Defeating Temma was no easy task but at least, I was getting the hang of parallel processing. Although I could use some work on my naming skills. “InfiNight Darkness” was just a really lame pun.

I went to my waiting room and sat on the couch. It was a tough fight but I finally secured a win against Temma. It was amazing how I managed to outsmart him but I had a feeling that he was underestimating me. If he was completely serious, I wouldn’t have fooled him.

The next match was about to start and I had to pay attention to it. After all, the winner was going to be someone I will have to fight in the next round.

“The demon who could take on an A-class magic, Oga Aragami!”

“The human girl with unbelievable strength, Noel Shirogane!”

Oga and Captain Noel walked to the arena. Captain Noel had a serious look on her face while Oga had a big grin.

“I’m not exactly a fan of fighting women but that doesn’t mean I would pull back my punches”, he said.

“You are a powerful opponent”, she told him.

“Aw shucks. It’s nice to be complimented like that.”

Captain Noel entered a battle stance. Was Oga really that powerful?

You haven’t faced him before in combat, right? Anya’s voice asked.

My sword glowed and it turned into a small girl.

“Oga is not just a normal demon. Even 4000 years ago, he was a genius in combat. My previous master would always lose whenever they sparred. Who knows how strong he is now that he’s 5000 years old?”

“And Captain Noel could feel it so she’s serious even if the fight hasn’t started yet?”

“This would be an interesting fight.”

I couldn’t help but agree.

“Let your blades dance and your magic go wild! The second round of the Idol Fan Tournament’s Semifinals... Start!!”

Captain Noel charged and swung her mace. Oga’s shadow wrapped around his arms and he blocked it. He then tried to punch her but Captain Noel avoided it. They continued this exchange for a while but it was a stalemate.

She then held the mace using both of her hands. Captain Noel raised it and swung it down. A huge blast of wind came from it and cracks appeared on the ground when it hit Oga’s arm.

Oga managed to catch the mace but the darkness surrounding his arm was crumbling away.

“Got ya now!” he snapped the mace into two pieces and kicked Captain Noel away.

“He withstood such a powerful strike?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“Noel might be strong for a regular human... But physical strength could only take her so far. Oga has the physical strength of a demon and he has magic too. Noel’s in for a rough fight”, Anya said.

Oga grinned as darkness wrapped around his arms.

“Your weapon is broken, missy. You might want to surrender now or else you’ll be in a world of hurt”, he told her.

“You’re right. My weapon is gone... Flare told me that I shouldn’t do this but I think you’re strong enough to handle me going all out”, she said.

She removed the metal bracers and metal shin guards and carefully placed it on the ground. Captain Noel did some stretches while Oga looked confused.

“Why did you remove your armor? Are you going for speed by removing the heavy things on your body?” he asked.

“Maybe... I got one request for you”, she said.

“Well... Go ahead.”

Captain Noel appeared behind Oga as if she teleported. She clenched her fist and threw a punch. Oga crossed his arms and managed to block it but when her fist hit his arms, a strong gust of wind blew and he was blown away.

Oga was knocked back for a few meters and the darkness in his arms crumbled to pieces.

“Don’t die on me!” Captain Noel shouted and she disappeared once more.

She appeared behind him and Oga managed to barely dodge her fist. However, the force of the wind created by her punch distracted him and he got hit by her next punch.

Oga was knocked to the sky and Captain Noel appeared behind him. She kicked him and sent him flying again. But before he could land to the ground, Captain Noel appeared to the spot where he was heading and punched him once again. He was thrown all over the arena like a tennis ball in a rally. Blood dripped from Oga’s mouth as Captain Noel was getting faster and faster.

“How annoying!” Oga made his shadow rise up and act as a wall but Captain Noel’s punch shattered it to pieces.

He grabbed her arm but Captain Noel managed to swing her arm and throw him away. Oga bounced on the ground and groaned. He was near Captain Noel’s metal bracers and shin guards and he picked it up.

Or at least he tried to. He used both of his arms to just pick up one bracer and was visibly struggling.

“Are you kidding me? This is insane”, he said.

“It’s been some time since I last removed my limiters”, Captain Noel told him.

What was going on? Were her bracers and shin guards special?

“I get it now”, Anya said.

“What’s happening? Why is Captain Noel suddenly strong?” I asked.

“Those metal bracers and shin guards had limiting magic on them.”

“Limiting magic?”

“They come in different forms but basically, they make an object really heavy for the person wearing them. For example, if you were to weigh Noel with her bracers and shin guards, she would probably weigh like an average woman. However, if you hold those items, they would weigh a lot more.”

“I see. Kind of like the weights used in training. But why would Captain Noel do that?”

“To limit her strength. If she would wildly use her full power without those limiters, she would cause death everywhere. Look at Oga, his mouth is bleeding and he is wincing in pain. He must have a few cracked bones already despite having a superior body thanks to being a demon.”

Oga smiled, “You are really powerful. I don’t sense any magic from you so your muscle strength is extraordinary. Noel Shirogane, huh? No wonder you’re a captain despite being so young.”

“Sorry... But I’m ending this!” she shouted as she disappeared once more.

She appeared in front of him and raised her fist.

“Take this! Earth Shaker!!!” she swung down her fist and a massive gust of wind blew when it hit Oga’s body. The strike was so powerful a whirlwind formed. Cracks appeared all over the arena and I could feel the vibrations even if I was in the waiting room.

When the winds died down, I saw a demon.

Now, Oga looked like a demon since he had a horn coming out of his head and his teeth were sharp. However, this time, he looked very demonic. Bat-like wings sprouted from his back and a tail wagged. His muscular body grew into around 2.5 meters in size and his hair was longer.

Anya gulped down.

“Oga’s demon form.... As usual, it looks scary”, she said.

I read about demons before. They have 2 forms which are their sealed form and their demon form. Demons could only use around 20% of their powers when they were in their sealed form. So that meant Oga was now 5 times stronger now that he was in his demon form.

“It’s been several centuries since I last entered this form. As respect for you, I will defeat you with all I have”, he said and raised his fist.

Oga and Captain Noel exchanged blows as winds blew from each of their punches. They didn’t bother dodging each other’s attacks as they solely focused on the offense.

Even if I was watching it from the TV, I knew each and every punch they threw was 100% of their strength. They weren’t backing down as they threw punches. Captain Noel had blood dripping from her mouth.

She backed away and put a few meters of distance between the two of them.

“This is getting nowhere. If we’re going for a battle of endurance, I would lose thanks to my human limitations”, she said.

“So what do you propose? We use our strongest attack against each other?” Oga asked.

“Yeah... I never tried this before but I’m pretty sure you would survive against this”, Captain Noel’s right hand began to glow.

“This is interesting”, Oga’s right hand also began to glow.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“They’re planning to end this in a single punch”, Anya answered.

“What?”

“That magic is called Mana Punch. It’s a simple magic that strengthens one’s punch depending on the mana used. It’s so simple that it could multiply a punch’s power up to 10 times.”

“Wait... If Captain Noel does that, then Oga is in trouble!”

As if on cue, both of them charged at the same time. They swung their fist and a huge explosion occurred in the arena. Strong gusts of wind blew as a blinding light shone. The sound of concrete being demolished was heard and several debris flew away. Smoke enveloped the entire arena.

“What’s going on? The contestants punched each other and now the arena is covered in smoke!” the referee shouted.

When the smoke cleared up, the entire arena was demolished. A demon was standing at the remains of the arena while Captain Noel was outside the bounds. She was lying on the ground and a bit of her clothes were ripped, especially the right side of her upper body.

“N-Noel is out of bounds... The winner is Oga Aragami!!”