"I accept your challenge, my daughter." The daemon emperor was the first to reply.
An imposing figure then rose to the air from the Imperial Army.
He was a middle-aged man around sixty years old, with golden eyes just like E'Athar and lustrous dark hair.
Every step he took in the air seemed to make the world tremble. His gaze was so deep that it seemed to reveal all the secrets of the people he looked at, and his aura was as sharp as an unsheathed sword.
Ky'Ere Deora, Emperor of the Daemons.
He was a fifteenth-layer daemon, and one of the strongest powerhouses in the world.
"Dad." E'Athar's gaze was complicated when she looked at her father.
The emperor's gaze was similar, but it soon hardened and turned into an ice-cold and indifferent look befitting of a ruler.
Now that her father had replied, E'Athar looked in the direction of her brother's army.
Just then, a sigh sounded.
"I accept it too, E'Athar. You are right, let's decide everything with a duel."
Next, a male daemon appeared a few meters away from E'Athar and her father.
Just like E'Athar, this daemon had a pair of golden eyes and a head of white hair. But unlike her, his hair was short, and his eyes were as calm as a lake.
Strangely, he did not seem like a warrior. Instead, he had the gentle and knowledgeable demeanor of a scholar.
Dyrroth Deora, the crown prince of the daemons.
He was the rightful heir to the throne of the Daemon Empire and a very talented daemon.
At thirty-two years old, he was already at the fourteenth layer of mana, just one step away from reaching the fifteenth layer.
To be honest, in terms of talent, the daemon imperial family of this generation was superior to the human imperial family. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why daemons were so insistent about invading the empire.
My father, Grand Quintin, was just at the eleventh layer despite being forty-two. On the other hand, E'Athar and Dyrroth were much younger, but both of them were stronger than him.
Perhaps if Immortals don't appear in this world, the daemons would've still started a war, with a pretty high chance of them winning it and conquering the world.
From that perspective, it's a good thing for humans that I reincarnated in this world.
The leaders of the three factions of the daemon empire stood in front of each other calmly. Ky'Ere, leader of the emperor faction, Dyrroth, leader of the crown prince faction, and E'Athar, leader of the neutral faction.
Despite being enemies, none of them showed hostility towards the others. At the end of the day, they were family too.
After several seconds of silence, the emperor sighed.
"You two should just surrender and stop this foolishness."
"There is no way I can do that, father." The crown prince shook his head. "Now that things have come to this point, either I become the new emperor, or I lose everything."
"You should have not started a rebellion to start with."
"I only want what is better for the empire. Now is the time to attack the Arcadian Empire. We can't let an opportunity like this pass."
"So, when I refused to continue the war, you decided to take matters into your own hands, huh."
"It's the best for the daemons."
"It's not," E'Athar growled with an angry look. "How many daemons have died due to the civil war you caused, brother? They are our brethren! Our brothers and sisters!"
"You are still so naïve, E'Athar." The crown prince smiled wryly. But in the next second, his gentle face became cold and stern. "A great cause sometimes requires small sacrifices. As a ruler, I must decide if the cause is worth the sacrifices, and this time, I think it is."
"Dyrroth is right." The emperor nodded. "Sometimes sacrifices are unavoidable."
E'Athar froze. Then, she fell silent and lowered her gaze.
"Is it so?"
She then grabbed her sword and looked at her father and brother coldly.
"It looks like words are useless. Then, I will let my sword talk."
The emperor and the prince grinned and grabbed their swords too.
"I agree. Son, daughter. Let's fight to our heart content."
"I hope the two of you are ready. If you have not improved since the last time we fought, I fear the two of you won't last against me."
In the next instant–
*BOOOOOMMMMM!!!*
An explosion of mana erupted from the three figures.
Three different kinds of mana clashed in the sky above the battlefield, blowing away the nearby clouds.
And surprisingly, the three sources of mana were evenly matched!
The three of them were at the peak of the fifteenth layer! In terms of mana alone, they were equal!
This result surprised the three of them, especially the emperor.
Just one month ago, only he was at the fifteenth layer, but now, his children had reached the same level as him.
Dyrroth was surprised too. He thought that he would surprise the other two by revealing his newfound strength, but to his surprise, E'Athar had also become much stronger. Her improvement was even more exaggerated than his.
Strange... He was sure that E'Athar's mana was not at this level just a few hours ago. How could she grow this much in such a short time?
'Could it be that she had been hiding her strength?'
Both the emperor and the crown prince could not help but think that.
However, they soon stopped worrying about how the others had become so strong. Now, they only needed to worry about defeating them.
"It looks like this battle is going to be really interesting." The emperor's lips curved up into a smile full of fighting intent.
At the same time, Dyrroth's aura grew as his excitement for battle rose sharply.
The three of them confronted each other for several seconds, until finally–
*Bam!*
Their figures disappeared at the same time, only to appear in front of each other!
"""[Half-Moon]!""" The three of them shouted in unison.
And with a powerful explosion, their battle started.