While she might not stand a chance against Orion by herself, with the Prismaflow twins at her side, she was confident they had already secured victory.
But that was to be expected from the beginning!
Orion took one last deep breath. His expression turned serious as he finally decided to tap into the Vylkr container in his heart. He noticed Merida exchanging an unspoken signal with the twins before she locked her gaze back on him and charged toward him.
Meanwhile, the twins vanished into thin air with their teleportation abilities. Keeping his focus on Merida as she rushed at him, Orion allowed about five per cent of the Vylkr energy from the container in his heart to flow throughout his body as he activated his gift.
"Solar Flare Strike!"
Merida unleashed her clan's intermediate technique once more as she closed in on Orion.
However, Orion felt his heart pounding even harder than before, and he was prepared. The moment he caught a glimpse of a bright flash of light out of the corner of his eye, he instinctively closed his eyes and channelled both the strange energy and the Vylkr energy through his body.
He conjured his lightning into a fist since his lightning-forged sword wouldn't suffice in this situation. With all his might, Orion hurled it forward.
"BANNNGGG!!!" Orion's lightning-infused fist left his hand with incredible power, tearing through the golden-veined, crystal-clear stage.
Merida's eyes widened as the lightning-forged fist sped directly toward her. Realizing it was too late to dodge, the fist was upon her before she could react. Instinctively, Merida raised her sword to block the incoming attack.
However, with a deafening "BANGG!!" the force behind the fist sent her sword flying to the other side of the stage, causing a momentary panic.
Then, the lightning-forged fist struck with a resounding "BAANGG!!" "BBBOOOMM!!"
Merida didn't even have time to scream as a shocking, horrifying wave of energy propelled her backwards like a cannonball.
She crashed violently outside the stage, beneath the supporting walls of the grand amphitheatre, which shook violently with a deafening "Booom!" The destructive energy dispersed in all directions, causing countless cracks to rapidly spread throughout the walls where Merida had been embedded.
Almost instantly, her eyes grew hazy as remnants of the lightning-forged fist crackled around her body. She abruptly lost consciousness, covered in the settling dust from her violent impact.
The entire grand amphitheatre fell into a deathly silence.
Every person present, whether from Minor clans, City families, or the five Major clans, had their eyes wide open, and for a significant moment, no one uttered a word.
Meanwhile, King Brylon, Queen Selene, Clan Head Garnet, Clan Mistress Elara, Clan Mistress Olivia Quatzwraith, and all the other Major Clan Heads and Mistresses from the five Major Clans rose to their feet in unison. They were joined by every City Family Head and Minor Clan representative who stood up in shock, their eyes fixed on the incomprehensible scene unfolding before them.
Merida Luminous, the unconscious figure who had been flung into the wall on the opposite side of the stage by a single lightning-forged fist, remained motionless. She seemed incapable of any movement until her body finally slid down from the wall and fell to the ground in an awkward position.
At this point, they couldn't even ascertain her current condition.
They struggled to confirm whether what they were witnessing was real or perhaps just a hallucination.
Meanwhile, Orion, who observed the extent of the destruction, couldn't help but stare in surprise as he realized he might have just discovered another application of his gift.
'I can detach my lightning and send it flying independently,' he contemplated, but his thoughts were abruptly pulled back to reality by a sudden voice.
Without even turning his head to identify the source, Orion immediately conjured another three-meter lightning-forged fist and launched it in the direction of the voice.
"BAANNGG!!" "BOOMM!!" His instincts proved accurate once again. In the next moment, another scene unfolded, eerily reminiscent of what had happened with the now unconscious Merida.
Aeryn Prismaflow was sent hurtling backwards like a cannonball until he collided with the walls below the seating area of the grand amphitheatre.
"YOU!! I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!" Conrad roared angrily at Orion the moment he witnessed the current state of his twin brother.
"Well, I don't think that's a nice thing to say since we are only having a duel here," Orion retorted, quickly snapping out of his trance after confirming that he was now capable of detaching his lightning and attacking an opponent from a distance.
As he turned around to face Conrad, he began to contemplate the various uses that now seemed within reach.
Dimensional Teethering!
Conrad activated one of his clan's intermediate techniques that allowed him to anchor himself within a specific location and return to it after a short-range teleportation.
He vanished out of sight, making Orion weary as he immediately conjured another three-meter-long fist and began to swing it around.
"BAMM!!" "BAANNNGGG!!"
He had managed to strike the Prismaflow Heir and send him flying backwards twice before promptly teleporting back to his previous starting position and charging forward once more.
"BAAAMMMM!!" "BOOMMM!!" Orion's lightning-forged fist struck Conrad once more, sending him violently flying backwards before his second lightning-forged fist tore right through the stage. Golden-veined crystal-clear tiles cracked and scattered high into the air all around the stage.
After the dust settled, all that remained was a large carved hole torn apart by Orion's lightning-forged fist.
Witnessing the Prismaflow Clan's Heir reappearing back in his previous position, with some parts of his clothes blown open, numerous shallow injuries, and a bloody body that concealed them, Orion ceased channelling the Vylkr energy from the Vylkr container in his heart.
He immediately deactivated his gift and watched as Conrad's body hit the ground, his knees giving way, before he collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath, his gaze never leaving Orion's still-standing figure.
Taking in a deep breath, Orion muttered, "I won."