When Ais was swallowed by that blinding explosion of light, a collective silence fell over the Loki Familia.
For a brief moment, none of them could move.
The dust, the shockwaves, and the fading echoes of destruction left them astonished.
An absurd thought crept into their minds... one that none dared to say aloud.
"Did Ais... just lose?"
Lefiya's voice finally broke the silence, her words trembling with disbelief.
Who was the Sword Princess?
Before Judas Spade ever appeared, she was the record holder, the first-class adventurer whose name alone inspired awe.
Ais Wallenstein, the Sword Princess.
The greatest swordswoman in the city.
The one Lefiya had admired, followed, and idolized ever since she joined the Loki Familia.
Even if Judas' display of magic had far exceeded her expectations, the idea of Ais actually losing... had never once crossed her mind.
Because she was Ais.
Because she was the Sword Princess.
A figure who, in Lefiya's eyes, was simply infallible
"Not yet."
A calm but firm voice came from behind.
Lefiya turned to see Tione, her expression steady and confident despite the chaos around them.
Unlike the lower-ranked members, the senior executives knew Ais' true capabilities better than anyone.
They'd fought beside her countless times, witnessed the depth of her resolve.
To them, this fight was far from over.
And then—
"Tempest."
A single, resonant word cut through the roar of flames and static.
A feminine voice... steady, unyielding... reached everyone's ears.
For the Loki Familia, that single word was enough.
It was a chant they knew all too well.
The same one-word invocation that had torn through hordes of monsters in the deepest floors of the Dungeon.
The same chant that had saved their lives more times than they could count.
That was when they all knew...
Ais Wallenstein was finally taking this seriously.
"Although we've mostly seen her use that magic on monsters..."
"I had a feeling this was going to be different."
Tione muttered, a grin tugging at her lips.
Ariel.
Ais' wind-element enchantment magic.
In addition to serving as a powerful offensive weapon that enhanced her physical abilities, it also functioned as an efficient armor... completely encasing her body and weapon in a veil of wind.
A magic that acted as both offense and defense.
It was the only spell she possessed, yet its potency was off the charts.
That single magic alone was enough for her to be recognized as one of Orario's strongest first-class adventurers.
But despite wielding such immense power, Ais usually refrained from using it against non-monster opponents.
There was a reason she hadn't invoked Ariel until now.
She feared she might accidentally kill her opponent.
Her magic was simply that powerful.
But somehow, she had a feeling that if her opponent was Judas... it would be fine.
She couldn't explain why... it was just what her intuition told her.
Which is why—
"Judas, be careful."
The same words he had spoken earlier, Ais now returned... not as mockery or insult, but as a genuine warning.
No one said another word.
The air was thick with anticipation... excitement and fear blending into a single, electric tension.
Every gaze turned back to the battlefield, where the dust began to clear.
What would happen next?
Would their extraordinarily gifted rookie, Judas Spade, withstand the storm that was Ais' Ariel?
Or will the power of the Sword Princess will prove to be too much for him to handle?
...
A faint hum began to vibrate through the ground.
Dust and debris were lifted into the air, swirling around Ais as if drawn to her.
Then—
Whoosh!
The wind exploded outward.
A cyclone burst from her body, tearing through the battlefield and scattering the remaining smoke and magic residue from Judas' earlier barrage.
The moment Ariel activated, the air itself became her weapon.
The pressure of her magic power compressed the atmosphere into razor-thin blades of wind that shimmered around her like dancing spirits.
Judas instinctively raised his guard, his clothes fluttering wildly under the force of the gale.
'Well, I got what I wanted, but this is more intense than I expected.'
He thought, narrowing his eyes.
The flow of energy surrounding Ais was overwhelming... dense, refined, and suffocating.
It wasn't just her body that was reinforced. Every particle of air in her vicinity obeyed her will.
Ais vanished.
One moment she was standing there, and the next, she was already upon him.
Clang!
The scabbard of her sword came crashing down like a meteor, and Judas barely caught the strike with a magic barrier.
The impact sent shockwaves across the field, throwing up dirt and stone in all directions.
He slid backward, boots grinding against the cracked earth.
Ais didn't stop. She darted forward again, her movements a blur... faster, sharper, deadlier than before.
Each swing of her blade carried the cutting edge of the wind itself.
Judas ducked under a horizontal slash and countered with an open palm strike aimed at her ribs, but the moment his hand connected—
Shhk!
A barrier of compressed wind erupted, deflecting his attack entirely.
"Fuck! That hurt!"
Blood splattered everywhere as cuts and bruises appeared all over his arm.
He leaped backward to create distance, snapping his fingers as dozens of attack spells fired all at once.
However, Ais was completely unfazed.
She charged forward without hesitation, explosions rippling through the air in her wake.
Judas didn't celebrate... because a second later, Ais' figure emerged from the smoke, green wind swirling around her body, shielding her from his attacks.
A defense so strong, he couldn't pierce through it.
Before he could even react, Ais thrust forward with her scabbard, striking him directly in the midsection.
"Arkgh!"
She followed up with a relentless barrage of slashes aimed at every inch of his body.
It didn't matter how hard he defended himself... for every five strikes he blocked, there were ten more he couldn't react to.
Strong. Fast. Overwhelming.
Judas gritted his teeth as he noticed blood dripping from his arm, pain detonating across his body.
Ais was moving so fast that even his enhanced perception struggled to keep up.
'Level 6.'
Right now, Ais was still officially a Level 5... but the moment she activated her wind, it felt as though he was facing a Level 6.
An enchantment magic even stronger than Alise's Agaris Alvesynth.
'So what?'
Despite being cornered, Judas merely grinned.
"I think it's about time to turn the tables."
The moment Ais unleashed her wind, something inside him began to stir... a resonance deep within his soul.
At first, he couldn't grasp it properly, but now... he could hear it.
Faint, but undeniable.
The voices of the wind... whispering.
Ais Wallenstein... the child of the Great Spirit, Aria.
"Forgive me."
He said softly, extending his hand toward the raging storm.
"But I'll be borrowing your wind for a while."
It was time for the wind to obey its king.
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