Ch 64: Preemptive strike.

Noah teleported in a large room, dimly lit. One of the walls was entirely made of glass, showing a hundred or so people dancing on the floor below, and he deduced that he was in some night club's private room. Some loud techno music was filling the room.

He registered this in a second, then focused on the five people in front of him. One bulky man standing to the side behind a sofa. Three beautiful girls, although not at the level of heroines, surrounding a young man with short, died hairs sitting relaxedly in the middle of the sofa, his arms around the shoulders of the two girls surrounding him, while the third one was… performing oral service.

Noah sighed. Maybe he should buy from the Ying-Yang store that far sight ability, to check on his target before teleporting.

Most of them had noticed his sudden appearance, and after a moment of shock, the owner of the Devil Arcana, Ibiza Mitsuishi, narrowed his eyes.

"Hey, how did you come here? Can't you see you're bothering me? Go away."

"I'm the Magician candidate, Noah Enfield. You didn't come to the ceremony. I can see why, now."

"Oh, so you're that other candidate. Don't be angry at me, okay? I'm making maximum efforts."

"From what I've seen, that girl was the one making the effort." snorted Noah, glancing at the blushing brunette.

"Isn't it only natural? I work very hard to fulfil my dreams, and Muira here work very hard to support me! Anyway, why are you here? Are you trying to form an alliance with me?"

"Ah, I'm just here to kill you. Follow me outside."

"What? Over my dead body!" yelled one of the girls, taking a combat posture in front of Ibiza.

Ibiza narrowed his eyes, and Noah felt something.

[User has learned the Psiconnect ability.]

Ibiza was shocked to see his Arcana's enslavement technique fail, and was about to say something when Noah simply used Shunpo to appear behind him, and beheaded him cleanly.

"Ibiza!" screamed the girls, in shock. But with his death, the brainwashing effect of the Devil Arcana was canceled, and the deep love the girls and the burly man fell for Ibiza quickly disappeared.

"…Wait, why was I… Oh gods!" One of the girls heaved and started vomiting as she sobbed.

Another went nearly catatonic, and the third one fell to her knees, crying. The man decided he wanted to be elsewhere, and with stumbling steps, left the room.

Noah pitied the girls, but couldn't do much about it, so he teleported them in front of Ginsei's hospital.

Next on his list was Aspite, and Noah teleported to him as well.

"Hey, World Arcana." waved Noah as he appeared in dimly lit room. Three people were present, Aspite, a tall man with a large sword strapped in his back, and another guy Noah didn't recognize.

Noah didn't expect Aspite to attack immediately, and he felt an invisible wall of something impact him and project him backward.

"You dare enter my palace without my permission?"

"Aspite-sama, who is this guy?" asked the unknown guy. Maybe he could gain some favor in his master's eye by dealing with the unknow person who had just appeared.

"The one who defeated Haida."

"Oh." He made a step back, instantly forgetting about his idea.

The tall guy drew his sword, but kept is pointed to the floor, ready to defend himself of obey Aspite's order, but not looking forward to fighting someone who had defeated the stronger member of their team save Aspite himself.

Noah rubbed his nose as he stared at Aspite.

"Do you always welcome your guests this way?"

"Only the unwanted ones."

"Fair point. Anyway, I'd like you to surrender. I already know the flaws of your World Revision technique, and you can't defeat me."

"My Arcana doesn't have a flaw! I am the possessor of the World Arcana, and I'll control the World!"

Noah idly scratched his cheek, conveying his lack of awe before Aspite's grandiose claims.

"I assume that's a no, then." said Noah, activating Augment.

Aspite also activated in response Stride, Maximize and Armored, and stepped forward, keeping his arrogant expression.

"Kneel!" ordered Aspite, and Noah suddenly felt the gravity increase dramatically, multiplying over ten times.

Noah smiled. One flaw of the World Revision technique was that the changes Aspite made also applied to himself. Ten gravities or so was likely the most he could handle while standing upright, but Noah could tolerate more. He walked toward Aspite, closing the distance, and Aspite's expression changed.

Noah was about to reach him when the gravity suddenly returned to normal. Noah assumed it meant Aspite was about to try something different, and jumped to the side. A sudden air flow and sound of displaced air told him that he would have been stuck by that invisible wave again if he hadn't evaded, and before Aspite could try again, Noah punched his face.

"Guh!" Aspite was propelled a few meters backward, and Noah didn't give him room to recover. He stuck him a half-dozen times in quick succession, rattling his brain, then swiped at his liver, just under Aspite's right ribs. There was a nerve in that area can could cause either crippling pain or an instant KO. That was something Noah had learned watching professional boxers fight in a ring.

Aspite collapsed like a doll whose strings had been cut, his face bloody, unmoving.

"Aspite-sama!" screamed the two followers, not daring to make a move.

"Relax, he's not dead. He's still breathing, see? But he better not try to make a move on Lizel, or I'll beat him up again." pointed out Noah. The two followers nodded helplessly. He then teleported to Lizel.

…

The first thing he saw was Lizel, Miyabi and Reina, their eyes widening at his sudden appearance. They were inside a limo. Noah wasn't even aware he could appear inside a moving vehicle, and his body had automatically shifted to a sitting position without him noticing.

"Ah, sorry, I should make a habit of warning you by phone before I come in."

"Noah, you're bad for my heart, you know? …is that blood on your knuckles?" replied Miyabi.

"Ah? yes. Aspite's blood. I just gave him a beating. And I solved the one with the Devil Arcana, Ibiza something." said Noah as he created a handkerchief to wipe his hands clean.

"…Did you just defeat two devil candidates, in ten minutes?" asked Lizel, incredulous.

"Yes. That was part of our agreement, and I wanted to deal with the most urgent threats immediately… Now that I think about it, how do I prove that I defeated them?"

"You do not need to worry about that. Can you take out your Arcana?" asked Lizel.

Noah fished the Magician Arcana from his pocket, and extended it to her.

"Noah, please use a finger to draw a circle clockwise on the Arcana."

He did as instructed, and the magician's drawing disappeared, replaced by lines of text.

0 – Fool – Active - Submitted to Emperor

I – Magician - Active

II – Priestess – Active – Submitted to Emperor

III – Empress – Active – Submitted to Emperor

IV – Emperor – Active

V – Hierophant – Active – Submitted to Emperor

VI – Lovers – Inactive

VII – Chariot – Active

VIII – Hermit – Active

XI – Strength – Submitted to Death

X – Wheel of Fortune – Submitted to Death

XI – Justice – Active – Submitted to Death

XII – Hanged Man – Active – Submitted to Death

XIII – Death – Active

XIV – Temperance – Active – Submitted to Death

XV – Devil – Retired – Killed by Magician

XVI – Tower – Active

XVII – Star – Active

XVIII – Moon – Active – Submitted to Death

XIX – Sun – Active – Submitted to Death

XX – Judgment – Active

XXI – World – Retired – Defeated by Magician

"Oh, that's convenient…" grinned Noah.

"I have no information on whoever Death is. That's worrying, that he convinced no less than seven other candidates to accept him as their leader, and I haven't heard anything about it. As for Emperor, he's an alumnus from the previous generation. He participated in the previous war, but the Arcana chose him again." sighed Lizel.

"Yeah. I'm not in too much of a hurry to face those two. But now, I have established that I wasn't weak, so those tempted to pick on the weak human will think twice. Some of those like Stella and Neith who aren't part of a group yet will be easier to convince to join my side. Who won the previous Devil War?"

"None other than our Headmaster. He had the Strength Arcana back then. He doesn't have it anymore, but he is still just as strong as he was twenty years ago. No, he likely has become stronger."

"Who is your next target then, Noah?" asked Lizel.

"…I won't make a move against anyone of the Emperor or Death factions for now. I can't with Hermit, since I do not know their location or name. Yuuto, or whoever the Lovers Arcana ends up choosing, hasn't appeared yet, and dealing with both Stella and Neith will happen whenever we end up setting up that duel. That leaves Judgement and Tower. I think I'll target Tower next, as I may need him as a backup plan to save Reina-chan, and for that reason, I don't want some of the others to get at him first."

"Noah-senpai, thank you, desu." smiled Reina.

"I try to keep my promises. I must admit that getting my lustful hands on you girls is quite the motivation." grinned Noah.

"Awawa…" stammered Reina, blushing furiously. Noah almost expected to see steam coming out of her ears.

"Deep breaths, Reina-chan, deep breaths." said Miyabi.

"You girls don't need to worry. I'll be gentle, and it's something still weeks away, in the best of cases. I'll try to make you girls fall for me first."

"I'd say you're off to a good start. I haven't fallen for you yet, but the perspective of being your Card, with all that the position involves, is getting more palatable. Keep it up, Noah, and you might succeed." smiled Lizel.

"I'm glad to hear it. Speaking of Cards, I have convinced four young ladies among the Returnees to work as my maids for a while, and after explaining them the rules of the Devil War, they agreed to become my Cards as well. Although my agreement with them do not involve doing anything erotic."

"Are they strong?" asked Miyabi.

"Quite strong, yes, for three of them. The fourth one lacks combat experience and is new to her power, but she has potential. I'll arrange for them to meet you girls soon."

"Please do. We'll need to learn to work with each other and each other's strengths and weaknesses." urged Lizel.

"Yes. Now, since we have a bit of free time, I'd like to know more about you girls. What are your favorite movies?"

For a while, Noah, Lizel, Miyabi and Reina chatted about many subjects unrelated to the Devil War. When they reached the small mansion Miyabi and Reina living is, with Miyabi's mother, Noah wished them a good night and entered Hueco Mundo. He had levels to grind.