Chapter 70: Behind That Mask
"Yagos really ran away or rather… slithered away quite quickly. The good thing is that he didn't really make it hard to not track him with all the mucus on the floor".
Lucas was running in the direction of where the diluted, green slime was. Yagos had left a trail, albeit not willingly since he was in such a haste, that the Dual mage could easily follow.
He ran through a few streets, checking if there were still any others that needed help. Fortunately, it looked like they had been evacuated for the time being.
After a few minutes, Lucas stopped behind a large building and looked up towards the roof.
"The mucus trail has stopped on the floor but there's some splattered over the walls of that house. It looks like he went above that building there, so… if I just follow this up, he'll probably be there. There's also some commotion on the other sid-!"
Suddenly, the mage's train of thought was wiped clean as his head almost met the same fate. The middle of the building in front of him phased out of existence as the residue of dark-blue and grey energy trickled down, disappearing in a few, quick seconds.
"What the…?!" Lucas shouted, barely dodging the vicious attack.
It seemed like there was another enemy around, one that could use some devastating Spatial Magic. The middle of the building was gone so the other side of it just fell down on the floor, leaving dust and debris everywhere on the floor. Once Lucas got round to the other side, through the massive gap, he saw that it wasn't an enemy that dealt that damage.
"Yikes… The one thing about my magic is that it kind of just destroys anything it touches", Langris said with a wide smile and calm, aquamarine eyes. The Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well. We'll just have someone rebuild it all".
Yagos had fallen to the floor in a bloody heap. His right arm was completely gone and his body splashed into his own mucus.
Lucas's mouth was wide open seeing such power come out from Langris. He knew the vice-captain was strong but he never had actually seen him in action. Actually, this was the first time they were even on a mission together.
"That magic… wow!" Lucas said to himself. He thought he was alone but a wave from the other side of the street snapped him back to reality.
"Oh, hello there, Lucas. Did you happen to see my magic at work?" Langris waved, still smirking.
Lucas ran over, meeting with his Vice-Captain, slime still dripping from his clothes.
"Yeah, your magic is really strong. It's just…",
Langris tilted his head. "It's just?"
"It almost wiped my head clean off…", he replied, slightly squirmish as he imagined what he'd look like if the attack actually hit him. He shivered but quickly shook his head to get rid of that imagery.
Langris lowered his head but then just started laughing. The young man was holding his stomach and made sure his laughter would be the loudest thing around with how he was acting.
"Hahaha! S-Sorry about that, Lucas. It's just… my magic is so powerful, I struggle to do anything else other than showcase how crazy it is". Langris started to calm down after the bout of laughter that seemed like it lasted way longer than it should have.
Lucas sighed. "Was he really… boasting about that? Hm, I guess that's just how he's been since the day I met him".
After that, a set of footsteps got louder and louder as they walked up to both Lucas and Langris. Turning around, they saw that it was Asta and Yuno along with two other Black Bulls. Finral hung back for a reason only known to him, whereas Charmy was finishing off caring for some other citizens with her Cotton Magic.
"Wow, your magic was so cool there! The way you just defeated that guy with one little swipe of your arm!" Asta tried to motion his own arm down but couldn't due to them both being injured. "Oh, yeah…", he awkwardly chuckled.
The injured mage then spoke to the other mage next to him. "Oh, hi there, Lucas! Long time no see", he smiled.
"It's been a while, Asta, but… what happened to your arms?" Lucas pointed, worry present in his blue eyes.
"These? Yeah, one of the guys from the Third Eye really did a number on them but I'm sure they'll be okay soon enough", Asta said confidently.
"We also fought one of the Third Eye on our mission as well, but they didn't injure us as much as you", Lucas smiled.
"Hey, Yuno already teased me about that!" Asta shouted, jumping up and down.
"What can I say, Lucas and I both have great minds", Yuno shrugged, putting one hand on Lucas's shoulder.
"Why you…!" The Black Bull grunted. "Anyway, it's been so long but I guess I don't have to ask you two, right?" Asta grinned.
"Hmph. Of course, you don't", Yuno replied, sticking his neck up and smiling back at his foster brother.
The Dual mage looked at both but didn't understand what they were alluding to. "Um… what are you two on about?"
"I'm asking if you've gotten stronger since the last time we met!" The Anti mage said.
"Come on now, Lucas. You should know what a meathead like Asta is always thinking about", Yuno added.
Lucas started laughing. "Haha, of course, we've gotten stronger. But between Yuno and I, I wonder who'll take the victory?"
"Me", the Wind mage said quickly as if it was a fact.
"Hm, I wouldn't be so sure", Lucas pumped his fist. "Perhaps we'll spar against each other soon".
After this, Lucas's eyes shifted to one person behind Asta. It was the small girl that was taking care of the citizens. She just finished and left them to recover whilst she started to walk up to where everyone else was. She was fidgeting and taking glances at Yuno every few seconds as she did, however. Lucas remembered seeing her before during the zombie invasion.
"It's that little kid from back then…", Lucas pointed, earning an angered look from Charmy.
She stopped her shy actions and now ran all the way forwards to speak, or rather shout, at the Dual mage.
"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm not a little kid! I'm actually 19-years-old which is much older than you!" She screamed, pointing up at Lucas.
Lucas protested his innocence by flailing his arms. "I'm s-s-sorry! It's just… when the zombie invasion happened, I saw you eating something from underneath one of the tables at the awards ceremony!"
"So, you associate me being small and having a snack to being a little kid?!" Charmy shouted, not lowering her frustrated tone at all.
Lucas looked over to Yuno trying to urge him to help him out but all the black-haired mage did was shrug.
"Hey, you said you were stronger than me so you're on your own for this", Yuno replied much to Lucas's dismay.
Thankfully, Asta tried to help.
"Miz Charmy… I think you should give Lucas the benefit of the doubt, haha", Asta scratched his neck, trying to calm the small glutton down.
Folding her arms and pouting, Charmy nodded. "Fine. But I'll be expecting a few muffins as an apology".
"You want muffins…?" Everyone but Langris thought.
"Lucas and Yuno. How do you know these two?" The Spatial mage interrupted. It seemed like he was just listening in to everyone's antics but he wasn't impressed at all judging by the light strain on the side of his head. His usual smile, or rather smirk, was non-existent. It seemed to have disappeared even before Asta started talking.
"Asta's just a friend from the Black Bulls and I guess Charmy is from the same squad as well. We were in Nean together during the whole Eye of the Midnight Sun thing over there", Lucas explained, looking at Asta and then back to his vice-captain.
Langris slowly nodded his head as if he was putting some things together in his mind. "So, Asta, was it? Since you're in the Black Bulls, can you tell me if that cowering person behind you really is Finral?" He pointed as his voice grew snarky.
The ashen-haired mage looked confused. "Of course, it's Finral but I don't think he's cowering…", he turned his head to see the person in question but it really did look like he didn't want to be there. "Finral, what's up?"
Finral just smiled awkwardly, not replying. He sweat-dropped and tried to look anywhere else other than at Langris.
"Oh, it really is Finral. I never would have thought I'd run into you here! My older brother really can surprise me, huh?" Langris smiled, though it really wasn't quite the typical smile you'd associate with seeing a family member.
Lucas just stared at the two. "I think I heard about the Vice-Captain having a younger brother but that was really the only thing. I don't know much else".
"Nice to see you again, Langris. How are you doing?" Finral asked, now joining the rest of the group.
"Oh, I'm great. How is a weakling like you doing these days? Still the pack mule of the Black Bulls?" Langris mocked, shaking his head.
All four others widened their eyes in response to such a thing to be said from a younger brother to their older sibling.
Of course, the first person to say anything was none other than the magicless Asta.
"How dare you say such a thing to my teammate?! I'll have you know that Finral is awesome! I only defeated our enemy at the Underwater Temple because of him and his Spatial Magic!" Asta protested, flailing his legs everywhere since he couldn't use his arms.
"Wow, that's a shock! He's gotten a bit useful over the years! Who knows, maybe he'll finally have the guts to speak up for himself one of these days but… It looks like he got a dirty peasant like you to defend him here so perhaps I was wrong?" He pouted.
Lucas, Asta, and Yuno all grew angrier at this. Sure, there was this negative view around peasants and commoners that the upper class had, but to actually see someone they know, let alone one of their own squad members, say these things really reinforced the class difference.
"Vice-Captain Langris… I knew he had some distaste for people like us but I never saw him act like Alecdora. Did I delude myself into thinking he was actually different from the rest?" Lucas sighed, realising his mistake.
"Yuno. Why is the Vice-Captain being even more a bastard than he usually is?" Bell asked through their link. She was just silently watching this all unfold.
"Wow, that's quite the word coming from you, Bell. Though, I'd have to agree. I'm not sure what the reason is but even if there was a good one, you shouldn't talk about your family like that", he replied
"V-Vice-Captain, Langris… I think you should -", Lucas tried to help cool things down but was cut off by a large shout coming from Asta who was then also cut off by Finral next to him.
"Sorry. You don't need to defend me, you two", Finral raised his hand. He turned around with his eyes closed but a half-smile across his face. His breathing was ever so slightly out of rhythm but it was expected with what was happening. Finral opened his mouth again and said the words which really surprised the others.
"Everything that Langris is saying… it's true, haha", Finral laughed.
Langris turned around and started walking towards the unconscious Yagos. "Look, the Golden Dawn have already taken care of most of the enemies. Even the captain got involved so I don't see the need for the Black Bulls to be here". He turned around and smirked again.
The Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn took a good look at Asta and Charmy, and then directed his disgusted, yet oddly smirking face back at Finral.
"Actually, answer me this and I'll get out of your sight. Why are the Black Bulls even here in the first place? Surely, it can't be to help us? Let's see… you've got some stinky foreigner as a captain who doesn't look like he even showers, a couple of bums that think they're strong because all they do is fight and make a mess… Oh, you do have a royal but…can she even be called that? She's practically been abandoned by her own family… and then you have some toddlers here with the peasant acting like one and the other one looking like one!"
Finral's eyes widened at this. Sure, the others were just as gobsmacked and were ready to say something but something about Finral's determination overpowered the rest. He took a strong step forwards and shouted back at his younger brother.
"You want an answer? I'll give you one. The Black Bulls are here to take your spot as the number one squad in the kingdom and we'll definitely achieve it! My magic may not be comparable to yours but it will definitely make my squad the strongest! Say what you want about me, but don't you dare talk down on my squad!"
Lucas was taken aback at this outburst from Finral but he was happy to see that happen because, quite frankly, Langris deserved every bit of that.
"I didn't think he could say something like that from looking at appearance. I guess that's why they say not to judge a book by its cover", he smiled.
"I'm pretty sure the vice-captain was asking why they were in Nean, not about the Black Bulls in general…", Bell commented.
"Not now, Bell", Yuno sighed.
Langris was startled too but not too much considering he went back to his usual demeanour. "Hm, I guess you can be a bit scary at times".
During the exchange between the Magic Knights, Yagos was bleeding out from his gaping wound on the right side of his body. His vision was blurring and his head was pounding. All he could see was the culprit that did such damage to him.
"That Vice-Captain… and, oh!" Yagos looked next to Langris and saw the previous enemy he was up against. "So, you did manage to catch up… to me!"
Flashes of images went across his mind and his face grew angrier but it also contained a bit of fear. He saw the Diamond Kingdom, an army of soldiers, but then the last image caused him to make a move. It was Professor Ren with his grimoire wide open.
"AHHHHH!" Yagos shouted, bringing everyone's attention right back at him.
"Tsk, I thought he was down and out", Langris moaned.
"Mucus Recovery Magic: Mucus Wraps!" He shouted as he closed the large wound on his right. It wasn't enough to stop the bleeding completely, but he did close up the wound enough for the pain to decrease.
"Everywhere I go, I'm met with people defying what I want. First it was information from you…", Yagos stared at Lucas. "... and when I wanted to save face, that other guy got in my way!" His gaze switched to Langris. "I've had enough at this point. If I'm going to return to my kingdom, I need to have done something worthwhile…!"
Yagos's magic exploded outwards and covered most of the street and even further. Lucas and the others were far enough to not get caught in it but the same couldn't be said for the people Yagos just grabbed.
His Mucus Nail spell grew larger and spread across a large area, grabbing the same people that Charmy and the others were caring for. The snail's tentacles stuck onto them and had started to weaken them, draining them of their energy.
"Yagos!" Lucas ran forwards, shouting. "You gave me a whole speech on why you didn't want to involve innocents so what are you doing right now?!" The mage's grimoire was out and ready to fight.
"Shut up, you annoying little… I wanted information out of you but you didn't help me out. I guess… my morals mean nothing compared to what I have to deal with back home if I don't do anything worthwhile!" Yagos replied, getting angrier.
Lucas was about to fight but Langris stopped him.
"You, don't bother wasting your energy. I'll handle it", Langris instructed.
Lucas nodded and took a few steps back, nearer to where Asta and the others were standing.
"I say that but… it looks like if I do something, those people in the mucus will get caught up in it…", Langris said to himself. "Ah well, I guess they'll be noble sacrifices for the peace of the kingdom. Honestly, they should be honoured". The Spatial mage went to swing his arm forwards, already surrounding it in the eerie energy.
"WAIT!" Everyone screamed, prompting Langris to pause.
Behind Langris, stood a line of disgusted Magic Knights all with their grimoires out and ready. Lucas had his Dual Blades out, whilst Yuno was already surrounding himself in his wind, ready to race forwards.
"Vice-Captain! What are you doing?!" Lucas shouted, anger prominent across his face. He clutched the handles of his weapons.
"How could you even… THINK to sacrifice the kingdom's citizens?! We're Magic Knights… does that not mean anything to you?!" Asta screamed, anger seething out of his strained, green eyes.
"Like you have any idea what being a Magic Knight means…!" Langris responded but was swiftly cut off by the magicless Black Bull.
"Miz Charmy, let's go!" Asta shouted, running backwards.
"Roger!" Charmy answered, her grimoire glowing white. "Cotton Creation Magic: Fluffy Sheep Cushion!"
Lucas reached forwards. "Asta, Yuno and I can help as well".
Asta was running backwards into Charmy's cushion spell but still managed to reply. "Nah, you two have done enough today. Why don't I show you how strong the Black Bulls have become?" He grinned as he jumped into the cotton.
Lucas didn't say anything but accepted what Asta said. His Dual Blades went back into his grimoire and he stood, watching the three Black Bulls.
The sheep's stomach absorbed Asta until he disappeared but then flung him out with great speed and power just a second later. The Black Bull was soaring through the air and towards Yagos.
"Who the hell are you?! I've been stopped twice today and no one else is going to add to that!" Yagos screamed, sending some tentacles at him.
Asta didn't say anything to the Shining General but he did give a nod to Finral who was down below to which he responded with his own nod.
The Spatial mage pointed at Asta with his right hand. "Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel's Gate!" This caused a small portal to open up in front of Asta to which he went through, disappearing momentarily. His left hand aimed right above Yagos's head, making another portal and where Asta now appeared.
He couldn't use his arms so he did what he had to. Asta grabbed the Demon-Dweller Sword and yanked it out of his grimoire with his teeth, quickly slashing at Yagos's mucus, making it disappear.
"His… teeth?" Lucas commented, completely surprised.
"That's just Asta for you. He won't even let broken arms stop him", Yuno praised.
"You… what sort of m-magic is that?!" Yagos shouted at Asta, his mind blown.
"It's not magic… but it is something to defeat you with!" Asta shouted, though it was all muffled since his mouth was already preoccupied with something else.
Finral made another portal where Asta fell through and then he appeared right next to Yagos, face-to-face. He slammed the Anti-Magic sword at the old man's body and sent him crashing into a wall. Yagos fell unconscious upon impact.
"Cotton Binding Magic: Sheep Bondage!" Charmy shouted and strings of fluffy cotton appeared, saving the citizens that were falling from the air.
Asta was about to crash land on the floor but a gust of wind saved him.
"Thank you, Yuno!" Asta said as he looked towards his rival, clearly tired as he was breathing heavily.
"Looks like that took a lot out of you. Don't tell me that's all you got", Yuno replied.
"Ah, of course, it's not! I'll heal these arms up and be as good as new". Asta then moved his arms up and down, flinching from the pain thinking no one would notice.
"Do you really have to act so tough?" Lucas added, joining in.
"Hehehe…", Asta sweat-dropped.
Finral and Charmy now joined in, walking up to the rest, while Langris stayed back and was completely silent. The latter was carrying the injured citizens on her cotton.
"We should probably head back to where Captain Yami went", Finral said, forming a spatial portal next to them. He turned back to where his younger brother was. "I'll… see you around, Langris".
"Ah, true. Sorry for barging into your mission like that but I guess we'll meet again some other time", Asta nodded to the two Golden Dawn rookies.
"Bye, guys!" Charmy waved but right before she left along with all the people on her cotton, she turned to Lucas and scowled at him. "Remember. My. Muffins".
"See ya".
After they left, Lucas fell on the floor in a comedic fashion, reacting to what Charmy said. He may very well have made an enemy.
"Lucas, just get her some muffins like she asked and she'll be fine", Yuno said as he helped the mage up.
"Can food really make her forgive me?" Lucas asked, hoping for a 'yes'.
"Hm". Yuno thought back to the zombie invasion and when he met Charmy for the first time. "You know, I think it could".
A few minutes passed and Langris joined up with the other two, though it was quite the toxic environment now. Before today, Lucas and Yuno didn't exactly have a problem with Langris but after seeing the lengths that Langris would go to show his power, there was definitely some distance between the Spatial mage.
"Honestly, I'm glad those idiots are gone. Really, you two shouldn't be around them since it'll look bad for the Golden Dawn", Langris said as he walked past the two.
"Why should we be ashamed of them? Asta is my rival and I'm proud of him" Yuno replied.
"Same here. We're all working towards the same goal in mind. Actually, it was pretty fun with them around", Lucas added.
Langris paused and looked like he was confused. "Huh, what goal could you three be working towards? Now that's something I'd like to know!"
"The goal to become the Wizard King, what else?" The two rookies said in unison. Both of them had confidence in what they said and stood proudly.
However, this sense of pride wasn't reciprocated and it wasn't really a surprise at all at this point.
"The goal is to become the Wizard King? You three? Peasants from who knows where and you want the highest prize?" Langris mocked.
This was the Langris Vaude that a lot of people whispered about amongst the squad. He wasn't the person that Lucas thought he was but even he knew there was something off about him for a while. Perhaps his support during the time when Lucas spoke about his Time Magic was nothing more than him trying to look good in front of Captain Vangeance. Perhaps this person here was the real vice-captain of the Golden Dawn.
"You sure do have a lot to say about that but if there's really something to be ashamed of it's what you were about to do earlier". Lucas spoke up, garnering a shocked look from Yuno who never expected him to say something like that.
"We're all thinking it but… I never thought he'd be the one to say it", Yuno thought.
"Vice-Captain Langris… what were you about to do? Were you really going to kill those people?" Lucas asked, still trying to make sense of things. His blue eyes squinted and a lone spark flew out.
"Yuno, did you see that?" Bell said quickly as she stood up on her host's shoulders.
"Yeah. I've noticed that when he gets angry, he… changes at times. If he were to change now…", his mind went to the Temple of Valchronos and the transformation that Lucas went through.
"... Watch your tone with me, Lucas. You're the only peasant I'm willing to tolerate so don't make it any different", Langris replied, coldly.
"Huh?" Lucas grew angrier. "Are you really going to avoid the questi-!" He tried to say but a random scream and a pinch to his nose stopped him. Lucas winced and saw that it was none other than Bell floating in front of him..
"Ow, what was that for?" He asked, rubbing his cheek.
"Nothing", she teased. "Let's just finish the mission for now and go tie those Shining Generals up".
Lucas took a deep breath and eventually smiled. "Alright", he replied and started heading towards the direction of Lagus and Yagos. Bell hung back a bit and stuck her thumb out at Yuno who nodded in appreciation.
As Lucas went away, Langris piped up.
"Good job on the fairy for doing that otherwise I don't know what I would've done. Please, the next Wizard King?" He shrugged as he walked away.
"What's the problem with our goal? To become the Wizard King, one of us need to become the Captain of the Golden Dawn first. Is that why you're worried?" Yuno asked, the tone of his voice as plain as ever.
Still, this made the vice-captain pause once more.
"You talk about the position of Captain and the Wizard King, but that just means you're completely ignoring the fact that I'm the Vice-Captain…", he noted. His smirk turned into a look of anger and the side of his forehead twitched.
It was then that the sound of thunderous rumbling stopped the heavy atmosphere between Yuno and Langris as both of them looked towards the source.
It was one of the other Shining Generals and he was riding a huge boar made out of red clay. He stormed through one of the buildings right next to Lucas. Thankfully, the people Charmy was caring for were no longer there or else they would be dead. Instead, the only person that was hurt in this situation was…
"Get out of the way you idiots… or actually, who cares? You can DIE!" Brocks shouted as he rode through.
"Light Crea-!" Lucas tried to summon a spell to help him evade the charge but a stomp on the ground from the boar made him stumble. After that mistake, the boar took Lucas with its tusks and planted him right in the middle of its face, slowly absorbing him in and charging all the way towards the world tree.
That wasn't the end of all the commotion as another member of the Golden Dawn showed up. Though, she didn't exactly just 'show up' considering she ran through without even giving Yuno and Langris a single glance.
"Wait up!" Melody shouted aggressively, running along with the help of her Sound Magic.
"What on earth…", Yuno looked around, seeing Lucas disappear into the distance. "We have to go after him, Vice-Cap…!" He turned around to see that Langris had also disappeared.
Bell flew up and expressed her annoyance. "Did that bastard really just ditch us?!"
"It looks like he did. Come on, Bell, let's go after Lucas". The Wind mage was about to follow his teammate but then stopped and turned around as a thought went across his mind.
"Actually… we should restrain those Shining Generals. Lagus and Yagos, was it?" He asked Bell.
"How am I meant to remember some old weirdos' names? I don't think it matters as long as we send them to the kingdom's dungeon", Bell replied. "Do you think Lucas will be alright?"
"He'll be fine. I doubt he'll 'change' now but…", he shook his head. "Nevermind. I consider him a rival too, you know", Yuno praised.
"True", Bell said as the two of them walked over to the two unconscious enemies.
"Ah, there you are, Goldilocks", a voice called out from one of the branches of the giant world tree that was overlooking the entirety of Kiten.
There were many Diamond soldiers caught and wrapped up in multiple branches and vines and it looked like William had accumulated his own private army with how many he had in custody.
William looked below and smiled at the person who called him out and waved. "I didn't think I'd see you here, Yami. How did your mission at the Underwater Temple go?"
Yami jumped up, reaching the same level as the masked mage. "Hm, I thought our mission was top secret. How on earth did you find out about that?"
"Oh, you know how Lord Julius is. He let it slip as we spoke but then again, I'm pretty sure one of your squad members let some of ours know where you were going", he laughed.
Yami took out a pack of his trusty cigarettes and started smoking one. "It was probably the kid who's all busted up. I'll make sure to kill him later".
"Your threats never change, Yami". William sighed. "Anyway, to what do I owe the pleasure?"
Yami blew out a stream of cigarette smoke and sighed. He put the packet back in one of his pockets and looked straight into the World Tree mage's purple eyes.
Just then…
"HAHAHA, I've finally found you! Masked mage of the Clover Kingdom!" Brocks shouted.
The Red Clay mage had just crashed into the trunk of the world tree with his boar still active. It was dripping red clay all the way down from the holes in its body and this was because of the damage it sustained as it just went through and destroyed building after building on its way here.
"Did you really have to interrupt us like this, loudmouth?" Yami sighed, flicking some of the cigarette ash down.
"Brocks. I see you gave Melody the slip", William said.
"HUH? Who's that?" Brocks shouted, not knowing the name of his previous opponent.
"That would be… me!" A familiar sounding voice arrived and crashed right into the armoured Brocks. She appeared just as suddenly as Brocks had and she slammed her two shoes down into Brocks, sending him into the trunk of the world tree.
Yami stood next to William just taking this all in. "Hm, it seems you have a wild one in your ranks as well. Why don't I take her off you?"
"You're funny, Yami, but Melody is with us". He turned his gaze towards the Sound mage and called for her. "What are you doing here, Melody? I thought I told you to stay on safety", he asked, crossing his arms.
Melody landed on the tree branch below and sighed. She turned around to reply to her captain. "I did my job like you asked so I thought defeating one of these guys would be the best thing to do". She was about to go back to Brocks but a wave of William's arm stopped her.
Suddenly, another tree branch formed out of the huge tree trunk, getting in the way between Melody and Brocks.
"Captain?" Melody turned around, surprised at this.
"Knock it off, Melody. You're a bit too high-strung right now", William ordered, some sense of disappointment in his voice.
Melody's green eyes widened and not a second after, she seemed to change. Her orange eyes closed quickly and she bowed down to William.
"Ah, I'm so sorry C-Captain! I know what you told me but maybe I got a bit too ex-excited? I apologise!" She repeatedly bowed, gaining some sweat as it looked like she was pushing herself too much apologising.
"No worries, Melody. Perhaps it was my fault. I know you prefer to work on your own usually", he waved, getting rid of the newly-formed tree branch.
The purple-haired mage stopped bowing, holding her hands together by her stomach, as the sapphire ring on her right index finger glimmered with the setting sun's rays in the distance. "Wh-What would you l-like me to do now?"
"You can return to the base for now. Thanks for your work today", the captain smiled.
Melody left as quickly as she arrived, not spending any more time than she needed.
Brocks boar finally broke apart with the red clay falling down all the way to the base of the tree trunk. Since it was a magic spell, there would usually be nothing inside it, but this wasn't quite the case here.
"Wh-What about m-me…?" Lucas raised a hand as the red clay also fell off him.
"I thought I felt your Ki, Orange-Hair. Looks like you're always in some mess when I see you", he pointed and laughed.
"Captain Yami's here? And he's back with those nicknames…", he sighed.
It looked like Lucas was inside the red boar itself from when he was suddenly taken in its stride. Not even his own reactions could have saved him from being attacked by Brocks' magic like that.
"Yami, if you could sense him then why didn't you say anything?" William shook his head, bringing Lucas towards him with the help of his world tree.
A puff of cigarette smoke filled the air. "Hey, I didn't want to intrude. Besides, he's completely fine".
Lucas was, in fact, not completely fine. First of all, he was covered in bits of mucus and smelled like it as well. Now, after Brocks' wild charge against him, he had wounds all over his body.
"Yeah, he looks in tip-top shape…", William said under his breath.
"Ahaha, I'm fine. I'll just ask Mimosa to heal me up", Lucas said as he held the side of his body.
Yami looked at the injured teen and sighed, blowing more smoke out of his mouth. "Ah, whatever. Kid, I'll take you to Owen in a bit. I'm heading there anyway so you can come with".
"Oh, I don't want to intrude…", he said, but then saw the look in the God of Destruction's eyes.
"I'm not asking what you think. Just come with", he ordered.
"Yes", he quickly replied.
More shouting suddenly roared around and none of the three mages were surprised that it was Brocks coming back up from Melody's attack. He rose from down below, covered in an even bigger, thicker coat of red armour.
"ENOUGH with the setbacks! I am here to kill you and bring the news back with ME!" He shouted, pointing his fist at the masked mage.
"Red Clay Creation Magic: Brilliant Armour's Heavy Artillery!" He gre even more, shadowing the three mages. His focus was only on Captain Vangeance and his large arms reached to grab him.
"Whoops", Yami jumped out of the way, grabbing Lucas by his squad robe.
"Captain Yami?! We need to help Captain Vangeance!" Lucas shouted.
"Just watch, brat", Yami replied calmly.
Right before Brocks grabbed William, he motioned with his right arm and it looked like he threw something down below the Shining General but it didn't seem to do anything.
"Huh, what sort of last-ditch EFFORT was that? Brocks mocked as he finally grabbed William.
"Look again", William said, calmly.
All of a sudden, tree roots started to wrap around Brocks, encasing him in the middle. Only a second passed, and the Shining General was trapped within another, smaller tree, right next to the main world tree.
"World Tree Magic: Mistilteinn Seed", he said calmly as his spell activated.
"What the… What is THIS?" Brocks struggled to move and this was because of the ever-tightening grasp of the tree that absorbed him.
"That was my spell. I threw some seeds down below just before you grabbed me. You didn't notice since you were so focused on me. All that happened was that they cracked open and tree roots came out and formed all around you. Do you feel a little pinch?" William asked, now free from Brocks' grasp.
The enemy mage nodded and then tensed as he felt some mana leave his body.
"Your mana is what powers the spell so thank you for your help. You quite literally dug your own grave", he said as he walked away and back to where Lucas and Yami were.
That was the last they heard of Brocks' outbursts as he fell unconscious.
"Woah. He was so elegant as he effortlessly defeated that guy. I've never seen him like that before… He was with us during the fight against Rhya but the enemy had our backs up against the wall for the majority of the time. Here, it was like this was nothing to worry about…", Lucas praised as he stared at the masked captain. He was in awe. This was one of the first times he saw his captain in action and he did more than just impress.
"Smoke Binding Magic: Binding Cross Prison!"
Another shout emerged out of nowhere and it was Lotus. He bent down onto one branch and pressed his hands against its surface. Clouds of smoke started to gather but the Adjutant General's fight was short lived after a slash from Yami's katana met the man's shoulder, drawing blood from it.
"Ouch. That hurts a lot, you know? How am I going to pick up my youngest daughter in my arms now?" Lotus asked, holding his right shoulder.
Yami stood still next to William. "I don't know. Beats me", he said with a dead expression. "Maybe you should've thought twice about butting into my business.
"Oh? Did you want something from the Golden Dawn's captain as well?" Lotus asked, backing away slightly.
"Like I said. That's my business. Now, how about you scram or I'll kill you", Yami pointed his katana at the man.
Lotus stood silent for a second or two before replying. Though, his reply was about something completely different. "Hey, do you not remember me, Yami? I thought you'd notice who I was and say something by now…".
Lucas and William looked at Yami with questioning expressions but the Dark mage remained indifferent.
"I have no idea who you are, old man!" He shouted, getting angry at this man's insistence to stay.
"What?! I'm only 36! Some people say that's your best age!" Lotus retorted, taking offence.
"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked L-".
"I get it. I get it!" Lotus immediately went to retreat, forming a transport spell out of his Smoke Magic. "Farewell…!"
However, one thing he did manage to accomplish was taking Brocks back with him. He rushed in his direction and transported the smaller tree itself with it balancing in the mode of transport, quickly disappearing in the direction towards the Diamond Kingdom.
"Um… Shouldn't we go after them? Brocks is escaping", Lucas pointed.
"Nah, leave him. The other two Shining Generals you caught would be more help than that pea-brained afro guy", Yami shrugged.
William turned to Yami. "If you didn't stop that guy, his magic would have hit me. Ki, was it? Well, that really is something".
"He used Ki, yet his reaction time was out of this world. I didn't even notice him there until after but Captain Yami moved way before he casted his spell… I have a long ways to go to improve on Ki…", Lucas admitted.
Yami took another cigarette out to smoke. He was on his third one in such a short time. "I'm glad you brought it up first, Goldilocks".
There was an air of silence as the wind flew through the skies, making the leaves of the world tree whistle as they moved against it. The setting sun was shining and illuminated the space between the two captains whilst Lucas was standing off to the side.
"Did you ever read the report on the Nean incident with the Eye of the Midnight Sun?" Yami asked, cutting to the chase.
"Of course, I did. It's always good to know the sort of people we're up against", William replied.
"Yeah, well, their leader, Licht was there as well and I felt his Ki during our fight. It really was quite strong but then I got thinking", Yami explained.
William was silent and let the Dark Magic user continue.
"Eh? Why is Captain Yami going on about that? Ki? What's that got to do with… hang on…". Upon hearing the name of the technique that Lucas learned from Yami, it got him thinking.
Yami continued. "Licht's Ki feels oddly similar to yours. Now, I know you use World Tree Magic as we can clearly see", he said as he took a step in place. "The other guy uses Light Magic… but I've never been wrong when it comes to something like this…".
William smiled, his eyes not moving for even a second. "What are you saying, Yami?"
Silence once more. Yami blew the last smoke of his cigarette before it turned into a tiny butt which he flicked into the hard tree trunk to the side.
"Vangeance… why don't you take that mask off?"
The wind flew through, making the feathers on William's mask dance against it.
Lucas was silent. He didn't want to intrude on what they were saying and he felt like he shouldn't even be here for a conversation like this. But the main thing he was thinking in his head was about what Yami was insinuating.
"They have the same Ki, or is it very similar? If that's the case then… what does that even mean? I've felt Licht's Ki myself but I never made the connection but then again… now that I'm actively thinking about it, the two are very similar indeed…", he debated.
William smiled once more. "Are you sure you want to see what's underneath this mask? I assure you, it isn't pretty".
"Look, I won't care if you're ugly, Vangeance. I mean, look at me! I don't even bother to shave properly so you definitely won't hear anything like that from me", Yami laughed.
"I know what you're implying. You think I might be the Eye of the Midnight Sun's leader, correct?" William asked, though it was entirely rhetorical judging from the accepting look on his face.
"Take it off and we'll see", Yami asked, growing serious.
This was when Lucas interjected.
"Um… should I really be here? I feel like this is way too much for someone like me to witness… I… should go", he said as he started to move.
"There's no need, Lucas. Actually, I was going to show you someday anyway", William assured.
Lucas stood in place, thinking about what his captain just said.
William reached for his mask and slowly took it off, putting it to the side.
Lucas and Yami didn't know what to say to what they saw. Instead of seeing Licht's face underneath the signature mask, they saw the scarred face of the Golden Dawn's captain.
"I assure you this is my real face. Though, I don't blame you for coming to the conclusion that you did. I have been secretive at time and my absences have lined up oddly in favour of the Eye of the Midnight Sun but… that's the extent", he explained.
Yami didn't say anything but he definitely thought something.
"Honestly, I'm glad I was wrong. I've known the guy for 10 years and to think he'd be someone like that would be pretty far-fetched. Although, it doesn't explain their similar Kis. Perhaps it's just a coincidence".
William continued talking, still looking at Yami.
"My scar is something I've had since I was a child. The people around me called me a cursed child and began to fear me. Perhaps it was because I was an illegitimate child of one noble. I spent my childhood up to the age of eight, living in the Forsaken Realm but when my father's heir passed away, I was taken in", he explained.
"Knowing how nobility looks down on you because of any little thing, I guess it wasn't a good time for you, even if you were taken in", Yami added.
"Correct. They hated me, perhaps even more than when I was just a rumour in the household since they had to see me everyday. I was abused beyond recognition at times but… the one saving grace, or the light at the end of the tunnel was my magic. Since I had that, I was able to keep on living with the hope that I'd become something in the future. As I trained for that, I met someone who I thought was quite the character. It was Lord Julius and he was amazed by my magic. To think… someone else - a stranger - saw something in me and my magic. He gave me this mask so I could be confident in myself. This… tacky mask which I still dislike how it looks. I mean, just look at it, it's horrid looking but… I'll always treasure it as it's the first thing that helped me in my journey to be who I am today. The curse will always be a part of me, but because of a stranger's kindness, I learned to be strong in spite of it", William explained.
He turned to Lucas who was silently listening. "I wanted to show you this, Lucas, due to the fact of your own scars. Since the day you joined the squad, I've been thinking about how Richard Kira said those things to you during the Entrance Exam. I'd like you to know… that you aren't alone", he smiled.
Lucas's eyes widened. He knew he had the support from his captain since the first day he arrived but this was something that showed how valued he was in the squad.
"Th-Thank you…", was all Lucas could say at that moment. He sighed as he felt a sense of relief but it wasn't only because of the captain's continued support of him, but because Yami's thoughts about him being Licht were proven untrue.
Yami took his fourth cigarette out of his pack and lit it up. "I apologise for my accusation. Hm, my Ki's always told me the truth so I guess this is one of those freaky moments where nothing seems the way it is. Regardless, I'm glad you're not some evil boss set to destroy the world", he waved as he turned his back.
"Well, I'll be off then, Goldilocks and Orange-Hair", he said as he walked away.
William called for him, grabbing his attention one last time. "Didn't you want to take Lucas to Professor Owen? I think he needs some treatment", he shouted.
Lucas quickly looked over, wondering what on earth his captain had going through his head.
"C-Captain, I'm really alright, see?" He twirled in place but then winced upon stopping as the wounds on the side of his body aggravated.
"Hm, it does look like he needs treatment. Thanks for reminding me…", he said as he grabbed the Dual mage and slung him over one of his shoulders.
"Huh, huh, HUH?" Lucas shouted. "I'm not a bag!"
"You are now, brat. Just be quiet and I'll take you there. There's a pit stop I have to make first", Yami added.
Lucas looked back at his own captain waving him goodbye.
"Yami, take care of him. Actually, why don't you let him stay for dinner? It's been quite a long day" William asked, sticking his finger up as he made a point.
"What on earth is going on here…?" Lucas thought, now giving up his defence.
"Oh, good idea. I'll let him visit the beasts", Yami laughed as he imagined a certain scene in his head.
"... What…", is all Lucas could think as Yami jumped down the world tree.
William stood atop the world tree with his arms behind his back, viewing Kiten and its surroundings as the area grew dark from the setting sun.
"Sorry, Lucas".
"Sorry, Yami".
NOTES:
The Kiten arc is almost over! We still have the case of Daisy and Emilia to go but that will be in the next chapter. I wanted these last 2-3 chapters to mainly be Golden Dawn-based and I think I did that well.
As I mentioned in the disclaimer in Chapter 69, the events concerning Langris, Yagos, and also Brocks, William… pretty much a lot of characters took a change in regards to the canon material but I hope it still worked (I think it did;))
I think you can see the direction I'm going with what happens after Kiten but I hope you enjoy it!
