Chapter Five: First Mission (Part 2)

"Wait, you're the one who sent the complaints?" Kenos asked.

Louise nodded. "That's correct,"

"But why, what problem do you have exactly?" Zuka then asked.

"Why don't we head to my house before I explain any more," Louise said as she began walking, the two teens followed her until they arrived at a small house, the three of them walked inside.

"I know it's not a very large place, but please make yourselves comfortable," she said.

"Thank you very much," the two of them bowed respectively as they sat on two chairs, Kenos then spoke up. "Tell us, Louise, what did you need of the Magic Knights?"

"As you've already seen, the problem we have is related to bandits, and that man you encountered earlier was one of them," Louise replied.

"Bandits?"

The old lady nodded. "Yes, they've been ruining our lives,"

"How so, what exactly have they done?" Zuka asked. "If we know, we'll probably have a better chance of fixing it,"

"Well, it began two years ago," Louise began. "Rielzu Village was never a rich place, but the area around here used to be beautiful, and our village was happy and prospered, but that all changed when the bandits attacked,"

Kenos' eyes slightly tensed, he recalled the area looking like a wasteland before he ran into Zuka. "So, it didn't always look like that, it was those bandits, damn, even with two years, they were able to make this place unrecognizable to the place Louise described, we might be in for some trouble," he thought.

"They had come to our village to take it over, since we resided within the Forsaken Realm, we don't get much attention from the capital, the bandits probably knew that when coming here," Louise continued explaining.

"So, they took over the village? Is that why you're in this situation?" Kenos asked.

"Not quite," she replied. "Instead of taking over our village, they agreed to merely be able to come and take whatever they want from here, from whoever they want,"

Zuka growled softly, remembering the bandit that had tried to steal the boy's food. "That explains what happened earlier, but something's been bugging me, if that's your problem, why make it anonymous?"

Louise sighed as a sad look came to her eyes. "Well, that's because of this village's chief, Nicolas,"

"The chief?" they both said confused.

"You mean he's stopping you from specifying your problem, why exactly?" Kenos then asked.

"Remember when I said that instead of taking over the village, the bandits decided to just take stuff from us?" she asked as they nodded. "Well, there was a reason for that,"

"Please tell us,"

"When the bandits first came here, they planned to take over the village, no one stood against them, in fear of what would happen to them if they refused, all for one person that is," the old lady began. "Nicolas' wife, a kind and serene yet stern woman, refused to let the bandits take the village, she fought them, trying to protect them all, but it was no use, she was no match for the bandit's leader, and she knew it,"

"What about Nicolas, didn't he help when his wife was fighting?"

"No, when word came of the bandits' arrival, he gathered everyone into the village square and stayed with us, but his wife volunteered to go and take care of them, I was worried for her and secretly followed her, it was from the shelter of a building that I saw it, the leader...killed her,"

Kenos and Zuka's eyes fell once they heard those words.

"The leader carried her dead body to the square where we all were, Nicolas was heartbroken, he pleaded with the leader that he would do anything, just as long as the village wasn't taken over and nobody else died, the leader agreed, and that led to the situation we're in now," Louise finished. "The reason I made the complaint anonymous was because I didn't want Nicolas to find out, or he would stop me, he just wishes to comply with their demands,"

"I don't get it, the bandits were in the position to refuse Nicolas' request, why didn't they, it sounds better to just take it over and run them out?" Kenos asked.

"True, but I think he only agreed just to see us suffer," Louise replied. "Nicolas' wife was loved by the whole village, when she died, they were heartbroken too, and what would be better to them, driving us out and taking our resources, or taking our resources while watching us fall into despair and hopelessness as we give in to their demands,"

"Uh, this leader guy makes me even sicker than that other guy, well, at least they're gone," Zuka scoffed.

"I wouldn't say that, the man who you defeated earlier, he's the leader's right-hand man, they definitely will be back, they can come at honestly any time, but the latest would be tomorrow morning since that's when they come to reap what we have,"

"Shit, that means we can't go get help, they could be back before we do, and if one of us goes, that will be leaving the other to face them alone," Kenos said before turning to his partner. "You don't happen to have a transmission device that will connect us to a squad, do you?"

Zuka shook her head. "No, my squad didn't think this would be a hard mission, so they didn't give me one," she replied.

"I see, well, there is something else we could do," he then turned to the old villager. "Louise, if you could, can you show us to this Nicolas,"

The three walked outside, it didn't take long before they arrived at another house, but this one was bigger than all the other ones in the village, making it pretty easy to deduce as the chief's house.

Louise didn't bother knocking and just turned the knob of the door, opening it, she turned to the teens. "Nicolas usually keeps his door open during the day in case anyone needs help,"

The two simply nodded as they entered the building, they walked around until they reached a door, on the door, there was a sign that read 'Office'.

Unlike last time, Louise knocked on the door, and a voice from the other side spoke.

"Come in," the voice called as they opened and walked inside, there they saw a man sitting at his desk reading a book, he had light blue hair and wore a white collared shirt.

"Hello Nicolas," Louise greeted.

Nicolas smiled. "Hello Louise, is there anything you-," he stopped as he saw Kenos and Zuka enter, he looked at them, but his attention was less on them and more on their robes, the smile on his face disappeared, replaced by a worried look.

"Um, Louise, why are Magic Knights here?" he asked.

Louise was about to reply before Kenos stepped up. "Louise sent us an anonymous complaint, we then came here and she told us that your village has had trouble with bandits,"

"What?!" Nicolas exclaimed as he slammed his hands on the table and got up, turning to Louise. "What were you thinking, are you trying to get us all killed!?"

"Nicolas, I had to," Louise replied softly.

"Oh, you had to, well I'm sorry, maybe you can tell those bandits that when we're at death's door!" He screamed before calming down a bit, sitting down and grabbing his head. "We're doomed, if they find out Magic Knights are here, we're definitely doomed,"

Zuka walked up. "Yeah, they already know we're here, we had a run-in with their so-called second in command,"

Nicolas' face darkened. "Then we're doomed for sure, they'll kill every single one of us,"

"No they won't, we'll stop them," Kenos said with determination. "Zuka and I might be rookies, but we're still Magic Knights, we swore to protect the kingdom, we came here to ask if you would join us, together there's a chance we could-,"

"No," Nicolas interrupted. "You shouldn't have come here, we would've been better off giving in to their demands, instead of dying because of your actions,"

"Better off?" Zuka silently said, a shadow covering her face, she walked to Nicolas' desk and slammed her hands on it. "Don't give me that bullshit, have you seen this village, your people are depressed, poor, and starving, if you keep giving in to their demands, you'll eventually die anyway!" she exclaimed.

Kenos and Louise looked at the sparkle mage, initially surprised by her sudden outburst, but then nodded, knowing what she said was true.

"Louise told us about your wife, I'm young, I don't have anybody like that in my life so I probably wouldn't know what it would feel like to lose them in such a tragic way, but at least she died fighting, she died trying to keep this village happy and free," Zuka continued in a more indoor volume, but the intensity did not waver.

"That's right, you don't know what it's like, she was my everything, the love of my life, the last words she told me was to not worry as she went to confront the bandit leader!" Nicolas exclaimed. "The next time I saw her, she was dead, lifeless on the ground, after the bandits left, do you how long I cried, how long I wished that she was still alive, how much I wished I could make those bandits pay, but I can't, that's the reality of it, my wife was a stronger mage than me, I can't beat them, the only thing I can do is do as they say, and they won't take another person from this village,"

"If you do nothing, the village will destroy itself, everyone will be gone regardless, I know it must hurt and I know you feel like you can't do anything about it, but you're the chief of this village, the one who was supposed to protect it, not destroy it from the inside!" Zuka exclaimed before walking to the door, her back turned from the chief. "If you won't help us, then Kenos and I will handle it ourselves, our victory isn't guaranteed, but it's better than giving up,"

She then walked out, Kenos turned and looked at the chief and walked out after her, leaving Nicolas and Louise alone.

"She's right you know, you can't keep doing this," Louise said.

"Louise, please, just go," Nicolas said back, not turning to look at her.

Louise sighed before walking out as well, leaving the chief by himself to ponder on his thoughts.

"Okay then, it seems this spot is pretty strong too," Kenos said with a nod.

A few hours passed after their meeting with Nicolas, Kenos decided to get a good look at the village from all sides, he had just finished verifying the stone border before he walked to the village square, from the opposite side, he saw Zuka walking there as well.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"Good, the border on the left side of the village is pretty tough despite being short," he replied. "And you?"

Zuka nodded. "Same on the right side, and I found a good spot for the villagers to go when the bandits attack,"

"Good, since the walls are strong, they'll most likely attack from the entrance," he said before looking up into the sky, seeing that the sun was about to set. "And it's starting to get late, meaning they'll most likely be here tomorrow morning,"

"Are you sure, wouldn't it be smarter to attack in the middle of the night?" Zuka asked.

Kenos nodded. "Yes it would, but they only know your magic attribute as well as not knowing the extent of our magic, attacking at night can very well be an advantage for us to them when you take into account the element of mystery, a straightforward attack to simply overwhelm us would be the better move,"

"Okay then, if you say so," Zuka said as she then heard faint whispering, she and Kenos turned to see villagers looking at them, word had spread throughout the day that they planned to take the bandits on.

"Those are the Magic Knights who stood up to Reginald," a villager whispered to another.

The other villager nodded. "Do you think they can actually take the bandits down?"

"I don't know, there's only two of them, and they look pretty young, I wouldn't bet on it,"

Zuka heard some of the things they said and frowned a bit. "They think this won't be easy for us, I'm starting to get a little worried,"

Kenos looked at her and gave her a slight grin. "Don't get cold feet now, especially seeing how you told off Nicolas like that, I still wonder if you're the same person who crashed into me earlier today,"

Zuka giggled. "That's just the kind of person I am, I'm nice to those who are kind, like you, and those who do or say stuff that pisses me off will feel my wrath, it was I was known for back home, among other things,"

"Home, where'd you grow up?" Kenos asked.

"In Hiroka Village, it's far away from the capital, after all, I am a commoner," she said with a slight tone of glee. "The chief in my village is strong-willed, she would never let this happen to her village,"

"You're a commoner, yet you have such interesting and strong magic, I bet they're proud of you," Kenos said. "I'm a noble, and I'm strong, but it's not as impressive when compared to other mages who share my status,"

"You're a noble, and you have a unique magic attribute, I'm surprised none of the other squads wanted you," she stated. "No offense, but I'm told the Black Bulls aren't too strong compared to the other squads,"

"Well, three squads wanted me, but I just chose the Black Bulls, for personal reasons, and as for weak, I haven't known them for too long, but for some reason I doubt it," he said back as Zuka nodded before letting out a yawn.

"We finished our look over of the village, we should get some rest, they could arrive early," she said.

Kenos yawned as well, he hadn't noticed how tired he was. "This has become quite the first mission, I wonder where are we going to sleep,"

"You can sleep with me if you want," the two turned to see Louise walking to them. "And you probably haven't eaten either, I just finished making dinner,"

"Thanks, Louise, you're a lifesaver," they thanked her as they all went to her house and washed up for dinner, after they had dinner, Louise reserved a part of her home for them to sleep.

"Goodnight you two, and good luck," Louise said.

"Goodnight Louise, and thank you," Zuka said as Louise left. "Hey, Kenos?"

He looked at her. "Yeah,"

"Let's do our best tomorrow, I hope you'll have my back,"

Kenos smiled. "Of course, and the same to you,"

"You know it,"

"Well, let's get some sleep," Kenos said, despite the fight, they were bound to have the next day, the two rookies slept quite soundly.

The sun then rose and the next day arrived, Kenos and Zuka got up early and had breakfast, then they and Louise walked to the entrance of the village, and waited.

"Are you sure they're coming?" the sparkle mage asked.

Louise nodded. "Yes, this is the time they usually come, only a few of them would come each day, but something tells me today will be different,"

Just as she said this, in the distance, they saw them, a large group of mages, all dressed in black, and at the center was a taller man who's outfit had a shade of brown to it, most likely the leader.

"They're here," Louise said.

Kenos turned to her. "Alright Louise, go tell the villagers to go to the designated spot Zuka mentioned,"

Louise nodded as she walked away. "Okay, the rest is up to you two,"

The two nodded. "This is it, we can't lose, the lives of everyone in this village is depending on it!" they thought in unison.

Meanwhile, far away from the village, on the side of the bandits, Reginald, the second in command, wore his signature smug look as he eyed all of his fellow bandits, he was going to make those knights pay for humiliating him.

"Especially that girl," he thought before walking over to the leader. "Yo, Benjo, you ready for this,"

The man named Benjo turned to face him. "You better believe it, they wanna bring Magic Knights here, fine, we'll take them down as well as this pathetic village," he said before noticing something from afar. "Hey, do you see someone?"

"Let me check," Reginald said, his grimoire floating in front of him, flipping through pages. "Glass Creation Magic: Periscope Visor!"

A small circle of glass appeared and floated to his eye, increasing the range of his vision. "It's the two Magic Knights I told you about, all by themselves, it seems that they want to fight us,"

Benjo laughed. "Good luck, there are 100 of us, and only two of them, let's end this quick,"

"You heard 'em boys!" Reginald exclaimed, the other bandits cheered as well and charged towards the two.

"They're coming," Zuka said, seeing them increase their speed.

"One more thing Zuka, make sure not to kill them, we merely want to knock them out, remember, Magic Knights don't intentionally try to kill, we try to capture them first, only kill them if you have to," Kenos told her.

"You got it," she said.

"But regardless, this will be a tough fight, have you got any reinforcement spells?"

Zuka nodded. "I do,"

"Then let's do this!" he exclaimed as they both took their grimoires, they floated in front of them, flipping through pages. "Solar Reinforcement Magic: Sunshine Aura!"

"My turn, Sparkle Reinforcement Magic: Rampage Force!" Zuka added as she was covered in a sparkling aura. "This spell will bump up my physical speed, strength, and fighting prowess while boosting the power of my spells,"

"Good, let's try to remove a large number of them first," Kenos said as his grimoire flipped to a new page. "This should do the trick, my accuracy is higher, Solar Creation Magic: Rain of Solar Daggers!"

"A spell to take out many at once, I got something for that, Sparkle Magic: Glittering Star Shower!"

At the command of the two mages, two circles appeared above the bandits, one released the sunlight daggers, and the other one released a multitude of silver stars, as they fell to the ground, the stars exploded and the daggers pierced through a large number of them, already taking out 30 of them from the fight.

"This is it, Sparkle Creation Magic: Glittering Lance!" Zuka exclaimed as her lance appeared, she took it and charged into battle.

"Wait up for me Zuka!" Kenos called, his grimoire flipping to a new page. "Solar Creation Magic: Solar Construct - Twin Gauntlets!" two gauntlets of sunlight appeared on his hands as he charged in as well.

"Take this!" Zuka exclaimed as a bandit approached her, she jumped and slammed the side of her lance into his head, with the power the lance had combined with the strength obtained through Rampage Force, it had managed to knock him out.

"Nice, that's another down," she mumbled.

"You shouldn't let yourself get distracted!" a bandit yelled from behind her, Zuka couldn't react fast enough, but luckily she didn't have to as a gauntlet slammed into his face, sending him back, she turned to see Kenos.

"Thanks,"

"No problem, remember, I said I would have your back,"

"Right...look out!" Zuka exclaimed as she pushed Kenos out the way and jumped to avoid a rain of glass.

"Not bad, you dodged it," a voice said, Zuka turned to see Reginald. "Why don't we have a rematch girl, and this time, I'm ready,"

Zuka grinned. "Bring it, hey Kenos, do you think you can handle those other guys while I take out this bastard,"

"Okay, but don't take too long," Kenos said as he blocked a bandit's fire attack, retaliating by punching him in the face.

"Thanks...so, you're name's Reginald right?"

"That's right, it'll be the last name you ever hear," he said, his grimoire flipping to a new page. "You avoided it the last time, let's see if you can do it again, Glass Magic: Storm of Shards!" he exclaimed as the shards from before raced towards the sparkle mage.

"Not bad, I guess you're not too slow after all, Sparkle Creation Magic: Shimmering Bow!" she exclaimed as the lance turned back into glitter, but it recondensed into a bow, as she pulled on the bowstring, an arrow of light appeared, she released it, destroying the shards.

"What, no way, fine, this isn't over yet, Glass Creation Magic: Crystalline Death Scythe!" he said as a scythe of glass appeared, he charged at Zuka, she retaliated by re-equipping her lance and meeting him as their weapons clashed.

"You won't beat me, girl!" Reginald said as he backed up and skillfully spun his scythe, ripping the lance from Zuka's grip, it dispersed back into glitter. "Well, it seems I've won,"

To his surprise, Zuka merely smiled. "I may be unarmed, but I haven't lost, my Rampage Force is still active, even without a weapon, I can fight you as an equal!" she exclaimed.

"Bullshit, you're dead!" he exclaimed as they ran to each other, he tried to strike her down with his scythe, but to no avail, she dodged every attack. "Just go down already!" he attacked once more, but this time, Zuka grabbed and twisted it out of his hand.

"I can't lose here, I'm a Magic Knight, I have people to protect!" She exclaimed as she launched a punch right into Reginald's face, knocking him out. "There we go, better go help Kenos,"

As she fought Reginald, Kenos did his best to handle the remaining bandits, he had managed to take down 20 of them before he started to feel the physical toll.

"I don't think I can keep this up much longer, I hope Zuka is coming,"

"You don't have to worry anymore, because I am here!" Zuka exclaimed as she recast her lance spell and crashed into a group of bandits. "Thanks for letting me fight him, how're you holding up?"

"Could be better, but with you here, we can take the remaining ones down," Kenos said as he and Zuka worked together, defeating what was left of the bandits.

"That should be all of them," Zuka said, catching her breath as she and Kenos looked at the unconscious bandits.

"Strange, I remember seeing their leader somewhere, but I didn't run into him," Kenos said before they heard the sound of slow clapping, they turned and saw Benjo, clapping, his eyes closed.

"No way, I didn't sense his mana, is he using a spell?" Kenos thought as Benjo opened his eyes.

"I'll admit it, I'm impressed, I can see how the two of you are Magic Knights, but you won't take me down, you're already tired out, taking you down shouldn't be hard," Benjo said.

"You won't take us down, but you're welcome to try, let's go Zuka!" Kenos exclaimed as the two of them charged at the mage.

"Futile," Benjo said as he took out his grimoire, a brown aura surrounded it as it floated in front of him. "Let me show you my strength, Earth Magic: Seismic Upheaval!"

The ground began shaking before the piece of the earth under them rose up, flinging them into the air, Benjo grinned. "I'm not done yet, Earth Magic: Jagged Stone Spikes!" he exclaimed as spikes rose from the ground and raced towards the two mages, ready to impale them.

"Don't worry, I got this," Zuka said as she positioned her body downwards as the spikes rose up. "There we go, Sparkle Creation Magic: Shimmering Bow!" she exclaimed as she shot an arrow at the spikes, destroying them.

"Nice work Zuka," Kenos said as the two of them landed on the ground. "We have to keep up this attack, Solar Magic: Sunbeam Ray!"

He shot the beam and Zuka fired another arrow, but Benjo didn't look surprised at all. "That's packing some nice power, but my attribute comes with strong defense, Earth Magic: Rock Guard!" he exclaimed as a heavy slab of earth appeared, blocking both attacks.

"No way, even with reinforcement, this won't be easy," Zuka said.

"You took the words right out of my mouth, Earth Creation Magic: Geoforce Cannons!" he exclaimed as six cannon-shaped pieces of earth appeared on different sides, each surrounding the group.

"This isn't good," Kenos mumbled to Zuka.

"I'm guessing you don't have a defense spell?" she asked.

"I do, but Amaterasu's Guard only defends my front side, leaving my back and sides vulnerable, this spell will attack us from multiple directions," Kenos explained. "We're going to need to each cast a defense spell,"

"Yeah, about that," Zuka twiddled her fingers. "Is this a bad time to inform you that I don't know any defense spells,"

Kenos' eye slightly twitched. "What?"

"Yeah, even before I got my grimoire, I've always seen myself as a combat mage, usually defense would be for support mages," she clarified.

"I see, well now you know it's good to know a variety of spell types, but what are we going to do, have you got any alternatives," he said as the cannons released their fire, each heading toward the duo.

"Yeah, I got one," Zuka said as her bow dispersed, she then grabbed Kenos' hand and jumped into the air, evading the blasts.

"Awesome," the solar mage said, impressed at his partner's quick thinking.

"No need to thank me, I said I would have your back too," she smiled as they landed on the ground.

Benjo's face grew annoyed. "Why are you prolonging the inevitable, I should just finish you, behold my mightiest spell," his grimoire flipped to a page. "You're as good as dead now, Earth Creation Magic: Blade of the Stone Sovereign!" Earth gathered from the ground, shaping itself into a great sword, Benjo grabbed it pridefully, swinging it back to rest on his shoulder.

"A blade? That means we're going melee," Kenos said. "Solar Creation Magic: Solar Construct - Staff!"

"Now this is in my wheelhouse, Sparkle Creation Magic: Glittering Lance!" Zuka joined in as her lance reappeared.

"We've cast a multitude of spells today, I'm not sure if our magic will hold out much longer, but we can't give up, we're this village's last hope, once we take him down, it's all over!" they thought together as they charged at the earth mage, Benjo charged as well.

"This will be the end of you, we won't allow you to harm this village anymore!" Kenos exclaimed as he launched an attack, but it was blocked, he then quickly twirled it around his fingers, allowing him to strike again, but once more, to no avail.

The two stood at a stalemate, each one trying to push the other back, Zuka was ready to take full advantage of the situation. "That's right, all you and your bandits have done is make life miserable for them!" she ran to his side, ready to strike with her lance.

"A smart attempt, but I won't be stopped by such a predictable maneuver," Benjo said as he used his foot, quickly sliding Zuka's foot while still clashing with Kenos, sending the sparkle mage to the ground.

He then ended his stalemate with the solar mage and turned his body, gathering momentum to strike Zuka with his blade.

"Zuka!" Kenos exclaimed as he quickly moved in front of her, using his staff to block the attack, but it was strong, defending the two, but forcing them back a good number of yards away.

"Crap, I'm about to run out of magic, I can only keep my lance for about ten minutes, if I shorten it down to five, I should be able to cast one more spell," Zuka stated, breathing heavily.

"Same here, I think I can manage another Sunbeam Ray, then I'm all out," Kenos said back, breathing heavily as well.

Benjo grinned, he was right, the two knights were finally feeling the physical and magical toll of fighting so many other mages, they could probably use another spell or two before they ran out of mana, and once that happened, his victory was all but assured.

"Like I said, futile," he thought, his evil grin returning.

"Don't worry everybody, there's no need to fear, the Magic Knights will defeat the bandits!" Louise exclaimed.

Forty minutes passed by since Kenos and Zuka went to fight the bandits, she tried to calm down the people who had grown worried, but inside, she couldn't deny she was a bit worried herself.

"Everyone stay here, I'm going to check on them, maybe they've already won and are just resting," Louise said as she walked all the way to the entrance of the village, in the distance, she saw the large number of mages were now gone.

"Yes they did it," she was about to say before seeing that they had one more mage to defeat, she was initially unconcerned, but when she saw that it was Benjo, her heart sank, she thought back to when Nicolas' wife was killed by that very mage.

"This is bad, I'm not sensing too much mana coming from them, they must be running low on magic power, if they can't cast spells, they'll die for sure, they need help, and I know only one person here who can do it," she said as she drew whatever energy was left in her old bones and ran to a house.

She soon arrived at said house. "Please, you're the only one who can help them now, Nicolas," she mumbled, walking inside, she quickly found his office room and opened it, Nicolas was just sitting down, an indifferent look on his face.

He looked up as he saw the old lady. "What do you want now, Louise?" he asked nonchalantly.

She stopped to catch her breath before answering. "Kenos and Zuka are fighting the bandits, they defeated all of them, but one, their leader, and they're running out of magic, they'll lose,"

Nicolas' eyes flashed with rage, but only for a few seconds before returning to his previous indifferent gaze. "Well, I guess that's what they get, they should've just listened to me, then everything would've been fine,"

Louise looked with disbelief before walking up to the chief and slapping him in the face. "Are you kidding me, those two are only children, yet they were willing to sacrifice their lives for us, and you're just going to say that!" she screamed. "I wonder...what would Nora think if she saw you like this?"

"Don't you dare say her name!" Nicolas exclaimed, full of rage and sadness, not wanting to hear the name of his late wife. "She isn't here with us anymore, all because of that very reason, if it wasn't for that, she'd still be right here with all of us,"

"You know that's not the kind of woman she is, and do you think you're the only one who was hurt by her death, I loved her too, as if she was my own daughter, seeing her dead on the floor broke my heart, but Zuka was right, she might've died, but it was for the sake of what she believed in," Louise said back as Nicolas sat back down on his chair.

She sighed. "I was there," she began. "I was there when that man killed her, it was hard to watch, but I'm old, there wasn't much I could do, but still, I saw her fight, and she said something, her last words before she died,"

This caught Nicolas' attention. "What, what did she say?!"

"It was one of the greatest things I had ever heard her say," Louise replied as she thought back.

[Flashback]

Two Years Ago.

Benjo stood firm as a woman stood opposite to him, she wasn't very tall, she had fiery long red hair and a grimoire encased in a reddish yellow aura, her face and clothes were covered in dust as she breathed heavily.

"Are we done here yet, just surrender," Benjo said.

"Never!" Nora exclaimed passionately. "This is my village, I won't let you take it," her grimoire flipped to a page. "Flame Creation Magic: Infernova Discs!" she exclaimed as three discs floated by her side, she released all of them at Benjo.

"It's no use," he replied as he cast his Rock Guard spell and blocked the attacks. "That isn't weak magic, but it can't beat me, you're just wasting your time," Benjo said.

"No, I'm not, this village isn't a waste of time, these people aren't a waste of time, I might not be the chief, but I'm ready to give every last drop of magic to ensure their safety and happiness!" She exclaimed. "This is it, my best spell, Flame Creation Magic: Raging Pyro Beast!" she exclaimed as a tiger made of flame appeared and ran towards Benjo.

"I've had enough, Earth Creation Magic: Blade of the Stone Sovereign!" His sword appeared and slashed through the beast with little effort.

Nora sank to the ground, she had used up the last of her magic on that spell, Louise looked from afar, worried, but not knowing what to do to save her.

Benjo walked to Nora slowly, soon she was in his shadow, she looked up and saw his face, devoid of emotion, his blade standing at his side. "This is your last chance, if your surrender, I'll let you live, but if you want to keep going, know you're going to die,"

Nora gritted her teeth, she gathered all the strength she had left and stood against Benjo in defiance. "I won't surrender, I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees, and I know my husband will do the same, he'll succeed where I failed!"

She didn't get to speak another word as Benjo quickly grabbed his sword and impaled the woman, he quickly drew it out, causing her body to fall to the ground, a pool of blood quickly forming around her.

Louise gasped in horror, seeing the woman she loved like a daughter slaughtered, her body lying lifelessly on the ground. "No,"

[End Flashback]

Nicolas couldn't believe what he heard, hearing Louise tell him the final moments of his wife's life, all the while her words rang in his head. "I'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees, and I know my husband will do the same!"

"She knew at that point she wouldn't survive, so she put her faith in you, she believed you would protect the village, that you would fight for us as our chief, but look at you, you've surrendered, what would Nora say!" Louise exclaimed. "You have to fight, to honor her memory, to let her know her sacrifice wasn't in vain, Kenos and Zuka, they're doing the same thing she was, so go, aid them!"

Nicolas took some time to process everything in, the words of Nora still kept repeating in his head as he thought about all the things he did and said throughout those two years.

"I've been a real idiot, haven't I?" He asked as Louise looked at him, he then went to his desk and opened a compartment, revealing a blue grimoire, he took it, his eyes blazing with conviction.

"This has gone on long enough," he said as he walked out of his office, heading outside, looking briefly in the distance where Kenos and Zuka were fighting before making his way there.

Louise had come out too, a broom was in her hand, she smiled. "Now there's the Nicolas that Nora would be proud to call her husband, as for me, there is something I can do," she said as she climbed on the broom, taking off at a surprisingly high speed.

Benjo began to slowly approach the two knights, his sword dragging across the ground, screeching as the bandit mage got closer to his targets.

"What should we do Kenos?" Zuka whispered.

"Since we're low on magic power, we should play smart, maybe if we wait until he gets close enough, we can fire whatever we have left into one last spell," the solar mage suggested.

"Risky, but it's worth a shot," Zuka said as the two stood firm.

"Still got some fight left in you, just give up, it would make this a lot easier for us all," he said plainly.

"No way, we still have a chance to win," Kenos said.

Zuka smiled, looking at her opponent. "He's right bastard, we meant what we said, you won't beat us,"

"We'll see about that!" Benjo screamed as he ran towards them.

"C'mon, please, let this plan work!" the two of them desperately thought.

"Hey, Benjo!" a voice bellowed, the three mages stopped and turned in the direction of the sound, they were all shocked however to see that it belonged to Nicolas, his grimoire floating in front of him, encased in a bluish-green aura

"Ah, Nicolas, didn't think I'd see you here, have you come to help me, well that's kind of you, but I don't need it," Benjo said with a smirk. "But, since you came to help me anyway, I'll agree to leave your village alone for the time being, right after I kill these two, so you just sit back and-,"

He didn't get in another word as Nicolas raised one of his hands, his grimoire flipped to a page. "Just shut up, Water Magic: Aqua Bullet!" he exclaimed as a shot of water sped towards him, Benjo wasn't expecting it and the attack hit, sending him a few inches back.

"What're you doing?!" He exclaimed angrily.

"What I should've done this entire time," Nicolas replied. "You took my wife away from me, and instead of fighting you as she wanted, I surrendered and gave up, but not anymore, I am the chief of Rielzu Village, I will fight, especially now, when that was the wish she had for me, I won't dishonor her death by letting you do as you please!"

"That's how you want to repay me, then fine, I'll kill you all and bury your stupid village in the ground!" He exclaimed as he changed his target to Nicolas.

Kenos' eyes tensed, he turned to Zuka, who nodded, the two of them then ran to Nicolas' side. "Nicolas run, follow our lead!" Kenos yelled, Nicolas wasn't sure what they were planning, but began running towards Benjo, the two knights soon catching up to him.

Nicolas looked at these teens, happy that they had decided to fight in the end, just then, Nicolas' grimoire turned to a blank page before text became inscribed on it.

"Wow, a new spell," he muttered as the two nodded.

"Let's just hope it's enough," Kenos said as they drew closer to the earth mage.

"Die!" he screamed.

"No, this battle is ours, Zuka now!" he exclaimed as their grimoires flipped through pages. "Solar Magic…,"

Zuka breathed deeply. "Sparkle Magic…,"

"...Shimmering Bow!"

"...Sunbeam Ray!"

The two mages drew the remainders of their magic and fired it off.

"That won't stop me," Benjo said as he used his blade to stop the attacks.

Kenos grinned. "There we go, the minute he stops our attack, he'll leave himself vulnerable for just a few seconds, but we'll take full advantage of it!" he turned to the chief. "Do it, Nicolas!"

Nicolas nodded, hoping that this new spell would save him and his village from all the suffering they had endured. "This is everything I got, in honor of Nora, Water Creation Magic: Raging Hydro Beast!" he exclaimed as a tiger made of water charged straight into Benjo, sending him to the ground with a large crash.

Zuka and Kenos sank to the ground in exhaustion, running out of power, but they forced themselves up and limped to where Benjo was, wanting to make sure the enemy was down, and sure enough, as they looked, he was unconscious.

"We did it," Zuka said quietly. "We did it!" she then exclaimed.

"It's not over yet," Nicolas said as he walked to Benjo's body. "I'll end you now, this is for my wife,"

"Nicolas no, don't kill him," Kenos quickly said.

"And why shouldn't I?" he asked back angrily.

"Because if you kill him, he won't get to pay for his crimes, sure not killing might hurt, but this way, you can make him suffer more, sitting in jail, unable to do a thing to anybody else," he replied.

"Okay then," Nicolas relented as he grabbed his grimoire from the air, closing it, Kenos and Zuka put theirs back into their satchels.

"Let's tie him up and call the capital,"

"No need for that!" a voice yelled, they all looked up to see Louise, and with her, a large group of capital mages.

They all landed. "After I set Nicolas straight, I went to the capital to get their mages so the bandits could be arrested,"

"We'll take it from here," one of the mages said, walking to Benjo, but stopped as he saw Kenos and Zuka. "Good work, Magic Knights of the Black Bulls and the Aqua Deer,"

"Thank you," they both said as the mages rounded up the bandits and flew away.

"It's over, the reign of terror they had over our village has come to an end, thanks to you," Louise said as they all went back to the village, the villagers cheered the two rookies, thanking them for their help.

"I apologize for what I said, you were right," Nicolas said as he bowed to Zuka apologetically.

"Don't worry about that, what's important is that you came to help us in the end," she said back to him.

"You're all low on magic, why don't I make you some lunch while you rest, the mages were kind enough to give me plenty of food," Louise said.

"You bet," they replied as three hours passed, they ate and conversed with the people, who were now full of the hope and happiness they had once had.

"Thank you for everything, we won't forget you, my squad's hideout is a good distance from here, but you can still come and visit if you need any help or just want to say hi," Kenos said as he and Zuka got on their brooms.

"Goodbye Rielzu Village," Zuka said as they flew off, the people waving back.

The two slowed down their speed once they got a good amount of feet into the air.

"Damn, what a mission, I never knew your first one could be so hard," Kenos said.

"I know," Zuka agreed as she then stopped and looked at Kenos, the solar mage returned her look, Zuka's green eyes looked into Kenos' amber ones, she then made a playful smile. "I already decided yesterday, but now I'm certain...I like you, Kenos Rossiu,"

Kenos returned her smile. "Same here, Zuka Glitenia," he protruded his hand, shaped like a fist. "I know what, why don't we become friends,"

Zuka met his fist with her own as they fist-bumped. "Great idea, we'd make great friends, even though we're in different squads,"

"Cool, my first friend in a different squad, awesome, well, this is where we part, let's do another mission together sometime,"

"If I can convince my captain to let me..well, bye," she said as she flew away in another direction.

"Bye," Kenos mumbled as he flew straight, wondering when he and the sparkle mage would meet again.