Falling from mid-air, Ethan didn't care about appearances at all. He collapsed onto the ground, arms spread wide, lying flat.
That battle with Corin… If Corin could still retain even half his original strength after such grievous injuries, he'd have to thank the heavens.
Ethan's chest rose and fell violently—this hadn't been as easy as it looked.
After resting for a bit, he sat up and sighed inwardly:
"Eleven years' worth of time… and now I've only got about a year and a half left..."
Chronos' Bell—one of the ultimate spells in time magic.
It forcibly halts the opponent's time using one's own stored time.
This wasn't the same as Time Magic: Time Stagnation, which only appeared to pause time.
Stagnation simply stretched a moment infinitely—turning one second into a thousand or ten thousand seconds.
But Chronos' Bell was true, absolute Time Stop.
On the surface, the two looked similar, but in truth, they were worlds apart.
And he had also combined it with another ultimate spell:
Time Reversal Magic – Stream of Life,
consuming the opponent's lifespan in equal exchange for the time he had stored.
If he had ten years stored up, then he could strip ten years off the enemy's life.
In emergencies, he could even trade his own lifespan for theirs.
But… he had still underestimated Corin.
Even after being hit with two ultimate spells, Corin had managed to self-detonate and escape.
"Forget it. He's no longer a threat."
Ethan shook his head and dropped the matter.
Cori\ had self-destructed and had his lifespan drained. Even if he survived, he'd be too weak to cause any more trouble.
A broken, aging man with half his strength left—he wouldn't be stirring up any chaos anytime soon.
What mattered now was what came next.
Ethan looked up at the magic grimoire still spinning in mid-air. He fell deep into thought.
"Something must've happened to Julius… Otherwise, his grimoire wouldn't be here with me."
Murmuring to himself, Ethan sensed things were becoming troublesome.
He was indeed powerful now—he even had the Time attribute grimoire in hand.
But this time, the enemy wasn't human—it was a demon from the Otherworld.
Even if this Word Devil wasn't a big-shot in his original world, in this one, it was a final boss-level threat.
And relying on himself alone…
To be honest, he wasn't confident.
Even with the help of the other Magic Knight Captains, there was no guarantee they could win.
Only Yuno and Asta could truly deal damage to a devil.
But…
"They're too weak. Right now, they're far too weak!"
Ethan frowned.
Because of his involvement and interventions, everything had been pushed forward by over a year.
Yuno had grown stronger, stimulated by Ethan's presence. With the elf reincarnation buff, he was already stronger than some squad captains.
But Asta...
If he remembered correctly, Asta hadn't even mastered demon form yet.
And without his demon transformation, Asta was nearly useless in this battle.
Yet the only way to completely kill the demon…
Was with Asta's Demon-Slayer Sword.
"A damn loop..."
He sighed.
"Whatever. I'll just take it one step at a time."
Standing up, Ethan summoned the wind and shot into the sky.
His current condition wasn't great.
No major wounds, but plenty of minor injuries, and his mana was heavily depleted.
But there was no time to recover.
He had to gather everyone and head for the Shadow Palace.
If the enemy picked them off one by one, it really would be the end.
---
Frontline Base
After binding the final "traitor," Yami swept his gaze across the battlefield.
The fight was wrapping up.
Though those affected by the elf reincarnation spell had grown in strength, fortunately, few of the squad captains had been affected.
Only Charlotte of the Blue Rose and Rill of the Aqua Deer were impacted.
But the other captains had joined forces and subdued them quickly.
The rest didn't pose much of a threat anymore.
"That said… what's up with you two?"
Yami, cigarette in his mouth, frowned at Asta and Yuno.
Yuno's body glowed gold, mysterious patterns covering his face—like the others who had been reincarnated.
But unlike them, he retained his sanity and memories.
Asta, on the other hand…
Had black wings sprouting from his back, half of his body engulfed in a dark aura.
If one had to compare… he looked exactly like a demon.
"I don't know either. But I really haven't been affected."
Yuno looked confused as he stared at the golden glow around himself.
Though his power had drastically increased, his mind was still clear.
As for Asta…
"Haha! Impressive, right? This is my trump card! I was saving it to surprise Yuno!"
Asta laughed proudly.
He had sworn to become the Wizard King. How could he just watch his rival soar past him?
He might not be able to catch up right away, but he could at least close the gap.
His demon form was the key to doing that.
Flicking his cigarette, Yami exhaled and said:
"Not bad… but this isn't the time to celebrate. Something's definitely happened to Boss Julius. We need to head back to the capital—fast!"
Everyone agreed.
Compared to invading the Diamond Kingdom, protecting the Clover Kingdom was far more urgent.
After all, what good is winning a war if your home is already destroyed?
"Wait!"
Descending rapidly, Ethan landed in front of them just in time.
Seeing everyone safe, he finally relaxed a little.
The others were stunned by his appearance.
His face was covered in grime, his robes torn and ragged—he clearly had a rough time.
"Ethan, where've you been?"
"Was that explosion in the Diamond Kingdom your doing?"
"You look hurt—are you alright?"
Everyone spoke at once.
But Ethan didn't answer.
He simply raised his head, face grim, and said with heavy seriousness:
"The demon… is here."
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