Chapter 318: Mary is alive

"You’re joking, right?" Noah asked, disbelief evident in his expression.

Sefira shook her head. "No. What I am telling you is the truth."

Noah didn’t know how to react. Those words couldn’t possibly be true.

He had seen Mary die. He had watched her sacrifice herself and had later seen her body buried beneath the earth with his own eyes. And now, this woman had appeared out of nowhere, claiming that Mary was still alive.

How could he possibly believe that? Noah took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He needed to control his emotions before they overwhelmed him.

"How?"

His voice was strained.

"The academy found three dead bodies underground. Mary and two strangers were among them. I saw her die myself... while she was saving me."

Sefira folded her arms beneath her chest as she looked at him. The gesture made her chest look more prominent, but Noah’s attention remained fixed entirely on her face and, more importantly on her eyes.

"...You see, you may already know about Damien—the man blessed by the Sun God. The Child of Heaven, or whatever name you prefer to call him."

Noah nodded. "Yes."

He wasn’t particularly surprised that she knew about Damien. Considering that Sefira was clearly a powerful existence, it wasn’t strange for her to possess such information.

Sefira sighed. "I was tasked with observing Damien, to determine whether he truly was the chosen one."

Noah’s expression changed. "Wait." His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Do you have some kind of group? An organization?"

His thoughts quickly connected the pieces. "And Mary worked for you? Did she come to the academy on a mission?"

His eyes narrowed further. "And that day... did she fake her death so she could leave the academy and abandon her entire identity?"

He paused. "Wait... was ’Mary’ not even her real name?"

Noah was once again left completely flabbergasted. ’Seriously... what is this?’ The entire situation was becoming more ridiculous by the second.

"Well..." Sefira hesitated. "You are... somewhat right."

Noah took a step back, his gaze dropping toward the ground. ’Mary isn’t dead?’

He clenched his teeth. ’She faked her death, and I was here crying and blaming myself for not being able to save her?’

A surge of anger rose within him. He had considered Mary a close friend. Someone who had sacrificed herself to save his life. But apparently, that entire scene had been an act.

And yet despite the anger burning inside him, there was another emotion he couldn’t suppress.

He felt relief and happiness. She was alive. That was all that truly mattered. Something heavy was lifted from his chest that was like a burden or maybe guilt.

Noah slowly raised his head and looked at Sefira.

She was watching him with a worried expression. She could clearly see that his mood had changed.

"Where is she?" His voice was quieter now. At this moment, there was nothing Noah wanted more than to see Mary again.

He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to ask her whether she had ever truly considered him a friend.

Sefira licked her lips nervously before slowly uncrossing her arms."N-Noah... I apologize. You must have gone through a lot believing that she was dead..."

She lowered her gaze. "I am sorry. This is my fault."

Noah stared at her for a moment before sighing. ’Why is this woman apologizing to me?’

Usually, powerful existences like her wouldn’t care much about another person’s emotions. To her, this should have simply been a mission given to Mary, nothing more.

’Perhaps... she really is a kind woman.’

Noah shook his head slightly. "Well, it must have been you who ordered her to do all this. But if someone wants to apologize to me, then I’d rather hear it from her directly."

He looked at Sefira. "Anyway, forget the apology for now. I just want to meet her."

His voice became more urgent. "Where is she?"

Sefira blinked. She looked away from him. Her lips moved slightly, but her voice was so small that Noah couldn’t make out the words. "I... I am Mary..."

Noah narrowed his eyes. "Ma’am, I couldn’t hear you. If you don’t mind, could you speak a little louder?"

Sefira pressed her lips into a thin line. She looked increasingly embarrassed. Then she spoke again. "That Mary... was me."

Her voice was still too low. "What?"

Noah leaned forward slightly.

Sefira finally took a breath and shouted, "I am Mary!"

Finally he heard and Noah froze.

"It was me who came to the academy! I was taking the form of that young, nerdy-looking girl using an artifact!"

She had finally said it. She had finally revealed the truth to Noah. And when Sefira saw the expression on his face.

She couldn’t help but find it somewhat amusing.

"You are lying, right?"

"Why would I? I have no reason to lie to you. It really is me..."

A silver ring suddenly appeared in her palm. She slipped it onto her finger.

Almost immediately, her appearance began to change.

Her height decreased, her long hair shortened until it rested around her shoulders, and her features shifted. Within moments, the tall, mature woman standing before Noah had disappeared.

In her place stood Mary.

The same young, nerdy-looking girl Noah remembered.

"This is a concealment artifact," she explained, holding up the silver ring. "It allows me to suppress my powers while disguising myself as someone else. Now, do you believe me—"

Before she could finish, Noah suddenly kicked off the ground and rushed toward her.

His sword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a sharp clang.

Sefira blinked.

She saw him coming, yet she didn’t react. Instead, she simply stood there and allowed him to do whatever he wanted.

Noah threw his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

His strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her close as her chest pressed against his hard-trained chest. Her cheek rested against the crook of his neck.

"Mary!! Damn! You’re really alive!"

He buried his face against the side of her neck, overwhelmed by relief and happiness.

Warmth immediately spread across Sefira’s cheeks.

Noah couldn’t see her expression.

"N-Noah..." she muttered awkwardly.

He tightened his embrace.

Despite Sefira’s immense strength, Noah’s hug couldn’t possibly hurt her. However, being embraced so intimately by a man made her far more embarrassed than she had ever expected.

Still, after a moment of hesitation, her arms slowly moved. She wrapped them around Noah as well.

He could feel her palm clutching the fabric of his shirt. "I’m sorry," Sefira whispered. "I did what I had to do... but I never thought you cared about me this much."

"Well, you’re my friend. Of course I care about you."

Noah’s heart beat faster, filled with excitement and happiness.

The memory of watching Mary die was still painfully fresh in his mind. But now that she was standing here, alive and breathing in his arms, the weight that had been sitting in his heart finally began to disappear.

After remaining like that for a long moment, Sefira finally removed the ring.

Her appearance immediately began to change again.

Her body grew taller, her hair lengthened, and her youthful disguise vanished. In moments, she had returned to her original form the mature, incredibly beautiful woman Noah had first encountered.

Yet she was still standing within his arms. He even felt two soft mounds becoming bigger and softer against his chest. That indicated him that she changed back to normal.

Realizing that she had returned to her original appearance, he slowly released her. The two stood face to face.

Sefira was roughly the same height as Akari, towering over Noah slightly.

"Ma—"

Noah paused. "No... Sefira."

He didn’t know if could call her friend or not. She was someone still unknown, did she ever thought of him as friend? but she apologize to him. It looked genuine. But for now it didn’t matter.

He looked at her with sudden curiosity.

"Are you strong?"

The question was so unexpected that Sefira blinked. A faint blush still lingered on her cheeks, but she proudly lifted her chin.

"Of course. You could say I’m one of the strongest beings in the world."

Noah’s eyes immediately filled with admiration. He stared at her for a moment. His expression now as if he was waiting for this.

His hand clenched into a fist. Without warning, he drove it straight into her stomach with all the physical strength he could muster.

Thud!

The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the forest.

Sefira’s eyes widened slightly in surprise. She hadn’t expected that. But she didn’t stop him.

"You damn well played with my emotions even if it was for some mission!"

Noah’s face was filled with anger. He couldn’t tell if she was a good or bad. If she have some bad motive. His other fist came flying forward and struck her stomach again. But right now he was very angry at her.

Thud!

Sefira merely blinked.

For someone like her, Noah’s punches were practically meaningless. They felt as though a child were playfully tapping against her body. For her it felt as if there wasn’t even enough force to kill an ant.

Yet what amused her wasn’t his lack of strength. It was what he was doing. She had never imagined that Noah, of all people, would try to beat her up simply to vent his anger.

A small smile slowly bloomed across her lips. She didn’t stop him. Instead, she simply stood there and allowed him to get it all out of his system.