Countless spatial portals opened—Finral's control over his magic was nothing short of masterful, among the most precise of all spatial mages. With his support, Vanessa's thread magic made Asta's movements truly ghostlike, impossible to track.
As Asta zipped past, he picked up the Demon-Destroyer Sword that had been knocked aside earlier and slashed Vetto without hesitation.
"Asta! Trust us and go all out!" Vanessa and Finral shouted in unison.
Appearing from another portal, Asta yelled, "I already do!"
And true to his words, he didn't hesitate—he charged at Vetto again.
Vetto raised his claw to retaliate, but a new spatial portal opened ahead of Asta. The boy vanished inside, reappearing behind Vetto.
Charles chuckled. With the sword stuck in him this long, Vetto's mana had to be nearly depleted. Not only that—his reinforcement magic was weakening too.
His strength, speed, perception—all had dulled. By the time Vetto noticed the incoming strike, Asta's sword was already falling.
Though he twisted to dodge, the blow still grazed him deeply across the back. He felt it—something was wrong. Looking down, his gaze fell on the sword still impaled in his abdomen.
"I thought I'd taken his weapon... but I'm the one disarmed?" he muttered, his growl laced with pain for the first time.
Gritting his teeth, Vetto grabbed the Demon-Dweller Sword and yanked it out with a roar.
"I won't lose! Not to you humans!"
He focused on a single portal—Asta's mana presence was within. But then… more portals opened, each containing an "Asta."
Mirror Magic: Mirror Image!
Transformation Magic: Magical Conversion!
Using Gauche's mirror clones and Grey's transformation magic, they created multiple "Astas"—each with the same mana signature… none.
It made their illusions harder to detect.
Gauche and Grey had clearly used most of their mana in the earlier battle. These illusions were their final card—and all hopes now rested on this play.
Vetto roared and smashed one Asta—only for it to shatter like glass.
Another vanished like mist.
Frantic, Vetto obliterated clone after clone, but none were real.
But he didn't lose focus. He expanded his perception, locking onto every portal, ready to strike down the real Asta the moment he emerged.
Then… the portals began to vanish.
Instead of increasing, the number of openings dwindled. Some disappeared entirely.
Vetto sneered. "Out of mana already? Pathetic, just like all you humans!"
He wasn't wrong—Finral's reserves were nearing empty. His spatial magic had pushed its limit.
"But it was enough!" Finral grinned.
One final portal opened—and out stepped Charles, not Asta.
The other portals all vanished. Face-to-face, almost nose-to-nose, Charles had poured every last drop of mana into this one attack.
"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus—Exploding Flame Blade!"
Though weakened from low mana, this was still a Secret Art. And at this close of a range—there was no escape.
The firestorm erupted point-blank, engulfing Vetto. Half of his body was ripped apart in the explosion.
Charles collapsed, completely drained of magic.
Vetto stood on one leg, face contorted in rage and pain.
"Beast Magic: ΛΣΦΠΞΔ!"
He began regenerating, but the process was slow. Still, the leg began to grow back—too slowly.
He staggered over to Charles, one hand raised, preparing to end him while his body and arm regenerated.
But behind him, a sonic boom erupted.
Vetto turned—eyes wide in horror.
Asta was flying toward him, hurled like a missile—and behind him stood Charmi's massive sheep, still in a throwing stance.
With all the portals gone, Vetto had assumed Asta couldn't reach him fast enough.
But he hadn't accounted for being thrown like a living projectile.
He also hadn't expected a magicless human to endure the G-force of such a throw.
He had underestimated Asta's iron-hard body—and more importantly, his unbreakable will.
Asta shouted, black markings creeping across his face. A dark shadow loomed behind him.
"Despair? Not one of us ever gave up in front of you!
You're the one who's lost!"
He brought his Demon-Destroyer Sword down in a mighty arc.
Vetto had no time to react. His defensive mana, his reinforcement spells—all were torn apart in a single blow.
His eyes rolled back—and he collapsed.
"…We won," Vanessa muttered, collapsing onto the ground in a duck-sit.
Finral flopped down beside her with a laugh. "Yeah… we did."
"It's a Black Bull victory!" everyone shouted with joy.
…
Later, Charles awoke in a bed at the Sea Temple, surrounded by its young priestesses. Finral sat nearby, nearly crying blood from envy.
Apparently, the High Priest had broadcast the entire fight, making Charles something of a celebrity.
To Charles, it felt surreal. One moment he had been casting a secret art, the next—he woke up staring at an unfamiliar ceiling.
Then a bunch of pretty girls rushed in, and for a second, he thought he'd died and gone to heaven.
But what Charles regretted most… was not being awake to witness Yami's new spell: Dimensional Slash.
Asta's attempt to describe it made no sense.
Vetto had, in the end, lost control—his unleashed mana alone could have destroyed the Sea Temple.
Only Yami's arrival had ended it. As always, Yami stole the show, unleashing a power capable of slashing through even demons.
Dimensional Slash—a power so broken even Charles couldn't comprehend how Yami had awakened it.
Magic was supposed to be based on will and belief—but this went beyond that. Charles simply couldn't wrap his head around it.
Still, he'd only been unconscious for a day. Just in time to attend the celebration feast.
The mission was a success. Nero found the magic stone—though the High Priest had no idea what or where it was. How Nero found it in the maze-like Sea Temple, no one knew.
Most of the Black Bulls were suffering mana exhaustion. Asta had a fractured arm. Magna and Luck were heavily bruised, but still mobile.
Once Finral recovered, he opened a portal—and the Black Bulls returned to their base victorious.
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