Spire of Ascension, Floor 7.
Right after Forced Teleportation.
Standing on the water surface, Jin crossed his arms and glanced at the setting sun with a look of confusion on his face.
"What the heck is this place? Even the sun is stuck in the same spot... it seems like this place is forever stuck in 'Evening'... I can sense a lot of time elementals in the area too...."
As someone with a world authority related to 'time', Jin is very sensitive to the time elementals, even a little bit of disturbance in the 'flow' of 'time' can easily be sensed by him.
"So? How long will you continue to stare at me like that? I am not a hot chick or anything, you know..."
Jin didn't even need to look; just by sensing the disturbance in the 'flow' of 'time elementals', he could easily sense an individual hiding himself in the currents of the flow of 'time'.
Hearing Jin's words, the other party stopped trying to and became visible.
"Nice to meet you, Jin Walt 'Zeit Instante', there's been a lot of talk about you lately... And that day in Oaklum, you nearly killed me..."
Alverto put down his helmet and gave a gentle smile, and as his face was quite handsome, that smile alone was enough to charm most people in the world.
He brought out his spear and walked towards Jin, then stood eye to eye against Jin just a few meters away.
Putting his spear in the ocean as if he were burying its tip in solid ground and hanging his armor's helment over the spear's other end.
Mysteriously enough, the spear got stuck in that position and didn't sink in the ocean; it was as if Alverto had stuck it in the ground, not water.
"You are in such great contrast with how demons usually are that I am really lost for words..."
Jin shook his head and brought out his giant sword from his space ring while doing the exact same thing as Alverto did.
He used the time elementals to freeze the weapon in one place so that it wouldn't sink in the ocean, and from the surface it would seem as though the weapon was stuck in the ocean surface.
Both Jin and Alverto sat down on the ocean surface at that moment, right beside their weapons.
"Hoh? So you knew about this ceremony?"
Alverto was also a bit surprised when Jin easily followed along with him without looking confused.
"Ah, well, once upon a time I tried to research through history books and stuff because I wanted to take inspirations from history and figure out a 'unique' method to propose to someone..."
"That's how I found out about this 'ritual' of 'Clear Heart Duel'... The moment you put your helmet on the spear, I already knew about it..."
Jin crossed his arms and smirked a bit before continuing.
"But seriously, I didn't expect a demon to actually know about 'honor', 'glory' and 'rituals' of a 'sacred duel'... I was expecting you to be more cunning and violent type..."
Alverto sighed at those words as he brought out two empty glasses from his space ring and tossed them both to Jin.
"Well, I am more of an exception actually; most demons are indeed cunning and violent... I am just a bit better at taking things more patiently..."
"Anyway, I am fighting this battle to 'Protect' something important after all; doing these rituals will also be in my favor too..."
Jin brought out a sealed bottle of wine from his space ring and poured wine into the two glasses, then gave one of the glasses back to Alverto.
"Aren't you worried I will poison it or something else?"
At Jin's words, Alverto sipped the wine and shook his head.
"You already know the rules of the 'Clear Heart Ritual' of the 'Sacred Duel', so I don't really need to worry about poisons... Putting poison in it will only bring shame upon your own existence anyway..."
Jin nodded his head at those words.
"Well, it's not like poison will work on you demons anyway; miasma itself is one of the highest grade 'poisons', yet you demons are able to endure it easily... So what can any other measly poison even do..."
Jin sipped the wine with a smile on his face after saying those words.
"Hahaha, yeah right...AHAHAHA"
Seeing Jin laugh happily, Alverto smiled too.
If someone hadn't known about the situation, they would have mistaken the two of them to be old friends meeting after a long time.
This is the 'Sacred Duel', this is the great ritual called the 'Clear Heart Ritual'.
Created by King Allen Von Reinhart himself, this ritual involves the 'laws' of 'blessing', 'luck', 'honor', 'pride', and 'Protection'.
When two demi-gods with similar types of powers and world authorities are about to battle and, in a duel, they are supposed to conduct this ritual before it all begins.
By now, all records of this ritual are mostly lost and forgotten; barely anyone even knows about it, let alone do it.
But this ritual was once used by nearly all-powerful people when fighting against each other. During the thousand-year demon extinction war, warriors of the alliance were in scarcity and demons were endless; thus, losing a single powerful warrior could increase the pressure on the entire alliance.
However, internal strife is inevitable when numerous races and powerful warriors engage in simultaneous combat on a chaotic battlefield.
To solve this problem, King Allen created the 'Clear Heart Ritual'.
The warriors would end their fight with the demons first, and if they had grudges against each other, they would fight a duel on a later date.
In this ritual, the detail that is of greatest importance, both parties must state the thing they are fighting for and must relieve their hearts of the burden before fighting.
Telling your opponent what you are protecting and fighting for, embodies the essence of having a clear heart, hence the name 'Clear Heart Ritual'.
This is a sacred ritual that once started instantly attracts the attention of the 'Laws' of the 'world' itself, and the 'Laws' of the 'world' then blessed both parties with their blessings. These blessings are not stat boosts or buffs or anything; they are genuine blessings, like how an elder of the family gives blessings to his children and prays for their safety.
The ritual states that even if you don't have parents, family, or any loved one, the world itself will bear witness to your glory and will act as your guardian in this moment.
To die in this ritual means that you will be able to lay in the arms of your guardian (The World) in your final moments.
"I have a wife waiting for me at home, and I have to fight for my pride as a swordsman too... Moreover, I can't let a demon who killed a talented student of the human empire escape
either..."
"I was the one who was late, and my mistake caused Zachary Hunt to die an untimely death... I will fight so that I can be forgiven by that young soul..."
While telling his intentions and clearing his heart of the things he wants to achieve and why he wants to fight, Jin gulped down the entire wine from the glass in one go!
Alverto followed through the ritual faithfully too at the same moment.
"To create a 'New Order' for the sake of my fellow 'Demons' and for the sake of my ambition
and goals, I must fight and win this battle..."
"I want to destroy all the possibilities of my failure, and I want to achieve salvation for my race... Thus I will fight!"
With their motives and reason stated, the two of them attracted the attention of the 'Laws' of the 'World,' and as if the 'World' itself had noticed this battle, the sky became scarlet red.
Jin and Alverto put away the wine glasses at that point and got up at the same time.
"You made me get involved in the 'Clear Heart Ritual', but wouldn't that be just more disadvantageous for you, Demon Prince Alverto?"
"Cunningness, schemes, and plotting are the main weapons of a demon; by entering the 'Clear Heart Ritual,' you have made a vow to not disgrace your honor..."
"But that's basically a shackle for a demon; how will you fight like that? You are just throwing away your advantages and your identity as a demon at this point, you know..." Alverto nodded his head at those words and smiled with a proud smile on his face.
"The Spire of Ascension has already been summoned, and I have already completed all of the
necessary steps."
"All that's left is for me to destroy the 'variables' that can cause my failure, that is, you, Ashtel Rex, and those kids from your academy..."
"Now there's no need for any schemes or trickery anymore; the only thing that's left to do is defeat you all; the pawn manipulated by me is already dealing with Ashtel Rex..." "And I have sent a few lovely gifts in the direction of those little kids too... All that's left is you... you are the most troublesome of them all; I must deal with you myself..."
"I seriously never expected that someone would end up awakening an authority related to
time when I was so close to the end of my plan... I must eliminate you for my dreams, Jin
Walt..." Having said that, Alverto took his helmet and placed it back over his head.
Both Alverto and Jin took their weapons back at the same time and pointed them towards each
other.
"I wish you luck, Jin Walt..."
Jin also nodded his head at those words and replied with a smile on his face.
"I wish you luck too, Demon Prince Alverto..."