The tension in the room continued to grow as Diane’s power suffocated everyone around her, and there were Faceless Keepers standing in the shadows and watching closely for when to intervene. But before anyone could do anything, Jason’s voice suddenly cut through the silent hall.
"You want a fight?"
Every single person turned toward Jason as he slowly got up from his seat. The tension in the room had grown to an unbearable level because of Diane’s power, but Jason didn’t even look like it bothered him at all. Jason simply turned to face Diane, and then he said one word.
"Okay."
DOON!
This time, Jason released his own power, and every single person in the room flinched as a suffocating, all-consuming energy suddenly pressed down on them at that moment! Diane’s power had already been something great, but what they were feeling now was more than just power! It was like a piece of death was reaching out to them and threatening to consume their soul in its darkness! Jason’s power pushed back against Diane’s energy like it didn’t exist, and Jason managed to fill the room with his own power easily! Even the other two candidates that had been sitting quietly all this time couldn’t help but look up at Jason in shock when they felt the power he was releasing! It was absolutely unbelievable that anyone would have this much energy inside them!
But out of all the people present, the person who had the most unexpected reaction was Diane! The moment Diane felt Jason’s power, Diane saw more than just an all-encompassing death! Jason gave Diane a glimpse into the army he held in his arsenal, and in there, Diane saw thousands of creatures all facing towards her with the desire to kill and tear her to pieces! At that moment, there wasn’t a single person who wouldn’t feel an undeniable shock from seeing something so terrifying, and before Diane could even think about it, Diane took a single step back.
"That’s enough."
C’thlyanu’s voice suddenly cut through the tension in the room and made everyone turn to him. The purple mist didn’t have a face, but Jason could imagine C’thlyanu’s frown as he looked at both of them disapprovingly.
"This is not the time for fighting, and we did not come here to showcase our strengths to anyone. Recall your energies and let us return to the matter at hand. There will not be another warning."
C’thlyanu’s voice was hard, and both candidates finally released their energy and allowed the room to return to the calm state it had once been in! But even though they didn’t fight, everyone in the room had seen exactly what happened! Diane’s power was strong, probably stronger than any other mortal within her Domain, and if they had to guess, the council would say that she was in the top 1% of creatures in the sixth domain. But even with all that power, the council felt how easily Jason was able to remove Diane’s power from the room with his own energy. Jason’s energy had not only been denser, but also more oppressive!
If Diane’s power made the air feel like you were at the top of the mountain struggling for breath, then Jason’s energy felt like you were at the bottom of the ocean, suffocating for air with the weight of the world pressing down on you! The difference between the two were as clear as day and night! But what had really sealed Diane’s fate in this short encounter was something that would not have mattered on any other day. Because even after her declaration, and her egotistical stance, Jason had somehow managed to force Diane to take a single step back.
The council members didn’t care if it was because of fear, or if it was a cautious move from Diane. Everyone here knew what it meant to be in a battle to the death, and they knew that this one move by Diane would have sealed her fate as the loser if this were a real battle. The two candidates had put their energies against one another, and in that brief moment, there had been an obvious winner and an obvious loser. And even though the council couldn’t use that brief encounter to determine the strength of the candidates, there was no denying that the outcome of the confrontation had affected the minds of many members of the council, and right now, many more members were looking towards Jason with interest! Even the remaining two candidates who hadn’t involved themselves in the power contest couldn’t help but be shocked by the sheer power they had felt coming from Jason! This was someone that they had never heard about until just a few months ago, and he was already capable of not only matching but surpassing the power of one of the strongest members of their Domain!?
Up on the council seats, Hesabeth put her fan over her mouth, and she smiled in pride as she saw the looks of interest on the faces of all the other council members. Yes, this is exactly how things should be. Now these pathetic fools will finally understand how amazing the man she chose for herself was! Hesabeth looked towards Diane, and she saw how Diane was staring down with a look of confused anger on her face! Hesabeth knew that Diane was probably angry at herself for stepping back unconsciously, but there were some things that you simply couldn’t explain! In that moment, Diane had been too shocked by what she saw to control her own body, and Diane had unknowingly proven to everyone that Jason’s power was the real deal!
But even if Jason had proven his power, that was still not enough to give him the title of Overlord, and Hesabeth knew that the next two criteria would present the most problems! C’thlyanu spoke up once again, and drew everyone’s attention to him.
"With regards to the criteria for power, I will say that although all present candidates have proven themselves to be some of the strongest within their world, there are obviously some who possess more power than others. But power is not the only criteria necessary to determine the next Overlord. The second criterion that must be considered is the strength of the world the candidates hail from. Three of the worlds present are already within Rank III in terms of power, but Earth has still not reached the required level to be regarded as a Rank III world."
"Is something like that really important at this stage? We all know that Earth hasn’t had their magic for a long time. Has it not only been about ten solar cycles since then? It’s unfair to ask them to already be Rank III."
Farlow spoke up from the side with his hands steepled in front of him, and Baron Skarr scoffed irritatedly.
"Of course you would defend Earth. If we are going by your deduction, then should we not say that Earth is still too young to hold the title of highest authority in its domain? Perhaps we should give them more time to raise their power before we give them any authority."
Some members of the council murmured in agreement to Baron Skarr’s words, but surprisingly, T’arigan was the next person to speak up.
"Yer know, I’ve actually been keeping an eye on Earth in recent times, yeah? That world would be a good trading partners for we dwarves. They’ve been growing at a pace unheard of in the Primordial Expanse lately. Wouldn’t be wrong to believe they could reach Rank III in no time at all. Yer humans are pretty resourceful."