The instant before it touched the ground, Noah activated the anti-gravity engine, and the enormous black object immediately stopped less than a meter above the earth, slowly shifting from vertical to horizontal.
This time, Suzuka and Sten could clearly see the thing before them.
It was indeed not an Air Manta.
It was not even a living creature.
They did not know how to describe what stood before their eyes.
They only felt that this creation was a work of astonishing craftsmanship.
The metal vessel gave off a black luster, and mysterious patterns were engraved across its surface, making it look almost alive, as though it were covered in a layer of scales.
Between the gaps of those scales, deep-blue light flowed smoothly from head to tail.
"This is what we'll be riding."
Noah's single sentence made the expressions of the two famous Rakshasa Demons change dramatically.
"Riding? You mean we're going to sit on it?" Sten, the fierce-looking giant of a man over two meters tall, actually revealed a faintly uneasy expression.
Because this thing was going to fly into the sky.
Just moments ago, this thing had been up there, flying even higher than birds.
Although the Four Rakshasa Demons had refined and tempered their bodies to the limit, to the point that blades and bullets could not harm them, if they fell from that height, they would absolutely be smashed into meat paste.
He could face swords, guns, and cannons without fear.
That was because blades could not injure his thoroughly tempered body, while bullets and cannonballs could not catch up to his speed.
All of that came from his confidence in his own strength.
But this black thing was clearly not on the list of things he trusted.
It was like people riding on boats, always worrying whether the vessel beneath their feet might "sink."
And this was a boat that flew in the sky.
If one fell into water, one could swim and save oneself. If one fell from the sky, there was no such option.
"This is an aircraft I made using an Air Manta as the main material, along with materials from ten other kinds of Danger Beasts. With its speed, we can reach the White Wolf River area where Gozuki is today."
Noah introduced the sharp, streamlined hull.
Its length was 7.22 meters, equal to Weaver's effective range.
When he rode on it, he could completely control this tool.
Aside from flight, it also possessed a certain degree of combat capability. Noah had engraved many magic circles onto the surface of the hull using invisible coating.
His blood had been mixed into the core material, allowing it to maintain the effect of Weaver even when he himself was not on board.
The fact that it had been able to wait in the sky was thanks to that.
With Weaver's effect, many technologies that would have been impossible through conventional means could be used by him.
If only the materials themselves were counted, the resources consumed by this aircraft had already exceeded two tons.
The energy required to make something like this fly would normally be terrifying.
But for Noah, who possessed the Weaver skill, he only had to manipulate gravity and invert it to make the aircraft as light as a feather.
Combined with the Air Manta's flying properties, the aircraft's cruising speed could reach twelve hundred kilometers per hour.
Black Nightmare
・Creator : Noah
・A flying vehicle created through ancient Imperial alchemy.
・Enhancement Level: 2 (+20%)
・Hull Length: 7.22 meters
・Total Weight: 2,179 kilograms
・Maximum Speed: 1,600 km/h
・Average Speed: 1,200 km/h
・Maximum Load: 600 kilograms
・Weapon Modules: 6
・Defense Modules: 2
・Booster Modules: 4
・Empowerment Protocols: 12
"I named it Black Nightmare and you two are the first passengers. Are you excited yet?"
Noah smiled at them, but in their eyes, that smile was no different from the kindly expression of the King of Hell!
If there was any difference, it was that this one was a living King of Hell.
Suzuka still wanted to struggle a little.
Clenching her teeth, she said, "Professor Noah, even if you possess such an incredible means of transportation, our destination is extremely dangerous. Our opponent is Oarburgh, an enemy even we cannot guarantee victory against. If anything happens to you, no one can bear the Prime Minister's fury…"
Sten exhaled through his nose and nodded. "Indeed. This is not an outing. We will be facing the enemy and fighting them directly. There is no way we can look after your safety!"
He said it even more decisively than Suzuka.
Because he felt that speaking too tactfully would only make the other party think there was room for negotiation.
Noah looked at their nervous expressions and said in realization, "So you're worried I'll drag you down."
"Uh…"
Sten and Suzuka exchanged a glance, feeling both nervous and somewhat relieved.
However, neither of them tried to explain further. Instead, they silently accepted Noah's words.
At this point, they only hoped that saying this much would be enough.
But Noah's reaction once again exceeded their expectations.
He casually beckoned to the two of them.
"Come at me together. If you can subdue me… no, that might be too difficult. Fine. If you can land even one effective attack on me, I'll give up on traveling with you. How does that sound?"
Noah deliberately used a provocative tone and expression.
If he did not, he was afraid these two would worry too much and not dare attack.
Because even after he had said so much, the two terrifying Rakshasa Demons who could make people tremble at the mere mention of their names still looked as though they were humoring a child.
They exchanged smiles, seeming to think the matter had been resolved.
"Suzuka, I'll leave it to you."
Sten apparently had no intention of attacking and handed the matter to the girl beside him.
"All right… Although I prefer enjoying pain over inflicting it, if it's work, then there's no helping it."
Suzuka cracked her knuckles and took a step forward.
She tightened the black belt around her waist. It was one of the proofs that she was a master of karate.
Haaah.
Although she was only trying to make a frail scientist come to his senses, she still seriously took a stance.
In contrast, Noah stood casually. His clothing was loose, unlike the simple and efficient clothes used for martial training, and seemed as if it might get in the way.
"This is for your safety. Forgive my rudeness, Professor Noah!"
Noah smiled. "Come whenever you're ready."
"Oh!"
Suzuka's figure blurred. In almost the blink of an eye, she appeared before Noah.
A faint afterimage could still be seen where she had stood moments earlier.
Closing the distance at a speed dazzling to the eye—this explosive power was something only experts who had mastered control over their bodies to an extremely high degree could achieve.
But for Suzuka, such ability was merely the basics among basics.
Seeing that Noah still showed no reaction, Suzuka did not feel proud.
As one of the Four Rakshasa Demons, all the sweat and blood she had shed until now had long since forged her powerful state of mind.
Noah was a scientist.
Not a warrior.
Even if she defeated such an opponent in a single move, there was nothing worth being happy about.
At most, it would be worth a sigh of relief.
That way, they could avoid being implicated by the Prime Minister's anger and hunted down by their peers.
In midair, Suzuka's knife-hand slowed down.
According to the appropriate speed and force she had calculated, her knife-hand fell toward Noah's neck.
'Sorry, Professor. Please just fall here!'
In that instant, even Suzuka felt as though her own speed had slowed. A powerful sense of dissonance filled her.
At the same time, the boy before her moved.
Under her stunned gaze, he merely shifted half a step to the side and easily avoided the strike.
Suzuka's knife-hand cut through the air.
A gust of wind rose with a whoosh, stirring Noah's hair and revealing his relaxed expression with exceptional clarity.
'He dodged?'
Suzuka had no time to think further.
Although her mind was still spinning, her years of martial arts training and combat experience had already made her body react quickly.
Her descending knife-hand changed into an upward slash.
Suzuka unleashed a reverse kesa strike.
For a powerhouse like the Four Rakshasa Demons, every part of the body was an extremely powerful weapon.
Even a knife-hand strike could split someone in two if it landed.
Facing such a tricky attack, Noah flipped his palm, turned it downward, and pressed it against Suzuka's wrist without being injured.
By suppressing the joint used to generate force, he stopped the acceleration and friction.
The threat of the knife-hand was greatly reduced, and since it could not advance any farther, its killing power was practically reduced to nothing.
'What?'
Suzuka looked at Noah, whose expression had not changed at all, with a face full of bewilderment.
It was not a coincidence.
Her movements had been read.
Not only that, the other party had even moved after her and arrived first.
As a martial artist, she had actually lost to this boy in speed.
"Hah!"
Suzuka sank her body.
Although she lowered herself, one leg rose from below in an instant, her toe shooting straight toward Noah's chin.
Such a movement placed an enormous burden on the human body, yet Suzuka executed it instantly.
Noah retreated half a step.
With a tearing sound, the cloth in front of his chest was shredded by the airflow carried by the sharp kick.
A faint trace of surprise appeared on his face, and he took another two steps back.
By comparison, Suzuka, who had caused this result, was even more shocked.
He could dodge even that move?
The technique just now had failed to injure him. It had only damaged his clothes. Of course she would not mistake that.
At this point, if she still did not understand that Professor Noah possessed extraordinary martial skill, then all her training would have been for nothing.
In terms of martial arts, as one of the Four Rakshasa Demons, she was truly someone in the realm of grandmasters.
And yet she could not see through the boy's background.
His movements were impossibly smooth, but she could not discern any school from them. It did not seem to be any famous inheritance.
For example, with a martial temple like Koken Temple, the moment its disciples displayed their techniques outside, they would be recognized immediately.
She took a breath and said in amazement, "For even Sten and me to fail to notice that you were hiding such skill… I'm truly surprised."
Noah waved his hand and asked with a smile, "Then can I travel with you now?"
Suzuka silently shook her head.
She was helpless too.
"Professor Noah, if you have some objective, why not tell us? The two of us will definitely complete it for you. That is what the Prime Minister ordered us to do."
Indeed, what had happened just now had surprised her.
She had originally thought that being a genius scientist was already impressive enough.
Who could have imagined that such a person was also strong?
It was almost unreasonably impressive.
"I understand."
Noah said regretfully, "In other words, that level just now still wasn't enough to convince you. In that case, I'll be a little more serious."
He twisted his neck and waist, loosening his body.
He bent his knees into a half crouch, lowered his center of gravity, leaned slightly forward, supported himself on his toes, lifted his heels, and a double-layered magic circle spread beneath his feet.
Whoosh!
The sound of air being torn rang out.
A shadow covered Suzuka's vision.
She instinctively raised both arms above her head and crossed them to block.
Bang!
An afterimage fell straight down like a battle-axe, colliding with her crossed arms.
In that instant, Suzuka felt an irresistible weight erupt violently. Her upright stance collapsed in an instant.
Her knees failed to support her, and one leg dropped to the ground while the other split outward into a straight line.
She did not know what had happened.
For some reason, her arms had lost feeling. The intense pain coming from every part of her body instantly flooded her nerves, filling her completely.
A strange sound came from Suzuka's mouth and nose.
It was not a sound of pain, but the excited tone a person would only make when overwhelmed by excessive pleasure.
Noah withdrew his leg and looked at Suzuka's miserable state, noticing the delighted expression on her face.
'This woman…'
Right, her appraisal did mention that she liked pain.
The strike just now had combined terrifying gravity with magic reinforcement. In a single blow, it shattered all of the girl's posture.
side from causing multiple contusions, it had also impacted her organs.
In her current condition, if she were assessed for disability, she would at least qualify as Level Six.
Being able to inflict such intense damage on her resilient body—she had not felt this kind of pleasure in far too long.
"Ah…"
Suzuka lay prone on the ground, her face flushed, having already lost the will to fight.
Although Noah felt uncomfortable all over, the matter was not finished yet.
He turned toward Sten, who was still frozen in shock, and his figure instantly vanished from where he stood.
Seeing this, Sten immediately took a stance, his gaze fixed ahead as he tried to locate that abnormally agile figure.
The next second, his vision began to tilt.
Noah had appeared at his side, grabbed his head, and pressed it into the ground.
The blue bricks shattered, and the ground sank into a shallow pit.
Sten widened his eyes and stared at the boy who had pinned him to the ground with one hand, leaving him unable to break free no matter how much strength he used.
"What… what kind of strength is this?!"
Too strong.
They had been mistaken.
No, they had been too stupid!
They had actually been stupid enough to worry about the personal safety of this monster.
That abnormal speed and strength were practically like a human-shaped Danger Beast.
He had already surpassed the realm a human body could reach through training.