Ch. 57

"You've improved. I'm proud of you." When Griselda noticed Leslie's fast improvement, she was very proud of her, even though she wasn't her teacher.

It was this reason why she didn't end the fight early. All because she wanted to be the stepping stone for Leslie's success.

She doesn't mind being the stepping stone, this is the least she could do for not being there for her when she needed it the most.

She knows that Leslie will be one of those Sorcerers who will leave their mark on history, just like the other sorcerers, including the Sorcerer Supreme.

Meanwhile, Leslie also noticed her improvement, so she cast a grateful look toward Griselda.

Griselda nodded at her and finally said, "I think it's time we end this. I've already done as much as I can. But before I go, I hope you don't hold a grudge against the church just because they didn't save your family."

"I don't blame the church, the perpetrator is already dead now. My master killed him along with his Sect." Leslie answered.

"I see. Then I guess it is time." Griselda sighed in relief.

Leslie nodded at her words and took a stance with her weapon.

Griselda nodded in acknowledgment at seeing her stance without sight of weakness.

'I guess she really improved on this fight.' Griselda thought.

So she too entered into a stance and decided to take this more seriously.

The air changed around her, it is very sharp and as if it was honed for many years.

This was due to her experience in battle. She has fought many enemies in her lifetime.

Of course, Leslie noticed this but she doesn't falter, which gained her another acknowledgment from Griselda.

For the first 5 seconds, they just kept staring at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.

During this time, a sweat rolled over Leslie's cheeks before dropping on the ground.

When it finally drops, Leslie's eyes sharpened, and she made the first move.

Griselda just stayed still and waited for her to reach her before making her move.

Leslie didn't know about this, so she continued rushing towards her before arriving, with her sword stretched out towards her neck.

Griselda reacted immediately and parried her blow but the hand that was holding her sword trembled due to the momentum that Leslie gathered when she was rushing to her.

According to her master's teachings, science can greatly help you improve your strength.

Just like what she did earlier, because of her speed, she gathers momentum, and finally released it when she struck Griselda.

Griselda felt some of the bones on her arm shake a little bit, while also tearing some fibers of her muscle, if it wasn't for her strength and her defensive posture, she's afraid that her whole arm might get severely wounded.

But Leslie wasn't done, although she was a bit shocked that she could withstand the blow, she recovered quickly, and didn't give Griselda a chance to breathe when she attacked with her legs.

Griselda really didn't manage to react, so she was struck on her abdomen, releasing all the air in her lungs.

Leslie was about to finish her when she felt extreme danger, forcing her to pull her head back, just in time to avoid the light spear that Griselda secretly created.

She flipped back and landed on the ground gracefully while staring at Griselda wide-eyed.

She didn't expect Griselda to immediately recover after being struck on her abdomen.

But she didn't let this distract her, so she quickly run against Griselda to continue their fight.

This time, Griselda wasn't idle like before, so she also rushed toward Leslie at fast speeds.

Soon, both of them met with each other while their weapons collided, creating a loud metal sound.

*TING!*

From the outside perspective, both of them seem to be fighting on equal grounds. None was on advantage or disadvantage.

But for Griselda, it was different. She was clearly losing, she doesn't know what was happening but it looks like she was running out of breath.

This has never happened to her before, it was then that realization came upon her.

'She's a Sorcerer' thought the wide-eyed nun.

"It seems like you've noticed." Leslie stops and said to her.

"I see. You've clearly outsmarted me." Griselda chuckled to herself. Although she was supposed to be mad or embarrassed to be outsmarted by someone younger than her, but for her, it is an honor.

An honor that she was defeated by someone that will evidently cause some waves in the future.

Slowly, Griselda felt exhaustion coming upon her, she estimated that by 2 minutes, she'll collapse in exhaustion.

"I have lost... I surrender." She finally gave up and surrendered. But not before casting a respectful glance towards Leslie.

Soon, Griselda slowly disappeared in the same familiar particles of lights, leaving Vasco, all by himself.

Speaking of Vasco, he was currently being besieged by Duy with his rapid punches.

His blood was already leaking on both his nose and mouth while gritting his teeth, not in pain by frustration. He can't catch Duy no matter what, he tried almost every way but Duy was faster than him.

Meanwhile, Shang-Chi didn't bother joining the fight anymore, since he could see that Duy is already dominating the fight, so instead of fighting, he walked toward Akeno to group up, but before leaving, he gave Duy an envious glance for practicing such a technique.

'Having your father as a Master does have its own benefits.' Shang-Chi just shrugs his shoulders, trying not to let greed overcome him and destroy his reputation and their friendship.

Back to Duy and Vasco, Duy was already breathing heavily, it's been half an hour since he opened the gates and exhaustion is already coming to him.

So he decided to finish this already since he could see that Vasco is almost passed out and bleeding profusely. He doesn't want him to suffer anymore.

Taking deep breaths, while closing his eyes. He focused for a bit before opening his eyes that became as sharp as a hawk before exhaling the air he inhaled.

*Boom!*

Vasco doesn't know what happened until he felt a force driving on his chest, spitting some blood on the ground.

Unfortunately, this is as far as he can go, so with his eyes closed, he slowly vanished into particles of lights.

It was at this moment that Duy also passed out in exhaustion.

So Akeno and the team immediately rushed up to him, while Gasper used some healing techniques that he learned in his free time.

While they're healing Duy, Sona saw an opportunity to finally finish them and win the event for good.

So with a nod of her, Rias and the rest rushed out of the control room and showed themselves upon the Sorcerers.

Akeno already sensed them much early, so she wasn't shocked even for a bit.

"So, you cowards finally decided to show up huh." Akeno mocked them.

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