After blasting Nozel and Jack away, Yuuki moved in a flash and appeared before Mariella and Neige, whose faces were lit with excitement.
"Lord Yuuki," Mariella and Neige said at the same time. The exhaustion weighing on them seemed to ease at once.
"You've both done well."
Yuuki's gaze swept over their injuries. His eyes cooled slightly, but his voice remained gentle.
"Magic Knight Captains really are strong."
Mariella wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, a faint smile appearing on her face.
Neige, however, looked dejected.
"Lord Yuuki… I failed to protect my companions."
Smack.
"You've both already done more than enough. Leave the rest to me."
Yuuki smiled as he spoke. He reached out, placing a hand on each of their shoulders, and murmured softly:
"Fire Recovery Magic — Phoenix Feather Robe!"
Crimson flames flowed down Yuuki's arms, enveloping Mariella and Neige. Empowered by dense mana, the fire rapidly restored their wounds.
Boom! Boom!
Almost at the same instant—
The two captains who had been kicked away burst out of the ruins simultaneously.
"You brat—so you finally show yourself!!"
"You despicable, lowborn trash!!"
Jack and Nozel roared in fury.
Jack had originally assumed this was nothing more than a routine arrest. Even the presence of captains was merely a precaution.
As for Nozel, his hatred for the Eye of the Midnight Sun ran far deeper. As a royal—and with his close friend and rival Fuegoleon gravely injured—his hostility toward the organization was intense.
Thus, upon receiving intelligence about the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and without any direct orders from the Wizard King, Nozel had come personally, acting in his capacity as a noble.
Under normal circumstances, two Magic Knight Captains would never be deployed to capture minor figures like this.
But the Eye of the Midnight Sun was simply too dangerous.
And yet—
Just dealing with two members they had initially dismissed had already cost them so much time—and even injuries.
Worse still, Yuuki's appearance had sent both of them flying!
To Jack and especially to the proud royal Nozel, this was nothing short of humiliation—humiliation of the highest order.
Silver and emerald streaks of light shot forward almost instantly, closing in on Yuuki.
Seeing this, Mariella and Neige's expressions changed.
Yuuki was still healing them—he couldn't possibly spare a hand!
"Lord Yu—!"
Mariella had just opened her mouth to warn him—
When Yuuki's calm voice rang out first.
"Fire Spirit Magic — Salamander's Hook Claw!"
Boom!
Blazing claw-shaped flames erupted before Yuuki. Three crimson slashes tore forward, releasing terrifying waves of mana.
Wherever the fiery claws passed, the air itself sizzled and burned.
Nozel and Jack's expressions shifted sharply.
"Severing Magic — Death Scythe!"
Jack raised his arm, emerald light flaring as the scythe extended from it, colliding head-on with the crimson claws.
"Mercury Magic — Mercury Spear!"
Nozel clenched his hand, mercury rapidly forming a spear that smashed into the Salamander's claws, sparks flying everywhere.
Boom!!
A deafening explosion erupted between the three of them.
The violent shockwave obliterated what little remained of the surrounding buildings, reducing them to rubble.
Dust and debris shot skyward—only to be shredded apart instantly by the overwhelming mana radiating from the combatants.
Icy mana and razor-sharp mana surged toward Yuuki from all directions—
Only to be stopped cold by the dense, overwhelming mana erupting from his body.
Three immense forces collided again and again, plunging the entire area into crushing pressure. Even the air itself seemed to thicken and slow.
Boom—
A muffled thunderclap echoed across the sky.
For a fleeting moment—
Those watching felt as though they were seeing a silver eagle and a green mantis, radiating murderous intent, facing off against a massive crimson dragon faintly visible within Yuuki's mana.
The invisible mana field expanded outward. Pebbles across the ground began to rattle and lift, some even floating into the air.
Thankfully, the residents had been evacuated in advance.
Otherwise, any ordinary person caught in this pressure would have collapsed on the spot.
At the Edge of Leon Town
On a rooftop at the town's outskirts, Yuno stared toward the center, shock plainly visible in his eyes.
"…Yuuki is already this strong?"
Facing the combined mana of two Magic Knight Captains, he wasn't being suppressed at all—in fact, it looked almost evenly matched.
Those were two of the strongest captains in the entire Clover Kingdom!
Was this really the same Yuuki he remembered from Hage Village—the one with limited mana, who relied on strategy and technique to fight him?
Since joining the Magic Knights, Yuno's strength had skyrocketed.
Even the nobles of the Golden Dawn were no longer his match.
Despite maintaining a calm mindset, he couldn't deny a sense of pride—yet now, seeing Yuuki's growth surpass even his own, Yuno felt momentarily dazed.
Asta stood frozen as well, fists clenched unconsciously.
Back in the Witch Forest, he'd been under control and hadn't fully felt it—
But now, though he couldn't sense mana, he could sense ki.
And that made it all the more vivid.
Yuuki… he's insanely strong.
Even now, Asta still found it hard to believe.
As Asta and Yuno stood stunned by Yuuki's power—
Noelle's face turned pale, urgency flashing in her eyes.
"They can't keep fighting like this!"
Yuuki's identity as a member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun already put him in a precarious position.
Though he had secretly helped them countless times, openly clashing with two captains—and causing even greater destruction—would erase any room for reconciliation.
Her words snapped Asta and Yuno back to their senses.
As childhood companions, neither of them wanted Yuuki to become a wanted criminal of the Clover Kingdom.
More importantly—
They trusted him.
Whrrrr—
A powerful gale erupted around Yuno.
He kicked off the ground, rising into the air and flying straight toward the town center.
Seeing this, Asta immediately turned to Finral.
"Finral-senpai! Please use your spatial magic to take me over there!"
Asta still couldn't project anti-magic outward, nor could he fly like Yuno.
"I can—but the mana at the center is way too intense," Finral replied hesitantly.
"I can only open a gate at the edge."
"That's fine!" Asta answered instantly.
"I'm coming too!" Noelle added without hesitation.
"This one's on me," Asta said with a wide grin, turning to Noelle.
"Your brother's there, after all."
He leapt straight into the spatial gate Finral created and vanished.
"…I never thought I'd run into something like this," Finral muttered, rubbing his forehead.
Noelle gazed toward the battlefield, worry filling her eyes.
"If a captain had chosen Yuuki back then… maybe none of this would've happened."
(End of Chapter)
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