Damn it, I've pissed off every captain now.
The face-off is still on, on the surface of the hand. Marcus, in a challenging position, observes them.
He looks around and fixes his gaze on Captains Yami and Vangeance.
Come on, stop them.
His prayers are answered as Captain Vangeance steps into the middle. He speaks to the captains in a soothing voice.
"Now, now, don't be agitated by a child's words."
The captains nod and step back, throwing their spells at the hand, melting it.
He turns his head to Marcus.
"And you should back off. What you wanted to achieve is finished, right?"
Marcus nods.
"Hey, hold on, Mask Captain. You shouldn't have stopped that. It was getting interesting."
Yami starts laughing.
Vangeance remains expressionless, offering no reply. Marcus climbs down to the platform now that the hand has melted.
"Whatever. Hey, shrimp, you have the guts to challenge the captains, but are you strong enough to withstand the challenge?" As Yami speaks, a tremendous aura spreads around him, pulling Marcus down to the earth.
"Are you strong enough to stand by the words you said?" The pressure increases.
Either he withstands it with pain or submits to it. This isn't the pressure of a single captain, but all the captains.
Marcus is enduring the pressure, but slowly, he's losing his balance.
Then an image flashes in his mind—his beautiful mother, smiling, who sacrificed her life for him.
He won't stop until he fulfills her final wish.
His eyes turn red, and rage erupts within him.
The rage from within makes a counterattack against the pressure from without. His will, combined with the rage, shatters the pressure.
If I can't withstand this pressure, I don't deserve the life my mom gave me.
A smirk appeared on Marcus's face.
"You can increase the pressure as much as you want, but I will stand by my words."
These words shattered the captains' thoughts; they could only grit their teeth.
"Ha... ha... ha... now I like him so much..."
"Kid... join my squad."
Yami leaped from the high stage onto the platform.
"Sure, why not? At least you have the guts to acknowledge a person based on his merits," Marcus replied.
"Ha... ha... did you hear that? I have guts!" Yami glanced at the other captains on the high stage.
Since he joined a squad, the captains withdrew their pressure. Captain Vangeance signaled to the other captains to sit down.
Gritting their teeth, they sat back in their seats.
As shocked spectators watched, the selection proceeded as usual.
Yami approached Marcus, placed his hand on his head, and lifted him off the ground.
"You may have guts, but don't do this again, understood, you shrimp?"
Marcus nodded with a pained expression.
Yami tossed Marcus to a quiet spot. "Wait here," Yami said before leaving.
What a crude man... but at least now I have a squad to join.
Each of the participants appeared on stage; some were selected, some were not.
As the sun set below the horizon, the knight selection exam ended.
As Marcus quietly read the book in the spot Yami had thrown him, Yami and three others arrived.
"Okay, Finral, open the gate to the hideout," Yami ordered, glaring at Finral.
"Hai!" Finral opened the gate. Marcus slowly stood up, dusted off his clothes, and approached them. Asta, as hyperactive as ever, exclaimed,
"Hi!!! I'm Asta! Your magic is so cooool!!!"
Marcus smirked. "You've got some interesting magic too."
As Marcus and Asta began their conversation, Finral watched them.
Damn, one is a magicless kid with big dreams, and the other is a freak who insulted and challenged the entire captains. What the hell is this with the new team members?
The gate conjured.
Yami appeared behind Marcus and Asta. "What the heck are you wasting time for? Get on the ride."
Yami kicked them both into the portal.
After some time, they walked in front of a building—the most hideous building Marcus had ever seen in his life.
The architecture was good, the design superb, but the condition? It looked like a burned-down building, more like a haunted house. Yet, at the same time, it gave off a nostalgic homey feel.
Well, whatever. Marcus just give up.
Yami and his group slowly walked toward the building.
And Yami—he didn't enter the building normally. The man was so pissed off by the disturbances coming from inside that he blasted the wall and said,
"Would you brats stop..."
"…stop breaking stuff!"
You blasted a wall, Captain. The thought only passed through the minds of the members.
The squad members were fighting inside the building.
Marcus's first impression of the squad was:
What the hell is that? They were fighting—one was looking at a child's photo, and a little eating cookies non-stop, there was a semi-clothed girl teenager sipping a drink and vomiting, and
who was that big guy? Why was there fog coming from his mouth?
What the hell is this squad?
Alerted by the commotion from the blast, everyone looked at Yami.
"Welcome back, Captain."
"Captain, this is Yummy , try it."
"Did you fight with anyone?"
"Can I go see my sister?"
"Captain, let's drink!"
"Psssh."
Yami looked at them. "Oh, you missed me that much? But you're annoying—shut up."
With a sharp voice, all the squad members gathered before him.
What kind of reception is this? Marcus thought, observing them.
But then his eyes landed on something more important than the others. He slowly slipped away from the group.
"This shrimp is our new member, so don't kill him,"
"For now" Yami said, pointing at Asta.
"What?!" Asta roared internally.
"I'm Asta, from Haze Village. Nice to meet you all!" Asta loudly introduced himself.
Yami took a puff from his cigarette. "And this is another shrimp, huh... Where's that guy?"
Asta pointed to the couch. Everyone looked at it.
Marcus was sleeping on it.
There was something about Marcus. Because he had spent most of his time in bed due to paralysis, he developed a love for any comfy place.
Whenever he was near a comfortable spot, he would lie down and fall into a half-sleep. It was a strange habit he had developed from his paralysis days.
"Oi!!!!! Shrimp, introduce yourself."
Marcus, still in half-sleep, raised his hand.
"Marcus, from Ryumma Village."
"Good night."
Marcus pulled his hand back.
"..."
"What the hell is that punk?" Magna raised a fist and threw a fireball at Marcus.
Marcus conjured an ice slide, causing the fireball to slide off and hit the wall, triggering another blast.
"Stop breaking stuff..." Yami blasted another part of the wall.
You're the one breaking it. Magna sat down.
"Introduce them to our new member," Yami looked at Finral.
Finral introduced each member to Asta. After that, Yami looked at Marcus. "Did you get that, shrimp?"
Marcus raised his hand and gave a thumbs-up.
"Hey, you sleeping punk! How can you get our introductions without even looking at us?"
"Did you even listen?"
Magna stood up and roared at him.
Marcus raised his thumb, signaling yes.
Marcus pointed his finger at Magna.
"Magna: Fire Delinquent."
"Hey, punk, want a beating?"
"Vanessa: Drunk Lady."
"Let's drink, junior."
"Charmy: Food Senior."
"Want to taste this delicious candy, junior?"
"Luck: Battle Maniac."
"Want to fight with me?"
"Gauche: Siscon."
"Do not lay your eyes on my angel, Marie."
"Gordon: Silent Friend."
Lshhfslhf... murmur...
"Finral: Ride."
"Hey, I'm not—"
"Grey: ...."
"....Psssshh..."
"Impressive."
"Laaa~~..."
The squad members were impressed by Marcus's actions.
"Tch, whatever, punk. You two may have somehow sucked up to Captain Yami to get into this place."
"But to get this robe, you need to prove yourself."
"You need to be baptized."
Magna, with a glare in his eyes, displayed the robe.
"Are you ready for a beating, punks?"