(At last, five million characters! Hooray, hooray!)
(Many thanks to 'Dynamic Bamboo Pole,' 'Situ Yimin,' 'This Guy Actually,' 'Yongjiang Yiku,' 'Ming Qi Zi Fang Yuan,' 'Yue Chen You Ye,' 'Night~God,' and 'ighx28662' for their donations!)
"Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle—!"
The dense darkness surging out from each jade throne atop the platform had begun making strange sounds, like boiling water.
At the same time, the black, turbid current pouring down the stairs churned violently as well, creating a heart-chilling sight.
Before the girls could cry out in alarm, Noah, who was rushing toward the jade thrones, detected the threat coming from behind him.
The turbid current, erupting like black magma, transformed into a scalding wave. The next instant, the sight of it sweeping toward Noah like a giant hand entered his vision.
Ominous, evil, decayed, and terrifying auras continuously emanated from that dense darkness.
Even Claire, Linse Laurenhrost, Fianna, and Alice could clearly sense the intensity of those auras, much less Noah, whose perception was extraordinary.
However, with a constitution immune to all negative forces, Noah had no reason to fear the dense darkness.
Still, if that darkness swallowed him, then even if he remained unaffected, his movements would be impeded and he would be unable to reach the jade thrones.
Therefore, Noah could not ignore the threat behind him either.
Without hesitation, Noah poured divine power into the holy sword and divine blade in his hands.
"Absolute Sword Technique! Third Form—Shadow Moon Waltz!"
In an instant, the silver holy sword and platinum divine blade became arcs of light, flashing through the air like moonlight.
"Rip—!"
With a tearing sound, the dense darkness surging toward Noah like a tidal wave was cleaved apart by the Demon Slayer and Savior's Blade, splitting down the middle like a black ocean forcibly severed in two.