Chapter 82: The Way You View 'Special'
Disclaimer:
Hi guys! Sorry this chapter was kind of late but I was busy watching the Black Clover movie a few times, hehe. It's really good and I hope we get the return of the anime soon enough. I hope you guys watched it as well!
This chapter is quite messy but I think it works. You'll see why, I hope.
There are references to events in past chapters to help with foreshadowing and whatnot. Here they are:
Chapter 10, 15, 21, 40, 55, 58-59, 65, 76, 80.
With that said, I hope you enjoy!
Lucas slowly opened his eyes and was taken aback with what he saw. He didn't see his friends around him, nor his enemies. Instead, there was only an empty, black darkness.
"There's… absolutely nothing", he thought as he tried to find any hint to see where he was. He didn't even know if he was awake considering there wasn't a flicker of light anywhere. "Am I asleep? Or… No, w-wait… Have I… died…?"
Lucas's heartbeat started rising and his palms became extremely sweaty, thinking of the possibility that he had. Then, snapping him out of his morbid thoughts, he heard the loud, yet familiar, sound of a book flipping its pages. He turned to face the source and it was his four-leaf grimoire, illuminated and floating in the middle of the black void.
"My… grimoire?" He said with confusion, wondering why it was suspended in the air in front of him. Lucas walked towards it but then the sound of a soft splash came from underneath him, bringing him the sudden feeling of familiarity. "I'm here again…?"
His mind went back to when they saved Fana, and the reflection of her started to disappear in the puddle beneath him. This place was very similar, but, instead of there being another person with him, it was empty.
Shaking his head, he went to grab the blue and yellow spellbook but, instead of being able to, it started to violently move in place.
Sparks of dark-blue magic gushed out from it, sending Lucas tumbling down on the ground. He raised his head to see what had happened but all he saw were the sparks growing in size and filling the area around him.
"It's like… a blue thunderstorm…", he described, seeing the vicious sparks of colour shoot down from above.
Then, in another familiar way, sparks of a black and red power mixed in with the blue electricity-like magic, causing the water on the floor to gush all over.
"The blue magic - it's not electricity but… Time Magic", Lucas analysed as he looked around. There was a lot going on and he had a lot of questions with his next one being; "what is that black and red power? I've felt it before, I'm pretty sure…".
His mind went back to his first days as a Magic Knight and the memories came one after the other, making Lucas's eyes widen as he began to realise something.
At the Magic Knight's Entrance Exam, Lucas's and Asta's grimoires had stuck to each other, causing the guy at the admission's desk to pry them away from each other.
Then, when Lucas was chasing the bandit that ran away with Mimosa's money, and after he bumped into Asta and the Black Market, their grimoires stuck together but then blue and black-red sparks repelled each other.
After that, the wound in Lucas's right arm started shooting out blue and black-red sparks, rejecting Mimosa's Recovery Magic. The same sparks rejected Rhya when he tried to copy Lucas's spells in his grimoire.
Realising the clear and obvious pattern, Lucas knew what the other power next to his Time Magic was. Right before he said it, someone else answered for him.
"It's Anti-Magic", a voice called out.
"Who's there?!" Lucas shouted, looking around.
"Look below".
Lucas looked towards the ground and a blue silhouette emerged from his feet. The ripples of water down below made the silhouette shake but its movements kept mimicking Lucas's. All of a sudden, it gushed out of the floor in a stream of dark-blue colour, eventually landing and ending up opposite the Dual mage with the grimoire separating the two with an equal distance.
The figure was entirely dark-blue at first but the colour started to fade as it moved closer to the Dual mage.
"Finally", the figure said as it smiled.
"Are you going to answer or-!" Lucas paused as he really focused on the stranger's face which revealed itself. Ironically enough, it was actually no stranger at all.
In fact, the 'stranger' was the closest person to Lucas.
"You're… me?" Lucas pointed, his finger shaking as he did. He didn't know what to think of this so he was quite scared.
"No, I'm us. As in that we are supposed to be one person but, for some reason, have separated like this", the other Lucas lifted his arms and then turned around in his spot, confirming that he was identical to Lucas.
It would not be too far-fetched to describe Lucas as looking right into a mirror.
"The same messy, ginger hair. The same deep scars. The same clothes", Lucas thought as he scanned his mirrored self.
"The same eyes, same mouth, same height, yada yada…", the other Lucas continued, opening and closing his hands to mimic a mouth. "You know I can hear your thoughts, right?"
"What?!"
"Yeah… It's been a real pain having to listen to you talk to yourself for 15 years…", the opposing figure sighed.
"I don't under-".
"Understand this?" The other Lucas finished.
"Oh, right, you can hear my thoughts", Lucas awkwardly stood. "Do you know what's happening to… us, I guess?"
"Beats me. All I know is that our friend's Anti-Magic has been circulating around our grimoire for months", he shrugged. "I'm surprised it hasn't cancelled out our magic, to be honest. Perhaps there's a reason for that?" But… It's about time something like this finally happened. Do you not remember the last time we spoke to each other? Oh, and in your dream as well?"
Lucas closed his eyes, trying to think back.
After his first transformation against Rhya, in the Temple of Valchronos…
"What am 'I' doing here? I'm the one that an idiot like you has kept buried for so long, hmph! Now that you've gotten to experience some of what I can do, how about you let me merge back with you… like we once were?"
In his dream after returning from the Forgotten Forest…
"Finally. Do you understand the situation now? Use my power in your next fight if you want some answers… If you don't, then you can't expect to protect anyone…".
Lucas's eyes widened as he remembered.
"Last time, your mind was clouded and a conversation between us was blocked because of it. Your whole body was on auto-pilot. Fortunately, though…", the other Lucas explained.
"I have so many questions and I feel like… you can answer them", Lucas started, stopping the other's speech.
"Fine. Ask away but hurry up", he replied with a stinging haste.
"Hybrids - What are they?"
He sighed, shaking his head. "I honestly don't know. I'm in the same boat as you regarding the mysteries we seem to find ourselves in. We know the meaning of them being 'two' or a 'mix' but if you apply that same meaning to us, it doesn't really make sense".
"Right? If we're Hybrids or… a Hybrid, then that would mean we're a mix between human and something else…".
"... But that seems impossible, right? But, then again, us knowing that other Fana throws a spanner in that fact", the other Lucas finished.
"... You don't have any answers do you?" Lucas sighed, dropping his shoulders. "I wonder who would know about this?"
"I can answer one thing, though", the reflection added. "I represent one of your key emotions - anger. Think about all the times that you've been angry… Well, that was a little bit of me pouring out. During the decoration ceremony where Alecdora targeted Mimosa… Or when you were pinned back by Rhya and he targeted Mimosa. Hm, a lot of instances involve that girl…", he trailed off.
Lucas widened his eyes, thinking back. "And… I guess all the random bursts of mana. Like recently when I was fighting Mariella…", he gulped. "You saved me".
His opposite simply shrugged. "I can't have my body dying before I get to properly operate it", he sighed and spoke quietly.
Lucas raised his head, focusing on his mirrored version. His mind went back to the Temple of Valchronos. "Hang on. You're the one that made me transform back then…! How…", Lucas gulped, not realising he interrupted the other one. He then asked a question. "... I have to get stronger, so can I do that again?"
"Oh… You won't be the one transforming exactly. Instead… it will be me taking control", the other voice grew sinister-sounding with a shadow being casted over his eyes.
"Hang on… You're not getting in control of anything! I've used your power before and, if I want to get stronger, I'll have to learn how to do it willingly, right? So, teach me! If you're… me, then you should agree with me!" Lucas protested, waving his hands away from his mirrored version.
With a heavy sigh, the other Lucas replied. "You just don't get it, do you? I'm the half of you that has access to the Time Magic. Due to the fact that we're double, that means you have Light Magic, whereas I have the other… Whenever you use Time Magic, it's through me! I'll explain again… In the Temple of Valchronos, your anger overwhelmed you, causing you to move on instinct… or rather, my instinct. I'm the only one that can fully showcase its real power… And that will start right… now!"
The other Lucas clicked the finger on his right hand which made the surroundings turn silent. The raging magic and Anti-Magic thunderstorms grew quiet and stopped moving as if they listened to the click. A few seconds later, a rush of wind came forth, moving both sets of their messy, ginger hair.
The dark-blue Time Magic that was circling around was now moving towards the other Lucas, surrounding his body in a spiral. He stretched his arms out wide and smiled as he took the magic all in. His body changed colour to match with the Time Magic but left the head for last.
"Gah!" Lucas fell to the floor, clutching his sides as he felt a rush of pain through his body. His vision started to get blurry and, as he looked up, he saw a smirk from his other half.
"I'll be showing you… how to really use this Time Magic. If you never rejected me from the start… then who knows what would've happened?" The other Lucas shrugged. He raised his right hand, bringing the floating grimoire towards him.
The spellbook was now completely blue and the singular black line was the prominent one, whereas the white line had disappeared.
"I rejected you? I don't… Urgh", Lucas thought but quickly shook his head as he was close to fainting. "What is your name?" He could only manage to ask one thing before succumbing to his pain and weakness.
"Hm. Even though we have the same name, it would be confusing to call myself Lucas since it seems like you'll be in control more often than not, so just call me…
… Shadow".
"What on earth… is happening?"
The enhanced Mystic flapped her new wings and flew up in the air, away from Lucas. Random sparks of dark-blue and black-red sparks surrounded the area, creating a vicious barrier around him. He was right in the middle of it with his right hand clutching at the right Dual Blade but then the two brightened in colour.
"I can't make out what's happening but… Lucas's entire body has become a dark-blue colour and the weapons have… disappeared?"
All of a sudden, the barrier came undone which sent a forceful wind outwards from the built-up pressure that was within. Lucas was standing up but he looked very different to before.
During this, Daisy had started to wake up but her body was extremely fatigued so she couldn't move at all. "What's going… on?" She said but then her eyes focused on the otherworldly sight in front of her. "L-Lucas…?!"
He put his arms to the side of his body, revealing a sharp blade protruding out of his right arm which now looked like a curved spike. It was the sharp edge of his Dual Blade but it had completely melded with his skin and it looked natural. The other black blade stretched out from the middle of his back, extending towards the right. It had grown tenfold and slightly mirrored the shape of Mystic's wings, albeit only being one. There was a thick, dark-blue outline to the weapons, similar to the one when he'd infuse his Time mana into them.
"His Dual Blades…", Daisy gulped. "He's absorbed… them?"
A glowing, blue marking formed in between his bright eyes in a horizontal line and then went down vertically as if tracing the deep scar underneath his right eye. Following this pattern, dark-blue tendrils formed out of it, extending to different parts of Lucas's body. They covered most of his right-hand side but focused on areas where his other deep scars were located. His right leg's scar was glowing as the tendril stretched towards it, as well as the one on his neck and back. A singular fang came down out of the right side of his mouth, ending just before the bottom of his chin. A black horn with a blue hue stuck out of the right side of his head, curving backwards slightly.
"The stories that my mother used to read to me… about Devils… Lucas looks just like one!" Daisy gulped again. Her heartbeat was rising to the max and she was scared. Then, she noticed something else on the right side of his body. "That's not any kind of language that I know!"
His right arm was now completely blue with different symbols and letters patterned across the middle of his arm and towards his palm. They were greyed out which was very different to the rest of the transformation. Another tendril covered the scar that was on top of it, giving it a brighter glow.
Lucas walked forwards, ignoring Daisy behind him. His eyes were focused on the flying mage in front of him and he flapped his singular blade-like wing, rising up to the sky. He was level with Mystic and started growling for a few seconds.
"You look like a monster. Is that your answer then? That's the solution you've decided upon in order to defeat me?" Mystic asked, not faltering in her determination.
Lucas opened his mouth but, even though it was his voice, there was a darker and more aggressive tone to it.
"My answer? Hm, I guess this is part of it. Unfortunately for you, the decision that I've arrived at won't be pleasant", he smirked, charging forwards.
"Am I… dead?"
Similarly to Lucas, Asta was in an unfamiliar space of his own. His body was floating around the red landscape as he remembered those closest to him.
"If I'm dead… then what about Sister Lily and everyone else at the church in Hage?" He said to himself as he saw an image of his family all together.
"If I'm dead… then what about my promise to become the Wizard King?" He asked as he thought of his future.
"If I'm dead… then what will Yuno do?" He thought of his foster brother and rival.
Asta stopped floating and dropped to the floor. His mind was racing with all kinds of thoughts about his past, present, and future. His voice was shaky as he was scared but then he repeated his promise to himself again.
"I will become the Wizard King!"
His green eyes widened and he then calmed down, placing a hand to his chest. "I'm… not dead. I can't be! But, then again, where am I?"
Suddenly, the area became dark and the hairs on Asta's arms and the back of his neck stiffened. He felt an eerie presence behind him through his Ki and sweat fell from his forehead.
"It appears you've already noticed me".
A deep voice called out from behind Asta. He turned around and saw a menacing, black figure towering over him. It had black fangs along its mouth and a set of black horns on his head with two, jagged wings behind.
"What the heck are you?!" Asta screamed, wiping his eyes repeatedly to check if what was in front of him was real or not.
"I'm someone that's been the most important to you".
"I've never seen you in my life, so you can't be that important!" Asta replied but then slowed down as he realised something familiar. "I recognise this feeling… Does my Anti-Magic come from you?"
"You really are in tune with Ki", the figure praised. "It does but I think you mean my Anti-Magic, hehehehe…".
Asta didn't really know what to say to that so he cut to the chase. "I see. I'd love to know a bit more but I really need to get out of here - wherever this place is".
"We're inside your grimoire. I reside in that spellbook and, for some reason, this is the first time we've been able to talk to each other. Because of an outside influence, a human and a devil can communicate… talk about nostalgic…", he trailed off before focusing once more. "Even though it seems like something else has awakened near us, I can still finally put my plan in action".
"Your plan?" Asta asked with a worried tone.
"You seem to be struggling against your enemy, right? I can win this battle for you, as long as you give me control of your body", the figure said. He reached his right hand out, grabbing Asta.
"You're being a bit rough here…", Asta tensed as he felt his body tighten around the giant's fist.
"Humans are useless, so they need more power. I can offer that to you as long as you sit quietly and give up!" The being slammed his other hand down onto the one with Asta, seemingly crushing his body. "That was quick enough… Hang on, wh-".
He opened his hand and Asta was no longer there. Instead, he heard a shout from behind indicating that the magicless mage had switched places.
"You said you've been the closest to me, so do you really think I'm gonna give up that easily?!" He shouted, waving his arms up and down.
The devil grew angrier, trying to grab Asta with both hands but the teenager was proving to be difficult to deal with. "I should've remembered how tenacious you can be. Well, no matter… It's only a matter of time before I gain control!"
Asta landed on one of the figure's hands and started running upwards towards its head. He rolled his hands into fists, ready to strike with a punch. "Ha! Giving up is the last thing I'll do. You want to give me power? That's fine, but it'll be on my terms!"
"Your terms?" The devil repeated mockingly. "Sure, but your terms have made it so that the enhanced soldier knocked the Mineral Magic guy out, the Flame mage has no more power, and your friends are all too weak to contribute! That's what your terms have got you… So, give up!"
He grabbed Asta with his two hands once again but the Black Bull didn't resist this time. Instead, his body started to turn black as Anti-Magic surrounded him.
"I guess you did give up", the devil smirked.
"You… th-think… so?" Asta spoke but it was through some sort of pain as his voice barely made it out. He was in the middle of the figure's palms, using his strength to stop himself being crushed. "If you… think I gave up, then you're in… for a rude awakening!"
"He's stopping the transformation? Or rather… he's using his own willpower against mine!"
Asta's last words before returning to his fight came through his loud screams.
"I've only given up once and that… was the last time I ever would!"
The black figure swirled around Asta but the scream from the mage repelled it somewhat. After seemingly disappearing, Asta opened his eyes.
"Something's… different", Ladros commented as he focused in on Asta who was on the floor.
Suddenly, a black orb with a red hue surrounded the injured Asta for a few seconds before coming undone. However, the Asta that emerged from the brief cocoon was different to the one that entered it.
Noelle was conscious again and she looked to Asta for any hope in this battle. Instead of seeing the friendly Black Bull, she was met with an ominous sight. "What has happened… to you? This… isn't magic…!"
Half of Asta's ashen-hair had turned black with the black streak continuing down his right eye, giving it a bright, red colour instead of his normal green. The blackness extended all over his right side, turning his arm and parts of his torso into the same colour. There were strands of black power trying to go over to his left side but they didn't seem to be able to.
He took a step forward into the light and a large, jagged and decayed wing came into view. It was on the right side of his body and it flapped with sparks of red and black Anti-Magic all around. Looking closely, Asta also had a fang on the right side of his mouth as well as one, black horn on top of his head.
"Asta… I've felt his Anti-Magic before but this is… to the extreme! How is this possible?!" Noelle shouted but the person in focus ignored her, instead opting to stare angrily at Ladros.
"You got up quickly. That's certainly an interesting form but it's not magic, so… just give up!" Ladros shouted, firing a concentrated beam of flames at his target.
Asta swung his Demon-Slayer sword at the fiery magic, cutting it in half as well as most of the ground beneath him. The rusted sword was now pitch-black as if it had changed alongside the wielder.
The Black Bull flew forwards with help of his jagged wing and came face-to-face with the enemy.
Asta replied with a voice that differed from his original. It was deeper but it sounded like there was another person's voice intertwined with his own, giving it an eerie and devilish tone.
"My magic… is never giving up!"
"You think you have what it takes to defeat me in my altered state? Good lu-!"
Mystic began talking but was swiftly cut off as the opposing mage got close to her. His wing seemed to flap one second and then the next he was right there, face-to-face.
"H-He's quick…!" Mystic thought. She was about to summon an illusion spell as the colour around her grimoire turned purple but she was interrupted, feeling a painful sensation across her stomach. Her black eyes looked downwards and she saw his right-armed blade digging into her, drawing blood.
"Grrrr…!" He growled, spinning in a circle so that the blade would deal effective damage.
"But… H-h-how?!" Mystic was astonished and fell to the floor, watching the floating figure above as she did.
Lucas brought his right arm closer so that he could examine the blood. When he did, he quickly jerked his arm away, making the blood splatter fall from his sharp blade and down below.
Mystic felt the blood droplets fall on her and this only made her angrier than she was already. She felt like she had to beat this Magic Knight, no matter what.
"I'll admit… I was surprised but make no mistake… I'm winning this fight!"
"You are?" Lucas's voice appeared from behind her and her eyes widened, feeling the eerie sensation loom over her. "How do you suppose you'll do that when my blade is busy turning you into dust!"
Mystic flapped her wings again, floating in the air and trying to get away from Lucas. "Illusion Magic…".
"Nu-uh", Lucas interrupted again. appearing behind her once again and moving his finger side-to-side. "Time Magic: Alter Deccel!" He rotated his wrist anti-clockwise but, instead of slowing down the spell, he was able to slow down the spellcaster.
"Wh-Wh-What?! Nowhere in his memories was he able to do that with Alter Deccel…!" The enemy mage thought, extremely worried.
Unlike Heaven's Time where Lucas would freeze a specific area, this version of Alter Deccel was able to slow the target down instead of only the spell
"Your shocked expression makes me think you weren't expecting something like that", Lucas spoke, tilting his head to the side. "Yeah, I can do some new things now ever since I gained control of my body". His eyes then switched from Mystic towards the blade on his arm and his smile turned into a smirk. He motioned downwards and the blade cut through some of her shoulder, making blood spray and then pour out of the open wound down to the floor.
Time resumed to a normal speed and Mystic started to black out from the immense pain. She started to falter but a quick shake of her head brought her back and her face turned to Lucas who was floating still.
"Not… again!" She shouted and spun in a circle, using her wings to fling Lucas back by a considerable distance. "Illusion Magic: Meteor Shower!"
Portals opened up in the sky, revealing white meteors that were already falling down towards the ground. They were falling in quick succession and there were hundreds of them, all near Lucas.
"How's that?" She said as she watched on.
"Urgh, this is annoying…", Lucas thought to himself as he flew through the meteor shower. He swerved in and out of the paths of multiple meteors but then it looked like he came to a dead end with no route through.
He curled up in a ball and expended his mana outwards. "Time Magic: Heaven's Time!" Lucas froze the space around him and paused the meteors in the sky for the time being. Next, he used his increased speed to zip around everywhere, slicing the debris with his sharp blade and wing combo.
As time resumed, Mystic saw that her plan to trap him in a wave of falling meteors didn't seem to be working so she decided to turn up the intensity.
Lucas was flying right for her but Mystic countered it with her own spell that she managed to summon in time.
"Illusion x Memory Magic: Memory Re-Creation!"
Mystic expended a wave of purple and white mana, disrupting Lucas's flight path which caused him to stop in place and observe what was happening.
Circular portals opened once more, similar to her previous spell but these ones were even bigger and each individual space had something of note through it. The portals all converged in a line, revealing themselves one after the other in a sequence.
The enemy soldier motioned her arms downwards and the first portal came forth, growing bigger, almost like a ring and surrounded the mages.
"Looking through that ring, it looks like a recreation of Spatial Magic… I can see a different area through it. So, this is her plan, hm?" Shadow Lucas thought as he watched on.
With a bright flash, the Witches' Forest was seemingly no more. The ring-portal had opened up and replaced the environment with another.
They were now in a large, open space, yet it was still in a room that looked somewhat like a cave. Mouldy, white, cracked stone pillars formed all around, keeping the ceiling up but there were also large openings which let light through from above.
"Really?" Lucas rolled his eyes, sighing.
There were old, mosaic tiles on the floor and, around the large room, there were areas where there would be some chandeliers or other ceiling ornaments.
"... And, if I turn around… let me guess, there's a throne at the back?" Lucas asked, though the question was entirely rhetorical as he knew the answer.
As he said, there was a large throne at the back with a smaller destroyed one next to it with only the base of it remaining.
"Why are you showing me the Temple of Valchronos?" Lucas asked, unimpressed.
"Oh, just to show you how you have a mountain of failures - more than the ones I mentioned earlier!" Mystic started to show the dead and burned bodies of the druid soldiers in the room that were in a pile. "More dead people… See?!" She laughed.
Another sigh from Lucas but then he disappeared from her sight, reappearing right next to her to slash at her back with ease.
"Y-You…! You don't c-care about your mistakes?!"
"This isn't even my mistake since they were dead before I arrived down there. Besides, you showing me these 'failures' is just getting old now", he yawned and watched Mystic fall towards the ground but she raised her hand, clicking her fingers to make another pop up.
This time it was Mimosa, hurt from Rhya's magic back when they were battling. Though, Lucas was indifferent once more.
"Yeah, not working since I know it wasn't my fault. If anything, I'm angry at the Eye of the Midnight Sun, not you", the winged Magic Knight responded nonchalantly. "I guess you wouldn't know since you're not talking to the Lucas you previously knew…".
"It's almost like he's a different person since transforming? He doesn't care about all this? Well… I'm going to surround him with everything I've got!" Mystic declared to herself, bringing the other ring-portals into play, separating the distance between her and Lucas.
The cave near Nean materialised, bringing the mages to where they first fought against Licht. Mystic started showing the people down below but Lucas was too fast, knocking her backwards and closer to the floor.
Then, ignoring the cave, Mystic showed the dungeon near the border between the Clover Kingdom and the Diamond Kingdom. Mimosa was hurt from Mars's attack and lying all bloodied whilst Yuno and Klaus defended her.
"These aren't your memories but I managed to peep into Mars's after we got back! Another instance where your friend was hurt! Wh-!"
"I don't care", Lucas interrupted, slashing through her arm and wounding her, destroying the illusion.
This went on for a few minutes. Mystic kept on indulging in her mental war against Lucas but this changed version of him wasn't giving her the time of day. Mystic was on the back-foot despite powering up a few minutes ago.
Back near the centre of the Witches' Forest, the queen was watching this battle with great intrigue. Her eyes were lit up with the image of Lucas battling Mystic.
"I never would've thought his Hybrid state would partially awaken like this. His Time Magic seems to be running rampant whilst closing off his Light Magic. This is just… pure power that I'm witnessing!"
She watched on as Lucas kept his advantage over the enemy, slashing at her at every opportunity he had.
"I thought he was important when I realised his Hybrid nature but the fact that he's a human interests me even further. There's a mystery that even I can't explain, hm? All I know for a fact is that the grimoire that belongs to the one without magic merely kick-started this change. If he can harness the power by himself, then…", the Witch Queen smirked, lowering her head. "Anyway, if the connection with Anti-Magic forced your Hybrid state out, then I wonder what's unique about the other one".
Her focus switched to the other orb right next to her. There were two floating side-by-side and each one displayed a transformed Magic Knight. "Well, I guess my question may be answered by watching you as well".
Asta was constantly pinning Ladros back, forcing him on the defensive. Ever since he transformed, his Anti-Magic was homing in on the large amount of magic that the blond general was emitting. Sometimes, the two would clash against each other but, most of the time, Asta was able to cut through.
"You… keep following me around… everywhere!" Ladros shouted, starting to run out of breath. He shot a stream of red-hot flames at Asta who dodged to the side. Then, Ladros went to punch with his free hand which the Anti-mage ducked and dodge with the help of his jagged wing.
"I… will win against you!" Asta screamed, a demonic voice overlapping with his own. He punched Ladros square in the chest which sent him hurling backwards. He eventually regained his balance but it wasn't before he saw the ashen-haired mage fly forwards and swing the Demon-Slayer, cutting through his hip, producing a splatter of blood.
"I thought the magicless one would lose consciousness but, for some reason, he was able to control the power", the Witch Queen spoke to herself, making a mental note. Then, she focused on the large Anti-Magic sword that Asta was holding.
"The Demon-Slayer sword has Anti-Magic constantly flowing through it. If any other human were to hold it, their magic would run dry but, since you have no mana, you are able to let the power flow through you. Using my blood to heal you, that I transfused during the treatment, I merely removed the limiter to your power and it resulted in this".
"Gah, he's way too quick right now! I have… to slow him down and stop him from flying!" Ladros declared to himself, clutching at his open wound. He started flying away again, shaking the blood away from his hands and sped up into the distance.
He was leaving a bright, red hue as he glided across the air which Asta was dispersing with the help of his sword. As the enemy flew, Asta flew faster, leaving a black streak across the sky.
Noelle was still reeling from her injuries but she was watching the entire battle unfold in the air. Her pink eyes were glued to the scene in front of her.
"It's almost like a black shooting star…", she described in awe.
Some of the others were conscious now as well. Finral was watching with his mouth wide open with complete shock.
"Wow, Asta… Imagine if you used that power against Vetto. Things would've been much easier, ahaha…", he joked, gulping at the sight before him.
"But then… you wouldn't have gotten stronger, Finral. I guess it would've saved our energy though", Vanessa added, propping herself up to sit down. "Even as I say that, joking about what we're watching is a bit… you know. I'm quite worried going forward", she shivered.
Ladros flew in between some of the trees, forcing a gap between the Black Bull and himself. He looked back and saw that there was some distance so he decided to act on his small advantage.
"Take this!" He pointed both arms into the air, generating a large ball of flames which covered the sun in the distance. He motioned his arms downwards and the Flame Magic was sent crashing down at Asta, leaving him no room to escape.
The mage from Hage stuck the Demon-Slayer out, piercing the ball of flames but the force and pressure of the magic still forced him towards the floor. He kept on resisting the magic but he ended up quite far away from Ladros. Yet, the Anti-Magic sword was able to keep him unharmed.
Asta landed with ease and the ball of flames was cancelled out. He then started walking forwards slowly as the flames around him darkened the area, creating shadows everywhere around the forest. Due to this, his red eye seemed to be glowing even brighter, giving him a scarier look.
Asta scraped the Demon-Slayer across the grassy floor, leaving a deep scratch as he walked. His red eyes were only on Ladros in the distance. Then, he lifted it up and charged forwards at a high speed, taking flight once again to follow the enemy around the skies.
"Don't you dare get any closer to me! You… are ruining everything!" Ladros screamed. He put his hands together, generating a strong stream of flames in his palm which he then threw out towards the incoming Asta.
The Black Bull was silent and slashed through the attack with ease, jumping through the negated flames.
"Your birth was a mystery but I know that a sudden mutation in you prevented mana from dwelling. You're merely defective which, in this world, is damning", the Witch Queen analysed.
"There's absolutely nothing special about you but that is exactly what makes you special", she grinned for the first time.
"A power that no one else in this world can utilise… belonging to you? Now that is unique".
Ladros saw all of his attacks constantly get deflected, repelled, or cancelled. He flew backwards again, cursing to himself.
Ladros gulped as he watched him in the air, wondering what else he could do to win against his opponent. He was running out of ideas. "Um… Uh, yeah, I know… I'll just escape. Screw the mission, screw Mars and Mystic. Screw the Witch Queen. While I'm all-powerful, I'll just leave!"
He turned around and used all of his speed to get away but Asta was still following him everywhere he went. Ladros gritted his teeth and let loose with his emotions. "With this power… I was supposed to rule over the Diamond Kingdom! I even made preparations to do so but you're just getting in the way! I betrayed those who were weak. I ruined those who spoke back to me. I kicked the weak ones down… and this is what I get even when I showed my determination?!"
Asta pierced through the high clouds on the way to Ladros with the Demon-Slayer clutched tightly in his right hand. "You may have done all of that to the ones around you and gained all this power but… everyone around me helped boost me up! I'm worthless without my friends and family but they made me stronger!"
He was inches away from the enhanced mage when the Black Bull's grimoire came forward, opening up to a new page. Asta swung his right arm back, ready for his final attack.
"Black Meteorite!"
Asta slashed through Ladros with the Demon-Slayer in hand, negating all of his powerful magic. The Diamond General fell all the way down onto the floor, leaving a sizeable crater beneath him. Asta landed a few feet away, soon after.
The blond mage was down and out, weak and exhausted from the fight and when he tried to move, the red mage stone in the centre of his chest broke apart and he let out a large exhale, resting his head on the floor.
"My head… it's finally stopped pounding…? My mind is… much clearer now but I guess… time is up, huh?" Ladros spoke to himself, watching Asta in the distance.
The Magic Knight slowly walked forwards, eyes glaring at the enemy he just defeated. His expression was dead serious. Asta finally made it to Ladros and just stared at him down below.
"Finish me off, brat. I… I've lost almost all of my power but my stamina is all gone. Just… kill me".
The Black Bulls to the side were breathing heavily, worried at what might happen considering the drastic change in their teammate. Their eyes were glued to the scene but their voices couldn't reach Asta.
"Asta… don't do it", they mouthed.
A few more seconds of serious stares ensued from Asta until he finally reacted.
"... You think I'm going to kill you?! No, I'm going to help the others around here and then you'll answer for everything you did!"
Noelle's scared frown switched to a relieved smile. "Despite everything he did, he spared him. That's the Asta we all know!"
"W-Wait, hang on… why do you look like that now?!" Asta screamed, pointing his weapon.
He properly focused on Ladros and saw that his skin was all wrinkly compared to how full and soft it seemed earlier. He looked like an old man despite being nowhere near that age.
"Oh… M-My magic is all depleted and the mage stone took a lot out of me. It'll be a while b-before I look like my old self again…", Ladros replied.
Not knowing what to say, Asta shrugged his shoulders. That was when his transformation came undone with the black markings, red eye, black horn, and fang from his mouth disappeared.
"Oh, I'm back to normal", he said as he looked around.
Smiling, as if she had made some sort of decision, the Witch Queen removed the orb that was displaying Asta's fight.
"I know what I must do now. Fate sure has an interesting way of showing me things but, with this, I can excel in all my taks".
She gathered a flock of crows around her and went to leave her building. However, before she did, she looked back at the remaining orb which showed Lucas against Mystic. "Though I've made my choice, seeing a Hybrid in action fills me with great awe. I guess I have a few minutes to spare".
"I'm still getting pinned back?!" Mystic exclaimed to herself, flying away and trying to dodge Lucas's attacks. She thought about the syringe she injected and decided to change things up again. "That syringe gave me more power, so I'll just use it to its full extent!"
The Diamond soldier flapped her wings at a high speed, stopping Lucas's advance temporarily. Now that there was a few metres of space between the two, she summoned another spell.
"Illusion Magic: Raging Army of Flames!"
Her grimoire, despite being purple since her illusions were being used, generated a cold, dark power which came forth in the shape of multiple dragons flying in the sky. They were mostly black with a purple hue around their bodies. They looked like your average dragon but the size was just a bit smaller than when Salamander.
"You really like your dragons, huh?" Lucas asked, looking around at the airborne lizards.
Ignoring him, Mystic sent her army all towards him at once. They surrounded him in a circle and shot out red-hot flames.
Lucas looked upwards, seeing that he had a second to fly up and dodge, but, oddly enough, he opted to stay and fight head on. He used his arm-blade continuously, without slowing down, to destroy the illusions but this particular spell was quite different to her other ones.
"Huh? I'm cutting through them but they're not dispersing as quickly as they should. This… is a different type of magic!" Lucas realised, flying higher to give some distance between him and the black dragons.
"No, that's incorrect. They're still illusions but they have a bit… more about them, shall I say? They'll follow until they make contact!" Mystic replied, understanding that she finally got some kind of upper hand on her opponent.
"What if I…? Actually, no… this is good", he softly smirked as he tilted his head downwards, casting a shadow across his face so that the others couldn't see his expression. Then, he looked at the dragons again and smiled widely. "Finally… This is fun!"
Mystic gulped at his reaction. "Fun? This is fun for you?"
The Diamond Kingdom's soldier wasn't the only one that found this odd. Daisy was also thinking deeply about what she was seeing as she gazed upwards.
"It seems like Lucas has stopped caring about those illusions and just keeps attacking the enemy. It's good, I guess but I'm getting a weird feeling that it's not just that. How do I put it… It's almost as if… he's purposely letting her get her illusions off and then attacking her. I don't want to admit it but it seems like he actually wants to battle her, prolonging this fight!"
She closed her eyes and delved deeper into her theory.
"Her Illusion Magic with the meteors - He could've used Ki or his quicker speed to just avoid them altogether, but he chose to use his magic and destroy each meteor… Not to mention the fact that they're only illusions! They won't physically hurt, but then what Mystic just said right now… those dragons aren't normal illusions. Although… it doesn't even seem like Lucas is trying to find out an answer and just wants to…", she gulped as she repeated what he said back through her head. "... Have fun".
She looked up into the sky, focusing on the battle but, with the way it was going, she could sense something bad was going to happen.
Lucas spun in place and his wing-blade seemed to sharpen with sparks of dark-blue magic coming out quickly and randomly. This manoeuvre destroyed most of the dragons except one which he decided to use to his advantage.
"That was easy? Hm, I guess that with Mystic's magic it doesn't seem like she's much of a battle mage and that's why she opted to go with the mental attacks instead of physical ones. Saying that, I can tell these dragons have a bit of solidity to them and… this battle has bored me so… I'll decide to do this!"
Lucas started flying as high as he could and the lone, black dragon followed him. The ground beneath him started to look like an assortment of blurs and dots to him and he stopped going further. Then, his grimoire opened up and he started to descend.
"Time Magic: Alter Accel!" Instead of turning his wrist clockwise, he started spinning in place as he flew downwards and back towards Mystic. Instead of the blue glow of the spell transferring onto a spell, he became the blue glow as he increased his speed by a lot.
He re-entered Mystic's eyesight but she was confused by this manoeuvre. "I don't really understand his play but I'm definitely ready for him!"
Lucas saw his opponent brace herself and then phased out of view in a blue flash with his heightened speed. The dragon kept on descending and, since it didn't have the ability to disappear, kept on going.
"I wonder where he's gone?" Mystic questioned as she saw her dragon spell fall randomly and she turned her head to look around but couldn't spot him but that was when her dragon switched directions and headed straight for her. "Why is it coming for me?!" She realised as she looked back. "Hang on. I can just get rid of the spell with my own magic…".
Mystic went to get rid of her spell but that was when she felt something close in on her neck from behind. Her black eyes widened and then slowly shifted to the side to see the shadow of someone looming over her. She went to speak but no words came out with the firm grasp that held onto her.
Lucas had Mystic by the throat and all she could do was flail around. The black dragon was homing in on Lucas but, with the way things were going, it would hit Mystic first.
Realising that her prediction was true, Daisy stood up but it wasn't without struggle. Her stamina was shot all the way down and the strength in her legs were small.
"This… isn't looking good…", she thought as she powered through to stand.
"I really do wish you were more of a battle-oriented mage, Mystic. I thought I could have fun when you unleashed those dragons but it was very short-lived", he sighed as he shook his head.
"You're… gonna let me go, r-right?" She asked, worried.
Lucas tilted his head to the side, confused. "Now, why would I do that?"
Those were the last words Mystic heard as she felt the full force of her own dragon crash into her, violently pushing against her body which made it swing like a light cloth in the wind. Her entire body was bloodied and her eyes were completely white with her irises disappearing as she experienced a lot of pain.
The spell dispersed as it hit, showing that it wasn't even that much stronger than her other illusions. Black smoke formed around and, when it settled down, showed that Lucas was still intact, despite being so close to his opponent. His hand was still around her neck and she was covered in wounds. His right arm was free and he raised it towards her neck, resting the blade by her trembling skin.
There was a shadow casted over his eyes, only showing the bright blue shining through the darkness and his mouth was tense with his one fang in clear view.
"It looks like he'll succumb to his heightened emotions", the Witch Queen looked on. "The increase in power has yielded some interesting results and I'm interested to see more…".
She thought about Asta, repeating her own words in her head.
"There's absolutely nothing special about you but that is exactly what makes you special".
Then, her focus went back on Lucas. "Yourself and Asta are certainly special in your own right. In this world, there are many special beings and you are one of them, Lucas. Special in your magic and special in your Hybrid history".
"It's a completely different type of 'special' compared to Asta".
"I… guess… your ideals really d-don't mean much t-t-to you…", Mystic smirked, managing to get some words out as it seemed like this would be her end. She felt Lucas's grip around her throat tighten.
Lucas slowly started to move his bladed arm but then felt something very cold at the back of his head, snapping his thought process away. He turned around, only to see Daisy with her grimoire out down below.
She was juggling very small balls of ice on her feet, ready to strike at her friend but they were quickly fading as she had little-to-no mana left.
"LUCAS! This… isn't you!" She screamed but looked up again at the ominous sight she saw. "You can't be one of those…".
FLASHBACK - SEVEN YEARS AGO:
"Can we read a more… grown-up book, please?"
"Oh, are you sure? You're only a kid, so-".
"I'm not scared of anything! Hey, what about this book?"
"Uhh, I don't know about this one…".
"Well, I think we should!"
It was just past the evening in Nean and the cold winter snow had started to settle outside. Each house was illuminated by a few candles placed in key points, warming up everyone inside.
Two people were having a conversation in one, specific house. It was slightly bigger than the other ones around and was made of hard, grey stone and red bricks that were cobbled and packed together. A singular, light-brown door separated the outside from the inside and there were two windows either side with a candle in each.
The source of the conversation was between a nine-year-old Daisy and her mother. They were laying in bed together but the girl was way too restless to sleep.
"Daisy…", her mother sighed. She flicked her rosy-red hair to the side, her long bangs at the front covering her eyes momentarily before she moved them away to show her sea-blue eyes. "Are you sure you want to read 'The Ancients: Devils'?"
The wary woman turned the book in her hands, looking at how thick it was.. It almost looked like a basic grimoire with the front and back covers being quite plain with the general colour scheme being black and brown. Right in the middle of the front, there was a four-leafed clover that looked like there was another leaf sprouting out from the top and the number '5' was next to the title.
"Yes!" Daisy replied, pumping her fists up high which met the wall behind as the bed was perpendicular to it. "Last week, we finished 'The Ancients: Vampires' which was the fourth instalment in the series and this one is the fifth! See, look at the number five next to the title!"
"These aren't even storybooks or fairytales. It's literally just an information book based on rumours from long ago…". The red-haired woman looked next to her to see her daughter pouting. She's never scared by these types of books… Even I am, but I guess it's my fault for having these just laying around the house. I'm glad that Alice, Grace, Sonia, and Chloe are all way too young to read if Daisy is already like this!" She sweat-dropped before opening the book to the first page.
"To my beloved wife, Freya…", Daisy started to read as she saw a small message inside the front cover of the book. "Oh, was this from Dad?" She asked, gulping.
Freya turned the page over quickly, ignoring the message. "It doesn't matter. Well, if you want to listen to me read then you have to be quiet, okay?"
"Okay, Mom!"
The two started to turn the pages, reading the large book about devils. The first few pages were just general introductions which included the appearance of devils.
"The beings from the other world all consist of a similar appearance; Horns on top of their heads, fangs for teeth, wings from their backs, and an altered torso - much different to a human's".
Freya looked to the right to see stars in her daughter's eyes. Then, she looked straight at the small mirror on the opposite wall and saw that there was an awkward fear in her own.
"You… really do like these sorts of stories, don't you?" Freya asked.
"I mean… it's cool, right? Since it's not real there's no reason to be afraid of them!" Daisy replied, cuddling with her mother.
"That's an interesting way of seeing it. Wow, you're even braver than me, Daisy!" Freya giggled, flipping the page.
"You… want to carry on, Mama?" Daisy asked, confused.
"You're here to protect me so there's no need to worry!"
The two continued reading for a few more minutes as the flames in the candles started to slowly extinguish.
FLASHBACK - END
"You just can't be…!" Daisy hoped. "I was only a kid back then so I didn't really understand the implications, but seeing something similar to what we read all those years ago is...".
Lucas's attention was on the Blue Rose down below and this allowed Mystic to wriggle free for the time being. She used her illusions to place a copy of herself in Lucas's hand that he was using to grab her neck and this meant he didn't realise that she was away.
"Daisy, what do you think you're doing?" Lucas asked, a vein popping through the side of his head.
"I'm stopping you from making a big mistake!"
"She's the enemy! She's from the Diamond Kingdom! You think they don't deserve to suffer?"
"Stop your crazy talk! What they deserve is none of our business! We do what's right and killing others because you think they deserve it is not what Magic Knights do!"
"Hmph. Talk like that will only get you killed", Lucas retorted, turning back to the Mystic that was in his grasp.
"As a Magic Knight, witnessing death is inevitable. It's always going to happen but… involving yourself with it in the way that you're considering is not right, especially with how you've been viewing things! You're special in the way that you want to save others no matter what, so you can't just throw that ideal of yours away!"
"Maybe that way of thinking was never right in the first place. Maybe… that Lucas has disappeared".
"I don't think that's the case. This Lucas that I see right now isn't going to be at the pinnacle. That Lucas is the one that's going to be the Wizard King, no matter what!"
Lucas's body flinched as soon as he heard those last few words. He loosened his grasp on Mystic who fell and disappeared in a purple flash of smoke but he couldn't really react to that since his body was moving abnormally. His arms started moving by themselves and he covered his face with them, almost scratching it off.
"Give me… back… my body!"
Lucas woke up from his unconscious state a few moments ago and was now watching everything unfold through Shadow's eyes. He was still trapped in the black space with nothing but a shallow puddle beneath him. Anger was sewn into his expressions as he saw everything that Shadow was doing with his body and he hated not being in control.
As time went by, the dark-blue Time Magic around him grew stronger and more violent, surrounding Lucas with no room for escape. He was truly trapped right now and felt like he was losing total control over his body.
"I need… to get control back! But… I'm stuck in this place. I guess I'm inside my own mind but I need to break free. What can I do…?"
Lucas pondered as he watched Shadow fly across the sky, battling Mystic. He saw the Raging Army of Flames spell from Mystic and then he saw Shadow's manoeuvre where he directed her own attack back at her.
Time was running out and he saw Mystic in Shadow's left hand. That was when Daisy hit him in the head with her Ice Magic, breaking Shadow's concentration.
"Daisy's given me a few more seconds, I have to concentrate! Wait - concentrate? C-Concentration! Th-That's it! I need to use Ki to get out of this blasted space!"
Lucas's panicking made him think about everything except for Ki. Quickly, he tried using it and it worked, despite feeling that something was off.
"I'll use Ki on myself… just like how I used Heaven's Time initially and with Alter Accel and Alter Deccel…".
He closed his eyes, tightening as hard as he could. He pictured the outline of his body in his mind and saw a raging, dark-blue colour inside that had bursted outwards from the right side of his body, almost consuming him fully. The yellow colour that represented his Light Magic was just a little spec on the left side that was drowning in the sea of Time.
"The Time mana is going haywire! Perhaps that's the reason I lost control as well as why I transformed… To get back to normal or, at least, back in control, I'll need to regulate the flow of my Time Magic, bringing it back inside my body. If I can't do all of it then I'll need to do most of it".
Lucas started breathing at regular intervals, calming himself down. He could still feel Shadow in control of his body but Daisy was doing a good job at distracting him so Lucas could focus without worrying.
"Bring in the excess mana… and give more power to my Light mana. Weaken my time half and strengthen my light half…", he kept repeating this to himself over and over again.
The outwards Time mana slowly started to weaken, growing smaller and reverting back into his body. That was when he managed to gain control over his hands again.
"Give me… back… my body!"
The black space that Lucas was in started to break apart like glass, revealing the outside world piece-by-piece. The light was pouring in and the darkness was fading.
"Get… back… in your cage!" Shadow roared, trying his best to resist.
"I know I neglected you - my Time Magic - for a very long time but… I have to regain my body. To be fair… we need to talk with each other again but… right now… is not the time… for it!"
The ominous darkness faded away, leaving Lucas in the outside world for what seemed like a very long time. He covered his bright, blue eyes with his bladed arm, shielding from the setting sun's rays.
He then slowly lifted his arm, getting used to the surroundings and saw that he was still floating in the air with his bladed wing flapping against the blowing wind.
"I'm still… in this form?" Lucas wondered, examining himself. "Huh? I wonder how that's happened?"
He used Ki on himself again and pictured the outline of his body once more. Now it was calmer with the Time mana still outside of his body but not moving as violently. His Light mana was still on the left but secured instead of being consumed.
He then heard a shout from down below and saw that it was Daisy waving at him.
"Are you… back to n-normal? Well, not normal appearance-wise but more… in there?" She asked, pointing to her head.
"I- I think so!"
"Not for long!"
Suddenly, Mystic reappeared behind Lucas with no warning. He wasn't used to having this much Time Magic flowing outwards so his magic sensing wasn't exactly in tune. Even without that, his Ki should've worked but that was when he realised that something else drastic had happened.
"I… can't use Ki outwards?!" He tried again and again, despite being on the backfoot against Mystic. There was no change - he couldn't do it.
She slashed at him with her sharp tail as she spun in a circle. Lucas used his left arm as a shield but she cut through the skin, drawing blood. He opted to fly away but he was slower than before since it was him controlling instead of Shadow. Due to this, Mystic was able to catch up and slash at him again, sending him down to the floor near Daisy.
"I… don't know why… you seem weaker but… I'm not… c-complaining…!" She shouted, suffering from her large extent of injuries. She descended quickly and was about to attack Lucas once again but then something got in her way.
Daisy had her arms stretched out and she ran in front of Lucas, trying to shield him from the Diamond soldier. "You'll… have to get through me… first!"
"I guess… you'll be the first to… die then!" Mystic declared, not hesitating. She was a few metres away from Daisy but she was going to hit her.
"I've regained control but this isn't what I wanted to see! I have to save her… just as she saved me!" His mind went back to Daisy's earlier speech where she admitted Lucas was her ideal. Lucas closed his eyes and then felt his grimoire resonate with him.
His spellbook opened up to what seemed like a half-written page and began completing it, inscribing a spell.
"This spell… I think I vaguely remember trying to use it in the Temple of Valchronos but it never worked! Here's as good a time as any to try it out!"
Lucas stood up and his wing sharpened even more. Dark-blue sparks came off it with the blue outline glowing brighter. The mage read the page and focused on the incoming enemy.
"Time Magic: Chrono Wing!"
Lucas met Mystic in the air but he was much faster because of this spell. As he hit her, his wing started to spin which made the spellcaster spin as well, creating a vicious spiral that cut through her dragon wings and tail, leaving her grounded. The spell wasn't over though as the momentum carried him through, slicing at her body which also made her crash onto the floor, creating a large crater in the ground.
With a set of heavy breaths, Lucas had won but it wasn't just his victory. Daisy made a huge impact and Lucas appreciated that. However, right before he could thank the Ice mage, a burst of black mana escaped Mystic's body, disappearing as soon as it did.
"What… was that?" Daisy asked, falling to the floor since she was so tired. Her head was pounding and she didn't have the strength left to stand up anymore.
"I think… that was the thing that was in her syringe. Some kind of ominous power left her body…".
Suddenly, two figures came into view from the side with shocked expressions plastered over their faces.
"What…",
"The heck…",
"Happened here?!"
The two spoke in unison and their jaws were all the way on the floor.
"Oh, hi, Mariella… Domina…", Lucas waved.
Mariella walked forwards, wounds all over her body. She chose to ignore Lucas and Daisy to the side and decided to stare at Mystic who was definitely unconscious.
"No… You used it, didn't you…?"
The Witch Queen got rid of the orb, opting to discontinue her watch.
She turned her head and her body disappeared with the help of her black crows around her. Darkness grew as she was moving via flight. "I would've liked to see some conviction, Lucas, but I suppose I can't get everything I want. Although your power was certainly strong, I've decided on another one that will allow me to control my own fate. One that will ensure that my power stands atop of all. Unfortunately, you're rather incomplete, Lucas, but Anti-Magic is there for the taking…".
NOTES:
LOL. Despite me saying, literally in the last chapter, that I wanted to write some shorter chapters, I go ahead and write one that's above 10K words… hehehe. Oh well, it needed to be this long considering everything that I put in.
It might have been hard to follow with the scene changes being quite frequent but it was similar in the canon with how the fight between Asta and Ladros kept switching back to the Witch Queen who was commentating. I had it similar here with Lucas as well.
The other Lucas is interesting considering it's not a spirit like Bell or Salamander, but something else. It'll be explained shortly and I hope it's well received. I've had the idea about it since Chapter 1.
I hope seeing a more colder/serious Lucas was fun considering he can be quite calm/hesitant in some battles. I honestly wasn't sure of giving him the name 'Shadow' at first but it grew on me as I thought about it. It's like a presence that'll always follow Lucas and a shadow is exactly that, It also has those sinister/creepy connotations as well.
The Anti-Magic stuff will be explained, haha. I have a reason for it and I hope it works well. It's quite simple actually but I'll leave that for the chapter where I talk about it.
The Witches' Forest arc is coming to an end soon and it was quite tough considering the amount of breaks I took but I'm glad you lot are still here :P.
