Behind her helmet, her fierce eyes glowed red, and even through the armor, Ais could feel the monstrous Amazon's savage grin spreading wide.
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"Ah? Why attack you? Did you go crazy slaughtering monsters in the dungeon? Do we even need a reason to attack you Loki Familia people? Isn't it obviously natural to do so? If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for blocking our way. Since you're in the way, then go die!"
Speaking of which, why was Phryne so obsessed with Ais, even to the point of jealousy and hatred, that's another story.
Ais Wallenstein and the Phryne Jamil could be described as "enemies." Of course… it was only Phryne who saw Ais that way; Ais herself didn't care in the slightest.
Since Ais became an adventurer at the age of seven, the two had clashed three times.
The first time was when Ais had just reached Level 2, breaking the record for the fastest level-up under the gaze of everyone.
The second time was during an expedition, a skirmish between the two Familias while raiding the Dungeon.
The third time was three years ago, when Ais had just reached Level 5.
As for the results, those were the main reason, aside from beauty, that Phryne bore such a grudge against Ais.
It's said that when a woman gets jealous, it's terrifying, especially when that woman has power.
The first time, since Ais was just newly Level 2 and lacked experience, she nearly suffered a miserable defeat; it was thanks to Gareth, Riveria, and the others who intervened that the conflict was defused.
By their second fight, Ais could already fight Phryne evenly.
And by the third time, Ais won completely.
It was precisely because of this history that Phryne's hatred toward her became deeply ingrained.
She simply could not accept the ironclad fact that someone could be even more beautiful than her, who prided herself on her unmatched beauty.
All of Orario was abuzz with the rumor: "Stronger than her, more beautiful than her."
She couldn't accept it, couldn't acknowledge how others compared them. She absolutely refused to admit it!
She hated this girl who had risen like a new star, surpassing her in just a few short years, just as the goddess of beauty Ishtar hated Freya.
The war between women is always irrational and intense.
As for Phryne's mental changes over the years, Ais was completely unaware, or rather, she simply didn't care.
In Ais's eyes, she never thought about being stronger than others, because from the very beginning… her only goal was to keep getting stronger than she was yesterday. That was enough.
Killing intent, hatred, anger, fury, all sorts of emotions twisted together on Phryne's so-called "beautiful" face as she removed her helmet, her bloodshot eyes the size of a calf's staring dead at the golden-haired girl. Driven by all those negative emotions, she moved.
"Today, I'm going to kill you here, Sword Princess!"
Her faceplate flew off, crashing heavily to the ground. She raised her massive battle axes high, and with speed completely disproportionate to her size, she suddenly lunged toward Ais.
'This speed… How could that be Level 5?!'
Using her agile body, Ais dodged before the attack landed.
Just like before, the ground shattered like broken planks, but that wasn't what caught Ais's attention.
The key point was: her opponent's stats felt completely wrong!
She was supposed to be Level 5, yet her attack could threaten Ais, a Level 6!
There was a strange feeling, almost like when facing Fron, but that was impossible. Phryne couldn't possibly have that kind of extraordinary stats!
As an old rival, Ais knew Phryne's capabilities inside out. She refused to believe that a mere Level 5 could match her.
Then… what was going on?
'Wait, those light particles? What are they?' Realizing belatedly, Ais twisted and spun gracefully to evade Phryne's relentless strikes.
With her keen experience, she quickly noticed, a faint layer of glowing particles covered the exposed skin on Phryne's body. It was something she had never seen before.
'Wait… could it be that powerful surge of magic from earlier?'
As that thought hit her, Ais was suddenly caught off guard, Phryne seized the opening.
Using her dual-wield advantage to the fullest, Phryne followed a missed swing with a second axe strike!
"Kh!" Startled, Ais tried to dodge but was too late; she could only use her Level 6 strength to raise her sword, Desperate, and block the attack.
"Creak…"
What heavy power! Her beloved sword groaned. The terrifying force pressed down her spine, forcing Ais to one knee.
To be able to clash head-on with Ais using just Level 5 strength and speed, how could that be possible?
"Hahahaha! Die, die, die, die, die! Just die already!"
Taking advantage of the close distance, Phryne spun her twin axes like a hurricane, raining blow after blow on Ais without a single opening.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The silver rapier and the heavy, rapidly swinging axes collided, creating countless sparks and a harsh metallic screech that tore through the night. Ais, holding her slender sword, fended off the storm-like assault as best she could.
With every clash, Ais was forced back step by step, moving the battlefield constantly, trying to gain a more favorable position.
Even though Ais was fighting with all her strength, she could only fight Phryne to a draw.
[T/N: Bah, Ais can easily defeat that toad, at least according to me.]
And that was after using her swordsmanship skills to divert much of the impact.
…
While Ais and Phryne were locked in their fierce battle, it was about the same time Fron and Lefiya's group crossed paths elsewhere.
Soon, they encountered a group of Amazoness warriors wearing thin veils.
Clatter…
Both sides suddenly stopped on the smooth coastal path, facing each other warily.
Did these Berbera really think that just by wearing veils, Fron wouldn't recognize them? How naïve.
"Leader, it's them, Level 4, Night Weaver," one short-haired silver Amazon whispered cautiously to the woman in front.
"Ah, I know. Tch, weren't they saying that all the Loki Familia members coming to the port were women? What's this guy doing here, then? Those intel guys are all useless, huh?"
Behind the veil was a deeply annoyed expression, though her eyes glimmered with interest as she looked at Fron.
"Hey, boy, we've got twenty people here. So, what are you planning to do?" In response, Fron didn't even bother raising his staff or short sword.
Although they were Berbera, they were merely enthralled, or perhaps compelled, by their goddess, Ishtar. Killing them would be too cruel.
"I'll just knock you all out. Yeah, that'll do."
"You sure talk big, Night Weaver!
"Go, everyone!"