Surprise would be an advantage for either of them, but those few seconds of good standing a minor physical attack have gained her are easily lost.

She cannot lose her composure. It had been a mistake the one time she had, in grave desperation. Even in the face of wretched odds, she will treat this battle the same as she started it.

Oriko blasts magic in response to his lightning, and where the powers meet it kicks back tense and sharp and explosive. He knows as well as she does that a direct assault will overpower her - why toy with her?

Misery, probably. Despair.

But should she alter the outcome even a little, would it be enough to keep her from despairing?

She looks to the wall flanking her left side and fires her magic again, this time as an offensive.