Yuno was wrapped in surging wind-element mana as he descended rapidly from the air, landing lightly on the ground. He looked at Asta and gave him a faint smile.
The four-leaf grimoire holder of the Golden Dawn?
Seeing Yuno appear so suddenly, Finral instinctively felt wary—until he suddenly remembered that Yuno came from the same village as Asta and Yuuki.
At that realization, Finral's expression turned strange.
A remote backwater village… and three monsters came out of it?
"Yuno! Why are you here?" Asta asked, surprise replacing his initial excitement.
Yuno first glanced toward the center of Leon Town, where terrifying waves of mana were erupting again and again. His expression grew serious before he turned back to Asta.
"I sensed something happening here."
"Yuuki, he—" Asta began anxiously.
Thump!
Noelle punched Asta on the head, then lowered her voice while giving Yuno a guarded look.
"Captain Yami told us—Yuuki's situation isn't something we can talk about openly yet."
Only then did Asta realize his mistake and hurriedly shut his mouth.
Unfortunately, his overly obvious attempt at silence only earned helpless looks from Noelle and Finral.
"I already know about Yuuki being part of the Eye of the Midnight Sun," Yuno said calmly, his expression unchanged.
"Huh?!"
Noelle snapped her head up, her silver ponytail swinging as she stared at Yuno in shock.
Among all the Magic Knight squads, the Black Bulls knew the most about Yuuki—after all, he had saved them several times and even passed along critical intelligence about the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
That alone made Yuuki's situation extremely complicated—far beyond what a single squad could decide.
As for the information from the Witch's Forest, only the kingdom's upper echelons knew about it, and even they had kept things quiet due to the danger posed by the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
"…Mimosa?" Noelle suddenly asked.
Only royals had access to that level of information—and Mimosa was on the same squad as Yuno. That would explain it.
"Captain Nozel of the Silver Eagles, Captain Jack of the Green Mantis…"
Yuno didn't answer her directly. His gaze remained fixed on the town center as he spoke.
"Are the ones fighting them Yuuki's companions?"
"Yes—there should be one more," Asta said, growing animated.
"I didn't expect Yuuki to find companions this strong!"
Back when they fought the elf Fana, Asta had briefly encountered Mariella and the others. Even though they were masked at the time, he could recognize them by their magic.
"You fought Yuuki in the Witch's Forest, didn't you?" Yuno suddenly asked, curiosity flickering in his eyes.
"How was he?"
"I was controlled by the Witch Queen…" Asta scratched his head awkwardly.
Instead of being disappointed, Yuno smiled.
"I knew it. Even if Yuuki never joined the Magic Knights, there's no way he'd fall behind."
"Don't worry," Yuno continued calmly.
"Yuuki has always planned ahead ever since we were kids. He definitely has his own way out of this situation."
Hearing that, Asta straightened up, his confidence returning.
"That jerk hid his strength from us the whole time! Just you wait—I'm definitely fighting him again!"
"And me too," Yuno added with a grin, his eyes burning as he looked toward the battlefield.
At the town's center, the fight had already reached a fever pitch. Although the two captains clearly held the advantage, Yuuki's companions were still holding their ground.
Which meant—
Yuuki's own strength could only be even more terrifying.
How could Yuno not be excited?
Seeing Asta now completely absorbed in the battle ahead—so different from his earlier panic—Noelle felt a wave of helplessness.
Still, after hearing Yuno's words, even her pale violet eyes relaxed slightly.
Leon Town — Battlefield
"Ice Magic — Shattered Ice Storm!"
Mariella shouted sharply.
A violent freezing wind swept outward, instantly forming a raging glacial storm. Razor-sharp ice fragments howled within it like feral beasts as they surged toward Jack.
"So fun!"
Jack laughed lowly, his eyes fully locking onto Mariella—she was no longer an opponent, but prey.
Boom!
Instead of retreating, Jack stomped forward and charged into the storm.
Slash—!
A green magic scythe extended from his arm, slicing forward. A crescent of green energy tore through the ice storm, splitting it apart!
Jack's slender figure burst through the shattered storm in an instant, appearing right in front of Mariella as he swung down cleanly!
Rip!
Cloth tore apart—but there was no body beneath it.
"Huh?"
Jack stood amid the freezing storm, surprise flashing across his face. That strike should have been unavoidable.
"Assassination…"
A faint voice echoed within the icy wind.
Crack!
Freezing mana erupted beneath Jack's feet, instantly sealing them to the ground with ice.
At the same time—
Countless shards of ice materialized around him, firing inward like bullets!
"Keh! Keh! If it ends this fast, it's no fun at all!"
Jack burst into shrill laughter. Dense green mana exploded from his body, forming a full mana skin.
The ice binding his feet shattered instantly!
Jack raised both arms, the scythes extending as he spun violently.
"Severing Magic — Death Scythe!"
Boom!
Every ice shard fired from all directions was smashed apart midair.
"If your ice magic is only this much," Jack sneered,
"then this fight is already over."
"I've found you!"
Jack abruptly halted and snapped his gaze upward.
His Severing Magic allowed him to instinctively alter his blades to counter any magic he encountered. In theory, given enough time, he could cut anything.
And after this brief exchange—
He could now sever any ice magic Mariella used.
The battle should have been decided.
High above—
Mariella, now shed of her black robe, revealed a dark, form-fitting outfit. Twin dagger-like ice blades gleamed in her hands as she plunged downward toward Jack.
"Looking to die?!"
Jack's eyes darkened. Attacking straight on—from the air, no less?
He swung his arm, unleashing a massive green slash.
But—
At the instant the attack should have struck, Mariella vanished.
"Wrong," Jack muttered.
"This isn't ice magic."
His narrow eyes gleamed.
Whoosh!
Wrapped in faint crimson spatial mana, Mariella appeared behind him, both ice daggers stabbing forward.
"Aerial Assassination Technique!"
Jack reacted instantly—his shoulders remained still, but his arm snapped backward.
Mariella vanished again.
With space magic reinforcing her movement, she began blinking around Jack at extreme speed.
In an instant, countless afterimages filled the air, surrounding him from every direction!
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Her twin ice blades collided relentlessly with Jack's green scythes, the impacts raining down like a storm.
This technique combined space magic with Mariella's assassination skills—requiring pre-arranged spatial anchors to allow for hyper-speed teleportation within a limited area.
The earlier ice magic had merely been preparation.
Bang—!
Blades and scythes clashed in a blur.
"Yes! That's it!"
"Fantastic! Space magic too? Faster! Faster!!"
Jack roared with exhilaration.
But for Mariella, this relentless assault was draining her mana and stamina at an alarming rate—
And Jack's counterattack made her heart sink.
Clink!
One of her ice daggers was knocked away.
Blood sprayed through the air.
Space magic flashed.
Mariella instantly disengaged, retreating to the ground and gasping for breath.
Drip… drip…
Bright red blood fell steadily from her left hand onto the shattered ground.
(End of Chapter)
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