{Sue}

With most of the audience gathered in the middle outside of the battlefield, I was standing closer to Jinma’s side, separated from the crowd. Ren and Mametama were at both of my sides as my assigned escorts while their master was occupied with the spar. Using [Mana Manipulation] to heighten my hearing, plus my [Hyper Thought Processing] and [Hyper Perception] skills, I observed the battle and everything that went on around it.

“[Levitate]!” Gabriella chanted at the start of the battle before her disembodied head suddenly floated out of her hand and into the air, about 7 meters [~23 feet] off the ground.

Hmm … I didn’t expect her to possess the [Levitate] Null Spell. That could be a problem for Jinma. If my [Size Up] caught that Null Spell beforehand, I would have warned him about it first thing.

A shame that even [Size Up] at max level wouldn’t show what Null Spells a person possesses. It’s especially annoying when the skill displays the more personal details of a person’s character like what kind of items they have on their person, including what underwear they’re wearing. Even a female’s three sizes or the length and girth of a male’s dong is known through this unorthodox appraisal skill—though I was especially thankful for that feature after seeing how much Jinma was packing before last night’s events. That aside, it would be nice a person’s list of Null Spells would be known, even if it takes another skill to do it. Perhaps the Immortals intentionally left this part out to give everyone a fighting chance when things look bleak?

Anyway, Dullahans would usually throw their heads way up in the air, attack their enemies, and then catch their heads after they fall. This strategy gave Dullahans a moment to see the battle from above and not worry about any blind spots for ambushes while the body took care of downing the enemies. That was the focus in their battles, using their unique [Headless Style] fighting style skill that would be foolish to attempt if you don’t have the strength and numbers to back you up. Even when they aren’t on the front lines, Dullahans can be good allies to look out for their comrades’ blind spots when facing multiple enemies.

With Gabriella possessing [Levitate], though, she can control where to look and not worry about catching her head, focusing her body to fight the battle while watching like a member of the audience.

“[Heavy Sin]! [Debilitating Defense]! [Baneful Poison]! [Burning Weakness]! [Soaking Weakness]!”

At the same time Gabriella’s head lifted to the air, Beelzebub spouted rounds of status-ailment spells at Umeiyon. The Dragoness just stood there with her arms still crossed, unflinching at the Lord of the Flies’ magical barrage.

The Dark Knight’s headless body rushed in, her great sword in both hands drawn back for a big wind up. She was setting her sights on Jinma, who just noticed her assault and prepared himself to take the attack head-on.

Kkkkkkkkkkk!

When their weapons clashed, I could feel a subtle shockwave from it. If Jinma hadn’t stood his ground, Gabriella could have sent him flying. As their blades rubbed against each other, a continuous trill of steel rang throughout the training grounds. That was likely because of the ultrasonic vibrations the Chaos Metal in Jinma’s katana was emitting as it held against the great sword.

As for Umeiyon, at the last moment before Beelzebub’s spells hit, a thin veil of light suddenly appeared and covered the Dragoness’ form. With my active [Size Up], I glanced above Umeiyon’s head and did not see any symbols for status ailments next to her name.

All of this happened slowly enough for me to see everything thanks to my improved perception and reaction time from my skills, making everything within the last 4 seconds seem like 8-10 has passed. This is only part of what makes me the strongest Devil in Padimon and the current king of my country for Demons. Knowing Jinma has those same skills gives me comforting a sense of camaraderie.

“WHAT?!” Beelzebub balked, seeing her status-ailment spells not having any effect on Umeiyon.

“Silent chanting and an [Immunity] spell?” Noire muttered while intensely watching the fight with calculating eyes and a fist to her mouth.

“Geez, is this really that surprising?” Umeiyon asked while shrugging her shoulders, “Being a Sorceress, even a Dark Mage, weakening your opponent with [Curse Magic] first is like their main forte in battle, right? It should be obvious for someone to take proper measures when they know who they’re up against. Don’t even try to do the same to Jin, either, I already cast [Immunity] on him as well.

“As long as I’m around, nobody under my watch is going to get afflicted with any status ailments, making your [Curse Magic] spells useless,” Umeiyon said before she pointed her reptilian finger at the Insectoid, “Now, we can settle this like real magic specialists and rely on our own powers to see whose reign supreme, so show me what you got, Beelzebub, and we’ll see if you’re as ‘great’ as you’ve repeatedly spoken.” With that reptilian hand the Dragoness was pointing, she turned it with the palm faced up, taunting the Flyran with a provoking gesture while making a conceited grin.

“Yeah ha ha! You tell her, Ume!” Jinma cheered, still holding himself against Gabriella’s headless body before he pushes her back, “I’m gonna have to show off my stuff too.”

“You did well to hold back my first strike, but it’s going to take more than that to—”

Gabriella’s talk was interrupted by Jinma’s rush, which was not only faster than hers, but his katana changed to a club-like weapon. Based on its shape, I have seen it in some books before, I believe it was called a ‘bat’? At his approach, he started whaling against the Dark Knight, pushing her back with each swing, all with a manic grin on his face.

“W-What is with his face?! Grk! Th-This power! Why do I feel … weaker?!” Gabriella exclaimed, aghast.

Hmm … it’s similar to the style Jinma showed against Eugus in their duel, even though it was a bokken. Could this be some of what his [Slugger Style] is about? And that smile of his … that has to be his [Sadistic Smile] skill. Gabriella’s stats went down drastically the moment he put it on. I have never heard of another Devil or any Demon possessing such a skill. Could this be a unique? If he used that along with his [Devil Eyes] against me back at the inn … fuck, I’m already getting wet just thinking about it. Still, from seeing [Sadistic Smile] in Umeiyon’s skill set as well, she might have acquired it in their marriage, but with all the other stuff she has in her long list, it’s hard to say whether that’s the case.

“Tch.”

A tongue click caught my attention enough to turn to the source. It was Konjiro’s wife, Yukino, who was watching the spar with frustration in her eyes while biting her nails. I’ve noticed she has glared at Jinma for some time since she first saw him, but her eyes showed more annoyed confusion than malice. At least that was what I gathered from her.

Haven’t really got the chance to read Yukino yet with our eventful entrance. Let’s see what’s going on in her head, I thought while activating my [Mind Reading] skill.

she mentally argued,

Yukino momentarily shook her head, shaking off such thoughts derailing her line of thinking,

The Kitsune wife furrowed her brow in annoyance again,

Oooh, how scandalous, I thought, forcing down my urge to smile, From looking at her status, Yukino’s getting to that age as a female Werebeast where they’re more prone to be sexually starved, even though they aren’t near their cycle. Even with her age, though, she still looks to be in her prime. If Jinma makes a move on her, could she possibly tell us what Konjiro and Perseus are planning with the coup?

“Gaaaugh!” Beelzebub yelled in frustration, interrupting my mental planning, “Fine! You want magic?! The Great Beelzebub will give it to you! [Flame Burst]! [Water Blast]! [Pyreball]! [Hydroball]! [Spitting Flare]! [Heavy Shower]!” She then cast spell after spell that she had onto Umeiyon, who still stood there while spells of her own appeared and met with the Flyran’s midway before they collided and dissipated. The magic power seemed to be equal, but Beelzebub looked like the spells took more out of her while Umeiyon wasn’t breaking a sweat. The Dragoness set this up to be a battle of pure strength between magics, but with the large difference between their SP. ATK stats and MP to use, it’s more of a test for how long Beelzebub would last before she was spent.

Up to now, I’ve only seen Father, Sammy, and Jinma being able to cast spells without voicing the incantations. Even just saying the spell’s name aloud to activate is something very few humans can accomplish, whether they’re in novice or advanced magic-based classes. Demons like myself and Demis can cast spells just by saying the name just fine. Sammy once said that this may be due to us having a higher intuition with mana and magic than humans do. With enough mental practice, not only would humans be able to cast magic the same way Demons and Demis do, but all of us should be able to do so without voicing incantations. That’s what Sammy theorized, anyway, and she and Father are living examples that it can be possible.

I’m uncertain how long Jinma has been in Padimon as well as the time it took him to learn magic. For him to be at his current level as a Brawler, taking his EXP-boosting tanto into consideration, he must have faced quite a few strong foes during his time here to get this far. As for Umeiyon, being a long-lived, powerful Dragon, casting magic without incantations must be child’s play for her. Even if she was using a fraction of her true power in her current form, she would be a huge threat to Padimon, let alone my kingdom, if someone was foolish enough to cross her.

Still, what could a Dragon be doing in Padimon, and why is she married to Jinma? I thought, Not that I don’t understand the appeal of his hard-to-resist charm and handsome looks on par to a Devil’s, but don’t all Dragons look down on the three kin as inferior in power?

“Hmm … Mei’s magic is quite impressive, meeting Beelzebub’s without as much effort,” Noire analyzed as she watches the spar, “As for Jinma, his fighting style here may look unorthodox, but there is still enough power behind it to get him through certain situations.”

I should point out that Noire has had her eyes set on Jinma longer than Umeiyon. Heck, even from yesterday, there were very few times her eyes weren’t looking his way. To see her have this much interest over someone, even if it’s toward Jinma, was a surprise for me knowing some of her background. If Noire’s still this aggressive in making advances to him, something will surely develop between them in time.

If it’s Noire, hmm … Sammy has mentioned good things about her, and that really says something from a shut-in such as her, I thought, From what I’ve heard on the grapevine, Noire has a different way of conducting herself that other nobles should learn from. There’s no denying her beauty, of course, and she shows good judgement in character, especially if she’s second-guessing her engagement to Perseus—speaking of which, I need to investigate whether her message has reached her family yet. It also looks like she’s starting to get along with Jinma and Umeiyon, and from reading her mind, she has a legit interest in getting to know me and the rest of Jinma’s party/harem too.

Jinma seems to have mixed feelings having such a relationship with a noble, which is understandable as such a thing will always spark unwanted drama in the populace. If he ends up changing his mind later down the line, though, I don’t think I have any problems of him making Noire his second wife. Hmm … I don’t know how Jinma married Umeiyon, but maybe I should arrange a proper ceremony for the three of them … four, if my relations with him improve.

Plus, if Noire does happen to do something wrong to Jinma, I have no problems with erasing her compared to Umeiyon, and I will wipe the rest of the Krauss family off this world should they resist me. I’m sure Father will understand why I would need to resort to such measures, even if he has close relations with Ramone … though I probably shouldn’t think so far ahead if things don’t work between me and Jinma. It’s because of me having such thoughts that I’m now having trouble connecting with him in the first place, I internally admitted, bumming myself out at the thought.