The roof of a building beside the alley exploded as a figure dropped from the sky like a meteor.
Noah punched straight through the roof and walls, landing hard in the middle of the alley with his fist still buried in the ground.
The shockwave flipped the entire alley upside down.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the nearby buildings too.
Hermes, didn't even stop to grab his fallen hat.
He dropped flat to dodge the blast, rolled once and scrambled toward the main street.
'Still so damn good at running away, that bastard! If I had Annihilator with me right now, I could've sniped him from a rooftop.'
Noah yanked his hand free from the ground and pushed Spell-Weaver to its limit, layering every buff he had on himself.
The anti-gravity boosters in his boots kicked in at the same time.
He shot forward like a human fighter jet, skimming low over the street and carving a path of destruction behind him.
Luckily the area wasn't crowded.
"Wait, don't be mad, Noah! I did you a huge favor!"
Mentioning it only made Noah angrier as his eyes widened with rage.
'This bastard knew exactly what I needed… which means he's been watching my every move?'
"Then I really should thank you, Lord Hermes. Let me send you straight back to heaven!"
BOOM!
"What's going on?!"
"A high-class adventurer's lost it in the streets!"
"Two whole blocks are already wrecked!"
"What are the Guild people doing? Call the Astrea Familia and Ganesha Familia!"
Hermes ducked into a shady-looking shop.
Noah didn't chase right away.
He stopped outside.
"Playing hide and seek now?"
"Sorry, but I'm not in the mood for games. This dump will be your tombstone. DIE!"
He aimed his palm at the whole building as multiple magic circles unfolded in front of him.
"Bombardment!"
A blinding flash forced everyone nearby to shut their eyes.
A horrible tearing sound mixed with the explosion followed right after.
The building vanished in an instant, turned into nothing but dust and ash.
"..."
"That guy's a monster."
"Wait, that gauntlet and that face… Hey, it's the Artisan Spirit from Hephaestus Familia!"
"What? It's really him?"
Noah stared at the ruins.
A tiny spark of satisfaction flashed in his eyes, but his face stayed cold.
He jumped into the debris and used Appraisal to search every inch.
No sign of the god.
No pillar of light rising to heaven either.
'Did he survive even that?'
Then a new line of information appeared in front of him.
"Underground Hidden Door"
-Leads to a secret room used by Evilus and outside slave traders to hide goods
'????'
'What the fuck…?'
Noah stood frozen among the wreckage, staring at the "coincidentally" revealed hidden entrance.
He clenched his fist so hard his teeth ground together.
He'd been played.
That bastard had planned this.
He probably had an invisibility item ready and waited until he lured him here before using it, making Noah think he'd ducked inside.
In reality, the second Hermes left Noah's sight, he'd probably thrown on an invisibility cloth and strolled right out.
He might have even stayed to watch Noah blow the building up.
And if things were going like this…
Next would probably be…
"Stop right there! We will not allow any more evil! We, the Familia of the Goddess of Justice, shall end this! …Huh?"
"Hey, what's going on, Artisan Spirit?"
"My, my, what could this be, Noah-san?"
Noah, "..."
The moment he saw Alise, Kaguya, Ryu, and Lyra standing there, he realized he had completely lost his cool.
The Hermes Familia was famous for gathering information.
Their scouting and infiltration skills were top-notch.
That bastard had learned about the slave trading and happily set this trap for Noah to walk into.
Almost like he was laughing at Noah's constant fights with Evilus.
'Had i really become that god's personal entertainment?'
Alise walked closer.
Her eyes suddenly caught the hidden passage entrance nearby.
"Huh? What's this?"
The red-haired girl waved her companions over.
Noah could only sigh. "It's a holding area used by Evilus and outside slave traders for their captives."
He had no choice.
To clear any suspicion, he had to tell them.
Otherwise he'd get hit with charges for destroying public property.
"The Evilus! Is this true, Noah-san?" Ryu asked, shocked.
Noah nodded silently, then walked to the underground entrance and gripped the edge with one hand.
Raven Feather's monstrous strength ripped the iron door clean off, revealing the dark passage.
A staircase leading down into a gloomy cavern appeared before everyone.
Alise's face turned serious.
She looked at the group, including Noah and said, "I'll take point, follow behind me. Ryu, stay with Noah."
"Okay."
"Understood, Captain."
"Leave it to me, Alise."
They went down the stairs into complete darkness where nothing could be seen.
Noah casually pulled out a dim crystal and tossed it ahead.
When it hit the ground, the crystal gave off a soft glow, lighting up the area.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The second the light appeared, poison-tipped crossbow bolts flew out from the shadows.
Noah swept his hand and created a wind barrier that wrapped around the whole group, knocking every arrow aside.
"Whoa! That's amazing, Noah!"
Alise cheered and instantly ignited her Crimson Guardian.
She charged into the darkness like a living fireball and screams followed one after another as enemies dropped like a flies.
"Heh, I can't fall behind." Kaguya drew two kodachi from her waist and slipped into the dark like a ghost.
Cold blade flashes wove through the shadows, and blood started flowing across the floor into the lit areas.
A full team of Level 4 adventurers taking on slave-trader mercenaries was like using a cannon to kill a mosquito.
The enemy never stood a chance.
"Impressive," Noah said quietly.
Ryu heard him and smiled. "Everyone here has faced evil head-on and gone through harsh trials. They're all strong."
Thud.
The only one left alive was a slightly overweight, balding middle-aged man.
He dropped to his knees, banging his forehead on the ground.
"Sirs, please spare me! At least let me live, I beg you!"
Noah scanned him as all the information about him appeared clearly in his vision.
He was just an ordinary mortal.
Noah stepped forward, kicked him onto his back and took the slave list from his clothes.
He glanced over the paper.
The slaves were neatly sorted by race.
After a quick look, he asked casually, "No Ice Wolf tribe, huh?"
The merchant froze. "Huh? Ice Wolf tribe? I've never heard of that."
The second he answered, Noah stomped on his face.
"Scum."
He then handed the list to Ryu.
The elf girl's face turned dark after she read it.
She gripped her wooden elf blade, shaking with anger.
"Despicable scums."
Her near loss of control showed just how horrible the list was.
Not only human women, but beast-humans and half-elves too—even young children weren't spared.
"Calm down useless elf. He still has value for questioning."
"Kaguya! How can you look at this and feel nothing?!"
"Idiot! Of course I feel something! I'd love to chop him into pieces right here, but then we can't save the slaves! Get a grip!"
"I…" Ryu fell silent.
Noah carried the light crystal deeper and found a cellar at the far end.
...
Light.
For the slave, it was the first time they see light after so long!
"Who are you?"
"A child? Why are you here?"
"Were you captured too? How are you outside?"
"That fighting earlier… Did someone come to rescue us?"
The imprisoned slaves got excited and started asking Noah all kinds of questions.
Noah looked around and used Appraisal to count them.
Thirteen people.
Forty-one fewer than the list said.
The rest had already been "shipped out."
Such a huge trade happening, yet nothing showed on Orario's surface.
The city's underworld had clearly grown terrifying.
No wonder Evilus could never be wiped out—darkness itself was walking in the sunlight.
"Don't panic. You're safe now." Noah grabbed the cell bars with one hand and poured magic into them.
Raven Feather unleashed hundreds of kilograms of force, bending the iron railing apart.
As the slaves were freed one by one, Noah noticed some were hurt, others barely able to stand.
He gathered everyone together.
He crushed a healing magic crystal, used Spell-Weaver to reshape it and formed a recovery magic circle on the floor.
"Be healed."