Danmachi : Strongest Supporter

Devil.

In religion, it referred to an evil spirit that tempted people into sin.

In myth and legend, it referred to monsters that bewitched and harmed people.

They loved souls, and they were extreme.

When they found a high-quality soul, they would take it away through a transaction or a contract.

As Noah thought about the descriptions of devils, he also felt that perhaps the old man was not wrong.

What he was doing right now was indeed similar to the actions of devils in myth.

He simply did not know whether devils were also alchemists or blacksmiths.

As for the old man thinking he was a devil, Noah found that rather interesting and simply chose not to explain.

'Think whatever you like.'

Noah looked forward to the old man's reaction.

But the old man accepted it with complete calm.

He was not surprised even by the fact that Noah knew his name.

Perhaps the old man truly believed that he was this so-called devil.

However, he did not look afraid.

Even when facing an evil devil from myth, he still had that same attitude, showing a certain stubborn pride.

"Devils may be terrifying, but they never break their oaths. God loves all people, yet gives them trials they cannot bear and calls it mercy... That is what my grandmother told me when I was young."

Noah did not know whether the old man was deliberately saying this for him to hear, or merely speaking his mind.

After muttering a few lines, the old man raised his head.

"Mr. Devil, you asked me earlier whether I had any wish. Then I wish for you to save this rotten Empire and make it beautiful."

After hearing the old man's wish, Noah closed his eyes and shook his head.

"I'm sorry. Your soul is not enough to pay the price for that wish."

"Not enough?"

"Yes."

"Not enough... but not impossible!"

The old man suddenly became energized.

His eyes shone as he gripped the bars of the cell with both hands.

What he said next even startled Noah.

"Then what about half the population of this country? If I use this country—if I use the souls of half the Empire's people to pay?"

The old man's tone was filled with expectation.

Yet the words he spoke were terrifying.

Sacrificing half the people of the entire Empire in order to make the Empire beautiful—Noah did not know how the old man had come up with such a mad idea in such a short time.

If one person's soul was not enough, then use half the lives of the Empire to pay.

Noah paused for a moment, then answered, "I don't need that many souls. Or rather, souls that are too mediocre have no value in being obtained at all."

"Oh? So I am one of the non-mediocre ones?" The old man looked rather pleased, his eyes carrying a smile.

"I never expected that the one to recognize me would not be the Empire, not the people, not the Emperor, but a devil who has taken a fancy to my soul."

He was not mocking himself.

He was sincerely happy.

Noah could tell just by looking at his soul.

"In that case, come and take it. Take my soul."

The old man reached his hand out through the bars of the cell, extending it toward Noah.

Noah held his aged hand and could feel almost nothing beneath the skin except bone.

The instant they touched, Noah extracted his soul and stored it inside a purple Soul Jade.

Death.

The former Imperial minister, who had been imprisoned for twelve years, died today.

More than sixty percent of the people imprisoned in this Great Prison of the Imperial Capital were Minister Honest's political enemies.

The fact that they were locked up here meant they had already lost everything they could lose, whether status, wealth, or family.

So they had no attachments.

Their wishes were the same.

Aside from the old man's wish to change the Empire, they had no personal desires of their own.

For people who had lost everything and had nothing left, all that remained was their instinctive attachment to life.

That attachment was so fragile that it could be toppled by a gust of wind and crushed beneath a single feather.

"Are these more or less enough? There are still three-quarters of the cells I haven't checked, but there will be more chances later..."

Noah weighed the pouch slightly.

At this moment, there were already eight Soul Jades inside, carrying the souls of seven outstanding warriors and one wise minister.

Thinking this, Noah was just about to leave when he suddenly felt the ground tremble beneath his feet.

'Hm?'

"No, not beneath my feet. This tremor... the whole Great Prison is shaking."

The movement was not small.

But it was not an earthquake.

Although he did not know what had happened, Noah did not panic.

He walked toward the outside at an unhurried pace, as if taking a stroll.

Gradually, he could hear the noise coming from outside. There were roars, along with the crisp sounds of blades clashing.

...

"This is the direction!"

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Good. Leone, stay here and hold off the prison guards!"

"Awoo! Leave it to me!"

Tap, tap, tap, tap—

The hurried footsteps drew closer and closer.

"Akame, this way... what!"

Najenda, who had invaded the Great Prison, appeared at the corner, then immediately saw the figure that had been appearing in her nightmares lately.

She froze for a moment, then immediately stopped and spread both arms to block the two people behind her.

"Stop!"

Bang!

Because of the sudden stop, of the two people following behind Najenda, only Akame reacted in time.

Her toes lightly touched the ground, and she instantly changed direction with steady steps.

The other person, however, failed to react and crashed straight into Najenda's outstretched arm before falling to the ground.

"Gah."

Because of the height difference, the green-haired man beside Akame had slammed his entire face into the arm, turning it bright red.

Najenda's expression was grim as she remained wary of Noah, then asked in a low voice, "Are you all right, Lubbock?"

The green-haired man climbed up from the ground while rubbing his nose.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just got startled. What happened, Najenda? Why did you suddenly stop... huh?"

The moment Lubbock stood up and raised his face, he immediately saw that there was someone standing on the only path forward.

In an instant, he immediately assumed a combat stance and closed his mouth.

Just as he began thinking about tactics, the corner of his eye caught sight of Akame stepping in front of him.

Akame moved to stand before Najenda and Lubbock, placing her hand on her sword hilt as she said to Noah, "Doctor Noah..."

Noah looked at the trio before him.

Two of them were familiar faces, so he simply greeted them.

"I didn't expect to run into you even here. How have you been, Akame, Najenda?"

Before Akame could answer, Najenda had already gritted her teeth and asked, "Why are you here?"

Faced with that question, Noah simply lifted the pouch in his hand and explained, "I had something to take care of."

Najenda narrowed her eyes and looked at the pouch, but could not see anything unusual about it.

Lubbock realized that his companions seemed to know the person in front of them, so he spoke in a relaxed tone.

"What, so he's someone you know? That's great. Please, just pretend you didn't see us, all right?" He smiled casually, his tone overly familiar.

"Mm, sure," Noah nodded and agreed.

"Come on, don't say that... we're all—huh?"

Lubbock froze halfway through his sentence.

What did this guy just say?

He agreed?

No, wait, why did he agree?

Did he just say sure?

No, no, no, how was that possible?

"Uh, did you say sure?"

"Yes. I'm already done with my business. If you have something to do, then go fot it."

"Eh? You're not going to arrest us?" Lubbock asked blankly.

"Why would I?"

He actually asked why?

Wasn't this guy on the Empire's side?

"I have no grudge against you, and I'm not a prison guard. I just happened to run into you on my way back."

At this moment, Noah stood casually, his whole body full of openings.

Because he gave off no hostility at all, Lubbock felt as if they were not in the Imperial Capital's Great Prison, but had simply run into each other by chance at a market.

What a complete lack of tension!

"You said... we have no grudge?" Najenda, whose head had been lowered the entire time, suddenly raised it.

Her eyes widened as she roared, "You killed the subordinates I trusted most! They were my friends, my comrades! And you dare say there is no hatred between us? Don't joke with me!"

Hearing this, Lubbock's expression changed, and his hesitation vanished instantly.

In truth, from the moment the two sides met, he had already quietly made his move.

Because of Noah's reaction, and because both Akame and Najenda seemed to know him, he had not attacked immediately.

Now, after seeing Najenda's reaction, Lubbock was certain.

This person was an enemy!

"Sorry, bro. Our boss said so!"

Lubbock suddenly spread his hand, then tugged hard as if he had grabbed something.

Noah's eyes shifted slightly, and he saw threads in the air that were nearly impossible to detect with the naked eye.

At some point, they had already spread throughout this space.

Now, as the threads tightened, Noah was sealed inside a narrow area by dozens of them, with nowhere to dodge.

The threads pulled tight.

Noah's arms were bound firmly against his body.

His neck was also strangled by the threads!

The threads glimmered with a cold light, clearly razor-sharp.

"Oh?"

This was a Teigu.

Noah Appraised the green-haired man, as well as the threads.

[Lubbock]

・Human male

・Age: 15

・Origin: Empire

・Teigu user

・Former Imperial soldier

・Revolutionary Army member

・Member of **** organization

[Infinite Uses: Cross Tail]

・Holder: Lubbock

・Thread-type Teigu

・Made from the hair of a dragon-type Danger Beast that lives in the clouds. The threads are not only tough, but also incomparably sharp.

・The threads are soft and can change freely in form. They can not only create barriers, but even invade the body and cause destruction from within.

After obtaining the information he wanted, Noah looked back at Najenda.

"You were the ones who wanted to kill me, weren't you? I only fought back to protect myself. This isn't exactly a warning, but can you really afford to waste time on me here? You made such a commotion invading this place, so don't you have something important to do?"

Akame looked at Noah, who had been caught by Lubbock's sneak attack, and opened her mouth as though she wanted to plead for him.

But she did not know how to speak.

Nor did she know whether that would be right.

She was still lost.

"We can kill you first and go afterward," Najenda said coldly. "Lubbock! Do it!"

"Don't blame me."

Lubbock manipulated his Teigu and tightened it once more.

Since obtaining this Teigu, he had already killed many enemies with this move.

Forget the human body, even large Danger Beasts would be sliced into sashimi by these sharp threads.

"It's over."

Twang—

The threads tightened and suddenly began trembling.

Looking at the threads stretched perfectly straight and shaking nonstop, Lubbock's face showed astonishment.

"This... impossible!"

He looked toward Noah at the center of all the threads.

No matter how the threads tightened, they could not even cut through his clothes!

It was as if they were not binding a body of flesh and blood, but the hardest metal in the world.

"Hey, hey, you've got to be kidding. They can't cut through him?"

When Najenda saw this scene, panic instantly appeared on her face.

Because this reminded her of that day.

That day had been the same.

A battle she thought was safely won had collapsed in the blink of an eye.

'Could today be the same?'

Creak... creak—

Noah stood in place without changing expression.

The threads appeared to be tightened around him, but in reality, they were being blocked by anti-barrier formulas.

The threads were not wrapped around his body, but around an invisible barrier.

"Damn it. In that case!"

Lubbock moved his index finger, controlling one unique thread.

It was precisely the thread wrapped around Noah's neck.

This thread was called the 'Boundary Severing Thread', the only special and strongest thread, far tougher than the others.

Lubbock intended to use the Boundary Severing Thread to separate Noah's head from his body.

But the instant he acted, he suddenly sensed an intense feeling of danger.

Before he could react, dazzling lightning flashed along the thread.

Lubbock's entire body was wrapped in electricity, and he convulsed violently in the light.

"Lubbock!"

Najenda and Akame were forced several steps back by the lightning.

They could only watch helplessly as their companion was engulfed.

After flickering for several seconds, the lightning dissipated.

Lubbock, his skin burned and smoke rising from his mouth, dropped to his knees. His eyes rolled white, and he had clearly lost consciousness.

Najenda hurriedly supported him, her expression dark to the extreme.

On the other side, Noah looked at the threads falling away from his body and casually moved around.

Although threads made of hair did not conduct electricity, he had attached water elements to those threads, then manipulated lightning, successfully directing the current toward the source of the threads.

In other words, toward the Teigu user himself.

Still, this level of power was honestly unsatisfactory.

It had not even killed him!