[Lifespan Remaining: 29 days, 2 hours, 28 minutes.]
Due to Noct’s natural prowess and condition, what was supposed to be a 1-Star spell possessed the firepower of a 2-Star roaring mass of flames, barreling through the sky toward the masked assailants.
Clearly, they were not prepared for such firepower coming from a thin-looking boy. Four of them managed to dodge aside, but the last one, who was on the bigger side, was unfortunately not fast enough.
BANG—!
Fire crashed across the rooftops, blasting tiles and fragments of bricks everywhere. When things came to, what used to be a masked assailant had been burned to a crisp.
"Th—that guy’s a Mage! He must be at least a 2-Star! Call for backup!"
But just as the words got out of his throat, the man’s head suddenly started sliding. A second later, a large wound appeared, sputtering blood like a geyser.
Noelle merely stepped back, watching the man’s body fall from the roof. It dropped down to a nearby terrace, bounced off its railing, then struck the cold streets below.
The rest of the attackers saw what happened and lost whatever courage they had left. All of them turned and fled.
"Noelle, after them! Leave one alive!"
The remaining three scattered across the rooftops, but she managed to catch the first before he reached the next building.
Noelle simply struck him in the knee with a kick, driving him face-first into the tiles and plunging her dagger into the back of his head.
The second attempted to change direction, only for a shadow-like to coil around his ankle, dragging the man backward.
?Bind Shade.?
But before he could cut himself free, Noelle had already struck him across the temple before finishing him off with a stab to the chest.
’Huh...so spells not from the Mage branch don’t need an incantation. But they’re mostly weaker or just utility spells.’
In a desperate attempt, the final attacker reached under his cloak and produced a small metal tube. Noct’s eyes widened, realizing what he was trying to do.
"Noelle, stop him!"
But it was already too late.
By the time Noelle heard her young master’s command, the masked man already had the tube aimed skyward and pulled on the cord.
FWIIIIP—!
A flare erupted into the sky, high above Altaire before exploding into the shape of an iron sword. Noelle appeared next to the man a second later, knocking him out in one go.
"I left this one alive."
"Not the worst of our problems right now!"
Bells began ringing, and a few seconds later, knights stationed several blocks away abandoned their posts and began moving towards the location.
’Well there’s no denying it now. The knights and these people responsible for the disappearances are definitely together.’
The black carriage carrying Otto had already vanished deeper into Altaire. Worse, at least a dozen knights were converging upon their position from different streets.
"Tch...we need to hide our identities somehow."
His eyes searched the market below. Most merchants had abandoned their stalls after the fireball and flare. Among the vacated stalls, rows of carnival-looking masks were being sold—the ones that were usually expensive tourist traps.
But well, it’ll have to do.
"Noelle, take us down!"
She looked at the approaching knights, then at the unconscious prisoner beside her. "What about this guy?"
"Take him too!"
Without hesitation, the maid grabbed the back of his coat with one hand. Her other hand simply lifted her Young Master off his feet, tucked nicely in between her lower arm.
The three of them then crashed through the canopy of the carnival stall, sending merchandise flying everywhere.
Noct quickly got up and searched through the pile of masks. Eventually, he found two, accompanied by hooded black cloaks.
The first was a black raven with silver markings around its eyes and a short beak extending over the nose. The second depicted a white wolf, its narrow gray eyes matching Noelle’s almost perfectly.
Noct tossed the wolf mask toward her.
"Put this on."
Noelle caught it with one hand.
"A wolf?"
"Would you rather the rabbit or the house cat?"
"..."
Noct fastened the raven mask over his own face before pulling up the black hood. His maid did the same, concealing most of her white hair. Before leaving, he tossed several coins onto the ruined counter.
"Do you really need to do that?" Noelle frowned.
"Well, I’d rather not be a thief."
But before they could argue back and forth any longer, the first group of knights had already appeared between the surrounding stalls with their weapons already drawn.
More arrived from the opposite street, quickly blocking every visible exit.
One of them looked toward the unconscious attacker in Noelle’s grasp. "Release that man if you don’t want any trouble."
"This man participated in the kidnapping of an Altaire citizen," Noct said.
"I won’t repeat myself, vigilantes." The man raised his sword. "Release him and surrender."
"Then send your men after the carriage," Noct said. "The abducted citizen is still inside. We’ll oblige if you do so."
"The black carriage never went anywhere near the port."
"Ahh, but I never said it was black?"
"...Tch, get them!"
Whatever happened, they couldn’t allow the guards to detain them here. So as the guards surged, Noct simply adjusted his raven mask before reaching into his bag and pulling out something.
The guards suddenly stopped, thinking that it’d be some kind of weapon. But instead, he produced a green-looking book.
"A book? What, are you going to read us a bedtime story?" one of the guards laughed. "Maybe bore us to sleep so you can get away or something?"
"Hah..." Noct simply sighed, opening up the book. "This is why nobody understands geniuses..."
For some reason, Noct had a hunch that he was capable of using higher Star spells, even if he himself was only a 1-Star Mage. Call it a genius’s intuition, but he had prepared a spellbook as a precaution before they left for Altaire.
?Compendium of Two-Star Magic.?
With a single flip of the page, Noct’s eyes darted at lightning speed. His brain took in every piece of information the page had to offer, processed it, and made the knowledge his own.
〔Skill Upgraded: Lightning Magic [★] —> [★★] 〕
〔Chain Lightning has been added to Known Spells.〕
"O restless current, divide without end. Bind all beneath the heavens!"
?Magia Volt — Mille Tempestatis.?