"So, who do you think will win?" Princess Anastasia asked the adorable Dwarf beside her.
"As much as I like Big Brother, my support goes to my sister on this one," Colette replied. "Also, I'm very curious about who will win between the two of them."
"Isn't that already obvious?" Princess Anastasia arched an eyebrow. "Sir Lux had fought against Rankers. How can he possibly lose to a mere Initiate?"
Colette didn't reply and only smiled mischievously.
While it was true that her Big Brother was very strong and could fight many Low-Rankers at once, her sister wasn't a pushover either.
As the Guildmaster of a Gold-Ranked Guild, Aina had to have the strength to be recognized as such by her Guild Members. For a very long time, she hadn't had the chance to fight to the fullest, even though she was always on the frontlines of the battle.
The main reason was due to the fact that she was busy commanding her own troops, instead of focusing on the battle in front of her.
Now that she was fighting a one-on-one battle against someone of the same Rank, the doll-like beauty could unleash the hidden power that had remained dormant on her small body for a very long time.
Lux covered his right arm in dragon scales and used his dragon claws to deliver a strong punch toward Aina.
Aina's Job Class was Paladin, but she wasn't an ordinary Paladin. Her profession was actually a unique subclass that was called Avenging Angel.
People might think that she was someone who specialized in defense, but on the contrary, Aina was an offensive type Paladin.
In one of the Dungeon Raids that was done by multiple guilds, something went terribly wrong. The Boss Monster they were facing suddenly raised its rank to become a Deimos-Ranked World Boss, which caught everyone by surprise.
Seeing that her Guild Members were going to die due to the monster's unexpected Trump Card, Aina unleashed her true power and charged at the Boss Monster, engaging it in close combat. This allowed her Guild Members, as well as the other Guilds, to regroup and support her from behind.
Colette hadn't been there when it happened, but her sister's Guild Members told her the details about how amazing that battle was, making her idolize Aina even more.
When Lux's punch collided with Aina's shield, a powerful shockwave suddenly burst forth from the point of impact, sending the Half-Elf flying backward.
Princess Anastasia's mouth hung wide open when she saw the unexpected outcome of the first exchange between the two fighters.
Aina's guild members, on the other hand, cheered loudly because their Guildmaster had shown what she was capable of, making even Colette clap her hands in admiration.
Lux, who had been sent flying, managed to regain his balance mid-air but still skidded across the ground after his landing.
'My right arm feels numb,' Lux thought as he narrowed his gaze. 'It felt like I punched a wall made of steel.'
Although many thought that Aina simply defended against Lux, the Half-Elf knew that the doll-like beauty actually met his attack with an attack of her own, similar to Pazuzu's Shield Bash.
But, that wasn't what surprised Lux the most. After their initial exchange, he realized that in terms of raw strength, Aina was stronger than him.
"Unbelievable," Lux said as he gave his opponent a smile. "You weren't joking when you said that I can summon one of my subordinates to fight alongside me."
Aina didn't reply and simply remained where she was, her shield and weapon ready to meet whatever Lux would throw at her.
"Pazuzu, come." Lux summoned his Fortress Defender.
Among all of his Summons, Pazuzu was the one that focused more on defense. His offensive attack wasn't that strong, but he could easily take a beating when needed.
Lux didn't initially want to summon any of his subordinates when fighting against Aina, but he wanted to put pressure on her in order to assess her true prowess.
Her strength alone shocked him, and he wanted to know if she had more surprises under her sleeves.
"Let's go, Pazuzu," Lux ordered. "Don't underestimate her. She might be small, but she's the real deal."
Pazuzu nodded and charged toward Aina with his shield raised.
Lux followed behind the Fortress Defender with the intention of using the latter to clash with Aina first, while he delivered the main attack from behind.
Aina remained calm as she gazed at Pazuzu, who was running towards her like a Madlad. The Fortress Defender planned to use his shield bash to contend with Aina in strength, using the bulk of his defenses as his ramming force.
When Pazuzu was only a few meters away from his target, Aina stomped her right foot backward and unleashed a Shield Charge of her own.
When her small round shield clashed with Pazuzu's shield, which was of the Legendary Rank, another powerful shockwave ensued.
Although Pazuzu wasn't sent flying like what happened to his Master, the Fortress Defender still took three steps backward, while Aina only took one.
Lux then leaped behind the Fortress Defender and unleashed a Dragon Breath at point-blank range.
He didn't even hold back his attack because he had a feeling that if he didn't take Aina seriously, the one who would get beaten up would be him.
Lux's fiery breath descended upon the doll-like beauty, who had her mace ready to strike forward.
"Divine Smite!" Aina swung her mace, which blazed with Divine Flames, to meet Lux's Dragon Breath.
When the two attacks collided, it created a blinding flash that made the onlookers briefly cover their eyes.
Aina's Divine Flames dispersed Lux's Dragon Breath, nullifying each other's element.
While everyone was shielding their eyes from the aftermath, Lux and Aina simply closed their eyes and didn't stop exchanging blows with each other.
The Half-Elf once again covered his right arm in Dragon Scales and punched down, aiming to hit Aina's doll-like face.
Aina, on the other hand, swung her mace upwards as a follow-up to her initial strike, meeting Lux's punch head-on.
When everyone regained their vision, they saw Lux flying backward once again.
Although Divine Attacks didn't deal any damage to him, the force of Aina's blow was so strong, he felt like he just punched a ten-wheeler truck that was running at full speed.
But, the battle was far from over, Aina didn't remain still after her counterattack. A pair of fiery angelic wings appeared behind her back, allowing her to fly towards the Half-Elf, who was still flying through the air.
'Sh*t!" Lux immediately equipped his Favonius Legacy and used its flying ability to dodge Aina's follow-up strike in mid-air.
The two then engaged each other and started a dogfight in the sky, causing loud explosions every time their blows met.
Pazuzu, who was on the ground, looked at this unexpected turn of events and scratched his head.
Meanwhile, the Eternal Guild cheered for their Guildmaster, who now looked like an Avenging Angel.
The fiery angelic wings on her back matched her near-perfect beauty.
Although he was in the middle of the fight, Lux wasn't able to stop himself from being charmed by this deadly combination, and his heart even skipped a beat.
What the Half-Elf didn't know was that Aina had two Unique Abilities that were almost a cheat.
Even though she was still an Initiate, she was also someone who could fight up to two Low Rankers at the same time, which was something that very few people could do at the Initiate Rank.
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