'Hehe. That show-off! He didn't know how the ritual worked.'
There was someone in the Durbag tribe who thought of this when he saw Eren getting selected for the final ritual. He laughed on the inside while maintaining serious expressions on the outside.
Durbag had participated in this time's Oni festival under the false identity of Borul. He had used special means available to him to pass off as Monster Lord. He had regressed into his evolution stage to pull this off. Otherwise, the ritual would have detected an anomaly in him.
Varhan was asking himself to be part of the final ritual by being so connected with his audience. Since their emotions were focused on him the most out of all the members of the Durbag tribe because of how interactive he was, his selection was a foregone conclusion.
Still, the children of Echidnae couldn't help but be surprised by the fact their history was changed at this point. They then observed Varhan's stats getting boosted with the sacrificial energy.
The ritual was meant to even out the ground by making Varhan stronger. It was making his stats reach unprecedented levels for an Orc Lord, prepping him to fight off another challenger. After all, Kaalmaahen was a step ahead of him in terms of the evolutionary stage.
"This… I didn't know this could happen!"
"Right? I wouldn't have believed someone of his evolutionary caliber would get selected for the final ritual."
The people started whispering and murmuring among themselves as the two contestants were finalized.
Ting! Ting! Ting!
The bell that had been ringing for quite some time at this point suddenly disappeared, allowing silence to take over the surroundings once again. In the next moment, people started calling out Varhan and Kaalmaahen's names. The atmosphere became boisterous once again. All of them were eager to see the final ritual take place.
Varhan felt elated. He felt like his body had the stats of an Orc Lord without stepping into that stage. He swung his arms around and clenched his fist. He then stretched his legs before performing his movement spell.
The results were more than satisfactory. He looked at the crowd who was cheering for him and smiled before waving his hands. This was the reason he was showing off anyway.
***
Kaalmaahen had brown skin that was different from normal ogres. His ogre-like pointy ears made one realize that he had a monster lineage. His hair had been cut extremely short from the sides. And the monster also sported a goatee.
He looked ready for the battle with his fully equipped gear. Varhan on the other hand looked like he hadn't prepared enough for the final event. He was wearing the same tribal Orc armor and dark brown pants. He had Rigor Mortis in one hand and Anduril in the other.
The two opponents were silent and observing each other amid a cacophony of voices. It was as if they didn't hear any of the disturbance that might force them to pull their focus away from each other.
Kaalmaahen smiled at Varhan and spoke first.
"Forget about being mute, I don't see you as a fan of speaking during a battle anyway, Varhan. Your mana signature is too composed for you to see the need of agitating your opponents verbally.
Hehe. That's good."
Kaamaahen sighed and added up.
"Too bad we had to meet this way. I would have loved to know more about you."
Varhan raised his eyebrows when he heard Kaalmaahen's words. He realized that the latter was indicating that he would beat him so easily that he won't have a chance to know him at all.
Varhan could also understand that this was not false bravado. The guy was genuinely powerful enough to beat someone like Varhan. Kaalmaahen took out his broadsword and wielded it effortlessly with one hand. He swung it around a few more times to calibrate his moves and only stopped when the results started turning satisfactory.
Swing. Swoosh. Cut.
Kaamaahen was the first to charge at Eren. His wind-element proficiency was nothing to scoff at. Varhan found out that the area around him had turned jelly-like. It was as if the wind had turned semi-solid as it covered him from every angle, forcing him to stay at his place till Kaalmaahen reached.
'Should I eat him too?'
Varhan licked his lips as he saw Kaalmaahen approach him. He chuckled before channeling his mana throughout his body.
Aspect Fusion.
Fusion of purple and red lightning!
Varhan first cast a Lightning cloak that took on a more defined form around him. The runic patterns manifested over the lightning cloak were even more detailed and complex.
Except for a few lightning flashes, the serene-looking cloak radiated a red-violet hue. And yet, one could feel that the cloak was giving off an even more prominent mana signature than before.
Eren cast his next set of spells and effortlessly released himself from Kaalmaahen's trap. The only thing the Ogre Lord could slice in the next moment was his mirage.
Clang!
Kaalmaahen felt a threatening vibe coming off of his 3 O'clock and met it instinctively with his broadsword. In the next moment, a metal clashing sound was heard as Varhan's dual swords clashed against the Ogre Lord's heavy weapon, forming a cross.
Purple Reaver! Invi Blaze!
Varhan's two blades buzzed as if they were making a chirping sound. The runes etched on them lit up as their inscribed spell was activated at the same time.
'This guy…'
Kaalmaahen gazed into Varhan's green eyes and couldn't help but feel stressed. The Orc Leader had activated his weapon spells when he was standing this close to his enemy.
The meaning of that act was simple. It was either that Varhan had an overwhelming confidence in the defensive spell that he was wearing at the time. He didn't care about the repercussions of a spell clash when he was standing on this cloth with his opponent.
Both would mean trouble for Kaalmaahen who had thought that he wasn't underestimating Varhan. Turned out he was wrong all along.
