Inside the hotel, Alice stood directly in Lawine's path, refusing to let her reach Kondo.
The battle had dragged on long enough for fatigue to begin catching up with Lawine. Every time she tried to push forward, Alice forced her back with another precise swing of her sword.
Without warning, Alice pointed her blade at Lawine and unleashed a razor-sharp slash.
Lawine stepped forward and deflected it with her own sword, but the instant the slash was redirected, Alice vanished.
She reappeared behind Lawine.
Slash!
A sharp cut opened across Lawine's back.
Lawine gritted her teeth and steadied herself.
Not far away, Shin and Kim watched the battle with anxious expressions. Seeing Lawine covered in wounds filled them with worry.
Kim had recovered enough to stand, but her magical energy was almost completely drained.
"If only I had some magic left..." she muttered, never taking her eyes off the battle. "I could've helped somehow."
She glanced toward the ceiling.
"I don't know why, but my magical energy keeps getting pulled upward... Has no one destroyed that Monster Purification Box yet?"
As Kim spoke, Shin quietly stretched out her hand.
"...Can you use my magical energy?"
Kim looked at her before giving a gentle smile.
"Thank you... but I don't know any magic that lets me borrow someone else's magical energy."
Shin lowered her head.
"...I wish I were stronger."
Meanwhile, Alice continued pressing the attack, leaving more shallow cuts across Lawine's body.
Her sword flashed toward Lawine's throat.
Clang!
Lawine blocked it at the last second.
A flicker of surprise crossed Alice's face.
Lawine smiled despite the blood running down her body.
"Your technique is truly impressive," she said calmly. "But it's still not enough to defeat me."
With a burst of strength, she knocked Alice backward.
Landing several meters away, Alice smiled.
"So... you've been deliberately enduring my attacks."
Lawine's expression became serious.
"No."
"I'm not taking these hits on purpose."
Alice only smiled wider.
She disappeared again.
In the blink of an eye, she reappeared in front of Lawine, her sword already descending.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their blades collided again and again.
Alice continuously increased the force behind every strike.
Yet every time she did...
Lawine answered with equal strength.
Each slash...
Each thrust...
Each clash...
Lawine pushed her back.
For the first time, frustration appeared on Alice's face.
She couldn't see a way to end this fight.
No matter how many attacks she launched, Lawine continued forcing her backward.
"...Tsk."
Clicking her tongue, Alice leaped back two steps.
Lawine frowned, unable to understand what she was planning.
Alice gripped her sword with both hands and raised it high toward the sky before swinging it downward.
"Ground Breaker!"
A massive slash tore through the floor, ripping the ground apart as it raced toward Lawine.
Lawine immediately raised her own sword overhead.
The attack closed in.
Closer...
Closer...
Just before it could reach her—
She swung her blade downward.
"Storm Breaker!"
The two attacks collided head-on.
BOOM!!
The impact exploded only a few meters in front of Lawine, swallowing everything in a cloud of smoke.
From the outside...
It looked as though Alice's attack had struck its target.
Shin instinctively grabbed Kim's arm.
Both of them froze.
The powerful wind stirred by the explosion made it impossible to see through the smoke.
Kim stared ahead with anxious eyes.
Alice lowered her sword, a satisfied smile spreading across her face, convinced the battle was over.
Then...
The smoke slowly began to clear.
Alice's smile froze.
Lawine was still standing.
"...Impossible."
Alice had seen the attack connect.
It should have hit her.
But what shocked her even more...
...was Lawine herself.
As the smoke disappeared completely, Lawine's appearance had changed.
Glowing crimson chains, resembling intricate tattoos, stretched across her forehead like a crown.
The same chains wrapped around her neck like a collar before spreading across her entire body.
Every chain converged toward the center of her chest, where a circular crest had formed.
Inside the circle was a crimson star...
And within that star...
...an eye.
Lawine's own eyes had changed as well.
They now mirrored the mysterious eye within the star on her chest, glowing with the same eerie crimson light.
Alice's face turned pale.
Her voice rose in disbelief.
"...Don't tell me..."
"...You actually did that."
A faint smile spread across Lawine's face.
"That's right," she replied. "I did."
The moment those words left her lips, every wound covering her body began to heal at a visible speed.
Shin stared at her with wide eyes.
Kim covered her mouth in disbelief.
"...No... She actually did it..."
Hearing that, Shin turned toward her.
"You know what this is?"
Kim slowly nodded.
"Yes."
"It's called Soul Driet."
"It's a ritual that temporarily doubles the user's power."
Shin's face immediately brightened.
"Then... that's a good thing, right?"
Kim gently placed a hand on Shin's shoulder before shaking her head.
"No... it isn't."
Shin's smile disappeared.
"What do you mean?"
Kim looked back at Lawine.
"As you can see... those chains covering her body won't stay forever."
"They'll slowly disappear over time."
"And as each chain fades..."
"...so will her power."
"When the last chain vanishes..."
"...all of her magic will disappear along with it."
"She'll become no different from an ordinary human."
"...Completely powerless."
Kim lowered her voice.
"And that's not the worst part."
"To perform this ritual..."
"...it first consumes eighty percent of the user's magical energy."
"The remaining twenty percent is the only power left."
"That twenty percent is what's doubled."
"And once these chains disappear..."
"...that final fragment of magical energy disappears with them."
Shin's eyes widened in horror.
"No..."
"That can't be..."
Kim narrowed her eyes as she continued watching Lawine.
"...To activate this magic, the user has to perform the Soul Substance Ritual."
"...Miss Lawine actually went through with it."
The two girls turned their attention back toward the battlefield.
The fight had become even more intense.
Alice was beginning to struggle.
Every strike she threw was now being completely overwhelmed by Lawine.
She teleported from one position to another in rapid succession...
But no matter where she appeared—
Lawine was already there.
Alice instantly blinked into the air.
Yet Lawine followed her without hesitation.
Before Alice could react, Lawine caught up, swung her sword, and brought it crashing down.
Alice barely managed to block.
Even so...
The sheer force behind the strike sent her plummeting back toward the ground.
Watching the battle from afar, King Veld calmly observed the exchange.
"I never expected Sam's wife to be strong enough to fight Alice on equal footing."
Kiora, standing beside him, nodded.
"You're absolutely right, Your Majesty."
King Veld frowned.
"...How much longer are we supposed to wait?"
"Are they still on their way?"
Kiora respectfully bowed his head.
"They should arrive at any moment, Your Majesty."
Alice crashed into the ground before slowly pushing herself back to her feet.
Above her...
Lawine slowly descended through the air.
She looked down at Alice with cold eyes.
"So..."
"You were going to lay your hands on innocent children."
"Now tell me..."
"How does it feel to be the helpless one instead?"
"It doesn't feel very good, does it?"
"...You're far weaker than you thought."
Alice's face twisted with anger.
"Enough of your nonsense!"
"What makes you think your power surpasses mine?"
"I'm Alice."
"I'm far stronger than you'll ever be."
"Now..."
"Watch carefully."
Lawine silently tightened her grip on her sword.
Alice slowly ran her hand from the guard of her blade to its tip.
"Awaken... Araki."
The sword immediately began to change.
Its appearance slowly transformed...
But before the awakening could fully complete—
Lawine had already raised her sword high above her head with both hands.
She looked at Alice with icy calmness.
"...I'm sorry."
"But this is the end."
Energy began gathering at the tip of her blade.
Droplets of pure energy flowed toward it like falling water, merging into the sword one after another until the blade shone with a brilliant light.
Lawine swung her sword downward.
"Parusā."
A colossal beam of radiant light erupted forward.
Within seconds, it swallowed Alice completely.
The devastating wave continued straight ahead, annihilating everything in its path without slowing down.
Outside the hotel...
Ishita and Yina were still locked in battle.
Suddenly, both of them sensed an overwhelming surge of magical energy racing toward them.
Without hesitation, they leaped away in opposite directions.
The massive attack tore through the space between them and continued into the distance.
Ishita stared toward the source of that overwhelming power.
There...
She saw Lawine standing with her sword lowered.
A small smile appeared on Ishita's face.
Then she turned back toward Yina...
...and charged forward with her sword raised once again.