Chapter 39: To Protect Others

Disclaimer:

Welcome back to another chapter. Hope you enjoy this one!

Two separate battles were going on in the cave near Nean involving the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Asta, Gauche, and Sister Theresa encountered Baro, who became a huge mud monster thanks to Sally, and were struggling to see what they could do. The other battle was Lucas and Daisy against Max which looked to be emotionally charged from both parties.

"You're going to pay for your crimes. Your group ruined Alice's life!" Daisy shouted as her grimoire flicked through a multitude of pages.

"Your people think of life as nothing… we can't let you get away with this!" Lucas shouted as Light Magic formed from his left hand and used it to slash at where Max was standing.

Max dodged it easily by using Sea Urchin's Defence again. He had definitely powered up since the battle during the Royal Capital attack and Lucas and Daisy realised this with how they struggled.

"You aren't defeating me again… I won't let it happen! Water Magic: Whirlpool Impact!". A stream of water headed for the Magic Knights and surrounded them as it spiralled all around.

Lucas and Daisy were caught in the current and couldn't manage to free themselves.

"I got… this… Ice Magic: Frozen Storm!" Daisy conjured up powerful blasts of ice which she used to freeze the water around them in place. Eventually, after a few seconds of spreading the ice, they stopped altogether. "Lucas-san, go for it!"

"You got it! Light Magic: Angelic Strike!" The mage from the Golden Dawn used his left palm to quickly chip away at the frozen water and the two mages were free from its grasp.

However, the fight was proving to be difficult with Lucas and Daisy continuously on the back foot.

"You declare that you'll make me pay and whatnot, but you haven't landed a single hit on me yet", Max stated.

The difference in stamina was clearly apparent. Whilst the Magic Knight duo were breathing heavily, the Eye of the Midnight Sun mage was relatively indifferent.

The Light and Ice mages were pinned back, and to make things worse, something was going on with Daisy.

She looked down at the floor and her vision was going slightly blurry as she struggled to keep up her pace. She was sweating and the fact that she was angry with the incident regarding Alice wasn't good either. "I'm… running out of mana, Lucas-san", she whispered and was careful to not let Max hear her. "Since the start, I've been using a lot of my mana and the fact I did that Double Spell Activation really drained it too much…".

"It's true. With how much she's been using, she won't be able to carry on if we don't finish this right away. Maybe I can help her out by speeding up the battle with my Dual Blades as well as giving her a boost?" Lucas raised his left arm and pointed it towards the Blue Rose Knight.

"Hm, what are you up to?" Daisy questioned.

"Light Reinforcement Magic: Flashing Armour Ritual". The ginger-haired teen generated a warm stream of light and surrounded Daisy's body with it.

"Lucas-san, is this a Reinforcement spell?" She asked.

"It'll give a boost to your mana for a short time while also helping a bit with your defence. We need to finish this battle quickly since the spell won't last a long time. As soon as it dissipates let me know, alright?" Lucas smiled but still had that concerned look of his whenever he speaks to his comrades.

However, in a blink of an eye, Max had already moved forwards and was about to slash at Daisy with his light-blue trident in his right hand.

"You think I'm going to let you two dawdle about? Poseidon's Judgment will rip through you just like this!" Max exclaimed. He swiped the weapon at Daisy but since the spell from Lucas was active, she was unharmed, and Max jumped back into a defensive position. "Tsk, there's always something new from you two".

"Just how strong is this spell? Well, there's no time to ask since we're running out. Let's do this; Ice Creation Magic: Crystalised Barrier!" Daisy felt a slight surge in her mana as she used her spell. However, instead of forming a huge defensive barrier for protection, she used it to trap Max in box of ice and preventing him from moving.

"This is bad, but since his Light Magic isn't doing too much, will he do that? If so…". Max had thought of something and looked to be ready to act.

"Go for it. You know what to do, Lucas-san!" Daisy shouted.

Lucas ran forwards using his Energy Whips as a boost by bouncing off from them at a high speed. He quickly got to where Max was trapped and took his Dual Blades out of his grimoire. Within a few seconds, he switched from using his Light mana to now accessing his Time mana which powered up the pitch-black weapons with a blue tint.

"Time Magic, through my Dual Blades, was effective against him back at the Royal Capital with them causing your spells to stop. They also cut into your skin so I know they will work!". Lucas swung the weapons at Max who was in the box of ice, and he was expecting to hit him full on.

"I knew it…", Max spoke giving Lucas a sense of uncertainty and confusion. He put his right hand on his left and tapped a red ring that he was wearing on his index finger. It started to glow and just as the Dual Blades touched Max's body, they bounced straight back off along with Lucas.

The Dual mage was frustrated with how his weapons got countered. His eyes narrowed and widened as if he was in a state of shock. "Just what… did he find out I was using Time Magic and if so… he has a counter to it with that ring?"

"Those blades really did a number on me last time. I don't know what your deal is but when you use them, you don't use your Light Magic, do you?" Max asked, though it was entirely rhetorical as he carried on.

"Well, whatever you do, I couldn't pinpoint the cause, so I made a case to protect myself from any weapons that my enemies use against me… Basically, this ring… this Magic Item, protects me from physical weapons. I knew that magicless swordsman uses physical weapons, as well as you, so I made my preparations", he explained.

Daisy was also perplexed with how thought-out the enemy was. "Just how did you get a Magic Item like that?"

"I have to thank the boss for this. He seemed to know a lot about that Light mage and the swordsman. I just used that knowledge of his to acquire myself this ring… anyways, shall we resume?" He smiled eerily as his confidence was higher than before.

"The boss?" Daisy thought. "This is getting into a world of twists and turns…".

Lucas slowly got up from the floor he landed on. "So… the Blades won't work. My Light Magic isn't as useful, so I guess the only choice is…".


"Baro…?" Neige muttered as he slowly got up from the floor. He was beaten up badly by Gauche and had only just managed to find the strength to stand after hearing what was happening.

As he did, he saw what was left of Baro. There was a monster made of thick and brown mud towering over the Magic Knights and acting mindlessly. The only thing that was human of him was the fact it had eyes and a mouth, though even they were black indents in the mud.

"He's rampaging and that Sally girl is bound to do something else if we don't defeat this thing right now! Gauche, are you up for it?" Asta asked but got no response.

He turned around to where Gauche was supposed to be but instead saw the mage flying out of the cave with his sister, Marie, in his arms.

"G-G-GAUCHE?!" Asta screamed.

"That idiot delinquent", Sister Theresa painfully muttered. "Well, Asta. It's just the two of us to sort this mess out. I can help the kids leave as well as pin Sally back with my Magic. You just focus on that creature!"

"You got it!" Asta turned to face the giant monster.

"Flame Creation Magic: Guiding Light Leopard!" An orange and red leopard made out of warm flames appeared in front of the children that were huddled together. "Everyone, we need to leave this cave right away and back homes, okay? A maximum of three of you can get on the spell and it'll take you outside where Marco's waiting".

"Marco?!" Luca exclaimed. She knew her brother wasn't in the cave so was anxiously worrying about him. "I'm glad he's safe", she sighed.

"You can thank Asta for that. Anyway, let's go everyone!" Theresa walked to where Alice was unconscious and put her hand to the girl's head. "You'll be just fine", she whispered as she put Daisy's sibling on the flaming leopard alongside two others.

Meanwhile, Asta was busy trying to fight the thing that Baro now was. He was running around and slicing into the thing with his swords but every time he did, the mud simply overflowed and covered the cut back up.

"Damn it. Only if Gauche was here, we could do some combination teamwork. I wonder how long Lucas and Daisy will be with that other guy up there?" Asta wondered before dodging a stream of mud attacks.

"My sword attacks just aren't working that well. I could ask for help from the old lady, but she's preoccupied with two important things: Sally and the kids' safety. I'll just have to manage on my own!" Asta weaved in and out of Baro's attacks and climbed up the cave walls.

Asta stood on a ledge and used it to propel himself at Baro's face where he aimed to slash him. As he made the cut with his large Anti-Magic sword, the monster seemed to shout as if it was in pain and batted the Black Bull away.

"Ah!" Asta screamed as he was flung to the cave floor. He slowly stood up and held his right arm to ease the pain he was feeling. "I'm not giving up just yet. My swords work in repelling the overflowing Mud Magic, but that's the extent of its effectiveness. What if I slash at one part continuously?" He said as he charged forwards again.

The Bull got to Baro's left leg and held both of his black swords in his right and left hands. He breathed in and then exhaled to get ready for what he was about to do. "Let's go!"

Asta quickly slashed into the creature's left leg and made sure he didn't give it enough time to regenerate with the overflowing mud. After a few seconds, Asta succeeded in shaving off the limb and it looked like the mud stopped for a split second.

However, it was just that. A split second of hope and then the mud started flowing again, reforming the leg as if nothing had ever happened.

"I knew that was a long shot. This thing isn't human so I guess it doesn't obey the same set of laws as a human would. Maybe attacking it at once all over would be the best bet, but there's only one of me!" Asta sighed.


The cold wind blew through the tunnels of the cave and Gauche and Marie felt the breeze on their skins. The two were flying through the air on the former's broomstick, whilst the latter was safely being held by her brother.

"Marie… if only you survive, I'll be happy. All I need in my life is you, and your safety is my only priority. Besides, Asta and the others will manage… I mean, Captain Yami did pick him". Gauche thought in his head about what was happening.

He then looked at Marie and remembered everything that had happened with them before he ever joined the Magic Knights.

"Our lives were definitely quite different from now, weren't they? Before our parents died, we lived happily as nobles. Every day was a joy to look forward to… but once they died… everything fell apart.

The Mirror Mage looked down as he recalled past events.

"A few years after that, I realised that our parents were backstabbed by their own relatives. Money, status, property… all these things determine a person's worth in this world, and they also make people very selfish and twisted. We got kicked out of our house and were forced to fend for ourselves at a young age…", he thought back.


FLASHBACK - SIX YEARS AGO:

It was a warm day in the Clover Kingdom. The Royal Capital was having a huge market day where people gathered and enjoyed themselves. However, not everyone was as happy as the rest.

"Big Brother… I'm so hungry, but it's fine if you can't find enough food for the b-both of us. I'd rather you eat since you're always t-taking so much care of me…", a small Marie spoke weakly to Gauche.

"Don't you worry, Marie. We only have each other so I'll make sure I find enough food!" Gauche then walked off in pursuit for any food to help them out.

The young teen looked through the markets and streets and saw much to choose from. "It's a pain that I have to steal since running and hiding take so much time up… but if it's for Marie, then I'll manage". Gauche stopped walking and found a stall that was selling sandwiches and drinks.

He slowly crept over to the vendor and ducked his head below the stall to make sure he wasn't seen. After a while of silence, Gauche reached over and grabbed a bag of food and made a run for it. However, as he did, he knocked over something and alerted the vendor who called for security.

"Tsk… this is going to be a pain. Though, I need to get to Marie. Her smile after I hand this food to her… it's something precious to me. I found something good in this godforsaken world and I intend to protect it!" Gauche ran and hid behind every possible area he could.

Though, it wasn't enough. The Mirror mage was eventually caught and imprisoned.

FLASHBACK OVER


"The price to pay for being imprisoned was that I could only see Marie once a month. I couldn't take it and I broke out of jail… That was when I met Captain Yami. My magic was not even a comparison to his but instead of sending me back to jail, he gave me a Magic Knights robe. Perhaps he trusted me, but I'm not the sort of guy you can rely on… I only think about those close to me… Marie". Gauche looked up once again as he began to see the light coming from outside the cave in the distance.

"Gauche?" Marie asked worryingly.

"Are you alright, my angel? Don't worry, your big brother is getting you to safety so we can carry on with our lives", he replied with a smile.

"What about Asta, Sister Theresa, and the others? I'm worried they might be hurt! Why… why would you leave them?" A sad expression was painted on the Eye Magic user's face.

"I… I only think about the ones that are close to me. That's you and no one else. So, they'll be fine on their own", Gauche answered.

Marie looked to be tearing up at the thought of the potential danger her friends would face. "Please go back…", she spoke softly.

"I can't". Gauche responded plainly.

"Oh, okay. Since you won't help them… then I… I… I hate you!" Marie shouted as she punched her brother in the face.

Gauche held his cheek as he looked down at his little sister who was about to cry. "You hate me? But… why?"

"I appreciate you wanting to protect me, but there are also other people you need to protect. You became a Magic Knight, and I would always praise you to everyone I spoke to. You were so cool… but to see you like this, I don't know why I thought you were amazing!" Marie's voice was shaking as she tried her best not to cry fully.

"You thought I was c-cool? I… I guess this is the first time I'm seeing you unhappy around me. I want to see you smile, so please, tell me what I can do?" Gauche slowed down as they reached the cave exit.

"Help Asta and the others back there. You said yourself you think about the ones close to you… then what are your squad mates to you?" Marie responded.

Gauche thought for a few minutes but instead of replying to the question, he knew what had to be done.

"I'll go back", he answered.

Marie jumped up and hugged her brother. Her tears stained the Bull's squad robe. "You're the best!"

Some blood fell down Gauche's nose showing he was happy.

The brother-sister duo made it outside the cave with Theresa's leopard spell joining them. After the animal set the kids down outside, it went back inside the cave to continue. Marie also made it to where Marco was alongside a groggy Alice and a few other children.

"Marco, I'm glad you're alright! Marie shouted as she saw the red-haired child in a Black Bulls robe.

"Haha, Asta and the others helped me earlier. They are amazing Magic Knights!" Marco smiled.

"My brother is the best though!" Marie replied, equally as happy.

Gauche reacted in a surprised manner. "So, this is how much she likes me being a Magic Knight?"

He then walked back to the entrance. "Marie, make sure you stay here with that brat, okay?"

"Sure!" Marie replied.

"Oi, brat! If you let anything happen to my angel, I won't be happy!" The Black Bull shouted.

"Gauche!" Marie shouted.

"Hmph. You're right, sorry brat", Gauche apologised.

"Don't worry! I'll protect your sister… Asta gave me cool powers with this robe!" Marco stood proudly.

Gauche smiled slightly and went back into the cave on his broomstick.


As this moment with Gauche and Marie was occurring, Lucas and Daisy were about to continue their battle with Max. Lucas had slowly gotten up from the floor, but he knew two of his strategies would not work against Max.

"The only thing left now is to fully put my all into the Time Magic. I need to access those spells in my grimoire… I can't keep neglecting them. But… how do I do it? I tried to help Alice earlier, but it backfired on me… just how can I do this?!" Lucas punched the floor in frustration.

However, the one to respond to the anger was none other than the Blue Rose mage. She stood in front of the Golden Dawn mage and turned her head to face him.

"You're clearly trying to figure something out, Lucas-san. You stay there and let me fight this one. With the Reinforcement spell you casted, I think I'll be able to do this", she smiled before turning to face the enemy Water mage.

"D-Daisy…! That spell is fairly new, so I don't have complete mastery over it. I don't know when it'll stop working so don't risk it!" Lucas shouted, reaching for the girl in front of him.

"Oh, c'mon! You know me well enough now to know that I'm not gonna back down from this. Remember what I said? I do things in the moment and worry about the little things after!" The Ice mage's grimoire turned a few pages.

"Besides… I'm still plenty angry about what happened with Alice. I can't let Lucas-san do all the main fighting! I'm one of Captain Charlotte's top Magic Knights!" The Ice mage charged forwards.

"Daisy… I can't fault her determination. While she fights, I need to access this magic of mine!" Lucas started to think.

The battle between the Water mage and the Ice mage had begun and clashes of powerful magic were made and ringing throughout the cave.

"So, Max… don't you think my attribute has the advantage over yours? You know, considering I can freeze it all up?" Daisy smirked.

"Advantages and disadvantages of magic mean nothing. The more powerful one is, the better chance they have at winning. Let's see where this battle places us!" Max slashed some water at Daisy which cut her arm slightly.

"With Lucas-san's spell, I can use this with a bit more power! Ice Magic: Skater's Heaven!" Daisy went around the area with ice stuck to the bottom of her feet as a way to move about more freely. As she slid around, the floor also turned to ice and started to spread outwards.

"Ice Magic is this powerful? This is bad!" Max spoke. "Water Creation Magic: Aqua Spear!" The enemy mage slammed the point of the spear into the ground, just before it turned into ice and used the length of the magic weapon to jump up in the air.

"This person really did level up during the time between now and the Royal Capital… but I am using my favourite spell. Things aren't going to go your way!" Daisy giggled.

As Daisy battled on, Lucas stopped for a second to see how she was doing and what he saw put him in a trance. "I've said this before to her, but her Skater's Heaven spell is something amazing…", his blue eyes sparkled with the light-blue reflection of Daisy's ice.

He saw her run around the cave and twist and turn away from the water attacks from Max. Every time he would fire pools of water at her, she would elegantly weave in and out of its trajectory. Some cracks in the cave ceiling shone light through and it illuminated the battlefield.

"The light from above is making the ice on the floor sparkle", Lucas commented. "Is this all through that thing she does – Ice Skating?" His eyes widened with amazement.

Daisy started to slow down as she did what she needed to. The Ice mage looked around and was pretty satisfied. "We're away from Asta and the others but the floor here… it's my time to show you just how strong Ice Magic is!"

Max was jumping from cave wall to cave wall. He was making sure he wouldn't step on the icy floor but in doing so he was using up a lot of his stamina. "If I step on the floor, she'll freeze me with that spell of hers. Do I risk it and attack her like this, or do I step down and risk being frozen?"

Daisy looked and saw the struggle in Max's face. "Haha, I guess I had more strength than you after all, hm?" She shouted, cupping her mouth to make sure the enemy heard what she was saying.

"Shut up…", he spoke under his breath. "Did I focus too much on getting revenge on that Light mage and forget to take other factors in account?"

Daisy continued provoking him though. "You spent this whole time cursing and saying how much stronger you are than us, but that was all a lie wasn't it?"

A vein popped through the side of Max's head showing how frustrated and annoyed he was getting. "Shut up! You don't know anything about what I've been through!" He screamed.

"That's right. But YOU don't know what my siblings and I have gone through either! We spent so long getting back on our feet… I spent so long… and you and your group had no right to take the happiness that we finally got back away from us! Alice… she won't ever be the same again. She had dreams of becoming a Magic Knight and helping the people all over the kingdom. She looked up to me and saw everything I worked hard for, and now…", Daisy stopped as she couldn't handle continuing talking about it.

Lucas was at the side. He was tasked with figuring out his Time Magic but seeing Daisy like this hurt him. "She told me about her mother and the fact she died… but is that the extent of what her family have gone through, or is there more?" He thought, gulping at how serious the atmosphere had become.

"And for that… I'll defeat you now", the Ice mage spoke softly. She looked up at Max who was struggling with staying in the air and cast a spell. "Ice Magic: Frozen Quake!" Daisy slammed her arms down at the icy floor and created a shockwave which rumbled through.

It caused the sheet of ice that was on the floor to bend and break, creating sharp pieces of ice to raise into the air and then fall to the ground. Skater's Heaven was broken and caused damage to Max who was trying to hold on to the wall of the cave, but with each piece of ice that was in the air, it cut and damaged his skin, causing blood to fall and pour on to the floor.

As Max fell down, he hit the floor and then the added effect of Daisy's Frozen Quake also came into effect. The shockwave that was created made ice crystals form from beneath the ground and they popped out from the floor to hit the enemy mage who was on the floor. A few hits and cuts later, he was rendered immobile as she final spell she used encased him in a protective barrier.

"… Ice Creation Magic: Crystalised Barrier…", she spoke weakly. Lucas's spell was wearing off her body and she was done fighting.

Lucas ran over to Daisy who was about to fall to the floor from exhaustion.

"I beat him before you…!" Daisy smiled as she fell into Lucas's arms.

"You did well but you can't sleep now. We still have the children to help get back, as well as the whole mud monster stuff", he replied.

"Oh, c'mon. I do all that and you can't give me a bit more appreciation?" Daisy winked but even struggled to do that as she was so tired.

"More appreciation? What do you want me to do?" Lucas asked as he looked into Daisy's big blue eyes.

Daisy looked back at Lucas's blue eyes. "You know… a kiss". The teen wore an expression which signalled that she was teasing Lucas. She quickly started giggling afterwards.

Lucas blushed a lot and his face turned into the colour of Fuegoleon's Flame Magic. "Y-y-you tease me way too much!" He breathed in and out at a fast pace.

"Sorry. I needed some joy after everything that's happened. Alice… I don't know what's going to happen now but all I needed at this moment was a laugh and you gave it to me. Thank you, Lucas-san!" Daisy smiled whole-heartedly at the moment.

Lucas wiped the nervous sweat from his forehead and smiled back. "It's alright".


During this, Gauche had returned to fight alongside Asta and against Baro, who had become a grotesque creature.

"It's a good thing you're back, but do you have a plan?" Asta asked as she deflected a multitude of Mud Magic attacks that were fired at him.

"Shut up. I just have to defeat this thing. We don't have to work together. Mirror Magic: Real Double and then… Mirror Magic: Double Reflect Refrain!". Gauche summoned a clone and as they flew in the air towards Baro's head, they both shot out light beams from their mirrors to hit the creature.

As they attacked, Baro became filled with holes, but it was pointless as they filled right back up. After it recovered, the monster shot out some mud attacks towards Gauche but ended up missing. However, the attack was on the course to hit someone else who was on the floor.

Neige was still on the ground, and he looked up at the thing Baro became. "Brother… you don't recognise me? I'm… I'm Neige!

Since Baro was no longer human, there was no adequate response to help Neige's sanity. Neige was still focused on if his brother was still in there that he didn't notice the incoming mud barrage that was coming down to hit him.

"Look out!" Asta jumped in and slashed the mud away to protect the Snow mage.

"Why… why would you save me?" Neige asked, confused as to why Asta protected him.

"There's no reason for you to die here. I'm a Magic Knight and we protect people, it's as simple as that. Besides, if you did die then you wouldn't be able to repent. You have to pay for your crimes", Asta explained.

"I get it. I was part of something I never shouldn't have been part of. I'll pay for my crimes", Neige accepted.

Just to the right of them, Theresa was occupied with Sally as well as helping the children out. She was attacking the Gel mage with one hand while using the other to command her Guiding Light Leopard.

"You're going to get tired if you keep this up, old lady. You're strong but you're age is definitely showing!" Sally said as she dodged the Flame Magic that was shot at her.

"I'm not that much of an oldie, little girl!" Theresa exclaimed. Though she knew her limits and that she was about to meet them soon enough. "Still, I got some fire in me! Flame Magic: Ashen Cross!" Theresa shot out a cross made of red and black ashes which were too small to see by the naked eye.

As they travelled to Sally's Sticky Salamander, they exploded in a huge red cross formation and defeating the Gel Magic creation. However, it was only for a moment as, due to a Dark Magic Item, it simply regenerated.

"I told you! It's pointless to fight against me this way", Sally shouted.

"Like she said, I'm almost at my limit with these spells". Theresa turned to see how many children were remaining and was pleased to see that only a few were left to help escape.

"I still need some help. The noise from where Lucas and Daisy has stopped… did they win?" She wondered.

Asta and Gauche were on the backfoot. Even with an additional person, the battle was proving to be too tough.

"What can we do?" Asta huffed.

"Marie told me to come back to protect the people important to me. I don't like to admit it but through Captain Yami, I've been allowed to live in a relatively nice way and given the opportunity to see my little sister. I… want to protect you since the Captain chose you and I don't want to go back on his decision since he's the reason I'm here today. Basically, I'm only protecting and helping you because of the Captain and Marie! I personally would leave you, but that's out of the question…", Gauche exclaimed in a weird and twisted way.

"Right… well, as long as you want to save and protect people, we're on the same page! Asta replied.

Suddenly, as the two made their declaration, the thin Anti-Magic sword that Asta was holding started to glow a bright white colour with a shade of purple tint.

"Woah, this is just like the time with Noelle! Last time it was blue and let me use Water Magic, so does this mean…?" Asta smiled as he knew what he could do now with the added strength of his teammate.

Asta jumped in the air and made a slashing movement with the glowing sword. "If I do the same as when I did it in the dungeon, then…!" The sword emitted a sharp crescent slash towards Baro and it managed to slash off his entire arm for a brief moment before regenerating.

"That's the most damage we've done to it this whole time!" Gauche spoke to Asta. "Does this mean we have a chance if we send out more of those slashes? Then that means…".

"Oi, Asta". Gauche grabbed the swordsman's attention. "We need to work as a team on this".

As he said those words, Gauche's grimoire began flipping to a new page and started to form writing for a new spell. The mage looked at it and smiled half-heartedly. "You got to be kidding me".

"Asta! I have an idea but for it to work, you need to look at my left eye! Gauche explained.

"Seems weird, but fine. I'll do anything at this point to defeat this thing!" Asta replied. He looked at Gauche who lifted the hair covering his left eye. Behind it, he saw a small mirror in place of his eyeball.

"Woah, what is that?!" Asta screamed, feeling grossed out by the lack of an eye.

"It's a Magic Item that will help us out here. Keep looking at it!" Gauche looked at Asta and after a few seconds, his spell was ready.

"Mirror Magic: Mirror Brigade!" The mage exclaimed as around thirty clones of Asta appeared. Each of the clones held the glowing Anti-Magic sword. "Go, Asta. You can do it!"

"You got that right!" The Astas shouted in unison. Each of the Astas surrounded Baro in all directions, from top to bottom and side to side. Each individual Asta shot the same crescent slash at Baro and the creature was cut into pieces. This time there was no chance for it to regenerate.

Eventually, all that was left of Baro was a pool of brown mud on the floor that lay without any movement at all.

"So, they won against that creature?" Theresa smiled. "I guess its our turn now, kid!" She shouted as Sally went on the defensive.

"Our? What do you mean, old lady?" Sally questioned.

"Too late! Flame Magic: Brilliant Flame Cross!" The nun shouted as she exploded the Gel Magic spell once more in the shape of a burning cross.

"How many times do I have to tell you? The spell just regenerates!" Sally exclaimed before the spell started repairing itself.

Just from above, Sally felt a strong presence looming over her and as she looked up, she saw just who it was.

"While you were distracted, I signalled to the kid to come help me out over here… I guess paying attention to this old lady is something you should've thought about!" Theresa shouted.

"Light Magic: Angelic Strike!" Lucas slammed his left arm into the reformation of Sticky Salamander and managed to line it entirely with Light Magic, eventually destroying it completely.

Then, under the confusion of everything and how hectic things were, he quickly went up behind her and punched her with his Light Magic attack, sending her into a wall and rendering her unconscious.

"Way to go, Lucas! Just as you beat her, I managed to send the last of the kids outside!" Theresa shouted out.

"That's a relief", Lucas said as he breathed out a large sigh.


Where the pool of mud fell, Neige walked over to speak his last words to his dead brother.

"Baro… big brother, thank you for everything you've done for me", he spoke softly. After a few seconds, he saw Asta behind him and started a conversation after wiping his tears.

"Asta…", he started.

"That's right. Your name is Neige, right?" Asta replied.

"I… I know what we did was wrong. All I wanted was to make my brother happy but now I know that way of thinking is bad. I will turn myself in and repent, but after it all can we possibly be f-friends?"

Asta smiled as he shook the Snow mage's hand. "You got it. We can be friends after everything is done".

Neige's sore and puffy eyes widened with excitement. "Thank you so much. I'm looking forwa-!" He began to thank Asta but wasn't able to finish his sentence. He fell to the ground in a heap of blood.

"Neige, w-what's going on?" Asta stuttered with fear. He then noticed that there was a huge sword made out of light protruding from Neige's back and that was what caused him to fall to the floor.

Suddenly, a bright flash of light illuminated the cave entirely and everyone who was conscious tried to shield their eyes from it. After it subsided, the group turned to see what the cause was for the light and they ended up seeing a lone man, standing up high with Sally in his arms.

Asta and Lucas recognised immediately who it was, and their eyes widened with fear. All the two could think about was the fact that this man was responsible for the state Fuegoleon was in.

The man was wearing a long white robe with the pattern of eyes embroidered on. His white hair was tied in multiple braids and his face looked to have a few red tattoos all over.

"Sally. I'm sorry it took me so long to get here. I will make them pay", he said in a very soft spoken tone.

"It's not just him, but there are two others either side of him!" Lucas mentioned.

To the right of the man who just appeared, was a guy who wore a similar white robe with eye patterns. His face had a constant and eerie smile to it, but it had no red tattoos. He also had short, black hair which seemed to spike up at the front. His sleeves were rolled up and his arms was very muscular with a few scars covering his right bicep.

To the left was someone who Asta had seen before as well. It was a mage with Spatial Magic who was a huge factor in the Royal Capital attack. He had medium-length grey and wavy hair with two lines going down his eyes.

"Three people, and one of them is Valtos. But who are the other two?" Asta wondered.

The muscular man revealed his name to be Draien.

"Yo, guys! It seems like you defeated my little brother once again. I couldn't wait to come here and fight the people responsible! I'll be sure to make it worth your while!" Draien spoke with an elated and hyper tone.

Asta and Lucas focused in on the man in the centre and saw his floating golden-yellow grimoire. In the centre of the cover, a four leaf was located.

"No way… he has a four leaf?!" Asta thought.

"A four leaf grimoire? It's sort of the same as mine, yet completely different!" Lucas noticed.

The man in questioned dropped level with the group by floating down. "Greetings, everyone. I see everyone is silent, so I'll introduce myself.

"I am the leader of the Eye of The Midnight Sun. The name is Licht".

NOTES:

Max has been defeated through Daisy no less! She really stepped up when Lucas was having trouble with his Time Magic. Max did prove to be a good counter to Lucas though.

Obviously, we had the whole thing with Gauche/Marie backstory which is largely the same but was still important to leave in.

Now, Licht is here with another few reinforcements. Let's see what happens.