In a deserted alley, Charles activated the communication magic device Raia had given him. After a long wait, Raia's image finally appeared.
"Yaaawn… Calling me in such a rush—something wrong?" Raia asked, still looking drowsy.
Charles calmed himself. "The Magic Knights are already preparing to form the Royal Knights squad to attack the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Are you ready on your end?"
Raia lazily waved his hand. "No worries. Little Sally is super capable. Everything will be ready before the Magic Knights mobilize."
Charles frowned. "But this isn't what we agreed on. Did you really do your best to delay things?"
Raia yawned again, looking as unreliable as ever. "Relax. The original plan was to expose the real base to you guys. But thanks to the intel you gave me, Patri decided to switch things up.
You'll soon receive a report that the previously discovered base was a decoy, and that the real one is somewhere else, requiring a wider search with more knights deployed."
Relieved, Charles said, "As expected of Raia. Reliable as always."
Raia smiled slyly. "Well, lying is kinda my specialty. We'll do our best to gather all the reincarnated souls at the new base. That way, there won't be any innocent casualties—just like I promised."
He sighed inwardly. He really didn't want to lie to his comrades, but given the circumstances, he had no choice but to swallow his guilt.
Charles inwardly praised himself for choosing to cooperate with Raia. He had no idea how Raia managed to keep the plan advancing so smoothly, but he was glad he did.
As Charles stepped out of the alley, planning to regroup with the others, a flaming lion's paw suddenly grabbed his head and lifted him off the ground.
"Big Sis?! What are you doing here?" he exclaimed.
"We agreed to train, didn't we? It starts now. You're coming with me!" roared Mereoleona.
Only one person could pull something like this off: Mereoleona Vermillion. Charles noticed that Asta and Yuno had also been nabbed, carried like luggage as she strode forward.
Asta waved at Charles, trying to greet him despite dangling helplessly.
Behind them trailed the rest of the Crimson Lion Kings. The party grew even larger on the way. Although Yami and Charlotte didn't need this kind of training, Mereoleona had forcibly dragged them along—most likely to serve as demonstrations for the trainees.
Noelle and Charlotte's subordinate Sol also joined the hot spring training camp. Noelle had been coerced into it, while Sol came willingly to accompany her beloved Captain Charlotte.
For Charles, returning to the Yultim Volcano felt like coming home. He'd probably spent more time here than at the Black Bull's base.
The others, however, were shocked by the hellish sight before them.
Wasn't this supposed to be a hot spring camp?! Their expressions screamed Fraud! in unison.
Charles chuckled. "Looks a little intense, but there's a nice hot spring at the top."
Asta asked, puzzled, "How do you know that, Charles?"
Stretching his body, Charles replied, "I've been training here for a while. So I'm familiar with the area."
Asta shouted, "Ugh! I can't believe Charles has been doing this kind of training all along! I can't fall behind!"
Yuno also had a serious look in his eyes. For him, Asta was a rival—but Charles had always been a goal to chase. Many called Yuno a genius, but he knew all too well that Charles had always been stronger. And now it was obvious: even with natural talent, Charles never slacked off. He had been relentlessly training, out of sight.
Asta turned to him again. "But what are you doing right now, Charles?"
Charles answered, "My training's a little different. Just warming up first."
Turning to Mereoleona, he added, "I'll head up first. See you at the top, Big Sis."
With that, fiery dragon wings spread from his back. He soared into the air like a meteor of fire, heading straight for the mountaintop.
Mereoleona grinned. "What an impatient little brat."
Then she turned to the trainees. "See that kid? He can move freely in a place where most of you can't even breathe! If you've got any spine at all, get your asses up that mountain! See for yourselves how that brat trains!"
"Yeahhh!!"
The members of the Crimson Lion Kings were fired up, roaring as they charged toward the trail.
Yami stood at the trailhead, watching the fire meteor streak through the sky. He exhaled a puff of smoke, his expression growing serious.
When Mereoleona dragged him here, he hadn't really wanted to come. But now… maybe some real training wouldn't be so bad.
...
Charles, familiar with every twist and turn, landed near the lava lake at the summit. At night, the lava would recede, and hot water would bubble up from the spring.
He began adjusting his state—what came next wouldn't be easy.
The first to reach the summit was of course Mereoleona. Even after instructing Asta and Noelle at the base, she had quickly caught up. But instead of acting, she simply waited.
Climbing the mountain was no easy feat. It required maintaining mana skin against the heat, dodging spurts of lava, and fighting off elemental creatures along the way.
Still, true elites wouldn't be stopped. Both captains reached the top smoothly, and Yuno soon followed, carried by a whirlwind.
But just as Yuno arrived, someone else burst onto the scene.
During the battle at the Witch's Forest, Asta had unlocked a new power in the face of death. That same black transformation had returned.
Half his body was covered in dark markings, with a single twisted horn sprouting from his right forehead. His right eye changed color, and a black wing spread behind him, giving him the power of flight.
He left a long black trail in the air, speeding toward the summit ahead of everyone.
But Charles noticed Asta had no control over the power—he was simply being pulled upward by the mountain's intense mana.
Asta was about to plunge into the lava when Mereoleona flared her own magic power.
In that instant, her mana outshone even the volcano's, drawing Asta toward her like a magnet.
"Uwaaah! Please move out of the way!" Asta cried.
Mereoleona bared a wild grin. "Move? Fool. In a lion pride, it's the lioness who does the hunting!"
She vanished from sight—and reappeared beside Asta in a flash.
With a single punch, she sent him flying. His transformation was instantly dispelled.
Crossing her arms, she said, "Looks like you've started to understand yourself. But you've got a long way to go!"
After scolding Asta, she turned to Charles.
"Looks like those idiots will take a while. So no more waiting—let's begin... our training!"
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