Varian struck first.

A wave of glowing black and white rose from his fingertips and turned into a balance scale.

The power of Order and Chaos swallowed the battlefield like tsunami before it vanished and as it did, it established 'conditions'.

[1. Aura resonates, creating a triple leverage

2. The older physical body would face chaos]

Immortal shook as his body turned weary and nauseous, like a man who sprinted after stuffing himself.

"Is this your power?" He clenched his fists, eyes glittering with excitement.

"We're just getting started." Varian's figure vanished from his location, sending ripples through the fabric of space-time as he took a leap.

He appeared behind Immortal, soundless like a ghost and pressed his hand against the child of slivers.

A flood of chaos opened and the light darker than night drowned the silhouttee of Immortal.

In those pitch black flames, Immortal's body was violently torn by forces that adhered to absolutely no pattern.

Limb by limb, organ by organ, blood drop by blood drop—everything that made up the being named Immortal was shredded apart.

'I used only 30% of a divine ranker's power. That's 5% higher than Immortal's rumored strength.'

If he could help it, Varian didn't want to reveal his full strength to so many divine rankers.

He didn't trust any of them fully and was wary of the possibility where his impossible strength might push their greed beyond reason.

Still, 30% of a divine ranker's strength should be a l—

"That's not bad. Not bad all."

Immortal's voice sounded from the left, right and then behind.

Varian swiftly turned around and his heart tightened as he noticed three figures of Immortal smirking at him.

"You…what the hell?"

Even with the senses of life, soul and death, he wasn't able to find any distinction between the three avatars.

A white flame burned on Varian's fists and he prepared to use his powers to differentiate them.

"Give up. There is no real me among us." One of them said in a cocky voice and raised his arms.

And then, the three of them spoke together.

"""Because we are all one!"""

From the gap between their hands, a laser beam of red shot out and the three beams interesected in the middle.

From the clash of the power emerged a withered rose. The flower's petal split and in a blink, flew around Varian, kicking off a tornado.

Instead of violent air, they unleashed death.

A cold, overwhelming and ruthless power that every living being would have to face one day.

This tornado of death, enough to drain the life force of entire kingdoms, concentrated itself on a single man.

"Gaaa!"

Varian clutched his throat, but he couldn't stop the screams from breaking out or the black blood that spilled. Nor could he prevent his skin from wilting and hair from greying.

It happened in an instant and before he could respond, Immortal used the power of life, augmented by the sliver.

The vitality in Varian's body, which was already being destroyed by the power of death, was now influenced—persuaded, cajoled and commnaded—to a large degree.

In just a matter of milliseconds, Varian turned into an empty shell holding onto the last bits of vitality.

"Weak, you're too weak."

With every step Immortal took, a green and red lotus bloomed at his feet.

Countless creatures—simple and complex, weak and strong, sentient and crazy—born, died, reborn and died again, slipping into an endless cycle.

As he approached Varian, the latter slowly raised his head. With eyes that seemed too stubborn for his precarious situation, the young man chuckled.

"Have you gone mad?" Immortal crossed his arms and smirked.

Varian wanted to retort but he couldn't even speak in his current state.

'I was right. His strength is around 50% of a divine ranker. Fuck them rumors. Would've been the death of me if I trusted them.'

"I won't kill you right away, I will first cut your tongue, then pluck out your eyes, seal your perceptions and throw you into a world of darkness. After that…hm, let's see, there are plenty of good torture methods I have in mind. I'll list them for you to pick one. Aren't I generous?"

Immortal spoke in a tone of ultimate confidence and his overbearing attitude only steered the audience further toward him.

"…"

Varian didn't speak a word. He tried to get away but due to the severity of his condition, he ended up with a few clumsy moves that Immortal easily chased.

"Are you running? Running already?" Immortal raised his hand, reaching for Varian's head, seemingly ready to fulfill his first vow.

…that's when it exploded.

A brilliant burst of darkness that swallowed the glorious light of life and death alike before it itself was burned by a blinding light.

Immortal was blown away, the matter and energy present in his body both disintegrating and dissipating at an uncontrollable rate.

Even faster than Varian losing his vitalty, the child of slivers lost his entire body to the mix of violent powers. They shredded everything that made him up all the way down to the atomic scale.

A pure white light emerged out of the destroyed body.

The soul of Immortal.

Unlike most normal souls, it had tinges of purple gold here and there and gave off an invoilable feeling.

Varian didn't wait until it could create another problem. He used the power of slivers and space-time to confine the soul.

[1. Non-Physical Bodies would find distorted spaces too rigid for their passing

2. Energy is sucked away from spiritual entities.]

He manipulated the space around Immortal's soul, locking it there. The soul itself had no choice as all it found itself immobile and fast losing energy.

Varian didn't dare to use the power of life and death to deal him a finishing blow.

There was a nagging feeling in the back of his mind that it would not go well. Or maybe it's just his mind screaming as his senses noticed Yami and Keman still maintained a smile on their face.

The power of soul emerged from Varian in the form of a brilliant white beam and shot through Immortal.

Varian used his slivers to lock down and attack the soul.

This time, he did not hold back and used the full 60% of divine ranker power he held.

A scream sounded across space and Immortal's soul shattered into pieces.

"Haa~ Haa! Haaa!" Varian panted heavily, a relieved smile forming on his exhausted face.

Immortal's strength seemed around 55%. Thankfully, a 60% strength plus the combination of seven paths allowed him to win.

'I'll have to thank everyone. Sarah, Isadora, Sia, Enigma, Primula, Aurora.'

They worked very hard in their own way to help him improve his strength. If they did even a little less than their best, he might've not won this match. It could've been very very close or maybe even in Immortal's favor.

Varian straightened his back and turned to the spectators not too far away.

Now that he won the duel, there should be no problem with demanding the privacy of Hortus to be respected and the safety for some close individuals.

'Wait, Aphosis is the referee. Why is he not annou—'

Boom!