Chapter-9

Eldric stared, aghast. The creature was… laughing? Trapped in a fiery prison, and all he could do was crack jokes? This was madness!

Inside the inferno, Roland idly swatted at the flames with Ryujin Jakka, the flames parting harmlessly around the blade. Belial's attack, while impressive, was child's play compared to the infernos he'd faced in his isekai adventures.

"Nice trick, Belial," Roland's voice echoed, surprisingly calm. "But honestly, you could have at least used a different color for your fire show. A little variety wouldn't hurt, you know? This red is getting a bit stale. Reminds me of that time I had to fight a fire elemental with a particularly unimaginative color palette. Took forever, and let me tell you, boredom is a real enemy on the battlefield."

Roland's voice trailed off for a moment, and then a hint of amusement crept into his tone. "Though, I will admit, I am curious about this discomfort. It's not quite pain, but it's certainly… unpleasant. Is this some special demon fire you cooked up? Because if so, you might be onto something there. A little more refinement, and you could have a real nasty little torture technique on your hands."

Belial, watching the inferno intently, raised an eyebrow. No screams of agony. No desperate pleas for mercy. Just a casual critique of his fire magic? This creature was either incredibly cocky or incredibly powerful, perhaps both.

Belial couldn't help but be intrigued. Here he was, a demon lord who had clashed with countless warriors and beasts in his millenia-long existence, yet this bizarre creature with mismatched horns and an offhand demeanor defied all his expectations. Roland wasn't just powerful; there was an unsettling sense of otherness about him, a hint of a vast and unknown world that lay beyond the veil of Belial's demonic realm. A world where fire magic, perhaps, wasn't just about destruction, but a complex art form with its own nuances and variations. The thought was both fascinating and unsettling. Belial had always prided himself on his knowledge and power, but this encounter was forcing him to confront the vastness of the unknown.

A feral grin stretched across Roland's face, even through the obscuring flames of Belial's inferno. "Unpleasant, you say?" His voice boomed, distorted by the inferno but laced with a playful challenge. "Then let me show you true fire, a spectacle that will outshine even your most elaborate fireworks, Belial!"

With a dramatic flourish, Roland leaped from the fiery prison. The flames, unable to hold him any longer, parted seamlessly, leaving him unscathed. He landed with a heavy thud in the space between Belial and a bewildered Eldric.

Raising Ryujin Jakka high above his head, Roland bellowed a single word: "Taimatsu!" (Japanese for "torch")

The air crackled with an unseen energy as Roland channeled his power. The flames surrounding him intensified, no longer a playful orange but a swirling inferno of vibrant crimson and gold. The heat emanating from Roland was so intense it warped the air around him, creating shimmering mirages that danced across the battlefield. Belial and Eldric, caught in the sudden surge of heat, instinctively took a step back, their eyes widening in awe and trepidation.

Then, from the tip of Ryujin Jakka, a ball of fire erupted. It wasn't a mere fireball, but a blazing sun in miniature. The inferno roared, a living entity that pulsed with an unearthly power. The ground trembled under its fury, and the smoke that had filled the battlefield seemed to cower before its brilliance. This ball of fire wasn't just hot; it embodied the raw destructive potential of fire itself.

For a moment, the battlefield held its breath. Even the ever-present chirping of crickets fell silent, replaced by a crackling silence that seemed to amplify the inferno's power. Then, with a deafening roar, the giant fireball soared skyward. Its ascent was like a comet streaking across the night sky, leaving a trail of searing light in its wake. The flames painted the evening sky in an otherworldly display of crimson and gold, visible from tens of miles away.

Belial and Eldric watched, utterly transfixed. This was a display of power that defied their comprehension. They had witnessed immense displays of might before – Belial in his countless battles, Eldric when channeling the goddess's power – but this was something different. This was a raw, untamed force of nature, unleashed by a being who seemed almost amused by its destructive potential.

As the fireball reached its peak, it seemed to hang suspended for a moment, a celestial beacon against the darkening sky. Then, with another earth-shaking roar, it detonated. 

The explosion of Roland's Taimatsu technique ripped across the battlefield like a celestial detonation. A shockwave, visible as a rippling distortion in the air, slammed into Belial and Eldric, sending them sprawling backwards. Belial, momentarily forgetting his rivalry with Roland, slammed a hand against the ground to anchor himself, his demonic form flickering with the afterimage of the explosion. Eldric, caught off guard by the sudden surge of force, tumbled head over heels through the scorched earth, the holy aura around him flickering erratically.

The light from the explosion momentarily eclipsed the setting sun, bathing the landscape in an unnatural crimson glow. When it finally faded, revealing a scene of utter devastation. The charred ground stretched outwards like a macabre spiderweb, centered on the spot where Roland stood. The remaining soldiers, both human and demon, were nowhere to be seen. Vaporized. The very earth itself seemed to be weeping, sending plumes of smoke billowing skyward like the mournful sighs of a dying world.

Roland, the only figure seemingly untouched by the inferno he unleashed, stood in the center of the crater, Ryujin Jakka held loosely in his hand. The flames that had once danced around the blade were now subdued, mere embers compared to the sun-like fury they had unleashed moments ago. His expression, however, was unreadable. Was it amusement at the sheer destructive power he wielded? Or perhaps a flicker of regret at the devastation he had caused?

Belial, slowly rising from the scorched earth, stared at the scene with a mixture of awe and apprehension. This creature, this Roland, was a force of nature, a walking apocalypse. His initial amusement at finding a worthy opponent had morphed into a cold wariness. This wasn't a being he could control, manipulate, or even understand. But perhaps, just perhaps, there was a chance to forge an uneasy alliance. After all, a common enemy, especially one this powerful, could be a powerful motivator.