The Traveler Bros stood their ground, locked in a fierce struggle with Rachel and Zalgo.

  "You ladies are outnumbered," Giovanni said, a hint of smugness in his voice. "You should surrender now and avoid getting hurt any more."

  Rachel, her eyes filled with determination, retorted with a defiant tone. "Not a chance, you backpacking loser. We handled the damn cyborgs, now it's your and your friends' turn and we ain't backin' down."

  The Traveler Bros, their confidence unshaken, responded coolly. Luca chuckled, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. "You both put up a fight against those cyborgs, I'll give you that. But us? We're in a different league, sweetheart."

  Rachel, her determination undeterred, clenched her fists tightly, preparing for another round. "We'll see about that, you arrogant idiots. We won't go down that easily."

  Rachel was about to fire a shot, but Delphina stopped her by gripping her wrist.

  "Hey Rach," the shark woman began, her eyes beginning to glow. "I have a neat idea, but I need some of your aura for it."

  Without waiting for consent, Delphina absorbed a quarter of Rachel's aura, channeling it into her water cannon. The cannon was now charged with plasma, which crackled around the nozzle. Delphina fired a blast of water at Giovanni, except this time the water was infused with Rachel's plasma-like aura.

  As the blast struck Giovanni, he staggered backward, his smug smirk faltering. "The hell?"

  Rachel beamed with satisfaction, realizing that the plasma infusion boosted the power and effectiveness of Delphina's attack. "Hehe, look at that! The power of teamwork, bitches!”

  Giovanni, although visibly hurt by the powerful blast, still stood tall, albeit with a slight limp. "Impressive... But it's gonna take more than that to defeat us, pipsqueak."

  Luca, his confidence unwavering, grinned cockily. "Yeah, better come up with something better next time, shark chick.”

  Zalgo tensed, her eyes fixed on the Traveler Bros, ready to jump in if necessary. "You're in for it now, brothers. We won't let you get away."

  Rachel, her spirit undeterred, added with a determined tone. "Yeah, don't you worry, I've got plenty more tricks up my sleeve, ya goons. We'll see who's smirking at the end.”

  The Traveler Bros chuckled arrogantly, their confidence unfazed. "You all talk a big game, I'll give you that," Fabio began, "But let's see if you can back up that attitude."

  Luca, his smirk widening, added, "We've dealt with worse than the likes of you. You're out of your league here."

  Giovanni grinned, his eyes locked on Delphina as he held one arm behind his back. "You know, shark chick, it'd be a real shame if someone...stole your ability," he boasted, taking his arm from behind his back to reveal that he now has a replica of Delphina's water cannon, aiming right at the girls.

  The girls were startled by Giovanni's sudden possession of Delphina's ability. Rachel, her eyes wide with surprise, exclaimed, "W-What the- How'd you steal that ability?!"

  Delphina, her expression hardening, replied in disbelief, "Hey, how the hell did you copy my water cannon?! That's impossible!”

  Giovanni chuckled, a cocky glint in his eyes. "Anything's possible with this nifty little copycat ability of mine. Once I touch someone who attacks me with a Void Magic ability, I can copy it, making it mine to use."

  Luca, his expression smug, joined the conversation. "Yeah, and it works every time. So good luck winning this with your own power working against you.”

  The girls were shocked and dismayed. "That's insane," Rachel muttered, disbelief lacing her voice. "That ability is like a cheat code. It's not fair."

  Delphina, her expression defiant, clenched her fists tightly. "We'll find a way to overcome it. We won't let some copycat ability crush our chances.”

  Giovanni chuckled again, his arrogance showing. "You can try all you want, but I've got your power now. You'll find it pretty hard to beat me when I have the same abilities you do."

  Luca joined in, his eyes gleaming with confidence. "Yeah, and don't forget that we have the other two of us backing us up. You girls are outnumbered here."

  "And we're taking y'all down, starting with..." Giovanni trailed off, quickly turning his replica water cannon at Alice and firing a blast straight through her stomach.

  Alice gasped in surprise, clutching her stomach where the blast hit.

  "Ack!" She cried out, sinking to the ground with a pained expression.

  "Alice!" Delphina, Rachel and Zalgo shouted, rushing to her side.

  Giovanni chuckled at the sight of the downed Alice on the ground, gloating. "Looks like that was easier than I thought. You all don't stand a chance against us when I have the upper hand.”

  The shock and sadness hit the girls hard.

  "Alice!" Rachel's voice was filled with fear and anger.

  Delphina's eyes were filled with rage. "That son of a..."

  Alice, her voice weakening, tried to speak: "I'm fine... I'll be alright."

  After those words left her lips, a bright glow enveloped her body. An intense aura formed around her in a sphere before the silhouette of a body appeared beside Alice. Having the figure of the silhouette burned in her mind, which was a bottom-heavy hourglass frame, Rachel already knew who this was, and she dreaded seeing the smug pervert herself.

  The silhouette solidified and the aura dimmed, revealing Leopoldine in her full glory at Alice's side.

  Rachel shouted, "NOOOO! Not YOU again!”

  The Traveler Bros stared, seeing Leopoldine's appearance.

  Luca, eyeing the young woman, commented, "Heh? The hell's this broad?"

  Giovanni echoed his brother's sentiment, adding, "Yeah, do we needa blast your head off too?”

  Leopoldine, as arrogant as ever, raised an eyebrow. "Bold of you to presume," she responded, her voice calm and confident.

  Rachel gritted her teeth in annoyance. "Ugh, you're the last person I wanted to see," she growled.

  Leopoldine smiled, her arrogance oozing. "Oh, is someone still mad?" she retorted, her tone filled with snark.

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  Rachel, her temper fraying, shot back, "Of course I'm mad! You're a pain in the rear, and I can't stand you!”

  Leopoldine chuckled, relishing the reaction. "Oh, you're so easy to annoy," she taunted in a mocking tone. "I'm here because my dear Alice is hurt, and I'm here to eliminate the threat~"

  She gently placed her pale hand over the hole in Alice's stomach and poured her cyan aura into it, which healed up her stomach while sealing itself completely, like the injury was never there.

  Alice, feeling the effects of the aura healing, let out a sigh of relief.

  "This feeling..." she muttered, her hand moving to her abdomen. "I...don't believe it...I'm healed..."

  Rachel, her surprise still visible, couldn't help but voice her disbelief. "What? How can a healing aura be this potent?"

  Leopoldine replied coolly, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. "I'm full of surprises, sweetie."

  The Traveler Bros meanwhile all stood there with their mouths hanging open at the instant healing displayed.

  Leopoldine then met their gazes, smirk still intact. "So you're the ones endangering my Alice? I pity y'all, but I suppose using you all to keep my Void Magic skills from getting rusty will make this even more worth it.”

  The Traveler Bros exchanged a brief glance, their initial shock shifting towards wariness.

  Luca, the first to regain his demeanor, spoke with caution. "You're pretty cocky, huh? Just because you can heal that girl doesn't mean you can take us on.”

  Leopoldine smiled, her tone nonchalant. "Oh, how adorable. You're underestimating me," she taunted, her confidence unwavering.

  Giovanni recovered quickly, adding a defiant tone. "We've handled worse than some healing broad before. You ain't nothin' special."

  Leopoldine snorted at the comment with an obnoxiously haughty expression, her eyes going down to Giovanni's replica water cannon and back up to his eyes. "So you're the one who shot my Alice, I take it. You'll regret that~"

  Leopoldine used the Increase technique to display the intensity of her aura, which was powerful enough to make a big crater on the ground beneath her.

  The Traveler Bros' eyes widened, the magnitude of Leopoldine's Increase visibly surprising them.

  Luca was the first to recover, scoffing slightly. "Heh, so what if you can crack the ground? We've handled stronger attacks than that before.”

  Leopoldine scoffed, her smirk returning. "That wasn't even my strongest Increase. And just so you know, I have a few tricks up my sleeve, sweetie."

  Her aura then increased even further, the crater widening as the ground around her shook violently.

  The Traveler Bros, now visibly unnerved, exchanged uneasy glances.

  Luca, trying to hold onto his arrogance, gritted his teeth. "Damn... That's...impressive."

  Giovanni, his usual cockiness faltering, added, "Yeah... Maybe we underestimated you, a little."

  Alfonso, the leader of the brothers, spoke up at last, "But we'll still mop the floor with you, easily.”

  Leopoldine's smirk widened as she observed the growing unease among the trio.

  "Oh? The leader finally speaks, eh?" she taunted, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "And you think you have what it takes to take me down? Let's see about that."

  Leopoldine, considering Giovanni was the one who shot Alice, went after him first. Giovanni's eyes couldn't keep up with the girl's blinding speed, suddenly finding himself with her pale fist crashing into his stomach, making his eyes nearly bulge out of his head. Before he was able to recover from a blow of such a magnitude, Giovanni became stun-locked in a vicious flurry of aura-infused punches and kicks. Keeping up the pressure, Leopoldine then spun rapidly with her arms outstretched, looking like a human tornado as her hands slammed into Giovanni. He felt like he was getting hit at least fifty times per second, the blurs of white hands and boot-clad feet too much for him or even his brothers to follow.

  Giovanni, his body aching with every blow, tried to defend himself but was rendered unable to even counter her attacks.

  Leopoldine smirked, her assault continuing without mercy. "What's the matter, sweetie? Can't keep up?"

  As a finishing blow, she gave him a sharp uppercut before slamming him back with an axe kick to his back.

  With Giovanni out of the way, Alfonso had enough of seeing his younger brother getting mopped by Leopoldine and jumped in himself. However, she already had her eyes on the leader, and dashed in with a deadly combo. Too slow to react to or block any of the blows, Alfonso was helpless to Leopoldine's wrath, her smug grin all the while only adding to the humiliation.

  Giovanni, watching his brother fall so quickly, felt completely helpless against Leopoldine's onslaught.

  Alfonso's body ached after the relentless onslaught, and he struggled to muster the energy to stand, let alone fight. He felt anger and frustration building within him, but he still maintained a shred of defiance in his voice.

  "Damn you..."

  Sensing the danger, Luca and Fabio joined in to double-team Leopoldine by surprise.

  As Leopoldine engaged with Alfonso, suddenly feeling two incoming forces, her instincts kicked in. She swiftly evaded their attacks with incredible flexibility, avoiding the unexpected ambush with ease.

  "Clever move," she commented sarcastically. "But not enough to catch me off-guard."

  Luca sneered, a hint of frustration in his voice. "Damn it, how the hell did you dodge that?"

  Leopoldine grinned, relishing the challenge. "Maybe you boys just aren't fast enough, sweetie~”

  Luca and Fabio exchanged a brief glance, their frustration growing.

  Luca, his voice becoming more annoyed, retorted, "We've taken on stronger opponents before, sweetheart. You're nothing special."

  Fabio, joining the taunts, added with a cocky tone, "Yeah, you're just one broad. Don't think you can take on the three of us."

  Luca took things a step further by teleporting right behind Leopoldine, hoping to catch her off-guard. The opposite ended up being true, as Leopoldine smirked and swung her leg up the instant he appeared, her foot crashing into his groin.

  Luca crumpled to the ground, a loud groan escaping from his mouth as his face scrunched up in pain. He cupped his groin, wincing as he struggled to speak.

  "Oh, hell... That hurt..." he grunted out between clenched teeth.

  Fabio, watching Luca fall to the ground, clenched his teeth in anger. His patience finally snapping, he gritted out in anger, "You're gonna pay for that, lady!”

  Leopoldine chuckled, unfazed by his words. "Oh, is someone feeling upset? Tough luck, honey. It's all part of the game."

  Fabio's anger reached its boiling point, his eyes gleaming with determination. "Game?" he retorted, his tone dripping with anger. "This ain't a game, sweetie. You just stepped into a world of pain."

  With that, he charged towards Leopoldine, aiming a powerful kick. But Leopoldine, not to be outdone, dodged the attack with grace and grabbed him in a headlock.

  As Leopoldine easily sidestepped Fabio's attack and locked him in a headlock, he struggled against her unyielding grip.

  "Damn it... Let go of me, you crazy chick!" he growled in frustration, attempting to break free.

  Leopoldine smirked, tightening her grip slightly. "Oh, looks like someone's feeling a bit claustrophobic, hmm?"

  Despite his best efforts, Fabio found himself unable to break free from her grasp, his face growing red from the tension.

  Luca, still nursing his aching groin, watched as Leopoldine dominated Fabio with ease.

  "Damn it... This girl... She's too strong..." he grumbled, struggling to stand.

  Fabio, feeling the pressure of Leopoldine's grip around his neck, gasped out, "Gotta...break...free...somehow..."

  But Leopoldine was enjoying taunting him, relishing his helplessness. "Aww, is someone feeling...

  uncomfortable?" she taunted with a smirk. "Feeling a little...suffocated? Then let me help you with that~"

  She tightened her headlock enough to effectively scissor him, snapping his neck as he fell to the ground in a limp state after she released the headlock.

  Luca's eyes widened in shock as he witnessed the gruesome end of his brother, his face paling at the sight.

  "No... No, no, no..." he stuttered, his voice shaking. "This...can't... This can't be happening..."

  He turned his gaze back to Leopoldine, anger and grief mixing in his voice. "You... You monster! How could you do that?!”

  Leopoldine shrugged nonchalantly, a smug grin still on her face. "What's wrong, honey? Can't you see he'd still be alive if you lot didn't touch my Alice?"

  Luca's hands clenched into fists, his anger reaching its peak. "That was my brother, you cam whore-looking bitch!”

  Leopoldine laughed, her smugness unfazed by his insult. "Oh, look who's using harsh language now. Feeling a little emotional, are we?"

  Luca's hands trembled with rage, struggling to control his emotions. "Damn it, you monster! Scratch that, you look like a fucking porn star!”

  Despite the harsh words, Leopoldine chuckled, finding a twisted humor in the situation. "Is that an insult or a compliment, honey? Because many would pay top dollar to get a piece of this~”

  Luca's face flushed with embarrassment, caught off guard by her response. "T-That's not... Shut up!"

  Leopoldine chuckled again, amused by his reaction. "Aww, is someone blushing? That's adorable~"

  Luca quickly composed himself, his anger returning. "Don't you dare mock m—"

  Luca found his head flying in the air before he could finish. Leopoldine chopped it off with a swift swing of her hand, unable to even see her dashing in to land the strike, an ode to her incredible speed. The flying head landed on the forest floor with a dull thud, with Leopoldine stomping on it, easily crushing the skull under her boot like a cracker.

  The brutal display of Leopoldine's strength and speed left the remaining Traveler Bros speechless, their eyes widened in shock and horror.

  Alfonso, the leader, couldn't believe what he just witnessed. "This... this isn't possible... How can... She's too damn strong..."

  He clenched his fists, his expression a mix of anger and defeat. "This is hopeless... Fuck it, I'm going to Cain!"

  Alfonso powered up before dashing off towards the base of his boss, leaving his brother, who was still clutching his groin, behind.