“No, I remember. Noir, right? The one I fought in Cork a year ago?” I called out a different name than what was in her Status and watched her closely. I was sure she was the one who’d traveled with Ide, been a member of Sheer’s party, and got along well with Ms. Wyss and Liner. But her appearance was too different from my memory. No matter how incredible the magic she’d unleashed before, she’d never become this inhuman. She wasn’t the kind of girl to show such an unstable smile.
“Yes, it’s that Noir. Noir won’t lose to anyone anymore, you know? Thanks to those esteemed individuals, I’ve been perfected. I’ve ascended! From a weakling who was oppressed, to someone strong who oppresses!” She began laughing unsettlingly. And as Noir laughed, transforming her body, her partner, the red Jewelculus girl, caught up behind her.
She had the exact same face as Noir, but her red-based attire made her easier to distinguish. She was Rouge, the red Jewelculus. She gave instructions to the remaining three party members who had arrived late, then stepped forward.
“Everyone, stay right here! Our opponent is a hero! Unless you’ve undergone sorcererification, you definitely won’t stand a chance against him!”
The remaining party members also appeared to be Jewelculi, but their faces weren’t quite as similar, making it clear that Rouge and her group were separate. All three were very young, and their levels were low, so Rouge’s order to stand by was appreciated. If they’d rashly intervened, they could have suffered serious injury.
I carefully checked the Rouge’s Status as she stepped forward alone.
[STATUS]
NAME: Eleven S
HP: 88/88
MP: 312/345
CLASS: Mage
LEVEL 23
STR 2.78
VIT 2.56
DEX 3.49
AGI 2.38
INT 4.71
MAG 34.34
APT 2.11
[SKILLS]
INNATE SKILLS: Astral Magic 2.05, Elemental Magic 1.12,
Bloodknack 1.02
ACQUIRED SKILLS: Doll Body 0.44, Martial Arts 1.56, Wood Magic 1.67
Analyze made it clear that Rouge hadn’t changed as much as Noir had. As a result, though Rouge had had the higher stats last time we met, they’d now been surpassed by Noir.
With her level far ahead, Noir ignored her comrades in the rear and tried to fight alone. “Now then, my hero. Let us dance. Hee hee, this time I shall lead. Even you, the hero, cannot keep pace with me now!”
Noir’s pupils narrowed sharply, her irises being stained crimson like blood. It was a vivid red, as if it reflected the intensity of the blood coursing through her veins. It resembled the murderous gaze of a ferocious beast.
Just as it seemed she would pounce at any moment, Rouge tried to stop her friend, who was about to charge alone.
“Wait, Noir! Break your sorcerer transformation! We should hear their side before fighting! I don’t think Aikawa Kanami is the type to bully the weak! He’s definitely not connected to the people from the South! The doctor was acting weird earlier!!!”
Apparently, Noir’s change was like the sorcererification Ide had mentioned. I immediately realized this was different from a semifer’s monsterification. If anything, it resembled the symptoms that appeared when Guardians went mad—that of a half monster. This was definitely no mere beast.
I sensed we had stepped into an irreversible area of effect.
Noir answered her best friend, her red eyes flickering. “Rouge, that doesn’t matter now. It’s irrelevant. What matters now is getting back at the hero. Avenge the humiliation from that day. That’s all. No, Noir won’t lose to anyone anymore. I won’t lose to anyone! I’ll prove to everyone who mocked me that I won’t lose anymore!!!”
The transformation progressed further. Noir’s black wings spread thin and wide, her arms growing slender and sharp. Then, from the tips of her hands, long, black claws resembling blades extended.
As the transformation finished, Rouge bit her lip before shouting, “Oh, for heaven’s sake! All the bad parts are coming out now that the blood’s rushing to your head!”
Judging from her reaction that she held no hostility, I called out to her. “Rouge! Please stand back!”
“All right! But if possible, please be gentle like you were a year ago, Hero of Laoravia!” As she replied, Rouge’s eyes also turned red. Furthermore, she transformed her right arm into a red soft-bodied tentacle, grabbed all her comrades behind her, and retreated a great distance. This was likely the power of that sorcererification thing again. However, unlike Noir, this was a unique transformation. Was she an octopus rather than a bat? A red mollusk? It felt like I’d seen it somewhere before.
No, this wasn’t the time for that. I immediately cut off my thoughts and touched Titee’s shoulder as she kept banging on a nearby tree and shouting “Ide!”
“Titee, there’s nothing more you can do there!”
“He isn’t answering me!”
“I know, I know! But we gotta deal with that inky one over there first!” I pointed at Noir, who was smiling at us. She looked aggressive but hadn’t attacked yet. It seemed she was waiting for us to finish talking. Clearly, her goal was to beat me fair and square and show me up.
“Damn it, I have no choice! In that case, let’s first take down his vanguard and find out where he is!” Titee lunged forward aggressively.
I shook my head to stop her. “Stay out of this fight as much as possible! Leave it to me and Snow. Focus on defense!”
“Huh? Why?!”
“Did you forget how you nearly killed me in the Dungeon not long ago?! Unlike me, that girl is normal! With your power, anything could happen!”
“Then don’t let her escape, Kanamin!” On the way here, Titee had realized her magic control was still unstable. To avoid killing Noir accidentally, she entrusted everything to me.
With that settled, I turned back to Noir. But her face was twisted beyond recognition. Our conversation seemed to have struck a nerve.
“N-Normal?! Me, chosen by the Apostle and soon to become a Saint, normal? W-Well, you truly are a hero, aren’t you?! What you say is— No, that’s not right at all!” She’d been arrogant a year ago, but her self-esteem seemed to have swollen even further over the past year. Grinding her teeth, she slowly approached, building her magic. “Growth! Cure Regeneration!”
As her body strengthened with magic, Noir kicked off the ground. I was astonished by her swallowlike gliding movements. She far exceeded my expectations. I’d just checked: Her Agility stat was 3.89. However, her actual speed far surpassed that numerical value. Not only was she as fast as me, but her wings made her movements feel strangely sharp.
As she charged, Noir swung her claws. I couldn’t even meet her strike with my sword and was forced to retreat.
“So fast! You were an Astral mage before!” Grumbling, I reset my sword stance as she passed by my side. I’d intended to settle this in one exchange, but that naive calculation needed a complete overhaul. Treating her transformation as a mere enhanced version of monsterification was wrong. Something more fundamental had changed. It was a cheat move that overturned the very concept of stats. I had to adapt or fall behind.
“Astral magic?! Hmph! Of course I can use that too! And this time, all by myself! I’ll show you how things are different from a year ago! Gravity Greed!!!”
Noir’s strength after her transformation wasn’t just in terms of physical ability. Her magical power was on a whole different level. She was attempting the same Astral magic as a year ago, but its construction speed was abnormally fast. Previously, she had used magic only after resonating with Rouge behind her and performing an incantation, but now it unfolded within a single breath. Furthermore, she tried to pin my body to the ground with even greater gravity than before.
“This is— Dimension: Calculash!”