Chapter 85: Intertwined Histories
Disclaimer:
Hi guys! I uploaded two chapters today with this being the second one. I did this because, originally, this chapter had both the contents here as well as the previous chapter's but I felt that it didn't work very well together with how many words there were. I know I've done 10K+ words before but, for these two chapters, it didn't work too well in my opinion. (Also, I was having a hard time figuring out the chapter title so separating it into two also helped, hehe ;P)
So, please read this one after the previous one!
There are references to events in past chapters to help with foreshadowing and whatnot. Here they are:
Chapter 1-3, 10, 21, 28, 40, 43, 75-77, 79-82
With that said, I hope you enjoy.
The evening sun's orange shine started to fade with the night's darkness replacing it. The shadows cast from the light were now everywhere as the day was ending.
The Witches' Forest took large amounts of damage from the two invading parties as well as the battles that ensued, but most of the witches' homeland was still standing.
The group of mages all returned to the Witch Queen's castle and they stood inside the throne room, looking up at the head witch who was sitting on her throne once again. The severed heads of deers decorated the room with flames rising out of them, creating a large amount of light.
"Before you ask your questions, I understand that the Eye of the Midnight Sun came for a Magic Stone in this forest. As a way to thank you for protecting the forest, as well as an apology of my actions against you, take this". The Witch Queen raised her left hand towards her left ear and took the earring off, throwing it towards Finral who caught it.
"H-Huh? You had a Magic Stone this whole time! That was easy to get!" Finral smiled, putting the stone in his grimoire satchel for safekeeping.
"That was in no way easy!" The rest of the mages all shouted, prompting the Spatial mage to sigh.
"M-My bad…", he replied, sweat dripping. He then brought out a notebook, ready to jot the incoming information.
"Do you know why they want these Magic Stones?" Lucas asked, picturing the stone tablet back when he and Asta were kidnapped during the attack on the Royal Capital. "It seems like they're obsessed with them".
"The Magic Stones have the ability to heighten the wearer's powers by a great amount. Many years ago, they were scattered around the Clover Kingdom and I managed to find one, opting to keep it", the Witch Queen answered, but continued on. "However, only those of the Elven tribe or ones close to them are able to use them properly, so the fact that humans need such items remains a mystery".
"Elven tribe… Do you mean elves?" Fanzell asked.
"Correct. The elves were a race that lived in what's now called the Forsaken Realm around 500 years ago. They were extremely strong and blessed by mana and even matched up to me in some cases", the Witch Queen replied.
"Just how old is this woman?!" Daisy thought to herself. "500 years is five centuries and if she's comparing her own strength, then…", she gulped, choosing not to ask.
"Furthermore, with such strength, people came to fear them, worrying about what could happen if they chose to use that power selfishly. Due to that thinking, the elves were eventually massacred", the Queen added.
"Who could hope to do that against elves? You're talking about how strong they are so who could exceed that to massacre them?" Noelle asked, scratching her chin.
"The genocide was carried out by the humans".
All of a sudden, a lot of the group's interactions with the Eye of the Midnight Sun started to make sense.
"Whenever we came up against them, they always referred to us as humans as if we were something different to them", Vanessa noted, scratching her cat's chin that was sitting on her right shoulder. "I always found it weird when they're humans as well".
Fana started to hold her head, wincing as she remembered some scattered and fading memories from when she was under control.
"Don't speak as if we're friends, human".
"Take this, humans. For all the suffering you've caused us… let me return the favour!"
She slowly let go of her head as the pain stopped. "It's just as Vanessa says. They have a profound amount of hatred for humans. I feel it even now, inside my head. Even though my connection to whatever it was that controlled me is slowly fading away, there's a part of me that still has some hate while it's there".
"Do you remember anything else, Fana?" Mars asked as he stood right beside her.
The Flame mage closed her eyes, remembering the battle against Asta. "I remember… a red sky…".
The sky was dark with an ominous hue of red all around. There was a yellow magic circle etched above everyone and was shooting out magical bullets through everyone that happened to be below.
"Everyone was dying…".
Bloodcurdling screams rang everywhere. The people who tried to escape were all shot down by the powerful magic in the sky.
"I think… it's the massacre that the Witch Queen spoke about. My parents, my friends, even m-me… I- I died!"
Mars wrapped his arm around the panicked Fana and pulled her in for a hug. "That's enough. You don't have to remember anything else about that. Sorry for asking you to".
"N-No, it's fine. After everything that I've done… I wanted to help", she replied with a half smile.
The Witch Queen corrected her posture. She was quite interested in what the Dual mage had to say but this was likely not the time to indulge, she realised. "The Third Eye is a faction of the terrorist group, correct? Well, the term 'Third Eye' is actually a form of Forbidden Magic which allows whoever uses it to essentially 'see through' what they otherwise shouldn't be able to".
"What does that… mean?" Fana asked.
"We know that someone or something has been controlling her. Is it linked with that?" Domina asked, needing to know the answer for the fellow Diamond Kingdom native.
"Correct. Third Eye magic allows the spellcaster to infiltrate anything they desire. If someone was controlling her then it means they were using her body for their benefit. You also mention that the connection is fading away, does that include the memories that you've been seeing?" She asked Fana.
"Y-Yes. It mainly started when I fought against Lucas but now I can only remember two or three memories and even they are disappearing". She turned to look at Lucas who turned away, still confused about what he was feeling with her.
"Who was that human back there? The Hybrid - as Licht says. My head hurts when I think of him… but it feels like I know him".
"Y-Your face… I c-can't see it…".
"The person who was controlling you had history with Lucas, that's the truth. But as to who and how that's possible, that's another topic of which I assume you'll want to talk about after this", the Witch Queen replied.
"Wait, guys… Going back to the whole elf stuff - Would it be possible for elves to be controlling Fana through the Third Eye Magic? I mean… the Eye of the Midnight Sun calls us humans and we know that elves were a whole different race, then…". Daisy had her eyes closed one moment, piecing things together in her head. Eventually, she opened them and her question quickly came out.
"No, that can't be", Noelle replied. "The Witch Queen said they were massacred".
"Actually, that might not be such a wrong theory", the witch interrupted. "The Eye of the Midnight Sun may be composed of elven descendants. If there were any survivors of the tragedy, they may have continued their race and that would explain why they still have such a hatred for humans".
"Hm, so the fact that they're collecting all of these Magic Stones is quite pointless for them considering they won't be able to use it. Then, Asta, what was that stone tablet for?" Lucas was confused as he was missing something key.
The Blood Magic user's eyes squinted at what Lucas said. "Stone tablet, you say?"
"Yeah, Asta and I saw something like that with a few stones already implanted in. It's a shame that we don't know where it's located since we were taken there accidentally".
"Hm", the Witch Queen pondered. "I have a theory. If these supposed descendants still have the latent abilities that the elves possessed, then using the Magic Stones isn't impossible. The fact that you mention a stone tablet is cause for concern, though".
"If it's something that the stones are needed for then it's quite important, right?" Vanessa asked.
"Correct. Tablets like the ones you described are one of the origin points for Forbidden Magic which usually requires a sacrifice. Knowing what we know about this terrorist group, it's plausible that they would do whatever to obtain that kind of magic".
"But what kind of Forbidden Magic could it be?" Finral asked, now onto his third notebook.
"I'm not sure but, judging by their history, another Ancient Demon could be on the cards. The one from 500 years ago was a spell activated by the leader of the elves, after all", she responded.
"What?! Then that means… the skull in Hage Village…", Asta brought up but was interrupted afterwards.
"... Is the remains of that very Ancient Demon", the Blood Mage answered.
"Holy shit…", everyone thought in unison.
Moving on quickly as Asta's mind was working overtime with a lot of information entering. "When my arms were cursed…", he asked, pointing his hand up. "... Does that mean an elf had something to do with that?! Vetto, who also had a third eye, was the reason for it…".
"Like I said, it's most likely a descendant but, yes, that could be true. In fact, Asta, you have more than one connection to the Eye of the Midnight Sun and, most likely, the elves", she explained. "The reason they acquired Anti-Magic is a mystery, though".
"Huh? I do?" Asta replied, shocked and slightly afraid. "Wh-What do you mean?!"
"Your swords; the Demon-Slayer and the Demon-Dweller are ruined remnants of the weapons that belonged to the leader of the elves", she explained.
"That reminds me…!" Asta said as he thought back to the incident in Nean.
"Why on earth do you have them?! That grimoire… and the swords that came out from it… How dare you touch both the Demon-Slayer Sword and the Demon-Dweller Sword?!"
"The Demon-Slayer and the Demon-Dweller should not be with you, along with that grimoire! They are the master's so return them now!"
"Do you guys remember what that Licht guy was on about? He said that my weapons belonged to their master!" The ashen-haired teen shouted, also piecing some things together.
"If we take that statement with what we've theorised so far, then could their master be the leader of the elves, or at least someone that is a direct descendant to who the two swords would've been passed down to eventually?" Lucas asked, pointing his finger up to make a point.
"Most likely, yes", the green-clad witch responded.
"Also…", Lucas added as his grimoire opened up, revealing his Dual Blades. "Do you have any knowledge on this? Does the Eye of the Midnight Sun, or the elves, have anything to do with these weapons as well?"
"Ah, they're involved with your Hybrid history. Though it perplexes me as to how a human could be one of them, it looks like it's true", she replied, staring deeply at the Magic Knight.
Then, a stream of hands all popped up.
"What even is a Hybrid?" Daisy asked.
"Yeah, we heard you shout about them when we fought you before the two invading parties all arrived", Fanzell remembered.
Fana had her hand raised as well. "It's one word that I think I've heard multiple times while I was under control. I don't remember the explanation, though…".
Everyone then looked at the Witch Queen for answers. It was clear that she knew something about the term and what it meant, so all eyes and ears fell to her.
"Hybrids were another race but very different to the elves. In fact, they were so different that you wouldn't be able to call them natural", she started to explain.
"Not natural?" Lucas repeated but then remembered something else that was said earlier.
"To think that a Hybrid, one of the most impure monstrosities in history, found its way to my doorstep".
"You know nothing of what you are - The disgusting events that led to your kind's creation?"
"You were quite rude back then, not that it's anything out of the ordinary. Though you did lose your cool when you mentioned it", Domina added.
The Witch Queen closed her eyes, shaking her head at the comment. "The hybrids were amalgamations, if you will. The reason why I call them unnatural is because of how they were created".
"And how were they - I created?" Lucas asked, feeling his heart beat quickly.
The Blood mage paused for a few seconds. She massaged her temple with her thumb and index finger before responding.
"The hybrids… are the offspring of devils and angels".
Lucas took a step back with such a bomb of information dropping on him. His calm blue eyes were now anything but.
"Wh-What do you mean… devils and angels?" He asked, shocked to the core.
"I mean exactly that. I only know bits and pieces of hybrid lore since it is shrouded in a thick layer of mystery. However, the knowledge I do have is absolute. The reason why the hybrids were looked down upon was because of how impure they were in the grand scheme of things", the Queen added.
"So… Am I not human?" Lucas gulped.
"No, that is what confuses me. You are indeed human but with the abilities of a Hybrid. It's rather peculiar…", she trailed off.
The others in the group were just as shocked as Lucas. They were exchanging looks with whoever looked their way, they slyly glanced at the hybrid in question but that was the extent of it.
"It… makes sense, I guess. The information book about devils that I read with my mother all those years ago - Who'd have thought it was an accurate telling?!" Daisy thought back.
"Devils and… angels? I feel like I spoke to something that closely resembled a stereotypical devil but I really can't remember anything else…". Asta tried to remember during the time he was fighting Ladros but his head was all fuzzy.
Lucas shook his head as he tried to focus once more. His mind was on overdrive, trying to picture and make sense of everything he was being told.
"S-So… Could you tell me more about devils and angels?" He asked.
"They are two complete opposites. Devils and angels have been at war since the beginning of time. As I said, my knowledge is limited but, when the hybrids were created, it meant disastrous consequences for each race. The devils were sealed wherever they originated from and the angels… well, no one has ever come into contact with them since their leader disappeared".
"Devils were sealed? Aren't they supposed to be all-powerful?" Fanzell asked, confused.
"Could it be another situation where the humans were responsible?" Mariella theorised.
"Impossible", the Witch Queen replied quickly, as if completely dismissing the notion. "Humans wouldn't have been able to lay a single finger on beings such as devils and angels".
"Then… What happened?" Lucas asked, needing to know.
"The devils were sealed by the angels. Contrary to what you'd think about them, they were capable of wielding dark and ominous powers which was how they did it ".
"Wait. Why would the angels seal the devils if they both created the hybrids?" Daisy asked.
"It's believed that certain factions of the angel race were disgusted with the actions of their subordinates that were involved with the devils in that way", the witch replied.
"So, a political mess was the reason...", Daisy thought.
At this point, Asta's mind had exploded and he was laying on the floor, starting to roll around in pain. "This is all SO confusing! Humans killed elves, angels sealed devils, my weapons belong to the elf leader, Lucas is a human with hybrid blood… Is anything even normal anymore?!"
"Though it pains me, I find myself agreeing with Asta. To think that two anomalies found themselves in this forest is certainly… not normal. I'll chalk it up to coincidence but it is rather interesting", the head witch nodded.
"Um…", Noelle raised her hand. "Could there be other people like Lucas around, then? I mean… it's certainly possible, right?"
"Of course, but not in the way you're thinking. The reproduction of devil-angel hybrids ceased after the former were sealed but many races tried to replicate what they did in hopes of birthing another sub-race of powerful hybrids. The elves were in the process of combining with other races, there were rumours of vampires as well, and the most commonly known example is with humans and dwarves, though I'm not entirely sure what happened to the dwarves".
"What about our connection… or whatever it is?" Fana asked as she pointed at Lucas and then back at herself. "I'm not sure what being a hybrid has to do with that".
"Does it go back to the elves?" Mars wondered.
"I assume it does. The elves served the angels and I'm not sure if it was a religion or something else but they had a close connection with them. If you say that you have memories of Lucas, and vice versa, even though you two right now don't know each other, then it's most likely that the one controlling Fana has a deep connection with Lucas, not you", she replied. "I struggle to understand how Lucas knows the name 'Fana' though. Perhaps it's someone in the past - an elf - with the same name but that would be quite the coincidence".
"I see…", the two in question said together.
Lucas looked at Fana, angry at himself for being weird with her considering this Fana is not at fault with anything. "She was just a victim in all of this… I have to apologise to her later", he thought to himself.
"Is that all?" The Witch Queen asked, seeing as the rest of the mages were all either silent with shock or mumbling something to themselves as they tried to understand everything they were told.
"One last question", Vanessa said as she stepped forward in between Asta and Lucas, putting her arm around her squad mate. "It's something that you can probably shed a light on since it happened right in front of you. Asta's transformation is something we'd like an explanation of".
"Hey, Lucas went through something similar considering what I saw but… You'd know about them both, wouldn't you?" Domina said as her eyes looked straight into the Witch Queen's.
She stood up for the first time, looking directly at the two who underwent transformations earlier in the day.
"Asta, your power of Anti-Magic is a mystery, even to me, so I don't have much to say about your transformation. Though it's true I was the cause of it, it's only because you had the latent ability to undergo it in the first place that allowed your change to happen. I believe figuring out the connection between your grimoire and your swords holds the key to it", she explained.
Then, she solely focused on Lucas. "You, on the other hand, I have some answers for. Your transformation loosely resembles what a hybrid of the time would have looked like. Your Time mana manifested in that way but that means your Light mana has the ability to do so as well".
"Time mana…", Lucas repeated before remembering. "I have… one last question. Sorry about all of this, you guys. I know you'd rather be home by now but I'm hogging up all of the time…", he apologised to the rest.
"No worries, Lucas. You're a friend and that means we'll wait", Vanessa smiled, putting her thumb up.
"Just try not to take another whole hour, yeah?" Mariella added, winking ever so slightly so no one else would notice.
Lucas smiled before looking back. "While I was in the process of transforming, or maybe it was when my body was on auto-pilot and I started acting differently, I spoke to another version of myself. He described himself as one of my key emotions - anger".
"What would that mean?" Daisy scratched her head as she tried to think.
"Whenever I'm overly angry, apparently it's the other me starting to take over. It happened in the Forgotten Forest when we fought against Rhya, and it's happened a few other times as well", the Time mage explained.
Asta and Noelle then gasped, remembering how Lucas was during the special decoration ceremony.
"Come to think of it, Lucas has never acted out on his anger before".
"Back then, we didn't really know him too well so we thought it was just his personality".
"So, if it was a different version of Lucas, it would make sense as to why he came across so differently".
The Witch Queen replied. "Usually, a person's emotions are not supposed to become a separate entity in itself - It's quite extraordinary. If you feel a disconnect between yourself and this… 'anger', when they're both fundamentally you, it would mean your soul is fractured - shattered, if you will".
"A shattered soul?" Lucas repeated, worried about himself once more.
"It's very rare but it can happen to some people, especially when there's powerful magic involved. A soul in itself is very important in this world since grimoires are tied to them. It provides an unbreakable bond between a person and the ability to use magic spells. For you, however, it seems like this very bond has been compromised".
"I've never done anything to break that bond, though! I've used my magic and never… hid away… from it. No… I did exactly that when I refused to use my Time Magic for years!" Lucas realised, face-palming.
"You… refused to use one of your powerful attributes?" The Blood mage asked, surprised.
Lucas explained parts of his childhood to the Witch Queen, not scared about it anymore. She relayed the key bits of information like the abuse he suffered and his reasoning to only focus on his Light Magic.
"I apologise but… no, something like that wouldn't be the reason your soul is shattered. Something extreme would have had to happen to you for this to occur", she replied. "Furthermore, to heal this state of disconnect, mending the relationship between the two parts of the soul is necessary, but the way in which you do so is something you need to find yourself as each individual case is different".
"It wasn't because of that?! Shadow told me I rejected him so if it wasn't because of the abuse, then what was the reason?" Lucas thought to himself. "Healing this problem is going to be hard…".
"Perhaps it's linked to your hybrid past? I still don't understand how you have the same abilities as that sub-race but I assume the future will unlock those answers for you".
Lucas wasn't panicking but he was silent in the middle of the room. He was in his own world with a mountain of new questions piling up with no answers readily available to help him out. His blue eyes were widening and pulsating, confused with what to think.
Someone nearby then put a hand on his shoulder, bringing him out of his worried trance.
"Asta…?" He said, turning his head back to look at the smiling swordsman.
"You don't have to worry about all of that right now. I mean, look at me, I'm kind of in the same boat as you! I've got some odd power, I don't really know where I came from, and, judging by the descriptions we've heard, our new forms bear a similar resemblance! Of course, I'm worried and all but we need to take these things in our stride", he said as he sent his free fist towards Lucas, ready for a bump. "Whatever you may be, whatever your history, you'll always be the same to us. You're our friend, Lucas!"
Lucas calmed himself down and smiled back. "He's right. My worrying about all these confusing topics is going to get me nowhere. Like the Witch Queen said, perhaps the future will answer my questions anyway. It's good to know that I'm not so different after all, huh?"
After that, the Witch Queen sat back down on the throne made of brown, dead branches. The severed head of the deers nearest to her started to dimmer with the intensity of the flames.
"Now, I assume that is all?"
Eventually, the group of mages all made their way out from the Witch Queen's castle. Everyone had left except for Vanessa as the Witch Queen asked her to.
"If I remember correctly, you wanted me to teach you Ancient Dispelling Magic?" The Witch Queen asked Vanessa who stood below her, looking right up.
"Yes. That was the reason why we came but you already fixed Asta's arms so there's no need for your help anymore", the Thread mage replied coldly.
"I see…", she responded, not really knowing what else to say".
"Is that everything, then?" Vanessa asked, turning her face and body away from her mother.
"Take this, just in case you'll ever need it". The Blood mage summoned a vial with her blood, giving it to her daughter. "Though it's not the magic you originally came here seeking, it has the same effect".
"Thanks, I guess", Vanessa replied. She then started to head towards her broomstick to make her way to the rest of the group.
"Wait".
"What is it?" The Thread mage replied hastily. "Are you going to keep me here or let me leave?"
"I'm…", she coughed before going to speak again. "You are now free. The Witches' Forest is now open to you and Dominante. You will not be sent away, and the doors will now react to your presence so that you won't have to use other methods to enter".
Vanessa's eyes widened and she was about to put her hand to her mouth but she stopped. Quickly, her demeanour switched from a surprised one to a more unbothered one. "Hm, I don't need you telling me whether or not I'm free but… I appreciate the gesture, nonetheless". She headed for the large opening in the side of the castle, hopping on her broomstick.
"I know you think I hate you, and maybe for a large amount of time I thought I did, but… all I really wanted before choosing the path of freedom was a real mother. Perhaps… in the future, you'll grant me that wish", Vanessa said before flying away.
All of the mages that left the Witch Queen's castle now stood outside its entrance. The Magic Knights stood on one side, whereas the Diamond Kingdom natives stood on the other. The white moon was halfway to its peak and its calm rays shone down on the ground, illuminating the ones that were underneath.
"Now that we're all here, shall we get going?" Finral asked, about to generate a Spatial portal.
"Hold up, what's the rush? We have to say goodbye to everyone!" Domina pouted, putting her hands on her hips.
"Are you guys headed back to the Diamond Kingdom? Won't you be branded as traitors if they learn what really happened here?" Asta asked Mars.
"We'll have a bit of time before it comes to that", he replied and then pulled out a small, glass vial filled with a red, stringy liquid. "The Witch Queen gave us this with the effects of her Puppet's Blood inside. I've decided that, instead of working for the king or the two professors, I'll fight back and make the Diamond Kingdom peaceful! I'll be using this to help me", Mars said as he looked towards the distance where his homeland would be.
Ladros then stepped forwards, wrapping an arm around the Mineral mage. "Of course, I'll be here to help you out!"
"Um, is that such a good idea?" Noelle folded her arms, looking dead into the attribute-less mage's eyes.
"Yeah, I'll keep him in check. Since the mage stone broke, it stopped affecting his mind and he's a bit more… shall we say, agreeable?" Mars explained. "Besides, because of that, I'm more than strong enough to restrain him, should the moment arise", he said as he glared at the blond-haired man who moved away from him.
Mariella then walked up to the spiky-haired older teen. "Could I ask you a favour?"
"Of course", he replied.
"We don't have the resources here and… if the higher-ups saw me return to the Diamond Kingdom, they'd have me killed immediately. So, what I'm saying is… Uh…", she tried to say but her words wouldn't come out properly. She started fidgeting with her fingers as she was getting nervous.
Thankfully, Mars knew what she was meaning to say. "You want us to take care of Mystic, right? Consider it done".
"Wow", she replied, surprised at how easily he agreed. "Obviously, I'd prefer to take care of her here but without the knowledge of what's in the research rooms back there, she'd just be unconscious the whole time. Oh, wait, instead of the research rooms, maybe one of the professors' rooms could hold the answer. Actually, um…". Mariella's mind was all over the place but Mars quickly eased her worries.
"Yeah, I understand. We'll definitely find something for her and, when she wakes up, you'll be the first to know", he smiled.
Mariella bowed her head for what seemed the first time ever. "Thank you… so much!"
"Seeing you now, compared to when you had your dagger to my neck in the morning, is quite the difference", Lucas teased, making the Ice assassin embarrassed but she quickly straightened herself out.
"Don't forget, Lucas, we still have a score to settle", she said, firing her glare at the Golden Dawn member.
"We do?" He pointed at himself, not knowing what Mariella meant.
"Oh yeah, we do. Remember that we started fighting earlier and got interrupted?"
"Yeah but that was just a misunderstanding!"
"Misunderstanding or not, I don't like to leave my battles unfinished", she winked, showing that it was all just a bit of fun. Though her wanting to fight was definitely the truth.
"Fine. I'll definitely be ready for that!" Lucas smiled, rolling his hand into a fist.
The others exchanged concerned looks.
"When did you guys fight?" Finral asked, squinting his eyes.
Lucas and Mariella sighed. "Long story".
Quickly switching the topic of conversation, the Time mage turned his face to Fana who jumped with the abrupt switch. "And you, Fana?" Lucas asked, speaking normally towards her for the first time.
Surprised that he spoke to her, she smiled. "I'll be staying with Master Fanzell, Lady Dominante, and Mariella. There's not much for me back in the Diamond Kingdom and if I do return, I can't even imagine the negative commotion it'll cause in the army".
"I see", Lucas replied before suddenly slapping his face on both cheeks. "Argh, I'm sorry for how I was acting with you after we fought. My mind was all confused and jumbled up and, when I didn't get the answers that I hoped I'd get, I sort of took that frustration out on you…".
Fana started to panic, waving her hands about and messing up on her words. "Um, ur, uhh, wh-what? N-No, don't worry about all of that! You didn't even come across that rude, ahaha…".
"To think that this person was hell-bent on burning us alive…", Vanessa joked.
"Yeah, this is the real Fana. Kind of clumsy but sweet at heart", Domina giggled.
Lucas pointed at Fana. "So, I was rude! See, you just admitted it!"
"Ahaha…", she sweatdropped. "No, but really, it's not a problem. I kind of understand your frustration and don't worry!"
"About what?" Lucas replied, tilting his head in confusion.
"I'll keep trying to remember anything I can!" She pumped her fists and flared her nostrils with steam coming out.
"Th-Thanks…", Lucas started to laugh at the sight in front.
Right after, everyone either started to laugh or just smiled at the two's interaction.
"So, friends?" Fana asked, holding her hand out towards Lucas.
"Friends", he smiled, taking her hand and shaking it.
Ladros came up behind Mars and whispered into his ear. "Hey, be careful of that one. He might steal your girl if you let him continue".
Mars headbutted the teasing general. "Don't be stupid. He's like 15 and Fana's 19".
He stared at Lucas and Fana, joking and smiling but Ladros's words kept creeping up into his mind. Soon, he started picturing himself where Lucas was and his cheeks became red with jealousy.
He walked over, as stiff as possible, and got in between the two.
"I h-hope… I'll be able to see you again, Fana!" He said quickly, trying to divert her attention from one Dual mage to the other, being himself.
Fana pouted. "Now, that was quite rude!"
"Haha, he really did get jealous!" Ladros chuckled.
From behind, Vanessa's threads wrapped around Lucas, pulling him over towards the rest of the Magic Knights. She bent down and whispered in his ear. "Don't take that to heart. Mars was getting all jealous since you were talking to his crush".
"I… see", Lucas realised, reddening at the cheeks as well.
"Sorry…", Mars apologised.
"Fine, I can't stay mad at you for too long!" She said, getting in even closer to the one she was barely a foot away from.
"Once I fix the Diamond Kingdom, I'll come back for you!" The Mineral mage said, pulling her in for a hug.
"Okay! I'll be waiting for that moment, Mars", Fana responded, wrapping her arms behind his back.
The two were in a warm embrace for a good few seconds, not noticing all the eyes on them.
"Ah, young romance", Domina squealed as she made a heart symbol with her fingers. "Remember when we used to be like that, darling?"
"Oh, why I do, my love", Fanzell replied, looking lovingly at his fiancee. "We used to be a couple of sweethearts".
Domina then paused, looking angry all of a sudden. "What do you mean… used to be?" She frowned.
"Um, honey, I didn't mean it like tha-!" The red-haired fugitive protested but it wasn't soon after that he was whacked in the head by the Black Market specialist.
"Should we… do something?" Asta asked, seeing the one-sided beatdown continue on.
"Nah, they'll be all good in a few seconds". Mariella then took a few steps away from the couple so that she wouldn't get caught in their scuffle.
Fana then let go of their embrace, turning to Lucas once again. "Sorry about how he just acted. Um…", she paused, seeing the person behind the one she was just speaking to. She walked over to her. "Sorry for my rudeness! At this point, I know everyone's names here except for yours!" She joined her hands together to apologise.
Daisy, who was first busy laughing at how Mars was acting and then seeing Fanzell and Domina's argument, wasn't even expecting to be spoken to. "Wh-What? Oh, hi Fana. Sorry, what did you ask?"
"Your name? I feel bad for not knowing it", she asked politely.
"Ah, you're such a goody goody, aren't you?" Mars thought, feeling a warm sensation inside his chest.
"I mean, it's not a problem. When we properly spoke earlier, we were fighting with all we had so getting to know each other's names was kind of out of the question, haha!" The Ice mage stuck her tongue out, winking.
The wind blew fiercely in between them, making the two girls the centre of attention. Everyone else's voices faded into the loud sound of the breeze passing through.
"My name's Daisy. Daisy Calor, if you'd like the full version", she smiled.
"Hi, Daisy, nice to meet you…", she said before her tone quietened. Then, all of a sudden, she took a step back and clutched at her head.
She heard a few voices in her head but she wasn't sure if it was from when she was being controlled, or even before that during her time in the Diamond Kingdom. Her memories were overlapping with each other, not knowing which voice came from who or which place she saw was from where.
Suddenly, she focused on one voice that sounded familiar, yet couldn't get an accurate read on. She could only picture their moving mouth as they said the following;
"Daisy Haines, the Fallen Noble…", she heard and repeated, confusing the rest of the group.
Fana opened her eyes as the pain subsided. This spelt the end of her foreign and intruding memories as she truly could not remember anything else to do with the Eye of the Midnight Sun anymore. That part of her was now gone.
Still, she repeated the name again as it was lingering on the tip of her tongue. "Does that… mean anything to you?"
Daisy scratched her head, looking into the distance. "No, sorry, that name means nothing to me. I have no idea what you just said", she shrugged.
"Hm, that's odd", Fana folded her arms. "When I heard your name, some weird voice played in my head that started to quieten as it went on. I wonder what it meant…", she sighed.
Seeing as that name meant nothing to Daisy herself, as well as anyone else around her, the topic was finished then and there. All it was chalked up to be was a weird moment that may have been influenced by whatever the Third Eye Magic did to her.
Eventually, after everyone's goodbyes, it was time for the large group to separate into two. Everyone was waving to one another but only Asta and Lucas remained behind for a few extra seconds.
The moon only illuminated the four in the middle as they looked at each other.
"I guess this is it for now, Mariella", Lucas smiled as he shook the fellow teen's hand.
"For now, yeah", she smirked. "Keep training until we meet again".
"If you ever need my help with anything, I'll come back straight away", Mars said as he bumped fists with the swordsman.
"Of course, it's the same for me as well", Asta replied, toothily smiling.
The large group became smaller and smaller as all of the mages went to wherever they were headed. The midnight moon was at its peak with a few, grey clouds floating above, trying to hide its calm shine.
"This really was… a very, long day…", Daisy spoke to herself, yawning as she got closer to her destination. Her eyes started to get all puffy since she was almost half-asleep.
The HQ of the Blue Rose Knights was silent with no one in sight. The only noise came from the gentle wind coming through that slightly rustled the tree leaves in the large, open courtyard. The stairs that led to the main door of the building had hedges of blooming, blue roses on either side and the Magic Knight slowly walked up.
"My legs kill from all the running around today, but… I can't rest too hard. Tomorrow… I'll help both Emilia and my sister out. Finally, I can be of use to them!" She smiled as she made her way upstairs towards her room.
She opened the brown, wooden door and flung herself on the bed. She stretched all of her limbs as hard as she could, letting out a loud and audible sigh as she did. After that, she changed into her dark-green nightgown which had patterns of different coloured flower petals. She walked up the bed frame and picked up her dark-blue nightcap and put it on her head, ready for bed.
Right before she went to lay down, she carefully put her grimoire satchel away in a drawer, covering it with plenty of soft materials to make sure nothing happened to the vial of the Witch Queen's blood.
Then, she looked at herself in the mirror, smiling.
"I'm all ready for tomorrow", she hummed to herself. Just before turning around, she replayed the day's events in her head.
Eventually, the last thing she replayed was the interaction between herself and Fana.
"Daisy Haines, the Fallen Noble…".
All of a sudden, Daisy snapped back to looking at the mirror. Her skin started to get hot and her head was now pounding like she had a big headache. She fell down to her knees, looking at the light-blue, circular rug beneath her that started to get wet from the droplets of sweat that fell from her forehead. Then, she looked at herself in the mirror and her face was as pale as a ghost with almost all of the colour leaving her skin.
As she opened her mouth, she felt her stomach churn and she threw up all over the floor. When she finished, she wiped her mouth and then focused on the mirror again and she saw how dishevelled she looked.
"I… worked so hard… to keep that part of me... hidden".
"Daisy Haines, the Fallen Noble…".
"How did she know that name? How did she know about that rumour?"
She pounded her fist onto the ground.
"H-How…?!"
NOTES:
The Witches' Forest Arc has now finished, phew!
I hope you liked the conclusion of this arc. It was something that I hoped was done earlier but things came up that delayed it, unfortunately. But… I did upload two chapters in one day so that's good, right? 😛
Not a lot of action in this chapter but A LOT of information and lore dumping. I hope it wasn't too much but I think it was good.
What did you think about how the two sets of histories connected? Hybrids being a sub-race and offspring of the devils and angels… It was something BIG that I was planning since Chapter 1 and this is only more crumbs of what will eventually happen in the future.
Obviously, hybrids and devils are connected which gives a connection between Lucas and Asta. However, the angel part is where it differs. I hope to show more of that side of the lore going forward.
Elves serving, or at least worshipping, the angels was a big thing as well which makes the fact that past Lucas and elf Fana meeting up make more sense.
The end though with Daisy… :O. What are your thoughts?
