A figure suddenly appeared between them. He caught Shawn's fist with a single hand and did not flinch. At the same time, he punched Noel's phoenix as his Spiritual Energy swept the entire phoenix as though it was disintegrating it.
But the phoenix was far stronger than he originally thought and ended up exploding. The black flame soon devoured them, albeit it didn't last for too long before a single wave of hand extinguished the fire.
The one who appeared in the middle of the battle was none other than the Demon Hunting Squad's Captain, Hendry Igor.
"That's enough," Igor stated with a clear understanding. He glanced at Shawn for a moment before closing his eyes in disappointment. Of course, Shawn had done his best in his eyes. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough as he declared, "The winner of this competition is Iadre."
"!!!" The entire base was stunned, not believing what they had just heard. They had seen Shawn crushing a lot of Spirit Abilities, yet, Noel actually won to the point Igor had to take that attack by himself.
Igor hurriedly put his hand on the back as if trying to hide his hands. At the same time, his straight body and intense glare looked like he reluctantly admitted his defeat.
"You have won, Iadre."
Noel closed his eyes, feeling relieved. He used a Spirit Ability that he had just got after all, so he was worried that the ability wasn't strong enough. Even with the knowledge integrated into his mind, he still had to practice that ability after all.
Now that Igor had declared his victory, Noel could finally lower his guard a bit. Though, after making sure that his opponent or the spectators had no intention to sneak attack him.
"Captain. I'm not convinced. Do you—" Obviously, Shawn would complain. He hadn't fought against that phoenix once, so he wasn't convinced it was his loss.
Since Igor's back was facing him, he tried to grab Igor's arms to grab his attention.
But all of a sudden, he instinctively pulled back his arms while shouting in pain. "Aahhh!"
The people were obviously shocked because they didn't know what was happening. Meanwhile, Shawn certainly felt it as he was looking at his hand and Igor's arm, not believing what he just felt.
'It's hot?' Shawn asked himself inwardly. There was only one person who used fire ability in this place. It was Noel.
He had seen Igor crushing every enemy with his fists. Yet, Noel's flame almost broke his defense.
It was proven by how Igor's arms became hot. If Shawn actually took on that attack, he might get burned or even worse, his arm might melt.
That was why Igor declared Noel's victory. There was simply a big difference in strength between them. And with how Noel remained calm this whole time, he should be able to find a way to hit Shawn.
Still, the others were unconvinced. They didn't know what had happened. All they knew was how Noel was cheating with armor.
"What's wrong, Captain?"
"Are you favoring them that much?"
The people wanted to complain, but Igor simply shouted in anger. "It's enough. The competition ends here. Anyone who disapproves of the end result will be talking to me directly."
In that instant, the entire base fell silent. They knew what it meant to talk to Igor directly. There was someone who did it and ended up getting disabled, so it wasn't best to provoke Igor.
On the other hand, Igor was glaring at Noel and said, "It seems you have hidden your trump card successfully. That one is an extremely powerful ability. I hope that you can continue to hone it until you master it. I'm looking forward to seeing you mastering that flame of yours."
Noel nodded politely. At the very least, Igor seemed to be honoring the bet.
"…" Igor paused for a moment before asking, "Do you have something you want from me?"
Noel shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir. I think I have to put that request on hold. However, I promise it won't be something you can't do."
Igor nodded. "In that case, you can go back to your guest house. It's not like everyone is in the mood for a party anyway. So, you can get some rest and come to me tomorrow morning to explain the situation and your plan to me. Understood?"
"Yes, Sir." Noel nodded with a serious expression as Igor gradually walked away as if he had just admitted defeat.
Noel knew it was better for them to leave since these people would just look at them with hateful gazes. So, he turned around and walked to his group, saying, "Sorry. It seems the atmosphere became awkward because of me. Let's go back first."
They nodded, not objecting to his decision. It was clear that Noel had shown a strength no one would expect from a Spirit Wielder. Even Stella could feel danger from that ability.
Although the Fire Phoenix wasn't that fast compared to someone's speed, it had a lot of power and effect, so Noel planned to use it more in the near future.
After seeing Noel returning just fine, Igor finally shouted, "Those who still want to party can enjoy the food and drink here. The rest will have to abstain and get yourself ready for tomorrow."
"Yes, Sir!" The people shouted in sync.
After making sure they behaved, Igor finally returned to his room, followed by Shawn who demanded an explanation and Richard, his vice captain.
When Igor sat down in his room, he leaned back as if trying to relax himself. However, if one took a closer look at him, he was sweating profusely as if something was burning him.
This was when Richard came to him with a bucket of cool water and a towel to wrap his arms. "I'm sure you need this."
Igor looked at the bucket first before smiling at Richard, who knew what he needed.
"Yeah." Igor nodded while recounting the battle. "It seems the Demon Relief Squad has just gotten a monster."