Chapter 7: Dungeon Crawling

Kisame vs Mars: Shark in the River by Daniel James

-Royal Capital-

"Thank you for coming in on such short notice, William, Yami, Fuegoleon." Julius Novechrono nodded at the two Magic Knight Captains as they sat opposite him.

"It was no trouble, sir." William nodded in reply.

"Yeah. So, what's the deal? Why'd you call us here?" Yami wondered.

"I received word from Marx just a few hours earlier that a Dungeon has appeared on our border with the Diamond Kingdom." The 28th Wizard King replied. "My hope is that you three can provide a squad of Knights each to search it." He continued.

"Of course, and I know exactly who to send." Fuegoleon nodded, already planning to send in Kisame.

"As do I. It would be a good experience for my newest recruits." William nodded.

"And you, Yami?" Julius questioned.

The mountain of muscle was silent for a moment or two, before he breathed out a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, I got a team I can spare. Just don't expect any miracles. The kids I'm sending are real pieces of work." The man stated.

"I'm sure they'll do their part." Julius shrugged casually.

(Meanwhile)

Kisame was reading a book in her room at the hideout while eating some grapes, smoked salmon, crackers, cheese and olives.

Aside from trying to nosh away any growing hunger she'd been feeling to avoid another fiasco, she was mostly bored.

The shark girl honestly was just kinda waiting for something to happen, break in, food fight, house fire–anything really. As long as it broke the malaise of her boredom she didn't really care.

And right on cue…

"Hey, Kisame! Fuegoleon has a mission for us!" Natsuo exclaimed, bursting through the door and causing her to jump.

"Do you want me to– Wait what?" She started to threaten before blinking at his words. "Another mission? Already? It's only been a week." She noted.

"You telling me you aren't glad to have a reason to leave the castle?" The salmon haired teen questioned.

"I am. It's just that I was about ready to not expect another mission for another two weeks." The shark girl shrugged.

"Well get used to it, cuz this time we're going dungeon crawling." The boy grinned.

"Dungeon? What the hell's a Dungeon?" The girl questioned as they left her room, passing Leopold on the way there.

"Did you literally just ask that?!" The fire boy gasped. "They have some of the best loot from ages ago! Magic tomes, scrolls, straight up treasure!" He rambled.

"O…kay?" Kisame uttered awkwardly.

"They're also full of mana." Natsuo supplied.

"LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOOO!" The shark girl cried enthusiastically, causing the boys to laugh.

"Typical Kisame. Always thinking with her stomach." Leopold chuckled.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile back with the Black Bulls, the others were explaining to Asta what a Dungeon was, while Yami came back with the mission request.

"So we're being sent to investigate?" Noelle asked.

"Yeah. It's in a dicy location at our border with an enemy country, the diamond kingdom." The darkness mage explained.

"And on top of that a team from the Golden Dawn and Crimson Lion Kings is being sent there too." Finral added.

"I guess we'll have to be careful if we run into Diamond Mages." Noelle mused.

"I wanna fight 'em!" Luck grinned like the berserker he was.

"Well today's your lucky day, you're going." Yami stated before turning to Asta. "You too. Wizard King asked for you personally so you're going." He added.

"He asked for me?!" He gasped in glee before pausing. "... He asked for Kisame too, didn't he?" He asked flatly.

"How'd you know?" The muscular captain asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I dunno. Guess it's a hunch?" The boy hummed a bit, right before the team's pet Anti-Bird–Nero–started pecking him. "AH! What the heck, Nero?! What are you pecking at me for?!" He yelped.

(Elsewhere)

Around late morning, Kisame and her team popped up at an entrance to the dungeon, specifically one that the shark mage had sniffed out personally.

"Okay, it should be about… Bingo!" Kisame grinned as she moved a clump of moss aside, revealing a doorway. "Ta da! Door number one!" She grinned.

"Okay, let's head inside and see what we got." Leopold nodded as the trio went into the ancient structure to reap its contents.

The trio continued through the hall of the entrance in question for a good few fifteen minutes, right until Kisame's gills flared as she sensed a lot of mana coming from behind a particular wall.

"Whoa, hold it." She said, holding a hand up to stop her companions, much to their confusion. "There's mana coming from behind this wall, and it's a shit ton of it." She told them, pointing at the wall.

"Alright, stand back." Natsuo told them as he slammed his fists together. "Fire Dragon's ROAR!" He yelled as he blasted the wall to bits, revealing the room at the other side.

"Oh yeah…" Kisame sighed in content, feeling her gills draw in the mana. "I'm not going hungry after this dungeon raid. I'm gonna leave with a full reserve." She grinned.

As she said this, Samehada also started shaking from the amount of mana it was absorbing through its skin. It was excited.

"And it looks like your sword is excited too." Leo noted.

"Yeah, I'll say." The girl nodded as closed her eyes, her gills opening and closing as she used her enhanced sonar and mana sense in tandem to get a clear feel of the place around them–and who was also in there with them.

She could sense Yuno, Klaus and Mimosa making their way through the maze of corridors on a wind construct. She was also able to sense Asta, Noelle and what she presumed was a Black Bull she didn't know the name of, and the former two seemed to be going at their own pace while the unnamed Black Bull was going off on his own for some reason.

And towards the treasure hall… She sensed a massive amount of malicious mana heading straight towards her surrogate brothers' positions.

"Hey Leopold, did the captain mention who else was supposed to be here?" The girl questioned as she started drawing her sword, the bandages falling away and revealing a Samehada that was practically frothing at the mouth.

"There was a possibility of Diamond Mages showing up. Why?" The red haired boy asked in reply.

"My senses picked them up, and the biggest one is heading for Asta and Yuno!" She exclaimed.

"Then we've got to find them. Quickly!" Leopold exclaimed as the three started running–right until the boys stepped on a trap circle that caused them to fall into a hole.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" They yelled as they fell.

"Guys!" Kisame gasped. "Damn it, how am I gonna break this to Fuegoleon?!" She groaned as she continued toward her surrogate brothers.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, back with Asta and Noelle, the two were trying to find the treasure hall by themselves, but were having terrible luck ever since Luck left to do something else.

The irony of that was not lost on the duo.

"Ugh, this would be so much easier if we had someone who could use a map spell." The water mage groaned as Asta sliced through another trap.

"Ah don't worry, we'll be fine." Asta shrugged. "And you know why? Cuz I'm gonna become the Wizard King!" He declared.

"Here we go again…" The girl sighed.

"That's right, Yuno! You won't beat me! Not a chance!" The boy laughed.

"Yuno?" Noelle questioned, not recognizing the name.

"He's from Hage like me and Kisame, though me and him basically grew up together." Asta summarized. "We didn't meet Kisame until just before we got our grimoires." He added.

"Really?" The girl asked.

"Yeah. Apparently she'd been on her own basically since she was a baby, the same as us." He nodded. "We took the exams together. Black Bulls got me, Crimson Lion Kings got Kisame and the Golden Dawn got Yuno." He explained.

"They picked a commoner? That's incredible." Noelle gasped.

"Yeah. I got some pretty amazing friends. But I won't let them beat me, no sir." The swordsman chuckled as they continued on, right until another trap spell was activated.

This one was a maneating plant that restrained them and attempted to draw them to the maw of acid where the remains of past victims could be seen. Asta would've dealt with it, but he was restrained in a way that he couldn't move.

However, before they could be eaten, something came bursting out of the water beside them, in a funnel of fire.

"Flame Shark Magic: Four Fire Shark Bomb!" A voice called as four sharks made of fire lunged at and clamped down on the plant, setting it ablaze.

As it burned, Asta and Noelle were able to get free. The former of the two was quick to note the words of the spell.

"Shark Magic?" He blinked before looking in the direction it came from and saw Kisame standing there.

"Figured you could use a hand, or a fin, more like." She remarked.

"Just in time, Kisame." The manaless boy smirked.

"Th-Thank you." Noelle told her.

"Don't mention it." The girl dismissed. "Say, you guys wouldn't have happened to see my teammates by any chance, have you?" She asked.

"No, why?" The beefcake asked in reply.

"They fell down a hole caused by a trap, and I'm hoping that they ended up elsewhere in the dungeon." The shark mage explained.

"No luck for us, sorry." The silverette told her apologetically.

"Shit. This is gonna be a… pain." Kisame groaned before her sonar picked up movement, causing her to swing Samehada around and block four wind daggers that were shot at her from an opening. "Not cool, Yuno. I'm not a salmon that you can shish kebab with." She stated curtly, lowering her weapon as she looked at the source of the spell.

"Sorry, Kisame." The wind mage apologized as he and his team stepped into view. "We thought you were an enemy mage." He added as he, Mimosa and Klaus touched down.

"Well, watch it next time. Or Samehada here might get a bit snappy." The shark girl told her surrogate brother as her sentient weapon started growling and snapping at the three mages.

"Yes…" Klaus coughed awkwardly. "Regardless, I believe you being here is a good thing, Kisame, given how you feed on mana. I do hope you can find your way around this labyrinth of a dungeon." He commented.

"Well it isn't all that hard to get around thanks to my advanced Sonar…" The girl shrugged.

"Yeah! With her here, we'll beat you three to the treasure room first!" Asta proclaimed, pointing right in Klaus' face.

"Excuse me?!" The man exclaimed, appalled by the boy's attitude.

"Oh my, Noelle! I had no idea you and Kisame were already acquainted." Mimosa noted. "We haven't seen each other in a while. How have you two been?" She asked.

"Fairly well, surprisingly." The water mage replied.

"Yeah. Noelle, here's the one who gave me my new outfit. I've never felt so liberated in my entire life!" The shark girl nodded, reminding both girls of just how little clothing the girl wore.

"Why do you wear so little?" The Vermillion girl wondered with a sigh.

"It's because of my gills, obviously." The shark girl shrugged.

"So, Mimosa, how have you been handling being in the ranks of the Golden Dawn?" Noelle questioned, changing the subject.

"Rather well, actually. What about you, Noelle? Has your mana control improved?" The redhead asked.

"Moderately so, yes." The Silva girl nodded as they turned to see Asta and Klaus still arguing.

"How dare you talk to me in such a manner!" The nobleman exclaimed indignantly.

"Probably because we don't give a damn about status." Kisame stated.

"And what is that supposed to mean? Are you seriously defending this rabble?" He questioned.

"Yeah. Because he's practically my brother." The girl stated before she created a shark construct. "Well, I'm gonna try and find the treasure vault." She added before walking off.

"Wait up!" Asta called as he dragged Noelle along.

"Wah! Let go! I can walk myself!" She protested as the two followed the shark mage.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, back at the Royal Capital, Julius was receiving a report of the Dungeon exploration in front of the Clover council–and they were being informed about just who they were dealing with from the Diamond Kingdom.

"Lotus of the Abyss, you say? Interesting. I remember meeting him on the battlefield once before." Julius hummed. "He's crafty, and he uses this most peculiar magic as well." He continued.

"Sir! This is no time to be so nonchalant! A graver tone, please!" Marx protested.

"Do you think he'll pose a threat to our Knights in the dungeon?" One of the council members questioned.

"Considering who's present, I doubt it." The man mused in reply. "Don't worry, Marx. Lotus may be powerful, but so are our new recruits." He added.

(Elsewhere)

Back with Asta, Noelle and Kisame the trio were headed to the treasure hall to try and beat Yuno, when Asta suddenly tapped Kisame on the shoulder.

"What is it?" The girl asked.

"I dunno. I just got a bad feeling about something." The boy explained as he hopped down with Noelle. "Go on ahead, we'll catch up!" He told her.

"If you say so…" The girl nodded as she dissipated her summon and dove into the mana filled waters below, swimming towards the vault.

"Come on, this way!" Asta told his teammate as he started running.

"What? Why?" The water mage questioned.

"It's Luck! I don't know why, but I got a bad feeling something's happened to him. Come on!" He yelled, charging through a corridor, Noelle following behind.

(Elsewhere).

Yuno, Klaus and Mimosa were not having a good time. They managed to find their way to the treasure room, but now they had to fight off a Diamond Mage with a trio of gems in his forehead. He was in possession of some potent mineral magic, making him a tough opponent.

Mimosa was also incapacitated, making the stakes greater.

"Mimosa!" Klaus exclaimed as he ran to the plant mage. "Such a keen mana sense but she never saw it coming… thank goodness, she's breathing." He sighed in relief.

Yuno turned to face their attacker, a gray haired boy with two circle cut diamonds on his forehead and was dressed in Diamond Kingdom garb.

"You're in my way, move." The mage told them.

Yuno growled as he started flipping through his grimoire to choose a spell while Mimosa formed a healing flower cradle to recover in.

However, it was Klaus who attacked first after he quickly blocked an attack aimed at Mimosa.

"Steel Magic: Spiralling Spear!" He intoned, only for his attack to be caught by… "What?! A mineral clone?!" He gasped, seeing his attack being easily blocked by a mineral duplicate of his group's adversary.

"Die." The mineral mage said as he sent a barrage of crystals at them, which was blasted apart by a volley of spiral bullets from Klaus and a wind blast from Yuno.

"Yuno! Go to the treasure hall! Securing it takes priority! It pains me to put this in the hands of a commoner, but right now we have no choice!" He yelled.

"I'm sorry, Klaus. But I can't do that." The four leaf Clover holder told him. "You and Mimosa aren't just my squad mates, you're my friends. I won't leave you behind." He stated resolutely as he flipped to two pages in his book.

The wind around them kicked up as it became visible, taking the form of a giant hawk and several knives.

"Wind Creation Magic: Engaging Swift-Like Hawk, paired with, Piercing Wind Daggers!" The boy exclaimed.

'He's casting a double spell?! He doesn't even look strained!' Klaus thought in amazement as he looked at his subordinate's show of power.

However, as the attacks collided with the enemy mage, it didn't seem to even phase him as the diamond kingdom soldier dissipated the attacks with his own spell: A giant mineral sword.

Yuno panted as his attack was reduced to nothing while his opponent moved to cleave them in two… right before a geyser of water shot out in front of them–and a rush of water moved before it started materializing into a humanoid shape.

"Water Movement Magic: Dive Mirage and Dive Fleet." A familiar voice said as the liquid form behind the Diamond Mage revealed itself to be Kisame. "Surprise." She grinned, a growling and snarling Samehada in hand.

Before her target could react, she swung her living sword at him and sent him flying, taking a chunk of his mana in the process. The flavor was actually familiar to the shark mage.

'Mineral Magic? Looks like I'll be getting some Mineral Shark spells soon.' She noted mentally.

The mage groaned as he slowly started to get up, noting that Kisame was picking up the pieces of his shattered mineral construct and feeding it to her sword–or straight up eating it herself.

"Huh, it tastes like rock candy!" The girl exclaimed in surprise, swallowing. "That's so fucking weird." She added with a cetaceas grin.

"You dare strike me?" The Diamond Kingdom Mage demanded in a neutral tone.

"I dare, because you're my enemy. And most of them often die." Kisame told him, eating another piece of magic rock.

"You're not an enemy of mine. Barely a pebble to be brushed by the wayside." The man said dismissively, brushing himself off as he created mineral armor.

Kisame rolled her eyes as she held her hand to her ear in a 'call' gesture. "Oh, could you hang on a second? I just got a call from someone named: I DON'T GIVE A FLYING–!" She started before Klaus cut her off.

"That's great, Kisame! Nice diplomacy there." The bespectacled mage deadpanned sarcastically.

"How arrogant of you." The mineral mage commented.

"Pot meet kettle." Kisame scoffed at the hypocrisy the man in front of her was showing. "Now, let's see how you can handle this…" She hummed as she started flipping through her grimoire and landed on a relatively new spell. "Shark Creation Magic: Phantom Apex Parade." She intoned as constructs started forming around her in the air.

These constructs took the form of every single apex animal that she had killed. They ranged from the Apex Barracuda all the way to MOLOCH, who's size caused Yuno and Klaus to gulp.

"Now." The Shark Mage started. "Whatcha got?" She grinned.

The mage growled as he summoned more of his mineral clones to rush Kisame head on–only for a blur of toxic purple mana to zip around them and shatter them upon impact–the source of this revealing itself to be the Apex Barracuda construct.

The needle-toothed nightmare then started blitzing around randomly to confuse and confound its target, before it started ramming into the teen from all directions at blinding speeds.

"The needle toothed nightmare, the Barracuda." Kisame grinned. "This specimen lived in a repugnant puddle of water called Dead Horse Lake, which was by far the worst place for someone to live. Eating toxic and disgusting foods that caused it to mutate into something bigger, faster and meaner than any of its brethren." She added as the fish nipped and snapped at its target, sending chunks of mineral magic and mana to her.

"What an ugly looking fish." Klaus remarked after getting a good look at the Apex Barracuda.

"Pathe–" The Diamond Kingdom Mage started to say as he sliced apart the Barracuda, before he had to stop another construct on instinct, that being…

"The sultan of speed, the Mako." Kisame commented as the speedy shark darted off faster than its target could move. "This fella lived near a noble's luxury location, eating whatever creatures it could faster than it could react. Have fun getting it." She jeered.

The crystal mage in question growled as he started covering himself in crystals while he was being bashed around like a pinball machine–and then shot dozens of sharp shards of mineralized rock in every direction–one eventually hitting the Mako and making it disappear.

"Is this really the best you can do?" The man questioned before having to block an attack from the most odd looking shark he'd ever seen.

"Meet the evolutionary anomaly, the Hammerhead." The shark mage told him as the Apex Hammerhead took a bite out of his shoulder, causing him to grunt. "Watch it. This sucker's tail whip packs a mean wallop." She warned.

True to form, the Hammerhead struck Mars with a powerful tail slap attack that shattered his crystal armor to pieces, which Kisame caught in her mouth and consumed–before it rammed itself into his chest, sending him flying and forcing him to create a wall of minerals to keep himself from going into the water.

"Argh! Annoying pest!" The man growled in annoyance.

"Who even are you, anyway?" Kisame questioned, her arms folded. Mars growled as he conjured another giant sword and cleaved through the Hammerhead, and was about to strike down Kisame, when he had to stop due to something sinking its teeth into his ankle and rolling with him.

"Is that…?" Yuno trailed off, squinting his eyes.

"The Bayou Brawler, the Alligator." Kisame nodded. "Her name is Rosie, and she made the swamp she lived in her domain. She actually used to be a show star before losing one of her front legs." She added.

Rosie swung Mars around like a rag doll and slammed him several times into the floor, but the mage was quick to get free and skid to a halt as he was about to go into the water again, and then retaliate with a wave of crystals that destroyed the Alligator.

This victory was short lived, however, when a giant Great White with tons of battle scars and swollen gums snapped the boy up and dragged him into the bottom below.

"And there's the Emperor of the Deep, the Great White." The shark girl grinned as Mars tried to break free from the jaws off his assailant so he wouldn't drown.

"That thing looks like it would turn me into food without a second thought." Klaus gulped.

"You'd be right. You ever seen the movie JAWS? It's basically based on him." The girl grinned before Mars' grimoire started turning to another page–and a giant crystal golem with him at the center emerged from the water, crushing the Great White in its grasp.

"You are starting to agitate me!" Mars growled before launching a mineral projectile at her, only for it to be intercepted by…

"The white and black attack, the Orca." Kisame commented as the sea mammal 'swam' through the air and through whatever attacks were fired at it before slamming into Mars, shattering his giant armor. "Mahana here is by far the most powerful Orca I ever faced. I think the results speak for themselves." The girl stated as the giant Orca grabbed Mars in her jaws and thrashed him up and down.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, back with Luck, Asta and Noelle, the trio had been fighting Lotus of the Abyss, and had finally managed to nail the slippery bastard.

How did they accomplish this, you may ask?

Luck fired rapid fire lightning shots at the guy while Noelle launched Asta in the direction he was being steered, capitalizing on the screaming beefcake's lack of mana to blindside the Smoke Mage.

One swing of the Anti-Magic Knight's sword and it was over, Lotus was down and now had a broken arm and a few broken ribs.

"Woo! I can't believe that worked!" The five leaf grimoire bearer exclaimed as he and his fellow Black Bulls caught their breaths.

"Same here. That was a tough fight." The silverette nodded in agreement.

"Now that he's handled, we should probably go find the treasure vault." Luck pointed out.

"Yeah. No way he's gonna recover any treasure in this state." Asta nodded. "So we should definitely get moving." He added.

"Right." Noelle nodded as they started walking.

Right as they did, however, a hole opened up above them and…

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Leopold and Natsuo screamed before they landed on their faces in front of the three now surprised Black Bulls.

"We… have been falling… for thirty minutes!" The former of the two panted as he and the Dragon Slayer Mage recovered from their landing.

"... Think these guys are the teammates Kisame mentioned?" Asta whispered to Noelle.

"Looks like it." Noelle whispered back as they watched the two Crimson Lion Kings members get to their feet.

"You guys need a guide to the treasure hall?" Asta asked the two.

"Uh, yeah. Do you guys know the way?" Natsuo asked.

"Hell yeah! I can sense some really powerful mana signatures, ans they gotta be near the treasure hall." Luck replied with a nod.

"Lead on, then." The redhead prompted before the group of five started making their way to their destination.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile, back at the treasure hall, Mars was now breathing heavily as he yelled and cleaved Kisame's Orca construct in four with two large mineral swords, leaving the Apex Sperm Whale, the mutated variants and MOLOCH left.

'I don't know how much more of this I can take… And that girl doesn't even look winded from casting a spell like that.' He thought, seeing Kisame looking right as rain. 'Damn it all!' He cursed mentally.

"Still think you can keep going, tough guy?" Kisame taunted.

"Shut up." He growled as he formed his smaller mineral armor and grabbed the two giant swords by the hilts, before swinging them by hand, blocking and parrying blows from the Apex Sperm Whale and tanking a tail slap before cutting it down–and quickly moving to the evolved constructs.

The Bio-electric Great White zig-zagged around him, taking chunks of his armor out and damaging his swords a bit, much to the mineral mage's ire. It was difficult to pinpoint where it would strike from, making defending against it a pain in the ass. One attack actually zapped him a bit, causing him to flinch and hiss in pain.

"Alright, if I can't predict you, I'll hit you everywhere at once!" He yelled as he sent smaller spinning blades at the shark in all directions until they hit, destroying it.

Next was the Shadow Orca, and this time, Mars was ready for it. Putting on his armor again he let the creature bash him around a bit and even grab him in its mouth, but as soon as it did–he struck, causing crystals to go into its mouth and burst through its back, destroying it.

Coming at him next was the Bone Sperm Whale, and it was a true tank. The second his swords made contact with it, they shattered against its armor and allowed it to slam into him, destroying his own mineral armor and slamming him against the wall.

Mars winced as he held his side, noticing that his ribs were likely broken. Conjuring his larger golem armor, he waited for the bone Whale to rush him, and then caught its mouth wide open, before forcing it open, tearing the beast in half.

Then there was MOLOCH, and Mars had to discard his golem armor to get out of the way of a potent atomic beam from the Mosasaur. Seeing an opportunity, he created a mineral clone and had it jump in the constructs mout, and when it fired the beam again, it was rebound. This caused feedback recoil that made it explode as a result.

"Not bad at all. Rocky. Not bad at all." Kisame commented as she and Samehada continued eating on the scattered crystals. Both were a little impressed by her opponent's versatility with his magic. "But, I'm afraid this is the end of the line for you." She added as she gripped her weapon and started running towards Mars–Samehada's tongue and mouth wide open.

Mars, meanwhile, summoned a similar version of his giant sword about the size of Samehada, and met her–both clashing and jumping around like wild beasts while the shark skinned blade tore off bits of Mars' mana and flesh.

However, when Kisame went in for a decisive stomach blow–the diamond kingdom soldier met her by catching the sword with a mineral clawed hand, and had his sword being raised at her shoulder.

"Now I've got you." He said in an almost pissed off tone. "Begone!" He yelled as he brought the blade down, delivering a devastating hit to Kisame's body that sent her flying into another wall and clearly left a mark. Burying her under a pile of rubble.

"Kisame!" Yuno cried in alarm.

"Now… to deal with you." Mars growled as he started stalking toward the three Golden Dawn mages, murder in his eyes.

(Elsewhere)

Meanwhile with the straggling team, they were nearing where Luck said the treasure hall was supposed to be, when the battle freak suddenly stopped as he sensed something else.

"Guys, there's a battle up ahead." The boy told them. "A big one." He added.

"How bad is it?" Leopold asked.

"Can't tell." The berserker replied before a light tremor made their corridor shake. "And I think that was someone getting violently smashed into a wall." He added.

"Not good, we gotta move, now!" The Royal girl said frantically.

"Yeah, come on!" Asta nodded as they kept running.

(Elsewhere)

THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD

The sound of a giant diamond fist could be heard over and over as Mars proceeded to beat the ever loving crap out of Yuno. The wind mage was unable to put up much of a resistance as he was pounded down like a ball of yeasted bread dough.

"Yuno…" Klaus groaned helplessly, feeling powerless as his subordinate was pummeled.

Before another blow could be delivered, however…

"GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM HIM!" Asta roared as he cut off the offending mineral arm, Noelle, Luck, Leopold and Natsuo appearing a moment later.

The manaless teen was pissed the fuck off. This Diamond Mage was using his rival as a punching bag! There was going to be hell to pay!

Noelle quickly grabbed Yuno and brought him over to Mimosa who let him in her Dreaming Flower Cradle to heal.

"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Lair!" The girl intoned as she covered Klaus, Yuno and Mimosa in the dome of water. "There, that should keep you safe for the time being." She told them.

"Wait a minute, where's Kisame?!" Natsuo questioned as he looked around, Leopold and Asta wondering the same.

Before Klaus could say anything…

BOOM!

Kisame burst out of the rubble she was buried under, a noticeable cut on her left side just under the gills there that was bleeding moderately. The shark mage also had a pissed off look on her face as she glared missiles at Mars.

"Ya know, I've been torn from my mother's womb, cut, thrashed, beaten, harpooned, shot at and everything else you can think of–but there ain't no way I'm gonna take getting shoved through a wall lying down!" The girl yelled as she and Samehada shook the dust off themselves. Her grimoire also starting to glow the same color as Mars'.

"Damn you! Why won't you stay down?!" The boy yelled as he moved to punch her the same way he had Yuno…

BOOM!

But a resulting gust and dust explosion soon revealed something that shocked everyone present.

"Surprise, motherfucker." The Shark Mage jeered as she suddenly caught the blow that was meant for her–her arm sleeve glittering like… diamonds?

When the dust finally settled, she was wearing a dress that showed off her legs and left her cleavage exposed. The kicker was that it was made of diamonds, just like Mars' magic.

The outfit looked like something that Emma Frost would wear.

"What?! Impossible!" The Diamond Kingdom Mage yelled in disbelief.

"Mineral Shark Creation Magic: Diamond Shark Dress." The girl said as she started using her ferocious muscles to make Mars' arm go down. "Lights out, asshole!" She added, punching him in the face.

This sent him flying out of his golem and into the wall, out cold from the blow.

"Finally…" Klaus sighed as Noelle dropped her defensive spell.

"I thought you were dead for a moment, there." The silverette commented as she looked at the shark mage, who was admiring her diamond dress.

"It takes more than that to kill me, but thanks for your concern." Kisame told her, dispelling her spell.

"We should bind this guy, before he can start recovering." Natsuo pointed out, standing over Mars, stomping on his chest.

"I'll handle that." Klaus spoke up, turning to a specific page in his grimoire. "Steel Creation Magic: Binding Steel Restraints." He intoned before a series of restraints formed around Mars.

"Will that hold him?" Kisame asked, glancing at him.

"It's suppressing his mana, so it will." The man nodded in reply. "You should also get that injury looked at before it gets too severe." He added, noting that her wound was still bleeding.

"I would, but Mimosa is busy with Yuno, so that'll have to wait." The shark mage stated, jutting her thumb at the two in the healing cradle.

Asta stretched his neck a bit as he held out his sword. "Alright, guys, stand back. I'll handle the door." He told them as he slashed at the door several times, causing it to fall away in triangle shaped pieces.

And inside, they were greeted by lost treasure from long ago. Asta and Natsuo were star eyed and looking around at everything in amazement while Leopold and Klaus were pondering how to carry so much treasure.

What was Kisame doing?

She was looking around for anything interesting, and she was sifting through a pile of gold, when Samehada started twitching, foaming at the mouth as she passed by a pile of jewels.

"What is it, Samehada?" The girl questioned as she knelt down to look at the gems, picking up a blue one with two green fish on it. "This looks like the stone from our first mission…" She hummed.

Acting on impulse, Samehada bent over and ate the stone, much to Kisame's surprise.

"Uh… Okay." She muttered.

Meanwhile, Asta was looking at something Nero was showing him, before slicing the wall into tiny pieces, revealing another Anti-Magic sword on the other side.

"Whoa! Cool!" He exclaimed, picking the sword up.

Meanwhile, Yuno was able to recover enough to at least walk around the treasure hall. As he looked around, he spotted a scroll on a wooden pedestal. Curious, he walked up to it and had a look at its contents, which were in a language he couldn't understand.

Then it suddenly glowed a bright green, causing him to close his eyes from the brightness. When he looked again, the writing was gone.

"What was that?" The boy wondered idly as he put the scroll away.

(Later)

The clearing out of the Dungeon's treasure continued for a few more hours, before Klaus' binding spell suddenly broke–and Mars woke up!

"Only the strong survive. The weak deserve death." He said in a drone like manner as he got up.

"Oh fuck off! How the hell did he get free?!" Kisame cursed, wincing as her wound throbbed a bit.

"Wait, look!" Mimosa exclaimed, pointing at flames that surrounded him.

"Flame Recovery Magic?! How is that possible?!" Klaus exclaimed as the mage moved towards them.

"Only the strong survive. The weak deserve death." Mars droned as he conjured another mineral sword and readied himself to strike down Mimosa.

"No you don't!" Asta growled as he ran at Mars, his new sword ready. "STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" He roared.

"I've had just about enough of you, boy!" The mage growled, firing smaller blades at the black bull muscle man–and did watch where his golem suit was stepping.

"Hey, asshole!" Kisame called as her Grimoire floated in front of her. "Look down." She told him.

Mars blinked and looked at the ground… and saw a magic trap with a shark's maw.

"You activated my trap card." Kisame grinned as the trap activated.

"Oh dear…" Mars uttered as a pair of toothy shark jaws chomped down on him from below, cleaving his golem in half.

"Shark Trap Magic: Megalodon Jaws." She grinned as the construct fell to pieces.

"... I'm still alive." The mineral mage said after a beat passed.

"And?" Kisame asked flatly. She could tell that his real body was just out of reach of the jaws, so he was able to escape a bloody demise unharmed.

"That means that you haven't won yet." The mage stated before he suddenly activated a mineral binding spell, restraining everyone save Asta, Noelle and Mimosa–and striking Noelle in the chest–her blood spraying from a ghastly wound.

"NOELLE!" Kisame cried in alarm before glaring at her restraints. "Mineral Shark Creation Magic: Diamond Shark Dress!" She intoned before she manifested her diamond dress again and burst free of her mineral prison.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Asta growled as he brandished his two swords. "I'll kill you!" He yelled as he charged at the mage, ready to strike him down.

Mars swung a golem fist down on him, but it was cut to pieces in one swing from the beefcake teen. Kisame flanked him and swung Samehada down on his other arm, cutting that off as well.

"We'll cut you down together!" The shark mage growled, standing next to Asta. Both had their respective swords at the ready to put the mineral mage down for the count.

"You're the one who will die, fools!" The Diamond Kingdom soldier yelled as he swung his sword while also firing smaller swords at them, both trying to block them.

"Don't… let this guy… beat you." Noelle groaned as she sat up while Mimosa healed her.

"Save your strength, Noelle!" The Vermillion girl told her.

Asta and Kisame struggled as they blocked the small blades and tried to find any openings, but couldn't. They needed a game changer now, or they were goners.

"You two are the first commoners I've accepted. So, don't you dare lose!" The water mage gasped as her mana was suddenly shared by both Asta and Kisame–both going into their sword and body respectively.

"You got it, Noelle." Asta grinned, slashing with his new sword and sending a water attack at Mars–dousing his flame recovery magic.

"Now it's my turn! Water Shark Magic: Super Giant Shark Bomb!" The Shark Mage exclaimed.

This spell formed a giant shark that she sent forth, and it devoured all the attacks Mars sent at it before it crashed into him, destroying his golem yet again and forcing him to go on the defensive.

"Now for my followup!" Asta exclaimed before he swung his new sword, and surprisingly managed to send a wave of water at the Diamond Kingdom supersoldier.

However as he struck the guy, Mars countered this by conjuring a spike on his hand, and driving it deep into the boy's abdomen.

"ASTA!" The shark girl cried in worry before she glared at Mars. "Die, you fucker!" She roared, before swinging Samehada down on him, shaving off a chunk of flesh from his torso.

"DAMN!" The mineral mage yelled in pain as his new wounds bled. He tried to use his restoration flames, but his mana reserves were too low. He was done. "Not yet!" He yelled, conjuring one last giant sword, and swung it down on both Kisame and Asta.

'My wind spells aren't powerful enough to do anything! What do I do?!' A distraught Yuno thought, wishing he had the power to do something about all this.

Then something happened. Time seemed to just… stop. The wind mage wondered what was going on, and why he wasn't affected. Seeing something out of the corner of his eye, he turned to his right and saw a small brown haired fairy girl in a green dress yawning.

The tiny girl then let out a small breath and seconds later, the giant sword shattered into a million pieces, and Mars was sent flying.

"... The fuck just happened?" Kisame wondered with a blink before remembering Asta. Quickly putting Samehada on her back, she rushed him to Mimosa who was still tending to Noelle.

"I… Don't know. All I remember seeing is time stopping, and a fairy sitting beside me." The four leaf bearer explained as he looked at his grimoire again.

"You'll have to explain more in detail later. We need to get out of here before–" Leopold started to say before the place started shaking and falling apart. "Crap! The dungeon is collapsing! We need to move!" He yelled in alarm.

"We cleared this place out, so let's get moving!" Kisame added as Yuno created a wind arc for them to ride in order to escape.

"Wait…" Asta groaned, getting everyone's attention. "We… can't leave… him… here…" He got out, pointing at Mars.

"Seriously?! He tried to kill us!" Kisame protested, ignoring the throbbing of her wound.

"We.. came to… save… not… kill…" The manaless boy groaned, causing everyone to exchange looks.

"... He's got a point." Luck commented.

"Asta…. You are noble to a fault." Kisame groaned as she attempted to create a shark construct to grab Mars–only for her body to crap out on her. "Gah, fuck! I can't grab him!" She hissed, falling to her knees.

"I'll bring us close." Yuno said as he tried to get them close to Mars, but some rubble fell on the mineral mage, the dust kickup hiding him from view.

"We're out of time!" Klaus exclaimed as more rubble started falling. "Yuno, get us out of here!" He ordered.

"I know where the exit is!" Luck exclaimed, extending his senses to locate their exit.

"I see it." The boy nodded as he flew them through.

(Later)

"That was a crazy mission." Natsuo groaned as he sat down with the others rested–all of them exhausted.

"No kidding." Kisame sighed as Mimosa tended to her wound with what magic power she had left after mending Asta's own injury. "Hey, Yuno. You said that you saw a little fairy girl, right?" She asked, glancing at her surrogate brother.

"Yeah, what about it?" The wind mage questioned.

"I may not know a lot about magic in general, but I have heard about the many many magical spirits that reside in the different magic types." She told him. "That fairy could be one of them." She hypothesized.

"That is a sound theory." Klaus nodded in agreement. Then they heard Asta start groaning, causing everyone's heads to snap to him.

"Asta!" They exclaimed.

"Thank goodness, we thought we'd lost you!" Noelle sighed in relief.

"You took a pretty serious hit back there, pal." Leopold told him.

"And gave us a scare." Kisame added.

"Yeah. Thought I was a goner too, honestly." The boy groaned as he sat up. "Thanks Mimosa–owowoowow…" He gasped in pain.

"Sorry. I didn't have a lot of magic power left, and I needed to heal Kisame's wound, so I had to split what I had between both of you." The Vermillion girl told him apologetically.

"Yeah, that's OK." The boy sighed as he got up. "I'm just glad everyone's OK." He added, looking at Yuno and Kisame.

"Yes, it was… harrowing." Yuno admitted with a sigh.

"More like a nightmare." Kisame amended.

"I'll say." Natsuo nodded.

As the trio continued to talk, Klaus walked up to them. "You three, I… have something I need to say to all of you." He told them.

"Hm? What's up?" Kisame asked before she, Yuno and Asta were pulled into a surprise hug by the man.

"I was wrong about you three! The Magic Knights truly are lucky to have all of you!" He confessed.

"Not exactly what I was expecting, but I'm definitely not complaining." Kisame hummed.

"Ya know, being validated does feel pretty good." Asta nodded as he stepped out of the hug, right before plopping back down. "Hey Noelle! Looks like Kisame isn't the only one with too little clothing on!" He heckled the Royal.

Noelle looked down and let out an embarrassed scream as she covered up her chest with a blush on her face, jumping around as she did… And accidentally landed on Asta's injured abdomen in the process, knocking him out again.

"Damn it, Noelle!" Kisame whined.

"Oh no! What did I do?! Why did I do that?!" The girl gasped as she and Mimosa tried to wake the boy back up.

Kisame just sighed as she fell to the ground, her body feeling heavy as she slowly felt sleep take her.

What a day…

Dragon Emperor0: Not bad for a single chapter. We basically got an entire arc off our to-do list, and it didn't take us that long. Just two evenings.

ThermalsniperN7: We're cool like that. Anyway, what do you guys think of the new spells Kisame showed off? I like the Apex Phantom Parade one, since she can summon all her past aquatic foes and let them do the fighting.

Dragon Emperor0: It's inspired by the Hyakki Yagyo, or Night Parade of One Hundred Demons from Japanese mythology. And it's also a bit of fan service for those of us who have played the Maneater games. And in case you guy are curious, yes, Kisame's mineral dress is based on the Nocturnal Clothes from Skyrim.

ThermalsniperN7: Expect the Distinguished Service thing to happen next time, and for the banquet to have a vastly different outcome in Noelle's case. Anyway, see you next time.