Chapter 17

Nostalgia and Nightmares

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Clover, The anime, characters, and all rights to Black Clover belong to Yuki Tabata and Shonen Jump.

"Dipstick"-Dialogue

'Dipstick'-Inner monologue

Dipstick- Spell casting

Dipstick-Flashback

After their battle with Mars, the Diamond kingdom made who was now in a special cage made by Klaus's steel creation magic. To keep close tabs on him, Klaus himself walked with their new prisoner as he held his grimoire in his right hand. Curious about the Diamond Kingdom mage's security, Asta asked a question with Nero perched on his head.

"Are you sure that's going to hold him?" The question from Asta caused Klaus to become irritated. He then looked at the magicless boy with a frown and a tick mark on his head

"You dare doubt my magic?". Klaus' question was met with Asta flinching and moving backward. Meanwhile, Dante who was walking next to the two gained a manic smile and teasingly raised his hand.

"I doubt". The ice mage's words were met with a nod of the head by Luck. Seeing the two's blatant disrespect, Klaus shouted at the protege and student across from him. Causing the rest of the group to cover their ears.

"He's clearly incapacitated and restrained! HAVE YOU NO FAITH IN MY ABILITIES!". Despite his shout, Luck gave a smile and started to jump up and down. Which only seemed to anger Klaus more as he gripped his grimoire in rage.

"Maybe you should show me by fi-"

"HELL NO!". In an attempt to change the subject, Mimosa coughed in her hand and gave a soft smile. As she spoke, relief was evident in her voice.

"Well, I'm just happy that none of us were seriously injured". Mimosa's words were met with two skeptical looks from Shayna and Noelle. The first to vocalize her concern was Noelle as she addressed her cousin with a caring tone.

"Are you sure you should be moving? You were hit pretty bad". To show her agreement with Noelle's statement, Shayna nodded and gave a concerned comment of her own.

"Princess is right, why waste energy when someone could carry you. Especially since you could barely stand a few minutes ago". The two's concern was waved off by Mimosa as she gave a reassuring smile. After she did, Mimosa gave the two concerned females a grateful smile.

"Truly, I'm fine and mostly healed now. But thank you both for defending me back in the battle". Mimosa's words of encouragement caused Noelle to look away in embarrassment. Not used to the praise, she played it off by flipping her ponytail and turning to her right.

"Well someone had to look out for you". However, as Noelle looked away, she glanced toward Asta who was currently shirtless. Remembering his previous shirt was destroyed, the water mage crossed her arms and blushed a deep red.

"Asta, would you do something about your shirt already?" Noelle's question caused Asta to rub the back of his head with embarrassment. As he responded to Noelle, the anti-magic user looked away with a slight tint of red on his cheeks.

"Sorry, I didn't bring anything with me". Asta then held up his tattered Robe and looked at the remaining shreds with sorrow.

"Plus look what happened to my robe, man Magna's gonna kill me when I get back". His words gained a slight chuckle from Sol as she looked at Asta with a smirk. As she spoke, the tall earth mage held her gut in laughter as she attempted to speak through the giggle fit.

"That male delinquent? Ha! Please, he couldn't kill a fly if it flew in front of him". Luck was the next to speak up as he held his hand up and gave Asta a reassuring smile.

"Besides, don't worry about it, Vanessa can fix it as good as new when we get back". Luck's statement caused Asta to perk up and whip his head in Luck's direction. As the anti-magic user made eye contact with the lightning mage, he couldn't keep the hopeful smile off his face.

"Wait, really?!" His question was met with a nod from Luck causing his smile to widen. Getting the group back on track, Klaus coughed into his hand to gain everyone's attention. Seeing everyone's eyes back on him, the steel mage spoke with conviction.

"Back to more important matters, it looks like we were the ones to reach the treasure hall first. Therefore we won the competition, but I guess just this once will allow you to walk in with us". Klaus' speech gained a deadpan look from Sol, Dante, Asta, Shayna, and Noelle. Sol was the first to speak as she lightly slapped Klaus on the back of the head and let out a growl.

"Cut the crap Four Eyes! Just because we were more concerned that your holier-than-thou, male ass lived, doesn't mean you won shit!". Sol's shout was met with nods from her fellow squadmates. Deciding to give Klaus a piece of his mind. Asta was the next to speak, just as loud as Sol was.

"Yeah! Why are you acting so high and mighty spectacles? You wouldn't be able to enter the treasure hall in the first place if we hadn't shown up to save you". Asta's annoyed tone was also backed up by his squadmates. Trying to stay calm at the insults being thrown his way, Klaus took a deep breath and spoke with a slightly annoyed tone.

"How dare you call me that?! We had everything under complete control and would have succeeded without you!". This gained a belly laugh from Dante as he wiped a tear from his eye. He then spoke with his sadistic smile surfacing once again.

"Is that why Luck had to save your pompous ass?" The blue-banged teen then brushed his bang out his eye while continuing to laugh. "Man, how delusional can you be dipstick?".

Dante's comment only caused Klaus to grow more frustrated at the ice mage. Finally unable to control his anger, Klaus snapped at the laughing blue-banged Orphan. Causing the two to get into a full-blown argument.

"I will destroy you!".

"Sure you will, and I'm secretly a female".

"YOU'RE SQUAD SAYS OTHERWISE!". That last comment caused the two to stare at each other with hardened glares. Neither teen flinched as the two looked ready to attack the other at any minute. Watching the two bicker, Yuno couldn't help but sigh as he looked on with a straight face. 'We're definitely involved now'.

"Perhaps we should go to the treasure hall now". Noelle then pointed at the treasure hall door in front of them. Before Dante could get a word out, Sol grabbed him by the ear and dragged him away from Klaus. Finally ready to see the treasure hall, Asta wrapped his right arm around Noelle's shoulder and pumped his fist.

"Alright! We're going to go in and claim what's in there for the Clover kingdom! YEAH!". Asta's excitement gained a groan from Shayna and a slight giggle from Noelle. As the nine made it to the entrance, they stood in front of a large door. As they stopped in front of it, Asta rubbed his head in confusion.

"Does anyone have any idea of how to get inside?". His question was met with thinking from most of the group. As they thought it over, Dante again gained a headache before flashing to a mysterious woman with her hand on a similar door pumping mana into the structure. This vision somehow gave the male blue rose an idea. Before Klaus could give his input, Dante beat him to it with a stern look toward Asta.

"Asta, slice the door down". Dante's statement caused the entire group to go wide-eyed. Klaus had the most vocal response, as he let out a loud "WHAT!". Tilting his head in contemplation, Luck gained a smile as he continued to analyze the door.

"The door was made with magic, so it's worth a shot" The lightning mage's comments were met with a nod from Noelle and Mimosa. Feeling he's had enough, Klaus pushed his glasses up and spoke with a disapproving tone.

"Please, you can't possibly think that will work. Even if it could, to be able to cut through such magic is impossible". Despite the comments from Klaus, Asta quickly cut a big triangle-shaped hole in the door with his anti-magic sword. After the door piece was successfully cut, it vanished and a bright light shone through the opening. Asta covered his eyes from the bright light before putting his arm down and seeing a giant room covered with mountains of gold. Accompanying the golden bounty was treasure chests, different types of weapons, and multiple kinds of jewelry. Seeing all this around them, the group looked at the discovery in awe.

"Whoa, there's so much treasure!" Asta shouted as he and Noelle walked into the treasure room astounded. The rest of the group followed while looking into the room of gold. Mimosa was the first to find something, as she picked up a red cloak.

"How lovely,". Yuno was the next to pick up something, lifting a book that opened to reveal a light green orb that flew and started moving further into the room. He followed it when Asta picked up a small round gold item. When it opened an illusion of Luck appeared and waved saying, "Hi Asta". Meanwhile, the real Luck mirrors the illusion by doing the same actions. Dante then crouched next to a pile of coins before picking one up and analyzing it.

"Man, whoever owned this place must've been lo-". The blue-banged Orphan stopped mid-sentence, as he heard a whisper in the back of his head. Quickly looking around for the voice, the teen's eyes stopped when he gazed upon a weapon. On top of a Diamond podium, stood a dagger made of crystal.

Approaching the weapon, Dante was in an almost hypnotic trance. However, the moment he touched the dagger an image of a female hand holding the dagger hit him. Next to him, Dante's grimoire again flashed light blue with his eyes doing the same. Everything around him seemed to go black and fade to nothing more than a muffled noise. That is until he was shaken awake by a familiar dark-skinned female.

"Hey, you zoned out again". Sol's words were met with Dante gritting his teeth and grabbing his head in pain. Feeling the throbbing pain, he tried to take deep breaths to relieve it. Once he got to the eighth breath, the pain had diminished and Dante's eyes and grimoire had returned to normal. Concerned for him, Sol bit her lip before speaking again with a reassuring tone.

"We're almost done alright, so just hang tight". Dante and Sol's eyes met as the earth mage gave him a soft smile. Nodding his head, the blue-banged Orphan returned the gesture with one of his own. Dante couldn't help but wonder what the heck is his weird feeling about this place. 'And why can't I shake this feeling of nostalgia? I've never been here. Right?'.

"Would you all stop messing around! There could be dangerous magical artifacts in this room!". Klaus's shout was met with an eye roll from the two before Sol started walking back to the group. Before joining her, Dante took one last look at the dagger as he heard the female whisper again before grabbing it off the stand. 'I need answers, and you're helping me get them'.

"You are just the most fun person to be around, you know that?". The two returned to hear Shayna's sarcastic comment about Klaus. Klaus met her insulting question with rage at the lazy support magic user's disrespect before he responded with a loud retort. Meanwhile, Yuno continued to walk through the treasure hall when he saw a small table surrounded by the wind. The wind user approached the table, he noticed a scroll on the tabletop. Picking up the scroll, Yuno unrolled it to find an unusual kind of writing on the ancient artifact.

'This writing, I haven't seen anything like it before'. Still confused, he failed to notice his grimoire starting to glow along with the scroll. The glow of the scroll caused the rest of the group to turn in confusion. However, as they looked toward Yuno's grimoire and the scroll, both stopped glowing and returned to normal. Klaus was the first to speak on the curious phenomenon with a raised eyebrow.

"Just what was that?". His question was met with Everyone turning back to the unknown scroll. Deciding to answer, Yuno responded with a shrug and a calm demeanor.

"I'm not sure". Yuno's statement was followed by the writing of the scrolls disappearing before him. His answer however was met with skeptical looks from Noelle, Sol, and Shayna. The latter of which blinked before squinting at the mist mage.

"Really? You can't even take a wild guess what happened?". The lazy mage's question was met with another shrug from Yuno. Distracting the group from the odd Nero once again flew on top of Asta's head and pulled on his hair. Causing Asta to yell out and distract from the scroll.

"Again?! Nero, knock it off!" As Asta started to wave the bird away, Nero flew out of his hair. Once back in the air, the anti-magic bird flew towards a circular Orange jewel. Once the group followed the bird, they looked in confusion at the discovery. Sol was the first to speak with a skeptical scowl.

"I don't get it, what's the big deal about this thing?". Her question was met with Nero pecking her on the head before retreating to the Jewel. Angered, the dark-skinned blue rose knight clenched her fist with her Grimoire rising next to her. As this was going on, Klaus couldn't help but think about the three Orphans in front of him.

'Strange, one of them was graced with a four-leaf clover grimoire and wind magic. Meanwhile, another holds a three-leaf with incredible speed and ice mana manipulation. Not to mention the one with a grimoire that looks ancient yet has the power to dispel any magic'. Klaus's thoughts were prefaced with him pushing up his glasses before turning away from the group.

'How is it possible commoners came into such power?'. Cutting his analysis short, the white-haired Golden Dawn member turned to their captured Diamond mage. Focusing solely on Mars' uniquely designed Grimoire.

"This grimoire doesn't look like anything I've seen before". Immediately following his words, Klaus grew shocked as Mars' grimoire started to glow before retreating to its owner. As the grimoire reached its destination, the Diamond Kingdom mage created a crystal golem around himself and destroyed the entrance wall. As Mars faced the enemy mages once more, more images of his past flashed in his head.

(Flashback)

"What's wrong Mars, are you having trouble with the training they're giving us? I'm here to talk to you if you need a friend". The girl's sincere words were met with a small smile from Mars. Despite the grueling training, she was one of the rare things that didn't make him miserable.

"Ever wonder what you're going to do after you leave?" The pink-haired girl's question to Mars was met with surprise. Currently, the two were looking out the window as Mars' turned to his friend with curiosity.

"I know you can do it, after all, you're the strongest out of us" The pink-haired girl's words again caused Mars to gain a sense of determination. As Mars spoke, he gazed into his friend's eyes. "Then I'll wait for you until you leave here, Fana".

Fana looked surprised at first before she smiled and replied in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, we'll go see the world together"

(Flashback End)

Mar's thoughts of the past were broken by the voice of Dante. As he spoke, the ice user held slight trepidation in his voice at the diamond mage's arrival. Attempting to keep his composure in front of his enemy, Dante gave a hesitant smile to Mars and talked with trepidation in his voice.

"Hey, buddy. No hard feelings from earlier, right?". Dante then scratched his cheek as Mars' eyes seemed to have locked the ice magic user in a deadly glare. "Now, if you just do us a solid and go back to being restrained-"

"The weak must be destroyed!". Suddenly his back grew large red flames and ignited behind him. To the shock of the group, the flames seemed to be healing his previous injuries from the earlier battle. This revelation caused the nine knights to look on in a mixture of shock and fear. 'Is that flame recovery magic? How is he using more than one magic attribute?' Klaus' thoughts were broken when crystals shot up from the ground and trapped Yuno, Sol, and Luck in place. In retaliation to Mars' spell, Noelle sent a blast of water to extinguish Mars' flames. Unfortunately. The attack did not put out the fire and only seemed to cause the flames to become stronger than before.

Pointing her wand at the diamond kingdom mage, Noelle was ready to aim another blast at the Crystal golem. Mars once again reacted quickly and used his golem's right hand to send the Royal water mage flying away. Seeing her cousin injured, Mimosa ran to check on her cousin. The middle of Noelle's dress had been cut open down the middle where she was bleeding. With a pained look on her face, Noelle attempted to get up before collapsing due to the overwhelming pain. Asta screamed the silver-haired girl's name in fear before turning to Mars in anger.

"HOW DARE YOU! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!". Asta's shout was complete with a scowling look of anger as he opened his grimoire and pulled out his anti-magic sword. As Asta charged toward the crystal golem, he yelled a battle cry of defiance. Mars, however, met his attempt with a scowl of his own.

"I've finally been able to figure out your power, you can dispel magic. However, I wonder what would happen with magic faster than you can move" As Mars smirked, he made multiple crystal daggers appear in front of him and started spinning toward Asta who destroyed a few of them but was being pushed back. Then the crystal golem attempted to hit Asta with its right fist, however before the fist could make impact Dante pushed Asta out of the way. As he did, the blue-banged orphan took the golem's attack and was sent flying through a wall.

" Good thing he has a friend fast enough to read you and react". Dante then began to slightly laugh before coughing up blood and holding his now bloody chest. Trying to make it to his feet, Dante's legs wobble before causing him to kneel with his hands holding himself off the floor. As he looked up, Mars held a murderous glare in his direction and raised his golem's hand.

"You truly are getting on my last nerve. For your consistent weakness, death is the only option". Mars then sent an avalanche of Crystal hurling toward Dante. In an attempt to block it, the ice mage put up an ice barrier to shield himself. Unfortunately, the barrier was useless, as the Crystal tore through the barrier with ease. Bloodied with his robe ripped clean off, Dante fell to his knees before collapsing at Mars's feet. The crystal golem started moving towards Asta as Mars spoke, repeating the same words over and over.

"Only the strong can live, the weak must die". As Dante tried to stay conscious, the only thing he remembered before fading into darkness was the yell of Asta, Yuno, and Sol screaming his name before blacking out.

(Mindscape)

"Ugh, where the heck am I?".

As Dante woke, he looked around to see complete darkness and appeared to be laying on a floor made of crystal. Gone was the dungeon he last remembered battling in, as he looked around the pitch darkness to see small broken shards of crystal around him. Raising an eyebrow, the orphan shook himself out of his mind before yelling for his fellow knights.

"Hey, Anyone here? Sol? Shayna? Asta? Yuno?". Not getting an answer, the ice magic user gulped before attempting to feel the mana around him. To his shock, he couldn't feel anything, not a person around him, or even any of the surroundings that occupied the area. As a last-ditch effort, Dante tried to create an ice slide to find some type of exit. However, he was completely stunned to learn that not only was that not possible, but he also couldn't use any of his magic currently. 'Ok, WHAT IN THE HELL IS HAPPENING!?'.

Suddenly, a shard of the crystal floor broke off and fell in front of Dante's feet. The shard then began to morph in front of Dante to reveal two people he hadn't seen in years, five years to be precise. In front of the magic knight stood the two people who were a few seconds short of ending his life, the Concord brothers. Seeing his childhood tormentors in front of him, Dante couldn't help but growl at the two cousins' reveal.

"Hey kid, you miss us?". The taller cousin then walked up to Dante with a twisted smile on his face. As he did, the two put their hands forward in sync before blasting Dante in the chest with a flurry of crystals. As they did, the two immobilized his arms completely, causing them to fall limp by his sides. However, as Dante was about to respond, another voice was heard from behind him.

"And just what do you think you're doing you, Peasant!". Turning to the source, Dante was met with Ryker as he held the same slick smirk he held at the exams. As quick as he realized the person in front of him, Dante wasn't able to stop the onslaught of crystals that rushed out Ryker's mouth. The breath of Crystals was sent through his calves, causing the orphan to once again fall face first into the floor. As he looked up once again, the scene changed to a much more terrifying sight. His eyes widened at the sight of Mars standing over all of his friends and loved ones, with Clair being the only sole survivor currently tied up and struggling to get free.

"Only the strong can live, the weak must die". Mars's words were directed towards the ice magic user, as he did, the large golem-assisted mage made his way to Clair who seemed to fight but to no avail. Once again doing everything he could to get up, Dante's entire body seemed to disobey him as it refused to budge in the slightest. With every step Mars took towards the struggling orphan child, The crystals embedded into Dante's skin began to cover his entire body as a restraint.

"If you don't stop I'll- I'll KILL YOU!". Dante's words were met with a slight look from Mars as he stopped in place. However, he then continued walking towards Clair as the crystals once again continued to grow. With every yell to "STOP!". He was met with no response and a bigger cocoon of crystal covering his body. Feeling the same desperation that filled him when he was a helpless ten-year-old boy, Dante began to cry streams of tears before whispering one more plea.

"Please, just stop". As Mars finally reached his screeching teammate, Dante closed his eyes in fear. With tears still streaming down his face, Dante heard all the criticism he's heard all his life. From his weakness and flaws as a knight to his position as a commoner and orphan. With each passing second, the voices seemed to get louder with Mars raising his hand over the restrained Clair.

Accepting both her and his fate, Dante's body was ready to go completely limp and fade to darkness. That is until a familiar shout caused his eyes to widen in shock.

(Outside mindscape)

"I've told you guys already, all of this is worthless''. Shayna's words were prefaced with hopeless eyes as she looked at Sol, Yuno, Luck, and Klaus who were still restrained. The support mage had used all the physical strength she had to carry Dante's motionless body back to the battlefield. Asta was currently the only person attempting to fight Mars with his new Anti magic sword that seemed to absorb Noelle's magic somehow. Since Mimosa was focused on healing Noelle, the lazy support mage was attempting to pump enough mana into Dante to get him back up.

"So you're gonna give up on your squadmate, just like that". Yuno's words caused the pink-haired mage to growl in anger, raising one hand to point in the wind mage's direction while keeping one of her hands above Dante's bloody chest.

"SHUT UP!". Shayna then pointed to Mars and Asta battling in the distance. the latter of which smacked Asta again in the opposite direction with his Crystal Golem hand. As she spoke, the four knights couldn't keep the tears from her eyes from pouring.

"Have you opened your eyes and looked at what we're up against! It may not look like much to you idiots! BUT I'VE SEEN THIS STORY BEFORE!". The pink-haired slacker then gained a flash of a woman with dirty blonde hair with a Blue Rose Robe lying lifeless on the battlefield. Remembering the image so vividly, she stopped pumping Mana into Dante to relive the experience for a split second. That is before Sol bangs on her cage causing her to snap out of it.

"We're all screwed, and I'm just as helpless now as I was then!".

"That wasn't your fault Shayna! Everyone knows you four were put in an impossible situation!". Sol then looked to the battlefield with Asta struggling to stand and keep fighting, as she did the earth mage gave a reassuring smile to her narcissistic teammate.

"Besides, this time it's different. Not only do you have a backup, but we also have the numbers advantage. It's why the emotionless bastard had to lock half of us up. We're all here to look out for one another!". The dark-skinned mages' comments were met with Nods from Yuno, Luck, and Klaus nearby. The latter of which pushed his glasses up with his emphatic nod.

"Marron is right, we shall get out of this with teamwork from all three squads". The white-haired then let out a sigh before looking at the downed Ice mage in front of him. "And that includes getting him back onto the field as soon as possible".

Shayna squinted at the four in front of her before turning to Dante again as she looked at her beaten male squadmate with a frown. 'There was one spell, but it didn't work last time. Why the heck would it work now?'. Shayna then remembered her words to Mimosa and realized they applied to her in this current situation.

'Well, I guess I have to practice what I preach'. Wiping the tears from her eyes, Shayna opened her grimoire to its last page. Taking a deep breath, the pink-haired mage's hands started to glow bright pink as her usual gray eyes were replaced with a bright pink glow. Placing her hands on the orphan's chest, Shayne cleared her mind before calling out the spell.

Mana Flourish!

Suddenly a pink light surrounded the male Blue Rose Knight. As it did, Dante began to pant heavily as if he were hyperventilating. Recognizing this response to her spell, Shayna let out a scoff before turning to the four imprisoned nights with a yawn while giving a determined stare.

"There, this spell, if it works, should bring him to peak condition. But you idiots gotta get him to wake up, or else this farce of a cast was pointless". Shayna's words were met with a solemn smile from Sol before she clenched her fist and yelled at the downed orphan.

"What are you doing laying there Icehead! You wanna be Captain don't you! Well you can't do that dying in this stupid Dungeon!". The girl's shout was met with a twisted smile from Luck. 'It's good to see you found your family Dante'. Shaking his thoughts, Luck yelled at the downed ice mage as well while mimicking a punching motion.

"Yeah! You still owe me a fight remember? It'd be a waste for you to die without making good on your promise". Yuno was the next to talk with traces of a smirk surfacing on his face.

"All that talk about not letting me and Asta become Wizard King, you have no right to die until you see me prove you wrong!". Watching the four around him look in his direction, Klaus sighed before pushing up his glasses. Breathing in deeply, the white-haired senior shouted for the whole dungeon to hear.

"IT'S UNKNIGHTLY TO DIE IN A TIME OF NEED! NOW GET UP AND CONTINUE TO PROVE ME WRONG ABOUT COMMONERS!". Smiling at the reluctant words, Sol turned to Dante with her usual confident smirk. Ignoring the tear falling from her right eye, Sol was the last to attempt to reach Dante in his knocked-out state.

(Mindscape)

"YOU HEAR THAT, WAKE THE HELL UP!".

Currently watching the display from his icy prison, Dante held a smile as tears still flowed freely. The next words from Sol caused his eyes to widen and his heart to slightly skip a beat.

"YOU'RE THE ONLY MALE I TRUST! DON'T MAKE ME REGRET IT, DANTE!". In an instant, the world around him began to change again. The former enemies and downed friends all vanished in an instant, revealing an all-white room with blue crystals illuminating the surroundings. Finally able to stand, Dante rose as if the previous injuries never existed.

"Long time no see, kid". Turning around, Dante was met with a long black and blue-haired forty-year-old woman with black fingernails and emerald eyes. She wore a dark blue tank top with a small black spade insignia on the front, as well as black pants to match her painted nails. The last and most notable features were the light blue streaks that ran through her majorly dark hair, and a large cut at the center of her throat. Despite Dante seeing her for the first time, he felt a weird sense of deja vu from seeing the dark-haired middle-aged woman. Before he could speak, the woman once again cut him off by putting up her hand and speaking first.

"Alright, let's lightning round this because I don't have much time. And if you don't wake up, neither do they". The blonde then began to extend her fingers, counting each sentence as an answer to one of the teens' many questions she thought of.

"Yes, I know who you are. No, I am not a trap or trick from the rampaging dipstick you're currently fighting. No, You're not dead but your friends will be if you don't wake up in the next twenty seconds. Yes, this is far from the last conversation we're going to have. And finally, I approve, she's a keeper".

The blonde's last statement was followed by her giving a sly smirk and a thumbs up in Dante's direction. Confused, the Blue banged teen raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and refocusing himself. Realizing he had very little time left, the orphan turned to the mystery woman with a concerned expression.

"So, what happens now". His question was met with a short silence from the black and blue-haired woman before she sighed. She then gave a twisted smile as the crystals around them started to glow so bright they became blinding. As the room around him started to fade one last time, he heard the mystery woman give him one last piece of advice.

"Nothing you can't overcome by remembering who you are, dipstick".

The pink light around Dante's body faded as he slowly opened his eyes. Glad Dante seemed to be ok, the signs of life gained sighs of relief from Klaus, Yuno, Luck, Sol, and Shayna. Groaning at the pain throughout his body, the ice magic user rose to his feet with his back turned to the rest of the group. Seeing Dante seemed ok, Sol wiped her eyes before speaking with her trademark confident smirk.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Blockhead". Sol's comment was met with no comment as Dante continued to stare in the opposite direction. As if feeling his gaze, Mars turned his attention away from Asta and towards the now-standing Blue Rose Knight. As he did, the Diamond Kingdom mage gained a chill down his spine. 'How is that bastard still standing? And why does he feel different than before?'.

Feeling the same difference in mana Mars did, Luck's eyes widened. The cheery berserker then turned to Yuno who shared his concern with a straight face and a raised eyebrow. Klaus on the other hand met Dante's lack of response with a cough in his hand and a stern tone towards the male blue rose.

"Dante, it's best to acknowledge your seniors when they speak". His words were again met with no answer as his hair and grimoire seemed to glow a light blue color, causing everyone to gasp. Gaining a much more twisted smile than usual, Dante turned to the onlooking knights revealing his eyes glowing just like his hair and grimoire. Speaking to them one last time before heading towards Asta, Noelle, Mimosa, and the enemy Diamond Mage.

"I'll be back when he's dead".

Raidentensho: Funny you should mention that considering the end of the chapter lmao. Dante's development is going to be at a similar pace to Yuno and Asta's. I talked about the Mana zone before and I think the best time to give him access to that would be right before the Royal Knights exam during Dante's training. As for the harem idea, I Unfortunately am not gonna be doing a harem fic right now. I respect the heck out of people that try those, but balancing that much on my first write would honestly be way too difficult. Maybe in the future.

An: YES! I have been WAITING to write this chapter for so long! I've hinted at Dante's second mana for a while (Not so suddenly over the last three chapters might I add lol) so it probably didn't come as a shock or asspull. My big question was how much I wanted to give away about our mystery women from the mindscape at the moment. In the end, I decided on keeping who she is hush-hush while describing her enough that you have some idea where I'm headed if you're deep into the lore. But the climax happens in the next chapter along with a chapter or two before the Capital invasion arc. Anyway, y'all know the drill, follow comments and favorite if you liked what you read. Thank you and hope you enjoyed it.