"Oh, look lord Byron. The portal is reacting. The first student will appear any second."

The arena was excited. They all wanted to see who will be the first one that returns in the arena. Soon, all the cheers went silent because, the first person that returned was…

"Umm… the first one to pass the first stage is… umm… l..lady Yurishia."

"Oi… are you fucking kidding me?"

"She cheated… she definitely cheated!"

"Idiot, how can you cheat at something like this? But I agree… a white uniform to win this… it's not possible."

"Kyaa!! Lady Yurishia is amazing!"

"She's an inspiration for everyone."

"And so gorgeous. Yahoo!!"

Various emotions flowed across the arena. Byron stood up and taped his staff on the ground.

"Silence! Ahem. Congratulations for being the first. It is a great achievement for someone of your caliber. But don't forget. This was only the first stage."

He continued with his demoralizing speech for a few minutes. Basically he was saying that I got lucky and there is no way I'll win this. Eventually the other students started to appear. Dante was second after me. Followed by more red uniforms. In short… I was the only white uniform out of all 8 students.

"Congratulations to all of you. Tomorrow the second stage will begin. Each day you shall battle each other in a tournament. First only 4 will remain. Then 2. And eventually, only one will be declared the winner. You must all be tired now. The sun is setting, so return to your homes and rest. Get ready for tomorrow!"

------

We all went home after that. Before actually going to sleep I had I had a chat with everyone. Amelia included. We need to discuss all the events that happened during the first stage.

"For starters, Amelia, please tell me when did these dimensional monsters actually start to appear?"

"Let me think. Umm… if my memory serves me right, roughly 3 months after you died. Err… I mean disappeared."

"I see. Sylvia said that the Hero Guilford Pendragon fell into one of the dimensional cracks. Is that story true for the Mazoku too?"

"Yes. Guilford Pendragon fought valiantly against the dimensionals, but eventually one crack opened and swallowed him in."

So far the story checks. 

"Does anyone know what's on the other side?"

"I don't think so. Nobody has ever returned from the other side. We assume that those cracks are some sort of portals from where the monsters come…. Another world perhaps. But nobody can say for certain what's on the other side. Our goal was always finding the Maou and using demon sword Zeshia to close these cracks."

True enough. It's said that Zeshia can cut through anything. Yet, there are still parts that are bugging me. For example that xenomorph monster. Brokeback desert was always known for powerful illusions. Yet what that guy displayed was magic on a different level. And why did he chose that desert specifically? Did I catch their attention?

Maybe I should assume that they are watching me somehow. And now for the big problem.

"Amelia… do you think it's possible for demons, humans, demi-humans, elves or dwarves to somehow be transformed into a dimensional monster?"

"Changing the race completely like a form of corruption… hmm… if I were to be honest I don't think it's possible. Even the demonization magic we demons developed doesn't technically change the race. A mutation so drastic… I don't think it's possible. But, we don't know how the other side looks. They might have other magic altogether. So I would said, it's improbable, but not impossible."

At this point Lumi-chan raised her tiny hand, like a little kid that was asking the teacher permission to speak.

"Yuri-nee, that monster said that their commander was Guilford Pendragon. Is that why you asked that question?"

"Yeah. However Guilford's will and power was incredible. I really can't see him being corrupted, even if you torture him."

"Even so, they indeed have out of the ordinary magic. They are probably backed up by an evil god."

"I thought gods weren't allowed to interfere."

"Regular gods, yes. However, in my many years of life I learned that there are also evil gods. They share their power with mortals. They usually are banned from the God Realm, but they still cause trouble. So I assume that an evil god is giving the dimensional monsters all those powers."

If Ariadne was here I probably would squeeze more info out of her regardless of how useless she is. 

"Well, let's just drop the topic here for now. The only way we'll know certain is if this commander will eventually decide to fight me. I'll need to get ready for that. So it's imperative I become the Maou."

"My dear, it's worth mentioning that you should be careful. You are the first and only white uniform that managed to get this far into the graduation. The royals won't take this lightly. The teachers, might also try to rig your matches."

"I'm aware of that even if you don't tell me. For now, let's call it a day. It was a really long day, so I need to rest. All of you go to sleep too."

"Understood!" (x6)

------

The very next morning, we all went back to the arena. The very first match is mine, so I didn't waste time going to the waiting room. I simply went near the arena entrance from which I was supposed to be announced. I don't know how the pairing was done, so I'm curious who my opponent is.

Today a large circle ring around 500 square meters was displayed in the middle. Byron once again held an opening speech and then announced us.

"Without further ado, the first round of stage 2 shall begin! First up is Campos Siegwell!!”

A long-haired man with delicate features appears on the arena along with a great cheer.

“He’s here! The most skilled swordsman of this generation!!”

“Shocking! The first match and he’s here!”

"And his opponent, Yurishia."

He didn't even bother making my entrance grand. Kuku… doesn't matter. This will be over soon, after all.