The illuminated city cast a kaleidoscope of colors into the night. Joyful music echoed from every corner. Yet, despite all the lights, the darkness above remained undiminished. It seemed to respond to Noir’s declaration, undulating like the waves of the sea.
Twilight had ended.
It was now night.
"Hamel, I despise the dawn," Noir said.
She hated waking up in the morning.
Noir rose from her chair, her mind drifting back to the night she had spent in the city with Eugene.
They had shopped together, drank together, and strolled through the city. During that time, Noir had wished the night would last forever.
She detested the coming of dawn. Those moments had been undeniably real, yet Noir had treated them all as if they were a dream.
She had hoped the dream would never end.
"So, I will prevent the dawn from coming," Noir declared.But the dream had ended. Eugene hadn’t wanted it, and Noir had accepted his decision. They had woken up from the dream and returned to reality.
Noir leaped off the Giabella-Face with a smile, descending from the sky without spreading her wings. Eugene stood watching as Noir gracefully descended. They locked eyes, and Noir smiled brightly while looking down.
Booom!
The city trembled. The ground sank, with spider web-like cracks spreading through it. Eugene gritted his teeth and braced his knees to counter the impact.
It wasn’t just a minor tremor but a massive shock capable of crushing Eugene completely. The several layers of protective barriers surrounding Eugene crumpled like paper. The sanctuary that Prominence erected disallowed any violation of god, but right now, it was meaningless.
"Ahaha," Noir laughed from above Eugene. It wasn’t a great attack. Noir had merely dropped from the sky and stomped her foot above Eugene’s head.
That was all.
She continued, "I didn’t expect you to welcome me like a princess, but that expression of yours, Hamel…."
The sound of Noir’s high heels forcefully pressing down on the sanctuary’s barrier intensified. The cracks on the road that Eugene stood on spread further. Soon, the road flipped under pressure, and the ground began to sink lower. Eugene maintained the sanctuary while gripping his sword, Levantein.
"It’s almost like I'm heavy," Noir whispered with a chuckle.
Fwoosh!
A burst of flames exploded within the sanctuary, propelling the divine blade across the sanctuary towards Noir.
In return, she kicked with her long legs. With a loud crash, her black shoes kicked away both the flames and the blade.
No matter how strong the impact, Levantein did not break. However, Eugene felt as if his arm was being torn off from the impact of just that single kick.
"Ahaha!"
Noir laughed loudly while raising her hands high.
Rumblee!
Purple swirls of dark power began to form a whirlwind between her palms. She slammed her hands downward, and the dark power cascaded like a waterfall directly above Eugene's head.
It was not just dark power; it was poison. The poison coursed along the surface of the sanctuary’s barrier and began to dissolve the ground where Eugene stood. The road melted into a sludge and sent up plumes of black smoke that were equally toxic.
'Poison?' Eugene thought in surprise.
His body was normally impervious to poisons. However, the current venomous aura was so intense that even he felt dizzy.
The dream had ended. This was reality. Yet, the current Noir and her Demoneye of Fantasy could alter even reality itself. While it was impossible to completely remake the world as in a dream, an absolute poison that did not exist in the real world fell within the range of fantasies Noir could conjure.
Ordinarily, just breathing in the toxic miasma would result in immediate dissolution, just like the ground, but Eugene's divinity resisted the venom. That didn't mean he was unaffected. The rapid onset of poisoning made his mind reel and his body unresponsive.
"It's like being drunk," Noir whispered. She extended a finger towards the staggering Eugene. Purple light concentrated at her fingertips. Though Eugene's vision swayed, he could see that the light was piercingly intense. Eugene’s body instinctively reacted to the imminent threat of death.
Would a direct hit kill him? Perhaps not instantly, but it would inflict injuries severe enough to disable him from fighting momentarily. In Noir Giabella's presence, even a brief moment could lead directly to death.
As the purple light shot from Noir’s fingertips, Eugene bit his lip. His body was still not fully responsive. Eugene decided to relinquish control of his body. Instead of deliberate movement, he trusted everything on instinct and intuition.
He had made the right choice. His body resisted death. Instinct and intuition acted to evade the deadly attack. His body moved on its own and narrowly dodged the magical attack.
Booom!
A brilliant light burst from the sky. Noir frowned as she watched the descending light.
"How dare you," she growled.
They should have known their place and status. They should have been praying from afar, grateful even for the privilege of observation. Noir expressed her irritation before flicking her finger.
Boom!
The light exploded in the night sky and scattered like fireworks in all directions.
But that was enough.
Know their place and status? Though not as Noir had intended, Kristina and Anise indeed knew their limits. They knew they couldn’t kill Noir Giabella. In fact, they couldn’t even inflict a scratch on her.
But they were never meant to have such roles. Three hundred years ago, and even now, the place for Saints was not beside or ahead of the heroes but behind them. From a few steps back, they were to watch the Hero’s back, to be the first to see if the Hero staggered.
'It reached him,' the Saints thought in relief.
The scattered fragments had reached Eugene. That was enough. His dizziness vanished instantly, and his control over his body returned. Miracles focused on healing and purification cleansed Eugene's mind and body.
“Phew.” He exhaled a breath. His gaze met Noir’s, and she flicked her finger at him with a smirk.
Suddenly, lightning cracked across the night sky, striking directly above Noir.
"What a surprise!" Noir exclaimed with a giggle as she caught the lightning as if it were a toy.
She hurled the captured lightning like a spear. With a loud swoosh, it flew through the air and reached Raimira instantly.
"Kyaaak!" Raimira screamed in alarm.
Sienna reacted before Raimira could respond with a Breath. The lightning was Sienna’s spell. However, the moment Noir grasped the lightning, it ceased to be Sienna's magic. As such, Sienna used her powers to dissolve the lightning that was turned against her.
Sienna gritted her teeth and soared into the sky, leaping through space to approach the city's center.
She had launched a long-distance magical attack from beyond the city limits. But from her attempt, it became clear that such attacks were futile against the current Noir. Magic launched from a distance was easily seized by Noir and turned against its caster.
"I warned you," Noir murmured as he sensed Sienna's approach. "If you don't want to die, stay away from our fight."
A colossal swirl of dark power whirled around Noir. She attempted to ascend high into the sky, her wings spread wide like a bat's, but she was forced to stop midway.
There were dark flames. A sword forged from layers of divine fire sliced through the space.
"Impressive," Noir muttered.
A darkness that seemed to absorb all colors, a heat so intense that merely breathing it felt like turning one's lungs to ash, and a murderous intent so fierce — it all made Noir acutely aware of Hamel. It reinforced his presence, making the reality ever more tangible.
"Right now," Noir said as her hand moved, gathering dark power gently in her open palm. "I stand at the center of the future I dreamed of."
She wanted to die at Hamel's hand. She wanted to kill Hamel. She couldn’t be certain of the outcome, but the process was delightfully joyous and fulfilling, all the more so because of the bitter and sad dream.
Now, she was joyful. The end of the dream had made her love Hamel even more.
Thus, Noir responded with all her might. The small force of dark power in her hand swelled enormously. Both the Demoneye of Fantasy and the Demoneye of Divine Glory were activated simultaneously.
With a clash, chains materialized in the air, blocking the path of the sword. Then, fantasy was imbued into the dark power in her palm.
The purple energy turned into flames. The flames overlaid each other and grew in intensity. A bright smile played on Noir’s lips.
She desired the Empty Sword, and the Demoneye of Fantasy transformed that desire into reality. While she could not mimic Levantein exactly, Noir’s boundless dark power was amplified just like the Empty Sword.
An overwhelming force was created. The Demoneye of Divine Glory summoned chains of Incarceration, but Eugene's current sword attack broke even the chains of Incarceration. However, the flaming sword unleashed from beyond the chains by Noir could not be shattered.
At the moment of collision, he was repelled instead. With a tremendous roar, Eugene was thrown backward. The collision extinguished even the flames of Levantein. Such was the overpowering force that it annihilated the divine fire itself.
'That’s insane,' Eugene thought.
It felt as though every bone in his body had shattered; in fact, they had. But recovery was swift. While the prayers of Saints helped, a body that had reached the divine level possessed an immortality not granted to ordinary humans.
'My attacks don't reach,' Eugene assessed the situation.
He was back in reality, but it was just like the dream. Eugene's attacks did not reach Noir. As she had said, reality too was a nightmare.
'No, it's different. I can kill the current Noir,' Eugene realized.
The Divine Moonlight Sword, Levantein, was a blade forged directly by the Light to kill the Demon King of Incarceration and the Demon King of Destruction. The flames of Levantein were lethal even to Demon Kings who wouldn’t die. If Noir Giabella was directly struck down and burned by Levantein’s divine fire, there would be a limit to her resurrection.
The problem was reaching Noir. Eugene had to admit a misconception he had been harboring: Noir was adept at direct combat. Unlike in the dreams, he had assumed he might have had a chance to press her in reality.
The situation had indeed somewhat improved. The real Noir wasn't omnipotent as she was in dreams, but that didn't make the fight any easier. Despite falsely believing Noir lacked combat skills, Eugene found himself overwhelmed in a direct confrontation.
The previously unleashed Prominence now acted as a brake on his airborne body. Feathers he had scattered earlier entered his vision, and he leaped instantly. He had intended to penetrate Noir’s blind spot, but he realized his mistake mid-leap.
It was a failure. Such attacks did not work on Noir. The entire city was under her control; no matter how Eugene moved, he couldn't deceive Noir’s senses. Blind spots simply did not exist for her.
Ahaha.
A delighted laugh tickled Eugene's ears as something massive suddenly filled his vision.
It was the Giabella-Face that had been perched on the casino roof. The bizarre flying object hurtled toward Eugene. The problem was its speed. Eugene collided with the Giabella-Face before he could even attempt to dodge.
It wasn't just fast; it was heavy, too. Eugene was thrust backward again.
Tick-tock, tick-tock....
The sound of clock hands moving came from inside the Giabella-Face.
It was an artificial and overt signal. Eugene's face contorted. Such a noise could only mean one thing. Eugene imagined the outcome, and his imagination soon became a reality.
Booooooom!
A massive explosion took place. The Giabella-Face had self-destructed and pushed Eugene back. A simple explosion couldn't harm him, but this explosion was far from simple. The shockwave passed through the sanctuary, causing Eugene to cough up blood.
“This attack is too ingenious,” he commented.
He was not accustomed to this kind of battle. Even now, he felt something huge moving behind him.
It was a building. One of Giabella City’s large buildings, unnaturally equipped with limbs, stomped toward Eugene.
Rumbleee!
The surrounding buildings disassembled and reassembled, attaching themselves to the larger building. A giant concrete fist was raised into the air.
"Good heavens,” Eugene blurted.
Such brutish and massive attacks didn't usually affect Eugene, but while in this city, it was a different story. Though the building looked like a crudely assembled golem, it was imbued with the fantasy Noir desired.
With a loud crash, the building's giant fist struck down on Eugene. He immediately swung Levantein, invoking the power of the Annihilation Hammer, Jigollath. At the moment of impact, the building exploded.
"Ahahaha!" Noir, watching from above, laughed heartily and clapped her hands. Even her applause was extraordinary. Every clap shook the city and sent a storm of dark power crashing down.
"Ugh...!" Eugene groaned as he swayed forward. He almost toppled but barely managed to stop and turn around.
He saw an unreal scene unfold. The nearby buildings were uprooted and floated around Noir. Noir hummed a tune and flicked her fingers.
With a rustling sound, the large buildings disassembled and turned into countless stones. The scene was not much different from what had been seen in the dream. The dream Noir had pelted Eugene with stars and moons. The real Noir was smashing him with buildings.
The method of assault hadn't changed. A merciless bombardment began. Each stone, imbued with dark power, was as powerful as those stars and moons from the dream.
Levantein blazed once more. Before Eugene could even swing his sword, the space around him split open and unfolded. The power of the Demon Spear, Luentos, was unleashed, shooting thousands of flames that, in turn, became spears.
Repeated interceptions ensued. Dark power and flames danced together in swirling movements. A mere touch would have reduced anything to ashes — yet, to Noir, it all appeared as a beautiful fireworks display.
Noir propped her chin with her hand, her expression enraptured.
"Beautiful," she declared sincerely.
It wasn't just simple fireworks. It was a moment when all existing bonds and emotions between them were sublimated into intense, sorrowful murderous intent and exploded. This beautiful spectacle was meant only for Eugene and Noir. It had to be. And yet…
"You ignored my warning," Noir said in annoyance.
It was an attack that should have been made earlier, an attack that had been blocked by Eugene and thus not executed. But now, nothing hindered it.
Noir's dark power whirled, a terrifying murderous intent imbued in the purple energy. She gently pushed a newly formed awl with the tip of her finger.
She didn't send it flying. Rather, the awl magically leaped and vanished. It appeared in front of Sienna, who was approaching at high speed.
Sienna didn't panic but thrust forward her staff, Mary. The dark power she drew from Amelia Merwin combined with Sienna's mana and transformed into soul power. With a clang, the soul power summoned magic that blocked the awl's advance.
"Disappear." A whisper sounded close by. Amidst the dissipating dark power, Noir appeared. Her purple eyes flashed brilliantly.
Forced slumber.
The power from close range took its toll on Sienna's mind. She could feel her eyes becoming hazy.
"…?" A brief look of confusion flitted across Noir's face. She had definitely put Sienna to sleep, but she hadn't managed to push her mind into a nightmare.
[It's me.] A breathless voice. But it wasn’t coming from Sienna’s lips. [Do you think I, the Goddess of Magic, would fall for the same unchanging tactic again and again?]
Noir couldn't help but burst into laughter, then sharply raise her gaze to look at the pitch-black night sky.
There, connected by a faint thread to her body, was the figure of Sienna, an opaque being. The moment forced slumber was activated, and she fell asleep, Sienna had separated her soul from her body.
"So the only method you could think of was suicide?” Noir scoffed derisively.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
As if to punish her mockery, magic pierced through Noir's body.