Lightning Is The Only Way

Orthar and Silva charged at each other aggressively. Yet, they both knew the fighting style of the other perfectly. Silva wanted to use his venom-beam to quickly end the fight, but Orthar never gave him any chance.

Silva knew that Orthar could morph his body into different shapes. Shooting a venom-beam wasted a lot of his power, which meant that he needed a good opportunity to hit Orthar. Yet, Orthar never gave him that opportunity.

On the other side, Orthar tried his best to dig into Silva's body, but Silva never gave him an opening. Silva knew that he would die if Orthar managed to dig into his body, while Orthar knew that he would die if he were hit by Silva's venom-beam.

Like this, the fight continued for several minutes.

The beasts looking on were incredibly nervous and scared. They were all scared of the possibility that both Orthar and Silva died. If that happened, they had no one to protect themselves anymore. If Orthar survived, they could stay. If Silva survived, they could leave. Both of these options were fine, but what if both of them died?

Everyone knew that the chances of both of them dying was high. The reason for that was Silva's venom. Orthar was better in a melee fight, but Silva only needed to land one hit to win. The beasts knew that Silva wouldn't give Orthar the edge to attack him. If Silva were backed into a corner, he might sacrifice himself to take down Orthar with him.

Orthar had no reason to die, but Silva had. If Orthar died, his path would come to an end, but if Silva died, he could, at least, take solace in the fact that his companions lived on. Of course, that would only be the last option.

Slowly, the beasts started looking at Orthar with some hints of battle-intent. If Orthar gained the upper hand, they would probably both die, but if Silva gained the upper hand, only Orthar would die. Because of this, some beasts decided to follow Silva.

BOOM!

One beast jumped forward in a bit to distract Orthar. It only needed to give Silva a slight edge for him to win!

BOOM!

Yet, a powerful blizzard appeared that stopped the beast. Then, a powerful body threw the beast to the side.

Liza got involved.

"I won't allow any interference!" she said with her usual smile. "They have decided to fight each other, and even though Silva has left the Tribe, I still consider him as part of it. Because of that, I won't allow any interference in this fight!" she shouted.

The beast that Liza had thrown away stood up with rage. Why did this useless good-for-nothing that never fought others get involved!? Enraged, that beast charged at Liza.

Liza laughed and engaged that beast. "It's been a while since I last tempered myself! Come on!" she shouted with battle-intent.

The beast and Liza traveled away from the ongoing fight between Orthar and Silva. Liza didn't want their fight to interfere between Orthar's and Silva's fight, while the beast didn't want to distract Silva. The beast knew that Silva cared for them, and if Silva saw the beast losing, he might try to save it. Then, Orthar would get an opportunity.

Silva had noticed that fight and grew frustrated. "Don't involve yourselves in my fight!" he shouted while defending against Orthar. "I am fighting so that you all can survive. If you get involved, my fight is meaningless!"

Yet, that small distraction gave Orthar an opportunity. Orthar used this opportunity to tear one of Silva's arms off. Luckily, that didn't hinder Silva too much. After all, he depended on his venom, not his arms.

Even though Silva had told them to stay out of it, another beast charged forward. Silva's mindset didn't matter! They got involved not because of him but because they didn't want both of them to die! Silva's words changed nothing.

BOOM!

Another beast attacked the attacking beast. "This is a duel! We are all members of the River Tribe, and I won't allow anyone to involve themselves in this!" the second beast shouted.

Then, these two beasts also started fighting.

As the fight between Orthar and Silva dragged on, more and more beasts got involved. After several minutes, more than ten fights raged across the lands.

"I said that this is not a duel but a war!" Orthar shouted at Silva. "Ideologies clash, and the more powerful one will emerge victorious!"

"My followers fight for me while your followers fight for nothing!" Silva shouted back. "We have a bond that keeps us together, while your ideology keeps us apart! What use is supreme power when you're alone!?" Silva proclaimed.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Gravis felt terrible. He had made his decision, but that didn't mean that he wasn't hurting inside. He didn't want his friends to kill each other, but he couldn't get involved. After all, such a decision would encroach on his friends' freedom.

As Gravis heard Silva's words, he fell into thought. 'What is the sense of supreme power if you're alone, huh? Didn't mom say the same thing?' he thought as he remembered his talk with his mother.

'Is it really the right decision to allow my friends to kill each other?' Gravis thought but then shook his head. 'Yet, if I forced them to stop fighting, would they still be my friends? At that point, they would only be followers. That's not what I want.'

Like this, Gravis continued watching and thinking.

The fights became increasingly more vicious as time passed. Whenever Orthar or Silva received an injury, Gravis felt himself hesitate.

'What sense is there in supreme power if you're alone? Isn't this also true for freedom? What sense is total freedom if you're alone?' Gravis thought. 'Yet, is companionship worth the sacrifice of freedom? Could I even live with myself if I forced my friends to follow my every command?'

By now, Silva and Orthar were both injured. Some beasts had gotten involved, but Silva wanted to protect them while Orthar wanted to kill them. Because of this, the opportunities that these beasts opened up for Silva vanished without Silva using them. Several beasts died to Orthar, but Silva had been busy trying to defend them from him instead of dealing a fatal strike.

'Silva is trying to keep his companions alive but also win,' Gravis thought. 'He doesn't realize that this will result in him having neither of the two outcomes.'

Suddenly, Gravis' body seized up. 'Isn't that just like me right now?'

After another minute, Silva readied himself to deliver a fatal strike to Orthar, even if it meant his own death. He couldn't allow more of his companions to sacrifice themselves!

WHOOOOOM!

Yet, before he could commit to the attack, an incredible pressure appeared around him that stopped him from moving. The same thing was true for Orthar.

"Stop!" Gravis shouted at every beast. "Every beast that continues to fight will be killed by me right now!"

And like this, complete silence fell over the River Tribe. No one dared to defy the Leader.

"What is the meaning of this, Gravis!?" Silva transmitted in anger. "You said you allowed me the freedom to pursue my own path! Have you lied to me!?"

Gravis shook his head. "No, I haven't lied. You will get your freedom."

"Then, why did you interfere in our fight!?" Silva asked angrily.

Gravis only sighed. "Because I have been mistaken. I realized that I couldn't keep my friends alive if things continued like this. I have realized several things during that fight, and I will rectify these things! Today, none of you will die!"

Silva and Orthar remained quiet while the beasts also listened to Gravis.

"Silva, your mindset is not made for achieving supreme power. By following me, you have been forced onto a path that you don't want. You have realized this today and want to leave. That is your freedom, and I will grant it. Yet, I also realize that you require help in order to achieve your goal. Today, I will grant you that help."

Silva was unsure what Gravis meant.

"Orthar," Gravis continued as he looked at Orthar. "You have forgotten your original mindset. When we met, I told you that only your own power is important and that this Tribe is only there to create pressure for ourselves. Yet, today, you have put the power of the Tribe above your own growth."

Orthar remained silent and started thinking.

"A Tribe is external power. By sacrificing our own potential to keep the Tribe alive, we are sacrificing the very thing that the Tribe is meant to give us. You always had the correct mindset to achieve supreme power, but you have lost your way." Then, Gravis smiled bitterly. "Just like me."

Orthar remained silent for some seconds and then relaxed his body. "You're right," he said slowly and calmly. "I was ready to sacrifice a tempering opportunity to keep the Tribe alive. I have forgotten my true motivation."

The pressure vanished from everyone as Orthar, and Silva just continued hovering there in the sky.

"Silva," Gravis said. "You value companionship over true power. I want you to realize that you can't have supreme power and perfect companionship. This is something that I have realized today. If you want your companions to follow you on your path to power, you must allow them to die. You, obviously, can't make that choice."

"Therefore, please, don't expand your future Tribe recklessly. Sacrifice your own power to keep them alive. I realized that it was wrong of me to force you onto the path of supreme power. So, please forget every rule and policy of the River Tribe."

Then, Gravis turned to the beasts.

"Starting today, the River Tribe will be dissolved. The surrounding 500 kilometers will be my personal territory, and I will ruthlessly kill any beast that remains in this territory."

"You have six hours to leave. If you haven't left by then, I will kill you!"