Chapter 43: The Third Eye
Disclaimer:
A bit of a delay but my longest chapter yet! Hope you enjoy this one.
The defeated Draien lay trapped and encased in ice. Daisy had put him in place, whereas Lucas had dealt the final blow.
The Dual mage laid on the floor, facing up towards the cave ceiling. The strength from his legs was almost gone and he felt something off with his mana. Though, the only thought in his head was about what just happened.
"Finally. He's been defeated. He was the most challenging enemy I've faced so far. This whole enemy organisation is going to be a problem if I don't get myself in check". He stared at the unconscious Draien. "Why did he get so worked about me being the Wizard King one day? I just don't get it".
Daisy was still staring at Draien. Not because she thought he was still a threat, but because she couldn't find it in herself to look at Lucas after what she just saw.
"T-T-Time Magic?! Just what the… how is this p-p-possible?" She thought continuously. The mage kept racking her head to make sense of it all but she just couldn't.
Lucas saw her panicking and pacing about so he decided to call for her. "D-Daisy?" He asked softly. He was extremely nervous at this point as well so the two were united in this way, at least.
"Ye-yes?" She replied, still not looking at him.
"I guess I have some explaining to do…", he began to speak.
However, Daisy quickly turned to him and interrupted his talking. "Woo, yes T-Time Magic! Isn't that r-rad? Man, you have Light Magic AND Time Magic. Just how much more interesting can you g-get?!"
Lucas looked up and saw the extremely nervous and flustered Daisy. Her face was intense with a bright red colour and she kept forcing her swirling eyes not to look at him. She tugged at his arms and pulled him whilst she walked away with him.
"Wait, Daisy! I'll explain everything so if you just calm dow-", he added but was stopped again.
"You are something else. Is that why you never seem to run out of mana? Wait, are you some sort of God? Hm, that would make sense since you can use two types of magic… I heard that in ancient times, there were deities that could do that… but then again, you are human so what gives?! Wait! The Diamond Kingdom do all that experimentation on their citizens and some end up with two attributes, but even with them you can feel that it's unnatural, right? At least, that's what the reports have said… but with you, it seems so natural? I just don't get it!" She let go of the ginger-haired teens hands and started scratching her head very hard.
Lucas poker faced as he witnessed how confused Daisy was. "The way she's talking now reminds me of when we met at the Royal Capital during the attack. She started to go on a full rant about zombies and whatnot but before she seemed genuinely interested and she wasn't scared or anything". The mage then smiled as he looked at Daisy again. "This is exactly the same. Perhaps she's just extremely interested… but she won't let me explain", he dropped his shoulders in defeat.
"Hm, what if I have some sort of power I haven't unlocked yet? Imagine if I had something like Ice Magic AND Flame Magic! It's a bit of a counter to each other but then again, Light counters Time and vice versa, right?!" She added to her list of potential explanations and coping mechanisms for Lucas's reveal.
"Okay! Let's try it… Go, Flame Magic!" Daisy put her arms out and tried to force out some magic, but obviously nothing happened. "Oh".
Lucas looked at Daisy who was in a full pose genuinely trying to get Flame Magic to come out of her palms. "It's good to see that despite everything that's happened, she can still be like this", he thought.
After a while, as the Ice mage realised it wasn't going to work, she turned back to Lucas and nervously giggled.
Lucas's face strained as he tried to stop himself from laughing. Eventually, in about two seconds, he failed and started his laughter.
"D-Daisy…", he laughed.
"Wh-what?!" Daisy replied. Even she was trying not to react to her friend's laughter.
"Anyways, I can explain all of this if you want", Lucas calmed down and said again.
Daisy lowered her head in defeat. "Yeah, that would be great if you could… but… we should probably join up with the others first. Maybe they need our help or something. We can have a talk after this is all done!"
"Yeah, you're right". Lucas tried to get up on his own but he found it difficult to. He was extremely exhausted and it was showing on his body.
"Here", Daisy gave her hand to Lucas who accepted it.
He slowly got up and started walking with her. His arm was over her shoulder and he was walking like he had a peg leg.
"Oh, wait. Could we… go to where Max is?" The Light mage asked. His voice grew quieter and he furrowed his brow.
Daisy was about to question why but realised what the reason was after she saw how sad Lucas looked.
"Sure. Let me know when you're ready", she said.
The two walked over to Max who was laying on the floor, dead. His face was facing the ceiling and instead of a sad or even an emotionless expression, he had a faint and content smile to him. He didn't feel sad, or angry but was accepting of the fate that befell him.
Lucas slowly walked over and hunched over the enemy. He took off his Golden Dawn squad robe and covered Max's face with it.
"I don't think… people should see him like that", Lucas said with a deep frown.
After that, Lucas slowly went back to Daisy and they started walking to Yami and the others.
"Damn, Gauche. I never knew you had it in you", Yami walked up to the tired Mirror mage, slapping his back.
The Magic Knight panted and had his hands on his knees. He turned to his captain and smiled. "It's thanks to you. You gave me another chance at life when you handed me the squad robe", he replied.
Yami paused and took a puff of his cigarette. "I guess the glory goes to me then after all!" He started laughing.
Asta was gobsmacked at everything that just happened. "W-w-wait! Gauche, that was amazing and you beat the speed of his Light Magic?! Awesome! Oh, and Finral, you came at the right time. One more second and we'd probably be dead!"
Finral started to blush. "Now, now. I just did it for the team…", he said bashfully.
Gauche walked up to Finral and punched him in the back. "You were the one that refused to take me here! I had to beat you up until you agreed!"
"That does sound like Finral", Yami yawned.
"Yep", Gauche agreed.
Finral fell to his knees in disbelief. "I was so scared and I still came and yet… they bully me like this!"
"Yo, everyone!" A voice sounded out from behind the group of Black Bulls.
They all turned their heads to see that it was none other than Daisy, the Blue Rose Knight, calling out for them with Lucas leaning next to her. Eventually, the two regrouped with the rest.
"Woah, brat. You seem like you really gave it your all back there! I sensed some stuff going on back there with Ki, and some of it wasn't good", Yami spoke.
"Yeah. Things were crazy here too but you managed to make it out. Both you and Daisy!" Asta added.
Lucas began to speak but he couldn't really talk due to the exhaustion. "We won… but there was… a casualty back there", he replied.
The Golden Dawn mage's quiet reply was enough for Licht to take notice. He was on the floor this whole time and his grimoire had dropped down a crack in the floor, next to him.
"Did he say casualty? So, what I felt with Draien turned out to be true… Max, you weren't supposed to go so soon…", Licht thought to himself. Suddenly, a single tear fell from his eyes as he remembered the Water mage who died.
He slowly sat up. His injuries were still extreme so there was no chance of him fighting but he only said a few things. "You, Lucas. What happened back there with my comrades? I need to be sure…".
Yami walked up to the Light Magic user and looked down at him. "Well, would you look at that? The shiny bastard knows your name and is ordering you around like he's still got some fight left in him!"
Lucas stared at the enemy and something made him feel like he was being genuinely curious as well as being sad, too. "Your friend, Max… he's dead. Draien killed… him", he said whilst biting his lip.
"I see…", he replied before going silent.
Finral walked up to the Dark Magic user and tugged on his squad robe. "Say, Captain Yami. We should really put a binding spell on him before something happens".
Yami slapped the Spatial mage away before unleashing his Dark Magic. "Yeah, yeah, I know. Who do you think you're talking to?" His grimoire opened its pages and landed on the spell he needed.
"Dark Binding Magic: Dark Restraints", Yami summoned four dark tendrils that coiled around the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Finral sighed in relief. He turned to Lucas and Daisy and asked the same thing. "Did you manage to put some binding spells on that Draien guy? We definitely don't want him getting loose".
"We dealt with him! I have him trapped in my Ice Magic and he won't be escaping anytime soon", Daisy answered.
"That's great", Finral smiled.
"Sister Theresa should be alright now. She just needs to rest and should be good in a few days". Mimosa stood up from the patient and breathed a sigh of relief. Her Princess-Healing Flower Robe came undone and she looked to be tired.
The other healing mages had also stopped their work and they left the room for a bit.
"How are you feeling, Neige?" She turned to the Snow mage.
Neige had recovered quickly as his injuries weren't extreme unlike Theresa's. He sat on one of the benches inside the room.
"I'm feeling okay. Thank you for the treatment", he replied with a weak smile.
"That's good". Mimosa walked towards the former enemy mage and looked at him.
That was when she slapped Neige on his right cheek, leaving a red mark on the side.
Marie stood up from where she was sitting and ran towards the two mages. She was confused at to why Mimosa did what she did and looked sad to see Neige get slapped.
"L-Lady Mimosa?" Marie asked, pulling at her clothes.
"Sorry… It's just… that was a very tough moment trying to heal the Sister from her injuries. If those light swords had hit the wrong place in her body, then she wouldn't be here. You say you're sorry for what you did but it doesn't make up for the fact that it could have been much worse. Much, much worse", she explained.
Neige put his hand to his cheek and whimpered. "I… I'm sorry", he repeated softly.
Marie looked at both Mimosa and Neige and understood the severity of what had happened. She also understood that Neige was very sorry in what he did.
After a few minutes, Noelle and Rebecca showed up to see how things were going.
"Nero, how did you know where to direct us?" Noelle asked, petting the Anti-Bird which rested on top of her head to which it didn't respond.
"He's definitely a smart bird. I've never known an Anti-Bird to be this observant!" Rebecca replied.
The two entered the door and saw Theresa sleeping and Mimosa was sat on the same bench as both Neige and Marie.
"Rebecca!" Marie said as she ran, hugging her.
Rebecca knelt down and returned the embrace. "I'm so glad you're alright!"
Noelle smiled at the interaction. She turned to Mimosa who looked a bit tired and also slightly upset.
"How are you feeling?" Noelle asked.
"I'm fine. I thought I'd stay to make sure the Sister is alright", the royal replied, sighing.
Rebecca then asked a peculiar question to Marie who found it weird. However, to the two royals, it was perfectly placed.
"How is your mana?" She asked the young Eye Magic user.
"My mana?" Marie took a look at her body and stretched her arms and legs. "Uh, I think it's fine? Nothing of notice, really", she replied.
"Thank goodness…", the Scarlet-haired teen put her hand to her heart and smiled.
Marie was confused. "Oh, is it about the stuff in the cave? They were about to take my mana but my big brother saved me!"
Rebecca smiled but the others in the room could tell it wasn't going to last long. Noelle and Mimosa started to react but they couldn't stop Rebecca.
"Poor Alice…", Rebecca said under her breath.
Neige flinched at hearing the Calor's name.
"Alice? What's up with her? I think she was saved too", the young girl replied.
"Rebecca, are you sure?" Noelle reached for the redhead's shoulder.
"Alice's mana is completely gone… things won't be the same for her again. She's only seven as well…", Rebecca teared up.
Marie tightened her grip on the teen. "Wait, I thought… wait then those machines worked?
Suddenly, Neige stood up from where he was sat and walked over to Rebecca and the now-upset Marie. He bent down and started to cry.
"I… I'm so very sorry with everything that happened. I just wanted to make Baro happy and… and… I ended up doing this. I know things will never be the same with Alice but can you p-please forgive me?" He bowed his head in shame.
Rebecca seemed indifferent but Marie's expression was that of shock.
She looked up at the Snow Magic user and she was tearing up. "I think…", she sniffed. "… I think you admitting your wrongdoing is good and… it shows that you're sorry…", she replied.
Neige opened his eyes in surprise and was about to thank her but Marie continued.
"I'm not the one you should be apologising to. Daisy and her siblings, especially Alice, are the ones you need to say this to", she finished. She wiped her nose as she had also started to cry.
The frost-haired mage fell down to his knees and teared up. "I… I will!"
"She said it better than I would have. I'm not sure how Daisy is going to manage now… she's lost a part of her sister and it's only added to the losses her family have suffered. Poor girl", Rebecca thought.
"Now that the big boss is captured, I think we owe ourselves a drink at the tavern!" Yami laughed, sitting next to Asta, Finral, and Gauche. The Magic Knights were all sat on a huge stone piece that had broken off from the roof of the cave.
"I can't drink!" Asta shouted.
"We can give you a juice box then", Yami replied.
Lucas and Daisy were also sat down next to them. "Um, why are we waiting around anyway?" Lucas asked.
"My mana's all ran out for now. I used it a lot today and I'm not exactly efficient with my magic either. It'll return in a few minutes so all we can do is stay", Finral answered.
"Why don't we just walk back? Or go on our brooms?" Daisy asked.
"No way in hell I'm walking back in the snow, missy", Yami grunted.
"I also forgot my broom back at Nean", Gauche added.
"We would've had my broom if you hadn't broken it when you forced me to come here in the first place, Gauche!" Finral shouted.
"See, Captain Yami? I had to force him to come here. He wasn't going to save you if I didn't", the Mirror Mage explained.
"This is coming out of your pay", the tall swordsman added.
"My pay?!" Finral screamed.
Licht sat, leaning against a fallen boulder, and hit his head backwards. "Shut your stupid mouths… you would have wished you escaped considering what is about to happen".
Lucas immediately stood up as well as all the other Magic Knights, except Asta. They all had the same pale expression on them and it seemed like the air was suffocating them as they hardly uttered a word.
"What is this mana?!" Lucas thought, clenching his fists, and darting his eyes around the entire cave.
"Is it really not over?" Daisy looked around, seeing nothing that would make her feel like this but still having the feeling that something bad was about to happen.
"You've got to be kidding me", Yami sighed.
"Just what did I get myself into?!" Finral bit his lip.
"Another problem? What is up with today?" Gauche tensed up.
Asta turned his head and was about to ask what was wrong. Then, he saw a huge black portal open up above Licht. "What the hell is happening?!"
From the pitch-black magic portal, three people jumped down in front of Licht. The portal disappeared as soon as the three took a step forward.
"… No way…", Lucas mumbled as his blue eyes widened with fear and confusion.
There was a man, a beast, and a woman that all seemed to come to the rescue.
"Well, this definitely doesn't look good for you, Licht".
The one who spoke first was the man. He had messy black hair with a few white patches. He seemed to have a red tattoo on his left cheek and his eyes were droopy as if he was about to fall asleep. He wore similar clothing to Licht with a white robe, but his version was unbuttoned and he had a dark-blue shirt and trousers, with a purple belt as well.
"A bunch of insects got the drop on you?"
The second one was more of a beast than a human. He towered over every mage in the area and his body was covered in hair. His skin was tan and his mouth had long fangs. The beast also has a red tattoo that went across the top of his nose and under his eyes. He was bare-chested and wore violet shoulder-pads and his robe wrapped around his waist. He also wore a necklace with three blue fangs attached to it.
"Hate. I hate you all".
The last one to speak was the woman. She had long pink hair that fell just below her shoulders and a red tattoo across her forehead. Her forehead also had some sort of stone jewel attached. Her eyes were sea-green and were wide open as if she was constantly staring at someone. She wore a furry maroon dress with a white cloak sitting on top. She also wore a dark-brown pair of shorts with open-toed, knee-high boots.
Lucas walked forward to get a better look at the newly-arrived enemy. He stumbled ahead and focused his eyes. "What is going on…?"
"Who are you people?!" Daisy shouted out behind Lucas.
The male spoke after yawning for a few seconds. "Do we really have to introduce ourselves? All you need to know is…", he started yawning again.
"You three really do love dramatic entrances", Licht smiled. He turned his head and looked at the Magic Knights. "Excuse his rudeness but I'll let you know who these three are", he smiled.
"Fine, Licht… well, just before you do the introductions…", he vanished as he said this. What was left of him were small light particles as it looked like he teleported.
"Light Magic?!" The Magic Knights thought in unison.
The tired mage quickly warped to where Licht was and touched the Dark Restraints, releasing him from the binding spell. He warped back, this time with the leader, and acted as if nothing had happened.
"He took back Licht just like that?!" Asta shouted in disbelief.
"No way… his magic is insane!" Lucas added.
Yami looked at everything that happened and sighed. He then focused on something else behind the new enemy trio and sighed once more.
"Oi, Golden Dawn brat and Ribbon-Princess. What did you say you did with the enemy that you defeated back there?" He asked.
"Encased him in ice…", Daisy replied confusedly.
With a puff of smoke from his cigarette, he pointed towards Licht. "Who's that then?"
Lucas and Daisy turned their heads with a rush of intensity. They focused on the enemy Light mage and saw that right next to him was the unconscious Kinetic mage.
"L-Lucas-san… I was so s-sure I trapped him", Daisy said weakly.
Lucas said nothing as his frustration grew. "That guy… as he released Licht… are you telling me he went back to free Draien within that timeframe?! That was barely five seconds!"
"You insects are up against us now. There's no time for playing around!" The beast man laughed.
"Of, course we would save our comrades. You think we would leave them here?" The staring woman said with no emotion. Slowly, she turned her head and walked towards Licht and Draien. "Here. I'll heal you two up". She reached her hands out and placed them on the two, enveloping them in a bright flame with two flaming red wings on either side.
"Thank you, my comrades. You saved Draien without me even asking you to and you saved me…", Licht said as he floated up in the Recovery Magic spell.
"Stop with the compliments. Just rest up there while we…", the man yawned again.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, let me introduce you to these three strongest members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun", Licht said.
Asta gripped his Anti-Magic swords and walked forwards. "The strongest?! Wait, I thought you were the strongest!"
"I never claimed to be. These three… yes… they surpass me in combat and their strength is more than a Magic Knight captain! They are known as the Third Eye". Licht introduced the three newcomers.
"Third… Eye", Lucas said to himself. He looked over at them again and squinted as he focused. "Wait…", he reached out.
Licht carried on. "You've heard of the saying, right? The three leaves of the clover represent faith, hope, and love".
"What the hell does that have to do with this?" Yami questioned.
"Well, the Third Eye are the exact opposites of that", the leader explained. He looked at the patchy-haired male first. "You have the counter to faith, Rhya the Disloyal".
Rhya raised his hunched back and waved. "Yup, that's me".
The beast in the middle was next. "The one who counters hope, Vetto the Despair".
"I will rip you people apart and make you feel the despair that's coming!" Vetto shouted.
The woman was left and Licht turned to her. He raised his hand and was about to introduce her.
Lucas's eyes widened as he felt a very familiar sensation to him. He fell to his knees and clutched his aching head.
"Lucas? Are you alright?!" Daisy kneeled down and tried to comfort him.
Flashes of blurred images went through his head and none of them made any sense to him. He saw a girl that was wrapped in a white robe and she was smiling at him. He shook his head since these strange images meant nothing to him, and yet he kept getting more.
"The one who counters love…", Licht began.
Lucas raised his head and opened his mouth to speak softly.
Licht and Lucas spoke at the same time.
"… Fana…", the two said.
Licht finished, "Fana the Hateful".
"My hatred for all of you is infinite. You will be incinerated by my flames", Fana said plainly.
Suddenly, Lucas thought back to the dream he had last night just before Daisy woke him up.
"You must remember me, right? All those years we were together… don't tell me you forgot?"
"Fana…", Lucas repeated the name.
"Oh, do you know her or something? We're probably gonna get into a fight with them so sorry if she gets hurt", Yami said nonchalantly.
"No. I don't know her. I've never seen her before in my life… yet, why does that name irk me?" Lucas replied and went back into his thoughts.
"These are the Third Eye. I hope you treasure your last moments…", Licht smiled.
"Can we begin?" Rhya asked with a disinterested voice to which Licht simply nodded. "Well… here I go…", he disappeared again within a fraction of a second and appeared right where Yami was stood.
Yami flinched from the surprise. "You're light speed too?"
Rhya reached for Yami's grimoire and placed his right hand on it. "That's an interesting design. Dark Magic, hm?"
"Get your hands off my property! Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!" He shouted as he fired a sharp slash of darkness at Rhya.
The mage quickly teleported back to where Licht was but before he did, Yami managed to nick his shoulder and he drew blood.
"Tsk. That's annoying. Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles". Rhya placed his arm on the wound and quickly healed himself back up. "Wow, that was a good move. I guess I'll return the favour", his voice grew deeper as his eyes met Yami's.
"Captain! His Light Magic is coming!" Finral shouted.
"Yeah, yeah. I've got this", he sighed. "If he's like their leader then I can counter his Light Magic with my Dark Magic", he enveloped his blade with darkness again.
Rhya jumped in the air and pulled a black blade out of his grimoire.
"He has a sword too? Maybe he uses Light Magic with weapons like you use Dark Magic with yours", Asta wondered.
"Copy Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash", Rhya repeated, firing the same slash of darkness that he had received moments prior.
The attack went for all of the Magic Knights and they managed to barely evade it.
"How did you do that?!" Lucas shouted.
"That's an act of copyright infringement!" Yami grew angry.
"I use Copy Magic. It allows me to use any magic attribute I want, as long as I can touch their grimoire", Rhya nodded.
"Does that mean you also copied Licht's magic?" Gauche asked.
"Ding, ding. Rightio", the Copy mage yawned.
"What would happen if he touched my grimoire?" Lucas gulped thinking of all the possibilities that could occur with both Light Magic and Time Magic.
"It definitely goes alongside his title, 'Rhya the Disloyal'. His attribute has no loyalty with any so he can use any as he pleases", Daisy noticed.
"The cute girl has it right", the Copy mage pointed. "Anyways…", he turned to Vetto and Fana. "Shall we begin?"
All of a sudden, all of the Third Eye raced forwards and brought out their grimoires next to them.
"The despair I'm going to inflict… Beast Magic: Bear Claw!" Vetto's arms glowed a bright orange and his hands became huge claws. He span towards Yami and hit him multiple times.
Yami started to swing his darkened katana at him but Vetto quickly turned and kicked his blade, sending him back a few metres.
"That won't work on me. You won't be getting me with that puny magic of yours!" Vetto screeched, landing on the floor, and charging once more.
"He can read Ki as well? Now that's something", Yami thought. Though, he didn't have time to as Vetto continued his onslaught.
"Beast Magic: Elephant Tackle!" The embodiment of Despair covered himself in a bright orange light and ran at a high speed towards Yami. He tried to block the continuous charges with his katana but the attack kept chipping away at the metal.
Yami was sent to the floor and his katana broke in half.
"I haven't even paid this thing off you stupid monster!" Yami shouted, rolling away from Vetto's lunge.
"Fana, do you want to go?" Vetto shouted.
"Are you ready, Salamander?" Fana spoke and started to pet the small, pink lizard that crawled up her arm and sat on her shoulder.
"Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander's Breath", she ordered. The lizard opened its mouth and generated a huge amount of concentrated flames and blasted it at the Black Bulls Captain.
"The Flame Spirit?!" Finral said in shock.
"Spirit? Are you saying it's similar to Bell?" Lucas replied, covering his eyes from the intensity of the magic.
"Shit. I can't do much without my blade. I guess I'm on the defence now", Yami turned to the other Magic Knights. "All of you idiots, come close to me!"
They all huddled together and Yami exerted more darkness around them.
"Dark Magic: Veil of Darkness", Yami said and set a defensive barrier around him and the others, protecting them from Salamander's magic. After a few seconds, he dropped the curtain and walked forward towards them.
"These guys are something else entirely. I can't protect you and fight them at the same time either", he spoke.
Asta and Lucas both rushed forwards, the latter slightly hobbling. "Then let us help!"
"I don't have time to wonder about Fana at all! I need to do what I can!" Lucas declared.
Yami turned to the mages. "You stupid brats… I guess I'll let you join me!"
"Thanks!" The two spoke together.
However, as they turned to face the Third Eye, they were but a fraction away from their faces.
"Copy Magic: Dark Cloaked Black Blade".
"Beast Magic: Bear Claw!"
"Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander's Breath".
Lucas stood in front of both Asta and Yami and his grimoire flicked through to the page he needed.
"Time Magic: Heaven's Time!"
The area between the three Magic Knights and three members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun froze in time. There was a dark-grey colour of space between them and it prevented them from attacking properly.
Vetto sensed it coming so moved back but Rhya's blade was trapped in time as well as Salamander's flames.
Everyone in the cave was shocked with what they just saw and they all turned to Lucas.
"Time Magic?!" Asta shouted, falling to the floor, and rolling around as if his head was hurting with all this new information.
"Well look at you, kid. Got all the tricks up your sleeve", Yami paused.
"It really is real…", Daisy added.
"I thought only the Wizard King had an attribute like that", Finral mentioned.
"He was hiding this the whole time?" Gauche wondered.
Lucas fell to his knees and started coughing up blood. He covered his mouth with his hands but it merely built up the blood flow and he started to look pale.
"Yeah, I'm definitely not used to this", Lucas sighed.
Licht and the Third Eye were gobsmacked. Even Rhya and Fana, the ones who barely showed any other emotion than the ones they have so far, were shocked.
"Yo, Licht. What do you make of that? The brat has Time Magic… doesn't it remind you of something?" Rhya spoke up.
"You guys think it's related to that?" Vetto added. "It definitely feels like it".
"I don't know why but my head hurts trying to think back". Fana clutched her head in pain.
Licht stumbled backwards. "That Lucas kid… he has Light Magic AND Time Magic. He's one of… them".
"Wait, Light Magic as well? That's going to be a problem if it's what we think it is", Rhya drew another katana from his grimoire.
Vetto bore his fangs. "If it is what we're thinking, then we need to kill him".
Fana was silent.
"Do we kill him? Could we use him in the future? I'm not sure if it's the same but… it's too risky to just kill him here… besides, the other person won't be happy if we do", Licht thought. He looked down to the Third Eye and spoke up. "No. We won't kill him. I ask that you capture him!"
"Right!" Rhya and Vetto charged forwards without Fana.
"Fana?" Licht asked, wondering what was stopping her.
"Who is this person…? Why do I… why do I…?" Fana was deep in her thoughts when Licht's shout broke her out of it.
"Are you alright?" Licht asked.
"I… I'm fine. Yes, I'll capture him for you", she replied.
On the other side, Lucas was still in distress and couldn't carry on.
"… Sorry guys. I know I said I'd help but I couldn't do much", he smiled weakly.
Asta and Yami looked at Lucas, then to each other, and then back at Lucas.
"What the hell are you blabbering on about? I hate to admit it but you saved my ass there", Yami smiled.
"Without you, I have no idea what would've happened!" Asta smiled too.
The two turned to face the incoming three mages. "So, let us do this!" However, as they turned around it was seeming to be a copy-paste situation as the Third Eye was already near with their attacks.
"Yeah, kid. We're dead", Yami said.
"What?!" Asta shouted.
As the attacks came towards Yami and Asta, the colour of light-silver, dark-green, and a soft-blue filled the area, deflecting the attacks. A set of three voices came afterwards and most of the people in the cave recognised them immediately.
Daisy perked up and a huge smile grew across her face. Her blue-violet eyes shined and she pumped the air.
"Oh, c'mon…", Yami sat down and moaned.
"… You're…!" Lucas was about to say but was interrupted.
The colour of light-silver faded and from it emerged Nozel Silva, Captain of the Silver Eagles.
"No surprise the foreigner is having trouble with this", he spoke with a slight tinge of annoyance.
The colour of dark-green went away and what stood in its place was Jack the Ripper, Captain of the Green Praying Mantis.
"I guess showing you up is what I'm born to do, Yami!"
Finally, as the soft-blue cloud blew away, Charlotte Roselei, Captain of the Blue Rose Knights was stood proudly.
"Seriously, Yami. I thought you said men like you were one in a million. So why are you in such a sorry state like any other?"
Yami dropped his head. "I said we were gonna die to kickstart the power that was deep within me. I was about to awaken it and beat them all".
"That's what you're going with?!" Asta shouted.
Daisy skipped over to her captain and greeted her. "Hello, Captain! I didn't know you'd be here", she smiled.
"I wouldn't let one of my best Magic Knights stay here injured with a bunch of men", she replied as honestly as she could, ruffling the Ice mage's hair.
The males in the Magic Knights poker-faced.
"Oh, but I guess Lucas is alright… for a stupid man", she added.
"I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or as an insult…", Lucas thought.
Finral stepped forwards. "Wow, they actually came".
"You knew something about this?" Yami asked.
"Yeah. W-wait, so did you! Noelle asked for the captains but only we responded first. We were told the other captains would show up after us!" Finral said frustratedly.
"Oh", Yami replied.
"Is that all you have to say?!" Finral shouted back.
Nozel walked towards Yami and spoke down to him. "Of course, the Black Bulls are arguing at a time like this. This is why no one take you seriously".
"Yeah, yeah. It's a bit ironic coming from you since you have your servants do your weird front ponytail for you in the morning. I mean, can you even see who you speak to through that?" The Dark mage laughed.
A vein popped out from the side of Nozel's head. "Hmph. I'd rather not see you at all so it works for me".
"Keh, keh! Why am I not surprised to see Yami in the gutter like this? Was fighting some bad guys too tough for the great Lord of Destruction?" Jack stuck his abnormally long tongue out and cackled.
"Nah, I was fine with it. Though I am flattered to have your help. Maybe you can lick them or something with your snake-tongue you weirdly-built freak", Yami replied and insulted him way more than Jack had done to him.
"Say that again to my face and you'll see what happens!" Jack sharpened his blades that were on his arms.
"Can you three stop arguing. There are literally a bunch of enemies in front of us and you'd rather throw your testosterone around. Honestly…", Charlotte spoke up this time, wearing a disgusted face.
"Oh, hello there, Prickly Queen. I didn't even notice you. How long have you been here?" The Black Bull Captain asked plainly.
The Blue Rose Captain turned her head away and closed her eyes. However, instead of looking annoyed like Nozel or eager for a fight like Jack, her cheeks turned a bright pink colour. "How long have I been here?! I came at the same time as the others! In fact, I was the one that rushed Nozel and Jack since they didn't take things seriously! I wanted to make sure you were safe… but why do you act like this towards me?!"
Though, as she opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was Daisy looking at her and it seemed like she was analysing. After a few seconds, a big smirk started to grow on the Ice mage's face and she covered her mouth to stop showing the others that she was grinning.
"Oh? So that's how it is", she said quietly to her captain, etching a smirk on her face.
Charlotte turned around from Daisy at almost light speed. "There are three people I don't want to see me like that! Yami, Sol, and… you Daisy! I know just what you're like!"
"Um. Why did you three interrupt our fight?" Rhya asked normally. "This is getting a bit tiresome".
The newly-arrived Magic Knights looked at the Third Eye.
"They're the problem then?" Charlotte asked.
"Looks to be", Nozel added.
"Can't wait to slice them up!" Jack cackled.
Yami laid back and rested his head on the rock behind him. "What about the leader? Who's going for him?"
Nozel looked at Licht in the floating Flame Magic spell. "He's the leader. He's the one that injured Fuegoleon…".
The three captains started fighting at once.
"Copy Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash. I'll be going for the hot babe there if you two don't mind!" Rhya jumped forwards, cloaking his katana in darkness, and slashing it at Charlotte.
"Briar Creation Magic: Corpse-Hunting Briar Trees! Your Copy Magic is nothing in the face of my own. Don't you dare talk about me in that manner either!" Charlotte brought out her own sword that was made out of green briars and they extended to create a defence around her as well as offence as they went for Rhya as well.
"Whoops, I guess I angered the beauty", the Copy mage skilfully evaded the attack and the two carried their battle on.
Jack stepped up and faced against the beast, Vetto. He licked his lips and smiled at the sight of the one who embodied despair.
"Keh, keh! Looks like I get to fight another beast", Jack lunged forwards with his arm-blades extending.
"What do you mean by another beast? There is no one like me anywhere in this world!" Vetto met Jack in the air and the two started exchanging blows with one another.
"Oh, it's just a story from long ago, keh, keh! Let's just say my family is used to monsters like you and can take you down as well! Severing Magic: Death Scythe!" A green slash of pure mana left the captain's blades and hit Vetto on his arms forcing him backwards.
The man-beast laughed. "Interesting. Someone who can give me this much fun is worthy of instilling despair into! Beast Magic: Predator Strike!" Vetto surrounded his arms and legs in an intense orange mana which looked like it created armour plates on his limbs. He ran forwards, dodging Jack's slashes, and hit him with those arms and legs.
"Kill. I will kill you for going against us". Fana stood in front of Licht, staring at Nozel.
"Your flames are nothing in comparison to what I've faced. Get out of the way. I will be going for your leader! Mercury Magic: Silver Bullets!" Nozel summoned balls of concentrated mercury around him and shot them towards Licht as he was being healed. He opened and closed his palm and the liquid metal gained speed.
"Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander's Breath". The lizard with Fana breathed out a ball of fire which cancelled out each of Nozel's bullets. "You think you will get away for harming Licht? Die, now".
Nozel stepped forwards. "She's definitely going to be a problem. I'll have to deal with her before I can avenge you, Fuegoleon… my rival! Unfortunately, I cannot battle you anymore, but with this win I will make sure our future aligns!"
The three captains and the Third Eye continued their battle with no real winner sticking out. Each person had their strengths and were countering the other very well.
"So, this is how other captain's fight? There's so much to learn from…", Lucas said, sitting up against a rock that was on the ground.
"They're not captains for no reason! I mean, look at the beautiful Charlotte handling that Copy mage. So elegant. So riveting!" Finral started to get excited and a punch from Gauche calmed him right down.
"Shut up already! Can't these guys hurry up already? I need to see Marie". Gauche turned his head in a strop.
Daisy face-palmed. "Always the same, aren't ya?" She turned to Finral and started to tease him. "Do you like-like my captain? I mean, I'll agree that there's no one quite like her but there's definitely competition for her", she giggled.
"C-competition? From who?!" Finral blew smoke out of his nose.
Daisy slyly looked at Yami who was sat down. She tried to instigate a reaction from him but all she saw was the Dark mage yawning and picking at his nose. "Urgh… does he not like her back? Hm, now that I think about it, he doesn't really show that much emotion other than anger or laughter…".
Yami yawned. "Man, when is this gonna end? C'mon you three! Didn't you come here to show what elites like you can do? So far you're doing the same as I was!"
"Maybe you should listen to the man", Rhya smiled as he countered Charlotte's briars.
"Hmph. I know what to do and a man isn't going to give me some sort of boost. Briar Magic: Blue Rose Strike! Charlotte jumped where Rhya was in the air and striked him with her briar sword. She had it covered in a blue aura and there were blue flower petals lining the sharp edge of the sword.
"That's not good", Rhya said as he felt cuts plastering his body from the flower petals. "Copy Recovery Magic: Healing-Light Particles". He flashed backwards with the help of Light Magic and started healing his body from the injuries.
"Oh no you don't! Briar Magic: Vine Abyss! The Blue Rose Captain quickly wrapped her briars around the Copy Magic user and flung him towards the ground, creating a large hole and trying to keep him in.
"Good move! But… Copy Magic: Bear Claw". This time Rhya borrowed Vetto's power and slashed out of the hole he was trapped in.
Vetto turned and smiled as he saw his moves being used. "Good work from you, Rhya. I guess I'll show my opponent the real thing though! Beast Magic: Bear Claw!" He span to where Jack was stood and unleashed three consecutive strikes from his hands that sent Jack flying backwards.
"Keh, keh! You definitely pack a real punch!" Jack shouted in the air. "Severing Magic: Grasshopper Boost!" As Jack was heading for the wall behind him, he extended his blades and sent slashes of mana towards the incoming wall. His speed started to decrease in which he was flying backwards at and instead he used those slashes to bounce off the wall and head back to where Vetto was standing.
"The insect can entertain me!" Vetto laughed.
"That's right! Severing Magic: Death Scythe!" He slashed an uppercut at Vetto as he met and the two carried on.
Nozel was flying around in a ball of mercury that he had made to manoeuvre in. As Fana fired her flames at him, he weaved in and out of the way to get counter.
"Kill. You need to be killed". Fana's sea-green eyes stared at the royal who was unfazed.
"Mercury Creation Magic: Silver Blade". The royal summoned a hard blade that floated in the air and he controlled it remotely. As each flame attack came, he deflected it back causing Fana to dodge her own attack as well as protect Licht.
"Flame Magic: Ignite Plains". Fana surrounded Nozel with intense flames. The floor became fire and it started to rise up to the Silver Eagle.
"Hmph. Mercury Magic: Rain of Silver". With an open grimoire, balls of mercury started to fall from the air and cover the floor of flames easily. After a few seconds, the cave floor was silver with melted metal and the flames had died out.
Minutes had passed but here it felt like a lifetime. Each attack was either being countered, deflected, or cancelled out, and if one party did manage to injure the other, then the injured would retaliate greatly and injure the other back.
"This is going on for too long. We need to do something!" Asta turned to Yami and Lucas who had the same idea.
"I don't know how much help I'll be but I have enough mana left for a bit of Time Magic. Something is up with my Light Magic so I can't use it right now", Lucas explained.
"No worries! Your Time Magic is so cool anyway so I'm sure we can do something!" Asta reassured the Dual mage.
"What are your ideas then?" Daisy knelt down. "You can't exactly interfere like this since you'll only get in their way".
"The Ribbon-Princess is right", Yami spoke up. "Though… we have a cheat code to easily help us here, don't we Finral?" He smirked.
The Spatial mage's shoulders dropped and he sighed. "Yeah… let's do it".
A small spatial portal opened up where Licht was recovering and Yami dropped out of it. His broken and half katana was covered in darkness and he was about to strike at the enemy Light mage.
Licht looked up and smiled. "I was wondering why you were so quiet, Yami Sukehiro. I'm afraid I already precited your arrival and have enough magic to beat you down with".
"Can you stop calling me by my full name all the damn time? It's creepy", he asked as he fell closer to where the enemy was. "There is one thing you got wrong though, Sparkles".
Licht reacted with no interest. "What's that then?"
The Dark mage smiled and sheathed his katana. "I'm not the one you should be looking at", he smirked.
"Time to finally beat you!" Asta swung his Demon-Dweller Sword at the surprised Licht mage. He had come out of nowhere and was about to beat the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
"He doesn't have mana! Of course, he doesn't, what am I thinking? I couldn't sense him at all! However…", Licht quickly turned around and summoned a singular light sword which he held to counter Asta's. "I'm still a bit quicker than you, brat!"
"You might be right now, but let's see what happens in one second", Asta smirked.
Licht's eyes widened as he realised there was a key person no where to be seen initially. The person in question was Lucas and as he had mana he could sense him just below Licht.
"Do it!" Finral shouted as he ran out of mana once more. He summoned the final spatial portal and all that was left was for Lucas to make his move.
Lucas breathed heavily and a few droplets of blood came out of his mouth. He focused on Asta and Licht and summoned his spell. "Time Magic: Heaven's Time…!"
The Third Eye stopped their attacks as they realised where Asta was and couldn't react in time to save Licht. They were just stood idle and watched everything unfold.
The newly-arrived captains were the same too. They were shocked at how the events turned out and were simply watching.
The Dual mage caught Licht frozen in time with his spell. The area around Licht became dark-grey but within one second of use, the spell broke and Lucas fell to the floor as all of his strength was gone.
"You stupid kid! What are you even going to do?!" Licht shouted. However, as the last word left his mouth, he felt the Anti-Magic user's blade hit his side and was sent flying towards the floor.
"I told you to wait an extra second!" Asta shouted.
"I miscalculated… Time Magic bends the very concept of time so you never know if something really has changed until after…", Licht struggled to speak as he fell. Then, he saw Yami plummeting down towards him with an unsheathed katana once more.
"I figured I'd hit you too. You know, for all the pain you've caused!" Yami slashed him as well and within a second Licht was shot down in to the cave floor.
"That's great…", Lucas smiled weakly.
Nozel was silent as he took the events in. "That Anti-Magic boy and the… wait, the other has two attributes! Well, regardless… they both surprised me".
"Yami's and William's rookies are something alright", Jack thought.
"Wow…", Charlotte widened her eyes.
The Third Eye immediately rushed to where Licht landed.
"Licht!" They exclaimed together, with worry covering their faces.
Suddenly, the Light mage rose up from the ground and red rings formed and disappeared around hid body. The sound of shattering rang throughout as they did and the enemy started floating in the air with an intense bright light around him.
"What now?" Yami put his head in his hands.
"This magic power… if this goes on then this cave… no, even Nean will be blown apart!" Gauche shouted.
All of the Magic Knights retreated to one platform as they saw the light around Licht start to disintegrate everything around him into dust. The walls, ceiling, and floor were all disappearing.
Licht stared at both Asta and Lucas. "You two. The Demon-Slayer and the Demon-Dweller should not be with you, along with that grimoire! They are the master's so return them, now! As for you…", he pointed at Lucas. "… The fact that you're the one… and are part of them is shocking. You will be saved soon!"
To Licht and the Third Eye these words meant something very important but to everyone else they were a bunch of random rambling that made no sense.
"The master? Wait, you're not the master?" Daisy asked.
"What do you mean the one? Just what is going on?" Lucas wondered.
Rhya, Vetto, and Fana all quickly jumped in the air and surrounded Licht in a triangle.
"The seal. The Anti-Magic brat broke it… it's way too soon for this", Rhya stated. "Anyway, how do those swords even use Anti-Magic? Never heard of something like that".
"We need to help Licht", Fana added. "Talking about Anti-Magic is useless right now".
"We have no choice", Vetto replied.
"Trinity Sealing Magic!" The three exclaimed as they formed more red rings around Licht. Eventually they managed to contain Licht and he fell to the floor unconscious.
Rhya walked up next to Licht and picked him up in his arms. "To think you go this far for us… well, I guess some things don't change", he smiled.
Vetto picked up Draien and Valtos.
"We have to leave", Fana said.
A dark spatial portal opened up beneath the enemy mages and they started falling through.
"It's a shame our fight had to end there but we'll see each other real soon", Rhya said before disappearing into the eerie magic.
"Remember that you're all a bunch of insects. We will rip you apart", Vetto added.
"Revenge. We will get it…", Fana stated.
They all disappeared and what was left was a ruined and broken cave as well as a bunch of Magic Knights.
"Is it… over?" Asta questioned as he fell to the floor. He fainted from the exhaustion and the injuries.
"Lucas-san… we can go back to Nean now! I'm sure things will be fine with a bit of rest in the house", Daisy smiled as she tried to get him back on his feet.
"That sounds nice…!" Lucas began but then started coughing.
It seemed like he was having a fit of some sorts as the coughing would not end. He put his hand to his mouth and sticky dark-red blood came out and stained his palms. He looked pale and felt cold to the touch. His eyes became droopy and they eventually closed.
Lucas lost his grip to Daisy and fell to the floor next to Asta and he looked to be in a terrible state.
"Lucas-san…! Lucas-san…!"
NOTES:
The end of the cave arc… is that the name of it? Anyways, a lot happened here and it extended past 8500 words! I just wanted to finish this part of the story and something new will begin next chapter!
Lucas revealed his Time Magic to all of the people in the cave so it's safe to say his secret is out. What will that mean for him in the short and the long run?
All of the captains as well as the Third Eye… what did you make of the Lucas and Fana thing?
