"Yaaawn... Things seem pretty bad, huh? Looks like Licht and Valtos both ran into some trouble."
The lazy man yawned, looking as though he could fall asleep at any moment.
"Well then, even someone like me who hates trouble has no choice but to help out his friends."
As he spoke, he suddenly used the same kind of magic as Patri to teleport directly in front of Yami.
Copy Magic—capable of using any attribute of magic the user has seen. It was a spell perfectly suited to him. This was the false Raya, one of the Three Eyes of the Midnight Sun, a reincarnated elf from five hundred years ago.
Because the reincarnation magic used on the Three Eyes was more complete, their mana after reincarnation was even greater.
"What a strange-looking grimoire... Oh well, I guess it doesn't really matter."
Raya actually reached out and touched Yami's grimoire, as if genuinely curious about it.
"Dark-Cloaked: Dimension Slash!"
Yami unleashed a slash in iaido style; the strike was especially fast—even Raya, who had copied Light Magic, couldn't dodge it in time.
"Ow, man, that's annoying! But a little injury like this, I can heal it right away."
Raya muttered as he cast healing magic on himself.
"Light Healing Magic: Particles of Restoration!"
Raya retreated. He hadn't provoked Yami on a whim—at the same time he moved, the other two had rescued both Patri and Valtos.
Patri relaxed as he turned to the girl in front of him and said, "So you're here. Sorry—on my own, I wasn't strong enough to defeat them."
The pink-haired girl's eyes were filled with emptiness, but she still asked gently, "Licht, does it hurt?"
"Now that you're here, Fana, it doesn't anymore," Patri replied.
The girl, Fana, was also one of the Three Eyes. She was Fana of Hatred—hatred that stood opposite to love.
"It's alright now! Flame Healing Magic: Phoenix Feather Cloak!"
Roaring flames engulfed Patri, but rather than burning him, they began slowly healing his injuries.
"With you all here, I'm at ease now," said Licht, standing amidst the flames.
Raya yawned again and said, "Licht, it's really troublesome to try to handle everything by yourself, you know."
Fana followed up, "I hate those who hurt Licht."
Finally, the last of the Three Eyes, a man like a raging lion—Vetto of Despair—opened his mouth.
"Bastards... How dare you insects harm my friends! I'm going to crush you like ants, rip your wings off like butterflies, and tear you to pieces!"
Even Asta, who couldn't sense mana, could feel the dangerous pressure radiating from the three of them. Yami and Charles, who could sense mana, felt the overwhelming power laced with malice even more clearly.
Patri said with pride, "Let me introduce them. These are the three strongest members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun!"
"The strongest?" Asta said in disbelief. He had seen Patri's strength firsthand—it was hard to imagine there were three people even stronger.
"Yes. In some situations, their power even surpasses mine.
Your Clover Kingdom, as the name implies, is symbolized by a three-leaf clover. The three leaves represent ideals that couldn't be more at odds with you: honesty, hope, and love.
But their names come from the opposite meanings. Raya the False, opposite of honesty. Vetto of Despair, opposite of hope. Fana of Hatred, opposite of love."
Yami removed the cigarette from his mouth and said, "Man, you guys picked some dramatic names. Just hearing your names doesn't tell me whether you're strong or not."
"Oh?" Raya yawned again and said, "Then I guess I'll just have to prove it. Even if it's a hassle."
A katana made of dark magic appeared in Raya's hand, and he took up the exact same stance as Yami.
Dark Magic's weakness was its low movement speed, but that wasn't an issue for Raya.
He flickered with Light Magic and instantly appeared at optimal attack range.
"Copy Magic: Dark-Cloaked—Dimension Slash!"
"You're that 'False Raya,' right? Bastard, don't go plagiarizing other people's spells, or I'll sue you for copyright infringement!"
Yami responded with the same technique. Two black slashes collided and canceled each other out.
Asta was hesitating whether to jump in when Charles suddenly grabbed him and pulled him back.
"Beast Magic: Bear Claw!"
Asta only heard a loud crash—the spot where they had just stood was smashed to pieces by a single slap from Vetto.
There was no way Yami would let Vetto run wild. Neither Asta nor the still-weakened Charles looked capable of taking on an attack from Vetto.
Yami's counterattack struck the ground, but Vetto had already dodged ahead of time.
Yami frowned. He realized the enemy hadn't evaded by sensing mana. If anything, it was like they were using the same "ki reading" technique as himself.
Beast Magic—that was Vetto's powerful magic. As the name implied, it gave him the abilities of wild beasts.
And when it came to danger perception, beasts far surpassed humans. Vetto didn't even need to train to use ki reading—he was born with it.
But that wasn't what made Vetto truly terrifying. After dodging Yami's attack, he flipped through the air and lunged at him like a wild animal.
His mana-wrapped hands clashed against Yami's blade, making a sickening screech.
This man fought like an actual beast—not just in brutality, but in raw strength.
"Beast Magic: Bear Claw!"
Vetto had fused the rawest, most representative animal trait into magic, forming this spell.
That ability was Destruction. Vetto's magic was the embodiment of his name—it existed only to bring despair to his enemies.
To Yami's shock, Vetto's bear claw tore through the dark magic on his blade and snapped his mithril-forged katana.
"Come, little rats—let me see your faces twisted in despair! That's the tastiest seasoning when I devour you!"
Yami leapt back in front of Asta and Charles, looked at the broken blade, and cursed.
"Bastard, that sword was custom-made! It was super expensive, damn it! You'd better pay me back!"
"Damn, I haven't even finished paying it off in installments!"
Perhaps not wanting to listen to Yami's nonsense, Fana in the distance also launched an attack.
The red creature that had been perched on her shoulder spewed a torrent of flames at Yami.
Charles's eyes lit up, and he stepped forward to block in front of Yami.
The flames spread, temporarily obscuring the Three Eyes' vision. But then, a strange sound of gulping came from within the fire.
As the flames lessened, the Three Eyes finally saw what was happening—Charles had his mouth wide open, swallowing the flames into his stomach.
Yami puffed on his cigarette and muttered, "Oi, you can do that? That's straight-up cheating!"
As he devoured the flames, Charles's previously depleted mana quickly recovered.
When the last wisp of flame was sucked into his mouth, Charles wiped his lips with satisfaction and said, "Thanks for the meal. I can feel the power flowing back into me!"
He looked at the red creature perched on Fana's shoulder. The little thing seemed confused as to where its fire had gone—it tilted its head, mirroring its master's expression.
The creature had four legs and two wings. Though small, it had scales and armor.
"Salamander, huh?" Of course Charles knew what it was.
Salamander—one of the Four Great Elemental Spirits, the spirit of fire.
Salamander was also known as the Fire Lizard, and some even called it the Fire Dragon. When Natsu joined Fairy Tail, his title was also Salamander.
And right now, Salamander looked exactly like a young dragon.
"I'll take that one!" That was Charles's thought. As the son of the Flame Dragon King, Salamander was simply too perfect a fit for him.
…Absolutely don't misunderstand—Charles totally wasn't thinking of keeping Salamander just because its flames tasted amazing and he wanted a steady source of food.
It was for spirit magic. Yep. All for powerful fire spirit magic.
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