Danmachi: The Focalors Familia — Chapter 43

Chapter 43: Heroic Feat

“Mikoto, I am the captain. If someone needs to stay behind, it should be me!”

Ouka, whose injuries had mostly recovered under Hyacine’s magic, picked up his battle axe again and moved to step forward.

“Sorry everyone, but it is our captain’s prey now.”

Robin reached out, her arm forming a calm barrier that blocked their path.

“Are you joking? Look at the situation we are in!”

Ouka and Mikoto stared at Robin in disbelief. They glared at her, completely unable to process how she could utter such a thing in the middle of a desperate struggle. Could she not see the massive disparity in strength? This was no longer a matter of claiming prey; every single one of them was prey to that monster. Even though Robin had just saved their lives, her indifferent attitude—as if she placed zero value on her companions’ survival—sparked instant fury in their chests.

“She isn’t joking.”

Hyacine, cradling little Icarus in her arms, spoke with an equally serious tone. “Right now, it is Noah’s adventure. None of us are allowed to interfere.”

Even the gentle healer held this stance, leaving Mikoto, Ouka, and the rest of their party completely stunned. They exchanged bewildered glances, entirely unable to grasp the logic driving this strange team.

Under the heavy gazes of everyone present, Noah stood his ground. Facing the majestic, mountain-like monster, he did not retreat a single inch. Instead, a faint, wild smile touched his lips.

“I was just worrying about lacking a Heroic Feat, and now one delivers itself right to my doorstep. How accommodating.”

Before the words fully left his lips, he leveled his longsword. His expression hardened into solemn focus, and his chanted incantation echoed with crystal clarity through the cavernous expanse.

“With this, the Wheel of Flame shall guide!”

In a fraction of a second, an overwhelming surge of magic power erupted from his core. Golden-red flames ignited out of thin air, instantly wrapping around his entire body like a living cloak of feathers. The fire flowed fluidly over his skin without scorching his clothes, radiating a heart-stopping, suffocating heat. The longsword in his grip was completely swallowed by the blaze, its metal blade turning a translucent crimson. The surrounding air distorted and warped from the extreme temperature, looking as though reality itself might melt away.

Enchantment Magic: [Ever-burning Flame], activate.

Noah’s entire aura shifted fundamentally, his basic stats receiving a massive, explosive boost under the fiery enhancement.

He moved.

Stomping his foot against the stone, his body transformed into a singular streak of fire that tore straight through the thick, oppressive fog. He rushed toward the Blazing Axe Mitachurl at a speed that barely registered to the naked eye.

The monster sensed the unmatched threat. It unleashed a deafening roar, hoisted its burning giant axe high, and took heavy, thundering steps to meet Noah head-on. Every footfall landed like a sledgehammer smashing into the earth. The entire cavern vibrated under the sheer force of its wild charge, resembling a runaway heavy tank.

“Alise…”

In the distance, watching that resolute figure wrapped in brilliant flames, Ryuu’s body shuddered violently. She stood completely frozen in place. Her emerald eyes welled with sudden, uncontrollable tears. In that fleeting second, a flood of memories spanning across the years burst forth from the depths of her mind. She felt as though she were looking at her departed friend once more—the girl who burned as dazzlingly as the sun, her former captain, Alise Lovell.

“Enchantment Magic!”

The executives of the Loki Familia were equally stunned. They subconsciously turned their eyes toward Ais, who was already staring fixedly at Noah’s blazing form. Enchantment Magic was a phenomenally rare ability, a one-in-a-million talent across the entirety of Orario. Any Adventurer who possessed such a skill was, without exception, a dominant powerhouse. And now, a mere Level 1 rookie was wielding this legendary magic right before their very eyes.

One large and one small, one crimson and one pitch-black—the two figures collided with an devastating boom.

Everyone present held their breath, staring blankly at the epicenter of the clash. The thick fog was violently shredded by the resulting shockwaves, carving out a vast, circular arena in the mist. Within that clearing, there was only the ear-piercing shriek of clashing metal, sparks exploding into the air like festive fireworks, and the deafening, furious roars of the Blazing Axe Mitachurl.

The longsword and the heavy battle axe were swung with such blinding velocity that they left only blurred afterimages in their wake. Everyone watching knew the grim reality: even with the massive boost from his Enchantment Magic, Noah remained at an absolute disadvantage in pure strength and endurance. That was an axe swing from a monster bordering on Level 3, packing enough kinetic force to split mountains and shatter boulders. It was absolutely not an attack a Level 1 body could endure head-on.

Yet, the flow of the battle completely shattered their expectations.

Facing a giant axe that could easily crush a man into bloody paste, Noah moved like a phantom dancing within the flames. He refused to block or absorb the strikes directly. Every single time the massive blade threatened to cleave him in two, he dodged and slid away at an impossible angle, letting the lethal attack whistle harmlessly past his body.

His swordsmanship radiated an incredibly heavy, suffocating killing intent, entirely focused on clean and decisive slaughter. Every thrust of his blade precisely targeted the Mitachurl’s joints, neck, eye sockets, and the thinnest gaps in its natural defense. This was the brutal combat instinct branded directly into his soul, forged by being pushed to the absolute brink during Alfia’s inhuman, torturous sparring sessions.

As the giant axe swept horizontally through the air, Noah ducked low to evade. In the exact same breath, he drove his flaming sword upward, slicing a burning trail straight up the length of the axe handle toward the Mitachurl’s exposed wrist.

The beast roared in agony and violently twisted its arm, forcing the giant axe to slash backward at a highly irregular, tricky angle. Anticipating the desperate counter, Noah dropped his wrist, angled his sword tip downward, and accurately tapped the flat side of the descending axe. Borrowing the immense kinetic force of the monster’s own downward swing, he sprang backward, instantly opening a safe distance of several meters.

The entire sequence flowed as smoothly as water, brimming with a stunning, deadly beauty. A Level 1 Adventurer was locked in a neck-and-neck death match against a monster nearing Level 3. This impossible scene, which defied all established logic and made the spectators question their own eyes, deeply shook the minds of everyone present.

It was not just the Loki Familia, Ryuu, and the Takemikazuchi Familia who were captivated. Further away, other Adventurers drawn by the commotion had also discovered the shocking duel. Hindered by the lingering fog and their own vastly inferior strength, they could only make out two blurred silhouettes of light colliding violently in the mist. Terrified to approach, they watched from a safe distance, their hearts filled with absolute awe.

“So… so amazing. He is just like the hero from the Argonaut!”

Tiona’s eyes sparkled brilliantly. She stared at Noah’s battling form with uncontainable excitement, looking as though literal stars might pop out of her eyes. For a girl who had been utterly obsessed with heroic tales since childhood, the scene unfolding before her was a genuine, living epic. Even though she possessed the raw strength to obliterate that Blazing Axe Mitachurl with a single punch, it did nothing to diminish her genuine admiration and awe in this moment.

A Level 1 challenging a top-tier Level 2 monster. If this was not a miracle, if this was not a living epic, if this was not a Heroic Feat worthy of being etched into history… then what was?

Bete remained completely stunned. He stared blankly at the flaming figure dominating the battlefield, his mind entirely blank.