At this moment, Yuuki was disguised as a deceased Diamond Kingdom mage, his appearance and attire taken from a corpse by the roadside.
Under the scrutiny of countless gazes, he deliberately put on a nervous expression.
"L-Lord Yagos! Lords Broccos and Ragus have already been defeated, and Lotus has retreated!" Yuuki blurted out in a panic.
"Sir, we should withdraw as well!"
"Shut up!"
Yagos roared, his breathing ragged as fury burned in his eyes.
"Lotus, that bastard—running away like that! What a disgrace to the kingdom!"
"As one of the Eight Shining Generals, how could he flee?!"
Yagos glared fiercely at Langris Vaude and the others, his resolve unshaken.
The three of them belonged to the previous generation of the Eight Shining Generals. From the start, they had never truly gotten along with the five newly modified generals.
This assault on Kiten Town was their chance.
If they could achieve tangible results, not only would their standing among the Eight Shining Generals rise once more, they would also regain the nobles' favor.
So even in defeat—
They needed something to bring back.
"Yuno, watch closely!"
Asta shouted as he stepped forward.
"I'll handle these two! Charmy-senpai, Finral-senpai!"
Yuno nodded seriously and even took a step back.
Although Asta's arms were still wrapped in bandages and his injuries were obvious, if Asta said he could do it—then he meant it.
Langris crossed his arms, a mocking smile tugging at his lips.
To him, whether it was Yagos or this suddenly appearing Diamond Kingdom mage, they were nothing more than lambs waiting for slaughter.
He wasn't in a hurry.
He wanted to see how this injured Black Bull brat intended to fight.
Asta spun around and sprinted backward.
"Cotton Creation Magic – Puffy Sheep Cushion!"
Charmy activated her grimoire, instantly forming a massive cottony cushion in front of Asta.
Asta charged straight into it—and in the next instant, was launched back out at even greater speed, rocketing toward Yagos.
In Asta's eyes, Yagos was the priority.
Defeat him—and the trapped civilians could be saved.
Yuuki watched calmly, making no move to stop him.
Yagos had no intention of retreating. Letting Asta knock him out would only make it easier to extract him afterward.
"What are you supposed to be?! Get lost!"
Yagos sneered, flinging a torrent of viscous slime forward like a raging tide.
Just as Asta was about to collide with it—
Finral activated spatial magic.
Asta vanished.
The next moment, he reappeared above Yagos' head, biting down on the Demon-Slayer Sword as he plunged downward.
The anti-magic blade sliced effortlessly through the slime armor protecting Yagos' body.
Yagos froze, disbelief plastered across his face.
BOOM!
The momentum of Asta's fall—combined with the swing of his head—drove the sword straight into Yagos' chest, blasting him away.
CRASH!
Yagos screamed as he smashed into a wall and collapsed unconscious on the spot.
Watching a full-fledged Eight Shining General fall so easily, Yuuki couldn't help but marvel once more at the terrifying power of anti-magic.
Mana Skin—so effective against most mages—was as fragile as paper before Asta.
Stripped of mana protection, a mage's body was little different from an ordinary human's.
The moment Yagos was struck, he was just that—an ordinary man.
Even Langris' gaze toward Asta subtly changed.
On Yuno's usually expressionless face, a faint smile appeared.
"Next—you!"
Asta roared, turning his attention toward Yuuki.
Finral immediately opened another spatial gate.
Asta vanished mid-fall.
In the next instant, a portal opened behind Yuuki.
Asta burst out, sword clenched between his teeth, swinging in a horizontal arc.
Yuuki stood there, seemingly frozen—like someone terrified by how easily Yagos had been defeated.
Finral and the others were already smiling.
At this distance, there was no escape.
Even if magic were used, Asta would cut it down.
But to everyone's shock—
Yuuki didn't even turn around.
He simply crouched.
The Demon-Slayer Sword swept harmlessly through empty air.
Then—
Yuuki kicked upward.
The blow landed squarely in Asta's chest.
It wasn't heavy—but it carried intent.
"Ugh!"
Pain surged through Asta's abdomen. His mouth opened instinctively.
The sword dropped.
Finral's expression changed as he hurried to activate spatial magic—
Too late.
Yuuki moved faster.
One hand grabbed Asta's shoulder.
The other seized his waistband.
He rose, pivoted—
And executed a clean over-the-shoulder throw, hurling Asta away.
The entire sequence took less than two blinks.
"Waaah—?!"
Asta only managed to scream when he realized the ground was rushing up to meet him.
A burst of mana cushioned his fall, gently lowering him to his feet.
"Huff… huff…"
Asta panted, staring at Yuuki in disbelief.
"That was terrifying," Yuuki said, patting his chest with exaggerated fear.
When he had raised his hands earlier, Yuuki had felt resistance.
Asta had learned Ki, just like before.
Unfortunately for him, his injured arms made all the difference.
"Hahahaha! I'm dying—this is hilarious!"
Langris burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.
Moments ago, Asta had crushed an Eight Shining General with overwhelming force.
Now, he'd been casually thrown aside by what looked like a nobody.
The contrast was too funny.
Asta ignored the mockery, replaying the fight in his head.
Without Finral's spatial magic and Vanessa Enoteca's support, his mobility was dangerously limited.
"Are you okay, Asta?" Yuno asked as he approached.
"Yeah! I'm fine!" Asta said brightly. "I just got careless."
Yuno smiled softly.
"Same as always—an unbelievable fighting style. You already did more than enough, Asta. I'll handle this guy."
At that moment, the "terrified" Diamond Kingdom mage turned his head toward the laughing Langris.
"Hey," Yuuki said calmly.
"Your laugh is really unpleasant."
BOOM!
An overwhelming surge of mana erupted from Langris.
His expression twisted into pure hostility, eyes cold as if staring at a corpse.
"A piece of trash like you dares speak to me?"
With a furious sweep of his arm—
Invisible spatial blades erupted forth, erasing everything in their path.
"It's over," Finral muttered, convinced Yuuki wouldn't even leave behind a complete corpse.
Slash!
Yuuki raised his palm and casually sliced through the air.
Spatial mana surged forth.
The two space magics collided—
And canceled each other out.
"…Space magic?" Langris snapped, eyes widening.
Only another space mage could block his attack.
Finral broke into a cold sweat.
If Yuuki had countered his spatial magic earlier—
Asta would have been in serious danger.
"Oh wow," Yuuki said lightly.
"That was close."
No one believed his act anymore.
"Die!"
Langris roared, swinging both arms.
Countless invisible spatial blades rained down.
Yuuki reached forward—
And his wrist vanished.
"Asta—Finral-senpai!" Asta shouted instantly.
At the same time, a hand emerged right in front of Finral and grabbed him.
"Wind Magic – Crescent Kamaitachi!"
Yuno's blade of wind slashed down—
But instead of severing Yuuki's arm, it passed straight through, carving into the ground with a thunderous explosion.
Dust engulfed the battlefield.
Everyone realized the truth.
This "minor mage" was terrifyingly strong.
"Disperse!"
Yuno blasted the dust away.
"Finral-senpai!"
Asta rushed forward.
Finral was gone.
"I-I'm here…"
A weak voice came from nearby.
Finral was slumped on the ground, completely drained.
"Did he escape?" Yuno muttered, frowning.
Langris stared darkly at Finral.
"A natural space mage of the Vaude family… caught by someone else's space magic?"
"Pathetic."
Then—
"Are you talking trash about my squad member?"
A calm voice spoke from behind.
Langris jumped back.
It was Yami Sukehiro.
"Yami… my apologies," William Vangeance said gently nearby.
Both captains had arrived.
Yami and William both glanced toward the direction Yuuki had vanished.
Elsewhere—
Yuuki stood at the border, tossing the unconscious Yagos to the ground.
"Damn," he muttered. "That was close. I nearly ran into Yami and William."
"Langris' offensive space magic… I'll deal with it another time."
He looked down.
"Three Eight Shining Generals—defeated."
Fanzell Kruger stared at Yagos, emotions swirling.
"So… you intend for me to replace him."
Yuuki smiled.
"That's right, Fanzell-sensei."
A familiar voice spoke.
"Mars," Fanzell breathed.
Mars stepped out of a spatial gate, eyes steady.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 1800 powerstones!