A/N: Hi guys! Here's chapter 15 I hope you all enjoy I'm sorry its taken so long to post, but hopefully chapter 16 will arrive much sooner! Also a long awaited character shows up along with a surprise one hehe!

—

Asta and Noelle followed behind Brielle as she led them through the Northern Woods. Noelle glanced over at Asta, he seemed to be taking the news they had children together in the future pretty well. She had figured he would have screamed and freaked out like normal, but instead he was confused for a moment and then accepted it. She accidentally let out a soft laugh which caused Asta to turn and look at her.

" What's so funny?" He asked with a frown, Noelle's face turned a slight shade of pink before she made a 'hmph' noise and turned away.

" N-Nothing, don't worry about it!" She told him, she may've finally admitted her feelings for him to herself but that didn't mean she was about to admit them to him. She had been trying to get better about telling him things and being nicer to him, but some habits were hard to break.

" Ok…" Asta replied in slight confusion, Noelle could be so weird sometimes. Asta turned his attention back to Brielle who stopped and began to look around.

" What's wrong Brielle?" He asked as he and Noelle came to stand next to her, the young girl looked around the area with a frown.

" Ah man I can't remember where I woke up!" Brielle suddenly shouted loudly, causing a few birds to fly out of their nests at the noise. Noelle groaned a bit, 'Great. She's just as loud as Asta.' Asta walked up to Brielle and patted her on the head.

" It's ok! I'm sure it'll come back to you, I'm not very good with directions either!" He told her with a sheepish laugh, the young girl looked up at him and smiled cheerfully.

" That actually makes me feel a lot better," she laughed. " thanks for cheering me up da-, I mean Asta." The girl mumbled sadly, she had to get used to calling him by his name.

Asta and Noelle shared a look for a moment, it had to be hard on her, she was only 12 at the oldest and was already going through so much. She had been sent back to the past, she had lost her sisters, and now she was with the people who would be her parents someday. It was quite amazing that the girl hadn't been overwhelmed by it all yet.

" Oh! I think it was this way!" Brielle suddenly shouted before running in the direction she pointed to. Noelle and Asta quickly followed behind her.

—

" Y'know, this would have been a lot easier if Captain Yami had come with us." Noelle grumbled as they continued following Brielle.

Captain Yami had decided that he was going home after he took them to get Brielle, he told them that he trusted them to get her sisters and come back in one piece. He gave them a communication device just in case they needed him, but he doubted they would.

" Yeah, but I think the Captain's tired because of all the kids showing up and he kind of deserves a bit of a break from it all don't you think?" Asta asked with a nervous laugh, Noelle made another 'hmph' noise before tossing one of her pigtails over shoulder.

" I suppose he does deserve some kind of break." Noelle agreed when suddenly, Brielle let out an excited shout and took off running, Noelle and Asta quickly followed behind her.

" This is it! This is where I woke up!" Brielle said excitedly as she turned to face her 'parents'. Asta and Noelle looked around the area with wide eyes and their mouths slightly in surprise.

It was an empty space with small tree's standing in a circle, just like what Gauche and the Captain had described. Were these portals of some kind? Asta and Noelle looked at each other. This was very odd, especially considering Aloys, Gauche and Grey's 'son', had woken up in the Eastern Woods while Brielle had woken up in the Northern Woods. Did that mean there was a circle of tree's like this in the Southern and Western woods as well?

" I'm going to call the Captain and tell him about this." Noelle said as she pulled out the communication device to call their Captain when suddenly, two loud high pitched screams could be heard from deeper in the woods.

" What was that?" Asta asked with a frown before Brielle gasped.

" Mizuki! Kaiyo!" She then took off running in the direction of the shouts, Asta quickly following behind her as did Noelle. She would have to call the Captain later.

—

Noelle, Brielle, and Asta stood in shock at what was before them.

There in the center of a clearing, stood a sphere being held up by 6 legs, 2 of those said legs were swinging wildly about, trying to defend what was inside the sphere. Noelle frowned, not only did the 'monster' look familiar, the magic it was made of felt familiar.

She watched as tree's were being knocked down left and right, the ground was being ripped up as the 'monster' walked around. Asta looked and saw a young girl trying to get the 'monster's' attention and he quickly ran towards her. He pulled out one of his Anti-Magic swords and quickly blocked the attacks the 'monster' had aimed at the girl.

Asta grabbed the girl around the waist and carried her behind a tree as Noelle used her water magic to try and distract it. As Noelle's spells hit their target she noticed they seemed to bounce straight off and a 'tinging' sound was made, she frowned a bit, but the more she actually looked at the magic, the more she began to recognize it.

This was Mercury Magic, just like her mother and eldest brother's magic.

" Hey, are you alright?" Asta asked and he looked at the girl in front of him; she had short silver hair, green eyes, and was wearing a calf length light purple/pink dress and gold sandals. The girl looked around the tree and watched as the 'monster' continued to throw spells at Noelle and Brielle.

" I'm fine, I didn't need you to rescue me, I could have saved myself!" The girl snapped before turning to face him, when she did her eyes widened in recognition and she tilted her head.

" Dad?" She asked tentatively, Asta smiled brightly but it was a bit sheepish as he couldn't really get used to them calling him 'dad'.

" Not quite, I'm Asta. Your dad's past self." He told her with a sheepish laugh, suddenly the girl's eyes narrowed at him.

" That explains why you look so young." She muttered as she looked Asta up and down, he looked at her in surprise.

" Hey what's that supposed to mean?" He shouted indignantly, his voice laced with irritation and slight disbelief.

" That you're old." The girl stated matter of factly, there was no denying she was Noelle's daughter, she acted a lot like her.

" Hey that's just mean-!" Asta started shouting before he was suddenly cut off as the young girl wrapped her arms around him in a hug, he sat there in surprise for a bit before his arms instinctively wrapped around her.

" Please," the girl begged softly. " Please help Kaiyo, she isn't doing this on purpose, she just can't control her magic. Please da-I mean Asta, please help my sister!" The girl cried as she gripped Asta's Black Bulls robes tightly in her fists, she looked up at him with pleading eyes. Asta nodded and he smiled softly at her before patting her gently on the head, as he opened his mouth to respond he noticed something move out of the corner of his eye.

" Kaiyo stop!" Brielle shouted as she came to stand in front of her what they now realized was her sister's out of control magic.

It seemed like everything, including time itself, froze in place. Noelle and Asta stood there watching as Brielle stood her ground, her arms stretched out as though she were trying to block her sister's path. The two Magic Knights looked at each other, neither one really wanted to attack the spell, especially since they couldn't see where Kaiyo was inside the sphere.

Suddenly, one of the spell's 'legs' reached out and grabbed Brielle around the waist, lifted her off the ground, and threw her into a nearby tree. All within five seconds. Asta, Noelle, and Mizuki all stared in shock at what just happened. Brielle sat against the tree, her head laying on her chest. Whether she was conscious or not they didn't know. Asta gripped the handle of his sword tightly in his hand before running towards the spell.

" Why did you attack her?! She's your sister!" Asta shouted in anger as he slashed and cut off one of the legs.

" she isn't doing this on purpose, she just can't control her magic." The young girl, who Asta assumed to be Mizuki, words suddenly popped into his head and it made him hesitate. So Kaiyo, the girl trapped inside the sphere, was like Noelle and couldn't control her magic? If so, then why didn't she have a magic item that helped her like Noelle did?

As Asta got lost in thought the spell decided to take full advantage and attempted to swing at him before it stopped just short, Asta quickly moved out of the way and frowned. Why did it stop? Was Kaiyo taking control back?

That's when he felt it.

He turned to look where Brielle had been sitting and his eyes widened. This presence felt dark and ominous but also familiar in a way. He watched as a faint red and black glow began to ooze off the young ash-blonde girl. He looked over at Noelle and he could see the fear and confusion on her face, she began to back away from Brielle. The young girl suddenly lifted her head, her eyes looked cold and distant.

" Herz." As soon as the words left her mouth a figure began to appear at her side. It started out as almost a smokey figure before it began to take shape.

" About damn time kid, I've been waiting." The figure spoke before it finally came into full view.

It was a young woman. Her skin was pale grey, her hair dark black and pulled into a loose ponytail, her eyes were a bright red as the pupils were cut into slits making them appear catlike. She had small horns on either side of her head and had a long thin tail. The smile on her face appeared cold and very menacing. Asta and Noelle stared at her.

It was a Devil.

The spell suddenly launched numerous attacks towards the Devil, who only stood there and watched as they approached her. She suddenly held out her hand and all the spells collided against it, but she didn't look hurt or phased at all.

" Counter Magic: 15%." The woman said and instantly the spells she had 'absorbed' were sent back towards Kaiyo's spell and instead of hitting the sphere, it took out all 6 legs in an instant. Asta and Noelle just stared in shock, what the hell was going on? The sphere Kaiyo was in suddenly landed on the ground with a loud thud.

" You might want to hurry and slice it open before it grows new legs." The devil told Asta as she looked over at him, Asta nodded and quickly rushed towards the sphere. He had no idea where she was, but he figured cutting the top off would be the safest bet.

As Asta sliced the top part of the sphere, the rest of it seemed to melt. Noelle walked towards Asta and in the center of what used to be a sphere made of Mercury, sat an ashen-blonde haired girl who had her hair tied up in a small ponytail and was wearing a pair of dark blue pants and a white shirt. The girl opened her eyes and looked at both Asta and Noelle.

" Mom? Dad?" She asked softly, the two Magic Knights looked at each other for a moment. They would have to explain for the third time that they weren't exactly their parents.

" Kaiyo! Are you ok?" Mizuki shouted as she ran towards the young girl, Kaiyo turned towards the sound as tears welled up in her eyes.

" I'm fine Mizuki. How's Brielle? Is she ok? Did I hurt her?" Kaiyo asked quickly as she looked around for her sister. Asta and Noelle turned to look as well, and saw the Devil holding Brielle by her shirt collar a few inches off the ground.

" Brielle!" They all shouted in unison before the Devil dropped her onto the ground next to her sisters.

" Can't you be just a little more careful?" Brielle whined as she sat up on her knees and began to rub the back of her head, a small bump had begun to form from where she hit it against the tree. The Devil rolled her eyes.

" Nope. Now, tell me, what the hell happened here?" The devil glared down at the young girls, who quickly moved to sit on their knees just like the Black Bulls did when Captain Yami was scolding them.

" W-Well," Kaiyo started sheepishly, the tears that had formed in her eyes earlier now beginning to fall. " I was going to try and make a bird or some other type of creature to fly us to the Capitol so we could find Brielle, but I lost control of it. I'm so sorry!" The young girl cried as she buried her face in her hands. The devil sighed before turning her attention to Brielle and Mizuki.

" And you two, what were you two idiots thinking?! You both could have gotten seriously injured or worse killed!" The devil scolded them, Brielle suddenly raised her hand.

" Um I was injured?" She pointed out.

" Exactly, and you should be thankful I was able to slow down your speed otherwise you would have been knocked into quite a few trees and you would have injuries far worse than just a bump on the head!" She shouted at the girl, Brielle and Mizuki looked down at the ground in shame.

" We're sorry."

" Yeah you should be, not only because you three idiots woke me up from my nap, but now I get to explain to your parents and Uncle just what happened here today and I can assure you, they won't be very happy!"

" Um, actually our parents are over there." Brielle said, suddenly pointing towards Noelle and Asta, the Devil turned to look at them and frowned. She leaned in a bit closer as though she were wanting a better look.

" No way. There's no way you're-." The devil suddenly looked down at the sword in Asta's hand and began to study it. For some reason she was acting as though she didn't believe that it was the girls 'parents'.

" You're both way too young to be Asta and Noelle Silva, they're both super old!" The devil exclaimed in shock. Asta began to shout about how this was the second time today he had been called 'old' today and he didn't like it one bit! Noelle sighed before hitting Asta on the head.

" Well that's who we are, except I'm the only Silva. Asta's just…Asta. Anyway, who are you supposed to be? The girl's nanny or something?" Noelle asked as she crossed her arms, the Devil glared slightly before that cold smirk appeared on her face again.

" Hmph, I'm not the girls 'nanny' or whatever. You can call me Herz, and I'm Brielle's devil, which you would both know if you were her parents." Herz said as she crossed her arms as well, Brielle suddenly made another 'umming' noise. " What is it now Brielle?"

" Um, well, it's a lot to explain." The girl said sheepishly before she began to explain to Herz the entire situation.

" While she's doing that, I'm going to inform the Captain that we found the girls along with a guest and that we're headed back to explain more." Noelle whispered, Asta nodded and kept his eyes on the girls as Noelle walked away.

He wasn't sure if he trusted Herz or not, sure she might be Brielle's devil, but that didn't mean she had good intentions. For all he knew she could be like the Devil's that had possessed the Dark Triad, but for now he would wait and see what kind of Devil she turned out to be.

—

Julius stared intently at the wall across from him. He was doing his reports like Marx had asked him too when his mind began to wander, there was this weird feeling he had been getting right before a child would show up and he was beginning to feel it again. He sighed softly, he thought Brielle Silva was going to be the last one. But it appeared he was wrong.

" Lord Julius, you've spaced out again." Marx said as he came back into the room with more papers. Julius blinked and turned his attention towards the blue haired man and he softly smiled.

" Ah sorry about that, I was just thinking about the children." Julius admitted with a nervous laugh, Marx frowned a bit.

" Oh? What about them?"

" I'm just, hm, I'm just trying to figure out why these kids are appearing. There have been one or two a day for the past week, and they all seem to be coming from the same time period. So, what on earth could be so terrifying in the future that it's driving their parents to send them back to the past?" He muttered the last part more to himself. Marx put a thoughtful hand under his chin.

" Maybe war? Or famine? Or the kids could have been playing with some magic item and got transported here by mistake?" Marx asked thoughtfully. When Julius went to open his mouth Marx cut him off. " Maybe they decided to blame it on their parents because they were scared of getting into trouble?"

Julius frowned thoughtfully for a moment, Marx made some compelling points. War made the most sense though out of all the options, but even if it was war, who would they be fighting that was so terrible that they had to send their children back to the past in order to protect them?

" Sir," a magic knight shouted as he ran into Julius's office. Julius stood abruptly and looked at the man.

" What is it?"

" We have an intruder inside the castle! Apparently they're a spatial mage which explains how he got in, luckily we were able to apprehend him without difficulty. He…He's a bit of a coward." The magic knight muttered as suddenly shouting could be heard behind him.

" Please let me go! It was an accident I hadn't meant to just pop in here! I can assure you this will never happen again! Please please let me go! I'm too pretty to be tortured and I'm too young to die!" The young man shouted as he was dragged into Julius's office. Julius and Marx blinked.

The young man had shoulder length pink hair that was partially tied into a ponytail. His suit was a mixture of burgundy and black, his eyes were a light purple color as well, but what really stood out was the robe he was wearing. A Black Bulls robe to be exact.

" Oh great, another child. I'll go call Captain Yami again." Marx said with a defeated sigh, he could already hear the Black Bulls Captain yelling at him already. But Julius held up a hand.

" Actually, why don't you just call his parents directly? Yami deserves a break don't you think?" Julius suggested kindly, Marx frowned but nodded with slight relief washing over his face. He walked away to go call the Black Bulls hideout and Julius turned back to look at the pink haired man.

There was something different about this child, the weird feeling Julius had a moment ago had disappeared the minute he saw him. What was so different about this child?