The assassination of Akaza sent shockwaves through the League.
For a time, all of the League's knights were mobilized solely to handle this vicious case.
Even the World Clock was given orders.
It was clear how infuriated the International Mage-Knight League was about the matter.
"Noah, would you like a drink?"
Shizuku walked over with an energy drink and, before Noah could refuse, shoved it into his hands.
"Wait."
Just as she was about to turn and leave, Noah called out to her.
His expression darkened as he held up the energy drink, squinting to observe it.
'Just as I thought. There's something extra in here.'
"Why are you giving this to me?"
"Hm? It's just a little help from a classmate. Do I need a reason for that?"
"Help, huh..." Noah watched her play dumb, a slight smirk appearing on his lips. "I see. But I don't need to replenish my energy right now. Oh, right, you should give this to Ikki. He used up a lot of stamina sparring with the Yagure sisters."
As he spoke, he started walking with the energy drink toward the corner where Ikki was training.
Hearing his words, Shizuku's face changed.
"Don't!" she cried out in alarm.
Noah turned back to her with a sneer, shaking the can.
"Tell me, do you understand what it means to be able to manipulate all elements? It doesn't matter if they're naturally occurring or artificially synthesized. Magnesium sulfate is no exception."
As he spoke, he activated Spell-weaver.
The particles dissolved and settled in the energy drink rapidly coalesced, forming white crystals within the liquid.
Noah glanced at it, and the corner of his eye twitched violently.
'This amount... Was she planning to have me shit my guts out?'
"Are you... trying to kill me?"
Seeing Noah's exaggerated expression, Shizuku pouted and snorted coldly.
"Of course not. I looked it up online. This amount will only give you diarrhea for about eight hours."
'Diarrhea... for eight hours... This girl is vicious. Judging by her personality alone, she really is a witch.'
But this amount would do a lot more than just cause a bad stomach ache.
"You must have mistaken grams for milligrams, didn't you?" he said with a sense of helplessness.
"Do you know what a lethal dose is? This is more than 2.5 times the lethal dose."
"Eh?"
Shizuku's expression froze.
She quickly took out her phone, searched her browsing history, and found the "light punishment" dosage in a post titled 'How to Poison the Home-Wrecker Eyeing Your Lover.'
She really... got it wrong.
She had used ten times the recommended amount!
'Gulp, that was close.'
She had almost killed her classmate.
Noah shoved the energy drink back into Shizuku's hands and demanded, "Alright, spit it out. Why did you do this?"
Though he could already guess.
"Hmph! It's because you're standing in the way of Onii-sama's dream! If that person hadn't locked me up and kept me from going out, you wouldn't have even had the chance to participate in the tournament!"
'What on earth did this girl have planned for me?'
Noah frowned.
There had to be a limit to this brother complex!
"You should know that if you had done that, Ikki would never have forgiven you."
"Even so! As long as it helps Onii-sama achieve his dream!" Shizuku clenched her fists, her teeth gritted.
Her heart ached.
It truly ached.
Seeing her brother's helpless and despairing look was incredibly painful. Even if their clan didn't support him, if they were just a normal family, her brother's wish would never have been so difficult to achieve.
That man didn't deserve to be her brother's father!
"I can't meddle in your family affairs. But from my perspective, Ikki is not the type to fall after a single setback. The Chairwoman won't let him be held back again. He'll still have a chance to become the Seven Stars Sword King in his second year. Does he look depressed to you right now?"
Shizuku looked over at Ikki, who was sparring with the Yagure sisters with a bright smile on his face.
"Ikki is the best swordsman I've ever met. I'll be graduating next year and will no longer be the Student Council President. Not being able to fight him this year is my greatest regret," Tohka said, stepping forward to speak to Shizuku.
She knew that of course.
How could she not know? But her brother would still show a look of regret when no one was watching.
Because so many strong opponents were right in front of him, yet he had lost his chance to fight them.
"Don't talk as if you know my brother better than I do!"
The jealousy radiating from Shizuku was almost enough to suffocate those around her.
"I don't want to know a man that well either. I'm not Alice..."
"Alice... right. Where is he?" Shizuku seemed to remember something.
"He was just here a moment ago." Noah hadn't noticed when he disappeared either.
Considering his highly stealthy ability, pulling something like that off would be as easy as flipping a hand.
"Ugh, I have something important to talk to him about."
Seeing her anxious look, a strange light flickered in Noah's eyes.
He could see that both Kurogane siblings trusted Alice considerably.
But knowing Alice's true identity, he felt this was a disaster waiting to happen.
Because that trust was built on deception.
When Alice revealed his true self, the ones who would be hurt the most would surely be the ones who trusted him the most.
"Hey, you guys, look!"
"That... that person, could it be?!"
"There's no mistake! It's Torajiro Nango!"
"The God of War came to our training grounds! Doesn't that mean...?"
Special instruction!
To have the God of War himself as their instructor... this was a dream!
The appearance of a man nearly a hundred years old caused a commotion no less than the one when the Yaksha Princess arrived.
Torajiro Nango.
In japan, the name was synonymous with a living legend.
He was the nation's oldest Mage-Knight, already 92 years old.
He had fought alongside the nation's hero Ryoma Kurogane in the last great war.
It could be said that the nation's present state was inseparable from the contributions of these two men.
The title God of War came from a Mage-Knight tournament called the "War God Cup," held by the Divine Dragon Temple of China.
At the same time, he was also the master of both Nene and Tohka.
"Oh my, so you're the Calamity? You're a frightfully young boy," Torajiro said as he walked up to Noah, stroking his chin and sizing him up.
With a smile on his face, he looked like a perfectly ordinary, harmless little old man.
At 92, he was long since bald, with only a fringe of white hair remaining around the sides.
He wore a loose, casual yukata and wooden geta on his feet.
Noah was just about to return the greeting, but suddenly!
The old man shot out a hand, thrusting two fingers directly at Noah's eyeball.
In that instant, Noah jerked his head aside.
The old man's two fingers grazed past his face, the sharp airflow cutting his cheek.
The pain didn't make Noah so much as blink.
After dodging the physical attack, he didn't hesitate, immediately raising his hands to grab the man's outstretched arm while simultaneously driving his knee with full force into his opponent's body.
Smack!
His knee struck a relaxed palm, he had been read!
Noah felt all the kinetic force transferred to his knee being skillfully neutralized and dispersed by his opponent.
However, he still had the arm.
If the knee strike was neutralized, then he would just twist and break the man's arm.
Noah put his physical strength into his hands.
The old man raised an eyebrow flippantly, cupped his hand, and struck back at the nape of Noah's neck.
Noah raised his shoulder to block the man's arm, preventing it from moving freely.
Now, he just needed to apply a little force to snap this slender arm.
Yet, in that moment, he suddenly felt a physical weight on his shoulder, as if his entire body was enveloped by an invisible aura.
In his senses, the slender arm became as heavy as a mountain, pressing his body down.
'Wh-what? What is happening?'
'This should be a human arm, right? But why...'
No matter how much physical force he used, even channeling his full Level 2 falna, the result didn't change.
It wouldn't budge an inch!
Noah stared in astonishment at the smiling old man before him.
Seeing that he had no intention of stopping, Noah directly manipulated the gravity around him.
Torajiro let out a cry of surprise as his entire body began to float.
But his face showed not a hint of shock or fear.
His reaction was like that of a grandfather who had been accidentally peed on by his grandson—not a shred of alarm, but rather as if he were indulging the other's little game.
Noah was stunned.
His Spell-Weaver ability couldn't manipulate his opponent's gravity!
He had only managed to make him float by creating a zero-gravity physical space around him. But his magic seemed to vanish like a stone in the sea when applied directly to the man.
'What the hell is going on?'
Noah flung the old man away.
In mid-air, the old man felt gravity return, so he leisurely adjusted his physical posture and landed gracefully.
"...Heh heh heh, interesting, boy. Not only are your martial arts outstanding, but your use of your ability is also flexible and unpredictable. Truly impressive."
Torajiro clasped his hands behind his back, chuckling.
But then he said, "However, if this is all it takes to be called a Calamity, then you're still a long way off."
"It's not like I wanted it. I think the title is lame, anyway, how about you help me change it?"
Noah narrowed his eyes slightly, manipulating the surrounding elements to gather them.
"Elemental Burst."
A magic cannonball combining six elements formed in front of him.
With a wave of Noah's arm, the magic of the six elements fired in unison, weaving together as they descended upon Torajiro's head.
He had never used an attack of this power before, as he couldn't guarantee his opponent's safety.
But if his opponent was the God of War, he didn't need to worry about that.
From a realistic standpoint, he couldn't possibly win against him.
That being the case, he would use this opportunity to get a clear look at his opponent's ability.
However, just then, Torajiro suddenly spoke as if placating a child with a smile on his face.
"Alright, hold on."
The moment he spoke, before Noah's astonished eyes, the six physical elements twisted, collapsed, and dissipated in an instant, all returning to nature!
Seeing this bizarre scene, Noah frowned and murmured.
'So this was the God of War's Noble Art.'
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