"No." Draco said as he looked calmly at Leona.
"..." Silence reigned in the arena, as nobody expected Draco to reply like this. Leona, whose words were stuck in her mouth, looked at Draco weirdly.
"What? Why?" She said, looking wronged, and her violent demeanor that she was withholding threatened to come out.
"I'm bored; you can fight it out with these guys here; I have better things to do." He replied calmly, but his words were like spears in the hearts of the young beastmen.
If it were any other fella who said these words, they would be angry and start cussing, but this guy just beat some of their best fighters like they were nothing and stood as confidently as he came without a single scratch.
"Nah, there is no way I'm fighting these weaklings. Only you can be my opponent, and don't you think I'm still as weak as when you fought me the first time! I'm on the verge of becoming a King of Essence." Leona dropped a bomb.
Draco was surprised as he was with her all the time, and the progress she made was of course visible to him, but now that she said it, indeed, just from yesterday to today, she made huge progress.
"Let's fight, Draco!" She shouted once again as, with a *BOOOM* she smashed her hammer to the ground, shaking the entire arena.
Draco, at this point, was starting to itch to fight her, but...
"You're still not strong enough, Leona." Indeed, she wasn't strong enough, Draco could already fight head-to-head with a King of Essence What use would fighting Leona be at this point other than repeating the previous battle.
Draco turned his back on Leona and looked up at the miniature island as if he wanted to speak to the elders; however, it seemed that the ascertain Lioness wasn't quite pleased with what he just said.
"You don't want to fight me, Huh? Fine, then, I will make you do so!" She shouted as she squatted down as fast as she could, and with a *BOOOOM* she launched herself at Draco at speeds no other beastmen but the commander and the elders could see.
And of course... Draco.
"Tsk." Leona clicked her tongues as Draco's, who's back was turned to her, caught her hammer with one hand and turned to look at her.
"What are you doing, Leona?" he asked so calmly for the first time.
Excitement at being able to watch such a battle, Fear at the power achieved by those his age or much younger than him, and sadness at not being the one fighting such an epic battle right now.
"I swear Leona wasn't as strong as this last week." Another beastman said.
"I heard she managed to gain some super strong resources that allowed her to quickly rise through the ranks a few days ago." Another replied as all the eyes were concentrated on the battle, not wanting to miss any moment where there eyes could see the positions of the fighters or... *BOOM* *BOOOM* the explosions of the winds caused by their clashes.
"If only.... If only I was the one there." tears fell down a beastman's eyes as, without even looking, other beastmen started tearing up too.
Why? Why? Why were they stronger than them? What made them stronger than them? Why couldn't they be one of the best geniuses? Just what difference was there between them?
Life is unfair!
*BOOOOOOM*
"You really got stronger, huh? Leona!" Draco shouted on the sky as he just punched Leona all the way to the other end of the Arena.
*BOOOM* *BOOOOM*
A second later, Leona appeared in front of him and punched him with all her might, with him blocking her punch with both his arms and getting launched a little behind.
"What do you expect? Of course, I have to be stronger! How else would I still be a party member of such a crazy fella?" Leona shouted in response as her eyes held slight reverence, unwillingness, and rivalry.
Being the party member of Draco did no good other than completely shattering their dreams with how fast he progresses and how strong he is from one mission to another.
Day after day the distance between them gets wider and wider. being close to Draco only made one fear the possibility oif being bandoned for not being too good... but...
'I would never give up!'
------End------