Yūto possessed regeneration.
Leticia possessed regeneration as well.
He held a slight edge in combat technique—but she had the advantage of flight.
The battle raged on for several full minutes. They clashed nearly a hundred times, their weapons colliding in streaks of red and steel beneath the moonlight.
And in the end—
Yūto came to a startling realization.
If he relied solely on his normal combat strength… he might not be able to defeat Leticia in her current state at all.
The moment that truth settled in, he made a decision.
No more holding back.
Even now, the power Leticia had displayed still hadn't reached the "Demon Lord" standard he carried in his mind.
But who was to say she wasn't restraining herself, just as he had been?
If they continued at this level, the fight wouldn't conclude anytime soon. And if she still refused to get serious—
Then he would be the one to raise the curtain.
The black-and-red blood spear collided with Divine Blessing once more. After the two separated from that exchange, Yūto did not press forward this time.
Instead—
A violent surge of yokai energy erupted from his body.
Crimson power materialized around him like rising flames. The ground trembled beneath his feet. Trees bent and leaves rustled wildly as a gale swept through the forest.
Leticia stared at him.
Yūto stood bathed in blood-red aura, his presence climbing rapidly—becoming sharper, heavier, more dangerous with every passing second.
For the first time, genuine astonishment flickered across her face.
Truthfully, though her expression had remained blank due to habit, Leticia had been shocked since the battle began.
She understood her own condition.
Though she could currently match Yūto blow for blow, she had lost her Divinity. This combat state couldn't be maintained for long.
In other words—
Even if Yūto had continued fighting at his previous level and dragged things into a battle of attrition, she would ultimately lose.
She had already been considering ending the test gracefully. After all, as a senior member of No Name, she had preserved her dignity.
She had planned to reveal her identity openly.
But who could have imagined—
The strength he'd shown, the power that allowed him to match her evenly—
Wasn't even his full power.
Not only had he been holding back—
He had been holding back a lot.
"Former Demon Lord," Yūto said coldly, his voice carrying a faint distortion as his aura deepened. "If you still refuse to show your true strength… then I'll make the first move."
Now partially demonified, his appearance and presence had both transformed dramatically.
Leticia wanted to say this was all a misunderstanding.
But the words died in her throat.
She had struck first.
And now, suddenly claiming it had all been a test—would he believe her?
Even she knew how absurd that would sound.
She had intended to test the strength of No Name's new companions.
Instead—
She had been pushed to her limits first.
"Lady Leticia—! It really is you!"
Before Leticia could swallow her pride and concede defeat in front of this junior—
Another voice broke through the tension.
Black Rabbit and the others, having finished the Gift Game and drawn by the massive disturbance, finally arrived.
The moment Black Rabbit saw the golden-haired woman standing there, tears welled up in her eyes. Without hesitation, she threw herself forward and hugged her tightly.
"I'm so glad… you're still well, Lady Leticia…!"
Looking at the rabbit-eared girl clinging to her, Leticia's usually expressionless face softened into a rare smile.
"It's good to see you still so lively, Black Rabbit."
But that warmth faded quickly, replaced by a shadow of melancholy.
Back when she had been part of No Name, Leticia had been something of a senior figure to Black Rabbit.
Since the community's banner had been stolen by a Demon Lord, this was the first time Black Rabbit had seen her former comrade.
Her emotions overflowed.
Yet very quickly, Black Rabbit noticed something wrong.
Leticia's presence—
It was far weaker than it should have been.
Once hailed as a "former Demon Lord," the founder of the Floor Master system—indeed, the very first "Full-Layer Ruler"—Leticia should have been overwhelmingly powerful.
Black Rabbit had felt the earlier battle from afar.
By the standards of Little Garden's lower levels, the clash between Yūto and Leticia had already been high-tier.
But Black Rabbit knew better.
The Leticia she remembered—the Vampire King—even after losing Solar Authority, could still unleash power among the top of the four-digit ranks.
And yet—
From that battle just now, Leticia's strength hadn't even firmly reached the peak of the five-digit tier.
"Lady Leticia… what happened to your Divinity?" Black Rabbit's voice trembled. "Why is only the pure-blood vampire Gift left? Don't tell me…!"
"So that's it," Yūto murmured, the crimson aura around him gradually stabilizing. "No wonder something felt off from the start. It wasn't that you were hiding your strength… it was that your power had diminished."
He exhaled lightly.
"I was wondering—if Demon Lords in Little Garden were really only at this level, how could they possibly be called natural disasters?"
At this point, even Yūto couldn't pretend to be oblivious.
It was obvious Black Rabbit and Leticia were old companions.
And if one considered Leticia's actions from the perspective that she still cared deeply for No Name, then her earlier behavior was easy enough to understand.
"I'm sorry, Black Rabbit," Leticia said softly. "For me to appear here at all… that was already the limit."
She glanced at Yūto briefly.
"But seeing that No Name is still standing… that you're all still so spirited… and that you've gained such reliable new allies—"
Her gaze lingered on Yūto.
"I can finally rest a little easier."
Black Rabbit immediately grabbed her hands.
"Please come back with us! Come back to the community—!"
Leticia's heart wavered.
More than anyone, she loved No Name.
But after the community's fall, she had been taken as a slave.
Under Little Garden's rules, she could not defy her current master.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly.
Black Rabbit's ears drooped.
"…Then the only reason you're able to stand here now… is because you sold your Divinity for temporary freedom?"
Her voice broke.
"If that's the case—then tell us which community you belong to now! If we can offer them a satisfactory price—perhaps we can redeem you!"
As a Moon Rabbit, a race that viewed sacrifice as its duty, Black Rabbit felt her heart tearing apart.
If necessary—
If it meant saving Leticia—
She would even offer herself in exchange.