Yuuki walked through the thick fog.
All around him was nothing but white mist—so dense that even raising a hand and stretching it forward, he couldn't clearly see his own palm.
In fog like this, it was impossible to discern direction.
"Disrupts magic to a certain extent… and it should also block sound."
Yuuki studied the fog ahead of him, speaking softly as he analyzed it.
The village wasn't very large. Given Asta's loud, shout-filled fighting style, Yuuki should have been able to hear him by now. The fact that he couldn't meant this fog also had sound-insulating properties.
Although the dense fog made it impossible to tell which way was which, Yuuki never slowed his pace. His steps were steady as he continued forward in a single direction.
Tracking Magic — Observation.
With this spell active, Yuuki could clearly sense Noelle's position.
"Answer me! Why did you slaughter everyone in this village?!"
Asta's furious roar became faintly audible from ahead.
Yuuki halted his steps. He knew he was already very close to Asta and the others. At this point, he didn't advance any further. A smile curved beneath the mask covering his face.
All he needed to do now was wait for the fight to end.
He had no intention of charging in and interfering with their battle.
There were four members on the Eye of the Midnight Sun's side. The leader was a man named Heath. None of them were weak—each possessed strength on par with an official Magic Knight.
Heath, the ice magic user, was even stronger, capable of easily overwhelming Magna. If not for Asta's presence, the outcome of this battle would have been all but decided.
"This village lies in the Forsaken Realm, a place inhabited only by peasants. They're inferior beings who can barely use magic for anything beyond trivial daily tasks."
"They're no different from worthless beasts."
"I merely decided to dispose of the beasts that would waste my time."
A cold, indifferent voice drifted out from within the fog.
Yuuki stood there, lifting his chin slightly.
"Beasts, huh? That's textbook noble rhetoric."
"So it seems the Eye of the Midnight Sun doesn't consist solely of commoners and peasants filled with hatred toward the Clover Kingdom."
"There are also nobles dissatisfied with the current state of affairs."
"Well… that makes sense. Licht never truly intended to fix these systemic flaws or build a new nation."
Yuuki murmured quietly to himself.
Bang! Bang!
Asta's roar erupted again, followed by a series of violent explosions and thunderous impacts.
The battle had officially begun.
By listening to the sounds coming from ahead, Yuuki could roughly judge how the fight was progressing.
At the same time, no one inside the battlefield noticed—
White flowers began to sprout from the ground, one after another, swaying gently within the fog. A faint fragrance gradually spread through the air.
The clash of magic and Asta's shouting continued.
But the Eye of the Midnight Sun's offensive was steadily weakening. They were being pushed onto the defensive—an inevitable outcome.
After all, Asta's Anti-Magic was simply too broken.
Without prior knowledge or countermeasures, suffering losses was unavoidable.
Before long—
A fiery explosion rang out, and the thunderous sounds finally came to a halt.
The thick fog that had enveloped the entire village began to dissipate. With the caster defeated, the spell could no longer be sustained.
Yuuki, who had been waiting in place, opened his half-closed eyes. A sharp gleam flashed within them.
"Letting only you get away won't do."
He spotted a stream of water bursting forward from ahead, racing toward the outskirts of the village in an attempt to escape.
Yuuki moved.
In an instant, he shot forward.
In the original course of events, one of the four—a water magic user—had successfully escaped. Yuuki had been waiting outside not only for the battle to end, but specifically to prevent this very outcome.
A mage with strength on par with an official Magic Knight wasn't easy to come by.
Any one of them could bring Yuuki tremendous gains. Letting one escape was unthinkable.
Since he was already here—
They were all staying.
If the opponent were in peak condition, capturing them alive would have required either a sneak attack or immediately binding them with chain magic—otherwise, it would take considerable effort.
But now, with their magic nearly exhausted—
Capturing them would be easy.
---
At the center of the village.
"Damn it! One of them got away!"
Magna shouted unwillingly as he watched the enemy mage break free of his bindings and escape.
His own magic was nearly depleted. He had no strength left to give chase.
"What were you doing? You let your guard down at the very end!"
Noelle let out a deep breath of relief. Still, she deliberately put on a composed expression and spoke with mild dissatisfaction.
"So annoying. I'm your senior, you know."
Magna snapped back irritably.
Splash—
At that moment, the water curtain protecting the villagers began to fade. As Noelle relaxed, her magic became unstable.
"You've still got a long way to go, Lady Noelle!"
Magna burst out laughing, loudly retorting in triumph.
Noelle snorted, flicking her silver twin-tails as she turned away. Her thoughts drifted back to her recent training.
Your control over magic has improved somewhat, but it's still terrible.
Don't rush into developing offensive spells. Since your control is poor, prioritize defensive magic—it demands much less precision.
Yuuki's lazy, bored expression resurfaced vividly in her mind, accompanied by a yawn.
"…That guy was right."
Noelle thought to herself.
"Even a peasant beat you, you bastard!"
Asta let out a triumphant roar before plopping down onto the ground.
Seeing him, Magna grinned, lifting his head to watch the fog above the village grow thinner and thinner.
"No matter what, we won. And the villagers are safe."
Magna sat down heavily as well, smiling broadly.
"Hey… don't you smell something? Like flowers?"
Noelle looked at Asta and Magna on the ground. Her slender brows knit together as a hint of surprise appeared on her tsundere expression.
"Flowers?"
Asta sniffed hard.
"Yeah… I think I do."
Unlike the inexperienced Noelle and Asta, Magna's relaxed expression instantly changed.
"Did this village even have flowers like that?"
He sprang to his feet, face tense, glancing at the rescued villagers before pointing toward a few white flowers blooming not far away.
(End of Chapter)
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