And That's It, Folks!

The Ripper Prince could taste the malice, feel its cold grip and its burning scorn; hear the murmurs of locked-away melodies, requiems, and auguries of death; smell its repugnant scent of the icy afterlife and the sweet nectar of strength; and above all, he could see the horizon of scarlet that spiraled around the halfling.

"Do you feel that…?" Klaus said quietly.

The stands had mostly fallen quiet in this reveal; even the loud-mouthed announcer felt himself sweating from the intense Hell Release.

"What's the matter? Don't tell me you're scared now that the playing field is evened," he asked, looking right at the Ripper Prince with his amethyst irises that held little mercy now.

Prince Erigos could only think in that trembling moment what a joke it was that he had called it "even" now when he possessed such a profoundly malicious force within himself.

Still, the arrogance of the platinum-haired, sleazy prince was still left unchecked as he gritted his teeth and gripped the jeweled handles of his weapons.

"As if! I'm still the one with the advantage here, little pi–"

Before Prince Erigos could finish his taunt, his opponent was already in front of him before he could blink, who brought his hand over his mouth as if to snuff out his words.

"--I've had enough of your talk. Back it up with some bite, would you?" He whispered to him in that passing moment.

The Ripper Prince could only process those words before he was thrown back harshly by a grip of his jaw.

What was that–? I couldn't see him coming, Prince Erigos thought.

Before he could properly gather his thoughts to deduce what had happened, the Ripper Prince crashed against the harsh sand.

The way the sleazy prince had landed, face down and sliding across the rough grain, he ended up with a mouthful of the unpleasant sand.

"Pyuh–!"

Prince Erigos got up on his knees, coughing out as he wiped the grain from his tongue before looking up to see the horned half-human standing over him already.

"--"

"Hey there," he greeted the Ripper Prince with a smile backed with malice.

In contrast to that smile, the hellish aura that exuded in a tangible heat caused the words to be stuck like a lump in Prince Erigos' throat.

"--I!"

Before the platinum-haired prince could spew any meaningful utterance, he was knocked back several meters by a sharp, nonchalant kick that left a scarlet blaze encircling the source of impact.

Even the two friends of the snowy-haired exile felt something frightening exude from their companion who inhabited the arena below.

"...This is certainly new, isn't it?" Klaus noted, sweating from the residual heat that rose up from the arena.

"Ya' can say that again," Marlow nodded.

It was undeniable now that the halfling that the demon royalty thought was nothing but a failure was something else entirely–such was proven by the helpless assault launched by the Ripper Prince.

The ensuing clash left even the announcer unfinding of his words.

He was smiling, watching as his half-brother rushed towards him with his utmost speed that left scarlet afterimages in his wake.

"I'll take you seriously, little brother. I'll crush you–with everything I've got!" Prince Erigos proclaimed.

"I'm waiting," he replied with a smirk.

The sharp confidence wielded by the horned halfling spawned from "Hell Release" itself; it was a transformation that brought out the full terror that a demon wielded, and for the usually easygoing young man, this surfaced those sealed instincts that burned in his blood.

"--Sickle Fest!"

The demonic magecraft launched by the speedy Ripper Prince was flung with a swipe of his hand, manifesting in the form of scarlet sickles that formed in the air all around the arena, spinning and building momentum before shooting towards his opponent.

"Hmm…" He hummed to himself, watching the sickles descend on his position.

Even as he backpedaled, the sickles altered their own trajectory, hurling towards him at swift speeds as they spun around rapidly.

All the while, Prince Erigod rushed towards him, holding his flaming, circular blades with a silent intensity now.

He presented the same focus, stomping his foot down in an unexpected move as the Ripper Prince's eyes widened, but continued forward, extending the range of his blades into a zigzag edge of burning blood:

"Mutilation King: Rip-Rip Saw!" Prince Erigos invoked.

The extension of his wielded blades zigzagged unnaturally, being swung forward as the halfling prince's escape options were limited by the sickles that enclosed on him from all angles.

"This is bad…! He can't dodge or he'll be caught by those red sickles!" Klaus called out.

"Crap! Come on, Merlin!" Marlow yelled in support.

Hearing those supporting words, a smile formed across the focused adolescent's lips, much to the surprise of the man who believed he held the advantage.

It's been a long time since I used demonic arts, so I'm going to be a bit rusty, but here goes–He thought.

Pressing his palms together, he held a calm smile as the crimson aura around him bubbled and moved erratically into the form of a sphere:

"Night of Terror: The Beginning."

A shock wave of malicious scarlet exploded outwards from his position, unleashing a noise loud enough to cause the humans in the stands to go deaf momentarily as their ears rang.

It was nothing short of an instantaneous cataclysm; the entirety of the arena was subject to the explosive, rippling boom of the bloody shock wave, only stopped by the mighty barriers supplemented by many renowned sorcerers.

The spell itself was a compression of his hellish aura, squeezed between the palm of his hands repeatedly into the smallest possible shape, all in a single moment, before being injected with a surge of his demonic force, causing it to rapidly expand outwards into a violent scream from the depths of Hell.

Even Belial was shocked by this display of demon magecraft, witnessing this from the tunnel.

He's got an understanding of demon arts, too? A royal series spell, at that. Where did the kid learn all of this? Just what have you been doing all these years, Merlin…? Belial questioned.

From the right side of the competitor's tunnel, Prince Beleth spectated the devastating shock wave, unmoved but still impressed.

"Not bad, little brother," the Impervious Prince said under his breath.

—

The aftermath left the arena completely obscured by the uplifted sand, leaving a colossal, beige cloud that blinded the spectators.

Even the Demon Lord himself looked down with one of his imposing eyes, lifting one of his mighty hands to stroke his bristly beard.

I see. Merlin, you weren't merely prancing about in the world beyond my empire, were you? This strength…it could only be possible for a half-blood like you to achieve this through grueling effort; that much, I can respect, my son, Demon Lord Baal thought.

"Huff…"

Standing there, the cloud of dust began to disperse as the crowd anxiously looked in to see the result of the terrific display of royal demon arts.

Klaus leaned forward, "Did he…?"

Marlow leaned with him, "...I think he did!"

He wiped the sweat and blood from his chin, holding a smile as knocked across the arena, the Ripper Prince was laid out, unconscious and limp from the force of the spell.

Slowly, he raised his fist into the air, holding a triumphant smile as the moment he raised that victorious fist, the crowd exploded into a roar of cheers.

Did you see that, Mother? I won. Did you see that, Father? I'm on my way to the top, he resolved, luckily, Brother Erigos was a pushover…I didn't have to use my "System" yet…I'd like to make a flashy entrance with that.

As he baked this resolve into his mind, he stared down the Demon Lord, who sat high above the arena from his pearly throne, clenching his fist towards the heavily-armored parent of his.