The air in the arena buzzed with mana tension as Silas Velnir's grimoire floated beside him, its crystalline pages glowing with refracted light.
Four gems—ruby, sapphire, topaz, and emerald—rose from his open palm, circling him in perfect formation.
The noble lifted his hand lazily, voice smooth and composed.
"Gem Magic — Fire Burst."
The ruby gem glowed first, drifting ahead.
In a heartbeat, it began spitting blazing fireballs, each one bursting through the air with trails of molten sparks.
The crowd gasped as waves of heat rippled through the barrier.
Down below, Asta's five-leaf grimoire flipped open beside him, its black pages fluttering violently under the mana pressure.
From within, the Demon-Slayer Sword emerged — massive, matte, and humming with raw anti-magic energy.
"Let's go!" Asta shouted, gripping the hilt.
The Ven-Drive on his arm clicked, plates shifting fluidly until it transformed into a sleek, glowing gun. Crimson vents pulsed along its side.
He raised it toward the oncoming barrage.
"Eat this!"
Asta fired — rapid bursts of anti-magic bullets screamed through the air, colliding with the fireballs mid-flight. Explosions of light and mana dust filled the arena, heat waves scattering wildly.
But some slipped through the storm.
Asta's eyes sharpened, his instincts kicking in. He swung his Demon-Slayer Sword in wide arcs, cutting through the remaining flames — each swing leaving faint trails of scorched air in its wake.
The crowd erupted in shouts and cheers.
"He's matching fire with… that thing?!"
"What kind of sword is that?!"
Nova, watching from the stands, smirked faintly.
Down on the field, Asta didn't slow down — he charged straight through the dissipating flames.
Silas's eyes narrowed, irritation flashing across his calm expression.
So this brute's a close-combat type, he thought, glancing at the black sword in Asta's hands. Very well. Let's make him regret closing the distance.
He raised both arms, his gems spreading outward in a flawless circle. Their lights brightened — red, blue, yellow, and green, pulsing in rhythm.
"Gem Magic — Quadra Burst!"
The air exploded.
Fireballs, water spears, lightning arcs, and slicing wind waves shot toward Asta in perfect sync — a cross-elemental storm of chaos.
For the first time, Asta's grin faltered.
"Whoa— that's way too much!"
He raised his gun and fired frantically, detonating a few of the attacks midair. But the next wave followed immediately. In a desperate motion, he slammed his hand down, and the Ven-Drive reshaped itself into a large shield, crimson veins glowing brightly.
He crouched behind it just as a barrage of elemental energy crashed down. Fire burst against the surface, lightning crackled, water exploded into steam, and air blades hissed around him.
The crowd roared as the entire arena filled with smoke and color.
"Incredible!"
"That's the power of a noble four-gem wielder!"
"He's being crushed!"
The King, lounging in his seat, leaned forward slightly, smirking. "A fine display of noble superiority. This is what happens when raw muscle meets refinement."
But beside him, Wizard King Julius didn't speak — his golden eyes tracked the glowing red sphere in the smoke, faint amusement glinting there.
"Don't count him out just yet…" he murmured.
The shield shuddered violently under the relentless barrage, each impact slamming into it like a hammer against iron.
Asta grit his teeth, muscles straining as he pressed both hands against the Ven-Drive's glowing surface. Sparks erupted around him, the crimson lines along the shield flickering erratically under the elemental onslaught.
"Dammit—!" he growled, feet skidding backward through the dirt as the force pushed him toward the edge of the barrier.
Fire splashed against the shield, followed by a thunderbolt that cracked the air like a whip. Steam hissed from every side as water and lightning collided in chaotic bursts, shaking the entire arena.
His arms trembled, shoulders burning from the pressure. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his breath coming out ragged and uneven.
"Urghh… this… guy's got power…!"
Cracks of mana began spidering across the outer layer of the Ven-Drive's shield, the crimson glow dimming for a heartbeat before flaring back, fueled by Asta's sheer will.
His boots dug into the stone floor, grinding deep grooves as he resisted the storm inch by inch.
From the stands, Celise's voice came low and controlled. "He's holding… barely. That shield wasn't meant for sustained elemental bombardment."
Nova's eyes narrowed, watching the vibrating red glow flicker like a heartbeat. Now that's interesting.
The next blast hit like thunder, the sound echoing across the coliseum — and Asta was forced down to one knee, shield still raised, his teeth bared in defiance.
The crowd collectively gasped, unsure whether to cheer or look away.
"He's going to break!"
"That thing's cracking!"
"It's over!"
But through the roiling smoke and explosions, a defiant shout rose, raw and unyielding—
"NOT… YET!"
The crimson shield flared again, burning brighter, pulsing to the rhythm of Asta's heartbeat — holding on through sheer stubborn will.
Suddenly, the crimson glow blazing across the Ven-Drive's surface shifted — deepening, darkening — until it pulsed with an ominous mix of black and red energy.
The air cracked.
A high-pitched hum built within the shield, growing louder with each heartbeat. The veins of light across the Ven-Drive brightened violently, the pattern spreading outward like living circuitry.
Then—
BOOM!
A violent shockwave erupted from Asta's position. The shield detonated outward in a ring of black-red energy, tearing through the storm of elemental attacks.
Fireballs winked out like candles in a gale. Water spears evaporated into steam before they could hit. Lightning bolts fizzled to nothing, absorbed into the crimson glow. Even the slicing wind blades scattered, sucked into the explosion's wake.
The entire arena went silent for a heartbeat — only the echo of the blast humming in the air.
At the center of the cratered arena, Asta stood, still crouched, smoke curling off his armor and shoulders, Ven-Drive glowing with faint crimson steam. The massive Demon-Slayer Sword rested against his shoulder, humming faintly with residual energy.
His eyes burned fiercely under the flicker of mana sparks. "Heh… I told you I wasn't done."
Up in the stands, the crowd broke into stunned murmurs.
"What was that?!"
"Did his shield just explode?"
"No—look, it erased the spells!"
Yami's cigar-smoke-filled laugh echoed across the captains' terrace.
" Now that's interesting, this kid surpass his limits. Very good."
He leaned forward, flicking ash off the edge of his robe.
Nova, watching from his seat, narrowed his eyes as the smoke cleared. The Ven-Drive has perfectly fused with that five-leaf clover grimoire, he thought. That's how Asta was able to release that field-covering blast of anti magic…
---
For a moment, even Silas couldn't speak. His polished boots scraped faintly against the stone as he took a step back, his once-calm expression cracking with something rare — disbelief.
That brute of a commoner was still standing.
No burns. No frostbite. No charred mana residue. Just smoke, steam, and a stupid grin.
"How…?" Silas muttered under his breath, gaze flicking between Asta and the faint crimson haze still radiating from the boy's armor. He should've been vaporized by that barrage.
He quickly regained composure, posture straightening, though his eyes burned with quiet frustration.
"Impossible," he said sharply, voice cutting through the murmuring crowd. "That attack— even seasoned Magic Knights avoid taking it head-on."
He raised his grimoire again, pages fluttering rapidly, and the four gems reappeared, hovering at his sides like obedient soldiers.
"Fine. Let's see if you can handle this, then."
The emerald gem pulsed first — a surge of wind exploding outward in a spiral, churning the air into a rapidly spinning vortex. The arena floor cracked under the growing pressure as sand and debris were pulled upward, swirling into a massive tornado that roared to life.
Before the audience could even react, Silas extended his hand toward the ruby gem, his voice cool and commanding:
"Gem Magic — Composite Resonance."
The ruby ignited, pouring flames directly into the spinning vortex. The tornado instantly shifted from green to a searing, molten orange, flames whipping through the air in violent spirals.
Heat surged through the arena, so intense that even behind the protective barriers, spectators shielded their faces.
But Silas wasn't done.
He turned his hand sharply toward the topaz gem, its yellow glow crackling violently with electricity.
"Let's raise the tempo."
A surge of lightning shot into the tornado, dancing along the fiery currents — turning the storm into a writhing firestorm of flame, wind, and thunder.
The arena lights flickered. The entire dome hummed with raw mana pressure. The roaring of the storm drowned out every other sound.
Asta braced himself, eyes wide as the towering inferno twisted higher, licking the sky. The ground beneath his feet trembled.
From the stands, panic and awe mingled in every voice:
"That's not possible—he combined three elements?!"
"That's high-tier composite magic!"
"Asta's done for! No one can withstand that!"
Even among the Magic Knight captains, several exchanged glances.
Fuegoleon's eyes narrowed, assessing. "A perfect fusion of elemental flows… his control is exceptional."
Yami, however, just smirked, taking a drag from his cigarette. "Tch. Pretty flashy for a guy who doesn't know who he's up against."
Up in the royal box, the King was practically glowing with delight. "Marvelous! Now this is what a noble duel should look like!"
But Julius… Julius was watching the storm differently. His gaze was focused not on the flames, but on Asta's still stance — his refusal to back away. "No… look at him. He's not planning to block this time."
Down below, Asta lowered his stance, both weapons at the ready — Demon-Slayer Sword in one hand, Ven-Drive humming in the other. The anti-magic aura around him flickered faintly, sparks of black-red light licking across his skin.
Seeing anti-magic flaring around Asta, Nova narrowed his eyes. Now this is interesting, very interesting....
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CHAPTER:- [133 - LUTHOR ALDEREY] IS AVAILABLE ON MY P@TREON