In the end,
Valtos clenched the fist hidden beneath his white robe—tightening it, then loosening it again—before ultimately choosing not to act.
"As for why the three of you were sent together…"
A faint smile curved at Yuuki's lips as he looked at the confused Sally and Rades.
"Obviously, it was so the two of you could hold me back with everything you've got—
long enough for Valtos to escape using Spatial Magic."
Snap.
Yuuki raised his hand and snapped his fingers, his expression thoughtful as he casually analyzed the situation, completely unconcerned with the three of them standing there.
"It seems both Licht and the Third Eye, Rhya, are currently tied up with matters they can't leave unattended."
"Vetto and Fana failing in sequence also caused the Eye of the Midnight Sun to lose quite a few capable mages. You're running short on manpower now."
"That's why all three of you were sent together."
Yuuki looked back at them and smiled.
"Relax. I was planning to head back anyway. I won't make a move."
"What the hell are you rambling about the moment you show up?!"
"You don't even use honorifics when talking about our lords, you brat—!"
Rades shouted angrily, but his words cut off halfway through as his pupils suddenly shrank.
Yuuki had vanished—
and in the next instant, he was standing directly in front of Rades, one hand resting on his shoulder.
At that moment—
An indescribably terrifying pressure burst forth from Yuuki's body.
In Rades's perception, the surrounding world instantly grew heavy and oppressive, as though countless bloodthirsty beasts had closed in on him from all sides.
A fear that came straight from the depths of his soul flooded his body.
Under the influence of that pure, overwhelming aura, Rades began trembling uncontrollably.
Thud!
His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees with a dull sound. Both hands flew to his throat as if he were suffocating.
"Th-This… what is this…?"
Rades's eyes bulged wide, bloodshot veins spreading across the whites as he stared at Yuuki in disbelief.
How can this annoying little brat be this strong?!
Damn it… was this guy pretending the whole time?!
"Honestly," Yuuki said calmly, glancing down at the shaking Rades,
"if you don't understand the situation, don't run your mouth."
The terrifying pressure filling the air vanished instantly.
At that moment, Sally and Valtos both let out heavy breaths of relief.
Although Yuuki had primarily targeted Rades, the pressure and aura leaking out had also affected the other two.
Especially the faintly revealed mana—it made Sally and Valtos's hearts tremble.
"Yuuki…"
Sally swallowed hard, staring at him in shock, as if unable to believe that the man standing before her was the same Yuuki she remembered.
"Long time no see, Sally," Yuuki said gently.
"You've already uncovered quite a bit about the Clover Kingdom's legends—and the First Wizard King, haven't you?"
Sally nodded reflexively, then suddenly noticed the Fire Spirit Salamander perched on Yuuki's left shoulder.
The composure she'd barely regained shattered instantly.
"Salamander?!"
"Oh, this?" Yuuki glanced at the spirit.
"Fana's dead. So it followed me."
He said it as if it were nothing out of the ordinary.
But to Sally and the others, the words landed like a thunderclap.
All three of them shuddered.
Rades especially—any resentment that had begun to surface vanished without a trace.
"Let's go, Valtos," Yuuki said calmly.
"Since Licht-sama sent you to confirm my status, you might as well take me back with you."
"The base has moved again, hasn't it?"
Valtos's expression grew more complex and subdued.
He knew full well—
Yuuki wasn't asking.
Black spatial mana enveloped everyone present, and their figures vanished.
When Yuuki regained his vision, the familiar surroundings told him they had arrived inside the Eye of the Midnight Sun's floating fortress.
He sensed the spatial coordinates.
As expected—it wasn't the original location.
Yuuki didn't bother leaving a spatial marker. The base would move again anyway; it would be pointless.
Valtos silently led the way ahead.
Sally and Rades did not follow.
Yuuki didn't mind.
Rades didn't dare to, after what just happened.
And as for Sally—that madwoman, with Yuuki's earlier hints, was probably already beginning to doubt Licht and the others.
"…Why did you do it?"
Valtos suddenly asked in a hoarse voice from the front.
Yuuki glanced at him. With Valtos's intelligence, it was obvious he had already guessed who had leaked the information.
Instead of answering directly, Yuuki asked:
"Do you remember the last thing I said to you when you came to the tavern?"
Valtos's eyes flickered.
"What if the ones betraying the Eye of the Midnight Sun… are Licht and the others?"
Valtos fell silent again and continued leading the way.
After passing through a dim corridor, light appeared ahead.
They stepped out into a vast, open hall.
Towering stone pillars stood scattered irregularly throughout the space—exactly the same environment as when Yuuki had first come here.
Only this time, Yuuki felt no caution at all.
Standing atop one of the stone pillars was Licht, his body bathed in a gentle glow.
When he saw Yuuki and Valtos enter, surprise flashed across his face.
"Thank you for your hard work, Valtos," Licht said gently.
"This is my duty, Licht-sama," Valtos replied respectfully, bowing with his head lowered so his expression couldn't be seen.
Licht stood quietly on the platform, his gaze settling fully on Yuuki below.
"I never thought you'd dare to come back here," he said coldly.
As his voice fell—
A terrifying aura erupted from Licht's body.
Invisible pressure surged down from the stone platform like a crashing tide!
Valtos's shoulders collapsed. His face changed drastically as he felt an overwhelming presence bearing down on him.
Breathing became difficult.
Cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he hurriedly retreated, distancing himself from Yuuki.
Yet—
At the center of that crushing pressure, Yuuki remained unmoved.
He calmly lifted his head and looked up at Licht.
In Yuuki's perception, massive amounts of mana were surging continuously from Licht's body, forming a vast, invisible mana field.
These elves really are monsters favored by mana, Yuuki thought.
"I'm a member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun," Yuuki said, tilting his head slightly.
"Why wouldn't I dare to come back?"
Whoosh!
A golden flash appeared out of nowhere!
In an instant, it reached Yuuki's brow—a blade of light roughly thirty centimeters long, moving at a speed that surpassed conventional magic.
But—
Two centimeters from Yuuki's forehead, it stopped.
Because Yuuki's right hand had grasped the blade at its center.
Silver mana flowed like water from his hand, rapidly spreading across his body, forming Mana Skin.
Crack!
Yuuki squeezed with his left hand.
The light blade shattered instantly, breaking into countless particles that faded into the air.
Seeing Yuuki block the attack so effortlessly, Licht's gaze grew colder—especially when his eyes landed on Salamander perched on Yuuki's shoulder.
"Fana… died by your hand, didn't she?" Licht asked, his voice low.
"Yes," Yuuki replied, nodding plainly.
Even though Valtos had already suspected it at the forest's edge, hearing Yuuki admit it directly before Licht still sent shockwaves through him.
"Hahahaha!"
Licht suddenly laughed.
A cold, murderous voice echoed through the hall.
"Leaking the organization's intelligence!"
"Killing a member of the organization!"
"You've done all that, and you still dare to come here?!"
"I never imagined that a trivial nobody could cause us so much trouble."
"You never spoke a single truth to me from the very beginning!"
"And your magic—there's no way it's just simple replication."
"To grow from weak to standing shoulder to shoulder with us in such a short time…"
"I'm truly curious about your magic—"
At the instant the word magic left his lips—
Licht's figure vanished.
He reappeared beside Yuuki, his hand reaching straight for Yuuki's grimoire.
Yuuki's black eyes shifted.
He lifted his leg and kicked—
his foot striking Licht's chest faster than Licht's hand could reach its target.
Boom! Boom!
With a heavy impact, Licht was sent flying, smashing through two massive stone pillars before finally crashing into a pile of rubble.
Rumble!
Stone collapsed, dust billowing into the air.
"The legs are longer than the arms, you know," Yuuki said casually, looking toward the ruined debris.
Then his tone shifted.
"Or should I say—Rhya?"
Tap—tap—tap.
Light footsteps echoed from within the dust.
A figure emerged—
Not Licht.
But Rhya, wearing his usual lazy expression.
"Guess I was found out," Rhya said, brushing dust from his black hair streaked faintly with white. His tone was calm.
"And don't call me 'sir.' It sounds pretty ironic."
Clearly, he didn't care in the slightest that his identity had been exposed.
(End of Chapter)
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