Chapter 1620 Of course I did

Chapter 1620 Of course I did

Varian's words caused a huge shock instead of anger. Then, there was disbelief.
His words were provocative and should've pissed off everyone.
But no one paid attention to the taunts and focused on the main issue—the victor of the duel.
Immoral was bound to win.
He must win! There's just no other way for him to lose! The relative difference between 60% and 90% was 1.5x times.
It's an unbridgeable gap in a hundred years, much less a duel that lasted less than a hundred minutes.
"No, Immortal can't lose."
"Hahaha!"
"Yeah, what a prank!"
As expected, the first reaction following disbelief was dimissal. Treating the unexpected outcome as something that didn't even happen.
It's a normal reaction, it's human nature. No, it's what all sentient living beings do.
…Not the Dead.
"…"
Yami used her perception holding out the last bit of hope in her heart.
She searched for the bits of 'death' in Immortal, the familiar power she could always feel flowing inside him.
And she found no trace of death.
"Why…"
The Empress of Mors slumped back into her chair with wide eyes and trembling lips.
Keman lowered his head and sighed deeply but he nodded lightly at the Nexus trio, showing he was not going to kick a storm about the result.
When the two bigwigs reacted that way, it became obvious that this was Varian and not Immortal.
Even the most hardcore copers in the crowd could not cope any longer.
They remained frozen in their thrones which suddenly felt way too uncomfortable and sweated profusely as they watched this young man with fear.
Definitely not today, maybe not tomorrow, but someday not too far in the future, he'd reign over them all.
And none of them even bothered to maintain even a facade of neutrality.
If he remembered today and decided to punish them in the future, even Keman and Yami would be helpless.
'No!' Asherah swallowed her saliva. 'It won't go that far. Keman will sacrifice me to placate Varian, saving him the trouble of raising a hand.'
The same thoughts went through the minds of the Undead and the two of them felt even more tense.
No word was spoken for the next minute and the tension seemed to nearly rip the space apart.
After verifying he's really Varian and not a disguised Immortal over and over with her own power, Primula brought her hands together and yelled.
"Brother is the best!"
Everyone turned to her instinctively and the girl instinctively covered her mouth while lowering her head.
Her behavior until now suddenly dawned on her and she felt her face burn with embarassment.
She's already grown up. What's with this childish behavior? What would everyone think? And more importantly, what would he think?
Fortunately for her, the man in question wasn't thinking much at all.
He just glanced at the divine rankers in front of him with an amused gaze, finding the contrast in their attitudes extremely entertaining.
[Until you win, nobody cares. So, win.
Province, duch, kingdom, even the alliance itself—everyone, everywhere bow down to the man who wins.
The world can be conquered…if the one who can conquer rises.]
Varian clenched his fists and the power of his pseudo divine exploded out with full force.
His seven paths, each of which stood at the peak of pseudo divine, soared upwards, hitting the ceiling.
It was the first phase of 'sensing the wall' in reaching the divine ranks. It's also the step most people fail at. Even the ones who succeed typically take thousands upon thousands of years to firmly sense that wall.
Varian did it in one go and his aura underwent a shift, turning a little less celestial and a bit more divine.
His strength didn't change in any significant way but his proximity to advancing to the divine ranks was just one step away.
This change was witnessed by everyone present and there was no reaction other than desperate disbelief followed by numbing shock.
His qualifications were proven in just a simple move.
"I guess I'll have to take a small break for breakthrough." Varian turned to the Nexus trio and said.
"Very well. The things that need to be said and given to the winner would be postponed until you breakthrough." Aphosis nodded with an expresionless face as ever, but his eyes seemed to show a hint of satisfaction.
"It's not a problem to wait a hundred years. Others will take long but a hundred should be enough for him." All mother Asherah chuckled, trying very hard to make it seem like she's not trying to please Varian while trying to placate him and mend their relationship.
Since she, a rank 2, titled All Mother, spoke so highly of him to the point it could even be called flattery, Asherah expected Varian to melt and thank her or maybe even deny her words, responding in a humble manner as one would expect from a talented but obedient junior.
Asherah couldn't be faulted for thinking that way. Every powerhouse on the scene thought the same.
Varian's reaction was out of expectations.
"Are you kidding me? A hundred years? If I take that long for just a stupid breakthrough, I might as well kill myself in a tomb called failure."
"…Ahahaha, I'm kidding. I'm kidding, of course. I guess my humor is too old fashioned for a youngster like you. I meant a hundred months of course."
"100 months? I took less than half that time to get here while growing up in an absolutely crappy environment and you think I'll take more time now?"
"…" Asherah was dumbfounded and her senses scanning Varian told her that he's not lying.
With a deep sigh, she said. "A hundred da—"
"That's a bit too much. A few weeks is more than enough for me. But I'll take up your offer of a 100 day rest. I'll need a vacation after this duel." Varian declared to Asherah but it was actually being said to Keman and Yami.
Keman nodded, indicating he had no problem while Yami, who was silent so far narrowed her eyes.
The power of death engulfed Varian and he instinctively knew that he was just a thread away from eternal sleep.
"Varian, you cheated, didn't you? Without cheating, there's no way you'd win!"
"Of course I did," Varian shrugged and glanced at everyone with unparalleled confidence. "So what? Immortal is gone forever. If not me, then who?"