Chapter 208: Self-Destruction
They all turned to see the man in the rumpled suit, who had been cowering to the side. His voice was dark and cold. His previously timid expression was gone, replaced by a sinister glower as he looked at the guests.
"What... What do you mean by that?" the host asked, his voice trembling with a terrible premonition.
"What do I mean? Isn't it obvious?" the man sneered. "I originally hired the Evil Dragon guild to kill you all. But when they got here, they decided to try and extort you first. Fine. But then they couldn't even get the job done. They got taken out by a bunch of women. Useless. Looks like I have to do it myself."
His face was twisted with hatred. As the host tried to speak, the man cut him off. "Well, time for you all to die."
He pulled a small detonator from his pocket and, before anyone could react, slammed his thumb down on the button.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat.
But... nothing happened.
He pressed it again. And again. Nothing.
The man's face grew even uglier. He began to mash the button frantically, but the result was the same. "Impossible! I installed them myself! I tested them! How can they be malfunctioning now?!"
He jammed the button a dozen more times before throwing the useless detonator to the floor and stomping on it in a rage.
The terrified guests, who had been holding their breath, finally let out a collective sigh of relief.
"Looking for the magic bombs you had hidden all over the hall?" Ultear asked, stepping forward calmly.
The man's venomous gaze snapped to her. "You! You're the one who disarmed them!"
"Me, too!" Sorano added, walking up beside her with a cheerful smile. "I have to say, that was a lot of bombs. You really scared me. Enough to blow this whole place sky-high. We had to work pretty hard to clean them all up."
Hearing this, the man's face contorted in a mask of pure fury. "You... you dared... I didn't want to have to do this! You forced me!"
He ripped open his suit jacket. Strapped to his chest was a vest laden with glowing magic bombs, already activated and pulsing with light.
A wave of pure terror washed over the crowd. Their hearts hammered against their ribs, and looks of despair appeared on their faces.
Ultear and Sorano, standing closest to him, were also stunned by his suicidal move. They reacted in an instant. The bombs were about to detonate; there was no time for finesse, only for a brute-force solution.
Ultear slammed her right fist into her left palm, instantly flash-freezing the man in a solid block of ice. The cold slowed the bombs' activation, but they were still glowing.
At the same moment, Sorano summoned a large, powerful angel, which immediately wrapped its arms around the block of ice.
From behind them, Mirajane, in her Satan Soul form, unleashed a powerful magic-infused punch straight up, shattering the banquet hall's ceiling.
The angel shot upward through the new opening, carrying the ice-encased bomber high into the sky.
Simultaneously, Erza shouted, "Requip: Adamantine Armor!"
Her armor shifted into a massive, full-body suit of white and blue plate. Two halves of a giant shield were attached to her forearms. She slammed her arms together, forming the complete shield as a massive magic circle deployed in front of it.
"Adamantine Barrier!"
The magic shield easily blocked the tons of debris that rained down from the destroyed ceiling, protecting the guests behind her.
A moment later, a deafening explosion ripped through the sky.
BOOM!!!
An immense flash of light and heat washed over them, the shockwave buffeting Erza's shield. The explosion vaporized the rest of the building's roof, leaving only rubble.
After the last echoes of the blast faded, Erza finally dispelled the barrier and lowered her shield. She turned to Noah. "There was no one else up there, right? No innocent bystanders?"
"No," Noah confirmed. "Just the rest of the Evil Dragon guild's men."
"Good." She let out a long breath and requipped back into her evening gown.
Ultear and the others walked over, all of them looking visibly relieved. The situation had been incredibly tense; a single second of hesitation would have meant disaster.
"Your reactions were perfect," Noah said, looking at them. "You didn't need my help at all." Their coordination had been flawless, their division of labor instant and precise.
"Of course not!" Sorano said proudly. "All our hard work isn't for nothing!" The other girls also looked confident and proud.
"Is... is it over? Is it safe now?" the host asked, walking over shakily.
"It is," Noah replied. "Unless there's another lunatic who wants to blow this place up."
"Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness..." The host sagged with relief. He looked at Noah's team, his eyes filled with gratitude. "Thank you! Thank you all so much! If it weren't for you... I can't even imagine what would have happened. Thank you!"
He bowed repeatedly. The other guests, finally snapping out of their shock, crowded around, all offering their own effusive thanks.
"We were just fulfilling our duty to our client," Noah said. "However, about the state of the hall..."
He glanced around. The venue was more than half-destroyed. The roof was gone, and the surrounding structures were just rubble. They were standing in the one part of the hall that hadn't completely collapsed.
The host followed his gaze. This had been one of his favorite properties. His heart ached at the sight of the destruction... but then he remembered he had just escaped certain death. The ache vanished.
"Don't worry about it!" he said, waving his hands. "It doesn't matter! If not for you, we'd all be dead. Buildings can be rebuilt. This wasn't your fault! On the contrary, we owe you our lives!"
Noah and the girls nodded. It was good that the host was so reasonable.
Their client, Eidel, who had been happily chatting with the other guests ever since Noah's team confirmed the threat was over, walked over. After a brief discussion with the host and several other prominent guests, the host returned to Noah's group.
"We don't know what you might like," he began, "so, after discussing it, we have decided to pay you an additional sum as a token of our immense gratitude."
He saw Noah was about to speak and quickly continued, "Of course, we know the rules. We won't give it to you directly. We will add the sum to Mr. Eidel's original mission reward. Please, you must not refuse. It's the very least we can do."
Noah saw they had already thought it through. There was no reason to refuse; it would just be rude. He glanced at Ultear and the others, who all looked fine with it. He nodded.
"Thank you. We accept."
The host beamed, overjoyed.
~~~
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