"Uu… Tosca, there are so many people here…"
Gasper clung to Tosca's back, shrinking from the sea of curious eyes. His voice trembled on the verge of tears.
Tosca didn't bother with him. She kept her gaze fixed on the floating battle projection above the arena.
"Tenra-sama is invincible. He won't lose to anyone—not ever."
—
"Come on, then. Show me what you learned in all those years abroad."
Riser's eyes burned with icy disdain. He didn't bother hiding his contempt.
Tenra shook his head, a complex emotion flickering across his face.
Riser was undeniably talented, a true prodigy. But his arrogance was his greatest flaw. If he'd been less conceited, maybe he wouldn't have lost to Hyoudou Issei in the original timeline. But this duel was pure victory or defeat—no rules, no mercy. Tenra had no intention of warning him.
A flash of steel. Tenra summoned his power—[Magic Sword Creation]. In an instant, a stunning ice-blue longsword materialized in his hand, cold mist swirling around its blade, freezing the ground beneath his feet.
"That's… the demon sword Diradachs!"
Someone in the audience gasped, recognizing the legendary weapon.
Diradachs—the blade of absolute frost, a sword whispered about in myth.
But Sirzechs, watching from the high seat, narrowed his eyes. "No… the aura's off. That's not the real Diradachs."
Even as a replica, the sword radiated power nearly matching the original. Grayfia's eyes flashed with interest before she stepped forward, her voice ringing out, clear and commanding:
"The duel begins—now!"
The crowd erupted. In the dimensional arena, Tenra and Riser sprang into motion, lightning-fast.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Tenra ducked low, blade at the ready. Riser's face twisted in pain—then, in a blink, he was frozen solid, encased in ice.
The entire hall went silent. Had the legendary duel ended in a single move? The genius brother, defeated in one strike by the so-called failure?
No. Not yet.
BOOM!
Flames exploded skyward, shattering ice. Riser emerged, untouched.
The cheers returned, louder than ever. Riser's name echoed through the hall.
"If that's all you've got, you'll never beat me, little brother."
His voice dripped with scorn.
Tenra's lips curled in a quiet smile. "I will win."
No more words. Their eyes locked—then, they moved.
Phoenix fire met icy steel. The collision shook the entire arena, thunder echoing through the dimensional space.
—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Sword energy clashed with rolling flames. Tenra's sword danced, Riser's phoenix fire roared. Each exchange was brutal, relentless. The crowd outside the arena cheered wildly, swept up in the spectacle.
CRASH!
Riser took a sweeping kick, sent flying like a meteor, crashing into the ground and carving a crater.
A heartbeat later, a phoenix's cry split the air. Flames surged, and Riser rose again, wings blazing.
"Hah… hah…"
He gasped for breath, his elegant composure shattered. Sword cuts scored his body, his clothes in tatters. Tenra, by contrast, stood untouched.
Shock rippled through the audience. The so-called genius was being pressed by the family's failure.
"Tenra-sama… amazing! So amazing!"
"Go, Tenra-sama!"
Ile and Nel, the twin sisters, cheered with shining eyes.
Kalamaina was beside herself with excitement. Isabella stared in disbelief. Xuelan, Shuria, Bürent, Siris—all watched in awe. Even Yubelluna, always poised, found her mouth slightly open, her beautiful face stunned.
Riser-sama… was losing?
Impossible.
Yubelluna's mind flashed back to the boy practicing alone with a wooden sword—small, stubborn, never giving up. Maybe… just maybe… he really could create a miracle.
Her heart fluttered at the thought. If Tenra truly won…
"How crude. How ugly. You fight like a wild beast!"
Riser's wounds healed in a blaze of fire, but his face twisted with rage.
He'd trained in martial arts, but Tenra's swordsmanship—honed by countless life-and-death battles—was on another level. In close combat, Riser was outclassed.
The wounds didn't matter. But the humiliation—before his father, before Lord Lucifer, before the Underworld's nobles—was intolerable. A phoenix, beaten down by such crude swordplay? Unthinkable.
"Riser, let's keep going."
"Crude or not, today I'll show you what true strength is."
Tenra's voice was fearless, his resolve unshakable. He'd let his sword do the talking.
"Die!"
Riser's fury ignited, demonic power surging. Hundreds of fireballs materialized at his command, raining down on Tenra in a fiery storm.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Phoenix flames—overwhelming, unstoppable. Tenra darted and dodged, slicing through the worst of it with his sword, but the barrage was endless.
Tenra leapt, sending ice-blue sword beams skyward, but Riser dodged easily, hovering above.
"Hahahaha! Die! Die! Die!"
Riser's laughter was wild, his attacks relentless. Flames engulfed Tenra, swallowing him in a roaring inferno.
"Tenra-oniichan!"
Ravel's cry pierced the chaos. The crowd exploded in shock.
Even the nobles doubted they could withstand such an onslaught. How could the Phenex family's failure survive?
Regardless of Tenra's fate, respect for Riser grew. In this world, strength was everything. Riser, newly come of age, wielded the power of the immortal phoenix—a true genius. The future belonged to him.
"Akeno, your sweetheart's in trouble now."
On the VIP balcony, Rias teased, her tone light.
Ever since Tenra's arrival, Akeno had been distracted. Rias felt a pang of jealousy, but seeing Tenra overwhelmed, she found herself rooting for Riser—if only a little.
"No. He'll win."
Akeno's voice was unwavering, her eyes fierce.
From the moment she'd met Tenra, she knew: he would never lose to anyone again.
Rias pouted, but said nothing more. She turned her gaze to the battle projection, emerald eyes sparkling.
She remembered the boy who'd once asked her to take Akeno away. Now, she couldn't help but feel a flicker of hope.
"Tenra Kamiyo… let me, Rias Gremory, see if you can create a miracle."
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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