Chapter 3
Hunters

"How long until we get there?" Raiden asked, sitting on his broom as he and Abel flew over the land."To Napel village."

"A few minutes." Abel responded, taking a look at the horizon."We should be there by noon."

"Good to know. According to the request..." Raiden took out that Yami had given them."They're offering to provide us lodging and meals. Captain Yami said this should take us a couple of days. Which is why I'm a bit confused."

"How come?" The young man asked him.

"For instance, take a look at this." Raiden tapped the middle of the paper."It says right here that our destination is the farm on the outskirts of the village. They claim that their fields have been damaged and some of their cattle have gone missing. I don't think it could be bandits, since this type of behavior is too bizarre for them."

"I agree." Abel nodded at his words."Maybe is a Magic Beast?"

"Possibly. At any rate, it seems that we have to capture whatever it is while some workers come in to install some kind of defense system around the barn." Raiden scratched his head after he read that part."A barrier maybe? Well, whatever it is, it will take some time for them to do that. The farmers are afraid that whatever it is terrorizing their farm will go after their prized cow, which provides the milk they sell to the villagers."

"A cow? Why would a cow be so important?" Abel asked, flying closer to Raiden and taking a look at the paper.

"Well, aside from the fact that their harvest has been tampered with, other animals have gone missing and they don't want to lose anymore. And apparently, this cow is said to produce the most delicious milk in all of the Clover Kingdom."

"Oh! Now that I have to see!" Abel grinned excitedly."Hopefully, we can try it out ourselves."

"Honestly I only want to hit the hay and try and get some shut-eye." Raiden groaned, rubbing his eyes."Those damn bandits basically cut me short on my sleep and the Captain straight up sent us to a mission."

"We'll probably get to sleep a bit." Abel patted his back."The report states that this phenomenon happens regularly at night time. So we should be good for the rest of the day."

"Great." He sighed, reaching for his bag and opening it up, and pulling some bread wrapped in napkins."You hungry? Your folks back at the orphanage gave me a bunch of these and I split them with Johan. But I should have enough for both of us."

"Thank you. I was starving." Abel gratefully took two pieces of bread. They had a bit of lettuce inside, something that Abel appreciated."Time for a pray." He was about to close his eyes, grasping his hands around the bread when he noticed Raiden doing the same thing, except he had something in his hands.'A rosary?'

In effect, Raiden was already praying, a brown rosary wrapped around his neck which he had hidden under his shirt, was now in his hands. Both boys spared a few seconds, each in their individual praying before starting their lunch.

"I didn't know you believed in God." Abel took a bite out of his sandwich, stopping Raiden from doing the same.

"Well, I come from a very religious background. Ever since I was young I was taught how important religion is and how it's important to pray and thank God for everything he does for us. Like these sandwiches, for example. And the fact that we wake up every day. Stuff like that."

"I get that." Abel smiled, reminiscing his time at the orphanage."The Sisters always made sure we would pray and treat each other kindly. To be nice to those around us and help them whenever they needed help. Values like that are something that I always keep close to me."

"Sounds nice. Your experience seems to be different than mine." That was all Raiden said, munching on his food. Something about that phrasing made Abel slightly curious. He didn't mean anything by it and it certainly wasn't insulting."Anyway, this stuff isn't too bad. But honestly, I've been eating bread this whole week. I'm tired of it."

"You guys didn't pack anything more than that?"

"We left in a hurry." Raiden supplied, grabbing another lettuce sandwich."So we just packed bread with butter. But I accidentally put the butter jar inside of Johan's bag. So now I have to force myself to eat this. Not that there's anything wrong with what Sister Rukia fixed up for us, but I don't really like vegetables."

"I didn't take you for a picky eater." Abel mused, a teasing smile on his face."You gotta eat your veggies."

"And I do." He said, stretching his words as he looked embarrassed."When I don't have a choice. If I'm given veggies, I'll eat them. If not, I won't touch them."

"Aw, they aren't that bad, mate." Abel chuckled."There are worse things to eat."

Raiden groaned, glancing down below and accidentally noticing they had reached their destination. The village itself looked normal as did the farm which was a few miles away. Thew flew over to it, stretching after being on their brooms for a long time. Once they landed, they jumped off their broom, Raiden nearly tripping on his feet.

"Are you okay?" Abel rushed to stop his fall, helping him regain his balance.

"Must be more exhausted than I thought..." Raiden grumbled, barely keeping his eyes open."And flying all the way out here drained my mana. Let's just get this over with so I can knock out."

"Right, right." Abel wrapped Raiden's shoulder and helped him walk, leaving their brooms near the entrance to the farm. They walked a few meters down a dirt path surrounded by fences. Past those fences were barn animals from cows to pigs, coexisting together. There were a few horses and chickens as well as sheep. On the other side of the fence, he could see wheat growing, as well as other things, but the angle made it difficult to tell.

"Oh, there you are!"

Abel rose his head, watching as two people came in to greet them."Hello. We came here for your request. We're with the Black Bulls. My name is Abel and this one here is Raiden Zareth."

"The Black Bulls, huh? I guess I don't mind too much which squad it is." The old man wearing overalls and a hat scratched his grey beard."My name is Robert and she's my wife, Kristina."

"Pleasure to meet you. Thank you for coming." The old lady bowed slightly."Is something wrong with your friend?"

"He's a little sleepy." Abel offered a smile."He had a long night so he's a little winded."

"Well, don't just stare there!" Robert went to Raiden's side, grabbing his arm and supporting his weight along with Abel."We'll take him to our house. There's a guest room that we'd gladly let you use."

"Thank you," Raiden muttered, feeling himself being taken away. His eyelids became too heavy for him to keep open and his consciousness began slipping. His life was now in their hands, which bothered him, but he didn't see the point in resisting sleeping. Closing his eyes, he was in the realm of dreams in a matter of seconds.


A few hours had passed and the sun was beginning to set. Abel had gotten some information regarding their mission from the old couple. Apparently, they had made a mistake in their observations. It turns out, that in fact, the supposed beasts were just wild boars. A lot of them, judging by the footprints on the fields. And they only seemed to come at night, when everyone else was sleeping. Of course, no one had dared to venture outside in the darkness, surrounded by who knows how many hungry boars.

For the time being, they were to wait for supper time and then start planning their move while the old couple went to bed. They weren't exactly sure when the workers would come to install the defense system, so it was either scare away the boars or stall for time. But one thing they were against was killing them. It wasn't really a problem, since Abel was against any sort of killing and wasn't going to go against their wishes to reduce the satisfaction level. Now all he needed to do was get settled and wake Raiden up.

"Don't!"

Abel yelped, startled by the scream he heard behind him. Raiden has his hand stretched out, eyes nearly bulging out of his skull."Are you okay? What happened?"

Raiden blinked a few times, retracting his hand and putting it over his chest."Just another nightmare..." He muttered to himself, but loud enough for Abel to hear.

"Nightmare? Again?" Abel rushed to his side, sitting on his respective bed."Have you been having nightmares lately?"

"For a long time now." Raiden responded, rubbing his head."Listen, since we'll be squadmates and whatnot, you should know this because this is bound to happen. I have nightmares on a daily. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, which is the best-case scenario. Sometimes I scream or just squirm around. So if you ever hear me scream, you know what it is."

"Wha..." Abel looked dumbstruck before standing up furiously."What the hell?! Don't oversimplify this! It's not normal to have nightmares consistently!"

"Fuck off." Raiden clicked his tongue, turning his face away."It's not a big deal. I've had them for years now."

"And you never thought of doing something about them?" Abel was flabbergasted, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him."Come on! Why didn't you mention anything to the Captain? Or to me for that matter? We could have had someone taken a look at-"

"I said fuck off!" Raiden slapped his hand away, his gaze hardening."I said I'm fine! And you won't make a big deal out of this with everyone else, got it? The last thing I want is people getting on my business. Stay in your lane."

Abel was left speechless at Raiden's outburst. He had suspected he was a bit tense, but this was way too sudden.

"Okay..." Abel slowly said, taking a step back."I understand. You're right. Your business is your business. But you have to understand that I'm your squadmate now, so of course, I'll worry about you. But I won't push you to do anything you don't want. Maybe one day you'll tell me more about you...until then, I'll respect your privacy. But if you need help or something, don't hesitate to ask!"

Raiden huffed, getting up from his bed and reaching for his satchel on the floor, putting it over his belt. He then grabbed this robe and proceeded to put it on, not saying a word and leaving Abel in suspense."Let's talk strategy. The sooner we finish the mission, the better."

"Right."

They both sat across from each other, sitting in their respective beds. After Abel filled Raiden in, the raven-haired stayed quiet, absorbing the information and repeating it over in his head.

"So, we can't kill them? Then that means we have to scare them away or wait until the barrier is set up. Or capture them." He paused, rubbing his temples."You got any binding spells?"

"No." He deflated, sheepishly scratching his cheek."My brother has those but I don't. What about you?"

"Sorry to disappoint you." Raiden folded his arms."Guess we'll have to improvise. But all we have to do is just keep the cow out of danger."

"Actually, it's not just Betsy."

"Who?"

"The cow's name is Betsy." Abel elaborated quickly."Apparently, Betsy has a calf, a few months old, named Abigail. They're concerned that Abigail is in even more danger too since it's more vulnerable than Betsy since it's attached to her mother. So if they get to Betsy, they'll get to Abigail as well."

"And what about the other cows?" Raiden inquired, leaning forward."Why didn't they specify anything about them?"

"Well...there aren't any more cows."

Raiden's eyes widened slightly at his words."What do you mean? I saw some cows when we came here."

"There are only seven cows, not counting Betsy and her baby. From what they told me, they used to have up to twenty cows around. But that was all ruined in a matter of days. A week, to be exact."

"You're telling me those boars killed all those cows in a week?" Raiden repeated, bewildered after hearing the information."If so, wouldn't it be better to just kill the boars instead of waiting for a barrier to be set up?"

"They don't want to kill them, Raiden. And frankly, neither do I." Abel confessed, frowning."The boars are not doing this for the fun of it, and both Mr. Colin and Mrs. Colin know that. They are animals trying to survive in the wild, and they just happened to stumble upon this farm and found an easy way to get food."

"Are you seriously saying that them eating the cows and destroying the crops is justifiable?" Raiden challenged, biting the inside of his cheek.

"They aren't the bandits we fought at my orphanage." Abel pointed out, raising his voice to equal his volume. "People eat cows too, not just animals."

Raiden groaned, holding his head."This is pointless. I'm just suggesting to make things easier for us and just end the problem. But if the Colins don't want us to kill them, then I guess that's that."

Abel sighed in relief, glad that the argument ended."Okay, guess we're settled. Let's go downstairs, they made supper for us. After that, we can get started on our watch."

With a nod, Raiden followed Abel downstairs. Both boys examined the walls filled with ribbons and certificates of some kind.

"Wonder what these are for?" Abel inquired, examining the ribbons which covered the white-colored walls. They walked down the hallway, going inside the rusty-looking kitchen. They took their seats in front of a table on opposite sides. Mrs. Colin was sitting on the far end of the table, sewing what looked to be a scarf.

"Hope you boys are hungry." Robert hollered from the kitchen counter, carrying plates filled with food, and put them in front of the Black Bulls. Raiden blinked in surprise, examining his dish. It was beef stew with some carrots and some crackers.

"This looks great!" Abel exclaimed, ready to stuff his face.

"Glad to hear that." Robert chuckled, taking a seat as he set a plate on the table for himself and one for his wife."As for the drinks..."

Two glasses of milk were put in front of them by Mrs. Colin."Here you go. It's fresh milk. It always goes good with beef stew."

Raiden and Abel stared at each other. Then back to their wooden cups. The Yin Magic-user took his cup and drank some of the liquid inside with Raiden watching him intently.

"WOAH! THIS IS SO GOOD!" Abel yelled, nearly making Raiden yelped due to his loud tone. He drank the whole cup, immediately asking for seconds.

'Was it that good?' Raiden carefully picked up his cup, drawing it closer to his lips.'Certainly looks like regular milk to me.' He took a quick sniff.'Smells like milk too. But...'

Abel was already on his third cup and hadn't touched his food at all. The Colin family seemed to expect this kind of reaction and were just enjoying their meal. With a quick prayer, Raiden took a sip out of his milk. Then another. Then another.

"Damn..." He muttered in shock."No wonder they prize the cow so much. Holy..."

"Betsy produces the most delicious milk in this kingdom." Robert proclaimed with a sense of pride."And that's not the only pride of our humble farm. My wife here makes the tastiest apple pie there is. She wins every annual competition."

"So that's what those things are on the wall." Raiden realized after connecting the dots."You must have won a lot of competitions. I counted at least twenty."

"That's right!" She chirped, standing up and going over to the stove."I've won approximately twenty-five pie competitions straight!"

"Woah!" Abel gasped, putting his spoon down once he saw her bringing a pie over to the table."You baked one?"

"I baked several." She corrected him, going back to her seat."You see, I was going to treat the boys when they came back from looking for a barrier mage."

"I see." Raiden rubbed his chin thoughtfully."So that explains the lack of workers here. And the empty rooms but with some stuff in them."

"Yes. I'm afraid that no one in our village knows any type of barrier magic. And frankly, when we requested one in the capital, we were told that we were at the bottom of their priority list. Our problem is small, compared to what other villages could be facing right now, I suppose. So all the boys went to look for a barrier magic-user in other villages. There is bound to be at least one."

"Now I get it." Abel pounded his fist on his palm."No wonder we were the ones that got this mission."

"What do you mean?" Raiden rose a brow, hoping that he elaborated.

"Usually, we get the worse missions." Abel was quick to explain."Or so Magna, a member of our squad, told me. You see, the higher position a squad has, the more rewarding missions they get. For example, the Golden Dawn get very important missions. Such as escorting nobles, moving valuable objects, or things like that."

"That makes sense." Raiden nodded, letting the information sink in."And I take it no one in our squad has barrier magic? Shit. Now I see why the Captain told us this mission might take a while. Who knows when the workers are going to be back with a barrier magic-user. If they get one at all, for that matter. If you don't mind me asking, why don't you want us to just kill the boars?"

"Raiden, what the hell?!" Abel frowned at his squadmate's question.

"It's okay, Abel." Mrs. Colin rose a hand, prompting him to back down."Raiden, my husband, and I were raised in the wild. My parents were also farmers, and so were their parents. We learned to value and respect life, no matter their species. While it's true that the boars are ruining our home and deburring our animals, they are no different from human beings. In fact, I'd say they are purer."

"Purer?"

"Right." Mr. Colin picked up where his wife left off."Unlike humans, animals don't kill out of ill intent. They do it for survival. Because it's their instinct. But humans are selfish. We sometimes do things that we don't have to. We do them to benefit us and us only. Some horrible people thrive on taking advantage of others. With that in mind, are we really that much better than animals?"

Raiden pondered on his words, continuing digging on his meal.'Guess that makes sense. The bandits from yesterday didn't have to kidnap those children to get money. They could just get normal jobs or even become Magic Knights. People choose to be evil.'

His eyes trailed over at the people at the table. He decided to cut off from the conversation and finish his meal. Daylight had now disappeared and the night conquered the skies.


"Okay. Here's what I think we should do." Raiden and Abel made their way out of the house, walking down the dirt path."You go to the stables and set up a perimeter there. I'll go out to the fields to see if there are any wild boars."

"Sounds like a plan." Abel nodded, one hand on his hip."You're pretty good at making plans. And you sound like you're into it."

"I like to play strategy games." He shrugged nonchalantly."Chess and stuff like that. It gets me thinking. But honestly, I'm not a strategist whatsoever. In fact, I can't make important decisions on my own without screwing things up. Anyway, if anything comes up, I'll come running."

"But remember not to kill any of the boars."

Raiden waved his hand dismissively, heading into the wheat field and leaving Abel by himself. The Black Bull-headed for the stables, opening the gate slightly for him to fit through. The stables were spacious enough to separate the animals based on species. The sheep were on one side and the horses and pigs on another. So on and so forth. He headed for the cows, grabbing a stool and sitting in front of the small gate. He noticed the cows were staring at him, expectantly. The big cow in the middle of the sprawled on the floor with a smaller one next to it.

"You must be Betsy." Abel gave the cow a toothy grin."And I take it that's your baby, Abigail. Nice to meet you. I'll be protecting everyone here. Don't worry you guys, Betsy and Abigail will be safe as long as we're here. You can count on it."

Slowly, Abigail stood up on her legs and walked slowly to the gate, her eyes never leaving Abel's. The Yin Magic-user grinned, patting the calf on the head playfully."Never thought I'd pet a cow. How peculiar."


Raiden had his hands in his pockets, walking in the middle of the lonely field. His vision was limited due to how tall the wheat was, but he trusted to be able to react to anything that tried sneaking up on him. He thought it'd be best to be prepared just in case, so he grabbed the handle of one of his blades.

"Man, it's really damn quiet." He muttered, not daring to raise his voice in the eery silence of the night."This could make for a good horror story of sorts."

He chuckled at his own joke, shaking his head. He walked for a few minutes until he finally exited the field, finding a small shack on the side.

"What's this doing out here?" Raiden muttered to himself, examining the run-down shack."Looks like a shack. I should check it out to see if I can find any supplies that I could use to set up a trap or something."

Raiden opened the small door, covering his nose to avoid inhaling any of the dust. He checked the shack quickly, grabbing a toolbox and some robe, setting them outside."Can't really use anything else. I think the rope could be useful. Now, where do I set it up."

Walking the side of the shack, he noticed a barrel laying on the ground. Setting it up straight, he used it to help himself up on the small roof. Grinning, he splayed his hands as he watched the scene before him."What a great view. It's a good vantage point that will surely help me watch out for any sort of danger." Glancing at the path he had come from, he was glad to notice that the stables seemed untouched.

"Now...where do I begi-" He nearly lost his footing, the ground beneath him shaking."What the?!"

Something else hit the shack, causing it to collapse and forcing Raiden to the ground."Fuck..." He groaned, wincing as he felt his right arm bleeding from a splinter stabbing itself on his skin."The hell just happened?"

As if the heavens decided to answer his question, a group of wild boars surrounded him, growling.

"Shit...they're huge." Raiden clicked his tongue, unsheathing one of his blades."I wanted to set up a trap and make things easier for me, but it looks like I wi-"

One of the boars tackled him, sending him flying into the field and crashing against the mud."Mother fucker..." He hissed, tightening the grip on his blade."These things are smarter than I gave them credit for. Sending me in the middle of the field. I don't want to use my magic since I'll burn the crops to a crisp and I could wound them. But I can't see shit."

Raiden took slow steps back, his eyes scanning around his surroundings while he mentally prepared himself to react to the first thing that came out from the wheat.

In effect, the first board rushed in from the front, making it easy for Raiden to dodge by stepping over its nose and jumping in the air, giving him a clear view of the boars and the direction they would come from."Got it." Landing down below, he kneed one on the head, knocking it down.

"Bring it on!" Raiden bent his body back, dodging a boar that tried to pierce him with its tusk. With a swift motion, he cut the creature's fang off and backflipped away.

'Got two coming up behind me.' Raiden remembered, grabbing his Grimoire and activating a Spell."Inferno Magic: Dark Hollow!"

He waved his inferno-infused blade around, prompting the boars behind him to keep their distance."I have to get out of this damn field!" Raiden turned his magic off, running into the field and hoping he would run outside of the border again."Hey! You guys better be following me! Got it?!"

Raiden skidded on the ground, waiting for the boars to catch up and catch up they did. Unsheathing his second blade, he held them in front of him in an x-shape and braced himself for the impact. The boars were beginning to pile up on him, pushing him down the more they ganged up together."That should be all of them over here."

Without missing a beat, he jumped back, prompting the boars to chase after him outside of the field. Once Raiden made sure that he wasn't close to anything important, he sighed."Alright, guys. Let's have some fun."


"This is bad! Everyone! Stay inside!" Abel shouted to the animals behind him, closing the gate for the stables and focusing on the boars slowly approaching."Yin Magic: Catastrophic Rain of Black Blades!"

A total of five black swords appeared in the sky, landing very close to the boars and forcing them to back up."I don't want to hurt you! So just leave and leave these poor animals alone!"

As expected, the boars did not listen to him but kept their distance. Abel smiled, glad that at least they were keeping their distance."Stand still so I can trap you guys. This should do the trick. Yin Magic: Catastrophic Rain of Black Blades!"

This time, the boars quickly got out of the way, avoiding being trapped by the blades and scattered around, heading for the fields.

"Hey! Don't! You'll ruin the crops!"

He groaned, breaking into a sprint and leaving the stable behind."Don't move from there! I'll be right back! Yin Creation Magic: Hell Breaker!"

A huge black sword surrounded with white energy emerged from his Grimoire as he sped after the boars."I have to remember I can't kill them, so I guess I'll just have to scare them away. I wonder where Raiden is? Does he even know the boars are attacking?"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the farm, Raiden was jumping around on top of boars, avoiding making too much damage but putting enough force to stunt them.

"Even if I knock them out, they don't stay down long enough for me to tie them up!" With a wave of his hand, a slash of black fire scared the boars away."Guess all we can do is just make them stay away from the other animals and the crops. But damn it...they're so stubborn!"

The boys continued fending the boars the whole night until the daybreak. The boars decided to retreat for the day, leaving the two exhausted Black Bulls sitting on the floor. This was going to be a long mission.


"Okay. This is really tedious."

Raiden sighed, eating some corn he had found as he laid on hay, watching the first ray of sunlight in the sky."We've been at this for two days already, going for the third. How long are these workers going to take in getting a barrier magic user?"

"Yeah, you're right." Said Abel between gulps as he drank from a bucket of water."But then again, Captain Yami was expecting us to take this long."

"But still...it's quite infuriating. I was expecting to deliver good results to ensure my spot on the squad." Raiden closed his eyes, covering his tired eyes with his arm.

"You're not getting seconds thoughts, right?" Abel grinned from ear to ear, deciding to tease him a bit."This is just the kind of work Magic Knights do."

"Of course not." Raiden clicked his tongue."It'll take way more to get me to back down from this. Besides, this is just my initiation, right? It would look bad for me if I were to just give up."

"That's the spirit."

A silence followed after that, allowing the sound of birds chirping to be their companion while they submerged themselves in their thoughts.

"Describe them to me."

"Huh?" Abel's eyes shot open at the sudden request. He was just about to fall asleep since they had been quiet for about ten minutes now and didn't seem to have the energy to make it to bed.

"The others in the squad." Raiden clarified."What kind of people are they?"

"I thought you wanted to find out for yourself?"

"Yeah, that was the idea." Raiden sat up, hugging his knees."But that changed the moment we began taking more than a day in here. Besides, I'm bored."

"Okay...But keep in mind I haven't been in this squad that long, so my opinion on them is limited." Abel sat up as well, rubbing his chin."Well, for starters. You somewhat met the Captain already. He's a pretty laid-back guy but pretty scary. Also, he's crazy strong as well. Manga and Luck are like brothers, from what I can tell. They fight a lot but they care for each other. Manga can be rough, but he means well. Luck is...a little battle crazy. He'll probably ask you to fight as soon as he meets you."

Raiden nodded as he listened intently.

"Then we have Charmy. She's a great cook and always likes to eat. If you're ever hungry, she'll help you out. Vanesa is like an older sister. Or so I think. She drinks a lot and she's sometimes in her underwear around the base."

"Thanks for the heads up."

They shared a quick chuckle before Abel continued."But she's really nice once you talk to her a bit. Next is Gauche. He's...pretty interesting, to say the least. Has a sister complex. A huge one. Try not to bring up Marie too much unless you're praising her."

"Duly noted. Sounds like a handful. But I met people with similar complexes before. I should be alright. Anything else?"

"Well, there's Finral. He's a bit of a player and always likes to hit on girls but sadly he never has any luck. Then there's Gordon and Grey. Not much to say about them. I think you'll get what I mean. And lastly, the two newbies along with me. Noelle and Asta. Noelle is a royal so she has an air of superiority, but I can tell she's pretty insecure. She's nice enough. Asta is the biggest enigma of our squad, though."

"So far this seems like a squad full of colorful people, to say the least. What makes this Asta so different?"

"For starters, he has no magic."

Raiden's interest was piqued at his words, his drowsiness suddenly vanishing."What? No magic? How is that even possible? Can you even become a Magic Knight like that?"

"I thought so too." Abel admitted."But you know, he's actually really capable. He trains a lot and every day. I'd say he's almost as strong as you and has this aura around him that brings the best out of you. But he compensates his lack of magic by using his Anti Magic."

"Anti Magic?" Raiden's eyes widened slightly."I never heard of something like that before. I guess it's fitting for someone with no magic to have such power. He sounds interesting."

"Yeah, but I don't think you'd get along with him. From what I can tell, your personalities are opposites. He's an overly optimistic and loud person and you're a pessimist that keeps his thoughts to himself."

"Pessimist?" Raiden's left eye twitched at the comment."I'm not a pessimist. I'm a realist. I just see things as they are and not as what I want them to be."

"Is that why you seem so gloomy?" Abel inquired, happy to see that he had gotten Raiden to talk.

"More like I just keep to myself. Don't take offense to it." Raiden shrugged, quickly dismissing the thought."Besides, I don't think I build to be all cheery and optimistic. I guess I always see the black side of things."

"I can understand that." Abel confessed, chuckling."I guess it's easy to see the bad of everything when you don't try to look at the good things. But I can guarantee you'll have a good time with us. We're all a bundle of misfit people after all."

Raiden laughed, shaking his head."You're not wrong. I think there's no harm in giving it a try. Anyway, let's go get ready to sleep. I'm really tired." With a loud yawn, Raiden stood up and dusted his clothes off, heading out to the fields."Huh?"

Abel stopped next to him, looking in the direction he was staring at. A group of men had arrived and were guiding an old woman outside of the house. Mr. and Mrs. Colin went out to meet the two youths, huge smiles on their faces.

"What's going on?" Raiden asked, hoping to hear good news for a change.

"The boys have returned and they got a barrier magic user!" Kristina beamed, clapping her hands together."They will finally be able to set up a barrier to keep those boars out of our farm without hurting them!"

"Huh? For real?" Abel's jaw dropped open."That's great! And they came in during daylight! That means the boars won't be able to attack them while setting up the barrier!"

"Finally..." Raiden muttered, shoulders slumping."Took their sweet time."

"Yup. They'll be done soon. The person they found was the village elder in Yamo village. It's South of here but it's quite a walk. But regardless, you boys are free to go. You are welcome to rest until you're good to go."

"No, thanks." Raiden rose his hand up, surprising Abel."But we'd like to be on our way. We have to report our mission to our captain as soon as possible."

Robert put his hands on his hips."I suppose you make a good point. I have to admit, Black Bulls are more capable than I had heard. You've completely excelled my expectations."

"Thank you for the kind words, sir." Abel gave a quick bow."Now, we'll go get our stuff an-"

A loud screeching noise was heard throughout the area, putting everyone high alert."That was the sound of pigs! Don't tell me..."

"Raiden, we better go investigate. You two get back to the house and wait until we tell you it's safe." Abel gave Raiden a quick nod and headed for the stables. Raiden groaned, beyond irritated, and followed right after him, unsheathing his blades."Why are the boars back? They just left. And besides, they never attack during daytime!"

"Damn animals must be smarter than we gave them credit for." Raiden huffed, unsheathing his blades and getting ready for battles."They must have figured out that today was the last day they could get a good meal out of the animals and their last attempt at taking Betsy or her baby."

Once they reached the stables, they were met with a bizarre sight. Betsy was on the floor, bleeding from one of her legs and Abigail was in front of her protectingly but shaking like a leaf. The other cows had surrounded the mother and child in an attempt to keep them away from further harm. The horses were standing tall and proud in front of a pack of boars, who were easily tackling them and pushing them away in hopes of getting past them.

"The gates..." Abel muttered once he saw the broken door of the stable on the floor."They've never been this aggressive before. We have to get them away from here now."

"I'll handle this!" Raiden ran past him, jumping in the air and landing on top of a boar in the middle of the crowd. He rose his blades, twirling the handles and aiming the edges at the boar.

"Wait! Don't do it, Raiden!"

Raiden thrust his blades forward, piercing through the flash of the boar and causing it to screech in agony and move around wildly."Don't worry! They're not deep enough to kill it! I just need to guide it out of here! Go and see that the workers are safe! The last thing we need is for this whole thing to be in vain!"

Reluctantly, Abel gave him a thumbs up."Fine! I'll see you around then, partner!"

"Partner?" Raiden snorted, focusing back on the action."Guess I better not disappoint!" Flicking his wrists, Raiden was able to move the blades inside of the boar and subsequently move it to wherever he wanted. It thrashed through the other boars, jumping and hoping to get rid of the intense pain in its back. The other boars followed after it, worried about their own, and left the animals alone.

Raiden moved his blades harshly, causing the wound to get bigger and making the animal more erratic. The boar tackled another, sending it rolling on the floor. This is what Raiden had hoped for. Use fire to fight fire. But he knew he couldn't go on for long. He had to switch to a new boar soon since this one was beginning to lose too much blood due to wounds he had inflicted on it.

With a swift motion, Raiden removed his blades and jumped back to the ground, causing the blood of his blades to spilled to the ground."Your fight is with me and me only. If you think you'll have time to get to the other animals, you're sadly mistaken."

The boars, enraged by what he had done, stormed their way as a herd towards Raiden to get back at him.

Raiden kicked a boar's face in, stopping it in its tracks and the ones behind it. He blocked the incoming tusks from two others with his blades, jumping in the air and kicking them across the head, knocking them back.

"I'm seriously mad right now." Raiden grumbled under his breath, his eyes squinting."I should be asleep right now. But no! I have to be out here fighting damn boars! Well, I'm not going to cut you or stab you anymore." He sheathed his blades back, removing their holster and tossing it on the floor, raising his fists."I'm just going to beat the shit out of you and take my frustration out on you."

On cue, he felt a boar hit him on the back, causing him to stagger ahead to another one who launched him in the air.'Shit! I'm still fatigued from fighting the other boars all night! But...'

Raiden landed on the ground, jumping away to gain some distance.'They seem pretty tired themselves. They must be desperate to have come here straight after attacking before. But that means they will also go down easier!'

Raiden jumped over to the herd, punching a boar square in the face and knocking it down. He delivered a roundhouse kicked to the side of another, launching it against other boars coming at him. He couldn't help but grinned at the challenge, feeling his muscle warm-up."All right! Come at me with all you've got! This is where we claim victory!"


Abel rushed over to meet two workers using wood magic to fix up the broken fences."Hey, how are the barriers going? The boars are back and we can't hold them off forever!"

"We're creating new fences as fast as we can. Only two of us know Wood Magic so the others have to set up the fences by hand." He pointed at a small lantern hanging from one of the fences."These are the barriers that will be protecting this farm. According to the elder we brought, her magic drives away anything undesired."

"That is correct."

The old lady slowly walked up to Abel with her cane, giving him a warm smile."My name is Lia. I came here on behalf of my village to help these people with their needs. This spell of mine works indefinitely. Basically, I set up a barrier of four sides that emits a fragrance that drives anything away from the barrier itself. I've set up two lanterns already, but I'm missing two more to make this work successfully."

"And we're protecting her while she does so." The other farmer chimed in, closing his Grimoire in his hand."We're moving on to the other side. Do you mind if to check on things before we get there ourselves?"

"Right. I'll make sure you have a clean way to do your job!" Abel pulled out his Grimoire from his satchel."Yin Creation Magic: Hellbreaker!"

Pulling out his black sword, Abel began rushing out towards the field to the opposite side of the fence. Boars began running beside him, losing themselves inside of the wheat, and began to surround him.

"I'll apologize for ruining more of their crops, but I have to clear a path! Yin Magic: Explosive Dance!"

Abel jumped high in the air before slamming his sword on the ground, creating an explosion of black energy that sent all the boars flying out of the field. The brown-haired teen fell on one knee, panting."I don't have much magic power left...I should have rested when I had the chance, but...guess things don't always work out in our favor."

More boars began to swarm in, surrounding Abel in a circle. Shakingly standing up, he looked at the distance and noticed that the boars that were close to the fences had come his way now. He shifted his gaze to Lia and the farmers making their way to set up a barrier.

"Good." He smiled, glad that he had earned the attention of all the boars."Bring it on! Yin Magic: Divine Rain of Black Blades!" A total of five black blades appeared above Abel, circling him.

A boar came in from his left, so one of the blades launched itself at it, landing in front of it. He grabbed the blade, throwing it in the middle of two of them and causing them to separate. He launched another sword, this time, he used it as footing to jump in the air. He ran on top of the boars, landing on top of the broken-down shack Raiden had found days ago.

"This could work nicely." Abel quickly grabbed a rope and tied it around one of the blades above him. He began swinging the rope around, tossing the sword at the boars and dispersing them. He pulled on the string again, this time, swinging it around as he twirled in place. Unfortunately for him, the excess rope was wrapped around his legs, causing him to trip on his feet and fall.

"Damn it!" Abel cursed aloud, his legs tangled with the rope. One of the boars grabbed the end of the rope with its mouth and began running away, pulling Abel along with him."Hey! What are you doing?!"

The boar did not listen to him and continued running around the entire farm and throwing Abel around like a ragdoll. The Black Bull could only gasp as the boar broke through a chicken coop, startling the chickens and sending the eggs flying in the air.

"I got you!" Abel cried out, grabbing as many eggs as he could and tossing them back into their nests. Swinging his hand down, another blade came down from above and cut the rope, finally stopping his momentum.

Groaning in pain, Abel got back to his feet, rubbing his aching backside."That really hurt...I have splinters all over."

"Hey, kid!" The farmers waved their hands, gaining his attention."The barriers are all set up! You need to drive those boars out of here for them to take effect!"

"Got it..." Raiden smiled tiredly, his body begging for rest but his mind solely on their mission."Okay, you guys! Follow me!" He began hitting his sword together, alerting the boars to follow the noise."If you want to take me out, now's the best chance!"

Snorting loudly, the boars used their remaining strength to do just that. They were running out of time and they knew it, so they did not bother to hold back and ran full speed. Abel was tackled in the air, knocked down on his back after being caught up by the stampede."Crap!"

"I'VE HAD IT!"

The boars stopped in their tracks, inches away from stomping on Abel on the floor. Abel's eyes widened in shock, followed by a nervous laugh."Man, you're crazy..."

Raiden was power walking, lifting a dozen of boars above his head with a very infuriated expression."If anyone wants to be on top of this pile...STEP RIGHT UP!"

Surprisingly, the boars shriek and made a run for it after Raiden started printing after them, lifting their knocked-out friends above his head."Huh?! Running away now?! Well, sorry! But you don't get to do that!"

"He's really fired up..." Abel scratched the back of his head sheepishly."Guess a grumpy Raiden is a bad Raiden. But then again..."

"I have nightmares on a daily. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night, which is the best-case scenario. Sometimes I scream. So if you ever hear me scream, you know what it is."

He remembered his words clearly when he first found out about his nightmare situation."If that's the case, then maybe that would explain why he's always grumpy. I guess having nightmares must prevent him from getting proper sleep. But like he said...it's not my place to pry." With a loud yawn, Abel walked up to the group of farmers that had formed around Raiden as he tossed the remaining boars outside of the barrier.

One of the boars gingerly tried to walk past the barrier, only for it to stop by an invisible wall that prevented it from entering. Raiden put his hands on his hips, giving them a mean glare that scared them away, disappearing into the forest."That takes care of that."

"I've never seen anyone manhandle boars like that." Mr. Colin removed his sun hat."You're one hell of a powerhouse, son."

"For sure! You taught those boars a lesson!" One of the workers put a hand on Raiden's shoulder.

Another one rushed to help Abel, wrapping his hand around his body."And thank you for keeping the chickens safe and making sure their eggs were okay."

"It's fine, don't worry about it." Abel waved his hand with a laugh."Anyway, guess let's not forget Ms. Lia and her Barrier Magic. Thanks to her, your farm will be safe and be able to prosper."

"That was nothing." The old lady covered her mouth, stifling a chuckle."The new priest in our village told us that helping anyone in need had to be our priority. And after trying one of your pies all those years ago, I knew I couldn't skip this chance, Kristina."

"I knew I recognized you!" Ms. Colin went up to hug Lia."I just made a big breakfast while everyone was out doing their thing. I know the trip plus the use of your mana must have you starving. Come on in! We got some fresh pie baking on the stove."

Rober made his way to the pair of Magic Knights, placing his hands on their heads."Now, I know you boys are busy and all and have to report to your captain, but why don't you stay for breakfast? My wife works fast and she made a whole buffet."

"Well...I guess we can stay for breakfast?" Abel turned to Raiden for confirmation, receiving a nod from followed by a low grumbling noise in his stomach."Yes, thank you very much for having us!"


"Man, those pies were delicious! I feel my magic power coming back to me already!" Abel said as he finished eating the last pie he had in his hand. Once he was down, he stretched his limbs and feeling the fresh air of morning as they rode on their brooms."You sure it was a good idea to not sleep? They did say we could rest as much as we wanted."

"I'm assuming the other workers are tired after their long trip, plus, that lady requires to rest as well. They needed the room and I wasn't going to take that away from them. All we did was fight a bunch of boars." Raiden explained, his eyes observed the base at the distance."Besides, we really only needed our mana restored so we could fly, and that big meal really helped."

"Oh? How thoughtful of you, Raiden." Abel gave him a cheeky grin."You know, you're a lot nicer than you seem."

"Thanks, I guess." Raiden huffed, beginning to descend to the ground. They grabbed their brooms and proceeded to head for the door, Abel taking the lead."This is it, huh?"

"Nervous? Don't be. As I said, we're all a bunch of misfits but we're pretty friendly."

"Just open the door."

With a roll of his eyes, Abel opened the door and immediately smiled."Hello, everyone! We're back!"

"Why did you take so long?" Captain Yami was sitting on the couch, reading a newspaper."Thought something had happened and was about to send someone to get ya."

"Things didn't go as smoothly as intended." Abel rubbed the back of his neck, giving a short chuckle."But hey! The newbie here was pretty good. I'd say he's worth taking in, Captain Yami."

"Oh, a new member?" Vanessa, who was sprawled on the other couch with a bottle of booze quirked a brow."I didn't hear of that."

'She's in her underwear...' Raiden coughed in his hand, shaking his head.'Must be Vanessa.'

"Right I forgot to mention it." Yami sighed, taking the cigarette out of his mouth."The kid wants to join our squad and I gave him a task. Him joining was depending on his performance, so I made him a temporary member until then. So, how did he do?"

"He's great, Captain. His magic is something else and he has a hell of a lot of brute strength. I would say he carried us all the way."

Raiden glanced at Abel, earning a thumbs up from the Yin Magic-user. He then turned to Yami, taking firms steps forward and placing his hands behind his back."I did the job you ask me for under the supervision of Abel, sir. I am glad to inform you of the success of our mission."

Yami hummed to himself, letting out a cloud of smoke from his mouth."Good enough for me. Welcome to the Black Bulls, kid. Hope you enjoy your stay. How about you introduce yourself to the others?"

Raiden was about to decline, but Abel stepped forward, grabbing his shoulder."He would like to, but we're pretty spent from our trip and fighting all those boars. So before we could have a proper introduction, I'd like to show him his room so he can rest."

"Yeah, he does look pretty beat up." Finral, who had just come into the room, observed."I guess we can wait before we get to know him."

"Fine by me." Gauche, who was staring at a picture of his sister, had already moved on to other matters."I have better things to do with my time anyway. I have to stare at Marie's beauty portrayed in this picture for another twenty minutes."

"You stare at a picture for twenty minutes?!" Finral cried out in disbelief, completely ignored by the Mirror Magic-user.

Abel simply offered a grin before resuming his walk with Raiden.

"Hold on a second!"

They stepped, turning to the source of the voice. Magna had come into the base with Asta and Luck trailing behind him."New member? We have to get him baptized, quick!"

"Oh, cool! A new member! I wanna fight him!" Luck yelled excitedly, eager to see the new member's skills."My name is Luck Voltia!"

"Sorry guys, but we're a little tired." Abel tried to reason with them."Haven't slept at all so I want him to go to his room so he can get settle."

However, Magna wasn't having any of it."I know he passed the test given by our Captain, but he hasn't earned that robe yet. Every rookie in the squad has to go through it, right, Captain Yami?"

"Do whatever you want just don't make too much noise." Yami puffed a smoke, leaning back on the couch.'Though I am curious to see what this kid is capable of.'

"You heard the man, now let's go." Magna made his way over to the pair, pushing Abel aside and grabbing Raiden by the shoulder. However, before he could make contact with him, Raiden grabbed his wrist in a swift motion."Huh?"

"Are you the vice-captain of this squad?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

"Huh? Well, no. But I'm still your superior and if you want to earn my approval, you have to get baptized. Or could it be that you're scared?"

"Baptism, huh...?" Raiden cracked a smile, rubbing the side of his face."You seem to use that term loosely. My superior, you say? Perhaps in seniority, but I doubt you're anywhere close to me in terms of power."

"What was that, punk?" Magna gritted his teeth, dangerously drawing close to Raiden's face.

"Guys, come on..." At this point, Abel had given and accepted that this conflict was inevitable.

"Let's take this outside." Raiden walked past Magna, ignoring the others that were staring at him in bewilderment."Back where I'm from, we did things a little differently. Superiority isn't given by seniority. It's based on who is the strongest. Who knows, maybe you'll teach me a lesson. Could go either way."

"So, you want a fight, eh?" Magna smirked after hearing Raiden's request."You got it! I was eager for a fight anyway!"

"Oh, a fight? Now, this is going to be interesting." Vanessa got up from the couch, followed by Grey."You better not scare the newbie away, you delinquent virgin."

"Who are you calling a virgin?!" Manga snapped before resuming his walk outside. Asta and Raiden quickly glanced at each other, staring into each other's eyes. Asta was about to introduce himself, but Raiden bumped shoulders with him and continued on his way.

The remaining Black Bulls that had just woken up were informed of the situation by their captain and went outside to see the match.

Raiden stood a few yards away from Magna, giving him his back as he slapped his cheeks to stay awake."Shit...what a pain..."

"Oh, man. This is such a bad idea." Abel looked at his squadmates incredulously."How did it even get to this point."

"I think we should just let them battle it out, Abel." Asta commented, his eyes fixed on the pair."I mean, I don't think we can convince them to stop. Magna is a pretty persistent guy and he'll either go through with this or the initiation. Besides, this could be a good bonding exercise for them."

"Of course you would say that." Noelle rolled her eyes, folding her arms across her chest."I still can't believe Magna forced him to do this. He could have at least let the poor guy get some rest. They just came from a mission."

"It's true that Magna has no chill and was being really pushy, but it was the newbie who decided to make this a brawl." Vanessa pointed out."Not to mention he sounded really confident just now and he's giving him his back. If he thinks he can take on Magna on his first day, he has another thing coming."

"I'm already preparing some food for them when they're finished. Fighting makes you hungry so I'll be sure to stuff them full!" Charmy cried out as she made her cotton sheep coke up a meal.

Yami finally walked out of the base, scratching his head."All right. Let's get this fight on the go. We don't have all day and I really wanna take a dump right now."

"You got it, Captain!" Magna saluted him, grinning at Raiden as he took out his Grimoire from his satchel."You heard that, newbie? Yami just gave us the okay to fight. Let's get started! You can stay giving me your back like that, it'll make this all the easier!"

Raiden sighed, grabbing the handles of his blades, his Grimoire floating in front of him."Okay. I actually want to get this over with as quickly as possible. A little warning. I'm sleep-deprived right now and that makes me really grumpy. If you ever feel like giving up, I won't be able to stop."

"Trying to intimidate me, huh?" Magna chuckled, manifesting a ball of fire in his hand."That won't work one me, pal! Let's start!"

Raiden's blades were clad in black fire, finally facing Magna as he threw a fireball at him."Let's finish."


This has to be the longest chapter of the series so far. I originally wanted to split it in two but I wasn't sure when to cut so I just made Raiden's first mission a whole chapter alone since the next one will be different.

Raiden's first meeting with the Black Bulls certainly took a turn for the worse and now Raiden's "baptism" has turned into a fight. Who will win? Find out the next chapter!

As always reviews and favorites are appreciated and motivate me to continue writing more chapters much faster so feel free to do it. Hope you have a great day.