Inside a building resembling the ancient Roman Colosseum, Diodora glared at Haru, his eyes filled with hatred.
Haru, however, looked utterly bored, his body relaxed, as if he were about to fall asleep.
Ajuka's voice boomed from the sky above.
"Greetings, everyone. I am Ajuka Beelzebub, the judge for this match between Haru and Diodora."
"In the name of the Maou Beelzebub, I shall oversee this duel. Now, let's get straight to the point. The arena, as you can see, is modeled after the Roman Colosseum."
"Haru will be competing alone, while Diodora's peerage is unlimited. The match ends when one side is either incapacitated or dead. A final note: at the request of both participants, this is a deathmatch. There will be no protective measures. Now, begin!"
The moment the match began, Diodora pulled a small, ouroboros-shaped object from his pocket and swallowed it whole.
"What?!" Ajuka and Sirzechs, watching from the stands, shot to their feet.
"What's wrong? Is there something unusual about that object, Beelzebub-sama?" one of the Devil elders asked, confused by the Maou's sudden reaction.
The younger Devils behind them looked on with curiosity.
Ajuka sat back down, his eyes narrowed as he watched Diodora on the screen. "You are all aware of the Khaos Brigade, I presume?"
The Devils nodded.
"According to our intelligence, the leader of the Khaos Brigade is… Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon," Sirzechs added, his voice grim.
Gasps filled the room. Every Devil knew the name Ophis.
The Strongest. Infinite Power.
The Dragon God even the Biblical God feared to challenge.
Legends about Ophis were numerous, tales that could be told for days. And now, judging by the Maou's reactions, could it be that Diodora's actions were somehow connected to the legendary Dragon God?
Ajuka's gaze hardened as he spoke. "What Diodora just consumed was a piece of Ophis's power, in the form of a serpent. It can temporarily boost a normal person's magical energy to Ultimate-Class levels."
The Devils were stunned. Several of the elders paled. There were less than five Ultimate-Class Devils among their ranks; the majority were High-Class.
And now they were hearing that even an ordinary person could attain Ultimate-Class power with this… snake?
Moreover, this power was in the hands of terrorists. Their lives, the lives of the Devil elite, could be snuffed out by any random person empowered by this terrifying ability.
The thought of losing their comfortable, privileged lives filled the elders with dread.
"Your Majesty! We must apprehend Diodora and uncover the Khaos Brigade's location!"
"This power… it's too dangerous to be left in the hands of criminals!"
"Please, Beelzebub-sama! Intervene!"
Ajuka raised his hand, silencing the panicked elders. He gestured towards the screen. They remembered who Diodora was facing—Haru, the Devil King. Their gazes returned to the monitor.
Diodora, having swallowed the serpent, waved his hand. A deep purple magic circle appeared, followed by countless others, spreading rapidly across the arena.
Ajuka's eyes narrowed as he recognized the pattern. "That's the Khaos Brigade's magic circle. There's no denying it now, Diodora."
Within each magic circle stood a figure cloaked in black—an army of warlocks, numbering over ten thousand. Their auras were faint, suggesting they were only Low-Class Devils.
But as each warlock swallowed a serpent, their power surged, reaching Ultimate-Class levels in an instant.
"Impressive, isn't it? My warlock army!" Diodora's voice dripped with pride as he looked up at the screen, addressing Ajuka. "All thanks to your Cooperation spell, Maou-sama. That research paper was quite helpful. Stealing it was the best decision I ever made. I wonder… what kind of power could ten thousand Ultimate-Class Devils unleash?"
Ignoring Ajuka's darkening expression, Diodora turned to Haru, a sneer on his face.
"Well, great Baal, I hope you don't mind being my test subject. Don't worry; I'll make it quick. And then… would you mind if I… entertained myself with Asia Argento by your grave? She's definitely among the top-tier maidens I've… played with."
Asia gasped, staring at Diodora in horror, unable to speak.
"You have a nun fetish?" Haru asked, his voice laced with disgust.
"Indeed! Corrupting holy maidens, revealing their sins, then watching them crumble… It's my greatest pleasure," Diodora replied, a look of ecstasy on his face, as if recalling some blissful memory.
Haru's expression turned to one of disdain.
"Such crude methods. True pleasure lies in having them willingly climb into your bed, eager to please. Everything else is just… perverse."
"By the way," he added, "that's how I handle all the women around me."
Rias, Akeno, Koneko, Xenovia, even Asia froze, their faces burning crimson as they felt the amused gazes of the other Devils upon them.
Haru's shameless words had pushed them over the edge. "All the women around him? Could he be any more vague?! Rias is the only one who's… slept with him!"
Diodora's smile vanished. His eyes narrowed, his voice turning cold. "Perhaps they are… crude. But in the Devil world, strength reigns supreme. You can mock me because you're stronger. So… all I have to do is kill you, and then my methods become refined, don't they?!"
A massive magic circle appeared behind Diodora, connecting to the ten thousand warlocks. An overwhelming aura of demonic energy, though still at the Ultimate-Class level in terms of quality, surged around him, vast and deep like the ocean.
An enormous sphere of demonic energy materialized in Diodora's hand, expanding rapidly until it dwarfed even the Colosseum itself.
Diodora looked at Haru, a cruel smile twisting his lips. "Farewell, former Baal. I hope you reincarnate. Though by then, Asia will probably have borne me several children. Hmm… perhaps I'll send them to the Church to become nuns. Wouldn't that be… fun?
The massive energy sphere descended slowly.
Diodora glanced up at the screen, his gaze fixed on Ajuka and Sirzechs, his voice filled with arrogance. "Prepare yourselves, Your Majesties. It's time for you to step down."
He turned to Asia, his expression softening. "Asia, my love, I'm coming to—"
Pop!
The sound of a bubble bursting echoed through the arena.
Diodora felt the connection to the energy sphere sever. He froze, slowly turning his head.
Haru, his index finger extended towards the sky, as if he'd just popped a balloon, looked at Diodora with a feigned expression of regret. "Oops, my bad. I poked it by accident. Want to try again?"
"You… bastard!" Diodora's face twisted in rage. He raised both hands, channeling his demonic energy, a sphere three times larger than the previous one materializing above him.
"Die!"
Pop!
The sphere vanished.
Haru looked at Diodora, his brow furrowed. "Did you skip lunch?"
Diodora roared, another energy sphere forming in his hands. He slammed it down.
Pop!
This time, Haru had used his pinky finger.
Diodora's face turned ashen as he continued to create and launch energy spheres, each one disappearing with a soft pop.
Finally, Diodora looked around the arena in despair. The warlocks, their Low-Class Devil energy reserves far inferior to his, lay scattered across the ground, lifeless.
He'd drained their magical energy, then their life force, but in his blind rage, his obsession with defeating Haru, he hadn't stopped.
Ten thousand warlocks, his army, his investment—gone.
Diodora trembled. He had poured his entire fortune into creating this army, even selling Ajuka's research and embezzling funds from the Khaos Brigade.
And now, the force that was supposed to propel him to the rank of Maou had been utterly annihilated, with no chance of recovery.
Haru appeared before Diodora in a flash, his expression serious. "Do you know about… magical girls?
Diodora, his eyes wide with terror, nodded slowly.
"Then you must know about… tentacles, right?"
Diodora hesitated, then nodded again.
A monstrous tentacle creature erupted from the ground beneath him, its numerous appendages wrapping around his body, binding him tightly.
Squish… squish… The tentacles… penetrated.
"Nn… nn…" Diodora whimpered, his words muffled.
"P-please… s-spare me…"
Haru, his right hand cupped to his ear, feigned surprise. "What? You're enjoying this? You want more, even in death? Don't worry. I have an Authority called Death Servant. I can make sure you continue having… fun, even after you're gone."
Diodora's eyes rolled back in his head as he fainted, only to be awakened moments later by the relentless assault of… pleasure.
His expression vacant, he began to… enjoy it.
The Devils watching the scene from the stands covered their mouths, their eyes wide with a mixture of horror.
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