Noel was carrying two men on his shoulders—something he didn't often do.
"Man, they're heavy," he muttered with a sigh.
Suddenly—
"Dark Erasure!"
A barrage of black magic blasts surged toward him like a tidal wave.
"Gale Shield!"
A light-green whirlwind spun around Noel, shielding him as the storm of black magic collided against it.
He let out a breath of relief. "Good thing I reacted fast... If I got hit by all that, I'd definitely be in trouble."
He could already tell—this was no random attacker. Someone was here to cause real trouble.
Lowering the two men to the ground, Noel narrowed his eyes. He wasn't a charity worker, after all—he had no obligation to protect them mid-battle.
A chuckle echoed from beneath the shifting earth.
"Apologies. Seems my people caused you trouble."
The laugh chilled Noel to his core.
"Who are you?" he asked warily, eyes fixed on the emerging figure.
"You don't need to know my name," the man replied arrogantly. "But I'll be taking those two from you."
Noel frowned. "That's not how this works. You can't just take people because you want to."
He could feel the power radiating from the man—but that didn't matter. The only way to find out who was stronger… was to fight.
"So, you're not going to cooperate?" the man said with a twisted smile.
"No chance," Noel replied coldly.
"Nocturne: Requiem."
In an instant, the enemy—Brain—appeared behind Noel, wielding a staff topped with a skeletal head.
A black beam of magic shot out from his palm.
"Gale Shield!"
The green wind barrier sprang up again—but the magical blast pierced through it effortlessly. Not enough power behind it.
Noel's body flickered and reappeared—now clad in glimmering metallic armor.
"Oh? Interesting…" Brain's eyes gleamed with curiosity. "Alchemy?"
He recognized it immediately. He'd once dabbled in alchemy during his time in the Magic Development Bureau—but never made any real breakthroughs. Today was eye-opening.
"Transmute: Steel and Lead—8mm Bullets."
Dozens of bullets formed midair, suspended around Noel.
"Fire."
With a command, they rained forward in a barrage of precision fire.
Brain gave a bone-chilling grin.
"Not bad. But—Dark Gravity."
A black gravitational field shimmered around him.
The bullets bent off course, ricocheting harmlessly back.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The rounds clattered uselessly against Noel's armor before falling to the ground.
"He can deflect bullets…" Noel analyzed rapidly. Dark Magic and gravity control—this could be a problem.
"Transmute: Piercing Talon."
Noel's right arm lit up as his armor transformed into a massive metal claw. Razor-sharp, it sliced the air with a high-pitched whine, launching a series of pressure-slashing wind attacks at Brain.
"Nocturne Guard."
Brain spun his skeletal staff. A dense, black energy field formed in front of him—but the air slashes tore right through it, blasting the shield apart.
Noel closed the distance instantly.
Brain dodged at the last second, skidding back.
"Nocturne: Fantasia."
The skull atop Brain's staff burned with black fire. A searing beam of flame-laced magic shot toward Noel.
"Transmute: Glide Wing!"
Noel's mechanical arm shifted again, this time forming sleek wings. He launched skyward, dodging the worst of it—but not fast enough.
The black flames grazed his calf, leaving a blistered, purple-red burn.
"Oof…" he winced.
"You're hurt now," Brain grinned. "Oh, and by the way—those black flames? Corrosive. You'll want to deal with that soon."
Noel clenched his teeth.
Is this guy mocking me?
"Transmute: Micro Missiles—Launch!"
A dozen mini-rockets formed and fired from around him, homing in on Brain.
"Pointless."
"Dark Gravity."
The same field reappeared, attempting to repel the missiles.
But—
Instead of bouncing off, the missiles curved around the field and swerved back toward Brain.
"Wha—?"
He raised a quick shield, but it was too late.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rocked the area. Brain's robes were left in tatters—though his skeletal staff remained intact.
As the smoke cleared… Brain stood unharmed.
What the hell? Noel stared, stunned. Those were direct hits… How is he not even scratched?
"You're impressive," Brain said at last. "You've got potential. How about joining us? I'll teach you magic far beyond your imagination."
"I refuse," Noel said flatly.
Brain blinked. "Why? My offer is more than generous. Most mages would jump at the chance."
Noel smirked. "One of my favorite things to do is saying 'no' to guys who think they're all-powerful."
Brain chuckled darkly.
"Hah… You're quite the character. I like that. In fact, you've piqued my interest even more."
"Well, I don't want someone like you interested in me," Noel replied with disgust.
"Your alchemy… It's fascinating. I look forward to our next meeting. Oh, and I've prepared a little gift for you."
Brain gave a devilish smile.
"And by the way… I'll be taking these two with me."
In a blink, he vanished—carrying Erigor and Kageyama with him.
"You're not getting away!" Noel moved to pursue—
"Autonomous Collapse Magic Array: Activate."
Suddenly, the ground beneath Noel fractured. His metal wings began to disintegrate.
Flames exploded around him. The blasts slammed into his body, hurling him into the wreckage.
He tried to rise—but the burn on his leg was too severe. He collapsed again.
Through the smoke and flame, a voice echoed—
"Mmm… fire sure is tasty."
A familiar figure stepped forward.
The flames vanished, swallowed whole.
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