"Miss Altashia, you'd pay dearly if you keep on underestimating me."
Altashia, who was busy dodging the attacks of the sword and the water snake, heard that and looked in the berserker's direction while narrowing her eyes on him. A moment later, she was seen standing still, facing the sword and the water snake's attacks.
"As you wish, Rodrick."
Altashia said nonchalantly and drew out her weapon. A weapon that was bigger than her stature. The blade span of the scythe she owned was around two meters– making it look deadly.
Slash!
A wind blade ring was created around Altashia the next moment and it seemed that the world had become silent. The ring expanded in all directions. First, it effortlessly cut through the water snake in its path. Then the ring clashed with the flying weapon and almost snapped it in two.
Kreeeeech!
A sharp cry was released by the sword that sounded like a human infant's cry had been altered to make it more ear-piercing. The sword chose to retreat under her master's orders when he felt her pain.
Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!
Altashia spun her weapon around her effortlessly a few times as if she was trying to check its balance. Rodrick and the rest of the audience watched in awe as they saw her handling her scythe with artistic mastery.
Rodrick's broadsword retreated and moved towards him. He held its hilt with his mouth and imbued it with his mana directly, making the crack that had almost broken it in half mend at a rapid pace. His hands were busy finishing the series of hand signs.
"Any more moves you want to try on me?"
Altashia asked Rodrick with a light smile on her face. It seemed that she enjoyed interacting with her weapon in this way. She stood with her left foot on the sharpened chine of her weapon's blade while the snath of her weapon was tilted towards her upright posture. Her right foot rested on her left leg's knee. Her left arm was wrapped along the length of the snath. Her folded right arm was resting on her head– its palm ready to grab the weapon at a moment's notice.
'Show off.'
Eren commented and shook his head while smiling mirthlessly after he saw Altashia assume that stance. But he also had to admit that there was a certain charm Altashia was exuding at the time. Something that could not be ignored. It was like she had become one with the weapon, emitting the same threatening aura.
Eren also concluded that this wasn't intentional on Altashia's part. She was just in sync with her weapon, listening to its call as it listened to hers. Her mastery of it made her see it as part of her body's extension. That form was as natural for her as standing upright on her legs.
The spectators took a few moments to realize what had happened. And when they did, all they saw was a halt to the match. This halt was granted to Rodrick by his opponent.
Every gaze was fixated on Alashia in the next moment. They had heard the question she had asked Rodrick. But at that moment, they had all come to realize that Rodrick had gotten himself into trouble the moment Altashia's weapon was drawn.
Rodrick had dodged the wind blade ring that was coming for him by jumping at the right time. But he found out that the battle ring now had random patches of the flame dancing on the ground, including the place where he had previously stood.
Although Rodrick hadn't stopped his hand signs despite getting intimidated by his opponent, his facial expressions spoke volumes about his mental state.
The water snake's body turned into the water before evaporating because of Altashia's residual fire-mana affecting it. It seemed that a controlled haze was making its presence known on the ground.
"Rodrick, you didn't answer me."
Altashia asked her opponent. The latter was finally snapped back to reality– his expressions turned grimmer.
"Th... Thank you for waiting. I indeed have a move I want to try."
Rodrick released the sword's hilt from his jaw and finished his hand signals. His sword stood straight in front of him with no signs of the previous crack.
As a result of Rodrick's successful hand-sign casting, a giant mass of water started gathering behind his back the next moment. The animated spell he was performing was going to be bigger than the 3-meter water snakes he had manifested not too long ago.
'A transcendent-grade spell.'
Layla commented inside Eren's mind. The latter watched with keen interest what kind of spell would allow Rodrick to have such confidence against Altashia who had chopped all his plan into two with one swift move of her weapon.
Roar!
A strong and intense mana signature was released followed by a draconic roar. It came from the mass of water behind Rodrick that was slowly getting moulded into a definite shape.
A snake-like head was first to be formed. Then came the same umbrella-shaped fin around the neck that the water snakes had displayed. The neckline extended rapidly before attaching to the newly formed torso. This torso was slender and still snake-like. But it had a relatively broader chest along with the rib details that the previous water snakes didn't have.
The next to form were the large wings that came attached to the front limbs, which also had claws. The hind legs and a long forked tail were the last to form. The creature's hind legs were smaller than its body. The tail, on the other hand, was relatively large.
Roar!
The creature released another draconic roar once the spell was complete. This time, the animated spell manifested a creature that was twice as large as the water snake. It also gave off an intense mana signature. Indicative of the fact that it would be many times more difficult to deal with than both the water snakes combined.
"That's…. That's a wyvern!"
The announcer mumbled to himself. But because he was wearing a sound-element artefact on him, his mumblings were heard by everyone in the amphitheatre.
The crowd grew silent for a short while before bursting into even more madness. People started shouting like their lives were dependent on it. Forget about mortals, a wyvern was a rare sight even for the most experienced rankers who had ventured relatively deep into the Badlands.
Rodrick was almost out of his mana storage. His forehead was dripping with sweat. Plus, he was a bit out of breath. He had regained the confidence he had lost after the animated spell was cast.
He smiled to himself and took a long breath to calm himself. Then he jumped on the water wyvern's back before looking at Altashia.
"Miss Altashia, what do you think?"
Altashia was seen waiting patiently. She let her opponent finish casting his spells. Eren understood what her intention was. She wanted to defeat Rodrick at his fullest potential so that he wouldn't bother her again. Although she liked free royal gifts, she wasn't dependent on them.
"Hm. What I think doesn't matter. Let's test it out, shall we?"
Altashia said and gripped the snath of her weapon with her folded right hand. The next thing spectators saw was Altashia disappearing from her position along with her weapon.
AN: Chine is the sharpened inside edge of the scythe's curved blade. The shaft of the weapon to which the blade is attached is called a snath.
