While Mary was battling the Argent Armor and her clones, Noa was petrified like a rabbit beneath the gaze of a hungry wolf. The elf before her had occasionally appeared in her fragmented memories, and she knew him well.
“Nike...” she murmured. “Why...are you here?”
“Hmm... The girl the Armor of God mentioned isn’t here, it seems,” Nike said. “Did she fly up? This is outside of my calculations. Or did she plan this?” He showed no interest in Noa or the people around him as he muttered to himself. For her part, Noa hoped that she could continue to go unnoticed and immediately snapped her mouth shut...but Lily’s growling in Tutte’s arms caught the man’s attention.
“Ah, what have we here? A divine beast,” Nike said. “Right, I recall releasing these onto this side after they proved useless for my research... And you.” Nike locked eyes with Noa, and she turned pale. “You’re... Ah, yes, I remember now,” Nike said. “That failed experiment.”
His assessment felt like a bolt of electricity coursing through her entire body, jolting every fiber of her being. A horrible headache assaulted her.
“F-Failed...? I’m a...failed experiment...” Noa muttered. She pressed her fingers against her panging temples as she recalled another fragmentary memory. She’d once been told something similar by the Argent Armor. “N-No,” Noa mumbled. “I’m not... I...” Even she couldn’t tell who she was talking to, yet the words kept tumbling out of her mouth.
“Lady Noa, you must keep calm,” Tutte suddenly interrupted. She hugged Noa tight.
The warm embrace helped Noa to stop trembling and gradually calm down—and she was surprised at how readily a comforting friend could make her regain her composure. Noa became determined to keep herself together.
“I made the long trip here,” Nike said. “Should my excursion prove fruitless, that woman will inevitably grouse. Hmm... Perhaps I’ll take this chance to observe how the girl reacts to adverse stimuli...”
He paid no heed to the spirit raging nearby as he scanned his surroundings. His eyes then fell upon her—not Noa, but the woman gently hugging her.
“Ah, yes... According to my data, the girl always travels with a particular maid,” Nike recalled. “Is the maid merely an attendant, or does she perhaps bear greater significance?”
The faint smile on his face triggered a number of Noa’s memories to come rushing back to her. It was the same twisted smirk he always wore when he’d abused her body and mind in the name of experimentation.
Nike began floating slowly toward Noa and Tutte. Unfortunately, Emilia, the nearby crew members, and everyone else were so preoccupied with the raging spirit that they’d failed to notice Nike’s appearance...barring one keen-eyed person.
“Stop right there!” Magiluka shouted. “I won’t let you get any closer!” Since Mary had entrusted her with taking care of Tutte and Noa, she’d been keeping her distance from the others to allow her to pay the two of them sufficient attention, and this vigilance was now paying off. She was in position and prepared to fight Nike back...yet he seemed to not even notice her as he advanced steadily toward her charges.
“Freeze Arrow!” Magiluka chanted. She sought to threaten him enough that he’d cease his approach. However, one of the several rings adorning his fingers glowed, and a translucent wall appeared to block Magiluka’s arrows and cause them to fade.
“A magic item?!” Magiluka gasped.
Orthoaguina had mentioned that Nike was a skilled magus smith, so it wasn’t surprising to see he wielded such an item, yet Noa and the others couldn’t help but shudder.
“Your aim may have simply been to intimidate and to establish a zone of control, but regardless, you fired your spell without hesitation. Remarkable mettle,” Nike observed. “I do recall, you also travel with that girl often, correct? Hmm... Which of your deaths would she find more harrowing? To what extent can I shock her? Would she be most disturbed to see your flesh flattened into the ground? Perhaps she’d be more devastated to see your ashes fluttering on the ocean breeze. Oh, but leaving your corpse on a pike would make quite the impression. I can’t underestimate the vicarious horror a flaying would elicit either. Ah, there are just so many options I can hardly bear to choose!”
Nike didn’t seem annoyed by another enemy—quite the opposite. The glimmer of delight flashing across his eyes and the cruel smile that briefly split his face didn’t evade Noa’s notice. “Run!” she shouted.
A moment later, Nike pointed at Magiluka.
“Accel Boost!” a voice came.
Just then, another one of Nike’s rings glowed, and the space around Magiluka distorted. The gravity around her intensified, threatening to crush her against the stone at her feet. But just as Noa feared Magiluka was certain to fall victim to his attack, a swift shadow shot across her vision and grabbed Magiluka to pull her away.
“Gah!” Magiluka grunted. Moments after she’d been rescued, a round sinkhole appeared where she’d just been standing with a booming thud. Anyone could tell that if the spell had made contact, Magiluka would have immediately become a pile of unrecognizable flesh. Third- and fourth-order spell counterparts for his magic would’ve been laughably weak in comparison.
“Safina!” Magiluka cried.
Safina had also been asked by Mary to protect everyone, and she’d saved Magiluka’s life by the skin of her teeth. Safina had been so focused on Noa she hadn’t actually expected to need to save Magiluka—she’d ended up handling Magiluka a bit roughly in the process of carrying her away. Nevertheless, she was now on full alert.
“Accel Boost,” Safina chanted. She once again nimbly evaded an attack. The floor where she was standing moments ago caved in.
“Accel Boost,” she chanted once more. She didn’t have time to take a breather as yet another spell came right at her.