Cassandra tried to force the blades down, but no matter how hard she pushed, the weapons frozen in midair refused to move.
Her expression shifted again and again.
She could not understand the reason.
Noah simply raised one hand, aimed it at her, and slowly spread his five fingers.
Then an astonishing sight appeared.
The four broad blades flashing with cold light actually moved in different directions, following the motion of his fingers.
Along with them, the twin-tailed maid's four arms were forced open as well.
These iron weapons were made of elements too, so within Weaver's effective range, it was only natural that he could manipulate them.
The rings from earlier had been forged from special materials, so he had not tried to control them rashly, but these broad blades were far too familiar to him as a blacksmith.
He could interfere with them directly.
Realizing that she could no longer control her own weapons, Cassandra had no choice but to let go and abandon them.
She quickly retreated.
Yet at that very moment, her body froze in a strange and sudden way.
"Wh-what's going on?"
Cassandra felt several points across her body being restrained, leaving her unable to move.
But she had no idea what was happening.
Behind her, Gilberda saw her companion's baffling movements and asked directly, "Hey, Cassandra, what the hell are you doing?"
Cassandra immediately understood that her companion had not noticed what was happening either.
So she hurriedly said, "I can't move freely!"
"Huh?"
Gilberda looked confused.
But in the next second, her expression changed drastically.
Because the four broad blades that had just been in Cassandra's hands were now floating in the air on their own—and every one of them was aimed straight at them.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! What the hell is this?!"
With no time to think, Gilberda instantly rushed in front of Cassandra.
Cassandra shouted, "Idiot! Don't worry about me!"
Her weapons were specially made.
Even Gilberda could not take a hit from them safely!
But Gilberda was not actually stupid.
Since Cassandra had said she could not move, did that not mean she could not dodge the broad blades?
No problem.
She was tough!
She could block them!
Gilberda clenched her fists and tensed every muscle in her body. Even her stockings tore apart under the strain.
Seeing her step forward, Noah slightly adjusted the angle of the broad blades, avoiding her vital points.
Then he waved his hand and launched the blades forward.
Like flying swords, the broad blades danced freely under his control.
Although this was limited to Weaver's effective range, the cramped combat space had become an advantage for him.
As the broad blades flew toward Gilberda, she felt as if time itself had slowed down.
Many thoughts flashed through her mind in that instant.
But every single one of them was about one person.
Her master, Lady Merraid!
'Ah.'
'Am I going to die here?'
The broad blades closed in and Gilberda was not confident.
Right then, a dense swarm of insects suddenly poured out from the cracks around them, forming a black wall made entirely of bugs in the blink of an eye.
The broad blades struck the wall and actually produced the sound of metal clashing against metal. Even their tips snapped off.
A figure holding an umbrella descended from above.
With a wave of her hand, countless insects carried Gilberda and Cassandra backward, conveniently moving them out of Weaver's range.
As soon as she realized she could move again, Cassandra instantly stripped off her clothes, leaving Gilberda beside her completely dumbfounded.
Then, after glancing at the master who had saved them, Gilberda flew into a rage and started scolding Cassandra.
"Hey! Cassandra! Taking your clothes off the second you see Master is way too sneaky! I'm stripping too!"
As she spoke, Gilberda actually tried to strip down completely.
Cassandra, however, cursed with an ugly expression, "Understand the situation, you idiot!"
"Huh? What situation?"
This time, the twin-tailed maid ignored her companion and warned the woman standing in front of them.
"Lady Merraid, please be careful. This man likely has the ability to control metal!"
When she had been unable to move earlier, Cassandra had not merely been standing there.
Her mind had been working rapidly.
She had been trying to understand that bizarre situation.
And she had reached a conclusion.
Her weapons had been controlled by the enemy! Not only that, the hidden weapons she carried were also made of metal.
It was not that her entire body had been immobilized, but rather that certain parts of her body could not move because the hidden weapons under her maid outfit were all metal!
That was why she had stripped off her clothes the instant she could move.
"Huh? So that's what it was!" Gilberda finally reacted, looking as if everything had suddenly clicked.
"Thank you, Cassandra."
The woman who had appeared out of nowhere praised her exclusive maid.
Then her gaze fell on the target—in other words, Noah.
The moment Noah saw the woman who had arrived in time to save them, he used Appraisal.
[Merraid Oarburgh]
Human / Female
Age: 19
Leader of the assassin organization Oarburgh
Weapon: Umbrella / Crawling Ones
Inherited the ability of successive Oarburgh leaders to control the Crawling Ones
'So this black-haired woman was the real leader.'
Noah glanced at her, then appraised the insects forming the black wall as well.
[Iron Carapace Beetle]
Descendant of an insect-type Danger Beast created through ancient alchemy
Has undergone seventeen mutations
Its shell is extremely hard. Ordinary blades will only bounce off and cannot cause meaningful damage.
Weakness: fire
Controller: Merraid Oarburgh
[Steel Carapace Beetle]
Descendant of an insect-type Danger Beast created through ancient alchemy
Has undergone twenty-one mutations
Its shell is extraordinarily hard, far tougher than steel, and it has overcome its weakness to fire.
Low resistance to lightning
Controller: Merraid Oarburgh
For a moment, both sides observed each other.
The corners of Merraid's lips remained slightly raised, as though she were smiling.
She narrowed her eyes a little and asked, "Were you the one who killed Barbara?"
"That's right."
"You're quite brave, you admitted it so easily." Merraid first offered what sounded like praise, then asked another question.
"What did you do to Taeko? From what I observed over an entire day, this is far beyond what hypnosis could achieve. If I kill you, will she return to normal?"
"I haven't tested that, so I can't say for sure, but I doubt it'll go the way you want."
The two of them were actually having a proper conversation.
But no one present found that strange.
Both Gilberda and Cassandra understood their master.
There was no way she would let this man go.
"Barbara may have been a troublesome old woman, but when she was young, she was quite the beauty. She had many admirers, you know." Merraid rested her cheek against one hand and pointed toward the black wall formed by the swarm of insects.
"For example, this one."
Whoosh—!
The swarm suddenly scattered.
An old gentleman with white-streaked hair and a black suit had actually been hiding inside it the entire time!
Even Noah had not noticed his presence.
The old man appeared with a grim expression, making no attempt to conceal the murderous aura in his heart as he rushed straight at Noah.
Noah controlled the four broad blades and sent them slashing toward him.
Although their tips had snapped off, the weapons were still terrifyingly lethal to flesh and blood.
The old man slid across the ground, slipping under the blades as he said, "I already know you can control metal. Do you think I would not prepare for that?"
He rushed in and threw a whipping kick.
Noah calmly dodged and raised his finger, shaping his hand like a pistol.
'Appraisal was complete.'
There was nothing particularly special about this enemy.
Pop.
An air bullet pierced straight through the old man's head.
His body, now stripped of consciousness, lost all its nimble movement and collapsed to the floor.
The old man's face still held an indignant expression, his eyes wide open.
Judging by the calluses on his hands, this old man must have lived through a great deal.
Unfortunately, at his core, he was still an ordinary human.
If it had been the blonde maid over there, this little trick would never have been enough to kill her.
After all, even an air hammer had not caused her any real damage, so a little pea-shooter like this would have done nothing.
But no matter how much the old man had trained his techniques or refined his body, his head was still covered by only a layer of skin, and his bones would not become harder than steel.
At the right timing and the right distance, one bullet was enough to kill him.
A companion had died, but Noah did not sense much from the black-haired woman.
Merraid herself even said with disgust, "Useless old virgin. Taken down already?"
She spoke bluntly. "I had planned to have him force you to reveal more of your methods, but this is all he managed?"
Noah glanced at the old man's corpse by his feet and finally understood the other side's plan.
So that was it.
He had been a disposable piece from the start.
No wonder she did not care.
"It seems I'll have to do this myself after all."
At that moment, the twin-tailed maid Cassandra spoke again.
"Lady Merraid, his ability suddenly failed earlier. I believe it was because of distance. That range should be the limit of his power."
Noah looked at her, thinking that she really was the calm and cautious type.
Just from escaping his control by chance once, she could deduce that much.
She truly was excellent.
Unfortunately, she had still misunderstood the main premise.
Weaver did not merely control metal!