Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 20: Bad Company Part 4
Dungeon Depths, Forsaken Realm, Clover Kingdom (Afternoon)
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Creation Magic: Herculean Arsenal]."
Mar's body is then surrounded by multiple fragments of crystal armor plating. The armor then encases the mage's whole body, and upon the cloister's assembly, various armaments begins to form onto the armor.
The grieves turn into talon-like protrusions on the shins, his side skirt armors vaguely bared the visage of a stag on the left and a horse on the right, the shoulder armors then turn into a boar on the right and a bull on the left, a pair of bird-like wings protrude out of its back, his breastplate baring the visage of three hound heads, the gauntlets begin to form themselves into crab-like pincer claws, the helmet transforms into a visage of a lion, and the most bizarre of all, nine, dragon-like heads were floating around the now-one-man-army of a mage.
Ten terrible beasts of legend. Now serving as this automation's weapons of mass destruction.
"What has science done...?" Fanzell spoke out in horror.
"Tell that to Morris." Lotus grimly remarked.
At the other side of the room near the gates, Yuno, Jericho, Finral, Noelle, Mimosa, Klaus, and Corrin were all watching with abject horror frozen upon their collective faces.
"So let me get this straight..." Klaus remarked. "Luck is currently possessed by his dead mother, giving him an amount of power on par with Captain Vangence, the [Crystal Magic] user's gems on his body turn out to be his limiters, resulting in that upon the removal of one of them while also monopolizing all of the dungeon's mana towards his own reserves, and to make matters even worse, a fucking Salamander shows up out of nowhere, with its flames that was already hot enough to melt through solid rock, now even hotter, and it's controlled by another lunatic!?"
"... If I said I was exaggerating, would you believe in me?" Mimosa sheepishly replied.
"You're not even exaggerating, Mimosa." Corrin stated. "You're sugarcoating it."
To be fair, any sane individual seeing the three-way between demigods in a closed space would drive them beyond insanity.
The three then begin their offensive.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Salamander Meteor Impact]!" The Salamander's claws then form two orbs of blue fire, encasing them into a pair of knuckleguards.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Indra]." The fake Lighting Spirit then forms a staff with spherical tips on both ends, each cage carrying a bolt of electricity.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Magic: Trial #2A- Lernaean Gatling]." All of the orbiting dragon heads then spout out triple-barreled rotary cannons, with the gun itself rolling its barrels, ready fire out an innumerable volley of flames.
The three attacks connect towards each other.
The whole place then lights up like a surface of a newborn star.
The heat radiating from the light causes everyone's skins to boil like bacon on a pan's surface drowned in oil.
The noise from the explosion was loud enough to drown out everything else out of everyone else's thoughts as it boiled their very brains like eggs in a pot over flame.
And after the maddening choir of death and destruction ceases, all that remained of the chamber was a smoldering, gaping, and abyssal pit.
Thankfully, the other mages were spared of such horrific fate.
... Only in body.
Behind one of the rocks, the Black Bulls, the Golden Dawn, and the ex-Diamond Knights were cowering in complete fear.
Breathing was quickened.
Heartbeats accelerated.
And all they can do, is nothing, lest they die leaving behind nothing.
The three outside however, resumed their attack towards each other.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Salamander Stygian Slash]!" Salamander then swipes its claws, sending out slashes of blue flames from its claws.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Taranis]." A wheel of of lighting forms behind the false goddess, which it begins to spin as it then begins to indiscriminately lash out numerous lightning bolts.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Magic: Trial #3A- Karkinos Karambit]." The crab-like pincers on Mar's arms begins to glow red, with heat radiating off of it's blades.
As the three continue their assault, the others continue to cower, each with their own thoughts on mind.
"Okay. Calm down, Jericho." Jericho thought. "Assess the following; first, Mr. Voltia died and was resurrected by his mother's ghost possessing his broken body, creating a false [Lightning Spirit] and healing all of his wounds, which all of it, should be next to impossible. Second, an actual [Fire Spirit], Salamander, shows up, and its host is no more passive then our resurrected Black Bull here, and to make matters worse, her flames are now blue, which means that they're much hotter than regular flames, as shown by its capabilities to melt rock. And finally, Mars." Jericho peeks out for a bit to see him clashing against the Salamander and Fulgora at the same time, without losing ground. "Whoever did this to him is either insane or brilliant. The amount of deviations taken with the human body to turn him into a killing machine is the perfect balance of power and proficiency. Those weapons, those moves, and those features. They're not for show. They're specifically designed to kill things, period."
For Noelle, it's the following.
"*internal incoherent screams of complete fear and terror*"
... Yeah, nobody blames her.
As for Finral...
*external incoherent screams of complete fear and terror*
... As expected.
For Corrin, her thoughts were all something along the lines of this thought;
"After the mission's over, I'm getting a drink. Hopefully I can get to my mom's wine cellar before she could..."
For Klaus, nothing. For his mind was also frozen in fear along with his body.
He was too scared to even think, let alone berate himself for acting like this when he's a Golden Dawn.
For Mimosa, she wasn't thinking at all.
She was too busy healing everyone at the moment while she was sneaking out Moguro Leaf Potions from Yuno's satchel.
For Yuno, he was terrified.
Of himself.
Of not being able to do anything.
"Why?" Yuno asked himself. "Why aren't you moving? Why aren't you stopping them? Why aren't you trying to save everyone? Why?"
"Why?"
"Why?"
"Why aren't you acting like a proper four-leaf you are?"
Yuno grits his teeth in frustration.
He knew that they can't just stand there and cower. Someone had to stop them somehow.
But everyone's expecting Yuno to stop them. After all, if a four-leaf can't stop them, then who will?
Yuno's legs then began to move on their own, towards the firefight.
Before Yuno can go out there, something stops him from going any further.
Yuno looks behind him, seeing Jericho's scarred hand placed onto his shoulder.
"I know what you're thinking, Yuno." Jericho stated. "And I'm not going to stop you, but I need you to hear me out."
Jericho then tugs Yuno close to his face.
"Don't do it out of the obligation of the fact that you're a four-leaf." Jericho stated. "Do it because you know that you're going to live through this."
"... What do you mean by that?" Yuno asked.
"Bluntly speaking." Jericho continued. "You're going to die in there if you think that you being a four-leaf gives you some sort of plot armor. I'm not saying that you shouldn't, but at least slow down, and think of a plan before you go in."
"Don't rush it." Those words from Captain Yami echoed in Yuno's head.
Yuno's head then begins to feel a lot clearer after remembering those words.
"Okay Yuno." He thought. "Watch closely. Observe your surroundings. Hypothesize the possible solution. And then strike."
The following is observed.
Three exceptionally overpowered mages are present, but they seem to be too preoccupied with each other as of now, the whole room was how a bottomless pit, and the only thing intact was the rubble that the other Magic Knights were hiding behind...
... And the door that inflicts [Corporeal Magic: Lifelink] on whoever it touches it.
"I got one." He muttered. Yuno finally surmises a proper plan, but only factor is that one of the four people involved is guaranteed to die.
Including Yuno.
The youth takes in a breather, resolving himself before he steps into the freshly-carved out bowels of hell.
"Jericho." Yuno speaks to the ex-Royalty.
"I'm listening."
Yuno then faces toward Jericho.
"You had a plan for that door over there, right?"
Jericho's eyebrows perk up suddenly. "Are you sure about this?" He asked. "You do realize that it's a high-risk, low-reward plan that we're only conceiving it due to the fact that there are no other alternatives, right?"
The youth just smirks grimly.
"Says the one who's convened it in the first place."
"Touche."
In the center (what's left of it), the three recently-awakened demigods still clash their spells against each other, with not one budgeting a single inch in this contest of insanity.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Salamander Hellfire Whiplash]!" The blue dragon then begins to lash out its tail, turning it into a blade of blue flames that is swung towards Fulgora/Luck.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Zibelthiurdos]." A butcher's blade made of lightning is then swung down towards the ruined ground and towards Fana.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Creation Magic: Trial #4B- Erymanthian Tusks]." The tusks of the boar head on Mar's right shoulder juts out into twin blades, glowing orange in heat. The mage then jumps in with his shoulder and their blades in the forefront towards the clashing two.
The three constructs clash towards each other, emitting an explosion of burning light that engulfs the whole room once more.
"NOW!"
Yuno then jumps out from the cover, running towards the door.
"HUMAN!" Fana screeched out. "KILL! HUMAN!"
Her haphazardly-stitched grimoire opens up once more.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Salamander Hellfire Breath]!" The blue dragon then spits out a stream of bright blue flames.
Yuno manages to duck down below, causing the flames to hit the door.
[Corporeal Magic: Lifelink] activates.
The Salamander's chest then opens up, spraying out blood as the dragon falls to the pit.
Fana, however, was still well and alive.
"Shit." Yuno cursed.
The pink-haired girl then torques her head towards Yuno.
She then shoots her hand up, signaling the dragon to fly back up towards her.
Salamander flies back up, completely unscathed.
"H-HOW!?" Yuno cried out. "HOW IS IT STILL ALIVE!?"
"You fool." Fana droned out. "Salamander is made of 100% [Fire Magic]. It doesn't have a physical body to speak of."
Yuno grits his teeth as the girl in front of him cracks open the most demented smile that he'd ever seen on a person's face.
"NOW DIE FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!" Salamander then breathes out a wave of fire towards Yuno.
Before the boy can get toasted black, a portal opens beneath Yuno's feet, allowing him to escape his possible death by burning.
The boy falls into the portal and plops down right next to Finral.
"Never again." The dandy stated in a stern tone.
"Don't have to tell me that twice, Finral." Yuno coughed out.
"THEY'LL NEVER FIND YOUR FUCKING BODY!" Fana screeched out from a distance atop of her flying Salamander. "BY THE TIME I'M DONE WITH YOUR SCRAWNY ASS, I'LL DAMN WELL MAKE SURE THAT THEY'LL ONLY HAVE ENOUGH OF YOU LEFT OVER TO FIT IN A MATCHBOX!"
But just before the dragon can swoop down where the Black Bulls were, Fugora/Luck grabs the Salamander with its massive hands, catching both the rider and mount in her fingers.
"Die." The goddess droned as the rider and mount were slowly being crushed in her grasp. "I mandate thee-."
But just before the goddess can deliver her sentence, Mars swings down the titanic crystal hammer once used on the Salamander onto its head, causing both to stumble onto the ruined earth.
"[Crystal Creation Magic: Mjölnir]." Mars stated as the hammer floats back towards his orbit. The armored mage then stops and begins to scan his surroundings. "Two vital signs confirmed. Resuming offensive-."
An explosion of fire and lightning blinds Mars, with Fulgora/Luck slugging the mage with a reformed arm of lightning, and with Fana on her Salamander in the air once more.
"So..." Finral droned out while peeking over the edge as the three resume their fight. "... Anyone got any ideas?"
"No, but I'd like to share a few things I've learned during my time out." Yuno stated.
"Is one of them on how outmatched we are?" Noelle asked. "Because I think we all got that long before you did, you four-leaf peasant."
"No." Yuno stated. "It's the fact that the three of them seem to be ignoring us completely."
Jericho then peeks out towards the carnage. "Seems like it. Provided as long as we don't directly intervene."
"So what can we do?" Finral hissed out.
"Simple." Yuno stated. "We can use the element of insignificance to our advantage." He then begins to draw something on the dirt while arranging small pebbles into certain formations until the whole thing resembled the layout of the whole chamber.
"The center, as we all just saw, is a complete deathtrap." Yuno pointed out. "However, the walls and the edges, narrow as it is, is relatively safe in comparison."
"Just what are you getting at, four-leaf?" Klaus interjected. "You better not thinking about escape."
"Realistically speaking commander?" Corrin then points her thumb outside and towards the caved-in exits.
The bespectacled man's glasses maladjusted from their proper place.
"I think Mr. Four-Leaf already knows." The chestnut-haired girl snarked.
The youth nods in conformation. He then looks back down on the layout. "Regardless, I think there is a chance of getting out of this alive. Here's the plan." He then takes out a handful of pebbles and laid them out in certain positions.
"What are you doing?" Noelle asked.
"Laying out the plan." Yuno replied as he continued to do so. "Alright. I think this'll work."
"So what's the plan? Jericho stated.
"Here's the plan." Yuno told everyone. "Me or Jericho will sneak towards the front of the gates and goad one of the three to attack the gates. Mars and Luck seems to have natural regenerative abilities and Fana's Salamander can't be affected by [Corporeal Magic: Lifelink]. Once their attacks head towards either of us, Finral will use his [Spatial Magic] to get us back away from enemy fire and towards where Mimosa and Noelle are, where they'll provide relief with their respective [Recovery Magic]. The process will be repeated until the gates are destroyed, and once we cross that bridge, Klaus and Corrin will use their [Steel & Magnet Magic] to get us into the chambers quickly as possible, and we'll take what we can in the treasure room, and once that's done, we run."
"That's..." Klaus trails off. "... Oh what am I kidding, I can't think of any better."
"Hey. If it means that I don't have get my ass flayed in ten different directions, then I'm chill." Corrin smirked.
"A few problems in your plan, kid." A voice called out.
Next to the gathered seven, Fanzell and Lotus appear.
"What do you mean, a few problems?" Noelle asked in a haughty tone.
"Too many maybes." Fanzell answered bluntly. "Look. Great as this plan is, it's not perfect."
"Then can you two explain?" Finral asked.
"Don't need to ask kid." The red-haired man then clears his throat before speaking. "First, while the idea of using the three outside as a measure to destroy the gates is a good idea, it doesn't change the fact that death is still a factor here."
"Care to explain?" Klaus stated with a furrowed brow. "Just who is the most likely to kill us all?"
"Mars." Lotus stated. "Morris has done some profane acts to that kid to turn him into a perfect killing machine. Meaning that he'll eventually pat down the pattern of our plan and begin to formulate a plan to kill you all." The man then leans his back against the rock, stroking his goatee. "Mars's brain has been modified last-minute by that nut to process information three times faster than a brain with an I.Q. of 200, at the cost of mutilating nearly all of his sentience."
"Which is why we're helping out." Fanzell stated. "My [Wind Creation Magic] has been honed for over 15 years of combat experience, and I'm also pretty confident in my physical abilities as well."
"Now that I think about it, didn't you get 2nd place in the footrace back the boot camp?" Lotus stated.
The red-haired man nods.
As the two begin to converse, Yuno then thinks back to the time where he's fought Fanzell.
His[Wind Creation Magic] had the abilty to create swords, with each sword having its unique properties. Not only that, he had the ability to change his swords on the fly, as seen with his ability to shift his [Dancing Wind Empress] to [Slashing Wind Emperor] without incantation.
This could work.
"Mr. Kruger?" Yuno grasped the red-haired man's shoulder.
"You can call me Fanzell." The man replied. "So talk to me kid, what is it?"
"How many different kids of swords can create with your magic?"
"22." He replied. "With a total of 78 spells I can do with all of my blades. So... I guess that makes a total of 100 spells I can execute?"
"THAT MANY!?" Klaus sputtered out. "HOW!?"
Fanzell then turns to the young man with a slightly smug expression. "I didn't spend the last 15 years sitting idle, kid." The man smirked. "It's called 'training' and 'hard work'. You should try it sometime."
Noelle then recalls seeing his body. Scrawny-looking as it was, it was clearly all muscle, and it wasn't all just for show, as she saw that man swing around that unwieldy-looking estoc like nobody's business.
Her face turns red upon the fact that she saw him naked.
"If I'm now into brawny-looking and chiseled men, I'll never forgive myself." She thought while covering her now-cherry-red face.
"Mr. Whomalt!" Yuno then turns to the bearded man.
"How can I help?" Lotus replied.
"You said previously that you can hide people's presence with your magic, right?"
The bearded man smiles. "I know what you're thinking, and I like the way you think, kid." He remarked upon figuring out the boy's plan. "You're a gold standard of your generation, so you better not get yourself killed."
The boy then goes back to where his outline was, and adds two more rocks to the play.
Jericho then looks towards the map. "You've finally got a plan, Yuno?"
Yuno smiles back. "We'll make it-no."
He then stands up and gazes towards the outside with a steely gaze.
"We'll have to make it work."
Outside, once more, the three awakened demigods were still at it with their Mêlée à Trois.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Salamander Solar Scorchsight]!" The dragon widens its eyes, which the both orbs gleam in a bright spark of light, which then causes the bottom of the whole pit to explode into flames.
The other two come out of the conflagration unscathed.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Hadad]." A pair of sickles made of lightning is formed in the goddess's hands. She then swings the blades towards the Salamander.
"[Fire & Crystal Compound Spirit Creation Magic: Surtr Lævateinn]!" A giant, spade-headed broadsword made of crystal on fire is then formed in the Salamander's claws, which then the dragon then swings the blade towards the twin sickles, clashing blades with the false goddess.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Creation Magic: Trial #6A- Cretan Labrys]." The bull on his left shoulder floats off as it transforms from a shoulder pad to a massive double-bitted battle axe with a visage of a bull at the flat, its "horns" being the massive fiery blades. The mage then sprints towards the two, cleaving the blade lock with his axe.
The [Lernaean Gatling] then begin to provide support fire for the mage, causing the two false goddesses of death to disperse.
Before Fana can retaliate, a blade of wind strikes the Salamander's wing.
The Hateful looks up, and sees Yuno flipping her off.
"YOU WANNA DIE THAT BADLY!?" She then whistles the dragon to fly back up towards where the youth was.
"THEN I'LL GRANT YOU YOUR WISH!" She then opens her grimoire. "[Fire & Crystal Compound Spirit Creation Magic: Hálogi Gungnir]!"
A giant crystal lance on fire materializes in front of her. The spear then bolt towards where the youth was.
The lance strikes the ground where the youth stood, and when the dust clears, Yuno nor his body was nowhere to be found.
The girl then lights up like the sun itself in pure, unrestrained fury.
"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" She screeched out, with her mouth foaming in anger. But before she can begin her search, Fulgora's hand grabs the dragon by its tail and drags the two back to the pit.
To her ignorance, Yuno was right where the others were.
Thanks to Lotus's [Smoke Magic: Hermit's Thick Smoke], the other mages were hidden in plain sight as Noelle and Mimosa helps Yuno recover from his fatigue.
"So Yuno." Mimosa heaved out. "How are you holding up?"
"I think several years of my life have been shaved off from that experience alone..." The youth panted out with his eyes open while sweating like a river.
"Still, good work regardless." Jericho then slaps Yuno's stretched-out hand, tagging himself in the four-leaf's place.
"Don't die, you hear?" Yuno struggled to shout out towards the sprinting muscular youth.
Jericho then goes around the pit's edge, not causing a major scene while Lotus's [Hermit's Thick Smoke] was also cloaking him.
"Okay." The muscular youth then brushes his mullet's bangs back. "Now which one?"
Pick Fana, and she'll probably figure out what's going on and she'll blow more then just their cover.
Pick Fulgora/Luck or Mars, either Jericho will come out charred black by the goddess's lightning, or get cooked well-done into roast beef slices.
He already knows that this plan will involve playing close to the chest, but even then, Jericho had butterflies in his stomach.
"Well shit." He mumbled out as he put on his goggles with tinted-lenses. "It's do or die."
A couple of small, sharp objects forms in his hand.
"[Platinum Creation Magic: Glitter Darts]." He then snatches them into his grasp and aims his thumb towards one of the three.
"Don't hate me for this, Luck." Jericho then flicks his thumb out as hard as he can, sending one of the [Glitter Darts] flying towards the false goddess.
His right arm then emits a crunching sound, indicating a massive strain on his injuries.
The projectile grazes his cheek, drawing blood.
"You now have the Goddess's undivided attention, you cheeky neanderthal." Her ethereal voice boomed.
Fulgora then turns her massive [Lightning Magic] constructed body towards Jericho's direction.
Luck's possessed and broken body then opens the now-tattered Grimoire.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Perun]." An axe forged from lightning is then swung down towards Jericho.
Finral's [Spatial Magic] then opens a portal in front of the Magic Knight, which he then jumps into and away from the swing.
The swing instead strikes the door, activating [Corporeal Magic: Lifelink], once again.
But unlike Salamander, Fugora had a physical body.
Mainly, Luck's.
The goddess retreats upon seeing her vessel's chest gushing out blood from a freshly-formed gash.
"Well, that went better than I thought." Jericho stated while Mimosa and Noelle were healing his re-damaged arm.
The redhead lets out a frustrated grumble.
"Seriously, I knew my squad is reckless, but this is taking it too far!" Noelle chided.
"Welcome to reality, young lady." Behind her approached Fanzell, estoc in left hand, his right stretched out. "It'll be there to disappoint and surprise you all at once."
"You sure you can do this, sir?" Jericho then tags the red-haired man's hand.
"Please." He then turns towards where the direction facing the. "I'm not that old."
Under the cover of [Hermit's Thick Smoke], Fanzell dashes out toward where the gate is.
"Now here's the really hard part; avoiding consistency." He thought as he snuck around the pit's rim.
Lotus has already told him everything about Mars and how to at least, not die around him, should he go berserk, kind of like what's happening right now.
Lotus has already filled him in on Mars's full capabilities. Morris, cruel as that bastard was, he was also know to be an obsessive workaholic and a driven perfectionist.
The fruits of the mad scientist's labor are shown in this bountiful harvest of magical and biological marvel.
"Never liked that prick..." He muttered as he drew in closer towards the doors.
Upon reaching the gates, Fanzell draws his estoc and opens his grimoire.
"[Wind Creation Magic: Dusty Wind Devil]." A shamshir of wind envelops the estoc. "And then..."
Fanzell swings out his blade of wind. "[Wind Creation Magic: Dusty Wind Devil- Sandstorm]!"
A rushing spiral of dusty wind dashes towards Mars, who is then vacuumed into the funnel, away from the other two, who then ignore him and continue the bout without him.
"Alright then..." Fanzell then takes a deep breath through his nose and out of his mouth, calming himself before Mars redirects his objective towards the red-haired man.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Creation Magic: Trial #1A- Nemean Salvo]."
The manes around Mars's lion helmet then shoot out into a barrage of flaming quills heading towards Fanzell.
A portal opens up in front of the red-haired man. Fanzell then hurls his whole body forward into the portal.
The crystal missiles explode onto the surface of the gates, damaging Mars's body thanks to [Lifelink].
"Initiating recovery process." Mars then opens his patchwork grimoire. "[Crystal & Fire Compound Recovery Magic: Trial #9B- Geryon Mending]."
The gaps on Mars's body begin to close up on their own as the flames seared the gaps back together while the crystal acted as a casting to hold in his internal organs inside his body while his wounds were closing up.
As for Fanzell, he was well and alive.
"Welcome back." Finral stated grimly as he himself was chugging a vial of green liquid. "How's the gate?"
"I think that attack back there actually broke through a few layers." The red-haired man stated. "Maybe at least one or two, I really can't tell, but I think I just saw my former student's entrails spill out of his stomach." Fanzell then rushes towards the other end to vomit.
"WAIT!" Lotus cried out. "THAT AREA IS NOT-!"
"Target acquired."
Next to the unsuspecting red-haired man was Mars, who then directs his orbiting dragon heads towards Fanzell. The rotary cannons from the dragon's mouth now cloister back into the jaws, and in turn, the dragon heads then sprout out heated crystal blades out of its mouth, in place where the rotary cannon was once there.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Creation Magic: Trial #2B- Lernaean Fangs]."
The fangs then begin to speed towards Fanzell, with the intent to gore him.
Fanzell then swallows his bile back as he opens his grimoire.
"[Wind Creation Magic: Turbulent Wind Lovers]!" Fanzell's estoc then transforms into several wind copies of the same sword that begins orbits around him. "And following that up..."
The [Turbulent Wind Lovers] then begin to orbit around the red-haired man even faster.
"[Wind Magic: Turbulent Wind Lovers- Mistral]."
The soaring replica blades then make short work of the dragon heads, reducing them into shards of broken luster in an instant.
"Oh and by the way." He states nonchalantly while heading back into the [Hermit's Thick Smoke]. "I was the one who taught him that orbiting-projectile trick."
"Just who are you, really?" Klaus asked while creating his [Steel Creation Magic: Royal War Chariot- Gunigelot], a larger variant of his regular 5-person carriage, now being able to fit up to at least triple of the original amount, on top of his [Steel Creation Magic: Mighty Catapult], which will eject the carriage towards the gates once the gates themselves are rid of.
"Didn't you know?" Lotus stated. "Fanzell fought during the Clover-Diamond War twenty years back. During around the midway point of the war, the kid made a name for himself in a few years of his service."
"Wait." Corrin asked right after she finishes implanting [Magnet Magic: Flux Ballista] onto the chariot. "What's your full name?"
"Fanzell Kruger." He replied nonchalantly while Mimosa was healing his minor burns. "Why do you ask?"
"Wait, THAT FANZELL KRUGER!?" The chestnut-haired girl shouts out. "YOU MEAN THE INFAMOUS 'BLADESTORM' KRUGER!? THE SAME KRUGER THAT ROUTED OVER A HUNDRED CLOVER KINGDOM KNIGHTS AND WAS DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE INFAMOUS BADLANDS ROUT TEN YEARS AGO!?"
"The one and only." The red-haired man replied. "But I'll save that story for later. Right now, we got bigger fish to fry."
Fanzell tags out to Yuno, who just finished recovering.
"Watch out for Mars, kid." Lotus warned. "He knows that we're here. It's just that he's too preoccupied with the other two to deal with us. There might be a chance that he might also come after you if you stir up that hornet's nest."
Yuno merely smiles with a toothy grin, emulating his fallen brother.
"That's a chance that I'm willing to take advantage of." The youth then heads off with the [Hermit's Thick Smoke] cloaking his presence.
The youth makes short time reaching the gates. He then opens his grimoire, readying the plan.
"[Wind Creation Magic: Swift White Hawk- Scramble]!" Yuno then crosses his arms right before he lashes them out, releasing several smaller versions of his [Swift White Hawk] towards the three demigods.
The hawks hit all three of them, resulting all of them turning their attention towards him.
"YOU WANT SOME!?" Yuno yelled out. "THEN COME GET SOME!"
"YUNO! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN THINKING-!"
Jericho's pleas were then cut off by all three of them releasing their spells onto the youth.
"[Fire Spirit Magic: Muspelheim]!" Salamander itself explodes into flames, transforming it into an actual Blue Sun, which then tackles its whole body towards Yuno.
"[Lightning Spirit Magic: Thor]." Fulgora then forms a giant warhammer made of lightning, which she then swings down towards the youth like a bolt of lightning about to strike a tree ablaze.
"[Crystal & Fire Compound Magic: Trial #10A: Kerberos Howling]." The three hound heads on Mars's breastplate sprout out into actual snarling hound heads made of crystal. The three hound then let out a massive beam of scarlet hellfire towards Yuno.
"YUNO!" Jericho's cries are drowned out by the sound of three apocalyptic attacks connecting Yuno and everything else within 20 meters around him. "FINRAL! DO SOMETHING!"
"I'M TRYING!" The dandy man cried out in desperation. "I CAN'T FIND HIM ANYWHERE!"
The light and smoke clears, revealing a ruined landscape burnt black.
Worst of all, the gates, damaged as they were, were still standing.
"Yuno..." Jericho teared up as he realized his sacrifice was in vain.
"YUNO!" The muscular youth roared out in grief as he himself charged into the no man's land.
Tears evaporated while sliding down his cheeks. His skin boiled from the residual heat from the last three attacks.
It mattered not.
For Jericho's rage burned even hotter.
"[Platinum Invocation Magic:-]...!"
His grimoire opens up, inscribing a new spell in response to his grief.
"... [Stardust Crusader]!"
A ghostly silhouette appears behind Jericho, revealing itself as a caped knight in full-plate armor wielding a large, two-handed broadsword appears behind Jericho.
The [Stardust Crusader] was no mere specter.
It was Jericho's very own soul, taken into tangible form in response to the youth's pain and sorrow.
Now, with the burden of losing his friend right in front of him, the knight readies its blade, ready to slay the three monsters that did this to him.
"YOU PAY FOR THIS, YOU BASTARDS!"
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Sorry for the holdup.
A few things got in my way. You know, things like other chapters from my other fanfics and the goddamn flu (missed at least 3-4 days of school because of that crap).
A little behind on schedule due to nature and life kicking me in the balls.
But now (upon this chapter's publication), I'm at least 92% working order.
I even did 10-12 sets of 10 push-ups a day.
Now about the story itself, a few things.
I had a lot of fun writing this chapter.
New attack names, complex tactics to face three uber-tiered mages, and oh, not to mention,
Jericho summoned a friggin Stand.
The JoJo references are immortal. Bite me.
Also, pop quiz, did I kill off Yuno?
The answer will be revealed in the next chapter.
Also, don't forget to leave a comment or a review, for I'd like to know what you readers are thinking.