"I hope they won't get on my ass about this…" Asmodeus muttered while scratching his head. "Anyway," He sighed. "You're done, right?"
On the other side of the arena,
Huff- Huff-
'This… Should be impossible…' Lucien thought while breathing heavily. 'He hasn't even broken a sweat when I've used so much Ether… Does Demonic Ether somehow work differently? Are his reserves that immense?'
Asmodeus cracked his knuckles. "I'll take that for a yes, alright?"
'What is he going to do?' Lucien asked himself. 'Will he finally get on the off…?! He's gone-'
The Ice Maniac's eyes rolled back and his knees gave up supporting him.
"Tsk." The ground behind Asmodeus was in shambles. "That'll be a pain to fix. I'll have to bring Tariana here-"
"Woowoo!"
Asmodeus turned towards the stands.
"Woowoo!" Saphyra exclaimed again while swinging her arms up and down, left and right. "Let's go, let's go, Asmo, Asmo! Woo! Let's go, let's go, Asmo, Asmo! Woo!"
"Never let that become a thing at the Academy!" He shouted while pointing at her.
"Asmo, Asmo! Woo!"
Meanwhile,
"I-Impossible…" Jack's eyes seemed almost devoid of life. "Lucien is a Fifth Year… A Fourth-Grade with an Ether Level of over 16,000 at the last reading… Defeated in one hit…?"
"Woo!" Saphyra shouted one last time before turning towards the spectator by her side. "Don't sell him short. It was one hit, sure, but a hit you didn't see. This… Lucien did see it though, I can tell you that much."
"Then how come he's…" Jack clenched his teeth, gaze stuck on the Ice Mania. "How come he's passed out?!"
"He braced himself, you know? Contracted his abdominal muscles and all." Saphyra explained. "He didn't have the time to do much more than that. Asmodeus knew. Otherwise, he would have gone easier on him."
"Easier…?"
"Yeah," Saphyra nodded. "A hit like that landing on your stomach could probably destroy your internal organs." She said with a raised finger. "Plus, if this Lucien has a reading of 16,000, then Asmodeus' is probably more like… 32,000?"
"T-Thirty-two…?" Jack gulped, nervous sweat going down his forehead. 'That would make him a Fifth-Grade! How many Fifth-Grade are there in the country? A couple hundred? You mean that this guy is-"
"Anyway, that was fun." Saphyra stretched her arms. "Time to clean up."
"C-Clean up? What do you…?!"
Jack's words trailed off as Saphyra grabbed him and threw him over the edge of the stands.
"Ugh!" He exclaimed, stomach landing hard on the arena's cracked ground.
"That's working pretty well." Asmodeus whispered while scratching his chin and staring at Jack.
'What's working well?!' The latter tried to free himself but couldn't move an inch. 'I've been bound hands and feet behind my back, asshole! The fuck am I supposed to do?!'
"Hey, hey." Saphyra said softly, her shoulder brushing Asmodeus' side. "That was kinda fun."
"Just kinda, huh?"
"Well, unfortunately, you are bullying lesser men."
"Want me to feel bad about it?" Asmodeus asked as Saphyra positioned herself right in front of him.
She stared into his eyes silently before smiling.
"No," Saphyra shook her head. "I love seeing you crush the ants at your feet."
They both silently turned in Jack's direction at once.
"H-Hey…" The latter whispered, having wiggled his way to Lucien's ear. "Hey, you have to wake up-"
"Would you look at that?" Saphyra exclaimed with a hand over her mouth, her back leaning against Asmodeus.
"That's a bit cowardly, don't you think, Jack?"
"Isn't he the guy who was trying to get you in trouble?"
"He is." Asmodeus nodded.
"I-I… It's not like… I mean-"
"I can't let someone make trouble for my younger brother, now can I?" Saphyra asked while raising her chin with the back of her head resting against Asmodeus' chest.
"No," He answered, gently placing a hand on her neck. "You can't."
"P-P-Plea… Please! Please, don't kill me!"
"I'm afraid it's a bit late for that." Saphyra sighed, index finger pushing against her cheek. "We can't have people running around knowing that there are Demons in town. You know, safety and all."
"L-Listen, I'm sorry! I'm sorry, I really am! I was jealous about Jeanne, but-"
As if on cue,
Grab-
"Oho." Asmodeus tilted his head. "I thought you would be out for longer."
Lucien had a hand firmly wrapped around Asmodeus's forearm and, before Saphyra could even react,
'Shit…!' She cursed. 'He's planning on freezing us-'
The moment had lasted just long enough for a fearful shiver to go down Saphyra's spine.
'Gulp… Now even I…' Lucien's knees hit the ground. 'Didn't see that hit.'
"Did he wake up upon hearing his sister's name, or was he acting unconscious?" Asmodeus asked.
"He…" Saphyra gulped again. "He definitely was unconscious."
"An overprotective and obsessive brother, huh?" Asmodeus stared at the unconscious Ice Maniac for a moment. "I can't say I hate that." His gaze moved towards Jack, and the latter thought his heart would explode just from being stared at by those purple eyes. "As for you…"