Duel (REWRITTEN)

"Grand Duke Belphegor."

Someone muttered, confirming the identity of the man who had just walked in.

He was a tall man with short gray hair, his face looked as if he was in his fifties, however, multiplying that by five thousand would not be up to quarter his true age.

Visible on his hollow face, were wrinkles that made him seem gentle in appearance, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.

He wore a traditional butler uniform like always and looked graceful as he slowly stepped into the room. Disregarding both Layla's presence and that of those who bowed in respect, he walked up to the boy who seemed like he wanted to hide and spoke one word.

"Explanation."

His gaze was fierce and many looked away for fear of meting his eyes. The person he spoke to, however, only laughed before replying.

"Uncle Bel! Nice to see you, what brings you here?"

His words left the onlookers gobsmacked. The boy who looked no less than an average kid one could randomly pass on the street was speaking so friendly with a Grand Duke.

Meanwhile, Layla was even more shocked than they were.

' 'Uncle Bel'? I've heard that before. There's only one person who dares call him that, but she's a woman, that means this boy is-!'

Layla didn't take long to arrive at a conclusion. His earlier words now made sense to her, this also explained why Number Three wanted her to leave the area quickly.

When the boy removed his hood while talking to Belphegor, thereby dispelling the inhibition magic on himself, her suspicions were confirmed.

The boy had short hair that looked like a mix between silver and platinum blonde. His facial features were highly handsome and he had deep dark eyes.

His vertical slit pupils fit perfectly on his face making him appear even more attractive. As he gave a light smile, multiple females of all ages, Layla included, were captivated by him.

Layla blushed slightly as she realized she was enamored by his beauty, however, she immediately came back to her senses.

'I should have left when three said I should. Now I'm probably going to get caught up in his whims once again.'

She sighed internally as she curtsied and greeted him, her words shocking most of the people present who hadn't realized who the boy was.

"Grand Duke Eryrth's Daughter greets Your Highness, Arthur. Forgive me for my actions earlier."

As she spoke, her guards, Galleu included were surprised. However, they did not hesitate to bow their heads. . Galleu was screaming internally to himself as he did not expect the one he called plebian to actually be the Devildom's prince

Following this, all the people in the store showed no hesitation in bowing, some even got on their knees.

Arthur on the other hand, only laughed as he saw this before turning to Layla.

"Don't be so stiff Layla, we aren't that unfamiliar with each other. Raise your head already."

Without even waiting for a reply, he turned to Belphegor and continued.

"So Uncle Bel, I really wanted to add these to my collection, you see. However, the release time clashed with my lesson time, I was quite torn between the two.

In the end, I decided to follow my heart and here I am."

He then turned back to the attendant with a glare and shouted.

"Pack-It-Up!"

Hearing his voice, the attendant snapped out from his stupor and immediately packed the guns before presenting it to Arthur.

Just as Arthur was about to collect them, a hand covered in gloves stretched out and snatched the package much to Arthur's dismay.

"First of all Prince Arthur, My name is Belphegor, not Bel. Secondly, I have been given authority by your mother to confiscate these.

They shall be returned provided you complete the assessments you left undone."

As Belphegor spoke, Arthur's facial expressions changed from shock to sadness and then joy. He made a small guts pose as he began walking out of the store.

"Why are we still here then? Let's get going already, I have assessments to finish."

He tossed a small sack of coins onto the display case where the guns were as he was walking, only to notice that more than half the people in the building still had their heads bowed.

"Huh? Y'all are still bowing? I thought I told you to raise your heads?

Oh well, shop attendant and foolish guard over there. I don't wish to hear of you being in the burning realms by tonight. It should remain that way, forever."

Hearing his words, many were shocked at the indirect banishment. However, when they remembered that Galleu had called the prince a 'plebian', they felt their prince was quite benevolent.

Arthur on the other hand, ignored all the murmurs of the others and walked up to Layla.

"So Layla, about these guns. I actually don't have much use for them but I won't give them to you for free.

How about...you prove you are worthy of them?"

He then pulled out his magi tech smartphone and gave it to her before continuing.

"Contact info, not the official one you gave me the last time.

I'd contact you about my conditions tonight."

Layla sighed internally once again as she did as Arthur requested. After which, Arthur hummed to himself as he walked out of the shop.

The moment he left, Layla spoke up, breaking the silence that had enveloped the entire shop.

"We're returning. Galleu, don't forget the prince's words."

The other guards all looked at Galleu with pity, but they could not say or do anything, only shaking their heads in disappointment.

Looking at Arthur who had a serious look on his face as he conversed with Belphegor on his way back to the private teleportation gate halls, Layla wondered what could make the carefree prince put on such a serious face.

'It's probably an important matter I shouldn't be concerned with. For now, I should concern myself with how I'd escape mom's nagging.'

◇　◇　◇

Unfortunately, Layla's assumption could not be further from the truth as Arthur was only giving his phone a weird stare as he spoke.

"It still baffles me how such a small device is capable of so many things. This is one of that Boffin dude's works, right?

I heard he improved the originals the humans invented and added extra features with magi tech."

"Yes Prince, the current smartphones are the upgraded versions of the originals created by the humans of 'Earth'."

Arthur pondered on Belphegor's reply as he stared at the phone in his hands. Glancing at the ground, he asked.

"Where is 'Earth' anyway?

It's a strange planet, having the same name as the attribute, yet, the humans from there claimed there was no sort of magic or supernatural energies there."

"Unfortunately, its exact location remains unknown to date. Other 'Earths' have been discovered over the years but they were all decoys."

Arthur sighed as he placed his phone back in his pocket while thinking about what conditions to give Layla. He grinned evilly as he thought of many different options making Belphegor heave a sigh of exasperation.

'He has the same look on as the princess when she is about to mess with someone for no reasonable reason. They are so alike in the wrong ways.

I should probably send my condolences to the young lady for being caught up in his pranks.'

Meanwhile, Layla who had just finished narrating the events of the day to her mother suddenly sneezed.

'Who's talking about me?'

She rubbed her nose as she thought about what conditions Arthur could possibly give her for the guns.

◇　◇　◇

The next day, Layla made her way to the private training center not far from the weapon market she usually frequented.

Upon arriving, she was led to a reserved personal training room by the attendants. Walking there with her father beside her, she remembered the phone call she received the night before.

◇　◇　◇

After having dinner with her parents, Layla was about to leave the dining hall when her phone rang out loud. She usually didn't care to silence it as most of the people she interacted with frequently all knew she disliked being called at late hours.

Upon hearing the phone ring, a frown formed on her Father's face.

Grand duke Conrad Eryrth was a straight-laced man who abided by the saying that there was a time for everything.

To him, unless it was an emergency, the nighttime was not for phone calls.

Although he was usually nice and doted on Layla a lot, when it was necessary, he was even stricter than her mother.

Layla inwardly cursed at whoever owned the unknown number calling her and picked up her phone as she ignored her mother's cold stare. She then answered the call and put it on the loudspeaker.

"Good Evening. Who is this please?"

[HUH?!

Why so polite?

Oh well, I couldn't care less. Remember what I said this afternoon, I've decided. If you want those then all you have to do is beat me in a duel tomorrow, I'd send you the location now.

Looking forward to seeing you tomorrow.]

Hearing the voice on the phone, the family of three didn't need the speaker to introduce himself for them to know who he was.

[Why aren't you replying? You shy or something? Or...is your dad there?

If he is, say hello to him for me and tell him I would like him to come over tomorrow too.

See Ya!]

And just like that, he cut the call without giving her a chance to reply. Her father only placed his hands on his forehead as he spoke.

"The prince and his whims again."

And that's how she ended up coming over to the Odger Training center with her dad in tow.

The Odger training center was a place managed by Count Odger of the Devildom. Many nobles of all ages came there for various activities ranging from light exercises to training spars.

It was built with a variety of training rooms equipped with barriers for light spars and duels.

Layla changed to a more suitable attire, which consisted of a full-body suit with arm and shin guards included.

She was then led to another room that had six other people inside. Upon seeing them, she nearly cried out in shock. The Crown Prince, Princess, and two of the grands, Grand Duke Belphegor and Grand Duchess Inglis were there.

The one who called her over was playing on his phone. Seeing her enter, he dropped the phone and moved towards her while waving.

"Layla over here!

Oh! Morning Grand Duke, didn't expect you to actually come though."

Without waiting for her to reply, he pulled Layla to the center of the room while telling her not to bother with the greetings. He led her over to the weapons section and told her to choose the weapon she wished to use.

They were given bracelets with green gems embedded in them. These were sacrificial artifacts that took fatal damage on their behalf, and the first one to have their sacrificial artifact broken loses the duel.

"Better win Arthur, Or I'd increase your training."

"I've barely had any breaks since I was three! What more training could you possible add?!"

"Maybe I'd teach you 'Sword of Victory'."

"You want to teach me an aura technique when I can't use aura?!"

Creusery and Arthur bantered causing Cattleya and Inglis to chuckle lightly as Layla tucked the guns she chose in their holsters.

  [Do your best.]

Layla heard her father's voice in her head as she stood in the middle of the training room and faced Arthur who decided to ignore Creusery's absurd demands.

She smiled softly, feeling more motivated. Deciding to try out her close combat skills first, she took a stance opposite Arthur as she waited for the signal.

**BUZZ!!!

The moment the buzzer sounded, Arthur kicked off the ground and rushed straight towards Layla.

**BAM!!

"That's some punch!"

When Layla's open palm caught Arthur's fist, a loud sound reverberated in the room as though the air vibrated and trembled with that alone.

"Quite fast and heavy too!"

Layla curled her other hand into a fist and sent it straight towards Arthur's face causing another loud sound to reverberate across the room.

"You too, your punch is heavy. Who's the one who said that bullshit about girls having weaker physical strength? That's a lie!"

Arthur caught her fist this time and they remained in that position in lieu of a contest of strength

'We're still testing the waters but that's a grand duke's daughter for you. No way she'd go down easily.

This is a welcomed change of pace from the inferior stage masters from those backwater planets uncle Creusery usually makes me fight.'

The two eight year old's strengths were even as they were locked at a standstill. Layla then chuckled as she decided to reveal one of her abilities.

Locking gazes with Arthur, her green eyes glowed as magic power blazed within them. This caused Arthur's body to stiffen and he remained rooted in place.

"!!"

Arthur's body reflexively twitched and drew back but the moment he slackened his strength, Layla had already twisted her body and amassed potential force.

"You're wide open!"

Before Arthur could regain his stance, a whip-like high kick had already right in front of his eyes.

"Release!"

Arthur shouted as the anklet on his feet that Layla didn't notice unlocked itself and fell off. It was a strength sealing artifact that limited his physical capabilities.

The young boy felt like a weight had been lifted off his body. By releasing the artifact, he could respond to things he could not before. He instantaneously moved outside the range of that kick.

"What the-?!"

Layla was astonished, as she was sure her kick would connect, Arthur took advantage of her surprise and rushed forward again, releasing a series of fist blows this time.

"What was that weird anklet?!"

**BAM!!!! BAMMMM!!!!!

"What's with those paralyzing magic eyes?!"

**BAM!! BAM!!! BAAAAMMMM!!!!

Arthur and Layla shouted as their fists collided with each other, raising a thunderous roar that shook the air. Inglis couldn't help but make a surprised comment upon seeing this.

"Are these kids really in the master realm?"

"This is still nothing. After all, they're still fighting hand to hand."

Cattleya remarked in response as Arthur gradually overpowered his opponent. With Layla's arm guard growing flaccid, Arthur pushed it aside and delivered a blow to her clavicle.

"Guh!"

Being shoved to her backside, Layla's body was blown back, however, she soon regained her balance and stood up excitedly as though she would hop up and down.

"You're quite good, your Highness."

"So are you."

After being put through a lot more fights than an eight-year-old should go through by Creusery, Arthur was beginning to enjoy fighting in general. His hidden inner battle junkie was beginning to show itself.

Perhaps this was the eight-year-old boy's way of adapting to his uncle's Spartan training methods, or this was a result of the strange event that happened the day he discovered the prophecy of his birth.

Arthur felt a numbness lingering in his fist, which was a testament that Layla's defenses were anything but ordinary.

"Then, it's high time I do what I'm supposed to do. I don't really fancy hand-to-hand combat, you see?"

Layla reached her hand towards Arthur. In her palm, the gun that was supposed to be in her hostler appeared.

"A reequip artifact, huh?"

Layla smiled smugly as she pointed the twelve-round pistol towards Arthur, who responded with a similar smile as he removed one of the rings on his fingers.

"Haaaahhhh?????!"