"Thank me?"
"Yes." The flame-haired girl nodded, "This delicate demeanor is when my combat ability is weakest, solely for healing and protecting others. To even defeat a True Divine Apostle of the Sigma Order (18) in this form shows how truly powerful the fusion of pathways is."
"...Lord Leoz, you're not quite the same as before."
"Am I?" The girl shrugged, "Is it because I've turned into a woman? Wait a bit, I'll change back and you'll recognize me."
"No, Lord Leoz, honestly, you surprise me, not because of your strength. You are indeed powerful now, but compared to the one who casually annihilated the Dragon Race civilization and faced Gaia's Executor directly, there's still a long way to go."
Arthur leaned against the rock wall, having lost all motivation to resist, his cloak blowing away with the wind, revealing a face marred with burns and charred scars.
There weren't many porcelain-like remnants on him, in most places, he looked merely like a charred corpse.
