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By the lack of an answer from the maleficarum to his question fo curiosity as to why he was specifically targetted, it was made clear to Zestasia that she had no intention of giving him a reason why. So instead of pursuing the matter any further, he prepared himself for round two.

Hands that remained lit aglow with the golden hue of his ignis ether, they responded to his desire to keep fighting and shone brighter. He saw the witch almost go for him and he meant to charge, but as his attention was momentarily taken away from the magi and to where the last was doing battle with his brother and Etoile, he looked up and caught the sight of familiar red hair approach. At first, he grinned at her, but in a matter of moments, that grin faded as he saw her magic gather around.

[color=goldenrod]"Wait..."[/color]

Suddenly, Zestasia's gut instinct that never steered him wrong forced him to whip his neck and he saw the maleficarum come at him again, but then, in the midst of a flashy show of magic, he saw Pythia put all of her magic into a blow that sent the shockingly cute maleficarum crashing into a tree. He put his hands up to shield him from the winds that would follow.

And then as the dust cleared and Zestasia heard her voice, he grinned.

[color=E3485D]“This [i]moron[/i] is under my protection, got it? Yield and I will not [i][b]kill[/b][/i] you.”[/color]

[color=goldenrod]"Yeah! What she said!"[/color] It took him half of a moment to register the first part of what she said. [color=goldenrod]"Minus the moron bit, but everything else still stands!"[/color] 

Zes stepped beside, looking at Pythia, his grin returning, the glow around his hands fading out as he did not feel a sense of urgency to defend himself anymore. [color=goldenrod]"Thanks for saving my hide. I mean, I could have probably taken her second attack, but thanks!"[/color] He chuckled and pat her shoulder. [color=goldenrod]"You know, up until now, I was beginning to think you didn't like me, but I guess you really [I]do[/i] care, don't you?"[/color] He bumped her shoulder teasingly, chuckling with every motion.

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