At the back of the Green Gate Inn was a large, reinforced sparring ground. At this moment, there were a large number of mercenaries gathered around this sparring ground, while three people stood at the edge of the large ring.
“Get the kid off the ring if you don’t want her to get hurt.” Robert snorted at Leon and waved his hand dismissively.
“Shut up, bub.” Nedra glared at the bearded man before scoffing.
“Hmm, a feisty one. I like that.” Robert liked his lips, immediately drawing a disgusted look from Nedra, which he laughed at.
“Humph! I’ll take you on myself!” Nedra suddenly declared. Her words froze the crowd, and after a moment, the crowd burst into an uproar.
“Che! Kid’s these days.”
“That little girl… Is she not too arrogant?”
“I don’t like seeing kids getting beat up. Can someone get her off the stage?”
Leon ignored all of the people and turned to Nedra. “Are you sure?”
“Mmm, I can take him.” Nedra cracked her knuckles. Leon nodded and stepped out of the ring, leaving Nedra to herself. He could feel the confidence she had in her ability to beat Robert, and he trusted that she knew what she was doing, so he chose to go with her plan this time.
Seeing as Leon did not bother to stop her, no one else tried to stop Nedra.
“Oo, little girl, let’s get this party started!” Robert clashed his fists together and the gauntlets he had put on created small sparks. Those sparks fed on his mana to form tongues of flame that licked the surface of the gauntlets, climbing all the way to his elbow. He smashed them together again. “Come one, girl!”
Nedra let out a deep breath, and her eyes flashed with a deep red color. Her form seemed to waver in place like the effect when heat gathers over a spot, and then in the next moment, there were two Nedras. Each of them held a weapon in their hands, and they smiled evilly when they looked at the stunned Robert.
“Let’s play.” One Nedra said before dashing forward, holding twin sickles in her grasps. The other Nedra held a weapon that resembled a scythe with a short shaft that was connected to a chain. The Nedra that dashed forward was like a white shadow, only taking mere moments to reach Robert and make a move.
Her twin weapons drew a silver arc through the air as they aimed for Robert’s shoulders. The speed at which she attacked shocked Robert, but he was an experienced fighter. He quickly regained his wits and raised one arm to block overhead, while the other one went under, aiming for Nedra’s middle.
Just before his fist could connect, though, he abruptly pulled back and put a bit of distance between himself and the white haired girl.
Whoosh!
The next moment, a pitch black scythe that was tipped with a hint of purple, slashed the spot where he was a moment ago. Like it did not phase her, the Nedra in front of Robert continued her relentless attack, her twin sickles slicing forward like the fangs of a serpent. Her body twirled in the air, with her white hair turning into a veil that made her look even more ghostly as she fought.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of the sickles relentlessly striking Robert’s gauntlets rang out continuously as they clashed. The chained scythe from the other Nedra that remained behind loomed like a guillotine that prevented Robert from putting his all into any attack.
“Enough!” At a certain point, it seemed Robert had enough of being treated like a rag doll. He exploded with power, and an invisible wave of energy pushed Nedra away from him. Seizing that opportunity, he dashed forward, each step sending him several feet forward. In the blink of an eye, he was already in front of Nedra, but she was not panicked. Instead, with a flash of pale light, the petite girl was no more. In her place was a busty, white haired woman that had a domineering aura around her. Her red eyes glared at the approaching man who had a look of shock and confusion on his face.
The next moment, Robert’s entire world spun. He felt his head hit the ground, and everything went dark.
The busty, ‘mature’ form of Nedra sighed and shook her head before reverting to her smaller form. After that, she turned around and skipped over to Leon, looking like the personification of innocence, almost as if she had never even harmed a fly.
“Are you happy now?” Leon asked her. He was not surprised that she had won, but he had been surprised at how she had just easily exposed her other form.
“Mhm, very happy. Perverts like him rub me the wrong way.” She nodded and folded her arms.
“Erm…” Beside them, someone spoke up. Elena looked a bit shy as she tried to get their attention. “T-thank you for the help.” She finally said after a moment of delay.
“No problem.” Leon nodded his head. His eyes looked thoughtful as he considered whether to expose his identity to her or not, but in the end, he decided against it. It was better to keep any variables under check.
“Whoa! That was cool!” From the side, Curtis’ group walked up to Nedra and Leon. “I never expected that you could fight so well too! And that dual… mode was awesome! As for your other… um…” As Curtis was talking, he suddenly paused and his face turned red. Leon resisted a smirk as he guessed what Curtis was flustered about.
“Ahem, your other form was impressive too.” He coughed and mumbled under his breath.
Everyone immediately chalked up Nedra’s transformation up to magic, and seeing her strength, it was clear that she was no weak mage. It was not as if they were wrong. Her transformation was as a result of mana, in a sense, but they still had a misconception about the concept of her transformation. It was no transformation magic, but something else entirely.