The words, full of killing intent, were like frozen icicles, instantly plunging the entire arena into dead silence.
The examinees who had been mocking Asta earlier now didn't even dare to breathe. They could clearly feel the terrifying aura emanating from the burly man.
However, Asta, at the center of the storm, seemed completely oblivious. He looked up, even reaching out to casually pat the man's thick shoulder.
"Your face looks so weathered. You must have been through a lot of hardship."
"..."
Silence.
This time, it was such a deathly silence that even the sound of individual heartbeats could be heard clearly.
If earlier everyone had only felt a chill, now they felt as if their souls had been frozen. This was the only thought in the minds of most people present.
This idiot, who appeared out of nowhere from some rural backwater, was dead for sure!
"Black... the Black Bulls..."
Many people in the arena noticed the emblem on the man's cape.
"That's... that's the emblem of the Magic Knight Squad Black Bulls."
"Black Bulls?! You mean that delinquent group with the worst achievements, the highest destructive power, and known as the 'Magic Knight Squad you least want to join'?!"
"Oh my god! Then this man... wouldn't he be..."
As if something had just dawned on them, the murmuring stopped abruptly.
Everyone's faces showed expressions of either terror or strangeness.
The Magic Knight Squads are the heroes who protect this country. But the Black Bulls are definitely an anomaly among heroes, even a negative example. Their merits often don't outweigh the destruction they cause. And their members are all eccentrics, problem children.
Yuno frowned, sensing the gravity of the situation.
That immense pressure made even him feel a tremor of fear. He instinctively wanted to step forward and pull Asta back. But hearing the people around him confirm that the other party was from a Magic Knight Squad, he forcibly suppressed the impulse.
In his opinion, even if a Magic Knight Squad member had a terrible temper, it was impossible for them to kill an unarmed examinee in a formal setting like an entrance exam. It just wasn't logical.
However, Ryoma didn't think so. He secretly shook his head, Yuno was still too young.
Others might not, but the man in front of him, Yami Sukehiro, really would.
The captain of the Black Bulls, a man known as the "Destruction God," looked aged, crude, and unkempt.
He wouldn't care about other people's gazes or opinions, and he liked to invite strange fellows to join his squad.
However, Ryoma knew that this crisis was precisely Asta's greatest turning point.
It was this conflict that made him notice Asta, this anomaly without any mana in his body, and sparked some interest. This laid the most crucial seed for Asta's eventual joining of the Black Bulls.
So, Ryoma just stood quietly in place, with no intention of intervening.
He was like a spectator who already knew the entire plot, calmly enjoying the "famous scene" about to unfold before him.
"Huh?"
Yami slowly lowered his head, the cigarette butt at the corner of his lips trembling slightly with his words.
The displeasure on his face had condensed into tangible killing intent, and veins bulged on his forehead.
The next second.
He suddenly stretched out his large hand, fingers splayed, and grabbed Asta's entire head. He exerted force with one hand, lifting Asta straight off the ground, his feet dangling.
"Looks like you're ready to die."
Yami's five fingers, gripping Asta's head, began to slowly increase pressure.
Boom!
A wave of pressure even more terrifying than before instantly emanated from Yami.
Examinees who were closer began to sweat profusely on their foreheads under this pressure.
Only then did Yuno realize how naive his previous thoughts had been.
This man was serious!
"Ugh... Ow... My head's going to split open..."
Asta's feet were off the ground, kicking wildly in the air, as if he could feel his skull groaning under the unbearable pressure.
Just as Asta thought his head was about to be completely crushed—
"Found him, what are you doing here?"
A slightly frivolous male voice rang out, and then a blond man walked out from behind the crowd.
He was accompanied by a tall man, but that man kept his head down, exuding a gloomy aura, and muttering something incessantly.
These two were Finral Roulacase, the Spatial Magic user, and Gordon Agrippa, the Curse Magic user, both from the Black Bulls.
Ryoma's gaze instantly shifted from Yami and Asta, locking onto Finral, the Spatial Magic user.
He had always wanted to research Spatial and Temporal Magic.
A thought flashed through Ryoma's mind.
Should I find an opportunity to abduct this guy?
Then thoroughly "research" his grimoire, analyze the underlying principles of Spatial Magic...
This would definitely be of great benefit to his own magic system.
However, this thought was fleeting and immediately dismissed by Ryoma.
"I'm about to butcher this kid."
Yami didn't even glance at his squad members, still staring intently at Asta struggling in his hand.
"I'll give this guy ten more seconds to live." Yami's lips curled into a ferocious grin.
"Ten."
He began the death countdown.
Cold sweat instantly broke out on Finral's face. "You can't do that. How can a Magic Knight Squad captain kill an examinee?"
"Nine."
Most people in the arena just thought he was an ordinary Magic Knight Squad member and didn't realize he was the one known as the "Destruction God," Yami Sukehiro.
The air in the arena seemed to have solidified. Everyone held their breath, their hearts in their throats.
"Eight."
Yuno could no longer stand by idly. Powerful wind elemental magic began to gather around him, ready to act at any moment to save him.
"Seven."
A hand rested on Yuno's shoulder.
Ryoma shook his head, giving him a reassuring look.
He knew the time was almost up.
"Six."
"Five."
"Four."
...
Just as Yami was about to count to "one."
Bang!
Whoosh!
Pop!
Splendid magical fireworks suddenly exploded in the sky above the arena. The brilliant light announced the official start of this year's Magic Knights entrance exam.
Yami's counting stopped abruptly. He "tsk-ed," the displeasure on his face deepening a few more shades.
He let go.
Thud!
Asta fell back to the ground, clutching his head and gasping for breath.
"Consider yourself lucky, kid."
Yami spat the cigarette butt on the ground, crushed it with his foot, and turned to leave.
"Kid, cherish this life you got back."
He took Finral and Gordon and turned towards the stands.
However, just as he had walked a few steps, Yami suddenly stopped and sharply turned his head.
His keen, eagle-like gaze didn't fall on Asta, whom he had spared, nor on the magically powerful Yuno. Instead, it passed over the crowd and landed precisely on Ryoma.
Just now, the moment Finral had appeared, he had felt a fleeting... malice.
That malice was more like a researcher's gaze at an experimental subject—a detached inquiry and possessiveness.
Yami gave Ryoma a deep look. The young man with the silver-white grimoire had been overly calm from beginning to end. On his face, there was no fear, no shock, only a hint of curiosity.
Yami's lips suddenly curved into a meaningful smile. "Interesting."
(End of Chapter)
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