"You people… are you looking down on me?"
Riser's sharp eyes swept across Arata Hayashi and his companions, his tone dark and venomous. "Kill them for me!"
At his command, several of his followers exploded into motion—afterimages streaking across the battlefield as they charged toward Arata's team.
But Arata didn't move. He stood calm and still, hands tucked in his pockets, expression unreadable.
To him, these opponents weren't even worth drawing his sword for. With Leone, Akame, and Kasumigaoka Utaha beside him, there was simply no need.
And indeed—
Before he could even lift a finger, Leone stepped forward.
"Heh," she chuckled, a wild grin curling on her lips. "If you want to hurt my master, you'll have to go through me first."
Her pupils narrowed to golden slits, and a pair of sharp feline ears sprouted atop her head.
Boom!
The ground beneath her feet shattered as Leone vanished, leaving only a crater behind.
The Phoenix servants didn't even see her move before she appeared right in front of them, her muscles coiled with explosive power.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
Her fists blurred. Every punch carried the weight of a cannon. Within seconds, half the enemy team was sent flying, smashing into nearby walls.
Crash!
Buildings in the distance erupted into debris, burying Riser's followers in the rubble. The battle had ended almost as soon as it began.
The spectators fell silent.
"…S-so strong."
"Leone, right? She can transform like that? What is she?"
Inside the Supernatural Research Club, the live broadcast flickered on the big screen. Rias's peerage and Sona's team stared in disbelief.
"What incredible speed and power," Sona murmured, pushing up her glasses. "She's just a soldier-class devil?"
Rias shook her head slowly. "That's what Arata said, yes. But she's clearly beyond that now…"
"Now I understand where his confidence comes from," Sona admitted.
Koneko clenched her small fists as she watched the screen. "I… can't even compare."
Meanwhile, on the battlefield—
Riser's face twisted with rage. "Impossible! She's just a low-level devil! How can she have that kind of strength?!"
"Why not?" Arata replied smoothly, his calm voice carrying across the chaos. "Perhaps your followers are simply too weak."
Riser's teeth ground together.
Arata's smirk deepened. He had spent months enhancing his peerage—integrating the Empire's weapon-tech and refining their demonic essences. Leone, Akame, and Utaha had each ascended beyond the boundaries of ordinary devils.
"Ubelluna!" Riser roared. "Don't disappoint me again!"
The tall magician stepped forward, her cloak fluttering as she rose into the air.
Buzz!
A massive magic circle spread across the sky. Then—
Boom!
A colossal explosion erupted, a blazing storm of destruction engulfing Arata's group.
"The explosion magic's impressive," Arata murmured, his coat fluttering in the shockwave—but he didn't move.
Instead—
Clang!
A silver flash burst forth as Akame unsheathed Murasame.
In an instant, she vanished—her crimson eyes glowing like twin rubies.
Swish!
A single blade arc cut through the heavens. The explosion split in two, the firestorm scattering into harmless motes of light before vanishing entirely.
Gasps echoed. Even Riser's expression faltered.
"What… what is she?" he whispered. "Another monster…"
"Come now," Leone's voice rang out like a growl. "Who's next?"
Her figure blurred again, charging straight into the cluster of Phoenix soldiers. Each step she took cracked the air itself.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Bodies hit the ground like meteors, carving grooves into the arena floor.
"Enough!" Riser's roar shook the field. His aura ignited, heat waves distorting the air around him.
But before he could strike—
"Utaha," Arata called quietly, eyes gleaming. "Show them the power of the Fire God's Essence. You've been training with it these past few days, haven't you?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha floated upward gracefully, her long hair fluttering in the wind. "Of course, Master," she said with calm pride. "In fact, I've developed a new technique."
Buzz!
A brilliant crimson magic circle expanded beneath her feet. Wind gathered, twisting into a spiraling column.
Then—
Boom!
Flames erupted like a tidal wave, merging with the tornado in a roaring inferno.
The fiery vortex surged forward, devouring everything in its path.
Rumble!
The tornado-dragon clawed at the earth, tearing through the field with unstoppable force. The heat was suffocating; the air itself began to burn.
The sky glowed red. The ground melted into magma.
Within seconds, the entire battlefield was reduced to a blazing crater.
From the observation room, Rias, Akeno, and Sona stood frozen.
"When… did Utaha become that powerful?" Rias whispered.
"She's a mid-class devil," Akeno murmured in disbelief. "That level of magic output shouldn't be possible…"
Arata watched calmly, his coat fluttering in the aftermath. "You've done well," he said approvingly. "You managed to merge the Fire God's Essence with wind magic. That's an advanced fusion technique."
Utaha blushed slightly, smiling with quiet satisfaction.
Her magic just now had reached the destructive level of a high-class devil.
She had evolved again.
"But they're not all gone, are they?" she asked softly, staring at the distant flames.
Arata chuckled. "They're enemies, remember? You don't have to hold back."
Utaha nodded firmly. "Understood."
"That's the right mindset," Arata said, eyes glinting. "We'll finish this."
And as the flames continued to roar across the ruined arena, every devil watching knew—this was no longer a ranking game.
It was a declaration of supremacy.