"Have you heard? The commander himself is going to participate in the brawl."
"Wait, truly?"
"Come on, stop pulling our head, will ya?"
"It's true!! And get this… his opponent is none other than the guest who arrived three days ago."
"What's this talk about the commander and the guest, gentlemen?"
The last question came from Yolan as she arrived at the commotion that was happening near the arena when she overheard a group of rangers chattering about the current trending event here in the camp.
"Oh, ma'am, our apologies if we didn't notice you earlier." One of the rangers said as he and the others stood in the position of attention."
"At ease, men." Yolan smiled while she requested and the men relaxed their posture, "Now, tell me what's going on?"
"Commander Gregor issued a friendly challenge against our guest, and they are going to fight in the arena." The soldier answered.
"The guest? You mean Ms. Defolta?" Yolan questioned.
"Yes, ma'am." The ranger replied.
"My word." Yolan indeed was shocked when her confirmation turned true. She chuckled and muttered in a whispering tone, "That girl, she is quite something."
Her curiosity being piqued, Yolan decided to join with the crowd so she too could watch the anticipated match between Gregor and Defolta.
Indeed, Defolta was quite strong, yes, as per her remarkable display during her fight against the gobilins.
But the commander however…
Let's just say that even in his fifties, no ranger in this camp has yet to defeat him in an open fight.
***
"How the hell did it come to this?" Defolta thought as she now found herself dreading and face to face with Gregor inside the arena that was surrounded by most of the rangers of the camp who came to watch.
"This was all on you." Nekowa shook her head in disagreement with the Magical Girl's decision, "You could have refused his challenge, you know?"
"I know." Defolta responded, "But there's no harm in refusing as well as accepting his challenge. Besides, I also want to know how I truly fare myself unarmed as a Magical Girl."
"A fair point, I suppose." Nekowa eventually agreed, "Win or lose, it really does not matter here. But a friendly reminder, a Magical Girl's strength is substantially greater than your average human being. Even the weakest among them is capable of shattering a rock with her bare hands."
"I know." Defolta replied, "Which kind of explained how I'm also able to rip someone's heart off with my own two hands, and even more surprisingly so despite only having the minimum Strength value of 10. Don't worry, I'll hold my punches."
"Good." Nekowa smiled, "We don't want you accidentally killing the commander of all people and invoking every rangers' wrath in our proximity."
After Nekowa's imperative advice, Gregor called Defolta out with a challenging grin directed at her, "I'm glad that you decided to accept my challenge, Lady Defolta. Yolan mentioned how you slew the goblins effortlessly with deadly efficiency. As a fellow warrior, I wish to bare witness of your outstanding skills in person."
"Really? Haha, whatever fox-girl told you must be of great exaggeration, I'm sure." Defolta chuckled heartily."
Unknown to both combatants, a said fox-girl in the crowd coughed slightly and was a little sheepish at the mention of her name.
"Then, let us put your so-called exaggeration to the test," Gregor said and undressed his chest armor and shirt as he discarded both to the ground, revealing quite a muscular and tone, ripped body that was remarkable, especially for his age.
The crowd roared upon this spectacle, and Defolta could have sworn that the majority of the cheers were all coming from the infatuated female rangers lusting for their commander's body.
"Woah, bro is built different." Defolta was impressed by the middle-aged man's physicality, "The armor sure did a good job in hiding his astonishing frame."
During Defolta's first meeting with Gregor, she never made a comment when she first saw the commander's towering height of around 6 ft and 4 inches. It's truly not that much of a big deal for him, considering where she came from in her original world, the man Liam played basketball in his spare time back in the U.S. and 6ft men were the norm around him.
But now that he was about to fight Gregor, Defolta sure as hell now felt intimidated, considering that in her current stature, she was significantly shorter at 5" 5'. Thankfully not all was lost since in her original form as Liam, he stood in a respectable 6 ft tall flat.
"Let me know if you are ready, young lady." Gregor told her while cracking his knuckles in preparation for the fight.
"Uhm… Nekowa." Defolta dread at his current situation, "I think that man is anything but average."
"We're not so sure, I mean looks can be-"
Even by telepathy, Nekowa never got to finish what she was going to say when a flash of great speed hurled towards Defolta as the Magical Girl was punched ferociously to the gut and was sent tumbling to the ground a few feet away.
-30 HP.
The crowd gave a loud "ooohh!!" upon witnessing both their commander's exceptional strength and Defolta who was the victim by said strength.
"Yup, she's a goner."
"And I have high hopes for her since the commander issued the challenge himself."
"Heh, at least I won the bet."
"Haha, I pity whoever idiots who gambled at the lass winning against our esteemed commander of all people."
"Miss Defolta…"
While Yolan wanted to cheer for her superior officer, she was conflicted since she could not help but be worried about Defolta who was down to her knees.
"That was foul."
Much to the crowd's surprise, Defolta certainly was unamused while she wiped the blood on her lips and stood up valiantly from her spot. While she was by no means unscathed, standing up and recovering quickly from a punch courtesy of the commander was a feat thought to be a myth.
The rangers really thought that Defolta was down for the count. No ranger here so far managed to endure a direct blow from their commander's deadly fist. To think that an unassuming young lady like Defolta managed the impossible.
"So, you survive that, huh. That's quite impressive, young lady." Gregor clapped his hands and the smile on his face seemed to grow more ecstatic, "I knew at the moment when we first met, you are something special."
"I could have died here, idiot!!!" Defolta was not one for holding back her words and vented her frustrations at him, "And really!? Whenever I'm ready?! What a piece of bullfuckery!!!"
"Relax, young lady." Gregor chuckled at how mad and foul-mouthed the girl was, "We have the best healers here in camp, and I'm not so sure why you are so angry about. The moment you step foot inside of the arena, one must steel their resolve and prepare for the inevitable combat. In a fight, you will be pitted against foes of different conduct, whether honorable or not. This is the lesson I always impart to my rangers… Never trust a word that comes out from an enemy's mouth, especially during battle."
"He's got you there, Liam." Nekowa commented on the matter at hand.
The cold air of silence permeated around Defolta, not wanting to dignify any response.
As the Magical Girl completely regained her senses, everyone around the arena suddenly felt a chill upon seeing the face that she was assuming this instant.
Gregor remained unfazed and even eyed her directly with a mocking smirk.
"Whenever you are ready, Lady Defolta."
That added fire to the fuel and Defolta took a deep breath and assumed her own fighting stance with her fists raised up.
"Nekowa…" Defolta's cold voice was felt, even by means of telepathy, "Never would I thought I get to despise someone other than Matilda right here."
As a result of her rage, it was inevitable that a certain skill would empower her in this fight of hers.
Avenger… ACTIVATE.