"Huu...huuu..."

My body rose and fell as I breathed in and out. With sweat trickling down my body, I slowly closed my eyes and continued doing the same motion. Alongside it, I made sure to carefully move the mana around my body.

"Are you ready?"

It was then that a voice echoed inside the room.

I promptly ignored the voice.

Lowering my body once more, I flexed my muscles and only stopped once my chest and nose touched the floor before moving.

My movement was very slow.

Slow to the point that my muscles started to sting with each movement.

"Haa..."

It was only after I completed the movement that I finally stood up. Taking a clean towel I cleaned my body.

'Warm's up done.'

Clank. Clank. Clank. Clank.

Detaching four large bracelets from my arms, I put them away.

Knock. Knock.

It was exactly at this moment that I heard a knocking sound coming from the other side of the room.

"Overlord, get ready. Your match is about to begin."

"Okay."

Massaging my shoulders, I leaned and stretched my neck.

"What's your choice?"

The same voice from before spoke. As I glanced in his direction, my eyes paused.

Eventually, I nodded my head and mumbled.

"Okay..."

"Good choice."

A smile began to spread on my other self's face.

'I'm starting to think that this was part of his plans...'

I was honestly still strongly opposed to the idea of having him take over my body, but after taking everything into consideration, and realizing that the Duke could use his true strength at any moment and kill me, I realized that I had no choice but to accept his offer.

'It sucks, but I'm still too inexperienced to face a Duke-ranked demon.'

Clank.

Jolting me out of my thoughts, the door to the room opened up revealing several figures standing behind.

As soon as the door fully opened, one of the demons asked.

"Are you ready?"

"...Yes."

Nodding my head, I took a step forward. Walking shoulder to shoulder with me was my other self.

With the same emotionless expression, he muttered.

"Be sure to pay close attention to everything I do. I will show you the true depth of your strength."

Without saying anything, I opened my mouth and softly mumbled.

"Monarch's indifference."

***

In spite of the fact that he had only been defeated a week ago, Lightning Dragon could not believe what he was seeing.

"The Duke against White reaper?"

Lightning Dragon was still having a hard time processing the information as he stepped onto one of the platforms overlooking the arena.

He already had a hard time figuring out how he had been able to beat the current overlord.

'He's strong yes, but from what I've seen, the Overlord should still be a bit stronger even if his rank is suppressed...'

Thanks to his eyes, Lightning Dragon was able to somewhat gauge how strong an opponent someone was.

Comparing White Reaper to the Blood Prince, there was still a bit of a gap between the two.

For him to have won that easily...

"As expected of the person who beat me."

He sure had many surprises up his sleeve. Particularly with regards to his upcoming battle with the Duke, which took the whole arena and city by storm.

For the first time in a very long time, the Duke was finally going to make an appearance.

The arena couldn't have been any fuller as it was packed to the brim.

It was at that moment.

[I'm sure everyone here has already heard of the event that's currently happening?]

The demoness finally made his appearance. The crowd instantly quieted down.

As the demons eagerly gazed at the arena below, the only sound heard was their rough breathing.

The atmosphere was heated, and all the demons wanted to do at the moment was catch a glimpse of the Duke.

A supreme being whom the arena and city were under the watchful eye of.

For him to finally make an appearance.

All the demons couldn't contain their excitement.

They wanted nothing else but to see him crush the current Overlord, White Reaper.

They didn't really have hard feelings against himbut he was the Duke. Of course, they would root for him.

Lightning Dragon's eyes squinted as he gazed at the audience. Their thoughts were so easy to read.

It was at that moment...

[Please let us welcome the Duke.]

As the gates at the far end of the arena slowly opened, the demoness's crisp and pleasant voice echoed throughout the entire arena.

From that point forward, everyone stopped breathing.

A lustrous set of black hair, two large horns that protruded from the side of his forehead, and a presence that instantly overtook the entire arena.

Duke Azonech stepped into the arena.

His every movement attracted the attention of all spectators and demons alike.

Tok. Tok.

The calm echo of his footsteps resounded throughout the whole arena.

It wasn't long before he stopped in the middle of the arena. There was a calm look on his face as he gazed toward the other end of the arena.

A brief moment of silence was followed by loud cheers, which shook the entire arena.

"Duke!"

"Duke Azenoch!"

"Beat him up!"

Those screaming for him at the top of their lungs sounded borderline fanatical. In spite of this, Duke Azenoch appeared to be enjoying the cheers as he basked in them calmly.

Soon, a faint curl began to spread across the Duke's face.

Meanwhile, at the top of one of the platforms.

"The device"

Lightning Dragon's eyes opened wide as he gazed at the device that the Duke was wearing.

Channeling his mana toward his eyes, Lightning Dragon's eyes sharpened.

"It's not on."

Lightning Dragons' eyes were special. Not only could they allow him to detect the general flow of mana in the air, but they could also allow him to track down the general flow of energy in the air.

Whether it was mana, demonic energy, or aura, he could see through it all.

For him to not detect any energy coming out of the Duke's suppressor, he knew that it wasn't on.

Upon realizing this, he came up with one conclusion.

"He's planning on killing him..."

The Duke was planning on killing White Reaper.

Lightning Dragon's face changed completely once he learned of this as he pressed both hands on the window of the platform.

"Shit, I should've told him earlier..."

The main reason why Lightning Dragon never once chose to become the next Overlord was that he knew from the very beginning that the matches were fixed.

With his all-seeing eyes, this was only to be expected.

...Well, that and the fact that he was too lazy to even consider the idea of fighting over one hundred weak contestants.

If he wanted to escape, he could do it without the need to defeat the Duke, hence why he never saw the appeal.

Furthermore, he already knew from the very moment that he had heard the rules that it was practically impossible to escape from the arena.

I mean, what kind of Duke would ever put their reputation on the line in front of so many demons?

As if they would ever let themselves loose.

[And on the other side of the arena, we have his opponent. Someone whose rise could be described as nothing short of a miracle. Within a span of a single month, he managed to accomplish something that the contestants had never been able to accomplish in the past, and that is to fight against the current Duke! Welcome the current Overlord, White Reaper!]

Clank.

The moment her words faded, the gates on the other side of the arena slowly opened up revealing a familiar figure that everyone had seen in the past.

"hm?"

But the moment he appeared, Lightning Dragons' face hardened.

Opening and closing his mouth multiple times, a cold chill swept his body.

"What?"

When he raised his hand to touch his face, he felt a wet sensation. Unknowingly, his body started to tremble as he took a step back and mumbled.

"...Who is he?"

That...

That wasn't the White Reaper he had fought in the past.

He was someone else.

Someone much scarier...

***

There was a familiar smell of blood and ashenness, a familiar sight, a familiar noise...

Standing in the middle of the arena with Duke Azenoch opposite me, I was able to feel all my senses.

But I couldn't move my body.

"Like I've promised, here is your match."

"Thank you."

My mouth opened on its own.

It was the other me controlling my body.

[The contestants please get ready.]

The demoness's voice rang throughout the stadium. In response to her voice, my body moved a few steps back, stopping when I was about ten meters away from Duke Azenoch.

It was then that a voice entered my head.

'Make sure you memorize everything that I'm about to do. From my mana flow to everything that I do. Don't miss anything.'

Without answering the voice, I sharpened my focus and made sure to feel every sensation that was currently happening within my body. From mana flow to muscle movements.

Alternating her gaze between the Duke and me, the demoness asked.

[Are the two contestants ready?]

A heavy silence descended on the arena as the crowd stopped speaking.

Taking note of this silence, the demoness soon lowered her hand and announced the beginning of the fight.

[You may fight!]

Immediately following her words, Duke Azenoch disappeared.

'Watch carefully...'

At the same time, Duke Azenoch's figure moved, and my hand instinctively moved toward the right side of my head. Time slowed for a brief moment as my other self activated 'Eyes of Chronos'.

He would speed up and slow down the effects of the skill in short bursts.

This repeated five times before he deactivated the skill altogether. Time returned to its usual flow.

Bang!

With a loud banging sound echoing throughout the arena, my right palm began to hurt.

'...H..how did he do that?'

Then from the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Duke Azonech. In the blink of an eye, his fist had already hurled toward my right temple.

However, that wasn't what surprised me.

What surprised me was how my other self was able to block such a fast attack. With the palm of his hand, he somehow managed to catch the fist.

"...Not bad."

I wasn't the only one surprised as the Duke also seemed surprised. With a flap of his wings, his figure disappeared once again.

With a casual glance, my other self took a step forward. He repeated the same thing he did in the past.

Swooosh!

At the exact moment he stepped forward, Duke Azenoch's fist flew past. Once again missing.

Turning around to glance in the Duke's way, my other self started to speak.

'If there's something that you've been underutilizing, it's the...'

The moment he was about to complete his sentence, I felt my torso twist and I threw my fist behind me.

Bang!

With a loud banging sound, I felt my fist connect to something. It took me a couple of seconds to realize what that something was. It was the Duke's head.

Tilting slightly as a result of the force of my fist, his expression dyed with absolute shock as his eyes opened widely.

This whole arena was in a state of pin-drop silence.

In spite of that, my other self completed the sentence without a care in the world.

'...chip inside of your head.'