Thanks!
The goal of the cheerful sound was to represent the facade of benevolence, haha. I also added in a repeating flute note on-top to that end, as well. It made the starting bit less sinister, believe it or not, haha.
And, yes. Tempo manipulation is something I've been doing a lot in recent battle themes, as I feel it adds a sense of subtle chaos to the track, if that makes sense? What inspired me to start doing this recently was Libra's Theme from Elden Ring: Nightreign. I'd recommend checking it out to see the inspo if you've not heard it. Really cool track, haha.