All around them, people who had cheered seconds ago were now stepping back, looking at Nnenna with new, nervous respect. Some bowed slightly. Others began whispering.
"Could it really be her?"
"I saw her in the papers once…"
"I thought she never left Lionara?"
Back behind her, Abuchi remained calm, though his eyes glimmered with growing pride. He hadn't doubted her for a second. But now, even he was impressed, she had fought without her hands.
Karen and John, meanwhile, were frozen in a weird mix of awe and regret.
John whispered, "We might've been… underestimating her."
Karen gulped. "By a whole continent."
Ekene, though still tense, couldn't look away. "So this… is who she is?"
The leader finally stepped forward again, now visibly paler.
"I… I didn't know. I didn't mean to offend…"
He gestured weakly, trying to recover his dignity. "If I had known your identity, we would have never"
