Chapter 75: Protecting The Witches' Forest

Disclaimer:

An important chapter here! I mean, it's not to say that my other chapters aren't but I am slowly adding some lore here and there so I just wanted to say that ;P!

The chapter references are much the same as the last one:

Chapter 36, 43, and 65.

With that said, I hope you enjoy!


Impossible.

That was the one word going around in the Witch Queen's mind about everything she was seeing in front of her. Her daughter had come back to the Witches' Forest, along with a complete stranger, challenged her to a battle, and both lost immediately.

Vanessa was unconscious and on the floor with the Queen stepping on her head. The stranger, Daisy, was locked up in a cage hanging from the ceiling.

"My divinations told me of the events that are occurring right now but it also means that victory for these abominations is simply… impossible. But…", she eyed the weapons in front of her. "How on earth do those humans have the Demon-Dweller sword as well as…!"

In front of the Queen's pale, teal eyes, stood a duo of Magic Knights ready to attack her. One with the Demon-Dweller sword, with the handle in the user's mouth, and the other had his Dual Blades to the side, turning blue around the edges.

"Let them go!" Lucas and Asta shouted in unison.

The two exchanged a quick glance and a nod at one another. It looked like they had somewhat of the same plan and just needed each other on board.

"Follow me, Asta!" Lucas nodded before he set off.

"You got it!" The Black Bull quickly followed behind.

Lucas jumped towards the left and Asta followed by jumping towards the right. The two Magic Knights were now just above the ground and either side of the Queen who remained still. The Time mage hit his weapons together, giving off the sound of a clang, like metal hitting against each other. He reeled his arms back and was ready to strike with his weapons.

On the other side, Asta turned his head back, generating a bit of power and momentum and quickly thrust his Demon-Dweller forwards and on course to hit the witch in the middle.

"What on earth?!" She exclaimed. She wasn't caught off guard or anything but had fully focused on Asta. "You have no magic at all and have an ancient curse placed on your arms. Definitely quite the specimen, and you even shocked me a little. However, there is no way you, or the one next to me, can even hope to touch me. Hmph".

The Queen closed her eyes and a large flock of crows swarmed Lucas and Asta but there was a third person coming into the fray, assisting the two mages.

"I guess I've got to do what I'm good at, don't I?" Finral spoke up, pointing both of his arms forwards. His left arm was targeting Lucas whilst the right was in Asta's direction. "Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel's Twin Gates!"

He formed two spatial portals and the mages fell through, escaping the angry flock, and reappeared right above the Queen's head, inches away from getting a hit in.

"Good job, Finral!" Lucas shouted.

"Not good enough", the Queen retorted as she quickly dodged both strikes from the attacking teens. They had swung their blades but she had disappeared within seconds.

"What the…?" Asta looked around, bewildered at the speed this woman evaded their attacks at.

Lucas and Asta landed with Finral right behind them. The Queen had moved back towards her throne on the elevated platform and was now near the hanging cage where Daisy was trapped.

"Foolish humans. Did you really invade my home to save these failures?" She lightly brushed her fingers across the cold, metal bars that surrounded the trapped Blue Rose. "You've come to save my daughter who's currently unconscious on the floor there, and alongside my other daughter, Dominante, who's cowering behind a man, no less".

The Queen had her eyes firmly staring at Domina who had taken a step back under all of the pressure from the menacing witch. Fanzell put an arm across, shielding her.

"Daughter?" Noelle asked, confused as there didn't seem to be any familial love between the Queen and the two witches on her side.

"You arrive here without the basic knowledge of who I am? You know that I am the Queen of Witches but you know nothing apart from that? Well, what could I expect from such imperfect humans?"

The Queen of Witches had a dark shadow over her face, casted from the large base of her murky-green witches hat. Her eyes seemed to glow red this time with a specific eeriness to them.

"I knew she'd be powerful but she's also got this overwhelming presence… But I can't give up!" Lucas looked at Vanessa who was still on the floor and then at Daisy who was in the witches cage.

"Now, to answer you, human girl", the enemy witch turned to Noelle. "All the witches in this forest are my direct descendants and that is why they must remain perfect and pure. Unfortunately, three of them had decided to indulge in foreign atrocities…", the Queen shook her head with a heavy sigh.

"Three? But there's only two of them here unless there's someone else…?" Finral wondered.

"Though, I can understand saving Vanessa as she's that valuable. Of course, she has not reached her full potential but that can be changed". The Witch Queen added, shrugging her shoulders.

All eyes landed on Vanessa for a few seconds. Everyone's thoughts were to go and help her but, without really thinking about it, they stayed to see what else the Queen was going to say.

The witch was now looking at Daisy through the metal bars and her eyes grew wider. "But, the one thing I don't understand is wanting to save this… broken, motherless creature. Even my divinations didn't pick up on her showing up which means that she's the most imperfect out of all the intruders", she shook her head.

Daisy flinched with the insults hurled at her from the woman that they've only just met. She was in bad condition with wounds all over her body. Her eyes widened for a brief second before slowly going to close, the blue and violet colour leaving them as she did. Her mind was going haywire with negative thoughts.

"I'm just not good enough".

"I can't help anyone".

"I'm sorry".

"That's enough!" Lucas exclaimed with his eyes looking down at the floor, gripping the Dual Blades tighter than before. "I don't understand your problem with humans and I get that we've entered your home without your permission but even so…!" He raised his head and a stray, blue spark left his right eye. His face grew angrier as the seconds went by.

Her eyes opened again, the colour returning to them. Daisy wore a small smile across her face with what her friend said. "Lucas…".

"Oh? What was that?" The Queen noted, raising an eyebrow at Lucas.

"It's just as Lucas says!" Asta shouted, bending down to pick up his Anti-Magic weapon once more.

"We have your back, you two! Go for it!" Noelle ordered, pointing her wand right at the Witch Queen. "Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Nest!"

Noelle went and formed a half-dome around the opposing witch, trapping her inside.

"We'll launch an attack together this time", Fanzell declared. The half-naked man ran ahead and ushered Lucas and Asta to follow in behind.

"I'll give you guys a boost", He added as he extended his right arm in front of him. Wind started to swirl across his body, rustling his red hair as it did. "Wind Creation Magic: Emperor of Slashing Winds - Gale!"

Fanzell wrapped and encased himself and the two teenagers behind him in a spiralling wind coming from his newly-formed sword. They quickly zoomed through towards the overlooking Queen of Witches.

Noelle undid her barrier spell at just the right moment, seconds before Asta swung his sword so that there wasn't any chance of the Queen being able to evade.

The ashen-haired mage's attack, after coming face-to-face with the enemy, was virtually the same as before due to his limited mobility. He tried to strike again but the crows surrounded him effortlessly.

Lucas, on the other hand, was gripping on tight to the Dual Blades' handles, surging more of his Time Magic through it, making it give off a few, violent, blue sparks.

"What?!" The Queen quickly focused with a visible gasp. She wasn't surprised because of them attacking so close to her but because of what she noticed when Lucas used more of his Time Magic. "I can't believe this…", she said before more of her crows swarmed the two, almost at the speed of light.

The hundreds of crows were now surrounding all three of Lucas, Asta, and Fanzell properly this time, making the three quite immobile.

"Dammit!" Asta exclaimed to himself.

"Oh, I'm not done just yet!" Lucas exclaimed. "Time Magic: Alter Decel!" Even though he was in the crows' clutches, he was able to move his right palm in an anti-clockwise motion to start up his magic spell. A blue sphere formed around his wrist and then a large one formed around the crows that were hounding him, slowing their attacks down until they weren't a problem anymore.

He landed on the floor and his grimoire floated in front of him, turning a page as he was getting ready to use another spell.

Domina and Mariella were kneeling down by Vanessa, who had started to wake up as the time was passing. The two Diamond fugitives were tending to her wounds whilst also watching the battle.

"Domina, that sort of magic…", Mariella said from behind, in awe at what she was seeing.

"There's no mistaking it", the craftsman answered, also shocked at seeing the magical attribute in play.

Though, Lucas wasn't the only one ready for a spell as the Witch Queen was much quicker than him as she proved throughout this entire encounter. She pointed at Lucas with her finger and moved it in a circular motion.

"Blood Creation Magic: Blood-Curdling Imprisonment".

Within seconds, the Witch Queen surrounded the Golden Dawn member in an orb of bubbling, red blood with no way to escape.

"How can she react with such ease… I did my best in such a short timeframe and I still couldn't do anything! I guess she's not the Queen of Witches for nothing!" Lucas looked around but there was no use as he was fully locked up.

"Lucas!" Daisy found the strength to get up from inside the cage and looked at what was happening once again. "Please, let him go!"

"No matter how much you struggle, it is no match for someone like me", she spoke plainly, ignoring the Blue Rose and moving Lucas right next to her.

"Is there really no way to defeat her? Her power is on the level as the current Wizard King but I thought that with all of us here we could have done something!" Domina cursed, shaking her fists down by her waist.

The Queen glared at Lucas. "To think that a Hybrid, one of the most impure monstrosities in history, found its way to my doorstep. But… in a human form? How is this possible?"

"A Hybrid?" Lucas repeated, pausing for a brief moment at what the witch said to him. "What's that?"

"You…! You know nothing of what you are? The disgusting events led to your kind's creation?" The Queen asked, shocked as her eyes strained.

"Disgusting events? Creation?" He repeated to himself, utterly confused.

Silence fell in the room. It seemed like everything was for naught with all the efforts opposing the Witch Queen leading to nothing.

"Let… them… go…!"

A shout from the middle of the room broke the cold silence as the witch with long, flowing, pink hair got up and faced her mother. Bruises adorned her face from her battle with the Queen but the adrenaline going through her body made her fight through them.

"You keep going on… and on about perfection but you don't even know the meaning of it. Daisy's had her… upbringing, Lucas… has had his. Asta and Noelle have had theirs, as well as… everyone else! Do you know why I like these people so much? It's because… humans are perfect because they're imperfect!"

"Perfect… because they're imperfect…?" The Queen repeated, not understanding the meaning behind such drivel, as she would call it, to her ears.

"You don't know a thing about these people because you're so close-minded to even begin to comprehend what it is about them that I love! You really think I'd come back to this horrid place if I didn't have the conviction to get something from you?!" Vanessa screamed, much to the Queen's surprise.

"That's quite enough, daughter. I tried to mould you into the perfect witch but you rejected me in the end. I'll show you just who's perfect between you and I and if I win, you'll stay here for the rest of your tainted life!" The Queen's eyes became red again as she raised her voice. Her grimoire came up next to her and flicked to a specific page, ready for the spell to be cast.

"Shit, I didn't think I'd have to fight against her again! I had Daisy with me earlier and we had no chance, but maybe with the rest of us here…?" Vanessa turned around to panicked faces, but there was one thing in common with all of them.

They were ready to fight alongside her.

However, pausing the confrontation between the two witches, the Queen herself suddenly flinched as if electricity went through her body. She felt a shift in the air and her eyes widened but quickly returned to a calm, monotone expression.

"They seem to have arrived much quicker than I originally thought".

"What are you on about? Explain what you meant about Hybrids!" Lucas demanded, still trapped in the Blood Magic.

"Lucas… calm down", Daisy tried to say but her voice didn't seem to reach the one next to her. He was thinking deeply about what the woman had said.

"The Witch Queen knows something about me? That means I can get an answer on everything that's happening! The dreams - what they mean - as well as just who I am and why I have two attributes!"

The Queen ignored him but summoned a large, pink globe in front of her. It was big enough for the others to see what was in it.

"They're here".

Within the orb, she saw a large group of people coming towards the forest. They were all flying through the air with broomsticks and other magic but the person in front was quite different compared to the rest. She was flying on top of a flaming-red dragon with its wings generating monstrous amounts of wind, shaking the trees in the distance.

"Are you acquainted with these other intruders?" The Queen asked.

"Not in the way you're implying but, judging by the robes and cloaks, it's the Eye of the Midnight Sun", Finral replied.

"The terrorist organisation? What could they want from the forest?" Domina asked, staring at the globe's transmission.

"From what we've gathered, they're in search of Magic Stones for some reason", Asta explained.

"Magic Stones?" The Queen repeated to herself. She eyed the small, periwinkle earring on her right ear for a brief moment before looking back through the gaping hole in the wall.

Even when the Queen was seemingly distracted, Lucas was trying to find a way to escape. He couldn't use his magic since it would alert the witch and this made any other solution relatively redundant. He moved his head from right to left and his eyes ended up solely focusing on the person in the Queen's globe.

"You again…?"

Lucas's blue eyes widened as he clutched his head. The same sequence of events followed as the first time during the incident in Nean and when the Third Eye appeared for the first time. He felt something familiar as he saw the woman in the globe.

Again, flashes of blurred images went through his head but they were slightly clearer this time for reasons unknown.

A girl with short, pink hair who was wrapped in a white robe, smiling at him.

She extended her right hand and winked at him.

Then, Lucas remembered the dreams he had about Fana.

"You must remember me, right? All those years we were together… don't tell me you forgot?"

"You saw me again in that cave, Lucas. Do you still not remember…me?"

"Fana the Hateful", Lucas said inadvertently as his mouth spoke before he knew what was really happening. "Another member of the Third Eye. Rhya was so powerful and it sounds like Vetto was as well. How are we going to fare when our full squads aren't here?"

Daisy noticed this and thought back to Nean as well but she didn't say too much since she didn't understand either. "It's the same as back then. He seems to know this Fana but he seems so… confused. I don't get it".

The dragon opened its wide mouth. Sharp fangs adorned the side of it and its tongue licked a few of them as it squirmed around. Suddenly, a red-hot colour formed from the bottom and flames emerged, gushing outwards as Fana commanded it.

"Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander's Breath!"

The Flame Spirit shot out flames which easily covered the entire forest within seconds, burning the trees to a crisp easily and painting the sky black and red.

"The forest… I can't believe how powerful that attack was", Vanessa noted, her voice slightly breaking at how intense everything was.

The heat and flames from the burning forest very quickly travelled all the way to the Witch Queen's castle. Just outside were the sounds of panicked screaming and hordes of footsteps rummaging about from all of the other witches that were outside.

"Go and guide the witches to safety", the Queen swiped her arms and a flock of crows rushed outside, squawking as they did.

"We have to help them as well!" Daisy shouted from inside her cage.

"I will not have you set another foot outside into the forest", the Queen disagreed. "It's bad enough such an imperfect creature came here in the first place".

Despite the attack from the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the clear need to help the citizens of the forest, the Queen wasn't budging at all. It looked like she'd rather stop the humans than actually wanting their help.

Just then, another shift in the air occurred and the Queen of Witches had the same feeling as a few minutes ago. She generated another orb and placed it next to the one that showed the Eye of the Midnight Sun.

"Another group. This, I can recognise. The Diamond Kingdom is here".

The globe showed a similar scene but with two males leading their own army. One of them had spiky, light-pink hair with four gemstones embedded over his body. He was wearing a black fur coat with a skintight vest and cropped pants over a black jumpsuit just underneath it.

The other male looked like he was smiling. His red pupils were surrounded by a black colour in his eyes. He also had several gemstones planted into his body and his dirty-blond hair waved in the wind.

"Darling, you recognise those two, right?" Domina asked, clutching her fiance's arm rightly.

"Mars… And the one next to him must be Ladros", Fanzell gulped, knowing what they're capable of.

The feeling of uncertainty was with the Diamond trio but Asta didn't share that. Instead, he was actually quite happy to see the person coming towards the forest.

"Thank God", he breathed in and out. "Mars is alive". Asta thought back to when they first encountered him in the dungeon and was hoping he'd make it out alive.

That was when the youngest Silva sibling stepped forwards, in front of Asta and Vanessa and stuck her index finger out, pointing at the Witch Queen.

"It looks like your forest is going to be destroyed if we don't do something. You might not want our help since we're humans but can you really deny your people safety because of what you think about us? If we don't help, you'll end up being the Queen of Nothing", she said sternly.

"And what do you suppose I do? Let you out into my forest to do what you please? My crows are already at work". The Queen responded.

"Precisely. Help us help you. That is… if a Queen like you wants to help her subjects? It's not like those crows of yours are powerful. One attack from the enemy is probably all it'll take to get rid of them". The royal flicked her right ponytail and put both of her hands on her waist. "Heal Asta's arms, heal Vanessa and Daisy, and we'll save this place!"

The Queen stared at Noelle, thinking about what she was saying. After a few seconds of deliberating in her own head, she raised her hand and clicked her fingers.

Lucas fell to the floor as the blood orb around him disappeared and so did Daisy as her cage vanished. The Blue Rose landed next to him but she wasn't in the best of conditions due to her earlier encounter.

"Daisy, are you alright?" Lucas asked, worried, as he put both of his hands on her shoulders. He snapped out of his trance relating to Fana and focused on what was in front of him.

She smiled with her eyes closed. "Oh, look at you so worried about little m-!"

"I'm being serious! I've never seen you like that before…", he interrupted as he wasn't in the mood for her teases at this moment.

Daisy's smile dropped and her eyes saw the teen in front shout at her for what seemed like the first time. She was happy for his concern but still shook her head and waved his arms away from her.

"I'm fine", she said seriously. "I lost within seconds of facing that woman but I'll be alright as long as the Witch Queen agrees with Noelle".

"Daisy…", Lucas thought as he watched her hobble away from him.

The Queen replied to the silver-haired mage. "You have a deal".

"Woah, good going, Noelle!" Asta cheered.

"She's good", Domina praised and then turned to the red-haired man next to her. "You should be strong like her!"

"Hey, I'm plenty strong!" He argued.

The Queen's grimoire flicked through some pages, landing on the one she wanted. "Blood Recovery Magic: Curse-Breaking Blood-Filled Cocoon!" She pointed a finger at Asta and Vanessa and then another at Daisy who was behind her, enveloping the three targets in a large, dark orb. Veins of blood came from her fingers, pumping the orb with blood and within seconds, the Magic Knights' wounds started to heal.

Asta's injuries were the biggest surprise with the dark colour on his arms, signifying his curse, disappearing easily as if it was a light stain. The sound of bones joining together with the sound of clicks and snaps coming from his arms, suggesting that they were mending.

Daisy's and Vanessa's injuries weren't on the level of Asta's so they healed up quite easily, though both of them weren't all too happy about being healed by the person who injured them in the first place.

"How are you feeling now?" Lucas asked again, hoping that this time she'd be a bit happier.

Daisy felt her face and stretched her arms. "I'll be better once we get that ancient magic from the Witch Queen at the end of all of this. I believe we just saw it at work so it's definitely the one I need".

"Why do you need it? Asta's better alread-!" Lucas questioned before understanding what this was all about. "Alice… perhaps that magic can restore her mana. That has to be why you were so adamant on coming here".

"Are your arms all good now?" Noelle asked the magicless Black Bull.

To her surprise, or perhaps not really depending on how you look at it, Asta was on the floor doing push ups as soon as his arms looked to be better.

"WOW! My record was 500 push ups but now I can easily surpass 600!" He stood up and turned to the Blood Magic user. "Did you make me stronger or something?!"

The Queen nodded. "I figured that if you aim to protect this forest, you'll need all the help you can get".

"I can't believe you did 600 in such a short amount of time, Asta", Mariella praised. She turned to Fanzell. "Hey, you can't even reach 100 before struggling, Teacher", she mocked.

Fanzell didn't say anything except shake his head. Domina was moaning at why he's not strong earlier and now Mariella was making fun of him as well.

Seeing Asta all better, Vanessa walked up to him and smiled. Thinking she was going to be nice, Asta turned to her and smiled back but what he was met with was a karate chop on his head from the Thread mage.

"That's what you get for trying to suffer all alone!" Vanessa screamed. "Don't try to be a hardass when you can rely on us, you know!"

"She's right, Asta. I used to want to do everything by myself but since I met Domina, I've learned to have a shoulder to lean on when things are tough", Fanzell added.

"I know you want to seem strong but counting on your friends, no - your family - is something strong as well", Finral smiled, helping the Black Bull up again.

"Honestly, making us worry like we did is quite selfish on your part. You better think twice before hiding things like that again!" Noelle turned her head away but still had one of her eyes open, seeing what Asta would say.

"Sorry, guys… I understand", Asta rubbed his head, easing the pain from Vanessa's attack, but then realised. "Hey, that chop to my head didn't even hurt. I guess the Witch Queen's spell did more than just fix my arms".

After this, the group converged and Lucas put the problem regarding Fana to the back of his head for the time being.

"If I think about it, it'll just get in the way of what I actually need to do. Eventually, if I end up face-to-face with her, then I'll see what happens but until then… protecting the forest is key!"

Fanzell led the talk as everyone started to discuss their plans, assigning each group a task. After this, they all jumped out of the hole in the wall, going their own ways to help save the forest that they invaded not too long ago. The two groups landed on separate tree roots, sliding to different parts of the forest.

Eventually, it was just Fanzell left as he looked to follow them but the Witch Queen spoke up from behind, gathering his attention.

"Can you put on a shirt? You've been half-naked this entire time, you filthy human", she cursed.

"S-Sorry!"


The Witches' Forest was a dark, red colour all around. Ashy, black smoke rose towards the sky, darkening the surrounding area. The greenery was no more as it was replaced by a horrid brown colour, showing the burns that Salamander inflicted on the entire forest.

A group of four rushed through towards the right side of the forest, running through the broken and burned homes of the witches. Fanzell, who was now fully clothed thanks to Domina's bag of goodies having a spare set of clothes in them, and Domina, who was running alongside him, were in front with another two right behind them keeping to their pace.

"I understand the situation and I'm not complaining but why exactly did you ask me of all people to come with you?" Lucas asked, confused. He hardly knew these people so it was a bit odd to join them.

"Is that a problem?" Mariella added, staring at Lucas with her eyes like piercing daggers, all the while effortlessly weaving in and out of the tree trunks, roots, and other such natural obstacles on the forest floor.

"No, I was just asking", Lucas sighed, not understanding the hate the assassin seemingly has for him.

Seeing and hearing those two, Fanzell and Domina sighed.

"It's not that we don't trust you, it's more that… Well, Mariella doesn't", Fanzell chuckled awkwardly. "Besides, like you already know, we don't know each other well at all so it's a good opportunity to see what you can do".

"Fine. I'll show you three that I can be trusted. Don't think that I'm such a pushover!" Lucas pumped his fists, smiling with determination.

"Oh, nonsense! I already trust you since you gave me your money back at the Black Market! An exchange of money is always the way to a strong relationship!" Domina cheered.

"Domina, that's not really the safest way of going about things…", Fanzell protested.

Ignoring the exchange between the two adults, the short-haired assassin next to Lucas had something else on her mind. "I know my mission and I'll complete it but don't think I won't have my eye on you, Magic Knight", she declared.

"Oh, by the way", Lucas said, grabbing their attention again. "Sir, are you the teacher that helped Asta learn to use his swords?"

"What's with the Sir?" Fanzell sighed. "Just call me by my name and, well, yeah, I helped him way back before he became a Magic Knight, though he only had one sword then", he replied. "Hang on, you have your own weapons. I've been wondering about them since earlier but just what are they?"

Lucas explained the brief history with the Dual Blades and how he found them in a peculiar chest in the depths of a dungeon. He spoke about how the chest only reacted to him and that when he uses them, he needs to surge Time Magic through them to get them working.

"Asta mentioned it before but now it's been on my mind ever since. Do you recommend any fighting styles that I can use with these weapons? All I do right now is basic physical attacks but I think I can be doing much more with them", he asked.

Fanzell looked forward as he thought. His mind was focused on the question but his body was focused on rushing ahead towards the destination.

"Those metal chains that connect the ends of those blades... They can stretch out quite far, right?" Fanzell asked, looking back again briefly.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"Well, there's your answer. Use them t-!"

Another explosion came right in front of the four, halting them and stopping Fanzell from talking. This particular attack was an amalgamation of different kinds of magical attributes all being fired out wildly.

"What the…?! Is it the Diamond soldiers?" Lucas asked, looking around to see anything that could answer the question.

To the sides, there was movement in behind the charred foliage. There were instances where broomsticks could be seen with hooded figures riding them in and out of the black smoke due to the fire.

"That would be correct", Mariella answered, focused on her surroundings. "It looks like they're just creating havoc at random".

"Okay, so this is what we'll do". Fanzell turned around and looked at the two 15-year-olds.

"Domina and I will head out towards Mars and Ladros. It's probably best for us to go up against those two since we know them and understand what they're about. Mariella, I'd like you and Lucas to join up with us later after dealing with the weaker soldiers around here".

"Roger that", the assassin nodded.

"You got it", the Magic Knight agreed.

Those two saw the adults disappear in front of them and in the distance until the ashen environment hid them from their eyes. Around the two that stayed behind, the noises of shouting and rummaging became louder as time went on.

"Be on your guard", Mariella said

"I can say the same to you", Lucas replied.

The two were at odds but it was mainly one-sided with Mariella being the aggressor. Even so, they were working together for the time being. They were taking steps in a circle with their backs against one another so they could see every angle.

Suddenly…

"Look out!" Lucas and Mariella shouted in unison. The former brought out his Dual Blades, ready for battle whilst the latter created a dagger made out of her Ice Magic in her hands.

In the middle, where their fronts weren't facing for the time being, came a lone bullet made out of Water Magic and was heading towards the two.

Lucas swiped from the left, whilst Mariella swiped from the right, both cutting the bullet in two and a bit of water splashed on the ground in the aftermath.

"How did you-",

"I'll give you props for-",

"Stop saying the same thing as me!"

The two were arguing once again. Even though they were going to compliment one another, it turned into them being at odds. It seemed like they would never see eye-to-eye with anything.

"Wow, look at you two".

The sound of clapping emerged from the remains of a burned down tree. A hooded figure emerged and it was the same clothing as the soldiers from Kiten as well as the ones they saw in the second globe.

"The enemy", the Ice Mage spun the ice dagger around in her right hand, holding it straight.

"I guess I am your enemy, but why don't you keep your own arguments to a minimum? It looked like you two were fighting just earlier and didn't sense me walking forwards", the man laughed.

"We did a pretty good job considering we weren't hit", Lucas replied, getting into a battle stance.

"Yeah, that's true. But why don't I try attacking again but at a closer range? Water Mag-!" He stopped as he felt something across his neck.

His eyes slowly dropped down and he saw the sharp dagger belonging to Mariella, inches away from slitting his neck. The edge was primed against his soft, but sweaty, skin and one clean slash was all it would take for this battle to be over.

She was pressed against Lucas's back with hers just a second ago but she had seemingly disappeared and reappeared near the enemy. She truly was an assassin with how quickly and stealthily she moved.

Mariella spoke from behind, her head barely reaching above the enemy's back. "What was that about attacking us?" She asked, the dagger still as close as it possibly could be.

"You-!"

Again, he wasn't able to finish his sentence as his eyes glazed over all of a sudden. Mariella didn't use her dagger but her free hand was enough to chop the side of his neck, knocking him out easily and he fell onto the floor, face-first.

"Woah, that was quick! You're good", Lucas praised, walking towards her.

"Hm", she responded, not really accepting his compliment but it was mainly because she felt something else, not because of her problem with the Magic Knight.

The bushes rustled once again, but there were two different places where the next set of enemies emerged. They were on either side of the one that Mariella knocked out and weren't going to wait to attack. Instead, their grimoires were already out and were primed for battle.

"You already took one of us down? Well, it won't be the same for you this time!"

Lucas dodged the first attack from the enemy from his side, whilst Mariella did the same on her side.

With a deep breath, Lucas sent Time Magic through his body and into his blades, making them sharper and brighter. He swung them forwards whilst rushing ahead, easily taking out his enemy.

"Ice Creation Magic: Killer Ice Slashes!" Mariella opened the palm of her free hand, creating another ice dagger. Now that she was dual-wielding, she crossed her arms in an 'X' shape and quickly slashed her arms forwards, into the incoming enemy, cutting through his skin and leaving a mark in the same shape across his chest. He also fell to the floor, bloodied but alive.

A few more times after this, more enemies showed up and it was much of the same story for them as well. Lucas and Mariella easily defeated them as they showed up and restrained them with their magic, leaving them on the floor where they lost. Mariella seemed to be more vicious in her attacks but it was clear that she was holding back so they wouldn't die.

The enemies that were showing up were nowhere near the teenagers' levels and it was easy for them to fight, but then, the next enemy that showed up made things a bit difficult, though not in the way you'd think.

"Poison Magic: Piranha's Clamp!"

Another enemy appeared and it was just the one this time with no one else following. She jumped forwards and her right arm turned into a pirnaha's mouth with sharp fangs. It extended its neck and grabbed the Dual Blades out of Lucas's hands, leaving him without a weapon.

"What are you doing?!" Mariella shouted, ready to step in to help.

"I've got it, don't worry!" Lucas assured.

The enemy was going to land on Lucas. She had already got rid of his weapons and now she was going to damage him with another attack. That was, if Lucas didn't have a whole other arsenal of magical spells to use.

"Light Creation Magic: Energy Whips!" He shouted as he brought his left arm in front of him. The magical spell that formed blocked the attack from the woman and she landed on the floor but was ready to strike again.

Lucas reeled his light whip back and quickly sent it forwards, knocking the woman over at her legs so she lost her balance. Another whip to her body made her stop moving from the pain and it looked like this fight was over as well.

"Light Binding Magic: Coils of Trapped Light!" Thick strings of light circled the enemy, trapping her within a few seconds. The Diamond soldier was now floating in a bright, yellow sphere with nowhere to go.

Lucas turned to Mariella, who was silent, and put his thumb up. "Hey, I told you not to worry!"

Instead of giving a compliment or praise like the two were awkwardly exchanging from time-to-time, Mariella slowly raised her head and glared at the teen opposite her. Her light-pink eyes widened with anger and she gritted her teeth. Quickly, she rushed forwards, brandishing her dual daggers and jumped at Lucas, crash landing on the floor with her body keeping him from moving.

"What on earth do you think you're doing?! Get off of me!" The Dual mage shouted, trying to squirm out from her strong grasp but it was to no avail.

Mariella opened her mouth to speak and her voice was deeper and more serious than it had been since the two met.

"I knew there was something off about you from the moment I saw you but to think you had two attributes… You're definitely one of them so I'll make sure to kill you here, Diamond Kingdom spy!"


NOTES:

I've slowly been revealing a few things to do with Lucas with Hybrids and, of course, Fana! Obviously, the Witch Queen will know some things but we'll just have to wait for more information and for it to make sense, hehe ;P.

Also, Daisy has been getting more of a spotlight here and she'll continue to do so since she's an important character at this moment!

The enemy groups have appeared and its up to the gang to help the forest but it's not without problems since Mariella's suspicions about Lucas have come forth. Is she right, is she wrong?

Hope you're looking forward to the next!