Chapter 63
Chapter 63
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Ricardo Subjugation Battle (5)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"...Did I get him?"
Noah peered beyond the fog without letting her guard down.
It had been a strike infused with every ounce of her mana.
No demon could possibly walk away unscathed from that.
'My aura, my mana, my body... everything's at its limit.'
She had no strength left to keep fighting.
'Please, just let that demon be done for...'
Drip—
"...!"
Noah, who had been praying so desperately, snapped her head up at the sudden sound and stared in the direction where the demon had been.
Drip— splatter—
"No way..."
It was an unbelievable sight.
Ricardo, his body a mangled wreck, had somehow dragged himself back to his feet.
Noah's eyes widened upon seeing him, and she instinctively gripped her sword tighter.
"Heh, heh heh, kuh huh huh huh!"
Ricardo began to laugh, half-mad with delirium.
Noah held back from charging recklessly and simply watched his movements.
"Fine, I'll acknowledge you."
"...?"
"From the moment I set foot here, I should have gone all out. I was too optimistic about the situation."
At the same time, a bloody glow began to swirl in his pitch-black eyes.
"If you were someone that Yeon Je-seong put forward, there had to be something extraordinary about you. I underestimated you greatly."
Blood-red energy then poured from his entire body.
"Noah—!"
"Kgh?!"
"From now on, I recognize you as a worthy opponent! I'll stake everything I have against you!"
Yes! Even if it costs me this life!
Crunch— crack crack—!
Immediately after, his body, which had been radiating red light, began to twist grotesquely.
His sleek features swelled into something massive and hideous, while his battle-hardened physique ballooned into a hulking mass of muscle.
Rooooaaar—!!
Once the brief transformation ended, Ricardo emerged as a colossal brute reminiscent of a troll or ogre.
His suit-clad body had expanded so violently that every piece of clothing tore apart, leaving only his pants—half-shredded—to barely cover his vitals.
"...!"
But Noah's gaze fixated not on the transformation itself, but on those pants that somehow hadn't torn completely.
"Grrrgh...!"
"Khah...!"
That distraction didn't last.
Shattering the ground, Ricardo closed the distance in an instant and sent the unreacting Noah flying.
She bounced across the pavement several times before crashing through a nearby wall and embedding into a building.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {Noah…! Are you okay-ho!} "Cough...!"
She had no breath to answer.
In the brief opening before the next attack, Hiho had deployed a barrier, but the unblocked impact had been overwhelming.
In the end, Noah spat blood, her face twisted in agony.
At the same time, a flood of buffs poured in from Hiho, who had been watching her.
Her body flashed repeatedly, and the damage began to heal rapidly.
As the pain slowly faded and her stamina recovered, Noah finally opened her eyes. Camella and the rest of the party rushed toward her.
"Noah...!"
"Your wounds are severe! We need to heal you now...!"
"Use a potion."
"Ca, Camella?"
"Just hang in there a bit longer, Noah!"
"Kuh... What about the demon? How did you all get here?"
Had the intense shock made her black out briefly?
Noah stared at Camella, unable to comprehend how she had suddenly appeared.
"The demon's being handled by the instructors. The Chairman called them in."
"That's berserk mode. Even the Chairman must have judged it too much for him alone."
"We weren't supposed to come in either, but..."
"Paul! Noah's fighting alone—we can't just run away!"
It seemed they had come on Camella's insistence.
They wouldn't have sent mere students into such danger, after all.
They must have snuck in.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {No, it's not sneaking-ho. The Chairman must have quietly allowed it-ho.} Hiho's words pierced her thoughts, and Noah nodded.
'Yeah, they wouldn't have security breached in a place like this.'
"Ugh..."
"Noah!"
"Don't push yourself!"
"Your wounds are serious."
As Noah slowly rose with a pained groan, Camella fretted and carefully supported her.
Finally, Noah staggered to her feet.
"Berserk mode? I thought that only happened with mana beasts."
"No, berserk mode exists in all living beings. It's rare to trigger it deliberately like that, but even humans like us carry the risk."
"Aura overload leading to qi deviation, or mana backlash from magical surge—they're all the same category. Berserk mode itself isn't anything special."
"The problem is that he can force it to happen."
Noah listened quietly to their explanations, then gazed at the wildly thrashing Ricardo and spoke.
"Forcing berserk mode..."
"Demons are naturally adept at mana control. They instinctively know how to trigger it."
A demon in berserk mode saw massive boosts to physical abilities and mana.
They lost their reason and rampaged, but the power-up was so dramatic that demons often saved it as a trump card.
"But it has downsides. True to its name, berserk mode puts enormous strain on the body. Even demons can't use it without risk."
"He's probably burning through his own life force too."
"And once it starts, there's no way to stop it."
"So that demon..."
"Yeah, even if he escapes the instructors, he won't survive."
Noah stared blankly at the demon as Camella spoke calmly.
Even bereft of reason, Ricardo kept locking eyes with her relentlessly.
What did she feel, looking back at him?
After quietly watching the instructors' exploits for a moment, Noah suddenly drew her sword.
"Noah...!?"
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"That's reckless!"
Spotting her intent, they grabbed at her.
"I have to go. My duel with him isn't over yet."
"A-Are you insane?! You've done more than enough! Leave the rest to the instructors!"
"Exactly, Noah! Jumping in there risks your life!"
The battlefield where the instructors clashed with Ricardo was a storm of flashy skills raining down nonstop.
A spent Noah jumping in would only get in the way.
Paul shouted as much at her.
"This isn't the time to be stubborn. The instructors can handle the demon just fine!"
"I know that. But I'm the one who has to finish him."
"Why?! Why do you have to?!"
Camella yelled in frustration.
Noah simply closed her eyes and fell silent at her words.
It wasn't pity for the demon or a thirst for an unfinished fight.
She wasn't some saint who showed mercy to demons, nor a battle maniac who lived for combat.
And yet, sword in hand, Noah slowly walked toward the demon.
"Noah—!"
Ignoring Camella's pleas, Noah moved forward and glanced at the edge of her vision.
📜 QUEST STATUS 📜 [Clear Conditions]
Eliminate Infiltrating Demon: 0/1
Eliminate Attacking Mana Beasts: Clear!
City Damage: 6% (Failure if casualties occur)
'To clear the quest, I have to be the one to take him down.'
The instructors might satisfy the condition, but she couldn't gamble on uncertain odds.
Better to struggle a bit and guarantee it herself!
With that resolve, Noah raised her sword and charged at Ricardo.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {...You've started to resemble him-ho.} "What...?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {Uh, nothing-ho! More importantly, are you okay-ho? That thing's way beyond you now-ho!} Hiho, seeing Noah like that, spoke to her.
"I don't know! Honestly, I feel like dying already?"
Her mind was already at its breaking point.
Hiho's constant buffs were the only thing keeping her going.
Deep down, she wanted nothing more than to collapse and sleep.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {Then it's dangerous-ho! You should really leave the rest to the instructors...} "No, that won't do. If I took it on, I have to see it through to the end."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ {Ughhh...! Hiho gives up-ho! If it gets bad, the Chairman will save you-ho!} Noah lowered her stance and leaped into the fray at blinding speed.
Hiho, resigned to it all, showered her with buffs.
Her body flashed in a rainbow of colors, her charge accelerating dramatically.
"Damn it! That idiot...!"
"L-Lady! What do we do?!"
"Argh! What do you mean?! We go help her too!"
Right after, a terrifying killing intent seemed to rise from behind her, but she ignored it and dodged an incoming attack, trading blows with Ricardo.
"What the...!"
"Student, get out of there!"
"You're in the way! Move—!"
Moments later, the instructors noticed the intruder and shouted at her.
"It's dangerous! Run now!"
"You wanna die?! Get out!"
The frontline instructors, with her now among them, gritted their teeth at the sudden addition and hurriedly shifted to defensive stances.
'He's just lashing out on instinct. Powerful, but if I read the patterns, I can handle it calmly.'
Ignoring the reactions around her, Noah's eyes darted sharply, dodging the demon's ferocious assaults by a hair's breadth and landing counterstrikes here and there.
"Damn! Pull that kid out, by force if you have to!"
"No! The enemy's aggro is locked on her! Yanking her now would collapse our formation!"
"And where did you lot even come from...!"
"Tch! No choice! Everyone, cover that kid as best you can!"
How many attacks had they blocked?
The instructors, who had disrupted his rhythm, were now syncing with Noah to corner the demon.
They seemed to have accepted her participation.
Noah gave a slight nod, then schooled her expression into fierce focus and channeled aura into her sword.
"Rooooaaargh!"
"Not happening!"
"Block it!"
"Answer the call of our oath! 'Lycore'!"
At that moment, Ricardo let out a massive roar and lunged at Noah.
A chilling frost gathered on his raised leg, and just before the devastating downward strike hit—
The frontline instructors, and even those in the rear, unleashed attacks on his leg in unison.
All strikes landed, and finally, Camella's summoned lightning beast bit into his leg, forcing Ricardo to falter without completing the blow.
"Thank you!"
Noah called out her gratitude to those who had bought her time, then raised her sword high.
"Raaaaah—!"
"Haat—!!"
Aura erupted from her feet, propelling Noah forward like a shot.
'Berserk boosts regeneration too. I have to end it decisively, no openings for counter!'
Closing in instantly, Noah slashed diagonally at his exposed chest, then followed with an upward diagonal slice.
"Haaah!"
Her swordsmanship surged with overwhelming momentum.
His already blood-soaked body grew even redder.
"...!"
Fast.
Stronger than before!
No counters!
Only attack!
As Noah fell into a trance of relentless assault, platinum aura began to rise from her body once more.
"—!!"
"...!"
Ricardo screamed silently while Noah gritted her teeth and swung without cease.
How long had it gone on?
As those around them stared dazedly, too tense to intervene in the electrifying clash—
Noah's storm of strikes finally pierced Ricardo's heart.
—!
"..."
No scream.
No shout.
Only Noah's breathing filled the air.
"Ha."
In that instant, a voice escaped Ricardo's lips.
His body began crumbling to dust from the bottom up.
Gazing calmly at his disintegrating form, Ricardo turned his eyes to Noah.
"I lose."
With those plain words of defeat, he looked up at the sky—
"Terror... please beware these ones..."
He murmured words that wouldn't reach, unconcerned with his fading body.
"Ha, haha..."
Confirming the demon's death, Noah lowered her trembling sword—
"She won—!"
"Hah!"
"H-Hey!"
"Medical team!"
"Healers! Get the healers!"
As her consciousness faded, a satisfied smile bloomed on her lips.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ *Ding—!*