The "Sacrifice" forbidden art was no ordinary spell.
It wasn't something that could be undone just by being grazed by the Demon-Slayer Sword.
To erase it completely, the pure anti-magic within Asta's body had to continuously scour and overwrite the Evil Eye mark, washing it away layer by layer until the forbidden art was fully destroyed.
With Asta under the Witch Queen's control, anti-magic was leaking freely.
Anyone struck by him during this process would inevitably be contaminated by anti-magic.
Of course, Yuuki could have waited until Asta fully mastered anti-magic and removed it later.
But—
When one's life was involved, Yuuki had no intention of delaying.
Who knew what variables the future might bring?
That feeling of having his life held in someone else's hands—
it was better to get rid of it as soon as possible.
That was precisely why Yuuki had deliberately allowed himself to be struck by the Demon-Slayer Sword.
"…They didn't pursue."
Lying at the bottom of the crater, Yuuki frowned slightly, his perception fully unleashed.
Sensing that neither Asta nor the Witch Queen had followed up with another attack, he finally relaxed.
Then—
The pain came crashing in like a tidal wave.
His left shoulder throbbed violently.
Sweat beaded across Yuuki's forehead. Compared to the pain, what mattered most now was purging the anti-magic inside his body.
To be honest, this method was extremely risky.
Once contaminated by anti-magic, the mana within Yuuki's body began draining at a terrifying speed.
In just a short span of time, his overall condition weakened drastically.
This situation was incredibly dangerous.
In the anime, Ladros of the Eight Shining Generals had suffered something similar. When pierced by Asta's sword, his mana rapidly drained, leaving him so weak he could barely stand.
And that had been before Asta was controlled by the Witch Queen and fully unleashed anti-magic.
Ladros had merely been stabbed by a blade tainted with anti-magic.
Yuuki, on the other hand, had anti-magic directly flooding into his body.
Naturally, his condition was even worse.
But—
Yuuki was not Ladros.
His mana reserves were far greater, and even in his current weakened state, he still retained some capacity to resist.
More importantly, since he dared to take such a risk, he had prepared for it.
His right hand had been gripping the magic tool Barrier Hourglass the entire time.
If the Witch Queen had decided to pursue him, Yuuki would not have hesitated to retreat into the barrier to recover.
Fortunately, that contingency wasn't needed.
In fact, he had Salamander to thank for that.
When the fire spirit's presence vanished completely, a severed arm alone wasn't enough to prompt the Witch Queen to finish him off.
Under Yuuki's control, black, flame-like anti-magic began seeping out of the massive wound on his left shoulder—slowly weakening, then dispersing.
"…It worked."
Yuuki's tightly shut eyes snapped open.
The frailty clinging to his body vanished in an instant, and a faint red glint flashed through his gaze.
Crunch.
Broken branches snapped beneath his feet as Yuuki braced himself against a shattered tree and climbed out of the crater.
He took a deep breath.
"Good thing I learned how to use qi. Otherwise, getting rid of anti-magic this quickly would've been a real problem."
His face was deathly pale—clear evidence of severe blood loss.
Qi was different from anti-magic. It wasn't suppressed by it.
If Asta could control the flow of anti-magic by guiding qi, then Yuuki could do the same—
using qi to gather the invading anti-magic at the wound and expel it in one go.
Yuuki glanced at his left shoulder.
Seeing the horrific, torn wound, the corner of his eye twitched.
That bastard Asta… he really didn't hold back.
No—
to be precise, it was the Witch Queen.
Whoosh—
As Yuuki's mana stabilized, sparks of crimson flame appeared in midair around him, rapidly gathering.
On the other side—
The Witch Queen's calm eyes rippled once more as she stared at the dark-red cat formed from Vanessa's grimoire.
"So… you've finally discovered the power to manipulate fate."
She looked at the tear-streaked, dazed Vanessa and murmured softly.
Even with her restrained tone, the excitement in her voice was impossible to hide.
She had waited far too long to obtain Vanessa's power over fate.
Vanessa's previous escape from the Witch's Forest had only been possible because the Witch Queen had deliberately allowed it.
Because in her divination, Vanessa's return would bring her new power.
And just as foretold—
Vanessa had brought her the Demon-Slayer Sword, a blade that rejected all magic.
What the Witch Queen hadn't expected…
was that Vanessa would awaken Fate Magic in the process.
A joy upon joy.
"Then let me see it," the Witch Queen said with a smile, lifting a slender finger painted black.
Asta, eyes rolled white, instantly raised the Demon-Slayer Sword overhead.
"No—!" Vanessa cried out.
Swish!
The dark-red cat leapt, appearing before Asta in an instant.
It gently placed a paw against the bulging muscle of his arm.
Then it landed lightly on the ground and began licking its paw, looking no different from an ordinary cat.
As the controller of the blood magic, the Witch Queen should have sensed any change immediately.
Yet—
After the cat's touch, nothing changed.
The Witch Queen's pleased expression faded.
"Just a brush… and nothing happened?"
"As expected—still an incomplete Fate Magic."
Disappointment flickered through her narrowed eyes before being replaced once more by icy calm.
"Regret your sins—
for daring to defile the Witch Queen!"
She clenched her fist.
Boom!
Asta swung the Demon-Slayer Sword down without hesitation.
Noelle screamed, her face drained of color—
Under everyone's gaze, she was split cleanly in two, blood spraying skyward.
But the next instant—
Reality blurred.
When everyone looked again, Noelle was still bound to the blood-red cross, completely unharmed.
Asta remained frozen, sword still raised.
"I said—regret—"
The Witch Queen lifted her hand again, about to repeat the command—
Then she froze.
I already said those words before.
Her pupils dilated as realization struck.
Asta swung again.
This time, the sword didn't touch Noelle at all—instead, it cleaved the blood-red cross apart, freeing her.
The Witch Queen staggered slightly, shock flashing across her face.
Once was coincidence.
Twice was not.
"This is…?"
Her gaze snapped toward Finral.
In the next moment, Asta appeared before him and brought the sword down.
Finral barely had time to react before realizing—
He wasn't hurt.
Instead, his bindings shattered.
The Witch Queen's eyes gleamed.
What if he attacks the cat?
Asta turned, slashing diagonally toward the dark-red cat.
The blade passed straight through it.
The cat didn't vanish.
Where the sword passed through, it dispersed like mist—then instantly reformed, completely unharmed.
"This magic… this magic…!"
The Witch Queen's excitement surged once more.
Then—
BOOM!
A thunderous explosion erupted from the forest behind them.
Towering flames twisted into a blazing tornado, forming a scorching storm before compressing inward.
Whoosh!
A mass of fire shot into the sky and, in a single breath, arrived at the spot where Yuuki's arm had fallen.
The Witch Queen turned toward it, her excitement cooling.
"So… you're not dead."
The flames receded, revealing Yuuki.
Vanessa, Noelle, and Finral felt hope surge back into their chests the moment they saw him.
Though Fate Magic had protected them, even Vanessa knew—
Each use drained her mana at an alarming rate.
A few more times, and she wouldn't last.
"That slash earlier really hurt, Witch Queen."
Yuuki rolled his neck, reached down, and picked up his severed arm.
Clenching his hand—
Flames poured forth, reducing the arm to ash that scattered into the air.
The intense heat finally overwhelmed the already battered mask.
Crack—
The mask shattered.
Yuuki's calm, composed face was revealed before the Black Bulls.
Vanessa, Noelle, and Finral stared—eyes wide in disbelief.
"T-that's… my eyes aren't lying, right? He's the guy from the tavern—!"
Finral stammered, utterly shaken.
He suddenly remembered Yami's order to monitor the tavern—
a task he'd long since abandoned.
Vanessa's eyes widened in realization.
"So… that's why. That's why he helped us."
Noelle stared blankly, then whispered—
"Yuuki…"
Yuuki turned toward them and smiled lightly.
"Long time no see, Black Bulls."
At those words, there was no longer any doubt.
The man before them was Yuuki.
Before they could ask their countless questions—
Crimson flames engulfed Yuuki's body.
"Flame Recovery Magic — Phoenix Robe."
He spoke calmly.
Flesh rapidly regenerated.
Within two breaths, his severed arm was fully restored.
For the first time, the Witch Queen's expression truly changed.
No healing magic should be capable of regenerating a lost limb.
Yuuki flexed his arm casually, ignoring their stunned gazes.
Revealing his identity had been intentional.
With Salamander at his side, exposure was inevitable the moment he returned to the Clover Kingdom.
Better to seize the initiative.
The Black Bulls were simply the stones he cast ahead—to gauge the Magic Knights' reaction.
He looked at Asta and shook his head.
"Honestly… getting controlled like this is embarrassing."
"If Yuno knew, he'd never let you hear the end of it."
(End of Chapter)
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