Chapter 71: At The End of The Day

Disclaimer (there's a few!):

First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good one.

I've also been thinking about something quite cool/interesting to do with the characters in this fic, particularly the OCs. I was thinking that if I give them real-life voice actors then you'd be able to connect the voices and imagine how they'd sound as if it was actually in the anime, if you get me? Just search the anime character up that's in the example on YouTube and you can see :)

So, here are the Japanese voice actors that I'd like/fancast for my OCs:

Lucas - [Yamashita, Daiki] (Example: Deku from 'My Hero Academia')

Daisy - [Hara, Natsuko] (Example: Kanade Kotonoha from 'Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It')

Emilia - [Minase, Inori] (Example: Itsuki Nakano from 'The Quintessential Quintuplets')

I'll add the other fancasts for the other OCs when they next appear so it doesn't get too confusing. I haven't added English Vas since I don't watch dub.

Oh, and another thing. I'll stop having Daisy use the honorific '-san' with 'Lucas-san' as we all get the idea how respectful she is with him and how she addresses him. It'll be normal from now on.


A few minutes after the world tree appeared…

"Psychic Binding Magic: State of Zen".

Emilia focused her palms around Ethan's ill mother who was barely able to walk due to her illness. A purple energy covered the woman and slowly, she closed her eyes and stopped moving.

The commotion outside due to the Diamond Kingdom's invading soldiers was more than enough for anyone to worry, let alone a family struggling with whatever the mother was suffering from.

Around the Blue Rose Magic Knight, there was debris all over the floor. From broken tables and chairs to dust falling from the open and broken ceiling, there was pretty much no space to even see what the floor itself looked like since it was heavily covered. This wasn't only because of the lack of care from the family due to the mother's illness, but also because as every second passed, another attack spell from the enemy would fly overhead, causing the house to shake.

"We really need to leave this house", Emilia said under her breath as she started to panic. Still, her mind was fixated on taking this family of two to safety no matter what. "Ethan, you know this town well. Can you take me to the outskirts while I focus on helping your mother?"

Ethan looked at his ill mother with wide eyes and his mouth started to quiver. He wasn't responding but a shake from Emilia snapped him out of his daze.

"Ethan!" She shook the kid until he responded. "She'll be alright! How about you focus on helping me and you can tell her all about your heroics today when she's all better?"

"O-Okay…!" Ethan nodded as he led the way out, ushering the silver-haired mage to follow. As they were leaving, he asked; "what does that spell do?"

"It puts you to sleep but also stops any injuries hurting you while you're in the spell. I guess it's closer to recovery magic in the sense that you stop hurting but it's only till the spell lasts. That's why we need to get to a doctor quickly before my mana runs out", Emilia explained.

Upon leaving the house from the back door, nothing was too different in the immediate area considering the town was in the middle of an invasion. It was quite weird, though none of the two were going to complain.

"Th-This w-way…!" Ethan pointed as he ran ahead.

Though, the little boy only ran a few steps in front before being stopped by a sudden, overwhelming warmth that surrounded the area.

The Psychic mage followed with the boy's mother floating in a purple, sleep-like state next to her. Just like Ethan, she was forced to stop as the area around her started to turn red. Emilia looked around and saw what was happening.

Flames started to rise from the sides, engulfing a lot of the houses. Ethan's house was the first to burn so it was lucky they had escaped. On top of the burning flames on either side, the sky turned red with a flaming meteor about to crash down onto them.

Emilia didn't panic but was ready to do what was necessary. Her purple eyes started to glow as a page flicked in her grimoire. With a quick breath in, she was about to summon a particular spell but a quick, flashing image of her own ill mother transpired in her mind, distracting her. The attack was about to hit them.

However…

"Gosh, I told you two to stop running around the place! You just won't stay in place, will ya?"

There were mere seconds to go before the meteor-like attack fell down on them, but within that time frame, Emilia managed to see just who was talking from right behind her.

"Ice Magic: Frozen Quake!"

Two hands pressed down onto the floor and the sounds of rumbling covered the area. Quickly, from within the cracks that formed, huge shards of ice exploded out, creating a small tower of ice that pierced through the impending meteor that was up above. Since it was cut through, the rest of the attack was useless and the flames quickly went away with the two halves of the floating rock falling down onto the hard, icy floor.

"Are you really going to spam the same attacks over and over again, ya lovebirds?" Daisy shouted, skating around on the ground of ice.

"Stop getting in our way, you brat!" A familiar set of voices emerged from one of the rooftops.

It was the enemy couple that were wearing the hooded robes. Jim and Jill had their hands on their waists and were sighing heavily as they were frustrated with Daisy.

"Daisy!" Emilia called out from the side. She had reinforced her spell with another layer to protect Ethan's mother with one hand, whilst simultaneously shielding the little boy with the other.

Daisy turned around and gasped. "Wow, I didn't think you'd be here! I took these two away from where we separated but they just keep on running and running, trying to tire me out. I guess we just went around in circles and ended up here", she explained.

"Yeah, that's fine… It's just… I'm not really equipped to battle right now considering I have to help these two escape. Daisy, I-", she tried to say but the Ice mage knew what to do.

"It seems like she's not all there right now…", she thought to herself as she looked worriedly at her squad mate. "Don't worry, Emi, I'll buy you some time and handle these guys myself. If I don't, then you should come back and help", she winked. "For now, just get outta here!"

Emilia nodded and Ethan was about to lead the Magic Knight. However, nothing would ever go to plan with a set of enemies overhearing the plan.

"Flame Creation Magic: Serpent's Blazing Acid!"

Jim created the same flaming serpent from earlier and it circled the group of four, trapping them in one place. Ethan couldn't move anymore and so he retreated back to Emilia and his sleeping mother.

"Ha! Do you really think I'm going to let any of you escape?" Jim laughed as he flicked his hair back. "You were lucky last time with that Time mage here but this time, it's a win for us!"

Daisy's face dropped and she got angry. "Hey! What are you thinking trapping a sick mother and her kid? This battle is between us so let them leave!"

"Quiet, you annoying little runt", Jill added, defending her boyfriend. "We'll do whatever we want. That's the way us soldiers roll, so if you don't like it then try to defeat us".

Daisy looked back and saw the same as she did a few seconds ago. Emilia was preoccupied with her duty so it looked like it was up to her to defeat these two.

Her crystal-blue grimoire flicked over to a different page, ready to use.

"Ice Magic: Shard Barrage!" She shouted as her two palms glowed a light-blue colour. A set of powerful ice shards formed in front of her and she shot them at both enemies at differing speeds.

"Flame Magic: Wall of Fire!"

A rising red and orange wall of flame in front of Jill stopped the ice attacks pretty easily. It was big enough to protect both mages so Daisy's spell was useless.

"Don't go getting a big head over you splitting the rock from earlier. We were just surprised with your magic but now we know you're really not all that much", Jill mocked, much to Daisy's frustration.

However, it wasn't like the Blue Rose was going to give up so easily. Instead of showing how annoyed she was, she carried on trying to break through.

Daisy went through most of her spells trying to get the upper hand but Jim and Jill were easily blocking them with their Flame Magic. After all, ice wasn't the best against fire.

"It's clear my normal spells aren't working here but Flame Magic is something I've specifically trained against in the last few weeks. I've had an idea to use a more powerful spell for a while but I haven't made a breakthrough… Looks like I'll have to make it work here since there's no other option!"

During this, Emilia kept trying to find a way out but as she tried to move, Jim's flaming serpent would shoot out more flames. The Psychic mage could easily get rid of the burning flames it shot but actually overpowering the spell itself was a different matter.

Ethan was growing worried looking at his mother as the seconds went by.

"Being stuck here… it's not good for her", he rolled his hand into a fist. "I have to do something!" He shouted as he stared at the hissing snake.

Emilia looked over, eyes widened as she saw just what Ethan had in mind. His palms began to glow red as multiple flames formed around them. He also had Flame Magic, ironically enough, and was about to use it against the snake. In the seconds between Ethan started generating his magic and when he'd actually move, Emilia was lost in thought, as if a plethora of thoughts were rushing through her mind.

"Honestly, this situation isn't all that difficult when I think about it. I can use my Psychic Magic against that snake and help Daisy as well but… when I look at Ethan's mother… I see my own".

Her mind pictured her mother in a bed with all those tubes going in and out of her stomach. She was still like a statue when otherwise she'd be so lively. Emilia blinked a few more times and her mother was replaced by who was actually there - Ethan's.

"Maybe I was hesitating since… I don't want anything to happen to this boy's family. It's not like I see myself in him but I do understand his worries. However… just staying like this is not helping anyone!"

Snapping back to the present, she saw Ethan start to move forwards.

"Don't", Emilia whispered as she put a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Miss… but what else can we do?! My mother is…", tears formed from his eyes.

The silver-haired teen smiled. "Hey, why don't you protect your mother instead of me while I do something about that snake?"

"But it looked like using that spell on my mother took a lot out of you. Are you sure?" Ethan asked, frowning.

"Haha! Look at you all worried for me. I never said it took a lot out of me but maybe I didn't do as much as I could", she stood up and smiled. "Let me show you how strong I really am?"

She walked forwards, leaving Ethan with his sleeping mother. Her eyes glowed again and she raised both her arms towards the hissing snake.

"Psychic Creation Magic: Prismatic Slicer!" Emilia shouted, garnering shocked looks from Jim and Jill whilst Daisy wore a huge smile on her face.

"Finally!" Daisy internally screamed, knowing the outcome of this particular spell.

The 17-year-old formed a triangular prism around the snake at three points on the ground. A rush of psychic energy started to vibrate all around until purple waves of mana were flowing upwards. Within seconds, a massive amount of psychic power shot out from the middle, destroying the snake as if it was nothing. Not even ash was left in the wake of the snake's destruction.

"Impressed?" Emilia turned and asked Ethan.

"Wow…", was all he could muster as his mind was filled with all sorts of things, all positive regarding the Magic Knight and the power she displayed.

"Flame Magic: Lava Rockfall!" The enemy duo saw Emilia move and thought this was their chance to really ruin the Magic Knights' time.

Jim and Jill used the exact same magical attribute, funnily enough, and were using their spells together. They both raised their arms in the air and another, large, flaming rock appeared in the sky, crashing down like it was a meteor.

Daisy sighed. "I've seen this pattern like four times now…".

"You don't care about that old hag? Fine. Looks like it's bye-bye!"

The same flaming meteor formed in the sky that was there earlier. Daisy took a step back, ready to destroy it again but Emilia put a hand by her.

"Let me take care of it. I've been a bit of a pain today, haven't I?" She asked as she looked at her best friend.

"Of course not! But… if you really want to show me that you're serious, then use that spell!" Daisy asked, her arms by her chest and stars in her eyes.

"That? Oh, I get it", Emilia understood.

"Um… aren't you guys getting a bit distracted?" Jim asked, seeing as the Magic Knights didn't look like they were paying much attention at all.

"Leave them. Maybe they're just saying their final words to each other before they die?" Jill tried to explain.

Emilia looked above and pointed her right finger at the falling rock, covering it in a purple aura and stopping it in place.

"Psychic Magic: Return!"

The spell made the Diamond soldiers' own attack go right back at them. The flaming spell they summoned was the reason for their own defeat as they fell down from the rooftop and onto the floor with their own, flaming meteor sitting on them, crushing them with its weight.

"BOOM!" Daisy shouted as she pumped her fist in celebration. "Such a cool spell…", she said under her breath.

She looked towards the two soldiers and realised if they left them like this, they'd burn away into ash and that wasn't really the result they wanted from this.

"Ice Magic: Skater's Heaven", she summoned calmly with a stomp on the ground. The ground had another layer of ice form on it on top of the one from before. It quickly reached the two enemies and cooled down the meteor.

"What on earth…",

"... just happened?"

The two said in unison before falling unconscious

Daisy and Emilia walked up to each other seeing if both of them were alright. Thankfully, the battle itself did no damage to them so it was a largely positive moment.

"I can't stay for long since I need to help these two", Emilia explained as she smiled at Daisy.

"There's no more… commotion it seems. I guess the Golden Dawn sorted the problem out wherever they are. Still, be careful on your way", Daisy lightly tapped her friend with a fist to her arm.

"I say that but we've wasted enough time here. Realistically, I need to get these two to the hospital at the Royal Capital but that's miles away. If only we had some-!" Emilia's thoughts were cut off by a familiar shout rushing over to them.

A smoke cloud started all the way in the distance but within seconds it reached the Blue Roses. There was a man with light-brown hair running at them like it was a short distance race of some sort. He had pumping, pink hearts in his eyes and as he reached them, he instinctively went on one knee and raised one of his arms as if to take their own.

"Why hello there, young ladies. I saw you all on your own and thought I'd give you some company", he said with a deeper voice that he quite clearly put on for effect. "Let me accompany you wherever you need to go. I will make your wishes come true".

Both Daisy and Emilia reacted the same as each other. Not impressed and with complete deadpan expressions. There was no response for over a minute so the man opened his eyes and recognised both of the girls he had just hit on.

"Ah! Emilia, wh-what are you doing here?!" Finral shouted, slightly backing away.

"Hello there, Finral", Emilia waved. "Actually, good timing, weirdly enough. I need your Spatial Magic!"

Daisy squinted. She knew Finral from back in Nean but that was the extent of it. It seemed like Emilia and him were more acquainted considering she asked him something like this.

"Hey, I'm here as well", Daisy pointed to herself, not really understanding the situation past the point where he flirted with the two.

"Oh, hi there", he said whilst still focusing on the Psychic mage.

It wasn't quite the type of staring one would have if they found someone attractive or interesting, but more of a stare that implied he really didn't feel like seeing the person again and hoped they wouldn't say anything weird.

Finral then looked behind Emilia and saw Ethan and his mother, beginning to understand the situation at hand. He calmed down and took his grimoire out, forming a grey and white portal in front of him.

"Hop in. We're off to the hospital anyway so you can come with", he said with a serious expression so quickly after his flirtatious one.

Daisy and Emilia looked at each other and nodded before entering the portal along with Ethan and his sleeping mother. The Magic Knights also dragged the two enemy soldiers that were encased in Ice Magic right through.

Not even a second after arriving, Yami appeared with a dark, purple aura surrounding him. He looked down at Finral and grabbed him by the head.

"Where on earth did you go?" He asked, or rather he demanded to know.

"L-Long story…", he said with an awkward laugh.

"And who the hell are all of these people?!" Yami added, seeing all the newcomers now around him. The only one he recognised was Daisy as…

"Oh, it's Ribbon-Princess", he said plainly.

Daisy sighed and shook her head, cringing at the nickname that the captain had assigned her. "Hi, Captain Yami…".

"Again… It's a long story but that woman there needs medical attention. We're going to the doctors anyway so might as well take them", the nobleman explained to Yami.

"The more the merrier", Charmy added as she came into view on her cotton cloud.

"Yeah, I guess so", Yami nodded, calming his aura down.

One main thing that the Blue Roses noticed about Captain Yami was that he had two teenagers over both of his shoulders. One boy had his arms wrapped in a white cast, whilst the other had a few recent injuries on his body, as well as the fact he smelled really bad.

"Lucas! Oh, and Asta too!" Daisy pointed, getting closer. "What happened to the two of you? Oh my God, you smell terrible, Lucas!" She said as she pinched her nose.

"Haha, hi there, Daisy…", Lucas waved. This was embarrassing for him but he couldn't really do much with him being in Yami's clutch.

"Long time no see…", Asta added, much the same as Lucas.

Yami heavily sighed this time.

"Listen, all of you. Get your introductions out of the way once we're at the hospital. I don't want to stay here any longer and if you waste any more of my precious time, I might just kill you lot!" He shouted, the dark aura returning after it had left momentarily.

"Yes, Sir". Every Magic Knight replied as quickly as possible, trying not to anger the Dark Magic user anymore.


A few minutes later, the group had arrived. After discussing a few, short plans with one another the group went their own ways for now. Finral and Charmy went off towards the dungeon, taking the two enemy mages away from the Blue Roses. Daisy and Emilia took Ethan and his mother to another doctor that was in the same hospital as Owen, whilst Yami took Lucas and Asta to Owen himself seeing as he knew the man personally.

In a room towards the end of a long hallway, Ethan and his mother were in a room after being treated for any injuries that they may have sustained during the invasion earlier. The boy fell asleep on a smaller bed next to his mother, whilst there was a nurse running some tests on the frail woman that the Blue Roses had brought in.

Daisy and Emilia were sat on a bench outside the room with an open window next to them, facing the setting sun that was bringing an orange colour to the sky above.

"Phew. Now, that was a long day", Daisy said as she kicked her feet up and down, leaning back and staring outside.

"It sure was. The day started off with a string of thefts and then it turned into so much more", Emilia sighed as she did the same as the girl next to her.

"Oh, what was Finral's deal earlier? It seemed like you two knew each other but maybe it was a bit more than that", Daisy asked, turning her head to the 17-year-old.

"Ah, yeah. A few months ago, I was at another mixer that my friends had invited me to and he was there, opposite me. He tried impressing me with all his flirting and whatnot but ultimately, I didn't see it working out so I rejected him", she explained, giggling.

Daisy tilted her head. "Why are you laughing? Did you reject him in a really funny way?"

"Oh, no, quite the contrary. As I stood up to leave, he offered to walk me back home but in his rush, he spilled some of his drink all over my clothes… It's safe to say that that night wasn't the best experience for any of us", she shook her head.

Daisy stood up, laughing as she imagined the scene. "Wow. To think that the calm and collected Emi would have her night ruined by an all-powerful drink", she smiled smugly and put her hands together.

"Hey, don't describe it like that!" Emilia protested by pulling Daisy back to the bench.

There was laughter coming from the two of them but it stopped again once Emilia asked Daisy a question. It was something that was on her mind since the start of the Diamond invasion.

"So, what's the deal with Lucas? I met him at the mixer, like you know, but he told me he had Light Magic. I didn't think it'd be something he had to hide though", she asked, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh, he has both. Cool, right?" Is all that Daisy said initially before returning to silence.

"Huh?"

"HUH?!"

Emilia proceeded to shake Daisy back and forth seeing as she gave the bare minimum as an answer to something that had been bugging her. Daisy's head wobbled back and forth and then she burst out laughing once more, agreeing to finally answer her properly.

"Okay, okay! Fine…", she gasped, taking in air after her bout of laughter. "He's always had Light Magic but the first time he revealed his Time Magic was when we were in Nean…".

After this, Daisy explained all she could regarding Lucas since his dual attributes really weren't a secret anymore. She talked about the fight with Draien and the Third Eye but didn't mention the abuse since she didn't really know anything about it either apart from the fact that he has scars on his face.

"Woah. Now, that really is something…", she said slowly with her purple eyes open wide as she was processing what she was told.

Just then, the nurse came out of the room, startling the Blue Rose duo but they quickly composed themselves once more.

"Oops, sorry to startle you two", she smiled. "The patient will be alright for now. We've prescribed some medicine and after a few days, she'll start to get better".

Daisy and Emilia both smiled at the news and after a few more bits of info from the nurse, she left. After a few minutes, the sky outside was now a dark-orange which showed that night was almost here suggesting that it was time to go.

"Should we head back? Man, I'm starving!" Daisy rubbed her stomach as she thought of all the food she'd chow down later.

"You can head back. I think I'll stay a while and then head back later. I think… I'll speak with Doctor Owen in a bit and really process the deal with my own mother and then visit her tomorrow. Of course, that means telling Captain Charlotte about it as well but I think that it's something I should do on my own, you know?" Emilia sighed, but replaced it with a smile showing she was ready to talk about it.

Daisy, understanding the situation and not wanting to add her own thoughts, nodded. "Good idea, Emi. Just remember that whatever you're going through is definitely not a burden. We're all here for you!" She stuck up her two fingers on her right hand, giving a peace sign.

"Haha, I'll remember that", she returned the gesture. "I guess you'll have to chow down on your food without me".

Daisy paused.

"Hang on… did you just read my mind?"

"No way. Who, me? Read your mind? That's preposterous!"

"Emi smells and looks ugly". Daisy thought to herself.

"Hey!" Emilia replied, offended.

"Ha! I knew it!" Daisy walked over, karate-chopping her friend in the middle of her head.

"Ow…", Emilia rubbed her head, pouting.

A few seconds passed and the two smiled. They proceeded with a hug and the Ice mage left the hallway going towards the stairs that led outside the building.

"I guess I'll ask Finral for a portal back to the base".


During the time the Blue Rose Knights helped take Ethan and his mother to the nurse with great care, the same couldn't be said for how Yami Sukehiro, the Captain of the Black Bulls, took the two patients he had in his clutches.

"Ahhh! You're going to kill me before he even looks at my arms!" Asta screamed in pain, kicking his legs back and forth.

"C-Captain Yami… you're the one dealing more damage than the wounds I already have!" Lucas flailed his legs just like Asta beside him.

Yami had both young Magic Knights in the palm of each of his hands. Asta was in his right whilst Lucas occupied the left.

"Keep quiet, you two. I can't even smoke since both of my hands are preoccupied with you idiots", Yami grunted.

"Let us go and we can walk properly!" Both of them said together, prompting Yami to finally oblige.

Though, it wasn't quite the way Lucas and Asta had hoped to land on their feet since the Dark Magic user flung them in a room towards a middle-aged man with short, spiky-grey hair.

"Yami, I told you to take care of your kids…", he sighed.

Asta and Lucas managed to stand up, now dust covering their bodies due to Yami's throw and them sliding across the floor on their stomachs.

They saw just who the man was and saw that he was wearing glasses that covered his green eyes. The person also wore a white, doctor's coat over a light-grey tunic with some dark-blue trousers and light-brown and white boots.

"Yeah, yeah, don't damage the goods, I got it", Yami said as he finally brought out a cigarette to smoke.

"We're not items for you to call goods!" Asta shouted, jumping up and down.

"Oh, I guess it looks like you're better already, brat. Let's go", Yami said as he took a step forward.

"No, no, I'm sorry!" The ashen-haired mage apologised.

Owen greeted the two youngsters and introduced himself after this. Yami left quite quickly mumbling about winning a game or something which the doctor sighed at whilst the other two didn't really get it.

"I'm a recovery mage that works directly under Julius, the Wizard King but since not a lot of people know me personally, they call me names like 'quack doctor' which really isn't nice of them but, hey, what can you do?" He looked towards the door where Yami left. "Though, even people who know me call me that but there's no need to tell these two".

"You work under the Wizard King? Then you must be quite strong. Could you be the kingdom's strongest recovery mage?" Lucas asked.

"The strongest? Hm, I don't know about that but I do know my stuff. Actually, did Yami ever tell you how I reattached his arm after it almost fell off after a mission?" Owen laughed.

"What?! He's never even mentioned that before!" Asta exclaimed, completely surprised.

"Haha, it's no wonder. He was screaming in pain back then so it's probably not a good memory. Anyway, let's get on to the topic, shall we? We don't want him hearing this gossip and getting angry". Owen turned around and put his table on view.

It had different types of surgical equipment on but he quickly moved them all away until it was clear. He pulled up another chair opposite him and on the end of the table, ready for Asta's and Lucas's treatment.

"It looks like I'm just doing a bit of normal healing today so I won't need all that stuff. My magic is enough. So, who'll be going first?" Owen asked, prompting the two Magic Knights to look at one another.

"Go on, Asta, your injuries are worse than mine", Lucas nodded.

"Nah, your wounds are recent and it looks like they'll be easy to heal. I'll just wait here", he replied.

"If you say so", Lucas added as he sat down opposite the doctor.

Owen brought his hands to the top of the table and Lucas followed. The doctor opened his grimoire and the room started to glow a very light-blue colour.

"Water Recovery Magic: Qualle Operation".

The bright colour around the room condensed and a multitude of jellyfish started floating about around the three. It looked like they were swimming in the air with how their stingers and tentacles were moving around.

Speaking of which, a few tentacles wrapped around Lucas's arms and legs, focusing on where the wounds actually were and they quickly pumped a burst of cold water vapour out, soothing the injuries and then removing them as if they were never there in the first place.

"That… was so fast! No wonder you work with the Wizard King!" Lucas praised as he stood up and began stretching his arms and legs, checking if they were alright.

"This is the second time you've been here, right? I remember Cyrus telling me treated a Magic Knight from the Golden Dawn when I was away", Owen asked.

"Aha, yeah… that was me", Lucas replied. He was a bit self-conscious knowing that the hospital already knew about him because of his injuries.

Owen saw this and assured him everything was fine. "Don't worry, Lucas. It's just standard procedure to let me know about all the coming ins and goings".

Asta tilted his head, wondering when Lucas would have been here but realised not a second later.

"Was that after the whole Nean incident when you used your Time Magic for the first time? We were all worried but Daisy assured us that you'd be fine", he asked.

"So it's true? I mean, I read Cyrus's notes on you when he helped out but actually having it confirmed in front of me is quite something", Owen nodded.

"Yeah, I use both Light Magic and Time Magic. I only focused on one of them for a long time but I'm getting used to them both now. It's a bit complicated but I'm fine with it", Lucas explained.

The doctor was about to ask more questions but a quick look outside showed him that the sun had only a few hours to go before it was completely night, forcing him to pick up the pace.

"Ah, look at the time… Sorry about this but I'll treat Asta right now. I've got another appointment after this which is quite important as well", he said with an awkward chuckle, scratching his hair.

Lucas stood to the side whilst Asta got on the chair next to him. The healing process began once more.

"Water Recovery Magic: Qualle Operation".

The scene just before was out and replicated in full view once again with the jellyfish swimming around. They wrapped their tentacles around Asta's arms and were just about to start healing them when Owen suddenly flinched as he saw something different compared to the injuries before.

He took his glasses off and turned towards Lucas.

"Lucas, could you wait outside for a few minutes? This may take a while due to the nature of these injuries".

"Uh, yeah, sure", Lucas nodded as he walked out.

The Dual mage stood outside, far enough to not hear what Asta and the doctor would discuss but eavesdropping wasn't even on the mage's mind in the first place. It was the sudden change of Owen's expression that worried him but he didn't think too much else into it since he heard a pair of footsteps coming from around the corner.

"Oh, there you are, Lucas", the Spatial mage waved as he came into view.

"Yo, Finral", the Dual mage waved back.

"Everything went all right with healing then? Hm, where's Asta?" Finral asked, looking around.

"He's still with the doctor but… ah, nevermind", Lucas smiled. "Would it be too much to ask for a portal back to the Golden Dawn when you're all done here? I think I left my broomstick at Kiten and well… that's quite far away now", he asked.

"Yeah, that's fine by me. Are you staying out here for now?" Finral asked. His mind was stuck on Lucas's 'nevermind' comment as he replied. "Seems like something bothered the kid or am I reading too much into it?"

"Thank you! I'll just wait outside for now. This is the second time I've been here for my injuries and I'd like to get out as soon as possible!" He laughed, turning around to leave.

Finral waved as Lucas's shadow left the hallway. "It was probably nothing", he assured himself. The mage then walked towards the operating room where Asta was. He was about to enter but the words that he heard from Owen's mouth changed the general, happy feeling that he had into one of complete shock at first and then a bubbling sadness afterwards. His eyes widened as he heard what Owen had to say.


A few minutes passed after this and Lucas was standing outside, leaning against one of the hospital's walls, just staring into the orange sky above. To his side, he saw a familiar orange-haired teen walk over to him, waving.

"Hey there, Luca-! OOHH, you still stink!" Daisy started waving but quickly stopped to pinch her nose.

Lucas sighed but then went to smell himself. "Ew, you're definitely right! Hang on, if it wasn't bothering me so much then have I gotten used to the smell already?"

"You sure have, Stinky Lucas", she teased.

Lucas turned to face the Ice mage but then quickly reached out to hug her. This surprised Daisy and she started to shout with her face making a scared expression.

"Ahaha… Lucas, I know you've always wanted to hug me since you love me and all… but I really don't want that smell all over me!" She flailed her arms, trying to stop the impending hug.

"It's impressive how you can make a joke even in a situation like this!" He said as he arched over her, his arms above her just moments away from passing on the smell.

However…

"Cut it out, ya school children. If you're gonna do all that then ya might as well play Kiss-Chase while you're at it".

The sound of Captain Yami's complaint loomed over them and from the side, he appeared with a large bag beside him. His comment stopped Lucas in his tracks, turning his cheeks a bright pink colour.

"I mean… should we?" Daisy turned, her blue and violet tinted eyes turning big like a puppy's.

"No!" Lucas screamed, backing away.

"Haha, just joking!" Daisy stuck her tongue out.

At this moment, the main door to the hospital flung open and Asta and Finral emerged, one after the other. The injured mage walked out first whilst the Spatial mage slowly followed.

"Sorry for the wait, everyone! Let's head back to the base!" Asta shouted, seeming happier than usual. He turned to his captain and eyed up the massive bag he was carrying. "What's in there?"

"Just a bunch of goodies I gambled for- uh, I mean completed a mission for. Anyway, we've been waiting ages for you, brat", Yami lied. "Now that we're done here, it's time to leave. Orange-Hair, Ribbon-Princess, you two are coming with", he pointed as Finral formed a portal in front of them.

This came as a complete surprise to Daisy, but Lucas knew just what the Dark Magic user was on about since his own captain pawned him off for the night.

"What do you mean, Captain Yami?" Daisy asked, confused.

Yami sighed and grabbed the two mages with his free hand. It seemed like he had learned the art of carrying two humans in one hand after the complaints Asta and Lucas had earlier. He threw the two through the spatial portal and jumped in after them

"I mean… you're coming to have dinner with us, the worst squad in the kingdom! Can you handle it?"


Miles away in the east, in a kingdom completely different to the one that represents the clover, sat a group of mages, all in a row of chairs, and in a dark room with the sunset behind them, showing through a large, glass window. There was also a man facing the set of mages and kneeling on the floor, speaking to all of them.

"So, two of the Shining Generals that were sent on the mission have been captured by the Magic Knights?" A man with circular glasses repeated. He was wearing a long lab coat.

"Yes, Morris. Furthermore, almost all of the soldiers we sent to accompany them have also been imprisoned", Lotus explained, his head down.

Morris stood up and walked towards Lotus, offering a hand. "World Tree Magic… i'm intrigued at what else it's capable of but regardless, losing Lagus and Yagos has really hurt the Diamond Kingdom".

Lotus accepted the hand and stood up. "We brought back Brocks so that should be some kind of positive, right?"

"Hm, I doubt it considering Ren is with him right now", Morris replied.

"Ren?!" Lotus exclaimed. "You do know what he'll do, right? The invasion was something he thought up in the first place!"

From the row of chairs, another man, younger than most of the others, stood up and put a hand to Lotus's shoulder.

"Calm down. It's not good for the elders to keep on worrying about everything. Ren does what he needs to since he has the kingdom's prosperity at heart. Isn't that right, Mars?" He turned to the right as his medium-length, blond hair moved alongside him.

"Indeed", was all the spiky-haired soldier could say.

"Whatever the case, that was the final mission we had for the Old Generation. Going forward, the New Generation are to take control and do whatever is necessary for the Diamond Kingdom. Are you all prepared for what that means?" Morris asked, facing the rest of the mages on the chairs.

They all stood up as if they were completely in sync. All of them wore the traditional Diamond soldier attire and their eyes seemed to glow as the sun's light reflected off them. The room darkened and the only thing that was left to look at were the different stone jewels embedded in their bodies.

In another room across the hallway, sat Brocks strapped to a chair with chains around his body. Next to him, stood the pure, yellow-haired professor known as Ren. His grimoire was out of his satchel and was floating right in front of the Red-Clay mage's terrified eyes.

"Let me get this straight. According to Lotus, you challenged someone from the Golden Dawn and then… ran away? Fair enough, perhaps she was strong but then again, I thought the self-proclaimed greatest Shining General would pose a bigger threat. But I digress… Then, instead of killing, or even capturing the Golden Dawn's captain, you were defeated with ease. Hm, so tell me this - Are you even worth keeping alive?"

Brocks tried to speak and protest but no words escaped his mouth. It wasn't as if he had lost his voice or something happened to it. It was more the fact that his mouth was taped shut just like the rest of his body had been. Still, he tried to signal something by moving his fingers, his feet, or even by darting his eyes across the room.

"Nothing to say, hm?" Ren's grimoire started glowing and a dark power emerged from it. It was like nothing Brocks had ever seen before and it started to engulf him, starting from his feet and working all the way up to his legs.

"Goodbye, Brocks", Ren said as he began to leave the room.

Not even a second went by and the dark power had moved up all the way to Brocks' torso. He looked down as he didn't sense any pain but when he did, he saw that his legs were gone - ceased to exist. This made him panic but he couldn't do anything. It was a useless struggle.

Eventually, the power took away his upper body and the Shining General was seconds away from dying. The last thing he saw that made any sort of sense was the cover of Ren's grimoire.

It had a three-leaf clover.


NOTES:

I hope the disclaimer at the start made sense regarding the voice actors. I think it's just something cool to do and if you have any suggestions for the other OCs then you can DM or put in a review.

I'm excited for this next arc since I have some big plans for both Lucas and Daisy. Of course, being with the Black Bulls is going to be fun as well since we haven't seen them for a while.

That scene at the end… Ren is crazy!