Hello hello hello everyone I have finally been freed from hell-I mean school! Welcome back to Chapter 6 of Devils and Dragons. Honestly, after I posted the latest chapter the views on my fic the views literally skyrocketed so I'd like to thank you all for your support and I will continue to try and get these chapters out for y'all
Now for the reviews:
(KenosDC1): Was that the plan or was it not? Hmmm IDK time will tell I guess. Though you are seriously right on the money with some of these guesses lol
(E.T. 2000): Hmm...Drachen is an interesting name. Ima use that later on thanks for the suggestion
Now with the reviews out of the way on to the chapter!
Page 6: Royal Failure
Once the trials were all said and done Magna lead Asta and Arran back inside the base and towards their rooms. "Here are your rooms guys. It's dank right? Not to mention incredibly cramped and filthy"
"But it's home," Arran smiled at his room
"Yeah...my very own room...I can't believe it" Asta teared up with stars in his eyes causing Magna to reel back in surprise. "You guys are actually ok with your rooms?"
"My room back at Mom's cottage was cramped and smelly anyway so I'm not too picky" Arran admitted
"Yeah and back at the church all of the kids were cramped in one room to sleep. So this is the first time I've actually had my own room before!" Asta said before he started cleaning up rather quickly
"He's already cleaning?" Arran muttered as he watched Asta clean up his room. "I'll clean mine in the morning...I need to rest..." He yawned as he walked back to his room
"Alright then...oh Asta, Arran one more thing" Magna spoke up making the two village boys turn towards him
"Make sure you write letters back to that church and cottage back in Hage. They're where your family lives right? They should get to hear from you" Magna smiled
"Right!" Asta smiled while Arran just nodded
"You two can't go making anyone worry. That's what being a real man is all about" Magna said before he pushed up his shades and turned. "Later. Just hit me up if you need me"
"Will do! Thanks, Magna!" Asta bowed. Once the delinquent left Asta sat down near his desk ready to write his letter home. 'This is my first castle but it definitely won't be my last. Someday I'll live in the castle of the Wizard King' He thought before towards the wall and then out the window. 'Yuno. Arran. I won't lose to you no matter what'
"Goodnight Magna" Arran tiredly smiled and waved before he walked inside his room and dropped onto his bed. "Still kinda can't believe it...the two of us are Magic Knights now..." He smiled to himself before he looked towards his desk. "You know what I'll write it now," He said and got out of the bed. "Better now than later"
Meanwhile, over at the base of the Golden Dawn Klaus had finally introduced his room to Yuno
"It's better than you deserve," Klaus said arrogantly. "A room like this is wasted on the likes of you"
Yuno stiffened at that remark but chose not to speak up. Arrogant and rude he may be Klaus was his superior and he didn't want to start a fight on the day he just joined this squad
"Now, tomorrow I'll explain your duties as a Magic Knight. I don't particularly wish to be your tutor but since it's on Captain Vangeance's orders so be it" Klaus pushed his glasses up. "Are you listening boy?"
"My name is Yuno" Yuno spoke up. "My name is Yuno, Klaus. Not boy"
"Enough watch your tone" Klaus swiftly interrupted him. "I outrank you, you are to address me as sir"
"Yes sir," Yuno said
"Better. Don't be later tomorrow or I will be displeased" Klaus left the room shortly after that
When Klaus was gone Yuno touched his fancier-looking desk before looking towards the moon with a look of determination. However, when he turned to leave he noticed something interesting.
Out in the distance, outside of the Golden Dawn's base was a rather large ice pillar
'I wonder who did that...Klaus did say that one of the recruits was from the same house as that Ivan guy...his relative must have some powerful Ice magic...' Yuno thought as a mental question of who this Chrishat relative could be was now in Yuno's head.
The next morning was like every normal morning for Hage village at least. Only without Asta's energetic screaming and marriage wishes, Yuno's ever-helpful wind magic, and now Luna was actively helping out at the church since she no longer had to look after Arran
Then a portal opened with a messenger owl dropping three letters down which Luna quickly caught.
"Thank you!" She called out towards the owl, who disappeared inside another portal before she gathered everyone up in the church
Orsi was already tearing up from reading Yuno's letter. "I just knew Yuno would pass! The pride and joy of Hage village!"
"Yuno can do anything" Aruru cheered
"He's amazing" Hollo smiled
"I bet everyone will be excited to hear about Yuno's success. However" Sister Lily turned towards Luna. "What does Asta's letter say? And Arran's letter as well"
"How can you even make out those horrible chicken scratches of theirs, Mother?" Recca said
"Experience Recca. Lots and lots of experience" Luna slyly smirked towards Orsi who was purposely avoiding her gaze
"Do their letters say when they're coming home?" Nash asked
"When they do no doubt they'll be devastated. We'll have to cheer them up. Maybe a pot potato party will do the trick" Orsi suggested
"Actually Orsi, believe it or not, Asta and Arran passed the exams!" Luna cheered with a huge smile on her face
"WHAT?!" Practically everyone exclaimed in shock while Sister Lily gasped in surprise.
"Seriously?!" Orsi and Nash asked again as if Luna was joking
Sister Lily took a look at the letters and smiled. "She's right. They got into the Magic Knights"
"Really? They actually did it. I guess Asta and Arran won't be coming home then..." Orsi said with nervous sweat dripping down his face.
Orsi then jumped on his broom with Aruru and Hollo behind him. "We're gonna let everyone know about our 3 Magic Knights. This'll be the best news Hage has ever received!" Orsi flew off on his broom. "Yeah!" Aruru and Hollo cheered behind him
Nash was actually happy at receiving this news. "Amazing...they seriously got in!"
Sister Lily then turned towards Luna. "If they all managed to get in maybe Arran finally managed to control his magic"
"Nope," Luna replied bluntly. "He's still having trouble. Though he did say he's making headway. He managed to learn a new spell yesterday"
"Did he now?" Sister Lily smiled, happy at his success
"Asta, Yuno, Arran. We're all proud of you guys. Just keep doing your best" Luna smiled proudly
Back at the Black Bulls base, Arran slowly opened his dark-purple eyes as the sun rays shined through the window. He turned to the right and noticed his Black Bulls robe next to him
'So it all wasn't a dream...I made it into the Black Bulls' Arran thought with a smile
Fully dressed and with his robe on now, Arran noticed the condition of his room and was about to leave to get some cleaning supplies but-
The sound of an impact against the wall and a familiar scream caught his attention. "Asta?"
"Morning Arran..." Asta noticed the redhead and stood up holding his nose. "You got any idea why this pillar showed up here?" Arran turned to notice a pillar was in front of Asta's door. Wait a second a pillar?
'That wasn't there before' Arran thought in confusion
"Hey, newbies how's it hanging?" Magna approached the two of them
"Oh, we're good Magna thanks," Arran said
"I've got a question about this pillar though" Asta pointed towards the pillar he just crashed into. "I don't think it was here before"
"Probably because it wasn't," Magna said. "It's nothing though this building shifts around all the time"
"Wait seriously? Why?" Arran questioned
"Dunno. But you get used to it eventually" Magna shrugged. "Anyway come on let's go"
"Yes sir!" Asta said
"Where are we going?" Arran asked only for Magna to turn towards him with an angry scowl. "You ask way too many questions!" He snapped causing Arran to shrink in fear
"I'm your tour guide today. There's no one better to take you guys on a tour of the Black Bulls base" Magna smirked confidently before he walked off prompting Asta and Arran to follow him
"Asta! Arran! You guys ready?" Magna exclaimed as he began to run
"Yes sir!" They both replied as they sped up to keep up with him though Asta added "Let's go Mr. Shades!"
"What?!" Magna said at the ridiculous nickname. "No, it's sir twerp!"
"Right! Got it, sir twerp!" Asta replied
"Drop the twerp!" Magna said
'This is gonna be a long tour...' Arran sweatdropped at Asta's stupidity
"This is the dining hall!" Magna said as they entered the said room. It was spacious with long tables lined up and a bar in the corner of the room. Right now the only one in the room was Charmy, who was stuffing her face as usual
"This place is huge..." Arran looked around before he noticed Charmy in the room. 'When did she get here?'
"This is the communal bath," Magna said as the three of them were now in a large bath with dragon-shaped fountains on the walls. "It's for relaxing between missions"
"Ow, ow, ow" Asta winced not being used to such heat. He really wanted to get out. He looked towards Arran to see how he was doing and was shocked to see that the boy was just chilling, eyes closed with his hands behind his head
"Hey your handling this pretty well newbie" Magna smiled towards Arran
Arran opened an eye to look at him. "When you constantly burn your arms on an everyday basis heat gradually means nothing," He said like it was no big deal even though
'That is so manly yet very concerning at the same time' Magna deadpanned towards Arran
Once they finished up in the baths Magna lead towards another hallway. "Down there is the women's room" He pointed though Asta and Arran noticed that further down the hallway, the place was laced with deathtraps from head to toe
Arran looked slightly unnerved at this while Asta couldn't help but admit "That is some serious security"
"Next is the bathroom!" Magna dramatically opened the door
"Your dead" Yami said bluntly as Magna unknowingly walked in on him taking a dump
"WE'RE SORRY CAPTAIN YAMI SIR!" All three Black Bull members exclaimed as they ran off in fear
Then Magna led them down to the lower floors of the base where they were then face-to-face with a cage full of hungry wild beasts
Arran was a bit terrified at the sight of those beasts. "Uhhh why are we down here?"
"Down here is where you two have your most important job," Magna said. "This is the beast room. Captain Yami's little hobby. And from here on out you, two are in charge of our furry little friends"
"Wait what?!" Asta said with a bit of fear evident in his voice before he was handed tongs by Magna
"You'll both need these" Magna said before giving Arran a bucket full of meat
"You're telling me we have to feed those things?!" Arran looked at Magna as if he lost his mind
"Come on it's an honor. I'd hate to give it up but the responsibility now lies on you guys. Besides its easy" Magna said
"If it's so easy why are you giving the job to us" Arran looked at Magna judgingly causing the punk to look offended
"Because I'm your superior that's why" Magna smirked with arrogance
Asta then slowly approached the cage, holding a slab of meat with the tongs
"Nice little beasties..." Asta approached them nervously before holding out the meat towards them. "H-here you go...eat up"
One of the beasts then fit itself through the cage and bit down on not just the meat but Asta's whole body as well
"Asta?!" Arran yelled out in shock before he quickly dropped the bucket and grabbed Asta ripping him out of the beast's jaws. Once he was free all three of them left the lower floors in a sprint, with Asta's added yelling and Magna's laughing
Then Magna continued the tour by showing them the library and the torture room
"What's the matter, newbies? Can't keep up?" Magna said as the three continued to run through the halls
"Just you wait! You haven't seen anything yet, I'll show you!" Asta quickly replied while Arran said nothing. He was mentally exhausted from this tour
Though said tour seems to have come to a stop and so has Magna as he stops right in his tracks making Asta bump into him and Arran nearly fell over from abruptly stopping
"Dude why'd you stop?" Asta groaned before he and Arran saw the reason why
The same girl from the magic knights exam, the one Arran saw at the balcony was now walking towards him
'The girl I saw yesterday...And she's wearing a Black Bulls robe...does that mean?' Arran thought in realization while Asta stepped up to his side. "Who's she?"
"Well whaddya know, it's the third newbie. She's our third new recruit this year" Magna explained
"She's a newbie too? Awesome! Glad to know we're not alone!" Asta said while Arran nodded slightly.
"Well, then it's nice to meet you. I'm Arran and I come from Hage village" He waved towards her with a small smile
Then the magicless boy approached the girl with stars in his eyes and a hand extended. "Hi there, I'm Asta, also from Hage Village! Let's give this everything we got whaddya say?"
If Asta was expecting the girl to shake his hand, what he got was the complete opposite
Instead, she smacked his hand away much to the shock of the three boys. "Don't speak to me so casually, you little insects"
'Insects?! What's her problem?!' Arran thought in shock. He and Asta were just trying to be nice and she smacks his hand away? Who the heck does that?!
Though the girl then turned towards Arran. "Though I can hardly believe that you're a commoner. Your magic power is on the same level of a royal like me" She boasted
"Wait a minute, did you say royal?" Asta and Arran both said
"Are you both hard of hearing? My name is Noelle Silva of the royal house of Silva" The now named Noelle introduced and insulted
"Royalty?!" Arran said in disbelief
"WHAT?!" Asta comically explained in shock before he began to bow to her. Though before he could say anything Arran grabbed his arm and forced him back to his feet
"No, it shouldn't matter if you're royalty or not. We're all equal Black Bull members so we should try to get along as squadmates" Arran stared Noelle down
"Yeah, you tell her Arran status means nothing here!" Magna agreed
"It does very much so" Noelle retorted
"And what makes you say that?!" All three boys exclaimed at her as they got in her face
Noelle looked towards Arran in disbelief at him teaming up with those commoners. She eventually sighed and said "Fools. I suppose words aren't enough to make you understand". She then held out her hand as blue-colored magic gathered in the palm of it. "The difference in our magic powers should get the point across"
Asta, Arran, and Magna tensed and backed up at this declaration
"Wait a minute!" Asta said but Noelle wasn't listening
"Remember your place!" Noelle arrogantly exclaimed before she shot a magical sphere of water towards Arran with no time to dodge
But then surprisingly the sphere veered in the wrong direction and struck Magna instead, pushing him into the wall
Both Asta and Arran looked towards Noelle in confusion at her failed attack. Though she turned away from them, embarrassed at what happened.
Magna slowly rose from the ground, completely drenched. "What were you thinking, you spoiled little brat?" He seethed as put his shades back on. "Obviously you've got more guts than sense, cause you just attacked a senior member!"
"It isn't my fault you were in the wrong place. It was your choice to stand there so what happened was your fault" Noelle replied bluntly and arrogantly
Asta and Arran just looked in pure shock at what was happening at the moment
"What kind of crazy are you? I'm your superior here" Magna said, unsure what to think of Noelle at the moment
"That's nice but I'm royalty" Noelle quickly shot down his response
"Oh yeah?!" Magna then got in her face again. "Well, I don't care if your royalty or the sister of the Silver Eagles' Captain!"
Asta and Arran's eyes widened in surprise from that. She was Nozel's sister?
"Captain Yami is the only person I know to be crazy enough to take a crazy chick like you. I was holding just cause you were a girl but I think it's time for your initiation!" Magna snapped
Then in a shocking move, Noelle took off her robe and threw it on the ground. "Don't bother I quit this stupid squad!" She said before walking away
"Wait, what?!" Arran said when he finally managed to break out of his shocked state.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Magna called out for her as he picked up her robe. Asta was just staring down in complete disbelief
"I'm leaving" Noelle turned back to Magna defiantly. "Before the Black Bulls begin to rub off on me. Everyone knows your the worst magic knight squad. This isn't a place for a royal like me".
"How dare you?!" Magna exclaimed in disbelief as Noelle continued to walk away. "You come back here and apologize to the robe and Yami!" He kept calling out to her but she just ignored him
"We worked so hard for that robe…and she just…threw it away" Asta finally managed to speak
'What the fuck just happened?' Arran questioned mentally once Noelle was gone
The next day Arran was out taking a walk outside of the base. He couldn't seem to get his mind off of what happened back at the base
"Still can't believe that happened…" He muttered to himself before looking at the area. "Seems like a good place to train," He said before he heard something and looked up in the sky.
A massive waterball then came crashing on top of him leaving him drenched and pissed. "What the hell was that…" he grumbled as he sidestepped out of the way of another one
Arran walked in the direction of where it came from until he stopped at a clearing. Though what he saw in the clearing truly surprised him
It was Noelle facing a tree with a target marked on it. Several holes had been made in the ground possibly from waterballs like the one that hit him
She was panting heavily with her hands held out in front of her
"What's she doing?" Arran muttered silently as he crouched down in a bush to avoid being seen
Water magic was charged in her hands like last time before she shot forward intending to hit the tree but instead, it veered to the right
"Oh you've got to be fu-'' Arran cursed right as the waterball smashed into him.
"Why won't it work?" Noelle said as she charged another waterball and shot it forward with it missing once again
"Why can I…never hit…what I'm aiming for?!" Noelle said in frustration as she launched numerous waterballs at the tree only for them all to miss and for her to have to steady herself with her hands on her knees
"Everything they said…it was all true…" Noelle lamented. Meanwhile, Arran watched all of this and at the sight of it an all familiar but horrible memory came to his mind
He was in Luna's grasp as a younger but still, the same church village of Hage was defending him from the people of a nearby town. He can't remember all the details but he can remember some of the words the villagers shouted at him: "Freak", "Monster", "Murderer". Later as he got older he realized that his magic control issue ended up getting someone killed when he was only 6 years old. His magic had been just as dangerous to others as it was to him when it lost control. Even after he, Asta, and Yuno promised to become the Wizard King that one memory was lingering in the back of his head and was what killed his motivation and determination up until the Grimoire ceremony
Once that memory had finished playing back in his mind Arran's face changed from curious and annoyed to sympathetic and understanding.
'She's like me…she can't control her magic…' Arran thought. She was going through the same problem he had. He then stood up from the bushes causing Noelle to turn towards him in surprise and nervousness
"You?! What are you…" Noelle stepped back in fear
"Hey…" Arran put his hands up in surrender. "I'm not here to fight I just want to talk," Arran said
'No…he's just going to mock me…like all the others' Noelle thought in a panic as the mocking words of her siblings echoed in her mind. She soon brought her hands out to strike him with magic. However, the water magic instead grew outward and surrounded poor Silva in a giant water bubble
"Noelle!" Arran tried to reach for her but a sudden spiral of water smashed into his stomach and sent him flying away
"Damn it!" Arran coughed out in frustration as he saw the water bubble grow bigger and rise into the air. He then turned towards the sight of familiar screaming and saw that Asta was flying with him. "Asta?!"
"Oh hey Arran!" Asta said quite loudly. "I was hit by a waterball earlier on. I was trying to see where they came from! Next thing I know Noelle's trapped in a huge bubble and we're sent flying!" He panicked
"Great start to the day…" Arran said sarcastically before he and Asta were caught by a pair of hands. Yami had caught the two of them by the robes as the rest of the Black Bulls members stood beside him.
"Great timing kid," Yami said to Asta before dropping Arran. "I don't need you though"
"You see that?" Yami pointed towards the bubble. "Do something about it"
"Do something?! Ok I'll try but…how am I supposed to get up there? I can't exactly fly" Asta turned towards Yami but was then faced by one of his signature death stares
"I don't want to hear your excuses," He said, causing Asta to yelp in fear. "Just suck it up, newbie!". Purple magic aura then began to surround Yami. "Dip deep! And push past your limits!" He yelled before throwing Asta straight towards the large bubble
Asta screamed the whole way as he got closer. Once he was close enough he grabbed his greatsword from his open Grimoire and cut straight through the water bubble causing the whole thing to implode and release Noelle making her open her eyes since she had to hold her breath the whole time
Arran quickly got up and ran towards them ready to catch them but Finral did it for him making them land safely on the ground with his portals. 'Thank god…'He thought before he approached Asta. "You alright Asta?"
"Holy crap that was scary! I didn't die!" Asta yelled out, making Arran sweatdrop. 'I'll take that as a yes' He thought before he turned towards Noelle. "Noelle?"
Noelle awoke with a gasp at her name being called but she didn't bother to get up. She was expecting to be seen as a failure again. To be mocked. She just waited for it as Arran approached her
The shock and surprise on her face were immense when instead Arran held out a hand for her and asked "Are you ok?"
She was expecting him to mock her like all the others but instead, he was caring about her well-being?
Arran noticed her expression and sighed. "Look if you think I'm going to mock you, isolate, shame anything like that you clearly don't know me," He said bluntly. "Besides…" He then gave her a warm smile. "Why would I mock someone I surprisingly sympathize with?"
'Sympathize? Wait…does that mean?' Noelle looked up at him and finally managed to speak up. "You…you can't control your magic?"
Arran nodded. "Yup my out of control magic can kill me if I'm not too careful so I was kinda isolated from every village other than hage" He chuckled
"It's true me and Yuno lived with him. Though his magic power is nothing to underestimate just like yours!" Asta smiled as he joined Arran. "Unlike me, I can't use any. Though once you two train and learn to control your magic you'll be super strong! Unstoppable!"
"Definitely" Arran nodded in agreement
Noelle was completely speechless. Arran knew what she was going through and Asta had no magic? Despite how she acted towards them yesterday they were encouraging and accepting her…
"Now I realize I have to train even more if I'm going to surpass you both!" Asta said
"You can try but I'll just leave you in the dust" Arran smirked smugly
"Wait a minute that's all? You were running away because you couldn't control your magic power?" Magna questioned. "Well why didn't you say something sooner ya royal failure"
"I mean come on this is the Black Bulls after all we're a whole squad of failures!"
Vanessa then lifted her wand and floated Noelle's Black Bulls robe back onto her person.
"So maybe you got a weakness or three, it doesn't matter to us you big dummy" Magna finished
"We're glad that you're alright. Though I know this place that has some killer pasta if you want to go out sometime" Finral offered
"Forget pasta, you need to try a bite of this!" Charmy cheered
"That was quite the show you put on. I happened to be quite skilled in controlling my magic so I can help you two with that. Or if you prefer some more mature advice~" Vanessa offered and quickly flirted
Noelle then began to tear up. They truly weren't mocking her. They actually accepted her for her faults.
Arran then held his hand out. "Now get up, you're not getting any stronger from sitting there" He encouraged her
Asta followed suit and held his hand out. "He's right. So let's get stronger together"
Noelle looked at the two of them almost ready to cry. She managed to hold it back and took their hands before standing up. "I'm looking forward…to working with you"
And there it is the end of Chapter 6. Hope you enjoyed it! Noelle has finally been added to the story(Best girl no debate). Ima try and release Hellish Multiverse sometime this weekend and after that, I'm taking a much-needed break for rest and No Way Home. Didn't have much to say this time…I'm probably just tired
Anyways leave a follow, favorite, and review! And stay tuned for the next chapter because when we come back Asta, Arran, and Noelle learn more of a Magic Knight's duties and are assigned their first mission!
Until then, Blueheartz out