The Author's POV

Clank—!

A clamping sound echoed out when the two ends of the suppressor were connected together.

"Done."

Taking a step back, a Marquis-ranked demon carefully examined Edward. Currently, he was checking to see if the suppressor was working or not.

After observing him for a bit, he noted an evident decrease in pressure his body was giving out.

"It's working…"

This was a clear indication that the suppressor had worked.

Having achieved Edward's rank suppression, the demon walked away with a satisfied smile on his face, leaving Edward standing alone by the gateway leading to the area.

A couple of more words made their way through his mouth before he left.

"You know the procedure. Once your name is called up and the gates open, you go fight."

"Mhm."

With a slight nod, Edward turned to glance at the bracelet on his wrist.

"How odd…"

Clenching and unclenching his fist, it took him a bit to get used to the sensation of his strength dropping.

While this was not his first experience of having his rank suppressed, it still felt quite odd to him.

'I don't think I'll ever get used to this feeling.'

"Huuuu…"

Taking his eyes away from his bracelet, his focus shifted to the gate in the distance. The one that led to the arena.

Pricking his ears up, he could feel the loud cheers of the crowd.

As Edward breathed in deeply, his eyes flashed with a dangerous light as he thought back to his plan. Relaxing his clenched hand, he softly mumbled.

"...I'm ready."

***

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the arena, two figures stood apart.

An anxious voice echoed out. The voice belonged to none other than SilverMoon who looked at SilverStar with a worried look on her face.

"How sure are you that you will win this match?"

"Very sure."

SilverStar replied with a confident smile on his face.

While he knew he was up against a very strong opponent, he grew more confident as he felt the small device in his hand.

With the demons backing him up, he knew that he couldn't lose.

In a soothing tone, he fluttered his long silver eyelashes.

"Don't worry. There's no way I will lose."

"…But we still don't know much about our opponent."

"It doesn't matter."

SilverStar quickly interjected as he looked at SilverMoon.

"So what if we've never seen all of his skills? …My trump card is far stronger than any skill he can bring."

A device that could cut Edward's mana flow for a brief moment of time. What better reassurance could he have other than this?

With such a device in his hands, SilveStar felt his victory guaranteed.

Biting her lips, SilverMoon slowly nodded her head.

"…okay."

With a gentle stroke, SilverStar reassured her once more.

"Don't worry too much. It might look like I'm struggling at the beginning of the match, but that will be on purpose."

It was inevitable that he would need to start slowly in order to make the fight appear less rigged. If he won right off the bat, the spectators would clearly be able to tell that the match was rigged.

Despite this small handicap, SilverStar was confident in holding out in the beginning.

The Overlord may be strong, but so was he.

"King bracket Emperor, your match is about to begin."

It was then that a demon called out for him. Caressing SilverMoon's head one more time, a soft smile appeared on SilverStar's face.

"…Trust me, I will get the both of us out of this shithole."

***

[The match that everyone one of you has been waiting for is finally about to start!]

Winking at the audience, a slim figure appeared in the middle of the arena. In the vast arena, her sweet and seductive voice could be heard resonating throughout.

[Let's welcome the challenger to today's event, the Emperor of the Duke bracket, and the winner of the previous bout between him and the Emperor of the King bracket, Emperor SilverStar!]

Clank. Clank. Clank.

As the gates on the left side of the arena slowly pushed up, the rattling sound of chains being pulled echoed throughout the arena grounds.

Emerging from the other side of the arena was an elegant figure with long silver hair and a beautiful face that was devoid of any imperfections.

Entering the arena, the crowd instantly erupted into cheers.

"SilverStar!"

"Emperor!"

"Beat him!"

Ignoring the cheers, SilverStar walked steadily toward the center of the arena. The lofty way he carried himself as he walked toward the center of the arena gave the impression that he was arrogant as if he thought he was above those around him.

Upon stopping his feet, the demoness extended her hand toward the other side of the arena.

All forms of noise within the arena stopped. The demoness secretly smiled when she noticed this.

This was just how influential an Overlord was.

[On our right side, a figure who has climbed the ranks from the very bottom of the food chain to prove many of us wrong! He is someone everyone in this room knows and who, regardless of the circumstance, managed to triumph against his opponent. Please welcome the current Overlord, The Blood Prince!]

Clank. Clank. Clank.

Her words led the gates on the other side of the arena to slowly open, and an obscure figure appeared on the other side.

A haggard but handsome face, broad shoulders, and a presence that engulfed the whole arena.

Blood Prince, the current Overlord had finally taken a step into the arena grounds.

The arena instantly became tense.

Tok. Tok.

As everyone stared in his direction without saying a word, the steady sound of his footsteps resonated heavily in their ears.

Like clockwork, Edward's every step seemed to remind the audience of how little time SilverStar had left before his untimely death.

Tik. Tok. Tik. Tok.

Stopping right in front of SilverStar, Edward's gaze paused on him, and a stare-down ensued between the two of them as their eyes met.

In the end, the inevitable loser ended up being SilverStar who was unable to bear the pressure coming out of Edward's body, resulting in him lowering his head in defeat.

"Khhhh..."

Edward glanced at the bracelet on his wrist briefly as he turned his gaze away from SilverStar.

'I will make this quick…'

[Are you two ready?]

Once again, the demoness's voice echoed throughout the arena.

"Yes."

"…Yes."

Edward nodded first, followed by SilverStar who looked at him with a challenging look.

Edward promptly ignored it and took a couple of steps back. As soon as he got into position, he turned his attention to SilverStar, who was now standing leisurely on the opposite side of the arena.

SilverStar's relaxed and casual attitude made Edward even more apprehensive as he started to secretly channel all the mana inside of his body.

Extending his right hand to the side, a splendid long spear adorned with a few cores alongside the shaft of the spear appeared in his hands.

A bloodthirsty aura emanated from the spear, causing some of the weaker demons in the stand to tremble.

BloodBorne.

An <S> rank artifact that belonged to Edward and had accompanied him throughout his whole life.

Had it not been for this spear, he would've most likely not made it as far as he had. While he wasn't one to complain, he was surprised that they allowed him to fight with it, since it proved to be an extremely powerful weapon.

Suddenly, the demoness's voice echoed across the arena as she lowered her hand, marking the beginning of the fight.

[You may begin!]

Immediately after her words fell, Edward's mana that had been suppressed all the way down to <A+> rank sprung out of his body and enveloped the entire arena. Closing his eyes, he muttered under his breath.

"Come."

After the air's mana shrank, it accosted his spear, resulting in a long blood-red spear that was more than twice the size of the original. In addition, the strength emanating from it was far more compact and powerful than before.

It felt as though he was holding a completely different spear. Not only that, at the same time the mana agglomerated toward his spear, he proceeded to activate all of his skills at once.

[[B] Hyperflux]

For a short period of time following activation, the user will experience an increase in mana circulation.

[[B] SensoryEnhancement]

Upon activation, the user will find their senses enhanced to their utmost limits.

[[S] BloodExpulsion]

Upon activation, the user can target an individual and freeze their blood flow, impairing their mobility for a brief period of time.

There was no chance for anyone to react to the subsequent events, as everything happened so fast that time stood still.

WIIIING—! WIIIING—!

SilverStar's face changed dramatically as he felt his blood turn cold as thin white threads sprang from the ground and stabbed into his calves like sharp needles. The pain was negligent, but the effects were disastrous.

"Huh?!"

Once the threads entered SilverStar's body and his blood froze, Edward finally took a step forward. Grasping his spear with both hands, he thrust forward, veins bulging by the side of his head.

The thrust was neither too fast nor too slow.

The spear thrust only looked like a regular spear thrust, but all the spectators looked at the spear as though they were in a trance. They simply couldn't take their eyes away from it.

Each time they blinked, they would catch a glimpse of a blood-colored dragon entangling itself on the spear's body. When the dragon opened its jaws wide, exposing its sharp teeth, a sense of majesty emanated from the spear.

What happened next made the jaws of some of the spectators drop as a thunderous roar reverberated throughout the whole arena.

Roar—!

At the precise moment the dragon roared, a massive red wave of energy rushed toward SilverStar like an unstoppable tsunami.

Trying to raise his legs that were bound by the white threads, SilverStar clenched his teeth and screamed.

"Not like this! Not like this!"

His eyes became crazier and crazier with each second that passed.

Trying to clench his fist, he tried to use the device that was given to him by Duke Anozech, but it ended up being a futile effort. He was unable to move his body.

"No! No! No!!!"

Despite his struggle against the white threads that were blocking him from moving, his fight proved futile as the wave soon arrived and it rapidly engulfed his entire body, obliterating every trace of his existence.

"Haaaaa!!!"

At the last moment, just before his figure disappeared, everyone in the stands was able to pick up his anguished-filled scream.

Booom—!

Another thunderous explosion resonated throughout the arenas.

Rumble—! Rumble—!

As dust rose in the air, the whole arena began to shake as the attack collided with the side of the arena.

A while passed before the dust settled, and at that moment, the spectators dared not utter a word as they focused their attention on the arena's center.

It was at this point that everyone caught sight of Edward's imposing figure standing in the middle of the arena holding onto his spear.

Unknowingly, the spectators' gazes were drawn to him due to the majestic presence his body was giving out.

Across from him was a long scar extending to the other end of the arena as cracks curved along its sides.

Thump—!

Amidst the silence, rubble slowly fell down to the ground.

Reappearing in the middle of the arena, the demoness had a shocked expression on her face. Opening her mouth, she stuttered for a bit as she struggled to find the right words to say.

It was clear that she was still shaken by what had happened.

[A…and, the winn-er of today's march is…and still the Overlord of the arena! Overlord WorldBreaker!]

Her words marked the end of the match, and it was from there that the cheers finally returned.

"Whaaa!"

"BloodPrince!"

"Overlord!"