Alright, let’s take a look at the positives first!

The reason why I started this whole match thing was to charge all the Devils’ Demonic Auras into the Seal.

With that in mind, it was a good thing that Riru was charging towards me with her Demonic Aura wrapped around her like, since the Seal would be charged with that Aura in real time while our fight was going on.

That being said, the negatives still existed…

“Still, you don’t need to go this far, no?!”

…I might actually die if something went wrong here.

My whole body went weak as I barely managed to avoid the hook that she fiercely threw into my side by a hairbreadth.

The Blue Devil’s Authority, ‘Pulverization’ would allow her to crush her opponent even with the slightest touch.

I had the King of Pandemonium to resist it, but that was probably why she had been attacking me wildly without an ounce of hesitation. But, I could still get quite hurt and turn into a mess if she got to touch me for real!

Hearing what I said, Riru replied quietly.

“Hey.”

Meanwhile, her chain of strikes were still going on like a storm.

…Her dead-looking eyes only amplified the terrifying atmosphere she exuded.

“Yeah?”

“You patted that punk called Seras' head before, no?”

“...Um, yeah?”

“The moment you did, she immediately lost her mind, she rolled on her back as if she was your pet, as if she could give you her everything.”

“...”

That was what we demonstrated in front of Professor Walter, yeah…

But why was she suddenly talking about that?

“Also, I heard you’ve been kissing that Faenol or whatever the name of that punk was?”

“...”

“Your face seems like you’re wondering how I knew this. Well, it’s because she kept bragging about it at every chance she had!”

Faenol…!

Trust is really the mother of deceit…!

What the hell has she been doing behind my back…?!

“And, what's worse…”

Riru went on. Now, not only did her eyes look dead, they also exuded a terrifying coldness.

“The things that you did to the Saintess and her sister, what were they again, can you tell me?”

“...”

“Doesn’t matter if you can’t, this punk sticking on my back already—”

“...Please ignore that, I beg you.”

Stop it…!

I beg you…!

My reputation would fall to the point of no return if you were to mention that here…!

“...Whoa…”

“Seriously, whoa…”

The students who heard everything from the spectator seat already started to look at me as if I wasn’t a simple trash, but something awfully lower than that.

Seriously, why is she acting like this so suddenly…?!

“But, the problem here is that…”

As I was drowning in my agony, Riru continued, her gaze was still cold.

“All of the other punks have at least one thing like that.”

“...”

“Except me.”

“...”

“I’m the only one… Who hasn't done anything hot and passionate like that with you…!”

“...”

No, wait...

Are you trying to tell me that you’re jealous over how I put another punk on a leash and walked her? Or how that one punk threw herself willingly at me while disgracing herself in front of the other people?

“I don’t care about the details, I just want you to do something to me. Anything.”

“...”

Riru…

Girl, please, what the hell are you on about?

“-W-Wait, Riru! Calm down—”

“Do you think I can just calm down?! Do you know how miserable it feels to only get to do something hot and sticky with you only in my dreams every day?!”

“...”

What? She dreamed of doing something like that every day?!

Also, why the hell did she say all that in front of all these people?! What’s wrong with her head?!

I knew I couldn’t say those words out loud, though.

Because her attacks only got stronger the more she talked.

“That’s why, don’t say those kinds of things! Because I’m desperate—!”

No need to say that out loud, I could tell…!

At this point, her movement had grown significantly faster compared to her ‘warm-up’ earlier.

-!

-!!

-!!!!

Some people in the spectator seat turned pale because the aftershock of the collision reached where they were.

My bones trembled everytime we exchanged our moves. Actually, it felt like my bones weren’t the thing that was trembling, but the whole building itself.

However…

…I can still stand this much.

While her attacks were fierce, I could somehow parry them all.

At this rate, I should be able to achieve my goal; To get her tired so that she could stop this whole thing herself.

[...Sorry to interrupt you, but do you have a specific reason for doing that?]

What?

[I mean, this is a spar, no one would say anything if you were to attack her.]

…Yeah, but…

The thing was, I felt instinctively repulsed…

Just the thought of ‘attacking’ someone close to me already brought me that feeling.

“...”

At least for me…

Even if I had to die…

I didn’t want to raise my hand against someone precious to me.

As I was lost in such thoughts…

Blue flames appeared in Riru’s eyes.

“-Even until now… All you’re doing is parrying…”

She said with a snort.

“Fine. I’ll stop holding back.”

After she said that…

The Blue Aura started wrapping around her fists.

But that wasn’t all.

“-!”

The moment I saw it, an indescribable chill ran down my spine.

That’s—!

Valkasus, come out quick!

[Uh, w-what?]

The answer that came from the Soul Linker sounded completely flustered, as I had just woken him up from his sleep.

Use all the Forbidden Sorcery you can use! Quick! For defense!

Even while I said so, I quickly took out everything I had to prepare for her blow quickly.

Everything, from Divine Shield that was created by Ultima, the Nullification Spells that I could cast with the Forbidden Sorcery Tattoos in my body, to my durability that had been boosted by both Iron Man Mastery and Desperation.

Meanwhile…

Riru raised her fist.

In this short moment of lull amidst the hectic battle, I could hear the audience’s mutters from where I was.

“...Uh, what’s going on?”

“Both of them suddenly—”

But, before that one person could finish their words…

Riru extended her arm.

Even though the world seemed to be moving very slowly in my eyes thanks to my skills, her blow was almost like a flash of light.

And then…

-...

-...

-...!!

Everything was torn apart.

The scene, the current state, everything that was between her fist and me was completely ‘pulverized’.

…Fuck—!

I could immediately tell how big was the force behind that blow and it made me feel nauseous.

Even the ‘air’ where she extended her hand was pulverized to the point that a void space was created for a moment there.

Before I could even finish a cycle of breathing.

Her fist was already right in front of my face.

-!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!

-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Whoa, whoaaaaak!”

“What is this—!”

Meanwhile, the entire building shook, as if it was being bombarded due to the shockwave created by the collision between her fist and the Shield that I had created.

Cracks were forming like spiderwebs on the walls and ceiling. Clouds of dust and rock debris fell down from up there. It only took the aftermath of that clash to partly destroy this entire building.

And…

I looked at her fist that had stopped right before my face with a stunned gaze.

“...”

This was…

The force that she let out just by standing there and extending her hand.

If this was a real battle, if she were actually trying her best to hit me…

My head would’ve burst out already…

“...Hehe.”

She then retrieved her fist with a grin.

“Seeing your expression made me feel proud. Shocked?”

Fucking hell, of course I was.

“...Yes. Yes, I was.”

I ended up using everything I had back then.

From the Shield that was created through Divine Power that had been adjusted as my stats got boosted by Desperation, One Punch through Law Power, and Nullification through Forbidden Sorcery.

If something went wrong, things would’ve been disastrous for everyone, even though I had used up everything.

Even though it was the Blue Devil's Authority that pulverized everything she touched, I didn’t expect that a void would be formed after the Authority got rid of ‘everything’ in her wake.

That kind of force would even threaten the lives of the people who possessed the title of Saint if they were to be hit by that directly.

“Did you mix your Demonic Aura with Law Power?”

“Yeah. I trained hard.”

Instead of elaborating further, she just smiled bashfully.

As if trying to say something like, ‘Ah, you noticed!’.

“...Still, you blocked that blow anyway.”

Only because I had seen it once before.

Kasa Garda. The Tribal Alliance’s Chieftain, the Fist Saint.

She had shown me something similar before.

Back then, she obstructed the state of the world itself with only her fist and Law Power.

If Kasa’s fist was refined, polished, and sublime…

Riru’s was way more violent and simple.

But, its ‘destructive power’ could match Kasa’s.

…Did she use the Demonic Aura to make up for the parts where she was lacking?

This was a matter of course, but…

She used the Demonic Aura, which only she could use, at the right time and somehow ‘imitated’ Kasa’s technique.

And she did that on her own.

“...I got to learn something from that. You’re amazing, Riru.”

It never crossed my mind to ‘combine’ Auras with other kinds of power like that.

As someone who was trying hard to increase my strength, this was huge. Hell, this was easily in the realm of enlightenment.

Basically, I got a new weapon thanks to her.

The fact that you could mix the Demonic Aura with another Aura meant that the power I could use, as someone who could ‘collect’ all Demonic Auras, was limitless.

“...Let’s skip the smooth talk. Ugh… Even so, I still can’t win against you…”

“You were the one who held back at the end, though?”

Yeah…

If she didn’t do that, I would’ve actually eaten that blow even though I had deployed all the defensive measures I could take out.

While I wouldn’t have died, I’d definitely get hurt from that.

“Idiot.”

Hearing my words, Riru answered with a grin.

“Do you think I’d really hurt you?”

“...”

“I’m also like you. I don’t want to hurt you because you’re precious to me.”

“...”

I didn't know how to respond, so I just kept my mouth shut.

It felt as if my chest was stabbed.

My head ached even more than her terrifying strike earlier.

“Besides, I didn’t come to win. I have no regrets.”

“Huh?”

“I came here knowing that I’d lose, you dummy.”

She said as such as she showed a painfully clear smile on her face.

So clear that it suffocated me.

“...I noticed you strangely seem rushed, as if you’re being chased by something.”

“...”

…Yeah, I was…

There was the thing with Count Nicholas and the Gray Devil telling me to get stronger…

I’ve been trying to adhere to a really tight schedule because something would definitely happen in the future.

But, I made sure that I didn’t tell or show anyone about this. How did she find out?

“Well, uhm, you know…”

She continued while scratching her head, with a blushing face.

“...I-I just wanted to tell you that… U-Um… Y-You don’t need to do everything yourself, b-because I also worked hard… I-I can support you…”

“...”

“B-Because you are… U-Um…”

Her stammer continued and slowly became a mumble.

“The p-person I l-li…I-I mean, you know, uh, someone I really li…”

“...Yeah?”

“...N-Never mind! What, do you have anything to complain?!”

Though in the end, she just yelled at me out of embarrassment.

I couldn’t say anything either this time.

Nor could I brush it off playfully like what I’ve always done. Because she had conveyed her feelings through her desperation.

As I could only stand there, awkwardly scratching my cheek, a voice was heard from the Soul Linker.

[Did you see that, Boy King? This bastard is all shy now…!]

[Oh wow, does that mean there is a little bit of humanity in him…?! That’s surprising…]

[Right?! He hasn’t completely lost it yet! He’s still a human somehow, at least he could feel shy after receiving someone else’s kindness…!]

“...”

Must be fun teasing me like that, huh?

You fuck—

As I thought so while glaring at the Soul Linker.

Suddenly…

A window that I hadn't seen for a long time popped up before my eyes.

< System Message >

[ Skill: Fatal Charm has been activated! ]

[ A villain is greatly interested in you! ]

[ Target ‘Nicholas Alte Grayber’ just watched the spar! ]

[ The favorability level has been upgraded to ‘Interest Level 1’! ]

[ Rewards are added to the Gift tab! ]

[ Target-related event will occur soon! ]

“...”

…I knew it.

It seemed like the person I didn’t want to meet the most had seen through the whole thing.