At the sight of a mage appearing out of nowhere on the field, chaos was the first reaction to spread through the underground arena.

The crowd screamed, scrambling over seats and trampling each other in their desperation to escape.

The roars of excitement from moments ago had twisted into shrieks of panic.

Marlon stumbled back, wide-eyed, his whole body trembling.

He had no idea who Noah was, only that this cloaked figure had appeared before him like a phantom.

Toboggan, enraged at the interruption, lunged to intervene, while the announcer tried to rush forward with shouts of protest.

Noah didn't spare them a second thought.

His fist lashed out, cracking against Toboggan's jaw, sending the fighter sprawling into the sand.

Another punch flattened the announcer, silencing his protests in an instant.

Noah seized Marlon by the front of his wrappings, yanking him close, his eyes glowing faintly orange.

"Where is Snake?" he hissed. "What did he give you? Tell me about the potion—"

That was when the air warped.

Seven figures appeared in rapid succession, shadows blurring before they solidified.

Each one was clad in a dark cloak marked with the sigil of authority.

They surrounded Noah and Marlon in a perfect circle, their voices cold and unified.

"You are under arrest by the order of the Investigation Authority."

Noah blinked in surprise.

His head snapped around, eyes narrowing as realization dawned upon him.

The gang leader. The bastard had set him up.

He instantly reached for Null Stride, forcing mana into the spell formation.

The formation flickered, only to fizzle out uselessly.

He felt the mana drain stop dead, like a hand crushing the flow of energy.

His body simply refused to shift.

A calm voice cut through the noise.

"Teleportation won't work here."

The agents stepped aside, and through the circle strode Lord Rowe, his every step radiating authority.

Behind him came Garrett, silent and watchful.

Rowe's eyes fixed on Noah. "The only way out of here is on foot," he said. "And I've already blocked that path too."

He stopped a few feet away, his gaze piercing.

"Now, tell me. Who are you?"

Noah's eyes swept across the circle of cloaked agents, then fixed on Lord Rowe. His voice was cold when he spoke.

"Investigation Authority," he spat like it was a slur. "I don't owe you answers. Back off."

The Authority's agents didn't waver in their stance, but Noah ignored them, turning his attention back to Marlon, who was still frozen in terror.

He yanked him closer, his eyes burning colder.

"The potion," Noah demanded. "Give it to me."

"I— I don't know what you're talking about!" Marlon stammered, voice cracking, sweat pouring down his brow. "I was never given any potion!"

Noah's eyes narrowed, but before he could ask any more questions, Rowe's commanding tone filled the air.

"Stand down, boy." The man's hand glowed faintly with magic.

"Whatever you are, whatever you think you're doing, you will comply with the Authority."

Noah's lips curled into a grin, dangerous and amused. "Stand down? Not happening."

There was no warning. The only indication of an attack was a hum filling the air for half a second.

Rowe thrust a hand forward, releasing a lance of pure blue light. It streaked across the ring with terrifying speed.

Noah reacted instantly.

His grip on Marlon loosened as he flashed to the side, the beam grazing past and slamming into the far wall in a thunderous crash.

He skidded back across the sand, boots digging in, before straightening, his shadows writhing and curling upward like a living storm around him.

He tilted his head, orange eyes glowing. "You sure you want to play it like that?"

Rowe's gaze was unflinching, and his voice was iron. "You'll be subdued, whether by force… or otherwise."

And so he raised his hand, the blue spell formation blazing brighter.

The first volley came fast, with arcs of brilliant blue light that shimmered like liquid glass, cutting through the space between them.

The beams hissed as they passed, eroding the very floor they touched into dust and hollow cracks.

Hunger affinity. It devoured everything. Stone, air, even residual magic.

Noah flashed away in a blur, reappearing at Rowe's flank.

He thrust out his palm, summoning Devour.

A rolling surge of darkness spilled forward, swallowing Rowe's nearest beam.

The two forces clashed, blue and black consuming each other in a storm of sparks before winking out.

But Rowe was already moving.

With a flick of his wrist, three more beams erupted, eating chunks out of the arena's stone.

Noah leapt high, shadows curling under his boots as he vanished with Flash Step, reappearing in midair above Rowe.

His palm blazed with a golden-white circle, and he thrust downward.

"Pillar of Judgement!"

The spell flared to life, a massive shaft of condensed light roaring down toward Rowe.

The ground beneath him quaked from the force.

Rowe planted his feet, raising his hands. The blue light bled from his fingertips, swirling upward into a shield of hungry brilliance.

The Pillar slammed into it, light and hunger colliding in a furious explosion that rattled the arena and sent a shockwave tearing across the crowd.

Behind them, Investigation Authority agents moved swiftly.

Two seized Marlon, dragging him off despite his protests and pleas.

He was silenced with a blow to the gut, his body hauled away even as everyone else was trying to get away from Noah's battle with Rowe.

Noah landed in a crouch, his cloak snapping in the wind generated by the attack.

His shadows lashed out like whips, striking at Rowe from multiple directions, forcing the man to break his defense.

For a moment, Noah had him cornered, until Rowe lunged through the barrage, impossibly fast for his age.

His knuckles slammed into Noah's ribs, forcing air from his lungs.

Noah retaliated with a knee to Rowe's side, following it with a backfist.

Rowe blocked with his forearm, twisting smoothly, his free hand crashing into Noah's jaw.

The blow rattled his teeth, but Noah grinned through the sting, his shadows reinforcing his footing as he struck back with an uppercut.

Rowe ducked beneath it, his movements graceful. He'd been fighting for longer than Noah had been alive and it showed.

His elbow buried itself into Noah's chest, followed by a savage kick to the shin that buckled Noah's balance.

Noah snarled, tail erupting to lash out in a thrust, but Rowe caught the motion, twisting Noah's arm behind him and driving his forehead down.

Noah barely dodged the headbutt, countering with a palm strike that grazed Rowe's cheek.

The older man didn't even flinch.

He shifted weight, pivoting, and drove his fist like a hammer straight into Noah's sternum.

The impact was brutal.

Noah flew backward, his body a ragdoll in the air before slamming into the stone wall with a loud crash.

Cracks spiderwebbed outward, the stone sinking inward by an inch where his back struck.

Dust and debris rained down as Noah sagged in the crater, pain screaming through his chest.

Lord Rowe stood tall, his palms now burning with blue spell formations, all pointed straight at Noah.

"And like I said, you're under arrest."

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