Looking down at the elven reincarnates below—each of them seething with resentment—
Yuuki's expression remained calm.
With a single step, his figure blurred, vanishing like a teleport—and in the next instant, he appeared right in the middle of the elven group.
"So fast—!"
An elf standing directly before him shrank his pupils in shock and instinctively reacted, black smoke surging up from his body.
"Black Mist Magic—Po—"
Bang!
Crack!
A solid punch slammed into the elf's chest.
A heavy, dull impact echoed through the air, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of bones shattering.
The blow forcibly interrupted the spell, and the overwhelming force sent the elf flying, smashing him into a distant wall where he collapsed unconscious.
"Parl?!"
"How is that possible?!"
"How can a mere human possess such power?!"
"Filthy human—stealing our strength!"
The remaining four elves stared in disbelief.
But—
While they froze, Yuuki did not.
His figure flashed again.
A series of crisp, muffled impacts rang out.
By the time the last elf had his head driven into the ground with a crushing stomp, all five opponents—who had forced the Black Bulls to fight at full strength—were defeated in mere moments.
"Yuuki!"
Vanessa snapped out of her shock first, calling out in astonishment.
At the same time—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Several sharp air-rending sounds rang out as Mariella, Fana, Rebecca, and Neige descended from the sky, landing behind Yuuki.
"The capital's been badly damaged," Yuuki said, glancing around at the ruined surroundings before walking toward the Black Bulls with the four behind him.
As he approached—
The Black Bulls, who had just relaxed in relief, suddenly tensed up again, their expressions wary, some even defensive.
Noticing the subtle shift in atmosphere, Yuuki understood.
Looks like they've already met Yami.
He didn't mind the caution. At this point, some things didn't need to be hidden anymore.
Yuuki swept his gaze over the Black Bulls, pausing briefly on Luck and Gauche.
If he remembered correctly, those two had also been elven reincarnates.
Now, however, there was no trace of it.
Which meant—
Asta and Yuno had already entered the Shadow Palace.
And—
The Demon-Destroyer Sword was now in Asta's hands.
Of the three demon swords, only that one could undo reincarnation magic.
Yuuki found it amusing.
The Demon-Dweller Sword was still with him.
After Licht's reincarnation, he had only wielded the Demon-Destroyer Sword—so if events hadn't changed, he had already fought Asta and Yuno.
Otherwise, the sword wouldn't be in Asta's possession.
Back when Yuuki watched the anime, he'd found it strange.
With Licht's innate Magic Zone-level abilities, even without full consciousness, how could he have been so easily disarmed?
Now it was clear—
Licht had deliberately handed the sword to Asta.
After all, only Licht and the First Wizard King truly understood that the reincarnation ritual was the Word Soul Devil's scheme.
"Yuuki… the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun is actually an elven reincarnate—"
Vanessa hesitated, then stepped forward.
"I know," Yuuki replied with a smile. "That's why I'm here."
He then looked toward the massive palace floating above.
"Asta already went in?"
"Yes," Vanessa nodded. "But the Shadow Palace has sealed itself."
"Stay outside and support the Black Bulls."
Yuuki turned to Mariella and the others.
With a light step, he leapt past everyone, stopping beneath the floating Shadow Palace.
The Shadow Palace—
An ancient spatial magic relic, a boundary between worlds.
The elves had summoned it to completely erase the remaining human souls within the reincarnated bodies.
Yuuki narrowed his eyes.
"Demon-Dweller — Spatial Slash!"
With a swift swing, he cleaved forward.
A space-infused slash tore open a three-meter-wide rift in the palace's black surface—but the wound rapidly regenerated.
Without hesitation, Yuuki transformed into a black streak and charged inside.
Inside the Shadow Palace — Uppermost Isolated Domain
Dark.
Cold.
Oppressive.
A grotesque, ominous mana saturated the entire space.
Asta and Yuno lay motionless in deep craters.
Rhya and the other elves were scattered across the ground, barely breathing.
The Eye of the Midnight Sun's leader—Licht—
No.
Patry—
Was suspended in midair, impaled by countless black iron spikes, blood pouring from his body.
The only one still standing—
Was a grotesque being wrapped in pitch-black mana, half his body swallowed by darkness, exposed skin deathly pale, black wings unfurled behind him.
Just standing there, his presence alone froze the soul.
A devil.
A being said to dwell in the Underworld.
After centuries of schemes and waiting—
He had finally descended into the human world.
Zagred, the Word Soul Devil.
Having effortlessly crushed everyone present, Zagred stepped toward Patry, his crimson eyes gleaming with newborn delight.
"Because of your actions, the 'time' that had been stopped for me… has begun to flow again."
"I should thank you properly, hero."
"Five hundred years ago, I was this close to success before being stopped."
His hoarse voice carried a mocking warmth.
Patry, blood streaming from his mouth, slowly raised his head, staring at the inhuman existence before him.
"What… are you talking about…?"
Zagred chuckled.
"The second person I chose back then… was you."
"Favored by mana. Young. Easy to incite."
"A new sacrifice, tragedy, and a sense of mission—so easily convinced you to use forbidden magic and let the elves inhabit human bodies."
He laughed softly.
Patry's eyes widened in horror.
"Yes—I was the one who reincarnated the elves. Hehehe."
"Your true leader never wanted humanity exterminated."
"Elven revival… sorrowful revenge… all of it was nothing but illusion."
"You were destined to lead the foolish down the path I prepared."
"Magnificent work."
"You and Licht were nothing more than my pawns."
Zagred laughed gleefully.
Patry's pupils dilated as the truth crushed down upon him.
Lord Licht…
Everything he had done—
Had gone completely against Licht's will.
Thud! Thud!
The iron spikes pierced deeper, hoisting Patry higher as agonizing pain wracked his body.
Despair.
Agony.
The emotions twisted violently within him under Zagred's mocking laughter.
Before him—
The golden four-leaf clover on his grimoire began to turn black.
Zagred's grin widened.
"How amusing… humans and elves alike."
"Your dreams and desires are the finest toys."
"HAHAHAHA!"
Then—
A furious voice rang out behind him.
"Don't mess with us!!"
Asta clawed his way out of a crater, panting heavily, glaring at the devil.
Yuno rose beside him.
"You appear out of nowhere and ruin everything… you really tick me off," Yuno said coldly.
"Our dreams won't lose to trash like you!"
Asta and Yuno shouted together.
Zagred turned, mildly surprised.
At that moment—
A silver figure appeared above them.
"Oh?"
Zagred calmly looked up.
Asta and Yuno followed his gaze.
Their eyes lit up instantly.
"Wow… you two look terrible."
Yuuki descended with a smile, landing between them.
"Where the hell did you go?!" Asta barked, leaning on the Demon-Destroyer Sword.
"Sorry," Yuuki scratched his head sheepishly. "Had a few important things to take care of."
"So you're done?" Yuno asked with a faint smile.
"Yeah."
Yuuki nodded, then warned Asta, "Don't block this with Anti-Magic."
As his words fell—
"Flame Recovery Magic — Phoenix Feather Robe!"
"Beast Magic — Noitanega!"
Red flames and dark crimson beast mana enveloped Asta and Yuno.
This time, Asta didn't resist.
Within mere breaths, their injuries vanished completely.
"I feel amazing!" Asta exclaimed.
"Thanks," Yuno said simply.
Yuuki retrieved the Demon-Dweller Sword from the ground and looked ahead at Zagred, who watched them like an amused spectator.
"I might be late," Yuuki said solemnly, "but that thing is the enemy, right?"
So, this was a devil.
Only now did Yuuki truly understand.
Standing before Zagred—
His skin prickled.
Just gazing at him felt bone-deep cold.
In Yuuki's perception, natural mana simply did not exist where Zagred stood—as if reality itself had been hollowed out.
The devil's black mana was thick and oppressive—
If human mana was gas, then a devil's mana was liquid.
Now Yuuki understood why human magic barely worked against devils.
It was a qualitative difference.
"Yes."
"Absolutely."
Asta and Yuno answered in unison.
Boom! Boom!
Explosive pressure erupted from them.
Asta entered Black Form.
Yuno entered Spirit Dive.
"I see," Yuuki smiled.
Silver mana surged from his body.
"Done chatting?"
Zagred smiled faintly and spoke—
"Blades… storm."
BOOM—!
Countless weapons materialized instantly—swords, spears, blades—raining down like a tempest upon the three of them.
And mixed among them—
Were real, physical weapons.
The final battle had begun.
(End of Chapter)
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