Chapter-24

As Roland finished his grandiose declaration, the sand beneath his feet trembled. Dino, a bull in a proverbial china shop of interdimensional diplomacy, roared and charged. He brought his mighty axe down in a ferocious arc, aiming to cleave Roland in two.

Roland, ever the master of flamboyant last-minute maneuvers (though some might argue borderline reckless), simply smirked. "Predictable," he muttered, effortlessly parrying the blow with Ryujin Jakka. The clash of metal on spirit energy resonated through the sand dunes, sending a shockwave that rippled across the vastness of the Coliseum.

"What?!" Dino sputtered, momentarily stunned. His axe, a legendary weapon forged in the fires of Mount Ignis, had been stopped by a glorified barbeque skewer wielded by an isekai tourist in questionable footwear. He roared again, this time out of frustration, and brought the axe down once more.

Roland, however, wasn't content with just defense. He delivered a roundhouse kick aimed at Dino's knee, hoping to disrupt the demon lord's attack. Unfortunately, Dino's massive hand intercepted the kick with surprising speed. The force of the impact sent shivers up Roland's leg, but he grinned nonetheless.

There was a method to his madness. The moment Dino's hand closed around his leg, Roland's entire body erupted in flames. It wasn't a controlled inferno, more like a sudden out-of-control bonfire, but it was enough to surprise the demon lord. Dino, with a yelp that would have made a banshee proud, recoiled, flinging Roland several feet away through the air.

Roland landed with a graceless sprawl in the sand, coughing and sputtering but otherwise unharmed. He looked up at Dino, who was now staring at him with a mixture of fear and something that suspiciously resembled… respect? Ryujin Jakka, which looked like a simple sword, now glowed with an intense red fire, the flames swirling around the blade like an angry spirit. 

The viewers back in the World Dungeon Council hall erupted in a cacophony of noise. Belial, ever the commentator, whooped and hollered, his voice bordering on hysterical. Even the pixie, perched on a particularly bored-looking orc's shoulder, buzzed excitedly. What was this strange fire that cloaked the isekai tourist? Where did he even get such a weapon? The mystery deepened, and the anticipation for the duel grew tenfold.

"What… what is that?" Dino stammered, his voice uncharacteristically small. The demon lord, who had faced countless foes and emerged victorious, was genuinely unnerved by this strange fire and the unorthodox human who wielded it.

Roland, despite the searing heat radiating from his own body (he really needed to work on his fire control), grinned. "This, my friend," he declared, striking a pose that would have made any self-respecting hero cringe, "is the power of… uh… anime protagonist plot armor! And it burns brighter than your bad temper!"

The air crackled with nervous energy as Dino glared at Roland, his fiery eyes narrowed. The demon lord might be confused, he might be slightly terrified, but he certainly wasn't defeated. This isekai tourist, with his questionable fashion sense, his bizarre fire, and his even more bizarre vocabulary, had just managed to surprise him. But a surprise was just a surprise. A duel was a duel, and Dino D. Horn, Bull Demon Lord, was not one to back down from a challenge. 

He raised his axe once more, his voice a guttural growl. "We're not done yet, outsider!" he roared. "Prepare to face the true power of a demon lord!"

Roland, despite the very real fear gnawing at his insides, couldn't resist a final quip. "Bring it on, Dino," he yelled back, the flames around him flickering wildly. "Just try not to trip over your own ego on the way!"

Dino, stung by Roland's barb (and perhaps a little intimidated by the unpredictable fire), roared in defiance. "Fire may be flashy, outsider," he bellowed, "but it's just one element amongst many!" With a dramatic flourish, he stomped his massive foot on the sand, and a surge of electrical energy crackled around him. A shimmering cloak of crackling lightning enveloped Dino, transforming him into a walking electrical storm.

"Thunder," Dino declared, his voice booming with newfound confidence, "the unyielding power of the storm! It cannot be stopped by mere fire or even… whatever that questionable flame is!" He pointed a finger at Roland, who could have sworn he saw sparks fly from the demon lord's electrified fingertips. 

"Unstoppable, huh?" Roland quipped, wiping a bead of sweat (or maybe it was just condensation from the sudden downpour caused by Dino's electrical theatrics) from his brow. "Let's see about that."

Before Roland could even formulate a proper plan (which usually involved a combination of flailing wildly and hoping for the best), Dino vanished in a flash of blinding light. One moment he was standing across the sand dunes, the next he was right in front of Roland, his thunder-clad fist aimed squarely at the isekai tourist's face.

Roland, ever the master of last-minute (and often questionable) reflexes, threw himself to the side just in time. Dino's fist collided with the sand where Roland's head had been a moment ago, creating a crater the size of a small swimming pool. Roland, sprawled on the ground, winced as a jolt of electricity traveled up his arm, courtesy of Dino's electrified fist brushing past him.

"Ow," he muttered, more annoyed than injured. "That tickled."

Dino, however, didn't seem to find this situation as amusing. His face, usually a fiery red, was now a vibrant shade of purple, likely due to a combination of exertion and Roland's infuriating nonchalance. The thunder around him crackled with renewed intensity.

"Tickled?!" Dino was annoyed. "You dare call the power of the storm a tickle?! I will show you the true meaning of pain, outsider!"

Roland, however, wasn't intimidated. In fact, he was starting to get a handle on this whole "duel" thing.

With a grin, Roland raised Ryujin Jakka, the flames around the blade flickering wildly. He swung the sword in a wide arc, not at Dino, but at the ground a few feet in front of the demon lord. The scorching heat from the blade instantly vaporized the sand, creating a small sandstorm that swirled around Dino, momentarily obscuring him from view.

"Hey, Dino!" Roland called out, his voice barely audible over the howling wind. "You ever try fighting with a mouthful of sand?"

There was a muffled roar from within the sandstorm, followed by a series of startled yelps and curses that would have made a sailor blush. Apparently, even the mighty Bull Demon Lord wasn't immune to the indignity of getting a face full of sand.