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A shallow wave of mist began to form in the air as the cool breeze turned into vapours. Standing in the middle of the shallow mist was a girl that appeared to be only two years after her name day. A colossal Demoid with faces plastered all over its body was charging at the girl, unperturbed by the forming mist. Against such an abomination, the girl showed no hint of worry or fear.

Behind her, a small group of children was sprinting off with all of their might with Lyra and Lilian trailing right behind them to make sure no one was left behind. After the girl was sure they were out of harm’s way, she waved her hands around as if conducting a choir. From the mist, arrows were formed of the vapour.

The Demoid was a few yards away from Olivia and it was more than enough for the colossal abomination’s reach. Be that as it may, the Demoid was a step too late and too slow. The arrows formed of the vapour swarmed the Demoid in a flurry. As it was already too close to Olivia, its speed was no match for the arrows that continuously tore through its flesh and eventually, its entire body. Like most Demoids, it possessed a regenerative ability but it was mere regeneration. That was the extent. The Demoid was dead before its regenerative ability was even activated.

To be doubly sure the Demoid stayed dead, Olivia doused the Demoid’s carcass parts with Faerie Dust before torching it with Essence Flare.

“Is this thing even still a Demoid?” Olivia muttered to herself as she watched the Demoid gradually being reduced into nothing by the cyan flames of the Spirit. She did not move from the spot until the flames faded away along with the existence of the colossal Demoid.

After giving another glance at her surroundings, she began to make her way back to the camp after confirming the absence of any threat in the vicinity. However, a heavy premonition assailed her the moment she took a single step. A chill ran down her spine and shivers crawled all over her skin. She spun around to face the source of the ominous feeling.

In the middle street, amidst the wreckage and ruins, the space started distorting and whirling.

“Spatial Magic? An advanced spell at that. It’s definitely not His Grace. But if it isn’t him, then who could it be?”

A slit then appeared in the middle of the rippling space and the slit turned into a gap which slowly opened up into a large enough hole for a person to step through. A person did indeed step through and the space returned to normal afterwards. The person was a man, a shirtless man. He was neither short nor tall. He was scrawny but a glance at him would not give anyone the impression of a weakling.

Olivia widened her eyes as read the result of her Appraisal. “L-level eighty-three…!?”

The man shuddered on the spot and cracked his neck. “What the…. Did someone just—” The man looked around and stopped when Olivia entered his sight. “Ah, it’s you, lassie. You appraised me just now, didn’t you?”

Olivia did not offer a response. Instead, she furtively took a step back. Her gaze remained vigilant and so did her stance.

“Backing away? Now you’re just hurting my feelings, lassie. Well, since you appraised me, allow me to return the favour.”

Another chill ran down Olivia’s spine. “He has Appraisal too?”

Markings appeared around the man’s right eye and they glowed a vibrant blue along with his right pupil. “Whoa… now this is unexpected. A Dragon… disguising herself as a human… You’re the one who Varus fought, aren’t you?”

“You’re part of the Covenant?”

The man shrugged. “I suppose I am. The name’s Rex, but I’m sure you already know that. A pleasure to meet you, Olivia.”

“A pleasure for you, maybe.”

Rex chuckled while stretching his arms without a care to the possibility of Olivia attacking him with his guard wide open. “Fortunately for you, lassie, I’m not here for the one who gravely injured my peer. I’m looking for a certain Fox-kin, you see. She has five tails, I’m told. And she’s incredibly beautiful. Do you perhaps know where I can find her? Even just a small clue will do.”

“I won’t tell you even if I do.”

“Oh, so you know her. I’m surprised you did not try to lie your way out.”

“I’m not a good liar and I don’t believe you’re the kind that can be so easily fooled.”

“I’m honoured by your praise, Lady Dragon.”

“That was no praise.”

“But I’ll take it as one regardless. Now, tell me, where is Erynthea?”

Olivia scowled. “You will address Her Grace as Lady Erynthea.”

“Her Grace? Can a Fae even receive such a title?” Rex snorted. “Well, I don’t care. All I want to know is her whereabouts. Tell me now, or I will force it out of you.”

Olivia responded with an attack. Icicles formed right above Rex out of thin air.

“That was some quick conjuration,” Rex remarked blankly as the icicles dropped down on him.

Before the ensuing smoke cleared away, Olivia sent another barrage of Ice Shards down on Rex. The water vapour in the air amassed around him and transformed into a wall of water, encircling him.

“Well, I tried to be nice,” Rex muttered. All of a sudden, the icicles and the wall of water, along with the ground and the debris, were all being pushed away by an unseen force with Rex as the epicentre. The shockwave did not stop there. It continued onwards until it reached Olivia.

“What in the name—” she exclaimed but her words were cut short by the unrelenting force that carried her off her feet and sent her tumbling across the ground. She caught her bearings before she tumbled too far and she flipped herself back to her feet.

With a swing of his arm, Rex cleared the smoke around him. He was tarnished by dirt and dust but not a single scratch could be found on him. “There’s more than twenty levels of difference between you and I. Your attacks would never make me bleed. It will make me feel a prick at best.”

“You underestimate me, a true Dragon,” Olivia retorted and unleashed a torrent of high-pressure water towards Rex.

The scrawny man raised his leg languidly and thrust his foot forward as rushing torrent was upon him. With only a minor movement on his part, the torrent of strong water was split apart and the force thrown by his kick continued onwards.

Wings sprouted from Olivia’s back and shielded her from the assault of the unseen force. Though she was spared from a direct hit, she was still hurt by the momentum.

“You don’t have to do this, lassie. I don’t enjoy hurting girls. Well, at least not in battle. I will be more than happy to hurt you in bed.” Rex’s lips curled into a sniggering grin.

“You will not have her, foul man!” Olivia snarled. Brilliant strands of light began converging in front of her, forming a cerulean sphere of condensed energy.

Rex sighed. “Have it your way then, Dragon. I shall not hold my strength back.”

“Neither shall I,” Olivia retorted and let loose the condensed energy at Rex. Contrary to its mass, the energy sphere was faster than the eyes could follow, including Rex’s.

The energy sphere struck him square in the torso and a second later, all of the energy contained within the sphere erupted into a massive explosion. Clouds of smoke were raised. The dust mist smeared the vicinity, drastically obscuring Olivia’s vision but she was not fazed by the smoke. As a Dragon, her other senses were just as astute and reliable as her eyes.

“Are you truly in your fifties, lassie?” came the question from beyond the smoke. A faint silhouette rose from behind the obscured layers of dust, sand, and dirt drifting in the air. “That spell just now… Feels like I was hit by a Mage around level seventy.”

“I told you. Don’t underestimate a true Dragon such as I.”

The dust and smoke gradually cleared, revealing the unmarred skin of the scrawny man. “Don’t worry, lassie. I care not about your true strength. You are just a hindrance, an obstacle to my goal. Weak or strong, I will crush you.”

Water vapour began to form once again. The mist gradually returned and thickened. “Not before I crush you,” Olivia scoffed. Hedges of ice were erected around her.

“We shall see,” Rex said and lunged, but not in a straight line. He swerved and veered erratically in his charge. The icicles conjured by Olivia did not manage to strike him due to his unmethodical manoeuvre but it was only unmethodical superficially. In truth, his movements were calculated.

“Damn it!” Olivia cursed as Rex reached the ice hedges that were formed around her.

With a pivot of his entire body and a single kick, Rex shattered all of the ice hedges.

Olivia immediately raised a wall of ice with spikes protruding all over. However, the ice wall was also easily shattered by a blow from Rex. He pounced at her the moment the wall came crumbling down.

“Since it has come to this…”

Olivia thrust her arm out in response. At the same moment, her Mana surged and exploded from within. Her Mana upsurge resulted in her exuding an aura, which then erupted around her like a rampantly blazing veil of energy. The claws of a Dragon manifested ethereally around her outstretched arm, trapping Rex in its massive grasp.

“Hmm, intriguing,” Rex muttered calmly. “Your level is now sixty-seven. You have been concealing your strength. Why? Is it to escape the notice of the Arch Mages?”

“I’ll leave the answer up to your own discretion,” Olivia answered and tightened her grasp. However, she failed to even clench her fist completely.

“There’s still more than ten levels of difference, lassie. Unless you have more surprise under your sleeves, this victory is as good as mine.”

Olivia tutted and tossed Rex away as if he was a roadside pebble, forgoing her initial idea of crushing him in her grasp, not that it was plausible anymore now that she knew the extent of her opponent’s strength.

Rex did not try to regain his bearings as he went bouncing across the street. He patiently waited for his momentum to dissipate before climbing back to his feet. “I am impressed. Usually, high-level individuals are masters of two or three aspects at best with a novice grasp of other skills and magic. But your repertoire seemed to be evenly distributed.”

“And what of it?”

“You’re a rare individual. Talented, I must say. How about this? Join us.”

Olivia snorted. “Never in a million years.”

Rex chuckled as if he already anticipated a negative answer. “Well, at least I tried and asked.”

Sprouts of water started spurting out from the ground through the holes made from the countless scuffles and battles that had taken place here. The water swirled as shapes and figures began forming from the numerous puddles that were spawned from the water sprouts. These watery shapes and figures gradually take the forms of beasts and knights alike.

While the army of water soldiers was being produced, Rex had already made his move. He scaled the buildings and ran towards Olivia from the roofs, avoiding the water spreading on the street. In no time at all, he closed the distance without much effort. The water soldiers had finished spawning at this moment. At Olivia’s command, the water conjurations lunged and pounced at Rex.

“Annoying fucks!” He hissed and easily reduced a water conjuration into mere droplets with a single punch. However, the remnants of the conjuration that splashed onto him instantly froze up. “So that’s your scheme… Clever. Is this all you got, Dragon?”

Despite gaining the upper hand, there was no trace of confidence in Olivia’s expression. The battle had only just started and she had already shown plenty of her cards while she still knew nothing but her opponent’s prowess and abilities.

“This is bad, Your Grace…” Olivia muttered gravely in her heart.