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Chapter 19: Incomprehensible Actions

7 people sat behind the semi-circular desk, behind them a large painting hung on the wall.

I looked at the person sitting at the center.

His name is Orson. His red fiery eyes looked straight at us, his long red hair tied in a ponytail. He is SS+ rank, a human, and the person with the highest authority.

"Oh my..."

The Elf sitting beside him let out a voice, her mouth agape.

She gave Noah a subtle glance.

..She must be seeing it. The pitch-black miasma that surrounds Noah.

We Elves, well some of us, have special eyes, by willing mana in them we can see the type of air that people are surrounded in.

I too was just as surprised at first when I saw the air that surrounded Noah, no, it was more akin to shock.

Noah kept his gaze on Orson. I am sure he noticed her gaze but he must have decided to ignore it.

"I have brought the survivors!" Jack said with his back straightened.

"I was told there will be 4 people coming?" Orson asked with his left eyebrow arching.

"Um... the rest are standing outside.." Jack replied meekly.

How about you chin up a little? You aren\'t even at fault. I shook my head a little as I looked to my right.

Well, Noah, go and give us the reason. I am also curious why he stopped them from coming in.

"..And what might be the reason for that?" Asked Ella, the elf who had first looked at Noah.

"I didn\'t want them here, so I told them to wait outside." Noah spoke looking directly at Orson, ignoring Ella as he continued "Since you asked a question, I also have a question, just how much free time do you bastards have?"

...Noah!? What the hell!?

This kid!

"...What?" Orson asked, surprise visible on his face, not only him but others in the room also looked at Noah with their eyebrows arching.

"I mean, let\'s be honest, you guys have got 7 people sitting in this room. For what? To see how useful new survivors that came will be? Every time someone comes you will hold this meeting, sounds like you have a lot of time on your hands or am I wrong?"

Oh.. that sounds like a reasonable question for someone who doesn\'t know how things work here.

"We don\'t hold a meeting for every survivor who comes here, it\'s only for those who have come from a food farm or a prison of demons like you," Orson said in a curt voice as he continued with a sharp glare "You should watch your tongue"

"Still sounds inefficient. Well, what I can say? I guess, it\'s a universal law, people become dumb in apocalyptical settings."

"A sharp tongue, huh."

Noah stop already! Everyone is glaring daggers at us!

...Why am I getting glared at!?

"You.."

"I mean, if not dumb then why else will you give a guy who is working for demons such a high position among yourselves?"

...Wait, what?

Not only me but everyone in the room focused on Noah, the council members had a complicated expression.

Before I could make heads or tails of what Noah said, Noah spun into action, rushing towards one of the members behind the desk.

It was another human, named Edward. An SS-ranker, his age 58, younger than Orson.

Bang!

Noah kicked at the table causing it to break in the next instant which caused the splinters to scatter.

\'He is trying to block his vision\'

Noah threw his hand towards Edward\'s neck.

\'But even if he manages to land a hit, it wouldn\'t mean much. Edward is SS-rank, after all. Well, it might hurt if Edward hasn\'t used mana lapping.\'

..!?

Just as Noah\'s punch was about to hit Edward, a sharp bone appeared in Noah\'s hand. It was the same one with which Noah used to hunt down the beasts!

Sensing the danger, Edward pulled himself backward at the last moment. Noah followed up with another one of his attacks.

Okay, calm down.

First things first, Noah should be a G+ranker. Even with those skills that Noah is showing right now, the gap between Edward and Noah is large, overwhelmingly large.

That\'s why, no matter what, Noah looks like a child trying to beat an adult.

Honestly, Noah\'s movements are fast, precise, and deadly but in the end, the rank gap between Edward and Noah is huge.

Edward dodged Noah\'s attack and sometimes deflected... it was proof that Noah\'s skills were exceptional enough to force an SS-ranker in a situation where they couldn\'t dodge.

Everyone in the room simply watched it happen, without a single worry, one of them even had an amused grin on his face.

"This brat isn\'t half-bad.." Oliver said with excitement clear in his voice, an SS ranker, his age around 80, clearly older than Orson. I am sure, he is interested in Noah after seeing his combat skills.

It might have started with Noah launching an attack but this is already beyond his control, right now, Noah\'s skills were being gauged out by everyone in this room, well especially the council members.

This is how much trust everyone has in Edward.. or more accurately they don\'t think there\'s a need to worry with Noah\'s current rank.

As for me? I have a really bad feeling.

Noah is supposed to be a G+ ranker, that\'s what he told me!

But his movements are way faster than a G+ ranker! He is clearly around D rank or maybe D- rank, I am not sure since for an S- ranker like me, both sound similarly weak but ...that\'s not the point.

Did Noah lie to me?

I also couldn\'t wrap my head around why Noah was doing it.

Why is he acting so brashly? Did Aria mean this? What the hell\'s driving Noah? He said something about a traitor and then started attacking Edward... but that\'s impossible, right?

Edward has been one of the founders of this place. He, along with others created this very place for everyone to stay safe.

The fight between Edward and Noah continued, or more like Noah kept trying to hit Edward but it didn\'t seem effective.

Noah\'s skills were on full display and everyone calmly watched him and analyzed him.

After about 10 minutes passed, Noah stopped as he pulled himself away from Edward.

"..Hot mess, SS-rankers are sure a pain in the ass, how about you just let me kill you?" Noah said while he huffed for air, his chest moving up and down at a fast pace.

"Tired already?" Edward asked in a leisurely tone with not even a sweat.

"Not everyone\'s a monster, bastard... haa" Noah said pulling himself back.

"After attacking me like that you are just gonna back out? That\'s disappointing. As a victim, I think I deserve some compensation, right?" Edward said with a carefree smile on his face as he continued "Besides, I am sure you need to get some discipline, having such a tone with your elders, making a ruckus in this room. Who do you think you are?" Anger evident in his voice, Edward cracked his fingers.

Ah, shit. Noah ain\'t gonna make it out of it without any injuries.

"I-I apologize on behalf of Noah! Please don\'t hurt him!" I said while bowing my head whatever I thought at the moment, I just didn\'t want Noah to get any injuries.

"...For an Elf to be bowing down to a \'Human\' like me... Seems like, he is important to you, huh, Elina" Edward\'s voice reached my ears and so did the gasps of some of the members of the council.

It was reasonable, I am older than all of them except for Ella and the vampire sitting in this room. We Elves are also known to be prideful, so it makes sense why it would come as a surprise to everyone here.

But I didn\'t want Noah to get hurt, if bowing meant I could do it, then so be it. At the end of it all, he is my benefactor and also... someone I don\'t want to be hurt anymore.

"...I am kinda confused, so, can you explain what are you doing" Noah asked as he came walking towards me.

I am the one who needs an explanation, Noah!

"What the hell are you doing!?" I asked shaking Noah\'s shoulders unable to contain my emotions.

"Hey, calm down. I was just trying to kill him since he is a danger and all. You know, as they say, nip it in the bud. Though, the bastard\'s too strong. He is even condescending at that. I guess, the rank gap is just too big." Noah said in a way that seemed to say, \'isn\'t it obvious?\', as he continued "... But what are you doing? Don\'t just act like you are my guardian and I am your responsibility, that\'s straight-up creepy."

Gosh, I hate this kid.

Well, his attitude in particular.

"If you are done with this charade, will you explain yourself, if you can\'t give a reasonable explanation we might have to take necessary action," Elisa said in a curt voice, she is a beastfolk, 60 years old and SS- ranker.

"Did you trade your brain for your rank or something? He is the traitor, so I attacked him which ended up being futile ..not really"

Again, silence.

Noah, it\'s seriously starting to become annoying. Stop being with half explanations!

"Okay, fine. Let\'s say, I am the traitor, do you have any evidence" Edward asked letting out a sigh.

"When did people start needing evidence to kill?"

"So, you don\'t have any evidence and yet you attacked me. What the hell is wrong with you?" Edward said, his face scrunched as he continued "You know what? Your combat skills are excellent, so you will be useful. I suggest we put those \'restriction chains\' on him so that he can\'t harm anyone with his impulsive acts and give the key to Elina to unlock it if the need arises, of course, as long as it\'s okay with you, Elina."

"If I were you I would be worrying about myself rather than trying to pass judgment. I mean, it\'s almost time"

Just as Noah said those words, a sound reached my ears.

Thud!

"What th-!"

Edward suddenly fell on his knees.

"Hey! What\'s wrong!"

Quickly moving to his side, Oliver checked over Edward.

"What did you do!?" Elisa shouted, panic visible on her face as she closed the distance between herself and Noah in a single instant as she inhibited him.

"Seems like you just woke up? What did I do? I have been trying to kill him since earlier, dumbass, and get off of me" Noah said as he tried to get out of Elisa\'s grasp but failed to do so.

"Noah, for just a single second, can you bother to explain? Just this once." I asked trying to contain my confusion as well as my panic and anger.

"I will, if you promise to answer one of my questions later. A personal question."

"I understand."

I already have an inkling of what Noah wants to know, he isn\'t someone who wouldn\'t notice another\'s gaze, even if only for a moment no matter how subtle.

"That guy burned down the whole village of mine. So I am gonna kill him. That\'s all. Oh, did I forget to mention he offered the people in the village as food to the demon, the same one your brother\'s been working for?"

...What?

I looked at Noah, I didn\'t know what my expression looked like but...

That explains some parts of the pitch-black air that surrounds Noah although not completely...

And the reason he was in that prison.

Was he trying to kill the demon as well? No, maybe like us, he was just scouting the area and got caught?

"...Are you sure?"

"I wouldn\'t have come here otherwise." There was no anger, no sorrow, no grief, no determination, none, no emotion to be found in his voice, which felt weird for someone trying to enact revenge.

I couldn\'t help but question myself and my current circumstances. I wanted to believe Noah but.. he has already lied to me about being a G+ ranker, which wasn\'t a surprise. I had known that Noah wouldn\'t reveal about himself to me that easily from the beginning.

Ah, the current situation is such a mess.

"Jack, Elina, leave the room and don\'t tell anyone about what happened here" Orson finally broke the silence.

I couldn\'t help but frown.

What? Why is he suddenly asking that?

"Elina\'s gonna be here till the end, I would have asked her to stay behind if that was my intention, idiot"

"You are not the one who runs things here"

"I am the one who can destroy everything here"

"You can\'t"

"Wanna see?"

Noah- lying on the ground restrained by Elisa, and Orson both glared at each other.

"!?"

I tried to keep myself from falling on my knees as the fear crept into my heart.

Orson what the hell are you doing!?

The SS+ ranker\'s mana pressure alone was enough to cause everyone in the room to choke through sheer fear, even Elisa who beside me restrained Noah was fazed by it, and as if taking the opportunity Noah broke himself free off Elisa.

Noah locked his eyes with Orson as he opened his mouth "Hm? Why are you all kneeling all of a sudden? Some kind of ritual?"

H-how?

How is Noah able to act normal? Mana pressure, it\'s a way to suppress your enemy by instilling them with sheer fear, the weaker the person, the more fear will be instilled in them.

How is Noah able to .. !

I remembered the pitch-black miasma that surrounded Noah... it must be related to it.

Thinking that I couldn\'t help but bite my lip.

!?

Suddenly, Orson increased the pressure but Noah remained the same looking at Orson with no change in his expression.

"O-Orson, stop! Think about Edward!" Elisa shouted and in the next instant, the fear that gripped me to my core disappeared. Elisa\'s shout brought Orson back to his senses as he looked at Edward whose condition seemed to have gotten a bit worse, his face a bit more paler.

I huffed for air trying to regain my composure.

"Shit, no choice"

Oliver got back up on his feet like everyone else pulled out a high-rank healing potion and brought it towards Edward\'s mouth.

After a few moments passed, Edward\'s face started regaining its color.

"Jack, leave."

Two words, with those two words that came out of Orson\'s mouth and the bitterness in them, it was clear that he had conceded to Noah.

"..U-Uh! I-I understand!" After a momentary delay, Jack responded his pale face showing clear fear, his foot still wobblily, he seemed to be the one affected by Orson\'s sudden SS+rank pressure the most, as he quickly left the room.

"So.. you are from that village, that explains a lot," Edward said slowly trying to stand back up with the help of Oliver.

Wait... that village?

His words clearly implied that Noah wasn\'t acting without reason, a clear unpleasant feeling started to boil within me, I didn\'t know why but I prepared myself to listen to whatever was about to go down.

I remembered the words Aria had told me as I looked at Noah, clearly standing unaffected.