The Journey Begins in DanMachi

"Ngh!!"

The pain twisted Killing Emperor's lips, her heart constricting.

"BOOM—"

But the longsword continued its descent, shattering the wooden roof like butter. The shockwave snapped the rafters, causing a massive section of the roof to collapse.

With no ground left beneath his feet, Noah was forced to abandon his offensive and retreat repeatedly.

By the time Noah came to a halt, more than half the roof had caved in, leaving the two of them over twenty meters apart.

Noah swung his sword to disperse the lingering power, breathing in long, steady gasps.

Even so, his already pale cheeks looked even more bloodless after the exertion.

In contrast, Valetta was practically bathed in blood, her body covered in wounds large and small, turning her into a gruesome beast.

As the air fell into silence, shouts drifted over from the distance.

"Lady Valetta! Ah!!"

"Argh! Retreat, quickly!"

"It's the Loki Familia and Astrea!"

Noah swept his gaze over, seeing that chaos had erupted on the streets.

Members of the Dark Faction in black robes were running amok, only to be suppressed one after another by adventurers. Had they not been concerned about the civilians, the cleanup would have been even faster.

In particular, one golden-haired figure moved with light, swift agility through the crowd, cutting down enemies with every flash of her blade.

However, a golden radiance suddenly flickered in the corner of Noah's vision. Its speed and direction seemed to be aimed right at him.

"Kid, count yourself lucky! Next time! I'll definitely kill you!"

Before Noah could look again, Valetta spat out her threat, turned, and leaped off the rooftop.

Staring at the empty roof whipped by the strong wind, Noah raised his longsword, seeing his own reflection in the blade that remained pristine and bright after the fierce battle.

Valetta saying he was lucky wasn't just a threat made to save face before retreating.

Although he had seemed to hold the upper hand in the fight just now, leaving Valetta covered in wounds, Noah knew clearly that aside from the initial sneak attack, the injuries he had truly inflicted on her were mostly inconsequential.

For a Level 5 adventurer, as long as bones and organs remained intact, those were merely flesh wounds.

As long as she didn't bleed out, a single vial of Panacea would fix it.

In reality, he had already pushed himself to his limit, and with his body not yet fully recovered, he couldn't sustain the fight.

Therefore, had the battle dragged on, he likely would have been the one forced to retreat.

Unless...

Noah gently brushed his finger over the cold blade, feeling the immense power contained within.

Unless Noah was willing to use his full strength—that is, to use his magic.

At this moment, Noah's desire for a "Falna" became suddenly intense.

Whether in his previous world or this one, magic was a crucial and miraculous power capable of turning the tide of battle.

Noah possessed his own magic, which had been the key to his overcoming the strong and defeating the Demon King.

But his magic felt as if it were cursed; the cost of using it was immense, requiring three or four days of recovery even after a slight exertion.

In the final battle of his previous world, Noah hadn't even fully unleashed it; using just half of it had made him feel as though his body were on the verge of collapse.

Noah thought of this world's understanding and explanation of the "Falna"—that the so-called status was essentially the "water" poured by the gods into the "vessel" of the human body.

When the water reached capacity, the "vessel" of the body had to be sublimated to make it larger.

If the "vessel" was insufficient and one forced power into it, there was a risk of it shattering.

Although Noah had left his village to survive on his own at a young age, it had only taken him four or five years from the time he truly began learning to fight until his final showdown with the Demon King.

In those five years, let alone receiving proper training, Noah barely had time to rest, forced to constantly push his limits through slaughter.

Unlike the adventurers of this world, who could actually express their physical condition through numerical values and perform targeted training after identifying their weaknesses.

Noah felt that it was precisely because he hadn't developed his body—his "vessel"—enough that he struggled to fully unleash the power of his magic.

...Sigh, in the legends of both worlds, the savior hero always had elves or fairies assisting them. How was it that not only did he have no one to help him, he didn't even have time for proper training?

If he obtained a "Falna," he could not only perfect his physical development but also acquire magic that he could use normally.

Not to mention, adventurers in this world possessed a strange ability called "Skills" that were in no way inferior to magic.

So, it really was necessary to find a Familia to join.

As the sound of wind being torn reached him, Noah lowered his blade and turned to meet a pair of golden eyes.

Hm?

Isn't this the little girl he saved a few days ago?

"Yo, hello."

Ais forgot what she was supposed to say.

After Riveria "realized" her wish and she saw the person before her once again, she had run over with every ounce of strength she possessed.

Yet, upon arriving in front of him, Ais could not utter a single word.

The intense sprint had left her cheeks and breath burning, her face feeling as if it were on fire, while her mouth and throat were parched.

The girl didn't know why she was like this; clearly, a run of this intensity should have been nothing to her.

But her heart was pounding violently, the "thump-thump" echoing in her brain, leaving her mind a complete blank.

This child... I didn't protect her well enough back then, did I? Could her head have been knocked silly?

Watching the golden-haired girl stand there in silence, staring at him blankly with moist golden eyes, Noah couldn't help but mutter to himself.

After all, he had never raised a child on a battlefield, and he had been in a weakened state at the time. If his grip had slipped and the little girl's head had struck a rock somewhere, it was entirely possible.

Thinking of this, Noah's intention to seek out the Loki Familia wavered slightly.

What if she was preparing to demand compensation? If he showed up on his own initiative now, wouldn't he be walking straight into a trap?

Should I go find the Freya Familia instead?

Through library records, Noah had learned that Orario was currently dominated by the Freya Familia and the Loki Familia as the two pinnacles.

However, according to the rumors, the Freya Familia didn't seem that great; their internal strife was quite severe, and they weren't very focused on exploration.

For Noah, who had just suffered a betrayal, internal strife was the thing he detested most.

But when that lustrous, jewel-like emerald hair appeared before him, Noah knew his hesitation and struggle were no longer necessary.

Forget it, she shouldn't be the type to return kindness with enmity.

"G-good afternoon."

Seeing the silver-haired boy, Riveria was just like Ais, unsure of what to say.

The main issue was that she knew absolutely nothing about this person, so what could they possibly talk about?

However, as her gaze swept over the massive collapse of the building in front of Noah, as well as the traces of battle and bloodstains along the path, a roar she had just heard suddenly echoed in her mind.

Noah Cipher?

And, was that the voice of the Killing Emperor, Valetta?

Hey, hey, hey, could it be?

With a hint of disbelief, Riveria subconsciously scanned Noah, only to find that although he looked a bit pale and his clothes were quite tattered, there wasn't a single wound on his body.

Then, could those bloodstains be...

Deducing an answer she found hard to believe, Riveria widened her eyes slightly.

"Um, may I ask if you were just fighting a woman with light red hair?"

This time, Noah didn't play the mute like last time; he nodded.

"Oh? You mean Valetta? Indeed, she is a crazy woman, but she has quite a bit of strength."

Watching Noah nimbly sheath his Silver Sword while speaking nonchalantly about the "Killing Emperor" who made the entire city tremble with fear, Riveria was momentarily speechless.

This boy looked about the same age as the young girls of the Astraea Familia, yet he was actually able to make the Killing Emperor suffer.

Are the young people today this capable?

I wonder which Familia he hails from?

Last time, because the other party clearly didn't want to interact with her, Riveria had refrained from asking in detail out of politeness.

But this time, she felt she had to take it seriously.

In these times where the conflict between the City Alliance and the Dark Faction was becoming increasingly intense, a combatant capable of making the Killing Emperor suffer could not be ignored.

"Um, I believe this incident was also caused by the trouble you brought upon yourself by helping my child last time."

Riveria bowed with the perfect etiquette of the Elven royalty to express her apology, then opened her emerald eyes and gazed at Noah.

"May I ask which deity you serve? Please, do tell me; the Loki Familia will certainly come to apologize and express our gratitude."

16 Goddess (Nutjob) Loki

Noah glanced at Riveria and felt that she was definitely a reliable teammate.

She was gentle and polite in her dealings, yet she didn't fear showing her edge at critical moments to secure benefits for her allies.

If I had had such a good teammate in the past, I wouldn't have had to struggle so hard.

If that "Brave" Finn was truly as wise in leadership as the legends claimed, that would be great; then I could just turn off my brain and happily kill, kill, kill.

"I assume you heard my name just now: Noah Cipher. I was actually planning to pay a visit to the Loki Familia. Your main deity is there, right? If it's convenient, would you mind leading the way?"

Noah glanced to the side; quite a crowd had already gathered beneath the building, consisting of both civilians and adventurers.

If possible, Noah did not want to expose the fact that he had not yet received a blessing here.

He knew that once the news of a "commoner" defeating a "Level 5 Killing Emperor" leaked, it would surely cause a massive uproar.

Noah only wanted to kill and fight; he had no desire to be gawked at like a monkey.

"Eh? W-well, alright then."

Riveria's eyes betrayed a hint of astonishment at how quickly Noah had agreed and even offered to pay a visit, especially considering how resistant he had been last time.

However, this saved her a great deal of persuasion, and she was more than happy to see it.

Before leaving, Noah noticed the young girls from the Astraea Familia maintaining order and tending to the wounded, and he couldn't help but linger on them for a few moments.

At the same time, amidst the crowd, a masked blonde elf suddenly looked up, her gaze locking with his.

Two pairs of azure eyes met from a distance; it was as if something had been said, yet nothing had been spoken at all.

After Noah turned to leave, a human girl with short black hair walked up beside the blonde elf.

"Ryu? What's wrong?"

"...I just feel like I've encountered someone who piques my interest."

What was going on?

Why did she feel as though there had been a sense of nostalgia and a sigh hidden within that person's gaze?

Noah turned and departed with Riveria and the silent Ais, heading toward the north of the city.

The three of them remained silent throughout the journey.

Noah was busy contemplating how to convince the Heavenly God of the Loki Familia to allow someone with his mysterious background to join their Familia.

Riveria, leading the way, stole glances at Noah from the corner of her eye, hoping to glean some useful information from his expression.

For instance, why the sudden visit to the Loki Familia? What was his objective? And what exactly was his origin?