Chiyoko and his party members followed Dimitres and his brother, going inside the palace of the Demon King, Yelan. Even after entering, there was no ambush waiting for them. They walked towards the throne room and entered inside.
There, a woman in her early thirties sat with a reddish-tan body and brown hair. She had large assets on her chest and a clearly mature and seductive face, but she also radiated an aura of authority. Her clothes were close to some ancient tribal leader's style, yet kind of modest, with many cleavage-revealing cuts at the curves of her body that left little to the imagination.
Especially the two layers of cloth that were hanging down from her breasts, making them look even bigger and more appealing.
A demon that was already present in the throne room knelt and said, "My lady, your father is still at the beach area. Should we invite him back?"
Yelan's lips slightly twitched. She looked away while rubbing her nails together, and there was frustration and embarrassment on her face. "Just let him be. He'll go back soon enough!" she said, her voice tight.
The demon didn't say anything and accepted her order. Then, Yelan finally looked at Chiyoko and the others. Her expression immediately changed to that of a queen. "So these were the ones. Took you long enough to find them, Dimitres!" she said with a scoff.
"I'm sorry, my lady!" Dimitres immediately apologized and pointed towards them. "They came here to have a duel with you."
"Hmm... Sure, sure, why not?" she said, looking at them. "But before this, can you tell me on what basis you came all the way here to kill me?"
"What basis? You are a demon king! You all always rampage in human territories and kill many humans and other species alike!" Chiyoko replied, unsheathing his sword.
"Pfft..." Yelan chuckled. "Don't compare us with those mindless creatures who can barely talk. They only get around on instinct. And do not forget that you, too, also kill hundreds of thousands of monsters and demons every year for resources. You all even opened organizations such as guilds and mercenary groups to give rewards for killing us. You are not so different either!"
Yelan's words clearly left him speechless.
"Some demons are evil, for sure. But doesn't that go the same for humans as well? We are not so different, yet we are the ones getting criticized!" Yelan said in a solemn voice as she slowly stood up and cracked her fingers.
"Look, if what you want is a fight, then so be it. But don't go around saying you are the savior and that this is justice!" Yelan said while looking at them with her brownish eyes that seemed to radiate fire.
"Well, she does have a point. Everyone criticized Honey for no reason at all. That was clearly wrong!" Irish thought in her mind, agreeing with Yelan's words.
"Now come, I'll make sure to give you proper burials if your body will be attached!" Yelan extended her hands and gestured for them to come, a confident smirk on her face.
"Here? Right now?" Chiyoko was confused, a feeling of surprise washing over him. He had expected an honorable duel in an arena, with many monsters and demons watching. But to fight in the throne room? That was completely unexpected.
"Of course, I got other things to do," Yelan said, her tone impatient. "Are you coming or should I make the first move?"
Chiyoko realized with a jolt that Yelan was completely serious. A surge of adrenaline filled him as he immediately charged towards her, shouting, "Let's go!" Dimitres and his brother immediately backed down, not wanting to interrupt the fight at all. They were nothing more than spectators now.
Richard was the first one to attack. He leaped into the air and slashed his sword down. "Wind Slash!" he yelled.
But then, Yelan just casually waved her hand, and a powerful force sent Richard flying twenty meters away. Thankfully, he managed to twist his body and land on his feet, his heart pounding from the sheer power of that simple gesture.
"A team of four, yet all of them are swordsmen," Yelan mocked, looking completely unbothered. "Not to forget, no healer or support at all. Did you forget humans can't regenerate?" Her words were sharp and meant to hurt their confidence.
"Divine Buff!" Ingrassia shouted, holding her newly obtained golden sword upwards. She touched the blade with her forehead, and at once, a big magic circle appeared beneath them. A warm, golden light washed over Richard and Chiyoko, and they immediately felt their strength and stamina rise tremendously.
But Irish immediately leaped out of the circle. As a dark knight, the holy energy of the divine buff was actually a poison to her, a debuff.
"So you actually got a support?" Yelan disappeared the moment she said it. The next second, she was standing right in front of Ingrassia, a predatory look in her eyes. "Always take down the support first!" she said, and then—BAM!—She directly kicked Ingrassia into the air.
The kick was so powerful that the armor Ingrassia wore broke instantly, and she was sent flying, crashing hard against the ceiling.
"Ingrassia, no!" Richard shouted, his voice filled with panic and rage. He ran towards Yelan, but the next second, she was right in front of him. His eyes widened in shock, but before he could even think, Yelan caught his foot and threw him like a ball, sending him crashing into the ceiling right where Ingrassia had hit.
BAM!...
The impact was so loud it cracked the ceiling, and small pieces of debris began to fall from it.
"What kind of speed is this? It's like fighting against Scarlett. Is she at the same level as her?" Chiyoko couldn't help but think, a cold dread creeping into his heart. And why wouldn't he be scared? Two of his four party members had been defeated in mere seconds. Yelan was clearly stronger than the fifth demon king—Noir.
Yelan didn't wait and directly charged at Chiyoko. They immediately exchanged several blows, one after another. Yelan's speed and strength were just too much. She was clearly not going all out, yet Chiyoko was barely holding on, his arms screaming with every block.
He pushed past his exhaustion and actually managed to imitate Yelan's speed, fighting back with a mirrored intensity.
"So you weren't such a disappointment like I thought!" Yelan praised, a flicker of surprise in her eyes.
But the sudden increase in speed caught her off guard. The imitation was too perfect; it copied her movements at an astonishing speed, and he actually managed to leave a slight cut on her cheek.
Yelan stopped attacking and touched the small wound. It healed instantly, but the look of surprise on her face remained. "That's some nice sword you got. It could actually cut my skin. Worthy of a summoned hero chosen by those bitches!" Yelan chuckled menacingly.
Chiyoko clenched his fist, anger boiling inside him at how Yelan called the goddesses 'bitches'. But he was also desperately exhausted, his lungs burning for air. "I only imitated her movements for few seconds and I'm so exhausted already. This can't go on. We need to escape!" he thought, his mind racing.
At the same time, Irish moved quickly, using her speed to catch Ingrassia and Richard before they could fall to the ground. "You two are okay?" she asked, her voice steady despite the chaos.
Ingrassia coughed, a pained expression on her face, and gave a slight nod. "Yes!"
Although Irish had a calm face, she was panicking inside for her own reasons. "Aaaa!..... What should I do? What should I do? Aoto never told me how to act in this kind of situation. How should I act extroverted right now?" she screamed in her mind, feeling a wave of social anxiety wash over her.
She took a deep, shaky breath to compose herself and said, "Chiyoko won't hold for much longer. Our mission was never to defeat her anyway. We can already confirm that she is clearly at a demon king's level. We should focus on running first!"
"You're right!" Ingrassia immediately agreed, her voice weak but firm.
At that moment, a voice spoke directly inside their heads. It was Chiyoko's voice, clear and urgent. "It's me, Chiyoko. Gather at one place. I just need a few seconds. I'll imitate Miss Scarlett's teleportation and get us out of here!" he said.
"Leave it to me!" Irish replied, her voice filled with determination.
Chiyoko immediately switched positions with Irish. In a flash, Irish was in front, and she charged directly towards Yelan.
Clang!... Clang!...
The sound of metal striking something hard echoed through the throne room. Irish's sword struck against Yelan's hand, but nothing happened at all. It was like Yelan's nails were harder than dragon scales. It was a pity that Irish didn't have a legendary sword like Athena, the one Chiyoko had.
BAM!...
Both of them struck each other's face, then again, and then again. Despite getting three solid punches from Yelan, Irish was completely fine, like nothing had happened. She didn't even look exhausted.
Yelan was clearly impressed by Irish's toughness. "Not bad. To think there was someone else at the hero's level!" she said, a hint of respect in her voice.
At that moment, Chiyoko shouted, "Irish, I'm ready!"
Irish instinctively looked back and saw Chiyoko standing firm with Ingrassia and Richard, gathered together. She immediately turned to run towards them, but Yelan reacted even more quickly. She reached out and put her hand on Irish's shoulder. But the moment she did...
At once, Yelan's hand immediately started to turn into ugly, distorted flesh with purple skin. Yelan's eyes widened in surprise.
She immediately retreated back and, with a swift motion, cut off her own hand. But the next second, it regenerated again, as good as new.
"What kind of move was this? It actually corrupted my soul!" Yelan said, her voice filled with genuine surprise.
But this small moment of distraction was enough. Irish used the chance to run and reach Chiyoko and the others. Chiyoko immediately activated his skill, focusing his mind and imitating how Scarlett teleports. He poured all his energy into it.
And the next second—Swoshhh!....
Everyone looked around. They were still in the same palace. The same Yelan was standing in front of them. They didn't teleport at all.
A wide, cruel grin appeared on Yelan's face as she laughed manically. "Hahaha, how foolish! Talking via telepathy while being so close to me. It was very easy to infiltrate, you know!" she said, her voice dripping with mockery.
"She was actually hearing us all along?" Chiyoko's eyes widened in shock and despair. He was absolutely right. Yelan had heard their entire plan to teleport away and had cancelled it at the very last moment, just to make them feel the crushing weight of despair.
"It seems you did not realize it," Yelan said, her tone turning cold. "This is a death duel. You aren't going anywhere alive!" she said with a dark chuckle.
She then looked at Irish and gritted her teeth, her expression turning furious. "And you... How dare you hold back against me? Do you think I'm weak? You'll pay for this humiliation!" she shouted, her voice booming with anger. The sudden burst of rage from Yelan clearly made Ingrassia and Richard shudder. It seemed she was going to kill them brutally now.
But instead of attacking, she crossed her arms, a confident smirk on her face. "You. Attack me with your strongest attack. I'll take it head on. If you manage to leave even a mark on me, I'll spare all of you!" she said, her voice full of arrogance.
Although Chiyoko had managed to make a cut on her face before, that was only because Yelan was just playing around with them. Right now, she was clearly serious.
Irish was in a daze, but then a sudden realization hit her, and she became increasingly confident. A confident smile spread across her face as she walked to the front. "Okay then. As you wish!" she said.
Ingrassia and the others looked at her with worried and puzzled expressions. They were thinking Irish was actually planning to sacrifice herself to make an opening for them to escape.
But then, instead of attacking, Irish knelt on the ground and put her hands on the floor. A summoning circle immediately formed beneath her, glowing with mysterious energy.
"A summoning circle? Out of all things, you chose this?" Yelan couldn't help but chuckle, finding it pathetic.
But then, the next moment, from the summoning circle, a woman appeared. She had creamy white skin, beautiful purple hair, and mismatched eyes, Even Yelan was no match for her beauty.
She was none other than Scarlett.