My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 73: Just a grandmaster magus
The impact was instantaneous.
A violent eruption followed.
Ice exploded outward from the point of contact, surging upward with immense force. It shot toward the sky like a pillar, carrying with it a wave of freezing energy that spread in a straight line across the land.
The ground split open as the ice expanded.
Everything in its path was consumed.
The eruption did not stop.
It continued forward, extending further and further, carving through the terrain with unstoppable momentum.
As far as the human eye could see, ice spread.
A massive structure formed in its wake.
What remained behind was not just a frozen path.
It was a towering wall of ice.
A mountain-like formation that rose high into the sky, its surface jagged and uneven, reflecting light with a cold, crystalline glow.
It stretched for miles, cutting through the land like a frozen scar, its sheer scale making everything around it seem insignificant.
The air around it was frigid, heavy with lingering frost.
Noah stood in place, staring at the result.
His eyes narrowed slightly behind the mask as he observed the massive structure before him.
The destruction... the power he casually wielded down, all of it registered clearly in his mind.
Then, black smoke began to rise behind him.
It seeped from the ground, gathering rapidly into a familiar shape.
The smoky figure reformed.
Its body took shape once more, though its presence felt more unstable than before.
Without hesitation, ten long, black tendrils rapidly grew from its back.
They were made up of the same thick smoke, twisting as they shot forward toward Noah with incredible speed.
However, Noah did not move, not even bothering to turn towards the incoming attack.
His gaze remained fixed on the towering wall of ice before him.
There was a faint glimmer in his eyes as he started at the large mountain wall of ice.
He found the sight before him oddly beautiful.
The way the ice rose into the sky.
The way it reflected light.
The way it stood there, unmoving and absolute.
It held his attention completely.
Behind him, the tendrils closed in.
They moved with precision, curving slightly as they adjusted their trajectory.
Then, just before reaching him, they changed direction.
Instead of striking directly, they plunged into the ground.
The surface cracked as they sank beneath it, disappearing from sight.
A brief moment passed.
Then, black smoke appeared on the ground beneath Noah, and the tendrils burst upward, aiming to pierce through him.
The timing was perfect, an attack meant fo end his life without wasting any time.
However, as they were about to touch him, a powerful golden wave bursted from Noah’s body.
The moment the black tendrils came into contact with it, they completely disintegrated without even putting up any resistance.
However, the golden wave did not stop even after destroying the tendrils, spreading with relentless force.
It headed straight toward the smoky figure with even faster speed.
The smoky figure froze, its body pulsing frantically as it watched the approaching wall of energy.
From the way its tendrils had been erased, it knew the truth. This was not an attack it could block, or even endure.
If that wave so much as touched its body, it just might die instantly!
It’s form flickered wildly, realising it had no other voice than to dodge the attack.
Without hesitation, it plunged into the ground, sinking into a small black pool beneath its feet.
The golden wave rolled over the spot, but then, a loud, distorted scream suddenly erupted from beneath the earth.
The voice was high and grating, filled with agony.
Even buried in the dark, the figure was not safe. The golden energy acted like a vacuum, ignoring the solid rock and dirt as if they were nothing more than air.
Suddenly, the ground buckled, and smoky figure was forcefully pulled back up, its body wriggling uncontrollably in the open air.
The black smoke around it was no longer a cohesive mist, instead ir was now fraying at the edges, some parts of it disintegrating.
The figure fought with everything it had, clawing at its own essence to keep itself together. It condensed its form, pulling the escaping shadows back into a tight, trembling mass.
It screamed again in pain, falling and rolling to the ground, like a man trying to put out a fire that was burning his very soul.
"H-how..." the figure shouted.
Its voice was broken, layering over itself in a discordant mess.
"How come you can touch the shadow? No one... no one can ever touch my shadow!"
The figure’s form pulsed with a sickly gray light as it struggled to stay conscious.
"So what the hell are you?!" it shrieked.
Noah finally turned towards him.
The moment Noah’s gaze fell upon the creature, the smoky figure shivered in terror. The frantic rolling stopped. The thrashing limbs went limp. It felt a weight settle over the area that was far heavier than the ice or the golden wave.
It was the weight of Noah’s presence.
Noah looked down at the writhing shadow with a gaze that held no emotion.
"I couldn’t sense your rank when you first attacked," Noah said.
His voice was flat and steady, cutting through the frigid air like a blade.
"But I can now," he added.
Even through the mask, the smoky figure could see it.
Noah’s eyes began to glow with a bright golden light, which pierced through the mask itself.
The figure shrank back, its essence flickering as if the mere sight of those eyes was enough to unmake it.
Noah’s voice turned colder.
"You’re just a grandmaster magus," he said. "How weak,"
The smoky figure shivered, unable to even respond to Noah’s words. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺
Instead, its body started shivering again, the black mist rippling in jagged waves.
It was no longer just the physical pain of the golden light that haunted it. It was the growing, suffocating fear of the man standing before it.
Every second spent in Noah’s presence felt like a weight pressing down on its soul, stripping away its confidence until nothing but a raw, primal terror remained.
