Simon’s lips could not help but curl up into a smirk the moment he heard the words of the child in front of him.

’What do I know about the stances of swordsmanship?’

’Boy... You’re too young to be acting all arrogant in front of me just because you wield a sword.’

Simon stretched out his hand and gestured at Blackblade with his four fingers.

"Come. Let me bring you back to reality... boy."

Blackblade’s eyes glowed, and flames flickered in them for a moment before he tightened his grip on the sword.

"For a mere Fiend, you’re as arrogant as I’ve heard."

Simon chuckled. "Enough with the talk. I said-"

Whoosh!

Before Simon could finish his words, a sword came swinging down at his face, prompting him to quickly take a step back.

His gaze sharpened the moment the blade cut through the air in front of him.

Clang!

He swung his claws down instantly, striking the flat surface of the blade and pushing it off course.

However, the force still grazed his cheek, leaving behind a thin line of blood.

Contrary to what Blackblade and those watching expected, Simon did not retreat.

He stepped forward.

Bam!

He coated his fist with demonic energy, and he punched towards Blackblade’s chest like a cannon.

Blackblade’s pupils shrank.

He twisted his body at the last second, letting the punch brush past his ribs, but the pressure alone made his robes to ripple violently.

’He’s fast.’

Simon coated his entire body with demonic energy, causing him to emit a dark emerald-orange demonic light.

This was consuming a lot of his demonic energy but the Miser’s Ring and his exceptional control over his demonic energy helped in this situation.

His physical abilities might be on par with Blackblade’s, but he didn’t want to expose that.

He could use the excuse of using more mental energy to have an absurd physical strength in the Mind War Theatre Array.

But in real life?

He wanted to at least have a ’believable’ excuse for how he was able to match up to Blackblade’s physical strength when he was just a Minor Fiend and Blackblade was a Supreme Archfiend.

His foot slammed into the ground.

Boom!

The arena floor cracked slightly as he launched himself again, leaving behind a trail of a dark emerald-orange demonic light.

Blackblade swung horizontally this time, and red-orange flames suddenly burst to life along the edge of the blade.

A flaming sword arc flew at Simon.

Simon calmly jumped and rotated over it before executing a perfect landing just outside the range of Blackblade’s sword.

Flames appeared in Blackblade’s eyes, then he stabbed forward, and flames burst out of the tip of the sword, aiming for Simon’s neck.

Simon calmly tilted his head and moved to the side, and the blade and flames passed just inches from his throat.

At the same time...

His demonic energy enhanced knee drove upward.

Bang!

It slammed into Blackblade’s abdomen.

"Keuk!"

Blackblade’s body bent slightly, but his reaction was immediate.

Before Simon could keep up the momentum, flames erupted from his body, forcing Simon to jump back as a burst of fire exploded between them.

Boom!

Simon slid across the ground, his feet carving shallow lines into the arena floor before he came to a stop.

His eyes glowed faintly as he looked at the flames that were slowly dissipating under Blackblade’s command.

Blackblade straightened, exhaling slowly as smoke drifted from under and the sides of his mask.

"I can’t believe you’ve made me to use my chaos."

Simon held the back of his neck and rolled it.

"And you have a little bit of talent, boy."

Blackblade scoffed, then he looked at the demonic energy coating Simon’s body.

"Your control over your demonic energy is truly as absurd as I’ve heard. But surely you don’t think that it would be more than enough to defeat me, right?"

"How long do you think your reserves of demonic energy would last before my sword reaches your neck?"

Simon chuckled softly.

"Boy. You talk too much."

Blackblade’s left eye twitched, but he said nothing.

In the next moment.

Whoosh!

They vanished.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

In an instant, Blackblade’s sword descended like a storm on Simon, each strike was faster than the last.

Simon saw every movement of Blackblade’s sword.

His clenched fists glowed with even more demonic energy and he punched and moved like the wind.

His demonic energy enhanced fists met the edge of the blade head on, and if not for his demonic energy and the chaos wraps, Simon’s fists would have been cut in two.

Moments where he could not catch up to Blackblade’s speed, he would deflect or redirect the blade with the back of his fists or with his palms, barely stopping the blade from carving into his flesh.

Both of them stood their ground as they swung their arms with extreme coldness in their eyes.

Sparks and embers exploded with every clash!

Shiiing!

A sudden thrust shot toward Simon’s eye.

He leaned back, barely dodging the tip of the blade as it scraped the Broken Smile Mask.

Simon took a step forward, moving closer than any swordsman would like.

A certain demon had shining eyes when he saw this.

As for Blackblade, his eyes widened.

’Too close.’

Simon’s elbow shot forward.

Crack

It slammed into Blackblade’s jaw, snapping his head to the side.

Despite the fact that he was wearing a mask, the power behind Simon’s elbow strike almost rattled his brain.

Before he could recover, Simon’s claws swiped at his neck, hoping to severe his neck.

However, Blackblade’s reaction was a testament to his talent.

He instinctively placed his sword in the path of Simon’s claws, and Simon’s eyes flickered as he expected this.

He changed the direction of his claws and they dug into his sword holding arm- his left arm.

Rip!

His claws tore through Blackblade’s flesh, drawing blood.

Blackblade’s expression twisted, and he roared.

"Enough!"

Boom!!!

A massive explosion of flames burst outward, and Simon’s body was blown back this time around.

He flipped once in the air before landing smoothly and with a finesse on his feet.

His arms were slightly burned. Smoke rose faintly from his skin.

But his gaze remained calm as he stared at Blackblade whose sword was now engulfed in dangerous flames.