In the middle of the combat zone forest, Noa walked under the light filtering through the tree canopy, moving in rhythm with the usual cold morning wind.
— Kid, what's bothering you so much?
Weaver asked in a calm, steady voice. Noa kept walking, head lowered, remembering the piercing gaze Atela had given him during their last encounter.
"It's strange… this is the first time I've ever felt this sensation…"
He touched his chest, which tightened as if invisible hands were crushing it tighter with every passing minute.
"I've never cared whether someone was against me, no matter the circumstances… But with her, it's different."
He saw the red-haired woman's face overlap with Atela's smiling expression, like a perfect copy of the same person—only grown up. He narrowed his eyes and clenched his chest.
"Why do I feel this because of her… why do I feel so bad? I can't even look her in the face anymore."
He stopped for a moment, staring at the grass beneath his feet.
His gaze began to darken. A shadowy aura resurfaced, manifesting around his body.
— Hey, kid, snap out of it!
Noa came back to his senses at the call. His dark energy evaporated like deep-blue smoke into the air.
He touched his jaw, surprised by what had just happened.
— I already told you to avoid using your powers at full output. They're still too unstable.
Weaver's words brought him back into focus.
Noa closed his eyes, stabilizing his racing heart.
His senses expanded to their maximum.
He could feel the movement of leaves, the trembling of grass, the wind… but also something else.
A sharp attack burst from the forest, aiming to slice his face open.
He dodged it with a simple tilt of his head, without opening his eyes.
The tree struck by the attack was cleanly severed and fell, stirring a light gust of wind.
"A wind blade…?"
He thought, analyzing the cut trunks, brows furrowed, still on guard. He carefully observed every detail around him.
— You just barely made it… one second later and you'd have lost your head. Literally!
Noa didn't respond. He kept analyzing everything around him. The leaves moved with the wind… the bushes followed a natural rhythm… even his black hair swayed gently…
But something was wrong.
— Be careful… he's still out there.
Even without Weaver, Noa had already understood it. Someone was watching him from the shadows, keeping their distance.
"He's waiting for the moment I let my guard down…"
Noa continued walking as if nothing was wrong. But it was only a façade to think.
He still couldn't understand his opponent's choice.
"He saw my previous fight… he knows surprise attacks won't work on me… so what is he trying to do?"
Then an idea came to him.
He planted the tip of his sword into the ground and dropped to one knee.
— What are you doing? You're exposing yourself!
But to Noa, it was obvious.
He was acting as bait.
— I can't use my powers right now… so I need him to attack in order to locate him.
Silence returned. Only the sounds of the forest remained, wrapping the boy in a heavy, still atmosphere.
And, unsurprisingly…
Another wind blade burst from the forest, aimed at his back.
— Found you.
Noa dodged at the last second, and the attack obliterated the ground behind him.
In an instant, he was already above his attacker, who stood on a branch.
The enemy reacted immediately, turning to block Noa's strike.
Their blades clashed in a burst of sparks.
Then both jumped back, landing on the ground. The enemy looked up with a hint of anxiety.
— I'm in serious trouble here…
Noa hit the ground with a dull sound, facing his opponent. His cold, piercing eyes left no doubt—this fight had to end within a minute. No hesitation.
He raised his blade toward him and said in a calm, icy voice:
— No need to tell me your name. I'm in a hurry… so let's finish this.
Gaven, the young boy, thought that being unpredictable was usually the best way to deal with a cautious opponent like this.
— But it looks like I was wrong about you.
Noa remained indifferent. Impassive. Unshaken. Ready to end it at any moment.
— Good, because I'm in a hurry too.
They both leapt back, releasing their aura. Gaven sent another wind blade toward Noa. This time, instead of dodging, Noa cut through the chaos itself with his blade, shocking Gaven into silence.
"He… cut it?! How?!"
Before he could even blink, Noa stepped forward and vanished from his sight.
Gaven didn't understand how he was already in front of him, blade raised.
He managed to block just in time. Their swords clashed in a violent shockwave, but Gaven struggled to withstand Noa's strength.
"What kind of insane speed is that? I can't win in close combat…"
Gaven tightened his grip and launched several attacks, but Noa blocked them all effortlessly, showing no fatigue, further unsettling him.
"This isn't normal… He's still this strong after fighting Tomaru? He should be exhausted…"
He found an opening and jumped back, launching another wind blade—but Noa didn't even react.
— You didn't have to come all this way for that.
Gaven didn't understand who he was talking to.
When he looked up—
Dozens of orange energy beams rained down on him.
"What now?!"
The beams exploded in a chaotic blast, engulfing everything in blinding light.
The brightness was so intense it left Gaven disoriented.
"I can't see anything…"
Before he could understand what was happening, a deep slash had already appeared across his chest.
Noa sheathed Weaver. Gaven's unconscious body fell to the ground, completely defeated.
This was the first victory of Noa Hyperion and his team.
Noa looked at him one last time, expression empty and devoid of empathy.
— Compared to Tomaru… you were nothing special. How disappointing.
The interrupter of the fight stepped out of the woods. Ranta apologized for the sudden disturbance.
— I think you were in trouble, so I allowed myself to help a bit.
Noa felt like sighing, but didn't, preferring not to show his boredom. He also noticed he hadn't come alone: Kobra also stepped out from the forest.
— I told you he didn't need us to win, see?
Ranta apologized to him with a slightly embarrassed smile. Noa watched them talk a little off to the side, lost in his own thoughts.
"These two… they have better control over their powers. But since I can't use mine properly, it might be better to stay with them for a while, especially when we run into strong opponents."
Ranta asked Noa if he had recently met Atela. Noa answered no.
"She hasn't spoken to me since she left the training room."
Ranta revealed that she was the one who had asked him to keep an eye on him. That revelation didn't exactly make Noa feel at ease.
— And did she tell you why?
Ranta replied that she had only asked him to watch over Noa so he wouldn't get the idea of doing something suicidal.
Noa understood, unfortunately, a little better why both of them were here.
Weaver added another comment.
— Seems like someone really managed to piss the lady off.
Noa didn't dwell on it and stated that they needed to find the rest of the opposing team members and defeat them as quickly as possible.
Kobra asked why he was in such a hurry.
— The second encounter… you just won less than twenty minutes ago.
But Ranta didn't question anything and followed without hesitation. Kobra sighed, then eventually followed as well.
In another area, covered by a swarm of black crows, another battle had just ended. Inside a massive crater caused by a powerful attack, a member of team L.K was nearly knocked out, his body half-burned. Another victory for team Z.X.
Above the ravine, Atela removed her white gloves, her expression both calm and filled with restrained anger.
— Next one…