Yami looked at Patri and put a new cigarette into his mouth.
"Sorry about this, Mister Big Shot from the enemy's side! My junior gave it everything he had—I'm not about to give you a chance to recover."
After Patri's battle with Charles, although his wounds had been healed by recovery magic, he had consumed a vast amount of mana.
The elves were a race blessed by magic, but even their mana wasn't limitless.
What's more, in order to face the Magic Emperor and activate the reincarnation magic, Patri's mana had long been sealed away.
Now, even the composure he once had was slipping. After dodging the energy black hole, Patri was clearly out of breath.
And now his opponent had changed to Yami—who was, without a doubt, incredibly powerful.
If classified by combat style, Yami could be called a magic swordsman. This type of fighter enhanced their physical abilities with strengthening magic, then battled using sword techniques infused with magic.
Combined with his homeland's technique of reading ki to predict enemy movements, Yami's actual combat power far exceeded his mana level.
His katana was wrapped in dark magic, and Yami cleanly sliced through the light swords flying at him as if he were wielding a blade of pure darkness.
And just like that, Yami charged straight through the barrage of light swords toward Patri.
Meanwhile, Asta stepped in front of the immobilized Charles to protect him from any stray light swords.
When Charles saw Asta successfully deflect some of the incoming light swords with his blade, he immediately understood—Asta had already learned how to sense ki.
Just earlier, Asta had used it to defeat Valtos, who used spatial magic, as a test of the technique.
"Ki… huh?"
Ever since realizing how weak he still was, Charles had become more eager to learn all kinds of powers to strengthen himself.
Wasn't world magic, which allowed him to travel between worlds, meant for that very purpose?
And mastering the ability to read ki would undoubtedly enhance his combat capability. Yami's battle right before his eyes was the perfect lesson.
Yami cut down every light sword and quickly closed the distance with Patri.
Born into a fisherman's family, Yami only knew some basic sword techniques. But with his terrifying physical strength and the boost of dark magic, even those basic forms became heavy, fast, and overwhelmingly aggressive.
Patri's body flickered as he dodged Yami's blade while continuously firing light swords. The two of them moved through the ruins in a cycle of attack and defense.
Yami truly lived up to his nickname as the God of Destruction—his blade, a precision weapon, struck with the force of a battering ram.
Boom!
Yami struck down with a jumping slash, shattering the ground. The impact forced the rocks to bulge up from the pressure of the cracks.
Normally, such a wide motion would create an opening, and Patri immediately seized the chance, manipulating his light swords to stab forward.
"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked—Dimension Slash!"
A black, crescent-shaped slash flew out, shattering all the light swords and heading straight for Patri's chest.
Patri didn't expect Yami to be holding back on his speed and reflexes—he was caught completely off guard.
His entire body turned into particles of light and vanished, reappearing a good distance away from Yami.
But on the robe of the Eye of the Midnight Sun that he wore, a clear sword mark had been left, proving that Yami's attack had indeed landed.
Resting his sword on his shoulder, Yami said, "You still managed to get away, huh? But warm-up's over—time to go all out for the first time in a while."
"A warm-up, huh? You really are a massive obstacle on our path!" Patri said as he opened his grimoire.
"Light Creation Magic: Whip of Judgment!"
The light whip spread out like a tangle of vines, enveloping Patri almost entirely.
Yami raised his blade and said coldly, "Before we go all out, I have a question."
As he spoke, the dead-fish look in his eyes suddenly turned razor-sharp.
"From the very beginning, I thought your face looked familiar! My junior said you showed the face of someone I know. So, mind letting me take a look too?"
Patri gripped his light whip tightly, his expression unchanging as he replied, "Oh, that? It was just a strategy to quickly take down Fuegoleon. After all, he's a squad captain—taking him down fast isn't so simple."
"That so?" Yami said, and the ground beneath his feet suddenly shattered as he leapt into the air.
"I don't think it's that simple!"
Yami's blade slashed down hard, colliding with Patri's light whip.
The ground sank completely under the force, dust and debris exploding into the air, blocking Asta and Charles's view.
Light flared, slicing through the rising dust clouds and scattering them, allowing the two to see the battle clearly again.
The light whips danced like golden serpents, striking down toward Yami one after another—but all were repelled by the dark magic-clad blade.
Four black slashes flew out in succession, carving open a gap in the dense array of light whips.
Yami tried to seize the opportunity to get close to Patri—but at some point, his blade had become entangled in the light whip.
With a flick of Patri's wrist, the whip flung both the sword and Yami himself into the air, slamming him to the ground.
Black magic surged from Yami's blade, erasing the light whip that had wrapped around it. He flipped mid-air, righted himself, and fired a massive magic slash.
The slash, packed with mana, tore through the whips and flew straight toward Patri.
Once again, Patri turned into light particles, dodging the attack, and reappeared at a new angle to fire a barrage of light swords.
Yami stood his ground, gripping his sword with both hands as dark magic surged upward.
"Dark Magic: Black Hole!"
The light swords that had been flying toward Yami changed trajectory midway and were sucked into a pitch-black void beside him.
Instead of chasing after Patri, Yami turned and fired a slash behind him. A black slash raced toward Patri, who had just reappeared.
A beam of light shot out in return, overpowering Yami's magic. This time, it was Patri who actively closed the distance to Yami.
At such close range, the speed of the light swords exceeded even Yami's reflexes, carving wounds into his thick arms and legs.
"Click!"
Yami clicked his tongue in annoyance and slashed apart the remaining light swords with his blade.
Moments later, both the light whip and a dark slash exploded simultaneously, tearing the already devastated ground even further.
Yami stepped on floating rubble to close the gap to Patri, who had retreated into midair. His sword swept toward him without hesitation.
"Got you!"
Patri turned into light and vanished again, reappearing behind Yami—his light whip already lashing out.
Yami was mid-air, with nothing to use as footing—it seemed like he had no way to dodge. But instead of panic, he wore a slight smile.
"No—I'm the one who got you!"
"Dark Magic: Black Hole Derivative—Dark Cloaked: Black Blade!"
The descending light whip was sucked into a black hole. Then Yami's blade, now entirely black, slashed toward him.
"Damn! My mana… it's gone!"
After enduring two fierce battles, Patri's mana was already depleted. At this critical moment, he couldn't even dodge.
The black blade struck Patri, slamming him into the ground and shattering the earth beneath him.
Yami landed, sheathed his sword, and said, "Alright, guess I'll take the credit for this one."
He was just about to walk over and check on Patri's condition when his expression suddenly turned wary again. His hand returned to the hilt of his sword, ready to draw at any moment.
"This mana… looks like we've got more guests!"
On the clearing not far away, a spatial portal opened, and three figures stepped out. Patri, lying on the ground, sensed their mana and showed a relieved smile.
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