Chapter 28: New Threat

"Asta! Lucas!" A few of the Magic Knights cried out as they saw the Black Bull and Golden Dawn member disappear right in front of their eyes in a wave of encompassing Spatial Magic.

Noelle and Daisy both tried to run after them just before but were stopped by Charlotte's Briar Magic, blocking their way.

"Captain! They just took Lucas-san and the other Magic Knight!" Daisy turned around, furious that she was stopped.

"Calm down, Daisy. We do not know where they were taken to and only jumping in without a plan would be pointless. I'm surprised Lucas did that", Charlotte responded.

"He was only trying to save Asta. We should look after each other's backs!" Mimosa turned to Charlotte. The Vermillion was still trying to close off Fuegoleon's wound when she saw what had happened.

Nozel walked up just behind the girls. "That's enough. Those two Magic Knights are capable on their own. Right now, we have to work on the Royal Capital's defences. Who knows if a secondary attack could happen whilst our defences are in shambles?".

"B-but Brother…", Noelle spoke quietly.

Nozel turned to her and glared at her with his piercing purple eyes. They were strong enough to jab into the soul of anyone who spoke up against him. "No. You will listen to me".

The Head of the Silva House reached into his right pocket and pulled out a peculiar device.

"I'll use this to contact Owen, the Recovery mage that works alongside the Wizard King. He'll be able to do something about Fuegoleon's arm". Nozel started to speak into the magic communication item.

As Nozel was trying to get help for the injured captain, Daisy walked back next to Mimosa and knelt down to speak to her.

"Hi, Mimosa. I'm sure Lucas-san will be alright. He's plenty strong", she spoke with a cheery smile on her face.

Mimosa, who had finished with her healing spell turned to reply to the Ice mage. "Thank you. It's just a bit worrying since he's on my squad and is a good friend. Say, what did you say your name was?" The Vermillion wondered.

"Oh, it's Daisy. Nice to meet you". She held out her hand.

Mimosa met the gesture with her own hand, and they shook. "It's nice to meet you too".

There was a slight awkward silence between the two. The two girls had only just met so they really had nothing much to say to each other.

"… So… how long have you known Lucas for?" Mimosa wondered. She scratched her chin as she thought, from Lucas's and Daisy's interactions with each other, they had known each other for a while.

"I…", she stopped for a second. "I just met him properly today. We spoke to one another at the Magic Knights Entrance Exam though, but that was it". Daisy gave Mimosa a thumbs up.

While the two girls were talking, Noelle was in the background wondering if Asta was really okay. "Maybe I did have time to use my Sea Dragon's Lair spell… Ah! There's no point in thinking what could have been. I just hope he's okay. I hope both of them are alright".

The Water mage turned to walk back and saw various groups of people talking. There were the three Golden Dawn members of Alecdora, Hamon, and Shiren talking. Charlotte was with Sol. The Silver Eagles were together, and Daisy and Mimosa were a pair. "I'll go to the girls. I don't really feel comfortable with my siblings right now".

"Hi guys", a sad Noelle spoke to the two girls.

"Hello, Noelle. Don't worry about Asta since you know how he is. He'll be back before you know it". Mimosa put a hand to her cousin's shoulder to comfort her.

Daisy looked at Noelle and noticed she had a lot of the same attire as the other Silver Eagles and realised she was a royal. However, her experience with Nebra a few moments before already painted the Silva family in a bad light so she was slightly wary of the Black Bull here.

Mimosa noticed how Daisy was a bit taken back but moved to stop those thoughts. "Don't worry, Daisy. Noelle's not like… the others. She's a great person".

"The others?" The Water Magic user questioned. "Oh. You must have met my siblings".

"Yeah. It wasn't pleasant. Sorry for doubting you". Daisy replied.

"It's fine. To be honest, I don't really care about that right now. I just hope Asta and Lucas are alright", Noelle added. She sighed and felt defeated.

"Are you and Asta a thing, then?" Daisy spoke. She completely said such a thing right out of the blue and made Noelle blush immediately and also gaining a reaction from Mimosa.

"A-a-a-a-a-a th-thing?! N-no way! I'm just a friend… JUST a F-R-I-E-N-D!" Noelle spelt out after getting hyper and rosy cheeked.

Daisy started to laugh ever so slightly. "Hahaha! I'm only joking. I thought I'd try to lighten the mood a bit", the girl winked.

"What is w-with you? Don't just say things like that", Noelle held her chest to try and calm her beating heart.

Noelle eventually calmed down and added something else to the conversation. "W-well… are you and Lucas a thing?" She smirked. She thought she would get the same type of reaction from Daisy that she just made.

Mimosa perked up at this question. She also wanted to know the answer about what was going on between the two. Even though she said they were just friends before, she wanted to double check.

"Nah, we're just friends", the Blue Rose Knight waved her hand to signal 'no'.

Noelle deadpanned. "Well, that reaction wasn't what I was expecting".

"Thank goodness", Mimosa spoke out loud.

"Hm?" Daisy turned to the Plant mage.

"Hm?" Noelle turned to the Plant mage.

"N-nothing!" Mimosa replied.

"A-anyways, you don't seem to be worried about the guys", Mimosa spoke to Daisy.

"Of course I'm worried! I wish I could've stopped them, but you heard what my captain said. I didn't exactly have a plan. Besides, Asta sounds reliable with how you two have spoken, and I know Lucas-san will be alright… Though, I wish we could send a search party anyway", she sighed.

The two royals spoke in unison, "you can say that again".

"Oh right! Noelle, did you manage to see a mage called Aiden? He's part of the Purple Orcas, Flame Magic, heavily injured?" Daisy asked. She knew how injured the mage was due to his heroics of saving Lucas but didn't know where he ended up.

"No. I don't remember seeing someone with that description", Noelle replied.

Daisy pouted. "That's odd".

"The Eye of the Midnight Sun". The name of the group went through the other Magic Knights' heads.

"How were they let through the defensive barriers?" Sol thought.

"It seemed a bit easy for them to get in, don't you think?" Hamon asked.

"There has to have been a problem with the barrier mages", Shiren responded.


The sun had started to set over the Clover Kingdom. There was a slight breeze in the air and the grass and leaves rustled in its wind. However, other than that, there was an eerie silence.

The sound of loud mumbles could then suddenly be heard as well as a restless shuffle.

"Man, stop moving around will ya?" A voice exclaimed.

"To think we would get two Magic Knights as prisoners", another voice added.

As Lucas had jumped through the Spatial portal, he was free and causing a fuss for the enemy group so after a while they had to contain him. They put a rope around his mouth and tied his hands with magic-restricting handcuffs.

"I jumped through thinking I could save Asta but landed in this mess…", Lucas sighed. He looked around and saw a large opening of a dark cave and saw that the group were heading into it.

He also turned to his left and saw the magicless swordsman in a special Gel Magic bubble.

Unfortunately for the enemy's ears, Asta had woken up and started screaming at them to let them go.

"Where are we?!" He shouted.

The hooded enemies put their hands to their ears and got angry. "Like we'd ever tell you!" Rades shouted back.

"I can't wait to experiment on Anti-Magic! Is it something in your grimoire? Is it something in your DNA? Goodness, I'm getting excited!" Sally cheered.

Asta widened his eyes upon hearing what Sally had said. "Experiments? Wait, you've been going on and on about it since the Capital! Don't you have anything better to do?!"

There was more mumbling from Lucas. He was getting uncomfortable and tried to break free from his shackles, though there was no point.

"Can all of you please be quiet? I have a headache now. The only thing that matters is that we finished the mission the master gave us". Valtos wiped the sweat from his forehead as it was clear this whole incident was a testing one.

"Master?" Lucas thought. "So, this group is fully functional then… these guys are going to be a problem".

"… Hang on! Max was part of the enemy group too so why isn't he around? Maybe that shady figure took him somewhere else since he was quiet injure- Oh no! I completely forgot in the moment of it all… but where's Aiden? He was very injured back there. I remember asking Shiren and Hamon while we were on the transport spell if we could sense his mana but there was nothing to be found… Maybe he got away?" Lucas had a plethora of thoughts racing across his mind and none of them served to calm his nerves down at this moment.

"Speaking of the master, I wish I could see his face when we tell him how well we did. His smile is nice to see", Sally spoke out.

"Well, if his smile is so nice to see then maybe you can show me to him?"

The unfamiliar voice that spoke to the group was coming from right in front of them. In the shadows, out came a man dressed in royal attire and a large red robe with various ribbons and medals embroidered on it.

Asta and Lucas's eyes widened with shock upon seeing who it was.

The man in question was none other than Julius, the Wizard King.

Julius stood on his tiptoes and saw that Asta and Lucas were with the enemy group as well. "Oh, hello there guys! I didn't think I'd see you both here. How have you been?" He laughed.

"The Wizard King?!" All of the members shouted in disbelief. "What is he doing here? How did he find us?"

"I had something important to do a few hours ago and it lead me here. I found some interesting things… but the talk about your master has me even more intrigued. Care to explain more?" Julius asked with a smile.

"No way!"

The enemy Grass mage and the enemy Lightning mage had recovered somewhat from their injuries and rushed ahead to attack the Wizard King. They flicked through their grimoires and were about to use their spells.

"No choice then…". Julius disappeared from the naked eye and quickly reappeared in between the two mages who had jumped towards him to attack.

From both of Julius's palms, he generated orbs of intense blue magic and shot them right at the enemies beside him. They quickly turned to skeletons and then were dusted into thin air.

Lucas saw what happened and noticed something very distinct with the spell Julius used that Asta didn't quite catch. "His magic… it aged the enemies, wrinkled their skin, then turned them into skeletons which-!"

"What the? What did you-?" Valtos shouted with anger.

"Oh, it's simple really. I killed them", Julius spoke plainly.

"Gel Magic: Sticky Salamander!"

"Spatial Magic: Transport Target!"

The Wizard King sighed. "Come on, can't we just talk? I guess not, ay?" He put his hands together and quickly separated them creating a huge blue flash of magic.

"Time Binding Magic: Chrono Stasis!" Julius exclaimed and trapped the remaining enemy mages in large blue orbs with thin banners that had different numbers written on them, revolving around each sphere.

"They're not moving…", Asta noticed.

"Is that… Time Magic?!" Lucas wondered with a very shocked expression. "I have the same type of magic… as the Wizard King?! I... Wait, I actually do remember finding out his Time attribute from one of the stories my sister used to tell me. I had completely forgotten the fact though!"

"That's right Asta. I've frozen the enemies in time. They can't move unless I want them to, but they can hear everything that's happening". The Wizard King then walked forwards to untie Asta and Lucas.

"This guy… he's the one I have to surpass!" The two young Knights exclaimed in their heads.

As Julius untied the Golden Dawn mage, he whispered something in his ears so that Asta wouldn't hear. "That's one way you can use Time Magic".

"Huh? Was that some sort of hint? I had figured he found out about my other attribute but this confirms it. Is becoming a mage like him something I can do?" Lucas had all these thoughts in his head as he slowly stood up.

Julius then walked forwards and ushered the boys to follow him. "I was scouting out this area when I sensed the enemy come back. Look what I found". He pointed at the thing in question.

It was a large stone tablet in the shape of a hexagon. It looked beaten and worn out and it was surrounded by grass and different plants. On the tablet, there were many different indents which looked like they could fit things in.

"I saw this thing and it weirded me out. There are multiple areas where it looks like some object can slot in". Julius explained.

Asta looked at it and crossed his arms. "I have no idea what the heck this thing is".

Lucas also looked at it but felt something weird about the stone tablet. "This thing… I've never seen it before but why do I get the feeling that it's not unfamiliar to me at all? I'm getting a…", the Light mage was interrupted.

"Well Lucas?" Julius asked.

"I- I'm not sure what to make of it to be honest". Lucas replied. He didn't really understand the feeling he got.

Julius sighed. "Well, that can't be helped". He turned to face the tablet once more. "You see how five of these already have some stones implanted? Maybe if all of them are filled, something happens?"

"You're exactly right".

The Wizard King, the Black Bull, and the Golden Dawn quickly turned around to face the stranger's voice which had randomly spoken out.

There was a huge flash of bright light that filled the entire cave for a few brief moments. The three struggled to open their eyes but when they did, they saw a man wearing the same hooded cloak, floating above the stone tablet with a grin on his face.

He had long, flowing white hair which was tied into a few different pigtails. His gold eyes looked as if they could jab into the hearts of anyone who looked at them. There were a set of red tattoos above his eyes, and he also had different sets of jewellery on him.

"Are you the master?" Julius asked, a tone of seriousness in his voice.

The man was silent as he stared at them.

"Such an intense presence from this person. It's calming yet very eerie... I'm also getting that same exact feeling I had when I saw the stone tablet…", Lucas noticed.

"So, this is the guy that leads that group", Asta commented.

After a few short seconds, the man opened his mouth and what came out angered Asta, as well as the other mages.

"Why are you three here when you should be treating that poor, poor royal who had his arm chopped off… by me", he kept his smile.

"Time Binding Magic: Chrono Stasis!" Julius didn't wait for more. He knew what he had to do. However, as he used his spell, the man quickly phased in and out allowing him to evade the time orb.

"He's quick!" Lucas thought.

Julius grew angrier. "Don't tell me you ordered those killings in the Royal Capital without being ready to die yourself?"

"I assure you, if you kill me, you'll definitely regret it". As the man said these words, he quickly warped past Julius and used his magic to free the captives of Julius's Chrono Stasis.

After that, he vanished along with Sally, Rades, and Valtos.

"Wizard King, you knew about the attack on the Capital?" Asta asked.

"I had a feeling something would happen, but it was only when I was away that I felt it. I'm terribly sorry I couldn't be there", he apologised.

Lucas saw Julius apologising and told him to stop. "No, no. It's not your fault. Besides… we got all this information but how do we get back?"

"You can leave that to me", Julius smiled.


A few hours had passed since the end of the Royal Capital attack. The Magic Knights that had returned and saw Asta and Lucas getting kidnapped, had now moved towards the Royal medical ward, which was headed by Owen, the Kingdom's best recovery mage.

Fuegoleon had been admitted into intensive care as well as Leopold who had his own injuries.

"It has been a while since the two boys disappeared. I know I said we shouldn't have followed them but perhaps I was wrong". Charlotte thought with a distinct frown to her face. "Asta is Yami's recruit and Lucas is interesting regardless".

"I wish they'd come back already", Daisy, Klaus, Mimosa, and Noelle thought.

As if on cue, a bright flash of blue enveloped the entire area in which the Knights were stood. The Knights all closed their eyes as a reaction but just a few seconds later they opened their eyes and saw the Wizard King.

"Hey guys. I'm back and I brought gifts". Julius dropped Asta and Lucas from his arms and they stood on the floor.

"Hello, everyone", the two Knights spoke in an embarrassed fashion.

"Asta! Lucas!" Klaus rushed forwards, barging a few Magic Knights out of the way before pulling in the boys for a tight hug.

"I was so worried! Never disappear like that again!" The Steel mage cried in a comedic manner.

Asta and Lucas were in Klaus's arms but kept tapping on his arms. Klaus looked down and saw that the two were struggling to breathe and let his grip on them go.

He then looked around and saw the other Knights look at him oddly, so he corrected himself and spoke in a more dignified tone. "Ahem… I hope you realise disappearing like that is not good for a Magic Knight".

"Asta and Lucas! I'm glad you're alright", Daisy and Mimosa had their turn to greet the two boys.

"We're fine. We had some trouble, but the Wizard King was there to save us", Asta said.

Noelle slowly walked up to the two returning teens. "Hmph. Don't worry your peers like that again", she crossed her arms and looked away.

"Oh? Weren't you the one that kept asking if we could go after them?" Daisy put her arm around the Water mage and winked.

"N-n-no way! I was only saying that since we might lose two capable people. Personally, I wasn't worried at all!" Noelle stuttered.

Asta turned to Noelle. "Sorry for making you worry", he smiled.

Noelle saw his response and blushed like never before. Before you knew it, she had slapped the magicless mage across the face, sending him to the back of a tree.

"Wh-why…", Asta said before flopping to the floor.

There were no more words exchanged between the two.

"Maybe I caused this?" Daisy thought with a look of confusion.

"I wouldn't expect anything different from a child like you", a voice said. Asta picked himself up and saw Yuno.

The Black Bull jumped up and down in comedic anger. "No fair! Besides, where were you this whole time?!"

"I caught an enemy mage that's in the Capital's dungeon right now. At least I didn't get captured", he smirked. He turned to Lucas. "No offence there".

Lucas sighed. "It was my own fault for being too emotional. No worries".

"I met this small girl from the Black Bulls that helped. Her name was Charmy and she's quite strong. She should really be on the battlefield more". Yuno added.

"Oh, Miz Charmy? Where is she now?" Asta asked.

"She stayed behind at the chef's office. Something about exchanging recipes? I'm not sure what that was all about". The Wind mage commented.

Meanwhile, as the young Knights were conversing with each other, Charlotte and Nozel relayed key information with the Wizard King.

"I see. They injured Fuegoleon for some mission, the Eye of the Midnight Sun. I realised the Capital was under attack too late. I heavily apologise for my mistake". Julius took the key facts of what happened and issued an apology to the Magic Knights.

"I noticed something about Captain Fuegoleon. He was wearing some kind of red, stone necklace but now it's gone. Maybe that had something to do with this whole thing?" Noelle added.

"A stone? The stone tablet… it makes sense", the Wizard King realised.

"You guys were teleported a huge way away before. From my knowledge, if you came back normally, then you should still be en route even now… How did you get here so quickly?" Julius asked.

Foosteps were heard approaching the Wizard King. "That would be because of that member of the Golden Dawn there, Lucas".

Everyone turned to the man who started to speak and some were surprised to see who it was.

"Lucas calmly told us his plan involving our magic and we combined forces for the first time. The plan was a bit shaky, but it worked", Nozel said confidently.

The Silver Eagles consisting of Solid and Nebra were frozen in shock. The Head of House Silva had just praised a peasant. No matter what he did, seeing that was very weird for them.

"I see. Well, Lucas it looks like you'll be climbing the ranks sooner than you thought". The Wizard King smiled.

"Oh, um… thanks". Lucas didn't really know what to say. He was thankful that his efforts were recognised but still frustrated that people got injured. "I have something I want to ask. Did any of you see Aiden?"

The Knights looked at each other and then back at Lucas.

"We don't know an Aiden. There was another person alongside Leopold in the medical ward. Perhaps that was him?"

Suddenly, the doors to the building they were outside of burst open and two figures staggered out. It was Aiden and Leopold.

A few of the Knights rushed over.

"Asta!" Leopold shouted.

Asta looked over.

"Asta… you were the reason I fought as well as I could. After seeing my brother like that, I let my anger consume me and I became a liability. You said I should tell him about my performance but I only want to do that after I improve!" He put his thumb on his forehead and a short red light burned into the centre of his forehead.

"This… this is my promise. I will become the Wizard King. I will avenge my brother!"

Asta replied with a fist pump. "I can't wait to see how you improve. But don't get it wrong… I'll surpass you even so!"

Next to Leopold was Aiden who had bandages wrapped over his torso and head. "Nice to see you two", he smiled weakly.

"How did you get away from there? Last we saw you; you were injured and unconscious!" Daisy pointed out.

"Oh. A few members of my squad found me passed out and carried me here. I'm sorry I was no help afterwards". Aiden spoke with a sadness to his voice.

Daisy looked at the Flame mage for a second with a concerned expression. "I see...".

"Sorry we left you there. I guess today was a day to learn from", Lucas added.

A few minutes later, after Aiden and Leopold returned to their rooms to rest, Julius started to dismiss everyone.

"Take a few days to rest up. A lot of you will get some stars but make sure you take this time to reflect". The Knights all dispersed.

"Say, Brother. The Vermillions seem to be a liability now. I can't believe the captain got injured like that", Solid giggled.

"And that Lucas kid. Why did he have to pipe up back there?" Nebra added.

"Both of you, shut up. Without Lucas, we would have missed even more than we already did. As for Fuegoleon…", Nozel stopped talking and spoke in his mind. "I will be the one to avenge you… my rival!"

The three walked away.

"Goodbye, Asta, Noelle, Daisy!" Lucas and the other Golden Dawn members spoke.

"See ya, Lucas and Mimosa!" Daisy turned to Noelle. "Goodbye, Noelle!" She ran to Charlotte and Sol and they left too.

"Who was that?" Asta asked.

"Her name's Daisy. She's a bit odd but she's sweet", Noelle replied.

"Are you two friends?" Asta asked.

"Friends? I... I guess we are", Noelle blushed slightly.

Everyone else's squad went their own way back.

The day that started with the Royal banquet to celebrate the Magic Knights' achievements had turned for the worst very quickly. The destruction that was cause by the Eye of the Midnight Sun will be on everyone's minds for the foreseeable future. A lot of the Knights knew that they have to get stronger".

NOTES:

The Royal Capital Invasion arc is finally over! It was fun to write especially with certain characters' developments.

I'm looking forward to the next few to write since I have some big plans! Hope you enjoyed.