It had been a few months since Bethany Yuki had appeared in the Elves lives and shown them and the two human royals their future. It was now getting close to the time of the massacre, the time when the Word Soul Devil would appear and everyone was on edge, Tettia especially, since she had discovered her pregnancy shortly after they'd returned. The human Princess didn't want to lose her son again, and neither did her husband. Lemiel had been meeting with the Elves even more than before, trying to come up with some kind of plan that they could use to save themselves. He had even brought Secre in, explaining the situation. Thankfully, that had been on a day when the Card Mage had been visiting, so it was easy to prove everything. Now they were just waiting.
"Hey Licht?" Patry asked as he sat on the grass with his older friend, both trying to relax a bit. "Yes Patry?" the Elf Leader replied. "If we can't stop it, and everyone dies and gets Reincarnated again, pretty much everyone will be consumed by hatred except for you and I" the boy said. He didn't need to explain which 'it' he meant. "I might be able to get the future mages to listen to me, but what if things go wrong this time? What if, even with our future knowledge, or because of it, we mess up and the world ends?" Patry asked, extremely worried. If they failed- "we won't. I promise you Patry, weather it is us, or our alternate future versions, we will not fail this time. We have too much at stake to fail" Licht replied. "Yeah-" the boy began unsurely, before perking up, "yeah! We will save everyone!" he replied cheerfully. Licht smiled brightly at him. "We've decided to move the wedding date to later, hopefully that will throw that damned Devil off while we search for him.
Once he's found, Bethany will come in and, bringing our alternate versions, destroy him before he even has a chance to speak, that's our plan" the adult replied. "Really? Thanks for the heads up" a chillingly familiar voice replied from behind them. The two Elves practically shrieked and leapt to their feet, spinning around to find the bodiless Devil floating there, a big grin on his face, "well now, good thing I decided to stalk you before the 'big day', you've given me so much useful information!" he exclaimed in delight. Patry whimpered, moving behind Licht who glared at the monster, 'it's too early! We don't have anyone who can fight or trap him!' he thought, gripping his Grimoire tight, "you're not getting it, or hurting my friends" he said resolutely. Zagred laughed, "oh no, I'm afraid you've got it wrong, I'm not here for your Grimoire and body," he turned his attention to Patry, who flinched under the monsters gaze, and began to shake, 'oh god no, he's not-' he thought worriedly, terrified, before the Word Soul Devil laughed again.
"That's right, I'm after a much easier prey" he replied with a sick grin, "Word Soul Magic: Ingellorous motour!" he said, and all of a sudden a huge black whirling vortex appeared beneath their feet. Licht leapt away from it's radius, but realised too late that he wasn't the intended target. Patry screamed, making the adult Elf immediately turn back towards his young friend, to see him stuck in the dark vortex and being sucked down, "help me! Licht!" he screamed in terror. "Party! Hold on!" he cried, stabbing the Demon-Dweller Sword into the vortex, only for it to do nothing. The older Elf grit his teeth, 'damn it, I forgot, I can't use my magic against him without having turned myself into a Demon first!' he thought in anger. "Please, help! I don't wanna become a monster!" Patry begged, tears in his eyes. By now the teen was far too deep in the portal for Licht to help him, "we'll save you! I swear it! Just hold on!" the Sword Magic user called.
"Please!" the young Elf cried as he disappeared into the darkness. Zagred laughed at the horrified and helpless expression on Licht's face, before he too dove into the portal and disappeared. The Leader of the Elves stared at the spot Patry had been mere moments ago, horror-struck. It hadn't been enough. All their preparations and plans had been useless in the end. He didn't even realise he was sobbing until his vision began to blur and he felt the wetness on his cheeks. All his strength, and that was the best he could do? He'd promised Patry that the Devil would never hurt him, and yet- Licht began gasping for breath, what would happen now? They had to save Patry somehow, but- suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. Turning, he found his three other closest friends, Raya, Vetto and Fana standing there and looking at him with concern. How long had they been there! "Are you okay? you look horrible" Raya asked.
Licht began to shake. He knew from his experience with the Veiwings how important it was to let out his emotions when in a state like this, but- "P-Patry, Patry's been taken!" he rasped, causing his friends to gasp, "by who?!" Fana demanded. "The Devil of course! We have to go save him!" Vetto exclaimed. "We can't, our magic doesn't work against him remember? I've confirmed that for myself while interacting with that monster just now. He summoned a vortex to suck Patry in, and I tried to use my sword to absorb the magic, but it didn't do anything!" Licht replied, standing and drying his eyes, "this is the time, where we need Bethany and our alternate future selves! They're the only ones who can help us save our friend" he said in determination, taking out a magic item that the Card Mage had given him for when the time came. It looked like a regular book, but if someone in this world wrote in it, the message would appear in the book that Bethany had in her world.
Then she would know that it was time to act. "As soon as everyone gets here, we have to go into hiding, but I know that we can trust our alternate future selves to save Patry and destroy that monster once and for all!" Licht exclaimed, finishing writing his message and closing the book to wait for a reply.
Black Clover
(Meanwhile, in Bethany's world)
Akira watched his wife as she carefully designed a brand new Tsukuyomi Card, The RECOVER. It could heal anyone of any injury or illness. Despite her originally horrible drawing skills without having something to copy, the female Yuki was elegant and meticulous in her design process. In Bethany's own words: "these are my children, I want them to look their best. If I can't even design a Tsukuyomi Card properly, how can I call myself their Master or their Mother?" Yue walked into the study with his usual board look on his face, "Bethany, it's lunchtime" he said. But the young woman was so engrossed in what she was doing, that she didn't even hear her Moon Guardian call for her. He sighed, 'so much like Clow in that respect' he thought and went over to his Master. Suddenly Bethany jumped up, "yes, finally, it's nearly done!" she cheered, holding the Card up.
"While I'm glad for that, you know that you need to eat a lot, otherwise you won't have the Magic for everything" Yue replied, causing his Master/daughter to sweat-drop and rub the back of her head, "sorry Yue, but I did have a very big breakfast you know. I just have a feeling that something big is going to happen today" she replied sheepishly. "*sigh* well, I suppose I could put your lunch away for later" the Moon Guardian replied, as the Mage turned to leave the room. Suddenly Akira noticed something on a shelf, "uh, hey Bethany, is that book supposed to be glowing like that?" he asked, pointing to one of the seemingly normal looking books his wife had on the shelves in her study. Were they all magical? The brown-haired woman walked over to the book in question, before gasping and quickly grabbing it from the shelf. "Remember when I told you about those Elves and humans that I had helped? The ones from the world with the Devils in it?" Bethany asked, flipping it open. "Yeah, you said you'd shown them their future so that they could stop it, why?" Her husband asked.
"Well I left them a copy of this book, so that if and when the Devil that had tried to kill and use them in the original timeline appeared, they could let me know about it. I did not show all of them all those horrible things just to fail in changing their future now!" The Card Mage exclaimed, reading the information quickly. When she'd finished, she grit her teeth and nearly broke her pencil, she was gripping it so hard. Beginning to write in it, Bethany wrote out her reply: 'I understand. I'll gather everyone and head over to your world as soon as possible. I only pray that Patry can hold out until we get there. Bethany Yuki' then she closed the book. After doing so, the human Mage began to rush around the room. "Um, Bethany?" Keroberos asked, padding over in confusion as he entered the library to stand by Yue's side, "what, exactly, are you doing?" the winged lion asked. "I have to leave this world for a while, and I'm going to need help while I'm gone. I'm just gathering what I'll need to get that help" she explained.
Keroberos turned to look over at the husband of his Master and both shrugged. "Would you like us to come with you?" Yue asked in concern. "No, it's fine, besides, there's no one I'd trust more to look after everything while we're gone" Bethany replied, finally seeming to be satisfied with her preparations, as she stopped in the middle of the room, "alright, don't burn down the house while I'm gone" she said cheerfully, causing Keroberos to become angry, "I THOUGHT YOU SAID THAT YOU TRUSTED US!" He cried. Bethany giggled, "I do, it was just a joke" she replied. Then the Card Mage took out her PORTAL Card and activated it with her staff, "okay PORTAL, take me to the Clover Kingdom!" Bethany called. She stepped through, and the entrance closed up behind her.
Black Clover
(In the Black Clover world, with Patry and the Devil)
Patry didn't remember much. One second he had been grabbed by the Devil and was being dragged through some kind of portal, the next he was unconscious. When he woke up again, he found himself in some kind of giant cage, that seemed to be suspended in nothing. The young Elf gasped and shot to his feet, looking around. "Licht!" he called, "Fana! Vetto! Raya!" Patry cried, gripping the bars of his cage, "someone!" The young Elf looked around the outside of the cage, but found nothing but darkness. Beginning to shake, the boy gripped the bars tightly with his pale hands. It was freezing here, wherever here was, and the cold only added to his trembling. "The others will come save me, I know it" he muttered to himself. "Really?" a horribly familiar voice called, making the boy jump and look around.
The Word Soul Devil's Spirit floated in the air behind him quite leisurely. 'What the-! How did he get there without me sensing him! His malice and evil Mana should have given him away easily!' Patry thought, backing up tighter against the bars, "What do you want?!" he demanded. Ever since the Veiwings, the boy had created a barrier around his heart and only a few of the people closest to him could get through it, and only when he wanted. This was a defence mechanism, a way to protect himself from further suffering. He hoped that it would also keep the Devil out of his heart, at least long enough for his friends to save him. "You will be mine you know," the malicious Spirit began conversationally. "No matter what you try to do or how hard you fight, that body will belong to me soon enough" he said.
Patry snorted, and had to fight to keep the tremble out of his voice, "I'm not scared of you, my friends will save me!" Zagred floated closer, a smirk on his face, "not scared? Oh please, you're trembling so hard that you might end up shaking your way out of here" he mocked, before chuckling, "you really think those so-called friends of yours will save you? Ha! I almost pity you little boy" he replied with fake concern in his voice. "Shut up! I'm not listening to anything you say, and my friends will save me! I believe in them!" Patry replied resolutely. He truly believed that.
"Awe, you believe in them! That so sweet!" he mocked, circling the young Elf and making him back away to keep away from him. Turning, Patry narrowed his eyes, making sure to keep the monster in sight at all times. "You know, I envy you boy. You have a loving mother, a great life, wonderful friends, who are very powerful and who care about you so much- *gasp*! But wait! If your friends really cared so much, they'd be here by now- so where are they?" the Devil asked sinisterly, making Patry gasp slightly. "What, are you saying?" the boy asked shakily. "Well, you seem so sure that these friends of yours are going to come save you, so where, are they?" he asked. The young Elf gaped, beginning to tremble, "many of your friends are extremely strong, if they wanted to save you, don't you think they'd already be here?" Zagred asked. "They, they just don't know where I am yet, th-that's all!" Patry replied, his mental and emotional strength beginning to waver. The Devil grinned, sensing the cracks beginning to form in the young Elf's defences.
"I'm afraid you've got it wrong little boy." He began, circling Patry and making him move back to the centre of the cage, "no one's coming to save you, because no one cares about you" the Devil added. The 15-year-old Elf gasped again, eyes widening, feeling like he'd just been punched in the gut, "no, you're wrong, they- they-" he began breathing hard, shaking his head, thinking about all his friends, heck, even Raya had become his friend since the Veiwings! "My friends are- coming to save me" Patry said, voice shaking as his heart beat like crazy inside his chest. "I'm afraid not. Look around you," The evil spirit spread his 'arms', "your friends aren't here. They've abandoned you!" he cried, causing the boy to freeze in his tracks, tears forming in his eyes as he shook even harder. "No, it's not true. Th-they are my friends. They, they'll come, and, and-" Patry began, but he couldn't bring himself to finish that sentence.
No matter how hard he tried to hold on to the belief, he could feel it. His hope was starting to crumble. And as it did the defences around his heart began to weaken and crack. Zagred grinned, 'not long now, I've almost got him!' he thought in triumph. Patry could feel doubt starting to creep into his mind, 'they wouldn't really leave me here, right? Licht and the others, they'll save me, won't they? But, they're still not here. Why? M-maybe, they can't find me? But, what if- they really have abandoned me?' As the doubts started to fill his mind, his defence cracked even more. Patry shut his eyes tightly, tears streaming down his face, 'Licht! Everyone! Please, hurry! I, don't know how much more of this I can take' he thought desperately. 'Just a bit more! I'm so close!' the Devil thought in glee. Suddenly a huge streak of darkness sliced through the cage bars. "What!?" Zagred demanded in outrage.
Yuno, Asta, Yami, the alternate future Patry, the seemingly revived alternate Licht and Lemiel along with their current selves leapt into the cage. The young Patry gasped, hope reigniting in his heart, "h-how did you guys get here!?" he asked in shock. "That would be me" another and much more welcome familiar voice called. Bethany stepped up from behind them, "it's over you bastard, you won't get your way this time!" she cried, wearing her full Mage outfit and holding her staff, "so, magic from other worlds can affect you, huh? Why don't you try some of mine!" Bethany cried, "FIREY!" she called, summoning her most violent Child and directing her towards the Devil, "there you go, a real challenge for you dear, go as crazy as you want against him, just don't kill us in the process, okay?" she asked. FIREY smirked, "oh don't worry Mother, I'll make sure that bastard is the only one getting incinerated today!" she replied, forming a large fireball in hand.
"Iron Lances!" Zagred called, and suddenly Patry was impaled. It took a second to register, but when it did, the poor boy screamed in agony, 'I was right! This does hurt more than anything I've ever felt!' he thought, screaming and sobbing from the pain. "Patry!" Licht cried, eyes wide in horror. "Sword!" the evil creature cried again, a blade forming of dark matter and pointing right at the agonised boys throat, "take one step and I slit his throat!" the Devil said with an evil grin. Licht locked eyes with his young friend, "it's going to be okay Patry, we're going to save you" he assured, somehow coming off as both fiercely determined and gently reassuring at the same time. Patry continued to sob, but gave a shaky smile, "I-I know. I, never stopped, believing in *pant* you" he replied. Recalling The FIREY, the Card Master pulled out a different Card instead. "MOVE!" Bethany called, the pair of wings zipping over to the young Elf and attaching themselves to him. Once they had, they flapped once and Patry vanished from where he had been pinned and dangling and reappeared in Bethany's arms. Before the evil creature could do anything, alternate Future Patry was on him, black light already forming a spell in his hands.
"Was that another Tsukuyomi Card?" Lemiel asked in interest as she passed the young Elf over to him for healing. As the Human Prince got to work on that, Bethany nodded, "The MOVE can move objects a short distance, it normally can't transport living creatures, but I put more magic into it so that we could get Patry out of there- it's a good thing I ate a large breakfast this morning" she replied in explanation. As soon as Patry was safe, the alternate revived human Prince was instantly upon the Devil, followed closely by Licht, as Asta took on his Black Asta form and changed his Demon-Slayer Sword into the Black Divider. It was immediately obvious that this version of Asta had had more training with his abilities, because he changed his sword almost instantly and had no problem controlling the Anti-magic this time. Then the boy shot towards the monster in a streak of black, quickly catching up to the others.
Meanwhile, Lemiel was using his healing spell on Patry, who was being cradled gently in Lichts arms. The adult Elf was hoping that he wasn't causing the boy even more pain. But the future Light Magic user relaxed as the spell did its job, before slowly opening his eyes. "You're, really here," he muttered softly, weakly, "I thought I had passed out and it was a dream". "No dream, it's really us. We came to save you Patry" Licht assured. The young Elf smiled slightly, seemingly half asleep, "that feels nice, the pain is going away" he muttered in reference to the human Prince's Healing Spell. "I'm glad. Your wounds should be healed soon, okay?" Lemiel replied with a smile. Then he turned to look back at where the fight was going on, 'part of me wishes we could do more, but-' he looked back down at the boy he was healing, 'if this is all we can do, at least we did manage to help someone' he thought. As the fight went on, Zagred cackled, "you're all quite strong, without my body and Grimoire, I don't stand a chance!" he said mockingly. "Vacuum Barrier!" he called, and suddenly all of them were slammed to the ground.
Asta grit his teeth in anger, as the Demon-Destroyer Sword slid out of his Grimoire and dropped to the ground. Straining himself, the boy forced his arm forwards until he could grip the handle, causing Anti-magic to leak out, "Demon-Destroyer Sword, Fate Release!" he cried, sucking the magic out of the air and releasing the pressure on all of them. The moment the weight was gone, the boy shot forwards in another blur of black, sword aimed for the Devil's heart. "Wave of Flames!" the monster called, and a huge wave of fire shot out at him. Asta cut through the flames with the Demon-Destroyer Sword and leapt into the air, releasing his hold on the smaller sword and letting it sink back into his Grimoire, before once more pulling out his Demon-Slayer Sword. However, before he could transform it again, it was knocked out of his hand. The boy turned to growl at the Devil. "What are you going to do now? Without that sword, you're nothing but a pitiful human!" the creature exclaimed. But the grey-haired boy's growl soon turned into a smirk, and he held out his hand, surprising everyone but Bethany.
"W-wait, why isn't he going after the sword?" Patry asked in confusion. "Demon-Slayer Sword!" Asta called. The anti-magic weapon suddenly stopped it's decent and shot back up into the air, right into the teen's waiting hand. "What!?" the Word Soul Devil cried in shock as the human transformed it into Black Divider again, "you shouldn't underestimate us humans, you bastard!" he exclaimed. Suddenly Zagred was forced to dodge a Dark-Cloaked Lightless Slash from Yami, "d'ya forget I'm here ya piece of trash!?" the Magic Knight Captain asked. Both Lichts smiled at the anti-magic boy, 'He's improved a lot with my old swords. I know now that I defiantly made the right choice in leaving them with him' the original Licht thought. The alternate Licht also smiled in pride, 'at the very least, I'm glad that, in Asta's hands, my swords are able to help' then he frowned slightly, 'heaven knows I can't do anything myself. I'm kind of sad that this timelines Asta won't gain these abilities, he uses them so well'.
Suddenly Lemiel shot a barrage of light blades at the evil creature, distracting him enough for Asta to shoot forwards, sword aimed for his heart- the Devil dodged, sending the boy straight at the Prince, "wah! Look out!" the orphan called. Before the blade could connect, the alternate future Patry shot out Light blades of his own, causing the anti-magic weapon to move to slice them apart instead, "thanks! I didn't really wanna hit him again!" Asta called gratefully, regaining control of Black Divider. Both Lichts smiled a little sheepishly, 'I suppose anti-magic is still drawn to powerful Mana either way. If it's already headed that way, it probably would be pretty hard to keep it under control. That's just it's nature' the original Licht thought, sweat-dropping a little. "You'll never be able to defeat me you know. Even without the Five-Leaf Grimoire, I'm far too powerful for mere mortals to destroy" Zagred mocked. Asta grinned, "oh yeah? Think again bastard, because we already destroyed you once, and we'll do it again!" he replied. "Well, I have yet to see anything special about any of you" the creature of darkness replied flippantly.
AF Patry clenched his fists, Grimoire floating up, pages flipping, and-wait- Licht's eyes widened, that Grimoire wasn't just the Light magic one he had in the Veiwings. "That's not possible, how does that version of Patry have both his own Grimoire and my own?!" the Elf asked in shock. "What?!" Lemiel exclaimed, turning to examine the book from where he stood as well. Now that he looked closer, the Grimoire that the reanimated Elf was using did seem to be made up of two different Grimoires. One half of the book was Golden, with two sun symbols on the cover, one big sun with a smaller one inside it. And the other cover was a light grey with white sections and golden designs all over the cover. On the inside was a golden Four-Leaf Clover. "That's- how- what?" the human Prince asked in shock, looking from the two Lichts, to Asta, to the future Patry and back to his friend again, "I'm so confused!" the blond man exclaimed.
"Basically, after Patry was revived, he had to go get another Grimoire from the Tower. His Light Magic one was bound to his Soul, but had been corrupted. Lichts Sword Magic Grimoire had also been corrupted and was no longer his. But both body and Soul had a bond with those Grimoires, so when he went to the tower, purified versions of those two Grimoires appeared and chose him, fusing together to form Patry's current Grimoire. In other words-" Bethany paused with a grin as the boy in Lichts cloned body reached into his Grimoire and pulled out- the original Demon-Dweller Sword. Then the books pages began to flip, "Demon Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!" Patry cried, multiple swords of black light appearing around him. Licht watched in shock, before something occurred to him, "but wait, even if that sword is an exact replica of mine, down to the abilities, won't it still be ineffective against the Devil?" he asked. Bethany grinned, "not quite".
"Ha! What exactly do you think you'll be able to do with that giant tooth-pick of yours? Magic from this world can't-!" the Devil began, while dodging the black light blades only to be cut off as Patry vanished from his view, 'what!?' he thought in shock. The clone of Licht appeared right in front of his previous attack and absorbed the Demon Light Swords into it. Teleporting right as Zagred turned to look, Patry reappeared in front of the monster and swung his sword, sending out arcs of Demon Light Magic that were far faster than his usual Light Magic spells. "Good move!" the original Licht said, impressed with how far his young friend had come. "Return!" the Word Soul Devil called, sending the attacks back at the Light and Sword Mage. "Oh no you don't!" Asta cried as future Lemiel teleported him in front of the attack. Swinging the Demon-Slayer Sword like a bat, the boy knocked the attacks right back at the Devil.
The monster opened his mouth, but all of a sudden Lemiel was there with a Light Sword poised to strike and Patry had appeared above him, Demon-Dweller Sword already in mid swing. Zagred couldn't escape. "Get back!" he cried, and the two mages and one Magic Knight were flung back, while the attack was dodged. Before it could go too far though- "Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!" Yami called, sending his own attack at the Devil and knocking Patry's attack back on course at the same time. The attacks hit their mark, causing an explosion. "Did we get him?!" the current Licht asked, eyes glued to the battle raging above. "I'm finished healing Patry" the current Lemiel said, causing the adult Elf's gaze to snap down to the boy now resting peacefully in his arms. Licht sighed with relief, seeing the smile on his young friends face, and held Patry closer, "thank you Lemiel, really" he replied gratefully, although as soon as he'd ensured that all the wounds were indeed gone and that the younger Elf was resting peacefully, he couldn't help but turn back to the sky to watch the fight.
His best friend and soon-to-be brother followed his gaze, before placing his hand on Licht's shoulder, "they can do this, we know they can, we've seen it for ourselves" he said reassuringly. The Elf Leader nodded, "I know, I'm just a bit nervous. But I know that they can do it. I believe in them" he replied. Suddenly the Devil flew out of the smoke, "you really think that's enough to defeat me?! I will crush every one of you, but before I do-" he grinned evilly, staring at the Elves "I believe your species has a little overpopulation problem! Word Soul magic: Ingellorous motour!" he called, the same black portal from before appearing and he soon disappeared into it. Asta threw his Demon-Dweller Sword at the portal, the Anti-magic weapon absorbing the Underworld Spatial Magic, but it was too late, the Devil was gone already. "Damn it! I missed 'im!" the boy exclaimed in anger, growling lowly in frustration.
"We have to hurry! *pant* he's *gasp* going after everyone else!" Patry exclaimed weakly from where he was still being healed. "Right! PORTAL!" Bethany cried, the Tsukuyomi Card dissolving into the swirling vortex of light, which everyone rushed into.
Black Clover
The group came out the other side in the middle of the Elven village. The future Licht raced to the bell that was used to signal emergencies and began ringing it frantically, "everyone get over here now unless you want to die!" he ordered. Suddenly the air became charged with magic. Everyone felt it and immediately ran over towards the group, despite their initial confusion. Just as the last of the Elves surrounded the others, a familiar Light Magic Spell appeared over the village. "SHEILD!" Bethany cried. A split second later light spears began raining down on the village, destroying everything. Everyone either screamed or huddled together in terror, while the human mage grit her teeth, "damn it! What the hell is up with this spell, it's, so strong!?" the Card Mage muttered, struggling to keep her child at full strength.
Suddenly Future Patry looked down at his body in shock, "our Mana is being drained, just like last time!" the clone of Licht cried. "Yep, that explains it," Bethany replied, struggling against the spears of light that were still battering the shield. Asta pulled out the handle of his Demon-Destroyer Sword, "I can stop them!" he called. "No, not yet. We have to be smart about this Asta. If you erase his spell, he'll know we're here. And with everyone still here and with no Mana, we'll all be sitting ducks," AF Patry replied, both Lichts nodding along. "So, what are we supposed to do? Bethany's kid isn't going to be able to hold out forever!" the Anti-magic boy replied. As if to prove his point, said Mage began to breath heavily in exhaustion. "I think I, h-have an idea *pant*" Patry said. The current Licht looked down at the teen with an encouraging smile on his face, "yes Patry, go ahead" he replied gently, but with a slight edge to his voice.
"I-if Bethany, uses, PORTAL to, *pant* get, e-everyone out- the Light Magic Spell, m-may destroy the, *pant* village, but, everyone w-will still be a-alive and, safe. *pant* then, th-the ones who c-can fight the D-Devil can come b-back and destroy h-him *pant*" the young Elf explained haltingly as he was still emotionally and physically exhausted. "That actually might work" Lemiel replied. "Well, yeah, that might work- if I wasn't concentrating on keeping this shield over everyone! I just said that it's taking, *groan* e-everything I have, to, k-keep this shield up- even the magic in my battery is going into this shield- I don't have the magic or the focus to spare to, u-use The PORTAL Card!" Bethany replied. Suddenly one spot on the shield began to crack and someone screamed. The Card Mage grit her teeth, sweating from the amount of Magic she was putting into holding up the protective barrier. "Yeah well, your Card isn't going to hold out forever either, so either you keep holdin' it up until it fails and we all end up dyin' anyway, or you push past your limits and get these Elves to safety" Yami replied.
Bethany turned to look behind her at the cowering Elves: mothers, fathers, children who were sobbing in fear and clutching onto their parents or siblings. Her expression firmed in resolve and she turned around. "You're right Sir, I should have been trying harder. This isn't about me or my magic, this is about people's lives! If I can't save the people who need me, what good am I!?" Bethany demanded. Suddenly she began to glow with a bright pink light, causing everyone to either cover their eyes or squint. The otherworldly Mage was summoning a massive amount of Magic. She had her eyes closed in focus, "I can do this, I'm not alone," then Bethany opened her eyes and smiled, "everything will be okay". Suddenly the shield began to strengthen, until the light from the attacks was almost blocked out completely. Then the young woman took out another Card, "PORTAL! Get us back to our home!" she called as the swirling vortex appeared.
"Everyone into the portal now!" both Lichts cried at once. The other Elves didn't stop to argue. Everyone began rushing through the vortex as if their lives depended on it, which they did. "Okay, not so fast, no pushing, be careful, it's okay, I promise everyone will be able to get to safety!" AF Licht called, as his current timeline counterpart helped his pregnant Fiancé along, "don't worry Tettia, little Yuno will be fine, just try to stay calm, Bethany's Spell hasn't failed yet" the Elf Leader said. Meanwhile said young woman was drawing on her Star Magic to boost her reserves and power her Child. She could hear her other Tsukuyomi Cards cheering her on through her connection with them: "You can do this Mother!" WINDY called encouragingly. "Don't give up! We believe in you!" ARROW added. "Just hold on a little longer, we're all here for you!" TIME said. "As long as you believe in yourself as much as we believe in you, you can do anything!" HOPE cheered. "SO DON'T GIVE UP!" Everyone cried together.
As the last of the Elves made it through the portal, the shield fell and arrows of light began once again destroying the now empty village. Bethany tried to make it through, but her entire magic reserve had almost been spent, all that was left was going into The PORTAL. The young woman stumbled and fell as arrows tore up the ground around her, obscuring the view of the human. "BETHANY!" All the Elves and humans who'd been shown their future by her screamed. The portal began to close as it's Master's Magic faded. Suddenly the girl was only a few meters away from the opening. The original Licht gasped as two Tsukuyomi Cards fluttered to the ground around her. He raced forwards and grabbed the human and the two Cards as light arrows rained down around them. "Licht!" Tettia screamed, "hurry up!" Lemiel cried. The Elf Leader raced for the portal and managed to jump through it just before it closed.
To Be Continued