Chapter 86

Entry

On the bright side, at least I wouldn't need anyone's help.

That was the conclusion I came to after checking the skill generated with Noel the moment I obtained the ability called Origin.

-Skill Info

■ Origin

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.

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-Noel Astrea Simus

◇ Twisted Wrath

Emotions can at times become an incredibly powerful source of energy. Especially when it's possessiveness toward someone you have feelings for. If the subject becomes angry over something related to that person, they gain a significant boost in abilities. The magnitude of the boost is proportional to the intensity of the anger.

※ Once affected by this skill, emotions don't subside easily. If the subject is enraged, make sure to think of a way to calm them down!

……Just having something like this fall into my lap out of nowhere was clearly going to help a lot in resolving this situation.

The additional notes were a bit messy, but still, with the phrase “significant boost” in there, I figured I could reasonably expect some good results.

So, the immediate goal was simple.

I had to make Noel angry.

As I was thinking that, a chunk of meat club slammed down beside me. It was an attack from two Flesh Tearers swinging at the same time.

An overwhelming destructive force. The ground hit by the blow was completely shattered, and the shock alone caused all the nearby buildings to tremble. No wonder they were called extra-large beasts.

Even if they weren’t top-tier beasts, anything classified as extra-large shared similar traits. Like Reaver, they didn’t have any special abilities, but they were tough and powerful. Simple strengths, taken to the extreme.

‘Good thing they’re slow at least.’

Thinking that, Aiden leapt to the side.

It seemed the note about their sluggishness around weak points wasn’t a lie. Even someone like him, who didn’t have any major strengths in combat, could handle the situation without too much trouble.

The problem was—

So far, it hadn’t been hard to dodge those repeated attacks, but they hadn’t even managed to land a proper hit in return yet.

“If only we knew where to strike, at least then we could handle it better!”

To that, Aiden answered in a calm, flat voice.

“Right in the center of both arms.”

“Huh?”

“That’s the core. Hit there, and it'll be an effective strike.”

“……How can you tell something like that at a glance?! Even knights have a hard time analyzing beast weaknesses!”

“……”

Well, it was a skill from Duke Aslan. When it came to beasts, it was basically borrowing the insight of the most authoritative expert on the entire continent, so it wasn’t really difficult.

“Though even knowing that, I doubt we can kill it in one blow.”

The fact that its movements were slow meant it was easier to find openings, and indeed, Noel and Aiden had managed to land a few counterattacks in the meantime.

The problem was that the opponent showed no reaction even after taking those hits.

It wasn’t like Reaver, whose body was hard as a rock, or like Katya, who could simply regenerate. This one gave off the feeling that fighting it was meaningless in the first place. Like getting angry at a lump of mud.

The real issue was that, slow as it was, it still firmly blocked the entrance to the Spire.

“The prince is likely inside, Aiden,” Noel said, narrowing her eyes.

“If we can just find a way to kill it—”

“I never planned on killing it to begin with. We don’t have time for that,” Aiden said with a sigh.

Trying to take down something that was clearly meant to stall them was a waste of time.

“Subduing it is our best option. Even just once—one single, powerful blow that leaves it completely unable to move.”

And right now, the only person here capable of that was this one.

Katya was still out there fending off the swarm of aerial beasts rushing at them.

“There’s no one else I can ask but you, Dame Noel.”

“……”

“Please buy me some time to get inside.”

To be honest, he was well aware that this was an unreasonable request.

It was no small thing to throw a single human against two extra-large beasts. No matter how great a knight she was, it was an absurdly reckless move.

Any rational person would question his sanity.

He had already made a similarly reckless request to Katya earlier, which had upset her enough that he’d had to calm her down.

Noel might be just as upset by now...

“...Are you angry right now, by any chance?”

That hopeful question slipped out.

“So that means you’re placing your trust not only in Her Highness but also in me, doesn’t it?”

“……”

“Thank you, Aiden. I’m someone who can handle that much……!”

Seeing Noel’s eyes light up instead of flaring in anger, Aiden was left speechless.

...No, seriously.

Why were these people getting competitive over such ridiculous things?

“...Let me be honest with you, Dame Noel.”

Aiden closed his eyes tightly as he spoke.

Time was still ticking, and only God knew what the prince was scheming inside this Spire.

In that sense, it might be better to be honest with this person and ask for help directly.

“Dame Noel, you need to be angry at me.”

“…Excuse me?”

“I can’t really explain why, but if you get mad at me, I’m sure we’ll find a way forward.”

“……”

Noel blinked in confusion, but after a brief moment of thought, she nodded.

“…Given the situation, I doubt you're joking around, Aiden, so all right. But there’s a problem.”

“Yes?”

“It’s not easy for me to get angry at you.”

“……”

“No, really. I’m not joking. I just don’t get angry at you easily, what can I do about that?”

Well, thanks. Nice to know she had that much patience for me.

But in this situation, that wasn’t exactly helpful…!

“L-let’s just try something—anything!”

Still dodging attacks back and forth, Noel noticed Aiden’s expression growing grim and quickly followed up.

“Say something unpleasant to me! Maybe that’ll make me angry!”

…Hmm.

Sure enough, harsh words were probably the most straightforward way to provoke someone’s anger.

Aiden opened his mouth quickly.

“Dame Noel.”

“Yes, go ahead.”

“To be honest, sometimes you’re a little too bland and boring—”

-System Message

▶ Target ‘Noel Astrea Simus’ falls into despair!

“……”

Why did that emotion turn out to be despair and not anger?

That was the first thought that popped into Aiden’s head when he saw Noel staring back at him in shock, eyes wide.

“D-did you really… find me that boring…?”

Noel trembled as she spoke. Tears even welled up slightly in the corners of her eyes…

“…I didn’t even get to the real insults.”

“This… this isn’t how I thought it would feel. It’s not like I’m getting mad… it’s more like… I’m just getting hurt…”

“……”

Apparently, there was a subtle difference.

“I-isn’t there another way? Something besides a direct attack on me…”

“No matter how you phrase it, it’s still an insult, isn’t it?”

“Anything else is fine, but that’s forbidden! Aiden, say something more gentle!”

“……”

Seeing Noel practically throwing a tantrum, Aiden’s face darkened with deep concern.

So now he had to insult someone while avoiding anything that would directly wound them? Even for Aiden—whose previous job involved working with words—this was a high-difficulty task requiring some serious mental gymnastics.

‘…Wait.’

Now that he thought about it, there was something.

A way to make her angry without insulting her directly.

“I’m going to drop this method, Dame Noel.”

“…Huh? Just like that?”

“Yes. I don’t really want to hurt you either.”

“…R-really?”

Noel smiled brightly, forgetting the situation for a moment.

But the moment she heard what came next, a visible crack split across her expression.

“Now that I think about it, it might be better to just ask Her Highness Katya instead—”

-System Message

▶ Target ‘Noel Astrea Simus’ falls into extreme rage!

▶ Skill: Twisted Wrath is activated.

▶ Target’s ability amplification ratio is applied at 200%!

“……”

The effect was incredible.

Seeing the pure white qi rising around Noel, far more intense than before, Aiden broke into a cold sweat as that thought crossed his mind.

He had achieved his goal, but it definitely came with a strong sense of impending doom...

“…Well, I suppose you were right, Aiden,” Noel said with a cold sneer as she raised her sword.

“Now that I’m actually pissed off, I feel like I could fight anything and not lose.”

“……”

“…The situation’s urgent, so let’s use this for now. Aiden, please step back for a bit.”

Yes.

Thank you.

Muttering his thanks silently, Aiden quickly retreated.

“-Then,”

Elnore turned slightly, facing the giant beast that had once again begun to charge at them.

And then—

-…….

Amazingly, the creature flinched.

Even a beast running purely on instinct seemed to know.

It recognized through sheer instinct just how powerful the “target” in front of it had become.

-!!!

-!!!!

The creature roared and lunged again. Its violence intensified, as if trying to deny the fear it had just felt.

“You’ve…”

The sword traced a flawless arc.

“Been way too loud this whole time, seriously—!”

And with that single move—

The entire ‘landscape’ was slashed away.

--------------!

The fleshy club was cut cleanly in one stroke, and the arm holding it shattered into pieces, scattering like it had gone through a grinder.

Even if it was a strike targeting the weak spot Aiden had pointed out earlier, that was still an extra-large beast. That arm, thicker than steel, had been severed in one blow.

And it didn’t stop there. The sword’s trajectory continued, slicing through a portion of the building that stood behind the creature.

It was a scene where the swing of a single sword had altered the entire landscape.

“……”

Watching it unfold, Aiden’s gaze turned blank.

Was that really the kind of attack a human was capable of?

He had seen her slice through a building before, but this was on a whole different level…

“…Aiden.”

Having subdued the beast so thoroughly, Noel let out a sigh and spoke.

“Now’s your chance. Go on ahead—I’ll catch up shortly.”

Aiden nodded and rose to his feet. Meanwhile, Noel turned to face the other extra-large beast.

She spoke in a chilling tone, as if almost glad there were two of them instead of just one.

“I’ll be venting my anger on that one.”

“……”

▣

As he ascended the stairs of the Spire, Aiden could hear the sound of a Flesh Tearer groaning in pain from outside.

He glanced out through one of the stairwell windows and saw Noel swinging the beast by its head, slamming it around.

The sheer size of the body smashed every nearby building it touched, and even the exorcists watching nearby were left stunned, their mouths hanging open.

It gave the impression that, even after clearing the main quest, a major headache would still remain…

“…Well, damn.”

But still, that was her problem.

Right now, he needed to focus on dealing with the person causing him trouble at this very moment.

As soon as he stepped into the Spire, he saw his target. Aiden took a deep breath and spoke.

“Quite the mess you’ve made, Prince.”

“……”

The prince, who had been sitting calmly in the center of the room with his eyes closed, slowly turned his head toward Aiden.

“Aiden. It’s been a while. You’ve made it all the—”

Before he could finish his sentence, Aiden’s fist slammed into his face without the slightest hesitation.

The prince, mid-sentence, went flying and crashed into the wall.

“……”

Still stuck in the wall, the prince blankly stared back at him.

“I don’t really care what you were about to say.”

Aiden glared at him as he continued.

Truthfully, he still had no idea what the prince was thinking, pulling a stunt like this.

And honestly, he didn’t want to know.

Whatever the reason—

This guy needed some sense beaten into him first.

“You need to take a good beating. Seriously.”

It was a statement packed with 100% pure sincerity.