Non-Administered World #97, Star Rail Universe…
"AAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Voldemort's terrified scream spread across the grounds of Mahora.
The invisible force wrapped around his throat made it difficult to breathe or speak, yet it was deliberately loose enough to keep him alive. At the same time, an unbearable heat surrounded his body, burning through what little remained of his robes and scorching his flesh as though he were being roasted alive.
The flames consumed him slowly. Most of Voldemort's skin had already blackened, but whenever the heat approached the point where his body would finally give out, it weakened just enough to prevent that from happening.
Blaze was answering Noah's anger.
The familiar golden-white flames of his Sun Inheritance, the ones that normally carried warmth and reassurance to those around him, were nowhere to be found. In their place burned crimson-gold fire that filled the air with an oppressive sense of wrath and destruction.
"P-Peverell…!" Voldemort forced the name through his damaged throat.
Noah didn't bother to answer him. He simply looked at him without blinking.
Voldemort clawed desperately at his own neck, trying to tear away whatever was choking him, only to find nothing there. Noah had not even touched him. The Force alone held Voldemort several feet above the ground, tightening and loosening around his throat whenever his body came too close to losing consciousness.
Realizing that struggling physically was useless, Voldemort raised his remaining arm and desperately called upon his magic. He did not care where he escaped to anymore. Anywhere was better than staying within Noah's reach.
But Noah saw the movement. His eyes turned toward Voldemort's arm.
CRACK.
Voldemort's arm twisted sideways.
CRACK!
The limb bent farther in a direction no human arm was supposed to move.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Voldemort screamed until his throat nearly tore itself apart.
'Something was wrong…!'
He had endured torture before. He had survived curses, magical injuries, and pain that would have rendered ordinary men unconscious almost immediately. Yet what Noah was doing now felt impossibly worse. Every movement of his ruined arm seemed to send agony through his entire body far beyond what the injury itself should have caused.
Then Voldemort understood it. The pain was being amplified.
[CAPTAIN!!!!! STOP IT!!!]
Inside Noah's mind, Void Archives understood it at the same moment.
[THIS ISN'T HOW YOU USE YOUR TRAILBLAZE AUTHORITY OR THE FORCE!!!!!] Void Archives shouted. [YOU'RE USING TRANSCEND TO BREAK THE LIMIT OF HOW MUCH PAIN HIS BODY CAN EXPERIENCE! STOP THIS IMMEDIATELY!]
Noah still did not listen.
The same authority he had used only minutes earlier to surpass his own limits and raise Shamash far beyond what his body should have been capable of producing was now being turned toward someone else.
Not to make Voldemort stronger.
Not to help him overcome anything.
But to push the amount of pain his mind and body could perceive beyond their natural limit.
[CAPTAIN, THAT IS NOT WHAT TRANSCEND IS FOR!!!]
Noah's fingers tightened, and Voldemort screamed even louder.
[CAAAAAPTAAAAAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!]
Void Archives tried once more to reach him, but Noah no longer seemed to hear anything.
Eventually, Voldemort's screams became hoarse. His body trembled uncontrollably, and he no longer had enough strength left to even struggle properly. When his voice finally faded into broken gasps, Noah stopped twisting his arm.
The Force continued holding him in the air.
Voldemort's breathing came in short, uneven bursts. His vision blurred in and out of focus, but even through the haze clouding his mind, one realization became terrifyingly clear.
Noah did not want him dead, or at least not yet.
If Noah had wanted to kill him, he could have done so immediately. There would have been no reason to weaken the flames whenever his body approached its limit, no reason to loosen the pressure around his throat whenever he was about to lose consciousness.
Noah was keeping him alive deliberately.
Death would have ended everything too quickly.
And somehow, realizing that frightened Voldemort far more than dying ever had.
Far below them, however, the purple wall continued advancing.
Without Noah holding it back, Dormammu's corruption once again spread toward Mahora City, consuming streets and damaged buildings as it moved. Dark-purple fire crawled across the ground while more corrupted creatures emerged from everything swallowed by the advancing wall.
But Dormammu's corruption was no longer the only danger spreading across Mahora.
Blaze was spreading too.
The temperature around Noah continued rising until the air itself distorted around him. Nearby windows shattered from the heat, metal railings began to bend and warp, and several damaged buildings caught fire without ever being touched by the crimson-gold flames surrounding his body. Sections of the street beneath him slowly turned red as the temperature climbed higher.
Inside Starblazer, warning messages flooded nearly every display.
"NOAH!" Himeko's voice burst through the communication channel. "Noah, listen to me! The wall is moving again!"
Noah did not answer or even look toward Starblazer.
March gripped the edge of her console as another warning appeared across her screen. "Noah! The city is behind that thing! There are still people down there! We need you!"
Still nothing.
Caelus stared at the display showing Noah holding Voldemort in the air while the corruption continued advancing behind him. His expression tightened.
"NOAH! RETURN TO US!!!"
Dan Heng looked toward the rapidly increasing thermal readings. "Miss Himeko. His flames are spreading into Mahora itself!"
As if to prove his point, another damaged structure below Noah ignited beneath the sheer heat radiating from Blaze. Flames climbed across its walls before the weakened building finally collapsed into burning debris.
Himeko immediately opened every available communication channel, her voice becoming sharper as she tried to force her way through whatever rage had swallowed him.
"Noah! Answer me! Hayate and Sirin would never want you to do this!"
The communication channel immediately erupted with overlapping reports.
[Starblazer, this is Chaldea Command! The corruption wall has resumed its advance, and its expansion rate is increasing!]
One of the operators shouted as new warnings appeared across their displays. [At its current speed, the outer districts of Mahora City will be reached in less than two minutes! Lady Sirin's portals are gone as well, and we still have civilians inside the projected danger zone!]
Another voice immediately followed from Mahora's command center. [We have another problem! Lord Peverell's thermal output is spreading across the city! Several blocks beneath his position are already burning, and the temperature is still climbing!]
Kokonoe appeared on one of Starblazer's communication windows, rapidly sorting through the incoming data while several screens shifted around her. [His flames aren't targeting anything anymore. They're just radiating outward from him! If this keeps rising, we're going to have Dormammu's corruption swallowing the city from one direction while Lord Peverell cooks it from the other!]
[We're detecting the same thing from orbit!] Chrono's voice came through from the Arthra. Behind him, Amy and several TSAB operators were working frantically as warning windows continued filling the bridge. [Noah's Imaginary output is still increasing. Barrier teams around Mahora are already reporting heat damage, and several defensive fields are beginning to destabilize.]
Chrono turned toward another display as the situation map updated. [All available teams, redirect your barriers toward the civilian evacuation routes! Do not engage Noah unless absolutely necessary! Your priority is keeping the population away from both the corruption wall and his flames!]
[Chrono!] Amy suddenly called from behind him. [We've lost several evacuation routes on the eastern side! The corruption wall has already overtaken them!]
Chrono clenched his jaw. [Then reroute everyone west! Chaldea, give us every safe corridor you still have!]
[Already sending them!] a Chaldean operator answered, but another alarm immediately cut through the channel. [Director! The leyline assimilation hasn't slowed at all! Dormammu's life energy is still spreading deeper into the planet!]
Marisbury appeared across the communication feed, his expression grim as he looked over the latest projections. [Then nothing about the larger situation has changed. Even if we evacuate Mahora City completely, we still have only minutes before the assimilation reaches the point of no return.]
Inside Starblazer, March stared at the flood of warnings filling the displays before looking back toward Noah's figure in the distance. Crimson-gold fire continued pouring from him while Voldemort hung helplessly within his grip.
"He can hear all of this, right?" she asked.
Dan Heng remained silent for a moment, his eyes fixed on Noah. "Yes."
"Then why isn't he answering?!" Caelus slammed his fist against the console hard enough to make the nearby display shake.
Himeko already knew the answer, and that frightened her far more than the possibility that Noah had simply lost control of his power.
Because he had not lost control.
The flames surrounding him were doing exactly what he allowed them to do. The Force crushing Voldemort was being controlled with enough precision to keep the man alive without allowing him to lose consciousness. Even the way Noah was using his Trailblaze Authority to force Voldemort's perception of pain beyond its natural limits was deliberate.
Noah could hear Chaldea warning him that civilians were still trapped ahead of the corruption wall. He could hear Chrono ordering the remaining defenders to compensate for the danger his own flames were creating. He could hear Kokonoe reporting that several sections of Mahora were already burning beneath him.
He understood every word.
He simply did not care enough to stop.
March's expression slowly changed as the realization reached her as well. "No…"
Caelus looked toward her. "What?"
"He isn't out of control."
The cockpit became silent.
Dan Heng's eyes narrowed slightly. "No."
"That's the problem." Himeko kept staring at Noah through the forward display.
She opened the communication channel again and forced herself to keep her voice from breaking.
"Noah…" Himeko's expression tightened. "Please. Look around you."
There was still no answer. Noah's eyes remained fixed entirely on the man suspended in front of him while Voldemort coughed weakly between screams, his body convulsing beneath the pressure of the Force. Then, without warning, Noah stopped tightening his hold. Even the crimson-gold flames of Blaze weakened for a moment as something else entered his awareness through the Force.
For the first time since he had seized Voldemort, Noah's expression changed slightly.
Something was wrong with him.
Noah could feel Voldemort's presence clearly through the Force, but it did not feel whole. His soul seemed fragmented, divided into several pieces that had been torn away from the body in front of him. More disturbingly, Noah could sense traces of that same presence existing far away from Mahora.
His golden eyes narrowed.
Without releasing Voldemort, Noah reached deeper through the Force, pushing past flesh and magic until he could perceive the condition of the soul itself. That was when he finally understood what he was sensing.
Voldemort's soul had been divided.
Five separate fragments existed outside his body.
Noah immediately called upon the magic engraved within the Alden Family Crest. Ancient knowledge inherited through generations answered him, including records left behind by the Peverell bloodline concerning souls, spiritual damage, and forbidden magical practices.
One term surfaced above the rest.
Horcrux.
Noah learned what it was, how it was created, what it did to the soul, and most importantly, how it could be destroyed.
Then his Trailblaze Authority answered.
Noah traced each separated fragment of Voldemort's soul, following the paths connecting them back to their owner no matter how far away they had been hidden.
Voldemort immediately realized what he was doing.
"P-Peverell…!" His eyes widened as panic broke through the pain. "S-stop…!"
Noah ignored him.
Once every destination had been traced, Noah changed the journey.
Instead of traveling toward the Horcruxes, he made their destinations lead directly to him.
Space distorted around them.
Five objects appeared and began floating around Noah and Voldemort: a battered black diary, a ring set with a dark stone, a heavy locket engraved with a serpent, a golden cup, and an ornate diadem.
Every one of them carried the same unmistakable presence.
A piece of Voldemort.
The moment he saw them, Voldemort stopped struggling for a heartbeat.
Then terror consumed him.
"N-No…" His face twisted as he began thrashing violently against Noah's hold. "No… Noooo… NOOOO!!!"
Noah raised his free hand and the battered diary immediately flew into his palm.
"S-stop…" Voldemort felt his heart almost leave his chest.
Noah looked down at the diary for a moment, then slowly raised his eyes toward Voldemort.
"STOOOOP!!!"
Blaze engulfed the diary.
The black cover ignited instantly, and Voldemort's body jerked violently as though the flames were burning him directly.
"AAAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!"
The diary crumbled rapidly inside Noah's hand until nothing remained except ash drifting between his fingers.
But Noah was not finished.
He opened his hand again, and the black stone ring flew toward him.
Voldemort stared at it in horror.
"STOP!" He thrashed desperately against the Force. "STOP, YOU FOOL!"
Noah closed his fist.
CRACK.
The gemstone shattered inside his palm.
Blaze immediately consumed the broken remains, reducing the ring to glowing fragments before even those disappeared.
Another piece of Voldemort's soul vanished.
"STOP! STOP! STOP!" His scream became frantic.
Noah gave him nothing. No anger or satisfaction. Not even a smile. He simply opened his hand once more. The serpent locket flew toward him. Noah caught it and briefly ran his thumb across its surface.
The moment Voldemort recognized it, his face twisted in genuine panic.
"NO! NOT THAT!"
Noah's fingers closed.
CRUNCH.
The metal collapsed inside his hand. Crimson-gold flames spread between his fingers, and when Noah opened his fist again, nothing remained.
"No… no… no…" Voldemort shook his head frantically.
Noah watched him plead with the same empty expression he had worn since Sirin disappeared.
Then he extended his hand again.
The golden cup flew directly into his palm.
The moment Voldemort saw it, something in his expression finally broke.
"WAIT!"
Noah calmly held the cup by its rim.
"Peverell, listen to me!" Voldemort begged, desperation stripping away what little pride he still had left. "We can make a deal! Whatever you want! Power, knowledge, secrets, anything! Just stop!"
Noah's eyes remained empty as Blaze spread across the cup. It began to melt almost instantly.
"NO!" Voldemort screamed as another fragment of his soul was destroyed. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"
By now, four of Voldemort's Horcruxes had been destroyed, and the reality of what was happening finally sank into him. His breathing turned frantic as he stared at Noah, because he understood exactly what came next.
Noah called the final Horcrux into his hand, the diadem. The moment it touched his palm, Voldemort went completely still. Whatever little color remained in his face disappeared as he stared at the object as though he were looking directly at his own execution.
"Pe-Peverell…" His voice trembled. "Please…"
Noah said nothing.
"Please… please…" Voldemort's pride finally collapsed.
Noah slowly lifted his eyes and looked directly into his.
"That is everything I have…" Tears began running down Voldemort's face as he struggled uselessly against the Force holding him in place. "Please… have mercy… I don't want to die…"
Noah simply watched him beg as Blaze mercilessly consumed the diadem.
"No…!" Voldemort's eyes widened as crimson-gold flames swallowed it completely. "NO, WAIT!"
The artifact began to crumble inside Noah's hand, breaking apart piece by piece until there was nothing left to save.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Voldemort's scream tore across Mahora louder than any he had made before as the final Horcrux disappeared inside the flames. When the last fragment vanished, every anchor tying his soul to the mortal world vanished with it, leaving nothing between him and death except the broken body Noah was still holding in the air.
Voldemort… no. Tom Riddle finally understood what mortality truly meant. There was no diary hidden somewhere preserving a fragment of him, no ring, no locket, no cup, and no diadem waiting to drag him back if his body died. If Noah killed him now, that would truly be the end. No return, no escape, no second chance.
Tom began trembling, not from pain this time, but from fear. He stared at Noah with the realization settling deeper and deeper into him, while Noah simply watched him without a trace of mercy.
Even as the corrupted wall continued advancing toward Mahora City, swallowing everything in its path. Blaze continued spreading through the streets as the heat around Noah climbed higher. Starblazer's alarms continued screaming inside its cockpit, while Chaldea and Mahora sent report after report across the Alliance network. The Arthra continued issuing orders for civilian extraction, and Himeko, March, and Caelus kept calling Noah's name over the communication channel.
Noah heard every one of them and understood exactly what was happening around him. He knew the city was still in danger, that people remained trapped ahead of the advancing wall, and that his own flames were only making the situation worse. Yet none of it was enough to pull his attention away from the man in front of him. Not while Tom Riddle was still breathing.
—--------
On the ground, Reinforce Zwei slowly looked up from beside Hayate's unmoving body. Tears were still streaming down her face, and Sirin's Herrscher Core lay only a short distance away. The heat coming from Noah no longer carried the warmth she had come to love. The flames surrounding him now were different, burning everything around him without distinction.
"Noah-san…?" Reinforce swallowed hard as she stared toward him. "I… I have to go. I need to save Noah-san…"
She wiped her tears with one sleeve and forced herself to stand. Her expression was still shaken, but determination slowly replaced the despair in her eyes. With a small motion of her hand, magic wrapped around Sirin's Herrscher Core and lifted it from the ground, while another Belkan magic circle formed beneath Hayate's body.
Reinforce immediately opened a communication channel with Starblazer. "Himeko-san! I'm sending Hayate-chan's body and Sirin-san's Herrscher Core to you!"
Himeko answered almost at once. [Understood. But what about you? The temperature around Noah is still rising. At this rate, it's approaching the level of a true sun. Rein-chan, you can't just go near him like that.]
"I'll be fine!" Reinforce cut in quickly, then tried to give Himeko a reassuring smile despite the tears still clinging to her face. "I'll be fine. If… if we want to wake Noah-san from his anger, then I'm the only person left who can do it."
She looked straight at Himeko's image and met her worried expression with a determined smile. "After all, Noah-san loves me like his own daughter. That's why I know he'll listen to me!"
[Rein-chan…] Himeko murmured, her expression softening before she finally nodded. [Alright. But Starblazer is staying close to you. If anything happens, we'll move immediately.]
"Thank you, Himeko-san."
Reinforce watched as Hayate's body and Sirin's Herrscher Core disappeared into the transfer light and were sent safely aboard Starblazer. Once they were gone, she inhaled and clenched both of her tiny hands.
"You can do this, Reinforce," she whispered to herself. "Let's go save our family."
—-----
Voldemort no longer moved or reacted within Noah's Force hold. No matter how fiercely Blaze burned around him, his ruined body simply hung in the air without resistance. His head had fallen forward, his breathing had become shallow, and even the pain Noah forced through him no longer drew so much as a scream.
Perhaps irritated by the lack of reaction, Noah reached for his authority again and pushed Voldemort's perception of pain even further while increasing the intensity of Blaze. Yet nothing changed. Voldemort remained limp and unresponsive, so Noah continued raising the output, seemingly determined to force some kind of reaction from him.
Then a small voice finally reached him through the roar of the flames.
"Noah-san!!!"
Reinforce Zwei flew straight toward him, but the moment she entered the center of Blaze, her barrier immediately began taking damage. The temperature was far beyond anything she had expected. Heat crashed against her from every direction and forced her backward, but she gritted her teeth and pushed forward again.
"Ku…!"
[Rein-chan!] Himeko's worried voice came through the communication channel. [The temperature is still rising! Pull back!]
"I'm fine!" Reinforce answered immediately, even as cracks began spreading across her barrier. She knew perfectly well that she was not fine, but she clenched her teeth and kept moving.
"Noah-san! Please, listen to me!"
There was no response. Blaze only intensified around Noah, and another wave of heat slammed against Reinforce hard enough to make her cry out as the cracks across her barrier widened.
Inside Starblazer, March stared at the readings in horror. "She can't keep going like that!"
"REIN! GET BACK!" Caelus shouted as he gripped the console.
Dan Heng's expression tightened while he watched the tiny figure continuing through the flames. "She won't."
Himeko understood why. Reinforce had already sent Hayate and Sirin away. In her mind, Noah was the only family member still left in front of her, and she had no intention of abandoning him too.
"Starblazer," Himeko ordered, "extend the defensive field around Reinforce as far as possible."
[Affirmative.]
A protective field projected from Starblazer and wrapped itself around Reinforce, immediately relieving some of the pressure from Blaze. Even so, the field began heating almost at once. Reinforce ignored the warning symbols appearing beside her and continued forward, forcing herself closer one painful meter at a time.
"Noah-san…" Her breathing grew heavier as she struggled through the heat. "No… Noah… Noah-san…!"
Another burst of Blaze slammed into her and shattered her barrier.
"Ah!"
Reinforce was thrown backward and spun helplessly through the air, but stubborn determination kept her from giving up. She fought to regain control of herself and finally steadied her flight, breathing hard as the unbearable heat washed directly over her without the protection of her original barrier.
When she looked up again, Noah was still there, holding Voldemort in the air and burning him alive as though nothing else around him existed.
Reinforce bit her lip and wiped the tears from her face.
"No," she whispered, forcing herself forward once more. "I'm not leaving you, too."
Reinforce forced herself through the flames until the edges of her Knight Clothing began to scorch. The heat stung every part of her exposed skin, and every instinct in her body screamed at her to turn around before Blaze burned through what little protection she had left, but she refused. She kept flying until she finally reached Noah, then threw herself against him without hesitation and wrapped both arms tightly around his chest.
"Noah-san!"
Noah's arm twitched at the sudden contact, and for the first time since Blaze had awakened, the rising heat stopped increasing.
"I… I finally… reached you…" Reinforce buried her face against his chest, her voice shaking from exhaustion and relief.
Noah slowly lowered his gaze. For the first time since Sirin disappeared, he looked at something other than Voldemort.
"…Rein?" His voice was so quiet that she almost didn't hear him.
"Yes…" Reinforce tightened her arms around him. Her Knight Clothing was badly scorched, several parts of her skin had already reddened from the heat, and tears continued running down her cheeks, yet somehow she still managed to smile at him.
"I'm here, Noah-san."
Blaze trembled around them. Voldemort coughed weakly while still suspended within Noah's Force, and Noah's golden eyes instinctively started moving back toward him. Reinforce immediately tightened her embrace and pressed herself closer against his chest.
"No!" she cried. "Please… don't look at him."
"Rein…"
"Look at me!"
Noah stopped and slowly returned his eyes to her. Reinforce swallowed hard as her voice began trembling again, then pressed her forehead against his chest.
"Please… come back, Noah-san. Hayate-chan protected you because she wanted you to live, and Sirin-san fought because she loved you and Hayate-chan. They didn't do those things so you could lose yourself here."
Noah's expression twitched.
Reinforce turned her head toward the city below them. "And everyone down there… they're the same people Hayate-chan and Sirin-san were trying to save."
Noah followed her eyes.
On one side of Mahora, the corruption continued spreading toward the evacuation zones. On the other, buildings burned beneath the heat of Blaze while Alliance mages desperately maintained their barriers. Civilians rushed through whatever escape routes remained open as defenders struggled to hold everything together.
Some of those flames were his.
Noah stared at the destruction below, and little by little, his grip around Voldemort began to weaken.
"If you keep doing this…" Reinforce looked up at him again, her lips trembling as she forced the words out. "Then everything they did will be for nothing."
Noah's eyes widened slightly.
"They gave everything because they wanted to protect everyone here." Reinforce shook her head desperately and tightened her arms around him. "So please… don't make their last choice meaningless."
The crimson-gold flames surrounding Noah weakened again.
"Noah-san, you're hurt. You're angry." Reinforce looked straight into his eyes. "And I know you want Voldemort to suffer."
Noah's expression finally began to crack. His gaze drifted toward Voldemort, and when he spoke, his voice came out broken.
"He took them from us…" His breathing became uneven. "Hayate… Sirin… he…"
The words caught in his throat before he could finish. Everything he had been holding back began spilling out at once, and the emptiness in his face slowly gave way to pain. Tears gathered in his eyes as Reinforce pressed herself closer against him.
"I couldn't move…" Noah whispered. "Hayate was right there beside me…"
A tear slipped down his cheek.
"And Sirin…" His lips trembled harder. "I saw the way she looked at me. Like she was apologizing…"
Reinforce's breath hitched as she felt the grief finally break through.
"But… but…!" Noah's face twisted with pain. "I couldn't do anything! I could only watch both of them fall!"
Reinforce started crying harder, and at last, Noah's hand opened. The Force holding Voldemort disappeared.
"Ghk…!"
Voldemort's broken body dropped from the sky and crashed somewhere among the streets below, but Noah did not even look at him. Blaze began to recede almost immediately. The crimson-gold flames surrounding Mahora weakened as his Sun slowly calmed, and the oppressive heat hanging over the city began to fade with it. His red hair gradually returned to its normal color, while the gold in his eyes dimmed until his usual gaze finally returned.
Inside Starblazer, alarms began disappearing from the displays one after another.
"He stopped…" March exhaled shakily as some of the tension left her shoulders. "Rein… you reached him."
Caelus slumped against the console while Dan Heng briefly closed his eyes in relief.
Himeko placed one hand against her chest and let out the breath she had been holding. "Welcome back, Noah…"
Noah collapsed to his knees on the Force Platform and immediately pulled Reinforce into his arms.
"I'm sorry…" he cried, holding her tightly against himself. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
"Noah-san…" Reinforce wrapped both arms around his neck, and the moment she did, her own tears spilled even harder.
For that moment, neither of them cared about anything else. Noah buried his face against her small frame and held her as tightly as he could without hurting her.
"Hachan… Sii…" His voice shook so badly that the names barely came out. "I couldn't save them…"
"You tried, Noah-san…" Reinforce answered through her own tears.
"I should have done more…" Noah clung to her. "I should have protected them…"
"No…" Reinforce shook her head against him, her tiny hands gripping the back of his clothes. "You did everything you could… and so did Hayate-chan and Sirin-san."
The last traces of Blaze finally disappeared around them. Across the Alliance channels, relief began replacing panic as everyone realized Noah had come back to himself. Kokonoe immediately redirected resources toward the corruption wall, Chrono ordered every available barrier unit forward, and Chaldea resumed calculations on the planetary assimilation.
Inside Starblazer, Himeko closed her eyes for a moment.
They had gotten Noah back.
Then every warning system activated at once.
BEEEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!!
"What?" Dan Heng's eyes snapped open as several displays across Starblazer filled with red alerts.
[AN ENERGY SPIKE COMING FROM THE WORLD TREE!] a Chaldean operator shouted through the channel. [THIS…?! IT'S DORMAMMU'S SIGNATURE!!]
"What?!" Himeko immediately turned toward the main display.
Below them, the corrupted World Tree released a violent pulse that shook the air around Mahora. A second followed almost immediately, stronger than the first, as dark-purple light began spreading through its trunk and branches.
Deep inside the World Tree, something had awakened.
It was not the complete Dormammu. His true body was gone, and what remained could barely be called more than a lingering fragment of consciousness buried inside the corruption. But it was enough to recognize Noah.
The enemy who had destroyed him.
The one responsible for his defeat.
And now Noah was floating openly in the sky, exhausted, emotionally shattered, and with almost none of his attention left on the battlefield.
Dark-purple flames began gathering at the center of the corrupted World Tree.
Himeko's face went pale the moment she saw the readings spike. "NOAH! REIN-CHAN! MOVE!"
Noah raised his head, still holding Reinforce close.
"…Hm?"
Reinforce saw it first.
The center of the World Tree flashed, and a massive beam of dark-purple fire erupted toward them.
BWOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!
Noah's eyes widened, but his body was too slow to respond. He had only just regained control of himself, and the exhaustion from everything that had happened weighed down every movement.
Reinforce reacted first.
She looked toward the approaching beam, then back at Noah. There was no hesitation in her expression. She placed both hands against his chest and gave him one small smile.
"…Noah-san, live."
Before he could understand what she meant, Reinforce pushed him away with all the strength she had left.
"…Eh…?"
Noah's eyes widened as the distance between them suddenly opened.
The dark-purple beam reached Reinforce first.
And swallowed her completely.
====== Chapter 238 END ======