(Happy New Year to all my friends!)
(Many thanks to 'The Corpse Desecrator on the Run', 'Xu Yan Ci', 'Too Detached from Emotion', 'Heavenly Clouds and Vast Rain', 'Not Cold, Not Dreaming', 'Collapsing Wings Descend on Gensokyo', 'A House Full of Anime Pigs', and 'Wufeng Haotian' for their rewards!)
"Boom—!"
Amid an earth-shaking roar, a terrifying impact swept outward like a storm, sending the surrounding trees toppling in all directions. They crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
But the dust had barely risen before the storm-like shockwave sweeping through the area blew it away.
Then, from the center of the impact, two figures flew backward in opposite directions, trailing piercing shrieks through the air.
Noah drove his feet fiercely into the ground, yet his body still could not stop sliding back. The earth was gouged into a long trench beneath him, and only after he had been pushed back several hundred meters did he gradually come to a stop.
But in the next instant, Noah's expression suddenly changed. Without warning, he shot violently to the side.
"Whoosh—!"
Almost at the exact instant Noah retreated, a figure abruptly appeared before him and threw a punch, smashing it fiercely into the spot where Noah had just been standing.
"Bang—!"
An astonishing impact exploded across the ground, blasting shattered rocks into the sky and sending them shooting in every direction.
"Bang—bang—bang—bang—!"
Still retreating, Noah threw punch after punch, shattering every chunk of rock flying at him.
At the same time, that incredibly fast figure flashed before Noah once more, its fist carrying a savage gale as it slammed toward Noah's chest.
Watching Sakamaki Izayoi relentlessly launch an endless barrage, Noah's eyes turned cold, and he stopped his retreat.
This time, Noah did not dodge at all. The instant Sakamaki