Under everyone's horrified stares, Phryne Jamil's massive body suddenly flipped upside down in mid-air, head pointing straight at the ground.
Noah sprang up from his crouch, boots roaring to life.
Propelled by the anti-gravity thrusters, he slammed a mid-air kick straight into Phryne's face.
Spell-Weaver poured gravity and inertia into the blow.
"Gwaa!?" Phryne let out a weird cry as she spun wildly through the air.
"Why… can't I stop!?"
Her huge body kept twisting and turning no matter how hard she flailed her arms and legs.
She couldn't touch anything because she had completely lost gravity.
After she had spun dozens of times, Noah thrust his palm toward her.
The same massive explosion that once leveled an entire building roared back to life.
A five-meter-wide pillar of blazing flame, like a fire dragon, clamped onto Phryne and blasted her straight into the sky.
But he wasn't done.
If he turned and ran now, she would catch him in a heartbeat.
Noah had poured every bit of his killing intent into this moment!
He wasn't trying to stall her anymore.
He was genuinely trying to kill her!
'Time for the finishing blow!' Noah canceled his own gravity.
Fire elements crackled in his palm, turning into raw propulsion that shot him even higher than Phryne.
Spell-Weaver could control every element. The scale and power only depended on his own strength.
Right now he was Level 3.
He could even manipulate vectors.
Using the explosive flames as thrusters, Noah accelerated faster and faster.
If he hadn't canceled air resistance and friction, the speed would have torn him apart.
Falling faster than Phryne, he spun once, gave himself one final burst and slammed his right hand directly onto her ugly face.
"Enhancement!"
He Enhance the Raven Feather・Modified.
Once.
Twice.
Thrice.
Four times!
On the fifth Enhancement, a red light flashed across the gauntlet—
Strength, momentum, weight, acceleration—every force he could control gathered into this single strike.
"Go."
He broke the sound barrier.
Phryne's falling speed surpassed sound itself.
The sonic boom that exploded in mid-air ripped roofs off nearby buildings and shattered every window for blocks.
Everything erupted at once.
Boom!
Crack!
Crash!
The terrifying force didn't stop after smashing Phryne into the ground.
It drove straight through the earth with her.
A pure white pillar of dust and debris shot into the sky.
Even people far away could see it and hear the sound barrier shatter.
Cough.
Noah's body went limp and started falling.
"Cough… cough… gravity reversal…"
He barely managed to flip his own gravity for a soft landing.
His body stopped just above the ground, then dropped the last short distance.
This height was nothing to him now.
He quickly ripped off the burning gauntlet.
Looking at the right one already starting to melt, Noah knew his year-long partner had finally reached its limit.
The gauntlet cooled rapidly, as if its job was done, then cracked and crumbled into pieces.
"You worked hard," Noah murmured sadly, then pushed himself up from the ground.
The moment his feet touched the street, two sounds rang out.
One was his own light footsteps.
The other was much heavier.
Noah's face darkened as he turned toward the huge crater he had created.
From inside it, a grotesque figure staggered out unsteadily.
Phryne's five senses were wrecked.
Her vision spun nonstop.
Her ears rang so loudly her head felt like it would split.
She couldn't smell anything because something warm kept pouring out.
Her tongue had gone numb and though her mouth moved, no sound came out.
None of that stopped her from feeling pure rage.
Her own battle-axe was buried deep in her shoulder, cutting into the scapula.
She simply yanked it out.
Covered in blood, Phryne swayed like a drunkard, barely able to stand.
Noah's body was still stained with her blood and one quick Appraisal told him everything.
'Severe concussion.'
His strike had gone through skin and skull, damaging her brain.
It was incurable.
From now on, Phryne would never live normally again. She wouldn't even be able to think clearly.
If she stayed in this confused state too long, her mind would slowly break down.
Phryne was going to become mentally disabled!
Yet Noah couldn't feel happy about it, because the "beast" was still standing right in front of him.
He knew she would definitely charge forward—to tear him apart.
This rage would never fade, even after she lost the ability to think straight.
The adrenaline was wearing off too.
The pain all over his body was about to swallow him whole.
'Stay alert. Don't blink. Don't close your eyes.' He kept reminding himself.
But when the whole world suddenly tilted violently and he realized he was falling.
Just before he completely blacked out, he saw a white figure.
It was a young werewolf with lightning-shaped tattoos on his face.
'Bete…'
Ah, so he was saved.
The most reliable guy had shown up!
He wouldn't just watch the blacksmith he had future deals with get beaten to death, right?
Thump.
Noah collapsed heavily.
His breathing turned ragged and his whole body lay still.
....
"So hot…"
With a faint ringing in his ears, Noah painfully forced his eyes open.
At first everything was blurry.
As his vision slowly cleared, feeling returned to his body.
And yes, it really was hot.
He looked down and saw two thick quilts covering him.
The blue one was his own and the golden-yellow one belonged to Haruhime.
He tried to sit up but felt heavy, so he first pushed the quilts aside.
A pair of soft fox ears appeared right in front of his eyes.
Noah stayed confused for a few seconds before it clicked.
"Haruhime?"
He gently pushed the little fox who was drooling on his chest.
She woke up with a start, rubbing her eyes and wiping her mouth with a dazed, adorable expression.
Noah remembered everything that had happened.
'This is my workshop.'
'I'm still alive.'
'Haruhime looks fine too.'
'Before I passed out, I thought I saw Bete… though I'm not sure if he was alone.'
'I wonder what happened to that Phryne woman.'
'To fix an idiot like her, only Fels' full healing magic would probably work. It's a shame I didn't finish her, but at least it saved me some trouble.'
'How long have I been out?'
"Mmm… Noah-sama…"
Haruhime mumbled sleepily.
Her eyes slowly opened.
When she noticed the sticky drool on the young man's chest that belonged to her, her face turned bright red.
She jumped off him like she had been shocked.
"Eeeek—!!!"
'This is so embarrassing!'
"Noah-sama! I-I-I'm so sorry! I fell asleep on you after finishing my work… I never imagined you'd wake up and see me like this! This is truly unforgivable! This humble girl will accept any punishment!"
She dropped to her knees and bowed deeply, pouring out apology after apology.
Noah sat up on the bed.
Only now did he realize Haruhime had been lying completely on top of him—that was why he felt so heavy.
He felt much better now.
There was no strange pain in his back, and his breathing was smooth.
His injuries seemed completely gone.
Someone must have used a recovery potion on him… though a normal one probably couldn't do this much.
This was most likely an Elixir.
The super-strong item that cost 500,000 valis and instantly restored a person to perfect condition.
Yes, it had to be an Elixir.
After paying for the workshop and the street-damage fine, he was completely broke.
Even one bottle of Elixir was a huge expense.
At The Hostess of Fertility, a yak steak cost 1,800 valis.
500,000 valis could buy 277 meals—basically a normal family's yearly living costs.
'Looks like I'll have to work harder on these current orders.'
'That Bete guy saved me once, so… Wait, no—if he had shown up earlier, I wouldn't have gotten beaten so badly, and I wouldn't have lost Raven Feather.'
'Right. It's all Bete's fault!'
'Shouldn't I charge him 20% extra?'
Noah stood up steadily and stretched.
Haruhime immediately asked with worry, "Noah-sama, how are you feeling? Does anywhere still hurt?"
Seeing her anxious face, Noah thought she looked a bit like the pet he once had.
He reached out and gently patted the little fox's head, smiling.
"It's alright, Haruhime. I'm fine now."
A quick Appraisal confirmed it.
Aside from a little stiffness in his neck, his body was back to perfect condition.
"That's wonderful… truly wonderful." Haruhime held back a few sobs, then suddenly remembered something.
She hurried to the kitchen, opened the steamer, and brought out several warm dishes.
"Noah-sama, you've been asleep for two days. You must be starving. I prepared food in advance so you wouldn't wake up hungry. Please eat something to refresh your stomach."
The little fox busied herself happily.
Only then did Noah notice she was wearing a black-and-white maid uniform—the only outfit she had insisted on buying for herself.
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