abcnovels
Chapter 12 No Rest For The Wicked
Chapter 12 No Rest For The Wicked
?There was a different look in the young man's eyes; the bored, 'high-and-mighty' stare as gone as a fiery glow was embedded in his gray irises.
Being pressed as so, a will of fire was born even in the darkness of the villain's soul.
"I finally have a life I can appreciate…I'm not letting you take it away!" Noah gritted his teeth.
Victor looked at him, struggling to match his amplified strength, "You mean a fabricated life born on illusions? Do you really believe altering people's memories creates genuine bonds? That's the thought process of a villain; no, a child."
Such words only further stoked the flame inside Noah as he moved one hand away from the handle of his sword, grabbing hold of Victor's torn sleeve again.
"What–?" Victor reacted, but it wasn't quite in time.
["Spatial Warp"]
In an instant, the two were transported high into the sky, brought alongside the clouds, far above the prosperous city that seemed tiny now.
'He brought us to the sky?!' Victor realized, 'Is he trying to take us both out–no, he's not falling!'
Noah was prepared to take to the skies as he already invoked his desired spell: ["Levitation"], standing upright as if the air itself was a solid platform for him.
Beginning to plummet downward, Victor flailed his arms before an idea entered the experienced system wielder's mind, prompting him to manifest mystical shields of seraphic gold beneath his feet.
Noah was surprised to find that the silver-haired man had stopped falling, now floating just as he did via the airborne shields.
Dressed in various wounds, Victor huffed, inhaling and exhaling deeply as his body was worn-and-torn from the conflict, though Noah's wounds fixed themselves naturally through a simple spell.
["Absolute Recover']
"You'll die if this keeps up," Noah told him calmly, levitating above him amongst the clouds, "I think we both know that you don't stand a chance."
"I didn't take you for the type to show mercy," Victor breathed out.
"I'm not."
Assuring as such, Noah's grimoire fluttered open as a destructive ability was pulled from the depths of its mystical pages.
A coalescence of chaotic energy formed into a singular point above Noah's palm; electrical sparks surged in a mixture of black-and-scarlet hues, fusing into a sphere of destructive energy beyond simple elements.
["Absolute Destruction: Belial's Breath"]
Victor was clearly out of the fight, barely able to keep up with his own breathing as blood dripped from his various lacerations, only able to watch as the orb of destruction was aimed towards him.
"Begone from my sight–I won't allow my world to be intervened," Noah said.
Just before the sphere of matter-erasing energy could launch forward, a figure suddenly warped in beside Victor.
"Yukio…?!" Victor said in surprise.
The blue-haired, youthful man smiled, supporting the injured comrade of his by slinging his arm over his shoulder.
Noah was left dumbstruck by this sudden appearance, but was too late to act as the one named 'Yukio' warped away in an instant, taking Victor away with him.
"--" Noah stayed there for a moment.
'There are more? I didn't get to assess him, but a warping ability can be troublesome, Wait…Was that the one originally watching me?' He deduced.
With this development, he flicked the sphere of destruction away into dissipating particles, looking down at his body as his outfit was left in tatters.
"Can't show up to class like this…" He mumbled.
["Disembodied Tailor"]
A snap of his fingers allowed him to mend his tattered clothing before he clapped his hands together, invoking a warp while being able to see the school itself from his eagle eye view.
["Spatial Warp"]
In order to make sure he wasn't sure merely 'poofing' into existence, he warped into one of the bathroom stalls on the campus, greeted by the unpleasant stench of the boy's restroom.
He sat there for a moment on the toilet in thought, taking in what had just happened; it was an eye-opening experience to know he wasn't the sole person wielding supernatural abilities.
'Why did they attack me? Is it because I'm doing my own thing? Who cares? At the end of the day, once I adjusted, it was a cakewalk to handle that guy. I need to start preparing, though. If there are others like him, and stronger, I should be ready to fight at any time,' he thought.
While he sat there in thought, he was interrupted from himself as his phone vibrated in his pocket. He retrieved his smartphone, seeing a couple text message notifications:
[MIGUEL: Hey! Do you have notes for Mr. Trouts class? I sorta dipped out yesterday!]
[AKARI: Thanks again for the DOMI-DOMI! It's so cute!]
Attached to the message from Akari was a photo of her holding the plushie on her lap during class, without any real regard for 'no phone' rules in the classroom.
Lastly, he saw a message from Emily:
[EMILY: Where are you? You know how Ms. Harbow gets! Hurry up! She's already muttering about calling your parents.]
A sigh left his lips as he smiled subtly, tucking his phone away as he sat up from the unorthodox seat. Giving a quick wash to his hands, he fixed his jet-black tufts of hair that had been unkempt from the battle, finally making his way to class.
As he entered class, luckily he made it in time before first period had ended; Ms. Harlow, a rather temperamental, middle-aged woman was scribbling on the chalkboard before stopping at the sound of the classroom door opening.
"Ah, if it isn't Mr. Grays, at last. Tell me, what was so important that you missed out on learning the great triumphs of Iskandar?" Ms. Harlow asked, crossing her arms.
All eyes were on him, though he was as cool as a cucumber as he took his seat beside Emily with a smile.
"Sorry, Ms. Harlow, I had a family emergency—it won't happen again," he assured the teacher.
The woman in the verdant blouse and gray skirt squinted at him from behind her glasses before turning around, continuing to write out the important figures of "Iskandar, The Conqueror's" time.
"Do not make this a habit," Ms. Harlow said while writing.
"Of course," he replied.
After a few minutes, Emily had given him the notes on what he'd missed, whispering to him in the middle of class.
"Where were you, really?" Emily asked curiously.
"Err, bathroom problems," he answered.
"I see," Emily chuckled before placing her hand on his, "Just tell me if anything is bothering you, okay?"
"Of course."
While they were caught up in their conversation, the sound of scribbling on the board in the front of the class was replaced by chalk being slammed against it.
Ms. Harlow cleared her throat abrasively to quell the chit-chat, which he feigned paying attention to the stern teacher, though class was the last thing on his mind.
In his mind, he kept pondering about the encounter and what it meant, and if it would happen again–sooner rather than later.
'I'll worry about this when I get home. I've got an idea in mind for how to prepare myself, anyway,' he thought.
As class ended, he walked to his physical education period with Miguel after a brief goodbye with Emily, where he had to willingly restrain himself not to completely blow everybody else out of the water. Still, it didn't mean he took things too easy on the others.