The Oakland elf and the group continued their confrontation. Her arrows were ready to discharge at any moment; all it took was a single movement from the squad to trigger her need to shoot. Maisie furrowed her brow and pushed forward an inch, prompting the other elf to pull the bow's strings back. The tension was almost suffocating, and their lungs were hungry for air. Lyon grasped the cotton fabric of Maisie's coat, almost as if reading her impulsive thoughts. Maisie turned around and looked at her fellow guild member, confusion filling up the crevices in her face.
"Don't do anything." He spoke through clenched teeth. Their continual movement, however, provoked the Oakland elf to fire an arrow that skidded past Maisie's face, cut a small piece of her hair, and impacted the tree behind her. The fairwood paled as she gazed back. The arrow continued to move through the trunk before it made an enormous hole. "You see what I mean." Lyon spat.
"Yeah, you’re right.” Maisie replied, looking back at the Oakland elf, who readied her next arrow. "But if I’m able to beat her somehow, she’ll be able to talk to us and explain everything.” Lyon didn’t have enough time to react. Maisie sprinted forward, her gown and hair flailing around. The azure-eyed elf readied her next arrow and shot it. The white-haired elf, on the other hand, created a wall of water, freezing it. The arrows pierced the ice wall, skidding past the elf again. However, Maisie was faster this time around.
She made spiky daggers and shot them at the forest elf, who smashed each one with her bow before firing an arrow into the air. The azure-eyed elf then snapped her fingers, and the group watched as the arrow multiplied and rained down on the white-haired elf. Maise formed an oval water barrier over her head, allowing the arrows to enter before closing her fist.
"That's Maehana's move!" Hide gasped, shocked, as he noticed the brunette elf's movements. Bonney and Kalthona nodded as they watched the violent combat between the elves. Lyon, who had only heard about the S-class mage, ignored Hide's connection and instead focused on Maisie and her impulsive behaviour. The woman, who had begun the expedition with more caution, was suddenly acting brashly and fiercely. He wasn't sure how much he could take, whether she was breaking out of her shell or not. This incident was impeding any progress they could be making towards Milhania.
Maise created an oval water shield over her head, allowing the arrows to fall in, before closing her fist.
The oval transformed into a searing sphere that destroyed every arrow. Maisie then moved the sphere over the Oakland elf, preparing to spill the hot liquid on her. However, the brown-haired elf moved far too quickly. She flew towards the white-haired elf, spun her bow, and began wielding it as a baton. The brunette elf hit Maisie in the hip and stomach before kneeing the water mage in the face.
Kalthona tried to sprint forward to help Maisie; however, she was stopped by Hide.
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"I think our girl can handle herself." He said it with a gentle smile. Oh, how wrong he was. Maisie was quickly grabbed by the throat and pushed into the ground, knocking the air out of her lungs. "Maybe not." He said this, retracting his initial statement.
Kalthona jumped down into the deep space, summoning her flamed axe. She brought it down on the forest elf, who blocked it with her bow. The azure-eyed woman then seized one of Kalthona's pigtails, wrapped it around her palm, and drew the flame mage closer, striking the bow in her face.
Kalthona snarled as her nose was attacked yet again. The Oakland elf, however, was not finished. She vanished and reappeared behind Bonney, leaving no chance for the voodoo mage to respond. The brunette woman kicked Bonney in the side, slamming her into the hollow area with a bone-crushing impact. Hide and Lyon remembered their prior thrashing and went into the crater to care for the girls. That left just the Oakland elf and Conan.
"You're the only one out of your group who seems worthy enough to fight me," she went on to say. "You better not disappoint." She spoke, her voice falling as her gaze hardened. Kalthona, Bonney, and Maisie slowly stood up, coughing. The folks in the crate then looked up, anticipating Conan's next move.
'Will he be able to manage her?' Maisie thought as she grabbed her stomach. The rest of the gang thought the same thing. They considered Conan to be a healer, and his mana never gave much away. Even if it didn't, the crew surmised that he was at least B-class due to his healing abilities. They knew nothing about his combat abilities, so they waited with bated breath as the Oakland elf advanced.
"Oh, forest, hear me now. Water the grounds with my mana and in turn provide me with strength; Earth Magic—Vine Webs!"
“An incantation?!” Maisie questioned herself in her mind. The rest of the team was equally startled. Many of them believed that reading out incantations was a lost skill. Only a few individuals perform incantations in Eldoria, according to their knowledge.
Their thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the ground trembled and a deluge of mana filled the air, easily rivalling the Oakland elf. And it was all coming from Conan. The azure-eyed elf wore a big grin for the first time in forever. A worthy opponent had emerged, and she was about to have a great time.
She fired fast, destroying the vines one by one. However, they persisted, encircling the Oakland elf's ankles and tugging her to one side. Conan then moved his hand, pulling the azure-eyed woman's body to the left and running her across a group of trees, watching as she broke them all. He then moved his palm downward, forcing the vine to slam the elf's body into the ground.
A cloud of dust formed around her, and she slowly stood up, her shadow visible through it. When the dust settled, a manically grinning Oakland elf emerged, holding a new weapon. A silver-bladed two-hander was placed on her shoulders.
"I am Bilan Hagaard, the last Oakland! "What is yours?" She asked. Conan gently smiled.
"Conan von Stein." He replied with a sweet smile, expanding his full lips. The two then disappeared, meeting in the middle.
Thus began the contest over who was stronger.