Not long after breakfast, Finn paid a visit to the workshop.
His purpose was simple: he hoped Noah would fulfill his earlier promise to meet with Jura.
At the same time, Finn was also very curious about the new magic Noah had discovered from the Grimoire.
As expected, Bete had already reported Noah's grudge against the Hermes Familia to the Pallum hero.
But that was just a minor issue, so Noah didn't really mind.
"Let me thank you one more time. I'm truly grateful that you agreed to help with this, Noah." Standing in front of the Babel Tower, Finn thanked him solemnly.
Even though their deal had involved money, that was just a formality.
In reality, Noah was willing to help because he had built a solid relationship with the Loki Familia.
After all, they were at the very top of his list of major clients.
A single weapon order was worth 552 million valis, and they had paid him 300 million in one go.
If that wasn't a VIP patron, what was?
"It is fine. I am just showing my face. Besides, you are here to protect me," Noah smiled.
Despite his relaxed words, Noah was actually fully armed.
The Annihilator sniper rifle was disguised as a silver bracelet on his wrist, he was wearing his Constructs C0 and C3, and the Raven Feather gauntlets were hidden safely up his sleeves.
On top of that, he had brought a full supply of explosive ammunition.
He was not nearly as relaxed as he pretended to be!
His opponent was a high-ranking commander of Evilus.
That fact alone was enough to demand total caution.
Not to mention, this was an enemy who had actively tried to murder him.
Noah had originally thought the man was dead, but somehow, he had survived.
Having to face that madman again meant it was impossible to feel safe without preparing for the worst.
Unless you had truly faced that kind of pure, murderous malice yourself, it was impossible to understand the intense, suffocating threat an Evilus member gave off.
...
They descended into the underground prison beneath the Babel Tower.
This was Noah's first time here.
'The security down here is really tight,' he thought.
There were four Level 4 adventurers standing guard right at the entrance alone.
The roaming patrol teams were all made up of Level 3s.
Even though the prisoners were bound in several layers of heavy iron chains thick enough to hold an elephant, armed guards still marched past their cells every few minutes.
Because Jura was an Evilus commander and a Level 4 second-tier adventurer, his cell was given special treatment.
It was carved out of solid rock with thick iron bars on three sides.
Two or three heavily armed guards were stationed at every single corner.
Honestly, seeing this heavy security was the first time Noah truly felt the terrifying prestige of his enemy.
"Yo, Braver-sama," a raspy voice called out from the shadows. "Huh? Wait a minute... hey! You over there! You little brat! It is you! That is right, you!"
Hearing their footsteps, Jura had looked up and seen Finn.
He originally wanted to taunt the Pallum captain, but then he noticed the young man walking behind him.
That face... Jura could never forget it.
Even now, he still dreamed about it every single night.
In his dreams, he would slash that brat to pieces, knife after knife, laughing as he listened to his miserable screams!
It was the only way the madman could vent his boiling anger.
"Hahahaha! You actually brought him!" Jura shouted with sick delight. "Excellent! Hey, brat! Come on in! Let's have another fight to the death right now!"
Looking at the cat-person's crazed bloodshot eyes, Noah just pursed his lips and sighed.
"Idiot."
Finn was speechless.
Jura looked completely confused for a second.
Then, thick veins bulged angrily on his forehead.
He looked like he was about to explode with pure rage. "You damn brat! Say that again! I will crush you!"
Noah didn't even look at him.
He casually pulled a tissue from his pocket, blew his nose and then looked around as if asking no one in particular.
"Is there a trash can around here?"
He pretended to search the hallway before his gaze finally landed on Jura's cage.
"Oh, I guess there isn't one. Otherwise, why would such a massive piece of garbage just be left lying on the floor?" Noah casually flicked the dirty tissue into the air, instantly incinerating it into ash with a tiny spark of fire.
Seeing Jura's eyes literally bulging out of his skull in anger, Finn coughed awkwardly.
"Noah, I think that is enough. Let's leave it at that for now. Let me ask him a few questions first, okay?"
The Pallum hero was genuinely afraid that if Noah said another word, Jura might suffer a heart attack and die on the spot from sheer rage!
Finn turned back to Jura, his tone suddenly turning cold and deadly serious.
"I have granted your wish. Can you talk now? How exactly does Evilus enter and exit the Dungeon undetected? Where is your hidden base?"
Throughout history, all of Orario's major wars against Evilus had been commanded by Finn.
It could easily be said that Evilus had been beaten into total submission by his brilliant tactics.
Because of that, Finn found this situation very strange.
Why was Jura acting so calm while facing him?
The prisoner even had a faint look of mockery in his eyes.
What did a chained-up loser have to be so proud of?
"Hehehe... Finn, you really are an idiot," Jura sneered. "You actually expect honor and trust from people like us? There is no way in hell I would ever tell you! But... how about this? Have that brat come over here and ask me himself. If he does, I will tell him everything. How about it?"
Finn's expression turned incredibly grim.
He seriously began to consider if just executing Jura to intimidate the other Evilus prisoners might be a better idea.
Just then, Noah suddenly spoke up.
"Is that so? I understand."
Finn was stunned. "Noah?"
It wasn't that Finn thought Noah was in any danger.
This was the Babel Tower, after all.
To this day, aside from when the gods first descended a thousand years ago and smashed the original structure, the rebuilt Babel Tower had never been breached.
It had not fallen, even during the bloody Dark Period.
This tower was the absolute last bastion of defense on the surface.
It could not be broken, and it would not be broken!
The problem was that Jura was clearly just running his mouth to waste their time.
If Noah actually walked over to the bars, the madman would just scream a torrent of disgusting abuse in his face.
There was no need to invite humiliation when the outcome was already so obvious.
Furthermore, Finn was the one who had asked Noah to come here.
He did not want his friend's dignity to be insulted any further.
Noah just smiled at Finn and whispered, "It is fine."
He calmly walked forward.
His steps were not too wide, but they were not slow, either. He looked as relaxed as if he were taking a morning stroll in the park.
Seeing Noah actually approach the cage, Jura was taken aback for a second before a wicked, sickening grin split his face.
He sucked in a deep breath, gathering a thick mouthful of saliva.
'Idiot,' Jura thought. 'The second you get close, I will put dirt in your eye and spit at that annoying face!'
Noah stopped right in front of the iron bars.
At the exact same time, he discreetly used his Spell-Weaver skill to cast an invisible, soundproof barrier around the two of them.
Seeing the boy in range, Jura abruptly snapped his head forward, pressing his tongue hard against the roof of his mouth to spit at him.
But the exact microsecond the cat-person opened his jaw, Noah mercilessly blasted a dense ball of compressed wind straight down his throat.
The sudden, violent blast of air forced Jura to choke violently on his own spit.
Jura's face instantly turned a beet red.
He hunched over, hacking and coughing violently as he struggled to breathe.
However, Noah had deliberately positioned his own body to block Finn's line of sight.
From the Pallum captain's perspective, it just looked like the two of them were quietly whispering secrets to each other.
Noah stared coldly down at the violently choking prisoner.
He thought for a moment about testing his new soul-manipulation skill on the Evilus commander, but he ultimately gave up on the idea.
After all, if Jura suddenly exploded into a puddle of bloody gore inside his cell, it would be very hard to explain to Finn.
Seeing that Jura had finally managed to catch his breath, Noah decisively turned his back and walked away, dropping the soundproof barrier in the same fluid motion.
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