"Yes, I said it. We demons have become lazy." Vulcan repeated himself and this time, everyone could feel the anger he was holding back as he spoke.

"In the past, we demons trained even without an academy. We bled, fought, and clawed our way through for every tiny increase in power. We knew what it meant to live on a battlefield."

"Now, thanks to peace and our ignorance, many of our children join the academy expecting an easy life."

"They expect a comfortable three years where they simply wear a shiny uniform and earn a title."

"However, they end up finding themselves getting crushed by the academy's strict schedules, harsh exams, and brutal training routines."

"And what do many of them do in return?!!" Vulcan asked, his voice growing louder as he spread out his arms.

"They give up!! They skip classes. They slack off. They waste their time, and when they finally stumble out of the academy, the angels, vampires, elves, beastmen, and all other races look at them and call us WEAK!!" Vulcan shouted with rage, but no one tried to counter what he just said because they knew he was right.

Even the demon lords were quiet, but they also noticed how the mood of every demon in the plaza was slowly beginning to change.

They could even hear a low, angry growl spreading through the lower section of the plaza as some demons clenched their fists and ground their teeth in a rage, after realizing just how much the other races looked down on them.

Even Lily pouted cutely after noticing the stern look on her big brother's face.

Though she didn't understand everything Vulcan was saying, she was still able to understand enough to make her frown.

"Mean…" The little dragon princess muttered under her breath. "Those guys are mean for calling Mama's people weak…so rude." A puff of white smoke flowed out of her nostrils as she huffed in annoyance.

Meanwhile, Vivian placed her hand on her lips to hide her giggle.

'So cute!!!' She screamed internally.

If they weren't in public right now, she would have definitely lifted her little princess up to rain kisses all over her face.

However, since the atmosphere in the plaza was a bit stern and serious at the moment, Vivian decided to remain serious as well and redirected her focus to Vulcan.

"Let me make this clear." Vulcan continued. "The academy is not the problem. The instructors are not the problem. The syllabus is not the problem."

"We are."

He tapped his chest with one of his fists.

"WE ARE THE PROBLEM, for letting our children walk in as if the academy is a playground instead of a battlefield. For allowing other races to outperform us, even in our area of specialty. For letting demons be treated as a shadow of what we once were."

The Capra Demon Lord and Shadow Demon Lord narrowed their eyes thoughtfully.

Isabella took a slow sip of her drink while her crimson eyes never left Vulcan's face, and other lower-class nobles remained silent as they watched Vulcan draw in deep breaths.

"This is why I have decided to make changes," Vulcan said as he lifted an arm and clenched it into a fist.

"For the past decades, the Beastmen tribe has used a system of arena trials to decide who gets to attend Evermore Academy, and only five thousand of their strongest and most determined youngsters earn that right each year."

"Unlike ours, where at least ten thousand students get to enroll every year, the beastmen allow only five thousand students to have that privilege."

"However, despite their lesser numbers, just one of theirs is more than enough to win against ten of ours."

"Preposterous right? But that's the reality we're in right now."

"I have been watching their methods for years, and yes, I agree. It is savage and brutal, but it has been effective."

Vulcan continued. "I have studied it and I have spent years coming up with my plans."

"I have prepared the grounds and I have built arenas in my kingdom."

"And now, I intend to carry out the same test for our people." Vulcan boldly declared and the murmuring grew louder.

Some demons stared in disbelief while a few young demons around Aster's age whispered to each other.

"Wait, is he serious?" A young male centaur asked a young female Satyr.

"I think so." She replied.

"So, he built an arena, and he wants to host a tournament?"

"Seems like it."

"Can we join? Will we be allowed to join?" The male centaur eagerly asked the female Satyr because both of them were from a simple background, so he wondered if the tournament would be limited to the nobles alone.

But the female Satyr instantly hushed him before he distracted the two of them from hearing what Vulcan had to say. "Shh, I don't know. So keep quiet and let us listen."

From the look of things, both of them seemed very interested in participating in the tournament and a few other young demons around their age felt the same way as well.

Noticing this, Vulcan straightened to his full towering height and the flames on the tip of his horns flared.

He was glad to see that his words were reaching out to the young demons, so he proceeded to clarify any doubts the young demons might have had.

"In two moons' time, I, Vulcan Azazel, Pyro Demon Lord of one of the seven Hells, will be hosting a Grand Demon Youth Tournament in my kingdom."

His deep voice echoed across the plaza as he continued…

"Any young demon who wishes to attend Evermore Academy in the coming trimester may participate."

"Be it Commoners, nobles, heirs, daughters, and sons. If you are of age and have awakened your core, then you're free to come."

"And if you think you have the courage to stand in the arena, then you are welcome to participate in the tournament."

"But there is something you must know. This is not a festival game and it is not a children's sparring match either."

"This tournament will test your strength, your will, your discipline, your hunger, and your desire to grow."

"And that is why, at the end of the tournament, only the top one hundred demons will be guaranteed a recommendation into Evermore Academy from our continent."

"But for the rest, you lot can return home to your mothers because the arena will not babysit the unprepared and Evermore Academy's gate won't be opened to those who are still crawling beneath the feet of the strong."

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