A few hours after he fell into exhausted sleep, Patry woke up again. At first, he was confused as to where he was, as he saw nothing but tree canopy's above him. The Elf blinked, before yawning. A chuckle came from his side, "well, well, well, look who's finally awake again. Welcome back 'giggle Elf'" the voice teased. Patry turned to find Julius sitting with his back leaning against the trunk of a nearby tree. As the human's words sunk in, the Light Mage blanched and immediately slammed his arms to his sides, face flushing bright red, "it wasn't funny Julius! My underarms are excruciatingly ticklish! In case that wasn't obvious to you while you were having fun! And when I'm begging for mercy and shrieking, that means it's too much, so stop! Okay?!" the Elf demanded hotly. Julius frowned, before standing up and walking over to his Elven Ward. He knelt down in front of him with a remorseful look on his face, "I'm sorry Patry, really. I didn't mean to push you too hard- I never wanted to upset you or anything. I only wanted to cheer you up, especially when your pain and despair began to take over.

After I talked you down, you were still really upset. I had only meant to pick you up and try to comfort you with a hug. But when you reacted so strongly, I just couldn't help myself. Not to mention that it seemed like the perfect thing to get rid of your depression once and for all. I promise you that I won't do that again, okay?" The Magic Knight Captain asked, sincerity shining in his eyes. Patry continued to glare at their Caretaker, before the look fell and he sighed deeply, "urgh, fine, I accept your apology, but I won't forgive you yet. I want compensation" he declared, crossing his arms over his chest and smiling smugly. "*sigh* I guess it's only fair after all. So, what do you want?" Julius asked, accepting the demand, but internally he shuddered at the smug look on the Elf's face, getting even more unnerved as the smug smile transformed into a wicked grin, "I have the perfect revenge in mind. You tickled me so now I get to return the favour and when you least expect it too!" Patry demanded.

Julius expected Patrys response but decided to ham it up in the moment. "OH why couldn't it have been something simple, like William and I get to pick whatever we want to eat for dinner tonight, or, we want to stay up late, or even we want desert for breakfast! Why, oh why did you have to pick THAT?' Julius said with a mock shudder. The Captain of the Grey Deer looked back at his ward with a overly dramatic look of horror on his face. " I will take my medicine as a big boy" Julius said with a grin " but not right now. are you ok with that?" Patry looked silently at the supposed "adult" in front of him and then, almost against his will, he broke into a big grin." You really are just a big kid aren't you! Fine we will get back to this later"

Black Clover

Soon Julius and Patry were walking through a forest, "uh, are you sure you know where you're going Patry?" the Time Mage asked, brushing a branch away from his face. They'd been walking through the same forest for nearly an hour now, and Julius still hadn't seen a single sign of this tree they were supposed to be looking for. Apparently, according to Patry, it was a gigantic Oak Tree, and was supposed to be several times larger than a regular one. "Of course," the Light wielding Elf called back. "Like I explained to you before, this tree is sacred to my people, do you really think that they would just leave it visible to anyone and everyone? Years and years ago, my ancestors placed a spell onto it, so that only other Elves would be able to see it. As well as that, the reason that it is so scared to all of my kind is because of something very special." Patry paused and closed his eyes, a serine smile on his face, "there, can you feel it now Julius?" the 16-year-old asked.

Feel it? The Magic Knight Captain closed his eyes and focused on his Mana Sensing. Suddenly his eyes snapped open with a loud gasp, and he whirled around in shock. When Julius failed to find anyone else in the area, he turned back to Patry in confusion, who was snickering into his hand. The adult gave the young teenage Elf a look, " That was the strangest feeling ive ever had", the Magic Knight Captain looked around, "anyway, I did feel something before. It felt like hundreds of people. Powerful people, but I couldn't find anyone. What's going on here Patry? Where is everyone?" he asked in confusion. Patry smiled, but it was a sad one, "follow me" he said, continuing on his strange path up the mountain. Mystified and intrigued at the same time, Julius once again began to follow the small teenager through the trees.

Black Clover

Eventually the group of three reached a small valley. The adult's eyes widened when he saw the crumbling remains of some kind of Stone formation, but Patry didn't even glance at it, and refused to even think about it at all. He knew that if he did, the tears would start and he wouldn't be able to stop them. The three of them continued onward, William wanted to ask if his friend was alright, but he could already feel the painful emotions welling up inside the Elf's heart. Continuing on, the group soon reached an area full of grass. "Well, at least grass is better than the last place, huh?" Julius asked, wanting to somehow break the almost crushingly oppressive and ominous atmosphere. You didn't need to have sensory abilities of any kind to be able to feel just how wrong this place was. The ground, the trees, even the very air itself screamed of a horrible and unspeakable tragedy occurring in this place, one that destroyed lives, hopes, dreams and even the future itself. Now even the grass seemed wilted and struggling to go, as though the life had been sucked clean out of the ground along with everything else.

Julius was a Magic Knight Captain, so he forced his unease aside and instead turned to his side, to see how Patry was taking this, before gasping in horror. The 16-year-old Elf had his arms wrapped tightly around his shaking form, almost as though trying to physically keep himself from falling apart. His eyes were wide and filled with an endless amount of grief and pain, too much for even tears to help. "Patry! What's wrong!? Please, say something!" Julius demanded, instantly on his knees before his Elven Ward, gripping his shoulder tightly in an attempt to bring the Magic Knight back to his senses again. Another moment of even tenser silence passed between them, before the white-haired boy spoke through quivering lips, "this was, where our Village was- the ground used to be filled with flowers, and huts made by Elven crafters. I remember growing up here, in this place. It was so long ago now, but I remember everything so vividly," Patry paused, turning his head slightly and pointed with a trembling arm, "our house, the one my Mom and I lived in together was right there, on that spot. I know because the crater that my Cousin Latry accidentally blew in the ground while showing me his Spatial Magic is still there" the Elf explained.

Julius turned to look where the boy had pointed, and did indeed see the large hole he was referring too, although now it had all grown over with grass. Suddenly realising the significance of his Ward's words, the adult spun around, wide eyes examining everything. There were indeed signs of intelligent life having occupied this spot hundreds of years ago, but hardly anything was left of Patry's home Village, let alone it's people. Julius stared with horror. The amount of complete and utter destruction needed for almost all the evidence that an entire Culture had even existed to be wiped out completely was something that he couldn't- no, that he didn't want to comprehend. Because if he did. If he really thought about how much power that a being capable of such utter destruction and death might possibly have at it's disposal- even he began to feel the icy grip of terror engulfing his heart. Patry took a deep, shaky breath and started walking again, "come on, the tree is this way" he said in a monotone voice. The older Magic Knight was stunned by the young Elf's seeming ignorance of the destruction around him.

"Does none of this upset you? Anger you? Ever since we reached this place, I expected you to show some emotions. But you seem almost- hollow, just like everything else around us. Why?" Julius asked, completely confused to Patry's current reactions. "What would be the point of getting upset about it again? I already did that when we found Licht's remains. Most of the Elves who lived in this Village that I cared about were probably long dead by the time of the Massacre anyway, so it's not like I really knew anyone who died here. So it's not like I need to be personally invested-" he was cut off when Julius slapped him. Julius would never have even considered doing such a thing normally but right at this moment he did not feel anything like the man he normally was. It had come so quickly, that even with Light Magic, Patry hadn't been able to notice the movement, "what the hell is wrong with you, Patry!? These were your precious friends and family. So why are you acting like their deaths meant nothing to you?!" the Time Mage demanded. Patry gently touched his cheek, and when he spoke again, his voice carried a deadly undertone, causing Julius to instantly snap out of his offended anger from the shock of hearing such a thing coming from the cheerful and sensitive boy.

"'I don't care' is that what you think? You really believe all of this destruction and death doesn't affect me?" Patry asked softly, but Julius didn't dare allow himself to believe that the tone of his voice indicated anything about his Ward's current mood. "You don't think I care, that every one of the Elves was killed for the second time? You think it doesn't bother me that they all died in agony? Do you think I don't know that all my friends were murdered!" Patry's voice slowly started to rise, going from dangerously calm and becoming louder and more enraged with each question. The Magic Knight Captain realised far too late that he had made a deadly misjudgement with Patry's emotional state. What he had mistaken for indifference had actually been a carefully crafted mask that he was using to keep from going out of control like last time. But it seemed that that barrier had now fallen. "Do you have any idea how I'm feeling right now!? That monster killed them all, and most of them probably had no idea what was really going on! AND NOW HE'S PROBABLY GOT ANOTHER ELF WHO DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT THEY'RE BEING USED TO DO HIS DIRTY WORK FOR HIM! ALL OF THEM, BEING CORRUPTED AND MANIPUALTED, CUT OFF FROM THEIR REAL SOULS, SO THAT THEY DON'T EVEN REALISE HOW MUCH THEY'RE ACTUALLY SUFFERING!

DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW MUCH PAIN I'M IN RIGHT NOW! DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD I HAD TO WORK TO COMPARTILIZE MY EMOTIONS SO THAT I WOULDN'T BREAK LIKE I ALMOST DID BEOFRE! I FOUGHT SO HARD TO KEEP THE RAGE AND THE HATE FROM OVERWHELMING ME, LOCKING MY EMOTIONS AWAY SO THAT I COULD COME HERE TO PAY MY RESPECTS TO THE PEOPLE I'D LOVED! I THOUGHT I COULD DO IT! I THOUGHT I COULD KEEP FROM LETTING MY DARK EMOTIONS FREE AS LONG AS STAYED CALM, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK! IT WOULD NEVER HAVE WORKED. THESE FEELINGS ARE STILL DEEP INSIDE MY HEART AND AS LONG AS THAT DEVIL EXISTS, I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO OVERCOME THEM!" Patry screamed. His Grimoire floated up again and the Clover on its cover once again began to turn black. The blond Magic Knight watched in horror. The 17-year-old Elf began unconsciously building up Mana, the power flaring to life and swirling around him like a raging golden fire.

"I HATE THAT DEVIL MORE THAN I EVER HATED ANYONE BEFORE IN MY LIFE! HE TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! I KNOW THAT THAT SICK, TWISTED BASTARD KILLED THEM ALL IN THE MOST PAINFUL WAYS HE COULD THINK OF! HE DESERVES NOTHING MORE THAN THE MOST TORTEROUS OF DEATHS!" the infuriated teenager screamed. Then something else started happening. The Mana that was enshrouding Patry began to change. The golden aura started to darken, twisting from something beautiful and pure, into something malicious, wicked and even, evil. "I HATE HIM MORE THAN I CAN STAND! I WANT TO TEAR HIS BODY AND HEART TO BLOODY PIECES SLOWLY AND AGONISINGLY, I WANT TO HEAR HIS SCREAMS, BECAUSE THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DID TO EVERYONE ELSE! I WANT TO MAKE HIM SUFFER! I WANT TO WATCH AS HE REALISES THAT HE CAN'T DO ANYTHING TO STOP ME! I WANT TO WATCH HIS BLACK, EMPTY SOUL BE DEVOURED BY THE VERY DISPAIR THAT HE WAS SO EAGER TO FORCE ON US! I HATE HIM SO MUCH THAT IT'S TEARING ME APART!"

Julius fought the urge to run. The Magic that Patry was giving off was so evil and terrifying, that it caused his heart to beat wildly in terror. He'd always known that the young-looking Elf hid his true level of power from all of them, even William had no idea just how powerful the person that he considered an older brother really was. But if the massive amount of magic he could feel all around him was any indication, Patry had never, at any point since he'd been reincarnated in Williams body, used any more Magic than the barest fraction of a sliver of his full power. Just how strong was he?! The longer the Magic Knight stood there, trying to force himself to move his body and help the two boys he'd grown so close to, the more of Patry's Grimoire turned black, and the more corrupted his Mana became. As he shook with uncontrollable fear, rendering him unable to go to the teenage Elf's aid or even move, he suddenly had a flashback to a memory from nearly 8 years ago now:

(flashback)

"If you don't mind me asking, what happened to you?" the blond man asked. The human boy felt his lips tremble, but he refused to cry about people who'd never cared for him in the first place.

"I've been disowned by the Vangance Family" he whispered, causing Julius' eyes to widen in shock, "seriously!?" he hissed. William then proceeded to tell his friend everything that had happened, from his Stepmothers pregnancy announcement, to his half siblings birth and his subsequent expulsion from his Father's family. "I have nothing now, no home, no parents- despite how cruel they were to me, they were still my family- I don't even have a last name anymore. And everything I own, aside from the mask you gave me is practically useless" his emotions finally broke through the numbness and the boy began crying again, "I, have no idea what to do now. Where am I gonna go?" the boy cried, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. "You can stay right here" a firm voice said. The 8-year-old's gaze snapped up to stare into the adult's face. He could see no trace of deceit in Julius's face or eyes. "y-you'd *sniff* really do that? B-but have no money-" William began. Before he could even finish speaking, the blond adult was already shaking his head, "no, I don't expect you to pay me William. You're a little boy.

Instead, I was thinking that you could live here as my Ward. I could teach you everything you need to catch up on. I promise I'll take good care of you, and I'll never treat you cruelly. I really meant it when I said that you have a rare talent. If we nurture it properly from now on, then by the time you get your Grimoire, you could be one of the strongest Mages in the Kingdom. What do you say William, would you like that?" the Time Mage asked. Even more tears were falling from the boy's eyes, and he shook with the force of his emotions. "Y-yes!" he cried, "th-thank you. I- I do, want to. But are you sure? A-are you sure that you won't- r-regret it?" he whimpered. Julius smiled and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, "of course not. I promise I'll protect you from now on. I'll make sure you have clean, warm clothes. And that you never go hungry again. I swear, as a Magic Knight, that everything will be okay from now on William. You'll never have to be scared again, okay?" he asked gently. William couldn't help it anymore and launched himself at Julius. He wrapped his arms around the man and cried and cried.

(Timeskip)

"That's when I reincarnated into William's body when he was 7 years old. I was 17 when I died, but due to the nature of the Reincarnation spell, and the fact that William and I share a body, whenever we switch control of his body, I end up looking like I did when I was the same age that William is now. So that's why I look like an 8-year-old instead of a teenager" Patry explained. Julius rubbed his chin in thought, "I see, and why did you switch over in the middle of the night?" he asked. "That, was actually an accident. I had a nightmare, one which William shared, and we seem to have switched control while we were asleep accidently" the boy replied, a haunted look coming into his eyes and a shudder wracking his body at the very thought of his nightmare. Julius was silent for a moment, taking in the traumatised expression on the young-looking Elf's face with a worried frown, "do you want to tell me about it? they say that nightmares will go away if you tell other people about them" the blond man asked softly.

"I-" Patry began, before shuddering again and shaking his head, "no, I don't really want to think about it anymore right now" he replied. "Okay, that's fine. Just know that you can come talk to me anytime. Both of you" the adult said. The Light Mage gasped and looked up, "'both' of us? Does that mean- you're going to let us stay here, even after we lied to you all this time?" he asked. "Well, I can't just throw you two kids out in the cold, now can I? besides, I said I'd look after William. You're basically like his twin brother. And if I accepted William with his Curse, why wouldn't I accept you too?" Julius replied. "But, I'm not even a human. You really don't mind that?" Patry asked. "Why would I? It doesn't make you any different in my eyes. You're still a person, weather you're a human or an Elf. You're in as bad a situation as William now. Both of you are orphans. And since I already promised to take care of William, I don't see the harm in looking after you too Patry, especially since you share the same body." He explained. Patry could feel grateful and happy tears welling up in his eyes, and he had no idea whether these emotions came from him or his friend. But he didn't care. He was so very happy, the happiest he'd been in a long time.

"Th-thank you" he whimpered as tears began streaming down his cheeks. The Elf could feel William's welling emotions as well, and he knew that his friend needed to be able to let them out as well, but he needed some time to cry first. The Time Mage stood from the table and moved over to the young Elf's side. He knelt down and gently wrapped his arms around the boy, "I promise, from here on out, to treat you both with all the love and care that you deserve. God only knows what the two of you have gone through" he whispered softly, rubbing Patry's back soothingly.

(End flashback)

Julius hardened his resolve. Whatever was happening to Patry was something horrible and evil, but that didn't mean that Patry was evil and horrible. He was a kind, gentle and caring boy, that fought so hard to protect the boy that he considered a younger brother. He was extremely strong, but even he couldn't fight against his own inner demons all alone! This was no time to be afraid. Patry needed him now more than ever. The blond man began to fight his way forwards, "PATRY! HOLD ON! I'M COMING!"

To Be Continued