Liora didn't know that the little imp became Eshara's meal, but even if she were to find out, she would not be surprised.
No matter how innocent, naive, or harmless a Young Devil might look, they were still a member of a race built entirely on predation. The intelligence of Devils was not like that of humans, but a deceptive cunningness that they used to prey on their enemies.
After Eshara left, Liora didn't continue to wander in the city. Instead, she searched for the closest inn and entered it.
Inside, a towering creature with a dozen eyes and a bulging belly waited behind the counter. It grinned creepily as soon as it saw Liora and extended its clawed hand.
Without saying a word, Liora tossed two souls onto the counter. In exchange, the grinning Devil slid a black key across the desk.
Feeling the coldness of the key in her palm, Liora cast a last glance at the grinning Devil, and following the number carved into the key, she found her room.
She opened the door with the key and stepped inside.
The room was small and bare, just enough to house a single person, while its walls and floor were made out of rough black stone.
It had no bed, chair, or anything like that. Only a small pool of blood lay at its very center, as if it were a swimming pool.
"I didn't expect that Devils could be this considerate.", Liora couldn't help but sigh, taking her seat beside the blood pool.
Staring at her reflection on the red liquid, she fell into thought.
Liora had long known that souls were a currency in the Crucible and could be exchanged for almost everything.
Yet, even though she had already prepared some before entering the city, the rate at which she spent them far exceeded her expectations.
Having paid two souls to the grinning Devil, she only had three left.
"Fortunately, with my current strength, obtaining a few souls won't be difficult at all. After all, the Demon World is hardly short of Devils...", she thought.
She had heard from Eshara that fighting was not prohibited in the city, and that as long as one didn't damage "public" property, the City Lord did not care.
This meant that all she had to do was find some weak Devils and "borrow" some souls from them—their souls.
"But first, I have something else to do.", Liora whispered.
Her focus shifted back to the crimson basin.
Leaning a little closer, she stretched her right hand and submerged her index finger into the pool, the blood sticking to her skin.
Then, using that same finger as a brush and the blood as paint, she began drawing on the stone floor.
Her finger moved astonishingly fast, yet each stroke was precise, slowly outlining intricate symbols one after another.
Even a brief glance at these symbols would cause the head of an ordinary person to burst, as if they contained inexplicable power.
In fact, this was true.
These symbols were Devil Runes and possessed the power to communicate with the Will of the Demon World.
The Devil Runes that Liora used were not advanced, and following her inherited memories, she quickly inscribed the final one.
The next moment, the many Devil Runes on the floor flashed with a crimson brilliance and blended together, turning into a circular array.
Standing at its center and enveloped in its light, Liora felt her skin tingling. But this sensation didn't last for long. A mere second later, she vanished.
--
When Liora regained her consciousness, she found herself standing in a massive arena that looked quite like a colosseum.
It stretched for hundreds of meters, and many seats surrounded it, but at this time, these seats were empty.
Liora was not the only person in the arena.
On the opposite side, there was a tall, muscular Devil facing her direction. He possessed two thick, forward-curving horns, while his body was clad in thick bone armor.
His forearms and legs were bulky, covered in wriggling black veins, and seemingly contained boundless power.
As soon as her gaze landed on this Horned Devil, a string of information flashed in Liora's field of vision.
--
"Wins: 98. Draws: 3. Winning Streak: 32."
--
Similarly, the Horned Devil obtained her information too.
--
"Wins: 0. Draws: 0. Winning Streak: 0."
--
Immediately, his lips parted into a large grin, revealing the uneven, chipped teeth inside.
"Hahaha! I didn't expect that I'd meet a rookie! It seems that my luck is good today!", he laughed loudly, his rough voice reverberating throughout the arena and causing the air to tremble.
The Horned Devil's eyes burned with cruelty and bloodlust.
"What kind of race are you? Some kind of succubus?", he asked.
However, without giving Liora any time to reply, he rushed forward.
Demonic energy surged through his legs and horns, propelling him forward at a terrifying speed.
Having not lowered her guard, Liora reacted instantly. Yet, even so, she barely had time to respond.
Despite what his massive, fearsome frame would suggest, the Horned Devil moved with surprising swiftness.
In a heartbeat, he had closed the distance of tens of meters and stopped right in front of her.
"Die!", the Horned Devil shouted and swung his fist forward, using the momentum of his charge to further increase its power.
The raging punch aimed straight at Liora's head.
A cruel smirk spread across the Horned Devil's face; he could already imagine his opponent's skull shattering.
Unfortunately, he was wrong.
The moment before the impact, Liora's body dissolved into dark mist and reappeared behind him as if she had teleported.
Shadows clung to her arms, forming sharp claws that slashed along his waist, targeting the gaps in between the bony plates.
"What?", the Horned Devil exclaimed, taken aback. But his reflexes were very sharp.
He twisted his body and turned around, bringing his arms up to his chest to block the incoming strike.
A shrill screech rang out as the dark talons scraped against his armor, leaving only a faint, claw-shaped mark behind.
"That's it? Too weak!", the Horned Devil smiled mockingly.
But this smile didn't last long.
Behind him, the dark mist that should have dissipated by now remained there—and it moved.
A pair of claws, identical to Liora's, formed on the phantom's arms, and it struck forward.
Its movements mirrored those of Liora, aiming for the Horned Devil's waist, or to be more accurate, at the gaps in his armor located there.
Shock and fear flashed across his face as he braced himself to meet the strike.
The claws landed, but contrary to his expectations, they only left behind a small scratch, barely penetrating his skin.
"Hahaha! You can't hurt me—"
Before he could finish, pain assaulted his mind. He felt as if countless beasts were clawing at his soul, wanting to tear it apart.
His pupils shrank in terror, and he lowered his head, only to see a faint silver glow running across the dark claws behind him, illuminating the dim arena.
Seeing this, he understood.
"Soul attack—", he muttered, but the words died in his throat.
His body crumbled to the ground, disintegrating into dust and becoming fertilizer for the arena.
Even in his final moments, the Horned Devil couldn't understand: how could a mere rookie wield such power?
With his death, the arena hummed with a sinister vitality, as if joyous. Then, a voice echoed directly in Liora's mind:
"Congratulations. You've emerged victorious from your first Life and Death Battle."
"Record Updated."
"Victories: 1. Draws: 0. Winning Streak: 1."
Before Liora had time to take in that information, the familiar sensation of teleportation washed over her.