Yuno looked down again. After the dust-laden wind dispersed, what remained were broken brown earth and shredded vegetation.
His gaze swept around, but there was no sign of Bai En among the tall trees or the undulating puddles.
'Where did he go?'
The anxiety rising in his heart made Yuno adjust his Mana Perception to its maximum, and his personal Mana Zone also expanded to its fullest extent.
A subtle tremor of magic, slightly different from natural magic, faintly stirred.
It was very faint.
But Yuno still detected it.
A surging wind vibrated from him, momentarily resembling a blossoming flower. The wind flowers, like psychokinesis, pushed everything outwards.
A single white sphere remained in place, passing through the wind flowers.
Bai En, within the activated range of Magic Conversion, continuously swung Zanyan. Although nothing appeared in the air, a whistling sound of wind erupted with each swing of Zanyan.
Within Yuno's Mana Perception, several sharp, linear slashes intertwined into a disordered "well" shape, attacking his back.
He did not panic. As the slashes descended, he spun in the air and rapidly dropped towards the ground, his palm waving with a greenish-blue magic. His floating four-leaf clover grimoire flipped open.
His low voice, like his perpetually expressionless face, was somewhat cold.
"Wind Creation Magic: White Bow of Gale!"
"And, Sylph's Breath."
Slender strands of wind formed a longbow. Wind arrows naturally emerged as the bowstring was drawn. The longbow, drawn taut like a full moon, resembled a cold and deadly siege crossbow on a battlefield.
"Bell!"
"Coming!" The Wind Elf, summoned by Yuno, puffed out her cheeks and blew a gust of wind at the white powerful bow.
Amidst the great wind's vibration, the wind arrow shot forth with fury.
Sharp slashes continuously collided with the arrow, which was enveloped in a swirling wind. Both dissipated, seemingly turning into scattered magic and vanishing into the air.
"Wind Creation Magic: Rain of Wind Blades!"
Yuno's movements were ceaseless. After releasing two spells consecutively, the next wind spell arrived instantly. This was a retaliatory move, as thousands of wind blades scattered forward, piercing.
It was like a white arrow rain.
Bai En made no move to block, merely calling out softly, "Xiao Tong!"
A small sword emitting a faint glow flew out from the Sky Elf's dancing battle skirt. The kitchen utensil reverted from its delicate form to its original appearance, hovering silently beside Bai En. Bai En reached out, his fair fingers lightly flicking the blade.
"Clang."
The general, as if receiving a command, shot straight out. Amidst two humming sonic booms, the small sword, wreathed in dark light, descended like a colossal meteorite. The force of its tip grinding down caused the air to emit low moans and wails.
Yuno did not block. Azure wind magic shimmered on his body as he flew at super-fast speed, his back to the ground.
The glowing small sword followed closely behind, like a predator fixated on its prey, refusing to give up easily, pursuing relentlessly.
Sensing the still-pursuing sword shadow, Yuno took a deep breath. A circle of white air rippled from beneath his feet, and his already extremely fast speed became even faster.
He abruptly turned and plummeted downwards, then, just as he was about to hit the ground, he folded, continuing to fly close to the surface.
The small sword, which he had expected to be unable to change direction quickly enough and thus fall directly to the ground, still followed Yuno relentlessly.
"Troublesome!"
As he was wondering how to shake it off, a spiky-haired shorty appeared directly in front of him. That guy was holding a dark greatsword, poised and ready. This person was Asta.
"Haha~ I was just wondering what you guys would do in the air, but this is perfect, I caught you!"
Asta swung the greatsword in his hand. Its broad blade flapped through the air like a giant ruler.
"Idiot."
Yuno, with extreme daring, flew close to the blade of the demon-slayer sword that was about to touch him. In the instant before contact, he suddenly shot up into the air like a white streak.
The small sword, which also intended to change direction, wasn't so lucky. The gravity extending from its blade was sliced away by the swinging demon-slayer sword, and it itself was slammed into a nearby dirt mound with a "crack."
Asta felt a bit regretful as the figure rapidly ascended. It was such a good opportunity, yet he hadn't hit.
Suddenly, a chill ran through his heart. Based on the somewhat ethereal sixth sense honed through numerous dangerous battles, the dark greatsword in his hand instinctively shifted slightly to block on his right side.
A metallic clang of "thud" sounded.
Then came Bai En's soft murmur, "Oh?"
Asta was sent flying by the force carried by Zanyan. He stumbled for quite a while before finally stopping steadily. His right hand, gripping the sword, was slightly numb.
"How did you find me?"
Bai En asked thoughtfully. He had been very careful to conceal his aura through the Transparent World in that last strike. Logically, he shouldn't have been discovered so easily, yet this guy still blocked it. How strange.
Compared to Bai En's question, Asta was greatly shocked. The "Ki" that Captain Yami had taught him, which had always been infallible, had failed for the first time.
He felt nothing... it was like a pocket of air!
If it weren't for his instinctive block just now, he probably... he probably would have already lost.
When he looked up at Bai En, in the Transparent World, the displayed image, like an anatomical dissection—flowing blood, extending muscles, and a beating heart... was even more powerful than when they last met in the Royal Capital!
This guy was a monster!
...But... only by defeating such a guy could he become the Wizard King.
Asta, exhilarated, did not answer Bai En's question. Instead, he drew the demon-dweller sword from his black and red grimoire. He took a sword-gripping stance, ready to launch an attack.
In a blur.
Bai En, relying on his delicate magic control and the technique of integrating into natural magic, had already darted over at high speed. The trajectory of Zanyan in the air was almost a cold flash.
'So fast!'
Asta cried out in his heart.
But this was not the surprise attack from earlier. His perception of human Ki was maximized, coupled with the observation and pre-prediction of human movements brought by the Transparent World. He blocked this strike.
Two immense forces collided, like two rhinos competing in a test of strength.
The air hummed.
The demon-dweller sword in Asta's left hand slashed out. Bai En vaguely heard the sound of flowing water—this was the Water Breathing sword form he had taught him!
Bai En dodged with a sidestep, and the dark blade missed!
Both sides simultaneously retracted their swords, then almost at the same time, organized and launched new attacks.
Due to Anti-Magic and the possibility of being ambushed at any moment, Bai En was almost purely competing with Asta in terms of raw strength and swordsmanship. Benefiting from the advantage of Mana Skin enhancing his physical abilities, he held the upper hand in the battle.
Their figures swayed on the flat ground, and faintly, only the sparks of sword-on-sword friction materialized!
"This guy... he's really tenacious. I don't know who taught him that underhanded swordsmanship."
"It's not just the Water Breathing sword form I taught him; it's mixed with many other unique techniques..."
From afar, Yuno gazed at the two fiercely fighting on the flat ground, his hands spread out, and the wind moved with them.
"Wind Creation Magic: Roaring Tempest Fang - Triple Strike!"
...