"So strong!"
"No, no, that's way too strong!"
Gin stared at the battle before her, shaken to the core.
In her eyes, both the Elder of the tomb guards and the man named Guy were already incredibly powerful.
Although she did not understand why the stronger Guy had suddenly fallen, Venegu's strength was definitely real.
And yet, against that masked man, he was being crushed so one-sidedly that it almost made no sense.
Noah suppressed Venegu with one hand while quietly sensing the state of his own body.
That movement just now, which had looked almost like teleportation, was actually the result of him applying his abilities from several different angles.
First came the effects applied to himself.
He had strengthened his leg power with magic, then used an acceleration formula, while also making use of gravity and magnetism.
Within Weaver's radius of 7.22 meters, manipulating magnetic force was no different from creating a magnetic field.
Inside that field, even Noah himself could be treated as a unit of magnetism, allowing him to achieve high-speed movement.
Then came the effects applied to others.
At the same time, he used optical camouflage and instantaneous acceleration to shake off the enemy's visual tracking.
Its essence was to interfere with the focus of another person's vision through external force.
If the human eye could not focus, it could not clearly see an object.
By exploiting that trait to obstruct the opponent's eyes, he could make himself "invisible."
Under five, even six layers of manipulation, his figure appeared to move like an instant teleport, impossible to capture.
In reality, the speed he displayed was nowhere near true teleportation.
When a person lost their focus and their target vanished, their eyes would immediately adjust again, trying to confirm the target's position within their field of vision.
At that instant, Venegu's brain had focused entirely on that single command, so his reaction was half a beat slower.
Only after his body had been cut did he snap back to himself and regain awareness.
Noah looked down at Venegu, fairly satisfied.
Although it had only been an impulsive experiment, the result seemed quite good.
At the very least, the one kneeling on the ground was not him, but his opponent.
"Gravity interference."
Noah pressed the sword down slightly, multiplying the gravity affecting the blade.
Venegu immediately sensed the pressure on him increase.
His expression shifted, and he drew out even more strength to resist.
"You'll have to try a little harder," Noah said calmly.
Then he increased the gravity on the blade from two times to three.
Then four.
Five...
Thud!
Venegu's face flushed crimson, and both knees slammed into the ground, cracking the floor beneath him with fine fractures.
Ignoring the pain in his shoulder, he used both arms to hold his staff horizontally above his head, straining with everything he had.
Veins bulged along his arms, and even his muscles were trembling.
Blood was squeezed from the wound in his shoulder, slowly staining Venegu's body red.
"So is this all?"
Noah sighed, somewhat disappointed. "There should be more, shouldn't there? The abilities of a Danger Beast like Nubis can't be limited to this."
!!!
Venegu was struggling desperately, but he forced a strange smile onto his pained face.
All of a sudden, he opened his mouth and caught Noah off guard by spewing scorching flames!
The roaring fire swallowed Noah whole.
The terrifying heat even melted part of the floor, warping the air.
"Cough, cough, cough... hahahahaha!"
Looking at the blazing sphere before him, Venegu said smugly, "The stronger a person is, the more careless they become when they have the upper hand! I win!"
Kurome and Gin stared in shock at the sudden change in the battle.
"How could this happen!"
"Damn it, he can actually breathe fire? That perverted old man isn't human, is he?!"
Listening to the two of them, Venegu spoke in a showy tone. "Of course not. Nubis is a divine beast! As its incarnation, it's perfectly natural for me to breathe fire. This is power only a god can possess!"
"These flames come from hell itself. In just a few breaths, they can burn a human into charcoal... burn him into... into...?"
Wait.
Something was wrong!
Why had the fireball not shrunk at all?
Venegu stared uncertainly at the flames, feeling his throat grow dry.
Normally, anyone hit by this attack would be burned down to their bones within two or three seconds.
After another couple of seconds, even the bones would be reduced to ash. Once the fuel was gone, the fire would gradually die out.
But why had the flames not changed at all?
'Was he still alive?'
Venegu watched the fireball uneasily.
Then, he saw the silhouette inside the flames move.
His entire body instantly retreated seven or eight meters, and he gripped his staff tightly, holding it across his body as if that could give him a little more sense of safety.
'No way!'
Venegu prayed he was overthinking it.
But in the next second, the massive fireball seemed to come alive, slowly parting down the middle.
The flames separated into two rows, like curtains being pulled aside.
Noah walked out with a calm expression, like a king of flames!
"What... What did you do?!"
Venegu questioned him in disbelief.
But Noah did not answer.
He simply raised his hand, and all the surrounding flames rose into the air, gathered together, and formed a fire dragon.
Because he had taken the attack at point-blank range, Noah had first used an air barrier to wrap all the flames inside.
Then, through Weaver, he seized control of every fire element and brought them under his command.
Nubis could only breathe fire. It could not control the flames afterward.
For Noah, who possessed the Weaver skill, those flames could be manipulated at will.
"Out of tricks?"
Noah smiled as if deliberately provoking him.
He had already seen through everything about this man. Of course, he knew Venegu still had one trump card left unused.
And he guessed that this was the very move that had defeated Guy.
Since Venegu was still able to keep his confidence despite facing an opponent so far beyond him, it was probably because of that trump card.
In that case, Noah would let him use it.
Once Venegu realized that his trump card was useless too, he should give up resisting, right?
Venegu looked at the fire dragon circling above, feeling a little uneasy.
He was not sure whether he could endure it.
But at this point, apart from using the "curse," he could not think of any way to defeat this monster.
He could not show fear.
It was time to act.
Venegu calmed himself, forcing himself to put on a fearless front.
"Hehehe... Out of tricks? How could that be? I didn't expect you to be able to control fire. Is that the power of a Teigu? But let me tell you something. That power of yours is useless against me! Try it if you don't believe me!"
Seeing him pretending to be calm, Noah kindly said, "It seems you trust Nubis's ability quite a lot."
"What?"
Venegu froze.
"That ability?"
"You want me to attack you with the fire dragon so you can return the damage to me, don't you?" Noah's eyes looked straight into Venegu's, calm and emotionless, as if he could see through everything.
No.
Impossible!
Hearing Noah's words, Venegu was instantly filled with fear.
How could this be?
How could he know?
How could he know his trump card?
This was the secret trump card only the Elder could use!
Why would an outsider know about it?
"..."
"You probably don't know either, do you? The weakness of that trump card you're relying on."
What?
"Weakness?"
What was this man talking about?
An ability that could return all damage back to the enemy—how could something like that have a weakness?
Noah saw the disdain in his eyes and continued, "The ability to reflect damage is certainly powerful. Most people who fall victim to it probably die without ever understanding what happened."
"But that ability has three weaknesses."
Noah raised three fingers and said plainly, "First, the ability must be activated consciously before it can take effect. That means it requires preparation. So long as you are killed before you prepare the ability, you can't reflect the damage."
Venegu's eyes widened slightly.
It was an instinctive reaction caused by surprise.
He had actually... gotten it right.
That was indeed the truth behind the curse.
In other words, if the opponent was fast enough, or if Venegu was killed in a single strike while unconscious, then he would die.
Having one weakness exposed, Venegu began to worry.
Could it be that this man really was not bluffing?
Noah ignored what he was thinking and continued speaking on his own. "Second, the activation timing and duration of the ability."
He pointed at Venegu's injured shoulder.
"The damage you can reflect is a one-to-one, perfectly identical amount. If it's something like being punched in the cheek, reflecting that kind of damage is meaningless."
'Tch.'
Venegu's expression had darkened completely.
Yes, that was another of his weaknesses.
Every activation of the ability only lasted for an extremely brief period.
Only the damage he endured during that period could be reflected.
If the enemy did not deal fatal damage during that time, or did not deal any damage at all, then naturally there would be no damage to return.
Now Venegu was certain. This masked man was not simply spouting nonsense.
That actually made him curious.
"Hoo..."
"You said I have three weaknesses, right? What's the last one?"
The third weakness, the one even Venegu himself did not know, was...
"The upper limit of what you can withstand," Noah slowly stated.
Upper limit?
An upper limit to what he could withstand?
Venegu was stunned.
Until now, he had never considered that question.
Because what kind of attack could break through that limit?
Did such overwhelming power even exist?
Even he himself did not know how much destructive force would be needed to surpass the limit of Nubis's ability.
Decapitation might work.
After all, once his head was cut off, even if the ability activated successfully, the severed head could not be reattached.
The best possible outcome would only be mutual destruction.
"Even if the ability activates, if you cannot endure it, the ability user himself will die."
"And once the ability user dies, the ability naturally stops activating."
That was the true reason for Venegu's unease.
Even he was not sure whether he could endure it. Under those circumstances, if he failed, death was certain.
"Heh."
"Excellent deduction, young man."
Venegu sounded as if he had given up resisting.
His tone also became calm.
He could not see Noah's face, but judging from his voice, the other party should be young.
"I never imagined there would be someone in this world who understood the Elder's power better than I do, and that this person would be so powerful on top of it!"
As though accepting his fate, Venegu casually threw his staff onto the ground.
Noah waved away the fire dragon circling above his head.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you anyway. I'm very interested in your ability to transform into Nubis, so I need you to cooperate with my research."
"A tomb robber, are you? So it isn't just the previous king's treasures you covet. Even our clan's secret arts are within your sights?"
Venegu gave a cold laugh.
A flash of resolve crossed his eyes.
Then, without warning, he shoved his hand into his own chest.
"Hahahahaha! As if I would ever let you have your way, you filthy thieves!"
His eyes widened slightly, and his face twisted with rage.
More than the pain of piercing his own chest, there was fury written across his expression.
When Noah saw Venegu's movement, he tried to stop him, but he was still a step too late.
Venegu actually ripped out his own heart and crushed it in his hand!
"Be buried here with the king's tomb!"
Rumble...
The entire tomb began to tremble violently the moment Venegu took his own life.
"He... killed himself?"
Gin was stunned.
An enemy that powerful had actually been driven into suicide!
It was almost absurd.
Noah cursed under his breath and immediately came to Venegu's side, only to find that there was still a satisfied smile on the man's face.
"Tch."
This bastard.
Noah knew why he had done it.
When he used Appraisal earlier, he had already noticed that once the "Elder" of the tomb guards died, the royal tomb would self-destruct and collapse.
Most likely, Venegu had judged that no matter what he did, he could not defeat Noah.
So he chose to bury himself and every invader here along with the royal tomb.
But still, wasn't that a little too decisive?
"Rather than making him submit with overwhelming power..."
He had messed up!
Noah took out the remaining recovery potions and handed them to Kurome and the others.
Then he turned to Guy and slapped him across the face several times, hard enough to swell his cheeks, forcibly waking him up.
"Huh? Mr. Lamur, are you dead too? Even after dying, you're still wearing that mask! So your mask really is grown onto your face."
Noah: "..."
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