Chapter 42: Chapter 42: Noah vs Elijah (2)
Chapter 42: Noah vs Elijah (2)
Noah stood tall, eyes sharp, face still.
He looked down on the kneeling Elijah, unshaken. Expressionless.
His voice didn’t come. His silence said enough.
The public?
Shocked. Paralyzed. Awed.
"What... is this?" someone finally breathed.
"A new aura?"
"No—wait... He has two auras?"
Even the most cynical ones now sat forward, pupils dilated.
Two auras.
Not one.
Two.
Lightning and Ice was already overwhelming. They were two very versatile elements.
But this?
An aura of pure Authority.
A force that didn’t just crush—it commanded.
The stands erupted with gasps, whispers, disbelief.
Because being able to have two auras at only fifteen years old...was unheard of.
"What kind of monster is he?"
But Noah didn’t care.
He didn’t hear them.
He didn’t need their praise or their fear or their acknowledgement.
He only saw Elijah.
And he hadn’t finished yet.
Across the field, even the top talents—Sophie, Yuki, Aphasia, Rouge, Malrik—watched in stunned silence.
Two auras?
At his age?
And not just any aura—this was Ruler-type. Similar to Sophie’s Empress Aura. But colder. Sharper. Heavier.
Something worse.
...
Elijah’s teeth clenched. Muscles tensed.
His body shook, but not from weakness—
From fury.
The ground beneath him cracked.
Light fractured the space around him like glass under pressure.
And slowly, he raised his head.
His golden eyes met Noah’s silver. His voice cold.
"You think you’re the only one with more than one aura?"
CRACK.
The space around him shattered.
He vanished from under the Ruler’s weight—appearing meters away in a burst of twisted gravity.
Tattered clothes. Blood dripping.
But his stance—unbreakable.
Around him, space warped and shattered, as if rejecting his very presence.
Noah narrowed his eyes.
"Tch. That aura..."
Aura of Space Destruction.
When Elijah clenched his fist—
The space where Noah had been ripped apart, folding inward like a collapsing star.
The crowd exploded again, awe rippling like waves.
Professors from their seats were surprised. Even the Dean leaned slightly forward.
"Since when..." one whispered.
"Having two auras at 15 old years is a common thing?"
A legit question.
But these two were monsters.
...
Noah activated a new aura.
Aura of the Trickster.
His aura shifted again. The weight lifted, but in its place came something else—
Illusion.
His presence blurred. As if he wasn’t fully there.
Then—he moved.
He unsheathed his sword of Ice, slashed the air—And the sky answered.
"Noah’s Technique — Sword of the Trickster."
The sky filled with thousands of shimmering sword slashes.
Each one floating midair, all pointed toward Elijah.
They fell.
Like a divine storm.
But Elijah didn’t move.
His sword appeared in his hand—
A S rank sword rewarded by his system. Glowing with golden hue.
He shifted into stance.
"Chosen One’s Sword Technique — Sword of Destruction."
He slashed upward—
BOOM. SHATTER.
The sky split.
Every sword that touched his slash was devoured, leaving trails of empty space behind—voids that healed slowly, unnaturally.
The arena trembled.
Noah vanished—
Only to reappear elsewhere.
But then—
Another Noah appeared behind Elijah.
Real? Clone? Too late to care.
"Improvised Sword Technique — Lightning Strike."
CRACKK!!!
The lightning-infused blade slammed into Elijah’s back, sending him crashing into the ground like a comet.
BOOOOM.
Dust soared. Smoke billowed. The ground split open under impact.
The public was frozen.
Two Noahs?
"Is it a skill?" they whispered. "Illusion? Spatial manipulation?"
But for the professors and dean, they knew. The Dean’s face now showing a slight surprise.
"No."
"That’s a third aura."
She said in a low voice. As if unable to believe it.
And the teachers around him shared her feelings.
The real Noah stepped through the smoke. Calm. One Noah remained. The other vanished into the wind.
He stared into the pit, annoyed.
"Still not falling?"
"Why are you still standing?"
His voice was colder now.
"That strike could’ve killed a rank A beast."
"You really think I’m going to lose to that?" Elijah’s voice echoed up from the crater.
His body rose, broken, battered—but still burning.
Blood flowed freely down his side. His breath was ragged. Yet—
He stood. Tall. Straight.
His eyes lifted to Noah. Gold, Light, still glowing with high intensity. Unshaken.
"I don’t think you get it, Noah," he said, voice rising.
"I’ve been suffering since I was a child."
Silence spread like fire through the arena.
"I’ve been spat on. Kicked. Beaten."
"Begged for love from a father who never once looked me in the eyes."
"Watched my mother humiliated again and again."
"Because of what ? That I was born bastard? But I didn’t ask to be born."
His voice cracked—but never broke.
"Is it my fault my father couldn’t keep it in his pants? Is it my sin to be born from a woman who was discarded by the world?"
The crowd was dead silent.
Even those watching through screens, far across the continent—didn’t speak.
Noah’s frown deepened.
’Damn hero monologue cliché...’
But even he had to admit—this guy was legit.
But he didn’t care.
It’s not a matter of who suffered the most.
⸻
Elijah continued, his wounds glowing faintly with golden fire.
"I didn’t break when they starved me."
"I didn’t break when they dragged my mother through the mud."
"I didn’t break when they beat me bloody just for existing. For breathing the same air as them."
"So what makes you think..."
He stepped forward.
"...that I’ll fall now?"
"From just this pain?"
"No, Noah."
"I’ve lived worse. And all that as a child who didn’t know nothing about the world."
"And I am still standing. And I will keep standing—above everyone."
Flames erupted behind him.
Not just fire—a phoenix.
Golden, divine, reborn.
It coiled around him like a guardian. His wounds healed rapidly. His power doubled.
His voice boomed:
"This world will remember my name—and the name of my goddess."
"I’ll take everything I’ve been denied and more."
"I won’t hold back. Not anymore."
"And anyone who stands in my way—will BURN."
He pointed at Noah.
"And you, Noah..."
"...are in my way."
His voice dropped.
" So burn ."
The sky shimmered. The earth trembled.
As if the world itself obeyed.
Noah began to burn.
—End of Chapter 42—