Hello hello hello everyone! Welcome back to Chapter 8 of Devils and Dragons! It's high time for the conclusion of our first story arc. I know this took so long to release again but I'm just now getting used to the reality of being a fanfic writer in high school. My motivation literally hit rock bottom during that time. That and Pokemon fangames are addicting-
So I apologize for the long wait but I would also like to address a quick something
Over 20 favorites and Followers...Wow. I did not think my story would even get past 2 followers/favorites, kinda like my other two stories, but damn was I proven wrong. Thank you guys so much for your support and I'll try to avoid taking this long to post a chapter
(Raidentensho): As of right now he probably won't but that may change as the story continues
(Pendragon): I'll keep that name in mind
(KenosDC1): Trust me this new oc will not disappoint
(E. T. 2000): Ooh good guess on the OC's magic. Arran has black hair with two scarlet-red streaks. He has amethyst eyes as well. And I'll keep Sieg as a name in mind
(Rider126): While I originally disregarded this because I didn't want to make Arran seem too much like a Carbon Copy of Natsu Dragneel, looking at this review just gave me a really good idea. Thanks for the suggestion
Now with that out of the way on to Chapter 8! Enjoy!
Page 8: Burning Spirit, Unbreakable Will!
Magna and the Rookie trio stood before the dome of magic mist that enveloped Saussy Village
"Wow magic mist..." Asta said in slight awe
"Trying to make it through that is as effective as walking around blindfolded," Noelle said. "We'd lose all sense of direction and blunder around the place helplessly"
"But even so...who even made this dome in the first place? With the amount of magic, I think, is required this couldn't have come from any normal villager" Arran noted
'He's right' Magna agreed in his thoughts. 'Magic that can cover an entire village. There's no way this came from just an ordinary commoner'. "It sure as hell isn't Seihi's magic either. Something bad happened here" Magna said before turning to Asta. "Yo Asta"
"Sir!" Asta quickly replied
"Use your sword to cut through this mist" Magna ordered.
"Yes sir!" Asta confidently walked up to the mist before stopping right in front of it. "Wait a minute Magna don't be silly. You can't cut through mist"
"You idiot it's magic mist and you have an anti-magic sword," Arran said bluntly with a deadpan expression
"Oh yeah, that's right!" Asta quickly grabbed his greatsword out of his Grimoire and slashed through the magic mist clearing up a path for them. Asta continued to slice through magic mist as Magna, Noelle, and Arran followed closely behind him. However, as they kept walking further a putrid scent suddenly hit noses
"Disgusting! This scent is putrid!" Noelle held her nose in utter disgust
"Agreed. This sucks. Did the village always smell this bad Magna?" Arran asked as he clutched his nose in discomfort and disgust
Magna was no worse for wear the smell bothered him as well. "Of course not you idiot. This scent was never in the village. Something must've caused it" He replied though he could not help but think about this unnatural smell. 'I don't like how a smell as disgusting as this has appeared in tandem with this misty dome. Makes me more worried. Just what the hell happened here?' He thought. "Alright Asta, keep pushing forward!"
"Right!" Asta took his hand off of his nose, slicing through the mist some more while doing everything he can to ignore the horrible odor. As they traveled further, the smell only worsened and now they were starting to see small spider webs and cocoons. A sight that made Arran pale.
'Ah shit...insects...?' Arran thought in slight fear. Noelle had noticed his change in demeanor and she slightly frowned
'Is he scared of insects?' Noelle thought to herself since he only started paling when he came across the spider webs and cocoons. However, that also brought up another worrying thought. 'Speaking of which why are there webs and cocoons here too? It's not like this village is abandoned and they didn't speak about having an insect problem...'
"Ok take a right! Now a left! And another right! Then go straight!" Magna ordered with Asta cutting apart mist in each ordered direction
"Wow you do know this place pretty well" Arran nodded in approval once he recovered from the sight of the webs and cocoon
"That's right. Don't ever doubt your superior" Magna smirked at him confidently before turning back to Asta. "Keep going straight!"
"Got it!" Asta swung in that direction again clearing up more mist. This resulted in Magna, Noelle, and Arran getting a full taste of magic power. One that's got them worried
"Did you guys feel that?" Magna said
"Yeah, we did...it's magic and it's strong," Noelle said with a bit of fear
"Most likely the guy behind all of this..." Arran said
Magna nodded in agreement. "Ok Asta keep going but be careful! We should be near the square by now!"
"Right!" Asta slashed through the mist a few more times before they finally arrived in the square. All four of them gasped when they saw most of Saussy Village's villagers huddled up in the center. They all looked miserable and frightened.
The four of them looked up and quickly noticed the reason why. Stalagmites made of ice were hovering above the townsfolk ready to skewer them when given the command
"Kill them"
The stalagmites then came crashing down. "Arran come on!" Magna quickly rushed in to help.
Arran nodded and rushed towards the villagers as well with magic charged in his mouth. "Dragonic Flame Magic: Infernal Roar!" He blasted one side of stalagmites with his roar while Magna charged towards the other side
"Explosive Scattershot!" Magna threw several fireballs at each stalagmite resulting in a massive explosion combined with Arran's roar
All of the villagers looked up at their saviors when the stalagmites were all destroyed
"I-its...the magic knights" A little boy tearfully smiled
"I knew they would come and save us..." A little girl added
"Wait a minute is that you Magna?" A middle-aged man spoke up when he noticed Magna walking over to them. However, Magna just ignored him and addressed the kid. "Hey Nick, what the hell is going on here?"
The boy little boy named Nick began to tear up. He couldn't bring himself to voice the reason. When Magna turned to his left he gasped, eyes widening in horror.
Seihi was lying on his back, and he looked horrible. There was a deep wound in the left side of his stomach and small chunks of flesh had been torn out of his neck and face
"Hey stay with me old man!" Magna shook Seihi's shoulders. Desperation laced his voice as he tried to wake the village chief but to no avail. "No please..."
"He can't be gone..."
"He was just trying to protect us..."
"There here like you said, Grandpa...the magic knights showed up...they really came to save us," Nick said calmly despite his tears
Noelle, Asta, and Arran looked on solemnly. 'To kill someone...just like that...' Asta thought in disbelief
'Who the hell could've done this...' Arran thought in slight fury. Then the sound of ticking gained their attention.
"Are you the one who's responsible?" Magna exclaimed towards the source, revealing it to be Heath, sitting down on a bench, and his three hooded subordinates. Heath looked at them with an impassive gaze before turning towards his pocket watch. "You've thrown off my schedule. I don't appreciate that"
"Ten seconds from now, everyone here will die" Heath declared before holding up his light blue Grimoire. He created a huge orb of ice before launching it straight at the magic knights and the civilians. And from how fast it was moving there was no time to dodge it.
'Damn I don't have enough power!' Magna thought in frustration
'Shit that thing's too big. I may catch everyone in the crossfire!' Arran thought in panic as the orb was fast-approaching. But then Asta ran past the two, straight towards the orb
'Asta?' Magna thought in shock as the magicless knight jumped towards the orb, greatsword held above his head before cleaving the orb in half with a mighty swing and yell. The villagers looked on in shock at their new savior as Asta landed back on the ground safely.
Asta then gave Heath and his companions and fury-filled glare. "Think again!"
Heath remained in his sitting position with the same impassive gaze as he was stared down by Asta, Arran, Noelle, and Magna.
"Why would you want to do something so horrible? Who do you think you are?!" Asta demanded.
'They don't look diamond kingdom spies' Magna thought looking at the three hooded figures. 'Or savages coming to shoot down the place. Just who the hell are they?'
"I haven't heard that any of the magic knights were in the area" One of the hooded figures spoke up.
"Perhaps they're here on an unofficial mission?' a second hooded figure spoke up
"Another thing I'm wondering, how did they manage to get through our dome of mist?" The same first hood questioned again
Heath did not acknowledge his subordinates' comments and instead chose to focus on the annoyance at hand. "The Black Bulls. The roughest, most unethical, and most undisciplined of the magic knight squads. Dealing with this riffraff would be a waste of precious time"
"Time that your wasting by sleeping on the job!" Heath continued although he raised the volume. "Tyria!"
Everyone's attention was turned to the sound of hissing and buzzing as the villagers looked up at the building behind them. Then much to their horror, several bees and wasps flew into view, while a giant tarantula crawled out to the front of the building. Soon the Tarantula's abdomen cracked open and out came a purple hooded girl
The girl yawned as she took in her surroundings before she sent a creepy smile towards Heath. "Sorry master Heath" Tyria smiled. "These villagers were beginning to bore me so I ended up falling asleep"
'Bugs...so many...disgusting...bugs...' Noelle thought in slight fear
'Why is that tarantula huge...and did that girl just come out from inside it?!' Asta internally yelled
'Great another crazy person...' Arran thought in slight fear and exasperation
'So it's her...with those bugs surrounding her I'm guessing she's the reason Seihi's missing parts of his face...' Magna thought in anger
"Tyria. In 10 seconds, get rid of these pests" Heath ordered
"Already on it Master Heath!" Tyria smiled as her puke-green-colored Grimoire floated next to her. before she slammed her hand on the ground. "Insect Creation Magic: Spider's Hunting Ground!" Thick webs of silk soon emerged from the ground and quickly wrapped around the bodies of Magna and the rookies
"What the...what is this stuff?" Asta yelled as he and Noelle struggled to get it off
"Now my dear pet," Tyria addressed the giant tarantula before pointing towards the knights. "Go feast!". With that command the giant tarantula started crawling towards the magic knights, acidic saliva dripping from its fangs.
Asta, Noelle, and Magna all looked on in worry as the tarantula approached them. They desperately tried to break through her silk bonds but the silk was tougher than normal. Death was only getting closer and closer until a flame covered fist smashed right into the Tarantula's eyes sending it flying into a building
Arran pulled his arm back in disgust and slight pain as the rest of the burnt silk fell off. "That's actually a pretty good trap spell if the user doesn't have the right magic to get out of it" He noted as Magna did the same thing he did. He charged his magic around his arms to burn up the silk. He then melted Asta's restraints and the magicless knight cut off Noelle's with his anti-magic sword. Although with what Arran said he was trying to sound tough a bit but he put all of his strength into sending that spider flying. And some of its acidic salivae had gotten onto his hand so it was melting a bit
"Oh no Taranza are you ok?!" Tyria ran over to the tarantula to check on it before turning towards Arran with pure anger in her four eyes. "You bastard! How dare you hurt my family!"
Heath narrowed his eyes at Arran's strength. "He and the grey-haired boy have surprising amounts of strength" One of the hoods spoke up
"Then they must be dealt with. In 5 minutes we will eliminate all of the villagers here and collect what we came here for" Heath spoke up
"Like I'll just let you do that!" Asta charged towards them
"Mist Magic: Shroud of Illusory Mist" One of the hoods chanted as mist sprouted from his hand engulfing Asta and making him disappear.
Cali then jumped towards Heath's group, the Tarantula having retreated into her grimoire to heal. "Combine that with Compound Magic: Sweet Illusion Hive!" Cali slammed her hands on the ground causing pieces of the ground to break and release sweet-smelling honey-like fumes into the mist before swarms of Hornets dived into it
"If you think we'll just allow you to approach master Heath so easily then you are a fool," Tyria said with lots of hatred.
"In the mist be lost!" The mist hood yelled
"You're the ones that need to get lost!" Asta yelled suddenly breaking through the mist and magic insects
The mist magic hood and Tyria stepped back in surprise. "N-no way...how'd he break through our spell?" Tyria said in slight fear. "My hornets..."
'So that's how he did it" Heath acknowledged mentally figuring out Asta's trick quicker than everyone else. 'I don't know what kind of magic is imbued in that sword but it allows it to slice through any spell that comes it's way. So we need to keep our distance'
"I asked you why you wanted to kill all these villagers and I want an answer now!" Asta demanded
"B-be quiet you little-"
"Tyria enough" Heath interrupted her as he stood up from his seat on the bench
"M-master Heath..." Tyria mumbled in disbelief as Heath stared down at Asta
"In this kingdom..." Heath began "There are three regions divided by inhabitants. The Noble Realm where the nobles and royalty reside, the common realm where the citizenry live, and the forsaken realm..."
"Yeah...?" Magna said
"Even if that's true what's your point? It doesn't really give us an explanation" Arran narrowed his eyes at Heath
"Saussy Village is in the Forsaken Realm. Most of the people here are of inferior status. They are only capable of performing a few measly spells in their pointless everyday lives" Heath continued coldly. "They're much like beasts that have not been properly tamed. Tools without proper users"
Heath then looked down at his pocket watch as he continued. "You asked why I intend to slaughter all the villagers. I simply mean to exterminate the useless livestock that infests this town and exists to waste my time"
"Useless livestock?" Arran repeated in disbelief. "Are you out of your mind?! This is innocent people we're talking about here and you're killing them because they're wasting your time?!"
Heath decided to ignore Arran's outburst and returned his focus to Asta. "Consider yourself. You have enough magic power to join the Magic Knights, You must attempt to save them because that is your duty. But surely you can see what insignificant creatures they are"
Asta just stayed silent thinking about what he said before his mind went back to his childhood in Hage with Sister Lily, Yuno, and Arran. After remembering what it was like to be part of the Forsaken Realm Heath's words only inspired anger in Asta. "You think they're nothing but useless beasts..." Asta then gripped his sword and pointed it right at Heath. "But I'll do whatever I can to protect them!"
"Interesting...these pathetic little villagers are truly that important to you?" Heath asked with a bit of intrigue. He then held out his hand forming icicles that would float around him.
"I'll send that ice right back at you!"
All of a sudden the three hooded men launched mist magic right at the group surrounding them in a swirl of endless mist. Then countless icicles and hornets formed in the mist surrounding them all
"Compound Magic: Infinite Hunting Cage" Heath announced. "Do you still believe you can protect this herd of worthless beasts?"
Asta, Noelle, and Arran gritted their teeth in frustration as Heath continued. "I'm not very fond of doing this slowly but surely. However, this would seem to be the most effective method" Once he finished the hornets and icicles came raining down on the helpless villagers"
With grunts of exertion, Asta swung his sword at incoming icicles and large hornets, doing his best to make sure that none got past his guard
"Asta!" Noelle cried out in worry
"Lucky little idiot..." Tyria swore in frustration
'So that sword can reflect magic just as it can cancel it...interesting. But your fool if you think that will defeat us" Heath said. "We can make wave after wave of fangs and stingers"
Tyria giggled creepily at Asta's dilemma. "Go ahead Magic Knight...let's see you try to stop them!" The hornets and icicles came down for the second wave. Asta swung and broke apart more icicles. Thankfully this time, he wasn't alone. Magna and Arran stepped in to help with their flame spells, blowing apart any icicles or hornets that came this way
'Shit...they weren't kidding...this is never ending' Arran thought as he swiped away another wave of hornets with his flame claws
"Damn this guy!" Magna yelled in frustration. 'Asta, Arran, and I have got our hands full protecting the villagers...what's more...my magic is starting to run out. We're up against 5 guys powerful enough to be magic knights' He thought before focusing on Heath and Tyria. 'And I have a feeling that those two haven't shown us all they can do' Magna then looked towards the three rookies.
'This is turning out to be a hell of a first mission for those three...things are going south real quick'. "But if that was enough to make me give up, I wouldn't be a man!" Magna exclaimed with newfound vigor and determination as he threw more fireballs at the icicles and hornets. "Your fellow commoner is gonna keep you safe!"
"Magna!" Luke yelled in worry
Heath took a look at his pocket watch. "How long can they hold out?" He said to himself before hearing grumbling and turning towards his right. Tyria was grinding her teeth with visible anger, getting more and more frustrated by the second
"Why...are they not...dead yet?!" She nearly yelled out before Heath placed a hand on her shoulder making her loosen up a bit
"Calm down Tyria, focus that anger and use it for something good" Heath smiled
"Will do Master Heath! Thank you so much for your thoughtful words" Tyria cooed in admiration before her grimoire opened up again. "Insect Magic!" Tyria was interrupted by the sight of a waterball careening towards her but it ended up changing direction and missing its target. "Haha! Nice shot dumbass!" Tyria mockingly laughed
Heath was a bit surprised when he for sure thought Noelle's attack would hit Tyria. He then noticed something else that was very interesting. The flame claws on Arran's arms were somewhat distorted and they were burning him
Heath nearly scoffed in disgust. "Two magic knights who can't even control their own magic? The Black Bulls must have been desperate to accept you two!"
Noelle gritted her teeth in frustration again as Arran grew angry and turned around. "You shut up!" Arran yelled out. "You have no right to judge what we've been through! Your just a heartless monster!"
Tyria went silent at that. "Monster...?" She repeated deathly
Heath noticed her condition and chuckled. "Well now seems you've awoken the beast boy"
All four Magic Knights turned towards Tyria as she shook in place. "Monster...heartless..." She mumbled. She then looked towards them and they all flinched in fear. Gone was Tyria's crazed smile. All that remained was pure hatred, anger, and malice. "HOW DARE YOU!" She yelled as her grimoire floated next to her
"Now arise my beautiful pets! Insect Magic: Parasitic Swarm!" Numerous orbs of light, surrounding Tyria, began to form into sickly green-colored larger than normal Mosquitos
"Are those..." Noelle began
"Mosquitos?!" Asta loudly finished
Tyria pointed towards the four magic knights. "Go my pets. Feast on the magic of these idiots. Make them suffer as punishment for defying Master Heath!"
The large hive of mosquitoes began to fly into the mist towards the nights. Magna and Arran managed to incinerate a few while Asta batted them away...Noelle wasn't so lucky
Noelle cried out in pain as two Mosquitoes bit into her arms and began to drain her magic
"Noelle no!" Arran yelled out in worry as he incinerated another group of Mosquitoes. The situation was getting worse and worse by the minute. Although no hornets managed to make it through the Black Bulls' defenses the same cannot be said for the icicles as some managed to get through and slash a few villagers
Arran quickly moved towards them and burned the icicles before incinerating the mosquitos on Noelle's arms. "You ok?"
"Y-yeah..." Noelle said, albeit a bit woozily
"How unfortunate...helpless beasts being unable to protect themselves," Tyria said with fake pity lacing her voice
Heath nodded in agreement. "It's the cruel reality of this world Tyria" He then turned towards Magna and others. "Black Bulls! This will be the only chance you get for salvation. Forsake these villagers and you will survive"
"And leave them all behind? Not a chance!" Asta yelled in defiance
"We'd never be able to call ourselves magic knights if we did something like that!" Arran yelled
"That's right! Real men don't abandon anyone in trouble!" Magna agreed. "Stay behind us Noelle, we've got this!"
Noelle looked on at the 3 brave magic knights as she began to doubt herself. 'What is wrong with me?' She thought. 'Even though I'm royalty...even though I have more magic power than anyone here...I'm only holding them back' She thought in surrender as she came to the cruel truth of her situation. 'There's no point in me being here'
"Forsake these villagers and you will survive" Heath's words rang in her mind. 'That's right! I'm royalty! I can't afford to die in some downtrodden village!' She took a step back ready to leave while the others were distracted. 'I'll go. I'll just leave and-' Noelle flinched from her thoughts as a young girl holding a torn doll grabbed onto her blazer
"Magic Knight please help us..." The little girl meekly begged tears threatening to spring from her eyes. "We need you!"
Noelle's eyes trembled at the sight of the girl, guilt welling from her decision to try and leave them all behind. "This little girl is looking me in the eye and begging me for help!" She thought in realization. Her grimoire then began to glow with her newfound resolve as she thought 'I have to protect her!'. The Grimoire flipped a few pages before new writing settled on the once blank pages, signifying that Noelle finally unlocked a new spell
'I will not run! Never again!' Noelle mentally shouted before placing her hands on the ground. A veil of water began to rush around the Saussy villagers as they looked on in awe and wonder. Even Heath and Tyria couldn't but let out gasps of shock and surprise
The veil formed into a dome of whirlpools that surrounded Asta, Arran, Magna, and the villagers forming a protective shield that broke the icicles on contact and locked the hornets and mosquitos away
"I will stay and protect the villagers! For I am royalty and a member of the Black Bulls!" Noelle yelled with determination
The little girl from earlier could only look up at Noelle in awe at how she managed to protect everyone. "Your amazing..."
"Don't get so cocky you Royal idiot!" Tyria snapped as she sent more hornets in their direction but their stingers failed to bypass the watery dome. "Your kidding! This is impossible!" She then exclaimed in disbelief at how her attack failed
"Well that wasn't so hard" Noelle smiled
'That is one serious spell!' Magna mentally acknowledged before turning towards Noelle as well. "See, you'll never know what you're capable of unless your willing to give it a try!"
Arran looked at the dome in awe before turning towards Noelle and giving her a proud smile. "Nice work Noelle! You're already getting stronger!" He then looked in Asta's direction as they both shared the same expression. 'Now it's our turn'. Asta and Arran both got in a low stance with determined gazes, before they charged out Noelle's water dome Asta had his greatsword ready to pierce Heath and Arran had his claws ready to slice apart Tyria. Heath's former words about abandoning the villagers still ran deep in their minds and the thought of it angers them. However, that same anger only served to fuel them as they descended on their targets
"I don't have a single ounce of magic power! But that doesn't matter I'll still destroy you!" Asta snapped
"Master Heath!" Unexpectedly Tyria then jumped in front of Heath forming a protective web around them
"Tyria what are you doing?!" Heath snapped, losing his cool at the irrational decision that proved to be lethal and in vain. Asta's anti-magic greatsword pierced straight through the magical web and pierced Tyria's torso
Asta's, Magna's, Arran's and Noelle's eyes widened in a mixture of worry, disbelief, and shock as they witnessed Tyria cough up a lot of blood. While Asta's greatsword proved to be sharp on anything magical it would immediately turn blunt on anything non-magical like the human body. So how did Tyria get so badly injured? Well, Asta's greatsword was blunt. Everything about it was blunt...everything except the tip of the sword and that tip just dived into Tyria's body
"Lady Tyria!" All three hoods shouted in concern as Tyria laid on Heath's body, blood pouring out of her stomach from where Asta stabbed her
"Tyria you utter fool! Why would you do something so foolish and irrational!" Heath yelled as he cradled her head. Despite the harsh words, Heath actually showed slight care for Tyria's well-being...
Asta looked on in silence as a slight amount of guilt welled up inside of him. He intended to bring these heartless bastards down for what they tried to do to the villagers...but...he didn't want to kill them. He doesn't do killing. Then both Asta and Heath looked Tyria's way as she began to speak
"M-Master Heath...I'm sorry...was I...useful?" Tyria weakly lifted her arm and pointed to the right
"Arran!" Magna and Noelle cried out in horror and fear, causing dread to mix with the guilt welling inside of Asta. Steeling himself, he slowly turned his head, alongside Heath, to see why Magna and Noelle yelled and what Tyria was pointing at. Though when he saw the source of it all, he immediately wish that it was all just a hallucination
Two larger than normal hornets have managed to successfully lodge their stingers into Arran's back, blood leaked from the poor boy's mouth as his eyes were slowly turning bloodshot. Back before Tyria was stabbed, when she went to take the hit for Heath Arran was distracted by her sudden change in tactics and she use that to her advantage. She had called two remaining hornets back from the water dome and ordered them to stab Arran while his back was turned
"ARRAN NOOOO!" Asta yelled out in grief and horror as Arran's body slowly tumbled forward and he ended up being face-first in the dirt
Heath let out a slight gasp in surprise as he looked back at Tyria who only sent him a creepy grin. Heath chuckled lightly before speaking again "You were most useful Tyria. Thank you. Rest easy now"
Tyria then sent Heath a genuine smile before her arm dropped and her eyes closed forever...Tyria was dead. Heath's gaze turned impassive when he realized that Tyria just perished. He rested Tyria's body off of his and laid her on the ground before standing up. "You were too frail but you were useful at least. Now then" Heath's grimoire flipped a few pages "I believe it's my turn to take a stab at you" With an upward motion of his arm Heath created a large sharp spiral of ice that stabbed right into Asta's stomach, probably as revenge for what he did Tyria unintentional or not.
Asta coughed up blood as he roughly landed on the ground. Heath walked past him as the ice summon broke apart spitting spitefully "Sleep little fool, for all eternity"
Magna took a step back as Heath rapidly approached the water dome, both him and Noelle looking on nervously. "Asta...Arran..."
"There is tremendous magic power behind this spell," Heath said once he was face to face with the water dome. "Still, it's only a matter of time. I ought to be able to create an entrance wide enough for at least one man to enter" He raised a hand to the part of the dome he was facing before it began to freeze. "This should take approximately 25 seconds," He said albeit with a hint of irritation as the dome continued to freeze. That same irritation made itself more clear when Heath spoke up again "You pesky beasts certainly do enjoy wasting time, don't you? And you killed one of my precious subordinates. Oh, the price you will pay..."
Magna panted heavily as he weighed his options. 'I don't have much magic power left...but I can't give up! Flame and Ice! Compare our elements and I have the upper hand! Still...the difference in our power is enough to flip that on its head...We picked the wrong guy to fight...' Magna thought before looking down in defeat. 'Sorry, Yami sir...this is one fight...We can't win' However when Magna looked up his eyes widened in surprise. Asta was reflected in his shades as the magicless boy had his sword ready to cleave Heath
"I'm not done yet!" Asta yelled
"Too late..." Heath interrupted as another pillar of ice emerged nailing Asta in the stomach once again
"Asta!" Magna yelled in worry
"So you survived. Your a tough little idiot!" Heath said but then noticed something interesting out of the corner of his eye
"Wait, Magna! It's not just Asta!" Noelle pointed to her right as Magna and Asta followed her direction and immediately gasped. Though blood was pouring out of his back and mouth, He was alive. Arran was struggling to force himself to stand up from his place on the ground despite the horrible condition his body was in now.
"Arran you're ok!" Asta yelled, small tears forming in his eyes knowing that his second brother in all but blood was still alive.
"Ok? What a fool. I admit I'm impressed that the boy managed to move at all with the hornet poison in effect but that same poison will drain his magic and kill him before long" Heath explained. "As for you, with those injuries, you won't be able to swing that sword of yours all that well"
Asta wasn't listening to anything Heath had to say. He merely picked up his greatsword with a determined stare. "Arran isn't giving up..." He then charged at Heath again. "And neither am I!"
"Well, I don't appreciate you wasting my even time any more than you have to!" Heath snapped back as another pillar of ice sliced Asta's side sending him unceremoniously crashing to the ground for the third time
Noelle looked on in horror at the horrible condition her two fellow rookies were in. Despite the immense pain, Asta was feeling he still managed to stand up. "I'm still not done...got that?"
Heath let out a "hmph" in acknowledgment. "How persistent. But your gonna regret wasting my time!"
Arran could only growl in increasing anger from his place on the ground as he desperately struggled to stand and fight. 'Damn it! Come on body move! Something, anything!' He mentally pleaded as he let out a bloody cough. 'Damn it...it's no use...I feel like shit...It's taking everything I have to avoid passing out...and the poison's preventing me from accessing my magic...come on...get up! I refuse to give up!' Arran gritted his teeth as he desperately tried to stand up, his eyes threatening to spill tears due to the immense pain he was feeling externally and internally. But when he opened his eyes again he began to see floating orange particles. Although Arran doesn't know this yet, these particles were actually the leftovers of Magna's flame spells. They were Flame Magic particles. Arran curiously reached a finger up to touch one as he thought 'What are these things?'. However when he touched a particle near his face and it traveled inside his body, much to his shock, as he felt his body heat up and he felt the natural heat of his own magic as well. "What the..." He muttered
Magna looked on in increasing frustration as memories began to swirl in his mind again. Memories of his village and Seihi praising him for passing the Magic Knights Entrance Exam. He then remembered Seihi's encouraging words towards him before he left
"Now go be the man I know you can be"
Looking down at Seihi's downed body and remembering those words, Magna suddenly spoke "I've got this. I'll do it Seihi. I'm not going to give up yet. A real man hangs on till the bitter end!" Magna smirked with newfound confidence and determination. "Noelle, this spell of yours. We can get outside of it easily right?"
"Well, yes I would imagine so..." Noelle answered unsurely
"You stay here and guard the villagers got it?" Magna ordered
"Hey wait! What are you-" Noelle began but Magna moved out of the dome regardless
"You stand no chance of defeating me," Heath said unaware of Magna's exit. "Why not just accept that and give up?"
"If I gave up now...then who would protect them?" Asta exclaimed. "I realized something..."
"Hmm?" Heath looked a bit interested in what Asta was about to say
"Someday I'm going to become the Wizard King. But it's not just about keeping a promise. It's about keeping people safe!" Asta declared
"You think you'll be the Wizard King? What an utterly ridiculous dream" Heath ridiculed as he looked back at his stopwatch. "Especially considering that you and your pathetic friend be dead in 1 minute"
"That's not gonna happen frosty!" Magna yelled as he emerged from the water dome, flames surrounding his body as he stalked towards Heath. "If you want to go after them just try it! I'll give ya a fair warning though, to get to them you gotta go through me!"
"Magna..."Arran rasped trembling as he looked back at Magna in worry
"Magna what are you doing?" Asta questioned
A cheeky chuckle escaped Magna as he smirked at the two. "Arran. Asta. We're the real men here!"
Heath looked back at Magna with an impassive gaze but his voice was laced with disappointment and annoyance. "Reckless fool. Going out of your way to die an early death. You have 30 seconds"
"Bring it on! Asta, you ready?!" Magna yelled as Asta looked at him in slight confusion. "It's time for a baptism" His Grimoire opened and his eyes shine bright with determination. "Here we go!" Magna's body was then surrounded by a bright inferno of magic. "All of the magic power I've got left! Now Flame Magic: Prison Death Scattershot!" Magna then threw a huge volley of fireballs towards Heath and the four remaining hoods
"This is the last attack of your pitiful life? How worthless" Heath said as he formed a snowflake-shaped shield effortlessly blocking the fireballs coming his way. As a result of the failure of his attack, Magna finally collapsed from exhaustion
"Enough is enough, your time is up" Heath as a massive array of icicles descended on Magna ready to skewer him
However Asta then appeared behind him, greatsword held like a bat as he aimed towards the fireballs that completely missed their targets. "You wish!" With a mighty swing, Asta hit the fireballs and repelled them back towards Heath and his group
'That wasn't the real attack! He's reflecting the spell!' Heath realized but was too late as the fireballs hit their mark with big explosions
"I'm alive?" Magna said when he opened his eyes again only to be met by the sight of a small water dome that had formed around him, protecting him from the icicles that would have killed him
His savior, Noelle, merely flipped her pigtail back with a haughty expression. "You can thank me later, you lowly street punk" She arrogantly remarked but in her mind, she was cheering happily saying 'Oh my gosh I actually did it! I controlled my magic power!'
Magna just stared at her before smirking. "Man, you just don't shut up huh?"
Back in the remnants of the explosion, Heath had been reduced to all fours as he slowly stood up flames fluttering on his chest. 'These flames...they aren't going out' He thought in slight worry before recomposing himself. "No matter I'll just freeze them!" Heath said with a yell as ice began to form on his chest, covering up the flames
Then Asta jumped right into Heath's line of vision greatsword raised over his shoulder for a heavy swing. "Not done yet! As long as I can still move I won't give up!"
"No...you can't!" Heath said, eyes widening in fear
"Like hell!" With an enraged yell, Asta smashed his greatsword down on Heath's shoulder, the latter coughing out blood as he began to fall back
However, much to everyone's dismay, it still wasn't over as another ice pillar threatened to skewer Asta's stomach. Luckily he managed to block it this time with his sword but the fact of the matter was Heath still wasn't finished
"Your last attacks were in vain! As expected, you could not finish me off. You were doomed to fail from the beginning!" Heath exclaimed arrogantly as ice formed around him. Everyone's eyes were widened in fear as their deaths seemed inevitable now
"I win!" Heath declared as he prepared to attack. But then a sudden wave of heat overcame everyone as Heath's ice began to melt and Noelle's water dome was turning into vapor
"What the hell?! What's going on?" Heath slightly panicked
"Don't be so quick to declare victory. Asta and Magna did their best, hell if it weren't for what they did I'd probably be dead right now"
Heath's eyes slightly widened in horror as he recognized that voice. He slowly turned his head and his eyes widened even further when he saw the main source of heat. "But...that's impossible...!"
It was Arran with blood red flames surrounding his body and with that blood expelled from his mouth, he looked downright demonic. In truth, Heath was right. He shouldn't be alive. What saved him were those particles that went inside his body when he touched them. They converted into dragonic flame magic and were so hot, that they fought back the poison. Turns out Arran's flame magic was so hot that it could burn away the poison and hold it back if it got the chance, but when the poison first entered his body it locked away his magic so that he could not fight back. And Arran did not have enough particles left to save himself. Thankfully, Magna's fireball volley and Asta's rebound gave him all the particles he needed to free his magic and lock away the poison for a short amount of time.
"Listen well you cold-hearted bastard, until I become the Wizard King, I refuse to die!" Arran snapped before he held out his hand as blood-red flames began to surround it and form an orb. "Besides we're aren't finished with your baptism! That was just the opening act!"
Magna's eyes widened in realization both at the similarity of Arran's move and just what he was implying. His smirk grew even wider at the realization as he thought 'Captain Yami. He and Asta. These two are something special' He acknowledged. He then yelled "Do it Arran! Hit him with everything you've got!"
"Right! This is for trying to hurt the innocent villagers AND MY FRIENDS!" Arran declared as the orb finished forming. "Dragonic Flame Magic: Exploding Blazeball!"
Following Magna's example, Arran launched a huge destructive orb of flames straight towards Heath. Heath, in his latent fear, desperately formed a shield but upon contact, the shield immediately melted. "No...this can't be happening!" The fireball then crashed right to Heath not even stopping, as it carried him up into the air. "How could I lose...how could I lose to these kids?!" Heath yelled as all of his suppressed frustrations finally emerged in that yell before the fireball exploded, cinders spreading everywhere as everyone looked in awe
'I can't believe it...I actually lost...to those kids' Heath thought as he finally emerged from the flame cloud. 'Tyria...Your help amounted to nothing in the end...I only wish...we could've done more...to help the...master' he thought in defeat before he finally landed back on the ground. His face to his torso was badly scorched. It was a miracle that he was still alive though he was not getting up for a while
Once the fireball exploded, Arran nearly collapsed as the poison seeped past his magic. Though Asta quickly caught him and gave him a proud smile. "You did amazing Arran"
"Hey...I couldn't have done it without you man..." Arran gave Asta a weak smile
"They did it..." Nick said in shock
That sentence caused the little girl to smile and turn towards Noelle. "Did they really do it?"
Noelle nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, it's over..."
The flames from Magna's scattershot then began to form around the unconscious Heath and Hoods turning into bindings for them. "What was once Flame Magic: Prison Death Scattershot will now become Flame Binding Magic: Flame Bondage Formation!" Magna exclaimed
"You're better at this than I thought you'd be. Though my expectations weren't that high" Noelle remarked
"How 'bout you shut that royal mouth of yours and stop looking down on your superior!" Magna yelled in irritation
"Once again you just proved why you are below me-"
"Hey, guys you should see this!" Arran's voice broke Magna and Noelle away from their argument as one of the hoods had slowly melted into a puddle before disappearing
"Seems like your follow-through leaves much to be desired," Noelle said toward a speechless Magna. Though she would quickly regret those words since not soon after her water dome would slowly dissipate before breaking completely causing rain to splash on her and the villagers
"Oh ho ho ho! What was that about follow-through? Can't believe one of them got away! How'd that happen?! Damn it!" Magna yelled in frustration as the clouds began to clear up and the sun shined down on them all
"How'd you like that? We may be commoners...but we still managed to kick your ass" Asta panted heavily as he looked down at the defeated Heath. He and Arran looked towards each other before yelling in victory "YEAH HOW'D YA LIKE THAT HUH?!"
Though not long after they yelled Asta took Arran with him as they both collapsed in exhaustion, Arran fell unconscious
"Hey...guys are you alright?!" Magna asked as he ran, well speed-walked, towards them checking on Arran first. "Damn the poison's taking an effect again" Magna gritted his teeth before looking towards the villagers. "If anyone of you has healing magic please heal Arran! He needs it to get rid of the poison!"
When all he was met with was silence he and Noelle began to fear that Arran may not make it out of this alive after all. Thankfully one lone woman stepped out of the crowd with her Grimoire in hand. "I can use my Honey Healing Magic to counteract the poison inside his body" She spoke
Magna and Noelle breathed a sigh of relief as Magna said "Thanks"
"You protected us all Magna. It's the least we can do to repay you" The woman smiled as she prepared 3 healing droplets of honey for Arran to consume. Meanwhile, Magna went to check on Magna, only to face fault when he realized that Asta was just sleeping.
"They are such reckless fools" Noelle belittled Asta and Arran, unaware of the slight blush forming on her face at the thought of Asta. "But...they're also kind of...amazing" she admitted with a slight smile
"They actually saved us...I thought we were done for"
"And to think they're just kids..."
"Can't believe that they're just commoners like us"
"Thank you Magna, miss. We'll never forget what've you done for our village"
"Sure that's why we're here" Magna smiled
Noelle just flipped her pigtails back in arrogance. "We were simply doing our duty"
All of a sudden a familiar Anti-Bird popped out of Asta's hood and flew up into the sky. Looking down on the village from up above she noticed something purple shining in the central church of Saussy Village. It flew down to investigate and came across a shiny purple-colored gem
An hour passed since Heath and his goons were defeated, as the woman from earlier came back to talk Asta, Magna, and Noelle
"So Belle? How is he?" Asta asked worriedly
"Don't worry. Arran is going to live. My Honey recovery magic managed to neutralize and destroy all of the poison inside him. It also healed any internal organs the poison destroyed. Now he just needs to rest" Belle smiled reassuringly
All 3 magic knights breathed a sigh of relief knowing that their friend was going to be ok
"Thanks, Belle" Magna smiled
Belle merely shook her head. "Again, it's the least I can do after you all saved our village"
Magna nodded in understanding. "Now to take care of business," He said as all 4 of them turned towards the people in front of them
Heath slowly came to, greeted by the sight of Magna, Noelle, and Asta staring down at him and Tyria's dead body lying next to him while the hoods were sitting on either side of him
"Hey, about time you came to ya fricking jerk" Magna growled. "Now then you all are gonna wait right there until my power comes back, Crazy Cyclone will be taking you all to the capital"
Heath made no response as he simply looked down at Tyria with a slight somber gaze
"You're gonna pay, I promise you" Magna continued. "You're gonna spend the rest of your life making up for what you did today"
Heath took his gaze away from Tyria and looked at his flaming binds. "This spell of his appears to be blocking my magic"
"Just you wait your gonna tell us everything. Who you are, who your working for, everything! The magic knights will get every last scrap of information out of you!" Magna snapped
"They will not" Heath suddenly replied making Magna double back. "The end times are upon us" He then gave another gaze towards Tyria. 'I sincerely apologize for what has happened here and for what I'm about to do next...Tyria. Know we both share the same interest of protecting our master from these fools. Even if your body will never have a proper burial now...I believe that we can rest in peace knowing we kept master safe"
When Heath finished mentally apologizing to Tyria his body suddenly began to glow with magic power
Magna stepped back eyes widened when he realized what was happening to Heath. 'He's got a magic item inside of him!'
"Engage Ice Magic: Ice Funeral" With that command, Heath, Tyria, and the two hoods were encased in ice. Heath and the two hoods died almost immediately. That same ice then shattered into pieces leaving their bodies lost forever. Heath's and Tyria's grimoires then faded into dust in Magna's hand truly signifying the fact that they are gone from this world
As their bodies disappeared, the soul of Tyria just inches from descending into hell looked up at the incoming soul of Heath and smiled. 'Master Heath. I never doubted you or master for a second. Ever since you saved me when everyone else just abandoned me because of my magic...you were my hero...Master Heath...Father...Thank you' She smiled as the two held hands when their souls finally met...and they descended into hell together
However for the Magic Knights up on the surface, what just transpired definitely does not seem happy at all
"They were really willing to go that far..." Magna muttered in shock. "They must've sworn some serious loyalty to someone..."
Noelle was completely speechless trembling a bit in disgust. Asta on the other hand was livid. "What was he thinking?" He exclaimed close to straight-up yelling out in anger
'To sacrifice them all like that...what was his game anyway?' Magna thought
"How could they...treating life like it's something to throw away...Like death is nothing! I'll never understand these people!" Asta snapped with a scowl. "Not in a million years!'
Now all that was left of Heath and his followers...was Heath's pocket watch
As the sun was setting, Magna was finally flying the three rookies home after saying goodbye to Seihi, who sadly perished even after they defeated Heath and Tyria. Asta was constantly trying to get the Anti-Bird to stop pecking his head. Noelle was complaining about Asta moving around too much, and Arran was shockingly through all of the nonsense. Though he just allowed it to happen as long as it didn't get too crazy. Today had been a long day after all. 'These rookies have some real potential...' Magna thought proudly as they flew back to the capital
Meanwhile, in an undisclosed location, the one hood that managed to escape was currently talking to a light-colored cloaked figure. "I see...so that's what happened. And the magic stone now belongs to the Black Bulls?"
"Yes sir..." The hood replied
The light cloaked figure hummed in response and turned around, facing the mysterious tablet behind him. "No matter. The Black Bulls are of no issue. We can easily deal with them at any time. They can keep the magic stone until we are ready to retrieve it" He lifted a hand towards the tablet nearly touching two magic stones embedded into it. "Not long now...the resurrection is almost at hand" He smiled.
"Your way too kind on your subordinates" A small but arrogant voice spoke up next to him was a tall teenager, almost the same height as the cloaked figure just being short of the cloaked figure's head
"Now now. Nothing wrong with a little compassion. Heath and his followers did their best" The cloaked figure said in an unsettlingly kind tone
"Whatever. Just as long as the resurrection is completed I don't care what it takes to accomplish our goal" The boy said in an irritated tone of voice
The cloaked figure picked up on this and tilted his head. "Same dreams again?"
"Yeah...the memories of that and what happened and...it's fucking infuriating" He cursed. "Anyway Ima make sure that Rades is ready for his mission" He abruptly stormed off probably using what he just said as an excuse to blow off some steam
The cloaked figure merely shrugged. With those same dreams appearing over and over in that man's mind it was messing deeply with his psyche. Still...
'A wedding...sudden death...and even more confusingly...a horde of Dragons? I wonder why he keeps having dreams of THAT part of our life...and what this will mean for our future?'
HOLY SHIT. AFTER TWO WHOLE MONTHS, at least I think it was 2 idk at this point, I FINALLY FINISHED THIS DANG CHAPTER! THE LONGEST CHAPTER I HAVE EVER WRITTEN TO DATE...yeah my fingers hurt
Hopefully, after the long af wait I unintentionally put you guys through, I didn't disappoint with this chapter. I tried my best to write out the fight scenes as best as I could as well as work Tyria well enough into the story. I still consider myself a bit of a beginner writer so again I tried my best.
Anyway be sure to leave a follow, favorite, and review because when we come back Asta, Arran, and Noelle reap the rewards of their mission and take a trip to the castle town Kikka with Vanessa. Hopefully, they don't get into too much trouble. And just who is the cloaked figure?
Until then, Blueheartz out.