(Heartfelt thanks to 'Makoto the Harem King', 'Sondery', 'Zhun Dong Man Zhai Yi Zhi', 'Mo Yu Linshang', 'Ars Alreid', 'Wufeng Haotian', 'Rain Liang', 'You Bi Ji Yue', 'Excalibur', 'You're Quietly Watching Me Update', 'Dongfang Wansui', and 'Youyouzi's Lament' for their rewards!)
"Whoosh----!"
That shadow was like an exceedingly fine thread. Even someone with exceptional eyesight would have found it difficult to notice its existence.
Yet that thread-like shadow tore through space, carrying a faint whistle that was completely buried beneath the raging black whirlwind and gray tempest as it shot over from the other end of the sky.
It was exceptionally fast.
Though it could not compare to Godspeed, which could even manipulate time, it was still an extreme speed comparable to lightning.
Furthermore, the shadow was difficult to catch and carried neither hostility, killing intent, nor malice. Even Noah only noticed it when it had already streaked to within a few meters of him.
Of course, at that distance, Noah still had more than enough time to react.
"Watch out!"
Noah was slightly startled. He immediately pulled the unresponsive Lilliana into his embrace, wrapping one arm around each girl's slender waist along with Yuri, whom he had just protected. With a tap of his toes against the ground, he retreated explosively.
However, the black shadow's target was not Noah and the others at all.
Under Noah's astonished gaze as he withdrew, the shadow shot straight into the golden ripple that had just stirred like water waves, like a bird flying into a cage.
That was right.
Its target was not Noah and the others, but the treasury known as the Gate of Babylon.
No.
That was not quite right either.
More accurately, its target was a certain item within the Gate of Babylon.
Thus, beneath Noah's astonished gaze, that