The sky had been clear just moments ago, with the moon hanging above—but in the blink of an eye, dark clouds gathered, and rain began to fall, pattering against the ground.
Pitter-patter… pitter-patter…
A woman slowly emerged from the alleyway, holding a parasol. She wore a deep blue hat and a flowing blue dress, knee-high leather boots on her feet. Her wavy blue hair draped over her shoulders.
"This rain… you're the one causing it?" Noel asked, his voice tinged with suspicion. After all, assassins who revealed themselves this openly were rare. Using rain to announce one's presence—Noel didn't even know where to begin with that.
But then something clicked in his mind. Ghost. The Rain Woman. He narrowed his eyes and gave the woman another careful look.
"You're one of the Element Four… Juvia of the Rain?" Noel asked, testing his guess.
Juvia gave no reply. Even so, Noel already had his answer. His expression hardened. An S-Class mage of Phantom Lord—this wasn't going to be easy.
He quickly scanned his surroundings. The entire area was shrouded in heavy clouds, the downpour pouring endlessly from above.
And he could feel it—the rain itself carried magic. This was no ordinary storm.
"What exactly is your purpose?" Noel demanded, his gaze sharp.
"The Master said you're a great threat. I came to eliminate you early." Juvia's voice, laced with disdain, carried through the sheets of rain.
"Water Slicer."
Her words rang out like a death sentence. A razor-sharp blade of water tore through the curtain of rain, aimed straight at Noel. But with the fog blurring everything, he had no way to judge its exact path.
"Alchemy: Aqua Shield."
Raindrops gathered around him, merging into a spherical shield of water.
"Juvia's Water Slicer can cut through anything. Struggling is pointless—it's over." Juvia's voice brimmed with confidence.
Yet what happened next left her stunned. The Water Slicer struck the Aqua Shield, only to be absorbed as though swallowed whole.
"My water shield is reinforced with alchemy. Once your water touches it, it gets assimilated." Noel explained calmly.
"Water Slicer!"
Juvia clearly didn't believe him. She launched blade after blade of water at him, but each one dissolved uselessly into the shield.
Pitter-patter… Juvia suddenly appeared right at Noel's side. "Water Lock."
The Aqua Shield spun out of control, refusing to disperse. Even worse, torrents of water flooded into it, turning the shield into a sphere of water that trapped him inside.
Gulp… glub… Noel struggled desperately. There was no oxygen in the water sphere—he was suffocating.
"Alchemy: Thermal Control."
Power surged from Noel's body. The water sphere's temperature plummeted, white vapor streaming off its surface.
Within moments, thin threads of ice formed inside. The entire water sphere solidified into ice.
With a surge of strength, Noel shattered it. The ice ball cracked and exploded apart.
"…You're a troublesome opponent. No wonder the Master ordered your elimination." Juvia said, expressionless.
"You're strong too. But why do this? Don't you find it meaningless?" Noel asked, his anger barely restrained.
"This is simply the Master's command. I act as he wills." Juvia replied, her tone detached.
As if none of this mattered to her. As if she were nothing more than a machine that executed orders, never questioning their purpose. It was… pitiful.
"Don't you have a will of your own? Do you truly want to be doing this?" Noel pressed her again.
"…I don't want to hurt people. But this is the Master's order. I have no choice." Juvia's eyes flickered. "So stop resisting. I'll go easy on you."
"Water Whip!"
Water from the nearby moat surged toward Juvia, forming countless whips in her hands. Each whip cracked through the air under her control—fast, fluid, and ever-changing.
The sheer number was overwhelming, in the hundreds. Dodging was impossible.
Why here, of all places? This terrain gave her every advantage.
Noel tried to evade, but several whips lashed across him. Thin bloodstains appeared where they struck.
"Chiba Scatter!"
Unwilling to take the beating, Noel unleashed a counterattack.
A storm of violent wind pressure erupted, green blades of wind slicing toward Juvia. Yet she didn't move to dodge.
The wind blades cut through her—but her body dissolved into water.
"You… you can use Hydration Magic?" Noel muttered in surprise. "Well, that makes things simpler."
"Wind Magic: Exchange—Electromagnetic Field."
A violet current sparked around Noel, spreading through the rain in the air and the water on the ground.
Juvia immediately severed her connection with the water.
"Water Lock."
She wrapped herself in a sphere of pure water. Deionized—so it wouldn't conduct electricity. Against lightning magic, she clearly had her counters ready. Truly an S-Class mage—formidable.
Above, a dark silhouette streaked across the sky. Someone Noel didn't recognize.
"Still not finished?" Gajeel said coldly. "Want me to step in?"
"No. Even together we can't put him down quickly. We'd only end up in a drawn-out battle. And this is enemy territory—if reinforcements arrive, we'll be in trouble." Juvia replied, her tone sharp with analysis.
"Don't get distracted while fighting me!" Noel snapped. A green magic circle bloomed in his hands. "Tempest Wave!"
A massive whirlwind tore down the street, but his two opponents stood unfazed. Gajeel tanked it head-on, sustaining only shallow scratches. Juvia turned to water again, flowing back into the river.
"That body's ridiculous…" Noel muttered, exasperated.
"I've left your guild a gift. You'll see it tomorrow." Gajeel sneered before vanishing into the night.
A gift? What could he mean? Was their guild being attacked again? But the hall was already in ruins—there was nothing left worth destroying.
Noel shook his head. No use overthinking. Tomorrow would reveal what Phantom had done.
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