Noelle was anxious; after all, this was their teammate. She couldn't just watch idly as a teammate was injured or even killed!
"Of course not!"
Asta raised his sword and immediately rushed out. With his entry into the battle, Lotus of the Abyss, who had been fighting while retreating, was immediately pushed into a tight spot!
"What terrifying speed! How can he be even faster than the lightning boy? What kind of attribute magic is this? No, is this pure physical explosive power?"
Lotus of the Abyss watched the newly joined Asta in shock from within the black smoke. He couldn't imagine that in this day and age where magic was prevalent, someone would actually go to the trouble of training in taijutsu, which had limited growth potential?
And this wasn't even the most surprising part. What shocked him the most was what kind of freak the boy in front of him was! To have trained taijutsu to such a degree—this was power capable of threatening any Mage!
"I don't want your help!"
Luck glared fiercely at Asta with beast-like eyes. In his promise to his mother, he had vowed to defeat any strong enemy with his own power alone, so he didn't need partners!
"Do whatever you want, but by the same token, I will do whatever I want! So, as a companion, how could I possibly let you fight all alone!"
Asta's gaze was filled with unchangeable determination. Since he had decided to unravel Luck's inner knot, not even the Heavens could dissuade him!
Perhaps it was Asta's determined gaze that touched Luck, or perhaps it was Asta's resounding voice that touched him; regardless, Luck seemed to have suddenly grasped something, and the figures of the Black Bulls members flashed rapidly through his mind.
There was Captain Yami, who took care of them like an older brother next door; Magna, who was rowdy but very loyal; Finral, who hated war; Vanessa, who loved to drink; Charmy, who was a glutton; Gordon, who had no presence... and Asta and Noelle, who had just joined the Black Bulls family. Luck suddenly realized that even without his mother, he wasn't alone—he still had companions!
"Suddenly, it feels more interesting to fight together with everyone."
"It seems I've also learned that skill of Naruto's—using 'Talk no Jutsu' to reform the world."
Asta was rather pleased with himself. After all, this was his first time using 'Talk no Jutsu', and he hadn't expected it to be so effective—it had actually opened the troubled boy's heart all at once.
"Oh my, oh my, this is getting troublesome. To think they're going to join forces; it seems I'll have to use some real skills too."
Lotus of the Abyss frowned. As his grimoire flipped to a brand-new page, black smoke instantly swept across the entire battle area like a rushing black waterfall.
"Large-scale magic is really a headache."
Asta leaped backward, forming a pincer formation with Noelle and Luck that was capable of both offense and defense.
"Smoke Creation Magic: Fallen King's Smoke Prison!"
As Lotus of the Abyss's incantation fell, the thick black smoke had already surrounded Asta and the others. Lotus looked at this outcome with satisfaction. "You can't escape now, young people!"
"Are you that confident?"
"Gate of Opening!"
"Gate of Rest!"
Asta opened the first two gates, distributing the surging Chakra from within his body evenly across his legs, waist, hips, arms, and onto his demon-slayer sword. At the same time, he exerted force with his legs and unleashed a full-power strike!
"Swish!"
This sword strike, which seemed capable of tearing through space, fiercely dispersed the smoke screen, but the escape route was quickly blocked off again!
"You… you split open my Smoke Prison?"
Lotus of the Abyss widened his eyes, staring in astonishment at this shocking scene. Ever since he had started using this magic, there had never been any sign of it being broken through by an enemy. Although the gap was quickly healed by the thick smoke, it consumed a massive amount of magic power!
"Not bad."
Asta nodded. This Smoke Prison might seem inexhaustible, but as long as it was magic power cast by a person, there would eventually be a moment when it ran out. So… let's see whose endurance is greater!
"Swish!"
Asta exerted force with his legs, using the rotation of his waist and hips, and swung his arm for another full-power strike. This time, he also split the thick smoke screen, creating a gap of about fifteen meters!
"Is this kid a monster! This magic already consumes magic power, and now, with him slashing like this, the magic needed to maintain the Smoke Prison is like a bottomless pit!"
Lotus of the Abyss was extremely frustrated. Originally, his magic power was enough to exhaust these three young people to death, but he clearly hadn't expected Asta to be such a freak—to have actually forced his way through his Smoke Prison with nothing but his own strength and a sword!
"Swish!"
Asta exerted force again. The strength of this strike also tore open a gap. Although the black smoke healed again immediately, the speed of healing this time was significantly slower than the previous two times. It was clearly having a great effect!
"I don't believe he can keep slashing forever!"
Lotus of the Abyss wiped the sweat from his forehead. His mana was being consumed at a frantic rate, as if someone had slashed his main artery. However, he didn't believe Asta could keep swinging with that level of power indefinitely. Now, it was a battle of will—to see who would collapse first!
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