entire world.

And, even more dangerously, it was a man who had put everything into the concept of 'elimination.' A man whose Power of Destruction exceeded any wielder in history, taking it beyond a simple power and evolving it into the very concept of 'elimination.'

If even Trihexa, the Beast of the Apocalypse, who could destroy not just the Underworld, but also the Human, Norse, and every other world, could be injured by this power, then I didn't trust my armor to protect me if he went all out.

Even if I outclassed Sirzechs in every other category, that didn't mean this would be easy.

I had Tiamat floating overhead as my insurance, but I didn't want her help. If I couldn't defeat Sirzechs alone, then all the reputation and fear that came from this plan would go down the drain.

Sirzechs made the first move, stepping forward as he lashed out with his hand. A large orb of destruction rocketed toward me, moving so quickly that I doubted the spectators could even keep track of it.

In response, I used [Quick Step] to dodge the projectile and let the ground behind me turn into a crater. I dashed forward, my grip on my sword tightening, and the battle officially began.

In an instant, a dozen orbs of destruction came raining down at me as Sirzechs lashed out again, and I danced between the projectiles as the ground around me became craters.

I could feel the heat from the orbs burning against my armor with each movement, but I didn't dare to stop moving. Each time I dodged, the very air around me shook and shimmered, as if the very fabric of reality was being torn apart by the sheer power of his attacks.

As I dashed forward and got closer to the man, his arms lashed out again. Instead of a ball of red destruction, this time it was almost like a wall - as if Sirzechs was throwing a wave of destruction in my direction. I couldn't dodge, so I simply swiped forward with my sword.

Unfortunately for Sirzechs, even if he was a man who could channel the very concept of destruction, it wasn't enough to burn away my blade. While Vargan's level might've been over twenty times lower than Sirzechs', fighting wasn't where he shone.

Calling Vargan a fighter was like calling Sirzechs a diplomat. He was decent at it, but it was far from his true calling. Vargan had been the Dwarven King for a reason, and his [Legendary] sword wouldn't crumble from anything less than Sirzechs' full-powered attack.

My sword cut through the wall of destruction, causing the black aura to disperse around me. The heat that came from the wave made me feel as if I had cut through a burning meteor, but I didn't let up my assault.

I continued forward, lashing out with my sword at Sirzechs' neck as I finally reached him. His hand flicked up in response, a black aura surrounding his palm as he surprisingly slammed his hand toward the blade of my sword.

My sword slashed into his palm, but stalled out as a flare of black aura pressed out from Sirzechs' palm. He took a step forward, ducking down as he moved his palm and broke the momentary deadlock.

The blade slashed over his head, and he lunged forward as his aura-covered hand shot toward my gut. I stepped to the side again, not intending to figure out if the Power of Destruction coating his hand was strong enough to break through my armor.

As his hand pushed past me while I dodged, my sword swung down at his neck from above, but a burst of black aura suddenly shot out of his body as Sirzechs' eyes narrowed lightly. I hissed as I quickly stopped my attack, backpedaling as a flare of destruction shot outward from his body.

That proved to be the right decision, as the entire area around Sirzechs disappeared into nothingness. The ground under him was there one second, and the next there was a ten-foot crater below his feet as he floated in the air.

I wasn't given a moment of reprieve as Sirzechs raised his hand, and suddenly dozens of black orbs appeared in the air above him. I knew from how Sirzechs had killed Creuserey in the series that he could manipulate his Power of Destruction without directly touching it, but knowing about it didn't make it any less problematic.

I was forced to backpedal again, dancing between the dozens of orbs that came shooting down at me. They slammed into the ground around me, disintegrating it as the arena started to look as if there was a meteor shower happening.

It seemed that he was starting to get serious pretty early on, so I should as well, right?

I flicked my wrist, my face tensing in concentration for a moment as a flurry of buffs caused my body to glow.

You have been buffed by [Valon]!

[STR Buff] - Your STR has temporarily increased by 120%

[AGI Buff] - Your AGI has temporarily increased by 120%

[END Buff] - Your END has temporarily increased by 120%

[MP Buff] - Your MP has temporarily increased by 120%

[LUK Buff] - Your LUK has temporarily increased by 120%

[HREG Buff] - Your HREG has temporarily increased by 120%

[MREG Buff] - Your MREG has temporarily increased by 120%

You have been inflicted with the [GoodLUK] buff!

My buffing skills had leveled up since my battle with Tiamat, and as a result, gave me even more of a boost than before. My body felt lighter, and I narrowed my eyes at the aura-shrouded Sirzechs as I cast my few debuff skills.

You have inflicted the [Frozen] debuff on [Sirzechs]!

[Sirzechs'] [Ice Resistance] has blocked the debuff!

[Ice Resistance] effectiveness: 95%

You have inflicted the [BadLUK] debuff on [Sirzechs]!

[Sirzechs'] [Magical Resistance] has blocked the debuff!

[Magical Resistance] effectiveness: 97%

Despite the fact that the two skills were much stronger than when I had used them against Tiamat, Sirzechs was still barely affected.

"You won't get away with what you've done, Beast King!" Sirzechs shouted, apparently not content to just stand there as I used my skills, "You won't leave here alive!"

He thrust his hand forward at me, and for a moment, nothing happened. Then, I felt as if I was standing in the center of a massive fireball.

I lashed out with my sword, spinning completely in a circle as a ball of black-red power appeared around me like a sphere. My sword cut through the aura, causing it to disappear as I didn't let Sirzechs give me the Creuserey treatment.

I shot forward, flicking my wrist upward as [Ice Conjuring] activated, and a massive spear of ice shot out of the ground right in front of Sirzechs. He waved his hand, blasting through it easily, but the small ice structure had blocked his vision for a second.

Sirzechs' eyes widened as I appeared in front of him much faster than before with the buffs, and he shifted backward from where he was floating a few feet above the ground as his aura flared out again. A massive ball of destruction formed around him, shooting outward as I had to stall out my attack and raise my sword to block it.

I clicked my tongue in annoyance as I backpedaled, barely avoiding the huge reddish-black ball as it ate away at the ground between us. The arena was becoming increasingly deeper in the ground as the fight went on, as Sirzechs didn't seem to care about disintegrating the very earth beneath our feet.

Getting an actual attack in would definitely be the most difficult part here.

Sirzechs' aura was deadly, and the way he could flare it out whenever I got close made landing a hit difficult. But I also had long-range attacks at my disposal.

I raised my hand as I stood roughly a dozen feet from Sirzechs, activating a flurry of skills in an instant. First, a blizzard started forming around me, filling the arena with blowing wind and snow that seemed to form out of nowhere as my stats increased even more.

I instantly contrasted that with [Flame Inferno], causing the cratered arena around us to start looking like the makings of an apocalypse. Snow and wind blew around the arena while ash and flames tried to overpower them, creating a whirlwind of elements.

I raised my hand as the snow and fire storms formed around us, and a fireball shot from my hand towards the Maou. A split second later, a beam of ice appeared in the air next to me as well.

After that was an onslaught - a beam of fire, then a burst of hellfire, followed by a burst of electricity. I spammed every long-range skill I had, creating a storm of elements that were raining down ruthlessly at Sirzechs.

However, if that was all it took, then Sirzechs wouldn't be the strongest Maou. He raised his hand, and a burst of his Power of Destruction blasted through my attacks and made them disappear as if they were nothing.

He didn't seem bothered by the forming storms around us either, and his body tensed as he went on the offensive personally. He shot forward much faster than I expected for someone who specialized in a long-range power, shooting toward me with his hand raised.

His hand lashed out as he approached me, sending a flurry of destructive orbs at me point-blank, but I shifted my body as I danced around them and stepped forward. My sword swung widely at his neck, but he ducked as he launched an aura-covered punch at my gut.

I stepped to the side, letting it burst past me as a black-beam flowed from his hand after the punch, and swung down at him again. The Maou was surprisingly good in close-combat, as he dodged my sword and stabbed forward with his Power of Destruction-covered hand again.

The next roughly twenty seconds were a flurry of exchanges, me stabbing at him with my sword as he tried to blow away my armor at close range. Neither of our blows landed as we danced around each attack, causing only the ground around us to become more and more damaged.

However, this was far more in my favor than his. I had a lot of skills to catch him by surprise, and catching him by surprise was how I was going to win this fight.

Sirzechs stepped forward, throwing a burst of destruction at me from point-blank, and I leaned to the side as the wave shot past me. I quickly raised my free hand, [Flash] activating as Sirzechs was suddenly forced to squeeze his eyes shut.

Unfortunately, it didn't create much of an opening for me, as he was far from stupid. His aura shot outward again protectively as he was temporarily blinded, forcing me to backpedal as I couldn't capitalize on the stun.

That aura of his was really annoying, and I was debating whether I should just try to tank it to attack or not. I wanted to keep my [Phenex Immortality] a secret until I could use it to deal a fatal blow, but I wasn't sure if I'd get the chance at this point.

"You're good," I said simply, smirking lightly as I raised my sword and pointed it at the aura-shrouded Sirzechs.

"You're annoying," Sirzechs hissed back, clearly still pissed off about the whole 'murdering half the pillars' thing. He raised his hand above his head, and a red-black aura formed on his hand again.

An orb of destruction appeared on his palm again, floating around his hand. However, instead of chucking the attack at me, Sirzechs just narrowed his eyes as it suddenly pulsed. The orb pulsated in his hand for a second, and then grew bigger - roughly doubling in size.

My eyes widened as the double turned into triple, and then quadruple. The orb continued to grow bigger and bigger, and I lunged forward as I realized I couldn't let him get off the attack. I trusted Vargan's sword, but I wasn't sure if I trusted it to hold up against such a potent ball of energy.

"Try cutting through this!" Sirzechs apparently shared my doubt, as his perpetually angry expression shifted into a light smirk as he flicked his wrist down.

At this point, the orb had grown big enough to cover the entire sky above me, and it was filling more than half of the rather large arena. It was as if a pure-black meteor was coming down at me from above.

I raised my hand, changing my strategy as I realized the fast-moving ball would reach me before I reached Sirzechs. [Light Barrier] was activated as one formed in front of me, and then another in front of that.

Dozens of barriers appeared in a row, layered over one another with only a centimeter of space between each one. I didn't want to expose that I had [Worthless] yet, and I wasn't sure if my understanding of the Power of Destruction was even enough to stop the attack, so I had to hope that the barriers would weaken the attack enough for me to break through.

That was looking doubtful as the massive ball burst through the barriers of light, smashing through them as if they were panes of glass. However, the ball of Power of Destruction did become a bit smaller as the barriers weakened the attack.

I hoped it was enough as I stepped forward, activating [Sharpen] to support my swing. I held the sword over my head, doing an overhead slash as I slammed my sword full power into the ball of death coming down overhead.

The blade met the black power, and for a moment, the world was still as our forces stalled each other out.

Then, my blade broke through, and the world's deadliest tsunami came flooding around my body. My sword provided a safe pocket as it cut through the Power of Destruction, but the wider ball continued downward as the ground around me was turned to nothingness.

By the time I had fully cut through the ball, a couple of feet of ground was all that was left remaining around me. The rest had become a crater, and the once flat ground looked like I was standing on the peak of a mountain within a large canyon.

That small bit of ground instantly vanished as Sirzechs flicked his hand upward, and I had to leap backward and float in the air as a reddish-black column of death rose out from the ground under me. It rose into the sky, creating a large beacon of power for a moment before it vanished.

As I glanced around at the remains of the arena, it definitely did look rather apocalyptic now. The snow, fire, wind, and ash were still lashing around and slamming into the shimmering barrier around us, and the ground was now one massive scorched crater. It was as if a meteor had crashed directly into the arena.

I raised my sword, pointing it directly at Sirzechs as we both floated above the crater. His long hair blew in the wind, and his expression looked angry as his attack didn't even scratch my armor. Despite the already long-lasting battle, both of us stood unharmed.

But, as per usual with a long fight, I was the one who benefited from it. I only had two planned ways to get through his aura, and both of them needed to be at the perfect moment, but if we kept fighting like this, I would come out on top.

He was throwing around his power carelessly, draining his energy far quicker than I was. Considering he had always fought with his Power of Destruction his entire life, I was sure he had more than enough energy to fight like this for days on end, but that was if his own attacks were the only thing draining his energy.

With every second that we stood in this arena, my armor slowly but surely drained his stats - diminishing his own power and increasing my own. If it came down to it, I could simply stall until I came out victorious.

However, that would be a rather boring way to win this fight. This battle was what would announce my rule over all of devilkind and what would force every other faction to fear me. I didn't want to win like that.

So, as Sirzechs was glaring at me with his furious gaze, I decided it was time to get to the second stage of our battle.

I shot forward, my sword flaring up as hellfire coated the blade, and I swung directly at Sirzechs' chest - intent on cutting deep through his armor and flesh. Sirzechs obviously didn't let that happen, and he lashed out with an orb of destruction aimed at my arm.

This time, I didn't dodge. Sirzechs' eyes widened as his Power of Destruction made contact just seconds before my blade would've cut through him - blasting through my armor, and then my arm, at the elbow, and turning it into nothingness.

-152,780 HP! (372,120/479,900)

Then, in an instant, my arm reappeared as flames shot out from the cut-off end.

+76,390 HP! (448,510/479,900)

+76,390 HP! (479,900/479,900)

Sirzechs' eyes widened as I suddenly healed, my arm instantly appearing in the air where it had been blasted away. My hand wrapped around the sword's handle again, catching it mid-air as my swing continued as if it hadn't been interrupted.

It was a testament to how skilled Sirzechs was that he didn't lose the fight right there. His aura flared out in the split-second of reaction time he had, slowing down my swing slightly as he tried to move out of the way of my sword's arc.

He succeeded - but not fully. The slash that was aiming to cut across his torso and turn him into a fountain of blood instead connected with his shoulder as he leaned out of the way - repaying the favor as the blade sank into his arm.

It continued, cleaving through the flesh and severing his arm at the shoulder in one fell swoop. His arm erupted in a spurt of blood as the limb started to plummet down into the crater below, and Sirzechs shot backward as his eyes were wide in pain.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Sirzechs]!

+28,000 HP!

+2,800 MAXHP!

+8,970 STR

+5,975 AGI

+4,770 END

+12,777 LUK

+3,978 INT

+27,520 MP!

It seemed I wasn't wrong about him having a lot of energy.

Sirzechs reached up, grabbing at the stump on the side of his shoulder with a hiss as his blood flowed down into the crater below.

"You underestimated me, Sirzechs Lucifer," I called out casually, causing him to glare at me as I smirked lightly.

He'd actually impressed me, as I had intended for that to be the finishing blow. It would've been preferable to cripple him before he assumed his True Form and end the fight here, but this was fine too.

I wanted all the devils in attendance to watch as I not only defeated Sirzechs, but it would be better if I did so while he was giving the fight his all. I knew he was holding back from releasing his true power because he couldn't control the form, but he would be forced to now.

"You can't defeat me in this form or your true one, Sirzechs," I continued, causing Sirzechs' eyes to widen slightly as I mentioned his True Form. "Kneel down now, and I'll spare your life."

I knew he wouldn't agree, and as his face became set in stone, it was apparent what he was about to do. I suspected that he feared that by taking on his True Form he would be able to defeat me, but then also kill all the other devils in the stadium in the process - thus leading the pillars to extinction personally, and killing his entire family.

"...You're strong enough," Sirzechs breathed out, panting lightly as he was in a world of pain from his missing arm, "Dragon King! When I kill your Master, you must kill me!"

It seemed that he either trusted Tiamat was strong enough to put him down when he rampaged, or he thought I was strong enough to wear him down enough for Tiamat to finish him off.

"You won't kill me," I shot back easily - slightly cockily - and raised my sword, pointing it at him from across the arena, "But you can try your hardest. You can be assured that I'll kill you before you harm your family."

Sirzechs gritted his teeth, but resigned himself as he knew he couldn't beat me like this. With only one arm, the relatively even battle would now be a beatdown. His eyes closed for a second, his breathing evening out a bit, and then the true form of Lucifer came to be.

When he opened his eyes, two pure-red glowing orbs replaced what had once been pupils. His aura started to rein in, no longer flaring around wildly as it was seemingly sucked into his body. It was pulled into his skin, and then it started to spin.

The Power of Destruction started to spin around his body, swirling over and over as it formed a protective bubble around him. Then, it shifted, becoming human-shaped as it coated his body - layering over it like a suit of armor.

Where Sirzechs had once stood, there was now a human-shaped form of pure black darkness. The only light came from the glowing red orbs where his eyes had been, and I truly felt like I was staring down a devil now.

Even his arm was repaired - well, not repaired as I wasn't sure if there was any actual flesh underneath, but his missing arm was now coated in an arm-shaped Power of Destruction gauntlet.

The level above his head changed, too, becoming much more intimidating.

[True Form] [Maou] [Sirzechs Lucifer] - Level 5,000

Considering how powerful his Power of Destruction was, and that Tiamat was getting an above-normal power boost from using [Karma Control] on Zekram instead of Sirzechs, I suddenly didn't doubt that the Maou was stronger than the Dragon King. He was a member of the top ten for a reason.

For a moment, Sirzechs - if the figure could even be considered Sirzechs at this point - didn't move. Then, in a split second, he was in front of me with his arm cocked back.

I hastily raised my sword, swinging forward and barely managing to block the pitch-black fist hurtling toward my head. My slash clashed into his fist, and my eyes widened as a burst of power came after.

While I was protected by my blade, a stream of pure-black Power of Destruction streamed around my body like an aftershock from the punch.

"D-Damn!" I faintly heard Tiamat shout above me, the dragon's eyes narrowing as she had to focus on maintaining the barrier as the aftershock slammed into it.

I thought I could still win, but perhaps I was the one underestimating Sirzechs.

I didn't have any time to think about it, as in an instant, a flurry of punches were rocketing toward my body. My hands blurred, barely raising my sword in time to block the burst of punches - which were raining down at me so quickly that it looked as if Sirzechs had far more than two hands.

Each one felt like I was blocking a cannonball with my blade, and I had to put my full force into each swing to block the punches. At the same time, my blade making direct contact with his blackened fists didn't even seem to faze Sirzechs.

Abruptly, Sirzechs shot backward, raising both hands above his head. Whereas he had been flinging dozens of orbs of destruction at me before, what could've been no less than a hundred large black balls appeared in the sky above him.

He knows he's a DxD character, right? What is this Dragon Ball-ass move?!

My body blurred, having to move at maximum speed to dodge the hundreds upon hundreds of balls raining down upon me. I shot through the barrage, my sword cocked back as the tip aimed at Sirzechs' gut.

My eyes narrowed as I was ready to use [Worthless], intending to focus it on one small part of the Power of Destruction surrounding Sirzechs to pierce through and catch him off guard. I didn't know how much of him was even sentient at this point, as he was still at least fighting instead of just unleashing his power recklessly, but I hoped it was enough for him to expect the coating to protect him.

I didn't get the chance yet, as Sirzechs shot forward with his arm cocked back again. His eyes seemed to flash an even brighter red for a moment, and I had a bad feeling as I lashed out with my sword to meet his even-faster punch.

The blade collided with his knuckles, stalling out for a second as the very air around us shook. The black aura around his hand flared out widely, and electricity filled the air as our powers collided.

Then, in a split second, his punch prevailed. It wasn't that it overpowered my swing - no, he was keeping up with me in this form, but he was far from stronger than me - but instead my sword that gave away.

His fist smashed through the blade, and in an instant, the top half vanished. The sharp tip vanished into the air, and the sword suddenly looked as if it was roughly sawed in half as Sirzechs' fist shot toward my face.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I wasn't prepared for the sword to break like that, and as such, I didn't react in time as the power-coated fist slammed directly into my helmeted face.

Unfortunately, the sword not being able to keep up with Sirzechs' True Form wasn't a fluke. In the split second it took for my body to be flung down into the crater, Sirzechs lashed out with another four punches that smashed into the front of my helmet.

The final one broke through, tearing away the monster-like teeth on the front and busting straight into my face. The fist made contact, and I felt like someone was pouring lava directly on my face as I was flung downward.

-98,290 HP! (381,610/479,900)

+49,145 HP! (430,755/479,900)

+49,145 HP! (479,900/479,900)

If I had reached up and touched my now-exposed face within the split second it took for my skills to heal me, I would've felt bone. The corner of my head was completely evaporated in an instant, and my bare skull was making contact with both icy-cold yet burning-hot air in the arena.

Luckily, my skills fixed that wound quickly, and I doubt anyone even noticed. I shifted my body in the air, landing in the crater in a crouch as I took control of my body again.

However, I wasn't given even a second to mourn my broken sword and helmet, as Sirzechs appeared in front of me the moment I landed. His fist slammed forward, smashing through my chest plate - and my chest with it, creating a hole where my heart had been.

-297,150 HP! (182,750/479,900)

+148,575 HP! (331,325/479,900)

+148,575 HP! (479,900/479,900)

Y'know, it's kind of a game-design flaw that I don't lose more HP for having my heart literally turned into nothing, but I won't complain. I didn't even have the mental capacity to complain at the moment, as I was in a world of pain.

That first punch wasn't the only one, and as the flames healed the hole in my chest, a barrage of punches came slamming into my front.

-252,550 HP! (227,350/479,900)

+126,275 HP! (353,925/479,900)

+126,275 HP! (479,900/479,900)

-271,570 HP! (208,330/479,900)

+135,785 HP! (344,15/479,900)

+135,785 HP! (479,900/479,900)

That flood of notifications repeated multiple times per second, and it's hard to explain the pain that comes from your flesh, bone, muscle, and organs being deleted and reformed over and over again.

So, I won't try. Instead, as my armor was being torn to pieces effortlessly, I realized I had greatly underestimated Sirzechs. Without my armor, I wouldn't be able to stall out and drain the Maou's stats, which meant I'd need Tiamat's assistance to beat the Maou.

But, I still had one more trick up my sleeve. I genuinely impressed myself by maintaining my composure with the pain ripping through me constantly, and I quickly shoved my hand down towards my crotch even as I was stumbling backward with every punch.

No, I wasn't going to whip out my cock to confuse the man repeatedly dealing fatal blows to me.

Instead, I had stored an item in my crotch guard - because I knew that was the one place where Sirzechs would never attack. As a fellow man, he wouldn't dare destroy my junk - even if I had just massacred half of the nobles in his race.

[C-Tier] [Sacred Treasure] [Baby White Dragon Scale] has been activated!]

[You will temporarily gain access to five skills!]

[Skills rented: [Singular Divide], [Singular Reflect], [Singular Reduce], [Flight], [Expunge]].

As another hole was torn in my stomach, [Singular Reflect] activated first. What happened next all occurred in a split second.

A hole appeared in Sirzechs' armor, taking the damage of the punch that should've destroyed my stomach. Next, [Singular Divide] activated as the armor instantly started to repair, slowing the process and cutting Sirzechs' insane power in half.

I'd been saving that skill in particular for his True Form, as I wasn't sure how it would affect him. If I used it before he unleashed his True Form would his power still be split, or would only his pre-transformation power disappear?

I didn't know, and I wasn't keen to find out.

The man stumbled back, taken aback as his own powerful blow was reflected into his weakened body, and that was the time I needed.

The thick coat of Power of Destruction surrounding his body was suddenly much less thick, and I knew it was my chance. I squeezed the other item resting in my free hand, which probably looked stupid as it was stuck down my crotch.

[[F-Tier] [Sacred Treasure] [King's Claw] has been activated!]

[You will temporarily gain access to five skills!]

[Skills rented: [First-Strike], [F-Tier Speed Enhancement], [Piercing Blow], [Momentum Boost], [Rampaging Beast]].

[Scalability] - [King's Claw] has recognized [True Form] [Maou] [Sirzechs Lucifer] - Level 5,000 as your opponent! 

The power of your rented skills has increased!

[First-Strike] activated as I hadn't given or taken a blow since using the [Sacred Treasure], and my eyes narrowed as a flurry of skills all powered up my next attack. This was my one chance, and I wasn't going to waste it. freёnovelkiss.com

My hand tightened around the hilt of my half-destroyed sword, which just had a jagged edge on the front of it now. It wouldn't be enough to break through Sirzechs' dark armor, or to even block one of his attacks, but it didn't need to.

Every power-increasing skill I had was spammed in that instant - [Piercing Blow], [Strength Boost], [Crushing Blow], [Powerful Blow], [Sharpen], and many more - everything except for [Rampaging Beast], as dropping my END to 5 for even a split second would cause me to die a million times over instantly from Sirzechs' aura. I didn't want to test if my [Phenex Immortality] could protect me from that.

[Momentum Boost] shot my arm forward, arching the jagged edge of my broken sword at Sirzechs' gut before he could hope to react. The finishing touch was [Worthless], and I narrowed my eyes as I willed for the destructive properties of his Power of Destruction to be made worthless.

I didn't know how effective it was, as I didn't know how good my knowledge of his Power of Destruction was, but I didn't need to know.

With his now divided strength, it was just enough. The black-aura armor covering his stomach faded for a split second, and the jagged edge of my broken sword slammed into his gut. It cut through his robe underneath, smashing deeper as it dug into his flesh.

It wasn't quite sharp enough to come out the other side, but it was enough. The jagged edge tore through the Maou's flesh, bone, muscle, and organs as a fountain of blood erupted from his front.

[Devouring Stab] has claimed stats from [Sirzechs]!

+70,000 HP!

+7,000 MAXHP!

+17,250 STR

+14,995 AGI

+12,970 END

+27,777 LUK

+9,528 INT

+57,970 MP!

For a second, the pitch-black figure didn't move, and I was worried it wasn't enough. Then, slowly, the armor surrounding his body started to fade. The glowing red eyes dimmed, disappearing as Sirzechs' normal, pain-filled pupils took their place.

He stumbled forward, falling down to his knees as he literally fell on the edge of my broken blade - shoving the jagged edge deeper into him as he gasped with pain. I slowly pulled back the blade, looming over the kneeling Maou as I cast a shadow over him.

Where I had entered the arena in my monstrous armor, I was now sporting only half of it. My bare chest was exposed to the world, my hard eyes staring down at Sirzechs, and my broken blade sitting in my hand. My lower half was still covered in my remaining armor, glinting as I towered over the Maou.

"You lost," I said bluntly, staring down at the kneeling and gasping man.

"I... did," Was all Sirzechs spit out, coughing out a glob of blood as he clutched at his bleeding front.

I slowly glanced over at the stands, taking in the various looks. They ranged greatly - Zeoticus Gremory watched in terror, Lord Phenex in a mixture of awe and disbelief, and Lord Sitri with fear and shock. Those expressions were common amongst the other uncharmed devils, however, my eyes focused on one in particular.

Rias' eyes locked with mine, tears in the corner of her eyes as she looked at me pleadingly. I slowly turned my gaze, looking back at the humiliated and pathetic sight of Sirzechs as he coughed out more blood while kneeling at my feet.

She was lucky I loved her, because her brother had pissed me off. He was far stronger than I had thought, and the fight hadn't gone smoothly - but, in the end, that was my fault and not his.

I raised my booted foot, stomping down on the back of Sirzechs' head and slamming his head into the ground. He slumped over, bloodied, bruised, unconscious, and surely about to die if he didn't get medical attention.

But he was alive. He wouldn't end up in my stomach just yet, but even Rias wouldn't be able to save him if he didn't make a contract with me when he woke up.

As my foot pressed on the top of Maou's head while he lay limp at my feet, I felt... disappointed. Not in him, but in myself.

He had truly been beating me in his True Form, and it showed me that I wasn't as invincible as I thought. Even with my [Beast King] title boost, the fight had been far too close.

I glanced around the stadium again, taking in the sight of the devils that would now be my subjects. I had taken a big step toward taking over the Underworld, and I had taken down one of the strongest factions in my way.

Despite that, there would be no time to rest. If anything, it was time to work harder than ever before to ensure I couldn't be defeated. It was a one-on-one fight this time because I had time to prepare so thoroughly, but it wouldn't always be.

From now on, I would have to work and train as if my life depended on it - because it did.

After all, for every second that I rest, my enemies take one step closer to the throne.

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AN: Thank you for reading! The next Chapter will be posted tomorrow!

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