Chapter 88
Chapter 88
Garron sprinted out of the farm as soon as he heard the news. Wolfwater was under attack, and Noele was in danger. A kretus boar had appeared, tearing its way straight to the village. But it wasn’t just any ordinary kretus boar. Supposedly, it was a Void-touched kretus boar.
A [Druid] had warned him about this mutated monster— one that was apparently a friend of Noele’s family. He had been at Wolfwater with the blonde girl when the monster appeared. But he wasn’t strong enough to help her out, so he quickly returned to Nolan and Nicole to warn them and protect them.
But Garron was the Steel Tank. He was a B-ranked adventurer on the cusp of Level 50. While he wasn’t nearly as strong as Noele, he believed he would be able to help her out. So despite Dorien’s protests, he rushed to join her in battle. He carried his large shield, unsheathing his short sword as he whispered to himself.
“Wait for me,” he said as the ground shook from the explosions in the distance.
He saw the purple blasts. Garron had only seen the power of the Void twice before, and both times, it had been over the course of the last month. First in Whiteridge, then in Wolfwater. And now, it was in Wolfwater again.
The Steel Tank understood quite clearly that something was amiss, but he was too concerned for Noele to speculate on what could be the reason for their sudden appearances. Seeing Noele in combat against the Cloying Witch, he knew she could handle herself. But in the off chance that she couldn’t deal with the kretus boar alone—
And a powerful shockwave rippled out from Wolfwater. The nearby trees bent with the wind, half of the leaves flying off from the sheer force of the impact. Garron was knocked back, nearly stumbling off balance as a golden light flashed in the distance.
His eyes widened, and he looked up. A golden cross cut across the sky far from the village. It shone brightly, engulfing even the sun and dispersing the gathered white clouds overhead. Garron gaped for a moment at this explosion.
He recognized this magic. He saw the gold light. And he tried to work his jaw.
“That’s… Noele?”
—--
Noele watched as the golden cross dissipated from the sky. [Dance with Death] remained active, even as the battle came to an end. A charred chunk of flesh dropped from the sky, and her eyes narrowed. [Flash Step] carried her a hundred feet forward. She appeared right before a crater, eyeing the blackened remains of the kretus boar.
She frowned. The Noble Spellsword remembered the last two times she had fought a Void-blessed being. And each time, simply killing them once wasn’t enough to win. They always came back. So she waited warily as she raised her two blades.
The charred flesh of the kretus boar shifted. Her eyes narrowed, and her twin blades were coated with a golden aura once more. She readied a Glorious Noble Slash to finish the job, when the remains of the monster jerked.
Noele backed up as black appendages shot out with a crunch. But it didn’t get anywhere close to her. She blinked, watching as tiny little nubs poked out of the burnt remains of the kretus boar.
“What is going on?” She frowned, watching as the monster tried and failed to regenerate.
Its face began to reform, before distorting and melting away. For a split second, the Noble Spellsword feared that the charred kretus boar was going to twist into a rift just like when she had defeated Odell. But it only let out a weak groan.
She blinked. The dying monster’s began to shrivel up as it stared at her with a pair of flickering violet eyes. The light in its pupils dimmed into a weak crimson glow as it raised a weak limb, before flopping over to the side. Even still, it glared up at her as its body began to fade into ashes.
And she saw the anger in its eyes. The hatred it bore towards her. Noele bowed her head low. It had sought vengeance against her only because she had killed one of its kin. Noele thought of her sister for the briefest of moments.
But it wasn’t the same. The kretus boars were threatening passing travelers because their homes had been destroyed. And that was only because of the actions of the Miststorm Riders.
“I am sorry,” she whispered as the monster continued glaring up at her. “For what Odell has done to you, I can only apologize.”
The kretus boar beat its thin hooves against the ground one last time. And with a weak roar, the rest of its body turned to dust, fading away before her very eyes. Noele could only watch as the ash was scattered with the wind.
[You have defeated a kretus boar!]
The first notification flashed before her, but she didn’t react because she had anticipated it. However, the second one appeared, and she blinked.
[You have defeated a Void-blessed being!]
[You have leveled up! You are now Level 56!]
Noele stared at the hovering blue screens in shock. Firstly, she didn’t expect to level up from killing the kretus boar. Considering that she had leveled up very recently, and she hadn’t done much other than killing a few low-leveled monsters and defeating the Cloying Witch since then, she would have thought that her next level up would be a while from now. But she was already Level 56. And she even gained a brand new Skill.
[Skill Gained: Passive - Keen Battle Intuition!]
But the Noble Spellsword found herself more puzzled by the other blue screen. An individual notification from the World System announced she had defeated a Void-blessed being. When she had defeated a Cloying Witch, Noele hadn’t received such a message. Not only that, she had been under the impression that the kretus boar had been Void-touched.
“What is… Void-blessed?” she asked, her brows furrowed.
She didn’t get an answer. Instead, a panting voice called out to her as she raised her head.
“Noele!” a burly man yelled, dashing her way. “Are you alright? What happened? What… that’s…”
Noele watched as Garron the Steel Tank slowly came to a halt before her. He had his sword drawn and his shield raised, prepared for battle. But the battle was already over. And it seemed he could tell as much. He glanced down at the crater, before looking back at the blonde girl with a chuckle.
“A [Druid] told me that you were in trouble,” Garron said. “But it appears that my help is not needed at all.”
“Oh, that’s Dorien.” Noele blinked. She shook her head and waved a hand off dismissively. “He’s an old family friend— but how’s my parents? Are they safe?”
The Steel Tank nodded reassuringly. “They’re fine. They’re more worried about you… even if they have no reason to.”
Noele just smiled as Garron smirked at her. He sheathed his sword and folded his arms across his chest, looking back down at the ashen remains of the kretus boar. She lightly punched his side, taking a step back.
“Don’t pretend you weren’t just worrying over me a minute ago as well,” the Noble Spellsword said.
He harrumphed with a grin. “I was concerned. But now I realize I am just a fool. This is the third Void-touched creature you’ve killed, is it not?”
She didn’t give an immediate answer. Instead, she paused, remembering what the World System had called the kretus boar. It had been Void-blessed, not Void-touched. She wondered what was the difference between the two. Noele finally shrugged.
“I don’t know. I’m just glad to see that you actually do care about me.” She glanced away from the burly man, smiling, before looking back towards Wolfwater. “But we have quite a mess to clean up.”
Garron pursed his lips. He nodded grimly as he swept his gaze over his surroundings, taking in the full scene for the first time since he got here.
“Were there any casualties?” he asked.
“There were none. But the damage the boar caused is…” the blonde girl trailed off as she eyed the various craters dotting the landscape.
The nearby vegetation and flora had been uprooted, and the localized tremor caused by the kretus boar ripped open a few small crevices throughout the farmland. The damage was rather significant for the size of the village.
“And so soon after the Cloying Witch’s attack?” Noele sighed as she strode back towards Wolfwater. “This can’t keep happening.”
“It can’t,” Garron said, following after her. “We need to figure out a way to stop these attacks.”
She nodded as she eyed the crowd gathered in the distance. “Right… but for now, let’s check up on the restaurant…”
—--
“Amelia seemed pretty excited for her restaurant’s grand opening. I hope this attack does not ruin her plans for today.”
“I hope not. She might quit cooking altogether if that happens.”
“I do not know her as well as you do, but I think you should give your mentor a little more credit than that.”
“I am saying this because I know her—”
Guardian Angel Z357 watched the two humans slowly make their way back towards the ramshackle building at the edge of the village. A crowd of other humans waited there, and there was even an otherworlder amongst them. But his gaze was fixed only on a single figure.
Noele. That was her name, according to the human man. She had been the one to defeat the Void-blessed kretus boar— which was already an extraordinary feat for this era.
But that normally wasn’t enough to pique Guardian Angel Z357’s interest. It was the method in which she employed to win the battle which drew his attention towards her. She had been able to draw from a power beyond the World System. The magic which she used… it had reminded him of one of his own Techniques.
There was a slight difference to it which he couldn’t quite discern. There was no uniformity in her abilities. That puzzled him. And the fact that she had apparently defeated three Void-influenced beings so far drew him to her even more.
He needed to know more.
Guardian Angel Z357 knew that it was against his current objective, but he acted under his own prerogative, believing that there was more he could learn here by interrogating the blonde human instead of speaking to those useless cult members he’d encountered so far.
He deactivated Without a Trace as he descended upon the two humans. His sudden appearance out of thin air instantly attracted the attention of a handful of the nearby humans. They pointed and gasped at the angel as he approached his target.
Noele blinked, noticing the susurration, before turning around. Her eyes went round when she saw the twelve eyes staring back at her. At first, she tensed, reaching for her two blades. But then her gaze drifted to the feathery wings as her breath was caught in her throat.
“Is that… an angel…?” she asked softly.
Be not afraid, he transmitted his thoughts to the crowd of humans.
And the burly man froze. The onlookers dropped to their knees as Noele just looked on in both awe and wonder. Guardian Angel Z357 continued to slowly float down, before extending an unassuming hand.
Come with me, Noble Spellsword, he said telepathically. I am in need of an audience with you.
“An audience with me?” She blinked a few times. Her companion just gaped as those who watched buzzed in shock and excitement.
“An audience with an angel?”
“Is this real life?”
“Angel’s breath… I never thought I’d ever see one until I died…”
Guardian Angel Z357 landed right before the blonde human, taking a step forward as he kept his hand proffered. His twelve eyes blinked simultaneously, and she raised her own hand in a daze.
“I—” Noele started.
But she hesitated. For whatever reason, she shifted back uncomfortably, shrinking away from the angel. He tilted his head, puzzled by her odd behavior. Most of the denizens of Planet 16B would be beyond ecstatic to communicate with him. And yet, here she was, taken by apprehension from his presence alone.
Let us speak, Noble Spellsword, Guardian Angel Z357 pressed her as he called her by her Title. It is a matter of great importance.
She just chewed her lower lip hesitantly. His twelve eyes narrowed. No matter. It didn’t matter if she didn’t want to speak. He would make her talk by force if necessary. He reached for the blonde human as she blinked.
And a hand caught his outstretched palm.
Guardian Angel Z357’s twelve eyes flickered in surprise. His gaze snapped to the side, staring at a brown-haired human. He hadn’t even seen her coming, and she was somehow tightly clutching his arm in place
Who are you? he asked, taken aback by this sudden intruder.
He hadn’t even noticed her presence. And she didn’t seem to care that he was an angel either. She just stepped in front of the blonde human, blocking Guardian Angel Z357 from reaching his target.
“I’m Amelia,” she said simply. “Now tell me— what do you want with my apprentice?”
MelasD
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