Explosive Fist

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

As soon as he entered, two receptionists in skimpy maid outfits on either side enthusiastically pressed themselves against Noah.

Joel watched the young playboy with an arm around each woman and gave a slight smile—different people required different tactics. For a hot-blooded young man like this, beautiful women were an excellent choice.

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

Nexus was, of course, Noah's alias. Since he was in disguise, he wouldn't use his real name. The so-called ten-million investment was also something Noah made up on the spot; the two-million deposit in the briefcase was actually prepared by Chairman Rena for his infiltration plan.

Settling into the leather sofa, Noah put on the full arrogant airs of a spoiled heir, rudely propping his feet up on the coffee table. "Your conglomerate sure puts on airs. This master came to hand you money, and you made me wait a full ten minutes."

Can't even wait ten minutes—definitely a spoiled brat.

You'll learn your lesson soon enough.

Joel was annoyed inside but kept his smile, lowering his posture to placate Noah.

"Mr. Nexus, may I ask which area you'd like to invest in? Black Bird's business scope is quite broad."

"Whatever Heartfilia invested in, I'll follow suit. This time, let's see if my family still says I only know how to lose money."

Hearing the young man's defiant tone, Joel grew even more certain that this was just a good-for-nothing playboy who wouldn't have the patience to read a complicated contract. He immediately had his subordinate bring over a contract riddled with hidden pitfalls.

Once I trick him into signing his name, this brainless rich kid and his whole family will fall into Black Bird's carefully woven trap.

Then it won't be me who's groveling.

Growing more smug inside, Joel slid the contract toward Noah. "Mr. Nexus, ten million only qualifies you to join one of our cooperative projects with Heartfilia, but rest assured, you won't take a loss."

"If you trust This Humble One, please sign."

Noah only skimmed the contract once and spotted several issues. They really take me for a fool, huh?

Still, Noah signed his name without hesitation. After all, I signed as Nexus—what does that have to do with Noah?

Seeing Noah sign the contract just as expected, Joel was secretly pleased and immediately signaled his subordinate to take the briefcase with the two-million deposit.

"Hey, hold on."

Noah pressed a hand down on the briefcase, putting on a belatedly panicked expression, his tone a little flustered. "Director Joel, I just remembered there seems to be something unreasonable in this contract."

"Is this contract legit?"

Caught on that fast? Guess he's not completely useless. Joel's warm attitude vanished in an instant, replaced by displeasure. "Black Bird is a legitimate business conglomerate. According to the contract you just signed, you need to inject twenty million into our conglomerate within three days. Otherwise, it's a breach of contract, and you'll have to pay triple the penalty."

"What's up!"

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

Watching the young man's flustered expression, Joel gave a cold laugh. "Now? You've got to be joking, right?"

"Nexus, didn't your family teach you about contractual integrity? You can't even seize a chance to make money. If you think it's too expensive, I think you're just too broke to pretend."

Provoked like this, the young man immediately flew into a rage. He shoved the receptionists aside, grabbed the ashtray off the coffee table, and smashed it into Joel's head.

Blood streamed down. Joel never expected the other party to resort to violence. Dazed, he couldn't even call for his subordinates before Noah pressed his advantage, slamming him to the ground and grinding him down.

The violent scene terrified the two women, and their shrill screams instantly echoed through the building.

"Murder!"

"Murder!"

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

Before the security department could act, a white-robed figure appeared at the reception room door like a ghost, instantly kicking Noah flying into a cabinet displaying fine wines.

With a crash of shattering glass, the cabinet toppled over, pinning the young man beneath it.

Priest Kura saw that Joel only had superficial injuries and breathed a sigh of relief. Joel was a key executor of his plan, and the cult couldn't find a replacement to run the conglomerate on short notice.

Joel was helped up by the security personnel who arrived later, glaring furiously at the figure trapped under the cabinet. "You—drag him out. I'm going to teach him a proper lesson."

"No need. I'll handle him."

Kura immediately vetoed Joel. "I already understand the situation. Today, act as if this Nexus never came. I'll use magic to control him into killing Rena's family."

"Killing with a borrowed knife—solving the problem without exposing the cult. Priest Kura, you're brilliant."

Even at a time like this, Joel didn't forget to flatter. Kura accepted it readily, condensing his magic into a thread that snaked toward the gap beneath the collapsed cabinet.

Puppet Control Thread—a spell that could control any living creature connected by the magic thread. Kura had once used it to control a village's warrior, forcing him to slaughter his own village with his own hands.

Suddenly, Kura felt his magic snag on something. His magic thread could easily cut through stone—how could it possibly be blocked by mere wooden material?

Just as Kura prepared to exert force, the thread in his hand suddenly went taut. An irresistible, immense force came from the other end, yanking Kura off his feet and dragging him forward.

The fallen cabinet exploded with a deafening blast, and a figure emerged from within.

He wore gloves on both hands. His left hand was wrapped around Kura's magic thread, holding it fast, while his right fist swung and struck Kura square in the chest.

Boom!

Another explosive sound rang out. The white-robed man's robes burst apart, his body punching through the ceiling, his upper torso stuck fast, leaving only his legs thrashing in the air.

Kura felt an excruciating pain in his chest. If not for the protective properties of the priest's robes, he was certain that punch would have severely wounded him.

Quickly using magic to cut through the surrounding debris, Kura attacked toward the position he remembered as he fell.

"Where is he?!"

Seeing only a pile of broken wood where his target should be, Kura's heart sank. He quickly wove a protective net beneath his body with his threads.

Silently, he stood behind him.

But a figure had already followed Kura's movement, appearing behind him without a sound.

The newcomer's aura was utterly calm.

As if merged with the air itself, even Kura, fully focused on defense, failed to sense his presence...

That figure could only be...

Noah.

In an instant, dozens of fist shadows rained down like a storm, the five elements—Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire, and Earth—switching endlessly, leaving mark after mark on Kura's body.

When Kura crashed to the ground, his body was covered in five-colored magical imprints. An overwhelming sense of crisis swept over him.

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

The fatal danger drove Kura to unleash his magic at full power—not for attack or defense, but to scatter his body like threads, drifting toward the window.

This is my escape route!

Just from that brief exchange, Kura understood that his opponent's strength was definitely above his own. "Puppet Control Thread" could manipulate living beings, but only if he could lock onto the target.

With both power and speed suppressed, Kura, who was never good at close combat, had no reason to keep fighting. Running was the best option now.

"Nexus! I'll make you pay for this! Remember that!"

"Haha, why wait for later? Why don't you try it right now?"

Noah sneered, his five fingers clenching. The Blast Gauntlets suddenly blazed with five colors, and at the same time, the threads Kura's body had turned into also lit up with the same interwoven glow.

"Wind, Thunder, Water, Fire, Earth."

"Five-Pole Power: Elemental Blast Fist!"

Feeling the explosive magic tearing through his body, Kura finally understood—the moment Noah got close, his defeat was already sealed.

Beating Joel was just bait, and he had taken it perfectly.

Too bad it was too late to realize now.

A scream echoed across the sky of the Black Bird headquarters. Tiny, bloody chunks of flesh fell like hail from the sky.

Because he had turned himself into threads with magic, Kura's death was horrifyingly gruesome once the magic wore off.

Even through the window, Joel could see the falling rain of blood. He felt a warm dampness in his crotch, trickling down his trembling legs. It was as if the murderous madman wasn't the infamous Black Magic Priest, but the clean-faced youth disguised as a young master.

Noah turned around with a smile.

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