Revis' figure blurred as she sprinted at full speed, boots tearing across the ground as a massive wall of ice surged toward her.
She threw herself forward at the last second, shoulder hitting the ground as she rolled hard across broken stone.
The icy tide thundered past behind her, shards exploding outward as it crashed into the terrain.
"Fuck!"
The curse tore from her throat as she twisted around... and froze.
Ice had already crept up her legs, locking around her calves and knees.
She barely had time to react.
Judas' assault didn't stop there.
Another magic circle flared into existence, its light sharp and focused as he extended his hand in her direction.
『Light Cannon』
A beam of condensed light tore through the air, scorching a straight line through the battlefield.
"This motherfucker won't stop..."
Revis snarled through clenched teeth as she forced her body to move, dragging frozen legs across the ground in a desperate attempt to evade.
She twisted, throwing her weight sideways... but she was a beat too slow.
Her left arm vanished in a flash of light, disintegrated completely as she rolled away from the blast.
What remained was just empty space where her limb had been moments ago.
Revis glanced at it briefly.
She wasn't worried.
As a creature transformed by the Corrupted Spirit, her body possessed monstrous regenerative abilities.
Flesh bubbled and reformed, bone knitting together with wet, unnatural sounds as a new arm tore itself back into existence.
At the same time, the ice binding her legs cracked and shattered, her regeneration burning away the frost until her mobility was fully restored.
Just like that, the damage was repaired... but that didn't make Revis' situation any less dire.
She had already acknowledged that Judas was an opponent she could not afford to take lightly.
'Fighting a mage that doesn't need to chant... especially at this distance...'
She flexed her newly formed fingers, eyes narrowing as she locked onto Judas.
'...is a nightmare.'
There was only one answer.
'I have to close the distance somehow.'
Even from this far away, Judas caught the shift in her expression.
He knew exactly what she was thinking.
"Not a chance."
His voice carried calmly across the ruined battlefield.
When he had fought off the Violas earlier, part of his focus had never left the battle between Revis and Ais.
He had been watching closely... observing, measuring, analyzing.
'Taming abilities capable of controlling plant monsters... extreme regeneration... and high-level swordsmanship.'
'But no magic.'
'No long-range attack options.'
That understanding had shaped everything that followed.
Sending her flying with the first blow hadn't been coincidence... it had been deliberate.
By forcing distance between them, Judas had seized control of the battle.
As a mage, long-range combat was his domain.
And Revis had no way to fight back in a battle like this.
Especially when every attempt to advance was met with overwhelming, relentless firepower.
'Even if she has magic... it wouldn't even matter.'
Judas' eyes remained calm as magic circles continued to manifest around him in rapid succession.
'My spellcasting speed is far superior than anyone in Danmachi. In a complete magical battle... where we rely solely on spells... I don't think I'd lose to anyone.'
The thought came with no arrogance, only certainty born from experience.
Then another possibility crossed his mind.
'What if the opponent runs away?'
He dismissed it almost immediately.
'She won't.'
'I don't know the full details, but it's clear she's after Ais... and the object inside that beastkin girl's bag.'
'She won't back down unless she manages to secure at least one of those objectives.'
In battle, sometimes victory wasn't decided by raw power alone.
The ability to read your opponent... to understand their motives, limits, and mindset... could be just as important.
'Right now... she's probably trying to stall.'
'Waiting for me to run out of mind. Hoping I exhaust myself before she charges in.'
He had experienced it far too many times... battles where his mind depleted faster than expected.
It wasn't that his pool of magic power was lacking.
It was simply that his spells were too strong, each one demanding an enormous amount of mind.
Even so, Judas showed no restraint.
Elemental spell after elemental spell tore across the area, detonating, freezing, cutting, crushing... each one aimed with ruthless precision.
Revis was forced into constant motion, sprinting, leaping, rolling... never allowed a moment to breathe.
Out of all the enemies she had faced so far, Revis would probably rank Judas as the most annoying.
Wind, earth, ice, lightning, water, fire, light... every element imaginable was hurled at her.
And every time she tried to close the distance, the rate at which Judas cast his spells increased, forcing her back yet again.
In the midst of the chaos, Revis' gaze happened to land on the beastkin girl hiding behind a boulder, clutching a bag tightly to her chest.
"So that's where you're hiding..."
Lulune felt it instantly.
A chill crawled up her spine, her ears flattening as if an icy hand had brushed against the back of her neck.
"I'm not here... you can't see me."
Her body jolted as she pressed herself further behind the boulder, like a frightened mouse trying to disappear.
Revis' attention was abruptly torn away when a flying blade of wind nearly decapitated her.
She twisted her body at the last second, the attack barely grazing her skin.
"How many spells is this bastard going to cast?!"
She barely had time to steady her footing before the next wave of magic came crashing down.
The ground beneath her suddenly collapsed.
『Sinkhole』
Revis reacted on instinct. She leapt just as the earth split apart beneath her feet.
She barely had time to land before the world flashed white.
『Lightning Rain』
Bolts of lightning descended from above, spearing into the battlefield with surgical precision.
One struck barely a meter away, the impact blasting a crater open.
Electricity crawled across her skin, muscles spasming as her regeneration tried to keep up.
Despite the pain, she continued to push forward.
『Frost Bloom』
Ice erupted from the ground in jagged spires, blooming outward like a frozen forest.
"So you're not even letting me breathe even just a little..."
Revis growled, sweat dripping down her face.
The moment her danger sense screamed, she moved... an ice spike tore through the spot where she had been standing a heartbeat earlier.
With speed worthy of a first-class adventurer, her figure blurred, dodging and evading every incoming attack.
But even she couldn't escape unscathed.
Several spikes punched straight through her side and stomach, impaling her mid-motion, tearing a hole clean through her body.
"This is really annoying..."
Breaking free, Revis dropped to one knee and glanced down at the gaping wound in her abdomen as it slowly regenerated.
"But... you're about to run out of steam, aren't you?"
A grin spread across her face as she saw Judas breathing heavily, sweat pouring down from his brow.
It was then that Revis caught sight of him reaching into his bag, uncorking a potion, and drinking it without hesitation.
'Now's the chance.'
Before anyone could react, Revis moved.
The ground beneath her feet shattered as she kicked off, her figure vanishing in a blur... far faster than before.
She could feel it.
The magical pressure Judas had been emitting had weakened.
He was clearly on the brink of mind zero.
'You shouldn't have blown all your load, you little shit...'
It took less than a second for Revis to appear right in front of him.
She raised her broken blade and aimed straight for his neck.
"Die!"
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