Luluvi raised her bow horizontally to block!
BOOM!
Reiâs knee smashed violently against the longbow!
A torrent of surging mana flowed through the bowâ
BOOM!
The impact slammed straight into Luluviâs jaw.
Her head snapped backward!
Her physical toughness was actually quite high.
Probably because an archer is half a martial class as well...
ăPoint-Blank Shotă
Luluvi twisted her bow.
An arrow detonated right in front of Reiâs face!
Multiple layers of shields surrounded Kanzaki Reiâs body.
The magic in his handâalong with even the "Source" itselfâhad already begun flowing directly into Luluviâs body!
SWISH!
And suddenlyâ
The scenery changed again!
The magic Rei had been about to force into Luluviâs bodyâ
was shaken off once more!
A power that could escape all magic?
No...
More preciselyâ
It escaped all non-physical attacks.
Rei had intended to pour Source energy into Luluviâs body and make it explode internally.
Yet even when the energy flowed through the hand gripping her ankleâ
The moment the Source touched her skinâ
She instantly slipped free of it.
How bizarre.
What kind of ability is this? Even at point-blank range nothing sticks to her?
Nothing could cling to her.
Everything slid off her.
What kind of skill was this supposed to be?
BOOM!
Reiâs magic surged again and againâ
And Luluvi began flashing repeatedly through space.
The two fought in extremely close quarters.
Rei clung tightly to Luluvi with one hand, refusing to release her, as though their bodies had become fused together.
ăSource · Elemental VoidăăSource · Void Devouring Returnă
Two Origin-level spells spiraled around Reiâs body.
The world instantly lost all color.
The battlefield turned black and white.
BOOM!
But Luluviâs escape speed was astonishing.
Just before Reiâs magic detonated on herâ
She would jump to the next position.
In midairâ
Explosions of terrifying power burst one after another!
Within seconds, Rei and Luluvi had crossed unknown distances across the battlefield.
It didnât feel like Luluvi was triggering the ability manually.
Ratherâ
It seemed passive.
Once certain conditions were met, she would automatically slip away.
This escape ability...
...was truly fascinating.
If I could obtain it, it would be incredibly useful.
"Let go!"
Luluvi shouted sharply during the clash.
Rei smiled faintly.
"What are you saying, Sister Luluvi? I finally managed to catch youâhow could I possibly let go so easily?"
ăMana-Tempering Combat Flow â Second Form: Demon-Cleaving Mountain Sweep Kickă
BOOMâ
A sweeping kick!
BOOM!
At point-blank range Luluvi fired another explosive shot, the arrow detonating against her bow.
The blast partially neutralized Reiâs kick.
Drifting Arrows!
Arrows swirled around Luluviâs bodyâ
Both reducing damage to her and bombarding Rei simultaneously.
Tch...
Holding her with only one hand was inconvenient.
Wait...
A hand?
A thought flashed through Reiâs mind.
Four invisible hands formed instantly from condensed mana.
RightâMage Hand.
He rarely used this spell in battle because it normally lacked sufficient control.
But what ifâ
He used Mage Hands to perform martial techniques?
ăMana-Tempering Combat Flow â Fifth Form: Extreme Rapid Strikesă
Mana surged through Reiâs body.
His one free handâ
Together with four Mage Handsâ
Launched a continuous barrage of punches!
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Punches filled with mana blasted into Luluviâs body.
Her physique was surprisingly soft yet resilient.
His fists did not pierce through her body.
At the same time, many of the drifting arrows surrounding her intercepted and canceled parts of the barrage.
Her robesâ
They were clearly high-grade defensive equipment.
Luluviâs body was already covered in injuries.
Blood stained her clothing in numerous places.
ăMind SeverăăMind SeverăăMind Severă
While attacking, Rei repeatedly unleashed mental magic.
He had discovered something crucialâ
Luluvi could not escape mental attacks.
She could only endure them directly.
Her mind was struck again and again.
At the same time she had to resist Reiâs relentless close-quarters assault.
Luluvi simply couldnât understand it.
Why was this mage so powerful in melee combat?
She was confident that her own close-combat ability was not inferior to most Level-4 warriors.
Even if a Level-4 Ultimate Warrior engaged her at close range, they might not gain any advantage!
ăPoint-Blank ShotăăDrifting ArrowsăăClose-Range Scatter BurstăăFrenzied BarrageăăSpinning Kick Assaultă
Does this archer not need to draw her bow to fire arrows?
She was smashing the bow directly!
Every strike detonated arrows with terrifying destructive powerâlike a shotgun exploding at point-blank range.
If Reiâs physical toughness hadnât been so highâ
His body would probably have been riddled with holes by now.
Even while being pressed so tightly in close combatâ
Luluvi still maintained such intense resistance.
Luluvi... you really are impressive.
An archer who could fight in melee.
A mage who could fight in melee.
The spectators watching the battle were utterly stunned.
Werenât these supposed to be two ranged classes?
Then why were they brawling face-to-face?
Rei spoke while attacking.
"That ability of yoursârunning all over the placeâwhat exactly is it?"
"Some kind of inherited technique?"
Luluvi sneered.
"Heh... I should be asking you the same thing."
"Why does an Origin Mage possess Martial Combat Insight?"
Now that they were fighting at close range, Luluvi could finally feel the intense battle aura emanating from Rei.
Combat Insightâ
That was something belonging to warriors.
So he had been hiding it the entire time.
Both of them felt the same thing.
The otherâs abilities were absurdly mysterious.
Ridiculously overpowered.
Completely abnormal.
This canât continue...
I have to end this faster. / I must escape him immediately!
Rei condensed the souls within his bodyâ
And sacrificed them.
ăMana-Tempering Combat Flow â Fifth Form: Extreme Rapid Strikes (Sacrifice: 50,000 Souls)ă
HUMâ
Reiâs fists began to glow.
The four Mage Hands emerging from his body glowed faintly as well.
Extreme Rapid Strikes!
DADADADADADADAâ!!
Thousands of punches carrying immense mana exploded against Luluviâs body at point-blank range.
The more he fought, the more certain Rei became of one thing.
Luluvi kept teleporting away because his magic struck her body.
If he simply used pure physical attacks insteadâ
Or magic that dealt direct damage without trying to cling to herâ
She would not shift away.
But...
That was only a theory.
Until it was provenâ
Rei would never release his grip.
If he lost this chance and she escaped again...
Catching her a second time would be nearly impossible.
The spatial-swap Origin Magic he had used earlier was essentially a trap setup.
If the enemy refused to approachâ
If they refused to fall into the trapâ
He would never have been able to switch places with her.
BOOM!
Luluviâs robe shimmered with multiple colors.
Her defenses had grown stronger.
But it still wasnât enough.
The arrow barrier surrounding her shattered instantly.
Thousands of punches slammed into her body.
Her bones cracked one after another.
Her internal organs were already severely damaged.
If not for her robe dispersing most of the damageâ
She would have died already.
Luluvi felt Reiâs grip on her leg tighten even further.
No matter what happenedâ
He refused to release her.
SWOOSH!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOMâ
Centered around Luluvi, countless beams of light exploded in every direction!
Rei swung Luluvi through the airâ
And all of Luluviâs arrows concentrated on Reiâs gripping arm.
Yet that arm was terrifyingly tough.
Is this really the body of a mage?!
After breaking through the multiple shield layers covering his skinâ
The arrows slammed directly into his arm.
Yet they still couldnât break it.
They inflicted injuries, yes.
But the wounds were rapidly regenerating.
Rei sacrificed souls to strengthen his shields.
At the same time, he swallowed several pills hidden in his mouth.
Recovery pills rapidly healed his injuries.
Strength-enhancement pills.
Body-hardening pills.
At such close distanceâ
Luluvi simply couldnât unleash the powerful charged bow techniques that required preparation.
And weaker arrows fired individuallyâ
Were easily neutralized by Reiâs layers of shields.
"Luluvi!"
"Youâve lost!"
Just as Luluvi attempted to struggle againâ
Rei suddenly grabbed her right arm as well!
Now he locked her body completely.
No...
Luluvi suddenly realized something.
Even if she managed to break the arm that was holding her legâ
It would be meaningless.
Because at this distanceâ
Rei could instantly grab her with his other hand.
So breaking his arm had never been the real solution.
Her only true optionâ
Was to kill Rei.
But by the time she realized thatâ
It was already too late.
Reiâs four Mage Hands drew back simultaneously.
Mana and sacrificed souls merged into one overwhelming force.
ăMana-Tempering Combat Flow â Seventh Form: Stored Mana Combined Executionă