The Next Morning, After the Party was Over

Finral just stared at the mess that was in the Hideout's common area and dining room, it looked like a tornado had gone through! There was trash and empty glasses everywhere, some leftover food crumbs, and even some scorch marks from Luck and Magna's brawl! Finral groaned before he slumped forward in defeat, where did he even begin?!

Usually Asta was the one who cleaned the Hideout after parties, gatherings, or on just any given day. But now that he was gone, the cleaning was left to Finral, and sometimes Ezio.

Finral walked around the room, grumbling about how everyone was adults, and so they should be able to clean up after themselves now, when he suddenly heard soft snoring from the couch. He turned to see who was snoring, and a soft smile appeared on his face.

Laying on the couch, an empty wine bottle in her arms, was his wife Vanessa, and on the floor in front of the couch was their son Ezio. Finral walked over to them and crouched down, apparently the two hadn't stopped partying even after everyone went to sleep. The two were surprisingly similar when it came to partying and having fun, although Ezio was a little more…cautious than his mother. He would party and have fun, but at the same time made sure everyone was safe and cared for. He would go around and scold people who were being too rowdy, but wouldn't take it too far.

Ezio was like the perfect combination of them.

Vanessa suddenly stretched her arms before throwing one around her son's shoulder, he watched her smile as though she recognized that, and she suddenly squeezed him close.

" Geez, even when you're sleeping, you're still clingy," Finral muttered with a chuckle as he stroked his wife's face and patted his son's head. " But then again, I already knew that,"

" Morning, Uncle Finral!" Brielle Silva, daughter of Asta and Noelle, suddenly shouted loudly. Causing him to jump.

" By the gods!" He shouted in fright as he suddenly turned around to look at the young girl with wide and fearful eyes. " Don't just shout like that, Brielle, you could've given me a heart attack!"

" Sorry, Uncle Finral, I forget you're at the age where you can have a heart attack at any little sudden noise!" Brielle said with a nervous laugh as she rubbed her head sheepishly, Finral glared at the girl.

" Seriously? How old do you think I am?!" Finral shouted, but she ignored him.

" Do you want me to help you clean up? I usually help papa around the house and in his office!" Brielle asked after she took a look around the room, Finral suddenly felt his annoyance dissipate and tears well up in his eyes at her offer.

" That would be wonderful." He sniffled as he watched the girl nod before reached over and grabbing a rag and tying it around her head.

" Alright, let's do this!"

As the Spatial mage watched her shout and clean the dining area, he couldn't help but watch her with a fond smile, she acted so much like her father it was almost uncanny. He had been a little concerned though when Noelle had called them last night and told them to watch the girls for a few days, she had said everything was fine but, it didn't sound that way. But the girls seemed very happy to be back at the Bulls, and admittedly the Bulls were all happy to have them there as well. Finral turned to give his wife and son one last warm look before he stood up and helped Brielle clean.

Later that morning, the other Bulls and their families awoke and headed to the dining room, where Charmy and Lovely were making breakfast.

" Morning Captain Yami" and " Morning Papa" rang out as Yami walked into the room with a loud yawn. He waved in greeting to them before he walked over and kissed his wife on the cheek, and his children on the tops of their heads.

" Morning brats," He said as he sat down across from his wife and beside Hikari.

" So, what's on the agenda today?'' Charlotte asked everyone as she took a sip of her tea, the Bulls all made humming noises.

" Well, I plan on sparring with Magna if there isn't any missions!" Luck said with a laugh, Magna snorted.

" You'd better hope there's a mission, otherwise this time I'm really going to kick your ass, you punk!" Magna said before he looked at Charlotte. " Chenille and Cory are going with Eirwen to the sewing shop, so it'll be a pretty boring day."

The other Bulls went through their list of activities that they were going to do for the day, and finally Charlotte looked at her own children.

" Hana, Einar, Hikari. What do you all plan on doing today?" She asked curiously.

" I plan on playing with Maelie and maybe Thomas too!" Einar said brightly as he ate a spoonful of his breakfast, Hana shrugged.

" I don't know, I'll probably just stay in and read. Maybe I'll practice some magic." Hana said softly as she took a sip of her water, then all eyes fell on Hikari.

" Well, I'm probably gonna train with Papa unless a mission comes up." Hikari said as she put a thoughtful hand under her chin, that was what she almost always did; she would either go see Alistar and train with him, or she would train with her parents, but no matter what she was always training.

" Why don't you take a break from training today and come with me to the Blue Rose Knights? I haven't seen them in a while, and neither have you, so we should go see them together." Charlotte suggested as she looked at her eldest daughter, the dark haired girl looked hesitant for a moment before she looked at her father.

" Go ahead, we can train when we both get back," Yami said as he took a sip of his coffee, Charlotte frowned.

" Where are you going?" She asked her husband curiously.

" I'm gonna go see if Braid Boy and the Sleeping Witch have any leads about the Cerberus group," Yami said as he looked over at her. " It shouldn't take too long, and since Asta's gone for a while, we won't be able to have an official meeting about it until he gets back. And I don't feel like waiting."

Charlotte nodded, this whole Cerberus thing had Yami antsy, that she could easily see.

Soon all the Bulls finished their breakfast and went their separate ways, leaving only Finral, Ezio, and Vanessa in the Hideout.

" Looks like I'm on clean-up duty…again!"

—-

Meanwhile, in the Spade Kingdom

Yuno stood at the end of the large king-sized bed that was in his and Neva's master bedroom, his eyes never leaving the figures lying in it. His youngest daughter, Kya, still hadn't woken up even though it had been a little over 12 hours, and her fever showed no signs of breaking. Neva, his wife, laid in the bed beside her and held her close. Neva hadn't muttered so much as a word since they had found her, and the look in her purple eyes told Yuno that she had put that diamond wall up again.

That diamond wall he had broken down many years ago, he silently hoped that it was only temporary.

" Sir? Are you listening?" He heard from beside him as he was pulled out of his thoughts. Yuno blinked a bit before he turned to look at the head Healer.

" I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

" I said we've done everything we could, so now it's up to the Princess whether she wakes up or not." The healer said softly and in a regrettable tone.

" She'll wake up. She has the strength and tenacity of her mother, so I have zero doubt that she won't wake up." He said softly but with a firm voice that left no room for argument. The healer looked over at Ralph for a moment before he nodded and excused himself from the room.

" Sir," Ralph said softly as he put his hand on his shoulder. " Lady Miku and Lord Kito are outside, the Queen Dowager tried to stop them, but…they inherited your stubbornness." Ralph continued, trying to make a more light-hearted comment towards the end. Yuno blinked a moment, ah, that was right, their other children were probably scared and confused about all the chaos in the Castle.

" I see, I'll go talk to them." Yuno said before he walked towards Neva, and he placed a hand on her back as he bent down a bit.

" I'm going to go outside for a minute to tell Kito and Miku what's going on, Ralph will be here the entire time, so if something happens tell him and he'll come get me. Okay?" Yuno asked softly as he used his other hand to move a piece of her long platinum-blonde hair out of her face. Neva just nodded as her eyes didn't leave her daughter's face. Yuno kissed the top of her and Kya's heads before walking out.

As soon as he opened the bedroom door, he was greeted by Miku's bright purple eyes, he blinked for a moment. When did she grow nearly as tall as him? His amber eyes traveled further down and saw that Kito was on all fours and Miku was standing on his back.

" What…are you two doing?" Yuno asked in confusion, but there was also a hint of amusement in his voice.

" We were trying to see if we could hear your voices better," Kito said as he appeared to be struggling to hold his older sister up. " But I don't think it worked!"

" It didn't," Miku said bluntly as she looked down at Kito. " If you had stayed still, maybe I could've heard them better."

" Well, if you didn't weigh as much as a flaming boar, then I wouldn't be shaking!"

" Do you even know how much a flaming boar weighs?" Miku asked with a quirked brow, looking nearly identical to her father and mother.

" No! But I do know they weigh a ton, like you!" Kito shouted in anger, suddenly the two children felt weightless as their bodies were lifted into the air by Yuno's wind magic. Their father didn't look annoyed like he normally did when they bickered, instead, he looked…amused.

He set his children back onto the ground gently before he chuckled and pulled them into a warm embrace. He really needed a laugh right now, and leave it to his children to provide it unintentionally. Miku and Kito looked at each other in a mixture of worry and confusion.

" Father, are you okay?" Miku asked after a minute. Yuno pulled away from his children and looked at them seriously before he nodded.

" I'm better now, but Momma and Kya aren't doing too good right now," Yuno admitted gently, both the children looked at each other before looking back at him.

" What's wrong? Are they sick?" Kito asked in concern as his eyes went back to the closed door behind his father, Yuno placed a hand on his son's head to calm him down.

" Kya…Kya is very sick right now," Yuno admitted, he was never one to lie, and he wasn't about to start with his children. " And momma's sick because she's worried about her."

" Is there anything we can do that'll help them?" Miku asked softly as she began to shuffle her feet back and forth, Yuno smiled before he patted her hair.

" The Healers are doing everything they can to help Kya get better, and I think momma will feel a lot better once she sees you." Yuno said as he looked from his daughter to his son. " Do you want to see her?"

The children eagerly nodded, but Yuno held a hand up before they could walk past him.

" But firstly, you guys need to promise to behave and to not bother your sister. She's asleep right now and is running a fever, and don't give your mother too hard of a time, she already has enough to deal with." He told them seriously but in a light-hearted manner, the children nodded before he stood up and opened the door. He watched them walk inside before he heard footsteps approach him.

" Hey Yuno, I didn't expect to see you again so soon!" Asta shouted with a bright smile, Yuno's eyes widened as he watched his childhood best friend and his wife approach.

" Asta? What're you doing here?" Yuno asked as they eventually stood in front of him.

" Queen Ciel told us that Kya was missing, so of course I was gonna drop everything to help you find her!" Asta said as though it were obvious, and Yuno couldn't help but smile at him. He was very lucky, and grateful, to have a brother like him.

" And I came too because I couldn't let BakAsta come here by himself," Noelle said as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. Yuno rolled his eyes, but knew deep down that she actually came because she was worried about Kya as well.

" Thank you both, but you're a little too late. We found her late last night." Yuno said, and he watched relief wash over the pair.

" That's a relief, who knows what would have happened to her if you guys didn't find her so quickly." Noelle said as she placed a hand on her chest.

" That's great, Yuno! I'm glad she's safe!" Asta said before he tilted his head. " But why do you look like something's wrong? Was she hurt?"

" Not…exactly," Yuno sighed as he looked towards the door. " She's running a fever, and she's been unconscious since we found her. The healer said they've done everything they could, and now it's up to her." He added softly.

" She'll wake up! There's no way in hell that Kya won't beat this and wake up!" Asta shouted firmly, causing Noelle and Yuno to both jump. " I mean, her parents are two of the strongest mages I've ever seen, so it'll take a lot more than this to keep her down!"

Yuno stared at his brother, how could he always remain so positive, even when things seemed so bleak? His positivity was contagious, and Yuno couldn't help but smirk.

" Well, you're not wrong, Neva and I are both a lot stronger than you," Yuno said as he crossed his arms.

" That's the part you decide to focus on?!" Asta shouted with irritation, causing the other man to chuckle. Noelle sighed and walked towards the door.

" It's okay if I go inside, right? While you two sit out here and bicker?" She asked with a raised brow, when Yuno nodded, she opened the door and walked inside before closing it behind her.

" Hey Asta," Yuno said suddenly as he stopped him from entering the room. " Can I ask your opinion on something?"

" What's up?"

" Follow me, it's better if I show you."

The two walked out of the Castle, walked through the ankle deep snow, through the woods that surrounded the Castle, until they came to the place where they found Kya.

Asta crossed his arms and frowned as he stared at the trees, it was weird, there was no way these trees formed like this naturally. Asta took a deep breath and closed his eyes. While he couldn't sense mana like all the other mages, he could sense Ki, and so far? The Ki he was feeling was bad, very bad.

" What is this place?" Asta finally asked as he opened his eyes, Yuno shrugged as he walked closer to the center where Asta was standing.

" I don't know, I've never seen it before. It looks like it was made just recently," Yuno turned. " I was hoping Liebe would know."

" How the hell would I know?" Liebe asked as he appeared on Asta's shoulder. " It doesn't look like something a devil would do, usually when we leave the underworld we just…leave. It's when you humans want something that we get summoned into circles like this!"

Asta and Yuno nodded, he had a point.

" I don't believe this was made entirely by humans, though," Asta said as he looked around. " This place just feels…dark and evil, like a devils been here."

" You don't think…humans and devils made this together, do you?" Yuno asked, his voice soft, and Asta shrugged.

" I'm not 100% sure, I would have to get Nero to come and check it out, but I wouldn't be surprised." Asta said. " I wonder if they're connected somehow…" He muttered under his breath, and Yuno quirked a brow.

" What's connected?"

Asta looked over at his brother and sighed before he began to explain everything about Cerberus and how they're a bunch of former Magic Knights that were attacking villages but once caught would kill themselves. Yuno put a hand under his chin as he hummed in thought.

" It wouldn't be the first time devils and humans worked together," Yuno said. " But I don't understand why they would jump from robbing a village to kidnapping a Princess, and in such a short period of time."

" I don't either, but it can't just be a coincidence that we find out this group exists and the next week a Princess of Spade goes missing." Asta said, and the other man nodded in agreement.

" Actually, Kya isn't the first person to go missing in Spade," Asta frowned a bit. " We've been having merchants disappear, too, and at an alarming rate."

Asta suddenly felt a deep ball of worry form in his gut and become heavier and heavier as Yuno spoke. Just what the hell was going on? This all couldn't be a coincidence, it was all just too sudden, and all too similar. And if his gut feeling was right, this was going to be bad, very bad.

" Keep me in the loop on those merchants. Something tells me they're an important piece to all of this." Asta muttered and Yuno nodded in agreement.

" As long as you keep in the loop about Cerberus."

The ash-blonde haired man nodded before he and his brother walked quietly back to the Castle.

—-

Back in Clover

Yami rubbed his face in aggravation as he sat outside the Hideout, he had gone up to the Headquarters to see if Nozel and Dorothy had found out anything. But he was once again disappointed.

" We found a few more members, but," Nozel said with a regrettable look on his face. " They killed themselves, again."

" Didn't you guys search them?" Yami had asked, irritation lacing his voice.

" We searched them, but those jerks must've had a few hidden in their cheeks." Dorothy said with a nervous laugh. " But we brought their bodies back for an autopsy like Lord Asta asked, so maybe that'll provide us with some answers." Dorothy shrugged as Yami sighed.

" It's like we're running forward but keep hitting dead ends," Yami muttered as he rubbed the back of his head.

" Well, I'm gonna go to the Forest of Witches and see if I can find anything there," Dorothy said as she began to walk away. " Maybe the Witch Queen will have some useful info!"

" Aren't you the Witch Queen?' Nozel asked as he watched her walk away, Dorothy laughed again.

" Ah, you're right, I meant the former Witch Queen. Anyway, I'll see you two when I get back~!"

And that was it.

" Nothing but damned dead ends," Yami muttered before he sensed his wife's Ki behind him.

" At least know you have confirmation that it's a group of people, and not only that, but they're spread out through the entire Kingdom." Charlotte said as she sat down beside him.

" That's true," Yami agreed with a small nod. " I just wish we could keep one of them alive long enough to question them."

" You'll find one," Charlotte said firmly. " It may take a while, but you'll find one who will give us all the answers we need."

" I sure as hell hope so, maybe the kid will have some answers when he gets back from wherever the hell he's at." Yami muttered, referring to Asta. Charlotte chuckled and shook her head.

" He just might, Asta tends to be full of surprises."

The couple fell into a calm silence as they sat together and watched the leaves in the trees move as a gust of wind swept through.

" Did Hikari enjoy seeing the Blue Roses?" Yami asked curiously, he knew his eldest daughter loved her mother's former squad mates as though they were family. But she, just, preferred the Black Bulls, they felt more like family, she had said.

" She did, and then started asking her if she was seeing anyone or if she had anyone she liked, but of course she said 'no' and that she 'wasn't interested in dating yet'. One of the girls even asked if she was interested in Alistar, and she just laughed her off saying 'he's my best friend, nothing more, nothing less.'," Charlotte told him with a chuckle and Yami snorted.

That was his girl.

The couple turned as they heard bickering and shouting from inside the Hideout, the voices didn't belong to any of the kids, it belonged to one of the kids parents;

Zora and Nebra.

" I don't understand why you think it's a good idea to let her lead a mission all on her own, and especially one that's so far away!" Nebra shouted as Yami and Charlotte walked back inside.

" It isn't exactly my call now, is it? I'm not her senior or her Captain!"

" No, but you are her father! You should go over there and tell them that you won't allow it, use the Silva name if you must!" Nebra watched her husband laugh.

" Right, like they're really gonna listen to me," Zora said with a humorless chuckle. " Besides, Josslyn said she wants to go, so even if you try to stop her, she isn't going to listen!" Zora shouted.

" She will listen to me, because I'm her mother-!" Zora cut her off.

" Yeah, and you haven't been a very good one, have you?" Zora asked and Nebra scoffed.

" Oh, and like you've been father-of-the-year?" Nebra asked with a laugh.

" What is going on?" Yami asked, his tone not very loud, and yet it fell heavily across the room. Nebra and Zora looked at Yami before they looked away in shame.

" Nothing," They muttered in unison, and Yami raised a brow.

" Didn't sound like nothing to me," Yami said seriously as he walked over to the two. " Aren't you two a little too old to be bickering like this, and in front of your kid no less?"

Zora and Nebra blinked for a moment before they saw Ace standing partially behind a wall, instantly Yami could see the regret and hurt appear on the couple's faces.

" Oh, Ace, I'm so sorry," Nebra said as she walked towards her son and scooped him up into a hug.

" I'm sorry too, kid," Zora muttered as he rubbed the back of his head, and Yami sighed behind them before he walked away.

" You two need to grow up, and stop fighting in front of your kids, otherwise you'll damage them for life." He muttered as he went upstairs to his room, with Charlotte following behind him.

There was fighting outside his squad, inside his squad, he was just surrounded by it!

—-

The Next Day

Yami walked down the halls of the Headquarters silently until he reached the meeting room. William had called them all using a communication device and told them that Asta returned and requested their immediate presence.

Yami silently hoped that meant he had found something.

He walked into the meeting room and saw that he was the last Captain to arrive, he nodded at everyone before he sat down in his usual chair. He took a look around the room and noticed William's son Alistar sitting there. The kid moved around almost uncomfortably in his chair, well, his father's chair. He kept shifting around, crossing and uncrossing his legs, until eventually Yami had enough.

" Hey Pretty boy," Yami called out, making the younger man's head snap in his direction. " Knock it off, will ya? You're making us all nervous."

Alistar blinked before he saw all the other Captains nod in agreement, he suddenly blushed and tried to give them his usual smile.

" I'm sorry, I'll stop, or at least try to." Alistar muttered apologetically as he bowed his head at all the others.

" It's first Captain's meeting jitters," Nozel said as he crossed his arms and closed. " Everyone gets them, well, almost everyone." He added as he looked towards Jack, Yami, Rill, and Sol.

" Was that meant for us?" Rill asked in confusion, Nozel shook his head, refusing to answer.

But before anything else could be said, the doors opened and Asta and William walked inside. The Captain's saluted as usual, Alistar's movements a little more stiff and nervous than the others. But Asta quickly waved them away as he sat down.

" Sorry I called you all here so suddenly," Asta said with a laugh as he rubbed his head nervously. " But I have something to ask you all,"

" Have any of you gotten a lot of missing persons reports lately? Like, for example; 20 missing people in a two week timespan?"

The Captain's all looked at each other in confusion before they shook their heads.

" No, unless the mass exodus of Magic Knights count, why?"

" What about some strange circles in the woods? Like trees that were intentionally placed surrounding a certain area in the woods?" Asta asked, the Captain's confusion only grew as they shook their heads.

" What's going on, kid?" Yami asked, he watched a slight hesitation in Asta's green eyes.

" I don't really know, but I think we're dealing with more than just Magic Knights here," Asta said slowly. " I think we're dealing with Magic Knights and devils."

" But I thought we wiped out all the devils?" Sol asked with a frown.

" But then Herz appeared," Asta pointed out as he referred to his eldest daughters, devil. " So if Herz managed to survive, maybe some other devils did too."

The Captain's all looked at each other for a moment as the weight of Asta's words sank in. If they devils were indeed back, and were about to cause some trouble again, then that meant the Kingdom was in very big trouble.

Unless they stopped them first.