Chapter 149

"Hello, Kid. My name is Impulse. Nice to meet you." The False God, Impulse said to Noah, a small smile on his face. "Now, might I know your name?"

"I--I am Noah." Noah mumbled in a shaky voice. 'This is bullshit.'

"Noah. As in Noah's Ark?" He asked as Noah nodded. "Did you know Noah is the hero of the biblical Flood story in the Old Testament book of Genesis? Yeah, you must know. It is one of the most famous stories." He leaned forward, his face inches from Noah. "So let me ask. Are you a hero sent by God?"

A shiver went down Noah's spine as he immediately said. "N-"

"Might I say?" Impulse cut off Noah, standing straight up. "Don't lie to me. Tell the truth, and I might not kill you. Even if I did, you will receive a quick death. Lie to me? Hehe, let's continue. Are you a Hero?"

"Ye--yes." Noah responded in a voice so low he was sure Impulse didn't hear.

"Speak up. I didn't hear?" Impulse said in a low, threatening tone.

"Yes!" He repeated in a louder tone.

"Oh, wow!" The False God shouted in surprise, covering his mouth. "This is interesting. So, Noah, what ability did you get? Control over Animals? Perfect control over the Water? What is it?"

Noah clenched his fist by his side, whispering, "System. I got a System."

"System? What the fuck is that?" Impulse asked, sounding disappointed. "Masaru, what is a System?"

"If you don't know, I don't know. You read my mind, don't you remember." Masaru responds from the car with a yawn.

"So, Noah. Explain to me this System you speak of." The False God commanded, looking back at him.

"It's like a game system. I can level up, upgrade my stat, and get quests that give me rewards." Noah quickly said, mentally opening his welcome gift box.

"That's a fascinating power. So, tell me. What IS your quest." Impulse asked, a smile still on his face.

This question caused Noah to freeze up. If he says his quest is to kill him, Impulse will kill him. But if he lied, he would be tortured. 'Fuck. Fuck. FUCK! OPEN!!' He urged the System to hurry up.

[Opening Box]

[66.4%...66.5%...66.6%...]

"I will ask One more time. What. Is. Your. Quest?" The False God asked, a strong aura coming down on him.

His heart tightened as it got harder to breathe. He was going to die here. Not even 1 hour after he reincarnated, and he was going to die. All his wishes. All his dreams. They weren't going to come to pass.

"Please... I want to live." Noah muttered, his body trembling.

[Welcome gift box opened]

[God-Killer Sword gained]

[Full Counter Gained]

[1x Safety Teleporter Gained]

Once the box opened, Noah's eyes glinted in a new light. A light of determination. Survival. A will to kill this False God. "God-Killer Sword. Come to me." He uttered.

A strong aura erupted from his body, sending Impulse flying back. The rain became heavier as a golden beam shot down from the sky, engulfing Noah.

"Hmm." Impulse mumbled, folding his arm. "What is the power?"

The golden beam thinned into droplets of light, revealing Noah standing in the middle of a small crater with the bus's stop disintegrated while holding a zweihander sword. The hilt is golden, while the blade is silver with golden inscriptions running down the middle of the sword. A mysterious aura surrounded the sword, which made a shiver go through Impulse's body.

In an instant, Noah executed a downward slash at Impulse, who dodged the strike by jumping to the left. Without stopping, he used Gradation air to create a sword and sliced down at Noah arm.

Noah blinked, staring at his arm holding the God-Killer on the floor. Looking down, he saw blood spewing out from his shoulder, his arm missing.

His pupil condensed as his body trembled. "AHHhhHHHHH!!!" He let out an ear-piercing scream, his vocal cords threatening to tear. "AHhhHHH--"

"Shut up." Impulse said, using the broad side of the blade to slap Noah in his side.

This light strike broke most of his ribs, one of them puncturing his lungs. He fell to the ground, gasping for air. 'Safety Teleporter.' He thought, disappearing in white light, his arm holding the God Killer disappearing with him.

Seeing this, Impulse immediately sent out waves of magical energy, searching the entire city for him. Not finding him, he increased it to the limit, his magical energy to cover the entirety of Japan. Waves and waves of energy went through the Island, searching even the deepest part of it.

"Fuck." Impulse mumbled, sensing multiple strong energy signals coming his way. "Noah is going to be a big problem in the future." He walked back to the car, entering the driver's seat, and started driving away.

"Why are we driving cars?" Masaru asked, rubbing his eyes.

"It looks cool." Impulse said, performing a drift and entering a busy street. This way, even if a Magi caught him, they wouldn't openly attack them. "In one month, the war will start, and I have tracked down a total of three masters. Rin Tohsaka, Illyasviel von Einzbern, and Zouken Matou. Those are the obvious choices since they are the three founding families."

"Shirou Emiya." Masaru said, leaning his head against the window and watching the cars as they passed by them.

"Yeah. Shirou's father, or adoptive father, fought in the last war, and something about him doesn't feel right." Impulse said, reaching into his pocket and playing with a syringe, using one hand to drive. "But, I feel like the arrival of Noah will change everything. I need to change my race quickly to increase my survivability."

"Isn't being a Dead Apostle Ancestor better? As long as you keep training your Magecraft, you can unlock a special ability." Masaru asked, stating a valid point, but,

"If I unlock my special ability, I will be cursed to drink human blood. If I don't, I will die. Not a great trade." Impulse said, riding the bridge leading to Miyama Town. "I do like their Curse of Restoration which causes the Apostle's body to regress through time to its original state whenever it receives an injury." He went silent, thinking of something else. "Though, if I truly want to evolve further as a Dead Apostle Ancestor, I will need to 'accept' my role as an Ancestor to unlock my 'Idea Blood'. But once I go that far, there is no turning back."

"Why is that?" Masaru asked, taping the window.

"From my research, it is the mandate of the original cause engraved upon an Ancestor's soul. It can be called a Dead Apostle's thesis, the purpose for living and their undying curse." Impulse said, tapping the steering wheel. "I wasn't an original Dead Apostle but became one due to research, so I have already created my "Idea Blood" based on what I was researching. Immortality. More specifically, perfect regeneration. Do you see where I am getting at?"

"No." Masaru responded, turning to face Impulse.

Impulse turned to him before turning back to the road. "If I accept my role, I will accept that Idea Blood. I will be cursed, and that curse will become my 'purpose of living.' I will be cursed to research perfect regeneration for the rest of my life. It will become my PURPOSE of living."

"I see..." Masaru mumbled, turning back to watch the scenery outside the window. "If I was an apostle, I guess my curse would be to remain faceless."

"Get on the train, pal. I have been faceless for a long time now. I don't even remember my true face." Impulse felt Masaru's gaze on him, so he said, "Well, I would have remembered it if I was in my old body, but not anymore."

They sat silently in the car for a while before Impulse suddenly blurted out;

"I wonder what my ability would be if I unlocked my Idea Blood."