The crisp air of the training field by the staff quarters was dead silent. Only two figures stood facing each other across the dew-covered grass.
"Are you ready?" Tsumugi asked, her wooden training sword resting easily at her side.
"Mm!" Ren nodded his head firmly, his eyes burning with intense concentration.
Without any further prompting, the serene atmosphere instantly shattered. Tsumugi lowered her centre of gravity and smoothly raised her wooden blade high over her right shoulder, dropping into a flawless, aggressive Vom Tag stance.
Then, with a single, explosive tap of her foot against the dirt, she simply vanished from Ren's sight.
She was incredibly fast. too fast for a normal six-year-old's eyes to track. But Ren was not normal. His spiritual power flared to life, acting like an invisible, spherical radar. Before his eyes could even register her movement, his spiritual power detected all her movements in advance.
Reacting before the strike even happen, Ren instantly pivoted his small body. He snapped his wooden sword up high beside his head, pointing the tip directly at his incoming opponent to form a defensive Ochs stance.
CRACK!
The deafening sound of solid oak smashing against solid oak echoed across the courtyard. Tsumugi had materialized right in front of him, bringing her sword down in a fierce, crushing overhead strike. Ren's feet slid backward through the dirt from the sheer kinetic force, but his flawless Ochs guard, reinforced by a thin layer of Ki running through his tiny arms, had successfully deflected the brunt of the blow.
He hadn't wanted to rely on Ki during this sparring session, but with Tsumugi being a fully grown adult, he had no other choice. He needed to use just a tiny fraction of his supernatural power to bridge their massive physical gap, allowing his raw sword skills to actually even the playing field.
With their swords now violently locked together in a bind, Ren didn't freeze. Relying purely on the muscle memory drilled into him over the past week, he smoothly rolled his wrists. Using Tsumugi's own downward momentum against her, he twisted his blade, seamlessly manoeuvring past her guard to thrust the blunt tip of his wooden sword directly toward her exposed neck.
Tsumugi's eyes widened slightly in genuine surprise.
Seeing the wooden tip shooting toward her throat, she forcefully kicked off the ground, dodging backward with a graceful backstep to instantly break the engagement and put several feet of distance between them.
Lowering his sword slightly, Ren exhaled a shaky breath, his hands still vibrating from the heavy impact. He had actually done it. He had perfectly countered her opening strike.
Three grueling weeks had passed since Tsumugi first promised to spar with him. In the beginning, he had been routinely trounced without an ounce of suspense. Well, initially, that was because the gap in their skill levels was simply too wide. But after that brutal first week of constantly adapting under the crushing pressure of Tsumugi's strikes just to keep from losing instantly, his raw technique had skyrocketed. Soon enough, their pure sword skills could actually be considered on par.
Yet, even with matching skill, Ren had realized a harsh truth over their weeks of sparring: absolute physical strength could not be overcome by technique alone. That was why he had finally chosen to use a thin layer of Ki to even the playing field.
And today, with his physical handicap neutralized, Ren had officially surpassed Tsumugi in pure swordsmanship.
Now, this wasn't because Tsumugi was untalented, or that her years of rigorous training somehow couldn't keep up with a six-year-old prodigy. It was simply because Tsumugi didn't actually specialize in swordsmanship to begin with. She was, at her core, a fierce hand-to-hand fighter.
Furthermore, she was deliberately holding back. If she had applied basic Mana Reinforcement to her body—a physical enhancement technique taught to the estate's combat staff, which the arrogant main family looked down upon and didn't even consider to be "real" magic—there was absolutely no way Ren could have beaten her.
Looking at the boy who had grown to such an astonishing extent in just a few short weeks, Tsumugi felt a sudden, unfamiliar surge of emotion. Of course, absolutely nothing of the sort showed on her expressionless features—by now, we should all be well aware of her chronic resting bitch face.
Slowly lowering her wooden sword, which was actually trembling slightly from the sheer adrenaline of having her throat nearly crushed by a six-year-old, she looked down at him and spoke solemnly.
"It seems... you are ready."
Hearing this, Ren's eyes instantly lit up like fireworks. "Can I finally wield the sword you gave me?!"
Seeing his pure, unadulterated excitement, the corner of Tsumugi's lips twitched upward into a microscopic, incredibly rare smile.
"Yes."
"Woohoo!" Ren whooped in pure, unadulterated happiness.
After finally burning off his initial burst of excitement, he sprinted over to the staff quarters' wall where a real, polished steel longsword had been resting against the wood for weeks, just waiting for him to earn it.
With a dramatic, theatrical flourish, Ren grabbed the hilt and drew it from its scabbard.
Shing! The crisp, deadly ring of drawn steel sang through the morning air. Without missing a beat, he immediately dropped into a stance and started violently slashing away at an invisible enemy.
"Hya! Take that, Riku!"
It didn't take a super-genius to figure out exactly who that imaginary opponent was supposed to be.
**********
Meanwhile, in a far more luxurious sector of the Ritsuzen estate...
"Achoo!"
Riku sneezed violently, aggressively rubbing his nose. Sniff. "Am I getting sick?" he wondered aloud, suddenly feeling a spike of panic since his duel was scheduled for tomorrow.
'A sneeze?' Ritsuzen Gensai thought, his cold eyes narrowing at his foolish son. "This will not do. Drink this."
Without a single moment of hesitation, Gensai produced a small vial of murky liquid from his robes and handed it directly to Riku.
Gulp. Gulp.
Riku obediently chugged the foul-tasting potion in one go, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Hmm... I don't feel anything?"
"Then it is probably nothing," Gensai reasoned flatly, smoothly changing the subject back to the matter at hand. "Tomorrow is your duel with that inferior trash. Make sure you do not bring any shame to our prestigious lineage."
"Yes, Father," Riku bowed deeply in agreement, his eyes shining with an unnatural, absolute confidence.
'The intelligence-enhancing potion he consumed a week ago has already fully integrated into his system, allowing him to perform flawless, chantless spellcasting. There should be absolutely no problem tomorrow,' Gensai calculated internally.
Yet, despite his perfect, meticulous preparations over the past month, a sudden, inexplicable pang of uneasiness settled heavily in the Elder's chest.
At exactly 4:00 AM, long before the sun even considered rising over the Ritsuzen estate, the day of the duel officially began.
Ren was already wide awake in his room. However, unlike the past three weeks of his gruelling daily routine, he did not immediately head out to the training field. Instead, he sat cross-legged in the centre of his bed with his eyes gently closed. He was quietly meditating, deliberately regulating his breathing to ensure his mind and body were in absolute peak condition for the battle this afternoon.
Inhaling deeply and exhaling softly into the dark, silent room, Ren focused his thoughts inward. 'Kon's injuries should be almost completely healed by now.'
His small hands curled into tight fists resting on his knees as a sharp spike of anger pierced his calm meditation. 'That Gensai fellow... he clearly calculated exactly how long it would take for Kon to recover. He deliberately scheduled the duel for today just to guarantee that Kon wouldn't be able to participate or protect me.'
Ren's eyes slowly snapped open in the dim light.
'Today, I will finally avenge Kon,' he thought, a fierce, burning fire igniting in his gaze.
**********
At 8:00 AM, the grand main hall of the Ritsuzen estate was absolutely packed with people.
However, this massive gathering had absolutely nothing to do with the afternoon duel between Riku and the "unwanted child." In the arrogant eyes of the Ritsuzen clan members, that match was merely a petty, one-sided scuffle entirely devoid of suspense.
The only reason so many obsessive, reclusive members of the main family had actually crawled out of their secluded workshops was because highly distinguished guests were arriving today. Clearly, these visitors were of monumental importance. Given the clan's notoriously elitist personalities, they would never take time out of their busy research schedules to attend a mere welcoming banquet for just anyone.
And who were these guests, you ask?
They were, of course, the Astaroth clan of the Underworld—one of the noble, pure-blooded families of the 72 Pillars.
For a clan strictly governed by a philosophy of pure human supremacy, inviting Devils into the estate was completely unheard of. Such a blasphemous event had never occurred since the very founding of the clan. But the historically stagnant Ritsuzen family now had a much newer, vastly more progressive leader at its helm: Ritsuzen Kyora.
For a ruthless patriarch who would gladly sacrifice his own daughter's sanity for power and can casually abandon his infant, allying with a noble Devil clan was a perfectly logical calculation. This was especially true considering the Astaroth clan had produced a legendary Super Devil renowned for his peerless intellect: Ajuka Beelzebub.
By forging an alliance with the Astaroth family, Kyora's ultimate ambition was to eventually bridge a direct connection to the Satan of Innovation himself.
Soon, an ornate carriage appeared outside the grand estate gates, drawn by two terrifying, fiery skeletal steeds that approached with a heavy, echoing clip-clop. A servant dressed in a crisp butler's uniform swiftly stepped to the side of the dark carriage and pulled open the heavy door for their otherworldly guests.
Slowly, a man with dark green hair and a neatly trimmed goatee stepped out into the morning light. He was dressed immaculately in a gold-lined suit with striking deep red sleeves. Following closely behind him was a boy around twelve years old with equally dark green hair, his eyes narrowed in a perpetual, mocking squint.
Ritsuzen Kyora himself was waiting for them at the entrance. Slowly, the Clan Head walked toward the Devils, placing his right hand over his heart and bowing his head slightly in a rare show of calculated respect.
"Lord Astaroth," Kyora greeted smoothly. Then, his sharp eyes shifted toward the child beside the man. "...And the Astaroth heir, I presume?"
"Lord Ritsuzen, greetings," the man with the goatee, Azelior Astaroth, replied politely, perfectly matching the diplomatic tone.
Diodora Astaroth, on the other hand, completely ignored Kyora's existence. He turned his head from side to side, openly inspecting the grand estate as if it were a dirty petting zoo.
"So... this is the human world, Father?" his high voice rang out, practically dripping with pure arrogance and undisguised disdain.
Seeing the boy's blatant disrespect, a faint frown flickered across Kyora's usually stoic face. However, the Clan Head ultimately swallowed his pride and ignored the clipped remark. He had far too much riding on this alliance to let a spoiled Devil child ruin his grand ambitions.
"Do not mind the boy, Lord Ritsuzen. I heard that you have a rather entertaining event prepared today, so I brought him along to experience the world a bit," Azelior replied apologetically. Though his tone sounded entirely sincere, the cold amusement in his eyes showed that he didn't feel sorry in the slightest.
Kyora easily saw through the hollow apology, so he didn't push the issue. Instead, he pivoted smoothly. "Indeed. I also heard your son is currently looking for members to fill his peerage. Perhaps I could arrange a suitable candidate for him?"
Hearing himself mentioned, Diodora looked up with a spark of arrogant interest. "Oh? Do you actually have anyone interesting in this backwater place?"
"Mm. The son of one of my Ritsuzen Elders is able to cast magic chantlessly, and he has just turned eight," Kyora offered, selling out Riku without a second thought.
The reason Kyora targeted Riku was simple: Elder Ritsuzen Gensai was his greatest political rival within the clan. While Kyora was progressive, willing to discard old traditions and ally with Devils for ultimate power, Gensai was a strict, human-supremacist conservative. The Elder absolutely despised the Devils and had long opposed Kyora's leadership. Kyora coldly calculated that offering Gensai's precious, "genius" son as a mere servant to a Devil would utterly humiliate the Elder and severely cripple his political standing.
"Ho?" Azelior hummed, genuinely intrigued. For an eight-year-old human child to cast chantlessly, this boy could certainly be considered a rare little genius.
Diodora, however, instantly lost all interest. 'Just some human magician boy,' the young Devil thought dismissively. Spoiled and sheltered, Diodora was clearly not well-versed enough in the workings of the world to properly recognize or appreciate the value of true magical talent.
Hearing the genuine spark of interest in Azelior's tone, Kyora considered his opening diplomatic manoeuvre a success.
Without further ado, he turned his head slightly, his gaze never leaving the Devils, and whispered into the waiting butler's ear.
"Go and bring Elder Gensai and his son to the grand hall. Oh... and fetch the other child as well."