Chapter 347: Preparing for the Return

Chapter 347: Preparing for the Return

Mid Evening - Late Summer : The Tree of Prayer, Valtivar | Siratha

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Lief instantly turned her head to me in agitated confusion. "Huh?!"

I honestly didn't know what to think of it. -Could you not sense her before?-

"Has her aura always been that.." an irritated look came to her face as she looked back up toward Hera, ".. combative?"

Tilting my head a bit, I looked up toward her as well, but she just smiled and waved. -What does that mean?- Where Hera's aura met mine, it was completely smooth and calm, so I wasn't sure where she was coming from.

"I feel like she's trying to squish us, My Lord..." The animosity in her voice slowly grew the longer she stared.

-Hm...- A momentary silence encompassed us as I gave something a bit of thought before deciding to go with it. "So what do you think of a friendly spar with her? You know, to stretch your legs some." Originally, I was going to 'spar' with her myself, but after a moment of thought, I figured it would be better to take advantage of the sudden animosity since I wasn't keen on the idea of flaunting my humanoid form in front of Sirathans as Nott.

However, Lief's reaction was a bit unexpected. "Huh?!" Her irritation and confidence disappeared in an instant. "A s-spar?!"

"Haha," I let out a chuckle as her slight lisp and slurring of words returned, and her 'confidence' disappeared. "Just think of it as you receiving guidance from her. She'll be limited to her humanoid form, and I'll make sure she doesn't go too far, okay?"

Realizing I wasn't really giving her a choice, she gulped down her already diminished confidence before looking back up at Hera, standing at the edge of the railing with a smile as she took a casual sip of a new glass of alcohol.

To me, nothing about her seemed out of place, but at that moment, to Lief, it was simply predatory. "Hera, what do you think about it? Care to give her some guidance?"

Turning her gaze to me and looking deep into my eyes, Hera slowly took a final sip of piotita before moving the glass away with her aura and setting it on a table behind her. "I would rather tussle with you.." *sip* ".. but I wouldn't mind guiding a junior." *tap* Reaching to the side, she gently rubbed Krystallo's head and bent down to her level. "It seems your brother wants me to give Lief some 'guidance'. So, I'll be right back."

Krystallo's curious and questioning expression instantly morphed with excitement as she ran up to the railing and looked down at Lief, who I just revealed from beneath my light magic. "A spar?!"

Finally noticing that Lief had awoken, the crowd around us at the base of the tree immediately reached up in cheers, praising my name and congratulating Lief on her successful evolution.

But after darting up to the tavern, the sound of their cheers had yet to reach us.

"Is sister Hera really going to spar Miss Lief?!" Krystallo, balancing her waist on the railing, kicked her dangling feet with excitement as she looked down over the crowd.

"Mhm! I'm curious how she'll fare." Quickly grabbing a glass from downstairs, I filled it with Piotita from the barrel Hera bought earlier and brought it to my hand. *vwoom-pat*

As I turned back to the railing, Krystallo looked back at me with an excited look. "Do you think Miss Lief will win?"

"Haha!" I let out an immediate, hardy laugh. "Absolutely not."

*FLASH-CR-CRAAACK* The instant I finished speaking and put the glass to my lips, the area around Lief lit up with a flash, and Hera's right palm, coated with superheated plasma appeared in front of Lief's chest.

Lief barely even had a chance to react. *ZIP* Shifting her feet and turning her shoulder with pure reflexes, the palm zipped across her chest with enough force to kill an ancient. *FWOOOOOOSH*

Looking at Hera's partially scaled arm in pure shock, Lief's eyes went wide.

But Hera didn't give her a chance to think. *THUMP* Swiping Lief's legs out from under her, Hera instantly pulled her palm back and grabbed Lief's face, but taking advantage of the split second Hera couldn't dodge, Lief drove her foot into Hera's cheek.

*CRACK-CRACKLEEE* The entire Tree of Prayer shook violently as splinters of wood from the root they stood on shot out in every direction.

"That doesn't mean you can blow her spine out using divinity. If you want to guide her, beat her with technique, not raw strength."

She paused before looking back at Lief. "In that case, I'll start using magic. Is that fine?"

*sip* "As long as you hold your strength back to compensate."

A grin immediately spread across her face. "Alright. I can work with that."

Krystallo, watching with a worried look, mumbled as Hera gently massaged her neck. "Is sister Hera okay? That looked like a big hit..."

*pat* Setting my hand on her head, the worry quickly faded from her eyes. "Hera could probably take my full strength; she's more than okay. That was just a hit she felt."

*sip* Taking a quick, refreshing sip of piotita, I looked down at Hera and Lief, watching closely as they restarted the spar.

It was just as one-sided in Hera's favor as I had imagined. There was only so much you could do against a being that much stronger than you, even if they were holding back.

But it was a good opportunity for someone else. "Make sure you're watching what they're doing, even if it's a little hard to follow... It'll make for a good learning experience."

I was hoping Krystallo would be able to watch the fight and maybe learn some techniques, but it seemed like saying anything was needless.

Even before I opened my mouth, there was nothing but focus and the reflection of the fight in her eyes.

Although the fight was happening so fast, even Elders wouldn't be able to follow it; she didn't seem to have any trouble. -Maybe it's because she's learned some techniques from both of them...-

But it honestly made me start wondering. -When the Coming of Age Festival rolls around.. I wonder how the other prodigies will fare against her...-

Although I can't say I didn't already have an idea how it was going to go...

I was simply holding my hopes up that she could find a good rival.

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As many of you know, I will not be here next week so don’t expect any chapters! I’m flying across the country to spend some time with my girlfriend, so I will not be writing.

However, while the next chapter will likely be Friday week after next, the half-chapter I promised a while back should also be finished up shortly after I get back. (I also may make it Patreon exclusive)

In any case, I love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!!! Thank you for your ever-lasting support!! <>

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