Chapter 47: Flame Mage's Potential

Disclaimer:

Hey again! Sorry for the break… once more… though, in my defence, I did say that uni work was coming up more and more . BUT hey ho! Here's an extra-long chapter for you guys

OH, and btw! There seemed to have been a slight confusion with the timeline of events, so I'll give a little spoiler to sure things up. Last chapter, I mentioned three months had passed since the Royal Capital attack. This is true, but you should also know that Asta and the others are fighting enemies in the Underworld during this time. We already saw them fight off against Esprit, Echoes, and Maindis! I'm simply just changing the POV from Asta, to Yuno .

AND BEGIN!

The Clover Kingdom was basking in the warm sunlight that emanated from the hot sun just above. It was the afternoon and the rays of sunshine hit everything it could see, from the plant-life to the people. Everything and everyone were enjoying the nice weather, and they were set to enjoy something else as well.

The big news about the mini tournament had spread throughout Hage Village and the neighbouring villages that had intertwined with each other. The upgrades to living facilities such as housing and roads made it easier for news to travel to each of the close towns. Hordes of villagers, be it adults or children, had gathered in Hage to spectate the group of battles that would ensue shortly.

"We're going to see people from the Golden Dawn fight!" One excited spectator raised his voice, signalling his excitement.

"True, but there are a few Black Bulls participating too!"

"Oh, you mean the squad who took second place?"

"Yeah. It'll be great to see some powerful magic at work!"

Above the Knights who were set to be fighting, was a platform where the captains were stood with the Wizard King and Marx, as well as Owen the doctor. They all looked on at Knights as they prepared themselves.

"You really think a reward like that will be suitable, Wizard King?" Marx asked, worriedly.

"Haha, why not? Besides, we all know that the Magic Knight squads need a change, especially if they don't come back…", Julius lowered his head and frowned.

Many spectators had a platform to stand on to watch the Magic Knights battle. There were two platforms to each side, and in the middle was a huge open area of field that housed two big crystals at opposite ends.

Yuno stood on one side of the field with his back to his team's crystal. He eyes up his opponents but there was something quite worrying on his mind about the whole situation. The Wind mage turned around and was met with his two teammates, one was someone he knew very well but the other was someone he knew nothing about.

"Letoile, do we have any sort of plan for who we're up against?" Yuno asked, rolling his eyes.

"I would have liked to discuss some sort of plan, but the Wizard King just chose these names out of a hat and shoved us into battle…" the Golden Dawn mage responded, sounding defeated. Though when she looked up, she had a cheeky smile on her face. "It's not like you to discuss plans, you would have rushed in ahead on your own before… what happened?" Letoile asked with a sly smirk.

The Wind mage look surprised but realised that she was saying the truth. He thought back to the Royal Knights exam and remembered how he would rush forwards. Although he did win the entire tournament, there were many things he could have improved upon regarding teamwork. "Ah well, I guess I want to try something with the three of here…". He then looked towards his final teammate.

"What the hell are you looking at, pretty boy?" The man with sunglasses shouted quite aggressively, though that was just how he normally spoke.

Yuno rolled his eyes. "Ugh, a rude one… well, I guess I can come off as rude too" the mage thought to himself as he tried to think of a way to communicate with his teammate.

"Sorry about that, it's just I don't think this mini tournament is the best idea… we lost so many people and now we're holding a fun event? It just doesn't sit well with me". The previously aggressive, but now mellow, man responded. "I just miss them, you know. My squad is fractured… Luck and Asta, Nero and Captain Yami too…".

Magna was telling the truth. Though the majority of people around agreed this event to be something of an escape from reality, something else to focus on other than the missing people, there were still some that though this was slightly insensitive.

Yuno didn't know what to respond with, he was just going along with everything that was happening but when he really started to think about how everyone else felt, it left a sour taste.

All of a sudden, amidst the silence, the girl with Compass Magic moved forward. "While it might be true that the timing of this tournament could've been better, it is still our duty to put on something the others can enjoy".

"Now look here, glasses! I know my job as a Magic Knight but all I'm saying is that this won't be something that I'll enjoy". Magna replied with his arms crossed.

With a heavy breath, Letoile retorted with a slight tease. "Well I guess when Luck comes back, you'll still be the same weakling as before…" she opened her eye slightly and saw that the Flame mage was fuming from the ears. "Haha, guess those short words got him riled up", she smiled.

"What was that, ya green-haired woman? I'm stronger than Luck already… but I guess I'll just have to prove that once again!" Magna puffed his chest out. His overall vibe had completely changed from what Letoile had said to him.

One of the very few things that could be seen as a positive, after the Spade Kingdom attack, was that the Magic Knights all became closer to each other. Even royals like Solid Silva and Kirsch Vermillion had formed bonds with people that would be lower than them, in terms of status. Magna was also one of those who had made friends with other squad members, and one of them was Letoile. The Compass mage knew about the rivalry between him and Luck and used that to fire him up.

"Letoile… you knew just what to say to him. I wish I could've done so, but I guess it's nothing". Yuno smiled.

After a few minutes of preparation, the battle between Yuno's team and the opponents team had started. Yuno headed for the centre, whilst the other two split themselves and went right and left.

"I'm so beautiful! I can help us win this with my gorgeous magic, right cousin?" Kirsch Vermillion spoke in a melodic voice as he was busy praising himself as usual.

"I know how Mimosa feels now…" Leopold though to himself as he readied his Flame Magic for the opponents. "Anyway, work with our plan and I think we can win".

"Of course! I'm not some brute who can't listen to simple instructions, especially from my wonderful cousin". The Vermillion danced away towards the middle of the battlefield.

Leopold's sweat dropped and he turned to the other teammate beside him.

"Well, we were opponents in the Royal Knights exam but lets win this!" The fiery young mage spoke to the girl with the white and fluffy hat.

"Ah, y-yes". Fragil replied uneasily. "I need to show the others I can do this, especially since I was one of the Knights who was possessed…" the Aqua Deer mage and the Crimson Lion mage separated and went their ways. Fragil to the left, Leopold to the right.

A few minutes passed and each individual met up with their opponent in front of them.

"Well, it looks like matchups are going to be a big part to play here", Noelle commented.

"It looks like our fiery delinquent has a good advantage against her though", Vanessa responded.

Magna looked up and saw a dark-blue haired Magic Knight from the Aqua Deer. It looked to be a fight between the Flame mage and the Snow mage.

"Just my luck isn't it! First, I'm up against Leo back at the Royal Knights exam and now Magna! I guess I can't let a disadvantage like this deter me too much…", Fragil commented in her head as she flicked through her grimoire.

"I don't know what you're muttering about over there, Lady in the hat, but I'm gonna prove just how strong I've become!" Magna started forming a fireball in the palm of his right hand and proceeded to launch it towards the Snow mage. "Flame Magic: Spiral Burn!"

As the flaming Black Bull shot his attack, a stream of circular flames left his palms and were on their way to hit Fragil head on. The flames were so intense that the air around the attack was being repelled, leaving nothing but the burning sensation it its path.

"Is it me or has that virgin powered up his magic by a lot?" Vanessa asked as she petted Rouge. Her eyes widened and she couldn't believe how different Magna was.

Zora stepped up and chuckled. "You don't know how much me and him have been training our asses off. While you were drinking away, we did all we could… and even more to power ourselves up", the masked Black Bull smirked with his sharp teeth.

"I've done more than just drink! But I guess Magna had to let his frustrations out somehow… I'm glad he chose to improve himself", the Thread mage added.

The spiralling flames hit Fragil and knocked her fluffy hat off and it burned to a crisp.

"Woah, you've powered up a lot… but isn't that move a bit like Leo's?" She wondered as she regained her bearings.

Magna scratched his chin and smirked. "Haha! You got it… I took a bit of what that royal does and implemented it into my own attacks! Take this…", he fired some more attacks at Fragil.

"Guess it's my turn to attack back… Snow Magic: Snow Wave!" The Aqua Deer mage held her arms in front and fired out a wave of freezing cold snow that swept the field of play. Every where around the Black Bull mage started to freeze, and as he looked up, he saw something that made him frustrated.

There were individual balls of snow floating high in the sky. Each of them were huge and they started to fall at a high speed from above and as they fell, their speed increased from the initial one.

"Damn it!" Magna screamed. He tried to dodge and escape, but the Snow Wave attack also meant that Magna was surrounded by a wall of snow. He was essentially encased in a custom-made snow den.

Fragil wiped the sweat from her brow and smiled. "I thought using my Snow Magic in different ways like this might be better than only using one type of attack like I usually did. So, I guess my 'Snow Wave' is not like an actual wave, but more like a wave of different types of attacks", she giggled.

"Well, she got me good. Although… there is a thing you have to remember about the Black Bulls…", Magna scoffed.

"What is tha-!" The dark-blue haired Knight started to ask, but then realised what she was dealing with.

Her snow wall and boulders of snow that were falling above had been incinerated by Magna. In the dust and remnants of her Snow Wave attack, stood a sunglasses-wearing delinquent with a smile on his face.

"We… live to surpass our limits! Flame Magic: Timebomb Scattershot!" The Flame mage used all of his low, but powerful mana, to form a huge fireball in his hands that he then threw at the Snow mage.

"A fireball like that is something I can dodge easily as long as I kno-", Fragil couldn't finish her sentence as the incoming attack completely disappeared from her view. "I forgot he could do that with one of his attacks!" She started to panic.

"That's right. My… last attack is something you cannot… see…", Magna started to fade in and out of consciousness. He had used up all of his mana and was barely holding on. Though he knew he had to make it so that his final attack hit Fragil.

The Aqua Deer mage tried to run and dodge as hard as she could. She formed many snow walls and barricades, but the impending danger of the attack was too much. When she finally turned around, it was too late.

"Bang!" Magna shouted, and as he did, the disappearing fireball revealed itself in front of Fragil herself. Without a moment to respond, the scattershot exploded and Magna had defeated his opponent.

At the cost of his mana, he defeated his opponent and made it so that he would be the one victorious. The delinquent peasant saw Fragil had been defeated and then closed his eyes and fell to the floor after.

"I win. The rest… is up to you Glasses and Pretty Boy!"

Whilst the battle between Magna and Fragil had concluded, another battle was underway. It was none other than two members of the most complete squads facing up against each other.

"Flame Magic: Spiralling Flames!" Leopold sent one attack after the other against his opponent. Unlike Magna, he had a huge barrel of mana just ready to be used and he wasn't holding back.

"Compass Magic: Willful Compass", Letoile responded by deflecting and reflecting his attacks right back at him. It was a barrage of Flame attacks littering the battlefield and it looked like there was no rest for them.

"If I let this continue, my mana will eventually run out! I need to do something about this…", Letoile pondered whilst continuing to dodge and use her counter spell.

On the other hand, rather than Leopold being confident or happy that he was going to have the upper hand eventually, he was getting angry and annoyed. "If I can't do this, then catching up to my brother or my sister is impossible. I don't know what the award is for winning these fights, but whatever it is, I want it to be something like a symbol of me showing that I am strong!"

"Flame Magic: Sol Linea!" Leopold stopped his common Spiral Flames attack and instead changed to the common Vermillion family technique and fired the blue condensed flame outwards. "Maybe with using my siblings' techniques, I can be like and surpass them!"

Back on the platform above, many captains were taking notes about the battle. There was one, however, that looked like she had a lot on her mind.

"Leo… You constantly doubt in your own strength and instead try too much to be like your siblings. Believe in yourself more for crying out loud", Mereleona thought to herself. She would've liked to scream those orders towards her little brother but interfering with the tournament wasn't allowed.

"Compass Magic: Another Atlas! I just managed to dodge that blue flame attack, but I'm going to have to switch up my approach. This move is basically my own Mana Zone where anything within the compass's range is hopefully made redundant. Now, if I can just close the gap in between me and Leo…", Letoile moved forward.

Leopold continued with his fighting style and magic spells and while he did that, the Golden Dawn member closed in.

"Ah! I said I could defeat my opponent, but my attacks aren't hitting their mark!" Leo continued, but then his flames started to weaken. He looked up and it seemed like that in his rage and frustration, he didn't notice that Letoile was basically next to him.

"I didn't expect you to get so distracted, Leo… I guess that was my advantage. Compass Magic: Useless North", Letoile summoned a sharp compass pick and used it to jab into leg slightly, or so she hoped she did, but missed. "Darn it! I remember the feeling of the elf mana within me but using Another Atlas as well as an attack spell is more difficult than I thought…". The green-haired mage was busy trying to control her two spells with one another.

"Mana Skin!" Leopold surrounded his body in an armour-like barrier which also protected him from the Another Atlas's effects of neutralising magic. "Okay, this is good. If I do this and then attack – no, wait… I'm overthinking way too much! Flame Magic: Spiralling Flames!"

The Crimson Lion started to fire off flame attacks without holding back, as his mana output increased, his accuracy began to decrease, and he ended up wasting his moves. He then realised he made another crucial mistake. Without being able to respond, Letoile had arrived.

"That was a good method, in theory. Mana Skin did help you from Another Atlas's effects on your body, but any magic you let out from your body was still influenced by my technique. Mana Skin only protects your body, while Mana Zone could have allowed you to control more than just your body", Letoile jumped and was facing Leopold.

"Damn it! I made a mistake-!" As Leopold was about to falter, he heard a familiar scream from above, on the Captain's platform.

"Leopold Vermillion! You are a royal and a proud Crimson Lion, and you show such an utter disgrace! You are focusing way too much on how to beat Fuegoleon or I, instead of focusing on yourself!"

Everyone who was watching the tournament turned their heads to where the screaming was coming from. They saw none other than the fiery lioness spewing words of wisdom, or it could be seen as words of abuse, to some.

The other captains like Jack and Kaiser started to hold her back. Allowing her to talk with a direct contestant was against the rules, but Mereoleona wasn't the type of person to stick to rules in the first place.

"Unhand me!" She looked at Jack and Kaiser on both of her arms. "Leo! Just focus on improving yourself without thinking about who you have to beat… you're much better when you're happy and relaxed instead of moping around like you are!"

The two captains on Mereoleona's arms had succeeded in bringing her back from the edge of the platform. She was then met with a look of frustration masked with a smile from Julius. Though her message got through to the young Vermillion.

Letoile's Another Atlas started to incinerate from within and when looking at the reason why, it was clear to see that Leopold had started to counter. His flames started to mix with Letoile's spell and break it down from within.

"My sister's right! I can't keep beating myself over something that I can worry about down the line… right now, I'm going to relax and enjoy myself… Mana Zone… Flame Magic: Flaming Pyre Eruptio-!" Leopold used Mana Zone for the first time and looked to have unleashed a brand-new spell that would've backed his opponent into a corner, however, Letoile wasn't going to allow that to happen.

"Not today! Compass Magic: Southpole Swing!" She summoned her spell to fling Leopold in the direction south of her. Leopold started to fly away and out of the Another Atlas and without a moment to react, he had been flung into a boulder just outside the area.

He had been defeated. His powerup was just a little too late and Letoile pounced quickly.

"Guess… I lost this battle, but those last, short moments… I smiled for the first time in a long while…", Leopold, saying these words and with another smile, had fainted.

"Well, I guess that's that… Phew, he was tough, but I held out", Letoile commented. She walked up to the fainted Vermillion and sat him upright against a tree trunk. "You were great. Now rest", she then ran to where she was needed next.

"Mereoleona… you do know if Leopold won there, he would have been disqualified right? Help from outside the battlefield was not allowed, haha!" Julius playfully laughed.

"Tsk…", the lioness responded. Although she was told of her wrong actions, she didn't care too much as she realised that her little brother took an important step to furthering himself.

Elsewhere, in the middle of the battlefield, stood the last pair of matchups. The wind blew as Yuno flew downwards to meet his opponent. While the flowers and trees rustled as his opponent drew closer.

"My, my. If it isn't the one with beautiful Spirit Magic!" Kirsch Vermillion entered the scene with a dance.

"I was hoping I could face off against a Vice-Captain. I guess you fit the bill", Yuno then took his grimoire out.

"Wind Magic…"

"Cherry Blossom Magic…"

Elsewhere, somewhere near the Forsaken Realm and just outside the Strong Magic Region...

Honestly… that Strong Magic Region was a pain to travel through, but I guess I finally made it out. Even with my Gravity Magic, the winds and the terrain made it hard. Haha, I guess my fun will start soon enough… I'm coming to avenge you, Vanica".

NOTES:

Haha, nice fun and long chapter for you guys

I feel like Magna love was needed so I gave him some development here. I also did the same with Leopold as I feel he is heavily underrated. Also, I wanted to include Fragil because she's cool.

Leopold mentioned to *spoilers, though you should be caught up on the anime by now * that he feels inferior compared to Mereoleona and Fuegoleon, so I had that play a part here!

REMINDER! This is only the first batch of battles. There's also Noelle's team to come up soon enough, and of course there's the impending danger from a certain Gravity Magic user…

Next Chapter: Yuno vs Kirsch!