Girl Fight

The first arrow shot looked like a green lightning bolt, cutting through the air. Aeris raised a barrier of light at the last moment, but the force was so strong that the green mana arrow cracked her shield, shattering it like glass. At the same time, roots sprouted from the ground, trying to trap her ankles.

Aeris spun her staff, firing a burst of Light Spears, bursting the roots and forcing Sylfie to leap back. But she was already ready. She touched the ground with her hand, and a green magic circle blossomed beneath her feet.

"Devouring Thorns!"

Dozens of thorn-covered plant stems exploded from the soil, trying to pierce Aeris from below. The priestess responded by spinning her staff in the air and casting a Shadow Blast, which corroded the spikes mid-growth.

But Sylfie was no longer there.

An arrow came from the side, forcing Aeris to hastily cast a Wall of Light. The arrow struck but turned into green dust on impact. From the dust, a swarm of wasps emerged, flying straight toward her.

"Seriously?!" Aeris growled, summoning a Wave of Light that disintegrated the insects.

Without wasting time, she spun and launched an Orb of Darkness that chased Sylfie. The archer ran, jumped, rolled, dodging between trees, and fired three arrows in succession. Each arrow exploded in the air, releasing vines that lunged like snakes trying to grab Aeris.

She raised her staff, blocking two of the vines, but the third wrapped around her arm. Aeris pulled, but Sylfie used that to hurl her forcefully against a tree. The wood cracked with the impact, partly weakened by the fire.

"Always weak. Always pathetic," Sylfie taunted, preparing another arrow.

"Shut..." Aeris spat blood on the ground "...up!"

The black circle beneath her feet expanded, and Shadow Pillars burst from the soil, destroying trees, tearing chunks of earth, forcing Sylfie to leap back again.

But the archer was already two steps ahead. She touched an arrow with her fingertips, imbuing it with nature magic, and drew her bow to the limit.

"Rain of Thorns!" she shouted.

Above, dozens, no, hundreds of magical green arrows appeared, forming a circle in the sky before plummeting toward Aeris like a deadly storm.

"You need to learn new tricks," Aeris replied, planting her staff in the ground. Three Domes of Light formed around her.

The arrows began striking. Each impact made the dome tremble, crack, and fracture. The first layer broke on the twentieth arrow. The second held until the fiftieth. The third... resisted until the one hundred twenty-third before bursting, throwing Aeris backward.

But even on the ground, Aeris raised her hands, casting a Light Explosion. Sylfie covered her eyes, but it was too late. Aeris ran forward, closing the distance, and spun her staff like a spear, aiming for the archer's ribs.

CLANK!

Sylfie blocked with her bow, but the impact vibrated through her bones. She tried to retreat, but Aeris gave no space. A Light Spear shot straight into the forest elf's stomach, sending her flying several meters, rolling on the ground.

Aeris raised her staff, preparing a short-range Shadow Wave, but Sylfie reacted quickly. She touched the ground, and a wall of solid wood rose between them, protecting her from the explosion.

Then vines sprouted from all sides, grabbing Aeris like snakes. One, two, three, ten, fifteen... binding her arms, legs, waist, breasts, neck. Aeris struggled but was running out of room.

"Bitch…" Sylfie whispered, drawing an arrow. "This should do it."

But Aeris did not give up. Her body began to glow with an aura of light and shadow simultaneously. The vines started burning and disintegrating.

"Looks like you forgot who I am," Aeris said firmly. "Entropy!"

The flash was so intense that even Ethan, watching, had to cover his eyes. A devastating wave of energy swept everything within a five-meter radius. Trees vanished. Plants, leaves, vines, everything turned to dust.

When the light faded, Sylfie was on her knees, coughing up blood, her body covered in burns. Even so, she pulled one last arrow.

"You... won't... win..." she growled.

"I... always win..." Aeris replied, preparing an Orb of Darkness in her hand.

Both knew. This was the end.

But then...

BAM!

A shadow cut through the air. Ethan used Nexus to stretch his hand and hit the back of both their necks.

THUD! THUD!

Both fell unconscious at the same instant.

Ethan sighed, letting Nexus return to glove form.

"It's going to be a pain to carry both of them..." he commented, crossing his arms. It would be a waste to let Aeris kill that elf.

'Aeris completely changed personality upon meeting her; she must have important information about my dear priestess's past.'

It would be a great opportunity to see where Aeris's devotion comes from. He liked the attention, but didn't believe it was truly genuine.

He continued watching them both as he thought, but his gaze soon shifted.

The ground trembled again.

The elf's turtle, which had moved away after their fight began, was slowly returning to its owner. It almost seemed as if it was already expecting the destruction the two would cause.

"Let me guess, this isn't the first time those two have fought?" Considering how they acted, it wouldn't be a surprise.

The turtle seemed to understand what Ethan said and slowly nodded, its half-closed eyes conveying something between indifference and wisdom.

Ethan couldn't recall a creature like it in the novel, but appearance didn't mean much in a world of magic. Without hesitation, Ethan activated Inspect to clear his doubts.

[Status]

[Name: Brukon]

[Race: Familiar]

[Level: 59]

[HP: 34,000]

[MP: 7,100]

[Strength: 560]

[Dexterity: 300]

[Constitution: 650]

[Intelligence: 500]

[Charisma: 370]

[Active Skills: Nature Magic]

[Passive Skills: Immortal, Regeneration, Enhanced Defense]

"...A familiar?" Ethan blinked, crossing his arms. "Who would have thought... Looks like Aeris's friend is more special than I imagined."

He dragged his gaze from the turtle to the fallen elf, then activated Inspect again.

[Status]

[Name: Sylfie Gale]

[Race: Forest Elf]

[Class: Forest Guardian]

[Level: 59]

[HP: 340/30,000]

[MP: 7,100]

[Strength: 570]

[Dexterity: 660]

[Constitution: 570]

[Intelligence: 500]

[Charisma: 370]

[Active Skills: Nature Magic, Summon Familiar, Conceal Presence]

[Passive Skills: Child of Nature, Superior Mana Manipulation, Animal Language, Archery]

"A Guardian, who would've thought..." Ethan murmured, looking at the unconscious elf. "No wonder she was giving Aeris such a hard time. An archer with nature magic... and her level was higher than hers. You elves really don't mess around."

'Aeris said it takes years to reach level 60, I wonder how old these two are... But it's not like I can ask them.'

The turtle, for its part, slowly approached the two. Its head, large and slightly wrinkled, turned toward Sylfie, watching her with a patient gaze. Then it lowered itself beside her, pulling her with one of its front paws, as if wanting to protect her.

Ethan watched this for a few seconds.

"You're... loyal, huh?" he commented. "You didn't move during the fight, but you didn't run away either."

The turtle blinked slowly, then… snorted. Literally. A cloud of dust came out of the creature's nose. Though it was probably because of the ashes in the environment.

Despite joking about the creature, Ethan knew the real reason it hadn't intervened. Familiars, by contract, cannot act without direct orders from their masters, except in situations where they are unconscious or in mortal danger.

'If I had known it was a familiar, I wouldn't have knocked both of them out. If Aeris really wanted to kill that elf, the turtle would have intervened earlier.'

Ethan took a deep breath. "Looks like you had to go into babysitter mode."

He crouched down, looking directly into the creature's eyes.

"Don't worry, I don't intend to do anything to your master. On the contrary, I'm very interested in her story. Both of theirs."

The animal simply blinked. Then, slowly, it lay down, pulling Sylfie closer as if placing her under the protection of its shell. It was curious, even without making a sound, the turtle seemed to convey emotions. Concern. Vigilance. And above all, patience.

Ethan then looked back at Aeris, lying on the other side.

"And you, Aeris..." He brushed his hair back, sighing. "I don't know whether to scold you or just pretend none of this happened. I'm awesome, but even I could have gotten hurt too in all that madness."

He then turned his eyes back to the turtle.

"Hey... Brukon, right?" He couldn't just leave that elf in a destroyed forest. Especially since he was the one who destroyed it. "I have a carriage waiting for me a few meters from here, how about you come with us and take your master along?"

Brukon just took a deep breath, letting out another heavy snort.

Ethan stayed silent for a few seconds, looking at the animal.

"Yeah… I also wouldn't trust someone who just stood there watching while my master was getting beaten up."

Ethan scratched his head, looking again at Sylfie, then at Aeris.

The sound of wind carried dry leaves flying through the ruined clearing as silence settled once again.

It was at that moment Ethan realized knocking out the only person who knew the way back hadn't been such a good idea.

Looking toward the horizon, Ethan thought, 'That golem should know the way back, right?'