Noir emotionlessly stared at him, watching the man's bloodshot eyes glare at him.
He bit his lips as he numbed the pain he felt, while also staring at Noir in shock.
'This... how?!'
"Now then... why don't you reconsider your earlier assertion. Am I bluffing...?" Noir's voice echoed.
The shady man grunted as he glared at Noir. A bead of sweat dropped from his face.
'This is a Tier 9 barrier, goddamnit! His movements are supposed to be restricted, and he shouldn't be very strong. I should also have been boosted as a result of its effects. So... why?!' He thought desperately, quickly sealing the injury on his arm.
"You must have a lot of questions. So do I."
"You... what are you?!" The wounded man growled.
"It seems you're misunderstanding something here... you don't get to ask me anything. It's the other way around. Got it?"
A wave of bloodlust emanated from Noir. Like a deep, endless gust of darkness, they swept through the man's subconscious.
His body was paralyzed.
"After the whole deal with Trevor, I already realized that he wasn't the only enemy on Campus. In fact, he appeared to be more of a distraction, causing you to slip through and integrate yourself with the institute." Noir began.
The shady man was shocked. How had he figured out his plan? How long had he known?
"The attempted abduction of Ciara was too coordinated. I figured out there had to be a connection between the two trials. Just because she was in the institute wouldn't make you people give up on getting her. That's how valuable she is to your cause, no?"
The shady man couldn't talk since he was being gagged by Noir's crushing aura. Instead, he made trembling movements.
"Did you really think I would let such a thing go unnoticed?"
Suddenly, an orange light shine from the shady man, causing him to break out of the wave of despair that kept him petrified.
His body was now burning with orange light, causing his hair to stand.
Mana began gathering to him at a rapid pace, and he was getting stronger as time went on.
"I don't know how you figured all that out, but that doesn't matter. My orders were to capture you alongside Ciara, but it turns out you're too dangerous. This is where you die!"
The orange aura slowly turned into purple, taking on a more powerful form.
"7 Tier magic...?!" Ciara's eyes bulged.
She had underestimated the man. To think Richard's wannabe was this strong.
"So, you brought something that temporarily raises your magic to a higher Tier. Impressive." Noir smiled.
"Shut up and die!"
The man dashed toward Noir, rushing at him while leaving a trail of smoke and debris in his path.
"[Hellflame Aura]" He chanted.
The purple energy around him deepened even more, and in a flash, he brought his fist close to Noir's face.
Noir stared at him calmly and blocked his strike effortlessly.
"W-what?!" The man let out, confused.
However, before he could process how Noir was able to keep up with him, Noir's fist was raised and hit him directly in his stomach. The purple aura that shrouded the region instantly shattered, allowing Noir's blow to have direct contact with the man's hard skin.
"Guarkkhhh!" He coughed out blood, instantly sent flying as a result of the impact.
>BOOOMMM!!!< His body landed on the ground, causing a gathering of smoke as the ground shattered.
"So this is the Rune, uh? Quite an interesting piece..." Noir mumbled, observing the gem he took from the wounded man when he hit him.
"Y-you... when did you-?!"
Before he could speak more, his eyes bulged and more blood poured from his mouth.
Noir ignored the man's painful groan and crushed the gem in his fist.
>KKKRIIKKKKK< The object shattered, releasing a vast amount of mana to the surrounding area.
However, in a single snap, Noir made the aura dissipate.
The shady man's eyes bulged, unable to form any intelligible words after experiencing such a sight.
"You seem confused. You're probably wondering why I'm so strong and why you're so weak, despite all the plannings you've made and the countermeasures put in place..." Noir motioned, moving closer to the man on the ground.
"Allow me to answer your questions. It's simply because I know all your moves. Everything you have up your sleeves, I'm aware of them."
"I-impossible..." The man tried responding, but was immediately silenced by Noir's fist buried in his face.
"Urahhhkkhh" He groaned in more pain, his bloodied mess of a face shivering.
"Ever since my fight with Trevor, I've known about your existence. I'm sure you thought I would be too distracted to notice, but you underestimated me. I found you, easily."
"No... no way... I... I made sure to..." The man tiredly argued.
Once again, Noir hit his face, giving him another blow that silenced him.
"Shh, I'm still taking."
Noir's whisper did the trick. The man's lips were shut this time.
"Good boy." He smiled.
"You're sloppy, you know that? Your overconfidence in your plan led to your downfall. As soon as I realized that Trevor was a distraction, it wasn't hard uncovering everything else."
Noir recollected how he had been following the man, watching how he stalked Ciara and her friends. He kept his distance and watched. He knew about how he spread the rumors, how he instigated the students to come after her, and how he intended on carrying out the rest of his plan.
"But, even after knowing all that, I never acted. Do you know why?" Noir asked.
The man couldn't speak. He merely shook his head a little.
"It's because you hadn't crossed the line yet. I thought I would be able to gather more Intel from you, and then this mess occurred. Well played, 'professional'."
Ciara watched as Noir handled the shady man. To be frank with herself, she was a little scared. Noir's methods, his tone, his aura... they were completely different from a moment ago.
How could someone change so easily?
However, Ciara pulled herself together, embracing herself with her two hands. If anything, she was going to remain strong. Noir was doing this for her! Just like he did when facing the bandits, how he expertly killed all of them to save her, and just as he killed off the assassins that were sent for her.
pαпdα-ňᴏνê|·сóМ His methods were extreme, but he got the job done! It wasn't like Ciara could complain anyway, she wasn't strong enough to protect herself.
She was weak.
"And so, here we are, finally confronting each other. I have to admit though, after keeping watch over you for so long, waiting for you to make your move... this is a little anticlimactic."
The man knew instantly, that he was no match. The intimidating aura Noir exuded, coupled with the overpowering effect of his abilities... he never stood a chance, to begin with.
There was just one question he had, one thing that made him wonder if Noir was responsible for it as well.
The shady man wondered if the Tier 9 barrier was even affecting Noir at all.
"I can see what you're thinking about. Should I answer your questions for you? Ignorant fool."
The man trembled upon hearing Noir speak.
"The truth is... I already knew about this trap a while back. I mean, I already told you how I've been watching and observing you. Did you really think I wouldn't notice this pathetic excuse for a trap?".
The shady man's bloodshot eyes bulged even more as Noir made his casual statement.
'He's calling Tier 9 magic, the highest kind of magic attainable by humans, a pathetic excuse for a... this man... is he truly human?!'
"Upon noticing the trap, I deactivated it on my own," Noir added.
'No, that's impossible! If he had done that, I would have known. Plus, it's still working now. There's no way... in the first place, how can he deactivate such a complex rune by himself? There's no way... no way!' The shady man's mind rang.
"You don't believe me, uh? Well, it doesn't matter. After I deactivated it, I simply replaced the Tier 9 rune with one of mine... using CODE."
'W-what the hell... is CODE?!'
"Do you know why I'm revealing this much to you? It's because you're not leaving this place. I'll be making sure I take out every last bit of information from you, even if you die."
With a smile, Noir brought his hands closer to the man's face, causing him to shrink back in fear.
While he was expecting another blow, Noir simply patted his head gently, seemingly amused with the display of terror the man showed.
"Now then... shall we get started?"
'No... not like this. I can't let it end like this!' The shady man thought to himself desperately.
If he was fated to die, unable to do anything about it, there was no use clinging to his life in such a miserable way.
'If I'm going to go out, I'm taking you with me!'
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