Boom! Boom… Boom!
Deafening explosions, pillars of fire shooting into the sky, and unending screams of terror echoed from different corners of the royal capital.
In barely a few moments, panic had already spread like a suffocating cloud over the city.
Atop a towering spire, Yuuki stood at its highest point, shrouded in an Invisibility Cloak, calmly overlooking a royal capital that had fallen into complete chaos.
"It got lively all at once. Rades really prepared quite a number of corpses… hmm? There are even some beasts mixed in. Looks like he actually took some of what I said to heart."
Yuuki folded his arms across his chest, gazing into the distance as he muttered softly.
Compared to ordinary human corpses, thick-skinned, resilient beasts were far more suitable as expendable resources. In Yuuki's eyes, Rades's earlier habit of using only corpses had felt less like strategy and more like venting his anger.
His gaze swept across the city in several directions.
Although the undead forces under Rades's control appeared scattered, Yuuki could tell that they were in fact centered around five distinct areas.
Those five locations were precisely where they had previously inscribed the teleportation magic arrays.
As a direct participant, Yuuki found nothing unexpected about the Eye of the Midnight Sun's movements. What truly surprised—and intrigued—him was something he noticed through his spatial perception.
Noelle was currently inside the royal capital.
If Noelle was here, then Asta should be here as well.
"But the timing was clearly moved up…"
Yuuki's eyes flickered as he pondered.
Under normal circumstances, the invasion of the royal capital was supposed to take place one week after the Dungeon incident. Because of Yuuki's involvement, however, the entire operation had been advanced by a full two days.
Those two days were no small difference.
Originally, the invasion coincided with the Magic Knights' merit award ceremony. The Wizard King had invited both Asta and Yuno to the Knights' Headquarters under the pretext of questioning them about the dungeon—and conveniently had them attend the ceremony as well.
But now—
Noelle's location was firmly within the royal capital.
Did that mean the award ceremony had also been moved up?
Yuuki's expression darkened slightly, uncertainty flickering in his eyes.
His first thought was that this was the Wizard King's doing, but after considering it carefully, he dismissed the idea. As long as Yuuki himself didn't intervene, there was currently no one in the capital capable of stopping Licht.
There was simply no need for the Wizard King to deliberately cooperate.
That left only one explanation.
Licht himself.
After all, he still held the identity of the Golden Dawn's captain.
"So that's why the plan could be advanced on a whim," Yuuki murmured softly. "Looks like he already had alternative arrangements prepared."
Thinking about it, that was only natural. Making a move against a Magic Knight captain without airtight preparations would've been reckless.
For Licht, the only true obstacle was the Wizard King—and even in the original events, he had found a way to lure him away. Doing so again now wouldn't be difficult.
"Unexpected, sure—but how this invasion will actually unfold is still anyone's guess."
Yuuki let out a soft chuckle as his thoughts settled.
Suddenly—
His expression sharpened as several powerful waves of magic erupted across the capital.
"So the captains are finally moving. In that case… it's my turn as well."
Whoosh!
Yuuki kicked off the spire and leapt into the air, rapidly bounding toward an even higher vantage point. He needed to confirm who was stationed in each zone to plan his next moves accordingly.
—
Meanwhile, in front of the tavern—
Mariella, disguised as Yuuki, swiftly struck down the approaching undead while rescuing civilians at the same time.
Before long, nearly ten people had gathered inside the tavern.
"That's incredible…"
"Those monsters were taken down so easily…"
"..."
The rescued townsfolk stared at Mariella's agile figure outside, voices filled with awe. With someone this strong protecting them, their fear finally eased.
Rebecca, however, was the exception.
Unlike the others, she clasped her hands at her chest, her face tense with worry as she whispered prayers under her breath.
—
At this time, Yuuki had already reached a high point with a wide field of view.
"The massive, icy magic in the center… that should be Nozel of the Silver Eagles."
"That blazing, violent magic belongs to Fuegoleon of the Crimson Lion Kings. If I'm not mistaken, Asta and Noelle should be over there."
"And that other immense presence—most likely Charlotte of the Blue Rose Knights. The remaining two areas should be the Golden Dawn members… and Yuno's side."
Standing at his vantage point, Yuuki still couldn't see everything clearly, but reading the fluctuations of magic was enough.
Especially where the captains were concerned—even without going all out, the residual pressure from their magic was astonishing.
"As expected, only these three captains are stationed in the capital for now. Everything's nearly identical to the original timeline. Licht really is cautious."
Yuuki murmured quietly, vigilance still evident in his expression.
Aside from Asta and Noelle, he had yet to sense any other members of the Black Bulls—let alone Yami.
At least within his perception, there was no other overwhelmingly powerful presence. And with Yami's personality, he wouldn't bother hiding it.
"Did he really not take the prophecy seriously? No… that doesn't feel right."
Yuuki shook his head slightly. Despite Yami's rough, lazy demeanor, he was far more perceptive than he let on.
"Oh?"
Suddenly, Yuuki's lips curled upward.
He had spotted a familiar figure with blond hair.
—
On a street not too far away—
Finral cautiously peeked out from behind an overturned carriage that had been thrown into the road. His face was pale as he scanned his surroundings.
After confirming that no grotesque corpses were nearby, he finally let out a shaky breath.
"What the hell is going on…? The royal capital actually got invaded?!"
Finral's expression twisted in fear and disbelief.
He'd been planning to go on a date with a girl he'd exchanged contact information with earlier. The date never happened—and instead, he'd run straight into this nightmare.
Recently, because of the mysterious communicator magic used by that unknown individual, Captain Yami hadn't assigned him any missions. Instead, Finral had been told to frequently visit the royal capital and report anything unusual.
In Finral's eyes, that was basically paid vacation. He never believed anyone would actually dare attack the capital.
"No—this is bad. I have to inform the captain right now!"
Swallowing hard, Finral quickly waved his hand and opened a spatial gate, preparing to return to the Black Bulls' base.
A silver spatial portal opened in midair.
Just as it expanded to about the size of a basketball, its edges suddenly began to tremble violently.
Crack!
Before Finral could even react, the portal shattered into fragments and dispersed on the spot.
"What—what just happened?!"
Finral froze, his voice filled with shock.
He'd used spatial magic to rescue a few people earlier, but his magic power definitely wasn't depleted enough to fail a teleport.
Someone had blocked his spatial magic.
Alarm surged through him as he frantically looked around.
The street was eerily quiet—no movement, no sound.
And instead of feeling relieved, cold sweat began to bead on Finral's forehead.
Whoever had forcibly disrupted his magic had to be a spatial mage as well.
Finral's expression turned grim, his heart pounding. He had no offensive capabilities whatsoever—and his enemy was clearly one of the invaders.
Bang!
Finral spun around and bolted, sprinting with everything he had. He'd never run this fast in his life.
Damn it—this is just my luck!
All I wanted was to go on a date!
Even as he ran, Finral desperately tried to open another spatial gate—
Only for it to be disrupted again.
Panic flooded him.
That meant the hidden mage was very close.
Thud!
The moment that thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain exploded beneath his ribs.
The next instant, a tremendous force sent him flying sideways. His body slammed into a nearby wall with a dull, heavy impact.
"Cough—! It hurts… it hurts so bad…"
Finral spat out a mouthful of blood as agony surged through him.
The pain beneath his ribs made his heart feel like it was being crushed. Tears welled up uncontrollably, blurring his vision.
"D-damn it… A sneak attack…!"
Fear and frustration twisted across Finral's face.
What made it even worse—
He still hadn't even seen who attacked him.
(End of Chapter)
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