Chapter 42

Xain's surprise was evident as he looked at Grace. "Wow, that was sudden," he remarked, glancing between Grace and Mar, who groaned in pain from being kicked into a tree. Grace, nonchalant, turned to Xain. "Looks like you and the elf handled yourselves pretty well," she commented. Xain, still processing the situation, rubbed the back of his head. "I guess? So, did the fight with Jakel go well?" he asked, curious about the outcome.

Grace's annoyance was palpable as Xain mentioned Jakel. "He wasn't all that strong, just annoying if anything," she replied dismissively. Xain, unaware of the details, simply shrugged in response. However, their conversation was interrupted as they heard Mar's voice. "What did you just say?" Mar slowly got up, his yellow eyes glaring into Grace's gray ones.

Grace maintained her composure, crossing her arms confidently. "You're asking about your friend, right? Let's just say he's no longer in the mood to fight," she stated with a smirk. Mar's stoic expression wavered as he retorted, "You're lying. That's impossible. He would never give up in a fight."

Grace smirked in response. "It looks like you don't know your own rival all that well. But don't worry; after I beat you around a bit, I'll take you to him and show you," she taunted, cracking her knuckles. Mar snarled, while Xain, observing the scene, couldn't help but think, *I'm glad that I'm not her enemy.*

Mar charged at Grace with his mace raised high, but Grace stood unmoving, showing no signs of fear. As Mar got close and swung his mace down with force, dust was kicked up from the momentum of the swing, which Grace casually stopped by raising her left hand and grabbing Mar's hand, leaving him stunned and exclaiming, "What!?"

Grace looked at him and chuckled slightly, taunting him with, "So weak." Before Mar could react, Grace swiftly punched him in the Adam's apple, causing him to violently cough and gasp for air. Taking advantage of his vulnerability, Grace used her right hand to grab the back of Mar's furry head and pulled it down before delivering a powerful knee strike to his face. The impact made Mar's head snap back, leaving him disoriented and feeling his brain shake in his skull.

Attempting to fight back, Mar wildly clawed at Grace with his left hand, but she effortlessly dodged his attacks, mocking him with, "So slow." Grace coiled her leg before bringing it down on Mar's knee, snapping it with a sickening crack. Mar fell to the ground with a howl of pain, clutching his injured knee.

Meanwhile, Xain watched with awe and a feeling of inadequacy creeping over him. *Am I even needed right now?* he thought to himself, questioning his role in the fight. Grace, showing no mercy, continued her assault on Mar while he was on the ground in pain. She stomped on his chest, causing him to groan in agony as she cruelly remarked, "So fragile," before breaking his ribcage under her foot.

Mar attempted to claw at Grace's leg, but she skillfully pulled it back before his claws could even get close. With a mocking tone, she remarked, "So basic," as she slowly stepped back, observing the steam emanating from Mar's rapidly healing wounds. Mar gritted his teeth and huffed as he got back up, clutching his mace tightly in his hand.

Grace looked down at Mar with a smirk on her lips and commented, "I see why you're both rivals. Your gimmicks are the same with just a hint of variation." Mar's expression darkened as he retorted, "You are not a warrior; you're just someone who preys on the weak."

Grace scoffed in response, pointing out, "Says the guy who got hired to slaughter a bunch of defenseless villagers." Mar snarled in frustration, unable to deny the accusation. Xain, attempting to lighten the tension, interjected, "I mean, the village has you, so I wouldn't say that it's defenseless."

Grace raised a skeptical eyebrow at Xain's defense of Mar. "Are you defending him?" she asked incredulously. Xain quickly raised his hands defensively, saying, "I'm just trying to lighten the mood. It's not like I can do anything else in this fight."

Grace sighed in exasperation and replied, "How about you just stand there and look pretty?" Xain hung his head in defeat, muttering, "Yes, ma'am," acknowledging his lack of contribution to the fight.

Mar, still seething with anger, confronted Grace, "Do you view me as nothing? Talking like you're not currently engaged in combat with me." Grace turned to him with a smirk and retorted, "So pathetic, man. Aren't you just ticking off all the boxes to annoy me?"

Mar felt something snap inside him, fueling his rage as he charged at Grace once more. He swung his mace horizontally at her head, but Grace deftly moved her head back slightly to dodge. Without hesitation, she punched Mar in the ribs, breaking them, but Mar pressed on, swinging his mace diagonally in an upwards motion. Grace once again evaded the attack by turning her head slightly before swiftly counterattacking with a punch to Mar's sternum, shattering it as well.

Growling with fury, Mar brought his mace down vertically, aiming to smash Grace's skull. However, Grace was quicker. She swung her hand upwards and deflected the mace off Mar's hand, sneering, "So useless." In a bold move, she then drove her fingers into Mar's eyes, gouging them out. Mar howled in excruciating pain before swinging both his claws at Grace's stomach, but she raised her leg and kicked him in the face, knocking him back down with a grunt, stating, "So boring."

Grace walked up to Mar as steam emanated from his wounds, indicating his rapid healing. But before he could fully regenerate, Grace grabbed his head, and as light emanated from her palm, Mar let out an agonizing scream of pain, horrifying Xain. *Wha-what is she doing?* he thought, stunned. Mar's throat gave out from the yelling, which now sounded broken and raspy.

In the midst of his suffering, Mar heard one last thing from Grace, "So ugly," before she picked him up by the head slightly and slammed it into the ground, finally knocking him out.

Grace dusted off her hands before turning to Xain with a satisfied smile. "Let's go back to the others," she said, her voice steady despite the recent intense combat. Xain, still looking at the unconscious body of Mar, gulped nervously. He managed to give her a shaky thumbs up and replied, "O-okay."