This chapter is slightly shorter than the rest up to now, but I arrived at a good spot to end it. I hope you will enjoy it. :)

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"You have not an ounce of magic, do you?"

An echo of lunacy incarnated, some may even call it blasphemy, resonated within the now silent arena, yet the cloaked woman showed no signs of pulling back her claim. Her voice was soft and firm at the same time, seemingly entirely unaffected by what she had just said. There was no hesitation on her part when she voiced this unbelievable truth without remorse. Not even the chorus of surprised gasps and yelps around the arena affected her.

Asta never had any intentions of denying his lack of magic if someone should question him about it. Father Orsi had taught him to always say the truth, no matter how hard it may be sometimes. Still, being confronted with the harsh reality of his life so suddenly hit the ash-blond teen completely unprepared. His fists clenched and unclenched constantly, creating a rhythm of tense and loose fingers. He tried to avert the tension invading his body, tried to stay tough under the heavy glare send his way from those forest-green eyes, but he found himself incapable to resist

Normally, he would already have proclaimed his innermost wish to be the wizard king at least ten times as loud as he could. However, this time his words failed him. They danced at the very tip of his tongue, eager to share his desire with the entire world, yet they didn't come out. Asta wondered about the sudden shift, for he had no clue as to why his mouth suddenly stopped working altogether. He blamed it on the nervousness caging his frame, originating from all the eyes currently directed at him and the furiously pounding heart inside his chest. Asta had only experienced very few moments in his life so far, in which he felt uncomfortable. Right now was such a moment and he wished it would end fast, very fast. The sweat starting to form on his skin didn't help either.

"Why have you come here?" she asked in the next moment, ripping Asta away from the world of his thoughts. Not waiting for an answer, she lifted her right leg and placed her foot on the handrail surrounding the spectator seats. Even from afar, Asta saw how she applied pressure as the muscles in her leg flexed, and realised what she was about to do.

"Wait, Ria! What are you doing?!" a brown-haired young man right next to her suddenly asked. Even from the distance, Asta could hear that his voice sounded a little bit frightened. Yet, it had a gentle touch to it. That much he had already noticed during their first encounter before the exams had started. It was hard to say, but from what Asta could see, the man must have been surprised by her actions just as he was. However, it was not enough to stop her. With one mighty push, her body was catapulted high into the air, higher than the building was tall.

The man who had talked to her yelped and immediately went for his grimoire, but another man, the one who had almost crushed his skull earlier, merely raised his hand which stopped the other. Words were exchanged, but Asta had not the mind to listen to them. He was too busy with his mouth dropping open from the spectacle of the woman he bore witness to. Such strength! The swordsman doubted that he could pull off a stunt like this without having a run-up of at least one hundred metres. Of course, he had no clue if the cloaked woman had used any magic. His lack of the source of every spell in the world came along with the inability to sense mana at all. He was able to tell that the air around strong people felt different to those who hadn't been blessed with much magic, but that was about all he could tell. On top, there was always the possibility of a feint as well. Fanzel had tricked him more than once during their training, after all, so Asta grew cautious when he tried to judge other people's strength. He had no intention to be flung around like a rag doll again simply because he was too fast with his judgement.

Still, even remembering all of that, there was something different about the cloaked woman. Asta saw it in the way her body bent when she landed, how her fluid motions diverted all the forces working during a fall away from her body with unbelievable precision, almost like she was feline. It reminded him of how he moved and used his body to cope with his lack of magic, yet her movements were far superior and more refined than his own. A lump was forming in his throat and he sweated even stronger than before because there was something else about her.

It was the sensation of a wild beast that constantly shot from her forest-green eyes as she stared at him, drilling through his skull like it was the easiest thing to do in the world. Asta felt like he was not facing a human but a feral predator and he was the prey. The feeling became only worse when she lifted her body from her crouched posture near the ground. Even from afar she was towering above Asta, looming over him like an ominous shadow.

Seconds that felt like years passed until she broke the uncomfortable silence. "I'm still waiting for your answer." Her words were just as sharp as her stare and Asta almost gasped, barely managing to swallow it back into his throat. He clenched his right fist as tight as possible, as he found his voice again. It was just a simple demand from her, but to Asta felt like it was so much more. 'This is it! I have to prove myself right now,' he thought to himself. Inhaling deep, he shouted his dream as loud as he could for everyone to hear.

"I've come here to become the Wizard King!"

Asta's claim resonated throughout the entire arena, his voice bouncing off the high walls. From behind him, he felt Yuno smirking at him, but it was soon forgotten by the sounds that followed next. At first, they were suppressed snorts before they turned into full-blown laughter. The entire building was shaking from roaring laughter, countless people making fun of him and his dream while others threw insult after insult at him. Asta was used to this since a young age, yet this time it felt way worse than ever before. So many people he had never met before laughing about him, was hurting him and no matter how hard he clenched his fist, the pain didn't go away. And it got only worse.

"The Wizard King? Admirable but it's impossible for you because you have no magic inside of you and I'm certain you are well aware of this fact." It was one thing to hear such words from common people. It was something entirely different when a magic knight said those words. Asta felt like his world was breaking apart, could feel how his dream was slipping through his fingers without him being able to make it stop vanishing from his grasp.

"But-" a sharp, pointed look forced him to stop his weak protest immediately.

"I'm not saying this because I doubt your will. The Wizard King is, simply put, the strongest mage in the entire kingdom, his magic unmatched by any others. Please explain how you want to become the strongest mage when you don't have any mana."

Asta blinked and then, again and again, repeating the motion countless times in a row. "That's a... pretty good objection! Dammit!" He had never thought about this even though it had been so obvious. Immediately, his brain went into high drive, trying to find a plausible solution to this problem. Soon enough steam was emitting from his ears, and his head was redder than a tomato due to all the blood that had rushed to his brain. 'I can't think of anything because I'm stupid,' Asta groaned as his fingers ran through his hair, dishevelling his strands and thus, making them even messier than they naturally were.

"Your head looks like it's about to explode," the cloaked woman teased, amusement evident inside her voice as she continued to observe his struggle.

XXX

In the shades Yuno had put his hands over his face, shaking his head from side to side, not believing what he was seeing. "Asta, you're such an idiot." the wind mage muttered lowly to himself. However, that being said Yuno wasn't fairing any better than his brother, for he had never thought about this either. He had never any doubts about Asta being able to become the Wizard King, turning him blind to an obvious problem. His cheeks flushed and he was just glad that Asta once again was a master of pulling in everyone's attention. This way he could stay in the protective darkness of the large stone pillars surrounding the battle areas, hoping to turn into an invisible puff of air as he berated himself for his stupidity.

"Argh! Screw this!" a sudden scream pulled Yuno out of his embarrassment, worry immediately seizing his consciousness, only to be blown away a moment later. "No matter what everyone thinks, no matter what everyone says, no matter if I pass this exam today, I will become the Wizard King one day!" Yuno could only smile at Asta's declaration, fuelled by his never-ending determination. Yuno was certain that his brother had no clue how inspiring he could be. All the words from Asta on the day he took back Yuno's pendant from the thug were the reason why the wind mage aspired to become the Wizard King. Without them, Yuno had no clue where he would be standing right now.

Unfortunately, the people inside the arena didn't view Asta in the same light as the black-haired teen did. Once more their laughter filled the air as they made fun of him, calling him vile names. Veins threatened to pop up any second, yet something prevented them from doing so. Even when the whole building was trembling from uncalled enjoyment, there was something in the atmosphere that was unsettling Yuno. The calm before the storm was one that he had never experienced before.

His wind only visible to him always told the wind mage about any changes in the weather long before they were visible to the open eye. Unless he chose so, he would never get caught in the rain unprepared or would find himself sizzling under the burning sun in high summer without water at the ready to cool down his itching throat. His magic kinda worked like an extension of his body and it came in handy in many different situations.

However, this time his wind behaved differently. No longer was it swirling around him, but instead crawling at his feet. Yuno was unsure of how he should describe the feeling coursing through his body, originating from his magical element. He tried to find other words than fear, but nothing came to his mind.

"Then prove it." A short and chilly reply cut through all laughter with deadly efficiency, shutting up anyone who was making fun of Asta. At his feet, Yuno sensed how his wind was trembling and he realised why. An image of a dark place and the growls of a gargantuan beast filled his mind as the scenery from earlier this day resurfaced from his memory when Asta and he had still been outside of the capital as a group of magic knights riding brooms flew above their heads. Why hadn't he noticed sooner? The person responsible for ruining the nights to come for him and the cloaked woman Asta was currently facing were the same.

Out of instinct, he wanted to rush to Asta's side and help him, but Yuno had to force himself to a stop. 'This is Asta's fight. I can't intervene unless I want to make him look weak in front of the captains.' He gritted his teeth in frustration. This woman was bad news, something he could tell from the brief encounter they had this morning. He felt like he was in a pinch, one part of his body wanted to assist Asta, the other to trust his brother's abilities. It was an extremely difficult choice for Yuno because he desired both options alike, but in the end, he chose to have faith in Asta. Even without magic, the swordsman had managed to come out victorious no matter the struggle and it wouldn't be any different this time around. Grabbing his pendant, he took a calming breath. "You got this Asta. I believe in you," he mumbled quietly to himself, not noticing how forest-green eyes observed his every action from afar before they returned to the other teen, taking in his confused state.

"How?" Asta's question pulled Yuno back into the here and now. Instead of answering him right away though, the cloaked woman merely turned around and walked away from him, leaving his question open to imagination. When she had put enough distance between them she faced Asta again.

"It's quite simple, nothing too fancy," she said as she began to open the buttons of her cloak. Metallic clicks vibrated in the deadly silent arena as more and more became undone. As the heavy cloak came undone, it revealed brown boots, white trousers secured by a silver belt, the emblem of the Black Bulls engraved on the surface of the buckle and a red, sleeveless top. Only the buttons close to her face remained sealed.

"You will have to go through an additional exam and show us that you have the determination to back up your words," she explained while crossing her arms in front of her body. Before she could continue though, another voice intervened. When the arena had been quiet before it was now as silent as a graveyard, the man raising his voice like an eagle in the sky. Not even the dead would dare to oppose him, afraid of the power he called his own.

"It looks like the audacity of the Black Bulls knows no boundaries," the captain of the Silver Eagles, Nozel Silva, proclaimed as he stood up from his seat, his cold eyes staring down at the two occupants of the battle area. Asta froze where he was standing whilst Ria merely glared back.

XXX

Finral could only watch how Ria performed yet another athletic masterpiece right in front of his very eyes before he snapped out of his stupor and fumbled with his grimoire. Captain Yami lifted his hand though, a clear sign for the spatial mage to stop. Countless thoughts circled through his head at that moment as he tried to understand why the wielder of dark magic didn't want him to help his teammate.

Yami must have read his Ki because the tall man's answer eased all of his worries immediately. "There's no need to help her with something like this. The girl is freaking tough. If anything she would probably take it as an insult and punch you across the whole kingdom. Better sit this one out and have some trust in Ria, Finral." Yami said before he lighted himself another cigarette and took a long inhale, turning his attention back to the battle area below where Ria had just landed safely on her feet again.

At his side, Finral looked flabbergasted. Of course, he trusted Ria and had no intention of saying or doing anything that might hint at anything else. It was just that he couldn't stop himself when he saw a dangerous situation, his magic almost acting on its own accord.

Also, he was surprised that Yami exchanged her nickname for her actual name this time around. Yam had the habit of giving anyone he met a nickname, whether they liked it or not didn't matter in the slightest. Finral himself was labelled as "Ride," not something he was all too keen about but when he compared it to other names his captain had come up with, it was one of the better choices to have. However, on rare occasions, Yami used the real names of the people around him. He only did so when he was serious, so hearing him saying Ria's name and not her nickname was quite a surprise for the spatial mage. It meant that Yami was on board with whatever Ria was planning to do. Therefore, Finral stuffed his grimoire back into its holster and took Yami's words to heart. He would stay behind and trust that Ria had something in mind.

That she was planning something became obvious when she didn't laugh at the young boy in front of her when he boldly proclaimed to become the Wizard King of all things. Internally, Finral screamed because he couldn't believe anyone would dare to mention something like this when all nine captains were present. On the other hand, he was awestruck that the boy had such a clear goal in sight, something Finral clearly lacked since he only survived from day to day, trying to gain the attraction of the other sex while also transporting Yami around the Clover Kingdom.

'You are the shame of the Vaude family.' For a moment, his father's words echoed throughout his mind as he viewed his current life. It had been more than six years already since he had run away from his home, yet they still stung painfully as strongly as on the day they were directed at him. Finral wanted to say something against them, but his words failed them. Not because he was lacking the vocabulary but simply because there was no way he could deny the truth.

Seeing youngsters with all their dreams and hopes for the future was a painful reminder of his own shortcomings, his lack and inability to be anything more than the ride of the Black Bulls. He was happy that he could help his friends with his flimsy and weak magic, yet he wished he could be of greater use to them. With his flimsy spatial magic opening portals was the best he could do though.

However, he didn't regret his choice of leaving the house that was like hell to him, that had treated him worse than a street dog. It may not look like it, but compared to his childhood and his early teens, life had become better for him as a member of the Black Bulls. Words were by far not enough to express his gratitude to captain Yami for taking him in even though he was nothing more than a complete failure. Therefore, Finral had already long decided that he would deal with any nickname the tall man may give him in the future.

Still, his departure didn't leave him without regretting something. The spatial mage's eyes wandered to the right until they found the form of none other than the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn, his younger brother. Finral was quite surprised to see Langris with a scrunched face, seemingly so absorbed in the events in the middle of the arena. To be honest, he hadn't expected that any of the Black Bulls, including himself, were enough to catch Langris's attention, but leave it to their very own mysterious member to turn the tables and catch even the interest of a Langris Vaude. Ria was really something else.

Suddenly his young brother shifted his head sideways and the spatial brothers locked gazes, aquamarine and lavender eyes staring deep into each other. Overwhelmed by the sudden confrontation, Finral smiled nervously, one that didn't reach his eyes in the slightest. In response he got a hateful look full of disgust from Langris before the younger male turned his head back to the arena, ignoring his brother's lingering gaze full of sorrow.

Finral got a better life, but the price to pay for it was a broken relationship with Langris. He had hoped that the letter he left behind the day he ran away would prevent anything like this, but obviously, it didn't work out. The older spatial mage had thought for days of what he should write to Langris, what words would convey his emotions the best until he settled with writing down everything that came to his mind at that time, but Langris made it more than clear that Finral's words didn't reach him. Ever since then the times they had exchanged words could be counted with only one hand. It was devastating for Finral to see what their brotherhood had turned into, so much so that he didn't register what was happening around him anymore. Before he could lose himself into the depths of despair he had called forth himself though, a sharp voice prevented him from going any further.

"It looks like the audacity of the Black Bulls knows no boundaries." Years of being a magic knight and tagging along for each magic knights entrance exam enabled Finral to recognise each captain by their voice alone. Only one among them had a voice cold enough to send a freezing shower down Finral's spine. The prideful, powerful, handsome and cool captain of the Silver Eagles stood tall as he glared down at the arena, levelling Ria with his emotionless stare, a notion Finral disliked immediately.

"What do you think you are doing? Interrupting the exams with such trivial things? Are you not ashamed of yourself for tainting the name of your squad even more by your uncalled actions?" the royal captain asked, sounding almost menacing.

It was needless to say that not a single noise could be heard anymore in the entire building, not from the examinees, not from the magic knights, not even from the captains. Such was the aura of Nozel Silva, master of mercury magic. Droplets of sweat, created by the thick tension in the air, formed on Finral's skin as he nervously turned his head as slowly as possible, too afraid of being seen by the captain of the Silver Eagles, until Ria was in his view.

On one hand, he was surprised at how calm his teammate was, seemingly unbothered by the fact that everyone was looking at her right now. On the other hand, he expected nothing less from the cloaked woman. Ria was like an unwavering mountain amidst a cataclysmic storm, entirely unfazed by the eagle's blazing stare, something that must have irked the silver-haired man because small veins began popping up on his forehead.

"This boy already had his chance to showcase his capabilities to us captains. There is no need to see more of it. Besides, you are in no position to-"

"I apologize for interrupting you right now, Captain Silva, but I am in a position to do as I do. In fact, every magic knight is allowed to issue additional exams for examinees if they deem it necessary, for there are no rules which forbade us from doing as such," Ria explained matter of factly, her voice even and calm.

"You-" Nozel snarled dangerously, clearly not amused, yet Ria didn't budge a single inch.

"There's one more thing." She raised her right hand and extended her pointer finger. "The current Wizard King, Julius Novachrono, follows a policy of equality. For him, it doesn't matter if one is a noble, a commoner, a peasant or even a royal. Anyone is allowed the same chances without exception," Ria continued, yet she wasn't finished.

"Don't you think we magic knights working under him should follow his example?"

Narrowing her eyes, she didn't wait for a response. "And even if all of this wouldn't apply, please forgive me for putting this so bluntly, Captain Silva, but in this year's exam, you're not the chairman. Thus, it is not in your jurisdiction to decide about manners such as additional tests."

The already deadly silence in the entire arena became even worse when that was possible after Ria finished with her last sentence. What had been mere droplets of sweat were now streaming rivers. Finral had become paler than a sheet of paper as his soul was leaving through his mouth, shocked and scared alike that Ria had talked back to a captain, a royal captain at that, with no qualms nor hesitation.

The air became even thicker than before, so tense that Finral could have cut it with a knife. There was no telling what was about to happen next until loud and boisterous laughter broke out.

"Bahahaha. Looks like my Tomby is giving you a run for your money, Mr Ball o' Pride!" Yami laughed without a care in the world while small tears were forming in his eyes.

'Riaaaaaaaaaa. What have you done?!' Finral screamed in his mind, afraid of what the silver-haired man would do now that the captain of the Black Bulls had joined the fray. On the other side, the spatial mage heard Gordon's mumbles, so loud that he was able to understand a few words. His fellow Black Bull said something about how cool Ria was and that they would be friends forever, but Finral was not sure if he heard everything correctly.

Things became only worse when a small chuckle tuned in to Yami's still ongoing laughter. It originated from none other than William Vangeance, the last person Finral had expected to show any kind of reaction. From there it only went further downhill as other captains jumped on the chance to tease the normally stoic captain.

"Shall I bury you lot first?" Nozel threatened, but to Finral's ears it sounded much more like a last-ditch afford, one that failed since none of the captains stopped their actions. A small part of his being felt pity for the captain of the Silver Eagles at that moment. The combined forces of the captains were a force to be reckoned with!

XXX

Meanwhile, down in the arena, Asta looked with his mouth slightly agape at the cloaked woman. He searched through his memories, yet he found nothing, not a single moment of his life up to now that he could compare the events taking place right in front of his eyes with. This had never happened befoEveryvery time it was revealed that he had not been blessed with any magic, people made fun of him. Only his family had supported him all this time, but nobody else – until now.

For the first time in his life, a complete stranger didn't dismiss his dream as nonsense and instead even stood up for him. The young swordsman felt his eyes itching at his corners and heat rising to his cheeks, a small smile slowly appearing on his lips.

XXX

The captain's skirmish lasted for a few minutes. Ria remained silent throughout, yet her eyes never stopped searching for the attention of one of them. It didn't take long as the man noticed her look, the request that was transmitted when forest-green and purple blazes finally met each other. There was no need for any words at that moment, for William already knew what the mysterious member of the Black Bulls wanted from him. And he saw no reason to deny her since the masked man was interested as well, but not only in the abilities of the magicless boy but also in the cloaked woman that stood in front of him, yet was so far away from his reach. He raised his right hand before he announced his decision.

"You May Proceed."