Alephee spoke up. The gem's voice turned feminine as soon as it decided to come out with its identity.

'Alephee. Alright. So tell me Alphee, can you help me? I don't care if you are put to sleep if you can help me. It's not like you can be of much use to me when you are awake.'

Eren gave Alephee a clear cut answer that would sound rude but Alephee knew he was speaking the truth. She sighed to herself before replying:

'Alright. I can help you with casting the combo of Sedated Perception and Stunning Speed. I can augment the effect of the combo spell but it would be limited by what your body and mind can handle at the current level.'

'That is enough. I'll take care of the rest.'

Eren said to Alephee as he wiped the blood clean from the corner of his mouth with his palms. It was time for Eren to return the favour to Ivor for all the service he had done to him.

Sedated Perception + Stunning Speed

The same spell combo had been activated for Eren. but unlike before, this time it was handled by Alephee. That meant Eren could now cast up to three spells simultaneously without facing any repercussions.

Eren didn't tarry a moment longer and executed dual-stacked Blitz Steps. He felt as though he was moving faster than ever, even in a stagnated world.

Ivor had enjoyed beating a strong opponent like Eren. But he thought it was about the time he wrapped it up and helped Jason, lest he gets angry at him. But just when he decided to deal a final blow, he found out that he was underestimating his opponent all along.

Eren appeared right in front of the enemy close combat expert and decided to beat him up in his game. He first tried planting a punch under the guy's chin. And almost succeeded.

Eren's punch was blocked by Ivor's palm subconsciously. It was his experience as a close combat expert that served him well. Alas, experience alone couldn't help him bridge the distance between him and his opponent. This was because Eren was on a different perception realm altogether, thanks to Alephee's elevation of combo spell effects.

Eren's punch was blocked by Ivor's palm so he used the elbow of the same hand to make a solid contact just below the guy's sternum. This counter couldn't be blocked by Ivor who was trying to deal with Eren's insane speed and reflexes with his sheer experience in close combat alone.

Before Ivor's body could react to the landed blow, Eren pulled the hand that had grabbed his first punch with his other hand. He yanked it hard enough, dislocating it from Ivor's shoulders.

"Aaaaaaargh!

Blitz Storm."

Ivor cried in pain. He then executed the lightning element AoE so Eren would be forced to retreat no matter what he did.

Two lightning element attacks from two rankers won't ever be the same just because they had the same elemental affinity. Every spell would carry its caster's mark. That was because every ranker had a different mana signature.

The elemental attacks that used ranker's mana carrying their mana signatures would bear the ranker's mark. So when the attacks would land on the opponent, the mark the spells carried would not match the one the recipient had. That conflict in mana signature would result in the elemental spells delivering their intended effect on their opponents even when they shared the same elemental affinity as the caster.

This was the reason Eren had decided to retreat even with his lightning element affinity. But thanks to his elevated perception, he was long outside the AoE's range just before it was finished getting cast.

Eren had also tried to interrupt Ivor's spell execution with his barrage of attacks from all directions. But Ivor had gritted his teeth and didn't stop his execution until it was done.

The butcher had to admit Ivor's drive to be the most successful in his generation wasn't to be scoffed at. The guy had talent, background, and determination to be the finest version of himself.

Ivor maintained his AoE spell and made a determined expression before saying out aloud:

"It seems I underestimated you, Eren Idril. Who would have thought the city of Osan would have not one but two talented individuals. But I learn from my mistakes, you know.

You want me to reveal all my cards it seems. So be it.

Beast manifestation!"

The tattoo on Ivor's back of the palm shined with bright luminance before a huge semi-transparent cloud of mana was condensed in front of him. Ivor touched the cloud of mana with his tattooed palm. As soon he did that, the tattoo lines on his skin got dimmed and the cloud of mana started restructuring itself.

All this was happening when Ivor was standing in the middle of the Blitz Storm he was maintaining. Since the contracted beast's mana body was formed under the influence of his spell, its body wouldn't create a conflict with Ivor's spells. This is because it had the same mana signature. That made the about-to-manifest beast immune to Ivor's attacks and vice versa.

This was the reason Ivor could cast the beast manifestation while remaining inside the protection of his AoE spell. It didn't take long for the beast's mana body to get constructed. It was akin to the natural body of the purple lightning snake. Only that it was semi-transparent and looked a tiny bit taller than usual.

The crowd was awed by Ivor's transcendent spell execution. It was the first time to hear about such a spell, much less see it being executed. Therefore, Ivor created new fans of his with that intimidating spell.

The newly manifested snake spiralled his body around his master's in such a way that its body would be Ivor's first line of defence from all angles. Only then did Ivor dispel his AoE to conserve his remaining mana.

Eren looked at Ivor and the snake who returned his cold gaze with hostile intention. Things were going to get messy again for Eren.