Chris barely got halfway down the street before the ground split behind him.
A demon leaped out of the dust, landing with enough force to crack the pavement.
The crowd stopped instantly, excited for entertainment.
The challenger rolled his shoulders, flames flickering faintly around his legs like they were warming up for something big.
"King of Chaos. I'm here to challenge you for your position."
Chris shrugged, almost bored.
"Alright then."
The demon moved first fast, he stomped forward and dragged his hand across the ground, sending a line of rising stone pillars rushing toward Chris. The movements were sharp and practiced, not sloppy.
Chris stepped around the first one and hopped over the second with barely any effort.
"Your aim's obvious."
Then the challenger snapped his heel down, and fire burst along his legs, wrapping around them like burning armor.
Boosted by the flames, he sprinted in, spun, and threw a blazing roundhouse kick aimed straight at Chris's head.
Chris blocked with one arm, the impact sparking, then pushed the demon back with a controlled burst of chaos pressure.
The challenger skidded but immediately countered.
He slammed his fist into the ground, sending a fast wave of fire sweeping across the street.
The crowd got alarmed and moved back Chris stomped lightly, releasing a thin line of red-black chaos energy beneath him, canceling the fire as the two attacks clashed.
The challenger roared and ripped a chunk of earth from the street. Instead of throwing it straight, he spun it toward Chris.
Chris flicked his wrist.
A saw chaos formed in midair, and with one snap, he split the rock in half.
Still charging, the demon coated his legs in fire again and launched a rapid series of flame-boosted kicks, each one cutting through the air with burning heat.
Chris dodged calmly sidestepping, leaning, letting every strike miss with bad accuracy.
He created flickers of shadow blades that sliced off the fire weakening the demon.
The demon followed up fast his right leg ignited brighter, flames swirling tight around it. He lunged forward with a heavy fire-coated kick.
Chris stepped aside with a lazy twist of his foot.
" Your letting your anger control you too much" he said flatly.
Growling, the challenger slammed both hands into the ground. A wave of heated dirt burst upward, trying to trap Chris in a collapsing shell.
Chris flicked his fingers, creating a sharp gust of wind that cut through it and blew the debris apart.
He still didn't attack seriously.
He just moved letting the demon swing, blast fire, and throw everything he had.
Then Chris moved forward.
He flicked his wrist and summoned a thin chain of shadow that whipped across the street, wrapping around the challenger's ankle. With a small pull, he yanked the demon off balance and dragged him forward.
Chris's hand ignited not with fire, but with crackling demonic energy, dark purple and unstable.
He struck once
A clean hit to the demon's chest not enough to kill, but enough to send him sliding across the street and crashing against a wall denting it.
Flames sputtered around the challenger as he tried one last desperate move.
He punched the ground, sending a pillar of flaming rock upward.
Chris tapped it with his hand that had a concentrated point of chaos, magic, and shattered it instantly.
The street fell silent.
The demon dropped to one knee, coughing.
"I… yield."
The crowd immediately lost interest and went back to their chaos.
Chris brushed dust off his coat.
As the challenger tried to stand, Chris looked at him for a moment.
"You've got potential," he said simply. Be my servant. You'll be more useful that way."
The demon stared for a second, surprised then bowed his head.
"Yes… King of Chaos."
Just another morning in Hell.