｢Get up, Noah. You're not finished yet. ｣

A vaguely familiar, otherworldly voice spoke inside Noah's mind as an image appeared overlapping the hazy surroundings. It was a vision of a woman of beauty, unmatched by any he had ever seen before. She had luminous amber hair with matching eyes. Light shone from beneath her skin that was covered in subtly glowing patterns. The vision of the Goddess lasted only a moment before Noah's eyesight came back into focus as his heart resumed pumping blood.

***

Lyn was kneeling above him as he looked at the sky, furiously pounding on Noah's chest with an expression of distress. Noah saw himself reflected in Lyn's eyes. Amber light was fading from his pupils. Something whizzed past Lyn's head, catching his attention as blue-lifeforce gathered on the surface of his skin as he stood up.

"Haha, there's no need to be so dramatic. I'm fine," Noah jokingly said.

Something was wrong. Lyn had stiffened and was facing in the other direction with his back to Noah. He was clutching his stomach with both hands. Noah instantly sobered as he pushed himself upright in time to catch Lyn. The boy fell backward into Noah's outstretched arms.

Noah suddenly recalled the situation he was in as the events leading up to his collapse all came rushing back. The grass field continued to burn as Noah gently lowered Lyn onto the rubble. He saw an arrow standing vertical out of Lyn's belly. Noah looked in the direction the projectile had originated.

Dogfighter Darren was suspended above the crook in the tree trunk he had climbed. There was currently a branch wrapped around his throat, choking him. He dropped the bow held in his hand to the ground at the base of the tree. He reached up in an attempt to pull frantically at the branch. His face was turning purple as he struggled. Upon seeing him, Noah became overwhelmed by rage.

Purple-lifeforce flared from his body as he activated his [Earth Manipulation+2] ability. The ground split apart under his fury, extending in a straight line toward the tree Dogfighter Darren was nested. Noah divided the burning meadow in two through the might of his anger, causing a thunderous landslide. The cliff the field was perched on began to collapse toward the sea below. There was a torrent of rock and clay that crushed trees in its wake.

The violent vibrations caused Dogfighter Darren to fall off the tree trunk. The makeshift noose around his neck pulled taught, leaving him suspended from the tree. He kicked his legs as he dangled helplessly from the tree branches.

Noah stooped down to pick up the unmoving body Lyn in the cradle position. The fire escape axe had been lost when the pillar of earth collapsed. It was buried under the rubble, and Noah had neither the time nor the motivation to search for it.

A long, shallow gully had been formed by the earthquake, giving Noah a pathway through the burning field. Noah began to stagger down the makeshift path with single-minded focus as the grass flared on either side of him. He was burning with the wrath of his own as he watched the Dogfighter suffocate. With every unsteady step, Noah felt the ache in his knee subside as his lifeforce was converted into restoring the last of his withered vitality. Even without seeing his reflection, Noah instinctively knew that his appearance had returned to the attractive, athletic man, filled with youthful vigour after his advancement to grade two.

A short time later, Noah arrived confidently at the feet of the struggling Dogfighter. He respectfully lowered Lyn to the ground before addressing the poor excuse for a man above him.

"You deserve a coward's slow death," Noah said with a grim expression on his face.

He felt a resonance between two of his abilities, [Six Spirit Arms] and the [Earth Manipulation+2] ability. A new ability symbol appeared inside his System Interface in a row below his other ability symbols. A link is formed to connect the new symbol to the previously listed abilities. Noah didn't hesitate to select it as he acted in a trance brought on by hatred and fury.

[Mythos Unique ability combining [Earth Manipulation+2] and [Six Spirit Arms]: Archaic Armament. The User manifests any weapon in the form of their will. It is unaffected by the limitations of the materials which created it, allowing it to be as flexible or rigid as the User desires.]

"Even if you somehow survive this, you will still die a dog's death today," Noah promised the struggling man as a weapon took shape in his hand.

Shimmering purple dust gathered from the air to form an ornamental stone dagger with an ancient appearance and design. It was covered in deep etchings, which glowed a deep indigo colour. The blade felt weightless in Noah's hand as he raised it, placing it against the hanging man's Achilles tendon.

Noah mercilessly slashed as the Dogfighter flailed in agony. His screams of pain gurgled into a whimper as the tree branch continued to strangle him. Noah ignored his revulsion as he slashed the man's other ankle, effectively hamstringing him.

Dogfighter Darren continued thrashing for another few minutes until he finally became still. Noah kept the [Archaic Armament] dagger in his hand until the Dogfighter died. While Noah maintained his death vigil, he noticed that blue-lifeforce still flowed under the surface of Lyn's skin despite the fact his heart had stopped beating. Noah had a moment of desperate inspiration as an absurd idea began to take shape inside his mind.

It's so crazy. It might just work! But I need to ensure that Dogfighter Darren is truly dead before I try it.

Noah commanded his [Archaic Armament] ability to alter shape into a bow before bending down to take an arrow from Lyn's quiver slung over his shoulder. The bow was of a similar ornamental design to the dagger, appearing to be made of ancient stone with etchings filled with indigo light.

"This is for you, Lyn. I made sure that you got him in the end," Noah said solemnly.

Noah moved a short distance away, effortlessly drew back the bowstring while aiming. He let the arrow fly. It missed its mark to embed itself into Dogfighter Darren's leg. There was no reaction, but Noah needed to be sure. He retrieved another arrow and aimed down the arrow shaft more carefully as he fired the second arrow. It accurately pierced into his throat, ending any debate about whether or not he was dead.