"Ugh!!"
Pain twisted the Killing Emperor's lips as her heart clenched.
"Boom—"
But the long sword kept coming down, smashing through the wooden rooftop like butter. The shockwaves shook the beams loose, and a large section of the roof collapsed.
With no ground left beneath his feet, Noah had to abandon his attack and retreat again and again.
By the time Noah stopped, more than half the roof had caved in, and the two of them stood over twenty meters apart.
Noah swung his sword to dispel the strength still coursing through him, breathing slowly and deeply.
Even so, the burst of exertion had left his already pale cheeks even more bloodless.
Valetta, on the other hand, was drenched in blood. Wounds of all sizes covered her body, making her look like a ferocious beast.
As silence settled over the air, shouts came from a distance.
"Lady Valetta! Ah!!"
"Ah! Retreat, quickly!"
"It's the Loki Familia and the Astraea Familia!!"
Noah glanced over and saw chaos erupting in the streets.
The Dark Faction members, clad in black robes, were causing mayhem everywhere, but adventurers were quickly putting them down. They would have moved even faster if they hadn't had to worry about the civilians.
One blonde figure in particular darted lightly and swiftly through the crowd, cutting down enemies with flashes of her sword.
But then a golden glimmer flashed in the corner of Noah's vision. Judging by its speed and direction, it seemed to be heading straight for him?
"Kid, you're lucky! Next time, I'll definitely kill you!"
Before Noah could look again, Valetta shouted her threat and leaped from the rooftop.
15 Reunion
Watching the empty rooftop as the wind swept across it, Noah raised his long sword. His reflection stared back at him from the blade, still bright and pristine after the fierce battle.
Valetta had just said he was lucky, and that wasn't an empty threat meant to save face as she retreated.
Although he'd seemed to have the upper hand in their fight, leaving Valetta covered in wounds, Noah knew that aside from his first sneak attack, most of the injuries he'd inflicted on her were inconsequential.
For an adventurer at level 5, as long as their bones and organs weren't damaged, the rest were just flesh wounds.
As long as they didn't bleed out, they could fix them with a single vial of Panacea.
Meanwhile, he'd already been pushing himself close to his limit. His body hadn't fully recovered, either, so he couldn't keep it up for long.
If the fight had dragged on, he would probably have had to retreat in the end.
Unless...
Noah ran a finger lightly along the cold blade, feeling the immense power contained within it.
Unless Noah was willing to give it his all—that is, use True Magic.
At that moment, his desire for Falna suddenly grew stronger.
Whether in his old world or this one, magic was a vital and wondrous power that could turn the tide of battle.
Noah had magic of his own. It was what had allowed him to overcome stronger opponents and defeat the Demon King.
But his magic was practically cursed. Using it came at a tremendous cost; even the slightest use left him needing three or four days to recover.
In the final battle of his previous world, he hadn't even unleashed it at full power. At most, he'd used half of it, yet his body had nearly fallen apart.
Noah thought about how this world understood and explained Falna. The so-called ability values were really water that the gods poured into the human body, the "vessel."
When the water neared the brim, the vessel—the body—had to be elevated so it could grow larger.
If the vessel wasn't strong enough to bear the power forced into it, it risked breaking apart.
Although Noah had left his village at a young age and struggled to survive as a wanderer, he'd only spent four or five short years learning to fight before facing the Demon King.
In those five years, he'd received no proper training, let alone much time to rest. All he could do was keep surpassing his limits through one fight after another.
That was nothing like the adventurers in this world, who could see every aspect of their bodies represented as numbers and train to address their weaknesses.
Noah figured that he struggled to fully unleash his magic because he hadn't developed his body, his "vessel," enough.
...Sigh. In the legends of both worlds, the heroes who saved the world always had elves or fairies to help them. Why had he not only been left without anyone to help him, but also been denied the time for proper training?
If he received Falna, he could not only develop his body more fully, but also gain some magic he could use without such a heavy cost.
And that wasn't even counting the adventurers' strange abilities called "skills," which were no less powerful than magic.
So he really did need to find a Familia to join.
As a rush of wind sounded beside him, Noah lowered his blade and turned to meet a pair of golden eyes.
Hm?
Wasn't this the little girl he'd saved a few days ago?
"Hey, hello, ."
Ais had forgotten what she was supposed to say.
After Riveria had "made her wish come true" and she'd seen the person before her again, she'd run over as fast as she could.
But once she reached him, Ais couldn't get a word out.
The hard run had left her cheeks and breath burning hot. Her face was so flushed it felt as if it might catch fire, and her mouth and throat were parched.
The girl didn't know why she felt this way. A run like that should have been nothing to her.
But her heart kept pounding fiercely. The sound of it echoed in her head, leaving her mind completely blank.
This kid couldn't have hit her head when I failed to protect her properly, could she? Maybe she'd ended up with brain damage?
Seeing the golden-haired girl say nothing as she stared at him with dewy eyes, Noah couldn't help wondering.
After all, he'd never looked after a child on a battlefield before. He'd been weak at the time, too. If he'd lost his grip and the little girl had bumped her head on a rock or something, it was possible.
The thought made Noah hesitate again about joining the Loki Familia.
What if they were planning to demand compensation from him? Wouldn't he be walking right into a trap if he showed up on their doorstep?
Maybe he should look for the Freya Familia instead.
From the records in the library, Noah had learned that Orario was currently dominated by two Familia: the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia.
But from what he'd heard, the Freya Familia didn't seem very good. There was a lot of infighting, and they weren't very focused on exploration.
For Noah, who'd just been betrayed, nothing was more detestable than infighting.
But when lustrous, jewel-like emerald hair appeared before him, Noah knew his indecision was no longer necessary.
Oh, well. They probably wouldn't repay kindness with malice.
"G-good afternoon."
Like Ais, Riveria wasn't sure what to say to the silver-haired boy.
The main problem was that she knew absolutely nothing about him. What could she possibly talk about?
But when her gaze swept over the huge collapse in the roof of the building behind Noah, as well as the traces of fighting and bloodstains along the way, a roar she'd heard moments earlier suddenly came back to her.
Noah Cipher?
And that had sounded like the Killing Emperor, Valetta, hadn't it?
Wait, could it be...?
Unable to believe it, Riveria instinctively looked Noah over. He was a little pale, and his clothes were rather tattered, but he didn't have a single wound on him.
Then those bloodstains must have been...
Having deduced an answer she herself found hard to believe, Riveria widened her eyes slightly.
"Um, may I ask whether you were just fighting a woman with pale red hair?"
This time, Noah didn't stay silent like he had the last time. He nodded.
"Oh? You mean Valetta? Yes, it was that crazy woman. She's quite strong."
Riveria was momentarily at a loss for words as Noah smoothly slid his silver sword into its sheath and spoke so casually about the "Killing Emperor," whose name terrified the entire city.
This boy looked about as old as the girls in the Astraea Familia, yet he'd managed to make the Killing Emperor suffer a setback.
Were young people these days really this strong?
She wondered which Familia he belonged to.
Last time, he'd clearly seemed reluctant to interact with her, so out of politeness, Riveria hadn't asked too many questions.
But this time, she felt she had to take him seriously.
With the conflict between the City Alliance and the Dark Faction growing ever more intense, they couldn't afford to ignore someone strong enough to make the Killing Emperor suffer a setback.
"Um, I think this incident happened because you helped a child from my Familia last time, and it brought trouble upon you."
Riveria bowed with the impeccable manners of the Elf Royalty to apologize. Then she raised her emerald eyes and looked intently at Noah.
"May I ask which god you serve? Please tell me. The Loki Familia will certainly come to apologize and express our gratitude."
16 The Goddess (in every sense) Loki
Noah glanced at Riveria and decided she would make a reliable teammate.
She was kind and considerate, knew how to maintain proper boundaries, and wasn't afraid to show her strength when it mattered to fight for her companions' interests.
If I'd had a teammate like her back then, things wouldn't have been so exhausting.
If the "hero" Finn really was as gifted a leader as the legends said, then Noah could stop thinking and happily kill, kill, kill.
"You must have heard my name just now. I'm Noah Cipher. I was actually planning to visit the Loki Familia anyway. Your goddess is there, right? Could you show me the way?"
Noah glanced to the side. A sizable crowd had gathered beneath the building, including both civilians and adventurers.
If possible, Noah didn't want anyone to find out that he hadn't received Falna yet.
It was easy to imagine what a sensation it would cause if word got out that an "ordinary person" had defeated the "level 5 Killing Emperor."
Noah just wanted to fight and kill. He didn't want people treating him like a monkey on display.
"Huh? W-well, all right."
Riveria looked surprised that Noah had agreed so quickly—and even volunteered to visit them—especially since he'd been so reluctant the last time.
But this saved her a lot of effort, and she was glad to see it.
Before they left, Noah noticed the girls from the Astraea Familia maintaining order and tending to the wounded. He couldn't help watching them for a moment.
At the same time, the masked Blonde Elf in the crowd suddenly raised her head and met his gaze.
Their blue eyes met from afar. It seemed as if they'd said something to each other, and yet as if nothing had been said at all.
After Noah turned and left, a human girl with short black hair approached the Blonde Elf.
"Ryu? What's wrong?"
"...I feel like I've met someone who's caught my attention."
What was it?
Why did I feel as though there was a hint of nostalgia and a sigh in the way that person looked at me?
Noah turned and left with Riveria and the silent Ais, heading north through the city.
The three of them didn't say a word along the way.
Noah wondered how he should convince the Loki Familia's goddess to let someone as mysterious as him join.
Riveria, walking ahead, kept sneaking glances at Noah, trying to glean some useful information from his expression.
For example, why had he suddenly decided to visit the Loki Familia? What was his goal? Who was he, really?
Before you continue