The figure was far too massive compared to the ordinary pedestrians, so Noah could clearly make out its true shape without any effort.
Then he froze.
'You've got to be kidding me... Is that even human?'
'No, it can't be human. A monster?'
'Has a monster crawled out of the Dungeon?'
'Could it be some twisted adventurer's lovechild with a one-eyed lizard or a swamp frog?'
Phryne walked down the street.
The enormous broad-bladed battleaxe—so big that normal people would need both hands just to lift it—looked almost like a toy in her grip.
It was obvious she had ridiculous status values.
At the very least, her strength was off the charts.
Her eyes swept across the street as she muttered, "Those idle brats who wander around every day—why can't I see a single one today? Did they hide at home out of shame because they knew I was coming out? Heheheh, that must be it!"
'Huh?' Suddenly Phryne caught a flash of gold.
She narrowed her eyes and stared hard.
That open, direct gaze sent a chill straight through Noah's heart!
'Damn it, why is that thing looking at us?'
Cold sweat broke out on Noah's forehead. He took a step back and firmly grabbed Haruhime's soft, delicate hand.
Haruhime hadn't sensed the danger yet.
The sudden hand-holding and skin contact made her shy.
"Haruhime."
"Ah, yes!"
"Hold on tight."
"Huh?"
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
Phryne suddenly burst into wild laughter.
Her huge bulging eyes stretched at the corners with that creepy grin, exactly like a toad's.
"Found you."
She strode forward, completely ignoring the people in her way—kicking them aside or trampling them underfoot.
Anyone she stepped on had parts of their body crushed, twisted in horrible shapes.
'She's really coming!'
Noah grabbed Haruhime and ran.
He had forced himself to appraise that thing despite the disgust, but the results showed question marks for level, race, and even name.
Still, the fact that it listed a level and Familia told him one thing.
That monster toad was an adventurer.
Not only that.
Among all the adventurers he knew, only one matched these traits.
Phryne Jamil of the Ishtar Familia.
'Goddamn it.'
Thats a Level 5 adventurer!
Haruhime, still confused, ran hand-in-hand with Noah while he quickly thought everything through.
'First, the target's most likely Haruhime, but they shouldn't know her secret yet.'
'So why?'
The most probable reason was that Haruhime had already been claimed by the Ishtar Familia!
And of all people, it had to be this foul toad.
If it were anyone else, simply explaining that Haruhime was now part of the Hephaestus Familia would make them back off.
Except for this one.
This mentally disturbed, severely narcissistic lunatic.
But even that idiot shouldn't recklessly start a fight in the middle of the city!
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
A whistling wind roared from behind.
Noah's instincts screamed at him to dodge.
He pulled Haruhime into his arms and threw himself to the ground, at the same time commanding every bit of surrounding wind to deflect the spinning great battleaxe.
Swish!
A gust swept past.
While shielding the girl in his arms, Noah felt a searing pain rip across his back— so bad that cold sweat poured down him.
He failed to block it completely.
Even with all the wind he could gather, he only managed to nudge that monstrous axe a little.
It kept him from getting hit directly.
But even the graze had torn him up badly.
'This power was no less than Tsubaki's.'
Noah understood that from just this one strike.
And he had been too naive.
The opponent was crazy enough to attack without holding back in the middle of the street.
Looking around, at least twenty people were already on the ground, unable to get up after Phryne's rampage.
Drip.
A drop of blood fell on Haruhime's face.
She suddenly realized what had just happened and what kind of injury the boy in front of her had taken to protect her.
Haruhime's pupils shrank.
The warmth of Noah's blood on her skin hit her nerves.
"Noah-sama?"
The girl started trembling, her nerves stretched to the breaking point.
Seeing her reaction was off, Noah forced himself to act normal despite the pain.
He struggled to push his body up and half-knelt beside Haruhime.
"It's alright, Haruhime. Remember? I can use healing magic."
Only then did the girl remember the warmth he had given her the first time they met.
She quickly leaned against him, becoming his support so he wouldn't fall.
At that moment, Phryne also arrived.
Seeing the young boy and girl clinging together, she made a displeased face and shouted.
"Hey hey, you little black-haired brat, what's going on? How dare you kidnap our property?"
Noah tried his hardest to keep his breathing steady, even though the pain was making it faster and faster.
He refused to show any weakness.
He answered coldly, "Don't spout nonsense, monster. We are members of the Hephaestus Familia."
"Hah?" Phryne narrowed her eyes, giving a fierce glare.
"Stop bullshitting me, you brat. You were lucky I didn't chop you to pieces just now. That fox over there—come here."
Haruhime jumped.
Noah's eyes flickered slightly.
Although she's an idiot, even an idiot would understand.
You can't offend the Hephaestus Familia.
After hearing him claim to be from Hephaestus familia, the other side's killing intent dropped a lot, but it didn't disappear completely.
It seemed their idea of "offending" was totally different.
"I... don't want to."
Even though Haruhime was so scared she could barely stand, she still sat sprawled on the ground and spread her arms to shield Noah.
"I want to stay with Noah-sama."
"Ha." Phryne sneered.
"What's so good about that little brat? Come back with me. There's plenty of fun waiting for you—the kind that'll make you feel amazing. Though your frail body might not handle it and break right away."
Thud.
Noah's tightly clenched fist slammed into the ground, cracking it.
He was furious!
Whether it was the fact he couldn't reason with her, the pain in his back, the foul toad's vulgar words to Haruhime, or being called a little brat.
He could even ignore the pain in his back now.
'No.... It was probably just the adrenaline.'
Noah took a deep breath.
His gauntlets creaked from the movement of his knuckles.
At that moment, someone among the people who hadn't run away yet suddenly shouted.
"Hey! That's the Hephaestus Familia's Artisan Spirits!"
"Ah, and the other side is the Toad from Ishtar Familia..."
"This is bad. To think the most promising blacksmith would be targeted by that man-killer... this is absolutely terrible."
Noah placed his hands on Haruhime's shoulders, stood up, and positioned himself in front of her.
The horrifying wound gaping open on his back looked gruesome.
If he were an ordinary person instead of an adventurer, the pain alone might have killed him.
"Haruhime, I'm sorry. Though I haven't tried it before... can you use that here? I'll cover for you."
"Can I... be of help to you?"
"I should say you're my only hope." Noah smiled bitterly.
The level gap between him and Phryne was just too big.
There was no way to bridge it.
He had felt the difference between Level 1 and Level 5 many times already through Tsubaki.
Even to buy time, he needed at least Level 3 strength.
So he needed Haruhime to use Level Boost on him!
"I'll do it!" Haruhime declared firmly, "I will definitely become your strength!"
Noah forced a smile, then started manipulating the surrounding sand, wind, and even the air with Spell-Weaver.
Under his full power, the sand instantly spread out, forming a thick cloud.
At the same time, Haruhime began her chant.
"—Grow, thy power and deeds, countless treasures, countless wishes! When the bell tolls, pray for glory and illusion—Grow, this body that devours divine offerings, bestow the golden light of the gods! Return the mallet to earth, grant thy blessing!"
"Grow!"
"Uchide no Kozuchi!"
A bright halo shone above Noah's head and covered his whole body.
Meanwhile, having lost her patience, Phryne spat on the ground, swung her battle-axe with both hands, and unleashed a vacuum blade through raw power alone.
A physical phenomenon created by pure strength, its power far beyond the wind blades Noah could make at full force.
The dust cloud was pierced straight through, and the street was visible to everyone again.
Noah was still standing there.
This surprised the oonlookers... because he hadn't tried to run.
Some veteran adventurers weren't surprised at all—in that situation, running would have been useless.
It wouldn't even buy time, only waste stamina.
Seeing Noah standing there, Phryne squeezed out a smile.
"You're quite interesting. Though still a brat, you've got some manly spirit. Slurp." She licked her lips, a few drops of saliva trailing from her tongue.
"I decided. I'll take you back to be my male pet. Lady Ishtar says raising them from young can be quite entertaining too."
Noah took a deep breath, lowered his head, and walked straight toward Phryne.
"Oh?" To Phryne, Noah's behavior looked like surrender.
'Hah, as expected, no man can resist my charm, not even some snot-nosed brat.'
Haruhime watched the boy's back with worry, clutching her sleeves tightly.
Step by step, Noah reached Phryne and his knees slowly bent.
'Was he... going to kneel...?'
Just as everyone thought so, Noah's hands touched the ground—but his knees never reached it.
He was simply crouching.
The boy's lowered head hid an expression full of madness.
'Gravity Reversal!'