Setting aside its energy-absorbing function, this sword itself harbored immense power. As a magic weapon, its attributes were excellent. Thea tried inputting some dark-attribute mana and found that the emotions conveyed from the hilt were longing, greed, and above all, excitement.
That's right, the signal this sword transmitted to Thea was excitement. Heaven knows how many years it had waited to finally be nourished by magic again; a slight tremor faintly resonated along the blade.
Thea flourished the sword, withdrew her mana, and sheathed the blade directly. This sword had gotten a bit carried away, actually trying to bewitch Thea into going on a so-called "killing spree." If Thea, who brainwashed others every day, were to be brainwashed by a sword, that would be the ultimate joke.
Without putting the sword directly into her ring, Thea looked at Damian and said, "I am very satisfied. You can learn magic with me."
Damian, whose small face had been tense, visibly let out a sigh of relief.
As for the time and location, they were ready-made. It was the same small woods where Malcolm had taught Thea back in the day. Quiet, remote, and undisturbed. The original owner of the land was Old Ma, and now it was under Tommy's name. Anyway, he was still in Gotham teaming up with Laurel, so there was usually no one there.
Instructing Damian to find a place to rest and wait for her in the woods at night, Thea continued to busy herself with the Group's various matters.
It wasn't until sunset that she leisurely walked toward the woods that had once given her hope. The wheel of fate turns; now it was her turn to give hope to others.
Thea reminisced as she walked, but she suddenly stopped in her tracks and looked not far behind her.
An extremely tall and thin old man stepped out from the shadows, watching her from a short distance away. Black robes, a high standing collar, a face revealing a sense of indifference, and eyes filled with wisdom and the vicissitudes of time.
"Ra's al Ghul?" Thea was somewhat surprised. This old guy actually ran out here himself. No need to ask, he must have followed Damian all the way here. Whether Damian had confessed everything to him or if there was another hidden story, Thea didn't know.
"You know me? Child, can you really teach Damian those mystical arts?" Ra's al Ghul stood with his hands behind his back, staring at Thea.
"I always honor my words. However, the completion of his mission seems to have some discrepancies from what I anticipated." Thea could tolerate failure, but she disliked betrayal. Failure was a problem of ability; betrayal was a problem of character.
Ra's al Ghul didn't answer her question directly. He lowered his head to organize his words. "Without my tacit approval, it would have been impossible for him and Talia to take the demon sword from my hands relying solely on themselves."
Thea half-believed this point. Anyway, the event had already happened; he could say whatever he wanted. "You plan to take back your sword?"
This time, Ra's al Ghul answered very readily. "I want to see if you are qualified to hold that sword."
Thea smiled. If it were three years ago, Ra's al Ghul would have been the highest peak she could see. But now... he was just an old man with high martial arts skills.
"How do you want to see?"
"I want to use martial arts to experience your magic." As Ra's al Ghul spoke, he drew another sword from his waist. Thea swept a glance at it; it was just an ordinary steel sword.
"As you wish." Thea could feel that Ra's al Ghul had no killing intent. This elder was very open—or perhaps, after living for such a long time, he no longer needed lies to cover up his actions. Thea didn't use the Lantern Ring, nor did she use the artifact bow and arrow. She raised her hand and threw a Grease spell at his feet.
The Master's expression remained as calm as an ancient well. A sleeve dart attached to a chain popped out from his left wrist. The dart stabbed into a tree trunk by the roadside. The Master leaped up, his feet stomping fiercely on the trunk, circling at a small angle to charge at Thea.
Tch, Batman really is from the same lineage as him. Thea's hands traced graceful curves, drawing two runes in the air. Her five fingers spread open, and a small ball of white substance flew out, expanding in the wind. By the time the white substance reached Ra's al Ghul, it had turned into a large net, covering him overwhelmingly.
"Impressive!" Ra's al Ghul could only repeat his old trick, dodging the spider web once again. In mid-air, he even flicked his hand to throw a shuriken.
Thea remained unmoved. Her left hand pinpointed the shuriken's center, changing its forward direction with a single finger. Her right hand snatched it, infused it with her own fire-attribute mana, and threw it back in the opposite direction. "Right back at you!"
"The League's hidden weapon technique?..." Ra's al Ghul looked at the glowing red lump. He didn't dare to catch it hard. Running rapidly, he dodged to the side.
Boom—
The fire-attribute mana slammed into the trees, acting like a hand grenade and causing an explosion on the spot.
Ra's al Ghul saw that Thea was completely unmoved and was casting spells with full force. Knowing he had underestimated this woman, he took an object from the cloth pouch at his waist and threw it at the ground.
Thea watched as he was surrounded by smoke, feeling a bit speechless. This old man is just an enhanced version of Batman without high-tech weapons. She could only slightly alter the magic circuit of the spell she was halfway through casting, changing it into another spell.
"Old man, you have to be careful. Look at my Shadow Panther!" A shadow plane creature was summoned by her. The panther's emerald eyes searched back and forth in the smoke. It quickly turned into a gust of wind, running in silently.
But in less than ten seconds, the Shadow Panther was beaten straight out. Although its body flipped lightly in the air, the fierce light in its eyes had dissipated considerably.
"Young one, you let your guard down!" Just as Thea was thinking about what spell to use, Ra's al Ghul burst out from diagonally behind her, the distance between them less than five meters.
Thea drew the Godslayer sword to parry the opponent's slash, simultaneously punching out. "You underestimated me too!"
Having finally caught this golden opportunity, how could Ra's al Ghul be willing to reopen the distance? His blade changed from a vertical slash to a horizontal cut, while his left hand met Thea's fist with a punch.
Bang. A muffled sound. Both retreated half a step, slightly surprised at each other.
Although Thea was far inferior to Diana, the transformation by divine power was comprehensive. She had used nearly seventy percent of her strength in this punch, but she hadn't expected the opponent's physical fitness to be not bad at all. This punch actually resulted in a draw.
Demonized constitution? The only thing comparable to divine power transformation was demonizing oneself. Combined with Ra's al Ghul's life history, this was the most reasonable explanation.
She hadn't used her full strength. In fact, Ra's al Ghul, cautious all year round, hadn't used his full strength either. Seeing that his punch, which far exceeded that of an ordinary person, hadn't taken Thea down, his attitude became a few degrees more serious.
At this moment, the Shadow Panther rejoined the battle, teaming up with Thea to fight Ra's al Ghul two-on-one.
"Animate Rope." While Thea's right hand waved the sword to constantly resist the opponent's moves, her left hand completed a spell.
The magical rope, as if alive, wound toward Ra's al Ghul's feet. Simultaneously, the Shadow Panther attacked his midsection, and Thea's longsword swept toward his head.
Ra's al Ghul's martial arts were truly impeccable. He flicked the magical rope away with his sword, used the strength in his legs to jump up, kicked the Shadow Panther flying, and no longer caring about closing the distance, he grabbed Thea's sword-wielding wrist and threw her out.