A suffocating stillness blanketed the battlefield.
The nauseating stench of decaying corpses, the metallic tang of blood, and the scorched smell left behind by lingering flames intertwined in the air, pressing down on everyone present.
Surrounded by the Eye of the Midnight Sun, Asta and the others were tense to the extreme.
The next instant—
Magic of differing attributes came crashing down all at once.
Asta, Leopold, and Noelle barely managed to withstand the barrage, the three of them forced back as the shockwaves rippled outward. The members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun couldn't help but show looks of surprise.
From the rooftop above, Yuuki watched the scene calmly, his gaze resting on the panting, exhausted Asta below. He shook his head lightly.
Asta was still too weak.
His combat strength relied almost entirely on his physical body and the Demon-Slayer Sword. Once fatigue set in, his fighting power dropped sharply.
As long as one avoided head-on clashes and maintained distance, Asta was nearly helpless. Most mages who lost to him did so because they underestimated him.
Only when Asta truly learned to wield anti-magic would his strength skyrocket.
"Hm?"
Yuuki's eyes suddenly narrowed.
He sensed an astonishing surge of magic power rapidly approaching this area.
Had the Magic Knight captains and members who were teleported away already returned?
No—
This magic power was immense, yet it carried the presence of only a single individual.
On the battlefield below—
"Impressive battle instincts. But this ends here."
One of the Eye of the Midnight Sun members spoke coldly as he looked at the still-resisting Asta.
After the brief exchange earlier, he had fully grasped Asta's limitations. Relying solely on a weapon that nullified magic was far from enough to withstand fast, relentless attacks.
"Wind Creation Magic — Piercing Tornado Needles!"
As his voice fell, countless spinning currents of air formed in front of him. In the next moment, slender tornado needles shot forth from each vortex at terrifying speed!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The piercing sounds tore through the air. The needles were so fast that neither Asta nor Leopold could react before they were already upon them!
Asta clenched the Demon-Slayer Sword, gritting his teeth as he tried to raise it in defense—but at best, he could block a single needle. The rest would be more than enough to pierce straight through his body.
"Too fast…!"
Leopold's eyes filled with unwillingness as he stared at the tornado needles flying toward him, utterly powerless.
Just as despair surged in their hearts—
Bang!
A black figure suddenly dropped from above, landing squarely in front of Asta and Leopold!
Several arcs of black blade light flashed.
Every single tornado needle—numerous and lightning-fast—was cleaved apart, dispersing harmlessly into the air!
"So… something this big happened, and there wasn't even a warning transmission from the capital?"
A lazy voice echoed out.
A rugged, powerfully built man with bulging muscles and a somewhat unkempt appearance stood before them.
The moment the members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun saw him, their pupils shrank.
"Captain Yami!"
"Why are you here?!"
After a brief moment of shock, Asta burst into excited shouts.
Huff—
Yami Sukehiro rested his katana on his shoulder, pulled the cigarette from his mouth with one hand, and exhaled a plume of smoke as he glanced at Asta and the others.
"When my squad's getting beaten this badly, the captain's gotta show his face."
"And besides, as a Magic Knight, showing up here is only natural."
His tone was still lazy, but the instant his eyes landed on Fuegoleon Vermillion—missing an arm, drenched in blood, and on the verge of death—his gaze turned razor-sharp.
'The roaring lion shall fall.'
That low, ominous voice echoed once more in Yami's mind.
An overwhelming surge of magic erupted from his body. Everyone nearby felt the air suddenly grow heavy, as if an invisible pressure had descended upon them all.
Too late.
Where were the other Magic Knight squads in the capital?
Something this serious had happened, yet not a single report had reached him. The capital had clearly been infiltrated.
Yami quickly assessed the situation and raised a hand, placing it on the trembling shoulder of the emotionally shaken Leopold.
"Leave the rest to me."
He spoke calmly before turning to face the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Feeling the crushing magic radiating from Yami, the expressions of the Eye members grew grave.
"Why is the Black Bulls' captain here…?"
Rades instinctively stepped back, his face darkening.
Yami's appearance was completely beyond everyone's expectations.
"What incredible magic power."
Sally pushed up the glasses on her nose, her scarlet eyes wide as she stared at Yami, letting out a low chuckle.
"This is troublesome. We should retreat immediately."
"If we keep fighting, we won't get out unscathed."
Valtos spoke up in warning as a spatial gate began to form beside him.
However—
Though Valtos was fast, Yami was faster.
Almost the instant the spatial gate appeared, Yami vanished from where he stood.
Boom!
Valtos didn't even have time to react before his body folded like a cooked shrimp, sent flying by a single kick. He slammed into the wall behind him and lost consciousness on the spot.
"So you're the one using Space Magic?"
Yami spoke coldly.
"My Finral sure took a beating because of you."
Unfortunately, the unconscious Valtos was in no state to hear him.
Seeing their Space Magic user taken out instantly, the expressions of the remaining Eye members changed drastically.
"Attack!"
With a roar, countless attacks were unleashed toward Yami all at once.
From above, Yuuki watched as Valtos was dealt with in an instant, the corner of his eye twitching.
So fast.
Even he could barely track Yami's movements just now. If he were in Valtos' position, he wouldn't have been able to dodge that kick either—his body simply wouldn't keep up.
As expected of a captain.
"Since Yami made it here, Finral must've already woken up."
Without Finral's Space Magic, Yami could never have rushed over from the Black Bulls' base this quickly.
Yami targeting Valtos first was likely not only to prevent the Eye of the Midnight Sun from escaping—but also to get revenge for Finral.
Thinking about how Valtos had unknowingly taken the blame for him, Yuuki blinked.
He could only hope that kick hadn't been too heavy.
"With Valtos out, these Eye of the Midnight Sun members won't be escaping."
"So… Licht, will you finally show yourself?"
Yuuki murmured softly, a hint of interest glimmering in his eyes.
The battle below ended even faster than Yuuki had expected.
Yami's strength was overwhelming.
He wrapped his naturally slow Dark Magic around his katana, then enhanced his own physical abilities with reinforcement magic—a textbook close-combat fighter.
With his terrifying reserves of magic power, Yami pushed self-enhancement to an absurd level.
None of the Eye members' attacks landed on him.
Instead, each casual strike from Yami was enough to knock them unconscious.
Among them all, only Sally—thanks to the peculiar nature of her magic and the experimental pseudo–magic tools she had developed—managed to last two exchanges against him.
"The gap is even larger than I thought."
Yuuki watched intently. This was his first time witnessing Yami fight firsthand.
Valtos, Sally, and the others were by no means weak, yet none of them could even last a few rounds against Yami.
A thoughtful expression appeared on Yuuki's face.
If he were down there facing Yami himself, the battle would be extraordinarily difficult—and defeat would only be a matter of time.
He wasn't afraid of captains who specialized in magic attacks. With the Demon-Destroyer Sword in hand, even if their magic power surpassed his, he could still hold out.
But against a pure brawler like Yami—
That was the real nightmare.
"Tch. Weak."
Yami slung his katana back onto his shoulder, glancing at the Eye of the Midnight Sun members he had all knocked unconscious.
"Didn't even get to loosen up."
(End of Chapter)
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