The roar of the crowd from outside sent chills down Elise’s spine. The officials looked worried when they saw Elise’s steps were so stiff.
“Come on, Elise.” Raymund chuckled. “You’ve been in front of many people in just an apron. This is nothing compared to that.”
Elise wanted to scowl at her master, but she didn’t want the officials to think she was weird.
“Let me carry her.” Yua took Mona from the female warrior’s hands. “She still hasn’t fully recovered, has she? Looks like she’s not ready to join the fight yet.”
“T-thanks.” Elise rubbed her dog’s head and got a bark.
“The first contestant, someone with a unique weapon!!!” The host began to make an announcement, accompanied by cheers from the audience. “Her whip can move like a living creature to injure her opponent!!! Trish Adeshida!!!”
The roar of the audience is now accompanied by the whistles of several spectators.
“Hmmm? Looks like your opponent is so hot that guys whistle like that.” Raymund commented, chuckling again. “I can’t wait, Elise.”
“Good luck, Elise,” Yua whispered into the female warrior’s ear. “Have fun.”.
Closing her eyes, Elise took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve
“Remember all the missions you’ve been on, Elise.” Raymund began to emit words of encouragement. “What you are about to do is nothing compared to those missions. Your current opponents are only humans, not demons, titan mandrakes, or dark beings in dungeons.”
“Then, the opponent, someone who has always been at the forefront of qualifying for the tournament!!!” The host’s voice echoed again. “She is the first seed of this tournament! Elise Fairchild!!!”
When Elise opened her eyes, her gaze was more focused. Her steps were also more steady, although her face still showed nervousness.
“Focus on your opponent,” Raymund added. “And remember the strategy we talked about.”
The cheers weren’t as loud as before when Elise entered the arena. Elise’s outfit was skimpy, but it was still inferior to her opponent’s.
The dark-skinned woman named Trish was wearing a kind of bikini that barely covered her breasts and private parts. No wonder the men were so enthusiastic to see the appearance of that woman with short gray hair. Not to mention the size of that woman’s assets.
Even Yua and Elise’s assets were lost to that.
Raymund whistled. “Wow, another hot milf.”
This time the referee is Anna Kozlov. Like the previous match, she summoned the contestants to approach, then explained the rules.
Trish held out her hand after that was done. Elise shook it, and it caused the audience to applaud.
As soon as the distance between the two fighters was far enough, the referee gave the signal. “Fights!!!”
The roar from the audience boomed again. Trish fiddled with her spine-shaped whip while Elise walked up to her opponent, holding her sword.
Then, Trish whipped Elise, who was able to dodge and quicken her pace. The female warrior can still avoid the next attack.
And then, Elise leaped while drawing her sword forward.
Charging thrust.
Trish could dodge that attack, but after that Elise gave a barrage of slashes and stabs.
Elise’s opponent was able to keep dodging, but occasionally her body was hit by the female warrior’s attack.
Trish kept getting pushed by Elise, but finally, she was able to jump back far enough. After that, her whip moved like a snake, slithering around Elise’s sword. Elise was taken back, and she didn’t have time to do anything.
“I have to admit, your attacks are amazing, Fairchild.” Trish smiled as her whip wrapped around Elise’s sword. She went to her opponent. “However, you won’t be able to beat me with just that.”
Elise tried to free her sword, but the entanglement of Trish’s whip only grew stronger.
Then, the whip miraculously extended and entangled the female warrior’s body. Elise tried to break free, but it was no use. She’s having a hard time breathing instead.
“The thing is, there are actually some melee fighters who use magic in my country,” Trish whispered. “It’s just that our magic is not mainstream magic like the one Renee Emilien used. Our magic has never even been learned by mages.”
As the whip’s grip tightened, Elise fell to her knees. Her breath became ragged, her joints felt like they were about to crumble, and her head has become dizzy.
“Are you going to give up?” The referee asked while keeping an eye on Elise’s condition.
The whip started to run down the female warrior’s neck.
“Use that skill, Elise.” Raymund hissed.
With the remnants of her consciousness, Elise focused on her sword to activate the skill Raymund was referring to.
Slowly, something shaped like a red glow of smoke emitted from Trish’s body, then entered the female warrior’s sword.
The opponent widened her eyes. “What are you doing!?”
Elise lowered her head and gave no answer while the red smoke continued to leave her opponent’s body.
The audience was also confused by what happened. They talked to each other, trying to guess what was going on. Nobody had seen anything like it before.
“What?” Trish was baffled by her own condition. Her face began to turn pale, and she felt exhausted. Realizing that it might be due to Elise’s skill, she was forced to release the whip from her opponent’s body, then took a few steps back.
Finally, the glowing smoke was no longer emitting from Trish’s body.
“Hey!” Trish snapped at Elise, who was still on her knees while looking down. “What’s with that weapon!?”
Elise raised her head. However, the expressions shown were far from the audience’s shadow, the referee, Trish, and even Raymund.
At such a time, she showed her signature awkward grimace. “S-sorry, I don’t even know what this weapon is. I was surprised that this thing could do something like that.”
Hearing such an answer from Elise, Trish opened her mouth wide. “Do you think this is a joke?”
“Errr…” Elise quickly shook her head, then rose to her feet. “Sorry, but that’s how it is.”
The female warrior raised her sword again, ready to strike. She felt a surge of energy from the sword she was holding. Her body is fresher, her eyes are more alert, and her mind is more focused on the opponent.
“Hmm…. So that’s the effect?” Raymund muttered. “Interesting. You’d be hard to beat with a skill like that, Elise.”
The female warrior can only gulp. When practicing that skill in the past, she always felt uncomfortable. However, she didn’t really know what it was. Now, her discomfort had multiplied.
Yes, it’s almost the same as when Mona transformed into the dark version.