Marvel's master of cosmic magic-Chapter 835
"...You can really do that?"
Finral stood frozen, replaying Rowan’s suggestions in his head.
Redirect enemy spells.
Drop opponents through portals.
Turn space itself into a blade.
He had always believed his magic was meant for transport. Support only. A glorified carriage driver.
Now, suddenly, it felt like he had been holding a weapon without ever realizing it.
Rowan smiled faintly. "I enjoy studying magic. Every type has more potential than people assume."
That was true.
If Rowan could not reveal too much of his own strength in this world, he could simply raise the strength of those around him. If the Black Bulls eventually stood at captain level—or beyond—many problems would solve themselves.
Finral scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Even so... I think I’m fine as I am. If things get dangerous, I’ll just run."
Rowan shrugged. "Advice isn’t a command. What you do with it is your choice."
Yami wandered over mid-conversation. "Fighting isn’t evil. It depends on why you fight."
Finral blinked. "Hearing that from you feels... strange, Captain."
Yami snorted.
A few minutes later, Asta returned from the restroom, beaming as if he had conquered a battlefield.
Yami grabbed him by the head. "You made me wait. Got a death wish?"
Asta began enthusiastically describing the size of his accomplishment in entirely unnecessary detail.
Finral quickly opened a spatial portal before the situation escalated further.
Back at the Black Bulls’ hideout, introductions were made. Magna conducted Asta’s "initiation," which amounted to a friendly brawl.
Later, Rowan led Asta upstairs.
"This one’s yours."
The room was small, dusty, and webbed with neglect.
Asta’s eyes filled with tears. "I get my own room...?"
"Incredible," Rowan muttered softly.
He opened his grimoire.
"Clean."
A soft current swept the room. Dust vanished. Cobwebs dissolved. The space transformed.
Asta stared in awe.
"What kind of magic was that?!"
"Minor support spells," Rowan replied casually. "By the way... may I borrow your grimoire? I’ll return it tomorrow."
Asta handed over the battered five-leaf grimoire without hesitation.
"Of course!"
Only its chosen owner could use it. To anyone else, it was little more than a relic. And Asta trusted easily—especially someone who had helped him.
"Thank you, Rowan-senpai!"
Rowan left with the book in hand.
In the corridor, he chuckled softly.
"You’re the first one who actually believed I could help."
That earned effort in return.
Inside his room, Rowan had barely sat down when a small Anti-Bird perched outside his window.
Common species.
Harmless.
Except this one carried a faint distortion.
Rowan tilted his head. "Interesting. You’re not what you appear to be. Watching me?"
The bird froze.
Its expression shifted—too human.
It attempted to flee.
Rowan moved faster.
The bird found itself gently but firmly caught in his grasp.
"This isn’t standard transformation magic," Rowan murmured. "More like a curse."
He flipped open his grimoire.
"Release."
Blue light enveloped the creature.
Feathers burst into shadow—
—and a young woman stood in his room.
Black hair. Small devil horns. Dark attire.
She stared at her restored hands in disbelief.
"I... changed back?"
Rowan sat calmly. "You can explain why you were spying on me."
She steadied herself. "I wasn’t spying on you. I was protecting that grimoire."
Five hundred years.
She had guarded it for five hundred years.
Her name was Secre Swallowtail.
Once a noble. Once dismissed as useless for her peculiar sealing magic. Assigned as a servant to Prince Lumiere—the First Wizard King.
Rowan stepped forward and lightly touched her forehead.
Memories unfolded.
Ancient Clover Kingdom.
Lumiere and the Elf Leader—friends bound by hope for peace between humans and elves.
A wedding day.
Betrayal.
A devil manipulating events from the shadows.
Massacre.
Despair.
The elf leader’s grimoire corrupting into a five-leaf tome.
A transformation into a mindless demon.
Lumiere forced to strike down his best friend.
Secre sealing the devil.
Using forbidden magic to preserve Lumiere’s dying life within stone.
And in doing so—
Cursing herself into the form of a powerless Anti-Bird.
Since then, she had guarded the five-leaf grimoire.
It eventually came into the hands of a woman named Licita.
Licita, whose body drained mana from anything nearby.
Licita, who abandoned her human son to protect him.
That son was Asta.
Later, Licita adopted a mana-less devil child named Liebe.
Lucifero attempted to manifest through Liebe.
Licita sacrificed herself to stop him and sealed Liebe inside the five-leaf grimoire.
Eventually, the grimoire found Asta.
Secre had followed ever since.
Rowan withdrew his hand.
"You were Lumiere’s attendant."
Secre stepped back, shaken. "You read my memories. What kind of mage are you?"
"Not important," Rowan replied lightly. "What matters is that I can help you unseal the First Wizard King."
Her eyes widened.
Five centuries of searching for magic stones. Five centuries of waiting.
And this boy spoke as if it were simple.
Rowan glanced at the five-leaf grimoire in his hand.
He no longer needed to study it to understand.
Anti-magic.
Liebe.
Ancient betrayal.
All pieces laid bare.
But what truly interested him now—
Was the man sealed in stone.
The First Wizard King.
...
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