-1501- The forgettable girl

Clang————!

In the cafeteria of the shuttle, a loud, bell-like metallic sound suddenly rang out, sending a gust of wind blowing outward.

"...!"

As Noel launched an attack on Rozen, the suddenness and unexpected speed caught Kanata, Chloe, Yuri, and Mena completely off guard. The four of them were blown back by the abrupt wind, raising their hands to shield themselves as they were forced several steps back.

"Senpai!"

Yuri even called out in alarm.

But her voice overlapped with another.

"What...!?"

Noel gasped in shock.

Everyone finally saw the situation clearly.

Rozen, who had been attacked, was still standing straight, his figure completely unmoved. The only thing affected by the gust was his uniform jacket, which fluttered in the wind.

As for Rozen himself, he had raised one hand, catching Noel's sword in his palm, stopping her strike cold.

Faced with such an unexpectedly powerful attack, Rozen had effortlessly caught Noel's military saber-like magic sword in his hand, blocking it.

"You blocked my attack... with just your hand...!?"

Noel was stunned, her voice filled with disbelief and anger.

Looking at Noel...

"So it was you."

Rozen seemed to suddenly recall something, still maintaining his stance with his hand blocking the blade, as if realizing the situation.

He finally remembered who this girl in front of him was.

About a year ago, a short-term exchange student from Falcion had sought Rozen out and challenged him.

The student had apparently heard of Rozen's reputation, aware of his many legendary deeds, and wanted to duel him.

However, at that time, Rozen was busy transferring into the Alchemist Division and had applied to Mistgun for access to the deepest underground levels for his laboratory. He had been preoccupied with summoning various familiars and extracting materials for his mana reactor, all while fending off numerous students who couldn't accept his transfer to the Alchemist Division. Many of them challenged him, and some even outright attacked him, creating a constant stream of headaches for Rozen.

Given that this student was not particularly strong or noteworthy, Rozen hadn't even spared them a second glance and walked away.

At the time, the student had similarly brandished their saber-like magic sword and attacked Rozen.

But due to their lack of skill, Rozen had effortlessly deflected the attack with Magic Defense and walked away without turning around.

With so much going on, Rozen hadn't remembered who the challenger was.

It wasn't that Rozen had a poor memory, but he had been far too busy, and too many people had sought him out. Naturally, he couldn't be expected to remember everyone.

Now that she had attacked him with her magic sword again, Rozen finally recalled who she was.

And after remembering...

"You're still as short as before, yet so arrogant."

Without thinking, Rozen spoke these words.

"Don't call me short!"

Noel was infuriated.

With that, a massive surge of mana erupted from her, making her seem like a whirlwind, as her sword slashed out, tracing countless arcs in the air like gusts of wind, relentlessly striking toward Rozen.

The difference in power compared to her previous self was as vast as night and day.

"So, you've gotten this strong, huh?"

Rozen muttered, impressed.

It seemed that after a year of rigorous training, Noel had significantly honed her strength to an astonishing degree.

Clearly, being unable to stop Rozen in the past, unable to even leave a lasting impression on him, had been a considerable blow to the girl.

Since then, she had trained relentlessly, aiming to surpass Rozen, reaching the level she was at now.

Just as Kanata and the others had sensed, Noel's current power was likely at the S-rank level.

And not just an average S-rank—she was near the top of it.

However, Noel didn't realize one thing.

To Rozen, even S-rank was still too weak.

Clang————!

When the second bell-like clash echoed, Noel's attack was deflected again.

No, it wasn't just deflected. It was knocked away.

Rozen nonchalantly swatted aside her magic sword as if he were brushing away a fly.

Clang clang clang clang clang————!

Countless wind-like slashes were all batted away by Rozen's single hand. Not one of them came close to landing a hit on him.

Noel gasped in shock.

In that moment...

"There's an opening, you know?"

Rozen suddenly stretched out his hand toward Noel's forehead, his fingers bent.

And then, he flicked her forehead.

Thud!

With a dull sound, and a gust of wind swirling, Noel was sent flying.

She felt as though her forehead had been hammered by a heavy iron weight, her vision went black, and her mind went blank as she was flung backward. She rolled on the ground several times before regaining her footing with a flip.

"Ugh..."

Noel knelt on one knee, her forehead reddened from the blow.

The pain sharply stung her.

Using his hand to block her attack, and then simply flicking her away?

Was that all her attack amounted to?

"You...!"

Noel's eyes were filled with humiliation as she looked at Rozen.

Seeing this...

"All right, let's stop playing. You should put your weapon away too."

Rozen raised an eyebrow, looking rather helpless as he said this.

But his words only fueled Noel's anger.

"Who's playing with you...!?"

Noel growled.

"Don't think I'm still the same person I used to be. I'm not who I was before...!"

As she declared this, far stronger mana than before surged from Noel's body.

The mana spiraled like a vortex, converging on her sword before it compressed into terrifying power.

The more the mana compressed, the more terrifying the power became.

This feeling...

"Compressed mana?"

Rozen finally showed a hint of surprise.

Yes, it was compressed mana.

Noel had mastered the technique, much like Chloe, using her body as a mana reactor to generate compressed mana.

"Let me show you my full strength...!"

Noel compressed her mana, concentrating it onto her sword.

But just as she was about to attack, someone interrupted her.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Accompanied by four swift movements, four Sky Wizards suddenly appeared around Noel, surrounding her as they pointed their weapons at her, holding her in check.