[Akardia’s point of view]

To be completely honest, I had no idea where Nanya was getting her confidence from. This battle was not going to be an easy one. As far as I could tell from both the rumors and all the information I asked my subordinates to gather on this High Demio, he appeared to be someone who managed to reach the impressive level of 2000 and was known to have succeeded in subjugating all sorts of monsters.

Dragmator Avarice was a demon who sought power like no other demio before him. Both his family and his own personal desires pushed him forward to try to reach for a place in this world where strength was dominant. While my little daughter Sunsun said that Nanya would not lose even if she was attacked by all of my guards. For someone like me, that was not such a big feat.

On the other hand, this Dragmator Avarice managed to hunt down and slay beasts that have terrorized many villages and settlements, powerful monsters who would have given even my guards a hard time. Of course, I did tell my daughter all of this, but she didn’t take my words seriously, or rather she was too preoccupied playing with Sunsun.

Watching my daughter step into the Proving Grounds only made me feel more and more worry for her. There was almost no demon or demoness who would have wanted to openly support her. Everyone was rooting for the High Demio out in the middle of the arena.

He did save a lot of demons while he hunted down all of those monsters, but they were just lucky that he was there. They saw him as a hero, one who was about to squash the overly arrogant demoness who just so happened to have returned to this kingdom.

Everyone around us, they were cheering for that demon and not my sweet demoness.

“Mother, why do they hate big sister? Big sister is powerful and wise and...” Sunsun said as she looked up at me with teary eyes.

As the queen, I could not show my emotions to her, so I simply hugged her closer to my chest while I tried my best to keep my tail steady and keep it from slashing through the air. If it did, it would have shown my annoyance at the whole situation.

In the first, I was supposed to be standing there, not Nanya. I thought.

“Am I late?”

The one to ask this of me was none other than my husband, Graymore. He looked at me with his dark brown eyes that hid behind them a calculated and caring mind. Just like me, he had problems expressing his true emotions and often ended up getting in fights because of this. He had dark navy-blue hair mixed with strands of silver hair which he wore licked back over his scalp. It was cut short, and even now I still could not figure out how he managed to keep it like that. He did not have a tail, a pair of wings, horns, or hidden marks, he looked exactly like the humans from the sealed continents. The one feature that separated him from them was the fact that he could change his skin color into anything he desired.

This time, it was a light red tone, but he did not really have a preference. He called it a chameleon skin, which genetics he copied and modified from a species called el’doraw.

Graymore liked to wear normal casual clothes instead of armor. He often went out dressed only in a pair of pants, with a shirt on top and an overcoat that matched the color of his hair. He was a very strange individual when it came to fashion, but the most surprising thing about my husband was the fact that his level was still a little under 900. When I first heard about it, I was quite surprised, but apparently leveling worked differently with Dungeons, it was a way to measure kill counts and not combat skill or prowess.

To be fair, he was one of the very few so far who managed to defeat me in fair battle. I had plenty of reasons to believe his words, however, this was not the time to indulge in my husband’s peculiarities.

Looking back at him, I showed him a small smile and then told him “Nanya returned.”

“I know.” he replied and then sat down next to me.

“Daddy!” Sunsun jumped from my arms straight into his.

“Have you been doing well, little one?”

“Umu~! Big sister is nice!” she said with a nod and bright smile on her lips.

“Is that so.” he looked towards the ring and furrowed his brow.

Is he worried about her as well? I wondered.

Looking back at the ring, I saw that the battle was about to start. The two of them were facing off against each other, both of them wore their best armors, which in Nanya’s case was her Godlike armor. As for weapons, what she chose to use was...

“The sword I made for her?” Graymore reacted with great surprise to this sudden reveal.

Indeed, Nanya was wielding the weapon her father gifted her over a century ago. It was a weapon meant to keep her safe from evil Dungeons who might have wanted to harm her. He didn’t really care about the other species, but his kind was the most tricky and bothersome type to fight against since they could directly harm Nanya in various ways.

On the other hand, her opponent appeared to be using various types of armor pieces and was carrying a sword of a strange design.

“Those are all Supreme items...” Graymore said.

At first sight, a Godlike item wasn’t that different from a Supreme one, but the later had overwhelming abilities whether it was over an area of effect or on a single target. Nanya’s sword was in a way a Supreme weapon if used properly and unleashed to its full potential, however, this meant that right now, she was in trouble.

With a single attack from that thing, she could end up with her Magic Armor shattered.

“The Duel between High Demio Dragmator Avarice and Princess Nanya Demonarkiar the 2nd shall commence!” the demon that was there with them announced loud enough for everyone to hear.

In that moment, everyone present here stopped what they were doing and paid full attention to the battle below. Most of the demons and demonesses were capable of seeing and hearing what the two in the center were doing and saying, but those who couldn’t had to cast a spell that allowed to see the action on a reflecting surface which could either be made with the help of another spell or by having a mirror at hand. The Demonarkiars did not need to use such spells, we could perfectly hear and see what Nanya was doing even if she had been placed at the very edge of the horizon.

“I have to say, Impure, I am surprised that you decided to show your face today.” he scoffed.

That word... ‘impure’, it was an insult tossed at my children born from my love with my current husband. Most demons and demonesses did not see a mixed blood with good eyes that was why they all had to fight a lot more than all those pureblood demons and rise higher than any pureblood demoness. They weaved their own fate with their own claws, climbing up to the top of the mountain from the very base of it.

To say that my children were below any demon or demoness in anything was a foolish thing to do, although, maybe it was the fact that Nanya was so weak that this insult even managed to propagate to all the corners of the Demon Continent despite my best efforts to stop it.

“What? Did a nekatar got your tongue? Well, I am sure that those furry mongrels could even beat you with their eyes closed. Actually, I would like to make a proposition. Why don’t you just admit defeat before me right here and right now? Bow down your head, apologize and then... kiss my feet!” he declared with an arrogant smile on his face.

My tail whipped in the air, but with the exception of my guards, no one reacted to it.

“Bow... to you?” Nanya asked.

“Indeed! I am far more powerful than the Queen, and I came here today to prove just that! There’s no need for you step before me, just admit your defeat and let that mother of yours step forward to face me in the ring. I will then show you all the might of Dragmator Avarice!” he declared.

“...”

Nanya did not reply, but the large part of the demons and demonesses here were all stating their opinions, declaring Dragmator the winner before the first blow was a given. They did not care about my little girl, they didn’t see her as worthy opponent, and to a lot of them, he was a hero... a hero who saved them from powerful monsters. Unlike him, Nanya had no achievements to speak of, well... none recognized by the wide public. The matter of Solstark had yet to be divulged to them and there were a lot of demons who did not believe that she was the one who defeated that Duke of Chaos, rather, they thought it was impossible by all accounts.

“Can you hear them cheering for me and booing you?” he asked.

“...”

“Just listen... They speak my name with praise and pride! I am a hero, someone who proved his might against the mightiest monsters on this continent! Besides, don’t you think it’s a bit unfair that your mother remained queen for such a long time?” he asked.

“Unfair?” Nanya asked.

“Yes, exactly. She’s old, she’s weak, you saw it yourself. She didn’t have the guts to answer this duel herself, she just waited until you came forth to accept it for her!”

“Weak? Do you really think that?” Nanya asked.

“Yes! She had governed for far too long, so it is my duty as the hero of the demons to step forward and stop her!”

“Stop her from what?” she asked.

“From bringing this whole nation to its doom!” he shouted.

The demons were whispering, and everyone was wondering what he was talking about.

“How foolish.” Graymore said, but he kept his fist in a tight clench.

“I know...” I agreed.

Dragmator was just twisting facts and words, trying to get the demons on his side, but the laws of this country stated otherwise. No matter how much of a hero he was, the throne was not his to take unless all the Dukes of Chaos suddenly decided to gang up against me, and out of all of them, Entupia and Eventel were my beloved children.

“Do you bow down to me, Nanya Demonarkiar? Or do you choose to fall by my blade here in front of these demons and demonesses? Do remember that they didn’t come here to see a pathetic individual like you fight against a hero and High Demio like myself! They are here to see the battle of the millennia! The Hero versus the Demon Queen!” he laughed.

“...” Nanya did not give him answer, she just stood there, looking at him.

“What are you doing?” my husband wondered as he looked at them from a distance.

A moment later, the High Demio raised his sword up and then said “Then so be it.” and then the blade fell.

“NO!” Sunsun shouted.

I held my breath as I watched it fall hard upon my sweet daughter. Such an attack even if dodged at the last moment could inflict some serious damage on her, yet... she did not move.

 

BAM! 

 

The sound echoed throughout the whole area as the two of them were surrounded by a thick ring of dust that was blown away from the force of the impact, forming a barrier that tried to obstruct our view.

“You...” the demio said and then he moved his sword and struck Nanya again.

This time, I saw her flying out of that cloud of dust and falling on the ground far from the place where duel started. Dragmator did not give her a single moment to recover as he rushed up to her again. Another sword strike fell upon her, and she staggered on her feet. Then came the third attack and finally a blast of magic from close range, which exploded so powerfully that it formed a crater in the ground and rose the debris in the air.

Dragmator jumped back and for a moment, there was silence on the field.

Everyone looked towards the cloud of dust, waiting to see whether or not it hid the lifeless body of my daughter.

“You were foolish to go against me!” declared the demon.

“Why so?” Nanya asked as she stepped out of the cloud of dust.

There was not even a single scratch on her.

“W-What?” the demon was surprised but so were we.

How was it possible for her to survive those attacks? I wondered.

Even I would have suffered some damage if struck by that sword, but Nanya’s Magic Armor did not even shatter.

“You told me to bow before you, but who would bow to someone so... weak?” she asked with a bored expression on her face.

“Is that really... Nanya?” Graymore wondered out loud.

“That’s my big sister!” Sunsun cheered.

Down on the arena, Dragmator could not accept something like the weakest princess actually being one of the most powerful demonesses on this continent. Actually, was it possible that she was just as strong if not stronger than I was on a good day?

I wondered about this and probably Graymore did so as well, so we let this duel be the judge for us as well. In that moment, I stopped worrying about my little daughter and instead cheered for her to win, to show everyone just how powerful she had become. The weakest of them all proved everyone wrong.

“It seems that I went too easy on you.” Dragmator said and then began to charge up his Magic Energy into his sword and armor.

Nanya did not interfere and simply let him do his thing. When he was done, the presence he emitted was astonishing. He was incredibly powerful, more so than I had thought possible for someone like him. I held my breath as I watched the insane amount of Magic Energy overflowing from him. If I had fought him in my current state, I would have most definitely lost, but... why wasn’t Nanya fighting back?

“I’ll cut off your wings and send them to your siblings after I’m done with you!” he threatened.

“Big words for a so-called hero.” she scoffed.

“Enough!” he shouted and then rushed at her.

The first attack from his sword was so powerful that it sent a shock wave towards the tribune, forcing everyone to raise their barriers to protect themselves from harm. We did the same, but we did not take our eyes off the fight.

Another attack was sent towards Nanya, then another and another. She was struck again and again with such power that it made us shiver, yet my sweet daughter did not block or dodge any of them. For more than a minute, we held strong against the shock waves sent towards us, but this was more than enough to let everyone here know just how much power, how much force, how much Magic Energy was placed behind each strike.
Seeing this, even we began to wonder whether or not our beloved Nanya was still there, alive and well.

“Big sister...” Sunsun called out with worry in her gaze.

Graymore did not say a single word, just like me, he never moved his eyes from the battlefield.

When Dragmator stopped, he was huffing and puffing, tired from the constant attacks, but there was still a lot more fight in him. He flew up in the sky and charged up his Magic Energy in the palm of his hand, aiming the spell he was about to cast right at the cloud of dust that surrounded Nanya. We watched while holding our breath.

“DIE!” he shouted and released a composite magic, fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, darkness spears, light beams, and lightning bolts formed one powerful attack that was aimed right at my daughter.

The spells hit her at the same time, causing a powerful explosion that cracked the ground and sent a shock wave so powerful that it even shattered some of the barriers of the weaker tribunes.

What followed... was silence.

“No one could have survived that...” the demons said.

It was an attack of concentrated magic, so its power was leagues beyond that of a single regular attack. Not even I would have survived that unscathed, so I could only feel the sense of dread and horror as it rushed through my body. My heart was beating fast, and I felt like I was going to rush in there any moment now, but the one who stopped me was Graymore.

He placed his hand over my own and then told me “It’s not over yet.”

I blinked surprised when I heard this and then I turned my gaze towards the arena again. Far away from us, the cloud slowly dispersed, revealing the results of such a powerful magic attack. The crater was so large, so big, that it made me wonder whether or not I had underestimated the power of the attack.

Oh no... Nanya... I thought.

Then, as the cloud vanished, in that crater stood one demoness. Her sword was still in her hand, her armor did not have a single scratch on her, it was as if that attack did nothing.

However, the most shocking thing of all were her words: “High Demio Dragmator Avarice please stop messing around and attack me seriously.”

“What?” was what everyone shouted in shock.

Indeed, the only one who believed that this demon was not fighting seriously was none other than his adversary, my daughter. She took on his hits thinking that they were just some sort of stretching exercise? A spar even?

“H-How?” I asked in a trembling tone of voice as I got up from my seat, this probably being the most unsettling thing I had ever witnessed beside my husband singing in the shower.

The crackles of Magic Energy around Dragmator showed that he did not try to hold back at all, he did in fact attack with all of his might. I could clearly see this, so could everyone else, that was why it was so highly unlikely for her not to have noticed it as well. That demon wasn’t pretending to have taken a weak stance, he actually attacked her with everything he had.

“How?” Nanya shrugged and then looked up at him “I’m just far more powerful than you are.” she answered.

“Lies! As if an Impure like you could ever defeat a pureblood like myself! You are just a garbage cowardly Princess! You and your whole family are the same!” he shouted in anger.

“You know, attacking a demoness when she’s pregnant is an incredibly low blow for everyone. No one would have accepted your rule even if you won.” Nanya said and with this... she revealed my secret as well.

“How did she know?” I asked myself.

“Huh? What? You? What?” Graymore looked at me as if his thought process had been shattered to a billion tiny pieces.

“We’ll talk about this later, my dear.” I told him.

“Hm?” Sunsun looked up at me, but she probably did not understand what this talk was about.

I honestly would have wanted to keep this as a secret for a little bit longer, I wanted to surprise Graymore in my own way, but with that demio blabbering on like that, I guess... Nanya had no choice.

“So what? Neither her nor your own spawn deserve the light of day! This is our land not that of Impures!” the demon shouted in anger, but was it really wise to shout like that?

The fool just set his own reputation on fire. I thought and from what I could see from the demons and demonesses in the tribunes, they were not all too keen with this extremist philosophy.

For the most part, I did try to keep my country sealed off from the outside world, but that was mostly because I feared that they would get hurt by those who would seek to take advantage of the weakest of us. The strong could stand proud and tall, vanquishing their foes at every step, but what of those who were so weak that they didn’t even have a humanoid body or a voice to speak with? Those who looked more similar to the common monsters than they did with those present here? They were the ones who would suffer the most, and I could not have that.

“Hey, you do realize I’m not going to let you off for all that stupid stuff you just said, right?” Nanya asked.

“You’re not going to let me off?” the demon scoffed and then began to charge up a magic spell through his sword. “And what can an Impure like you do about it?!” he shouted.

“How did someone so foolish ended up so powerful?” wondered Graymore as he glared at him from a distance.

“He lived as a recluse. He trained in seclusion, constantly pushing his limits further and further, but he rejected all those weaker than himself. Despite people knowing him as a hero, that is only because he never stayed there long enough for people to know him. Nanya, in this duel, managed to reveal that truth by not fighting against him.” I explained.

“Oh?” he raised an eyebrow at me.

“Big sister not fighting is intentional?” Sunsun asked as she looked up at me.

I patted her head, and she giggled.

“I wish to believe so.” I replied.

Looking back at the battle, I could see that Nanya did not even try to make an effort in avoiding the attack of the demon.

“DIE!” he shouted.

From the tip of his blade, a powerful beam of light was formed, taking the shape of the very sword he held. The spell was aimed at my little girl and had the sole purpose of ending her life. He did not hold back even one bit, but what was interesting right now was the fact that the audience wasn’t looking at him as they did at the beginning. Instead, they were all looking at my Nanya. That foolish daughter of mine stood in front of his attack and did not move at all. She showed neither fear nor hesitation on her face.

It is as if... she is bored. I thought as I saw the spell connect.

 

BOOOM!

 

The spell caused a powerful explosion, sending a incredible wave of energy towards the demons and demoness spectating this fight. If it hit them, there would have been countless casualties among them, so I immediately flew up from my seat and spread out a barrier to shelter everyone from the shock wave. Upon contact with it, the cloud of dust spread upwards and then to the sides, while behind Dragmator it continued to the ends of the Proving Grounds.

This place was hundreds of kilometers in length and width, but the place where the main arena could be found was right at the very center of it. The field where those two fought was over a kilometer in diameter, but it wasn’t enough to contain their power. Then again, being able to survive all of these shock waves was also seen as an act of pride. Those who survived through my duels would often brag about having seen me from less than a kilometer away, but if I could have ordered it, I would have asked everyone to have their tribunes placed as far away as possible from the battle.

Now, these fools would just brag about having been saved by the Demon Queen.

However, even as I extended my magic to shelter these demons, my gaze never left my daughter, who was standing all alone out there in the middle of this wasteland, now filled with patches and cracks of molten rock.

Smoke was rising up to the sky and Dragmator, who was still up in the sky, was breathing hard, tired from all the energy he spent on that attack. Just like us, he was looking at the spot where my daughter was last seen. I had hoped that the attack missed her, or she blocked it, however, when the smoke cleared up, a most tragic sight befall me.

“No...” I said in a whimper.

“Big sister...” Sunsun said.

Out there, among the red cracks and molten ground, Nanya was laying on her back, a wound gash on her chest, her armor cracked and a trail of blood on her lips.

“Kuhahaha! I told you, you blasted Impure! There was no way for you to fight against me! I do not know how you managed to survive my initial attacks, what sort of devilish trick you used, but with this it was made clear! I am the victor! I am the strongest in this kingdom! NOW, your Majesty!” he shouted with the smile of a mad demon on his face.

“Will you shut up, already?” Nanya then said from the ground.

She... is she alright? I wondered as I looked at her, an expression of worry was probably revealed on my face. I did want for her to be safe, after all.

“Huh? What?” Dragmator replied with a foolish face.

“Sigh...” Nanya then got up and spat out the blood in her mouth. “That did hurt a bit. [Heal].” she said and then her wound closed right away as if it was nothing.

“You... what did you just do?” he asked stupidly as if he had never seen a healing spell before.

If it worked so fast, that meant the wound was not as serious as I had initially thought. That was why I let out a sigh of relief.

“I just healed the scratch you inflicted on me, what else?” Nanya replied and shrugged “I have to thank you though. You see, I had this wild idea that maybe it was possible to adjust your own Magic Armor depending on the opponent’s strike and thus not use too much Magic Energy during a fight. It’s tricky, I have to admit, but rather useless at my level. My students will probably find it useful though, especially if they use it against opponents that are usually more powerful than they are... I kind of underestimated that last attack though, it was slightly more powerful than I had expected, and it shattered my Magic Armor. I could have dodged it, but I wanted to test out my Godlike Armor too... Sigh... it’s far weaker than I thought. I’ll need to work on it again.” she began explaining as though all of this was just some bothersome experiment she had him unwillingly participate in.

“YOU! HOW DARE YOU MAKE A FOOL OUT OF ME?!” he shouted, but then Nanya vanished from her spot and appeared right in front of him.

“Will you shut up? You are annoying.” and then headbutted him.

The demon’s Magic Armor was cracked, and he plummeted to the ground with an astounding speed. A cloud of dust formed in the place where he crashed, and a small crater formed around him.

“Ugh... How?” he asked as he got back up and glared at my daughter, who was floating in the air without having her wings spread out.

Does she have an artifact that increases her strength and one that grants her flight? I wondered.

“This armor will only get in the way now. I’ll change to my husband’s armor.” she then said and absorbed her father’s sword as well.

Blocking our sight with an explosion of light, when it came to pass, Nanya had already changed to another set of armor and wielded another weapon. But her appearance was vastly different. I had never seen such an armor before but just looking at it gave off a feeling of intimidation. Red glowing lines flowed over its black and gray parts, it had smooth shapes that molded perfectly to her body, leaving not even a single crack open. The spikes of her previous armor were gone, but the simplicity of this one made it far more terrifying. It was as if it testified to its own strength, declaring boldly that she did not need excess ornaments to be fearsome, the red lights were good enough.

Then was her new sword. Maybe because the guards made her sheath her weapons, she never showed this one to me. Unlike an ordinary sword, its blade had an edge made from glowing red light just like the one on her armor. It was a two-handed sword with a thick double-edged blade, a thick pummel and an overall shape that seemed to scream of overwhelming power. Its very design was one that made me feel as though all the weapons I had seen so far were just some cheap toys in comparison to this, and to awaken such a feeling in me, that meant this thing my daughter was wielding was something absolutely baffling.

“Now then...” Nanya then said as she looked down at Dragmator. “Up until now, I’ve only taken hits, thinking that maybe you were just a little bit strong, but you turned out to be stupidly weak.” she declared.

These words of her caused countless murmurs among the demons and demonesses who were witnessing this fight. The High Demio had clearly shown his ability and strength through his powerful attacks. None of them were a joke and few here could even dare to be able to survive from even one hit from them. After all, they could barely withhold a powerful enough barrier to stop the shock wave generated from them, let alone the direct hit.

“What?” even Dragmator could not understand what my foolish daughter was talking about but then... something ludicrous happened.

“Shall I show you a little bit of my power?” she asked and then her cracked armor was repaired and the Magic Energy around her began to swirl and swirl, taking the form of a violent whirlwind around her.

The armor she was wearing started to glow as it was being fed insane amounts of Magic Energy, which made Dragmator’s attack earlier look like a child’s punch. The sword in her hand began to howl and then she released her presence. It came crushing down on all of us, but from the looks of things, only Sunsun was spared from it. I could feel it pressing down on my shoulder like a giant god that tried to stomp on me to bury me in the ground. It was powerful, intimidating, and held a feeling of superiority that made even someone like me feel small and insignificant.

The demons and demonesses in the tribunes could not withstand it as well as I and my husband did, so they either fainted or groveled on the ground in fear.

“Now then... This is my normal state.” she said in a soft tone of voice and pointed her sword at him. “[Boost].” she chanted.

In that moment, her presence spiked, and I found myself landing on the tribune below me. Graymore was holding onto the rails and the guard was desperately trying not to yield to it.

This sort of presence release was a bit unusual. Among demons and demonesses, this ability referred only to the state in which an individual allowed their Magic Energy to overflow out of their bodies while fueling it with their intentions. If you had complete control over it, you could even determine its radius around you or intensity. It was a way of making your own killing intent more noticeable towards others. Dungeons, on the other hand, released a crippling black smoke within their Dungeon Territory when they unleashed their killing intent.

However, this technique was merely a party trick because once you got over the initial shock, it was useless to keep it activated. That was why the demons here were already starting to recover. There were a few who returned to their seats, but I had to admit that it was quite impressive. It even took me by surprise. If this was used against weaker creatures, those under level 1000, for example, it would have been incredibly difficult for them to maintain their consciousness in front of this sort of overwhelming presence.

Presence attacks were used by very few demons in actual combat, because unless you were ridiculously powerful, it didn’t really have that much of an effect against them. Of course, it had no effect on the tiny life in my womb, it was protected by my own presence and energy, but even so, I had the feeling that knowing this, she spared me from experiencing the full force of this technique.

“Kuh! This cannot be!” Dragmator screamed and glared at Nanya, but then she vanished.

The demoness reappeared right in front of him and then roundhouse kicked him in the face, sending him flying far across the field, hundreds of meters away. She then gave chase after him, reaching him with ease in just a couple of steps. With the side of her blade, she smacked him back towards us. A loud boom was heard when he passed the speed of sound.

He was flying right towards our tribune, but just a few meters away from the barrier, Nanya appeared there and used her punch to stop him midair.

 

BOOOM!!! 

 

The explosion created by that hit was louder and fiercer than Dragmator’s magic attack.

The demon’s Magic Armor was shattered completely, and his armor was heavily damaged. No doubt he suffered some terrible injuries as he was spasming on the ground as though he had been zapped by a lightning strike. Foam was at his mouth, and you could see the white of his eyes. It was an overwhelming victory, but just before the referee for this duel could announce it, she did something ridiculous again.

“[Heal].”

That spell was targeted not at herself but at the demon laying at her feet.

“Kukah!” Dragmator coughed and spat out blood as his eyes returned to normal, but the moment they saw Nanya in her imposing black armor with red glowing lights on it, he flinched and trembled in fear.

“Oh, my~! It seems we misunderstood something, High Demio Dragmator Avarice. Just because we are fighting in a duel, this does not mean that I am not allowed to heal you, beat you up again and then heal you again.” she said these terrifying words with an elegant and ladylike demeanor.

“P-Please... spare me.” he begged.

I was not surprised by this sudden change in his personality. Dragmator was a demon who pretended to be an illustrious and high class demio, but in fact, thanks to his younger days as a recluse who trained without taking a break, he never got the chance to properly develop his own personality. If he tried to befriend other demios or even participate at their social parties, he might have seen that fighting in a duel with me right now had no meaning and there was also a proper etiquette for it.

Although the other High Demios did not retort to his wild behavior and lack of tact, I was certain that they were looking poorly at him for ignoring the proper way to go around challenging me. A test of power was accepted when I also at my best. If I was injured or suffering from a previous duel, I would be given time to recover. That was the etiquette, the code of these duels. If you went around it like he did, then the High Demios would just pretend to be on your side so that they could lynch you when you weren’t paying attention.

I had to respect the fact that Dragmator was powerful as a demon, but without being acknowledged by other demons and demonesses, it was difficult to even attain the power of a Duke of Chaos. After all, you would not want your city to end up being ignored by everyone else, right?

Nanya, in this matter, while she was being ridiculed behind her back, she was respected for being my daughter, and her status was no less than that of a High Demio. True, demons were free to challenge her unlike me, but no one wanted to have the glory of defeating the weakest among the Demonarkiar, although right now she had definitely become the strongest.

Another thing that my foolish daughter did was to make political allies of the Eventel Duke of Chaos, various merchants and other demios across the continent. True, her brother spread the word about her, but from the reports I received while she was playing happily with Sunsun was that her fame was rising fast. This duel right now was merely a place where various interested demio from across the continent came in order to determine if the rumors were true or not.

With this display of power, she had shown them that she was far more outstanding than those rumors declared.

What was more was the fact that she was now displaying the ferocity and mercilessness of a true Demon Queen.

The poor High Demio Dragmator was now beaten to a pulp by Nanya’s punches, healed and then beaten again. She continued like that for almost two hours, which led to a lot of the demons and demonesses here getting bored of seeing the demon beaten up and others to question if this was even necessary.

“And I’m done.” Nanya declared as she released her grasp on Dragmator and let the poor demon fall on the ground with all of his teeth broken, eyes swollen, armor shattered to the point that it was only scraps, and both arms and legs broken in four places. The proud and arrogant demon from before was nowhere to be seen; just a ground and pummeled slab of meat was left in his place.

During those two hours, Sunsun got really bored of seeing the demon beaten up, healed and then beaten up again, so she pestered her father into playing card games with her. When she heard Nanya speak, she immediately perked her ears up and rushed to the rail of the tribune.

“Oh? Big sister won!” the little girl declared with a bright smile on her face.

“Hm... I win.” Graymore said in a monotone voice as he placed his card down.

He then got up and walked up to the rail and picked up Sunsun in his arms.

The referee rushed over to the beaten-up body of Dragmator to check him out.

“Hm, now that’s a lot of damage.” said Graymore as he looked at him.

“He deserved it.” I said.

“I told you, big sister is strong!” said Sunsun.

“This duel is now over! High Demio Dragmator Avarice can’t fight anymore. I declare the winner to be Princess Nanya Demonarkiar the 2nd!” the referee shouted at the top of his lungs.

“You forgot to add Deus.”

“Of course, my apologies! I repeat! The winner is Princess Nanya Demonarkiar the 2nd Deus.

The demons did not cheer for her win, instead they all clapped. This was their form of respect and also the polite way of saying that they approved of the outcome and didn’t find any wrongdoing with the result. Nanya fought and obeyed the rules of the duel to the letter. Now, if Dragmator wasn’t so foolish as to have shown his true colors during this fight, maybe some of these demios would have refused to clap at this point.

From down there, Nanya looked up at us, and I didn’t know if I showed her a smile or not, but deep inside, I was really proud of my foolish little demoness who grew up to become so powerful. There wouldn’t be anyone now to stand against her. She was finally free of the scorn, laughter, and prejudice that was whispered behind her back all of these years.

It may have taken you 105 years to become like this, Nanya, but I’m so proud of you! I thought as I looked down at her.

“Nanya!” Graymore called out.

“Father...”

“Your husband, is he a Dungeon?” he asked.

Nanya looked up into his eyes for a long a moment, and without hesitation or fear, she replied “Yes.”

“Then call him here. I wish... to meet this fellow.” he told her.

“Nanya, I also wish to meet him.” I declared.

“Very well...” she closed her eyes and then took out something from her Inner Mind. It was a small item, which I had never seen before “I’ll call Illsyore here.” she said and then lifted the item up, but nothing happened except for the fact that it started to shine in a red light.