"These are our training grounds. One of you will face me in a sparring bout, and the result will inform my final decision," Remarked the Demon Lord, as she led us out to a training field.

"Uh, you sure this is a good idea? The entire plan will go out the window if you end up dying," Responded Jaden, earning a glare from Zevek.

"That won’t be a concern. We have a ritual for that, a barrier that teleports anyone out when they’re about to sustain fatal damage."

Oh, cool, they’ve got their own version of the safety barriers we use.

"Alright, let’s do this. I’ll take you on, I-...," I began.

"No, not you. Hm, let’s see...how about you?" Interrupted the Demon Lord, before picking Aria.

"Me? I mean, sure, I don’t mind. I am curious to see what this world’s Demon Lord is capable of," She replied with a smirk, cracking her knuckles.

Well, if she’s not opposed to it, I have no reason to object. Wonder why the Demon Lord doesn’t want to fight me, though? There’s not a whole lot of disparity between my and Aria’s Power Levels at this point.

"Aw, no fair, I wanted to fight," Jaden sighed wistfully.

"Same...I wanna explode stuff," Added Ciel.

"Alright, then, let’s get started, shall we? The rest of you, hang back here by the sidelines. Gabriel, stick with them, shrink down your Anti-Magic Field to this spot," Instructed the Demon Lord, as she glanced at her Devil Spirit.

"<Yes, Master, as you command>."

"Good luck, Aria," I smiled, as she began to follow after the Demon Lord.

Hm? Wait, she named her Devil Gabriel? As in, the angel? Is she...?

"Thanks, Kai, I’ll wrap this us nice and quick," She grinned, giving me a thumbs up.

As she and the Demon Lord stepped out onto the middle of the field, Kritak walked over with a scroll and activated it, casting a large dome-shaped barrier around them.

"It’s been a while since I had a good sparring session, I’m quite looking forward to this. <Spirit Fusion, Fox Deity: Swiper>!"

A burst of flames erupted around her as her hair turned orange, a fiery glow surrounding her body as nine bushy fox tails extended out of her lower back, orange fur appearing on her forearms.

Really wish I could use Appraisal and see just how powerful she is.

Also, wait, Swiper? Isn’t that-...?

"Hey, that looks pretty cool! My turn! [Spirit Fusion, Apostle of Pride: Superbia]! Followed by...[Blaze Ignition: Supernova]!"

Gray streaks appeared across Aria’s hair as her entire body began glowing, her eyes turning dark red. Looks like she isn’t going to bother putting on her gauntlets.

"Ah, you wield flames too, do you? Interesting...whenever you’re ready, you may make the first move," Remarked the Demon Lord, as she generated a pair of intense, concentrated blades of flames in both hands.

"Alright, if you say s-...huh? Wait...," Frowned Aria, a stunned look on her face as she trailed off and stared at the Demon Lord.

What’s with that reaction? Did she use Appraisal?

———————————————————————————

Point-of-View: Ariella Velle

———————————————————————————

H-Hold on, what? No way, is she...?

"Hm? Oh...I see, so you can use that ability that lets you see the details of others. Disregard it for now...just play along," Remarked the Demon Lord.

"I, uh...yeah, that’s easier said than done. Well, whatever...I suppose I can’t afford not to make a good impression here," I responded with a nervous smile.

There’s no way...could it really be...?

Alright, fine, I’ll play along. Setting aside her personal details, her stats and abilities look pretty damn powerful. No question, she’s easily the strongest person in this world:

Ability Details:

Elemental Magic: Fire

Spirits: Devil: Gabriel, Angel: Satan, Fox Deity: Swiper

Spirit Fusion: Yes

Stats:

HP: 2500

MP: 2500

Strength: 2500

Agility: 2500

Vitality: 2500

Perception: 2500

Power Level: 2,500,000

She’s even more powerful than the strongest Spirits...and that’s just her base stats. With her Spirit Fusion active, her Power Level is currently at 4,350,000.

That said...I’m still way more powerful. Between Blaze Ignition: Supernova and my Spirit Fusion with Superbia, my current Power Level is a bit over eight million, almost double what hers is.

Not to mention, regardless of how powerful her flames are...they’ll have no effect on me.

"Alright, here I come, [Create Wind Spear]!" I exclaimed, generating a spear with a bright fiery glow, before chanting as I hurled it towards her like a javelin, "[Unstoppable Force: Burst Flame]!" 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

This attack combined Superbia’s Create Wind Spear and Unstoppable Force Skills with the explosive effect of Blaze Ignition: Supernova, let’s see how effective it is!

As the spear shot through the air with immense speed and closed in on the Demon Lord, she quickly sidestepped across and swung one of her flame blades towards the spear, aiming to deflect it.

As her blade collided against the side of the spear, a devastating eruption of flames burst out, triggering and intense shockwave and sending the Demon Lord hurtling across to her left, skidding along the ground.

She unleashed a burst of flames to cancel out the momentum and got back onto her feet, before firing out a roaring blast of flames towards me.

I strolled forward as the flames closed in, slamming onto me and engulfing me, but had no effect, as I walked straight through unscathed.

Hm, doesn’t look like my flames did any damage either, only the force of the blast affected her.

"I see, so you’re unaffected by flames too. In which case...," She trailed off, reverting to her normal form as she deactivated her Spirit Fusion, before chanting, "<Spirit Fusion, Angel: Satan>!"

White feathers sprouted across her wings as her hair turned a bright, golden blonde, an ethereal glow surrounding her body as a golden halo appeared over her head.

She still had her flaming blades, but they look weaker and less intense now.

The flames in her left hand suddenly dissipated, as she raised her arm and took aim, charging up a swirling mass of golden energy as she locked onto me...