How we ended up in a magical new world!

by Milqy

After fighting a warp villain, Midoriya and Bakugo end up in a magical new world. how will they fare in this new world? and will they ever make it back home? read to find out! Bad summary and picture is not mine. rated M for language. *on hiatus until the Black Clover anime continues*

11. Reincarnation

(A/N): criticism and reviews are appreciated!

---

Chapter 11: Reincarnation

---

Short story: Rising Star's Promise

Julius' P.O.V

"Checkmate" Alfred said, moving his blue crystal piece across the board.

"Ah! Again?" Julius said in frustration "You're too good at this, Captain!"

"I'm trying to teach you" Alfred said "I've told you a million times, a strategy is the best way to win any battle. And you, Julius, are too predictable. Both in chess and your magic." He said as he sipped his milkshake, looking outside of the café they were sitting in, and onto the beautiful ocean that lied beyond the beach of Raquey.

"Anyway, why are you still wearing that?" Alfred asked, pointing at his white Magic Knight robe, which had golden lines running along it to give it the appearance of a wing, swooping to the right side, while on the left, his squad's insignia of a white bird with a golden eye was present. "We're on vacation. That means you can be a young man and not a Magic Knight."

"I'm 29, Captain" Julius rubbed the back of his head "I'm not that young"

"You're already 29? I hope you have a girlfriend by now…" Alfred said.

"Never mind that now! Let's stay on topic. you're always 4 steps ahead!" Julius said, examining his red crystal king piece "How am I supposed to learn from this?"

"First of all, you're supposed to learn from this experience." Alfred said, putting down his milkshake "and at any rate, if you follow close behind me, you'll be 2 steps ahead of everyone else.".

"It's easy to say that" Julius said, looking down at the beach, where his comrades enjoyed the nice sun "But I can't be like you."

"Of course you can't. that's why I'm teaching you" Alfred said, grabbing his attention "I'm teaching you to be better. After all, I have already made you my Vice-Captain, and you'll be captain of this squad when I leave."

"But, Captain Asteracea…"

"Just shut up and listen for a moment" Alfred looked at his squad down on the beach with a soft look "When I leave, I'll relinquish my position as captain to you, but I want you to promise me something."

"What is it?" Julius asked.

"I want you to give this squad a complete overhaul." Alfred said "I want a clean page where you can draw, a page which won't be tainted by this old man's mistakes. I mean, I want a new name, new and young blood chosen by your heart. A squad which will change people lives. A legacy you can be proud of."

"What do you mean, Captain Asteracea?" Julius asked "This is so sudden… What mistakes are you talking about?".

A waiter placed a slice of cake on their table, and Alfred started explaining himself. "A few months ago, a Magic Knight was murdered. Do you know why? Because he was a commoner, and his "fellow" Magic Knights shot him in the back during a battle."

"I-I know. I met him on the battlefield that day" Julius said, the memory staining the cheerful mood of the vacation.

"And you know, I can't help but feel that if I had scouted him into our squad instead, he would still be alive. I failed to see the worth of a person as a Magic Knight." Alfred said.

"Captain! It's not your fault, you couldn't have known." Julius replied.

"Perhaps not, but you" Alfred pointed at Julius heart "you have been blessed with this ability. To see people's worth. And that alone is enough for me to make you captain, because I'll know you did a good job with the recruits."

"Tell me, Julius," Alfred said, taking another sip off his milkshake "why do you want to be the Wizard King?".

"I want to become the Wizard King so I could get rid of the discrimination between classes in our Kingdom, and be strong enough to protect everyone!" Julius said.

"I can see I have made the right choice." Alfred said, getting up, he offered Julius a handshake "So, do you promise?".

Julius got off of the chair, and took his captain's hand "I do!".

"Now, then" Alfred gestured with his hand and the chess pieces organized themselves into a box, along with the board. "Let's head down to the beach, we wouldn't want a pale Wizard King, right?"

"Of course not" Julius replied, exiting the café behind his captain.

"So what name will you choose for the squad?" Alfred asked.

"I don't know… maybe I'll change it into the Grey Raven?" Julius proposed.

"No, it sounds petty." Alfred said "What about a different animal, then? Maybe a deer?"

"The Grey Deer?" Julius thought about the idea "I kinda like it, it has a nice ring to it."

"Come, Let's go start a water fight with your squadmates" Alfred said in a childish manner.

And with that, they headed down towards the beach, and the sun felt nice on Julius' skin. 'I have to get better, I'll make both my dream and my promise, into reality!'.

---

End

---

Midoriya's P.O.V

"Is he…ok?" Yaomomo asked "he looks lifeless…"

"His brain's probably fried…" Bakugo said "…That's assuming there was one to begin with."

"That's not nice, Kacchan." Midoriya said "he just thinks he didn't get accepted to the Royal knights..."

"But I thought he got better after the training week he had…" Magna said.

"So did I" Midoriya replied.

"It's like he's a doll." Luck said with his ever-present smile.

"I-Is he even breathing?" Grey asked.

"He's breathing, but I think his brain shut down" Todoroki said.

"Yeah, I think the difference between him and the top gave him a trauma" Bakugo said, a cocky smile on his face "I'll go fix him". Bakugo said as he advanced towards the comatose Asta.

"Kacchan, what are you-" Midoriya asked, and his question was answered when Bakugo grabbed Asta by the collar and started shaking him around. "Is anybody home? Huh, Asshat?". Asta didn't answer, and didn't retaliate either, looking like a ragdoll in Bakugo's hands.

"What are you doing!?" Noelle asked, rushing to his side.

"Huh?" Bakugo asked, dropping Asta to the ground "I'm shaking sense into him, Pigtails.".

"A-Are you alive, Stupidsta?" Noelle asked, ignoring Bakugo's response.

"Hey, I think it's about time." Luck said, bounding over to Asta "For the results of the Royal Knights Selection Exam! I'm sure the messenger owl will be by any minute.".

"Oh…Right." Asta said, oblivious to what Bakugo did to him only moments earlier.

"Yeah! It should be any time now." Midoriya said "I'm sure you'll feel better when you get your results."

"Yeah, Asta!" Magna said "If you pass, you'll catch up to that cool pretty boy in no time! Catch up to him and surpass him!"

"If you pass." Kacchan said, taunting his comrade.

"Stop acting like a jerk, Kacchan. I'm sure you'll get picked, Asta" Midoriya reassured his friend.

"Do you really think I passed, though?" Asta asked, a lifeless look still plastered on his face "I mean, I ended up withdrawing."

"Of course, Asta" Todoroki said "I'm sure your performance in the exam was enough to get the judge's attention. Plus, your anti-magic powers will probably be really valuable in a tough fight."

"You really think that?" Asta asked.

"Yeah, Stupidsta. Believe in yourself a little more." Noelle said.

"I think you should be worried about whether you passed, too." Bakugo said "I mean, me and Jerkface did all the heavy lifting during the tournament.". ´He's really out for blood today, isn't he?'.

"What did you say, you stupid brute?" Noelle asked.

"The fuck did you just call me, Pigtails?" Bakugo asked with a murderous look "You've got some nerve picking fights you can't win."

"I'm royalty!"

"That is not a valid argument!"

"Please don't fight…" Midoriya heard Grey say from behind Gordon. ´Kacchan's probably nervous about the results too, since he doesn't have magic…'.

"Come on, guys." Magna said "Don't fight, I'm sure we all got in."

"You should be worried" Noelle said "You lost because of your own magic."

"I'm not worried at all. I'm sure I passed! No doubt about it!" Magna replied, ignoring Noelle's stab.

"Magna, you're super nervous, huh?" Luck asked.

"I-I am not, gosh darn it! How rude!"

"Here, Asta." Yaoyorozu came up to the boy "Drink this, I'm sure you'll better" she handed him a cup of steaming tea and he took it in a robotic fashion. "Thanks, Momo.". he said as he downed the steaming liquid in one gulp, to Yaoyorozu's dismay.

"All right, bath time!" Midoriya heard captain Yami say from behind him, turning around, Midoriya could see he was wearing nothing but his loincloth.

"C-Captain Yami, some decency please!" Yaoyorozu said, looking away.

"Mister Yami?" Magna asked.

"Bath time?" Vanessa turned around to look at the captain.

"Sweating off your stress in the bath will perk you right up." Yami said "Come on, let's go!"

"Nah, I'm gonna pass." Asta said, and Yami soon grabbed his head "Captain's orders, brat. Shut your trap and go!". He said as he lifted him off of the ground, heading elsewhere, with Bakugo in tow. 'They really do get along, don't they?'.

"Come on, Izuku! Shoto!" Magna put his hands on the boys' shoulders "you heard the man, Captain's orders!" he said, pushing the both of the towards the door.

´This bath is really nice, although the one at the Volcano was much better.'.

"You know, Izuku" Magna said "Now that I'm seeing you like this, I can definitely say, your body doesn't match your face, like at all-" he was cut off when Luck zapped him through the water. "Stop that, you little shit! Don't make me boil you!".

"Don't fight in the bath, Luck" Todoroki said, putting his hand on the short blond's head.

"How's everything over there? Is the water too cold?" Yami yelled so the girls in the women bath will hear "I can send Shoto to heat it up if you need".

"I'm not a water heating device." Todoroki said with a blank face.

"No need to, it's just fine!" Vanessa replied.

"This makes me think about the past." Yami said, and his soft tone caught everyone's attention.

"Mister Yami?"

"Just shut up and listen." Yami said "This was when I first joined the Gray Deer."

"Isn't it the Aqua Deer now, though?" Midoriya asked "Do squads change names?"

"Don't interrupt!" Yami said "But yes, it is the Aqua Deer now, and yes, they do change names. At the time of the Captain that was before Julius, Alfred Asteracea, the squad was named the "White Raven". Julius later changed it when he became Captain, and Captain Boismortier changed it again. The captains are allowed to change the squad's name only with the permission of the Wizard King, since a lot of things have to change when you change a squad's name."

"Ok, I understand." Midoriya said.

"So, back to the story. When I first joined them, I went out on a journey to train myself. One day, I got pretty hungry, so I was fishing. And then… I was sitting on some rocks by the riverbank, after casting my fishing rod into the water, I tried using my amazing fishing skills to get lunch. After a failed attempt, I cast my rod back into the water, feeling like my stomach will stick to my back soon. But Soon after, I sensed some people approached me from behind, and so I asked. "You guys thieves? If you want a fight, I don't mind giving you one." And so I got up from the rocks, and told them "But I'm kinda pissy right now because I'm starving, So I might not be able to hold back." And so, one of them, and old guy, approached me and offered me some food. But after I ate the food, he requested a favor, and so I went back to their village with them. he told me that bandits were stealing their crops, and asked me to deal with them, since the royal capital couldn't send help to their village, since other towns have also been hit by bandits. After I accepted their request, I went to take a nap."

´Somehow, I'm not surprised.'.

"At night, I was waiting for the bandits, and so, when I found a suspicious-looking dude looking for the village's storehouse, I punched him straight in the gut. after that, I went looking for his friends, one I slammed into a tree, one I buried head-first in the mud, and with the others I didn't really care, so I just piled them on top of each other. In the end, I discovered it was a lot more than a bunch of bandits, it was more like, a whole platoon of bandits, there was no end to them. After fighting a bunch of dudes, a tree appeared out of nowhere, and from behind it, appeared the weird masked dude."

"You mean the Captain of the Golden Dawn?" Midoriya asked.

"Yes, of course, you dumbass. Stop interrupting!" Yami replied.

"We proceeded to fight together, I watched his back and he watched mine. In no time, we beat all their asses, and only their boss was left. One of the boss' lackies opened a portal for him to escape, but we managed to capture the lacky, who the boss left behind. So I beat him up until he was unconscious. Oh, and I also told weird mask dude his mask was weird."

"The next day, after departing from the village, I went back to the river, and ate the food I got as a reward. After sensing Weird mask dude approach, I offered him some food, but he declined. And that day was when he told me "Though our paths may differ now, I'm sure we'll eventually end up on the same path.", and that is day when Weird mask dude officially became my rival. And that was the first time that gold weird mask guy and I fought together."

"What's the point of this story?" Bakugo asked "You don't strike me as the most poetic person"

"Shut up, you little shit." Yami said, grabbing Bakugo by the head "Well, anyway. All kinds of stuff happened after that. A few years later, Julius became the Wizard King, and both the weird mask guy and I were appointed Vice Captains of the Gray Deer. I still remember that day, when Weird mask guy and I were summoned to the Wizard King's office, and he tasked us with capturing bandits together. He told us about a potential cooperator within the Magic Knights, and warned us about the danger the bandits posed."

"Ha, were you afraid of bandits?" Bakugo asked.

"If you interrupt again, I'll kill you." Yami replied.

"If you kill me, I'll kill you back!" Bakugo yelled, enraged.

"Well, before Hot head interrupted, I started telling you about the bandits. So, after Weird mask dude narrowed down the most probable places to be attacked next, we both headed our own way, each one going to a different town. When night fell, I was resting on top of a tree, waiting for either the bandits or a message from Weird mask dude, but then, I sensed the bandits approaching, there were about fifty of them, and they were able to block my communication device. And so, I decided to engage them alone. After knocking some of the bandits out of the sky, I sensed an attack coming from behind, and arrow, made of dust. After disintegrating it, I could see the bandits' boss, I didn't recognize him at first, but after that, I realized he was the same boss that escaped me all those years ago, and he was wielding a peculiar staff."

"Did you beat their asses, Mister Yami?!" Magna asked.

"Of course I did. And I was about to interrogate the boss, when he took an old woman hostage. After that, I was bound by someone's magic. A magic that was much stronger than the bandits. My captives were the two magic knights traitors, one from the Silver Eagles and one from the Crimson Lion Kings. After their arrival, the bandits went off to search for the treasure, and the Magic Knights were going to kill me with their magic. Of course, I wasn't going to go down that easily, but after being trapped in their magic, there was not much I could do. But just then, when something was about to awaken in me, Weird mask dude swooped in to free me. Soon after, we beat the both of them to a pulp, we reclaimed the treasure, captured the bandits, and the next day went over to get praised. And that was the day We were appointed as the Captains of two new squads the Wizard King has founded. Of course, you know them today as the Black Bulls and the Golden Dawn. So there you have it. What'd you think?"

"Um… I guess you went through a lot." A depressed Asta replied "So, what were you trying to say?"

"Even if you stumble, even if you think you might lose, you'll be fine as long as you don't give up!" Yami said "Don't ever give up in any situation! Surpass your limits! Then a path will always open up for you! Quit being so depressed just because you lost to your rival! Even If you lose 99 times, you just have to win the next time!"

"I-I see… You should've just said that in the first pla-" Asta was cut off when Yami grabbed him by the head "Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Captain! You're going to crush my skull!"

"Wait, Captain, I have a question" Todoroki said.

"Ask away" Yami replied nonchalantly, still crushing Asta's head.

"What does this story have to do with a bath?" Todoroki asked.

"Well, nothing"

"Oh, I just assumed the bath reminded you of the story. My bad" Todoroki said, a stoic face still on his face despite the giggles coming from the girls' bath.

After that, they left the bath, and went back to the lounge, to wait for the Royal Knights exam results. "I'm happy to see you all cheerful again, Asta" Yaoyorozu said.

"Yeah! I feel much better!" Asta replied "Captain Yami's right, there's no point in being depressed." He threw his hands into the air "All right! I'm gonna catch up to Yuno and surpass him!"

"Are the results in already?" Bakugo asked, kicking the door to the room open in a very Yami fashion.

"They will be soon" Magna said "I-I can't wait!" he laughed a very fake and nervous laugh "Come on, messenger owls!"

Instead of messenger owls, someone started knocking hard on the front door. "I dunno who the hell you are, but stop that racket!" Magna yelled at the door "Don't you know that this is the home of the Black Bulls, the Magic Knights Squad that Mister Yami-" he was cut off when door was blown apart, and a large dust cloud rushed in, completely swallowing Magna.

"Th-The heck!?" Asta asked.

"Are we under attack?" Bakugo asked, slamming his fist into his open palm "I'm all warmed up!".

When the dust cleared, instead of an attacker, they could see Mereoleona standing in the doorway.

"What the hell, Crazy woman?!" Bakugo said, approaching the woman "This is going to take forever to clean!".

"It's Mereoleona!" she said, punching him in the face.

"That's it, I'm gonna kill you, you Crazy woman!" Kacchan declared, preparing to charge her, but was stopped by Yami who grabbed him by the head.

"What the hell is all that racket?" Yami asked "I told you no explosions inside the hous-" he was cut off when he saw Mereoleona standing in the doorway. "It's an emergency! A wild beast has invaded the premises! Everyone, evacuate the base immediately! Any of you that don't make it, just play dead! Don't look her in the eyes! She'll eat you!"

"She's standing right over there, you dense as fuck muscle head!" Bakugo said.

Yami was soon pinned to the ground by one of Mereoleona's fiery palms, and another palm set something in front of his face. ´A bottle? I wonder what is that?'. "Just shut up and accept this, you fool." She told Yami.

"Um… Is this some hellish drink that'll set my throat ablaze and make me spit fire after a single sip?" Yami asked.

"It's to thank you for visiting Fuegoleon." Mereoleona explained "Do you wanna die for real?"

"You don't need to thank me." Yami said, getting up from the floor "At any rate, this drink can't be for humans if someone as violent as you likes it. I don't want it.". ´Why doesn't he like her? She's not that bad… I think.'.

"Okay, I'm going to kill you." Mereoleona declared, grabbing Yami's face with one of her fiery palms. ´Actually, I wonder why they don't get along. He get's along with Kacchan just fine…'.

"You're not supposed to kill the person you're thanking." Yami said.

"I'll kill you with gratitude." She replied. 'I guess Yami, Kacchan and her would get along really well, based on personality, at least. Or maybe she's worse than the two of them combined? I don't know…'.

"Hey, Crazy woman!" Bakugo said "I'm the only one who is going to kill the muscle head!". she looked over at him, and as a response, she lifted him into the air with one of her fiery arms. "I guess I can kill you too.".

Bakugo's palms were glowing dangerously when Asta chimed in "Now, now. If you just came to see Captain Yami, we can all get along, can't we?". As a response, she grabbed him by the head, and she did the same to Luck, Noelle and Midoriya.

"While I'm at it, I might as well take you lot, too." Mereoleona said as she started heading outside of the building.

"What do you mean by that?!" Asta asked "Where are you taking us?! Hell? Is it hell?!"

"I'm pretty sure not, you damn asshat!" Bakugo said, kicking Asta.

"No! Wh-Why are you taking me too?!" Noelle asked.

"Are there strong people where we're going?" Luck asked.

"Oh my, Captain Yami" Yaoyorozu said "Aren't you going to do something?".

"Well, if that means she's leaving, then no." Yami smiled.

"What?!"

"We're sacrifices! What the heck did we do to deserve his?!" Asta asked.

"I'm taking all of them since they all passed the Royal Knights Selection Exam." Mereoleona said. ´So that means Todoroki wasn't picked? Is that because he refused to help Langris and forfeited the battle?'. Despite the news, Todoroki didn't seem to care much, as he remained stoic, looking on at his abducted friends.

"Heck yeah!" Asta exclaimed.

"Hey, Crazy woman, put a gag on him or something!" Bakugo said "I can't bear being this close to his loud fucking mouth!"

"Noelle, it'll be great working together as fellow Royal Knights!" Asta said.

"Hmph. Don't go barging in on your own again and cause trouble for everyone else." Noelle replied.

"Yeah! I've been training even harder, so you don't have to worry about that!"

"Did you even hear what I said?!" Noelle asked, grabbing Asta by the collar "I said don't go barging into places!"

"By the way, I believe there's one other Black Bull who passed." Mereoleona said. ´So maybe Todoroki was chosen after all!'.

"Are you talking about Icy hot?" Bakugo asked, pointing at Todoroki.

"No, not him." Mereoleona looked around "I don't see him here. It doesn't matter, we've sent a summon to them already."

"All of you, you better come back safely." Magna said, taking off his glasses.

"Yeah!"

"Of course!"

And with that, they were carried away by Mereoleona, who headed back to the Capital on her Broom, still holding all of them.

Later that day, the Magic Knights headquarters

Mereoleona was doing a roll call, calling out their names.

"From the Silver Eagles, Nils Ragus and Melaurea Alva."

"From the Crimson Lion Kings, Ruben Chagar and Jesse Aurumson."

"The Vice-Captain of the Coral Peacocks, Kirsch Vermillion."

"From the Blue Rose Knights, Puli Angel."

"From the Aqua Deer, Captain Rill Boismortier and Fragil Tormenta." 'How did she get in?! didn't she get eliminated in the first round? I wonder if she has a purpose that I don't know about.´.

"Hi. I'm Rill, the Magic Knights Squad captain who couldn't even win the tournament." Rill said with an empty face.

"From the Golden Dawn, Hamon Caseus, Klaus Lunettes, Mimosa Vermillion, and Yuno."

"More candidates were chosen from our squad than any other." Hamon said, laughing to himself.

"Can't you count properly, dumbass?" Bakugo asked, smiling "In fact, we have five members here, and you only have four. It seemed you aren't that great after all."

"From the Black Bulls, Luck Voltia, Noelle Silva, Asta, Izuku Midoriya and Katsuki Bakugo."

"How do you like that, Yuno?!" Asta asked "I didn't get left behind! I'll keep getting back up, no matter how many times I fall!"

"And you'll fall again." Yuno said with a blank face.

"you do nothing but fall." The sylph added.

"What the hell, man?!" Asta exclaimed.

"I'm just stating the truth." Yuno replied.

"Yeah, and the part where I keep getting back up is true, too!" Asta said.

"I'm so happy that I get to work with you, Izuku." Mimosa said.

"Likewise" Midoriya said, smiling at her.

"You all probably know who I am, but for formality's sake, I'm Mereoleona Vermillion, and I've been appointed the Captain of the Royal Knights!"

"What?! That crazy woman?!" Bakugo asked.

"Got a problem?" Mereoleona asked.

"Of course I do!"

"Then deal with it, dumbass" She replied, grabbing him and pulling him over to her with one of her fiery arms. "If anyone else has any objections, don't hold back! State them now! I also won't hold back in crushing you!". Her aura flared out in all directions, nearly scorching Bakugo, who was held right next to her.

"Listen up! All of you survived the brutal Selection Exam and were chosen to become Royal Knights." Mereoleona declared "If there are no objections, from this day until we annihilate the Eye of the Midnight Sun, your lives will be in my hands!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone saluted, including Bakugo.

"One of you is missing." Mereoleona said "is he disrespecting me by being late?"

"My bad! Guess I'm late.". looking up at the source of the voice, he saw Xerx, the guy who was in Asta's team in the exam. The masked dude proceeded to jump down from where he was standing near the ceiling, and Mereoleona blasted him with fire. Xerx's trap activated, and it reflected Mereoleona's attack back at her.

"So you are disrespecting me." Mereoleona said, stopping the attack with no lasting effects.

"I wanted to see how strong you were, since my life's going to be in your hands. Pleasure to work with you." Xerx said. ´Wait… I saw Xerx on our training day with the Purple Orcas. He doesn't look like that at all… and wait, he's wearing a Black Bulls Robe!?'.

"Wh-Why the heck are you wearing that robe?!" Asta asked.

"You dumbass. It's because I'm a member of the Black Bulls, obviously." Xerx answered. ´What?! I thought he was from the Purple Orcas!'.

"Explain yourself!" Noelle commanded.

"It's a bittersweet memory from years ago." Xerx said "I was kicking the asses of some Magic Knights due to reasons."

"Magic Knights!?" Asta asked "You can't do that!"

"Shut up. I said I had reasons, you little shit." Xerx replied "Anyway, while I was doing that, I ran into this terrible monster, and he ended up kicking my ass instead. And he gave me this robe after he kicked my ass. So, yeah, that's what happened. Yami scouted me, and I got into the Magic Knights through the back door."

"What the hell, you creepy mask dude?!" Bakugo asked "Couldn't you at least take the exam?"

"Yeah! Do you have any idea what I went through to get in?!" Asta exclaimed.

"First, my name's Zora Ideale, you shitty little shrimp."

"Who do you think you're talking to?" Bakugo asked, his eye twitching "I'm gonna kill you."

"Go right ahead." Zora said, spreading his arms in a welcoming gesture. ´Bad idea. Kacchan's explosions aren't magic, they could hurt him for real!'. Midoriya felt at ease when he saw Mereoleona use another two fiery arms to restrain Bakugo. 'He's in a really combative mood today, isn't he?'.

"How long are you gonna keep yapping, you impudent little fools?!" Mereoleona asked "And you, keep your fighting spirit for the enemies, you dumbass!" She told Bakugo.'

"We're sorry!"

"Wait, where's everyone?" Asta asked, noticing that no one else was around.

"They went to change into their Royal Knights robes ages ago, you fools!"

"R-Royal Knights robes, you say?!" Asta asked with his starry-eyed look "What in the world is that super-cool-sounding thing!?".

"They were created for our fight against the Eye of the Midnight Sun, with high resistance to magic attacks!" Mereoleona replied "Hurry up and go change!".

"So let go off me, Crazy woman!" Bakugo said.

"No way! You're like a raging beast today!" she said as she carried him off to the changing room despite his complaints.

"Hey, look!" the sylph called their attention over to Yuno, who was dressed in new clothes that Midoriya assumed were the Royal Knights Robe. 'huh, me, Kacchan and Asta can't fight in these! they're made for mages, who use spells!'. "Well? Well? Isn't he just the handsomest? I think I fell in love all over again!".

"Who knew a day would come when we'd be wearing the same robes?" Yuno asked "But we're not on the same level. I'm the one who'll become the Wizard King."

"Nope, it's me!" Asta said.

"You can't be serious." Yuno said. And with that, the Black Bulls went to get their own robes.

"All right, it looks like you've all finished changing." Mereoleona said. She was now wearing the Royal Knights Robe, and so was Bakugo, which she still held hostage. Bakugo's robe, however, just like Midoriya's and Asta's, was much shorter. 'Probably to accommodate to our combat style.'.

"Um… why's mine so short?!" Asta asked.

"Are you so stupid that you can't even tell?!" Bakugo yelled "It's because you fight close-range, dumbass!"

"Yes, thank you for your input Katsuki" Mereoleona said "I forgot to say this, but we actually have three additional members. They didn't make the exam, but they are essential to making this plan work. Shiren Tium and Cob Portaport. Shiren's sandstone creation magic can create models of the enemy's base and measure the magic levels of the mages there. Cob has very convenient spatial magic. He has been added because Finral Roulacase is still recovering from his injuries. And one more…Nozel Silva! He will be joining us, too."

"I figured you'd decline. What brought this on?" Mereoleona asked.

"I don't want to hear anything from you." Nozel said "I'm only here because the King ordered it."

Mereoleona turned back towards the crowd "You lot, along with these three, are the Royal Knights!"

"What?! Hey, Nozel!" Rill called out to the Captain of the Silver Eagles "Why did you just show up like it's no big deal!? You didn't even take the exam! That's not fair!"

"What I want to know is, why did you bother taking the exam when you're a captain?" Nozel asked.

"What?! I could've joined without even taking the exam?!" Rill exclaimed.

A laugh was heard, and the King appeared on the stage "The Eye of the Midnight Sun is a fearsome enemy! The aid of a Magic Knights Squad Captain, particularly a royal one, will be essential! Nothing beats royalty! It's all about us royals!". Bakugo was about to open his mouth, but Midoriya saw the fiery arm that was grabbing him tighten its grip, and it seemed to get the message across.

"Hello, your Majesty, King Augustus Kira Clover XIII." Mereoleona said.

"Listen well, men! Don't do anything to bring shame upon-" The king was cut off by Mereoleona, who started speaking over him "I think you all know this, but we have no use for anything other than victory! The Eye of the Midnight Sun is a terrorist organization that threatens the Clover Kingdom! I few don't take care of them ourselves, there will never be peace in our land! You all worked together when they attacked the royal capital and were successful in eliminating them, but there were still severe consequences. My foolish younger brother Fuegoleon fell at the enemy's hands, and he has still not awakened. What we learned from the agents we captured is that their leader is a mage with a four-leaf clover grimoire, Licht. We learned that they have an upper echelon called the Third Eye… And that, for reasons unknown, they are collecting magic stones in order to be reborn into their true forms and obtain great power. There are only three magic stones left. We were able to obtain two of them before they got to them. We were also able to defeat Vetto, the Third Eye's user of beast magic, as well as Fana, who commanded Salamander. The remaining member of the Third Eye is a user of copy magic, Raia. But there's no doubt that Raia and Licht will be our strongest opponents in this battle! We are going to be attacking their stronghold, so our enemy will do everything they can to stop us. Some of us may fall, but we will be victorious! We are going to give our all in this battle! Any fools who fails to do so will be taken out by me before we even get to the enemy's stronghold! Are you ready?!"

"Yes!" Everyone said simultaneously.

"Your Majesty, King Augustus Kira Clover XIII!" She turned towards the King.

"Wh-Why are you yelling at me!?"

"Please continue what you were saying earlier." She replied.

"Well, do good work out there. That is all." The king said.

"That's it?"

"Captain, where is the enemy stronghold?" Midoriya asked.

"Well-" the king was cut off once again by Mereoleona, who shouted the answer over him "The enemy's hideout is located in… a floating dungeon within the strong magic region known as Gravito Stones! Now, listen up. We move out in three days, so, until then, you'll stay in the Royal Capital. Dismissed!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Can I go now, you Crazy Woman?!" Bakugo asked.

"Yes, you may." She said "And until it's over, its captain Mereoleona!".

"Come on, Deku," Bakugo, free at last, said " Let's go somewhere."

"You can come with us if you want" Asta said.

"Where are you going?"

"We're going visit Fuegoleon." Asta replied "wanna tag along"

"No-" Bakugo was cut off by Midoriya, who accepted the offer. "Of course, let's get going."

Later, at the Crimson Lion Kings' headquarters

"I thank you for coming, all of you." Leopold greeted them as they entered Fuegoleon's room "I heard from my sister that you four passed the Royal Knights Exam."

"Yeah! We're finally gonna take down those Bastards of the Midnight Sun!" Bakugo said.

"We're leaving in three days." Noelle explained "We're standing by in the royal capital until then so information won't be leaked."

"I see…" Leopold replied. ´he's probably sad he wasn't chosen too. He must really won't to fight the people who did this to his brother.'.

"How's Fuegoleon doing?" Midoriya asked, changing the topic.

"He's still asleep." Leopold said "We still don't know what happened to him when he was captured by the Eye of the Midnight Sun during their attack on the royal capital. Yet even then, my brother would just say… "The reason I was unable to defeat them was my own weakness".". Midoriya looked over at Bakugo. 'That's the kind of pride Kacchan has, the one who never gives up…'.

"I will train even harder, catch up to all of you, and surpass you!" Leopold said.

"I'm sure you will, Leopold" Midoriya said "But you'll need to run, because we won't wait for you."

"Of course not, my rival!"

"I will get revenge for Captain Fuegoleon, no matter what!" Asta declared "Captain Fuegoleon didn't laugh at my dream to become the Wizard King. He even called me a rival. The reason I'm here right now is because of Captain Fuegoleon."

"Me, too" Noelle said.

"All of you, my rivals, I'm counting on you." Leopold replied.

"Yeah! For the sake of returning the peace…" Midoriya said.

"We'll defeat the Eye of the Midnight Sun!" they all said simultaneously.

"Next time we meet, lion boy, let's fight!" Bakugo said.

"Of course! But by then, I'll be strong enough to beat you!"

"I wanna see you try!"

"We'll come by again." Noelle said

And with that, they left the room, heading elsewhere. ´All the lives they destroyed, the people they've hurt… we will bring them down!'.

"Where are we going, dumbasses?" Bakugo asked.

"Let's go back to headquarters." Noelle said "and from there, we'll go to wherever we are staying tonight."

"Where is it?"

"I don't know, we'll ask there." Noelle said.

"I hope Captain Fuegoleon and Finral both wake up soon." Asta said.

"You know… I had this theory…" Midoriya spoke up "Do you remember Langris' power spike during the Selection Exam? What if… what if the Eye of the Midnight Sun is behind that, too? I mean, maybe they were able to cast one of those ominous spells on Langris? Like the ones Vetto and that Fana girl had?"

"I don't know…" Noelle said "it is a possibility, but the only thing that is missing is the third eye both of them had, although maybe it was not needed."

"Fana had a third eye too? I don't remember hearing that from Todoroki… well, maybe I just forgot." Midoriya said.

"You know, something's been bothering me…" Asta said "You remember what that hairy gorilla said?".

"Despair?" Bakugo asked "He said it so many fucking times, how could I forget?".

"Not that!" Asta replied "For some reason, they can't forgive us, either. We're fighting each other because we can't forgive each other. And I mean, if we could forgive each other, we wouldn't have to fight… So that means…" Steam seemed to emerge from Asta's head "Even I have no idea what I'm trying to say!".

"I think what you're trying to say, is that both sides need to let go of their revenge…" Katsuki said "But, revenge only brings more revenge, and violence only breeds violence. If we could just forgive each other, the world would be perfect. news alert, it's not.".

"Huh…" Asta said, the dumb look still on his face "All right! At times like this, I need to work out!"

"Wha-"

Asta got on the ground, staring to do sit-ups.

"You meathead." Noelle said.

He suddenly stopped, before crying out "Everything's cramping at once!". He started rolling along the floor, crying out in pain.

"You can't be serious." A familiar voice said behind them.

"Yuno! Mimosa and Mr. Glasses, too!" Asta said as he stopped rolling around.

"Did you come to visit Fuegoleon, too?" Noelle asked.

"No, we're here for another reason." Klaus said "The Golden Dawn had most members pass the Royal Knights Entrance Exam, after all. We've been having fiery meetings with Captain Mereoleona these past few days so we don't let anyone down."

"When you say "fiery" do you mean she shot fire at you?" Bakugo asked.

"No…" Klaus said "Well, anyway." Klaus said, getting his grimoire out "If you lot are also heading to the royal capital, would you like a ride? On my vessel." He asked, creating a big chariot made out of steel.

"Thank you very much, Klaus." Midoriya said. And with that, after everyone embarked, they took off.

Later that day

"So good!" Asta exclaimed, shoving food in his mouth at an unprecedented rate "The food in the royal capital is on another level!"

"Stop stuffing food in your mouth! And sit down!" Bakugo said from his seat next to Midoriya.

"You're eating entirely too much." Klaus said.

"Y-Yeah! Look at you, getting your mouth wiped like a baby." Noelle said "N-Not that I care the slightest but!"

"Then why mention it?" Bakugo asked.

"what do you mean?" Asta asked, sitting down with his plate next to them "Normally, I'd eat at least twice this much!"

"You can't be serious." Yuno said.

"Sometimes I can't believe you are childhood friends" Midoriya said "You're so… different? But then again, the same could be said about me and Kacchan."

It was only after he got weird looks that he realized what he said. "Looks like you remember more now, Izuku." Asta said "I can't believe you're childhood friends. because of Katsuki's demeanor that is."

"Do you want me to kill you, asshat?" Bakugo asked.

"That is exactly what he was talking about!" Noelle said.

"Shut up!"

"Anyway, Katsuki, while we're on the topic" Klaus spoke "I couldn't help but notice that you only use explosions from your palms. Isn't that too forward? Wouldn't it be more advantageous if you use your explosions from different places?".

'Damn, and here I thought we could blend in with the Magic Knights… guess other people don't see it, but people who have seen Kacchan fight more than once will probably find that weird.'.

"I do it because I want to, Glasses!" Bakugo said.

"I didn't mean to offend you, only to offer my advice" Klaus said, seeing Bakugo's reaction.

Midoriya was about to speak when the doors to the room were suddenly opened, revealing Mereoleona who held a badly beat-up guy in one of her hands. "Attention, everyone, we caught someone. A spy from the Eye of the Midnight Sun." she proudly brandished the unconscious man.

"A spy from the Eye if the Midnight Sun?" Asta asked.

"I can't believe there really was one…" Noelle

"Rookie, apparently, he was following you." Mereoleona said, looking at Asta. "I questioned him without killing him, but apparently, our enemy hasn't noticed any of our movements. Therefore, we will be moving up the operation's start time. We strike the Eye of the Midnight Sun's hideout tomorrow morning."

"Tomorrrow…"

"Not in three days?"

"Make sure you all get plenty of rest tonight." Mereoleona said "That is all." she left with Nozel, dragging the spy on the floor beside her.

"What's up, shitty shrimp junior?" Xerx, no, Zora, asked "You scared?"

"It's the exact opposite." Asta answered "The reason I want to become Wizard King is so that everyone who lives here can have a free country where they can always smile. I'm going to stop their rampage, no matter what!"

"You'd better not go on a rampage and hold us back." Yuno said.

"I'm never going to lose to you!"

"I'm the one who's going to win." Yuno declared, smiling.

"It's finally time." Noelle said.

"Tomorrow is when we finally settle this."

"Of course." Bakugo said "A perfect victory…" he turned towards the others "…is the only victory fit for the strongest."

"Hell yeah!" Asta said "We're going to…"

"…defeat the Eye of the Midnight Sun!" everyone said simultaneously, cementing their resolve. 'Even here, Kacchan is still a hero, so I know he must feel like me… we must finish this as quick as possible, and not give them the chance to hurt anyone else!'.

The next day

Everyone walked out of Cob's portal, and were greeted with the mist of the early morning covering the ground. In front of them, to Midoriya's surprise, they could see an array of large boulders floating in the air over a valley, with the biggest one being like a floating stone fortress. ´This must be it. The enemy hideout!'.

"Well, there aren't many who would set foot in the strong magic regions." Mereoleona explained in a quiet tone, her back facing them "And since it's hidden by this magical fog, it's even harder to spot.". 'How can a giant flying castle be hard to spot?!'. "Anyone would have difficulty finding it. You figured all that out, and that's why you had people search this area. You've gotten better, Captain of the Silver Eagles."

"I just happened to have people searching dungeons, and we coincidentally found out it was their hideout." Nozel said.

"Oh? So what brought the Captain of the Silver Eagles himself here, then?" Mereoleona asked.

"That's enough idle chatter." Nozel said, turning to Shiren "You can use your spell from this distance, can't you?"

"Indeed." Shiren answered, bringing his grimoire out. Stone Creation Magic: Stone Model of the World. Rocks materialized out of the ground, and floated into the air where they reformed themselves into a model of the enemy's hideout. Showing it to be a maze of rooms and corridors, all inside of the giant rock, with peculiar bright orbs at several parts of the construct.

"I see. It's like an ants' nest that allows entry from anywhere. Seems simple enough to infiltrate." Mereoleona said. "I see there are plenty of guys around Senior Magic Knight level. There's someone with very powerful magic in the middle. Must be their boss."

"Captain Mereoleona, what's our plan?" Jesse asked.

"Important question, so listen up everyone!" Mereoleona said, turning around to face them "If we want to ambush the enemy and throw them into a state of chaos, we can't let them know how many of us there are, so splitting up is the best option. But the fact that there are so many entrances means that the enemy is confident in their defense. The more we split up, the more that may work against us and overwhelm us. So where does that lead us?"

"If getting overwhelmed is the risk, then we must increase each teams total power, and that means increasing the members." Midoriya said "I would suggest five teams of four people. Is that what you were thinking?"

"Exactly." Mereoleona replied "We will now split up into five groups and proceed."

"I don't care whoever I go with as long as they don't weigh me down" Bakugo said.

"You're coming with me, problem child" Mereoleona said, grabbing his head with one of her fiery arms. "You too." She told Asta and Zora, who were arguing, and grabbed them by their heads.

"Hello there, Lady Royal." Zora said "Please accept this rainbow stinkbug as a token of our friendship." He flung a little beetle over at Mereoleona, and she caught it with another fiery arm, sticking it to his face.

"A stench this weak has no effect on me." Mereoleona said, smiling as Zora cried out in agony due to the terrible stench.

"You sure you want two peasants hanging around you, Lady Royal?" Zora asked.

"What?! You're a peasant, too?" Asta asked.

"I don't care if you're a peasant or royalty." Mereoleona said "I've never given a rat's ass about differences in status. All that matters is if you're weak or strong. You're here because you're strong, are you not? Don't let me down."

"Yes, ma'am!" Asta declared.

"Sure thing. Guess I'll be careful, Lady Captain." Zora said.

"What about you?" Mereoleona asked Bakugo.

"Was there any doubt?" He asked with a cocky smile, and Mereoleona gave him her own smile.

"The rest of you should also be proud to be chosen as Royal Knights, and use your strengths to the fullest. I will now assign your positions."

"Group 1 will be Melaurea Alva, Nils Ragus, Nozel Silva and Shiren Tium. And will attack from the upper left."

"Group 2 will be, Jesse Aurumson, Luck Voltia, Noelle Silva and Kirsch Vermillion. And will attack from the lower left."

"Group 3 will be, Ruben Chagar, Rill Boismortier, Fragil Tormenta and Puli Angel. And will attack from the upper right."

"Group 4 will be, Klaus Lunettes, Mimosa Vermillion, Yuno and Hamon Caseus. And will attack from the lower right."

"Group 5 will be me, Zora Ideale, Asta, Katsuki Bakugo and Midoriya Izuku. And we'll attack from the front, hence why we have five members."

"The spatial magic user will stand by here." Mereoleona said.

"Roger-dodger-roger!"

"You'd better put your all into this. Let's go!" Mereoleona declared "I'm sure you don't need detailed plans. Take down any enemies you encounter as you proceed toward the center. You may do that however you prefer!"

Enji's P.O.V

Enji was standing in front of the glass room in the center of the lab, checking the supplies on his belt one last time. Some of his Colleagues were also there, including the Number 12 pro hero, Gang Orca. The Number 4 pro hero, Edgeshot. The faster than the eye can see, Gran Torino. The Number 7 pro hero, Kamui woods. One of the promising heroes from U.A. The retired all might and the last one was the strangest pick.

"Why's the kid here?" Enji asked the deflated all might "Didn't we already lose enough?".

"Tsukuyomi is an outstanding young hero, and he wants to find his friends just as much as you." All might explained "We've put in a request for him to go, and it was accepted. I am sure that with all of you around, he could be an excellent addition to the team.". 'Well, he's not wrong, during the attack on the villains the kid proved his worth.'.

"Of course, excuse me if that sounded rude" Enji said, offering a handshake "Every capable hero is a good addition to this search party."

"I take no offense" the bird-headed kid replied, shaking the pro's hand.

"Are you ready?" Doctor kairi asked, standing next to the main work station. 'This place has been improved a lot since last time I was here.'. When this place was founded, it was nothing but a makeshift lab, but now it looked much cleaner and more professional, Enji could see the larger number of scientists working on the project, and the increased security. They even bothered setting a sign above the double doors that led to the lab, "Project ShiftGate".

"We are." Gang Orca declared, and Endeavor turned towards the glass room. The large door hissed as it opened, and the pale guy inside looked at them. "I hope you're ready" he said "Please, bring them back safely.".

"You had a change of heart, huh, Villain?" Enji asked.

"You could say that." The pale man said "with enough time to think here, I realized my mistakes, but I am unable to fix them alone. So that's why I've been waiting for all of you."

"Whatever." Gran Torino said "Just take us away."

"If you wish". The man waited until all of them walked into the room.

"Good luck, all of you" All might said "Take care of yourself, Young Tokoyami".

The door closed behind them with a hiss, and Enji gave All might a thumbs up. "Here I go!" the pale man declared, and blue mist appeared out of thin air, gathering around all of them "Good luck!" he said, and after that, Enji's vision went black.

Midoriya's P.O.V

"Ah, the ants show themselves at last." Mereoleona said, confronting some Eye of the Midnight Sun mages, after they busted into the dungeon. "I hear you caused quite a mess at the royal capital while I was away. Eye of the Midnight Sun, we've come…to get our revenge. How dare you do that to my foolish little brother…You shall pay dearly!" she declared as she charged them with a fiery trail behind her. "I will be the one to take your leader's head!".

'She's powerful indeed… let's just hope all of us are enough.',

"Hey, Crazy woman, wait up!" Bakugo called out to her, launching himself forward with explosions, and Midoriya followed behind, activating his quirk. One for All: Full Cowl 15%!

Todoroki's P.O.V

Todoroki was sitting in the lounge with the rest of the remaining Black Bulls. After his friends left for the Royal knights, and Yami, Vanessa, Yaoyorozu and Magna left as well, Todoroki was alone in the base with the weirdos. Grey, Gordon and Gauche.

"Hey!" Gauche broke the silence "if we get a summons for a mission, I'll go, so you two can rest in your own rooms." He told Grey and Gordon, who were both sitting next to the table with Gauche, while Todoroki sat on the couch. "Just go get some rest already. I'm telling you that I'll go so I can get some more money to get presents for Marie.".

´These people are so socially awkward, it's kind of weird.'.

"I'm going to my room so I can concentrate on making this doll of my goddess." Gauche declared "Let me know if we get a mission."

"Please, Gauche." Todoroki said, putting down one of the deserts Charmy left for him. "Don't leave me alone here.". ´Actually, where is Charmy? I didn't see her leave…'.

After some time of both Gordon and Grey spouting unintelligible stuff, Grey finally mustered the strength to make a sentence. "G-G-G-G-G-Gauche, wh-wh-wh-wh-what….what's that you're making?" she asked, pointing at the doll in his hand. 'At least it's coherent.'.

"The other day, when I became a nerd, I realized how awesome figures are." Gauche said, bleeding from his nose "So I'm making a 1/8th scale Marie!"

"M-Marie?"

"When I'm finished, I'll let you worship her." Gauche said, showcasing his figurine.

Seeing that, Gordon moved his robe, and beneath it Todoroki saw something really unsettling. He had dolls of everyone in the squad. Seeing this, Grey shrieked in terror.

"Seriously? That's really terrifying, Gordon." Todoroki said "If you really want to get along with everyone, you should get rid of the dolls and start talking more. I mean talk in a manner we can understand."

Gordon stared at Todoroki for a few seconds, before he saw Grey and Gauche agree, and he got down on the floor.

"Well, anyway" Gauche said "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. Don't touch her." He placed his figurine on the table "Where's the bathroom today?".

"Today, it's on the second floor on the far right." Gordon said quietly, but Todoroki could still understand.

"I guess I should've asked this sooner, but why do parts of this hideout keep changing randomly?"

"Who knows. It's been like this ever since I joined." Gordon said.

"Talk about a pain" Gauche said "I'm sure it's some kind of magic, but what the hell is the point?"

"P-P-P-P-P-P-Please come back as soon as possible!" Grey mumbled.

"I heard Charmy and Vanessa talk about it before, but…" Gauche said "What if it wasn't magic, but was actually a ghost?"

"Ghosts don't exist, Gauche" Todoroki said.

Loud banging started on the doors of the base, and they looked as if they were about to collapse. Todoroki got up from the couch, and soon after, the doors came down, and the monstrosities who attacked the capital rushed in, through the windows as well.

"What the hell are these things?!" Gauche asked, and Grey shrieked in terror.

Todoroki however, didn't wait for them to come any closer. "We're under attack, prepare yourselves!" he said before counterattacking. He pointed his arm at the horde, before letting his flames loose, burning the horde into cinders.

"Let me join you. No one disrupts me when I'm sculpting a picture-perfect Marie!" Gauche declared, bringing his grimoire out. Mirror Magic: Refract Refrain! Todoroki couldn't tell exactly what he did, but he saw the corpses outside getting destroyed by light beams, and that was enough for now.

"I don't know who the hell is dumb enough to attack our hideout…" Gauche said as they left the building to face the real foes "But now you're gonna pay!".

"There you are, you useless Magic Knights." Said the guy from the attack on the capital. 'He's the one who controls those corpses. I'll prioritize him first.'.

"You bastard…" Todoroki said "This time, I won't let you and your buddies escape."

"Do you know them, Shoto?" Gordon asked.

"Of course we do, they're from that dirtbag terrorist group, the Eye of the Midnight Sun." Gauche said "So what the hell do you want? Did you come to get your asses kicked again? Since you're pulling the strings on those zombies, I'm guessing you're Rades."

"You assumed correctly." The tall guy, Rades, said "We happen to be looking for something.".

"The only thing you'll find here…" Todoroki said "…Is your demise."

"Oh, aren't you cool" Rades replied "I remember you, the Ice user from the Capital. As exchange for ruining one of my toys, I'll make you into one!".

"That's enough" Gauche said. Mirror Magic: Reflect Ray! Gauche shot a single beam of light at Rades, only for the beam to be refracted by the girl's Gel Magic. Gel Magic: Sticky Salamander!

'That girl… Midoriya told me about his encounter with her, he said her magic is weak to fire. Lucky us.'

"Come on, relax." The girl said "Gauche, was it? I have no interest in you, anyway. We've been told to not kill you, so…".

'They have instructions not to kill him? That's strange…'.

"Huh?" Gauche asked, with everyone looking at him "What are you talking about?"

"Who knows? I'm not really sure, but Master Licht insisted." The girl replied.

"So, let's play." Rades said "Are you ready, Black Bulls losers?"

"Bring it" Todoroki said "We'll entertain you no longer."

The girl bounded over to one of the corpses, and injected a huge syringe into his back. To Todoroki's surprise, it got back up again, while turning green and much musclier. 'I think I've seen this in a movie before…'.

Todoroki was just about to burn the corpse into cinders when he saw Gordon get his grimoire out. After mumbling something, he cast his spell. Poison Curse Magic: Aufwachen Dachs. the spell created three badger looking animals made out of a purple substance, and they charged the zombies, biting him with extreme ferocity, spreading the purple substance into him. "Since we're dealing with the dead, I don't have to hold back with my magic." Gordon explained.

´Well, seems the intruders are more outclassed than I thought.'.

When the corpse in front of them collapsed, Todoroki saw the girl and her salamander leap towards them, and they all prepared to counter-attack.

"P-Please" Grey spoke, turning back into herself "I can help!" she ran forward, and raised her arms towards the salamander. Transformation Magic: Magic Conversion! The salamander glowed brightly, before crystallizing into a clear crystal. ´She can change a spell's magic attribute? A very good ability.'.

"N-Now, Gauche!" grey said.

"Right! Now I can actually crack it!" Gauche said as his mirror glowed Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain! A bunch of mirrors appeared all around the salamander, reflecting light between themselves and the salamander, destroying it.

"Oh, you can change the properties of magic itself. That's pretty interesting!" The enemy girl said "I think I'm interested in you now!"

"P-P-P-Please don't look at me!"

The pale guy gestured his hand, and a portal formed out of thin air, and out of it, came a figure. "You're up, number zero." Rades announced "Mikael Caesar". The figure looked really weird an unnatural, as expected from that guy's magic. Todoroki couldn't decide what was more unsettling, the creepy mask on his face or the unproportionate body. "Do it."

"What the hell is that abomination?!" Gauche asked.

The monster pointed both hands at them, and attacked. One hand creating a powerful twister and the other producing a spiky whip. Seeing this, Todoroki quickly erected an ice wall to protect himself.

"Making this guy was a pain in the ass, you know." Rades said "That thing's made from two different corpses. Both of those corpses used to be Magic Knights Squad Captains!". 'I see. So it must possess greater power than his other dolls. I'll get rid of it quickly.'.

The monster condensed its magic around itself, before sending out a twister covered in spikes after each one of the Black Bulls. His friends got knocked down quickly, and so all four twisters converged on Todoroki, hitting him from the sides before he could react. ´What a mistake. I should've have gotten rid of them as soon as they came here…'. Todoroki ignored the pain in his side and got up 'Those bastards…'. He looked over to his friends, seeing that Gordon and Grey were already getting back up. "Don't give up" Gordon said.

"We're going to protect our hideout!" Both Gordon and Grey declared simultaneously, loud and clear.

"Finally…" Todoroki got into his stance "…I'm with you. We'll take them down right here and now."

"Damn it…" Gordon said "Don't count me out. Now I have things I want to protect besides Marie! And once the captain gets back, who knows what he'll do to us if we couldn't protect the hideout?"

"Having a lot of spirit isn't gonna help you." Rades said "it doesn't change the fact that you guys can't win. Now, I'm gonna finish you off! Go, Mikael Caesar!". the monster was about to attack again, but suddenly, a loud ringing emerged from the base, and steam rose out of it. "Emergency! Emergency!" an unknown voice said. The base creaked as it moved around, rooms shifting positions, before out of a door, appeared a man. The man had plain white clothes, and a light-blue mane of hair that covered his eyes and reached down to his knees. "the man opened his mouth to speak, and when he spoke, it was really drawn-out and long. "What's…going…on…here?".

´Another intruder?!'

"Who the hell are you?" Gauche asked.

"Wh-What are you doing in our base?"

"He's creepy."

"You're in no place to say that!" Gauche told Gordon.

"Answer, who the hell are you? Another intruder?" Todoroki asked.

"Well…you…see…my…name…is…." the man said, but the impatient Gauche immediately asked another question "What are you doing in our hideout? Who are you?!".

"Let him finish speaking" Todoroki said.

The monster didn't wait for him to speak, instead, it attacked him with another spiky tornado. But to Todoroki's surprise, the building just moved certain parts around and let the attack pass through it harmlessly.

"What the hell was that, you jackass!?" Rades asked.

"Well…you…see…my…name…is…"

"Could he actually be that ghost Vanessa and Charmy talked about?" Gauche asked.

"No, ghosts don't exist, and that guy is alive." Todoroki said.

As if to show that Todoroki was right, little blue birds emerged out of the man's hair, and flew next to him.

"I don't know what kind of ability that's supposed to be, but if all you can do is shake up a building, you can't attack or defend!" Rades said, and his monster launched four spiky twisters at the Black Bulls' way. Todoroki erected an ice wall in front of them, but at the same time, he could see the base was shifting rapidly, parts changing position, before a portion of the house came down in front of them, blocking the attack. 'So he's on our side, huh.'.

"The hideout…"

"He's got complete control over it" Gauche said.

"You…need…to…stop…attacking…now." The mystery man instructed.

"Gordon…Grey…Shoto…Gauche…"

"You…you know us?" Todoroki asked.

"Of…course…I…do. I…mean…Because…I…" the man started speaking again "Well…you…see…my…name…is…Henry."

"Henry?"

"That's a great name." Gordon said "I'll make a Henry doll right away."

"Gordon, I told you to stop with the dolls." Todoroki said.

"I don't give a damn who you are!" Rades declared "Destroy that rickety building!" he instructed his monster, and it started emitting magic out of its body.

"I…won't…let…you…do…that" Henry said, a single page in his grimoire flipping as he cast his spell. The house started shifting rapidly, and change its shape in a drastic manner, until it stood up on the legs it had created for itself. Now it was a bipedal bull, who stood tall above the mages on the ground. Recombination Magic: The Raging Black Bull.

"I…won't…forgive…"

"He transformed the hideout?!" Gauche stared at the looming structure, astonished "What kind of magic does he have that lets him move something that big?!"

"Well…it's not just… my magical powers." Henry said "It's the accumulation of all the magical power that I've received from all of you, and I'm using it all at once! This is the mana power of all of the Black Bulls! Thanks to all of you, even though I was bedridden, I could start wandering around the hideout a few years ago."

"See? There is nothing such as ghosts" Todoroki said.

To everyone's surprise, the man pulled out a Black Bulls robe and put it on.

"A Black Bulls robe? So he's a part of the squad too?" Todoroki asked "How come no one knows about him?"

"Just because you're huge doesn't mean you're any match for my Number zero!" Rades declared, ruining the moment of awe. the monster attacked, releasing a couple of spiky twisters towards the base.

Henry retaliated, and the construct cocked his fist backwards, as it started to spin around rapidly. Mana Corkscrew! the construct punched the monster's attack, neutralizing it with no problem, and sending the monster flying as it impacted the ground. Mana Rocket Punch! Henry followed up his attack with a fist that detached from the base and flew towards the monster, crushing it beneath itself.

"What are you doing, Mikael Caesar?!" Rades asked as the fist flew back to the construct "I know that's not all you've got! Quit dawdling! Get your ass back up and fight!".

When the corpse didn't react, he saw the girl glow with power as she screamed, and cast a spell Gel Magic: Big Ol' Sticky Salamander! The salamander she summoned now was bipedal and giant, matching Henry's construct in size. 'I don't know how powerful that guy is, but I'm not taking any chances. This ends now'.

"What!? That thing just became huge!" Gauche said.

"step back" Todoroki said "As I said earlier…" he got into a stance, placing his right foot firmly on the ground "…this has gone on for too much time.". frost started gathering around him, covering the ground and expending towards the salamander. Complete Glaciation. All at once, the ice erupted from the ground, freezing the entire salamander solid, and forcing the girl to retreat.

"What!"

"what kind of attack was that, you bastard!" Gauche asked "If you could have done that earlier, why did you not use it?".

Todoroki shrugged "I recommend you break it now, when It's vulnerable" he told the pale guy.

Henry listened, and shattered the frozen salamander with no effort.

"Mikael Caesar!" Rades cried out in desperation "Do something!"

The corpse got up, and started running in their direction. he didn't make it far though, as Henry's construct crushed it with no effort.

"D-D-Don't… don't screw with me" Rades cried out "I'm gonna have to show you losers my trump card now!"

Suddenly, a portal opened and out of it came the weird pale guy. 'I didn't even notice he was gone. I wonder where he went'. "Screw you, Black Bulls!" Rades yelled as the pale guy opened another portal "Just so we're clear, I'm not running away! I'm gonna kill you next time, so you better be ready!"

"You can't be serious!" Gauche said "Come back here, you Eye of the Midnight Sun bastards!"

"why did they attack us?" Todoroki asked "it came out of nowhere, and they accomplished nothing."

"I'm not sure, but we won!" Gordon said "We worked so well together in this fight. It'll be a wonderful memory."

"Th-Thank goodness we and the hideout are all safe!" Grey said.

"Hey! Can you turn the hideout back to normal?" Gauche asked Henry.

"Well…you…see…"

"If my Marie collection's damaged, I'll kill you!"

"We…might…be…screwed."

Midoriya's P.O.V

To be honest, it was kind of boring. It's not that Midoriya liked to fight so much, but he and his friends were just tagging along with Mereoleona as she defeated every enemy in their way, with only Bakugo being able to snag some opponents for himself.

"We seriously have nothing to do!" Asta said in a weird voice. Looking over at him, he saw there were now two Asta's. "Why not take a break?! We can fight, too, you know!".

"Ummm…Asta, why are there two of you?" Midoriya asked, prompting both Asta's to look at each other.

"Wait, another me?! Is that you, Grey?" they both said simultaneously.

"What the hell, you little shit? You can use magic?" Zora asked "You can clone yourself?"

"Heck no! don't underestimate my lack of magic!" they said.

"Who gave you permission to make another one of you?" Mereoleona asked.

"Uh, it's not like I wanted another me!"

"So which one is the fake?" Mereoleona asked "They've even copied his lack of magic. Can you tell which one's the real one?"

"No, but I'm annoyed." Bakugo answered, and she picked him up by the head with a fiery arm "How useless are you?"

"I'm the real one!"

"No, I'm the real one!"

"You're the fake!"

"No, that's you!"

"Knock it off." Mereoleona said, creating a fireball in her hand, she hurled it at the both of them.

"What are you doing?!" Midoriya asked. Soon after, one Asta pulled out his sword and cut through the fire, smoke rising from his clothes. "What are you doing?! Are you trying to kill me?!".

"I guess you're the real one." Mereoleona said "I don't remember bringing along someone weak enough to be killed by that." She said as the other Asta still burned.

"Seriously, though…" a voice said from inside the fire "You really messed me up.". water suddenly emerged from nowhere, covering the fire and snuffing out the flames. Out of the dispersing water appeared a man, a glowing aura surrounding him and healing his burns. 'That's the guy from Nean… the last member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun!'. "Damn, you're one scary lady. Heya, I'm Raia. Lady, you're wasting that beauty of yours."

"I wouldn't recommend it. She's no lady." Bakugo said "She's a monster."

"Who are you?" Mereoleona asked "You look like you might be somewhat entertaining."

"This is the last guy from the Third Eye, Raia the Disloyal, and his ability is to copy other people's magic." Midoriya said.

"Come to think of it, that information does sound familiar." Mereoleona said.

"You forgot?!" Asta asked.

"If you weren't royalty, I would've asked you out for a drink." Raia said, his grimoire floating beside him.

"Don't get big-headed, I'm gonna kill you right here!" Bakugo said, charging Raia.

"Jeez…well, aren't you scary?" Raia replied "But I already had my share of death.". he pulled a dark katana out of his grimoire, imitating Yami's spell. Copy Magic: Dark Cloaked Black Blade.

"Ha! Do you think the muscle-head's magic scares me?!" Bakugo asked, sending an explosion at Raia "Even if you copy his magic, you'll never be more than a cheap imitation!".

"Hey, Hothead!" Mereoleona said "Don't jump in by yourself!". She then moved, quickly appearing beside Raia, punching him in the face as her hand was set on fire Flame Magic: Calidos Brachium! The spell sent Raia, who was now engulfed in flames, away at extreme speeds, launching him into another room. "You can burn for my foolish little brother's sake!"

"What the hell woman!" Bakugo yelled "You can't just steal my prey!"

"Oh, shut up. That's not the time for that." Mereoleona said, walking in the direction of the room Raia was in.

Copy Magic: Healing Light Particles. Raia healed himself again, ready to fight. 'It's kind of like my fight with Overhaul. We need to overwhelm him with one charge, or he will just fix himself right away.'. Raia got up, the third eye in the middle of his forehead burning with power.

"He healed right back up again!" Asta said "Okay, I'm gonna fight, too-" Asta was cut off when Mereoleona grabbed him by the head with one of fiery arms, throwing him back.

"You're too much of a small fry, asshat!" Bakugo said "I'm gonna blow this bastard to hell!"

"No, you won't" Mereoleona said.

"Huh?" Bakugo replied "I didn't come here to be an extra! I'm fighting!"

"If you don't want to be killed, just shut up and watch." Mereoleona said.

"Captain Mereoleona, it's not that we doubt your abilities" Midoriya said "but we need to defeat him quickly and move on. If we all fight, it'll go much faster."

"No." Mereoleona said "I can handle him. So just watch.". Mereoleona jumped down to the floor to face her opponent. Copy Magic: Light Swords of Conviction. 'That's the same spells Licht used! For all we know, he could have all the spells of the Eye of the Midnight Sun's members, and then some. But there is something that's bugging me…'.

"Man, Lady Sisgoleon's super fast!" Asta said, seeing Mereoleona destroy Raia's attack with her punches.

She then charged Raia, it was fast, but Midoriya could keep up, seeing her appear above Raia, punching down. Copy Magic: Invisible Seeker. Raia's spell turned him invisible, allowing him to dodge the attack.

"He's copying people left and right. Dunno whose spell that is, but…" Zora said "

"I'm pretty sure that one's a spell the former captain of the Purple Orcas used!" Asta realized.

A smile rose on Midoriya's face 'I see… so I was right. his ability is more like Monoma's. he copies abilities, but he can't use them together. He has to use only one kind at a time. Otherwise, he would've attacked while he was invisible!'. "What're you smiling about, nerd?" Zora asked.

"Only an idiot wouldn't have figured it out by now" Bakugo said.

Copy Magic: Aqua Javelin! Raia used a water attack this time, hoping to overpower Mereoleona, but to no avail, as she continuously just punched his attack, stopping them in their tracks. 'That wouldn't work. It's like Endeavor, flames like that, don't have a weakness.'.

Mereoleona finally managed to get a hit in, keeping Raia on the defensive, and forcing him to run away. "There's no doubt about it. she's a beast" Zora said.

"Deku, she fight more like you" Asta said "you should take the time to learn from her moves"

"I prefer kicks, but still, I doubt I can set my fists on fire" Midoriya replied. 'To be honest, she fights more like Kacchan. Explosive power that tears through obstacles, and erratic movements in midair.'.

To Midoriya's surprised, the next thing Raia pulled out of his grimoire is Asta's sword. "My sword!?" Asta exclaimed. But again, Mereoleona just punched the sword, breaking it in half. "Seems like he couldn't copy the anti-magic attribute of your sword." Bakugo said "Lame".

Seeing this, Mereoleona retaliated, unleashing a flurry of vicious punches, that somehow came from all directions, including behind Raia. "He didn't even stand a chance" Zora said.

'This reminds of home…and I didn't realize how much how miss everyone…even Endeavor.'.

Julius' P.O.V

Julius was standing on the top of the Magic Knights' Headquarters, looking at the setting sun. 'Right about now…The Royal Knights are fighting a fierce battle with the Eye of the Midnight Sun. one that I hope will be the last we'll here of them…but I'm afraid it won't be so simple…I wish I could join in, but I've watched over them this whole time, so I know…Their strength and their desire to protect the citizens of this kingdom are real. It'll be all right… I know they can do this. Not to mention, What the old man will say if I left my duties here. "Julius, even though you're a grown-up you're such an irresponsible child.". I must do what I'm meant to do.'.

Sensing his approaching friend, Julius spoke up "It's not often you ask to discuss something with me. What's on your mind, William?"

"Thanking you for making time for me, Lord Julius." William said, taking off his mask "You never cared about how I looked, you were the first person to ever acknowledge my strength. The path to my future opened once I met you. I grew up as a cursed child in a small village in the Forsaken Realm, and though I was welcomed into a noble family as its heir, I was treated terribly. But…You were different. You truly acknowledged my power and invited me into the Magic Knights. When you gave me this mask… when you invited me into the Magic Knights…I decided that I would dedicate my grimoire to your service. It's been eleven years since then, and my feeling have not changed in the least. I have always respected you, Lord Julius. It's because of you that I have this life, a squad, a reputation, friends and a woman to love." William said, smiling a sad smile.

'Oh, he just wanted some emotional talk? And here I thought something bad happened.'. "Jeez, what brough all this on? You're making me blush." Julius said, rubbing the back of his head.

"That is why I climbed up the ranks to become a Magic Knights Squad Captain, chose highly capable squad members that my mana pointed out to me, and created the Golden Dawn. I believed that making the ultimate Magic Knights Squad would be the best way to repay you. And that was also…for the sake of the other person who is deeply important to me."

'The other person? Who's he talking about?'

William put his hand on his chest "My friend who has always been with me, even before I met you, Lord Julius. From here on out, you two will wish to walk completely different paths. Both of you are very dear to me. I cannot choose between you. And so…" William started transforming "You two will have to choose for me."

'His scar…' William's hair lengthened, his scar disappeared, and his irises turned yellow. Red marks appearing on his face.

"Thank you, William…" the person spoke "My one and only human friend. Good day to you, Wizard King Julius Novachrono. I am the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, Licht."

This was the crystallization of Julius' worst fear. To be betrayed. "I had really hoped that wasn't the case." Julius said, keeping a calm face. 'William…I always knew that you were hiding something. That there was a side of you that you didn't want to be known. I'm sure Yami realized this, too. It could be that Fuegoleon was also caught off-guard when he saw who you really were. To think the last think he saw…was his friend. The day that the royal capital was attacked by the Eye of the Midnight Sun…The uneasy feeling I felt when I faced their leader, Licht…That somewhat familiar mana…and right around the time I injured his arm, I started seeing you only rarely. I couldn't help but harbor my doubts, though I couldn't bring myself to believe that it was true. But…who would've thought that there were two souls in one body? I guess it really is like the old man used to say. "expect nothing. Predict everything.".'

"So it was you, but at the same time, it wasn't you." Julius said "How did you get rid of that scar? It doesn't seem to be the work of magic."

"That scar is a curse cast upon the clan of this body's mother." Licht explained "No curse cast upon humans has anything to do with me. I despise humans. But William…He was the only one that was different. We were able to share the same body, after all. Despite being human, he accepted my feeling and understood them. This uncontrollable rage, sadness, and hatred."

'So they really share the same body…that means William is still in there.'.

"If I had never met those humans, we would've never…" Licht said "There is only one way to be rid of these overflowing emotions. We shall collect all of the magic stones and fulfill our hearts' desire!"

'So their motive is to get revenge against the humans. And having all of the magic stones will make that possible?'

"William understood, too." Licht said "That's why he let me see you. You have the remaining two, don't you?"

"Yes, because that's the safest option." Julius replied.

"I shall obtain those magic stones, and we shall fulfill our hearts' desire." Licht said.

"William…You are a kind person." Julius tried reasoning with his friend "The fact that there was another in your body and you treasured him so well this whole time is also part of your kindness. And it is my job, as someone who's also important to you, to stop him. You support me, which means I'll win."

"No…His heart is with me." Licht said, getting his grimoire out "Wizard King, I'm afraid you're going to die." Several light swords appeared beside him "As the Wizard King, the most powerful mage in this land, you will take responsibility for all the sins the humans in the Clover Kingdom have committed." Light Creation Magic: Light Swords of Conviction.

'I can't hurt William's body in this battle…he is still in there, and I must take him back.'. Mana Zone: Chrono Statis Grigora. Julius' spell froze all incoming attacks in time, not needing to even evade them. "Light Magic is the fastest among all magical attributes." Julius said "but that doesn't mean it's unstoppable."

"I see" Licht said, summoning more swords "But I wonder how long that can last.". he barraged Julius with attacks, and Julius stopped each and every one. Seeing that his attack was ineffective, Licht changed to another spell. Light Creation Magic: Light Whip of Judgement! The glowing whip came at Julius at incredible speeds, but he still dodged it with no effort.

Julius took to the air, where it'll be easier to dodge, while Licht started to bombard him with light swords again, all the while swinging his whip in sudden movements. 'He's got the advantage. He probably knows I can't use my full power against William's body. That bastard!'. Licht suddenly appeared behind him, swiping at him with a light sword, and actually managing to wound him.

"Too slow." Licht said as they both landed on the building again "Even if you can see what's ahead, there are limits to how quickly you can evade. Has it been a while since you were last wounded, Wizard King?"

'I wonder what the old man would say about this… not the time for that!'. "It has. I've taken the futures of many people," Julius said "but it's been a while since I've seen my own blood."

"Your time-controlling magic isn't so invincible anymore." Licht said with a smug look.

'Does he honestly think I only have one card up my sleeve?'. "the true nature of my magic is to steal time from my target." Julius explained, surprising Licht "That time gets stockpiled, and I can use it at any time, though it takes a lot out of me." Julius activated his magic, reversing his body to its previous unwounded condition. "As someone who was born with magic that steals futures, my goal as the Wizard King is to create a future without discrimination." Julius clinched his fist "Until that future happens, I cannot die."

"A future without discrimination, but with humans? That's an impossible dream!" Licht said, creating another whip and swinging it at Julius. Licht then tried to attack Licht from behind, but this time, Julius anticipated his move, and evaded, breaking Licht's sword with his time magic. "I can already see your future." Julius said "You cannot defeat me.". even though Licht seemed to somehow realize this, he still launched desperate attacks, not landing even one.

"You know, in chess." Julius said "You need to anticipate your opponent, and always be two steps ahead.". Licht responded by launching more attacks at Julius, but by now, Julius was starting to use his magic more offensively, keeping Licht away. "Your individual blows are becoming a bit dull." Julius said, dodging another attack "At this rate, I won't even have to anticipate your moves to dodge them.". Licht, again, responded with more mindless attack, desperately trying to hit Julius.

'It doesn't matter. The old man would say "Too linear. Predictable. Again!" about Licht. While using his techniques, one can become untouchable. But he is destroying the headquarters, so someone might get hurt. I must get this over with.'

Licht Shot swords at him that Julius easily dodged, but the swords rebounded, creating beams connecting two walls together, but again, missing their target. 'We're now next to civilians. I have to move the fight from here.'. Julius landed on one of the beams, and so did Licht, trying to strike him with his sword. In retaliation, Julius launched a couple at rocks at Licht, knowing they would have little effect.

Julius took into the air, and Licht followed suit, surrounding him with attacks, and trying to strike him with his sword. Licht sent a couple of swords at him, and Julius caught one of them with his magic, before sending it back at Licht, only scratching him as he moved behind Julius. "Well, you certainly came close." Julius said "You're pretty fast. Even reading your moves, I still haven't been able to capture you. I'd really appreciate it if you'd just give up now. I'd rather not wound Vangeance's body."

"Are you curious about my grimoire?" Julius asked, seeing Licht looking around "My grimoire is right up there." He pointed up at the coverless grimoire floating way above him. "Time magic and a grimoire without a cover… I didn't know if it was good or bad at the time, but I was special. So I thought about it a lot. My old teacher used to say I'm just like my grimoire, that he couldn't classify me. And that lead me to think, who am I? What is my purpose in life? I kept asking myself that over and over. And as I did, I gained more and more recognition. And once I finally got here, I thought…the path that I've walked makes me who I am. I am the Wizard King."

Julius moved behind Licht in attempt to capture him "As the Wizard King, I will protect this kingdom and its people."

Licht took off into the sky, glowing brightly. Sealing Magic Released!

'His power is swelling…' Julius looked on as the sky started shining brightly with unnatural light. 'This tremendous magic power is…'. The power grew, covering the entire kingdom with a sharp blanket of light swords. 'To think he had enough magic power to overwhelm this entire kingdom…This isn't good. Is he planning to unleash that power upon the people?'.

"Even If I can't kill you alone, I can kill everyone else." Licht declared.

´It's already enveloped the whole kingdom. At this rate…'

Light Magic: Arrows of Judgement!

'At times like this, I'm reminded of my life. I guess your life really flashes before your eyes at times like this. I had doubts. The Royals and nobles, who always prioritized themselves. The people who always discriminated against the weaker peasants. Despite having high levels of magic power, they only used it to line their own pockets and weren't of any use to anyone. Why were they even alive? I kept searching for my purpose in life while fighting as a Magic Knight. And then…I met him. A man named Zara, who was the first peasant to be chosen as a Magic Knight. He didn't have much magic power, but he cleverly used his trap spells in battle. Observation of his magic made it clear how hard he worked. While other Magic Knights were blinded by personal achievements and glory, he always prioritized helping out the people above everything else. Back then, even though I didn't really realize what it meant to be a Magic Knight, I thought he was what a true Magic Knight should be. A little while later…I heard that Zara had died... Zara had carried out his duty as a Magic Knight. That's how I wanted to be…a Magic Knight like Zara. And right around the time I started thinking that… I heard from my teacher that Zara was murdered by his own comrades, only because he was a peasant. The others treated it like a joke, and I know Captain Asteracea tried to take it to the parliament, but due to lack of evidence…I couldn't help but think, they probably just thought "Oh, another peasant had died.". it wasn't just happening with the Magic Knights. In this kingdom, because of the class they were born into, the ones on top grew arrogant while the ones at the bottom gave up. Even though both sides should've had more potential. I thought it was a waste. The potential of magic and of humans is infinite. For your voice to be widely heard, you need power, rank, and trust. I built up a record of achievements and became the Wizard King. Magic and humans should be freer. The change won't be dramatic. However, slowly but surely…The people of this kingdom are finally starting to change. Through the strength of the people I believe in and acknowledge…I can't let that end now. Not while I am the Wizard King!'

Time Reversal Magic: Chrono Anastasis. 'My greatest spell…will protect the people!'.

Time was rewound, and swords disintegrated, disappearing without a trace all around the country.

Julius smiled, feeling the sharp pain in his chest. 'My duty here… is finished.'.

"I believe that in chess, they call this "Checkmate"." Licht said, smiling a crazy smile.

Julius fell onto his side, the blunt pain almost unnoticed. He felt his heart getting slower, and the blackness encroach on his vision, and he could feel the presence of two new people approaching.

Yami's P.O.V

"What the hell's going on here…" Yami asked, gripping his sword in the face of the scene in front of him. He couldn't believe it. The man who he deemed invincible…was lying on the ground, bleeding badly. Only one thought sprung to his head, enraging him. "Vangeance?!". Yami unsheathed his sword, and it was ablaze with dark magic.

"Good day to you, Yami Sukehiro." The man said "I am Licht. William is asleep inside me.". Licht said, a tear dropping from his eye "No…I guess he was watching the Wizard King draw his last breath through this eye."

"Julius…" an elderly voice said "You bastard." Yami sensed the Ki of another person, walk up to them, with continuous tapping on the stone floor. 'The Old Crow…what's he doing here?'

"I came because I saw what was going on up here…" Mr. Asteracea said, tears at the edges of his eyes as he tried to remain calm "But I guess…this old man was too late."

"What the hell are you doing, Marx!?" Yami yelled, sensing Marx's Ki "We need to get him healed! Hurry up and get Owen here, you dumbass!"

"Right away!"

"Don't worry, Young man" Mr. Asteracea said with a barely stable voice "We'll get you healed up right-".

"It's no use." Licht cut him off "This man will die soon. You protected this country to the very end. You have my respect for that, Wizard King Julius Novachrono. But…" a portal opened out of nowhere, and Licht's Lackey popped out of it.

"Master Licht!"

Dark Magic…

Sapphire Magic…

Dark Cloaked…

Murder of…

"We will never, ever understand each other!" Licht said.

Dimension Slash!

Coelestis Crows!

Both attacks missed, only hitting the building behind the portal, who disappeared in time. 'I let him get away…'. Julius ran up to stand next to the Old Crow, over Julius' body.

"Julius! Hang in there!" Yami yelled.

"Please, Young man, hold on a little longer, and the healers will be all over you, okay?" Alfred said.

"Teacher...Yami…" Julius spoke "That spells you just used were amazing…you actually almost got them…".

"Now's not the time for that, you nerd." Alfred said.

"I keep telling you…I'm 42 now…" Julius said "I'm not a kid anymore. Look, teacher… the next generation has grown up so well, it is very promising. And the generation after that will bloom even more beautifully…"

"Not now! Save your strength, and tell me all about it after you're healed." Alfred said.

"My wishes will live on with the next Magic Knights…" Julius continued "and the promises I made…are already complete."

"If I could use recovery magic…" Yami said, frustrated "Shit. Julius, don't you dare die on us."

"If you'll die, I'll kill you." Alfred said.

Midoriya's P.O.V

Mereoleona was still barraging Raia with her fiery punches before he managed to break loose, preparing to self-destruct like the former Third Eye members.

Seeing this Asta charged forward, stabbing his sword into Raia and breaking the spell.

"Good, Asshat!" Katsuki said as he was next to Asta a split second later. He shoved Asta aside and out his right hand on Raia's chest as the latter's eyes widened "DIE!" Katsuki yelled, throwing him to the floor with a small explosion.

"How did you know it was coming?" Zora asked Asta.

"I saw the two others tried to self-destruct, too" Asta said, turning to Raia "I'm starting to catch on, you Third Eye jerk! Don't waste your life like that! What the heck is the deal with you people?! Going on about having something stolen from you and getting revenge against humans! I still don't get it! But you are humans just like us, aren't you?! First, you guys need to clearly explain your deal! Then you can listen to what I've got to say! I won't allow you to die before that!"

"Shut the fuck up, you loud piece of shit!" Bakugo smacked Asta on the top of the head "Why are you trying to reason with those murderous bastards?!"

"You two got some nerve, cutting into my fight." Mereoleona said, grabbing them both by the heads "Would you like to burn to ashes, too?"

"What?!"

"The Eye of the Midnight Sun threw our country into chaos, and left us with many casualties. They have no intention of coming to an understanding with us!" Mereoleona said "Out of the way." She threw Asta and Bakugo aside "We have to squash them here and now… Even if it means killing them!"

"Huh? Why's that?" Asta asked "We can understand each other. I mean, we're basically the same as them. They're mad because something precious to them was hurt. I've been thinking about this for a while. We're fighting because we can't forgive each other. So how can we get rid of that rage and hatred? I'm an idiot, so I couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard I thought about it, but I'm sure we can! We have to get rid of that rage and hatred! The royals and nobles…Commoners and peasants…Even if they're not human…A free kingdom where everyone can acknowledge each other and smile…That's the kind of kingdom I want to create when I become the Wizard King."

Midoriya couldn't help but smile at Asta's sentiment, and so did Mereoleona. 'His heart is so pure that it's just unbelievable…he's willing to forget all that they've done, because he understands and sympathizes with them…'.

Suddenly, a blazing aura surrounded Raia, lighting up the entire room "Looks like it's begun." He said.

"Begon?" Bakugo asked.

"His magic power suddenly skyrocketed…" Zora said "Hey, this isn't good."

"We're going to regain our true forms…and our true power." Raia said, as his form changed. His black hair turned white and the white patches turned black. His eyes turned golden and his ears became long and pointy. 'What is that? Is that what they meant by "being reborn into their true forms? Are they really not human?'.

"What the heck is going on with you now?!" Asta asked.

"We are trying to solve this peacefully, there's no need to fight anymore" Midoriya said "Hey, are you listening?"

"Too bad kid…" Raia said "The era of the humans has come to an end.".

Midoriya tried tapping into "the flow", and was quickly overwhelmed. It was shaking and storming, moving with power and sudden movements. It was destabilized, probably reacting to Raia, and possibly his comrades. 'This isn't a game now. There is no talking to them anymore. They are hellbent on killing all humans, and I'm not going to let this happen!'.

Yami's P.O.V

Both Yami and the Old crow were looking with awe at the light show that lit the kingdom with bright lights all around the country. 'That light just now…wasn't an attack. So what the hell was it? I feel strong magic throughout the kingdom. This Ki… Don't tell me…'.

"Yami" Alfred spoke "We have to assume the Eye of the Midnight Sun has managed to achieve its goal, whatever that goal is. And we also have to expect them to come after the strong Magic Knights first, so be ready."

"Wh-What was that light?" A distant voice asked "Are you all right? What happened?"

"We must contact all the Magic Knights in the area."

"Wait, what are you doing?!" yells of distress could be heard as something attacked the people.

"Just like I said." Alfred wiped the tears from the edges of his eyes, and Yami could see the veins in his usually calm eyes. "You can feel it too, right?"

"Yeah…"

A giant jellyfish floated in front of them, and aboard it were Marx and Owen. Just glowing and with weird face tattoos.

"So you two finally showed up, but why the hell are you all shiny and attacking our comrades? Marx! Old Man Owen!" Yami asked.

"Sorry, but we aren't the men you knew anymore." Marx said "Long ago, we were destroyed by the humans of this kingdom. We are elves."

"Elves?"

"A long-forgotten species that lived alongside humans" Alfred explained "Even though they possessed immense magic, they went extinct."

"Yes. And this time, we'll be destroying you." Marx said.

"Just like you did to us, we will destroy every last one of you." Owen declared.

"Well, this sounds like it's going to be a pain in the ass." Yami said. 'The guy did say that once they collected all the magic stones, they'd be reborn into their true forms and obtain enormous power. So the ones who were reborn aren't the guys in the Eye of the Midnight Sun.'.

"Don't worry. You'll be put out of your misery soon enough." Marx said, aiming a crossbow at them, and firing several shots.

Sapphire Magic: Celestial Nexus. Sapphire plates appeared in the paths of the bolts, absorbing them into energy that resonated inside of the crystal. Meanwhile, Yami encased Julius' body in a black cocoon, preparing to go. "Old Crow." Yami called out to him "Let's go and regroup!"

"Of course, that would be the smart thing to do." Alfred answered, jumping away with Yami as the Jellyfish struck the building they were standing on. 'Old Man Owen's healing magic also skyrocketed, except now the healing's so powerful, it'll bust a hole in my ass. I'll be finished if either one of them manages to hit me. Shit!'.

"I don't know who that corpse is, but is it precious to you?" Owen asked "It doesn't matter who they are. All humans are sinners and deserve to die."

"If it's that precious to you, how about I rip it to shreds right in front of you?" Marx suggested.

Marx shot several bolts at the cocoon, but Yami blocked them all with his katana. "Don't you ever make those two say shit like that ever again.". Yami leapt at the duo, preparing to attack with his katana. "You're just going to be easier to hit if you leap right at us!" Marx said Memory Magic: Torment Canceller!

Yami smiled "As long as the Old Crow's got my back" several more plates appeared to absorb the bolts "Attacks like that can never hit me!". Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Blade Storm! Yami unleashed a flurry of slashes, purposefully avoiding the duo, and slicing the jellyfish apart.

Leaping off of the shredded parts of the Jellyfish, Yami reached the duo atop the jellyfish. Dark Cloaked Lightless Blunt Slash! He struck both of them at the back of the head, taking them out. ´You two can take a little nap.'.

"See, I swore to a man you both respected that I'd protect this country." Yami said "For crying out loud…These two don't even use battle magic, and they were this much trouble?". Yami sensed something coming from beneath him, and immediately jumped away, avoiding an eruption of giant roses.

"My comrades…" A woman spoke "It appears you let your guard down, considering you just woke up. Rest a while within my magic.".

"Well, that's damn nice if you. It's not like you, though, Spiny Prickly Queen." Yami said, seeing Charlotte emerge from within a rose.

"I don't know who you are, but you seem quite skilled for a human." Charlotte replied.

"Yami," Alfred said behind him "Don't let your guard down."

Yami busted through a wall to escape Charlotte's Briar magic, discovering civilians. 'Shit!'.

"Get the hell outta here, you dumbasses!" he yelled "If you guys don't survive, I'll murder you!".

'I can't do much about the destruction to the town. As long as the citizens survive, the kingdom won't die But if more of these things keep sprouting up everywhere, we might just get wiped out. The scent from the roses is cloaking the Prickly Queen's magic. This isn't like her at all.'.

"You see…I was always really badass at playing hide-and-seek!" Yami said Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash! He launched his attack, cutting a flower in half and forcing Charlotte out of hiding.

"You have very impressive instincts for a human." Charlotte replied.

"Yami!" Alfred called out to him, and he could see the old man stand on some rubble. "Would you mind keeping destruction to a minimum? This isn't a Black Bulls mission!"

"Elder" Charlotte spoke "I wouldn't like to weak an old man who's already so close to his time."

"What did you say?" Alfred asked "You youngsters really think much of yourselves, don't you?" Pieces of blue crystals coated parts of his body "I may not be what I used to be in my prime, but I'll always be a Magic Knight at heart". 'He's right. He may not have such destructive magic, but his tactics and strategy hold up in a fight. Still…'.

"Old Crow, stay out of it." Yami said "You'll just die prematurely."

"Ha! We both know you can't knock her unconscious like this. So stop acting so tough." Alfred replied. 'That Old man…he really sees through everything.'. Yami turned back to the approaching Charlotte "You used the power of the curse to make yourself stronger through sheer grit…And now some other woman's using your magic perfectly. That's pretty lame, Prickly Queen!"

"Sis!" a woman called out behind Yami. 'Tan girl? What's she doing here?'. "Sis! B-Back there…when you attacked us…That was…"

"Girl" Alfred said "Turn back, now."

"Yeah, but before that." Yami said, floating the black cocoon up to her golem "Take this and get to someplace safe."

"I-I don't take any requests from men!" She said.

"Do you think we have the time for that?!" Alfred yelled "If you don't move your ass this instant, I'll make sure you'll get kicked from the Magic Knights when this is done. 'Wow. He's really agitated right now. Well, it's not like I can't understand him.'.

"There's a hero in there. Be careful with it." Yami instructed.

"I-I can't leave Sis with a guy!" She said, getting off of her golem "I'll bring Sis back to her senses!"

"Sure, go right ahead." Alfred said with a calm look.

"Huh?" tan girl looked confused Earth Magic: Devided-. As Yami expected, her magic completely failed to work under the pressure of the elf's overwhelming magic. "I'll wake Sis up, even if it kills me!" tan girl declared.

"Quit screwing around!" Yami grabbed tan girl by the collar "Our mission right now is to protect and to survive! I understand how you feel. But you need to survive for her sake, too, you dumbass!"

"Please take care of Sis." Tan girl said, tears streaming down her face "Save the Blue Rose Knights' captain!"

"Leave it to me!" Yami threw her onto her golem "Now get outta here!"

"Seriously, you handled her with too much care." Alfred said "If she was in my squad, I would've kicked her and sent her flying."

"I always wondered how the hell are you Julius' teacher." Yami replied.

"You cannot run now" the elf declared, her vines spreading around the both of them.

"Who said we're going to run?" Alfred said, moving at inhuman speeds and appearing behind her. 'He might not be able to deal much damage now that he's an old man, but damn is he still quick.'.

Dark Magic: Black Hole! Yami's spell consumed the elf's, and he went on the offensive, crossing swords with her. "Your subordinate is crying, you know." Yami said "Why the hell are you letting them control you like this? You're not that weak, Charlotte!"

"You have my respect. You are strong." She said after disengaging him, and preparing another attack in the form of a drill.

"That magic sure is insane. My Black Hole can't absorb all that." Yami said "If she fires that off cleanly, it'll blow away half this town, and we'll be dealing with a bunch of dead people. Tch! You've always had my respect."

"Of course." Alfred said, standing on a roof of a nearby building "that's why it'll never fire." Sapphire Magic: Borealis Vitreus. Pieces of blue crystal appeared out of thin air, attaching themselves to the rotating construct until it was completely covered. Energy started resonating within the crystal, and it started to shrink, floating up to Alfred and joining his collection of floating crystals.

'His magic can absorb and release mana, as well as disturb it. But I never though he'd be able to take out something that big.'.

"How's that for an old man?" Alfred asked, checking out the brand-new crystal.

Midoriya's P.O.V

"Maybe it's because I'm a liar myself, but I've always been able to tell when someone is lying." Raia said "Anti-magic shrimp…What you said earlier…You were actually serious about that. I hate to admit it, but it moved my heart a bit.". even though he said that, the pages of his grimoire flipped as if he was preparing for another spell. Copy Magic: Light Swords of Conviction! Copy Magic: Lightless Slash!

'Now he can use more than one at the same time?!'.

Mana Zone: Calidos Brachium Barrage! Mereoleona's attacks destroyed Raia without a problem. "Do you see now, you fool?" Mereoleona asked "No matter how much you want to understand, that's not an option for them! They're trying to kill us based on feelings they can't negotiate.".

"In that case," Bakugo got into a stance "We can blow them all to hell!"

"Very well, you fool." Mereoleona said "Otherwise, I'm going to defeat him first."

Mereoleona resumed her attack, and Raia jumped into a portal, moving between several portals at incredible speeds. He now started shooting out attacks in between, but everyone were able to avoid getting hit.

"Seriously, how the hell are we supposed to deal with him?" Zora asked, and the ceiling started cracking, before completely breaking. Out of it, appeared Rill with a bunch of snakes. "Oh, hey, it's Raia. Heya, how've you been?" Rill asked, and Raia landed atop one on the serpents.

"Hey, Lira. I see you're as crazy as ever."

"And I see that your face is as droll as ever, Raia." Rill replied "Raia, Raia, Raia!" Rill flew over and hugged Raia, clinging onto him. "Stop it! You're so annoying!".

"I'm so happy to see you!" Rill said, crying.

"Hey! What are you doing, Rill?!" Asta asked. 'There's no way…could it be? The face marks, the pointy ears, the aura…it all matches.'.

"Asta…I think Rill is one of them." Midoriya said.

"What do you mean?" Asta asked "This is Rill! Are you blind?"

"I don't have any human friends." Rill said "I'll just have to shut you up with my Picture Magic: Four-Headed Lindworm." All four serpents opened their mouths, revealing power inside. Fire, lightning, water and poison. They then charged, and everyone scattered, blocking or evading however they could.

"He's basically being controlled by the enemy's magic." Zora said "Go smack him with your anti-magic!"

"Got it!"

"Sorry, but your magic won't be able to reach us anymore!" Raia said.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Zora said "It's not like I was just watching two monsters duke it out this while time.". Ash Trap Magic: Total Activation! A whole bunch of magic circles appeared.

"Ah, so you secretly planted some trap magic. But paralysis on this level does next to nothing to us." Raia said.

'Not paralysis. A smokescreen!'. Midoriya and Asta saw their opening, and rushed to their opponents. Asta slain the serpents, and gone after Rill. But to no avail. While that was happening, Midoriya attempted to rush Raia, but the latter ran away before he could.

"This isn't a simple little spell." Raia said, appearing elsewhere "It's a reincarnation spell that brings the souls of elves to dwell in human bodies."

'What!? So that means… they are in total control. This isn't some mind control, they are doing this on their own!'.

"The spell that summons the souls is complete." Raia said "These bodies belong to us now."

"You can't be serious! Change Rill back to nor-" Asta was cut off by the arrival of 3 more elves.

"Hey, we're retreating." Zora said.

"What are you talking about?!" Asta asked "We can't just leave everyone! Not yet! We can't leave yet!"

"Asta." Midoriya spoke "I don't think facing them head-on is a good idea. We need to regroup and create a strategy. It could be possible that a lot of us are elves now."

"I guess you're right…" Asta said.

"Anyway, do you really think you can get away from us?" Raia asked.

"We don't need to" Bakugo said "we still haven't achieved our perfect victory."

"Okay, kiddos." Mereoleona blew a hole in the wall of the dungeon, grabbing all of them with fiery arms, and throwing them out. "You can head home first, you fools." She said as she sealed the hole with rubble.

"What is she thinking?!" Midoriya said "She wouldn't be able to win, no way. I've read the flow. Those guys…they are not normal."

"The flow?" all of them asked.

"It's kind of a way to sense mana." Midoriya said.

"Oh, you mean the inferno." Bakugo replied "Yeah, it was not acting normal."

"I don't really understand it, But we have to go back and help her!" Asta said.

"You dumbass. We're getting outta here." Zora said.

"No." Bakugo spoke up "If I have to admit defeat, we'll at least take that crazy woman with us. I have a plan, so listen up you little shits. We'll have to overwhelm them as quickly as possible, grab the crazy woman, and then I'll cover our ass as we escape. Got it?"

"Yes!" Asta said "That sounds great!".

"Listen, they are using all kinds of spells in there, so we need to hurry our asses." Bakugo said "Let's wait for our opening, and then strike."

After waiting for the battle to quite down, Bakugo made his move. "We move, Now!" he said, placing his hands on the rubble, blowing it away with an explosion. Midoriya could sense the Ki of everyone, Mereoleona and the Elves.

"Looks like you're back for more, huh?" Raia asked "Even she couldn't defeat us. What chance do you have?".

"You fools…" Mereoleona said, her voice barely heard.

"We got a damn good chance." Bakugo declared with a smile "I'll blow you all to hell."

"You really are idiots." Raia said "You just wasted all the time this lady bought you."

"I tend to disagree." Bakugo said "Deku, go!"

Midoriya picked Mereoleona up, and Zora made hole in the ground for them to escape from. 'Now's his turn.'.

Bakugo launched himself halfway towards the elves as the rest prepared to exit through the hole. "I'll make you pay…Eye of the Midnight Sun!" Bakugo threw his hands forward, pointing them at his opponent. Mana Enhance – Explosion: Supernova Strike! Bakugo glowed with power, creating a fiery aura around him that condensed around his hands, which glowed brighter than Midoriya had ever seen. "DIE!" Bakugo blasted the elves with the biggest explosion he could muster, one brighter and bigger than ever before. The recoil sent Bakugo flying back, and Asta caught him.

"Let's go!" Midoriya said, and they all jumped into the hole, heading to escape the dungeon.

"See?" an exhausted Bakugo said from atop Asta's shoulder "I told you it'll work."

"Hmph" Zora responded.

"Hang on, now…" Raia said, appearing from a portal, and grabbing Asta "I'm not letting you get away. I'm gonna have you come with me to see Licht. You're going to return that grimoire and those swords to Licht.

"Zora!" Midoriya threw Bakugo over to the masked knight "Midoriya, Take care of Captain Mereoleona! I promise I'll make it back alive!" he gave them a thumbs-up as Raia took him into the portal "So head on back first!".

"You can't be serious!" Zora said "What did you just say earlier? Weren't the three of us gonna survive this together? I'll make sure you regret it if you don't make it back, you hear me?!"

"Asta!" Midoriya called out to his friend, but with Mereoleona on his back, he could do nothing as his friend got pulled into the portal.

---

Hope you enjoyed!