Later, after everything had been cleaned up and everyone was settled again, Bethany walked up to the front of the room. She smiled sadly at everyone, "well, this journey is almost over. Despite everything, I did enjoy meeting all of you, and I pray that your future really will be different. Thank you for baring with me and your willingness to change your destinies. You will see me again, though I hope next time is the last time. Now, let's start, the final Viewing" the young woman said, moving to take her seat in the back of the room as the screen turned on again.
The Devil was in pieces, "impossible. This can't be. I won't have it" he rasped, before hearing laughter.
"Wait, that didn't sound like anyone there" Tettia said nervously.
The Word Soul Devil gasped when he found himself before the Anti-magic Devil inside the Five-Leaf Grimoire.
Everyone gasped, "so that's, the other Devil? The one inside my Grimoire?" Licht asked, only slightly shaken. Bethany nodded, "yep, that's the Anti-magic Devil" she replied.
"You got a problem their 'comrade'?" the other Devil asked sarcastically. "Don't give me that. Who are you? Tell me!" Zagred demanded. The Anti-magic Devil laughed again, "you don't need to know that, it doesn't matter how powerful you are, you've lost this fight, and you're about to disappear for good. Farewell, you disgrace" he said. Then the Word-Soul Devil faded away with a scream. Everyone stared in shock at the spot the Devil had just occupied. "We, won" Lemiel said in disbelief. Patry breathed heavily, remembering everything he'd done and been through because of that monster. And now it was finally over. Secre remembered everything she'd been through with Asta. And how right she'd been to have believed in him. The young/old woman looked close to tears, "I'm grateful" she said softly.
Asta leaned heavily on Yuno's shoulder, both of them exhausted.
Black Clover
Over with Yami and Charla, the Elf was in shock, "that terrible Magic, it vanished," she said "did they, stop him?" she asked hopefully. Yami sagged with a sigh, making Charla gasp, "well it looks like somebody beat me to the punch, but I'm glad to see the job got done" he said. Charla looked away, before making up her mind. She placed her hand on the humans back, "you did well, human" she said. The Magic Knight Captain grinned tiredly, "actually the name's Yami Sukahiro, Prickly Princess 2" he replied. The Elf smiled slightly, "for the last time, call me Charla" she said.
Black Clover
Despite their victory against the Devil however, the Mass was still around, and now, without direction, it simply attempted to swallow the Shadow Palace in it's entirety. "Oh no! his magic's not completely gone!" Patry cried in worry, "it's consuming everything! This place is about to crumble!" Asta and Yuno gasped as the saw the Mass flowing rapidly. The half-Elf looked around desperately, 'we have to get out, now!' he thought.
"Please be careful everyone!" Vetto said worriedly. Everyone else felt the same. "Yuno, baby" Tettia whimpered, hoping beyond hope that everyone would make it out in time. "But there are still people and Elves on the lower floors!" Raya exclaimed. "If our spell fails, they'll all die" Lemiel said in fear, clenching his fists, 'please, let my magic hold out just a little longer!' he begged.
'But what about everyone else!' Lemiel's stone body began to crack more, "I think my body is reaching it's limit! There's not much time!" he said.
Black Clover
(Meanwhile with everyone else) "The light is starting to grow dimmer!" Fuegoleon exclaimed in worry.
Black Clover
Charmy leapt from rock to rock, still carrying Lira in her arms, and looking visibly stressed out "what gives!? I feel all creepy crawly!" she cried, beginning to change from her Dwarf form back to her human form.
Black Clover
The group of Nozel, Jack, Meraleona, Noelle, Mimosa, Raya and Fana flew towards the top of the Shadow Palace as fast as they could. "My connection to Licht tells me- the only way out is on the top floor! Let's goooooo!" Fana called.
Black Clover
Yami and Charla were staring up at the area above them where the exit was, "we can't get up there!" the human man exclaimed, 'if we don't figure this out quick then we're screwed!' he thought in fear. His attention went down to the tunnel, 'that Ki'.
Black Clover
Lemiel grunted as one of the Magic stones making up his eyes fell out and his body cracked even more. "Lemiel!?" Licht asked in worry. The former Prince groaned as his magic finally ran out and the protective light disappeared, 'the light, it's fading!' Licht thought.
"Oh no!" the Human Prince exclaimed, "come on everyone, you have to get out now!" he cried.
The mass overtook everyone as they were still making there way up. "This is bad" Yuno said, as Asta gasped seeing the mass moving towards them. "YOU GUYS!" he screamed, praying that everyone was safe- they had to be, they'd finally destroyed the Devil! Suddenly a black Spatial Magic portal opened above them, causing the grey-haired boy to look up- right before everyone fell out of it on top of them, screaming the whole way. Noelle opened her eyes to find Asta in her arms. She blushed slightly, "hey it's you!" she said nervously. "You're all okay! And man, talk about good timing!" Asta exclaimed with a smile. "stop clinging to me like that you idiot! Back off!" the silver-haired girl cried, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh could be heard, "ah! Sorry!" the orphan replied. Another black portal opened up, and someone, revealed to be Valtos rose out of it, "it seems the person I put my faith in was nothing but a pitiful sinner, just as I am," the screen showed both Valtos and Rades coming out of the portal.
"Now I must make amends for the wrong I've done, if such a thing is even possible" Valtos said. Asta turned to them in surprise, "you two again" he said. "Well this guy doesn't speak for me! I've never been wrong once in my life!" Rades added. "IF YOU WERE HERE, YOU COULD HAVE AT LEAST HELPED US OUT!" Asta yelled angrily, pupils shrinking to almost invisibility in his rage. "HEY DON'T YOU JUDGE ME! I DO WHATEVER I WANT WHENEVER I WANT!" Rades yelled in reply. 'There's one more thing I need to do before this is over' Patry thought, thinking of William. Asta looked down at sensing a familiar Ki, to find Captain Yami jumping up with Charla, and two humans. "What do ya know, just when I least expected it, a boneless ham goes flyin' by!" Yami commented, looking back at the two men. "That little spell of yours might make ya invisible to the naked eye, but I can sense your Ki plain as day," the Magic Knight Captain said, "we gottcha now". "It's Captain Yami!" Asta exclaimed in shock. "And the Blue Rose Knights Captain" he added in surprise. "And that guy, he used to lead the Purple Orcas!" he said in disbelief. "How dare you treat me like this, after all the suffering I've had to endure!" the man dressed in purple exclaimed.
Then he saw the other man who was clinging onto the former Captain's robe, "hey, wait, you're that jerk who stole my Grimoire forever ago and tried to steal Yuno's too!" Asta cried angrily. "Revichi!" the man replied. "What the heck are you two clowns doing here?!" he demanded. "At least we have Magic Power!" Revichi replied indignantly. Lemiel looked surprised for a moment, before smiling, "how impressive! So many Mages with so many different types of spells!" he exclaimed in excitement.
"Yeah, I'd really like to see some of their Magic up close and in-depth!" the current Prince said, a slight pout on his face, as he knew he wouldn't be able to.
"I think the Clover Kingdom is in good hands" he said in satisfaction. Asta turned towards the exit to the Shadow Palace, "enough chit chat, let's get going!" he exclaimed as the doors opened and light filled the screen, before showing everyone all flying through the exit. Charmy had her arms wrapped around Yuno, "I'll never let you out of my sight again Yuno!" she cried. "Hands off him Little Miss Round Head!" Bell cried in anger. "Oh, Charmy, you changed back to your normal self," Asta said in surprise. "That was so cool when you turned all tall and tough before, and your powers were super awesome!" he continued. "Huh? I don't know what you're talking about, I'm sexy, tall and long-legged 24-7!" Chramy replied. "Wha-?" Asta said, seeming lost, "wait, se didn't notice what happened?" Mimosa asked in confusion, "better question, why is Charmy here at all?" Noelle added.
"Cause wherever there's Yuno and yummy nummy's I'm bound to pop up eventually!" the girl replied with a thumbs up.
"Yes, well, I'm not entirely comfortable with that girl being around our Son. Not that I have anything against her personally, she just seems a bit- obsessed" Tettia said.
"Just so you know lady, I'm still going to slice you up! Ke!" Jack called up to Fana, who was covering her chest with her arm, "what's wrong with this guy, he's creepy!" she exclaimed in fear.
"Yes he is, and I am never going anywhere near him, no matter if this ends up being the future or not!" the current Fana added resolutely.
"Settle down, there's no time for idle chatter" Nozel ordered from in front of them. "Remember, this isn't over yet" he said as the group neared the exit to the outside and bright light engulfed them. When they were finally outside the Shadow Place again, Asta squinted before his eyes widened in shock and horror. Explosions and other damage was still being done to city as the other Elves continued to rampage, driven by their hatred and rage.
"Oh no, they don't know the truth and are still being driven by false hatred of humans!" Patry exclaimed, hoping that they could stop their friends before anyone else got hurt or worse. Everyone looked at each other worriedly.
"We have to stop the Elves from destroying the Kingdom. They're still being driven by deep-seeded hatred, completely detached from their real Souls" the Captain of the Silver Eagles explained. "There are so many, how can we overpower them all?!" Noelle asked in worry. Mereoleona made a claw with one hand, "I'll knock them out with one good punch!" she exclaimed. Yami looked over at her in exasperation, 'something tells me that she actually could too' he thought. Asta lifted the Demon-Destroyer Sword, but his arms were shaking with the effort.
"The poor kid looks exhausted. He's been fighting non-stop for the whole night against really powerful opponents" Raya said. "Thankfully he won't have to try and dispel their Reincarnations one by one this time" Bethany said.
"Oh man" he said, 'I won't be able to get to everybody with just one sword. Not to mention my power's running low' he thought. "Licht is here now," Patry began, causing the anti-magic user to look up at him. "There's a way" he explained. He placed a hand on his chest, "William is still lying dormant within me. With his World Tree Magic, we can gather Mana and lifeforce from people all over. To make that happen, we're going to need his Grimoire" the young Elf said, causing Rades to scowl in anger. Suddenly Valtos emerged from a portal, holding the golden Three-Leaf Clover Spell Book. "Take it" he said, holding it out, as Patry turned to look back at him. The Elf took it, looking down in slight melancholy, "this is the one," he replied, "Valtos, thank you" Patry said gratefully. "It doesn't matter who you are, you're still the person who found me that day and saved my life" the Spatial Mage explained.
"Hang on, are you saying-?" Asta began, before the Elf interrupted, "yes. Asta, use that weapon, to destroy me for good" Patry said.
"Wait, why did you say that? You won't be destroyed, the Reincarnation Spell on you will just be ended" Lemiel asked in confusion. The young Elf looked just as confused, "don't look at me, again, that is the future me, I don't know what's going on in his head!" he replied again, hoping they understood now that he had no idea what his future self was thinking.
He held up the sword, "sure that's what you want?" he asked, before the older-looking Elf took hold of the sword and placed it against his chest, "I've already lived twice now. I have regrets but no fear. After all that I did, I'm not sure this is enough to atone for it," he said. Vetto, Fana and the slightly slumped form of Raya watched on, "Patry-" the Copy Mage muttered. He turned and smiled at them, and it was a smile filled with remorse, "I'll be the first one to leave then," he said, before turning back to look at Licht, "forgive me, Licht," Patry begged, "please finish this". "I will" the Elf Leader replied. Patry turned to look back at Asta and nodded, making him nod back. He pushed Anti-magic into the Sword, nullifying the Reincarnation, 'In the end, I got to fight alongside Licht and all my friends. That's enough' he thought as his long hair faded away.
During this whole scene, everyone either had tears in their eyes or were full-on crying. Patry looked down, 'at least the me in this timeline was somewhat content at the end. I would have liked the chance to atone, just like I'm sure he would have, but we all worked together and managed to avenge the Elves in that timeline, so I suppose it's alright for him' he thought, smiling.
Then the burn-like skin that marked William's curse appeared over half his face and he slowly opened his eyes, revealing purple eyes filled with both regret and relief. Yami grunted slightly at the full truth coming out about his rival. "It's Captain Vangance" Yuno said in relief that his Captain was finally back.
"So that's William then?" Patry asked, examining the young human man. "He doesn't look that bad actually" Vetto added.
William reached up and gripped his cape over where his heart was, "Patry" he whispered, 'the lonely Soul whose been with me ever since I was a child. It seems your rage and suffering have finally reached an end' he thought gratefully. His Grimoire then floated up in front of him, flipping through pages, 'but, the story's not over yet' William thought, opening his hand as a small seed appeared in his palm and began to grow, 'this time it's my turn,' he thought. Then a flashback began.
(Flashback) A young William was sitting on a tree branch, tears in his eyes, 'this mark, that was carved upon my face without reason. The Curse that brought me so much mistreatment and hatred,' the dreams he'd had of Patry's memories of the massacre of his people flashed in his mind, 'because of it, his warped feelings towards the Kingdom and the suffering that he went through were undoubtably real to me' he thought. (End flashback)
Back in the present, a tree was growing from the seed, 'this battle happened because I was too weak to believe in Julius's strength, or in the future I was meant to protect. Therefore, I should be the one who puts a stop to this violence!' William thought with conviction, holding out his arms to help his spell grow easier. As he did, Licht placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, causing him to gasp quietly and look back at him. Then the Elf Leader raised the Demon-Dweller Sword into the air where it began to glow, 'I'll connect to their Souls and tell them the truth!' he thought, as the light shot into the air. Multiple lights speared out and attached to each and every Reincarnated Elf causing them to gasp as the recognised their Leaders Mana.
'We need to lure the connected Souls to the World Tree, and bind them together' William thought as the tree kept growing until it was huge and filled with Licht's Mana, "Combo Spell: Demon-Dweller Sword, Spirit Light Tree!" Both Licht and William called at the same time.
Black Clover
Noelle and Mimosa gasped as they saw the giant glowing tree. "Now anti-magic wielder, use the Demon-Destroyer Sword!" Licht ordered. Asta nodded and stabbed the Sword into the tree. Anti-magic enveloped the construct. 'The power of that blade is reaching all of the Elves' Nozel thought in shock. All the people who were still possessed returned to being human again as the Elf Spirits left them.
"L-look at them! They're all s-so ha-happy! Finally that monster's hold on them is gone!" Patry wailed, sobbing in joy at seeing his precious people finally freed from their hatred and suffering. Licht placed his hand on the teen's shoulder, "and this time it won't happen at all, right?" he asked softly.
Back in Hage Village, the Father, Sister and Orphans prayed for the freed Souls to be able to have happiness now. All the humans watched this in awe, "look, up there!" one man called, "that's the Magic of the Golden Dawn's Captain!" another man replied. "Beautiful" a woman breathed. "Does this mean that they saved the Kingdom?"
Black Clover
Raya watched as all his friends went to the afterlife, before looking down at his hands. He clenched them, before turning to Fana and Vetto.
"Wait, why aren't we going to the afterlife with them?" Vetto asked in confusion. "Remember how I explained that the three of you had artificial bodies after your original ones were either destroyed, or you were released from the Reincarnation?" Bethany replied. "Oh, so those bodies aren't ones with another Soul in it that we took over, but empty bodies that we were placed into, I get it" Raya said with a nod. "So we won't be able to go back with everyone, that's a bit sad" Fana replied. "True, for now you three are stuck in the Living World. You will die again eventually, and then you'll get to see everyone else again. But the main question, is what are you going to do with your second chance at life?" Bethany asked. "We'll live our lives to the fullest" Raya replied with a smile, "and make up for everything we did, whatever it was that we did" Vetto added.
"And when we eventually do all meet again, those versions of us will have lots to tell those versions of everyone else" Fana said with a smile at Licht. Said Elf smiled back, "well, at least you'll get the chance to redeem yourselves" he replied. Patry looked down, what about him? All those horrible things- even if he did end up going to the afterlife with the others, he didn't think that version of himself would be able to stand it- the guilt would drive him insane!
The three looked at each other and nodded, before turning back to Licht, "I shoulda' known, apparently the three of us won't be going with you" Raya said. "See after we got Reincarnated the second time, our Souls became bound to these bodies, there's no way we can go back to our original forms" he explained to his friend. Licht smiled sadly, "I see, that's a shame. After a journey filled with pain and hatred, it'd be nice if we could talk. But, nothing to be done now, perhaps there's a reason our destines played out this way" he said. "Live on in this world, for all of our sakes" Licht asked. "Goodbye" Vetto breathed sadly. "Take care" Fana said with tears in her eyes. Raya rubbed the back of his head, "ah, figures, we missed each other again, but if this is what you want, then okay. I guess I'll live this life to the fullest, no matter how much of a pain it is" he replied.
Black Clover
The Souls of familiar Elves, including Ronne, Baval and Lira made their way home, Lira waving happily. Charla was still in the middle of being released from her Reincarnation as she spoke to Yami, "I wish I'd seen my younger brother again, but I enjoyed fighting alongside you, Yami Sukahiro" the Elf said with a smile. Yami smiled as well and lowered his Cigarette, "well, look at you Charla, turning all nice and honest at the end, that's sweet" the man said. Soon her Reincarnation ended and Charla's Soul left Charlotte's body, "I admit I may be a little awkward, but not as awkward as she is" she said before leaving. As the Elf left, the blond-haired Captain fainted right onto Yami's chest, who narrowed his eyes at the precise placement, almost like the Elf had wanted it to happen to make him uncomfortable! None-the-less, he wrapped his arm around the woman to keep her from falling over.
"Well, that was nice of him" Tettia said with a smile. "Yes, especially since his expression is screaming that he's not good with girls and women" Fana added with a giggle.
Licht turned to look at Lemiel and Secre, "I suppose I'd better be going now, I wouldn't want to keep my dear Tettia waiting any longer" he said.
"Don't worry, this time you won't, and besides, I can safely say that if I died and you didn't, I would wait an eternity for you" the human Princess replied, wrapping her arms around Licht's closest arm. The Elf Leader beamed at her, before his expression turned sad "I know, I just felt guilty is all. You'd been waiting for me for 500 years, it must have hurt that version of you a lot" he replied. The nut-blond-haired young woman shook her head, before impulsively reaching up and pecking her future husband on the cheek, "like I said, I'd wait an eternity for you my love" she said.
"Right" his brother-in-law replied in understanding. "I'm happy we got to see a glimpse of the ideal future that we'd always hoped for" Licht said. "Me too" Lemiel replied happily. "The Elf that's in my body, is he your-" Yuno began, causing the older Elf to smile happily, "with you here, it felt like I got to fight alongside my Son. Thank you, holder of the Four-Leaf Grimoire, may good luck always follow you" he said. Asta held out his Grimoire, "this is yours, right? Take it" he offered.
"That's very kind of him, but I wouldn't be able to use it, as it's not only become a Five-Leaf Grimoire, but because it's chosen a new owner. Besides, I wouldn't be able to take it with me to the Afterlife anyway. I'm happy for Asta to have it. I just hope that he can use it to protect his loved ones better than that version of me could" Licht said.
"Actually the Five-Leaf Grimoire belongs to you now Asta" Licht replied, shocking the boy at the offer, "hold on tight to it, it will prove helpful on your journey" he said as his Soul finally left his artificial body. Noelle and Mimosa gasped as they watched all the Elf Spirits leaving. "Farewell, and thank you, Mages of the Clover Kingdom" the Elf Leader said as they began to fade away.
Everyone was crying again, and Bethany was handing out tissues.
Everyone watched with awe and relief that all of this was finally over. All but one person. Rades stood partway through one of Valtos portals, 'NOT SO FAST! HOLD ON A DAMN SECONED!' he thought angrily, before turning his attention to his Grimoire, 'Wraith Magic: Soul Abductor!' the Spell shot into the sky, causing everyone to gasp and look back at him in surprise. 'I can only use this Spell on somebody whose been a part of my life for a long time. And ironic as it is, you, fall into that category' Rades thought as his Spell caught up with a single Soul that was flying away. Licht's artificial body began to glow, before it's fingers twitched. Asta blinked in confusion, before the captured Soul was unceremoniously slammed into the body, causing the newly revived Elf to gasp at the sudden rush of sensation.
"Wait, did that guy, just revive one of us? In Licht's artificial body?" Fana asked. "It can't be any of us, and I'm pretty sure that guy didn't just bring Licht back" Raya added. It was Vetto who figured it out, "wait, that man said "someone I've known a long time." You don't think-?" he began, before cutting himself off as they all turned to look at Patry in shock. 'Well, I guess he got his wish' Raya thought in slight amusement and mostly shock.
'The body that held Licht's Soul has Magic in it again?' Raya thought in shock, 'but wait, that Mana, Patry?' The newly revived Elf looked down at his hands in shock, one eye still blacked out to show his slight corruption, "am I, reborn? No, reanimated" Patry said to himself, trying to figure out the sudden situation he found himself in. "That body was only a clone that Sally created to look like your original one anyway, I'm sure you'll feel right at home in it" Rades said. "Hey, what the heck are you doing?!" Asta demanded in anger, before the older man interrupted, "SHUT UP WOULD YOU!" he yelled, "THIS IS- I UH- look, I don't understand it either, alright! Anyway, Licht, or, Patry, or, whoever! I'M NOT JUST GONNA LET YOU DISAPEAR AND LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER! NO WAY! I WON'T EVER FORGIVE WHAT YOU DID! THAT'S WHY, I WANT YOU TO SPEND THE REST OF ETERNITY THINKING ABOUT ALL THE HUMANS YOU TRAMPLED ON! INCLUDING ME!" Rades yelled in fury.
"Hey, that might come back to bite you later" Asta said, before he was yelled at too, "QUIET!" but Patry didn't seem that bothered by being revived now that the initial shock had worn off, "Rades, I feel like I should thank you, since you've given me the chance to atone" Patry said gratefully. "Shut your mouth, I'll have your head if it's the last thing I do. And until that day, I want you to spend your life in constant fear! Let's go Valtos" Rades ordered his comrade. Said man turned back to the newly revived Patry and bowed his head, before the two of them disappeared through one of the Spatial Mage's portals. After they were gone, Raya turned to look back at his young friend, "woooow," he drawled, "so after all that, you didn't even get to go back with Licht like you wanted, ain't that just the way? It's only fair though" he said. Patry stepped forwards, a frown on his face, "Raya-" he began, only for all the strength to leave his legs as he collapsed.
"Wait, why did that happen?" Lemiel asked in confusion. "Probably a combination of lack of Magic and being in a brand-new body. Don't forget that you all just got out of a huge battle with the Devil that lasted all night. Licht was using massive amounts of Mana practically that whole time alongside you Your Highness. Suddenly being thrust into a new body, no matter if it's practically the same as your old one, after becoming a Spirit would be hard for anyone to get used to, but couple that with massive Mana Exhaustion, it's no wonder Patry nearly collapsed" Bethany explained. "Oh, right, I guess the fact that the loss of Mana would be transferred to him slipped my mind, he, he" the human Prince laughed sheepishly.
However, before he could fall, someone caught him. That someone being William. Patry's eyes widened as he gasped. The human pulled back with a small smile on his face and looked into the one he never thought he'd ever get to see with his own eyes, "it's you, I never expected we'd see each other face-to-face" William whispered in awe. "Neither did I" Patry replied softly. "My closest companion, who shares my sin, there was so much that I wanted to tell you" the young man began, before pushing his friend upright again, "but first this, he may not listen, but I owe someone an apology" William said, releasing the Elf. Then he turned to look back at Yami, "I know this is a selfish thing to ask you, but, Yami, please take me to see Julius at once" he requested. "Of course" the Captain of the Black Bulls replied. Asta gasped softly, "the Wizard King" he whimpered. The screen turned dark.
"And that's it" Bethany said. "Wait, that can't be it! What happened after that?!" Patry demanded. "Well, the Magic Knights all worked together to begin the relief effort, helping survivors, removing rubble and assuring everyone that they were safe. You Lemiel, ran out of magic and your stone body crumbled, along with the Magic Stones, so no one could ever use them for evil again. And Secre promised you that she would continue to watch over the Magic Knights for you" Bethany explained. "Oh, yes, there was also this complete asshole bastard that tried to take advantage of the possessed humans. After everything was over, he held a trial for Asta and Secre and tried to convict everyone who had been possessed as if they were normal criminals and execute them" the Card Master explained. The room erupted into chaos as everyone began yelling in outrage. Bethany managed to calm them with a use of The LIGHT to flash-blind them momentarily.
"Thank you. Asta of course, was utterly furious at this, even moreso when the bastard brought Marie Adeli, the little girl who was possessed by Eclat in and ordered her immediately executed. He took his Dark Form and defended her without hesitation, even though he knew that the guy would convict him of either being a Devil or working with the Devil. But, after all, he'd made a promise to you, and to himself, silently of course, to use the Grimoire and swords you'd given him to protect the people he cared about. So he took on his Dark Form without any hesitation to block all the attacks that had been sent Marie's way. When the man saw Asta's Dark Form, he, and all the other brainless Royals that he'd rounded up as 'witnesses'," Bethany said witnesses with air-quotes to show just how obvious it was that they were only there to give the push to get rid of not only the formerly-possessed people, but to get rid of Asta and even Secre. "convicted them both of conspiring with Devils and refused to believe the Word Soul Devil had been real without proof. When the boy refused to surrender himself and give up protecting the people who had been possessed by Elves, the guy threatened everyone who lived at the Church where Asta and Yuno were raised, probably due to "harbouring a Devil" or "a Devil's vessel". Thankfully the other Black Bulls arrived just in time to keep things from escalating.
However, before the trial, it turned out that before he had been killed, the Wizard King, Julius had at some point found your old Magic Item, the one the Devil used against the Elves that day. He started storing Time Magic inside it and had reached 13 years before he was killed. So, at the dawn of the day after most of the Elves returned to the Afterlife, Julius Novachrono was revived at 13 years old, though with only a page of his Grimoire left. So congratulations Patry, the one person you unfortunately killed didn't stay dead for long" Bethany finished. Everyone sat in silence as they tried to process all of this information. "Um, would you give us- just, give us a day to comprehend all of this, not just what you just told us, but everything else. We need to come up with some kind of strategy to defeat that Devil, and-" Lemiel began before Bethany began shaking her head, "oh no, I don't expect you all to defeat that monster" she replied. Everyone had their jaws practically on the floor at that, "THEN WHY DID YOU BRING US HERE!? I THOUGHT YOU SAID WE COULD CHANGE OUR FUTURE!" Patry cried, tears of stress and worry forming in his eyes.
"You, yes, these versions of you, no. You all saw those Viewings, Magic from your world doesn't work on the Devil. The reason I brought you here and had you watch that, was so that you would know what to expect and could prepare accordingly. But if anyone of you tried to fight that bastard yourselves you'd either die instantly, be tortured to death for his amusement, or get turned into Dark Elves like the alternate future Patry was. It's not just Licht and Tettia's future Son that's the key to a better future, it's all of you. If even one of you dies, it might lead to one of the others falling right into the Devils hands. Instead, you all need to stay safe and hide when the time comes. Yes, even you Your Highness," Bethany said, when Lemiel opened his mouth to protest, "Don't worry, I have a plan. You'll see when the time comes, but for now just keep an eye on the time and prepare to go into hiding. Okay?" Bethany asked seriously. Everyone murmured to each other, before agreeing, "alright, we agree to your plan. Are you going to send us back home now?" Licht asked. "Not yet, I'd like you to be fully rested and fed before I send you back, I wouldn't want any of you collapsing from starvation or exhaustion as soon as you get home.
Please, take your time and relax now. You can think about your plans for the future when you get home, after all, you have a few months before the Wedding and the beginning of the Devil's plans. So just get some rest, I promise I'll make sure everything works out alright" the young woman said, bowing and leaving the room. As soon as the Card Mage was gone, everyone began talking again. "Everyone, please, we need to calm down and think of a plan. With everything we've learned, we should be able to come up with something that would work in our favour" Licht beseeched. "Actually, I was thinking that Bethany was right *yawn* I mean, we've got time, right? And knowledge that Devil would never expect us of having. I say we get some rest, and come up with a plan when we get home. After all, we'll have to tell the rest of the tribe about all of this, and it's not like they'll just accept it calmly. Everyone's likely to freak out just like we did. It's going to take some effort to get everyone else to relax again and understand everything. I say, we wait, deal with that situation first and then think of what we're gonna do to get everyone out of harms way" Raya said with another yawn at the end.
Everyone turned to look at each other in surprise, before turning back to the lazy Elf, "what?" he asked in confusion. "It's just, we've never heard you talk for so long Raya, it's kinda weird" Vetto said with a sweat-drop. "That's weird!? This whole situation's been freaking crazy!" he replied indignantly, before crossing his arms and looking away. Patry smiled slightly, "actually I think Raya's right," he began causing everyone to stare at him in shock, "I mean, I'm pretty emotionally exhausted right now. So why don't we relax for today, then think of our plan tomorrow. After all, I don't really feel up to taking on that Devil at the moment either. Even though I probably wouldn't be in that group anyway. Everyone is emotionally and mentally exhausted, like I said before, so if we get some sleep, we'll be able to think more clearly tomorrow" the teenager said. After a moment, everyone either shrugged or nodded, "okay, let's have some fun for the rest of the day then" Lemiel decided.
Everyone cheered.
To Be Continued