Lu Chongwei said nothing.
He stood at the very front, gazing down at the city below, where only scattered lights glimmered.
His hand rested casually on the hilt at his waist. He looked utterly relaxed, yet ready to explode into action at any moment.
Suddenly.
Lu Chongwei's eyebrow lifted slightly.
"It's here."
Those two simple words instantly put the two people behind him on edge.
Gray immediately followed Lu Chongwei's gaze, but saw nothing.
"Where? Why can't I sense any magic?"
Gray was doubtful.
His perception was among the best of his peers, but the night sky before him remained eerily still.
Then, the next second.
A nauseating, rancid wind suddenly swept in from the darkness in the distance.
A moment later, a huge shadow swooped down from the clouds like a storm cloud blotting out the sky.
In the faint moonlight, the three of them finally saw the monster clearly.
It was a giant moth.
Its wings spanned more than five meters, covered in eerie purple patterns that shimmered with phosphorescence in the night.
Its bloated abdomen writhed as it flew, while thick green liquid dripped from its mouthparts and sizzled as it ate through the roof tiles.
"Holy crap! It's huge!"
Gray's eyes widened, and he couldn't help swearing.
It was several times bigger than the ordinary Gidoken he'd seen in the bestiary!
"It's going after prey!"
Gildarts' gaze sharpened.
The Gidoken ignored the three people on the clock tower and flew straight toward a nearby house with its lights on.
Warm silhouettes showed through the windows. The family inside clearly had no idea death was at their doorstep.
"Not good!"
Gray cried out, bringing his hands together as he prepared to cast a spell and intercept it.
But someone was faster.
"Clang—"
A clear, ringing blade cry suddenly rang through the night sky.
Lu Chongwei nudged the sword guard with his thumb, drawing the long blade a few inches from its sheath.
Yet that sliver of cold light seemed to illuminate the entire night sky in an instant.
An invisible, terrifying sword pressure crashed into the diving Gidoken from hundreds of meters away like a massive hammer made real.
Ryujin Jakka, First Form—Nadeshiko!
There was no flame, no slash, but the pressure that welled up from the depths of the soul was more terrifying than any physical attack.
The Gidoken abruptly froze.
Its animal instincts instantly alerted it to the deadly threat.
It let out a piercing screech and halted its dive midair. Its massive wings beat hard as it forcibly changed direction.
Its compound eyes locked onto Lu Chongwei atop the clock tower.
In its senses, that tiny human radiated an aura that made it tremble. It had to eliminate that threat first!
"Whoosh—"
The Gidoken turned toward its new target and hurtled at the clock tower like an arrow loosed from a bow, its wings beating with a shrill rush of air.
The pressure it gave off was like a runaway fighter jet hurtling toward a crowd.
"Hey, hey! It's coming this way!"
Gray instinctively took a defensive stance, cold gathering in his palm.
"Uncle Gildarts! Do something!"
But Gildarts remained seated, looking completely at ease. He even shifted into a more comfortable position.
"What's the rush?"
Gildarts drawled, a hint of amusement in his eyes.
"This is the rookie's debut. What would it say about me if I stepped in? Besides, I'd like to see what the kid can do."
Gray froze, about to say something, when a gust of wind swept up beside him.
Lu Chongwei moved.
He used no fancy magic. He simply tapped the railing lightly with his toes.
"Bang!"
The stone railing instantly crumbled to dust.
Using the recoil, Lu Chongwei shot into the sky like a black cannonball, charging straight at the giant monster.
In midair.
Man and beast rapidly closed the distance.
Against the colossal creature with its five-meter wingspan, Lu Chongwei looked so tiny, like a mayfly trying to topple a tree.
The Gidoken opened its fearsome mouthparts, its teeth powerful enough to crush rock, and lunged down at Lu Chongwei.
"You don't know when to quit."
Suspended in midair, Lu Chongwei's gaze was impassive.
He twisted his waist in midair with impossible agility, evading the stinking maw. Then he shot upward, appearing above the Gidoken's back in an instant.
He raised his right leg high and brought it down like a battle-axe.
There was no trace of magic.
Only pure physical strength, unleashed to its utmost in that moment.
"Get down!"
He gave a low shout.
"Boom!!!"
A heavy impact rang out like thunder.
The giant monster that had just seemed invincible was kicked toward the ground by Lu Chongwei as easily as a fly being swatted.
Its enormous body lost its balance midair. With a shrill scream, it slammed into the platform atop the clock tower.
"Thud!"
The entire clock tower shuddered violently.
The stone floor cracked apart, sending rubble flying as dust billowed everywhere.
A crater several meters wide appeared. The Gidoken was embedded in it like a heap of sludge, twitching in agony.
The dust settled.
Lu Chongwei landed lightly on the railing, without so much as a wrinkle in his clothes.
Gray stood nearby with his mouth hanging open, stunned.
He stared at the crater, then at Lu Chongwei, who looked completely unruffled. His mind went blank.
"Wh-what kind of freakish strength is that?"
Gray's voice trembled.
As a Mage, he knew exactly how powerful that kick had been.
There hadn't been any magic!
Not the slightest trace!
In other words, he'd taken down a Gidoken powerful enough to rival a B-rank or even an A-rank monster with nothing but his physical strength?
"Gulp..."
Gray swallowed with difficulty, cold sweat running down his forehead.
He suddenly remembered how Lu Chongwei had knocked him out with a single punch at the guild the day before.
Back then, he'd thought he'd just been careless and caught off guard.
But now...
"That guy... was holding back yesterday, wasn't he?"
A chill ran down Gray's back.
If Lu Chongwei had put that much force into the punch yesterday, his head would have burst like a watermelon!
What kind of Mage was this?
He was a Tyrannosaurus in human skin!
"Eek—eek—"
The Gidoken let out a pained screech from the crater.
Its back seemed to have been broken by that kick. It flapped its wings desperately, struggling to get back up.
Lu Chongwei hopped down from the railing and walked toward the crater, one step at a time.
"Pretty tenacious."
Lu Chongwei sneered.
He reached the edge of the crater and looked down at the struggling beast. Then, without warning, he grabbed the Gidoken's enormous left wing.
The wing was covered in mucus and scales, repulsive to look at, but Lu Chongwei didn't care in the slightest.
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