Kael, for his part, maintained his composure with visible effort. His face remained carefully neutral, giving nothing away, though his hands gripped his walking stick hard enough that Roderick could hear the wood creaking. After a long moment, Kael gave a subtle gesture,just a slight movement of his hand, but the lower officials recognized it immediately.The signal was clear: Take him. Now.The lead official nodded fractionally and turned his attention back to Jabber. The other three officials tensed, preparing to move, their hands now openly on their weapons, flames beginning to manifest around their fingers.Jabber watched this preparation with his burning purple eyes, and that smile somehow grew even more amused. When he spoke, his double-layered voice was light, almost teasing:"What makes you think I'll come with you?"The lead official's jaw tightened. He'd been hoping it wouldn't come to this, but clearly peaceful compliance was off the table. He drew his short sword smoothly

The training yard had gone so silent that the distant sounds of the city beyond the walls seemed impossibly loud,cart wheels on cobblestones, a vendor calling out their wares, a dog barking somewhere far away. But here, in this space packed with hundreds of people, there was nothing. Just silence so thick it felt like it had physical weight, pressing down on everyone's chests, making it hard to breathe.Every single person was staring at the ring. Every eye was fixed on the impossible scene playing out before them: Jabber, who moments ago had been this terrifying force of purple-flamed destruction, was now pressed flat against the dirt in full prostration before Asta, his forehead touching the ground, his whole body trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.Mouths hung open throughout the crowd,literally hundreds of jaws dropping simultaneously in expressions of complete shock. Eyes were wide, some blinking rapidly like their owners were trying to clear away a hallucination, others just

Asta took a breath, trying to project confidence he absolutely didn't feel, and decided to just... play along. Figure out what was happening later. Right now, stop the immediate crisis."The referee just announced that the fight is over." Asta said, keeping his voice as calm and steady as he could manage. "The match is done. Finished.""Yes, my lord." Jabber responded immediately, his trembling voice carrying absolute obedience. "I know. I heard the announcement."Asta blinked. Okay, that was easy. But then why..."So why are you beating everyone up?" Asta asked, gesturing toward the four officials scattered around the ring in various states of unconsciousness or pain. "If you knew the fight was over, why did you attack them?"Jabber's gaze shifted to follow Asta's gesture, landing on the officials he'd defeated. For a moment, he seemed to have forgotten they existed, his entire focus having been on the terror of facing what he thought was the Lord Emperor Dragon. But now, seein

After about two minutes of examination,which felt like an eternity to Asta, who stood tensely watching her every move,she straightened up and turned to face the three of them."He's just worn out." She said matter-of-factly. "Pushed his body way past its limits and it forced him into unconsciousness to protect itself. The injuries on his face are superficial,they look worse than they are because head wounds bleed a lot. He'll wake up on his own when his body's had enough rest. Probably in an hour or two, maybe sooner."Asta felt tension he hadn't realized he'd been carrying drain out of his shoulders. "So he's going to be okay?""He'll be fine." The nurse confirmed. "I'll give him some pain relief pills for when he wakes up,that face is going to hurt something fierce. And he should take it easy for a few days, no strenuous activity and let his body recover properly. But there's no permanent damage. He's young and healthy,he'll bounce back.""Thank you." Flora said sincerely. "T

The question hung in the air, and there was something almost challenging in it, like Kael was testing to see if Asta would figure it out on his own.Asta's mind raced, trying to remember anything from history class, from old stories, from legends he'd heard in passing. Dragons with purple flames. Dragons that served the Lord Emperor. Dragons that would call someone "master" and bow in absolute terror. Dragons that…Nothing. His mind came up completely blank. He didn't know. Hadn't even known dragons still existed until about ten minutes ago, and now he was supposed to identify specific types?He rubbed the back of his head, his hand moving through his hair in a nervous gesture he'd never quite managed to break. "Uhmm..." He let out an awkward laugh that was more like a nervous exhalation. "I don't... I don't actually have any idea. At all. I wasn't really paying attention during the dragon history lessons because, you know, they were supposedly all dead and it didn't seem relevant