The Journey Begins in DanMachi

Not to mention the sense of security from having her palm completely enveloped, feeling the strength and warmth being transmitted to her.

She turned her head and locked eyes with Noah.

Do what you want to do. Even without any verbal exchange, and even though Noah didn't give her any special look, Ryu felt as if someone were whispering those words in her ear.

"Yes!"

No further words were needed; Ryu felt a connection with the boy before her that was even more intimate than their recent (one-sided) exposure.

It was their souls resonating at this very moment.

The next instant, Gale drew her sword to fight!

6/4 Huh, missed?

"Defend!"

To the Dark Faction, who committed evil in the city and were reviled by all, that streak of golden Gale was a figure they feared even more than the Brave, the heroes, or Nine Hell and other Level 6 adventurers.

After all, those big names famous in Orario had their own rivals—the executives of the Dark Faction—and had no spare energy to deal with small fries like them.

But the girls of the Astraea Familia didn't care if you were a small fry or not.

These young girls, active on the front lines of the battle against evil, would mercilessly strike down any illegal acts, whether it was murder, arson, theft, or robbery.

Among them, the ones who left the deepest impression on the city's citizens and the Dark Faction were the Crimson Flower who wielded flames, the Yamato Gentian with her piercing sword aura, and the golden Gale before them!

Even though the Dark Faction members here were considered elites, if it weren't for their group formation and Valetta overseeing the battle from behind, they likely would have scattered and fled long ago.

Facing the incoming Gale, the Dark Faction members raised the magic swords in their hands, which bloomed with various strange glows—

However, a flash erupted in their field of vision.

Unlike the dazzling glare of a magic sword explosion, this was a deep, silent, dark blue radiance that seemed to swallow all light and sound in the surroundings.

"Roar—"

Accompanied by a tingling numbness spreading across the skin, a solemn chant imbued with strange magic echoed out.

Though the voice was soft, as if coming from the edge of the horizon, it felt as though it were being whispered directly into everyone's ears.

Then, lightning flashed!

Just as countless clusters of magic—arc flames, ice winds, and blinding light—erupted from the magic swords and were about to strike Gale, a figure wreathed in dark blue lightning arrived before the others!

Arriving at almost the same time was a sword light that shattered all obstacles!

Over ten Dark Faction elites had their lives taken the moment the sword light swept past them, their magic swords shattered simultaneously.

The massive amount of magic instantly spiraled out of control, forming a world-shaking, massive chain explosion!

So amazing! I couldn't even see how he overtook me!

By the time the soaring flames illuminated and scorched her cheeks, Ryu's vision finally caught Noah, who had already bypassed her, reached the midst of the Dark Faction members, and swung his sword.

No, that was already his second strike!

This time, the electric sword aura unleashed from the silver-white blade shredded the magic explosion in front of Ryu, clearing a path to the unconscious children.

Along the way, Ryu didn't need to put any thought into dodging or attacking, because the moment she saw an enemy, they were already cut down by the sweeping sword light.

This exhilarating feeling of charging straight through the enemy ranks even reminded Ryu of the refreshing sensation of putting on new underwear after waking up on the first day of the New Year!

This feeling of being carried by a teammate was simply wonderful!

However, reality didn't allow Ryu to enjoy it for long, forcing her to regain her focus.

Because the distance of several hundred meters between Ryu and the children was covered in an instant.

Ryu herself, including Noah, were now less than twenty meters away from Valetta.

Given the speed of Ryu and Noah, and Valetta's strength as a Level 6 adventurer, crossing this distance was a matter of a split second; they were practically face-to-face.

Ryu's nerves didn't relax; instead, they tightened further as she kept Valetta locked in her peripheral vision.

If the opponent were a simple murder maniac like the White-Haired Demon, Ryu wouldn't be this vigilant.

But standing before her was the Killing Emperor, famous for clashing with the Brave multiple times and known for her cunning and cruelty!

Though she was reluctant to admit it, Ryu had to acknowledge that she was far inferior to her opponent when it came to schemes and plots.

Would the Killing Emperor just let her take those children away like this?

Ryu knew with her toes that such a thing was impossible.

Whether it was planting bombs on the hostages, setting traps around them, or simply having the hostages be Dark Faction members in disguise—Ryu, having paid the price in many past battles, was well-versed in these tactics.

Because of this, while gripping her sword, she observed both the Killing Emperor and the children, calculating every possible scenario.

Yet, everything fell through!

No matter how she calculated, Valetta's actions exceeded all of Ryu's expectations.

Because she didn't move at all!

The way she just stood there quietly, without even taking a defensive or offensive stance, made Ryu feel exceptionally uneasy.

Because that look, that smile, that expression—it wasn't the laziness of someone looking down on her; it was the pleasure of watching prey about to run straight into a trap!

Something is wrong!

Ryu instinctively scanned the unconscious children—three young girls, two of whom shared similar features and might have been sisters, though all appeared to be around five or six years old.

They were just ordinary children; there was absolutely no sign of anything unusual about them.

Even the intuition of an Elf told her as much.

Should she retreat? Or press the attack? Or perhaps strike at Valetta?

Ryu wouldn't have been this conflicted even if Valetta had hacked her half to death with a blade, because in that case, she would simply need to grit her teeth and fight to the death.

At this critical moment, a pair of azure eyes flashed before her.

Do what you want to do.

The thunderclap that had previously chilled her to the bone now felt as peaceful as the patter of light rain outside a window during an afternoon nap.

I'll just save the children and go! Staying here will only drag him down!

The gloom in her heart vanished, and Ryu's body seemed to become lighter, her speed increasing to a degree visible to the naked eye.

Because the golden-haired Elf's transition from hesitation to determination was so sudden, Valetta didn't react until Ryu had already wrapped the girls in her cloak and carried them away.

"Ha, whatever..."

They weren't the main course anyway; if the appetizers ran off, so be it.

Turning her gaze toward Noah, Valetta comforted herself with that thought.

However, even knowing they were cannon fodder, wasn't this a bit too fast?

Seeing a member of the Dark Faction die by Noah's blade, Valetta couldn't help but grit her teeth and hiss.

From the moment the golden-haired Elf ran off until now, she wasn't even sure if twenty seconds had passed, yet over thirty members of the Dark Faction had already been wiped out.

No! I can't keep waiting!

I am definitely no match for this monster now!

If I were to take a direct hit from his sword, I'd likely be shredded along with my weapon!

Noah, who was in the middle of cutting down enemies, suddenly sensed something amiss and spared a glance at Valetta.

Then, he saw countless eerie, glowing geometric patterns suddenly emerge on the ground, which had previously been composed of moss and dead wood.

The color was purplish-red, the shape was circular, and it was a massive magic circle originating from Valetta!

Noah couldn't clearly grasp what was happening.

But one thing was certain: never let the enemy achieve their goal!

With a pivot of his body, Noah parried the other Dark Faction members launching attacks and raised his sword to strike at Valetta!

"You brat!"

Valetta's eyes widened as she raised her sword to parry, simultaneously attempting to dodge Noah's strike.

What she faced was an inevitable defeat.

Noah's slash easily shattered her cursed sword and carved a spray of blood from Valetta's body.

The shockwave dissipated, shattering rocks and piercing several thick tree trunks with flying debris.

However, Noah frowned.

That strike—how did it miss the mark?

65 Go! I Choose You! Ryu the Elf!

Although that strike had left Valetta in a miserable state, Noah was not satisfied.

Having achieved little in his life, he only felt confident in his swordsmanship, his cooking, and his appearance.

That last strike, while improvised, had been perfect in angle, speed, and power; it should have been able to decapitate Valetta directly. How could it have veered off?

Sensing something strange, Noah didn't have time to overthink it. He kicked up a cloud of dust and swung his blade again toward Valetta, who was rolling to the side.

If I couldn't hit her neck just now, then this time I'll cut her entire body in two!

If the precision isn't enough, then I'll just use brute coverage!

But this time, although the blade shattered the rock beneath Valetta and sent countless shards of sand and stone flying like missiles to leave her battered and bloody, she still managed to dodge the fatal attack by a hair's breadth.

The situation was like a reversal of what had happened a month ago; Noah launched a continuous barrage of attacks, yet Valetta avoided them all by the narrowest of margins.

The only thing that remained unchanged was that Valetta was still the one drenched in blood.

After slashing three more times in a single breath without ending Valetta's life, Noah finally stopped to scan his body for abnormalities.

Valetta, whose right arm had been nearly severed and whose thigh was gushing blood, used her broken greatsword as a crutch to barely stand.

She pulled out a potion, tilted her head back to swallow most of it, and then splashed the remainder over herself; all of this was completed in mere seconds.

Once the bottle was empty, Valetta pulled out another, drinking the potion like water, much like someone dying of thirst gulping down a clear spring.

"As expected, getting close to this monster is a nightmare!"

Her face, twisted and stained with dust and blood, could only barely keep one eye open, yet she still wore a hateful, distorted grin.

"But Noah, if you can't kill me, you'll just have to wait for death to claim you slowly!"

Hearing Valetta's voice, Noah gave up on checking his body.

There was no need to look any further; even a fool could tell that the purple-red magic circle beneath him was the culprit.

"Is this magic barrier the cause?"

I need time to recover, and the magic needs time to take effect!

Although villains in heroic tales always die from talking too much, Valetta judged that stalling for time was more advantageous for her right now.

"That's right! This is my magic—'Shaluoduo'! Although it's an ultra-long-incantation spell, I cannot leave this barrier, and it consumes a massive amount of mental energy, but its effect is 'Ability Degradation.' Anyone who enters the barrier without my permission will have their stats forcibly lowered with every action—stacking infinitely!"

Perhaps out of joy at finally seeing her prey caught in the web, or perhaps to vent the anger of being ravaged so miserably, Valetta shrieked the details of her magic ability.

"You can't escape anymore! Who told you to run around and slash blindly like an idiot just now!"

Valetta was right.

Noah estimated that in the short time since Valetta activated the magic circle, the stats he had strengthened after receiving his Blessing had already dropped by nearly a tenth.

If he continued to try and kill Valetta, the rate of his ability degradation would only accelerate.

But in an instant, Noah also determined that this barrier magic posed no threat to him.

No matter what, even if he couldn't kill Valetta, he could at least run away, right?

Covering this distance would only take a split second.