Chapter-23

Mugen, ever the master of theatrics, chuckled as Dino sputtered and fumed. The tension in the room, though still thick with amusement, had eased slightly. "Very well," he boomed, his voice silencing the remaining giggles. "A duel it shall be. But fear not, esteemed council members, this will not be a barbaric brawl in the grand hall. We wouldn't want to scuff the newly polished floors, would we?" A sly grin spread across his face.

With a snap of his fingers, a swirling portal materialized in the center of the room, pulsating with an otherworldly energy. "This," Mugen declared, his voice ringing through the hall, "leads to a designated battleground – a pocket dimension specifically designed for such… disagreements."

He paused dramatically, letting the information sink in. "Don't worry," he added with a wink, "it's one of the sturdiest and largest pocket dimensions we have. Plenty of room for a good old-fashioned duel, wouldn't you say?"

Dino, pride warring with a sliver of common sense, didn't wait for Mugen to finish his elaborate explanation. With a snort of defiance, he stomped through the portal, a fiery aura crackling around him. The portal shimmered for a moment, then solidified shut.

Dino, his fiery rage somewhat tempered by the promise of a controlled environment (and perhaps the horrifying image of himself in a sparkly pink tutu), didn't wait for Mugen to finish his dissertation on pocket dimensional integrity. He stomped towards the portal, his horns glinting ominously.

Roland, suppressing a grin, couldn't resist a parting shot. "Don't worry, Dino," he called out, a playful glint in his eye, "I've got a spare tutu just in case you lose!"

Dino, already halfway through the portal, roared in frustration. Belial, ever the opportunist, tapped Roland on the shoulder. "Just in case you were wondering," he whispered with a wink, "that battleground is equipped with a live audience feed. Think of it as… motivational entertainment for the observers."

Roland's eyes widened. Live audience feed? This duel just got a whole lot more interesting. He wouldn't let some overprotective demon lord with daddy issues ruin his chance at becoming a dungeon master, no matter how frustrating his methods might be. Besides, the thought of a room full of interdimensional beings watching him humiliate Dino in a potential tutu-related showdown was simply too good to pass up.

With a mischievous grin, Roland activated a skill he'd been keeping under wraps – Shunpo, a flash step technique from bleach. In a blur of movement, he vanished from the hall and reappeared on the other side of the portal, leaving behind a bewildered Belial and a room full of curious spectators eagerly awaiting the first-ever televised isekai-vs-demon-lord duel.

The world spun as Roland stumbled through the portal, landing face-first into a bed of scorching sand. He coughed, spitting out a mouthful of grit and cursing his overenthusiastic use of Shunpo. Wiping the sand from his eyes, he took in his surroundings. 

Gone was the luxurious hall of the World Dungeon Council. Instead, he found himself in a vast, seemingly endless desert. The sand stretched out in all directions, shimmering under the harsh glare of two suns blazing high in the crimson sky. It looked like the setting for a particularly low-budget fantasy movie, and Roland couldn't help but let out a groan. 

"Well, this isn't exactly what I expected," he muttered, dusting himself off and wincing as sand trickled down his shirt. 

Looking across the sand dunes, he spotted Dino. The demon lord, unlike Roland, seemed perfectly at ease in this desolate environment. His horns, which had appeared menacingly large in the council hall, looked almost comical against the backdrop of the endless sand sea. 

"So, outsider," Dino rumbled, his voice echoing across the dunes, "this is the Coliseum. A neutral ground where countless duels have been fought." He paused, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. "It seems this will be your first, and perhaps your last, experience within its sands."

Roland raised an eyebrow. This demon lord certainly loved his theatrics. He decided to counter with a bit of his own. 

"Actually," he said, a playful smile spreading across his face, "you might be surprised. Consider this my official inauguration as the new master of the Den of Nightmares!" He struck a dramatic pose, sand swirling around his ankles. "Prepare to face the full might of... unorthodox dungeon design and questionable logic puzzles! Imagine a labyrinthine complex where the walls shift and change depending on your emotional state. One moment you're facing a fire-breathing dragon, the next you're trapped in a room filled with sentient furniture that berates you for your questionable fashion choices. And don't even get me started on the malfunctioning vending machines that dispense questionable snacks that inflict temporary status ailments! This, my fiery friend, is the future of dungeon design!"

"Den of Nightmares?" he repeated, it seems he was upset about changing it's name. "What… what kind of a name is that?"

Roland puffed out his chest, reveling in the demon lord's surprise. "A terrifying one, obviously! Filled with horrors beyond your wildest dreams! Like… sentient furniture that judges your life choices and… uh… malfunctioning vending machines that dispense questionable snacks!" 

"Enough talk," Dino bellowed, his voice booming across the sand dunes. "Prepare to face the fiery wrath of the Bull Demon Lord, Dino D. Horn!" He raised his massive axe, a weapon that looked like it could cleave a mountain in two, and charged towards Roland with a roar that rattled the very foundations of the Coliseum.

Roland smiled inwardly to have a good fight. This was a hulking demon lord with an axe the size of a small car. He had a feeling this was going to be a duel he would have fun for some extant. With a determined glint in his eye, he drew Ryujin Jakka, the blade pulsating with a faint red glow. 

"Alright, Dino," he yelled back, his voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in his knees. "Let's see what you've got! The name's Roland Jacob, by the way, and this is the dawn of a new era for dungeon design!"

The battle between the unorthodox isekai hero and the fiery demon lord was about to begin, and the live audience feed back in the World Dungeon Council hall buzzed with anticipation. Would Roland's unconventional tactics be enough to overcome Dino's raw power? Or would the Bull Demon Lord crush the isekai tourist under his mighty axe? Only time, and perhaps a strategically placed vending machine dispensing questionable snacks, would tell.