Chapter 45: The Duel
Chapter 45: The Duel
Following Lena’s remark, every gaze in the room shifted toward Jaejin.
The doubt of the Snow Nobles, Biwon and Wollyeon; the unpredictable cheers of the Demonic Dragon, Nero; the excitement of the Dryad, Nia; the bewilderment of Vivian, who sat right beside him; and even the fury of Veled, whom he had met just yesterday.
As these diverse reactions surged toward him with terrifying intensity, Jaejin shrank back in tension. Each of those gazes carried the immense weight of a Demon Lord candidate representing their respective race.
Sensing a crisis where a single wrong word could lead to disaster, Jaejin chose his words with extreme care.
"I am Ginger, the Demon Lord candidate for the Lust Demon Race. It has been about a month and a half since I arrived in this world. I may be lacking in many respects, but I look forward to your acquaintance."
The moment he finished speaking, Veled, unable to contain her impatience, demanded an explanation.
"So, you’re saying this guy we all thought was a slave isn't actually a slave, but a Demon Lord candidate?"
"Watch your tongue, Jaun. The moment he took the seat of a High-Rank Lust Demon, his status as a candidate was already established. We simply doubted whether that small frame possessed the power to justify it."
Veled grimaced at Biwon’s sudden intervention, but since his words aligned with her own thoughts, her gaze returned to Jaejin. Her face, twisted in a ferocious glare, was both sophisticated and predatory, like a wild beast.
"I understand it’s hard to believe. I felt the same way at first. But now, I believe I have the ability to back it up."
"Ability? What could you possibly have? It’s obvious you can’t even read mana."
"Honestly, you’re far too impatient. I suppose that’s what happens when you’re a purple-skinned simpleton."
It was Lena who intervened to stop Veled’s constant badgering. She, too, had reached her limit with Veled’s habit of cutting people off.
"Our Jaejin—no, I suppose I should call him Ginger-nim here. Ginger-nim possesses Elise's Ability, which the past Lust Demon Lords were born with. Therefore, he possesses power befitting his title."
"This guy? He doesn't look the part at all."
Despite her verbal skepticism, Veled’s gaze shifted once more upon hearing Lena’s words. Rather than pure rage, she was now scrutinizing him.
Feeling the overall tension in the room soften, Jaejin took a moment to re-evaluate his own power. Except for a few rare cases, this was the power that had led almost every Lust Demon to the throne. It gave even someone as seemingly insignificant as Jaejin the legitimacy of a Demon Lord candidate.
"How can we trust that? Is there a way to prove it?"
"As for proof..."
At the question from Nia the Dryad, Jaejin looked at Lena. The only way to prove this ability was through a direct demonstration.
The power to strengthen a partner through sex. The only proof they could offer right now was Lena herself, who had become stronger through that very power.
"Proof, you say... The Lust Crest on my abdomen was engraved by Jaejin-nim, but as a Lust Demon myself, you wouldn't believe me just because I have one."
Seeing Nia nod in agreement, Lena turned her gaze toward Veled. The two demons, different yet strangely alike, locked eyes.
Just as one must measure two objects against each other to know which is longer, one had to clash with another to prove their strength. Lena subtly signaled Veled as her opponent, and Veled chose to accept the provocation.
"A half-baked demon like a Lust Demon actually thinks she can challenge a pureblood like me?"
"I’ve gained enough power now to knock the wind out of a fool who relies on nothing but her skin color. ♡"
Up to this point, everything was going exactly as Lena had planned. If Jaejin revealed his ability, they would surely demand proof of its authenticity. Then, Lena would prove that power by dueling Veled, about whom she already had information.
The only problem was that Veled was known to possess the greatest martial prowess among the revealed Demon Lord candidates. The hot-blooded Jaun warrior had silenced all rumors about herself through raw, innate strength alone.
It was Lena herself who had explained just how terrifying that martial prowess was.
"Are you sure you're okay with this? You don't have to take such a risk..."
"Normally, I would never take such a gamble, but right now? I’m actually quite confident."
Jaejin couldn't find the words to dissuade her when she showed such conviction. Ultimately, following her plan, the two stood facing each other in the courtyard inside the inner city walls.
It was an official duel, authorized by all seven Demon Lord candidates and the moderator, Cuthbert. The objective was to verify whether Lena’s enhancement was genuine.
Veled did not take up a weapon. It was a confidence born of the belief that her raw physical strength was more than enough to tear a mere Lust Demon apart.
In contrast, Lena stood ready with her whip. She showed caution, as if to say that being confident was one thing, but being careless was another.
"You look pretty rattled. You're stiff as a board."
"Oh, didn't you know? A tiger gives its all even when hunting a rabbit."
Watching the two continue their war of nerves, Jaejin couldn't stop fidgeting. Seeing the delicate-looking Lena face off against the terrifying purple demon made his heart race, regardless of how much he trusted her.
"Those two are incredibly conscious of each other, probably because they hate one another so much."
Standing beside him, Sheryl looked down at the pair with a look of indifference as she spoke to Jaejin. It was their first conversation in a while, following the awkwardness that had lingered since their time at the Demon God Cult.
"Maybe it's because they're both demon races worthy of the name. I think I heard they share the same roots."
"Surprising. I didn't expect you to know that much. You're right; those two races were originally one. A demon who loved a human sought to break the limits of her race to be with him. A demon who threw away her pureblood birthright—that is the succubus."
Sheryl shared the connection between the two races that Lena had never mentioned. Lena tended to avoid explaining things that were difficult for her to talk about, claiming she couldn't remain objective.
"The demons utterly loathed the women who chose to abandon their near-perfect abilities just to unite with another race. Of course, the Lust Demons couldn't understand the Jaun tribe, who failed to understand them, either."
Hearing that they had sacrificed their power for love made the Lust Demon Race seem unexpectedly romantic. Having heard so much about how strong the Jaun were, Jaejin found their decision to give up that status impressive.
"A race blinded by love. Though they are a promiscuous lot, only their fellow demons, the Jaun, hate them this much despite knowing the full story."
Cuthbert, who had been listening, chimed in. He seemed to be feeling some sort of sentiment as he watched the two women facing off.
His melancholic eyes eventually turned toward Jaejin. Whether for better or worse, the man who would bring upheaval to the Demon Race looked small and frail. He wondered if that change would even be by the man's own will.
"A joint Demon Lord candidate can only prove their value by demonstrating their unique talents. Lena must have anticipated facing Veled, so do not worry."
"Yes. I trust Lena."
The two women in the courtyard continued their silent standoff. Then, unable to endure the brief silence any longer, Veled lunged at Lena first.
She moved with such speed that Jaejin’s eyes could barely track her afterimage. As Veled charged, kicking up grass in her wake, Lena tracked her perfectly and lashed out with her whip right into her path.
Crack!
The whip flew through the air with a sound like a thunderclap. Sensing the danger, Veled raised her arm to deflect it.
Veled’s face filled with shock as the whip tore through her tough skin, drawing blood. The strength Lena was displaying was far beyond what she had shown before.
Veled, who had envisioned an overwhelming victory where she would simply swat the whip aside and seize Lena by the throat, gritted her teeth against the stinging pain in her arm.
"That looks quite painful. Shall we end it here?"
"Don't talk nonsense!!"
A mana-infused fist punched the air, and the resulting pressure shot toward Lena with ferocious momentum. When Lena swung her whip again, the wind from the punch was shredded instantly, just as the air had been before.
As Lena easily blocked the subsequent shockwaves, Veled charged even faster than before. If one were to face a wild boar—no, a rhino—head-on, it would probably feel like this.
Lena gripped her whip tighter, her hands tense, and increased her speed, lashing out rapidly. Even as Veled ignored the cuts on her skin and continued her charge, Lena leaped backward to maintain the distance.
Veled was clearly faster, but since her initial momentum had been blunted, she couldn't easily close the gap. Even after several laps around the courtyard in this high-speed chase, Veled remained resilient.
The whip was only tearing her skin and leaving superficial wounds; protected by her explosive mana, she hadn't suffered a single critical injury.
Both women paused to catch their breath and resumed their standoff. Though the scene looked the same as before, the expressions of everyone watching were entirely different from five minutes ago.
There were two key points to this duel: whether Jaejin’s ability was real, and if so, how powerful it actually was.
The moment Lena blocked Veled’s first charge, the truth of the ability was proven. However, Lena’s growth far exceeded any predictions.
According to historical records, it took a month of consistent relations, with a few days of rest in between, to see a mere ten percent increase in power. Even then, the gains diminished over time.
But the strength Lena was displaying now was a near-doubling of her power in just a month and a half.
"Well? Are you ready to admit it now?"
The reason Lena had been so confident was her own firsthand experience of her growth and her absolute faith in Jaejin’s ability.