The Great Demon System

The shadowy blob was slithering in front of the eyes of many clear as day, yet none seemed to be surprised by his presence. 

The Walker family was one of the most prestigious households in the world for a reason, and why a member of that household was the supreme general himself…

That was because the Walker family was the only family that possessed the ability to interact with their inner spirits outside of their minds as a physical manifestation. As such, many people had dubbed them outer spirits instead.

This unique aspect not only allowed for an ability and combat style unlike any other, but also strength and growth almost unrivalled. A person with the ability to not only speak to but befriend that spirit was unprecedented. After all, one's power was extremely tied to their relationship and bond with their inner spirits. And even amongst the Walker family itself, Adam seemed to be a particularly talented and special case.

This was what truly made Adam Walker a dominant force unlike any other, a man seen with a god-like status, nearly untouchable even amongst those attending the school harbouring the next generation's strongest. For truly, no other man could do what he could.

But now, even he stood in anticipation, perhaps even nervous for the first time hearing the words of his spirit's warnings and looking over towards that source.. However, he would be lying if he told himself that there was no excitement and anticipation brewing under his outer facade. 

"Nago, I understand your pleas…" He closed his eyes and nodded, and a slight glow could be seen flashing in those red sockets of the shadow upon his shoulders. 

"Very well… Aaaadaaammm…" He spoke slowly, his form withering away with a chuckle that gradually eased out of his ears.

"Hey! You done talking with that thing?"

"Indeed I have… Announcer! I am ready to begin!"

"Oh— Oh! Alright!!" He chuckled, getting past his initial anxiety of being ignored for so long. "Both combatants are set! So without any further ado! Let's get this match on the road!!" And as the announcer spoke, the previously dead-panned crowd slowly began to regain that energy they once had as they too began counting down along with the announcer. 

And as the numbers slowly ticked down to zero, both Kai and Adam took up their respective fighting stances. 

"5"

"4"

"3"

"2"

"1"

"BEGIN!"

Like a clap of lightning, both instantly disappeared from place. Yet the sound of thunderous impacts did not fill the air upon their vanish like many expected. 

Rather than the head-on approach, both found themselves methodically circling around each other looking for an opening, yet their efforts seemed to yield them no clear advantage. 

"What is this?! A game of cat and mouse!"

Although to any normal crowd what occurred was boring and rather lacklustre, but the fact that Adam Walker had never once taken such a careful approach to any of his fights thus far put them on the edge of their seats.

Their paths were nearly identical, and their speed matched in such a way that it would be nearly impossible to catch up even when trying to catch each other off guard switching directions. None would dare go towards the center lest they be trapped, and it seemed like the initial beginning led to nothing as the crowd waited with baited breaths for the two silent opponents to make a move as they assessed each other. 

And make a move they most certainly did, only it was Kai who took the initiative, sending many fireballs in his opponent's direction that he meticulously dodged whilst somehow keeping his momentum with unquestionable skill that appeared almost as casual as breathing. 

A dainty grin grew upon Kai's face, yet his opponent still bore his deadpanned look despite all the pressure that Kai only increased with more fireballs of orange and yellow.

"Hey! I can keep this up for a long time! You just gonna run forever! Or are you go—" 

And even before Kai could finish his taunting words, his speech was cut off short. All of a sudden, Adam found himself hit, yet upon the clearing of the dust, he was nowhere to be found. In a mere instant, a shadow enveloped Kai. No, two shadows surrounded him from both ends like a sandwich. Only by crossing his eyes trying to look in both directions did he notice what it was.

To his left was a shadowy shark swimming within the very ground, its eyes staring him down like a lazer and its sharp, infested mouth gaped open ready to tear him to shreds. And to his right was a whirlwind of darkness from that blade once strapped to his opponent's back, his deadly gaze only slightly visible from within the thick shadows.

He was in the iron maiden, and the spikey hatch was inevitably going to close where there was absolutely no escape.

"Hahahaha! So quickly do the cocky fall! I should have never worried!" The supreme general laughed, yet the woman sat to his side bore an unnaturally serious expression. 

"Apologies supreme general, but I believe you should not have averted your gaze so soon…"

"Hmmm?"

"WHAT!?" He bit his tongue, unable to believe his eyes. 

His breathing grew irregular, his stomach sank to the deepest depths and sweat leaked out of his every pore. He now found his right hand grasping his throbbing chest as his heart rate immediately skyrocketed to something he had not felt in many years.

His gaze did not meet a mangled, chewed-up corpse nor an injured or disintegrated body, it met a body of a man on the ground unable to stand near the ledge. 

Only instead of it being Kai, it was Adam instead, coughing with gaping eyes trying his best to stand as Kai continued his approach for a finishing blow.

With his spear blazing with the intensity of a thousand suns, Kai jumped in the air, and like that sun had suddenly turned into a meteorite, he dove down straight towards Adam as though he was ready to deliver the finishing blow as his shadow spirit shielded him in a dome of darkness. 

"Quiet the comeback right supreme general?" She smirked, looking over towards her clearly distressed superior who did not respond nor pay her any heed as he clenched his open left hand into a fist, almost out of panic mere instants away from the supernova between Kai's spear and Adam's shield. 

The explosion was wild, shrapnels of shard-like shadows exploded in all directions that were blocked by the outer shield that seemed to barely even handle the eruption of power displayed.

The crowd gawked speechless at the display ahead of them, unable to believe what had just happened.

"WOW!! UNBELIEVABLE!! *Cough* *Cough* Is this match already over!? Even I who is standing amidst the mayhem cannot discern what's going on! This is the biggest upset I've ever seen in my life! At the last instant before defeat, Kai Fatebringer turned himself into pure flame and dodged what was otherwise certain death! And in a swift reversal managed to absolutely turn the tide of battle!!" The announcer broke the silence, and that evoked others from within the crowds to speak what was on their minds.

"Did… Did he just win?" 

"No way that just happened right?"

"How is he that strong? I've never even once heard of this kid…"

The dense cloud of dust made it nearly impossible for anyone to perceive what had just happened, and the screens displayed all around them seemed to give them no better answer. 

There only seemed to be few people amidst the crowds that could see what others could not, and even they stood absolutely silent at the result that not even they expected. 

"Artorias… Did you see that? How did he?"

"I don't know Regrit. I wonder how much he's restricting himself to do this or what is allowed for him to do… But this is incredible… The power of a higher being..."

And as the clouds cleared from the battlefield, what was unknown to most made it to the light of the bright, virtual sun. Two figures were seen from within, standing on both feet, and as soon as they appeared, many sighs of relief filled the air and a weight was lifted from their hearts. 

Although one was clearly more injured than the other, it was Indeed not over, far from it.

Both fighters found themselves once again stood upon equal footing across each end of the arena. Yet unlike the beginning, both bore a bright smile unlike any other.

Their mutual glance spoke volumes to each other, and those were the only words they needed before rushing head-on.

But this time, there were no holds barred. The speed they once bore was made an absolute mockery by what they did now, so quick that most even forgot that they were witnessing a bout between mere teenage students and not veteran elites. Their weapons clashed, shaking the very barriers that contained the very arena and causing ripples in the rapidly regenerating ground. Blow for blow, they found themselves evenly matched in front of the quietly gazing audience.

A fireball or anything of the such always found itself squarely blocked by a barrage of thick, almost solid shadows and any trick one had found a match with another that their opponent kept under their sleeves.

Even in a two on one, where Adam's wild, shadowy spirit fought alongside him in a way no ordinary man would be able to predict, there seemed to be none taking edge. However… That was solely on a surface level. To the naked eye, most would believe Kai to be overwhelmed by the shadowy barrage of two god-like foes, but in reality, he was perfectly calm. Almost too calm as he narrowly dodged and countered every hit in a way that appeared to be out of sheer luck from an outside perspective yet extremely calculated and intentional to those with a keener eye. 

Whatever Adam Walker attempted to do, Kai Fatebringer always found himself seemingly one step ahead. It was not a gap in power… No, it was a gap in talent or experience as if he had been fighting such battles for hundreds or even thousands of years.

And in a mighty clash of fists, they found each other equally blown away towards their respective ends of the arena as if they had just entered once again, not moving a single inch as they both mutually used the time to steady their heavy breaths. Only this time, their expression and attitudes were completely dissimilar, nearly as though they had just entered as new people and that the true battle had yet to begin.

"You… You were holding back before, weren't you… I never thought I'd see the day..." Adam spoke with a small chuckle, dusting himself off. 

"Well, I like not to reveal my entire hand whenever I have the chance. But, I could say the same about you too! You almost took my head off with that sandwich of yours! What I don't understand is how you were able to block my final hit there..." Kai grimaced, casually removing a shard of shadows from his left shoulder as he continued to speak.

"I… I honestly do not know… It was a special reversal to redirect but even still. To be honest, there are many things I don't know about this match. This is a unique experience for me. I have never once been so injured let alone felt imminent defeat such as that in my entire life. You… You are a true warrior and rival to even I. I would have never believed a man such as you was so unknown to me and even resided within the same school. Kai Fatebringer… I shall never forget your name even if you do lose before the official tournament. For you, I shall reveal something that I had never planned to use against any human, especially in this competition. But for you, I believe you are worthy enough for me to test it…"