Blast Fist

Noah didn't have to wait long before he was shown into the VIP reception room on the second floor of the oval building.

As soon as he entered, two receptionists in revealing maid outfits eagerly pressed close to him, one on either side.

Watching the young rich heir sit with an arm around each woman, Joel smiled faintly. Different people called for different approaches, and for a young man full of vigor like this, beautiful women were an excellent choice.

"Welcome, Mr. Nexus. I'm Joel, a director of the Black Bird."

Nexus was naturally Noah's fake name. Since he was in disguise, he obviously wouldn't use his real one. The supposed ten million investment was something Noah had made up, while the two million in earnest money in the briefcase had been prepared by President Rena for his infiltration plan.

Settling onto the leather sofa, Noah fully embraced the arrogance of a spoiled rich kid. Without the slightest courtesy, he propped his feet on the coffee table. "Your conglomerate sure has a lot of nerve. I came here to give you money, and you actually made me wait a whole ten minutes."

He can't even wait ten minutes. Just a spoiled brat, as expected.

You'll regret it one day.

Joel was annoyed, but he kept smiling and lowered his tone to placate Noah.

"Mr. Nexus, may I ask what you're interested in investing in? The Black Bird has a very wide range of businesses."

"Whatever the Heartfilias invested in, I'll invest in too. Let's see what my family has to say now about me only losing money."

Hearing the young man's defiant tone, Joel became even more certain that he was nothing but a playboy who spent his days eating, drinking, and having fun. He surely wouldn't have the patience to read through a complicated contract, so Joel immediately had one of his subordinates bring over a contract concealing a host of problems.

All he had to do was trick the kid into signing his name, and this brainless young heir and his family would fall right into the trap the Black Bird had carefully laid.

Then I won't be the one groveling anymore.

Growing more pleased with himself, Joel pushed the contract toward Noah. "Mr. Nexus, ten million is only enough to join one of our joint ventures with the Heartfilias, but rest assured, you definitely won't lose money."

"If you trust me, please sign here."

Noah gave the contract only a cursory glance and spotted several problems. Did the other side really think he was an idiot?

Still, Noah readily signed his name. After all, the name he signed was Nexus. What did that have to do with Noah?

Seeing Noah sign the contract just as he'd expected, Joel secretly congratulated himself and immediately told his men to take away Noah's briefcase, which held the two million in earnest money.

"Hey, wait a second."

Noah pressed a hand down on the briefcase and put on a flustered expression, as though he'd only just realized something. His voice sounded a little panicked. "Director Joel, I just remembered there seems to be something unreasonable in the contract."

"Is this contract legit?"

He noticed that quickly? So he's not completely useless after all. Joel's warm demeanor vanished in an instant, and he replied with displeasure, "The Black Bird is a respectable business conglomerate. According to the contract you just signed, you're required to inject twenty million into our conglomerate within three days. Otherwise, it counts as a breach of contract, and you'll owe triple the amount in damages."

"What?!"

"Is this crappy piece of paper made of gold, or are the words on it made of gold? I'm out!"

Watching the young man's panicked expression, Joel sneered. "Now? You can't be serious."

"Nexus, didn't your family teach you to honor a contract? You had a chance to make money and couldn't even seize it. You think it's too expensive? I think you're broke. Why pretend otherwise?"

Provoked by the taunt, the young man immediately flew into a rage. He shoved the receptionist beside him aside, grabbed the ashtray from the coffee table, and smashed it over Joel's head.

Blood poured from Joel's split scalp. He had never expected the other man to attack him outright, and before he could even call for help, Noah pressed his advantage and pummeled him into the floor.

The violent scene terrified the two women, and their shrill screams immediately rang through the building.

"Murder!"

"Murder!"

"Someone's trying to kill the chairman! Help!"

Before the security department could respond, a white-robed man appeared in the reception room doorway like a ghost. In an instant, he kicked Noah across the room and into the cabinet displaying the fine wines.

Amid a crash of splintering wood and breaking glass, the cabinet toppled, pinning the young man beneath it.

Seeing that Joel had suffered only minor injuries, Priest Kura finally breathed a sigh of relief. Joel was a crucial part of his plan, and the cult couldn't find someone to take over the conglomerate for him on short notice.

Joel was helped to his feet by the security personnel who arrived afterward. He glared furiously at the figure pinned beneath the cabinet. "You! Drag him out. I'm going to teach him a proper lesson."

"No need. I'll deal with him."

Kura immediately overruled Joel. "I've already gotten the full story. Just pretend this Nexus never came here today. I'll use Magecraft to control him and make him kill the Rena family."

"Kill two birds with one stone, and deal with the problem without exposing the cult. Brilliant, Priest Kura!"

Even now, Joel hadn't forgotten to flatter him. Kura was pleased, too. Magic gathered in his hand, forming a thread that slipped into the gap beneath the toppled cabinet.

"Puppet Control Thread" could control any creature connected to its magical threads. Kura had once used it to control the warriors of an entire village, forcing one of them to slaughter his own people.

Suddenly, Kura felt as though something had snagged his magic. His threads were strong enough to slice through stone. How could a little wood stop them?

Just as Kura prepared to pull harder, the thread in his hand suddenly went taut. An irresistible force came from the other end and yanked him over against his will.

The toppled cabinet exploded apart with a crash, and a figure emerged from within.

He wore gloves on both hands. His left hand was wrapped in Kura's magical thread, gripping it tightly, while his right fist swung straight into Kura's chest.

Bang!

Another explosion rang out. The white-robed man's clothes burst apart, and his body shot through the ceiling. His upper half got stuck, leaving only his legs kicking wildly.

Kura felt excruciating pain in his chest. If not for the protective properties of the priestly robes issued to him, he thought that punch would have left him severely injured.

Kura quickly used magic to cut through the debris around him. As he fell, he launched an attack toward the spot he remembered.

"Where is he?!"

Seeing only a pile of broken wood where his target should have been, Kura knew something was terribly wrong. He hastily manipulated his threads, weaving a protective net beneath himself.

Silently, he stood behind him.

Yet a figure had already appeared behind Kura without a sound, moving in time with him.

The newcomer was utterly calm.

It was as if he had merged with the air. Even Kura, who was wholly focused on defending himself, hadn't sensed his presence...

The figure could only be...

Noah.

In an instant, dozens of fists rained down like a violent storm. Wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth—five elements constantly shifted, leaving one mark after another on Kura.

By the time Kura hit the ground, his body was covered in magical marks of five different colors. A tremendous sense of danger swept over him.

I'm going to die! I'm going to die! I'm going to die!

The mortal danger drove Kura to unleash his magic with all his might. He didn't attack or defend—instead, his body scattered like threads, streaming toward the window.

This was how I make my escape!

From their brief exchange, Kura had already realized that his opponent was unquestionably stronger than him. "Puppet Control Thread" could control creatures, but only if he could lock onto his target.

Kura was outmatched in both strength and speed. He wasn't suited to close combat in the first place, so he had no reason to keep fighting. Running was the best choice.

"Nexus! I'll make you pay for this! Just you wait!"

"Haha, why wait until later? Come at me right now and see what happens!"

Noah sneered. He clenched his fist, and the Blast Gauntlet suddenly lit up in five different colors. At the same time, the threads that Kura's body had become glowed with the same intertwined colors.

"Wind, lightning, water, fire, and earth."

"Five-Pole Power: Elemental Blast Fist!"

Feeling the power bursting through his body, Kura finally understood. The moment Noah got close to him, his defeat had been inevitable.

Beating up Joel had only been bait, and he'd taken it.

Unfortunately, it was too late to understand any of it now.

A scream rang out over the Black Bird headquarters as tiny, bloody chunks of flesh rained from the sky like hail.

Since Kura had transformed himself into threads with magic, his death was particularly gruesome once the magic wore off.

Watching the bloody rain fall through the window, Joel felt a warmth in his crotch that trickled down his trembling calves. It was as if the bloodthirsty killer wasn't the infamous Dark Magecraft priest, but the handsome young man pretending to be a rich heir.

Noah turned around with a smile.

"Director Joel, let's talk about your problem."