Chapter 32: 32. Sophia's Lemon
The perspective returns to the Gladiator Arena.
Sophia, who flew out from the other gate, also instantly perceived the situation of the entire Gladiator Arena.
"Is it a mountain map?"
The Angel Witch thought to herself.
However, it actually made no difference to her what kind of map it was; with her Calamity Racetemplate, she could easily adapt to all terrains. No terrain had a significant impact on an Angel, as her power was already sufficient to ignore such environmental factors.
Yet, in this duel, Sophia was not the only Witch with a Calamity Race template. Her opponent, the teacher's biological daughter, also possessed one, and was even a Dragon of the same origin as the teacher.
And the teacher's power was undeniable; that almost unconquerable strength had been etched into the Angel Witch's heart since childhood. In her heart, the teacher was already an existence comparable to the legendary gods, and she had admired and looked up to her teacher since she was young.
She wanted to be her teacher's pride.
This had been Sophia's goal ever since the night she met her teacher ten years ago.
She had indeed achieved this. Under her teacher's careful guidance, she had fully developed her talent. Even in the Dragon Kingdom, where strong individuals abounded and geniuses were everywhere, she, an outsider Angel Witch, was able to surpass her peers and become the most dazzling star among the Dragons.
However, Dragons were very exclusive, and the Dragon Witch with the Dragon template was no exception. An Angel living among Dragons would undoubtedly be ostracized. Over the years, Sophia had been targeted in various ways, but she didn't care much about it. She only cared about what her teacher thought of her.
And the teacher was undoubtedly fair. The look in her eyes towards Sophia held none of the rejection her own kind displayed; there was only appreciation and expectation. Sophia could feel it; the teacher truly recognized her as a disciple.
But even so, one thing had troubled Sophia for many years: whenever she achieved something, after the teacher happily celebrated with her, she would always spend some time alone, feeling melancholic.
That was a time reserved solely for the teacher, a time even Sophia, her most beloved disciple, found difficult to join, with no room to intrude.
One time, when Sophia got up in the middle of the night for water, she saw the teacher sitting alone on the dark living room sofa, smoking. The ashtray on the coffee table was full of cigarette butts. Her appearance startled the teacher, who turned to look at her. But Sophia could feel with exceptional clarity that in the reflection in her teacher's eyes, there was no trace of her, but rather the silhouette of another person.
Sophia knew who that figure was. After all, she had grown up beside her teacher and naturally had heard that the teacher once had a daughter, but that biological daughter later disappeared.
Sophia even knew why she herself hadn't been annihilated along with her sinful family under the teacher's wrath, but instead was mercifully adopted by her. It was probably because her age was similar to the teacher's missing daughter, which happened to evoke the teacher's compassion.
She might have always been just a substitute for that person. Sophia knew this all too well, and she could accept this fact, or rather, she once thought she could accept this fact.
She knew that for all these years, the teacher had never given up searching for that missing daughter. The reason the teacher so desperately pursued power and expanded her territory was solely to gain more strength for that needle-in-a-haystack endeavor. But a few days ago, when the usually emotionally detached teacher uncharacteristically laughed heartily and told her, "Sophia, I've finally found that child, my daughter."
She, Sophia, still felt a pang of bitterness.
Even though she knew such bitterness was wrong and shouldn't be, it was there, and she couldn't control herself.
Thus, with complex feelings, Sophia accompanied her teacher to this humble, remote island. Before their formal visit, the Angel Witch felt a bit restless, so she left her teacher's side and explored the island alone, considering it a way to clear her mind.
Yet, fate works in mysterious ways. Sophia never expected that a casual trip to a bookstore would lead her directly to the main person.
She couldn't be mistaken. After all, the girl named Dorothy exuded a scent remarkably similar to her teacher, and it was unlikely that a second Dragon Witch would appear on this remote, rural island.
At that moment, Sophia was utterly bewildered. She wanted to say hello, but the words that came out sounded all wrong.
Ultimately, that unexpected encounter came to nothing.
"I probably won't get along with this person."
Sophia thought to herself at that time.
And even now...
The glorious Archangel with six wings soared in the sky, a brilliant and sacred halo above her head, clad in high-grade battle armor crafted from various precious materials. Violent magic power swirled around her, and the natural aura of pressure emanating from her forced all things to bow before her.
The Angel Witch, Sophia, descended like a god.
Although she understood that winning this duel held no real meaning, as she was powerless to change the fact of her opponent's blood connection to the teacher, and she, an outsider, would likely find it difficult to become the teacher's pride in the future, none of that mattered now.
She just wanted to have a fair fight with this person, as a way to vent.
Soon, on the distant other side of the arena, her opponent's figure appeared within Sophia's perception. However, the opponent's appearance made the Angel Witch pause, then feel a surge of anger.
"Why isn't this person wearing armor? Is she looking down on me that much?"
Aside from a fancy staff in her hand, her opponent looked exactly the same as before: still that rustic braid, still wearing those large black-rimmed glasses, and even the lower half of her face was covered by a scarf, looking as if she dared not show her face. She showed no demeanor befitting the teacher's daughter and would only bring shame to the teacher.
Moreover, as a warrior entering the battlefield, this person was still wearing her everyday robe and not battle armor. How much did she look down on me? Did she think she could defeat me without armor? Or did she think there was no point in wearing armor since she was going to lose anyway?
But no matter the reason, fighting without armor in a duel was a sign of disrespect to the opponent.
At this moment, the Angel Witch's anger surged. She thought for a moment, and the beautiful battle armor on her body dissipated in a flash of light. She extended her hand, and a gilded white two-handed greatsword staff burning with holy fire appeared in her hand.
A proud Angel would not take advantage of anyone. If you don't wear armor, then I won't either. If you only have 10,000 magic power, then today I will only use 10,000 magic power. I will defeat you fairly in front of the teacher.
Pointing her sword at her opponent, Sophia made her decision.
The countdown above the Gladiator Arena finally reached zero.
Just as it hit zero, before either side's health bar had even appeared, the Angel Witch had already swung the greatsword in her hand.
She was certain to win this battle. Having been taught by the teacher for many years, there was no way she could lose to this person. Why was this rustic, lazy, and disrespectful person the teacher's daughter? She didn't want to admit it; this person was unqualified, too terrible.
The Angel Witch was seething with anger. She absolutely had to teach this person a lesson.