He looked at Nacht and spoke with quiet urgency.
"I have a plan—but for it to work, all four of you will have to do exactly as I say."
"Four?" Noelle frowned. "There are only three of us."
"Do you hear it, unnamed demon?" El asked, turning his gaze to Asta's grimoire but there was no response.
El clapped his hands.
In an instant, a demon vanished from the distance and reappeared directly in front of an incoming Ice lance, intercepting it with its body. The lance shattered on impact—and the demon along with it.
The horde was closing in, Less than thirty seconds remained when the grimoire of Asta trembled a little.
"There are loose ends," El said calmly, "but I'll deal with them as we go. For now, do exactly as I say."
"We'll protect you until Lilith and Namaah make their move, but once they do, things will get messy. Nacht will remove the demon seal from Asta's grimoire in phases—just enough to keep him from losing control."
El turned to Noelle. "As for you, I have something else prepared. This should be enough to contend with high-ranking demons, especially after we thin their numbers."
He retrieved a white card and handed it to her.
"At my signal, pour your mana into it, I hope your future self is… Never mind."
Noelle accepted the card, gripping it tightly, confusion etched on her face.
"How do we deal with Lilith and Namaah?" Nacht asked.
"You need to hold back the incoming demons for one or two minutes," El replied. "Until I fully activate my ability."
"After that, I'll kill Lilith first," he continued without hesitation. "You keep Namaah occupied. If possible, drag him into the other dimension—and if you can, kill him. No matter what happens, don't let them get close enough to merge."
Nacht nodded understanding.
"Follow my instructions for the next twenty minutes," El said, handing a small green bean to Noelle and Asta, "and we will all return back safely."
"This can heal someone from the brink of death—restore all wounds and stamina within seconds. I only have two. Don't use them unless death is certain." El said because last night he has handed the 3rd Senzu bean to Dyad to cultivate, a decision he regretted now.
"Shouldn't you keep—" Asta began.
"Follow my instructions," El cut in sharply. "For the next twenty minutes."
A faint spark of hope appeared in their eyes.
"The time starts now."
El closed his eyes. The two cards in his grasp dissolved into fine particles, merging into his body.
He needed a durable sword for what came next, and a perfect treasure came to mind along with the S-Rank card of Escanor—both he had acquired after surviving a clash with Vanica.
[Xeni Coins Deducted: 5,000]
[Treasure Rank: S]
Name: Cursed Blade — Murasame
Ability: One-Cut Kill
Effect: A single cut injects a lethal curse into the victim's bloodstream, causing irreversible death. Striking the heart accelerates the curse.
Restrictions:
1) The curse activates slower on stronger opponents.
2) The blade grows stronger with each soul consumed; extended use corrodes the wielder's mind.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Permanent Activation Condition: Kill the strongest being on your planet using this blade.
The blade, dormant within El's sheath, began to glow faintly. Though it never touched them, Asta, Noelle, and Nacht could hear distant curses—screams leaking from within.
[Card Rank: A — 1 Free Use]
[Inherited Authority: Sun Breathing]
Original Bearer: Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Effect: Grants complete mastery of the Sun Breathing combat system, including all forms, breathing control, physical adaptation, and instinctive sword mastery. Provides extreme speed, precision, seamless combat flow, and a suppressive effect against demonic entities.
Limitation: Killing humans with this power permanently prevents the user from standing under sunlight.
Condition to Copy: Save 1,000,000 lives (0 / 1,000,000)
El's black hair lengthened, streaked with brown, as a burning mark carved itself into his forehead. His mind was assaulted by a torrent of unfamiliar knowledge, crashing into his thoughts all at once.
The first change was physical.
His breathing shifted on its own, settling into a precise, almost sacred rhythm. His stance adjusted instinctively, the way he held Murasame refining itself without conscious thought.
The moment his gaze fell on the demons lining the rails—and those seated upon the throne of bones—an overwhelming killing intent poured from him, dense enough to warp the air itself.
Stay in control, he told himself. It felt similar to what he'd experienced with Sukuna—but this conqueror didn't feel evil.
The conqueror's memories flooded his mind—swordsmanship, breathing, and a singular purpose: eradicate demons. The reason behind the hatred was absent, but the intent was absolute.
El knew he wouldn't retain most of the knowledge once the time limit ended. Only fragments would remain—memories shaped by what he did here.
The world peeled open before his eyes. Layers beneath skin and flesh revealed themselves. Mana flow, structural weaknesses—his vision had turned transparent.
While El processed the knowledge and adapted to the forms, Nacht entered Devil Union and moved to intercept the incoming wave.
Devil Union Mode: Walgner
Dark feathers wrapped around Nacht's body. A jester-like shroud formed as black wings tore free from his back, lifting him into the air. Asta and Noelle were pulled into his shadows, vanishing beneath him.
A thunderous shout echoed across the battlefield.
The charge of low- and mid-ranking demons halted instantly. Several collapsed unconscious where they stood. Others turned on one another, tearing into their own ranks in sudden madness.
Nacht slammed into the ground, merging with his shadow. From it, shadow wolves rose—dozens of them—materializing mid-motion before ripping into the horde, tearing through demonic ranks with brutal efficiency.
As the slaughter continued, Asta stayed close to El while Noelle provided long-range support, her water balls meeting its target this time.
By then, El had stabilized his grip.
Fifty percent of the fragments had been absorbed and turned into his own.
From the throne above, Namaah watched with amused interest.
"Do you recognize these demons, Lilith?"
Lilith laughed softly. "No, entertaining nevertheless."
The demons beside them shifted, restless.
"These lowest creatures aren't worth the fun," Lilith continued. "Go play with the weaklings they're protecting. He won't be able to defend against all of you."
At the command, Twenty high-ranking demons vanished from their positions, abandoning the lesser ones and reappearing around Nacht.
"Damn it, El… how much longer?" Nacht muttered as the pressure multiplied.
He kept shifting forms—attacking, dodging, hiding—appearing and disappearing between shadows, taking his opponents by surprise again and again. Still, the strain was visible. Even he was being pushed or so he pretended.
His shadow wolves kept the lower-ranked demons at bay as Asta guarded El with Anti-Magic, all three of them shielded by Noelle's Sea Cradle barrier.
"Vice Captain Natch, please undo the seal of my demon if it can help you!" Asta shouted but didn't hear any reply and another demon had branched the barrier which had weakened by the continuous assault of demons from outside only to be struck by asta and die.
Before the situation could spiral out of control the barrier vanished and a massive dragon of water surged across the battlefield, crashing into the group of higher ranked demons.
Two of them were devoured instantly; the rest were hurled back by the sheer force of the impact.
Noelle had acted, Without waiting for El's signal, she had activated the card.
Power settled into her body—controlled, experienced. Nacht recognized it immediately because he himself had used it before.
[5,000 Xeni Coins Used — One-Time Future Projection Card Purchased from Multiverse Record]
[Card Rank: A]
Spell:Future Projection
Original Ability Holder: Future Trunks
Effect: The soul of the user's future self temporarily inhabits their body, granting the skills, instincts, and combat experience they will gain within the next Six Month. During this time, the body moves with perfected mastery, as if guided by a future warrior. Once the effect ends, the soul departs, leaving only memories of the battle.
Duration: 15 minutes
Weakness:
The Multiverse Record Holder cannot use this card on himself, as it would break the balance and principles of the power system and each user may activate this card only once.
Condition to Make Permanent: Not Possible.
"What were you thinking?!" Nacht shouted. "El didn't give the signal!"
"There's no need to worry, Vice-Captain. It will be over before the time runs out," Noelle said, her tone resolute, sharpened by the mastery and control now etched into her thoughts.
"These newbies—" Nacht began.
"Let her be."
El's voice cut through the chaos.
They turned toward him.
He stood quietly, Murasame held firmly in both hands, drawing in the thin mana lingering in the air. His posture was steady.
His eyes held a dead calm Nacht had never seen before.
Absorbing the knowledge, El quickly realized that this Conqueror's world didn't possess mana arts and relied on no external source of power because every technique was rooted purely in physical mastery. However, in El's case, something was different—he possessed mana.
With the Conqueror's overwhelming knowledge flooding his mind, El began adapting the style on instinct, forging a new sword path of his own. Mana flowed naturally into his movements, reinforcing each strike without disrupting the original form.
The Conqueror's memories responded as if they had been waiting for this evolution, aligning with El's intent.
An unknown chill spread through the entire colosseum; only a quiet whisper of El's next words was heard by everyone.
"SUN BREATHING: THIRTEENTH FORM — ETERNAL SCORCHING SUN."
El spun three times, each simple motion concealing hundreds of precise, complex movements.
A thunderous whistling screamed across the arena as a brilliant line of sunlight tore from El's blade, ripping through the demons and splitting the colosseum in two.
It erased the standing demons in a blink turning them into dust, shattered bone and Ice wall alike, and did not stop until it carved through the demons seated high upon their thrones.
Then time flowed again.
Heads began to slide slowly from necks, confusion frozen across demonic faces. Some tried desperately to hold themselves together, forcing regeneration—but it didn't matter.
Bright flames burned along their wounds, suppressing regeneration. One by one, their bodies crumbled into dust.
The highest-ranking demon, Lilith—his target—had conjured a thick wall of ice which crumbled revealing them unscathed.
"This won't be easy." El said.
"Do you really need our help fighting these demons?" Noelle asked.
"Whoa… he's so strong," Asta muttered. "I didn't realize it back during the Magic Knight Exam."
"Did he even fight us yesterday?" Noelle added, recalling all the tricks he had played.
"The real fight starts now," El said, looking up at the demons above, who were laughing wildly as they rose from their seats.
The arena suddenly shifted and collapsed outward, exposing the battlefield beyond. As it fell away, more demons poured in from outside, swarming toward the opening. Not all of them had been defeated—nearly eight high-ranking demons were still alive, having survived by taking to the air.
"Nacht, it's about time."
Breaking out of his daze, Nacht placed a hand on Asta's grimoire. The book trembled violently as a dark, sticky substance flowed from it, coating half of Asta's body.
A single black wing erupted from his back, and two horns formed atop his head, giving him a half-human, half-demon appearance.
At the signal from Lilith and Namaah, a fresh wave of demons poured into the arena, filling the void and marching forward toward their deaths.