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«Then there are the middle-rank demons," he continued. - In fact, they do not really have a big difference with the lower, even in rights. That is, a demon of middle rank will have an advantage in the law over the lower only conditionally.
Valerie interrupted him abruptly with a chuckle:
«Look at that," he said, his eyes full of mockery. - Does the King know what the law is?
«Oh, my sweet queen, there's still so much you don't understand.... - He stared back condescendingly. - It is not I who read the law, but the law reads me.....
«What the hell is that supposed to mean?!
The little pique passed over the ears of the thoughtful Ichika. Perhaps things weren't so bad for her? She was under the protection of her king, but it wouldn't last forever, would it? There had to be a way for her to rise in rank.
«And mid-rank demons," she caught their attention. - Don't they have almost no advantages?
«Nope...
«Don't listen to him, Ichika," Akeno intervened. - He was just born with a, uh," she flashed her tongue at the king. - With a golden spoon in one place, as they say. - She ignored Emeric's eyes full of resentment. - In fact, there is a difference, and it is more of a property nature. A demon of medium rank has a small territory, with adjacent property, and a title, either knight or baron ...
«Baron? Like in the Middle Ages or something?
«Forget it," Emeric waved his hand, "no one cares about titles for a long time now, it's just still in vogue from the bearded days...
«What are you talking about, mark-ee-iz? - Akeno snapped at him.
«Marquis? - Ichika looked at him with admiration, so much so that Emeric stuck out his chest slightly, even though he had literally just talked about the unnecessary titles.
«Marquis is a title for demons of high rank," Emeric continued. - As the heir to the Pillar, it's my birthright, but," he glanced at her with a hint. - As you can probably guess, every demon has the right to rise in rank.
«How? - That was the part of the explanation she'd been expecting.
«Contracts are the only option. It's not the fastest way, and contracts have been out of fashion for a long time, you could say that it's just a tribute to tradition, we've had Tiktok for a long time," he sipped his tea while he thought about how to present the information. - The second option is Military Achievements, but we've had hundreds of years of conventional peacetime, it's not the most relevant way now. And the third is the Ranking Games!
It seemed with his last sentence, even Valerie somehow straightened her back. This kind of pastime had always been to her taste.
«Ranking Games? - She didn't realize what it was, but she could catch the hidden anticipation in her king's voice.
«It's the most popular 'sport' in the entire supernatural world," he continued ahead of her question. - Yes, in the world. Almost all other factions of the "other" world buy our broadcasting rights for fabulous money, and not only that. Treasure, artifacts, and just magical knowledge," he smiled at her with a devilish smile. - The other pantheons are willing to give up a great deal for such bread and entertainment.... - He caught a glimpse of Valerie clenching her fist in anticipation. He was in complete solidarity with her. - The Ranking Games are a battle between two Kings and their retinue. Yes, demons fight battles to become famous and show off their power to the world," he tried to take the uncontrollable excitement out of his voice. - Think of it as a wall-to-wall battle, just with fireballs, explosions, and really, really cool staging. The Great King's team, which organizes these battles, does not eat their bread for nothing...
At the praise of the Great King's command, Emeric somehow subtly got his excitement under control. He still couldn't believe that the New Lords had put such a tool in the hands of another faction of Hell. The figures had been created by Ajuka Beelzebub, the first Ranked Games had been arranged by him as well, but in the end they had given all the reins to others. On the other hand, they never imagined that such a sport would become so popular, and when they did, their conditional opponents clawed at the cash cow with all their claws. It's a pain in the ass to get them off.
«Ranked games are pretty much the basis of all modern Hell," Emeric waited until Ichika could realize the information and continued. - Well, I embellished it a bit, but the truth is close by. It's the most fashionable event, it brings in just rivers of money, and their participants," he glanced over to Valerie and Akeno. - They become famous. Honor and respect, that's what you get for winning the 'rankings'. You can't yet fully grasp the significance of this 'sport' in the minds of our race, but just keep in mind that it's very important to us. And it is this method is the fastest and most affordable way to raise the rank of demons.
«Did you participate in these Games, too?! - Ichika turned into her "super curious" version again.
«Not yet," he stared down at his cup with annoyance, as if she were to blame for the situation. - I'm not old enough to participate, but," he met her eyes full of anticipation. - Our first games will be held before the end of the year. I'm sure we'll burst into the carnival loudly, making the whole Underworld aware of our presence....
With his announcement, the entire room seemed to have an aura of anticipation. All of them had been looking forward to the official Ranking Games for a long time. There was no telling how many times he had wanted to bypass the age restriction, but his sister was already on the horn. She wouldn't give him any leeway in this particular desire. She wanted him to fully enter the force. Although even his parents, who were usually the first to oppose his initiatives, were in solidarity with him, but in the end supported his sister.
He is not just some ordinary heir of the family. He is the rising representative of a new generation of the New Lords faction. Emeric will not just represent his Pillar, but his Faction. So will Sona, by the way.
«What could a high ranking demon do? - When everyone had calmed their emotions a bit, Ichika continued to extract information from him.
«Well, they get more 'assets' from their kings, and, well..... - He just shrugged. - Becoming Kings, that is, they get their own set of Figures of Evil...
«Wait, so I can be the King too?! - Ichika exclaimed with shock. - President, why didn't you tell me this before?
«"Please accept me into your entourage," he mocked her as she lowered her head in embarrassment. - 'Actually, you were supposed to listen first, then make your decision.' - He smiled slightly at her dramatically flushed cheeks. - You're very impulsive, but don't worry, you won't regret your decision. Especially since you're kind of, well," he looked away slightly. - Dying a little...
«What the hell?! - Again she got to her feet. She didn't hear that, did she?
«You see," he shrugged a little awkwardly. - When those Fallen tried to take out your Longinus, they did a little, um," he thought for a moment, "damage to your life force....
«Now what?!
«Don't worry about it," Emeric walked over to Ichika and put his arm around her shoulders reassuringly, setting her back on the couch. - There are many ways to restore her...
«I don't get it, life force like in cultivator novels?!
«Oh, so you like to degrade yourself on Chinese, too? - He looked at her like a long lost friend. - Well, not really, there won't be any 'dantian polishing', 'young masters making you kiss the ground they walk on' and other 'heavenly spheres' and 'pills'.....
«Or maybe... - She leaned on him slightly, just enough to rest her breasts against him. - Let's have a "couples' cultivation"?
«Oh, ma'am," he raised an eyebrow slightly slyly at her suggestion. - And you know a lot about perversion.....
Valerie interrupted their little flirtation in the most insolent manner, not paying attention to their pouting faces. She simply put them on different ends of the couch like children, and sat in the middle. It didn't matter anymore, Ichika had stopped worrying about her life force. If the President said there was a way, then there was a way. Perhaps some female or dragon intuition, but she trusted him completely.
«Is that it? - Ichika stopped sizzling Valerie with her gaze and continued to ask Emeric. - Is the high rank the last one?
«No," he shook his head negatively, "the last rank is the highest. These are the heads of the Pillars of Hell, or the demons at the top of the food chain. It might be hard for you to understand, but there's a gradation of power. Sort of," he chose his words. - According to the official ranks, you can also judge the strength of the demon, but it is not always obvious, but starting with the highest, there is a purely power gradation. The demon of the highest rank is already able to destroy, well, the city.
Emeric's outrageous statement decided Ichiku to be speechless. Is she the crazy one here, or did her king really just talk about destroying the city like it was some kind of ordinary outing? Are there really so many monsters in the world that can just because of a bad mood do something so horrible?
«Is that it? - She asked hopefully. Please, just say that's all.
«No, of course not," he smiled slightly at her sweet ignorance. - Trust me, there are forces in the world that far surpass the upper class in combat potential. Just consider this a milestone at which you'll be taken seriously...
«And the people? - She continued to hold out hope. - Would they have something to say if someone wanted to "mess around"? Couldn't nuclear weapons destroy cities, too?
Her question caused the others in the room to glance around slightly. Apparently, they would have to break their new pawn's worldview further.
«Well, actually, yes, nukes are strong," she already knew from experience to wait for him to finish his sentence. It couldn't be that simple. - But, like, after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nukes don't work anymore....
«What do you mean, it doesn't work? - It's like he's talking about broken toys. It's like a doomsday weapon! Well, that's what she thought until recently.
«Then the whole supernatural world missed the tests a little, and when they realized, the bombs had already been dropped on Japan," Emeric was starting to get tired of this conversation, but Ichika needed to be fully briefed. - After that, the forces of the other world just cut off the atom, it sort of doesn't explode like it should now...
«Like a switch? - She couldn't believe it. - Like a button? Like the game had tweaked the setting?!
«Well, let's just say you're close to figuring it out, and I don't know all the details myself. Every other nuclear test since those events, we've faked. Just think of it as "magic"..... - with these words, a rainbow of glittery glitter between his hands, on which different colors were written "magic".
The sight was so ridiculous that Ichika was so nervous she couldn't help but laugh. Her laughter was infectious, so much so that everyone else joined in, even Valerie.
She didn't know much yet, but her journey was just beginning.
***
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