The top of the Grimoire Tower was indeed an excellent viewing platform.
Lorne's gaze fell on the sneering man—Rebuchi.
Just as Rebuchi's eyes landed on the necklace around Yuno's neck again, a familiar roar came from the woods beside the alley.
"Wait a minute—!"
Asta leaped over the high wall from the side and jumped out.
He had vaguely heard the commotion from the woods.
When he saw Yuno bound by chains and the ferocious man holding the four-leaf grimoire, a surge of hot blood rushed to his head.
Asta roared at Rebuchi without the slightest hesitation.
"You bastard! Let Yuno go! Give him back his grimoire!"
Rebuchi looked at the short boy, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"Aren't you that pathetic kid who didn't get a grimoire?"
Asta was somewhat bothered by this, but he still admitted frankly,
"A grimoire is the most important treasure of the person it's granted to! Give the book back to Yuno, you bastard!"
Rebuchi listened to Asta's naive words and couldn't help but cover his face and laugh aloud,
"Hehehehe!"
"The outside world is just as unreasonable! Do you want to die here before you even get out?"
He didn't even bother to look Asta in the eye anymore; his grimoire glowed.
"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"
Several iron chains entwined around him instantly came alive, like predatory vipers, shooting towards Asta.
Asta ignored Yuno's protests, his legs pushed off with force, and he shot out like a cannonball, dodging left and right as he charged towards Rebuchi.
However, it was useless. Before Asta could even touch Rebuchi, the chains precisely wrapped around the charging Asta.
A tremendous force struck him, and Asta was completely unable to resist. He was lifted into the air and then slammed heavily against the wall.
"Pfft—"
Asta felt as if his internal organs were displaced. He couldn't catch his breath and began to cough violently.
"Thanks for your futile struggles!"
Rebuchi walked up to Asta and stepped on his shoulder.
"It's not over... it's not over... I'm going to become the Magic Emperor."
Asta's voice was squeezed out through gritted teeth. He struggled with all his might.
"Damn it... let go..."
But the magic-formed chains tightened even more, making his bones creak.
"Still talking tough?"
Rebuchi pressed his head against the cold stone wall and rubbed it.
"Still want to be the Magic Emperor? Don't make me laugh! I can feel the amount of magic power of those I touch through the chains, and you don't have a single bit of magic power."
Rebuchi increased the pressure of his foot, and he continued to mock:
"Maybe it's natural, no wonder you couldn't get a grimoire!"
"A good-for-nothing like you should act like one, obediently lie on the ground and beg for my mercy!"
"Creation Magic: Chain Snake!"
Several more iron chains emerged from the ground, lashing fiercely at Asta's body, each strike drawing a spray of blood.
Lorne watched the events unfold quietly from above.
"Actor A: Villain Rebuchi, in position."
"Actor B: Protagonist Asta, being beaten, emotions brewing."
"Actor C: Genius Yuno, bound, about to deliver crucial lines."
Everything was largely consistent with the script in his memory.
At this moment, Asta was biting his teeth tightly, not uttering a sound, only the light in his eyes gradually dimming.
"Hahahahaha! What a funny joke!"
Rebuchi burst into laughter, his voice filled with cruelty and glee.
"Since you want to be a hero so much, I'll make you utterly despair!"
He prepared to deliver another cruel blow to Asta's heart.
Atop the Grimoire Tower, Lorne watched it all with an expressionless face.
He knew this was a trial Asta had to endure; only in the deepest despair could the most dazzling light blossom.
Just then, the previously silent Yuno spoke.
His voice was not loud, but it was exceptionally clear, filled with an unprecedented solemnity.
"Stop."
Rebuchi's movements paused, and he turned to look at the bound Yuno.
Yuno didn't look at Rebuchi; his gaze cut through everything and landed on Asta.
"Who are you calling a good-for-nothing?"
"He... is my rival!"
It's here.
A faint glimmer finally flickered in Lorne's eyes.
"Crucial line: Triggered."
These words were like a massive stone thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up a thousand ripples.
Asta trembled violently, almost disbelieving his own ears.
All this time, Yuno had been indifferent to him, his words often discouraging.
He had never explicitly heard Yuno acknowledge him as... a rival!
An indescribable power surged from the deepest part of his heart.
Unwillingness, anger, humiliation, and the excitement of being acknowledged—all emotions intertwined, finally transforming into a powerful will!
I cannot lose!
I cannot fall here!
I still have to compete with Yuno, I still have to become the Magic Emperor!
The moment Asta's will reached its peak, a change occurred again!
An old, tattered grimoire with a black cover and a scarlet five-leaf clover emblem in the center appeared out of thin air before Asta.
It exuded an ominous and powerful aura, hovering silently.
"What?!"
Rebuchi's laughter abruptly stopped. He stared in shock at the grimoire he had never seen before.
"Key item: five-leaf grimoire, in position."
The script, thus, perfectly closed its loop.
Lorne straightened his body, patting away non-existent dust from his clothes.
"Well then, it's my turn to make an entrance and clean up the mess."
Below, Rebuchi recovered from his shock and once again activated his chains, preparing to capture both Asta and the strange grimoire.
However, just as his magic was about to activate, a cold and indifferent voice clearly reached the ears of everyone present.
"The farce ends now."
Asta, Yuno, and Rebuchi were all startled simultaneously, instinctively looking up.
They saw a figure standing at the edge of the Grimoire Tower's summit, appearing at some unknown point.
The sunlight shone from behind him, forming a dazzling halo that obscured his face.
The next second, the figure lightly leaped.
Visible white cold air swirled around him, and his body descended like a falling snowflake, landing precisely between Asta and Rebuchi.
"It's you!"
Rebuchi recognized Lorne, and his face instantly turned incredibly grim.
"You brat, you didn't run, and you dare to deliver yourself to me!"
He was enraged and humiliated; the shame of being scared off by Lorne earlier surged into his mind.
"Perfect! Saves me the trouble of finding you! Die!"
Rebuchi roared, and several thick iron chains shot out like mad pythons, accompanied by a tearing shriek through the air, striking at Lorne from all directions.
Facing an attack capable of shredding steel, Lorne's expression remained unchanged.
He didn't even raise his hand, nor did he take out his grimoire.
"Clink!"
A crisp sound.
The moment before the chains touched Lorne's body, a crystal-clear ice shield condensed out of thin air, precisely blocking all the chain thrusts.
The tips of the chains collided with the ice shield, but instead of shattering it, they emitted a mournful wail like breaking metal.
An extremely cold chill spread along the body of the chains, extending towards Rebuchi at an astonishing speed!
"What?!"
Rebuchi felt an icy coldness pierce him, and his body was instantly covered in a layer of white frost, almost losing sensation.
He was greatly alarmed, immediately wanting to retract the chains, and at the same time, he activated more chains to emerge from the ground and walls, intending to completely entangle and strangle Lorne.
"Creation Magic..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Lorne moved.
Lorne simply lifted his foot gently, then stomped it down.
"Crack—thud—"
There was no earth-shattering roar, only the delicate sound of ice freezing and spreading.
With Lorne's footfall as the center, a circle of extreme frost spread across the ground at an incredible speed!
Rebuchi felt a chill at his feet and looked down to see that his feet had been firmly frozen in place by a thick layer of solid ice at some point.
No matter how he activated his magic, he couldn't break free even an inch.
"How is this possible?!"
For the first time, an expression of terror appeared on his face.
This cold air was still spreading! Climbing rapidly up his legs!
"No! No—!"
Rebuchi screamed in terror. He wanted to struggle, wanted to mobilize all his magic power to resist.
But in just an instant, solid ice crystal covered his entire body.
A huge, lifelike ice sculpture appeared in the center of the plaza.
Rebuchi was completely frozen within it, his expression of terror, unwillingness, and disbelief perfectly preserved in that moment.
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