Alise and Revis locked eyes as the former swung her sword down, the blade wrapped in flames, and drove it straight into Revis' chest.
At the last moment, Revis' other arm regenerated and she crossed both arms to guard.
Even so, the impact sent her crashing into the ground, a cloud of dust exploding outward around her,
When the smoke cleared, Revis rose slowly from the crater her body had carved into the floor, dust falling from her shoulders.
"Fuck... I hate all of you."
She stood up with visible difficulty.
'I just barely kept my magic stone from taking that hit.'
She took a step back... then another... until her back pressed against the massive pillar at the center of the pantry.
"Revis, it's over. Surrender yourself now!"
Alise called out, pointing her sword at her.
"Hah? Surrender? You really think you've won?"
Seeing that she was completely surrounded, Revis calmly placed her palm against the pillar behind her.
"This pillar... is the core of the pantry."
"Quick question... do you know what happens if I destroy it?"
"...!"
'She wouldn't...'
Asfi's eyes went wide.
Nobody needed to answer.
They all already knew.
'She's going to bring the entire pantry down on top of us!'
Everyone immediately rushed toward her.
But it was already too late.
With left no choice and backed into a corner, Revis pulled back her fist...
And smashed the pillar.
With her strength behind it, cracks spread through the entire structure within seconds before it shattered into thousands of pieces.
The pantry shook violently.
Everyone looked up to find the ceiling splitting apart... enormous chunks of rock beginning to rain down.
"Kyaa!"
"Everyone, run!"
"Leave anything that's slowing you down behind. Getting out alive is the only priority right now."
With the pantry collapsing around them, Asfi immediately directed her familia toward the exit as the downpour of debris intensified.
Judas reacted at once, summoning gentle winds to carry those who couldn't move fast enough toward the exit.
Asfi caught this and gave him a quick nod of thanks.
"Lefiya, Filvis, go!"
Lefiya cast one last glance back before Filvis seized her by the wrist and broke into a run.
Amidst the chaos, Revis seized the opportunity.
She turned and ran straight toward the sinkhole Judas had created... using it as her escape route.
'Just you wait... I'll come back stronger. And when I do, I'll have my revenge.'
She vowed silently as she ran.
Her objective of killing Judas had failed.
She would have settled for taking down at least one first-class adventurer... but that too had slipped through her fingers.
'It doesn't matter. The jewel fetus has already been secured. The original objective was fulfilled. I just need to get out.'
Then she felt heat flickering at her back.
When she glanced back, she saw them.
Alise.
Kaguya.
Bete.
Chasing her down without hesitation.
'These bastards seriously won't quit.'
Under normal circumstances, she would have been able to outrun them.
But with the injuries she had sustained...
Maintaining her full strength was no longer possible.
To her right, the far-eastern swordswoman.
To her left, the red-haired captain of the Astraea Familia.
And closing in hard from behind... the silver werewolf, twin swords raised.
In the same instant, Alise and Kaguya surged forward and brought their blades down in unison.
Revis tensed her legs and launched herself upward, the slashes carving through nothing but air beneath her.
She caught a falling chunk of rock and landed her feet on it without breaking her momentum... something only possible with her supernatural agility.
The pantry was coming apart around them, the ceiling giving way in massive chunks.
Revis used it to her advantage, vaulting from one falling rock to the next, using them as footholds.
"Come here!"
But Bete had already anticipated her movement.
He launched himself upward and drove an overhead kick straight down toward the top of her skull.
Revis twisted mid-air and crossed her arms to block.
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the air as the kick connected.
Even with her guard up, the force drove her straight back down... and she hit the ground hard, a crater forming beneath her feet on impact.
But Revis was already moving before the dust had even begun to rise.
She shot forward the moment her feet touched the ground.
Alise, Kaguya and Bete moved to give chase... but then...
"Watch out!"
A massive boulder dropped directly in their path, cutting them off and giving Revis just enough distance to pull ahead.
She didn't hesitate.
Diving straight into the sinkhole, she committed to her escape.
"Damn it! She's getting away!"
Kaguya shouted.
Then a blur tore past all of them, close enough to send their hair whipping sideways.
"Judas?"
Alise exclaimed.
Judas hovered in front of the sinkhole, supported by his flying magic, and looked down.
Revis, who believed she had escaped, suddenly felt a chill crawl up her spine.
She twisted mid-air.
Their eyes met.
Her pupils shrank.
She saw him raise a single finger...
Pointing directly at her.
『Laser』
A concentrated beam of light fired downward.
Falling freely with nothing to push off of, there was no way to dodge it.
The beam struck her magic stone dead center, shattering it completely.
'Ah... the noise...'
'It's gone.'
When Revis heard her own magic stone break, she didn't curse her fate.
She simply closed her eyes and exhaled slowly.
'It's so quiet.'
Her life played out behind her eyes.
In this incarnation, there wasn't a single memory worth holding onto.
Everything she could recall amounted to the same thing... being used as a tool for someone else's schemes.
Perhaps the link between her and the Corrupted Spirit that had kept her bound had finally been severed in this moment...
'What a pathetic life.'
She had lived only as a tool.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.
Completing missions.
Killing whoever needed to be killed.
'So this is how it ends.'
The last thing she saw was a pair of purple eyes looking down at her from above as her body quietly crumbled into ash.
Just like that, two powerful executives from Evilus... Olivas and Revis... had met their end.
---
+15 chapters at patreon.com/drdedot
