This innate, burning sense of justice... perhaps, this was also her destiny as a ruler.
"Wait, Stella. Stay behind me."
Noah sighed and deployed a localized soundproof barrier around them using Weaver, ensuring that neither their breathing nor their footsteps would be heard outside their immediate radius.
The two of them were far from cautious—they practically swaggered along the mall corridors.
Since absolutely no sound would escape their bubble, there was no need to tread lightly or sneak.
Even full-sprint running wouldn't be a problem.
Earlier, the gunman had shouted to gather all the surviving hostages on the first-floor lobby.
"You can even do something like this?!" Stella whispered, amazed by the perfect silence.
"What's wrong?"
"You... you haven't used this silent ability for other, perverted things back at the dorm, have you?!"
"What do you mean?"
"Ah! Never mind!"
'What are you thinking, Stella?! Noah would never do something creepy like that!'
'Huh? Could it be that I was actually hoping he would?!'
'That is even more impossible!'
'Sigh. Calm down. We are facing an armed enemy right now, Stella—stop letting your dirty thoughts run wild!'
"Found them."
Noah suddenly stopped walking, causing the distracted girl to bump into his back.
They had reached the glass balcony area above the first-floor food court. From here, they could clearly see the situation below.
The number of hostages gathered in the center was surprisingly small. In other words, the number of unseen casualties throughout the massive mall might be beyond imagination.
"Only capturing women and children?" Stella frowned, gritting her teeth in rage. "What despicable cowards."
The girl cursed under her breath, then suddenly thought of a reason. "Wait, or maybe they just don't have enough combat experience to handle fighting the men?"
Noah shook his head as he observed the strict patrol routes of the gunmen below.
"Don't try to understand them with ordinary, civilian logic. If it were just for money, there are at least twenty more efficient methods to rob a bank. But they deliberately made a massive, bloody show of taking a mall because they are sadistically enjoying it."
"Enjoying it? Something horrific like this?!"
"They are intoxicated by everything absolute power brings, including the helpless fear of the weak. It is completely normal that a good person like you cannot understand it."
"Tch, how utterly disgusting. So, what should we do now?"
"Hmm."
Noah surveyed their surroundings. To cut off the security surveillance cameras, the entire shopping center's main power had been violently shut off.
The central air conditioning had naturally stopped working, and to hinder police entry, the terrorists had barricaded all entrances and exits, preventing any fresh air circulation.
"Stella, wait here for a moment."
"Do you have a plan?"
"Yes."
Noah quickly moved between several adjacent ventilation passages, setting up invisible barriers to completely obstruct the mall's internal airflow, then quietly rejoined the girl on the balcony.
"Stella, slowly release your magical energy. We are going to turn this place into a sealed furnace."
"But there are still hostages down there!"
"It is fine. Compared to the hostages in light summer clothes, those heavily armed guys will be the very first to suffer because of their thick, tactical equipment."
"But I cannot control my ambient magical energy as precisely as you can without burning things..."
"Do not worry. Leave that to me." Noah gently took the girl's hand, causing her to blush. He whispered, "Now, slowly release your magical heat. I will help you safely control the dispersal."
"Mm."
Stella closed her eyes, and the vast, A-Rank magical energy within her began to violently stir.
Noah held her hand, deeply sensing the girl's magical energy, and used Weaver to perfectly manipulate the heat waves.
Just like when he forcibly dispelled Ikki's Ittou Shura, Weaver could directly manipulate magical energy—whether it was his own, the ambient elements in the atmosphere, or even the magical output within others.
At this moment, Noah safely guided Stella's scorching magical power, allowing it to continuously fill the sealed airspace of the mall without igniting any fires.
As the ambient room temperature rapidly skyrocketed, Noah also subtly manipulated the humidity in the air, creating a suffocating, tropical environment.
Soon, the room temperature exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit and showed signs of climbing even higher.
The terrified hostages below had already begun to sweat profusely.
Compared to them, the terrorists' physical reaction was even more exaggerated.
Beneath their heavy, black tactical gear and thick ballistic vests, they were sweating buckets, rapidly reaching a state of dangerous dehydration and mental confusion.
"Damn."
"Why did it suddenly get so incredibly hot in here?"
"Shouldn't the peak of summer still be a while away? Damn it, why did Bisho order us to cut the main power? Without the AC running, standing around in this gear is pure torture."
"Fuck, it is so hot..."
"Ugh!"
Suddenly, one of the heavily armed terrorists knelt on the ground, vomiting heavily onto the polished floor.
His reaction spread like a virus, and in the blink of an eye, the severe heatstroke affected the others.
Thud.
Thud—!
Watching their tactical companions pass out and fall one by one, the few terrorists who could barely hold on also felt dizzy and deeply frightened.
'Damn it.'
'Whats happening?! Why are we vomiting and passing out one after another?!'
'Could it be... chemical poison?! Are we under attack?!!'
"Damn it! Who's behind this?!"
The entire process took only two or three minutes, yet they had been completely wiped out.
This couldn't possibly be a coincidence!
"...Bisho..." one muttered before collapsing.
As the last gunman fell unconscious, one of the hostages tentatively stood up, looking bewildered.
They didn't understand why the terrifying men had suddenly collapsed in agony, but it seemed they were saved?
"That's amazing!"
"Huh?"
"I'm talking about you, Noah! How did you do it without burning anyone?!"
"Heh, let's not talk about the mechanics for now. We still have work to do."
"Eh? What do you mean?"
Noah's eyes flickered as he coldly analyzed the fallen enemies below.
"Their tactical formation remained strictly intact until the very end, which means they definitely had a commander giving orders. However, that commander never once showed his face on the floor. I suspect he must have noticed the heat trap and fled."
"Huh? He just abandoned his comrades and ran?!" The girl widened her eyes in sheer disbelief.
"For selfish criminals like them, that is just standard operating procedure. Don't expect any knightly honor or humanity from them."
"But there are so many emergency exits here! How can we know where he escaped to?"
Noah smiled faintly.
"I already set up..."
Just as he was about to explain his airflow traps, Noah sensed a movement in one of his barriers and cut himself off.
"Found him. At the West Exit."
He called for the bewildered girl to follow and moved directly from the upper floor balcony.
He passed through several empty shopping plazas and arrived at an open space without a roof, a hollow architectural area that connected from the first floor directly to the top floor.
Without a moment of hesitation, Noah vaulted over the glass railing and jumped from a height of over thirty feet.
The shrieking sound of the wind during his rapid descent alerted his prey.
A hurried figure dressed in a sharp suit sensed the movement above, glanced upward in shock, and leaped backward.
Immediately, Noah's falling figure abruptly stopped just inches before touching the ground, magically hovering in mid-air.
He looked down at the terrorist leader from a superior position.
"How about we skip the cowardly hide-and-seek, Mr. Robber?"