Dozens of remaining headless soldiers, drained of mana, collapsed into dust under the pressure.
Zzzzzzzt!
Asta braced himself with the Demon-Slayer Sword, its anti-magic edge buzzing violently as he held off the gust. Even with his incredible strength, the violent winds launched him into the air like a leaf in a storm.
Noelle surged forward, reaching out. "Asta!"
But Asta twisted mid-air and landed on his feet with a graceful flip, completely dodging Noelle's worried hug.
"Tch… he's already dodging affection again," Noelle muttered, crossing her arms and pouting.
"Are you okay?" she asked more seriously.
"I'm good!" Asta grinned, flexing. Thanks to the recovery potion, his stamina had returned in full. "I'm better than ever!"
Still, the wind magic unleashed by this headless general was monstrous—far beyond that of a typical foe. It was the kind of spell that warped the very sky, the kind of ancient, devastating magic likely crafted during the forbidden wars.
Yet Asta felt no fear.
He held in his hands the Demon-Slayer Sword, capable of cutting through and reflecting any form of magic, and slung across his back was the Demon-Dweller Sword, able to absorb and release magic energy.
Suddenly, the wind calmed… only to converge on the general's massive broadsword. He now floated ominously above the battlefield, gripping the weapon with both hands like a god about to strike judgment from the heavens.
"No! He's casting an area annihilation spell!" Vanessa shouted. Her Thread Magic was drained; her Red Thread of Fate couldn't activate. "We don't have enough mana to block it!"
"Vanessa, fall back!" Asta called out. His eyes burned with fighting spirit as green anti-magic energy crackled around him. "I'll handle this!"
He planted his feet, drawing power from within, his body glowing with the surge of Black Asta's anti-magic form.
"Real men charge forward!" Asta roared, the black horns sprouting from his head as he soared upward to meet the general's swing.
BOOOOOOOM!
The wind dragon carved from pure magical pressure descended like a mythic beast—but Asta countered with a full-force slash empowered by his Black Mode and the energy from opening Three Inner Gates.
"BREAK IT DOWN!"
The sky cracked as Asta's sword cleaved the wind dragon in two, and the force of the impact sent shockwaves behind him—shredding several remaining headless soldiers into magical dust. Noelle, standing behind him, was shielded from the backlash by the anti-magic barrier his slash left in its wake.
"BOOM!"
The general's body split diagonally, shattering the stone core in his chest. All remaining headless soldiers collapsed like puppets with their strings cut. The phalanx was no more.
"I feel… my magic returning!" Noelle gasped, water mana flooding back to her from the shattered Philosopher's Stone embedded in the formation.
"Now's our chance—let's move!" Vanessa shouted, summoning her Thread Magic to tug Chris and Nivier along on her enchanted broom.
She grabbed Noelle's hand and took off running.
BOOM! BOOM!
Behind them, new war drums echoed. The sky turned darker. A rain of magic arrows blanketed the ruins, each bolt pulsing with mana.
From the smoke emerged a dozen headless generals—each clad in dark blue cloaks and wielding giant swords imbued with elemental spells.
"They just keep coming!" Asta growled. "Guess I'll take the express route!"
Without warning, Asta grabbed Noelle and Vanessa under each arm and activated Black Asta Mode, his body glowing with anti-magic energy as he launched forward like a missile.
"Y-YOU IDIOT! WARN ME BEFORE YOU HUG ME!" Noelle shrieked, face flushed pink.
"So... a warning is all I need to hug you next time?" Asta smirked.
"I...I" Noelle stuttered.
Vanessa chuckled from under his other arm. "Well, at least the view is nice."
"Sister Vanessa!" Noelle shouted, mortified.
"Focus!" Chris warned from behind. "They're catching up!"
The headless generals had begun to run with terrifying speed, their magic-infused boots leaving cracks in the stone with every step.
"I'll hold them off!" Asta declared.
He slammed to a stop, placed Vanessa and Noelle down gently, then leapt back like a slingshot toward the pursuing enemies.
Their elemental magic burst from their swords—wind, water, fire, and ice, all spiraling in a deadly mix.
But Asta spun in mid-air and called out:
"BLACK HURRICANE!"
A tornado of red and green anti-magic swirled around him, blocking every attack and launching all twelve generals backward in a flurry of broken armor and fractured ground.
"You're a monster!" Nivier gasped in awe.
"Let's go!" Asta panted, his body steaming from overuse. He downed another recovery potion, veins glowing with energy. But it was clear—even for him, he was near his limit.
"BOOM!"
Suddenly, the ground split as a colossal figure in a crimson cloak and golden helm stepped from the shadows. The Headless King had arrived.
He raised a seven-colored greatsword, each gem in its hilt pulsing with a different elemental magic.
"Om..."
A horn blast rang across the land, shaking the battlefield. Every soldier, every general—even Asta—felt the tremor in their soul.
"All magic... it's being absorbed!" Chris shouted.
The gems on the king's sword drank in all nearby mana like a gluttonous beast. Even Noelle's water magic was sucked dry from the air.
"Asta, run!" Vanessa cried. "That's not just a spell—it's a World-Level Forbidden Spell!"
"I'm already running!" Asta yelled, his body screaming in protest.
Behind him, the red-robed king raised his blade and cast a deathly black light—a wave of pure destruction that annihilated everything it touched.
Plants, undead, monsters… even mana constructs dissolved like dust in the wind.
"It's a death ray!" Chris shouted, shielding his sister.
"LET ME GO!" Noelle screamed.
"Shut up and let me protect you!" Asta yelled, blood trailing from the corner of his lips.
Then he stopped.
"Vanessa! Take them!" Asta tossed Noelle and Vanessa with a desperate spin, sending them flying ahead on the enchanted thread.
And as the black light closed in behind him…
"Fourth Gate: Injury Gate — OPEN!"
BOOOOOM!
Asta's entire body exploded with chakra-like energy, muscles pulsing, skin glowing red from overload. His anti-magic surged like never before.
"I won't die… until I protect everyone!"
At this moment, Asta's body had reached its absolute limit—his muscles torn, blood vessels straining, and his skin flushed a frightening dark crimson. He had now entered the true danger zone of the forbidden Eight Gates Dunjia, a martial technique borrowed from a distant realm through the mysterious system. And now, Asta had unlocked the Dumen—the Seventh Gate. His strength and speed soared to unfathomable levels, eclipsing even his usual anti-magic-driven combat.
"Is that... a body technique? Something that multiplies raw power in an instant?" Vanessa thought in disbelief as she tumbled backward, blasted by the shockwave of his awakening. Even in a world where mana dictated dominance, Asta—devoid of magic—defied all logic. Could such power even be real?
The Headless King, clad in blood-red ceremonial robes, levitated high in the sky and raised a spectral blade forged from seven different elemental magics. With a single swing, a storm of magical destruction surged outward like a calamity!
Chris and Nivier clenched their eyes shut in resignation. Even Noelle and Vanessa, their wide eyes reflecting the incoming devastation, could barely withstand the pressure. It was like watching the heavens crumble—a force akin to an avalanche descending from the peaks of the Grand Magic Zone.