"Ah—!!"
Lorne had just managed to shake off the negative emotions filled with resentment and sorrow, barely falling into sleep.
But before he could rest for long, he was forcefully pulled awake by that ear-splitting shriek.
"Ugh..."
He groaned irritably, feeling like his entire head was filled with lead, incredibly heavy.
Which scoundrel wasn't sleeping in the middle of the night again?
With a full heart of morning grumpiness, Lorne put on an outer garment and walked out of his room with heavy steps.
The lights in the downstairs hall were already on, clearly he wasn't the only one woken up.
As soon as he reached the stairwell, he saw a familiar scene in the hall.
Captain Yami, with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was single-handedly holding someone by the head, lifting him completely off the ground.
The person being held, with a ridiculous hairstyle, was flailing his limbs, struggling desperately, and letting out muffled cries for help.
It was Sekke Bronzazza.
That guy who always made 'hu-ha hu-ha' noises.
"Hey, you, what are you shrieking about in the middle of the night?"
Yami exhaled a smoke ring and asked in a low voice, sounding as if he was about to crush the other person's head:
"Are you here to collect a debt? Hmm?"
"N-no! I'm a Magic Knight!"
Sekke was almost in tears, gesturing with both hands and feet, trying to explain.
But Yami clearly didn't hear a word.
"I don't care what big deal it is, daring to come here and make a ruckus, you've got some nerve!"
Lorne rubbed his forehead, looking at this familiar yet absurd scene, his chaotic thoughts instantly cleared up considerably.
He remembered, there was indeed a very troublesome event scheduled to happen tonight.
If he remembered correctly, Asta and Gauche should currently be fighting two brothers who kidnapped children to extract their magic power in a certain small town.
This was another matter that was inextricably linked to the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Lorne's brows furrowed unconsciously.
Sally, that mad scientist, failed to capture Asta or get samples of his body during the last attack on the Royal Capital.
Given her personality, with such a good opportunity now, she probably wouldn't let it go easily.
Just thinking about that woman gave Lorne a headache.
She was a madwoman who would stop at nothing for her research, extremely dangerous.
While Lorne was lost in thought, 'Hu-ha' also finally exhausted all his strength, and before Yami could squeeze him unconscious, he finally managed to explain the whole story.
"What?!"
Yami's hand paused at the news, his brows instantly furrowing into a 'river' shape.
"Something happened in Nean Town?"
He threw Sekke to the ground, then unreasonably blamed Sekke.
"Why didn't you say something so important sooner, you idiot!"
"I... I wanted to say it from the beginning..."
Sekke defended himself aggrievedly.
"Still talking back?!"
Yami stared coldly at Sekke, cutting off his words.
Lorne watched all this speechlessly; this unreasonable behavior was indeed Captain Yami.
Although he always said "so troublesome" and "don't want to bother," Yami still straightened up and looked around the empty hall.
Vanessa was already passed out drunk on the sofa.
As for the other two who couldn't figure out what they were thinking, relying on this unreliable bunch was out of the question.
Yami irritably ran his hand through his messy hair, finally turning his gaze to Lorne, who was standing at the stairwell.
"Hey, Lorne."
"Here."
"Go kick Finral out of his bed for me."
Yami's tone was unquestionable.
"Tell him to open a gate."
Finral's Spatial Magic was undoubtedly the most useful at a time like this.
"Yes." Lorne nodded and turned to go upstairs.
"Wait." Yami called out to him again.
Lorne turned back, a little puzzled.
Yami, with a cigarette in his mouth, pointed at him with his chin.
"You come along too."
He glanced at the half-dead Sekke on the ground, clicked his tongue, looking somewhat impatient,
"None of the remaining guys here are reliable, it'll be faster if we go ourselves."
"Me?"
Lorne pointed to himself.
"Of course, you're the only one who looks like a normal person right now." Yami glanced at him. "Hurry up, don't dawdle."
What else could Lorne say?
Soon, Finral, dragged out of bed by Lorne, his eyes still heavy with sleep, yawned and complained as he reluctantly opened a spatial gate.
"Seriously... can't a person get some sleep in the middle of the night..."
"Less talk, faster!"
Yami kicked him in the butt and was the first to step inside.
Lorne followed closely, passing through the distorted spatial passage.
However, their timing seemed even more coincidental than expected.
No.
It should be said, perilous!
They seemed to have arrived a crucial step earlier than in the original plot.
Not far away, an old nun in a habit was seen spreading her arms, resolutely blocking Asta's path.
And opposite them, a young man floated in mid-air, hundreds of light swords appearing behind him!
Those countless light swords instantly transformed into streams of deadly light, pouring down like a torrential rain towards Asta and the old nun!
Too late!
The light swords were too fast!
"Swish—!"
Countless light swords poured down like a torrential rain!
Finral's face turned pale at the sight.
Just at this critical moment!
"Tsk." "Hmph."
A slight click of the tongue and a cold snort sounded simultaneously.
The two acted almost at the exact same moment!
"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked — Nameless Slash!"
Yami instantly drew the katana from his waist, covered in ink-black Dark Magic, and swung it forward fiercely!
A massive black slash swept out, precisely intercepting more than half of the light swords!
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Darkness and light fiercely collided in mid-air.
And at the same instant Yami made his move, Lorne had already stood by his side.
Lorne raised his right hand, aiming at the deadly rain of light.
"Ice Thorn Shield!"
The moisture in the air instantly condensed, and a massive ice shield, its surface covered with countless ferocious ice crystals, rose from the ground, blocking all the remaining light swords!
Clink! Clink! Clink! Clink!
Countless light swords frantically impacted the ice shield, emitting a series of crisp and dense sounds, scattering countless ice crystals.
The power of the light swords continuously eroded the thickness of the ice shield, and cracks began to appear on its surface.
But in the end, it held.
With a crisp "crack," the ice shield and all the light swords that impacted it reached their limit at the same time, collapsing with a roar!
Countless tiny ice crystals and specks of light intertwined and danced in mid-air, then slowly dissipated.
The deadly attack was neutralized.
The strong wind blew, ruffling the corners of Yami and Lorne's clothes.
Everyone stared dumbfounded at the two who had suddenly appeared.
Sister Teregia stood frozen, looking at the two reliable figures in front of her; she was almost completely unharmed, aside from her magic power being heavily depleted.
"We finally... made it."
Lorne gently exhaled a puff of white air.
What a pity, though!
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that although Gauche had avoided vital points, his right hand and right foot were each pierced by a light sword, bleeding profusely.
This guy, after all, still couldn't catch this good timing.
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