Just as the Demon King’s heart was swelling with cuteness, the door to the private box suddenly swung open. A blinding holy light poured in, instantly illuminating the previously dim room as bright as day. 

A tall, slender figure stood by the door, a bright angelic halo floating quietly above their head. Long silver hair cascaded down like moonlight, every strand glowing with its own light. The brightest source of light came from their outstretched six wings, as sacred white light poured down like a waterfall from the massive white feathers—

It nearly blinded the Demon King.

In contrast, the Battle Angel responsible for the light pollution had no such trouble, as his pure white ear feathers shielded his eyes. The Battle Angel nodded slightly, its six wings folded inward, their tips overlapping behind it, resembling human hands in a greeting. 

Demon King: “…” What a show-off. 

The last time he dueled this birdman, it was clearly a draw where both sides were left battered—yet simply because the birdman had knelt on one knee with his sword raised at the end of the duel and posted a card log with that pretentious photo, the number of players fawning over the Battle Angel ended up being a full two times greater than those supporting the Demon King! 

“Heh, you’re finally here.” The Demon King cracked his neck and stood up, his demonic tail straightening segment by segment with a metallic clanking sound. He strode purposefully toward the door and slapped the Battle Angel on the shoulder with enough force to knock him out. “This time, we’re going to settle this once and for all.” 

“Friendship first, competition second.” The Battle Angel nonchalantly raised his hand and brushed off his shoulder, as if there were some dust where the Demon King had touched him. 

Demon King: “…“ You’ve been provoking me the whole time.” 

The Battle Angel took a step back. The passageway to the VIP-exclusive arena extended from his feet. The Battle Angel elegantly extended his hand; every finger, encased in a white glove, exuded an air of gentlemanliness. “Please.” 

【The Demon King has left】 

Tang Mian: “?”

Why did he leave again? Is he coming back? 

Tang Mian didn’t just sit around waiting for the Demon King. He closed “Boss Direct Hire,” tapped into his Moments feed, and selected “Edit Online” to post a card log. 

A card log is a Moments feed where cards document their lives; in addition to being visible to cards they’ve added as friends, it’s also visible to all players. 

Players can learn about cards through card logs. If interested in a particular card, players can click “Follow”; following a card increases the probability of drawing it. 

System: 【The first card log posted by a new card typically records its initial combat value and skills—these are also the aspects players care about most. Your initial combat value is too low, so you can choose not to reveal it for now. As for skills…】

Tang Mian: “Oh!”

Tang Mian hurriedly dug out the winking emoji he’d just sent to the Demon King. 

System: 【………. 】

System: 【I’m not talking about that kind of skill. I’m referring to combat-related skills.】 

Tang Mian tilted his head and thought for a moment: “Combat-related? Would helping the opponent recover faster after a battle count?” 

System: 【You actually have a healing skill? Support-type battle cards, even if they have low combat value, are popular among players and in major decks, but why haven’t I detected any Light, Water, or Wood elements in you? Logically speaking, these are the most common healing-type elements.”】

Tang Mian: “Huh? What are you babbling about? I don’t really get it, but my smile is definitely heartwarming.” 

System: 【?】

System: 【?】 

System: 【So your skill refers to… ?】

Tang Mian turned on the camera, adjusted the angle, then knelt on the ground with his knees bent, extended his arms straight forward, took a deep breath, arched his lower back, and lifted his head, performing the movement in one fluid motion to execute an extremely standard cat stretch. 

He looked just like a proud little cat. 

Tang Mian replied confidently, “Cat Stretch! This pose not only stretches and relaxes the body, effectively relieving muscle soreness after intense combat and speeding up recovery, but it can also serve as a pre-battle warm-up!”

System: 【………. 】

“I know lots of other stretches too, like leg stretches—they’re great for preventing bulky calves, you know~” As he spoke, Tang Mian gave a wink and flashed a “you know what I mean” expression. 

System: 【…………………… 】

……

The lightsaber sliced through layer upon layer of fiery waves, piercing the massive demon’s wing. In an instant, the wing membrane tore apart, and the wing bones shifted out of place.

“Damn!” 

The Demon King plummeted from the sky at breakneck speed, like a kite whose string had snapped. A glowing longsword plunged down from above, its tip tearing through the air like divine retribution.

The Demon King awkwardly dodged to the side. Before he could even adjust his injured dragon wings, the second strike, the third strike… A ceaseless stream of sword light flashed forth.

The Battle Angel held the high ground; folding his wings, he dove downward at breakneck speed. His sword strikes were faster than light, weaving a dense, impenetrable web of blades that left the Demon King with absolutely no chance to adjust his wings and regain air superiority.

Just as his back was about to hit the ground, the Demon King swung his thick tail with all his might, swiftly shifting his center of gravity. He dropped to one knee, driving both his kneecap and the bony spines on his tail into the ground. Aside from not holding a sword, the Demon King almost perfectly replicated the posture the Battle Angel had assumed when he knelt during their previous battle.

—This stance really takes a toll on the knees. The Demon King seemed to hear the sound of his kneecap shattering.

No big deal—as long as it looks cool… Wait, what?

Lifting his blood-red eyes, the Demon King fixed his gaze on the tip of the Battle Angel’s sword, which was poised before him. Amid the blinding white light, the Battle Angel raised his sword, turning slightly to the side—

Not a sword raised for attack, but a display—his sword-wielding arm and the tip of the blade formed a flashy, yet impractical, straight line. 

At the same time, his other hand hung naturally, resting casually on the outside of his thigh, exuding a relaxed confidence as if victory were already assured. 

At a moment when any ordinary battle card would press the advantage, the Battle Angel struck his most dashing pose, giving the Demon King a chance to catch his breath. 

And indeed, the Demon King began to gasp for breath.

The blood flowing from his wounds turned into lava and blazed fiercely, nearly reducing the Demon King to a flaming skull meme. 

What do you mean?! Just a moment ago, he couldn’t dodge because he was falling through the air, but now that he’s back on the ground, does this birdman really think he can gain an overwhelming advantage?!!! 

“You lost your focus just now,” the Battle Angel said calmly. With that, he executed a graceful sword flourish and sheathed his sword with one hand in a fluid, seamless motion. 

The Demon King was instantly silenced.

The Battle Angel turned without looking back, folded his six wings, and walked at a steady pace across the solidified lava. The wind carried his voice faintly: “My sword says it doesn’t want to fight an opponent who makes such elementary mistakes.” 

Demon King: “…” So frustrating.

Suppressing the urge to beat this bird-man to a pulp, the Demon King explained, “I was indeed a bit off my game just now, but that’s because… ”

The Demon King pulled out an all-in-one card: “Dude, look at this photo—doesn’t it have the ‘Charm’ skill applied?” 

The Battle Angel stopped in his tracks, maintaining his sideways stance, and cast a faint glance at the Demon King. 

Although the Battle Angel’s eyes were hidden by his ear feathers, it didn’t prevent him from executing the action description of “casting a faint glance.” In fact, because the feathers obscured his eyes, he managed to make this simple gesture seem even more theatrical. 

Demon King: “…”

The Demon King, swallowing his pride, placed the photo right under the Battle Angel’s nose. 

“It’s strange, but this photo is all I can think about—I kept zoning out without even realizing it. Bro, take a look at this photo—doesn’t it have some kind of glitch-level seduction skill?” 

As everyone knows, the Battle Angel’s ear feathers cover his eyes, so he must have some special ability with his eyes. The Demon King figured this bird-man must have pretty good eyesight; if the Battle Angel was also captivated by this photo, then it would prove that his earlier lapse in concentration wasn’t the Demon King’s fault.

The Battle Angel lowered his head and “looked” in the direction of the photo.

His ear feathers covered his eyes, but his high, straight nose was visible through the gaps in the feathers. As he breathed, the feathers near his nostrils fluttered slightly with the airflow.

But during the brief few seconds he stared at the photograph, all those subtle movements vanished.

There was no wind at that moment, and the sun was shining brightly, yet the light that fell upon the Battle Angel felt cold. He stood there silently, like a statue carved from moonlight, and no one could discern any emotion on the sculpted face.

Not even the Demon King, standing just a few inches away, could detect anything out of the ordinary. 

“It’s a very ordinary photo—no special abilities attached,” the Battle Angel said indifferently, averting his gaze. 

“Damn! You call this ordinary?!” the Demon King interjected. “Oh, bro, I didn’t mean it that way. What I meant was, this face is definitely not ordinary. Don’t you think he’s flawlessly handsome?!” 

The Battle Angel still replied indifferently, “It’s okay.” 

“Not bad? You call that not bad?!” The Demon King’s competitive spirit seemed to have shifted from the arena to an argument over Tang Mian’s appearance. “No, brother, if you can find someone better right now, I’ll call you ‘Dad’ from now on!” 

That’s a hell of a bet.

Even in the fiercest battles between the Demon King and the Battle Angel, things had never escalated to the level of a father-son showdown. 

“Photos can be taken from certain angles or edited,” the Battle Angel said calmly. “Judging by his physical features, he doesn’t belong to any of the three races known for their beauty—elves, mermaids, or succubi—but is simply an ordinary human. Even the strongest human cards don’t exceed SR rank. Low-tier cards are always low-tier in every aspect, including appearance.”

The Demon King, who had been seething with indignation, instantly calmed down. “True… how could an N card possibly really look like that?” 

Realizing that the adorable card in the photo wasn’t a real person after all, the Demon King felt a strong sense of disappointment welling up inside him.

It felt just like…a broken heart.

The Battle Angel asked, seemingly nonchalantly, “I didn’t expect you’d actually cross paths with an N card. Who is he?”

The Demon King laughed it off, saying, “We just exchanged a few casual words—nothing serious. By the way, my good brother, you’ve got a keen eye. Do you think his butt is big?”

The Demon King really loved that N card’s looks—even if he wasn’t that pretty, just a tenth of that cuteness would’ve been enough! The Demon King wouldn’t give up.

The Battle Angel’s tone was flat yet persuasive: “He chose his angle carefully—sticking out his forehead and tucking in his chin to make his face look smaller—and his expression was also carefully staged.”

“Yeah, unless you practice this blink move regularly—or unless you’re exceptionally talented—it’s really hard to make it look that fluid.”

The Demon King, who had humbly sought advice: “?” I don’t understand a word of this gibberish! I never expected this bird guy actually knew about this stuff! Well, bird-man is always putting on a flashy show.

Battle Angel: “You can send me this picture. I’ll study it carefully when I get back and give you more details. Remember to send the original image.”

The Demon King immediately forwarded the photo to the Battle Angel, gave him a thumbs-up, and said with sincere admiration, “Good buddy, you really know your stuff in this area. I’ll ask you for advice again next time.”

In the past, whenever a sparring session ended and the Demon King wanted to debrief the battle with the Battle Angel and exchange insights, the Battle Angel would be incredibly crafty, always avoiding any mention of his signature moves—as if he were afraid the Demon King might steal even the slightest bit of his technique.

This time, however, the Battle Angel gave a reserved nod and agreed to the Demon King’s request with unusual helpfulness, completely shattering the Demon King’s preconceptions about him. So much so that as he watched the birdman flap his wings and fly away without a single cloud in sight, he didn’t feel that he was putting on as much of a show as before. 

Now, the one who seemed the most pretentious had actually become…

Demon King: “Heh heh. This photo doesn’t really show your true self, does it? Stop pretending.” 

Tang Mian: “Huh? You noticed that too!”

Sure enough, it’s photoshopped…

Tang Mian: “But isn’t pretending part of our signature dating move? Although I’m actually a little cute even when I’m not pretending.”