Anna thought she had been cautious enough.
To capture a living rookie Brave, the Church paid a heavy price this time.
In recent years, the undercover agents planted in Antler City all came forward to play their roles in this operation.
Everyone had prepared for a long time.
They burned in unknown corners, drawing the enemy’s attention, disturbing the eyes of their foes… even if it meant ending up dead and unrecognizable!
But those who chose this path never regretted it!
“The High Ones run rampant, keeping slaves from all races for pleasure; they do nothing and let bad habits spread unchecked, while Braves can only act within the rules they wrote! Ridiculous!”
“The path of justice Braves walk day and night, upholding honesty and harmony… yet in the end, it’s just the courage to be used at the whim of those useless fools! How hateful!”
“Humanity never needed Braves. The existence of Braves is nothing but a tool for those in power in the Capital to maintain their rule! Braves, in the end, are just hounds and lackeys! Pathetic!”
Anna gnashed her teeth, her beautiful face reflected by countless spell patterns, resembling an unyielding god filled with boundless fury, eager to use the divine power of her spells to intimidate and subdue all who defied her!
“Ridiculous! Hateful! Pathetic!”
“This fate will end under my spells!”
Anna scanned the street. New spells were forming in her hands. She would not allow this operation to fail!
“We are never fighting alone!”
With Anna’s furious voice, a dangerous signal lit up deep in Vyea’s heart, quickly surging to its peak.
Something ominous was quietly unfolding on this battlefield.
In stealth, Vyea had no choice but to pause her observation, pushing aside her curiosity and starting to retreat.
A violent, colorless, odorless poison filled the entire street.
It seeped into every corner of the air without a gap.
The Slime-girl curiously inhaled a breath of the toxic air.
“I thought I was the only Brave with questionable morals who had used poison.”
Vyea was taken aback, a trace of regret flickering in her beautiful eyes.
Unfortunately, the poison Anna used was specialized for humans; its effect on Monstergirls was greatly reduced.
“So, did you use this targeted poison because you thought your opponent was human?”
Not being human, Vyea couldn’t help but sigh.
She’d almost fallen for it.
Good thing she’d long since resolved her ‘human’ weakness.
“So, were those words just now directed at me?”
In front of the wall, Vyea revealed herself, half-covering her nose, emerald eyes calmly watching Anna as she asked seriously once more:
“Is being a Brave really so pitiful in your eyes? Besides being effective at fighting monsters, when facing people or things you can’t stand, all you can do is watch from the sidelines and swallow your anger?”
“……”
Impossible…
Not a scratch on her, not even her hem torn?
Anna didn’t answer, just turned toward the source of the voice, her blue eyes openly shocked.
Are the new generation of Braves really this strong?
Her original target wasn’t this unknown Wild Hero child before her, but the newest among all the Braves—the Purple Brave.
But plans can never keep up with change. Whenever you have a goal, the world spares no effort in throwing obstacles your way!
Heh.
Wasn’t this child’s ability supposed to be ‘reflection’… Did she just stumble onto a hidden boss?
After a momentary daze, Anna forced a smile, managing a difficult grin at Vyea:
“Kid, you’re strong.”
“Mm.”
“If it were before, I’d want to be friends with you. Maybe even team up to fight the Demon King.”
“Oh.”
“Geez, so cold. But being cold to your enemy is the right attitude.” Anna seemed a bit helpless as she looked at Vyea. “But hasn’t anyone told you to smile more? A Brave who’s always icy won’t be popular… Compared to a cold sword, people always prefer a warmer companion…”
“What exactly are you trying to say?” Vyea put her hands on her hips, eyes showing a trace of pity. “I don’t know what you’ve been through, but I don’t need you teaching me how to be a Brave.”
“Short as you are, you sure talk like a—”
Anna bit off the impolite words, raising her staff at Vyea again:
“But I’ll say it—I won’t lose to you…”
“So noisy.”
This time, Vyea didn’t give Anna a chance to show off her spells. She simply raised her fist and charged in.
“Ice Shield Spell! Three Thousand Overlap!”
A Mage should avoid melee if possible. This was the tactic Anna had remembered ever since she gained the Authority of Spell.
With just a glance, she extracted and condensed moisture from the air, stacking layer upon layer of shields between herself and Vyea.
“With a body like a child’s, no matter your talent, how strong can you really be?”
Anna switched tactics again. “If I can’t hurt you, then I’ll restrain you. I’ll just bind you there!”
“Is that so?”
Vyea lifted her little fist, a smile at the corner of her mouth that sent chills down Anna’s spine:
“I know the Technique of Multiple Casting too. Watch closely—this is a fist empowered by three thousand times gravity!”
Boom!
Unbelievable! Three thousand ice shields shattered with a single punch!
Anna’s eyelid twitched—she turned and fled!
“Don’t run, why are you dodging a kid’s punch?” Vyea’s shamelessness was on full display now. “A rookie Brave is beating up a runaway veteran Brave～”
“……”
Ignoring the taunt, Anna cast six Godspeed spells on herself, then threw eighteen Slowness spells at the relentless Vyea behind her.
That way, even if the other dodged, it would waste time. If she didn’t, even better…
So Anna thought.
“Let’s end this quickly.”
With gravity weighing her down, Vyea’s mana was rapidly depleting. Damn! Her mana bar used to be so long as a Brave! Why is it so short now?!
If that wasn’t enough, overusing it even made her shrink in size. The Slime she’d worked so hard to grow suddenly deflated.
“Super Lightweight Rock Art!”
Vyea chanted in her heart, reducing her own weight and lunging fiercely at Anna!
“Heavy!”
Switch state!
Vyea lashed out with a flying kick, stamping down hard on Anna’s back.
Submit to me, you despicable rebel Brave!
“What a joke?!”
Anna struggled to escape, but no matter what she did, she couldn’t widen the distance—in fact, it kept closing.
“Such combat experience, such masterful use of authority!”
How could this be a rookie Brave? More like an old monster!
Unlucky! Unlucky! Unlucky!
Suddenly!
Anna stopped running, abruptly turning. Countless spell threads surged forth, weaving thousands of spells in an instant, raining down on Vyea like a storm.
Then—
The golden-haired girl in her beautiful dress took a soft kick to the chest from Vyea.