Piyo was overwhelmed by the overwhelming difference in power shown by the elf girl.
With a *snap*, black smoke rose from Piyo’s wings. Around them, murmurs arose. “Did everyone get hit?” people whispered.
“Oh, sorry, I hit you.”
“Piyo, are you okay?!”
Her light body fell to the ground with a *thud*. However, she managed to get up. Her wings were scorched, but she wasn’t electrocuted. That was good; it seemed she had somehow managed to defend herself. The elf girl yawned, looking away.
“Piyo, let’s stop. It’s too dangerous. We still have our journey ahead of us.”
Even though I called out to her, she didn’t even turn around. She simply stood there, staring at her opponent.
“Huh? You’re still going? Oh well, I’m already tired.”
As the girl swung her staff widely, a water ball appeared and shot towards Piyo at an incredible speed. No matter how much water it was, getting hit by this could break bones. A gust of wind blew, and Piyo’s body flipped, narrowly dodging it. But before I could let out a sigh of relief, the next attack came.
She dodged the flying water bullets as gracefully as a butterfly dancing. *Bang*, one of them hit Piyo and exploded. White smoke streamed from her wings. It seemed she had defended against the explosion with a counter. I couldn’t bear to watch such a precarious battle. After all, the number of times she could pull this off was limited. My fists clenched, and my palms grew sweaty.
“Are you just dodging? Haa, I’m getting sleepy already. I’m going to get serious now, so don’t die.”
For a moment, I thought Piyo’s head lit up brightly. This was bad.
A roar that seemed to split the ground. The voices of the onlookers were drowned out.
“Yo… Piyo! Are you okay?!”
I rushed to Piyo, who had fallen. I embraced her, covered in dirt and utterly disheveled. Quickly, quickly, to the hospital. After taking that blow, maybe her heart had stopped. Finally, the surroundings seemed to be taking things seriously, and concerned eyes turned towards us. “Was that too much? Isn’t that dangerous?” voices could be heard.
I didn’t care about that. Just live. My heart pounding, I placed my ear on her chest. *Thump*, a strong sound vibrated in my eardrums. Ah, I was glad she was alive. I let out a long breath. Nina really went too far this time. It’s not like everything can be solved with sheer grit. It’s important to assess your opponent.
Suddenly, I met Piyo’s eyes in my arms. *You’re conscious already?* I thought, and before I knew it, she wriggled out of my arms and stood up.
“Huh? Piyo? You can stand?”
Without looking back at my question, Piyo stood before the elf girl again. No way…
“You’re seriously going to continue? You said you were tired, what, are you going to sue me for assault? Why don’t you say something in return?”
The girl swung her staff, and sparks flew, with flames starting to flicker. The air around her was heating up, distorting her appearance. This was probably fire magic, and even if Piyo used fire magic, she would still get a burn if hit. Could she possibly defend against it? No, it was impossible… in the face of such overwhelming firepower…
The next moment, a roaring inferno erupted from the girl’s hand. The raging flames engulfed Piyo’s small body like a ferocious beast.
