Maya could easily notice how Maeve was focusing on specific words when she was talking to Ace. Those subtle looks she gave her were… infuriating. Maya was pissed, really pissed.
Hmph! Act all mighty as you want, once the battle begins, I'll show you your true place, you trash!
With that thought, she walked towards little Gracie and smiled, "Little Gracie, can I have your sword? Since I won't be using magic, I would have to use the sword to defend myself for the next fifteen minutes."
"What? Big Sister Maya, you know swordsmanship?" Gracie questioned curiously.
"Well, I don't really know it that well but I have been training for a few months, I am sure it will be enough"
Gracie shook her head as she replied, "Big Sister Maya, you are too overconfident. Papa says that the more one acts high and mighty, the harder he falls"
"Pfft" Maeve couldn't help but laugh out loud when she heard her little nightingale. Wasn't she just telling Maya she is overestimating her in a politer and more innocent way? These must be the most insulting words Maya had to listen to in her entire life.
Right now, Maeve was extremely proud of her little girl and swore that she would not overexert her from trainng, for today at least.
Hearing Maeve's chuckle made this even more shameful for Maya, right now, her cheeks were flushed red in embarrassment. Let alone that trash Maeve, even her Mr. Ace was smiling at her. This was pure blasphemy.
But of course, she knew better than anyone about how much her Mr. Ace dotes on his daughter, so there was no way she would ever get angry at her. Controlling her anger, she forced out a smile and replied, "I will remember that, little Gracie. Now can I have your sword?"
"Okay~" Gracie answered sweetly as she gave Maya her wooden sword before she ran towards her Papa, anticipating a great match.
"Mama! All the best! You have to win!" After attaining her rightful seat on her papa's shoulders, Gracie cheered.
Maeve, of course, smiled at her daughter while Maya on the other hand had a dissatisfied expression but she soon smiled and extended her sword towards Maeve, "Sister Maeve, shall we start?"
Maeve smiled back and before long, she disappeared from Maya's vision.
"!!"
This was something completely out of Maya's expectation but as the strongest young mage of the city, she regained her wits and stood in a defensive position.
"...?"
A second later, she felt something rough on her neck, turning around, she saw Maeve standing behind her leisurely while her wooden sword was placed on her neck.
"Huh? Well, that was anti-climatic. You are pitifully slow but then again? What was I even expecting of someone who is always coped up into her room, doing nothing but trying to get what others have, unsuccessfully"
Before Maya could even retort to that, Maeve jumped back and started stretching her body, Strechnig I say but Maya would not call that stretching at all, for her, Maeve was simply flirting with her Mr. Ace!
Maeve turned her flexible and alluring body as different angels, emphasizing her curves, Ace, of course, was tranced by her actions, smiling quite idiotically.
Maya was even more enraged but before she could even move, Maeve glanced at her and smile, "Take your time, losing the 1st round within 1 second must be a hard blow for you, don't worry, I'll give you 15 minutes to strategize" Of course, Maeve didn't bother hiding the hidden disdain in her eyes, making Maya embarrassed to the point of no return.
What an utter humiliation! From being the one to give her opponent a handicap to losing the 1 round within 1 second, this was utterly disgraceful and humiliating! Not only that, her opponent even gave up those 15 minutes she offered, as if she was confident in beating her even without a handicap.
Maya wanted nothing more than to tear her into little little pieces and throw her away!
But this time, Maya didn't dare to underestimate Maeve anymore. She had to give it to her, Maeve was nowhere near as weak as she thought. On the contrary, she was very strong. Her speed made up for her lack of magic and turned her into a good opponent. Maya continued thinking different ways to counter Maeve's speed while Maeve,
Well, she continued 'stretching' for the next 15 minutes, she knew that she had lost the edge of the battle when she showed her jealous side before, and now she had to come up with something else to fight on equal footing. The fight of the night that is~
...
"Are you ready yet?" After 15 minutes, Maeve smiled at Maya mockingly and questioned.
"I am" Maya replied with a serious nod and before the battle even started, she jumped back, creating a distance of 300 meters between her and Maeve. According to her, this was a perfect range for a one on one fight. No matter how fast, Maeve couldn't possibly cover this huge distance in an instant to launch a sneak attack on her, on the other hand, she can easily cast many spells at this range and defeat her.
Maeve obviously didn't care about this since she had confidence in her speed and charged towards Maya. She even purposefully lowered her speed, so that Maya can have a chance to retaliate, giving Gracie a better show than before.
"Hah! Your overconfidence will be the cause of your defeat!" Seeing Maeve charging straight at her, Maya could pretty much guess her thoughts and smirked. She then called the Water Qi in the atmosphere and shouted.
"Bubble Gun!"