3rd pov

The look of regret dissipates as quickly as soon as the demon lifts his face up from bowing down.
Her highness, Yuzuki watches the demon before her straighten his posture and holds his long sword with one hand.

He was a very polite demon in the form of a short man, his dark blue three-piece suit accented his dashing looks. And his golden eyes glowing a deep blue demonic light lock onto hers. He wasn't gushing an aura of strength but his level of control over his training weapon gave her what she need to know that he's a very powerful, and also dangerous one.

'Grampa Hakurou said I shouldn't underestimate others. Especially against demons who can take on human forms.' Yuzuki's thoughts accelerate as she gestures a bow of respect.

'I've heard rumors about an outsider demon who bested one of Tempest Academy's prodigies.' Yuzuki lifted her face up and took a look at the demon again.

'So of those rumors are true, the he must be the one who beat the Holy Mage.' And her eyes begin to sparkle in excitement hoping to enjoy playi-no, dueling with such a skilled master.

She then holds her Odachi with two hands, the bladed edge facing forward with its tip reaching higher than her height. Her grip strengthened and her gaze ever so vigilant, facing the demon with a sword in hand, the Oni princess took a step, and seemingly warping from the distance, she appeared before the demon, sword overhead, and swung it down.

"Hah!" she cried with a downward slash at the speed of Mach 2 that screamed a sonic boom. It was a simple, elegant, and destructive slash that seeks to obliterate forward. And the demon in the face of it, simply blocks it with his sword in one hand.

A mistake that cost him an arm and both legs to crack from the force and cause the ground beneath him to cave in deep.

The demon grits in shock trying to stand up to such power. The slash was so great that he had to hold the sword with two hands now to struggle against his predicament. Now their blades lock against each other, one can see who amongst the two are struggling the hardest. As the crack on his body began to further fracture, the demon eases his situation by stepping back.

The Oni Princess then retracts her her blade and leaps back. Not desiring to press any further and wait for the demon to recover.

"Are you okay?" asked the Oni Princess.

"I'm fine." said the demon without a beat but struggles to keep his legs from trembling.

The demon ponders as his thoughts accelerated, he had accounted for everything in that one attack even knowing well how ridiculous the Oni princess' strength was but after that, he was certain that he became uncertain. He couldn't properly judge her attacks until they hit and only then can he measure the odds will it be too late. He can't count on the fact that he has faced similar foes because none of them were like the Oni before him. She was gifted with godlike power and logic doesn't function well to her actions. The only good thing was that she was using an Odachi and not her fist.

Because from that one attack alone, the demon had found out that the Odachi wasn't meant to amplify her attacks, it was meant to hold her back.

Just imagining the moment when she doesn't use the Odachi on him made him shudder.

The demon grunts and if he had lungs, he would've been panting. But he merely looked at the Oni princess and saw the hidden message from her glancing eyes.

'Do your best.'

The demon then healed his body and the cracks forming on his limbs reverts itself back to perfect health as if time was reversed. And he stared, nodded, raising his open hand, and flicked his fingers.

The Oni Princess then notices that a barrier was now surrounding both of them and the entire arena. A nanosecond later, she made an analysis on the barrier and found out it was non-attributed. It had no spell function, no element, no runes for protection purposes. It didn't seem like the typical barrier at all that she wondered that this may be some kind of illusion playing tricks on her.

Well, the Oni princess will do well to let anyone know not to play tricks with her.

The next moment, the Oni princess takes off to attack once again. A similar downward slash plays as soon as the demon was in range. The destructive power unfolds by two-folds, sonic booms rang to deafen the ears but the demon remains steadfast as his figure blurs dodging the slash by a hair's breadth, with minimal movement, and counters with a side slash to the Oni princess' open flank.

The Oni princess saw this counter coming and smiles, Using her Unique Skill: Chaos Optimizer, she read the flow of energy around her and instinctively reacted with the best action to take course. Her Odachi shifts from its place with a blur and deflected the demon's slash. Bouncing it from its trajectory, but the demon used the change in motion to spin and slash to the Oni princess' other flank. But was once again deflected by the Oni princess' flash-like speed and masterful swordplay. And she then swings her Odachi only to be dodged again by an inch.

She attacks, he dodges,

He counters, she deflects,

Clang!

He counters, she deflects,

Clang!

She attacks, he dodges,

He attacks, she deflect,

Clang!

She counters, he dodges,

He attacks, she deflects,

Clang!

She attacks, he dodges,

he counters, she deflects,

Clang!

He counters, she deflects,

Clang!

She counters, he dodges,

He attacks, she dodges,

he attacks, she deflects,

Clang!

He counters, She deflects...

Clang!

Consistent motions of deadly notions almost seemingly like a waltz played with blades. Their swords spark continuously as sonic booms rang from the sheer speed they carried themselves. Their figures blur each time they move. And their swords spoke the mastery of their power.

The demon was pressing on with only the most efficient and effective moves that require the least amount of movement and energy, relying on his new fighting style Technique, to fight with only the skills necessary.

The barrier around them was not doing anything except moving his body to fight with martial arts. The barrier was applied with the skills: martial arts, danger reaction, field control, law manipulation, and flawless calculation to endeavor the task of combating most possibly the strongest opponent the demon has to face yet.

His movements were fluid, precise, planned, manipulated to battle with instincts and nothing else. His mind was blank of excessive thoughts and only thought to process the torrential energy he was seeing, flowing with it, to channel the destructive output back to the Oni princess, whom was doing all the same on her part between their sowed dance.

The Oni Princess was smiling. Smiling with excitement. Smiling with content. Smiling joyously even. As her lips curl to a small smile, she swung her Odachi with grace. Posture, footwork, technique, she had full mastery of the three elements optimized by her Skill: Optimization to only produce the strength, speed and power necessary. She read the flow of energy around the demon, which was like a rippling pond with waves of precision and accuracy, and attack where the flow of energy was susceptible to be disrupt, only for the flow to change as if reacting to the sudden disruption, and flow with ripples continuously once more.

The Oni Princess was impressed. It was like she was fighting another version of her. The action, the movement, the power behind it, she could tell it was all instinctual reaction to fight her. All this time, she had been trying to swat away the sword in his hand, only to see it remained gripped despite the fracturing fingers repeatedly fixing themselves.

He was fighting with his best. The Oni Princess concluded with satisfaction and then... stepped forward.

The demon could sense the change in the flow of battle as a simple move of stepping forward had raised alarms in his mind. She had only been passively attacking without pressing forward from one place. And now that she was stepping up, she presses on with her godly strength.

The demon suddenly found himself being attacked 4 folds the destructive power. His hands tremor and fracture from the impact. He kept losing ground stepping back again and again to mitigate the damage. And even when the sword in his hand weight about 5 tons and slash continuously 10000 pounds of kinetic energy, it did nothing to deter the herculean strength behind her slashes.

He was slowly losing ground if he kept his current pace. Which is why he began using his most reliable skill: Simulate.

***

[Simulation_in_progress...]
[Re-assesing_conditions...]
[Re-analyzing_target...]
[Re_evaluating_priorities...]
[Simulation_complete...]
[Victory rate: 56.2%...]

***

A sudden shift in the balance turns the tables between and the demon's sword plunges on ready for the offensive.

'I only have one chance,' the demon leaps back whilst thinking in the slow world processing reality, 'just one chance, one second, one move,

To win!'

Did he really wanted to win?

Understandably, the demon's intentions to battle wasn't to win but to fight for battle data. It didn't matter if he won or lost. There was nothing at stake and they are merely playing for the sport of it.

The demon felt reluctant to push on knowing that, but...

But when he looked at the glittering eyes of the Oni Princess who was waiting for him with a smile, he sighed eternally.

It seems he made the mistake of pressing on and now the Oni Princess has high expectations of him. Her gaze demand him to continue on surprising her.

'Whatever, I have all the battle data I need for now,' the demon thought, and his resolve became determined, 'Time to end this.'

The demon took the Oni Princess' gaze with stride and followed with an offensive.

The demon slashes forward, and so did the Oni Princess, only for their blades to pass, never to clang, as the demon tangos one step forward into further danger.

The Oni Princess steps back and puts the demon into range, her Odachi pulled over her head and she swung it down, riling pressuring winds and deafening howls.

The demon saw what was coming and lowers his center of gravity, with a kick to the ground, he slips pass the arcing sword by a hair's breadth. And slashes, only to be deflected by an Odachi that blurred into his eyes, and his sword leaves the weakened grip of his right hand...

The Oni Princess smiled, assured of her victory, and it was a fun fight knowing the demon lasted longer than any duel she had indulged on. She wanted to know the demon's name after this. So that she'll have on more friend to enjoy dueling with. And maybe they enjoy doing more activities aside from dueling to their hearts content. That could be arranged so long as his father and mother permits, right? She wonders as the demon's defeat plays out in slow motion. And was about to tip her Odachi over the demon's neck as a sign of her victory.

'Ah, right, he calls himself the Barrier Demon? Cool name and all but that's more like a title than a name really. Maybe I should give him a name? Something cool would fit him too. Bonus, by getting a name from me, he'll evolve into a stronger demon, and then we'll have loads of more fun!' the Oni Princess thoughts in her muse unaware bestowing the demon before her a name will prove to be a difficulty on it's own in the future.

While musing in her thoughts, she fails to register the sword she swatted had been re-equiped with the demon's left hand that chased the sword's handle, grabbed it with an iron gripped, and slashes an unseen blow arcing to Oni Princess' neck.

The demon won...

[Victory rate: 0.00%...]

*Sounds of glass shattering at high speed*

"...Eh?"

The Oni Princess' eyes went wide in reaction to what played out before her out of the blue.

She failed to notice how the tables have turned over and over to tip the scales that is weighs their very fates. How she was made assured of victory, how the demon seized back the victory, how reality had been warped by her subconscious assurance over victory, how she was unaware her Skill: Chaotic Fate had instinctively activated without her consent, without her control, it bended fate to her favor.

Reality bends to assure God's children victory. No matter the odds stacked against them. No matter the dictations of the Skill: Simulate resulting machinations. No matter who they are, what they are, and how they do it, if God's children wants to win, they will win.

It is their right from birth... in this cruel unforgiving world.

The resulting illogical phenomenon of the damage that was meant to inflict the Oni Princess was casted back to the sender, precisely to the neck, where the impacting force shattered his upper torso in an instant. Blowing the rest of his body back to slide lifelessly on the arena grounds.

And before the Oni Princess could register what had happened, the demon had lost the match.