Prism had realized she had been had again.
She ended up admitting to the adults in the very room where she ended up explaining everything that had happened while they were in the treasure chamber. Even how she had the box hidden, from even then. Needless to say-She was anxious while she told them the full story. Marx had been among them as he had arrived earlier, and Marvin had been sitting outside of the room, while Naotoshi had been downstairs reading whatever book had been available.
"-So you see?" Prism soon explained, "I didn't find the box on purpose, the Spirits gave it to me. But I didn't think it would do something like this!" She soon gestured to the key choker that was now around her neck.
"The Spirits actually brought this item to you?" Marx asked.
"Yeah." Prism said, "They sort of did since they wanted to cheer me up-But they also told me this item would help me when the time comes. I haven't figured out what that means yet."
Marx soon turned to the Familiars, Nolan, Gooden and Acer, "Have the Spirits done anything like this before?"
"Frequently they did." Nolan replied, "But in our experience, they only brought things she needed. They never brought her things she wanted."
"Only things she needed?" Yami said with a puff.
"Yeah-Things she needed." Saorise said, "It's VERY different from her wanting something."
"KEKE-Seems pretty limited if you ask me." Jack said.
"Oh no, it wasn't at all!" Aisling said, "It was actually really helpful for Prism, and ourselves!"
"How so?" He asked.
"Well at first when she was a baby-" Nolan explained as he pondered, "-They brought her parents things she needed. Like when she was hungry, they'd bring her bottle, food she could chew on, things like that."
"Think of them as her aides if you might say." Acer added.
"It's true. And back then, sometimes they do the job for us. When I had to take care of the kids while Yuki and Cad were out with her parents, I forgot to feed Prism, next thing I knew, she was already fed." Gooden said
"Then as we got older, they stopped bringing her food-" Aine said, "-They started to bring her things to help her out."
"Like this one time, when we were caught by Bandits-" Aidan said, "-We didn't have anything to cut ourselves with, but one of them gave Prism a bone shrapnel."
"You were what!?" Gooden shouted as it made the teens flinch.
"Uh-" Liam said as his ears were down, "-The nerd didn't tell you?"
"We're gonna have a talk later." Acer said to them.
"Please don't tell mom and dad." Aisling pleaded.
Yami soon said to Prism, "So wanna tell us why you wait till now to tell us?"
Prism had gotten nervous as she replied, "W-Well, usually when they bring me stuff, I have to be the one to figure it out. I was going to tell you after I opened it, but you guys figured it out before I could."
"You think we're mind readers?" Yami asked with a raised eyebrow.
"N-No of course not!" She replied nervously, "But since the Spirits always brought me things I needed, I always had to figure out the solution to the problem should there ever need be, but-" She soon sighed, "-You can chalk that one up to me being a dummy I guess."
"Prism, no!" Saorise said, "You're not a dummy."
"You just had everyone's best interest at heart-" Brenin said, "-That doesn't make you a dummy."
"And you're sweet too!" Theodore said, before his tone switched to a monotone, "Unlike Pluck. I like him but he's a bit of a d-"
Vandy, Jubei and Sachiko soon covered his muzzle as it shocked him.
"We don't use words like that for Pluck-sensei." Sachiko said.
"Where did you even learn those kind of words?!"" Vandy asked.
"Probably from Pluck's books." Jubei said.
"Yeah but-OW!" Prism started to say before she cried out in agony. Turns out Yami gave her a flick.
"Did you just flick my niece's forehead?" Nolan asked him while Yami took a puff.
"I do it all the time." Yami replied nonchalantly, before he told Prism, "Also what did I tell you about doubting yourself? Did my pep talk not get through to you?"
"I-It did, but-" She started to say before she got flicked again, "-OW!"
"How many times do I have to flick you till you get it?" Yami asked before he told her, "Seriously, that Sword Boy messed you up, worse then I thought. I'm REALLY gonna talk with him later."
Prism only looked confused by this sort of thing as the Spirits tilted their heads too. "In any case-" Marx said, "-It's still concerning. As far as we know, we're not sure what that key can really do, or if it's a Cursed Item. I think it's best if the Wizard King takes a look for himself."
"Do you think Julius might have an idea on what this is?" Prism asked.
"Perhaps." He replied, "I've never seen an item from a dungeon attach itself to a person before."
"I thought you said he was busy." Brenin said.
"He is-But Prism is the Princess." Marx reasoned, "He'll make time to see her, I'm sure."
Jack had said, "KEKE-Despite being a nerd he might have a thing about that item."
"Wait-Does that mean Prism has to go to the Castle where the others are?" Vandy asked curiously as his eyes glimmered with hope.
"That is where his highness should be right now, yes." Marx replied.
"Well now-" Nolan said, before he gave Prism a pat, "-Looks like we're heading to the ceremony after all." He soon whispered, "If we're lucky we can see Asta and the others."
"You think so?" Prism asked with awe.
"Hey-" He replied, "-We won't know unless we try Trouble Monkey."
"I would advise against that." Marx said with a bit of firmness, "We can't have her stay there any longer then needed."
"Oh come on Marx-" Acer said, "-Let the girl have a little fun."
"She'd be with her friends at least." Gooden said, "What could go wrong?"
Right when Prism was about to say something she noticed how unsettled the Spirits had gotten, as well as Adrien who started to let out a low growl. Even Brenin, Saorise and Liam had tensed up as the hair on their heads practically stood up.
"Guys?" Prism asked, as the others were quick to notice how unsettled they looked.
"Something-" Brenin said as Adrien continued to growl, "-Something's wrong."
Prism was about to ask but soon noticed Karasu had passed by the door. She had been the first to stand from her bed before she followed him down the stairs.
"Karasu!" She called out as she saw him go out the door. She quickly followed him outside as she threw on her red scarf over her head. She soon found not him, but Naotoshi standing outside looking at something. "Karasu!" She said worryingly, "You shouldn't be up, you're sick!"
Karasu said nothing, as Prism noticed how uneasy he had looked.
"Karasu?" She said worryingly, "Are you okay?"
"Somethings off…" He said.
Prism could hear the Spirits speaking to her as she soon heard the sound of the birds. Just as she looked above, Nolan, the Familiars, Yami and Jack joined her, Karasu, and Naotoshi outside. They saw the birds that had been in the very capital flying away, as they passed through the barrier easily; it had been an entire flock of all different kinds as they looked to be flying away from something.
"This doesn't look good." Naotoshi said.
"No it doesn't." Yami said as he took a puff.
Prism could feel a chill in the air suddenly before she realized what had been nearby; it had been a familiar slender being wearing a dark robe, carrying a lantern with their pale emancipated hand. Though much to her own horror, she didn't just see one-She saw a whole row of them.
All of them… Had been waiting for something.
Brenin, Saorise and Liam immediately sensed Prism's distress as they looked in the direction she had been looking, though all they found was an empty space. Right away, just from her thoughts alone, they knew what she had been seeing.
"Prism…" Brenin said softly, "... Is there a Spirit of Death here?"
Prism nodded slowly, "Bu-But… There's not just one here."
"Wait-There's a Spirit of Death? Like in Saussy?" Karasu said.
The Familiars quickly shushed him. "Quiet!" Liam told him softly, "A Spirit of Death can only be seen literally when you're dying! What do you think one will do if they knew you knew about their existence?"
"Sorry-" Karasu said softly before asking Prism, "-Tater-Tot-How many of them do you see?"
Prism gulped before replying, "T-Too many."
Suddenly, they jumped at a shimmer around the barrier; much to everyone's horror… The barrier itself started to disappear, in almost an instant it seemed.
Everything around them-Had become silent as even the winds seemed to have stopped
"We're-Not seeing this-Right?" Aidan said as he looked unsettled.
"Did-" Aisling said, "-Did the barrier just disappear?"
"Wha-What's happening?" Prism asked.
"By the Gods-" Nolan said.
Nolan soon stepped outside of the front yard to get a better look of the situation; the residents and people passing nearby had done the same, like the city had been in a trance.
They soon jumped at the sound of an explosion as the people gasped in horror. Many more soon followed as the people started to go into a frenzy; it was almost as if the explosion and fires that started to form were getting closer. At this-Nolan, Captains, Yami and Jack and Naotoshi seemed to realize what they were looking at.
"Get in the house sweetie!" Nolan soon said suddenly as he looked tense.
"What?" Prism said confused.
"Get in now!" He told more firmly before he picked her up, startling her
"You too! Hurry!" Naotoshi told the Familiars as he quickly ushered them inside as they looked startled and confused, "Everybody inside the house!"
"Whoa, hey!" Karasu said, "What the hell is going-"
Yami wasted no time as he picked up Karasu, "You heard the surgeon! No time like the present!"
"Whoa!" Karasu said as he had been over his shoulder, "What the hell?!"
"Gooden, Acer the kids-!" Nolan told them as he ran with Prism towards the door.
Gooden and Acer wasted no time as they snatched Jubei, Vandy and Sachiko up before they ushered the Triple A's inside. As the smell of fire and smoke soon filled the air and started to change the sky gradually. Nolan had been the first to enter with Prism, followed by Naotoshi with the Familiars, Yami with Karasu over his shoulder and then Jack who quickly shut the door.
"Prism!" Nolan said, as he set her down, "Go and grab your grimoire, and help us barricade every entryway! Lock every door and window, and get ready to fight if need be!" He soon told the Familiars, "That goes for you three too! Be ready for the worst case scenario!"
"What!?" Prism said fearfully, "Why?! What's happening?!"
"Why were there explosions just now?!" Saorise said.
"What happened to the barrier!?" Brenin asked.
"Nolan!" Liam said, "Tell us what's going on!"
The look on Nolan's face soon changed before he told her as calmly as he could; his smile had been long since gone.
"The Capital as of right now-" He soon said to her as he gripped her shoulders slightly, looking her dead in the eye, "-Is being invaded."
Prism's eyes widened in horror, as the Spirits lost their color. The Familiars looked just as scared as Prism had been at this news.
(Second Opening Theme: Sunday's Without God Opening-Birth Performed By Kitamura Eri)
"Listen up you bastards-I'm GOING to pile the merit, and become the Wizard King-AND SHUT YOU ALL UP!"
Most of the Knights in the room, except for a certain few, had a look of shock as they looked at Asta. A peasant? Like him? Becoming the Wizard King? It had been the most absurd thing they had ever heard of, at least to some that were in the room.
Solid and Nebra looked especially shocked by this sort of thing. Klaus had been saying something inherently as he couldn't believe what had been happening.
Noelle had a look of shock and awe as Mimosa had been mostly of awe.
Feodora laughed as she smiled, "Of course that's your answer."
Pluck had a smirk as he said. "He's got my vote."
Yuno seemed to have smiled as well, "Not a chance."
"Becoming… The Wizard King?" Alecdora said, shocked.
"Seriously?" Nebra said amused, "You-The Wizard King?"
Solid started to laugh as did Nebra. Asta only gripped his sword tighter as he readied himself.
"DON'T MAKE US LAUGH!" They yelled as they had gotten their grimoires started to glow.
"Water Binding Magic-" Solid said, as his smile looked a bit deranged, "-Sea Serpent's Coil!"
A snake entirely made of water soon emerged from the pages, shocking most of them, before it went towards Asta. With a deep breath Asta sliced the snake in two as the water disappeared before it could hit the floor.
"What?!" Solid said shocked.
Pluck gave a smile as he said, "Good call!"
Nebra clicked her tongue, "Mist Binding Magic-Mist Spider's Thread!"
A cloud of mist soon appeared out the pages from her own grimoire as she surrounded Asta in it; he had been able to slice it all away with the help of his second sword which she had been shocked to see.
"This is nothing compared to the Wandering Mist!" Asta said with a determined look on his face.
"What?!" Nebra said, "How?!"
Feodora gave a laugh, "You call that mist?" She soon got her own grimoire out, "Let me show you how it's done!" The pages in her grimoire turned before it stopped at a certain one. She soon jumped in the air as her arm had been encased in ice.
"Ice Magic-LYNX BLIZZARD!" She shouted before throwing her fist in the ground. Almost the entire room had been encased in a mist made up entirely of ice, as most of the tables and food had been frozen to the touch. Nebra and Solid had been shocked to see their ankles and legs had been frozen to the touch.
"What is this?!" Nebra said as she struggled, "I'm stuck! How can she-"
"Even though I hate being called this-I want to make something very clear-"
Nebra had been taken back as Feodora had suddenly; she had a crazed smile on her face. "I wasn't made just an assassin-" She said, "-I'M THE TOP ASSASSIN YOU BITCH!"
Feodora soon kicked her so hard she sent Nebra flying out of the Lynx Blizzard spell, before she dashed after her with a laugh before she started to attack her.
Solid growled as he said "KNOW YOUR PLACE ASSASSI-"
Just as he was about to use his water binding magic on Feodora, he was soon cut off as Pluck hurled his sword once more as he got a nick on his face.
"I don't mind embarrassing you again, Solid." Pluck said with a smirk. "This will be what? The 10th time since we met?"
Solid gave a growl as he shouted while his grimoire opened. "YOU DAMN BARBADOS! I'LL PUT YOU IN YOUR PLACE!"
Pluck soon opened his grimoire before swapping Dorado and Oban Oba with a sword of flames and a sword of leaves as he said with a smile, "And I'll put you in yours."
Alecdora had been eying Asta in particular as he had been watching Feodora's back; and Yuno had been watching their's. "I knew it-" He thought as he had been watching how Asta cut through each magic attack, "-He's erasing magic. He's no ordinary peasant. However-"
His grimoire soon glowed as they flipped towards a certain page, "-If this his attack range, there's no reason for concern."
"Sand Creation Magic-Sand-Armored Guard!"
Asta could see something had been below his and Feodora's feet. Asta thought fast as he quickly shoved her out of the way just as an armored man; in a matter of seconds he had been trapped within the large titan.
"ASTA!" Feodora cried out.
"Asta!" Pluck, Klaus, Noelle and Mimosa call out.
"I-I think that's enough!" Klaus said.
Morwyn added, "You're going too far!"
"Keep your mouths shut." Alecdora said as Klaus flinched while Morwyn clicked her tongue.
Klaus only shrunk slightly at this as he stammered, "Ye-Yes sir."
Alecdora turned back over to Asta, "To act in such a way at a festive occasion like the decoration ceremony-You will surely be punished."
Solid only laughed as he managed to push Pluck away. "Why so soft, Golden Dawn?" He said, "Anyone whose self confidence needs to be taught a lesson-So that they can never talk back again."
"Kinda like you right?" Pluck asked, before his eyes widened in realization when Solid got out his grimoire again and had started to manifest a spell in particular.
"That's-!" Noelle said in realization, "-Pluck! Do something!"
"Huh?" Pluck asked
"Water Magic-" Solid said, "-HOLY WATER BULLET!"
A projectile of water flew straight towards Asta as everyone in the room panicked. Even Yuno reached for his grimoire, and Pluck quickly readied a sword.
Though Pluck's jaw dropped as did most of the others when another sword manifested from the pages; Asta managed to break free with one sword, and hit the Holy Water Bullet back at him with the other. Yuno and Feodora could only smile at this as neither had anything to worry about as Yuno himself set his grimoire back where it was.
"Apologize…!" Asta soon said as he practically threw the attack back at him, "... To Noelle!"
Though Solid acted fast, he barely managed to block his own attack as he had a look of shock as he had been on one knee.
"HA!" Feodora laughed as she had a smirk, "THAT'S WHAT YOU GET YOU SON OF A BITCH! DON'T GO UNDERESTIMATING THE POWER OF PEASANTS!"
"Okay, you're pushing it a little." Morwyn said.
"Can we PLEASE just talk this all out!" Fafanar pleaded.
Solid clicked his tongue, "Did he-Just make me kneel to him?!" Solid's look soon changed as he stood; his eyes had been filled with rage before he shouted, "YOU LOWLY PEASANT!"
"Oop, I think you actually ticked him off-" Feodora said, before she gave Asta a pat on the shoulder, "-I'm proud of you Dum-Dum."
"IS THAT REALLY SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF RIGHT NOW!?" Asta exclaimed out of confusion.
"I agree with her!" Pluck said as he hurled his sword at Solid only for Solid to block the attack, "This is the most pissed I've seen him all day! It's actually hilarious!"
Solid only glared as his grimoire glowed. "I'm not holding back anymore!"
"S-Solid!" Noelle pleaded nervously, "P-Please stop…!"
"SHUT UP!" Solid shouted as it made her flinch. He turned Pluck as he said. "I'll take care of these peasants, One By one! Starting with you! PLUCK BARBADOS!"
Just then the whole room had been filled with a tense atmosphere that even made Pluck while Asta froze. "Oh-Good." Feodora said as she rolled her eyes, knowing where it had been coming from.
Nozel had only been taking a few steps forward toward them, and yet it was almost as if the mana that had been present had bowed before his might. Noelle, and even Mimosa, Klaus, Morwyn, and Fafanar had started to step back from him.
"N-Nozel?" Solid said fearfully.
"Solid-" Nozel said as his tone changed, "-Don't be so quick to to use your magic on a mere peasant."
"But-" Solid started to say before he was interrupted.
"Silence." He told him as Solid flinched, "Do you plan to shame the Silva family name?"
Solid had found no way to set an argument with his eldest brother as he had been quick to hold his tongue and even close his grimoire.
"What is this chill?!" Asta thought, "It's a cold pressure that's different from Captain Yami's-Is THIS the Captain of the Silver Eagles?"
Pluck clicked his tongue as he said, "Of course out of all the people to step forward. Let me guess, you're gonna put us peasants in our place, No- "
"If I were you Barbados-" Nozel said as Pluck flinched, "-I would hold your tongue, seeing as how from what I understand, you're in more than in enough trouble. Not only have you endangered the young princess-But you also physically assaulted me a short while ago."
"HE DID WHAT?!" Fafanar, Arfau and Morwyn exclaimed
"YOU DID WHAT!?" Akiko shouted.
Feodora soon gave Pluck a smack in the back of the head, "Way to give him another reason to not like the Black Bulls in general."
Pluck groaned as he told her. "He already hates peasants and my family, what's the big idea?"
"Yeah-But you realize what you do to him bites us all in the ass since the Black Bulls are the ones looking after Prism." Feodora clarified.
Pluck flinched before he mumbled curses in elf.
Solid was about to commit but Nozel's glare prevented him from doing so as he turned away as well.
"Now then-" Nozel said as he turned to Asta, while Feodora put herself in front of him, "-A peasant who had defied Royalty-How shall I punish you?"
Asta and Feodora got themselves ready to fight Nozel as he only looked towards them. Klaus had been shaking as he was at a loss on what should be done. "W-What should I do?" He thought, "At this rate-Asta and Feodora will-"
Pluck couldn't help but think as his body shook, "-Gotta do something! Nozel is gonna hurt him! I have no choice. I gotta use all three swords-even if it means i'll be kicked out of the magic knights!" He soon groaned, "Ugh, no that's stupid! If I do that, not only will our family be imprisoned, they'll have a good reason for taking Prism away and put her in a different squad altogether! Damn it! Is there nothing I can do?!"
Nozel lifted his hand towards them as they readied themselves. However-
"That's enough."
The intensity had laughed the entire room when Fugeleon finally stepped in, having finally heard and seen enough. "You're getting worked up over something that might as well have been trivial." Fugeleon said, "Not to mention-He is one of the people that found the Princess in the Wandering Mist and took care of her in the first place. The Silva's should be ashamed of themselves for even threatening her savoirs."
"What?" Alecdora said shocked, "This peasant found the Princess?"
"Within the Wandering Mist?" Hammon said, "But that place was said to make anyone go mad. Even the most powerful Magic Knights couldn't survive it."
"Not just him buckoo-" Feodora said before she took Asta's wrist; Yuno soon stepped to them as he took Asta's right.
"-We found her." Yuno said confidently, "All three of us."
"You peasants and the reject-" Solid said stunned.
"-Survived the Wandering Mist?" Nebra said shocked.
Pluck soon managed to regain his composure as he replied with a nod, "It's true!"
Leopold soon gave a laugh as it had startled Asta, Yuno and Feodora as they soon realized he had been just behind them.
"It's just as Mimosa said!" Leopold said, "The three of you are quite amusing! Especially you-Asta is it?"
Asta only looked confused, "Uh-Yes?"
"Wait, wait, wait-" Feodora soon said as it took her a moment for her to process, "-You're the little brother of the Captain?"
"Yes I am!" Leopold replied, "And Mimosa spoke about you too!"
"Is that so?" Feodora said as she looked over in Mimosa's direction as she only laughed sheepishly.
"WHAAAAAAAA-" Pluck said as he had been processing, "-First the Silva's relation to you people, and now this!?" His head had been steaming, "JUST HOW BIG IS YOUR FAMILY?!"
Leopold soon gave Asta a pat on the shoulder, "Rejoice Asta! I, Leopold Vermillion-Have declared you as my rival!"
At this, Asta, Fafanar, Arfau's and even Feodora's jaws dropped. "WHAAAAAAAT?!" They exclaimed.
"Aww, I thought I was your rival…" Fafanar said with a pout.
Akiko sighed as she shook her head, "Oh boy… Here he goes."
"It's gonna be a pleasure seeing you work Casta!" Leopold said.
"YOU FORGOT HIS NAME ALREADY?!" Feodora shouted out of confusion.
"IT'S NOT THAT HARD TO FORGET LEO!" Akiko shouted as she smacked him.
"Ow-Why did you hit me Akiko?" Leopold asked her as he rubbed his head.
"YOU KNOW WHY, YOU DINGBAT!" She shouted.
Fafnar soon sniffled, "-You said I was your rival. Even after I got a hang of my spells over these months..."
"Oh we still are!" Leopold quickly said, "People can have more than one rival!"
Immediately Fafanar had brightened up as he said with a smile before cheering, "REALLY?! HOORAY FOR REDEMPTION!"
Morwyn soon had a look as she pointed out, "I don't think that's how it works."
Arfau added with a nod, "It's true."
"Please don't encourage them." Pluck told Leopolid. "He gets excited VERY easily."
"Oh there's no harm!" Leoplod said as he slapped his back hard.
"HEY! THAT'S MY FIANCE YOU'RE HITTING!" Akiko said making Leoplod flinch
"R-Right! Sorry!' Leopold exclaimed. "Anyway-back to Casta here."
"Asta, Leopold!" Mimosa said, "His name is Asta!"
"Asta huh?" Leopold said, as he laughed before patting Asta on the shoulder, "That's a great name for my rival!"
"W-Wait, you were serious about that?!" Asta exclaimed.
Leopold gave a laugh as he continued to pat his shoulder, "Come now, rejoice!"
"Uh-" He started to say before Asta shrunk at the sight of Leopold's glare.
"REJOICE." Leopold said as the tone of his voice changed. Asta started to sweat nervously as Feodora had a stunned look on her face at the mere sight.
"Y-Yay…" Asta said nervously.
"You-Have the same last name as they do." Yuno said to Mimosa, "How are you related to them?"
"AND HOW IS YOUR FAMILY SO DAMN BIG?!" Pluck shouted.
"This coming from the guy with two siblings and triplet Witches?" Feodora asked.
"Him and Fugeleon are my cousins." Mimosa replied before she explained, "My father's older brother is Fugeleon and Leopold's father, and my mother's older sister is Noelle's mother."
Feodora looked a bit shocked, "Whoa, for real? I honestly wasn't expecting that."
"Too many Royals." Yuno said.
"WHAT?!" Pluck exclaimed, "YOU MEAN YOU AND HER ARE ALL REALLY RELATED?!"
"Okay-Why are you making a big deal of this Stuck-Up?" Feodora asked.
"WHY ELSE?! THAT MAKES MIMOSA'S FAM PARTCALLY MY FAMILY'S ENEMY!" Pluck exclaimed.
Yuno only gave him a monotone look, "Feo was right-You do take this seriously."
"See?" She said to Yuno, "Told you I wasn't making that up."
"Oh no." Mimosa clarified. "On the contrary Pluck. My Family respects yours a lot."
Pluck only looked shocked as he tried to process before exclaiming "EHH?! SERIOUSLY?!"
Mimosa nodded as she added "from what I heard from what I heard from my father, Your families were one of the few to break the rules as royals which was rare! My Mother told me that her great Grandmother and Father respected your dad for marrying your mom even if she was a peasant-despite-" She turned red as she added "-the noises they hear at night."
Pluck's face turned red before he groaned. "Of course.."
"You really need to talk to someone about this." Yuno told him nonchalantly.
"Look-" Asta soon said to Leopold, "-I really appreciate what you're saying, but my rival's right there." He soon pointed over to Yuno, as Mimosa only blushed before she looked away.
Leopold only laughed before giving him a pat on the shoulder, "No worries, one could never have one too many rivals!"
"What the heck?" Asta said, a bit shocked.
Leopold soon felt his shoulders which took him back "WOW! YOUR SHOULDERS ARE WELL TONED! I wouldn't expect nothing less from my rival! How about we arm wrestle? "
"WHAT?!" Asta exclaimed.
Sol who had been watching nearby and happily eating from the plate of food as she had only looked amused, "Guys really are dumb, huh Char?"
"Call me Captain." Charlotte told her, "And mind your manners."
"Okay Char!" She said making Charlotte only groan.
Leopold soon held his arm out, "Come on! Come at me!"
"Is it really the time for this?!" Asta said, confused.
"Why are you holding back, come on!" He said.
"Are you for real right now?!" Feodora shouted.
"Can you not?!" Morwyn said, "You're encouraging Fafanar!"
"I want to arm wrestle too!" Fafanar said as he was held back by Arfau.
"No you won't." Arfau told him.
"No one is wrestling with anyone." Pluck added.
Mimosa couldn't help but have a look of awe, as she couldn't help but think, "Becoming Leopold's rival-Asta is truly amazing!"
Klaus only sighed with relief as he fixed up his glasses, "Thank goodness. It looks like things have calmed down."
"A royal-" Nozel soon spoke up, "-Acknowledging a peasant as his rival?"
Most of the group could feel the cold atmosphere come again as Nozel looked towards Fugeleon with a certain look in his eyes.
"Nozel-Those three did save the Princess's life." Fugeleon said, "And Julius allowed them to be here. They may be peasants, and Miss Helmet may have been rejected, but they deserve credit don't they?"
"I'd never thought I'd hear that from a royal's mouth." He said, "It appears the Vermillions have gone soft. You're a disgrace to us all."
They could see Fugeleon looked offended by this sort of thing, "What?"
"How am I-" Nozel soon said, "-An eagle that soars through the sky, supposed to give any credit to an insect that crawls on the ground?"
Most had been taken back when they could feel the ground began to shake and even the glass started to crack. Pluck only groaned in annoyance as he said, "Now what?"
"What's going on?" Asta said.
They could see their magic had been active just behind them as the floor practically warmed up with Fugelon's fire taking most of the group back as a lion and an eagle formed behind them.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Fafanar said shocked, "Are they seriously going to fight?!"
"What a tremendous display of mana!" Klaus said, shocked.
"H-Holy crap-!" Asta said.
"You said it-" Feodora said.
"You can feel it?" Yuno asked.
"Even if I can't feel their mana-" Asta said, "-I can tell, that this is amazing!"
"Char-" Sol said with her mouth full, "-Shouldn't we stop them?"
Akiko had added, "Yeah, at this rate everyone's gonna get involved!"
"This is foolish." Charlotte said to them, "Ignore the men and their boorish fighting."
"But Captain-" Akiko said.
"While I accepted the fact you chose to have a fiance, my good hand can only go so far." Charlotte told her, which made Akiko take a step back and bowed her head calmly, "Also Sol, call me Captain."
"Sure thing Char!" Sol said before she took some more food.
"Call me-" Charlotte stared to before-
BANG-Went the doors startling the group; they saw a mage had the doors open as he looked to be in distress. "T-There's an emergency!" He exclaimed, alerting the Captains, as well as the Magic Knights. Nozel and Fugeleon's magic vanished as they looked at them.
"What's wrong?" Fugeleon asked after having calmed down.
"Th-The Capital!" The Mage exclaimed, "-I-It's under attack!"
"What?" The Captains said shocked.
At this the group's faces paled at the sound of this news; however the ones who had been scared the most had been Asta, Yuno and Feodora as their minds only raced to one person in particular.
"Prism!" The three of them exclaimed in horror.
Fire and smoke had taken over the land and skies as all that could be heard were the sounds of people's cries and distress. Many of the citizens were attacked by something only out of nightmares as many were physically attacked by what looked to be creatures in the form of people who appeared to be rotting.
Many of the mages tried to attack the walking corpses, but had been proven useless as they only continued to move forward.
Prism could only watch in horror as many of the people that had been in the area were attacked. Her body shook as she felt her anxiety rise just at the mere sight as the Spirits looked unsettled as many of the Spirits of Death collected the souls from the ones that had fallen.
"Prism!" Liam soon said as she had been snapped out of her thoughts, as he had been holding a set of planks of wood, "Help me with this window, hurry!"
"R-Right!" Prism said with a nod, as she quickly went to work. They started to nail the wooden boards onto the windows of her room, barely covering everything before they quickly went down the stairs. There everyone else had been gathered in the living area-Including Adrien and Zeus as they had been trying to process the situation at hand.
Most of them had been ready with weapons and grimoires in hand-Including Yami and Jack.
"This isn't happening-!" Aine said, as she had been trying to process the entire thing, "-This isn't happening!"
"Gods-This can't be happening!" Aidan said, "This has to be a nightmare right?!"
"Yeah, that's what this is-" Aisling said, "-Pluck read us a horror story before bed and we're just having a nightmare!"
"I know how bad this looks-" Nolan told triplets firmly yet calmly, "-But you need to calm down."
"Marx-" Gooden soon said, "-How can someone get through the barrier?! I thought you told us no one could get through!"
"I'm not sure!" Marx replied, "Something must've happened to one of the Mages that was on shift to keep the barrier up!"
"Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man!" Vandy said as he shook, "This is insane! We literally got walking corpses outside! That's the kind of thing you tell around campfires and sleepovers!"
"I know right!?" Theodore said as he shook, "I-It's scary!" His tone soon changed, "I can smell them from here."
"Why is this happening?!" Sachiko asked fearfully, "Are they going to come in here?!"
"No Sachiko, they're not going to." Karasu reassured her.
"B-Bu-But once they're done with the outside, they'll come in here and-" Marvin started to say.
"Don't talk like that Marvin!" Naotoshi said.
"We-We can't stay in here can we?!" Saorise said as she shook.
"We sure as hell can't go out there!" Brenin told her.
"Why are we all screaming?!" Jubei shouted.
Acer had said with a somewhat fearful, "Damn it! It can't be how I die! I have too much to live for!"
Gooden had said worryingly, "I never got a chance to find that special someone! Why did this have to happen!?"
"What the hell are we supposed to do now, just sit here and wait for them to come in here?!" Liam shouted.
"Everyone calm down!" Nolan told them despite the fact everyone's voices had been overlapping at this point, "No one is going to die!"
Prism watched as everyone had been sent into a frenzy at this point; she looked at her hands that had been shaking as she looked to the now blocked door, hearing the people outside. She thought she needed to say something at that moment but-She was just as scared as they were.
What could she even do to calm everyone, and come up with a way they would all survive? The last thing she wanted was to lose the people she cared about-But how could she help when she was just as terrified as they were?
As if her prayer was answered she and the others had been startled when the coffee table suddenly broke; it had been courtesy of Yami as everyone in the room had gone silent.
"If everyone is done panicking-" Yami said as a vein showed on his head. "-Then maybe we can discuss what we're going to do. Preferably with level heads."
"KEKE-" Jack said, "-If all of you don't get it together we might as well be dead!"
Most of them looked to have calmed down, but the Triplets and Familiars in particular still looked unsettled. "W-With all due respect-" Saorise soon said nervously, "-We've never seen a full scale invasion of this size before. Not even Bandits could attack like this."
"And for that matter-Those are walking corpses out there!" Aine said, "You-You saw those mages! The attack spells aren't working on them!"
"Well if that doesn't work, try a different approach." Yami told them, "Everything has its weaknesses and those things out there are DEFINITELY not an exception."
"With no disrespect, how could you know that?" Acer soon asked.
"Because corpses don't get up and walk on their own." Nolan said, as it shocked them, "By the looks of this we're dealing with a mage-Possibly multiple mages that are using some form of necromancy magic."
"Necromancy?!" Most of the group exclaimed.
"That would explain the corpses outside-" Naotoshi said, "-And why the Mages spells aren't working on them. You'll need a Magic Knight or a Captain's mana to defeat them."
"So-" Marx said thinking, "-That means someone is most likely controlling them to attack everyone."
"Exactly." Yami said, "Meaning we gotta find out where they are and end their little puppets show before everyone in the capital is overtaken by these guys." Yami soon took a puff, "But first things first-We need to move from this house, pronto."
Most of the group looked shocked at this sort of thing; all except Marx, Jack, and even Nolan and Naotoshi.
"Wait-" Prism soon said, "-But why? I thought safehouses are supposed to be safe, we even barricaded everything."
Yami told her, "It won't be for long. Those barricades will only do so much. And if we do end up staying here, we'll only be more vulnerable to them."
"But-Where are we supposed to go?" Sachiko asked.
"I can take you to the castle." Marx soon suggested, "It's heavily guarded by senior Magic Knights and it'll be protected. As long as the King doesn't see Gooden, Acer or Jubei and Vandy, then you'll be safe."
"Not the worst bad idea we can come up with." Acer said, "But-The kids will definitely be safe there."
"Marx-" Gooden said, "-Do you think you can take them there?"
"Of course." Marx replied, "I'll make sure they're escorted safely."
"But-" Vandy said, "-What if the others come back?!"
"Don't worry-" Acer said, "-Your big brother is a Magic Knight-He'll be okay."
"Go and grab what you need, and ONLY what you need-" Yami soon instructed, "We'll use the entry in the fireway to leave. As for the rest of us-Once they're safe, we're gonna find the asshole responsible for this and kick their ass."
"But-The others-" Prism said worryingly as she could hear cries for help just outside, "-We need to help the people out there."
"Don't worry honey-" Nolan said to her reassuringly, "-We will, I promise. But right now, we gotta look after our family, okay?"
"But they're others suffering out there-" Prism said in a pleading tone.
Yami soon told her as he gave her a pat on the head, "Have no worry Lizard Girl. We'll do our job, okay?"
"Go on now, all of you-" Gooden soon said to the Triple A's, the Children and Prism and Karasu, "-Take only what you can carry, and don't dawdle."
Though hesitant, they quickly ran up the stairs to gather the necessities needed, as they were in a panic. Theodore followed Prism up the stairs struggling as he did, though he was soon helped by Adrien as he picked him up by the scruff of the neck.
They hurried to their rooms and started to get the necessities they needed for the chaos awaiting them. As Prism got together only a few of her books, weapons and her guild uniform, she couldn't stop herself from shaking; Some of the Spirits started to lose their color as they jumped at the sound of another explosion outside.
She ended up dropping the book as it nearly hit her foot. Karasu, Sachiko and the Familiars quickly entered the room, noticing that her books had been scattered.
"Here-" Karasu soon said with a slight cough as he picked up the books, "-I got it."
"N-No, that's okay." Prism said as she gathered them, "You're still sick, you shouldn't be pushing yourself."
"Look who's talking." Karasu remarked as he earned a soft laugh from Prism, "Besides-I think we have bigger problems we need to worry about."
Prism only silently nodded at this before she had gotten her books in her bag.
"... Prism-" Brenin soon said with a sigh, "-You know it's okay if you're scared."
Prism only heaved a sigh as her breath had been shaking, "I-It's that obvious?"
"We're your Familiars, remember?" Liam said, as he tapped her shoulder, "We know exactly what you're feeling."
"If it's any constellation-" Saorise said, "-We're scared too."
Prism's look softened at this as she only uttered a small smile again as she had been glad she wasn't the only one having these sorts of feelings. Sachiko soon went over and gave her a hug, which she immediately accepted.
"I'm scared too Prism-neechan-" Sachiko said, "-But-I know we'll be okay, because they're people like you, and my big brother."
"Oh Sachiko…" Prism said touched as she went and hugged her.
"At least-We'll be scared together." Theodore said as he went and hugged her ankle.
Prism couldn't stop smiling at this as did the others; it was almost as if there tensions and worries seemed to have vanished. It didn't last long as Prism could hear the Spirits whispering in her ear with a sense of urgency.
Prism only had a look of horror before she quickly got Sachiko and Theodore away from her; in the next second the window had suddenly shattered behind her before a set of pale, gray hands grabbed her causing them and her to scream.
"PRISM!" The Familiars, Karasu and Sachiko exclaimed.
Prism shrieked as the corpse tried to pull her out; she quickly grabbed the window sills to prevent her from getting dragged out. She struggled to get free as she could feel another set of hands grab a hold of her.
"HE-HELP!" Prism shouted, "I CAN'T BREAK FREE!"
"Hang on!" Brenin said as he quickly drew his blade, but before he could do anything, more corpses started to break through the windows startling them.
One of them had grabbed Brenin's tail as they managed to pull him till he hit the floor making him yelp, while two more grabbed Saorise and Liam as they shrieked and started to try to get them off of her.
"SHIT!" Karasu yelled before he grabbed Prism's hook sword. He quickly went to work as he managed to slice the wrist off of Brenin's tail.
"Karasu!" Prism said as she managed to get her to reach her hand out to him, "My sword-Twist the handle-!"
Karasu quickly complied as he twisted the handle, causing the second sword to emerge before tossing it at her. Once she caught it, Prism quickly sliced the wrists allowing to break free before she kicked them out the window. Yet the corpses still tried to get into the room, just as Karasu and Brenin helped Saorise and Liam.
"They're still coming in!" Sachiko exclaimed fearfully.
Liam only clicked his tongue before he got his grimoire, "Might as well put this to use!"
"Your grimoire?!" Prism said, "You mean you unlocked a spell?"
"We all unlocked a couple while we were training-" He told her, "-But I'm not sure what the hell it'll do!"
"It's better then nothing!" Karasu said, "Do it!"
More of the corpses came into the room as they crawled towards Prism and the Familiars as they went to make a grab for them. The others quickly got behind Liam as he readied himself.
"Here it goes-" He said before he took a deep breath, "-Sapphire Magic-Hydra's Wrath!"
With the blue flames he thrusted his hand forward as a set of serpent-like heads started to form. With a roar, it charged at the corpses, going low and fast and burned most of them; some of them had even had been rendered into nothing more then dust.
"Liam, you did it!" Prism said with praise as her eyes sparkled.
"Huh-" Liam said, "-That was unexpected."
"Uh-" Sachiko said before she pointed back towards the window.
They looked over and saw the upper halves of the corpses were still moving; All that had been reduced to ashes were their legs.
"SERIOUSLY!?" Liam exclaimed, "BUT I KNOW I AIMED RIGHT!"
The corpse let out a growl before it jumped towards them, heading Prism who had been next to Liam as it went to grab her. That is until-
"Lightless Cloaked Slash."
Right before their eyes a familiar dark blade went right through the corpse's neck; its head ended up falling off of it's shoulders causing it to go limp. Prism couldn't help but let out a shriek, as the sight had been unfamiliar to her.
Yami soon sheathed his blade as he let out a sigh of relief, "That was a close one."
"How in the world did you get up the stairs so fast?" Karasu asked with a slight cough.
Yami replied casually, "I walked."
Nolan, Acer and Gooden soon went into the room, as they looked to be a bit battered. "Prism!" Nolan exclaimed as he went over to her, "Are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"N-No!" Prism replied as she noticed the small cuts on him, "Oh my-What happened-?"
"I should be saying that to you!" Nolan said.
"Thank Mana, you kids are okay!" Acer said with a sigh
Gooden soon hugged the Familiars to the point where she had been choking them, "We were SOOO worried!"
"Ana-Latta as me..." Brenin said in a strained voice
"Choking-not breathing." Saorise added.
"Gooden-Gooden we need to breathe…!" Liam gagged.
Nolan soon noticed the damage in the room as well as the now severed corpse head that appeared to be still groaning.
"Damn it-They broke up here too?" Nolan said.
"Too?" Prism said shocked.
"The number 2?" Theodore said, in a monotone voice.
Nolan soon looked out towards the window as he could see below the corpses attempting to climb on top of each other in an attempt to get to the upper floors. "Those bastards just tried to break in here and get rid of us-" Nolan said, "-They were almost close too."
"They attacked downstairs?!" Sachiko said fearfully.
"Wait a minute-" Karasu said "-You mean they actually tried to kill you? The ones that attacked us, just tried to drag Prism and her friends out without hurting them!"
The adults' eyes widened in shock as they couldn't believe what they heard.
"You mean-these guys are after Prism?" Nolan said as he looked at the corpses again and he turned to the Familiars, "And you three?"
"Y-Yeah." Prism said fearfully.
At this, the look on the adult's changed as if they had a look of knowing. "We need to leave-NOW." Yami soon said.
"My thoughts exactly." Nolan said before he quickly went to tell the others.
"All of you-" Yami soon said, "-If you have all your stuff together then get ready to move out."
"Yami?" Prism said as she noticed the tone of voice, "What's wrong?"
"Those things tried to take you and them alive, while they were fine with killing us-" Yami said as he took Prism's bag and handed her her grimoire, "-We need to move you and the others to a different location, now."
"But why?" She said as she placed her deer plush in the bag before Yami closed it and handed the bag back to her, before he handed her her bow and arrows, "What does that mean?"
"It means whoever is controlling them-Knows about you and the Familiars." Yami told her. Prism in an instant paled up as did the Familiars Karasu and Sachiko had a look of shock.
"You mean-" Prism said fearfully, "-They're h-here-Because of-" The Spirits started to discolor as everything became a blur suddenly, "-Everyone here is in danger because of-No-No-No-No-!"
"Prism, honey!" Saorise said as she quickly put her arms around her, "Calm down, don't panic!"
"Tater-Tot, you gotta breathe this isn't on you!" Karasu told her, she started to hyperventilate as the Spirits started to shrivel up once more, "Crap, not again…!"
"Prism-neechan, you need to breathe-" Sachiko said, "-You're gonna pass out if you keep this up!"
"Prism, everything 's gonna be okay!" Brenin said, "All of this isn't-"
Yami soon smacked Prism on the head as it shocked them. Prism stopped hyperventilating all together as she looked to Yami just shocked.
"How do you feel? Better?" Yami asked before telling her as he took her by the shoulders, "Because if you are, you're gonna listen to me. What's happening outside, isn't on you. No one told you that it was your fault, I never said it was your fault. What's happening right now-is not your fault. It's just pure coincidence that they know exactly what they're looking for, and they're looking to kill two birds with one stone."
Prism's eyes widened in shock at Yami's words despite her body still being shaking; though she found herself less anxious the more she thought about it.
They were startled when they heard another explosion outside as it had sounded much closer this time. Prism couldn't help but hug Yami when she was startled by the sounds.
Yami gave her a pat on the back as he watched her cover her ears, in an attempt to muffle the sounds.
"Come on-" He said to her, "-We can't stay here any longer then we need to."
Just as this was said the rest of the group came into the room as they looked like they were ready to go. "All of you listen up-" Nolan had said to the kids and teens specifically, "-You're only mission as of right now is to stay alive, don't do anything that'll make you look like a hero. Though if you feel the need to fight, then fight. Show no hesitation in taking these things down. They're no longer among the living anymore. They're just empty husks of flesh."
Naotoshi had removed the tapestry before he pressed the button; they could see the fireplace start to open up.
"Once we're inside, we can't stop for anything-Which means they're no bathroom breaks and no shenanigans!" Acer said.
Aisling soon let out a scream as she pointed towards the window as they could see the corpses coming through the window and started to crawl towards them, practically trampling on top of each other as they did.
"OH GODS THAT'S TERRIFYING!" Vandy exclaimed.
"Get in the tunnel now!" Karasu said as he picked up Sachiko.
Vandy and Jubei hurried inside as Marx lead them both, though just before Prism could go with the others a corpse emerged from the window and grabbed Prism causing her to freeze up. Or so it seemed as if a fiamilar green blade cut their hands before it was kicked out.
"KEKE-keep your hands to yourselves!" Jack said before telling Prism, "And you-Don't go freezing up again."
Prism nodded as she did her best to regain her bearings, "Yes sir."
"Get in, now and follow Marx. We'll be right behind you." Yami said as Prism, the Triple A's, Karasu and the Familiars hurried in.
Just as the fires started to spread in the safehouse itself, Yami, Jack, Nolan, Acer, Gooden, Naotoshi and Marvin had gone in, and shut the fireplace, leaving them in darkness.
(Second Ending Theme: Hell Girl Ending 3-Counting Out Performed by Mamiko Noto)
