Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 29: Culture Shock
Clover/Spade Borders, Caesar Village, Forbidden Realm, Clover Kingdom (Afternoon)
"... [Glacier Gladius]!"
A massive blade of ice explodes out of the ground, petering the [Silhouette Blade] against it.
All of the Magic Knights and villagers gawk at the visage, with Yami dropping his cigarette from his mouth.
"... Did she just terraform a goddamn glacier with a puny-ass warhammer in a middle of spring?" Yami mumbled out.
"OH MY GOD!" Julius squeed out.
[Oh dear...] Marx groaned out from his projection. [... The Wizard King's going on another nerdgasm again. Call me back when it's over...]
Marx disconnects as Julius begins to go into an ecstatic glee.
"WHAT KIND OF MAGIC IS THAT!?"
"That..." Dagda stated. "... Is [Terraform Magic]."
"WHAT DOES IT DO!?" Julius asked enthusiastically. "AND HOW MUCH MANA DOES A JOTUN HAVE!?"
"Allow me to explain." Brigid cut in. "[Terraform Magic] is a subcategory of [Earth Magic], focused on controlling the very earth itself, creating landscapes from the earth itself, like mountains, canyons, volcanoes, and that glacier over there."
"You said subcategory?" Charlotte pointed out.
"... It's a goddamn upgrade." Bastet whispered in horror.
In the clearing, Jack was laughing in half-excitement, and half-horror.
"Keh keh keh!" Jack cackled out. "Man, you're stronger than I ever imagined!"
"You wanna keep going?" Danu spoke out. "Because I can."
"I AIN'T STOPPING UNTIL I CUT YOU TO RIBBONS!" Jack then opens her grimoire once more. "[Severing Magic: Guillotine Cross]!"
He jumps up into the air, crosses his arms, forms a x-shaped blade from his arms, and rapidly descends towards the jotun.
"YOU WANNA PIECE OF ME!?" She cried out. "HERE'S ANOTHER ONE FOR YOU, JAGOFF!"
She then rakes the earth around her, and a chunk of earth begins to form around her hammer's tip.
"[Terraform Magic: Plateau Partizan]!"
A spear made of pure earth erects towards the descending Captain.
The weapons clash, raining bits of earth down onto Danu's head.
"Not gonna work, you bastard!" Danu roared out.
She then slams back the rocks with her hammer, terraforming the rocks into arrowheads.
The rocks were cut against the magic blade, the cut rocks were then suddenly glowing.
"[Pocket Volcanoes]!"
The rocks explode into a cloud of white-hot ash and sulfur, but from the smog, the Ripper emerges.
Jack's [Guillotine Cross] clashes with Danu's hammer.
"Keh keh keh!" Jack cackled out. "This is easily the most fun I ever had!"
"You are really starting to piss me off!" Danu barked out.
Before the fight can escalate any further, Julius traps the two of them in [Chronostasis].
"That's enough you two." Julius stepped in.
"As much as I'd love explore more of Jack the Ripper's [Severing Magic], I can't exactly do it if he's a corpse." Brigid pointed out as she stepped in.
"One minute time limit per match?" Julius suggested.
"I'll make the most of it." She stated.
Aengus then comes running towards the two frozen mages.
"Anyone hurt?" She spoke out.
"A few burns and bruises there and there, nothing severe." Julius stated.
"I know the reason why he calls himself 'Jack the Ripper'."
Ogmios shows up between all of them out of nowhere.
"Oh my!" Julius stated. "Didn't notice that you were here..."
"He calls himself 'Jack the Ripper' because he's embarrassed of his real name, Jacque Schneider."
"Ogmios, it's rude to dig into other people's memories." Brigid chastised.
"I was just curious, just as you were of his magic." Ogmios pointed out.
"Um, you do know that they can still hear us, right?" Julius stated.
"I know." Ogmios stated. "This could be our little inside joke."
Ogmios's hand then reaches inside of the [Chronostasis] and grabs onto Jack's face.
"He'll forget that ever happened." Ogmios stated. "[Memory Magic: Event Edit]."
Ogmios then removes his hands from his face and out of the orb.
"There, now he won't remember a thing." He stated. "We should return."
"I'll provide first-aid." Aengus stated. "[Light Recovery Magic: Fae's Light]."
The cuts and bruises around Jack's body mend upon touching the particles of light.
"Now then..." Julius spoke out. "... Shall we continue this another time?"
Ogmios then scans his brain.
"It seems that their capital was attacked by an insurgence group known as the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and rather powerful ones at that." Ogmios stated.
"Oho?" Bridgid remarked. "... Do go on-"
"Ahem."
Julius cuts off the two.
"... I would really prefer if confidential information be kept confidential. Just sayin'." Julius whispered.
The two Spade Kingdom natives look at each other.
"Ogmio?"
"My lips are sealed until further notice." The bespectacled youth stated.
Gallows Forest, Hidden Dark Elf Village, Forbidden Realm, Clover Kingdom (Evening)
An Anti-Bird frantically flew towards the dimly-lit forest.
The bird was greeted by the dark elves passing by from their hunt, but said bird was in too much of a hurry to reply.
"MILORD!"
The bird transforms back into Claudius, crashing through a tree before eating muck from the swamp below.
The Fallen Angel flies back up to the wooden platforms with ease, but his panic not ceasing.
"What's the matter?" Astaroth asked the heaving Fallen Angel.
The Ars Goetia captain composes himself before speaking, straightening his ruffled hair and wiping his brows.
"... Terrible news." Claudius heaved out. "... There's... There's-"
"Spit it out already." Astaroth stated.
All of the sudden, Claudius flies into the depths of the forest screaming like a madman, his maddening fits of emotional distress echoing throughout the branches.
"DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT!" Claudius thought while screaming his lungs off. "OUT OF ALL TIMES, WHY NOW!?"
"FIRST THE SURVIVAL OF THE ELVES, THEN THE ALTERED HUMAN HISTORY, AND NOW, THE EXISTENCE OF JOTUNS, DWARVES, AND NOW, FILTHY HALF-BREEDS SPAWNING THIS DAMNED EARTH!"
"WORST OF ALL, THAT PRESENCE, THAT HALF-DEMON..."
He then uproots a dead tree and breaks it against his knee.
"DAMN YOU, MAINYU! DAMN YOU TO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS OF THE INFERNO THAT YOU AND YOUR FILTHY STYGIAN SPAWN HAS SPAWNED FROM!"
Claudius then punches the earth in rage, uprooting the surrounding trees from their foundations.
"DAMN YOU ALL TO THE DEEPEST DEPTHS HEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
Clover Kingdom Capital Quatre, Magic Knight Headquarters, Noble Realm, Clover Kingdom (Late Morning)
"So what's the status of the Clover Capital's recovery?" Julius asked Marx.
"About 58% of the city is almost complete in its repairs, Wizard King." Marx stated. "The majority of the Magic Knights have recovered and are now aiding the efforting of rebuilding Quatre."
"And of the Spade Kingdom's... visitors?" Julius asked with minor hesitense.
"They haven't moved from the spot that they've arrived at, sir." Marx reported. "It seems that they're serious of running a proprietary here in our lands, with them patching up their wrecked taverns and so on-"
"Unacceptable."
Behind the two, a tall and lean man with blade-like glares and flowing black robes appeared before them.
"Oh..." Julius remarked. "Chairman of the Justice Department Damnatio Kira, how can I help you?"
"Why haven't driven out those rabble by the Caesar Village's borders?" The Chairman asked. "The Congress insists that they be get rid of unless you want to lose your seat, Julius."
"And I did so yesterday, Chairman." Julius replied. "We've made a compromise, and both sides agreed on a ceasefire."
"That is no compromise, it's an appeasement to the enemy, Julius!" Damnatio barked out. "Our duty as citizens of the Clover Kingdom is to protect our livelihood and the common good, so damn job, or I'll do it for you!"
Before the Chairman rushes off, he states one last thought towards the current Wizard King.
"You're lucky that the Congress is too occupied on the Clover Kingdom's post-disaster efforts. Soon as this is over, I'd like you to see me in my office the day after the final brick has been laid. Be late, and I'll find you, period."
His footsteps echo throughout the halls of the Magic Knight Headquarters.
"... He's gonna do it, isn't he?" Marx asked out.
"Marx, call Owen and reserve a room, just in case." Julius requested, knowing that Damnatio will do something stupid regardless of his warnings.
The two then continue to walk down the halls.
"So, how's Captain Jack's condition?" Julius asked.
"He back at the Caesar Village borders, and specifically instructed not to engage in combat with the Spade Kingdom natives." Marx stated. "And as extra precaution, we sent William Vangance to survey the whole situation."
"Any reports?"
Marx then looks over the papers.
"... Aside from two instances where Jack was restrained by Captain William's [World Tree Magic], nothing too dire has arisen, sir." Marx reported.
"And of our little 'Cultural Exchange'..." Julius stated. "... What does the Congress say about it?"
"... Surprisingly, the decision is split, sir." Marx remarked. "46% are in favor, 47% are against it, and the remaining 7% are still on the fence about it, the King himself included."
"And correct me if I'm wrong, but the majority of the Congress who're in favor of it are just using this opportunity to 'study our enemies to find their weaknesses' as an excuse, right?" Julius asked while pinching the bridge of his nose in mild frustration.
"... As neutral party, the least I can say is that all works out without fuss." Marx remarked.
The Wizard King nods.
The two then enters the recently-rebuilt medical ward, with its patients (Yuno, Fuegoleon, and Nozel) still rehabilitating.
All three of them salute before the Wizard King.
"At ease." Julius stated.
"Please forgive us of our incompetence, Wizard King." Nozel stated. "I let my arrogance get the better of me."
"Fret not, Silva." Julius stated. "As long as you're alive, you will have chances to redeem yourself, so for now, I order you to get some rest."
Nozel drapes his whole body underneath the white bedsheets.
"And as for you, Vermillion..."
Julius sees the Crimson Lion King Captain doing leg raises on his cot.
"... A missing arm isn't enough to keep the Stalwart Leomane down, ain't it?" Julius remarked.
"A grievous injury has long passed, Lord Julius." Fuegoleon stated. "I have no such excuses to slouch and neglect discipline."
"Keep at it, but mind your condition." Julius stated. "If not for poor Owen, then do it for me, then."
Fuegoleon nods right before picking up the 3lb. dumbbell over the 30lb. one.
He then looks at Yuno, now doing handstand-push-ups despite said injures from the Dungeon Exploration and the Clover Capital Assault.
"A lively bunch here, for sure..." Julius commented.
"Lord Julius, I might suggesting giving Owen and the rest of the active medical staff a bonus and paid vacation at this rate." Marx suggested. "Because as far as I'm concerned, I'm afraid overworking him like me without compensation will result in the obvious..."
Yuno takes note of that statement and immediately goes back to his cot.
"... No rebroken bones?" Julius asked.
"By next week, I should be able to get used to my crutches." Yuno replied.
"Well, just make sure you don't overwork the doctors, understood?" Julius stated.
The doors then shut behind the Wizard King.
Yuno, now under his sheets, blankly stares at the ceiling.
Flashbacks of Asta's face being contorted with such blatant cruelty-
Yuno shakes his head.
"No." He thought. "That monster isn't Asta. Just some damn Demon using his body as a puppet."
He grits his teeth as he begins to will his body to heal faster, so he can resume his training in order to stop that Demon from defiling his brother's memories.
Outside at the hallways, Julius and Marx return to the Wizard King's office.
At his desk, even more papers were stacked on top of the wooden surface.
"... Marx." Julius asked. "Is this karma for me dumping my work onto you for the past several years as Wizard King?"
Marx then walks away, coming back with a fresh bottle of ink and quill in hand, and a bright smile beaming on his face.
"Chop chop, Lord Julius."
Clover/Spade Borders, Twrch Trwyth Tavern, Caesar Village, Forbidden Realm, Clover Kingdom (Afternoon)
"And that's the last one!"
Dagda nails down the final plank on the broken rooftops.
"Oi, Cernunnos!" Dagda yelled through the roof. "Any sawdust or straw in your mouth?"
All he can hear through the roof was the loud snoring of the short half-elf, half-dwarf.
"... Bastard can sleep through a world war if he wants to." Dagda mumbled as he slid down from the roof. "Aw well, at least all I have to do now is wait for the drinks to come..."
From a distance, he saw Lugh and Cissonius come towards them, each carrying and dragging barrels of ale, beer, and wine.
"So, anything good?" Dagda asked the two men.
Cissonius shook his head.
"... This shit might as well be piss." The silver-haired half-elf remarked. "Seriously, not one good barrel of stoat around here. Just overpriced and cheap-ass beer made from wild millet."
"I am starting to doubt this Kingdom's tastes in the finer things that life has to offer." Lugh stated. "Even their finest wines from their breweries lack that certain... soul to it."
"Which reminds me..." Dagda asked. "... How the hell did you get barrels of wine? Because last I heard, those shite don't come cheap."
"... When I entered the winery, they just handed me several of these and told me to not harm them." Lugh remarked. "I'm fully aware that my magnificent presence is enough to make lesser men cower, but the inhabitants of the Clover Kingdom could stand to have some backbone..."
"... Eh, put em in the back of the stock." Dagda stated. "We're serving Clover, so might as well serve em shit that they can actually take."
"Tell me when we get customers." Cissonius stated as he and Lugh headed inside.
"Now then..." Dagda stated as he looked at Twrch Trwyth's tusks. "... Methinks it's time to open shop for today."
He unfurls the banner and ties it up on the tusks.
"Now..." He then looks out over the Caesar Village. "...Moccus!"
"Here!"
A talking hog with a barrel tied onto its back bursts out of the tavern doors.
"Here." Dagda stated as he handed the hog a stack of flyers. "Go and advertise around town, tell em that if they want to experience a Spade Kingdom's tastes."
"Yessir!"
The hog then makes its way towards the village.
"... Hm. I should go and clean up the mugs." Dagda remarked.
"Umm... hello?"
He then looks behind him, and sees a haggard-looking man with a goatee, holding the flyer advertising the Twrch Trwyth Tavern.
"Oh, a customer already?" Dagda asked. "How many people?"
"Can you house over a dozen?" He asked.
From the hill behind the goateed man, a cart filled with people comes up from the hill behind him.
"... One moment."
Dagda then rushes back into the tavern.
"CISSO!" Dagda cried out. "WE'VE GOT CUSTOMERS!"
"How many?" Cissonius spoke out from the kitchen.
"HOW ABOUT FULL HOUSE!?"
"... THAT EARLY!?" He cried out. "SHIT, I WASN'T DONE WASHING THE DISHES!"
The doorbell rings, bringing in several people into the tavern building.
Dagda then begins counting how many people were inside.
"Three... nine... fifteen..." Dagda mumbled out. "... Well, shite, full house."
He then turns towards the gathered customers.
"So, name's Dagda, and I'll be your host today." Dagda stated as he handed them out their menus. "Need some time to decide?"
The man with the goatee nods.
"Alright, ring the bell on the counter if you're ready." Dagda stated. "I gotta tell the others a few things."
The short blond then heads upstairs behind the counter, knocking on each door in the hallways.
"Aengus!" Dagda yelled through the door. "We've got customers!"
"Coming!"
The silver-haired girl comes out of the door, tying her apron as she made her way downstairs.
"That's one." Dagda stated as he walked down the dorm-like halls of the second floor of the tavern. "Now what of Cernunnos..."
He presses his ear against the wooden door, still hearing snoring.
"... Ugh, bastard's still out." Dagda grumbled. "Forget it. He ain't eating."
He then looks at Danu's door.
"... Although this might change his mind." Dagda grinned as he knocked on the jotun girl's door.
"What is it captain?" A chipper female voice called out from the other side.
"Can you wake the wee bastard up?" Dagda asked. "We've got full house right now. It's all hands on deck!"
"Wait, what!?" Cernunnos's voice cried out. "Why didn't you tell me!?"
"Assumed you were still napping, as usual." Dagda pointed out.
"I was, until I started tasting sawdust and hay in my mouth!" He cried out through the doors.
"Oh, guess that woke you up then." Dagda thought. "C'mon, all hands on deck, including Danu, so get up up before I drag your arse out-"
Cernunnos opens the door, hair slicked back and clothes straightened out.
"Heard ya the first time, captain." Cernunnos grumbled out. "I'll wait for Danu downstairs."
"No need." Danu stated as she followed Cernunnos downstairs. "See you downstairs, captain."
"... That's three." Dagda stated. "Wonder if Lugh is still willing..."
He knocks on the wooden door near the window, with the sun beaming through it.
"Oi Lugh!" Dagda yelled through the door. "It's full house! We need you down here!"
The doors open, revealing the massive mustachioed man from the door.
"Ask, and thy shall receive." Lugh stated. "Sheeps shall be tended to their proper shepherd."
"... At least he didn't say no." Dagda stated as Lugh went downstairs. "Now then, that leaves... those two."
He then looks at the door, with purple steam seeping out of the door's edge.
"... Thank god we installed airproof flooring last year." Dagda mumbled out. "Bridgid! Is Ogmios in there!?"
"A little busy here!" Brigid's voice yelled from the other side. "And I know, full house, right!?"
"If you know, then get your arses down here already!" Dagda cried out. "Six people ain't enough to feed and serve an entire caravan!"
"Captain, slight problem." Ogmios stated. "It seems that my [Memory Magic: Prenomination] is picking up that someone in black robes followed by other people will come into the tavern and apprehend all of the customers below."
He then hears the doorbell ring, followed up by several, coordinated footsteps.
"On the behalf of the Clover Kingdom's Judicial Congress, we've been given clearance to search the tavern for these fugitives shown on the fliers." A stern voice stated. "Everyone remove your hoods, or we'll do it for you."
"Aw cripes."
Dagda then opens the door, seeing a tall and lean-looking man in black robes and slicked-back jet-black hair glowering over the customers, with the white-cloaked men searching the tavern.
"Oi!' Dagda hollered out. "The bloody 'ell's goin' on!?"
The lean man leading the cloaked men approach him, looking down at him with his dead-eyed gaze.
"We're here to apprehend sighted criminals." The man stated. "I am Damnatio Kira, current Chairman of the Justice Department of the Clover Kingdom, and the one who happens to be... interested in your kind."
A panicked yipe was heard from one of the tables.
"Chairman!" A cloaked man cried out as he grabbed a pink-haired girl with a terrified look on her face by her wrist. "I've confirmed one of the fugitives! She's Fana, 'The Hateful' from Eye of the Midnight Sun, sir!"
"Wait, you got the wrong Fana!" Lotus cried out. "She's not with them anymore!"
"What are you waiting for, then?" Damnatio coldly replied. "Execute her."
"Yes sir!"
The girl then goes into a major panic attack, falling onto her knees as her breath quickened while a ball of mana was pointed next to her head.
"Fana!"
The whole tavern then goes into a frenzy, with the nomads and the cloaked men struggling against each other.
"Useless prattle." Damnatio stated as he opened his grimoire, materializing a balancing scale in hand.
The scale then falls to the left, with the weights stacking towards on one side.
"[Scale Magic: Confiscation]."
The nomads were weakened, allowing the cloaked men to suppress them with their own magic.
"Cease your useless struggling." Damnatio stated to the nomads. "You knew that from the moment that you filthy lot set foot into our kingdom, you knew that this was what was waiting."
The cloaked mages then aim their [Mana Bullets] at the restrained nomads.
"Farewell, densins of the Diamond Kingdom." Damnatio stated. "The only solace that I shall offer, is a painless death to all of your miserable kind."
The [Mana Bullets] fire towards the nomads.
... Right before they disappeared before them.
"What?" Damnatio remarked.
"Oi buster..."
Appearing between the executioners and their executees, was Dagda, shortsword drawn from his sheath, and glaring at the black-robed man.
"If you're gonna kill someone, can you do it outside?" Dagda asked. "And if you're going to, mind you not doing it at my first customers on this kingdom? I'm askin' for a friend here."
Damnatio's scales lopsided side-to-side wildly, unable to pinpoint Dagda's presence.
"This magic..." Damnatio reacted in disgust. "... You're a Demon, aren't you!?"
"Half-Demon, laddie." Dagda answered as he sheathed his sword. "... You've got a problem with that-"
"KILL THE DEMON!"
All of the cloaked mages begin firing their [Mana Bullets] at the half-Demon.
In a blink of an eye, Dagda draws his shortsword, too fast for a naked eye to see, and parries every last [Mana Bullet] fired at him with his blade before resheathing it back in.
"... What!?" Damnatio gasped out in disbelief. "H-H-HOW!?"
Dagda shoots his glare at the black-robed Chairman.
"Outside, or I drag you and your posssy out instead." Dagda stated while pointing towards the door.
"You think I, Damnatio Kira, the very embodiment of justice of all Clover Kingdom, would cower before the likes you!? A savage from the Spade Kingdom!?" Damnatio barked at Dagda.
Dagda lets out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Lugh." Dagda asked the brawny mustachioed man. "Throw them out, gently."
"Ask, and thou shall receive." Lugh responded as he got up from the piano seat.
He then walks up to the stubborn Chairman.
"Who the hell do you think you are!?" Damnatio growled out. "Just who are you to look down upon me!?"
"Your superior." Lugh stated plainly. "But thankfully, a merciful one."
Damnatio tried to open his grimoire, then he saw that his pages were slowly being burnt by its edges from this macho man's presence alone.
"And upon my mercy that thy shall bestow upon such creature like you..." Lugh stated as he lifted Damnatio up like a ball over his shoulder as Dagda rushed towards the window to open them.
"... I'll make sure that you land softly on your deathbed."
In a single motion of Lugh's wrist, Damnatio was thrown out of the open tavern window, flying in mach speeds towards location unknown, leaving behind a sonic boom.
"There." Dagda stated as he shut the shutters right before dusting his hands. "... Anyone else would like a tussle with Spade Kingdom's forever-feared 'Tyrant Terminal'?"
Lugh then flexes his arms and pecs, resulting in the overall straps around his broad shoulders snapping from the extended force of his muscles, with the brass buckle smack dab right in one of the cloaked mage's nose.
"... R-RUN!"
The cloaked mages then all scramble towards the exit, with immense fear and panic in their collective expressions.
"And that's that." Dagda stated. "You've outdone yourself once more, Lugh."
"Nay." The mustachioed macho man replied plainly. "I was holding back, for they're naught my concern in the slightest."
"Umm..."
Behind them, a haggard-looking man with red hair approached them.
"Thank you for saving us, dear sirs." The haggard man stated. "Is there anyway that we can repay you?"
"Eh, just stay and be our first customers for today." Dagda stated. "... You've got money on ya, right?"
The man then shows them a bag of gold.
"Alright then." Dagda shrugged. "... Anybody ready to order?"
Lugh then looks down, and finds a severed head of a silver-haired male encased in a massive crystal.
"Hmm." Lugh stated. "... Better make sure."
He then spots the same, panicked pink-haired girl, both of her hands reaching out towards the head.
"... I am no one to judge of one's habits." Lugh stated as he handed the girl her male head. "Only their character and merit, I judge."
Wizard King's Office, Magic Knight Headquarters, Quatre, Noble Realm, Clover Kingdom (Late Afternoon)
"Lord Julius, please tell me that you aren't serious." Marx sighed out as the medical staff left the office.
"Trust me, Marx." Julius replied through the mountains of his paperwork. "Knowing them, they would do this kind of shit regardless of circumstances."
"Hmph! And if they did, then I'd be more than happy to take on the rest of your workload!" Marx claimed.
The window pane behind Julius shatters, bringing in a battered figure into his office, and right on the trolley cot placed right in front of his desk, landing onto it right before said trolley rolls towards the doors.
"... You were saying, Marx?" Julius smugly asked out.
"You were planning this, weren't you?" Marx asked in a dreaded tone.
"That's my cue!" Julius beamed as he transformed into a medical staff member. "Consider this payback, Marx!"
Marx falls to his knees as Julius rolled away with the brutalized Damnatio on the trolley, laughing triumphantly along each step taken away from his office.
"... I hate my job." Marxs whimpered right before the draft from the broken window pane sent the piles of paper slowly descending towards him.
Mimo Amazon, Clover/Heart Kingdom Borderlands (Evening)
"Ugh..." Rades groaned out as he swatted another mosquito on his arm. "... Just how long we need to walk through this godforsaken jungle!?"
"It's better to walk through a jungle then spend the rest of our lives behind bars, Rades." Aleister stated.
"Oh shuddup!" He barked out. "We've been walking nonstop for three days straight, we only ate grubs and wild herbs along the way, it's getting fucking dark around here, and I'm sweating out an entire ocean here, godammit!"
"For once, we agree." Sally stated with her nostrils pinched. "The entirety of the Mimo Amazon smells way better than you."
"And last time I checked, NO ONE ASKED YOU, FLATTY!" Rades shrieked out.
"Excuse me, I'm growing towards B!" Sally huffed. "All of this physical exertion and high-protein diet of maggots has been a boon to my slightly underdeveloped frame, not that anyone was complaining about my body before then."
"Isn't that because last time you tried to date someone, that guy ended up with three extra arms sprouting out of his back before breaking up with you?" Valtos pointed out.
"Eh, at least there's more of him to love." Sally remarked. "That, and well, he wasn't my type. Too old."
"He was 17." Valtos pointed out.
"Rades~!" Sally whined. "If that boy ends up alive, can I fuck his brains out before I literally fuck his brains out with my [Gel Magic]?"
"Keh. Either way, he's mine to play with." Rades spat out. "Help yourself."
Aleister sighs out as he pushed through another branch in his way.
"As much I'd like to hear more of your stories during your times at the old Eye of the Midnight Sun, may I remind you of the fact that we're trying to evade attention from the Clover Kingdom, so do all of us a favor and please keep the noise to a minimum, please?" Aleister begged.
"He's right." Valtos pointed out. "The sun hasn't completely set yet, and the fact that just because the Clover Capital is in shambles doesn't mean that word has spread of our presence."
"... If I didn't know you any better, I would've called you a smartass." Rades mumbled out.
"Eh, as long as we're kicking, might as well keep running." Sally pointed out.
The four then continue their way through the thicket as the night sky begins to set upon them.
"So..." Rades asked. "Just where are we even heading?"
Aleister moves a tree branch away from him.
"Visiting an old friend of mine." He stated. "If I remember correctly, she's living out here for over half a decade now, probably still rambling on about the Clover Kingdom calling her crazy..."
The three others continue to follow Aleister.
"We're here." Aleister stated.
All of them spot a small ditch in front of them.
"What the hell is this?" Rades asked.
Aleister then starts moving the rocks in the ditch.
"From the looks of it..." Sally commented as she noticed a broken pickaxe. "The ditch, the broken equipment, and a scrap cloth tied to a wooden shaft, and the fact that the ditch isn't natural..."
Valtos looks around the surrounding area.
"... A dig site?" Valtos spoke out. "But for what?"
Aleister tosses a loose boulder to the side.
"... My friend happens to be the one in charge of this abandoned dig site." He stated. "That is, right before the Clover Kingdom cut her funding in her expedition after no results were produced for three years."
"Three years?" Rades asked. "For what!?"
The last boulder was moves from the ditch, revealing a hole leading down towards elsewhere.
"I think you'll know when we get down there." Aleister stated as he struck the match. "Come on, don't keep our host waiting."
All four of them head into the hole, with Valtos sealing the exit behind them.
"What?" Valtos stated. "Might as well cover our tracks."
Aleister lets out a sigh right before he continues walking further into the darkness.
"Don't fall behind." Aleister stated.
All four of them continue walking down the tunnel, with Luck's body slung over Aleister's back.
"... So, Aleister?" Sally asked. "Just who is this person that we're meeting down here?"
"... Let's just say that she's a... like-minded person." Aleister stated. "I was thinking of introducing her to the Eye of the Midnight Sun after my initiation... that is, until the whole group went straight to hell during my... involuntary absence."
"Okay, but when did you two first meet?" Sally asked.
"... Okay, you know about the hermit that taught me how to make antivenom out of weeds?" Aleister stated. "She's the one who took me in and kinda saved my life."
"Oh great, an old hag's gonna join us." Rades groaned out.
"... About that." Aleister stated before gulping. "Whatever you do, do not, bring up her age."
A dim glow of turquoise light was seen from a distance.
"... Alright, people." Aleister stated. "We're here."
The four of them enter through the light, out of the pitch-black and into this underground world.
The four were then presented with an ancient city, with glowing turquoise lines of light traced all over the impeccable building and roads, all of this ancient cavern, brimming with mana, the darkness being illuminated by the leylines snaking all over this underground civilization.
"Oh my..." Sally covered her mouth with her sleeves. "... This is quite... extraordinary."
"To think such thing even existed..." Valtos muttered out. "... Something tells me that this place is beyond ordinary."
"What the hell is this place?" Rades gasped out.
"This, lady and gentlemen, awake and not, is Agartha."
Behind them, a short, violet-haired female with a pair of large round-lensed glasses on her face, a black beret propped on top of her head, a lacy-black tube top with a pair of shorts under her oversized trenchcoat hung over her miniature shoulders, and a pair of simple black hiking boots strut across the glossy-slate floor of the ancient city.
"Everyone, I'd like you to meet Helena Blavatsky." Aleister stated to the three members. "Also known as the 'Exemplar of Knowledge', the 'Oracle of the Past', the 'Archaic Archivist', and to me, the one who taught me how to make medicine."
"Flattering." The short woman stated. "So, Crowley, who's the kid on your back?"
"Oh, him?" Aleister pointed out. "Just a kid that black-eyes back there took interest in. And FYI, I go by Aleister Crowley now."
"Eh, sounds a helluva lot better then Asher, kiddo." Helena commented. "So let me restate my previous statement, who the hell are these brats behind you?"
"Hey, who you calling us brats, you twat!?" Rades barked out.
"Excuse me!?" Helena replied.
"Cover, now!" Aleister barked out as he ran behind one of the buildings.
A magic circle forms beneath Rades's feet.
"[Light Trap Magic: Karma Clause]!"
A pillar of light blasts out beneath Rades, engulfing him in a massive eruption of scorching radiance.
"There." Helena scoffed as she dusted her hands. "Talk down to me at own damn peril, got it, you damn rat?"
"Yes ma'am." Rades replied in a blank tone, completely covered in soot.
"Whoa!" Sally remarked. "So you've got [Light Magic] like Lord Licht?"
"Dunno who this Licht is, but sure as hell I do, missy." Helena replied. "Although unlike the typical rudimentary usage of [Light Magic] involving speed and power, mine is more leaned towards more... shall we say, more passive roles."
"Such as your usage of using [Light Magic] as [Trap Magic], correct?" Sally pointed out.
"... Hmm, you got the right idea, but I can assure you, that was only the beginning." Helena teased.
"Show me more, please!" Sally requested.
"Sorry kiddo, not now." Helena waved her away. "I only use magic when I need to, like how I needed to put that little shitstain in his place."
Sally pouts as Helena walks towards Aleister.
"... Umm, what?" Aleister asked her.
The tiny woman then drags his ear down to her.
"Ow ow ow ow ow ow!" The ragged mage cried out. "What the hell!?"
"So like I said, you brat." Helena asked, hal-growling. "Just what the are you doing here with these brats down here, and may I reiterate, what do you want!?" She hissed out.
"O-O-Okay, first I came here because the four of launched an assault on the Clover Kingdom Capital, Quatre, and now we're wanted people, and now, we need a place to hide."
Helena lets go of his ear lobe, and turns to the others.
"You three!" Helena asked the three other Eye of the Midnight Sun affiliates. "Come over here for sec. I need to talk to you all for a bit."
The three then head towards the two affiliates, and are led into one of the buildings in Agartha.
The room itself was furnaced with preexisting stone furniture, stacked with books piled high up into the ceiling, half-melted candles welded onto the floor, the wicks still burning, and at the end of the room, was a hammock hung from the ceiling.
"How long you've been living here?" Valtos asked.
"Since they left." Helena replied. "They called me crazy. They all said that the city of Agartha was only a myth, a legend, a goddamn fad created by some child made. Well who's laughing now, huh!? Who's discovered the long-lost city of Agartha when she was told that she was crazy to search of such thing in the first place, huh!? JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM-"
"Helena!" Aleister barked out.
The tiny woman ceases her nonsensical and long-repressed rambling.
"... You're doing it again." Aleister pointed out.
"... R-Right." She mumbled out as she adjusted her glasses. "... Just set the boy wherever."
The stubbled mage sets down Luck's body next to him.
"Now then..." Helena stated. "First of all, thank you."
All three (sans Aleister) blink.
"... What." Rades muttered out.
"No seriously, thank you for finally putting those arrogant and unappreciative bastards in their place, because now, I check off 'burn down Quatre' off of my bucket list."
She then heads over to one of the walls in the room, lighting a candle nearby with a pair of flints, revealing a disturbingly long checklist.
She then uses her [Light Magic] to shoot a ray of light, burning off the uppermost sentence from the list.
"There." Helena stated. "Now I might be forgiving you lot for the fact that you've pretty much pissed off the whole Kingdom, but I sort of knew what I was in for, so there's that."
"... You're welcome?" Valtos replied in confusion.
"Whoa tiger, not so fast." Helena pointed out. "I ain't done talking."
She then sets herself on the hammock.
"Now then, onto the main topic." She stated. "For starters, you're all aware that you're in the long-lost city of Agartha, a civilization of a millennial-long legacy that people up and forgot about. And now, once formerly my sole utopia of unbridled research and enlightenment, is now housing four highly-wanted terrorists that have ripped the Clover Kingdom a new one."
All four of them nod in agreement.
"So tell me..." She asked. "... What brought you to all this?"
Aleister sighs out.
"... You want me to her?" He asked the others.
Rades and Sally shrugs.
"... She has the right to know, for the fact that she's willing to shelter us in the first place." Valtos pointed out. "Not only that, but something tells me that she knows more then she's letting on."
"Alright." Aleister stated. "I'll tell you."
Aleister then faces Helena.
"... Those three were, in fact, attacked by a Demon."
Gallows Forest, Hidden Dark Elf Village, Forbidden Realm, Clover Kingdom (Evening)
"Hey Claudius..." Astaroth called out the distraught Fallen Angel.
The dejected Ars Goetia commander turns his head towards his liege, sitting on a pile of uprooted trees, underneath the full moon's light.
"Yes milord?" Claudius stated dejectedly.
"... Can you tell me what's really going on?" Astaroth asked. "Seeing you suffer in silence like this... I can't ignore it anymore, so please tell me..."
Astaroth places his hand on Claudius's shoulder.
"... What's going on?"
Claudius places his hand on his liege's.
"... Milord, allow me to put in the frankest way possible."
The Fallen Angel stands up and faces his lord.
"... Time itself is broken."
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Had to squeeze this out amidst of the college stretch.
This Saga was meant to be a bit longer in length, but I thought that for the sake of in-story realism, I thought breaking the next part down into smaller parts would do the trick.
Not only that, mid-writing plans have shifted. The Marie-kidnapping arc will be put on hold for a bit.
Helena Blavatsky: Kanemoto Hisako (JPN), Jad Saxton (ENG)
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