My Bugged System Made Me Too OP!-Chapter 57: How is he… so strong…?

A faint wisp of smoke rose where the lightning had dissipated, curling into the air, but Noah didn’t flinch.

His hands hung at his sides, relaxed, and his eyes remained locked on Tou, unyielding and unwavering.

He tilted his head slightly, the corners of his mouth curling just enough to express cold amusement.

"You missed," he said, the words sharp, precise, and carrying a weight of authority that seemed to press down on Tou’s chest.

Tou’s eyes widened the instant the lightning ball exploded harmlessly in the distance.

His mouth parted slightly as he stared at Noah, his mind scrambling to make sense of what had just happened.

’What...?!’

The thought crashed through his mind like a wave.

’Did I miscalculate...? How the hell did he dodge that?’

Tou replayed the moment in his head over and over again. The trajectory had been perfect. The speed had been right. The distance between them wasn’t even that large. An apprentice magus shouldn’t have been able to evade it so easily, let alone with such a casual step.

His brows furrowed deeply, irritation mixing with disbelief.

Then he chuckled.

The sound was forced, brittle, and hollow, but he forced it out anyway, refusing to let the tension in the air crush his pride.

"Don’t think you’ve escaped just because you got lucky that one time," Tou said, his voice regaining a layer of arrogance as he lifted his chin slightly.

Lightning sparks suddenly began forming again in front of his palm.

Thin arcs of electricity danced across his skin, crawling along his fingers and snapping loudly against the air. The energy gathered in front of his hand once more, slowly beginning to swirl into the shape of another lightning ball.

Behind him, the three girls who had been watching the confrontation exchanged glances.

A moment later, smug smirks appeared on their faces again.

One of them folded her arms confidently, clearly believing Tou would easily handle Noah now that he was casting another spell. Another girl tilted her head slightly, her lips curling with satisfaction as the sparks grew brighter.

Even Amelia, who was standing a short distance behind Noah, could hear the crackling electricity clearly.

But this time something was different.

The lightning ball was forming far slower than before.

The sparks flickered and gathered sluggishly, as if struggling to stabilize.

Instead of immediately condensing into a powerful sphere like the previous one, the electricity hesitated, wavering in front of Tou’s palm as he tried to shape it.

Tou frowned slightly at the delay, muttering under his breath as he tried to maintain control of the forming spell.

While the lightning ball was still forming, Noah began walking toward him.

His steps were calm, like he had all the time in the world.

Each footstep echoed softly against the ground, but in the tense silence of the street, the sound seemed far louder than it should have been.

Tou’s eyes immediately locked onto Noah’s approaching figure.

A strange uneasiness crept into his chest.

Without even realizing it, his body shrank back slightly. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Just a small step.

But it was enough to reveal the fear he was trying so hard to suppress.

Noah kept walking.

The lightning sparks continued crackling in Tou’s palm, the unstable orb growing slowly, but Noah didn’t show even the slightest sign of caution.

Then he suddenly moved.

In one swift motion, Noah reached forward and tightly clasped Tou’s wrist—the very hand that was still sparking with lightning.

Tou froze.

The spell formation instantly faltered.

Before he could react—

CRUNCH!

A loud, sickening sound echoed through the deserted street.

The noise was sharp and unmistakable.

It was the sound of bone breaking.

Tou’s scream tore through the air immediately after.

"AAAHHH!!"

His entire body jerked violently as pain exploded through his arm.

"My... hand!!" he screamed, his voice cracking with agony.

The lightning sparks that had been gathering instantly scattered and vanished, the half-formed spell collapsing into nothing.

Behind him, the three girls who had been smirking confidently just moments ago stared in horror.

Their smug expressions disappeared instantly.

Their eyes widened.

One of them even stumbled backward in shock.

None of them had expected things to turn out like this.

They had thought Tou, an adept magus, would easily overwhelm Noah.

Instead—

He had been completely overpowered in a single move.

Tou’s face twisted with pain as he tried desperately to pull his arm back, but Noah’s grip didn’t loosen.

If anything—

It tightened.

The sound of grinding bone grew louder.

Another crunch echoed faintly as Noah’s fingers squeezed harder around Tou’s wrist.

Tou’s scream became even louder.

"STOP—AAAHHH!!"

His knees buckled slightly as the pain shot through his entire arm like fire.

Noah’s expression remained completely cold.

It was as if Tou’s screams meant nothing to him.

The grip on his wrist tightened once more, making the broken bones grind painfully against each other.

Tou felt like his arm was about to be crushed completely.

Behind Noah, Amelia stood frozen.

Her hands trembled slightly as she watched what was happening.

She had never seen her brother like this before.

The air around him felt different—heavy, suffocating, and filled with quiet fury.

Noah slowly pulled his other arm back.

His hand clenched into a fist.

Tou’s eyes widened the moment he saw it.

Noah’s voice came out cold and flat, carrying a sharp edge of ridicule.

"What’s the point of using a spell," he said slowly, his fist drawing back further, "if you’re going to take years to cast it?"

Noah’s fist moved before Tou could even process what was happening.

The punch landed squarely on Tou’s cheek with a dull, heavy thud.

The force behind it snapped his head violently to the side. A spray of blood burst from his mouth along with several small white fragments—broken teeth that scattered across the ground like pebbles.

Tou’s vision exploded into stars.

For a moment the entire world seemed to spin around him.

His ears rang loudly, drowning out every other sound as his body swayed under the impact.

The pain radiated across his jaw and up into his skull, leaving a burning numbness in its wake.

’How...?’

His thoughts struggled to form through the dizziness.

’How is he... so strong...?’