Noah didn't have to wait long before being led into the VIP reception room on the second floor of the Oval Building.
The moment he entered, two receptionists dressed in revealing maid uniforms rushed to his sides, all smiles and charm.
Joel, director of the Black Bird Consortium, watched the young man being flattered by women and smirked. Different people needed different approaches. For a vigorous young heir, a beautiful woman was the best bait.
"Welcome, Mr. Nexus," Joel said politely. "I'm Joel, director of Black Bird."
"Nexus" was, of course, Noah's alias. Since he was here under disguise, using his real name would be idiotic. His supposed ten-million-jewel investment was also fake, though the two-million-jewel deposit in his case had been prepared by President Reina specifically for the infiltration.
Dropping onto the leather sofa, Noah put on the demeanor of a spoiled noble brat: arrogant, impatient, feet kicked up rudely on the table.
"Your consortium is arrogant, indeed! I came here to hand you money, yet you kept me waiting ten minutes!"
Joel suppressed his irritation behind a smile. *Can't even wait ten minutes? Truly a pampered fool. You'll regret this soon enough.*
Still, he lowered himself and cooed comfortingly, "Mr. Nexus, please tell me—what kind of investment are you looking for? Black Bird's operations cover many industries."
Noah waved lazily. "I'll follow Heartfilia's lead. Let's see if my family blames me when I lose their money."
Joel's eyes gleamed. He had this young fool pegged: some rich kid too lazy to read the fine print. Perfect prey. He signaled his men to fetch the contract, a document brimming with hidden traps and legal loopholes.
As soon as Nexus signed, Black Bird would devour his fortune—and his family along with it.
Grinning smugly, Joel pushed the contract across. "Mr. Nexus, ten million is just enough to enter our cooperative plan with the Heartfilia Konzern. Don't worry. You *won't* lose."
"If you trust me… please sign."
Noah scanned the contract swiftly, instantly spotting multiple issues. *Did they really think I was an idiot?*
But with a flourish, he signed anyway. It wasn't Noah's name, after all—but "Nexus."
Joel's pride swelled as the trap closed. He immediately ordered his men to seize Noah's deposit case.
"Hey… wait."
Clutching the box with feigned panic, Noah's expression shifted to terrified. "Director Joel, I just realized something in the contract doesn't look right. Are you sure this contract is legitimate?"
*He noticed that fast? Not completely brain-dead then,* Joel thought darkly. His smile disappeared, voice hardening.
"Black Bird is a legitimate consortium. According to what you signed, you must inject twenty million within three days. Fail to comply, and you'll owe triple the penalty for breach. Sixty million."
Noah slammed the contract down. "*What?!* Is this paper written in gold ink? No way I'm paying that!"
Joel sneered viciously. "Too late to back out. Didn't your family teach you about honoring contracts? Opportunities pass in a blink, and fools who hesitate are left poor."
Provoked, Noah roared in anger, shoved the maid aside, and snatched up the heavy ashtray on the table—smashing it straight into Joel's head.
Blood spurted. The director staggered, stunned he'd been struck so abruptly. Before his men could react, Noah lunged, seized him, and slammed him to the ground.
The two women shrieked in horror, their piercing cries echoing through the entire building.
"MURDER! MURDER!"
"Someone's attacking the president!"
Before the security team could arrive, the reception room door burst open—and a white-robed figure appeared like a phantom.
One savage kick sent Noah crashing into a glass cabinet stocked with fine wines.
**CRASH!**
Bottles exploded around him, glass and wood splintering as the heavy cabinet toppled and buried his body beneath it.
Priest Kula exhaled in relief, seeing Joel's injuries were only superficial. Joel was crucial to the plan—he couldn't afford to be replaced.
Security rushed in, helping Joel to his feet. The director, furious, barked: "Drag him out. I'll make him regret crossing me!"
"No need," Kula cut in, voice laced with cold malice. "From this moment on, Nexus never existed. I'll take control of him with magic and use him to exterminate Reina's entire family."
Joel bowed immediately. "Brilliant as always, Priest Kula."
Enjoying the flattery, Kula flicked his fingers. Threads of sinister light unfurled from his palm, creeping toward the shattered cabinet.
**Puppetry.** With these magical threads, Kula once forced a village warrior to butcher his own kin.
But this time… the threads *stuck.*
Confused, Kula yanked harder. His magic, sharp enough to carve stone, shouldn't snag on mere wood.
And then—the thread *pulled back.*
An overwhelming force jerked him forward.
**BOOM!**
The collapsed cabinet exploded outward.
A figure surged from within—gloved hands flashing. His left hand gripped Kula's thread tight. His right fist smashed forward.
**BANG!**
Kula's chest cracked under the explosive strike. His pristine white robes ripped apart, and his body blew through the ceiling, half-stuck with his legs dangling helplessly.
Agonizing pain spread through his chest. Only his enchanted priest's robe had saved him from instantaneous fatal injury.
"Wh-where—!?"
But the debris was empty. Kula's instincts screamed danger. He spun, weaving defensive nets of thread beneath him as he fell.
Too late.
Noah materialized silently at his back, aura calm and suffocating. For an instant, it was as if he had merged with the very air—undetectable even to Kula's sharpened senses.
*This presence…!*
Then fists rained down like a storm.
**Wind. Thunder. Water. Fire. Earth.**
Elemental energies surged with every blow, marking Kula's body in five radiant colors.
Terror consumed him. *I'll die! I'll die! I'LL DIE!*
In desperation, he dissolved his body into threads, scattering through the window in a desperate escape.
"This is my chance to retreat!"
Puppetry could control lives—but only if it could lock onto a target. Against Noah's crushing speed and strength, Kula had no way to fight back in close quarters. Fleeing was all he had left.
"Nexus!" his disembodied voice screamed. "I'll make you pay! Remember this!"
Noah sneered from the window. "Why wait? Why don't you try now?"
His gloves shone brilliantly, flaring with five intertwining elements. In turn, Kula's scattered silk strands lit with the same glow—snared completely.
"Wind. Thunder. Water. Fire. Earth."
"**Five Extreme Arts—Elemental Explosive Fist!**"
Kula's last thought was bitter clarity: *From the moment he got close, I was already defeated. Joel's beating was only bait—and I leapt straight into it.*
But realization came too late.
A scream tore through the night sky above Black Bird's headquarters. Threads shredded. Flesh burst apart. A rain of blood and shredded fragments hailed down upon the city.
Truly a gruesome end for one who had turned himself into threads.
Joel froze at the sight of crimson rain falling outside the window. Warm fluid spread down his own legs—terror overwhelming him. It felt less like a priest of the Black Magic Cult had been slain, and more like the devil standing before him was this youthful "Nexus."
Noah turned back slowly, smiling.
"Now then, Director Joel… let's talk about *your* problem."
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