Yuuki pulled the golden sword from the ground. The massive golden shield, which had risen like a wall, disintegrated into glimmering particles.
He had slightly underestimated this golden sword.
He had originally thought it lacked offensive capability, but the magic fluctuations generated by the dragon's head condensing the beam were on par with a full-strength strike from a Magic Knight squad captain.
"Truly worthy of the name 'Guardian.' From the name to the effects, even the blade cast entirely in gold and adorned with gemstones—it feels like a magical artifact made specifically to protect the royal family."
Yuuki weighed the sword in his hands and spoke softly.
With this golden sword, he essentially wielded a defensive magic shield.
Setting the artifact aside, his gaze shifted to the other three magical tools.
First was a palm-sized box.
Yuuki held it, and from its appearance, it resembled a music box. Opening it, a faint bluish projection-like light emerged.
He recalled seeing this in the anime: Asta had opened the box, projecting an image of Luck from another location.
Yuuki infused his mana into the magic tool. Within the bluish projection, some special magical script appeared briefly before vanishing. Then, a faint image of Yuuki's upper body materialized within the projection.
Simultaneously, a blue mirror-like projection appeared before him, showing his current image.
"So this is…"
Yuuki guessed its purpose.
He shook his head. Whatever movements he made, the projected image mirrored them precisely. Even his voice came from the projection in near-perfect sync.
After observing for a moment, Yuuki understood fully: This was a special communication magic box. Once someone's mana was recorded, it allowed remote communication with that person.
In short, it was for contacting others.
"Not as dazzling as the first two artifacts, but highly practical," Yuuki murmured.
Suddenly, an idea struck him—could he combine it with his tracking magic?
This magic tool located a person via their mana and projected his image to them—essentially similar to his tracking magic.
He immediately ran a test.
Currently, his tracking magic marked only two people: Noelle and Mars of the Eight Radiant Generals.
Yuuki quickly donned a new black robe and mask, then activated the communication box using his tracking magic.
Black Bulls' base!
Though night had fallen, the base remained brightly lit.
The dining hall tables were laden with food. The Black Bulls had gathered to celebrate Asta and the others' safe return from a mission.
On this mission, except for Noelle, who had only used defensive magic, Asta and Luck had both suffered significant injuries—but much less severe than before. At least Asta wouldn't be bedridden for a week.
"Damn it! We finally met a powerful enemy, and they just got taken away!"
Sparks of electricity flickered around Luck as he stabbed at his plate with fork and knife, wearing a slightly feral grin.
Noelle instinctively moved away, sighing in exasperation. Were there no normal people in this squad?
"Luck-senpai! Don't waste food!" Noelle called, scanning the others.
Asta, with his mouth full, mumbled between bites, "Yeah! Yeah! Don't waste it!"
A young girl named Charmy, who had even more food in her mouth than Asta, nodded enthusiastically while holding a huge drumstick.
"Even though the mission had unexpected events, it turned out well. This calls for a celebration… hic…"
Bananas, dressed in a bikini-like outfit with curly pink hair, half-slumped drunkenly over the table, holding a bottle of alcohol.
Bang!
A strong palm slammed onto the table, rattling the food.
"Shut up, you idiots!"
Yami, smoking and leaning back in his chair with legs crossed, voiced his displeasure.
A heavy pressure fell over the room, and everyone went silent.
"Not only did we get beaten badly, but someone else got there first! The treasure in the Magic Palace didn't reach the Diamond Kingdom, but it was taken by another force. This isn't a complete success."
Asta and Noelle immediately lowered their heads, even holding their breaths cautiously.
Luck's grin didn't falter, but the atmosphere was tense.
Then—
"Hahaha!"
Yami suddenly laughed. "You guys did well. At least you didn't let the Diamond Kingdom take advantage."
For newcomers Asta and Noelle, facing the Diamond Kingdom so soon and surviving with only minor injuries was remarkable.
The others at the table continued as usual, seemingly expecting Yami's rapid change in attitude. Only Asta and Noelle looked stunned.
"Was the mysterious black-robed figure from this mission similar to the one in Soshi Village?" Yami asked, smoke dangling from his mouth.
"Except for the mask, the outfits were similar," Asta replied, scratching his head.
"Last time, they captured the attackers in the village. This time, they took Diamond Kingdom's people and moved most of the treasure in advance."
"Seems a mysterious force has appeared within the kingdom," Yami said lazily, though his eyes betrayed seriousness.
If the Soshi Village incident hadn't been serious, this one was different. The enemy had located the newly appeared Magic Palace quickly, showing they had a strong intelligence network.
Transferring most of the treasure and capturing a powerful mage from the Diamond Kingdom showed careful planning—not something an ordinary force could do.
So far, this mysterious force hadn't directly harmed the Clover Kingdom, but in Yami's view, an uncontrolled and unknown force was inherently dangerous.
"Um… Captain, what will happen to the Diamond Kingdom mage taken in the Magic Palace?" Asta asked anxiously.
Yami didn't reply immediately.
Luck spoke first: "Probably dead."
"Dead?" Asta froze.
"The timing and approach for taking the mage skilled in Ore Magic were perfect. This was clearly an ambush prepared specifically for him," Luck explained.
He crossed his arms over his head, complaining: "I was hoping to fight someone that strong myself!"
Yami, arms crossed lazily, said, "Not necessarily. This force might not easily defeat you or the Golden Dawn. They're probably not ordinary Diamond Kingdom mages."
"I'm curious too. News should come soon," Yami added with a slight smile.
"No wonder Finral wasn't here—he was assigned elsewhere by the captain," Magna said, chewing his meat.
Just then, a silver spatial portal appeared in the dining hall, and Finral emerged, looking exhausted and in pain.
Whoosh!
A plate hurled by Yami smashed perfectly onto Finral's head.
"Too slow! If you were later, I would've killed you!" Yami growled.
"Captain… can I catch my breath first?" Finral whimpered, holding his head.
"Quick, speak!" Yami demanded.
Finral stiffened, then spoke quickly: "From Diamond Kingdom, the two most important mages sent to the Magic Palace were Rotas, who uses Smoke Weakening Magic—he was repelled by Luck—and Mars, one of the Eight Radiant Generals."
"Eight Radiant Generals?!" The room froze.
"You idiot! That's the Diamond Kingdom's top eight mages, equivalent to our Magic Knight captains!" Noelle exclaimed.
They had actually faced such opponents!
Finral continued: "Mars has returned to the Diamond Kingdom, but is heavily injured and undergoing treatment."
Targeting an Eight Radiant General… Yami raised the perceived threat level of this mysterious force.
At that moment, Yami's lazy gaze sharpened. A blue, mirror-sized projection appeared above the table, showing a masked figure in a black robe.
Asta recognized it immediately. "That's exactly how they looked!"
The Black Bulls froze, eyes fixed on the projection. Mana rippled through the hall.
A deep, slightly hoarse voice came from the projection:
"Honored Black Bulls, I speak to you as a friendly warning."
"Who are you?!" Asta pulled out the Demon-Slaying Sword, alert.
"The identity isn't important. But the Burning Lion will fall."
The projection vanished instantly.
Yami's eyes darkened. He exhaled smoke and clenched his fists.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Without another word, Luck and the others immediately dashed out, some breaking through walls in their hurry.
For a moment, only Asta, Noelle, and Yami remained in the hall.
Minutes later, the group returned, shaking their heads.
"The Burning Lion will fall?" Yami's first thought was of Fagrein.
"Tch… bold, aren't they?" he muttered, smoking. Something big was about to happen.
Elsewhere, in his extra-dimensional space, Yuuki deactivated the communication magic box and removed his mask.
"All the Black Bulls are here," he murmured, massaging his temple.
He had only meant to test the combination of tracking magic and the communication box. Mars was recovering and unsuitable as a test subject, so he chose Noelle instead.
Unexpectedly, the entire Black Bulls group was present, which startled him. Fortunately, the mask concealed his identity.
Yuuki considered cutting the connection, but then decided to send a cryptic warning—like a prophecy:
Soon, the White-Eyed Mage would invade the capital to target Fagrein.
He wanted to see how his warning would influence events.
(End of chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon!Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects.Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next bonus chapter at 700 powerstones.