Chapter 172


    Sienna couldn’t believe her eyes. She had been certain that Noele was on the cusp of death— that the Noble Spellsword wasn’t going to survive her wounds even with a healing potion. A healing elixir or some other potion of regeneration was needed to heal that gaping hole in her chest at the very least.


    And yet, now Noele was standing once again. It wasn’t even like what happened with the bartender, where he had regenerated thanks to the power of the Void. Sienna could understand that, because she herself was empowered by the same touch— the same twisted magic she was still learning toprehend.


    No— Noele was still injured. The healing potion had recovered some of the flesh from the hole in her chest, but it hadn’t stopped the bleeding. And yet, somehow, she was moving unimpeded.


    Sienna knew of some S-ranks who had Skills that let them fight despite their injuries. Was this the same thing? But how did Noele go from on the brink of death to… this?


    It made no sense. The Noble Spellsword cut down Nichs in an instant, before engulfing him with a golden st. He couldn’t even scream. He was turned into a charred corpse in an instant.


    “How…?” Kale blinked a few times.


    But Noele ignored him. She didn’t pay attention to either of the other S-ranks, instead looking down at the burnt body of Nichs. Her shorter de was lit aze by a golden me, and she pointed down at the regenerating man.


    Sienna’s eyes widened as she realized what was happening. Kale took a moment to process it, and she clicked her tongue at his ipetence. Quickly, she drew her bow and nocked an arrow, aiming for the Noble Spellsword.


    Noele’s eyes flickered at Sienna as the arrow glinted with a purple aura. Spinning around, the Noble Spellsword’s golden mes faded away and she braced herself for the attack.


    Sienna loosed the arrow, and it shot forward. A magical bolt, unleashed with the power of the Void. It would have killed Noele. The blonde girl should have leapt out of the way— maybe teleport to the side. But for whatever reason, she stood her ground.


    “[Nobleme Armor],” she whispered, raising her to des. Her both was wreathed in an aura of golden fire, before the mes spread up to her twin swords. Her eyes shed with a white light. “And— <em>[Nobleme Fury]!”</em>


    All at once, she unleashed a ze streak of fire out back towards the glinting arrow. The attack was unlike the previous golden aura de that ripped apart thendscape. Instead, it was like a wildfire— an inferno that raged and destroyed everything it touched. It was like a flurry of shes that tore apart the earth, shattering the oing bolt.


    Sienna’s eyes went wide as she backed up as the fiery st shot her way. But Kale grabbed her, pulling her to his side.


    “Get back!” he bellowed as he mmed a fist to the ground. All at once, a giant rock wall shot up into the sky.


    It was shaped like a gate— a solid archway with an intricate design of glowing runes etched into its surface. The symbols shone with the power of the Void, shing brightly for but a brief moment. A secondter, Noele’s [Nobleme Fury] struck the magical barrier.


    Kale grunted as he stood his ground. His feet shifted under him, and the barrier cracked. The two powerful spells shed as Sienna looked on with round eyes.


    This was no longerprehensible. Perhaps the way she defeated Nichs with ease could have been exined away with the element of surprise earlier. But now, Noele’s magic was matching Kale’s own.


    He was not simply an S-ranked. He was an S-ranked who was touched by the Void. The flurry of golden mes slowly dissipated as Sienna turned to her partner.


    “Kale—” she started.


    But her eyes darted to the side when she saw a glinting from the frozen trees. Noele’s shortsword spun through the air, curving around a bush, before flying straight at the two S-ranks.


    Sienna clicked her tongue and drew her dagger. She parried the flying weapon, before her eyes flickered to the side. There was a sh of light.


    Noele appeared there, right next to her de, carried by some kind of teleportation spell. She caught the shortsword and swung back at Kale before he could even react. He staggered away and screamed, shed across the chest.


    It took a moment for Sienna even to register what just happened. Her dagger glinted with a purple aura, and she stabbed at the Noble Spellsword.


    “You bitch!” Sienna cursed.


    But Noele saw the attacking. She spun around and swung up with her longer de, moving faster. Sienna recoiled as her forearm was sliced open, forcing her to drop her dagger.


    Leaping back, Sienna barely avoided a follow-up sh from Noele. It was an ordinary swing— an attack followed by no magical aura. And yet, when it struck the earth, the ground was smashed open. Shredded by an immense force.


    A column of dust shot into the air as Sienna just blinked. She stared at Noele who stepped away from the spraying dirt.


    “What… happened to you?” Sienna asked, wide-eyed.


    Noele straightened as she turned to face the [Archer]. The blonde girl’s gaze was calm— cold. And her voice was soft.


    “I—” Noele started.


    But Kale appeared behind her, raising his spell book. The ground beneath her feet cracked open as a bright red-purple light shone underneath her.


    “[Molten…” Kale said, before his eyes shed with the power of the Void. <strong><em>“Eruption!”</em></strong>


    Noele spun around just in time to be engulfed by a st of purpleva. Sienna jumped back as she was struck by an intense heat— she wasn’t in the st zone, however she could already feel the hair on her skin sizzling and smoking.


    Siennanded far back, looking on as the purpleva continued to pour into the air. Kale floated down next to her as he wiped the sweat off her brows.


    “That was the best spell I’ve got.” He shook his head and looked towards ground zero of the eruption. “She should be dead.”


    “Unless she teleported out of the way,” Sienna said simply, eyes narrowed.


    Kale harrumphed. “Impossible. I know I got her dead-on. There is no way she could have survived…”


    His voice trailed off as his spell slowly came to an end. He looked on in horror as a figure waited there. Even Sienna couldn’t believe her eyes.


    Noele hadn’t escaped from the st. She stood there and <em>took </em>it. A bubble of white light protected her— scintiting and shimmering with a strange pattern that almost made it seem like a face with many eyes.


    She smirked as she stared at both the S-ranks. “[The Guardian Angel’s Shield].”


    “What the fuck?” Kale said in disbelief.


    Sienna couldn’t even muster up the right words to say. She just processed the situation she was in, ncing between Noele and herself. Slowly, she swept her gaze over her surroundings.


    Nichs was still regenerating from the damaged he sustained, and Kale was shaking in his boots. The bartender was standing to the right, and both the chicken and the Steel Tank were towards a clearing of trees behind Noele.


    Sienna assessed the predicament she was in, and came to a single conclusion.


    “We’re not winning this,” she whispered.


    Kale blinked. “What?”


    But before he could even turn to face her, she ran.


    Sienna left the fat man behind.


    —--


    [You have advanced your ss!


    You are now a [Champion Spellsword]!


    Skill Evolved: The Titan’s Strength -> A Champion’s Might!


    Skill Evolved: Noble sh -> Nobleme Fury!


    Skill Gained: Healing Factor!


    Skill Gained: Nobleme Glory!


    Skill Gained: Nobleme Teleportation!


    Skill Gained: The Guardian Angel’s Shield!


    Skill Gained: The Guardian Angel’s Lance!


    Skill Gained: Passive - Championship Match!


    Skill Gained: Passive - Near-Death Resiliency!]


    Noele saw the flurry of notifications from the corner of her eye. The blue boxes that told her she had undergone her ss advancement. Now, she was a [Champion Spellsword]. And with it, came a lot of upgrades to her old Skills as well as new Skills she could use.


    It was a lot to take in. It was evidently a big difference. She had thought that even with this new boost in strength, nothing would beparable to the power of a Glorious Noble sh. But now, she was certain. She was—


    “Stronger,” she whispered, looking down at the golden mes encasing her body. “I’m stronger in every way.”


    Noele looked back up as her [The Guardian Angel’s Shield] began to copse. It reminded her of the barrier Z357 had erected back when she first met him in the restaurant. It was weaker, of course. However, there were simrities she couldn’t ignore.


    As thest of the magical barrier faded away, she saw Kale standing there alone. He had been abandoned by his teammate. Sienna ran away, leaving him behind. Even though they were supposed to be partners, it didn’t matter. They didn’t care for each other at all. The fat man stumbled back, bumbling like an idiot as he held out an arm.


    “Sienna! You bitch!” he called out.


    And Noele moved, ignoring his cries of outrage. The Noble Spellsword threw her shorter sword— still burning with her magical noblemes— straight at him, but he erected a barrier just in time. Sparks violently shot out as the wisping de struck the magical shield.


    Kale grunted as he held his ground. But he blinked when Noele appeared right next to him.


    “What…?” He stared in horror as she grabbed her weapon.


    To him, it looked like she had teleported to her weapon. But in reality, the blonde girl was carried to her magical noblemes. It was intuitive to her. She knew that she could just <em>pull </em>herself to any golden me that belonged to her.


    Noele smirked as she swung down with an <em>Elegant Noble sh, </em>cutting open Kale’s barrier. He screamed and pointed at her. A grand fireball exploded from the palm of his hand, engulfing the both of them in a fiery explosion.


    It was a powerful st. It exploded upwards, filling the sky with its intensity. The nearby trees were felled from the shockwave, and the ice melted over. The fat man staggered away from his own attack, bleeding and burning.


    “D-did that get here?” Kale panted as he swept his gaze over his surroundings.


    But from the fire emerged a burning golden me. Noele stood there, still unscathed. No different than she was before. Her [Nobleme Armor] protected her, and she just grinned back at Kale.


    He began to regenerate, but his face grew pale. “How am I supposed to win?”


    All he could do was stare at her. Noele shook her head as she took a single step forward. Both her des began to wisp wildly, engulfed by the same golden mes that were protecting her.


    “That’s the thing,” the Noble Spellsword replied simply. “You’re not supposed to win.”


    And with that, she swung down with her twin des. A st of [Nobleme Fury] shot out, enveloping the fat man. He screamed as his body was slowly incinerated. His Void-given regeneration kicked in, however it wasn’t enough to counter the deluge of golden mes. It only prolonged his death.


    Noele finally took a step back when he was gone. She was certain he was dead— nothing remained of Kale but ashes. Shaking her head, she flicked her des back. And she spun around to look where Sienna had gone.


    “Now that they are both dealt with…” Her eyes narrowed as she looked towards a small crater.


    Standing at the bottom was Nichs the Noble Knight. He was no longer a charred corpse, having fully regenerated back to full form. He wore a furious expression on his face as he raised his rapier and pointed at the blonde girl.


    He red at her as he spoke dangerously. “I will make sure you regret doing that.”


    Noele smirked, raising her twin des. “I’d like to see you try that.”


    And with that, the two noble adventurers teleported forward, shing with a sh of light.