UNLIMITED SPEED

The silver moon shone high above the town and illuminated its entirety. The stream before Noah wasn't an exception. Yet the entity across the stream surrounded by an open space refused to be clearly seen. At least its upper portion.

It seemed like darkness enshrouded the figure even if that obviously wasn't so.

Noah could see that the figure had a red garment on. One that flowed graciously in the soft wind of the night.

The silvery light around the being could not be more magical but he wasn't looking at the beauty, since all sorts of alarms went up in his head.

Danger, fear, realization, and even confusion ran rampant in Noah's mind, leaving him agitated, but mostly anxious.

He couldn't sense the figure's power. Heck, the figure felt devoid of any ounce of strength. Yet Noah's instincts told him an incredible amount lay behind that stillness.

Noah had not noticed the beings arrival, which was shocking since there were no hiding spots for at least a kilometer. Only scantly placed buildings and clear ground.

The two seemed to stare at each other since Noah had already confirmed that he was the focus of the entity.

Every inch of his body wanted him to run, but he sat unmovingly. Simply gazing back at the figure, as though doing so would fend off that strangeness.

The figure eventually moved, but not in the way Noah and his instincts expected it. The thing took soft steps forward, as it even crossed the stream without much effort.

The slow steps left no sounds in the night, and with each one, Noah felt his body's desire to move, increase in intensity.

The figure was halfway through the space between the stream and the building when Noah's mind gave up on holding in his erratic emotions, and he bolted through the door.

However, he didn't hold back and directly exploded with the speed force's empowerment.

He could tell that the figure was stronger than he was, and it also held hostile intentions, since his instincts wouldn't react negatively if that wasn't the case.

Noah turned into a deep yellow streak that directly left the town before even a second could count.

His figure stopped before a lying Pride and his flashy arrival startled her enough for a squeal, but she calmed down immediately. Noah jumped on her figure and she took off as quickly as she could.

Noah could now confirm what had been the issue with her, as she had moved without his order.

Noah knew how strong beings above tier 3 were and knew that the figure could reach them in no time, but he couldn't leave her.

And just like he thought, barely two seconds after Pride took off in a hurry, the ground now far beneath them burst open with large curved spikes made from earth.

Evasive maneuvers began at that point.

The spikes were huge, but their tips were thin and would impale Pride if she wasn't quick enough.

Tens of such spikes shot out of the ground to curve towards Pride's maneuvering figure. The silence of the night was immediately shattered as a result of the explosions those magical wonders caused.

Pride continued to bark as she spun and stopped and dived and looped, each one of her actions managing to escape the seemingly living spikes.

But Noah knew she wouldn't last. The spikes were as fast as they were and originated from even the forest in the distance, giving birth to a blockade of spikes barreling towards them.

Noah took a deep breath when he saw a number of about ten huge spikes flying towards them and released his breath.

Mist followed his breath as a barrier of ice surrounded by a barrier of electrical currents and even a dense cocoon of wind originated from his figure.

Even at that, he felt his defenses get ripped open when the huge mass of pointy earth touched them.

Pride barked in fear and surprise, but Noah's expression went cold. He knew his defenses would be unable to do much for him, so he had to come to a quick conclusion.

Mere instants before the spikes could reach him and Pride, a golden object abruptly appeared to float above the duo, before expanding in size.

Cudgel pushed Pride downwards, and they smashed into the ground painfully.

Nothing much happened to him, but pride was different. One of her legs had been broken as a result of the impact and she obviously didn't like it.

Apart from that, however, she remained fine so he could get on her and she could take off again.

Cudgel's massive figure stood grandly in the night sky having fended off the multiple spikes.

Noah and Pride soon appeared beside it, and as they flew he made sure his divine weapon was with him.

Chaos spread in the forest at that point, and more huge structures; mainly spiky in nature were birthed from the ground, uprooting many trees in the process. All Noah had to do, however, was cause Cudgel to appear on the paths of those attacks, and they would be fended off.

Pride looked and sounded scared, but she continued to fly on the course Noah set for her, while he did all the work.

Something eventually changed, however. The huge spikes didn't stop but a figure appeared high in the sky and terror seemed to feel Pride's mind.

Noah frowned wondering how the figure had gotten ahead of them, but there wasn't time to do much thinking since he made Pride shoot towards another area.

But this time things were different. With a bark-like roar, Pride changed direction, but flames erupted out of her wings in that instant.

Noah's environment turned into a blur when his ride took off in the set direction. Her speed remained shocking since they had already broken the sound barrier.

The only downside about that ability was the streak of orange flames it created.

Their direction could be mapped at that point, but Noah made Cudgel shoot toward the figure to distract them.

The world seemed to tremble as its golden figure enlarged, so much so that its movement shaved the portion of the forest it flew above.

Noah and Pride continued to shoot toward the set direction while Cudgel arrived at the figure's position.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned.

Cudgel didn't manage to hit anything since the figure flew away from its position to almost immediately arrive a few meters before Noah and Pride.

Noah caught sight of the entity's face at that point, and he felt his heart skip a beat when he realized that they weren't dealing with a human.

The humanoid figure, donned in a red attire raised its pale arm; ready to strike their speeding figures, but it hit air when it eventually lowered its arm.

Noah and Pride vanished from its sight even if they would have normally been unable to dodge.