Sol Marron's Righteous Indignation...

Amid the cries of alarm, Sekke had no time to react before his body stiffened completely, then he went limp and collapsed to the ground.

After Asta's Demon-Dweller Sword shattered the magic,

it came crashing down directly, smashing Sekke to the ground like a weak-legged shrimp as blood spurted from his mouth.

No matter how hard Sekke thought about it, he could not understand how his Bronze Creation Magic, which possessed such formidable defensive power, had failed to block even a single move from Asta.

And wasn't that guy just ridiculously unreasonable?

Leaving aside just how much strength it took to swing a giant sword the size of a door panel and bring it smashing down,

the instant disappearance of his magic filled him with utter despair.

Pinned beneath the blow, even the ground under Sekke began to crack.

At that moment, Sekke was even a little relieved.

Fortunately, Asta had not struck his head. Fortunately, his Bronze Creation Magic had not been entirely useless and had created armor for him. Otherwise, he would probably have been smashed into pulp.

Asta's one-strike victory immediately left everyone around him stunned.

When they looked again at white-haired Asta, those who had loudly mocked him earlier all fell silent.

That guy really was a freak.

Yuno, standing nearby, naturally began using Wind Magic.

He faced off against a noble.

As someone from the Forsaken Realm, Yuno had never been particularly welcome in the Royal Capital.

What was more, the "elegant aura" Yuno naturally possessed provoked some of the shallow-minded people. They were nobles, yet their own refined bearing was not even comparable to Yuno's. How could they possibly accept that?

Thus, Yuno and his opponent began fighting almost instantly.

But a Four-leaf Clover was still a Four-leaf Clover.

Even though Yuno had awakened rather slowly and, even now, had only learned one spell, Breath of Wind, he was not flustered in the slightest when facing his opponent.

The wind seemed to take shape in Yuno's hands, endlessly slashing and spinning, gradually exhausting his opponent.

Fights soon broke out all around, while the gazes of the various Knights squad captains roamed continuously across the field.

Among everyone present, the captains had almost instantly formed a rough understanding of each person's abilities.

Gold would always shine.

Especially in a setting like this, how could violent fluctuations of magic power fail to draw everyone's attention?

The squad captains above had already begun choosing their preferred candidates.

Yet among the many figures, one person stood alone, looking especially out of place.

No, it would be more accurate to say that no one dared approach him at all.

That person was, naturally, Carl.

Even those fighting one-on-one or in groups of three did not choose Carl.

And the ultimate reason for all of this was naturally the terrifying power Carl had displayed earlier.

What kind of joke was this?

A guy who could create a sonic boom just by throwing a magic broom;

a person who needed only a few breaths to make a round trip.

Even if they truly faced him, everyone worried that they would be killed by a single blow from Carl before they could even use their magic.

What was more, he had not even used a Grimoire.

Asta was strange enough already, possessing a Grimoire despite having no magic power.

Then just how strange was Carl?

On top of that, the three of them had arrived together. Judging from Asta and Yuno's performances, Carl was clearly the strongest among them.

The others were not idiots either. No one was willing to pull a tiger's teeth.

Thus, the bizarre scene before them formed.

Countless people looked toward Carl, standing at the very center, yet there was not even a single figure around him. As if they had reached an unspoken agreement, everyone deliberately avoided Carl at the center while fighting.

Several squad captains exchanged looks.

When William Vangeance looked at Carl, he also felt a headache coming on.

Why did this guy have to stand out so much?

Just then, Charlotte of the Blue Rose Knights stared intensely at Carl.

It was as though a fierce struggle was taking place within her heart.

Sol Marron, standing beside her, noticed Charlotte's expression. Then, looking at Carl, who stood out so exceptionally in the field, she immediately clenched her teeth.

"Damn stinking man..."

she cursed inwardly.

If she had not had that inexplicable encounter with Carl before, how could she have become so strange now? Even in her dreams, she would think of Carl's smile.

Sol Marron was exceptionally irritated.

As someone with an extreme hatred of men, she absolutely would not allow a "filthy" man to appear even in her dreams.

What was more, this guy seemed to have affected her sister, Charlotte, as well.

Sol Marron gave Charlotte a look.

The next moment, as Charlotte stared at her in bewilderment, Sol Marron shouted:

"Let me test what he's made of!"

"Earth Creation Magic—Earthquake River!"

In an instant, massive waves of earth and stone surged up from the surrounding ground.

As vice-captain, Sol Marron naturally possessed considerable strength. The stones on the ground seemed to come alive, transforming into enormous rolling rivers of earth and rock.

The terrifying force was like a giant dragon turning over beneath the earth, charging directly toward Carl.

Charlotte nearly cried out in shock.

Covering her mouth, she looked at Sol Marron in disbelief.

Wait...

Was that what Sol Marron had meant by giving her that look?

She was trying to kill Carl?!

At that moment, Charlotte truly found herself caught between a rock and a hard place.

She had merely been considering whether to recruit Carl into the Blue Rose Knights, or rather, how she could bring him under her command without affecting her image.

After all, she was an incomparably aloof and proud queen.

But she had never expected Sol Marron to attack directly.

What if Carl got hurt?

Charlotte's face was full of conflict.

However, Sol Marron's actions naturally caught Carl's attention as well.

Carl immediately smiled faintly.

The next moment, his entire body became incredibly excited, his gaze toward Sol Marron brimming with fighting spirit.

Perfect. His strength had only just advanced, and he wanted to test for himself exactly how strong he had become.

Although Sol Marron's attack looked exaggerated and had even frightened the examinees around them, it was obvious that she had not used her full strength.

Carl suddenly let out a roar, the aura around him surging without end.

Endless magic power burst forth from the acupoints within his body.

"Eight Gates—Second Gate, Gate of Healing, open!"

As his aura erupted,

Boom!

A nearly colorless wave of air instantly burst from Carl's body, surging outward like a tide and wrapping around him.

At that very moment, Carl suddenly drove a fist downward.

A massive phantom fist directly hurled the earth and stones from the ground into the air.

Rumble—!

The rocks collided head-on with the Earth Dragon. After a deafening explosion, a huge crater instantly opened in the center of the ground.

Everyone around them was completely dumbfounded.

Wait...

Was this reasonable?

Wasn't this supposed to be an examination, merely a sparring match to demonstrate their abilities? How had it turned into Carl, this monster, directly clashing head-on with a vice-captain?

And that strike had actually looked evenly matched.

The others were not particularly powerful to begin with, so when they saw the result of Sol Marron's probing attack colliding head-on with Carl, they were naturally shocked beyond measure.

Sol Marron had not expected that she merely wanted to put Carl in his place.

Yet Carl had received the attack so effortlessly, without even using a Grimoire.

That left her in an awkward position instead.

Somewhat unwillingly, she glanced at Carl.

When Sol Marron saw his face, she seemed to recall yesterday's scene once more, and her heart immediately began pounding wildly.

She could even clearly hear the sound of her own heartbeat and the blood flowing through her veins.

With a faint blush on her face, Sol Marron suddenly let out an angry shout and prepared to attack again.

Standing nearby, Charlotte did not know whether she should stop her or not, and her entire body froze.

Just then—

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Sol Marron in an instant. His aura alone forced her back several steps.

Sol Marron had just been about to make a move.

Then she saw Yami Sukehiro standing lazily between the two of them.