"How dare you hurt my com Valtos? You'll go to hell for that!"
Licht's cold voice echoed through the cavern. Standing beside him was a skinny, squinting blue-haired man.
"Your com Valtos? So, you're not even human anymore. No wonder you recovered so quickly."
Adam stayed calm, though his heart grew heavy. This guy was definitely stronger than before.
The voice hadn't changed — same arrogance, same menace.
"Sally… they actually hurt you like this…"
Licht's eyes welled with tears as he looked at Valtos, the buttoned-up man beside him. Without a word, he opened a black spatial portal and placed Sally inside for safety.
Then, turning to Adam, his cold gaze hardened.
The hatred between them — deep and irreconcilable.
"It's you!"
Licht's tone shook with fury. "I am the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun — Licht!"
"Adam."
The air froze. The two locked eyes, tension thick enough to choke on. If glares could kill, they'd both be in hell already.
Whoosh!
"Light Magic: Light of Divine Punishment!"
Licht vanished and reappeared behind Adam, firing a massive beam of holy light straight at him.
"Can you try a different move for once?"
Adam had already predicted Licht's trick. He spun, releasing five beams of light in retaliation.
"Dragon Blast! Electric Eyes Intimidation!"
"Divine Punishment!"
Their magics collided violently inside the cave, shaking the walls. At that moment, Valtos spotted an opening. He summoned a black spatial tunnel and hurled a dark sphere toward Adam.
"Annoying fly."
Adam tanked the hit, then warped forward through space. In a flash, he appeared in front of Valtos and blasted him point-blank with searing light. The clown-like necromancer dropped unconscious instantly.
"One pest down, now let's—"
"What have you done to my Valtos, you sinful bastard!"
Licht's expression darkened. A massive orb of light condensed in his palms and shot directly toward a wounded teammate — Theresa, lying defenseless on the ground.
A perfect tit-for-tat moment.
"Asta!"
Adam shouted, "This ponytailed bastard's not even fighting fair! The old lady didn't hit him, so why's he shooting her?"
Asta drew his Demon-Slayer Sword and planted himself in front of Theresa. The beam of light was enormous — one small knight against a tidal wave of magic.
"What are you trying to do to my squad members?!"
At that critical moment, Finral and Yami burst out from a space portal. Finral immediately redirected Licht's light beam into another dimension.
"Finral, send them back first, then return to me," Yami ordered. He gripped his katana like a street boss ready to throw down, and Finral nodded hurriedly.
"Captain Yami!" Asta shouted, eyes lighting up.
"It's my day off, dammit. What the hell are you brats up to again?"
Yami ruffled Asta's hair roughly, making the boy yelp in pain.
Finral wasted no time, teleporting Theresa, Nero, and Gauche — all exhausted or injured — to safety.
"I really don't want to come back!" he muttered as the portal closed.
Yami could tell exactly what the kid was thinking.
Now only a few remained — the unconscious Valtos, the grim-faced Licht, Yami holding Asta back, and Adam watching from a distance.
"Focus on this guy. Finral's got the kids out," Yami said, setting Asta down. "You did good, kid. Now, watch how a real captain fights."
Yami stepped forward, aura flaring, ready to engage.
"Captain of the Black Bulls, I don't have time for you!" Licht snapped. He didn't even look at Yami — his eyes were fixed on Adam.
"Your opponent's me! Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!"
Licht's light attack shattered instantly against Yami's black blade.
"One by one, huh? Fine! Come and stop me!" Licht snarled, his magic surging wildly. "Then I'll judge you first! Light Magic: Whip of Divine Punishment!"
He teleported behind Yami, sending dozens of golden whips lashing through the air. Asta tried to help, but Yami kicked him aside.
"Stay back, kid!"
Without even turning, Yami swung his sword, deflecting each whip precisely.
"As expected of the Black Bulls' Captain!" Adam muttered, impressed despite himself.
Licht's face hardened, his fury palpable. "Then how about this!"
The golden whips accelerated, too fast for even Yami's reflexes.
"It's been a while since I used full power," Yami growled. His magic exploded outward, darkness consuming the light. Every golden whip was shredded in an instant as he lunged forward.
"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!"
"Light Magic: Divine Punishment!"
Light and dark — eternal opposites — collided with earth-shaking force. The duel raged from sky to stone.
Adam couldn't help but twitch his mouth. "Why do these guys always start monologuing their life tragedies mid-fight? Does trauma increase their damage output or something?"
One shouted about being needed by the world but cast aside; the other about being discriminated against.
Adam sighed — at least Licht had one point right: nobles didn't just discriminate against the weak, but against anyone below their social rank.
"Try harder, you melodramatic bastards," Adam said, shrugging.
While the others were distracted, Adam focused on something more "important." Every time these enemies got knocked out, they'd wake up stronger. He needed to stop that cycle.
He kept an eye on Licht — and when the leader wasn't looking —
Slap!
Adam smacked Valtos across the face. Once. Twice. A hundred times. The man's thin cheeks ballooned into puffy bruises.
"Let's eliminate meaningless rematches at the source," Adam muttered, adding a few solid kicks below the belt for good measure.
Valtos woke up screaming in pain — then fainted again.
"You, who hurt the innocent! As the embodiment of justice, I shall punish you severely!" Adam declared proudly, completely absorbed in his own 'heroic' logic.
He didn't notice Licht had seen everything.
That last vicious kick reminded Licht of the Dragon Blast from before.
"You damn bastard! What did you do to my people?!" Licht roared. His rage shook the entire cavern, forcing Yami to halt mid-swing.
The leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun began channeling a spell powerful enough to destroy the entire space. His golden eyes blazed with pure killing intent.
"Crap, that's not good!" Adam hissed.
Licht teleported to Valtos's side. Adam was about to launch another Dragon Blast when Yami shouted, "Kid, stop! If that spell gets interrupted, it'll blow — and we'll all turn to ash!"
Adam quickly moved to grab Valtos.
But Licht was faster. He snatched Valtos, eyes glowing furiously, and vanished into light.
"Today is your doomsday!" Licht's voice thundered as he disappeared into the shining void.