Bloodlines of the Ancient Pantheons

As the crowd began to scream again, seeing Dag's head writhing and self-repairing, Ellen snapped at him, taking advantage of his closed eyes in pain.

She waved her spear downwards, skimming the ground and trying to hit his ankles, to land him.

Just when she was sure to hit him and the head of her spear was inches from Dag's legs, a huge bundle of dark fluid wrapped his weaponless arm, which quickly reached her and struck her on the chest, attaching to her body and lifting her off the ground.

"Aaagh! Let me go! Grraaagh!" 

Ellen began screaming and squirming, waving her arms and legs and dropping her spear to the ground, while Dag held her to a standstill more than two feet high.

When Dag's mouth returned to its original form, though covered in blood, he approached her, continuing to keep her lifted in mid-air and said: "I give you my humble compliments, Ellen. I wouldn't be able to reach your physical strength even in a hundred years, and your fighting style is perfect too, worthy of a strong Shieldmaiden like you".

"Put me down, I can still win! It's not fair, that's against the rules!" she continued, squirming and trying unnecessarily to peel the liquid off her hands.

"The rules of combat are clear, everyone can use their powers... and then, if I'm not mistaken, I think you activated your skills even before me" he continued, as the expression of anger on her face turned to resignation.

"I'm very sorry, Ellen, but I can't leave you the title of Warchief, I've dreamed of reuniting the Clans since I was a kid… just let me try it" he replied, looking at her with a sincerely sorry look, as if he wanted her blessing. 

Before she could answer, another bundle of dark liquid sprang from Dag's body, this time from his back.

It floated ahead of him and wrapped Shieldmaiden's feet, which despite being almost completely resigned and tired after using her strongest skills, continued to squirm relentlessly, as if her body could not accept defeat.

With her legs immobilized and tied together and the rest of her body blocked by all kinds of movement, Ellen began to be pushed down by the fluid, which accompanied her to the ground as a parent rests his child in the crib.

"Aaagh! No! Leave me! No!" 

Ellen continued to agitate, under the serious and determined gaze of Dag and the disbelief of all the other people in the arena who could not believe their eyes.

Her back stopped within inches of the ground, when she, with a kidney hit, unnecessarily tried to avoid contact with it. 

The fluid stuck Ellen's body on the ground, with no escape, ending the fight. 

Ellen opened her eyes wide, unable to believe she had been defeated despite violently hitting Dag, whose face wounds had yet healed completely. 

Silence plunged back into the arena.

After witnessing that scene, Sander and Kjell sighed and squinting, though they were not surprised by the outcome of the fight, having personally witnessed Dag's show of power on the island.

That silence was followed by a roar from the audience, who began to scream again, but this time, acclaiming only one name, that of Dag.

He recalled the dark fluid, which immediately returned to his body, wrapping his arms and being absorbed by his skin, which after turning black, returned in a few seconds of the original color.

"Master Dag! Master Dag! Master Dag!" continued to scream every single person sitting in the stands and on the ground, acknowledging the young warrior's strength and combat ability. 

He approached Ellen, whose gaze was still pointing to the sky, as she took deep breaths to hold back the anger of the moment. 

He held out his arm towards her, as a sign of friendship.

"If I had only used these two weapons, I certainly wouldn't have been able to defeat you... your strength is far greater than mine. I was forced to use my powers. I'm very happy to have such a strong Shieldmaiden among my allies" he said, looking into her eyes with a smile as he waited for her to grab his hand.

Incredibly, Ellen accepted help and got back on her feet, slamming her hands on her armor to shake off the dust. 

Without saying anything, this time it was she who held her arm towards Dag, who, continuing to smile, shook her hand.

"Your powers are incredible. You checked my body like I was a rag puppet in your hands. We're going to do great things together, Master Dag," she exclaimed, slightly bowing her head in front of her Warchief as the crowd continued to stir.

"He made it! He managed to beat one of Okstorm's strongest Shieldmaidens!" said Freydis, looking with joy at his man and finally realizing what he was capable of.

"I had no doubt, Freydis. I don't think there are warriors nearby who can counter his dark powers. That material is unknown, it is far beyond the understanding of every opponent, who does not know how to counter it, regularly falls into an absolute panic and lastly, surrenders" Gridd replied, proudly looking at his brother and at the same time at Sander and Kjell, out of the corner of her eye.

Master Sander approached the two challengers, with a serious but visibly satisfied expression.

He grabbed Dag's wrist and raised his arm in the direction of the audience, yelling: "Master Dag won the challenge, his title of Warchief of the Iron Alliance is confirmed!" 

To the sound of people's screams, they also added that of their hands banging against the stone of the stands, creating a rhythm that boosted their voice. 

Dag grabbed Ellen's wrist and did the same, stunning her opponent, who was speechless as the audience began to cheer her on.

She looked at Dag and a slight smile lit her face off from defeat, implicitly thanking him for sharing that moment of glory with her.