Whoosh—! Whoosh—!
A razor-sharp current of air rippled outward from Wind Spirit Sylph's body. Within that gale were countless tiny, piercing wind blades that surged straight toward Yuuki.
Wherever they passed, even the air itself was shredded apart, producing a low, mosquito-like buzzing hum!
Yuuki released Yuno's grimoire at once and retreated rapidly backward.
"Spatial Magic!"
His expression turned grave. While retreating, Yuuki opened spatial gateways with a wave of his hand, redirecting all of the magic Sylph had unleashed to somewhere else entirely.
Fortunately, with his mastery of Spatial Magic, using it had become second nature.
But before he could even breathe a sigh of relief—
An astonishing wave of mana surged in from the front. In that instant, the natural mana in the air completely erupted, wildly converging toward Sylph's position.
The entire hall of the Magic Knights' headquarters was torn apart by the incoming airflow, blown into chaos!
Sensing that all-too-familiar, terrifying fluctuation of power—
Yuuki looked up.
He saw Sylph ahead, her small body slightly hunched as she drew in a deep breath.
That single motion made Yuuki's eyelid twitch.
Boom!
"Bad guy."
Sylph showed no mercy as she exhaled toward Yuuki.
Spirit Magic — Sylph's Breath!
A massive vortex of wind mana came crashing forward. At the same time, the surrounding air was dragged along by the spell, forming an inwardly collapsing pressure field.
Yuuki could clearly feel it—
As the spell advanced, the airflow inside the hall instead became a form of restraint, making it impossible for him to easily escape his position.
"This is getting troublesome."
Yuuki's gaze darkened.
He hadn't expected that even with the host unconscious, an elemental spirit could not only act independently—but also unleash full-fledged spirit magic.
A different kind of lifeform?
Thinking of the Heart Kingdom princess's water spirit, Undine, with her vivid personality and intelligence—
It was clear that elemental spirits could not be treated as mere appendages of mages.
Shua—!
This time, Yuuki did not attempt to redirect the attack with Spatial Magic.
The power of spirit magic far exceeded that of ordinary spells—
Spatial Magic might not be able to transfer an attack of this magnitude!
That said—
Yuuki wasn't worried in the slightest.
He raised the Demon-Destroyer Sword in his hand, the tip of the blade colliding head-on with the massive wind vortex!
Rumble—!
A deafening roar exploded through the hall.
The Demon-Destroyer Sword trembled slightly in Yuuki's grip, yet Sylph's attack could not advance even a single step further.
The gigantic, spinning mass of wind slammed continuously against the sword's tip, sparks flying in all directions!
At that point, the sword tip was like an indestructible wall, completely blocking the terrifying spirit magic.
And not just that—
Sylph's Breath visibly began to shrink, being absorbed into the Demon-Destroyer Sword at a speed discernible to the naked eye!
Three breaths later—
The spirit magic had been completely absorbed, dissipating without a trace.
The grooves along the Demon-Destroyer Sword began to flicker with a cyan glow, and a dense, astonishingly rich wind-attribute mana wrapped itself around the entire blade.
"What a waste."
Through his mask, Yuuki calmly gazed at Sylph, whose small face was filled with shock, and spoke in a low voice.
After unleashing a spirit magic spell, Sylph's once-clear form had already become somewhat translucent.
That sight stirred Yuuki's thoughts.
So even though elemental spirits could act on their own, without the support of a host, the power they could exert was ultimately limited.
The blade flipped!
Yuuki lifted the Demon-Destroyer Sword. With just that simple motion, the wind-attribute mana coiled around the blade swept out like an invisible edge, carving a massive gash straight across the hall floor.
"Slash!"
Yuuki swung at Sylph, and the Demon-Destroyer Sword immediately released the absorbed mana as a gigantic wind-attribute slash!
When launching the attack, Yuuki deliberately adjusted the angle upward, avoiding Yuno.
"You're not allowed to hurt Yuno!"
Sylph puffed out her cheeks in anger. Her tiny limbs flailed in the air as she spat out another breath!
With the second release of spirit magic, her body became even more faint and illusory.
Boom!
The two forces collided midair, unleashing yet another thunderous explosion. Because Yuuki had intentionally tilted the slash upward, the rampaging mana tore the entire roof off the Magic Knights' headquarters.
Thick dust and smoke engulfed the hall.
Now!
Yuuki's eyes sharpened. Using the smoke as cover, he stamped hard against the ground and charged forward. The earlier commotion had been far too loud—he had to act quickly.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, Yuuki was back beside Yuno.
At the same moment, Sylph noticed him. Just as she was about to move to stop him—
Yuuki tossed out an object the size of a fist.
Magic Tool — Barrier Hourglass!
The hourglass flipped in midair, releasing a radiant light that enveloped Sylph. In the next instant, the wind spirit vanished from the hall.
All that remained was the Barrier Hourglass, floating in midair and emitting a pale white glow.
"Finally dealt with."
Yuuki let out a breath. Without hesitation, he picked up the four-leaf clover grimoire and placed it atop his own silver grimoire to begin replication.
The Barrier Hourglass could pull any person or object it illuminated into an independent barrier space, isolating it from the outside world.
Five or six seconds later—
Yuuki had already completed the replication of the four-leaf clover grimoire. Without even pausing to savor the explosive growth of mana within his body, he tore out a page, converted it back into Yuno's grimoire, and placed it beside him.
Then Yuuki turned his head toward the Barrier Hourglass.
He saw—
A crack suddenly appear in the space where it floated. Accompanied by sharp crack, crack sounds, fissures spread densely outward in all directions.
Just as he thought!
A barrier couldn't restrain Wind Spirit Sylph. At her core, she wasn't a lifeform at all—but a manifestation of elemental power!
Seeing this, Yuuki didn't wait for Sylph to burst out of the barrier. He recalled the Barrier Hourglass, and with a flash, his figure vanished from the hall.
The next instant—
"That hateful guy!"
Sylph reappeared in fury. When she looked around and saw that Yuuki was already gone, she froze in place.
"Huh? Where did he go? Did he run away?"
Confusion appeared on her small face. She hurriedly turned to Yuno, and after confirming that he was unharmed, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
"Looks like I scared him off. I totally saved your life, you know—Yuno."
Sylph smiled proudly, then transformed into a gust of wind and slipped back into Yuno's four-leaf clover grimoire.
The massive explosion earlier also caused the unconscious Yuno to regain consciousness.
"Cough… cough…"
As soon as Yuno opened his eyes, he saw the Magic Knights' hall reduced to ruins. He coughed twice instinctively, confusion filling his gaze.
What… happened while I was unconscious?
That thought had just crossed his mind when darkness swam before his eyes. A powerful wave of exhaustion surged through him, and he promptly passed out again.
Elsewhere—
Yuuki donned his invisibility cloak once more and arrived at an unnoticed corner of the royal capital. The continuously swelling mana within his body flowed along his arm and into the Demon-Destroyer Sword.
This kept his mana presence at a stable level.
The clearly elevated upper limit of his mana told Yuuki one thing—
His magic capacity had officially reached the Second Domain.
(End of Chapter)
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