Luluvi raised her bow horizontally to block!
BOOM!
Rei's knee smashed violently against the longbow!
A torrent of surging mana flowed through the bow—
BOOM!
The impact slammed straight into Luluvi's jaw.
Her head snapped backward!
Her physical toughness was actually quite high.
Probably because an archer is half a martial class as well…
「Point-Blank Shot」
Luluvi twisted her bow.
An arrow detonated right in front of Rei's face!
Multiple layers of shields surrounded Kanzaki Rei's body.
The magic in his hand—along with even the "Source" itself—had already begun flowing directly into Luluvi's body!
SWISH!
And suddenly—
The scenery changed again!
The magic Rei had been about to force into Luluvi's body—
was shaken off once more!
A power that could escape all magic?
No…
More precisely—
It escaped all non-physical attacks.
Rei had intended to pour Source energy into Luluvi's body and make it explode internally.
Yet even when the energy flowed through the hand gripping her ankle—
The moment the Source touched her skin—
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!
Rei's magic surged again and again—
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.
「Source · Elemental Void」「Source · Void Devouring Return」
Two Origin-level spells spiraled around Rei's body.
The world instantly lost all color.
The battlefield turned black and white.
BOOM!
But Luluvi's escape speed was astonishing.
Just before Rei's magic detonated on her—
She would jump to the next position.
In midair—
Explosions of terrifying power burst one after another!
Within seconds, Rei and Luluvi had crossed unknown distances across the battlefield.
It didn't feel like Luluvi was triggering the ability manually.
Rather—
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 you—how could I possibly let go so easily?"
「Mana-Tempering Combat Flow — Second Form: Demon-Cleaving Mountain Sweep Kick」
BOOM—
A sweeping kick!
BOOM!
At point-blank range Luluvi fired another explosive shot, the arrow detonating against her bow.
The blast partially neutralized Rei's kick.
Drifting Arrows!
Arrows swirled around Luluvi's body—
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 Rei's mind.
Four invisible hands formed instantly from condensed mana.
Right—Mage Hand.
He rarely used this spell in battle because it normally lacked sufficient control.
But what if—
He used Mage Hands to perform martial techniques?
「Mana-Tempering Combat Flow — Fifth Form: Extreme Rapid Strikes」
Mana surged through Rei's body.
His one free hand—
Together with four Mage Hands—
Launched a continuous barrage of punches!
BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM!
Punches filled with mana blasted into Luluvi's 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 robes—
They were clearly high-grade defensive equipment.
Luluvi's body was already covered in injuries.
Blood stained her clothing in numerous places.
「Mind Sever」「Mind Sever」「Mind Sever」
While attacking, Rei repeatedly unleashed mental magic.
He had discovered something crucial—
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 Rei's relentless close-quarters assault.
Luluvi simply couldn't 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!
「Point-Blank Shot」「Drifting Arrows」「Close-Range Scatter Burst」「Frenzied Barrage」「Spinning Kick Assault」
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 power—like a shotgun exploding at point-blank range.
If Rei's physical toughness hadn't been so high—
His body would probably have been riddled with holes by now.
Even while being pressed so tightly in close combat—
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.
Weren't these supposed to be two ranged classes?
Then why were they brawling face-to-face?
Rei spoke while attacking.
"That ability of yours—running all over the place—what 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 Insight—
That was something belonging to warriors.
So he had been hiding it the entire time.
Both of them felt the same thing.
The other's abilities were absurdly mysterious.
Ridiculously overpowered.
Completely abnormal.
This can't continue…
I have to end this faster. / I must escape him immediately!
Rei condensed the souls within his body—
And sacrificed them.
「Mana-Tempering Combat Flow — Fifth Form: Extreme Rapid Strikes (Sacrifice: 50,000 Souls)」
HUM—
Rei's fists began to glow.
The four Mage Hands emerging from his body glowed faintly as well.
Extreme Rapid Strikes!
DADADADADADADA—!!
Thousands of punches carrying immense mana exploded against Luluvi's 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 instead—
Or magic that dealt direct damage without trying to cling to her—
She would not shift away.
But…
That was only a theory.
Until it was proven—
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 approach—
If they refused to fall into the trap—
He would never have been able to switch places with her.
BOOM!
Luluvi's robe shimmered with multiple colors.
Her defenses had grown stronger.
But it still wasn't 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 damage—
She would have died already.
Luluvi felt Rei's grip on her leg tighten even further.
No matter what happened—
He refused to release her.
SWOOSH!
BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—
Centered around Luluvi, countless beams of light exploded in every direction!
Rei swung Luluvi through the air—
And all of Luluvi's arrows concentrated on Rei's 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 skin—
The arrows slammed directly into his arm.
Yet they still couldn't 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 distance—
Luluvi simply couldn't unleash the powerful charged bow techniques that required preparation.
And weaker arrows fired individually—
Were easily neutralized by Rei's layers of shields.
"Luluvi!"
"You've lost!"
Just as Luluvi attempted to struggle again—
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 leg—
It would be meaningless.
Because at this distance—
Rei could instantly grab her with his other hand.
So breaking his arm had never been the real solution.
Her only true option—
Was to kill Rei.
But by the time she realized that—
It was already too late.
Rei's four Mage Hands drew back simultaneously.
Mana and sacrificed souls merged into one overwhelming force.
「Mana-Tempering Combat Flow — Seventh Form: Stored Mana Combined Execution」