Noah floated in midair, effortlessly manipulating gravity to cancel out his own weight.
Releasing his control over the descent, he drifted lightly down to the first-floor concourse, decisively summoned Raven Feather, and aimed his open palm at the fleeing terrorist.
The suited man clicked his tongue in deep annoyance.
At that moment, Stella also descended from the high balcony above.
Judging by her dynamic posture, she seemed intent on making a flashy, superhero-style landing.
However, to prevent any accidental exposure of her skirt from the severe drop, Noah proactively manipulated the localized gravity to catch her.
The princess, feeling her body suddenly become entirely weightless, realized after a moment that she was being gently held in the young man's arms in a bridal carry.
"Huh?"
'Why am I in Noah's arms?'
Seeing her dazed, adorable expression, Noah sighed inwardly but gently set her down on her feet.
He turned to the suited man and asked, "You are an Apostle, aren't you?"
"Oh? You actually recognize this tailored suit as vestments? You have got some knowledge, kid."
Such worthless praise from a dead man is nothing but noise to the ears.
The so-called Rebellion is a massive group of violent classists who aggressively abuse the abilities of Blazers.
They zealously believe Blazers are a new, evolved humanity chosen by heaven, and that all ordinary people—the old humanity—are inferior beings who should rightfully serve these new humans as slaves.
The world's political rules should change, Blazers should dominate the inferior humans and establish a paradise for the new humanity.
This radical ideology is the main reason Rebellion is classified as an international terrorist organization.
The international consensus of the League is that Blazers should protect ordinary people without abilities.
It is precisely because of this chivalric belief that modern society hasn't descended into total chaos due to the existence of extraordinary humans.
In fact, Blazers already enjoy considerable financial and legal privileges in today's world.
Without excessive effort, simply by being born as a Blazer, one's wealthy future is practically guaranteed.
Meanwhile, Rebellion carries out bloody terrorist activities worldwide, violently advocating classism, which naturally draws heavy military opposition and resistance from people across the globe.
An organization like this often leads civilians to mistakenly believe that Rebellion consists entirely of powerful Blazers.
But the truth is, over ninety percent of its massive membership are actually ordinary, non-magical people who fanatically support "Blazer Supremacy" in hopes of being spared. Because they endorse the idea of building a new world order, they are simply called "Believers."
True Blazers are extremely rare within Rebellion's ranks. The few who do join typically wear customized, high-end suits called "vestments" and arrogantly call themselves "Apostles."
Throughout human history, anything related to fanatical religion has never been anything but troublesome.
Come to think of it, most Blazers have incredibly bright wealthy futures ahead of them.
Why would any sane Knight allow themselves to become a hunted criminal wanted worldwide?
Thus, every single Apostle within Rebellion is a genuine irredeemable madman.
Stella took a fierce step forward, a certain part of her bouncing along with her blazing flames.
She pointed her sword at the man and issued a call for surrender.
"You cannot escape. Give up. Or do you honestly intend to face both of us? Let me tell you in advance, that would absolutely be the worst choice in your miserable life."
"..."
The man, an Apostle named Bisho, looked at the fiery girl before him in shock.
"You're the Crimson Princess?!"
After his initial shock, he burst into loud manic laughter.
"Hahahaha! Fate hasn't abandoned me after all! To deliver such a perfect high-value hostage directly to me!"
'What?'
"Can't you even grasp the situation right now?" Stella demanded. "Do you think you can actually defeat both of us?!"
"You jest, Your Highness! I don't arrogantly believe I can defeat a famous A-Rank Knight. But...!"
Suddenly, Bisho pulled a heavy mechanical detonator from his suit jacket and decisively pressed his thumb down on the dead-man switch.
His movements were too swift, even if Stella wanted to stop him, it was already too late.
When she realized it was a detonator, her confident expression instantly turned grim.
"You...!"
"Enough talk! What I am holding is a master detonator. The C4 bombs are hidden on a pregnant woman and a young child upstairs. I have already pressed it. Now, if I let go, or if something happens to me and my thumb slips... can you imagine the bloody consequences?!"
The man stretched out his free hand, suddenly opening his clenched fist while making a childish, onomatopoeic sound with his mouth.
"Boom!"
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing his arrogant sadistic demeanor, Stella desperately wanted to smash his disgusting face in, but she dared not act recklessly because of the dead-man switch.
"What exactly do you want?!" The girl had no choice but to ask this political question.
Even though she knew the terrorist would surely make highly unreasonable demands.
"What could I possibly want? I just want Your Highness to be my meat shield to escape, that's all! Oh, right. Before that, take care of that brat standing over there. With Your Highness in my hands, everyone else is entirely disposable."
The man licked his lips, his disgusting gaze roaming lecherously over the girl's body.
Noah felt his mood instantly plummet!
Crack.
He looked at the man, the joints of his gauntleted fingers creaking.
Stella fiercely refused. "Don't be ridiculous! Asking me to attack Noah—I could never do that!"
"Huh??"
Bisho furrowed his brows, raising the detonator before his eyes as a lethal threat.
"It seems you still don't understand the hostage situation, Your Highness. Then let me add another strict command. Right now, immediately, take off that annoying top of yours. Strip it all off! Otherwise, I will let go of this detonator button right away and blow those inferior beings to bloody pieces!"
Stella clenched her fists, glaring at him angrily, her ruby eyes filled with burning rage.
She was deeply conflicted.
On one side was her dignity and purity, on the other were the innocent lives of a pregnant woman and a child, and possibly the structural safety of the entire mall.
What choice would the noble, chivalrous princess make?
The man had seen through her heroic complex from the start.
That's why he wanted to sexually taint her.
To publicly break that overly radiant, noble soul.
"Haa—"
The man's brazen, filthy words made Noah take a deep breath.
His racing heart suddenly became incredibly calm, and all human expression vanished entirely from his face.
"Enough."
He whispered the word softly.
He half-crouched, his cold gaze sweeping over the man's neck, brow, heart, and other vital points.
"Let me make this clear first: do not think you will have an afterlife."
"Huh?" Bisho frowned. "What nonsense are you spouting, brat?"
This time, Noah had no intention of answering him.
He grabbed his right wrist with his left hand, aiming his open right palm firmly at the ground.
"Die—"
...
'Is this kid really not grasping the hostage situation? Such a reckless fool. It would indeed be safer to let Her Highness the Princess deal with him.'
Bisho thought this and was about to speak, but suddenly, he noticed the boy's glowing blue eyes.
Just being stared at for a single moment made him feel as if he had been plunged into a freezing ice cellar.
'Damn it! What is happening?! My body... won't obey me!'
'Damn it! I just detonate the switch!'
'Wh-What... Damn it, why can't my fingers move?! Why?!'
Under the horrified gazes of Bisho and Stella, Noah stood up from his crouch.
He calmly walked forward, step by step.
Stella, who had been terrified of the threat of the detonation button, now noticed that Bisho hadn't released the switch, but was instead standing entirely paralyzed, struggling with a highly pained expression.
Combined with the boy's earlier words, she quickly understood.
The terrorist must have been magically controlled by the boy through some unseen means, and she hadn't even noticed the cast.
Noah approached Bisho and finally revealed a trace of emotion.
He reached out and firmly grasped the man's entire forearm holding the remote switch.
A terrifying chill spread from within Noah's palm, and in an instant, dazzling ice crystals aggressively scattered through the air.
Bisho's entire arm, sleeve and all, was flash-frozen solid within a thick block of ice.
"Ahhhhh! It hurts!!!"
Even the blood vessels and nerves were instantly frozen solid—this level of cellular pain was utterly unbearable for a human.
Eyes bloodshot, blood vessels spasming, muscles knotting.
For a moment, Bisho's expression turned frenzied and hideous.
"Is it that painful?" Noah murmured softly.
He gave a gentle, casual tug, cleanly tearing the frozen arm completely off Bisho's shoulder!
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