Old records
«Oh-ho-ho," the overweight presenter let out a laughter full of anticipation. - At last we have waited, dear ladies and gentlemen, the Emperor never disappoints his fans!
His partner, a beautiful blonde picked up on his speech:
«Mr. Dichauser's entourage has moved aside! The Emperor is walking right into the midst of his enemy! Unbelievable! He wants to fight all the enemies alone!
«What do you think, my charming colleague," the overweight man turned to the woman, changing the accent of his ubiquitous smile. - Will they be able to deal a single blow to our Emperor? How about a bet? For example, if they don't lay a finger on our star, then you.... - He winked theatrically at the camera lens. - You'll finally agree to a date with me!
The woman snorted at his suggestion:
«Look for fools elsewhere.....
Meanwhile, the camera began to show the battlefield again. Some plain that was still covered with green in the past, but was now overrun with the numerous consequences of the battle.
In the middle of the field, with a completely relaxed gait, walked Dichauser, as always in his iconic red parade uniform over his bare torso. Neither his facial expressions nor his swaggering strides made the audience aware of any possible tension. It seemed as if the Emperor had come not for a Ranking Game, but for a casual stroll. His retinue, almost fully staffed, stood five hundred meters away from him and boredly waited for the denouement of events. If one looked at the entire Dichauser team, one could realize that they were not taking their opponent seriously at all.
In any other situation, and with any other demon, it would have been considered an insult, but not here and not now.
The opposing side, another winner of the Young Demon Gathering who had earned the right to challenge someone from the top ten, thought of nothing better than to challenge the Ranking Games Champion specifically to a fight.
Bold.
But it's stupid!
At this moment in time, the faces of the sixteen figures, counting the young king himself, read a serious tension. They did not react to Dichauser's carelessness, but rather increased the pressure on their abilities. There was no room for wounded pride, only anticipation that shackled their bodies with terror.
«Shit..... - The young man who was the king cursed and looked at his pieces. - Rooks, Knights, Pawns with melee specialization! - The named ones looked into their king's eyes with determination. - Attack! Delay the Emperor! We will win!
«A-A-A-A!
Ten figures separated from the general pack and swiftly rushed straight towards Dichauser. Some of the figures summoned their wings and familiars to fly up and then swoop down on the relaxed Emperor. Others mobilized all their physical strength and rushed directly, scattering piles of dirt behind them that could not withstand such pressure.
The horses reached him first and swung their slashing weapons at Dehaeuser, but he calmly dodged the blows. The close-up showed that the expression on the Champion's face hadn't changed a bit.
Another pirouette right under the lunge of the long spear, and he comes sharply closer to his opponent.
CLAP!
It seemed that the quickly placed punch straight to the stomach was heard by all present.
«А!... - The spittle and blood flew out of his mouth, and he instantly lost consciousness and fell back in his seat.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
Dichauser dodged all the swings and reduced the melee army with his monumental strength. At one moment he delivered a slap that nearly broke the neck of one. In another he delivered an uppercut so fast that the camera caught only the unfortunate man's flight and his teeth flying out. The Emperor needed only one blow to send any ordinary figure out of the game.
Fifteen seconds. That's how long it took Dichauser to deal with a dozen figures. The time was marked more by their approach to him than by the Emperor's whim. By the time the last one reached his knockout portion, the others had already been teleported off the battlefield for reasons of not being able to continue the fight.
«Я... - The young demon of noble origin swallowed the lump in his throat, and then gathered his strength and shouted to the others. - Prepare a magic bombardment! All together! We will win!
Dichauser stopped in his seat and stared with interest at the numerous magic circles that covered the entire open space above the pile of remaining figures. He had no intention of disturbing them. On the contrary, the eagerness of their king made him smile sincerely.
«You have great potential! - Dichauser folded his arms across his chest and looked into the young king's eyes. - Whatever the outcome of this battle, remember, don't give up! No matter how difficult the situation is!
«Emperor... - The flattered demon was dumbfounded, and then, having regained his senses, roared with renewed vigor. - Attack! Forward! We will win!
«A-A-A-A-A!
«Let's destroy the Emperor!
«THE TOP ONE WILL BE OURS!
In an instant, numerous magic circles snapped off their spells. Fireballs that heated the surrounding matter into superheated plasma. Lightning discharges that shook the air. Whirlwinds of magical energy burst forth from complex magical patterns, sweeping away everything in their path. A riot of elements that directed its fury at only one person. Dichauser Belial.
The Emperor decided that this young talent deserved respect, that is, the use of his signature power. No matter what anyone said about his stupidity, he had a lot of courage.
«Hmm," he nodded approvingly, and then his eyes turned into two white glowing failures.
A white haze, a thick fog that began to cover Dichauser's entire body with an aura. In the next moment, dense, unlike everything else, bundles of white energy began to form from this very aura. And the next thing they did was lightning-fast heading towards a multitude of magical attacks.
There was no loud explosion that comes to mind when you see a collision. Nor were there epic explosions that would color the surrounding landscape. In an instant, everything just. disappeared.
The fireballs immediately extinguished as soon as they came into contact with the thick bundles of energies. The lightning bolts left behind only a distant sound, which appears "after" the lightning bolts because of the difference between the speeds of sound and light. The invisible magical battering rams, which had previously torn away layers of earth, also disappeared from reality. There wasn't a single sign left that someone had used extensive magic bombardment here. There was nothing left.
«No-impossible... - The young king muttered in horror. - Not a single attack even scratched the Emperor....
He gazed into the surrounding space, where only small remnants of white aura remained.
And this white aura was an ancestral ability of the Belial clan.
Uselessness. A power that allowed to "destroy" any phenomena and abilities. The user of this special ability had to thoroughly analyze the properties of the phenomenon in his mind, to understand what makes it what it is. In a successful outcome of events, a member of House Belial could simply "erase" another's ability from reality. Whether it was offensive or defensive, as long as the user could thoroughly understand the principles behind it, it would nullify the opponent's ability.
Sounds like just an incredibly useful power, doesn't it? Natural kryptonite that could be applied to any phenomenon. This is a common misconception. No, the power of this ability is undeniable, but the complexity behind it prevents the potential from being fully realized. It is for this reason that members of House Belial have always been treated with disdain. On paper, the ability is incredible, but in practice, not so much. Until the ascension of Dichauser, of course.
It was his genius and perseverance that allowed him to rise to the top of the Ranking Games. He possessed this ability so masterfully that he could "shut up" any opponent. Neither the complexity of understanding the nature of the phenomenon, nor their number, nor their strength could make him stop. The Emperor was relentless and merciless.
«Impressive," Dichauser nodded, as he walked slowly toward the horrified retinue. - But you have a long way to go....
«I... - The young demon clenched his fists and shouted at Dichauser in a rage of humiliation. There was no room for humiliation, though. There was a reason why the Emperor couldn't be "skewered" for decades, and not by ordinary demons, but by a full-fledged ten better players in the rankings. No one sane would somehow "humiliate" this young and promising king for losing to such an opponent. - You are finished, Emperor! All of you! Attack!
The rest of the retinue, led by the King himself, ran straight at the Emperor.
«I guess," Dichauser slowly raised his hand above his head. - That this is where our game ends...
The emperor struck the ground with lightning speed.
BOOM!
All the camera could see were huge chunks of soil that exploded into the air like an underground explosion. The Emperor struck directly underneath him, so that the shockwave and debris could swat the entire enemy retinue at once. The young king and his company were never seen again in this game, because....
«Dichauser Belial has won!
The loud voice of the announcer who announced the total resounded throughout the airwaves.
The camera panned back to the studio, where a full-figured demon and a beautiful demoness were sitting just like that.
«Well... - The man stretched, looking into the camera. - I can't say we didn't expect this outcome, but as always, Emperor!
The demoness picked up on his speech:
«No need to diminish the accomplishments of our young king as well.....
«Speaking of accomplishments," the man interrupted her. - Didn't we say we were going on a date?
«I didn't agree!
With a flick of his finger, Emeric turned off the huge magical screen that showed old footage of his idol's fights. He rubbed his eyes tiredly and leaned back on the couch.
Akeno walked up behind him and began massaging his shoulders:
«Emerica-sama," her voice was uncharacteristically quiet and hesitant. - Maybe you should take a break. You've been watching all of the Emperor's games for three days now...''
«I need it," he shook his head slightly.
«Why?....
Emeric turned back to his bishop and could see the concerned look on his Akeno's face. She was worried about him.
«Я... - Emeric was beginning to realize that he had really gotten too caught up in his worries over the past few days. So much so that he had "forgotten" about his lovers. - I'm sorry, my little angel.
«You don't need to apologize," Akeno hugged him so that his head was between her upper hemispheres and kissed his cheek. - Just don't keep it to yourself... Valerie and I are always ready to listen to you...
«I know, Akeno," Emeric looked at the cover of one of the tapes of the Emperor's games, where his profile was displayed. - I know...
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