> "Still not done yet?"
Outside, Ethan frowned as he looked at Secre, who stood silently with her eyes closed.
Whether in the original anime or what he had witnessed himself,
her Sealing Magic always worked fast.
Even when she sealed the demon years ago, it had taken only a moment.
But now? It had been over two, maybe three minutes,
and not even a spark had come from her spell.
> "Could it be… the seals within my body are just that hard to break?"
"Hard" didn't even begin to describe it.
From Secre's perspective, the bronze gate in front of her was the most incomprehensible seal she had ever seen.
Forget the eight monstrous gates that lay further beyond.
Even just this first one had three separate locks.
Two of those had already been opened before she arrived.
But the third, the last lock, sat at the very top of the towering gate,
preventing it from fully opening.
> "This isn't just a seal... it's like a structure. A formation."
Secre analyzed it carefully.
Locks were just forms—just as the sea is blue and the sky is azure.
A lock could appear as a chest, a chained door, or even a password-protected computer.
Looking past its form to its essence, what she now saw looked like a massive jigsaw puzzle.
Some of the pieces were already in place, but many more lay scattered and unfinished.
> "If I can assemble all these puzzle pieces…"
"Then maybe this final lock will finally open!"
She didn't know how long it would take.
But having come this far, there was no turning back.
"Yuno! Come on! Don't lose to that guy!!"
Back inside the Shadow Palace, the battle raged on.
The Word Magic Demon, with his so-called "immortal" body,
was growing more arrogant by the second.
He casually deflected attacks as if they were nothing—dodging only the most dangerous spells,
then immediately healing himself with his forbidden Word Magic.
Many started to feel hopeless.
But not Asta and Yuno.
the more they fought, the more relentless they became.
> "Something's... weird."
Everyone on the battlefield began to notice the same thing.
Sure, Elf Reincarnation gave buffs.
And Asta's Devil Transformation gave him a huge leap in power.
But even with all that, there was still a clear gap between them and the demon.
Or at least… there should have been.
Because at this moment, rank and realm didn't seem to apply to these two anymore.
Their combined attacks were no weaker than Licht or Lumiere's,
and thanks to Asta's Anti-Magic, their threat level was arguably even higher.
Watching from the side while undergoing Secre's unlocking spell,
Ethan muttered inwardly:
> "So this is... destiny."
He never believed in that word before.
But the librarian of the Grimoire Tower had said:
> "It's fate and era that chose Julius."
That was why Julius possessed Time Magic, and a time-based grimoire.
But then... what was his fate?
Ethan had already tried so hard to avoid repeating the anime's tragedy.
He had exposed Patolli early, secured most of the magic stones before the elves could get them,
and moved many steps ahead.
Logically, the enemy should've had no way to initiate the elf reincarnation plan.
But in the end, the result… hadn't changed.
Maybe Julius wasn't just meant to protect the Clover Kingdom.
Maybe he was the guardian of the entire continent—or even the whole world.
But no matter what, Julius had already made his curtain call.
Now, it was Asta and Yuno who carried that divine duty forward.
And fate would not abandon them.
> "Maybe... they don't even need me to finish unlocking. Maybe... they'll defeat this demon first."
A swordstorm rained from above—some blades forged of magic, others made real.
While the rest of the magic knights were scrambling to dodge or block,
Asta and Yuno combined their powers, soaring upward like a tornado.
They rushed straight at the demon.
Asta roared, swinging his Demon-Slayer Sword with brutal power.
His blade clashed once again with the demon's black trident.
The demon's pupils shrank.
> "It... broke? A weapon from that world, able to ignore space and absorb light magic… was destroyed!?"
Half of the demon's trident shattered and fell from the air.
Until now, the demon had been so hard to deal with not just because of his Word Magic or undead body.
His trident was also a massive threat.
It was much like Asta's sword—capable of disrupting or severing magic completely.
A perfect triad: Word Magic, Immortality, and that weapon.
If they could destroy his trident...
Then maybe, just maybe, they had a real chance at victory.
Asta gritted his teeth as Anti-Magic surged from his blade.
> "Not enough! Not enough! Just this... still isn't enough!!"
The more powerful the Anti-Magic, the more pain it inflicted.
Devil Transformation looked cool—but anyone else would've passed out in seconds.
> The stronger the rejection, the greater the toll on the body.
> "How long are you gonna hesitate, Asta?"
Yuno's voice cut through the battlefield like wind.
> "If you can't control your power,
you'll never become Wizard King."
Around him, wind mana gathered violently.
A brilliant green light made it hard to even keep your eyes open.
This was Spirit Magic—and Yuno's own divine strength.
> "Wow... now that's envy-worthy."
Watching Yuno summon an elf-forged longsword, Ethan let out a bitter laugh.
He didn't even know what to say anymore.
Spirit Assimilation had four levels: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Ultimate.
Even Ethan himself had only reached Advanced.
had already surpassed him.
All of this in just... this short time?
> Being the protagonist really is a cheat code...
Even Asta wasn't far behind.
His Demon-Slayer Sword had grown massive—overflowing with Anti-Magic.
> [Spirit Creation Magic – Zephyra's Wrath!]
[Anti-Magic – Black Divider!]
> "I will become Wizard King!!!"
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