Last chapter, it was accidentally implied by me using a pronoun wrong that Noah would die either way by Ilias' will. That was not the intention.
He just has to beat Granberia. Easy feat, right?
Noah's eyes were closed, and yet he could still feel the swordswoman's presence. Magical power rolls off of her in waves, and it's hard not to feel like an insect in front of a dragon- and at least one of the two parts is true.
"Daughter... what are you doing here?" Salamander whispers in Noah's ear, more to herself than an actual question. She doesn't seem disapproving, just confused.
Luka dashes forward, sword raised. "Granberia! What are you doing here?!"
Noah opens his eyes to look at the humanoid dragon. He's leaning against a pillar, and just the presence of such fire energy makes his wounds flare with angry pain. Even through Salamander's assurance that it is temporary and he'll come out of it stronger, he can't help but think that it's cold comfort right now to Granberia's fiery aura.
Other than that, Granberia is... interesting. She walks around half-naked like every other monster, though by comparison, the coverage is enough to appear modest. She wears a breastplate and a cape, as well as a sash to keep her long, red hair out of her eyes, the rest of her body covered in green and yellow scales save for the frills coming out of her neck.
Noah is behind Luka, arms crossed, hat shadowing his eyes. This isn't his fight, especially not right now. Besides, he doesn't feel like fighting the one monster he has met so far worthy of his respect.
"Oh? You've certainly changed. You're completely different from when we last met in Iliasburg." She smirks, but doesn't draw her blade, before her eyes lock onto Noah and the smirk fades from her face. "And you... you've finally wet your blade with blood, since last we met." Noah has no idea how the heavenly knights- and their adjutants, apparently- can seemingly just tell that. "Are those scorch marks your punishment? Or just the sign of your failure to wield the power of fire properly?"
Noah scowls, but considering he'd already been chided enough by Salamander over it. "The latter."
For a moment, she seems surprised by his admission, but she gives him a nod after a moment. "I can respect the humility behind such an admittance. Stand aside, then. I will not fight an injured man."
"So you've come to attack San Ilia this time?" Luka asks, and Granberia's scowl returns.
"And what point would there be in attacking a castle in the middle of nowhere? Don't make me laugh." Finally, she draws her sword. "I've come to cross swords with you, Luka!"
"M-me?!"
Granberia harrumphs. "I've come to see if the others were just exaggerating about your skill. Now, let's fight!"
Luka gulps loudly, but squares his stance. "I don't think I can beat you... but I've no choice but to stand my ground!" He shouts, and after a moment, he rockets forward with speed that surprises even Noah. "Thunder thrust!" He shouts, plunging his sword at Granberia's arm, who shrugs it off with just a slight technicolor cut. After a moment, he jumps back, though Granberia doesn't counter.
"Oh? Thunder Thrust?" "You'd do well to take all of this in, Noah." Salamander comments. "That boy's/You're pretty good at using that skill." Salamander and Granberia say at the same time in an eerie echo of one another.
Noah, in the meantime, is busy drawing in the mana that sparks between the combatants. 'I don't think I have the physique to just rocket forward like I've got springs in my heels.' He thinks back at her, prompting an eye roll from the spirit of fire.
'And you're no dragon, but that hasn't stopped you from learning the Flaming Decapitation, now has it?'
Noah doesn't reply, focusing on the fight. And, he realizes, Alice has vanished, and beyond the two combatants, the hall is eerily quiet. A guard peers around a corner, gasps, and goes to call for reinforcements.
Wait. The guards were already supposed to come and assist Luka. The fact that they're not here... shows, as after an exchange or two, and Luka showing off the Demon Decapitation, a cleaving cut on Luka's torso sends him rocketing back into a wall, and he barely manages to stand.
...fuck. All this because he wanted the Goddess Sword for himself. Fear seizes his heart for a moment at the idea that Luka might lose, and by the time he realizes what he's doing, words of power are already leaving his mouth.
"Tranquil winds of life, restore his wounded body!" he said, stepping between Granberia and Luka, drawing his sword.
He wasn't particularly more comfortable with the weapon than he was with the crossbow, but it at least drew Granberia's attention.
'...are you sure about what you're doing?' Salamander said. Noah grit his teeth as Granberia lowered her sword slightly.
"Have you not heard me, whelp? Get out of my way. This is a duel between me and Luka." She huffed.
"Now, I wonder what this situation reminds me of," Noah replied, a shit-eating grin plastered on his face, his entire being willing her to look at him and not just go for Luka. "I seem to recall an honorable duel being interrupted just in the same way when last we met."
"This is completely different!" She shouts back, incredulous. "I thought you were attempting to assassinate my mo- Master!" She quickly corrects herself, though if the momentary warmth that passes through Noah's body is anything to go by, Salamander definitely picked up on it- and if the way Granberia's cheeks gained color was any indication, she knew that as well.
"Doesn't change the fact that you owe me a fair fight, and I've been dying to show off what I've been taught so far. I'll take this next bout."
'...huh. Either you've gotten better at lying, or you're actually sincere about wanting to cross blades with her. But are you sure that what you're doing is worth it?' Salamander inquires.
'I fear what happens if Luka fails now more than I do your daughter. I just need him to get a little more time to recover.' Noah glanced behind him, to the Hero whose breathing had evened out, and now was struggling to climb to his feet.
Granberia sighed, but locked her gaze with Noah in a more determined fashion and raised her sword. "Very well. Have at you, Avenger."
She knows his title too? How?
With that, Noah rushed forward. For some reason, he felt... light. While he was worried, he wasn't fighting for his life, or his right to remain free. Wielding the newly named Grand Cross, in one of the holiest places in the continent, with his connection to Heca...
He hadn't even realized, as he crossed the distance between himself and Granberia. Her eyes widened, as his blade knocked aside her own sword "Ein," continuing his momentum, he raked his sword across her chestplate due to Granberia stepping back, "Zwei," with the last movement, he drew his sword across her neck.
A small line, not even enough to make her bleed, was drawn on her neck. As she swung in retaliation, Noah surprised himself even more by managing to jump back just in time to evade.
'This power... careful not to burn yourself out on it too. It shouldn't happen for a while, but this is still sapping at your SP." Salamander informed, and he grimaced again.
Lightning flowed across his sword, but to Noah's surprise, it didn't shock him- it was like it was coming straight from him, sparking wildly out of his blade like it was a tesla coil. Rushing forward, he brought his blade down on Granberia, who made no effort to dodge, and lightning cascaded down from a beam of the church to strike her... also to no avail.
"You've gotten better. Nowhere near good enough, though." She simply commented, batting him away with her sword with a movement that seemed light, but still bruised his ribs and knocked him away.
Wincing, he knew he didn't have it in him to take more blows. The easy movements that came to him, almost as though he were dancing... and what Salamander had been preparing him for.
Lightning turned to fire in his grasp. It was measly compared to Salamander's, but it would do the job for one last attack. Bathing his sword in flames, he went on the attack with the Three Step Decapitation again, seeking to pour every ounce of the power he had left in him.
Granberia sighed. "You have spirit... but you should understand when you're hopelessly outclassed. I'll make this quick. Severing Four Dragonfly Wings!"
Their swords met for a moment, before Granberia bypassed his defenses entirely. Her sword flashed four times...
And Noah fell over, like a puppet with its strings cut, his muscles unresponsive. His eyes widened in surprise, and the holy energy fled his body as he knocked to the ground; with no limbs to steady himself, he hit his back, the wind knocked out of him and his head only just managing not to follow in hitting the pavement. With a groan, he tried to roll off, but his arms and legs weren't answering his call; as he began muttering a healing prayer, a scaled claw pressed down on his chest in a warning.
"Must I kick you senseless before you realize you are outmatched?" Granberia asked, annoyed. "Or are you that eager to be treated as a real combatant and face the consequences of losing?" She smirked as she saw Noah's eyes widening as her foot trailed down his chest and over to his groin. "Perhaps-"
"Get off of him! Demon Skull Beheading!" Luka cried, and Noah's expression carefully went blank, as did Granberia's.
He was.
Dropping from the ceiling.
With Granberia's foot.
Still on Noah's groin.
...after a moment, however, Noah dared to look back up and saw Granberia's shoulder slightly injured by the Angel Halo, and no additional pressure on his crotch.
After that moment, Luka leaped away, sword drawn, and the moment was broken.
Did she... shove herself into the sword's path to not crush his balls?
Granberia cast a look that said "you owe me" at him, before lowering her sword. "I've seen enough." She said, planting her blade into the ground. "You two... your techniques are immature, but they have potential. You, with the Heroic style passed down from Heinrich himself," she looked down at Noah. "And you, with your Cursed Swordsmanship." She pointed at Luka. "Maybe, as one, you'll pose half a decent challenge to me, eventually. I'm going to let you live."
...and in a flash of light, she disappeared. With a groan, Noah let his head fall back, his hat shadowing his eyes.
'You should not tap into powers that you don't know of in a fight as important as that one. Though I suppose that it helped, this time.' Salamander huffed, annoyed.
'I suppose you've got it all figured out already?' Noah asked. His mind was still stuck on the thought that now he owed two different people the continued well-being of his potential children.
'Seems to be a variation of the Angel Dance... or I suppose, that technically, the precursor.' Noah's eyebrows shot up at that. 'You just suffuse your body with holy energy, automatically healing a little over time and becoming harder to hit, but due to the holy power, you can't cast use dark magic, as you saw.' she huffed. 'Honestly, if you don't plan on slinging spells at all in that fight, it's better to have it than not having it, I suppose, but you should try and figure out a way to end it prematurely before it fully drains you of all your power. Then again... I don't think you can consciously activate it. Unless you manage to reproduce it it for yourself, I think the Goddess herself or one of her minions might need to intercede.'
'So I have a spiritual power that consumes me, a holy power that I can't consciously activate, and an artificial one that I can only hold for a split second?' He asked himself.
'You can only blame yourself, not the powers. You've seen firsthand the kind of boost Grandine can offer to a user not even that skilled in her usage, complaining about an unreliable power is a fool's errand, and let's not talk about why you're incapable of using my power.' She snapped, and Noah groaned as he felt the pins and needles stop as the last dredges of the angel dance healed his limbs.
"Dark Avenger, sir! Are you alright?" Luka shouted, and Noah removed his hat to look at him, standing over. The boy now was without a scratch, despite the older hero knowing for a fact he'd been hit hard enough to crack ribs. Stupid bullshit meditation.
"Just peachy." He groaned. "Thanks for standing up for me, though I'd advise you to practice some situational awareness. If she hadn't just tanked the blow..." Noah shuddered. At that, Luka blinked, before a blush of embarrassment rose to his cheeks.
"...to be honest, I was hoping she would dodge, maybe. I made a big show of dropping from the ceiling and everything and thought that if I could get her to dodge, then I could put myself between you and her, but... well..." Luka sighed.
"You idiot, how is making a huge show and shouting out your moves any different from your regular attacks?" Alice, still in human form, reappeared from behind a column, as though she'd been there the entire time. After a moment, she closed her eyes. "By the way, where are the idiots that ran? I'm pretty sure reinforcements should be here by this point."
"...you're right. Where are they?" Noah's brows furrowed. After a moment, he stood up, slowly walking his way over to the wing where he'd last seen them...
And finding a trail of unconscious bodies.
And they were definitely just unconscious; they hadn't been robbed of their clothes nor their breath. Brows furrowed, he ducked down to roll over one of them, and saw that his chestplate was dented inward, the shape of a punch having collapsed it.
Noah felt confused, before a slight glint of white against the pavement took his notice; a bit of golden and white fur. '...oh, that fucking hag. Felt two on one was more than enough, huh?'
'I... don't disagree with the assessment that this was probably done by Tamamo, but why would she be here?' Salamander asks.
'Monitoring Luka, most likely.' he thought back, and if anything, that made Salamander more confused, but he dismissed that for now.
"What a useless priest. We could have done away with this whole convocation thing and it would not have changed a thing." Alice huffed, eyes closed.
"Hm?" Noah hummed, head tilted.
"He just kind of... told me to follow you. Said you were the person to reference when it comes to monster-slaying..." Luka shrugged, looking put off.
Ah.
The diminuitive hero was looking at him in a confused manner, but the disguised Lamia was just regarding Noah as if he were lower than dirt.
Fucking Ilias.
"The old man has a lot of weird ideas about me." Noah drawled. "I have killed precisely one monster, and it was because she meant to kill me and another person. And before you roll your eyes at me, I don't think having 'my spine ripped out of my asshole', as the Lamia put it, is a misinterpreted offering of a good time."
Luka winced at the idea, and Alice at least had the decency to look pensive. At least, she didn't seem like she would kill him with a look, if she could-
After a moment, he thought better. That's right. She probably could kill him with a look.
"I suppose I cannot blame you for defending yourself. You are still a worm of a man for acting as the leading champion of a cause you don't even believe in." She eventually decided, eyes closed.
Noah's eyelid twitched. What was it with the top brass of monsterkind and calling him a worm? He already was at the Monster Lord and the strongest of the Heavenly Knights.
"Anyways, the whole thing is pointless, as Luka won't be following the path of a weakling. Instead, what you should focus on doing is beseeching the aid of the Four Spirits. Only through their aid could he ever obtain the power to defeat the Monster Lord... though even then, it might be a long shot." She said smugly.
...was she trying to upset Noah? He had no ego left to shatter. "That seems like a good plan." Noah shrugged. "The four spirits were the ones to guide Heinrich to greatness, after all." The smug smile slipped off of Alice's face, replaced by annoyance. What, did she not want him to agree with her?
Apparently so, because after a moment, she launched into explaining that in the castle's library was hidden a tome that contained the four spirits' locations, and she largely ignored Noah's presence. For his own part, he also ignored the conversation.
'I'm going to kill her.' He quietly resolved. He had not put much thought about what would happen with Cornelia, but... he'd decided. If this alienated Luka and Alice from him, then he'd simply find his own way from there.
'If that happens, you can always come smack the boy upside the head when he comes by Gold Volcano. I know I would not mind the company.' Salamander joked, and he huffed.
'Not going to disagree?'
'...I don't know who you've taken me for, but when I disagree with you picking a fight, it's usually with good reason. Killing the bitch who wanted to end your life for no reason other than she could? I won't lend you my power, but I'll be cheering you on. This will make for a good test of your capabilities, and you have a decent ally by your side.'
Noah nodded, following Luka as he began to head towards the library. After a few moments, the duo turned around to stare at him. "Um, Dark Avenger sir? Do you also need to go to the library?"
"I told you to call me Noah already. And no, but considering the library is monster-infested, someone will need to drag your sorry ass out if you get caught."
Luka's eyes widened and he nodded, unsheathing his sword, while Alice let out a grumble. "What am I, chopped liver?"
"You look ready for a kitchen, not a fight," Noah replied, earning a wince out of Luka and a glare from Alice.
"And what is that supposed to mean? You think women can't fight, Mr. Avenger?"
"Is your choice of weapon the potato wrapped in tinfoil you've been waiting to pull out for a bit, then?" Noah deadpanned, and Alice stilled.
"I see your point." She conceded after a moment. "I suppose I will sit this one out, then." She sniffed haughtily, though if the small smirk she had as she turned around, it seemed like she was glad that she didn't need an excuse.
'Yeah, right. This one.' Noah rolled his eyes as they resumed walking, feeling miffed. When this was a game, Noah didn't really care, but Alice not helping out if Luka fell, even against things she didn't actually want to see happen, like Cassandra devouring him or Luka being raped in Pandora's Box was so incredibly stupid.
Still. At the moment, he had to prepare.
Today, he was going to kill the Queen of Book Monsters.
Severing Four Dragonfly Wings is ripped straight from Pathfinder 2e. Here, it's used specifically to aim at four targets in a non-lethal manner- that is, Noah's arms and legs. leaving him effectively Paralyzed.
I wonder what happened to Ilias' judgement. She doesn't sound like the one who'd accept "enemy retreating" as winning the battle.
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