Sofia is rearing to fight Kuzunoha when Rona appears, and gets super upset with Io, who she clearly cares about, for first using his Rose and then not telling him right away that Kuzunoha already broke the Rose, so his death is not guaranteed. Sofia also informs Rona that Kuzunoha is the famous “Sorcerer”, a fact that comes as news to Makoto himself!
Sofia may be brimming with confidence, but as expected, her attacks aren’t effective against Makoto’s Mana Matter. I get it; Sofia is one of the toughest bastards in this world, so her arrogance isn’t unearned. It’s just probably not a good idea to just start hacking at an enemy you haven’t come close to understanding!
Despite saying she’d fight him with her full strength, it’s clear she’s holding back from the start. Once she determines she can’t do anything at that level, she summons more of the four-fold greater dragon powers she’s absorbed, and her appearance becomes more dragon-like. And while she’s able to slice through Makoto’s matter, he can instantly rebuild it.
When Sofia starts complimenting the Empire’s Hero as not only having better offense but also more charm, Makoto plants the idea in her head that she might just be subconsciously under his influence, though he hasn’t personally met the guy. I hadn’t considered that, as it would mean his powers work in a more subtle/insidious way than I’d thought.
Souped-up dragon powers or no, Sofia isn’t able to worry Makoto enough for him to even remove any of his mana-suppressing rings (they still do that, right?). Not only that, she seems to be under the impression that Mitsurugi will come to back her up, but Makoto informs her that Shiki, who is guarding Hibiki, is far stronger than Mitsurugi, AKA Lancer.
Their battle will have to wait until next week, while Io was Rocket Punched out of the area and Rona, suddenly terrified of Kuzunoha’s sudden focus and maturity in this situation, decided to withdraw, leaving Sofia to her own devices. Having learned from past battles that could have gone better, Makoto does seem to be taking all of this seriously. Anyone who opposes him should be very worried about that.
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