Ten of the strongest candidates—including Noelle—formed a defensive circle around El, while the rest found themselves surrounded by unconscious Magic Knights now attacking with twice their former strength.
Another brutal clash erupted. Spells collided endlessly as El stood calmly within his circle, pulling invisible strings from behind the scenes.
The number of participants dwindled far faster than expected.
"This is insane!" Asta shouted. "What kind of magic is this? It's completely different from before!"
"We have to take him down now, or this won't end," Yuno said grimly, watching enemies he had just knocked out stand back up again.
Physical attacks harmed Asta like they would to any normal person, but whenever his sword touched a puppet, El's control over it was instantly severed—proof of the absolute dominance of Anti-Magic.
Asta attempted to break through El's defensive formation once more but was forced back by a Magic Knight using an earth golem to block his advance.
From El's left and right, barrages of wind blades and fireballs surged toward him—but two puppets intercepted the attacks, collapsing exhausted.
This won't do. I need to exhaust them further, El thought, turning his gaze toward Noelle.
"Go, Noelle," El commanded softly. "Show them your power."
Applying additional control, El raised her arm. Her wand glowed as nearly thirty water orbs materialized around them.
At his command, the water spheres launched forward, detonating on impact and instantly knocking out six Magic Knights.
El repeated the process relentlessly. Unlike the others, Noelle still possessed nearly full mana reserves, while the remaining candidates were already struggling to keep up.
Yuno and Leopold grew more serious. Yuno began double-casting, while Leopold countered Noelle's water magic with fire, barely managing to prevent being overwhelmed.
Yet El's attention was fixed elsewhere.
Asta was battling ten physically oriented puppets at once, his stamina rapidly draining.
"You don't happen to have a defensive spell, do you, Noelle?" El asked, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Her body trembled instantly.
Her grimoire flew open as pages flipped rapidly, stopping on a newly inscribed spell.
"Oh, you owe me one now," El said lightly.
"Sea Dragon's Cradle."
A massive, sphere-shaped barrier of water formed around them, dense and powerful enough to completely block Yuno and Leopold's combined assault.
By now, water flooded much of the arena—except for the space immediately around El and Noelle. The captains were quick to notice this but the participants were not.
"Now, do your job," El commanded a Magic Knight beside him, a lightning user with powerful magic but poor control.
The puppet stepped forward as El dismissed Noelle's barrier.
In a single release, the Magic Knight discharged all his lightning at once, completely exhausting his mana and electrifying the entire battlefield.
Yuno alone sensed the danger in time, launching himself into the air, but everyone else, including Leopold, Asta and the remaining candidates all collapsed shocked unconscious.
Silence fell, Only two figures remained standing in the ruined arena.
El.
And Yuno.
"Do you have anything to show me, or should we wrap things up?" El asked, looking directly at Yuno.
"Don't you dare look down on us…"
A raspy voice sounded from behind as Asta forced himself up from the ground, gripping his sword for support.
"Hopefully I do. Are you ready, Asta?" Yuno said, raising his hands into a stance resembling a drawn bow.
A massive amount of mana surged from him. At the same time, Asta lowered his stance, charging his sword as he sprinted toward El.
"Very well then. Come at me," El said casually, standing with his hands raised in a relaxed clapping posture.
The stance unsettled both Asta and Yuno, but neither hesitated.
Just as Asta was about to reach El, and Yuno was about to release his condensed wind arrow, El clapped his hands and Something neither of them expected occurred.
[Boogie Woogie: 200 Xeni Coins Deducted]
[Card Rank: B]
Ability Holder: Aoi Tōdō
Spell: Boogie Woogie
Effect: By clapping hands, the user instantly swaps positions with a target.
Weakness: Range 200 meters.
Condition to make permanent: Correctly guess the type of women Aoi Tōdō prefers (Max 3 guesses, Remaining: 1).
El desired to make this ability permanent the most, but dismissed the absurd condition immediately and focused on the fight.
His chosen target was Yuno.
In the instant before Asta's sword could reach him, El swapped places with Yuno, who had already released a two-meter-long wind arrow, condensed with nearly all of his mana.
Yuno fired.
Then realized that Asta was directly in front of him.
The wind arrow and anti-magic blade collided head-on, triggering a massive explosion that rocked the entire arena.
Yuno was hurled unconscious through the arena wall. Even the wind barrier he instinctively formed couldn't withstand the overwhelming force of the collision.
On the opposite end, Asta was also sent flying. Without any defensive spell active, he slammed into the ground and fell unconscious—something El confirmed through his fading ki.
Releasing the second card's effect, El placed his right fist over his heart and bowed slightly toward the captains, using the formal gesture of the Heart Kingdom.
"I don't think anyone else is in any condition to fight," El said calmly. "Except that green-haired guy hiding behind the pillar, who's been aiming his bronze cannon at me since the beginning but never fired."
"I surrreeenn—"
The Magic Knight suddenly foamed from the mouth and collapsed at once.
Ten Minutes Later…
The wounded had been treated. Miraculously, no one required serious care—except Asta, whose broken bones were being healed by a mage off to the side.
At the center of the arena stood the captains, the Wizard King, El, and several nobles and commoners.
"Truly fascinating," the Wizard King said with a bright smile. "All of you Magic Knights have exceeded my expectations."
"Everyone performed admirably," he continued. "Especially Asta, Yuno, Leo and Noelle."
"Heh~ I don't know if anyone noticed," one captain chimed in, "but Asta's sword touched our prince's clothing and left a mark. That should count as a win, shouldn't it?"
El blinked, momentarily confused, and glanced down at his clothes. Sure enough, a faint scratch marked the fabric.
He hesitated before summoning his grimoire and checking the mission conditions.
The mission displayed Success, and the reward calculation had began.
(Far beyond the galaxy, within an ancient palace, two doll-like beings observed the scene. One debated which reward to issue, while the other stopped him from granting something overly excessive—clearly entertained by El's performance but wary of spoiling this Ascended too much.
The Grand Minister watched them bicker, an amused smile forming on his face.)
"Now that the brat from Yami's squad has defeated you, will you fulfill your end of the bargain?" Said Jack with narrowed eyes.
"I will honor my promise," El said with a gentle smile toward Asta.
"What do you want, Asta?" he asked as the boy stood upright, his upper body wrapped in bandages.
"Ehhh… what should I ask for?" Asta muttered, falling silent as he pondered. Several long moments passed, everyone waiting, yet no answer came.
"Kid, what's there to think about?" Jack said impatiently. "Just ask him to grant you the title of Prince of the Heart Kingdom and you can even become its next king."
"But I don't want to be king of the Heart Kingdom." Asta declared, clenching his fist and looking toward the Wizard King. "I want to become the Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom—and I want to do it with my own power."
"And besides." El added calmly, "the Heart Kingdom does not have kings by tradition, only queens. So that wish cannot be fulfilled. But I can give you this."
From the enchanted ring El wore, two heavy pouches materialized, each packed with a hundred gold coins.
"Though it's far less than what you deserve," El said, handing one pouch to Asta and the other to Yuno, "please accept this."
"We can't take this," Yuno said firmly. "We didn't defeat you. You were holding back far more than you showed."
But at Captain Yami's silent gesture, both boys reluctantly accepted the reward.
A certain former noble would definitely be interested in him, El thought, glancing briefly at Asta. What a coincidence—they even joined the same squad.
"Whatever you say, kid," Jack scoffed, clearly unsatisfied, "but we won fair and square. Who told him to add such ridiculous conditions in the first place?"
"That's enough, Jack," the Wizard King said calmly. "The next ruler of the Heart Kingdom won't be decided by a childish wager. And I can assure you—El was restraining himself heavily. Had he fought seriously, this match would have ended in seconds."
"I've noticed your repeated attempts to provoke me since the beginning, Captain Jack," El said evenly.
"But understand this—anything less than fighting the strongest Magic Knight Captain would be an insult to me."
He met Jack's gaze without flinching.
"And as it stands, you're not even among the top five. I suggest you use that pent-up mana to raise your rank before challenging me."
Yami burst out laughing.
"Well said, kid. You've got good eyes," he said, slapping Jack on the back.
Jack bristled, about to retort, but the Wizard King raised a hand, stopping him.
"Say that again," Jack snarled, "and I'll cut you down with my ultimate magic—a slash so absolute it could cut even gods."
At that moment, something unexpected occurred.
El's grimoire surfaced on its own.
A card—one that did not belong to him—appeared before his eyes.
[Cleave: Agitated by the claims of Jack, Ryomen Sukuna has granted you a one-time use ability]
[Time Limit: 1 hour]
[Card Rank: A]
Ability Holder: Ryomen Sukuna
Spell: Cleave
Effect: A close-range cursed slash that sends a decisive cut.
Weakness: Requires close proximity.
Condition to make permanent: Claim the life of 10 million innocent peoples and offer their souls to Sukuna-Sama, then he might not kill you and accept you as his disciple and bestow one of his techniques.
'Damn it-Sukuna again,' El thought grimly.
Why is that monster taking such an interest in me? Does he want me as his underling…?
Suppressing the thought, El manifested the white card and turned toward the Wizard King.
One hour only… If not for this absurd condition, I'd have stored it and used something else.
"We may not be able to fight." El said aloud, "but exchanging a single blow to establish hierarchy shouldn't be an issue. Correct?"
The Wizard King studied him carefully.
"I assure you," El continued, "win or lose, this will not affect the agreement between the Clover and Heart Kingdoms."
Contrary to his words, his meaning was clear to everyone present.
Despite the irritation his words caused among the captains, Jack remained unfazed.
"…Very well," the Wizard King finally said.
The moment approval was given, cheers erupted across the arena.
Within minutes, the arena was cleared once more. Only two figures remained standing opposite each other—El and Jack.
"Don't you dare lose now, you loudmouth!" Yami shouted from the stands.
Jack gestured back confidently.
"Who do you think I am? I'm the strongest."
El could only pity him.
'You're about to take a conqueror's attack head-on,' El thought. 'Even I don't know how powerful it truly is… or whether you'll survive to tell the tale.'
Here goes nothing.
He retrieved the White A-rank ability card he had just received from a conqueror named Sukuna.
The last time El had used an A-rank card was during his spar with the Wizard King in the Heart Kingdom, that day he wasted an Ability card worth 5,000 Xeni coins and faced a humiliating loss. Seeing the white card appear, Julius's brows furrowed.
'Jack—if you don't want to die.' the Wizard King's voice echoed urgently in Jack's mind, 'prepare your strongest attack.'
Jack's expression twisted.
"You want my best?" he roared. "Fine! Don't come crying later!"
With a violent burst of mana, Jack launched himself skyward, slicing through the air. He shifted his momentum midair and dove toward El at supersonic speed.
Without the slightest concern, El vanished—reappearing several meters away.
Jack adjusted instantly, reversing direction. His speed increased with every second, his slashes growing sharper and more lethal while El prepared his attack based on the information he had just received from the card.
Black tattoos spread across El's body, and an extra pair of eyes opened beneath his own—a phenomenon that appeared whenever he used an A-Rank Ability Card which was beyond his abilities, briefly taking on the traits of a conqueror.
"Wizard King, isn't this too much?" Marx said anxiously. "Even captains would struggle to defend against this."
"I'm more worried about Jack," Julius said—only for a bloodthirsty and ominous laughter to flood the arena, leaving everyone struggling to breathe.
Jack appeared before El again—only to pass through an afterimage.
In the next instant, El stood behind him.
A shrill scream echoed through the arena.
A massive slash tore through the empty spectator stands and ripped open the arena wall. A severed hand flew through the air, landing on the stage where the captains stood.
"What just happened?!" Rill shouted in disbelief.
Even Dorothy, the perpetually sleeping captain of the Coral Peacocks, stirred awake.
Only captains managed to follow the exchange. They saw it clearly—a single, precise slash that shattered Jack's fully charged attack like paper, cleaving through his mana-reinforced arm effortlessly and continuing onward, carving into the distant city wall.
"That slash was enough to kill Jack, he intentionally avoided his vitals only cutting his arm." Commented Feugoleon.
"Men are such idiots," Charlotte muttered.
Healers rushed forward as Jack writhed in pain, while El turned toward the captains and bowed slightly.
"My apologies," he said calmly. "It seems I went too far."
"We never stood a chance," Asta muttered, standing beside Leopold and Yuno. Neither disagreed. The gap was undeniable.
Soon after the Wizard King's Instruction, Jack was swiftly removed from the arena and taken for further treatment, and the recruitment ceremony resumed.
El's tattoos had retreated, but dread gnawed at him—Sukuna had taken over him, even if just for a second. He had wanted to kill Jack, attack the captains, even slaughter the spectators in the stands. Only El regaining control stopped a massacre.
'I'm never using this conqueror's ability again…' he thought, the bloodlust too much for him.
With the missions complete, El eyed the rewards, curious what fate had handed him today.
[Mission Reward: Captain Hunting (01/08)]
[Xeni Coins: 1,000 Coins]
[Balance: 25,020 Coins]
[Card Rank: A — 1 Free Use]
[Skill: Sun Breathing]
Ability User: Yoriichi Tsugikuni
Effect: Grants complete mastery of the Sun Breathing combat system, including breathing control, physical adaptation and instinctive sword mastery. Provides extreme speed, precision and a suppressive effect against demonic entities due to pure Sunfire.
Limitation: Killing humans with this power permanently prevents the user from standing under sunlight.
Condition to Copy: Save 1,000,000 lives
Delighted by the unexpected reward without much cost spent, El stored the card and looked at the Red ability Card had received for completing the first mission.
[Mission Reward: Newbie Hunting]
Treasure Rank:A RankTreasure: Senzu Beans ×3
Effects: Possess miraculous healing properties. Can fully restore health and stamina, even from the brink of death.
Limitations: Must be thoroughly chewed. Can only be used once per day.
Condition to Copy: Can be cultivated—produces two beans in half a year.
The second reward wasn't very exciting considering the efforts it took, but beggars can't be choosers—so El accepted his fate.
"Now that you've witnessed El's abilities," the Wizard King said, "who among you wishes to accept him into your squad?"
***
Author Note: I know it's a bit fast, but it will all make sense in the next 2–3 chapters.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! For your info, Sukuna wasn't agitated by Jack's words, but by the taunts of other conquerors allies and enemies alike. I've prepared the conqueror's chats—if you're interested, I can share them. Beware, they're quite long.