Yuuki held the red grimoire and stared at Meath, who had been thrown onto the grass earlier. A sudden smile appeared on his face.
"Nobleman, how long are you going to keep playing dead?"
Meath remained motionless, lying face down on the ground.
"Don't worry, it's just you and me here."
Yuuki said this with a gentle smile.
Bang!
The previously motionless Meath suddenly scrambled to his feet and turned to run in the opposite direction.
Seeing this, Yuuki shook his head.
Magic-Binding Iron Chain Formation!
Clack, clack, clack—
Several chains shot up from the ground, instantly binding the fleeing Meath in place.
"My grimoire is in my hands. How could you possibly think you could escape?"
Yuuki said, a hint of exasperation in his voice.
"Let me go! Let me go!"
"You little insect, I am a noble!"
Despair painted Meath's face as he screamed wildly.
"This place is deep in the forest; no one comes here. Shout all you want, it won't help."
Yuuki's tone remained calm and almost kind.
"My money—I'll give you all the money you want! Please, just let me go!"
"I'm a noble. If I disappear, my family will never forgive you!"
Meath struggled desperately, alternating between pleading, begging, and threatening. He seemed on the verge of breaking down.
Yuuki picked up Meath's red grimoire and, without hesitation, placed it on top of his own silver grimoire.
"When did you think I'd be afraid of such threats?"
"Quiet. Let's do a little experiment first."
He raised his hand, and a chain immediately sealed Meath's shouting mouth.
"Mm… mm…" Meath's face contorted with fear, and all he could do was make muffled sounds.
"Much better," Yuuki murmured.
He lowered his gaze to the two grimoires stacked in his hands, a serious expression crossing his face.
"Complete Replication!"
Whoosh!
Silver magic surged from Yuuki's grimoire, instantly enveloping Meath's red grimoire, just as it had during previous spell replications.
But the next moment…
The red grimoire began to melt, as if it were liquid, rapidly absorbed into the silver grimoire.
This astonishing sight caused Meath's muffled cries to stop mid-sound. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief.
Within a few seconds, the red grimoire was completely absorbed.
Yuuki felt a jolt in his mind; his vision momentarily spun. When it cleared, he saw an incredible sight.
Where Meath had been, a fully transparent, ethereal body identical to him appeared.
What is this?
Yuuki was stunned. Before he could comprehend it, his perspective shifted—and he saw himself.
Yes!
Yuuki saw himself, as if a strange third-person viewpoint had appeared out of nowhere.
However, this wasn't his physical body in reality, but another ethereal body identical to his own.
Could this be… a soul?
Yuuki's eyes widened in disbelief. His Complete Replication ability could even affect souls?
Wait—something's different.
Yuuki suddenly realized that his soul and Meath's soul were not the same!
Meath's soul looked extremely ethereal and transparent, hazy and indistinct. Most importantly, at the center of Meath's soul was a red, fist-sized sphere of energy.
Compared to the rest of his hazy soul, this red energy was strikingly vivid.
From it, Yuuki sensed a scorching aura — the power of Meath's fire magic.
He had known from the start that in the world of Black Clover, a mage's magic was inherently linked to their soul.
How exactly the connection worked, Yuuki did not know.
But now, seeing the fist-sized red energy within Meath's soul, he had an insight: Meath's fire magic was connected to this hidden red energy at the core of his soul.
This must be what they call the Source of Mana!
But his soul was completely different from Meath's.
If Meath's soul was ethereal and transparent, Yuuki's was solid and clear. That alone would have been enough to mark a difference, but the true distinction lay deeper.
Yuuki's soul contained nothing resembling a Source of Mana. Not only that—it was empty, yet the entire soul radiated a faint silver hue.
This stark contrast left Yuuki puzzled and slightly bewildered.
No Source of Mana—then how had he obtained Replication Magic?
He gazed at his faintly silver soul, thoughtful. Yuuki was not one to obsess over small details.
Since he couldn't figure it out, he decided to put the question aside for the time being.
Yuuki's attention returned to his silver-hued soul.
Suddenly, a faint silver light swept from his soul over Meath's. Then, within Yuuki's soul, a surge of energy began to form.
The energy grew rapidly, almost like a one-to-one print, transforming into a Source of Mana identical to the red energy within Meath's soul.
Though the process seemed slow, it happened in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, a fist-sized red Source of Mana appeared in Yuuki's soul.
In a daze, Yuuki withdrew from the unusual third-person perspective and looked forward again. Meath was still staring at him in shock, clearly stunned that his grimoire had been completely absorbed.
Yuuki's gaze flickered slightly at the sight.
That earlier third-person perspective had been a glimpse into a unique spiritual realm—one Meath could not perceive.
Moreover, although Yuuki had felt he was observing the differences between their two souls for quite some time, in the outside world, only an instant had passed.
Flap, flap—
The silver grimoire floating before him suddenly opened, flipping rapidly to the final page.
And there it was.
Where there should have only been four pages, a fifth page had appeared, filled with an array of strange magical script. Slowly, the words faded back into the page itself.
Magic:
Wind Magic — Tower of the StormSpatial Magic — Spatial TeleportationSpatial Magic — Pocket DimensionChain Magic — Magic-Binding Iron Chain FormationFire Magic
With Fire Magic appearing on the new page, Yuuki suddenly felt an entirely new surge of magical energy flowing through him. His mana was increasing—boiling, rising within him.
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