Chapter 61: The Level Zero [Hero] Chapter 58

It took all but a split-second. I grabbed Ray by the face and leapt towards Whiteridge like a slingshot. He couldn’t even scream. He wasn’t even able to get out a word before I crashed into the first rank of the Miststorm Riders.

I didn’t draw my blade. I didn’t take out my sword. Instead, I crushed Ray’s twisted body against the thousands of [Bandits], using him as a weapon to rip them apart. All of them. The entirety of the Miststorm Riders were gone by the time I was finished. And his body, despite being empowered by the Void, was shredded to bits by the time I was finished. He didn’t have any regenerative abilities, which was good.

I simply tossed him down into the ground when I was finished, and he crashed in between Noele and Odell. I landed a moment after, standing atop of Ray’s corpse. The two of them stared at me with wide eyes as I made my entrance.

I raised my head and met Odell’s gaze. I had heard plenty about him from Noele. He was the leader of the Miststorm Riders. They called him the Monster of the Mist because of his cruelty. He didn’t just kill, he took pleasure in torturing others, playing with their lives until they finally perished.

And he was also the source of the Void’s power. I looked on as a noxious purple mist wisped off his body. He carried with him a broadsword made of a dark material that shimmered with a perverse light.

He was far stronger than Ray. Odell was practically brimming with the Void’s essence. His body hardly contained it, and his skin was stained with an inky mauve. The Monster of the Mist radiated with a corrupted power.

But… he was also weaker than Emory.

Like way weaker. I wasn’t even sure if Odell could regenerate if I blew his head off. He was probably like an inferior version of the minotaur I fought when I saved Deon back in the labyrinth.

The Monster of the Mist stepped forward, eyeing the corpse behind me warily.

“That is…?” he started.

“Ray,” I said, shaking my head. “Your apprentice or whatever. He was in my way, so I killed him.”

Odell blinked. Noele let out a sharp gasp.

“That’s the Monster’s Apprentice?”

I shrugged and corrected the blonde girl. “That was the Monster’s Apprentice. Now he’s just dead.”

“I… right.” Noele nodded slowly.

The Monster of the Mist just narrowed his eyes, disbelieving. Not in surprise, but doubt. “Ray is dead? Ridiculous. He was nearly as powerful as Emory.”

“Emory?” I tilted my head. “I killed him too. Like… a few weeks ago.”

And that made Odell pause. He stared at me as his eyes went round. “You… you’re the one who killed Emory— the Unranked Adventurer?”

“Uh, sure. Let’s go with that.” I stepped out of the crater as the Monster of the Mist backed up.

To his credit, he no longer seemed skeptical of my claims. He actually looked a little back scared. even. He gritted his teeth and raised his broadsword, aiming it my way.

“You—” Odel snarled, creating a purple fireball in his left hand. He tossed it my way as he yelled. “Take this!”

“Here we go again…” I sighed and dashed forward. I batted the attack out of the way as he blinked. I drew my sword, swinging it for his face—

“Wait!” Noele called out.

And I paused, my blade hovering right before Odell’s wide eyes, a millimeter from killing him. The Monster of the Mist was quivering, unable to even react to my attack. He tried to work his jaw, but I glanced back at the Noble Spellsword. She stepped forward and raised her glimmering sword.

“Let me fight him,” she said. “I want to defeat Odell myself.”

I slowly lowered my own sword, blinking at her.

“Uh, what?”

 

—--

 

Noele closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Was this a stupid decision?

Amelia was here now. She could easily deal with Odell in a single strike. But just like when the Noble Spellsword herself had been about to defeat the Monster of the Mist, this didn’t feel right.

It was ridiculous. Noele was temporarily sparing the man who killed her sister just because things felt wrong to her. She really didn’t understand what was making her do this. All she knew was that she had to kill Odell here and now by herself. She opened her eyes.

“Please, Amelia,” the blonde girl pleaded with her mentor. “Let me do this. Let me be the one to take him down.”

“I… but why?” Amelia stepped back, staring at Noele quizzically.

Odell watched as the two women spoke, and he moved. He tried to leap out of the way, only for Amelia to grab him and slam his face into the ground. She kept him down on the ground as he struggled to break free. The blonde girl just shook her head.

“I just have to do this. I must do this. I cannot live knowing that I wasn’t the one to kill Odell.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.” Noele’s mentor just gave her a flat stare.

But she was still adamant. “You’re the one who told me that the only way to become strong like you is if I fight because I have to. So I have to do this. You have to let me do this.”

“You know as well as I do that that’s not what I meant,” Amelia scoffed.

“Please.” Noele held her mentor’s gaze. “I have no other choice, Amelia.”

There was a long moment where neither woman said anything. They just stared at each other as the Monster of the Mist continued thrashing on the ground. Finally, Amelia’s gaze broke away and she let out a long sigh.

“Fine, but if this is really something you must do, then I won’t step in if you’re about to get killed. I’ll let you handle it, and if you can’t, you’ll die.”

Noele just smiled. “Thank you. I wasn’t going to ask you to intervene, anyway.”

“This is really dumb…” Amelia murmured as she let go of Odell and stepped back.

The Monster of the Mist scrambled to his feet, gasping and panting. He looked up with round eyes as a soft set of footsteps approached him. His gaze snapped towards the Noble Spellsword as she came to a halt just before him.

[Dance with Death] was still active. A golden aura wreathed her blade as she aimed it at Odell.

“You… are you stupid?” he said, eyeing her with narrowed eyes. “You had your chance to kill me twice, and you spared me both times. Now you think you can defeat me, when I have been blessed by the full might of the Void?”

His words caused the very world around him to tremble. He laughed wildly, and Amelia raised a brow from the side. Odell flinched, before looking away from the brown-haired woman. He kept his gaze fixed only on Noele.

“I don’t know what possessed you to make this decision, girl. But I will make sure you regret it.” And he charged at the blonde girl, swinging out with his broadsword.

The Noble Spellsword moved. She didn’t waste any time. [Flash Step] carried her a dozen feet to the left, and she raised her glowing blade.

“[Unending Dauntless Fury]!” she cried out as she unleashed a barrage of white slashes.

A flurry of blades shot out from each swing, and Odell simply spun around. A cloak of purple mist took the brunt of the attack as he chuckled. The flying white blades barely cut through that cloak, not even reaching his flesh. He turned back to face her as she clicked her tongue.

“Was that all you’ve got?” he asked with a grin. “How did you think you were going to kill me if you’re that weak?”

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Noele exhaled as an armor of golden flames wreathed her. [Nobleflame Armor] activated once more— enough time had passed since Lionell had shattered her protection spell. It took a chunk of magic to cast, and that meant she had to preserve her other Skills. But as long as [Dance with Death] was still active, the blonde girl could draw the power from [Noble Slash] and channel it into something more.

Odell barreled her way again, but she ducked under his swing, countering with a strike to his chest. It was the equivalent to a [Noble Slash]. But the attack hardly dug into his skin. He simply grunted, shrugging it off as she leapt away once more. He brought his broadsword down to the ground before she could land, and the entire city block shook.

The road cracked as she stumbled back. The Monster of the Mist hurled himself up into the air, before falling back down towards her like a meteor.

Noele barely regained her footing in time to jump to the side, but the blast from his crash knocked her back. She crashed into a nearby house, smashing through a pair of walls as her [Nobleflame Armor] flickered. She staggered back to her feet as dust settled around her. And she saw the large purple figure lumbering towards her.

Truth be told, the blonde girl didn’t understand it herself. Her reasoning seemed flawed. It almost appeared like she was being selfish. It was as though she was pursuing something as petty as revenge.

But still, she knew she had to do it. Even if she couldn’t fully parse the reason why.

Odell sliced horizontally, tearing the house in half as the Noble Spellsword ducked under the attack. She pointed at him with a finger, activating [Grand Blaze]. A blast of golden flames engulfed the Monster of the Mist as he screamed in pain.

But he tore through the fire, his burn marks already healing. “You—”

He raised a hand and created his own purple flame. Noele’s eyes grew wide as she watched it grow larger and larger. She was about to leap out of the way with [Flash Step], but she paused when she heard a sniffle.

Noele’s gaze snapped to the side, and she stared in shock at a little figure half-buried in the rubble of the fallen house. A child— a young girl, roughly ten years of age— lay there, weakly crying.

She stopped to stare for a single second, and Odell’s laughter broke her out of her thoughts.

“Die!”

She watched as he hurled the purple fireball her way. It was now the size of a person. It would obliterate everything in its path, killing even the little girl lying in the rubble. Noele took a step forward.

“Focus,” a voice said.

And the little girl vanished. Noele blinked, before activating [Flash Step] right in time to escape Odell’s fiery attack.

The Noble Spellsword landed atop a nearby roof as a powerful explosion rocked Whiteridge. The blast shot up, creating a massive pillar of purple fire that quintupled the height of the city’s walls. The shockwave nearly knocked Noele off balance, but she steadied herself and glanced to the side.

Amelia stood next to her, holding the sniffling little girl

“I’ll protect the civilians,” Amelia said. “Just focus on fighting Odell.”

“Right.” Noele nodded and glanced back towards Odell.

He stepped out of the blast, smiling savagely as he swept his gaze over the street. “You can’t run forever. The moment I get my hands on you, you’re dead.”

She hopped down from the rooftop, landing softly just ahead of him. Noele raised her blade again as he approached her.

Why was she doing this? The Noble Spellsword didn’t think it was for revenge. That couldn’t be it. She recalled how she felt when she thought she had defeated the Monster of the Mist. There was no pleasure there.

She derived no gratification from the idea of killing him. Catharsis, yes. But not joy. So Noele had to have another reason for doing this, right?

Dashing forward, she thrust straight for Odell’s heart with the glowing blade. He didn’t move out of the way. He just stood there, welcoming the attack as he tossed his broadsword to the side. Right as she reached him, he grabbed the blonde girl by the shoulder with his right hand as she stabbed him through the chest.

“I caught you,” he said with a grin.

“Fuck—” she cursed, trying to back up.

Noele yanked her sword back, but the Monster of the Mist caught the blade with his left hand. He sneered at her, even as his right hand burned from her [Nobleflame Armor], and his left hand bled from her blade.

His grip tightened, and her [Nobleflame Armor] cracked, before dissipating. Noele let out a scream as he crushed her shoulder, and Odell kicked her.

The golden glow coating her blade flickered. Her sword snapped as she went flying back. She skidded to a halt as he tossed her broken blade back at her. It landed right next to Noele as she panted in pain.

“Was this your plan?” Odell shook his head as he strode towards her. He picked up his broadsword, and the wound on his chest began to heal. “To die to me so you can meet with your sister?”

No… The Noble Spellsword clenched her jaw as she got back to her feet. I can’t… I have to…

She had to do this. Noele struggled to get back up, holding the hilt of her broken sword, its length equal to that of a dagger now. And at her feet was the other half of the blade, dug into the ground.

Amelia stood to the side, still holding onto the little girl from before. She just watched as her student weakly confronted the Monster of the Mist.

I have to do this, Noele told herself. It wasn’t for revenge, and it wasn’t because she was suicidal. It was because… because…

Odell charged at her as he cackled wildly. The Noble Spellsword faced him down fearlessly, inhaling softly. That was right. Everything she did was for one reason and one reason only. It was the very same reason she approached Amelia in the first place. It was why she became an adventurer all those years ago.

It was because she had to become strong to protect the weak.

And to do that, she needed to defeat the monster plaguing her past. Noele had to bring justice for her sister once and for all. She picked up the broken blade at her feet with her left hand, before charging back at Odell.

His broadsword glowed with a purple light, shimmering brightly as she sprinted his way.

Her shoulders ached. Blood trickled down her left arm. The Noble Spellsword was hurt, tired, and pushed to her very limits. All he needed was to catch her once, then she was dead.

But the same could be said for him. He wasn’t immortal. He could survive having his heart pierce. Maybe he could even survive having his head chopped off. And if that was the case, then Noele just had to completely destroy his body!

Odell swung down with his broadsword before he even reached her. A purple blast exploded her way like a wave. It ripped through the cobble street, but Noele leapt into the air with a [Flash Step].

Once again, a golden aura wreathed what was left of her sword. She hovered high in the air, looking down at the Monster of the Mist as he snarled.

“You can’t escape!” He pointed at her, unleashing a cone of corrupted magic her way.

Noele fell upon Odell as the golden glow spread towards her broken blade as well. She swerved out of the purple blast as she tightly gripped both weapons.

Glorious Noble… She raised her right hand and landed right next to the Monster of the Mist. He roared as he swung at her, but she sidestepped the strike. Noele didn’t counter attack just yet. Instead, she brought up the broken blade as it wisped with power. And Elegant Noble—

“You—” Odell dropped his blade as it cleaved the ground asunder. He raised a fist, punching for the Noble Spellsword.

But she brought both the broken blades of her sword down at once, swinging them down together as they crossed each other’s paths. The Monster of the Mist watched with wide eyes as the two blades touched, shining their brightest.

And Noele yelled.

“—Slash!”

A streak of golden energy engulfed the Monster of the Mist as he screamed in pain. The blast overwhelmed him, sending him flying back and tearing his body apart. Amelia looked on as the city was lit up, blazing brighter than the sun. Noele poured everything she had into that attack, refusing to let up, draining herself of all her remaining mana, until her magic finally dissipated.

And Odell’s screaming was silenced.