Chapter Seventy-One: Creating Something Beautiful
"May both teams please vacate the field!"
"How, how could we have lost?" Kuro muttered to himself. "Maybe things would've been different if I acted faster at some point,"
A hand then placed itself on his shoulder, and he knew who it belonged to. "Alice, look, I know you're mad, I'm-," he was saying, but stopped as he turned and saw that she didn't look angry, not in the slightest.
She let go and placed her hand behind her head, looking away. "Hey, um, it's okay, you had a really good idea, if it wasn't for that plan, we wouldn't come close to winning,"
"Thanks," he said, partially confused by her change in demeanor. "You aren't angry? I thought this would be enough to tick you off. You're starting to act like how you were before the match started and I'm all sorts of confused,"
"Yeah, sorry for not explaining, you see, whenever I get excited, this switch just goes off in my head and I get all intense and everything," she explained, bowing her upper half. "Um, I'm really sorry for what I said to you and Rama, please don't take any of it to heart. When that part comes out, it all just kinda happens,"
Kuro knelt down to her face level. "Hey, it's all good. All of that is still a bit confusing, but I can tell your apology is genuine," he then stood up. "Regardless, that's an odd thing to be born with,"
Upon hearing that, Alice rose. "Oh, I wasn't born with this, it's a…long story,"
"Hey there you two, great game," Finral approached them, with Hamon beside him.
Kuro's expression shifted to a friendly one. "Likewise. Sorry about the punch though, I hope it didn't hurt too bad,"
The black bull waved it off. "Nothing I can't shake off,"
"As for you, Alice, I must say, those spells of yours were amazing and quite aggressive," Hamon praised before he gained an uncomfortable look. "But what was all that about during the beginning, y'know, destroying our crystal, and…shoving it up our asses?"
The wind mage's face reddened. "My sincerest apologies! You see-,"
The silver eagle stepped in. "Don't worry about it too much, apparently it's based on something from the past,"
"Uh, yeah, that's what it is,"
"If it's about your past, then you're alright, you don't have to explain. Sometimes we don't want to reveal our history," Finral told her, but then proceeded to kneel down and wink. "Although, if you'd like to chat about anything else, I know a great spot if you're interested ,"
Alice started to twiddle with her fingers again. "A-Are you-," she didn't get to finish her question as Kuro appeared by Finral's side, grabbing his arm to pull him up.
"Excuse us for just a second," he said, pulling the fellow spatial mage aside, making sure his words were inaudible to the other two.
"Quick word of advice, I'd steer clear of her. She's a cool girl, but that other side of hers is unpredictable, plus, she seems to have some history with one of your squadmate's friends," he whispered.
"History? That would probably be awkward, thanks for the warning," he said back.
Kuro's face turned into one of comedic disappointment. "That's not all you have to thank me for. What the hell was with that move?"
"What move?"
"The sudden kneeling. Have you ever asked a girl out? Uh, let me rephrase that…has she ever said yes?" he then asked.
Finral's body slumped in response, and that told Kuro all he needed to know. "And I think I found one of the reasons why. You shouldn't do anything over the top, it could rub her off the wrong way, I'll give you credit though, your transition to ask her was smooth, though the charisma was lacking a bit, but regardless, keep your body language modest. You can go over the top if she's into that stuff, got it?"
"Um, got it," the spatial mage answered.
Kuro gave a thumbs up. "Awesome, great talk," he said as he let him go and walked off.
"Did he just give me…advice? I never really got something like that, it feels strange," the black bull told himself as he followed after the other teen.
"I'm back, just had a talk with Finral," Kuro said, facing Alice. "Just in case you were wondering, he wasn't asking you out, turns out that's the way he likes to lighten the mood," he lied.
"Oh, that's a relief," Alice replied shyly. "I was thinking about turning him down, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings,"
"Good thing he's not close enough to hear that," he thought. "You don't have to worry about anything. That reminds me though, where are Leopold and Rama?"
"Guys!"
The four knights turned around to see the two boys in question moving towards them, their clothes dirtied from the prior scuffle.
"It looks like you two had quite the fight," Hamon said.
"Better believe it, the most intense fight I've ever been in," Leo grinned. "You should've seen it, Rama and I busted out new spells and everything, left us totally exhausted,"
Rama picked it up where his rival left off. "Luckily for us, I was able to muster up just enough mana for a recovery spell to put us back on our feet for a few minutes,"
"Thanks for that too," Leo said. "But even with the boost, I don't feel like walking up to the platform,"
"I can take care of that," Finral stepped up, forming a portal, which they all walked into, appearing on the platform.
And as they did, they were met by immediate cheers from the entire congregation of knights.
"Amazing battle!"
"Those two Crimson Lion Kings were on a whole other level!"
"But the fight between duos was a constant back and forth! So exciting!"
"This was the closest fight yet, the other matches this round are going to have to kick it up a notch!"
"Wow, I wasn't expecting that," Leo remarked.
"Same, kinda makes me less bummed about losing," Kuro added.
The two knights along with Alice and Hamon started making their way to the large group, leaving Rama and Finral behind.
The lightning mage bowed his head respectfully. "Thank you for the portal, and a good match, the Black Bulls are lucky to have you along with Kenos,"
Finral looked almost dumbfounded. "Oh, um…you're welcome. I'm not really used to being thanked like this, so you'll have to excuse my surprise,"
"No problem," he replied, heading over to the group as well.
"Lucky to have me? That's a nice thing to hear," the spatial mage thought, but was pulled out of it as he felt something odd, like someone was watching him. He looked around for who it could be, but he eventually spotted the culprit.
Langris.
The vice-captain was eyeing him from a distance, his face nonchalant instead of its usual smug look. Finral felt a little deterred at first, he wanted to pretend he didn't see him and look away, but then he clenched his fists and summoned his courage before bravely making eye contact with his younger half-brother. The staredown went on for a few seconds, until Langris decided to look away, a small smug smirk creasing his lips.
Finral on the other hand, breathed a short sigh of relief upon breaking contact. "Woah, that was intense, but…it also felt really great. I shouldn't be losing my confidence around him, it's like Vanessa said, I need to have faith in myself," he thought, heading over to join the others.
Leopold was the first to reach the group. "Leo, you did awesome out there!" Oxanna cheered, high-fiving him.
"That training we did really paid off," Erika joined in.
"I owe it to you two and Randall, but I have to be honest, I got lucky during the last half," the flame mage acknowledged. "I need to do more training with Leo Battleheart,"
The lava mage gave a determined look. "And we'll help you,"
Hamon was the second person to be noticed as Klaus strode his way. "Great work, Hamon, you've secured the second victory for the Golden Dawn,"
"Not to mention how integral you and Finral were to protecting your crystal," Mimosa added to the praise.
"Thank you, but I must admit, I'm quite famished, hopefully I can get something to eat," the glass mage voiced.
Kuro was the next one up to be consoled as a lone Dante approached. "You feeling okay?"
"A bit, I'm happy for the other team, but losing still sucks," was his response.
The Rossiu nervously scratched his cheek with a single finger. "Well, when this is over, maybe I could…read you some of favorite happy books, or we could talk about…stuff, I don't know,"
A smile couldn't help but form on Kuro's face as he slung his arm around Dante. "Correct me if I'm mistaken, but are you trying to cheer me up?"
"It's what friends do. Is it working?"
"Yup, I'm feeling better already,"
The person afterwards was Alice, but strangely enough, the first person to go comfort her was the least expected.
Kirsch rushed to her side and grabbed her hands. "Don't fret, Alice! Your fighting may have not been beautiful by my standards, but it was still somewhat great. I'll strike some beautiful poses to lift your spirits!"
"Wow, he actually cares…in his own self-centered way. This still feels wrong," everyone thought.
"So, what shall it be?" the cherry blossom mage asked.
"Out of the way!" he was then pushed to the side by Kenos and Ryusei.
"That was a really close fight, you should be proud of yourself," the solar mage said encouragingly.
"Yeah, your cooperation with the others could've been better, but still, don't beat yourself up," the dragon mage added.
"Aw, Kenos, Ryu, thanks,"
The two boys smiled, but it was interrupted as Kirsch started to push against them.
"Don't interfere, I'm the one who will cheer her up!"
"Like hell you will, it's going to be us!"
"Me!"
"Us!"
"ME!"
"US!"
The three mages comedically growled at each other, while Alice stood at the side. "Please you three, don't argue," she tried to calm them down.
"Uh, Alice?"
The wind mage turned to see Noelle. "Oh, hello again,"
"Hi, I just wanted to say congratulations, but I also have a question," she began. "That spell you used, the one that made the armor you wore, what was that again?"
"Battlefield Dancer? Yeah, that's my ace spell,"
"I thought it was really cool!" the water mage suddenly exclaimed.
Alice backed up a bit in shock, but quickly composed herself. "Thanks, it was made in homage to an important person in my life: Acier Silva,"
Noelle's eyes widened in shock. "Acier Silva? Y-You knew my mother?"
"Yeah, nothing too personal, but we spoke to each other a few times when I was a kid, and she was an amazing woman. Battlefield Dancer was one of her titles, so once I got my grimoire, it was one of the first spells I made, and it took some more years to perfect, now it's at a spot I'm proud of,"
"I see, you admired my mother just like so many other people…and I took her away from you all when she gave birth to me. I'm sorry," the royal became crestfallen.
But the expression changed as Alice placed a hand on her shoulder, surprisingly, her face didn't look nervous at all, instead, it looked strict. "What are you apologizing for? You didn't ask to be born, no matter what anyone says, it'll never be your fault. Besides, when we first met, Acier told me once that she loves all her children, and that includes you. So you don't have to feel bad and apologize, not to your mom, not to me, not to anyone,"
A single tear fell down Noelle's cheek. "I'll make sure to remember that,"
"Hey, don't cry now," the woman said.
The royal wiped the tear away. "I'm fine," she said back, noticing something nearby. "But are they fine?"
Alice turned around, seeing the three mages continuing to argue. "Um, it's best not to worry about them,"
Luckily for her, Oxanna moved to handle the problem. "Okay you three, break it up, Alice is doing just fine,"
The three separated. "Alright," Ryusei spoke up.
"Same, too much bickering isn't good for my complexion," Kirsch added.
"Greetings all!" Rama called from afar, about 3 yards from the group.
"One more thing to address," the phantom mage muttered to herself before she ran to her squadmate.
"Tiger Cub!" she exclaimed, hugging him tightly. "You were super incredible out there! I'm so proud of you!"
"I-uh, thanks, Violet. Uh…you…can let go now," Rama said, a small blush forming on his face, partially from her praise, but mostly how warm her embrace was and how it felt very…intimate.
"I'm not letting go until I know you're feeling better," she protested adamantly.
"U-Um, I see," he responded, his tone becoming shy, a tone he didn't adopt often. But that wasn't it, he could feel strong gazes, so he looked forward, seeing that they had captured the attention of the whole group, all with different expressions…but the ones he noticed the most were Kenos and Dante, both giving him nonchalant glares.
"Oh crap, Kenos and Azure are giving those overprotective brother vibes. They look like they want to kill me, but they wouldn't…would they?" the white tiger started to panic a bit, but then something happened that made the panic fade away.
The two brothers noticed each other's glares from the corner of their eyes, making them shift their gazes to each other, repeatedly shifting to and from the crimson-clad pair. But then they looked back at them, regaining their undivided attention, and after a few seconds, Kenos and Dante gave the lightning mage an approving nod.
Rama knew what those nods meant, and it genuinely shocked him that they would accept it, that they would accept him, but regardless, he was grateful. So slowly, he brought his arms around Oxanna…and hugged her back. "You don't need to worry about me, Violet, seeing your happy face is always enough to lift my spirits,"
Those words made the Rossiu blush as she let him go. "I..I'm glad to hear that,"
"Holy shit, seems my hunch about them was right, but damn, those two need to get a room," Kuro thought as he held his chin.
Zuka looked at the two, then stole a quick glance in Kenos' direction. "Lucky them,"
"At this point, they're basically boyfriend and girlfriend in everything but name, and it's about time," Erika and Leo thought.
"Let's not pay attention to them, it can make things more embarrassing," Ryusei voiced, the advice instantly approved by the group. "Oh, and wasn't there another guy who fought,"
"And here he is," a voice came in, revealing Finral.
"Finral, way to go!" the black bulls cheered. "Our squad has got a clean 3 for 3!"
"If we keep this up, we'll prove to all the magic knights here that we earned 2nd place!" Asta exclaimed.
"Yeah!"
"Attention!" the capital mage announced. "May Team G and Team H report!"
"Are any of us fighting in this match?" Kenos asked, but heard no response.
"Seems like we're all watching this time," Zuka said, until her ears picked up on a familiar voice.
"Good luck, Fragil," the voice said, and soon, the owner of said voice was in the sparkle mage's view: Oliver, and next to him was Shauna and the aforementioned Fragil.
"Hey there you guys!" Zuka ran over to them.
"Well well well, would you look at who showed up, after ditching us…again," the illusion mage said sarcastically.
"Um, yeah, sorry about that," she apologized. "I was looking for someone,"
"Let me guess, was it Kenos?" Shauna inquired.
"Yup, how'd you know?"
"Oh, just a lucky guess, not like he's the only one you've been going to see,"
"Yeah, dumb question, anyway, I heard Oliver say good luck to Fragil. So she got chosen just like me? Awesome," Zuka pumped her fist. "So, what teams are you two on?"
"Oh, we didn't get picked," the wood mage revealed.
"Didn't get picked? What a shame, but don't you worry, Fragil and I will become Royal Knights for all of us," she told them, focusing her attention on Fragil. "So, what team are you on?"
"Team G,"
"You're on Team G too? Then it appears we're teammates," someone said, the four aqua deers turning to their right to see Sekke.
"Oh, I remember you, you're the guy from the Star Festival who was in that scary house," Zuka recalled.
"That's me, the name's Sekke. The festival was a time to relax and have fun, but the festivities are over, so I'll be getting serious," the bronze mage introduced himself, trying to sound cool.
"Is that so? I'm very happy to hear that, Sekke,"
The bronze mage widened his eyes and turned around, seeing Glynda. "Boss lady! You startled me,"
"My apologies, but I'm proud to know you'll be giving it your all. Oddly enough, I've never seen you fight before, so do your best," Glynda wished him.
He quickly clover-saluted. "Don't worry, I'll do my best," he assured, motioning to his aqua deer teammate. "We best be moving,"
"Of course," Fragil agreed as the two headed over to the spot where the capital mage was, the members of Team H already present.
"It seems our third team member isn't here yet, we'll give them some time," Sekke voiced. "That reminds me, who is our other teammate? I didn't really look too well at the start of the exam,"
"It's someone by the name of Langris," she answered.
That response was enough to make his eyes widen a second time. "They're name's Langris? Then that could mean-,"
"You two must be my teammates, it's a pleasure,"
The two knights rotated their heads before doing so with the rest of their bodies, and sure enough, the spatial mage himself stood before them, a small, yet uncharacteristic smile on his face.
"It is! You're Langris Vaude, the vice-captain of the Golden Dawn!"
"You know who I am? It appears my reputation precedes me. And you two are?" he asked with a form of courtesy that was as uncharacteristic as his smile.
"I'm Sekke Bronzazza,"
"And I am Fragil Tormenta,"
"Charmed, let's do our best and take our enemies down," Langris said.
"The two sides are here! The fourth battle of the first round will commence between Team G, consisting of Langris, Fragil, and Sekke, against Team H, consisting of Gareth, Medio, and Simon! Both teams head out," the capital mage announced.
"So, our vice-captain is up," Letoile mused. "This shouldn't take too long,"
"It better take long, I won't accept that jerk winning," Asta countered.
Yuno eyed his foster brother. "Let's be real, Asta, as much as I despise his attitude, he hasn't gotten to where he is by dawdling,"
Despite his half-brother being the topic at hand, Finral didn't join in, instead, he merely watched as Langris went down to the battlefield with his team, looking at him intently.
Down at the battlefield, Team G began to discuss, with Fragil being the first to speak. "We need to formulate a plan of attack, I think it's best we share info on each other. For starters, I use Snow Magic,"
Sekke raised his hand. "I've got Bronze Magic,"
Langris was the last to speak. "As for me, I use Spatial Magic of the offensive variety,"
"Ok then, going by what we know, you should be the one handling frontal attacks," Fragil told him. "Do you have any ways of doing so?"
Langris held his chin in thought. "I may. Tell me, Sekke, what capabilities does your magic have?"
"Capabilities? It's pretty fluid, I've got some offensive and defensive spells, as well as transportation," he replied.
The vice-captain raised a brow at the last of the mentioned. "Transportation? Is it fast?"
"Sure is,"
"Interesting. Fragil, do you have any spells to handle groups?" he asked the snow mage.
"Yeah, I do,"
As she was saying that, the capital mage spoke up. "Both teams are in position! Ready! Begin!"
Immediately after the announcement ended, a smirk touched Langris' face.
"Alright you two, listen up, I've got a plan,"
"What is taking so long?"
On the opposite side of the field, Team H stood in formation. Medio and Simon were on the front line, the former making the prior statement, while Gareth stood a decent number of meters behind them, guarding the crystal.
"Don't be impatient, Medio, it's only been five minutes," Simon said.
"I know, but standing around here is boring. Let's just go on the offensive," Medio said back.
"No, we have to be more defensive. They have a vice-captain on their team, and we saw the last fight where a vice-captain was present. Team D didn't put enough stock into protecting their crystal and they paid the price, the same mistake won't be repeated," Gareth rebutted as he looked back at his crystal, protected by a coating of metal. "Our crystal has been fortified with my iron magic, and I'll act as the last line of defense, you two will be the first line as well as the main offensive mages. Team G won't stand a chance,"
"Speaking of Team G, I see someone approaching," Simon informed.
"Nice, I was getting tired of waiting-…wait a minute," Medio was getting excited, but it partially faded upon seeing that the person was a lone Fragil, running their way. "Just one mage, and it isn't even the Golden Dawn,"
"Who comes isn't important, stop her!" Gareth exclaimed.
"Ok," Medio and Simon rushed to meet her.
"Only two of them are coming my way? I thought it'd be all three, the other one must be staying behind to protect the crystal. Regardless, I need to stick to the plan," Fragil thought, her grimoire out, already on the page she wanted to use.
Once the running mages were ten meters apart, Medio grinned. "I better end this quickly and find that other guy," he and Simon started to take their grimoires out and search for a spell to use.
But the aqua deer was faster.
"No you don't, Snow Binding Magic: Trapping Snow Garden!" she declared as snow covered a decent portion of the ground, and that snow traveled up Simon and Medio's bodies, up to their necks, immobilizing them.
"What the hell?!" the trapped knights gasped.
But that was the least of their problems, when Fragil's feet touched the snow, she began to glide quickly over the surface.
On the platform, her squadmates gasped. "Now I think about it, I've never seen Fragil fight before, but she's awesome," Oliver said.
"I know," Shauna agreed. "That binding spell of hers is incredible, the opponents are stopped dead in their tracks while her mobility increases,"
"My apologies, but I need you two out of the way," Fragil said as she glided to her foes, moving in between them. "Snow Magic: Sleet Shoot!" she then shot two large spheres of hardened snow at them, sending them miles away.
"Crap!" Medio and Simon yelled.
"Now!" Fragil exclaimed again, as she did, a large figure was seen accelerating towards her.
It was the bronze mage on Sekke's Shooting Star, and standing atop of it was Langris.
"What the? He's riding on it! What if he falls?!" Asta screamed.
"I think he'll be just fine," Finral countered. "The real question is what's he planning to do,"
"I'm impressed Sekke, this spell of yours is faster than I initially expected," Langris stated.
"No problem, bah ha," he responded with his signature laugh as they rushed past the snow mage, heading straight for the final member of Team H.
"Shit, I wasn't expecting them to do that, but I have to protect the crystal! Iron Creation Magic: Solid Clober!" Gareth created a large club and ran to meet the speeding duo.
Once he got to a decent distance, he jumped up, preparing to strike. "Even if you are a vice-captain, I'll fight with my all!"
In response to this, Langris merely chuckled…before a devilish smile formed on his face. "You'll fight me with your all? There won't even be a fight," he quickly swiped his right hand, sending a slash of space around the iron mage, bypassing him as his crystal was cut in half, carving into the side of a mountain while doing so.
"Crystal destroyed! Team G wins!"
"W-What?" Gareth muttered as he landed. "We lost, already?"
"Yup," Langris looked at him, the devilish smile gone. "You were no match for my superior magic,"
Up on the platform, Augustus gave a small nod. "Impressive work, young Vaude, it appears I made the right selecting your family after all,"
Julius on the other hand, narrowed his eyes. "That brief feeling? Could he be the one?"
Meanwhile, the others on the platform had their mouths agape. "Damn it, why does that prick have to be so good!" Charmy screamed in her head while munching on some sweets.
"I didn't know that was how his magic worked," Kenos voiced, his shock obvious.
"Yeah, his spatial magic revolves around erasing the space around him rather than moving through it like mine does," Finral explained. "Actually, it was that type of offensive style that our family specialized in. As you can imagine, Langris was a natural at it, me though, not so much, but I like my style,"
"I think yours is much cooler than his," Asta said encouragingly.
"True, it has a lot better utility," Noelle added.
"Oh, thanks," the spatial mage blushed in embarrassment at all the praise he was getting today.
"Finral,"
The voice where that one word came from made his happy mood diminish. He looked to his left, seeing none other than Langris walking to him, catching the attention of the other knights. Finral once more put on a brave face as he advanced, meeting him in the middle.
"I take it you saw my match?" Langris asked, the condescension dripping from his voice.
"Yeah, you weren't too bad," his half-brother replied seriously.
"I saw your fight too, I will admit your skills aren't as garbage as I originally perceived them,"
"Thanks, I guess,"
Langris' eyes narrowed. "Don't take it as a compliment, it's still just as worthless as you in comparison to me. We'll be facing off in the next round, and I'll warn you now, even though you'll lose, try to steer clear of my magic," he lips then contorted to a twisted smile. "Things they touch tend to go bye-bye, and I don't think she would like to hear that,"
Finral knew he was talking about. "Good point, so I'll be careful, and I'll do more than that, my team will take yours down,"
His half-brother turned and walked off. "Good luck with that,"
The black bull clenched a fist, but was startled by hands touching his shoulders, making him rotate his upper half, calming down as his eyes met Vanessa's. "Oh, just you,"
"Are you okay? You handled that pretty well,"
"All good, I'm just remembering what you told me,"
She smiled and pulled him into a hug. "Glad to see you putting into practice,"
A few minutes passed before Fragil and Sekke emerged, and were immediately intercepted by their squads.
"Your skills are killer, Fragil," Zuka embraced her. "Maybe Rill should send you on a mission with us sometime,"
"I don't see why not, I've mostly been on solo missions, but a group one could be exciting," she accepted.
"Did you see me out there, Boss Lady?! Bah ha!" Sekke laughed.
"I did, and even though you didn't fight directly, you were clearly an integral part to your team's victory. I'll make sure to let Jack know," Glynda answered.
"Nice, bonus good points for Sekke," he thought, an image of him in his mind giving a thumbs up.
"It's almost time for the next match. Teams I and J, approach!" the capital mage called, and in a few minutes, the knights came, or at least, most of them. The three members of Team J were present, but only two for the opposing one.
Said team consisted of one Crimson Lion King and one Silver Eagle, that silver-clad male introducing himself. "Hello, I'm Nils,"
His teammate did the same. "A pleasure, name's Ruben," he then addressed the ones across from him. "And good luck to you,"
"Likewise," they responded.
Nils nodded to the other team as well, speaking up, but not to them, but to the capital mage. "Quick question,"
"What is it?"
"Shouldn't we have another teammate? They don't seem to be here," he asked.
"Oh, let me check who it should be," the mage raised a hand, forming a projection displaying the brackets.
"What's the holdup, why hasn't the match started?" Asta inquired, confused.
"From what it looks like, one of the teams is missing a member," Mimosa replied. "We should move closer and see what else is going on,"
And move closer they all did, getting a clear view of the brackets, with the swordsman pointing something out as his eyes fell on Team I's roster.
"X?" that was the sole character at the top of the roster. "Did someone get crossed out of the exam?"
"I'm pretty sure that's just someone's name," Zuka corrected him.
"A name? Who would give their kid a name like that," Xerx mused.
"Probably it's an alias," Noelle guessed.
"Regardless of who this X is, the fact still stands that they aren't here," Ruben said.
"Are you sure about that?" a voice whispered from behind him, making him shoot his head behind him, coming face to face to a mage wearing a strange mask.
"Crap!" Ruben jumped back.
"Who the hell is this joker?!" was the thought that crossed everyone's mind.
"Are you X?" Nils asked.
"Yup, that's me," he confirmed.
Zuka quickly moved to speak. "Wait, that robe? You're an Aqua Deer. I don't know all of my squadmates, but I think I'd see you before, with that mask at all.
X giggled. "Oh, you've seen me before," he said as his mask suddenly began to melt, revealing Rill. "Is that better?"
"Captain!" the sparkle mage screamed. "You're participating? How is that even possible?"
"I can answer that," Julius intervened from his seat. "About a week after the Star Festival, Rill came to my office and asked if it was possible to automatically include him in the exam. I decided it was a good idea to have at least one captain participating. I know at first glance it may not seem fair, but look on the bright side, the format grants a chance of victory to each team, and beating a captain's team would virtually guarantee passing,"
"Even with those facts, beating me won't be easy," the picture mage proudly proclaimed. "Our squad did the best we've ever done during the Star Rankings, and it with my victories here, that'll help us do even better next year,"
"Ah, what a wonderful plan, Master Rill,"
The new voice came to Kenos' right, the solar mage nudged his head, seeing an old man with grey hair in a black and white suit, and a scar on the right half of his forehead.
"Oh, hello sir," he greeted absent-mindedly, turning back to normal, but then his eyes shot wide. "Hold on, where did you come from?!"
Rill waved to the man. "You made it! I'm glad,"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world,"
The magicless mage along with the aqua quartet approached him. "So you know Rill? It's nice to meet you, I'm Asta,"
"I see, so you're Asta, Master Rill has told me about you," he then faced the quartet. "But he's told me even more about you four. Zuka, Shauna, Oliver, and Fragil," addressing each knight one at a time. "I am Walter, head butler of the Boismortier House,"
"You know who we are individually? Shauna asked.
"I do, the young master has portraits of you in his room, a privilege reserved for those in the squad he views as friends," Walter explained.
Fragil eyed her captain. "You really see us like that?"
"Of course I do," the picture mage confessed.
A tear dropped down Walter's face. "I'm so happy he's finally made friends, he was quite the shut-in during his younger years," he then pulled out a medium-sized tray, with five cups. "Please accept some tea,"
"Where did he pull that tray from?!" the five thought as they took a cup. "Thank you,"
"You are welcome,"
"This doesn't look too bad," Asta said aloud, taking a sip along with Zuka, but as they did, they gasped.
"What's the matter?" Yuno asked plainly.
"The tea…it's so fancy, I don't recognize the flavor," he replied.
"Same here," Zuka added.
"Don't recognize it?" Oliver raised a brow and took a sip. "This is just Chamomile,"
Zuka put a hand on her hip. "Well excuse me, not all of us are nobles who get to drink this Canomile regularly," she retorted, butchering the word.
"Excuse me!" Ruben called. "I don't want to interrupt whatever you're doing, but we have a battle to get to,"
"That's right, let's get this going," Rill pumped a fist up.
"Okay, then the fifth battle of the first round will begin!" the capital mage announced. "For Team I, we have Rill, Ruben, and Nils, and on Team J, we have Roland, Wainsley, and Nix!"
Walter gave an encouraging look. "Good luck, Master Rill,"
"Both teams are in position! Match begin!"
Ruben and Nils stood together. "So, how should we go about this?" the latter asked.
"Not sure, but we should be careful. Remember what the Wizard King said, beating our team would virtually guarantee a pass, meaning the opponents may try a powerful offensive to destroy our crystal as fast as possible," Ruben estimated.
"Then we would be better off staying on the defensive for the time being," Nils added. "Rill, what do you think?"
"Such a beautiful sky,"
"What?!" the two men comedically exclaimed.
Regardless, Rill looked at the sky, using his fingers as frames, ignoring his teammates' bewilderment. "The sky has such a beautiful mix of blue and white. Fun fact, did you know that blue used to be such a hard color to replicate since it wasn't easily found in nature?"
"Um, no, we didn't know that,"
"Luckily for us, we were able to find it in gemstones, and with the assistance of magic, it became way more common. White on the hand, is super easy to replicate with crushed seashells," the picture mage continued. "A beautiful sky on a beautiful day. I'm filled with inspiration,"
With that, he opened his grimoire, manifesting a painter's palette and paintbrush, with a lump of paint forming under his feet as he raced forward.
"Wait, we weren't planning on attacking now!" Nils yelled to him.
"Relax, I've got this!" Rill called back, increasing his speed, soon seeing where the opposing team was. Roland stood atop a building, the crystal behind him, and on the ground, Nix stood to the left and Wainsley to the right.
"So, you've come to us, very well, we'll show you what we can do," Roland challenged. "Attack!"
"Flame Magic: Burst Arc!" Nix declared as he sent an attack the captain's way.
Wainsley was quick to join. "Ice Creation Magic: Icicle Blizzard!" she declared.
"Ooh, an impressive attempt, but that won't be enough," Rill grinned, dodging the first attack before using his paintbrush to create a solid wall of paint to defend against the second. "I hope you have something better than that, I'd hate for you three to be a bunch of pushovers,"
But as he finished saying that and trekked a few feet further, he soon found a glowing green circle under him, and from that circle emerged multiple vines which wrapped around him. That sequence of events made Roland smirk. "You needn't worry, there are no pushovers here! Plant Trap Magic: Vines of Ensnarement!"
To say Rill was shocked by the outcome would be an understatement. "Oh, you actually got me…Crap!"
Zuka was just as shocked as the picture mage. "Are my eyes playing tricks on me or did they capture the captain?"
"As a specialist in tricks, you aren't seeing things," Shauna replied. "I know Rill is strong, what happened?"
"We know he's strong, but he's also just as airheaded," Oliver answered her. "If he was really focusing on the match, there's no doubt he'd see that coming,"
"We managed to catch him, let's not hold anything back," Roland extended both his hands, each one facing a teammate. "Plant Reinforcement Magic: Boosting Pollen!" he declared, flowers coming out from his grimoire and traveling to the two knights, releasing pollen on them. "This will boost the power of your spells tenfold, but their speed will take a nosedive, regardless, give it everything you've got, if we can take him out, the match will be easy pickings,"
"You don't have to tell us twice, Flame Creation Magic: Fire Drill Bunker!"
"This isn't an opportunity we'll let pass us by, Ice Magic: Icicle Bridge!"
Rill could only watch as the two spells closed in on him, but instead of looking worried, his face adopted a rare expression: it was totally blank.
The solar mage was a bit taken aback by it. "What a strange look to make when on the verge of defeat. What could possibly be going through his mind?" he thought, but then, he noticed something on his peripheral. It was Walter, standing a good distance from them. "Wait, how is he over there? I didn't notice him move away from us, then again, this world is full of wonders and surprises. Although, the greatest surprise may be why he has such a calm look on his face,"
The Rossiu then moved over to approach the butler. "Hello there, Walter, I'm Kenos, a friend of Zuka,"
"A pleasure to meet you. Are you in need of anything?"
"No, not exactly, I wanted to ask you something. Rill isn't doing very well, but you don't appear to be worried. Why is that?" the younger male asked.
Walter didn't hesitate to answer. "It's because of the look he has, whenever I see it, I know he'll be fine,"
Kenos raised a brow. "How come?"
"To answer that question, I must tell you a story,"
[Flashback]
Boismortier Household. Four Years Ago.
A rumble, the sound of a destructive explosion is how the reminiscion begins, and after the sound, a single statement is made.
"It seems he's at it again," a man said to a woman beside him as they overlooked a nearby noble house.
"Yeah, that Boismortier kid is really starting to become a menace. I miss the days when he'd just shut himself in his room and not cause trouble," the woman added. "But either way, you have to feel bad for his poor mother, I swear, nowadays, she always looks to be on the verge of tears,"
And the woman was right. Within a lower level of the household's interior, a tear from his mother's face dropped onto a table.
"Why does this keep happening?" she cried. "What happened to my son? Ever since he got his grimoire, all he does is destroy our home. He hardly eats, or sleeps, and he never listens to a word I say, he just paints. Did I do this? Am I the cause?"
A maid kneeled to comfort her. "No mistress, you aren't to blame for any of this, don't be hard on yourself,"
But she just kept on crying. "Rill, your magic has become nothing more than a tool of destruction. I'm starting to wish…no, I do wish…you had never been born!"
"Madam!" a stern voice exclaimed, pulling her out of her depressive stupor. She looked to see that the voice came from Walter. "Please refrain from using such words, I will talk to the young master,"
With that, the butler quickly ascended up the stairs, arriving in Rill's room in no time to see the boy sitting on a chair, and a part of the house completely gone, letting the outside be viewed.
"My magic is nothing more than a tool of destruction?" Rill loudly muttered, repeating his mother's recent statement, his face wearing the familiar blank expression. "Well she's wrong!" he suddenly screamed in anger, swiping his paintbrush, causing another explosion. "My magic isn't destruction, it's art. Why can't she see that?! Why can't anyone see that?! Each explosion is a failed idea. It hurts to put in so much effort just for those efforts to bear no fruit, to not be good enough, but no one cares about my suffering, they all just write me off as some sort of menace!"
"Master Rill," Walter spoke calmly.
Unfortunately, that calmness wasn't mutual as the picture mage swiped his paintbrush backwards, creating an explosion behind him. "Go away, Walter! I don't need you here to plead for my mother and say she was right!" he continued swiping. "You couldn't possibly get what I'm going through, neither could my mother! None of you truly understand me, none of-,"
His tirade came to an end as Walter's hand slapped him across the face, the butler facing him, but Rill only looked down, the blank look still present, holding his cheek as the older man's shadow loomed over him.
"Did that slap hurt, Rill?" he rhetorically asked. "Pain is an interesting thing, we all know how pain works, but for many of us, we don't understand why it must be how it is, so we fear it, despise it, and try to avoid it at all cost,"
Walter then pulled out an ointment and started applying some to the boy's face. "In a way, your circumstance is similar, you are seen differently because others around you don't understand your magic and your ambition. But understanding is a two-way road, if you want others to stop seeing your abilities as something it isn't, you have to be willing to understand how they feel, and let it be done though the true nature of your magic…as art,"
"As art?" Rill questioned.
"Yes, create a masterpiece and show the world what your talent truly is. But as of now, that is impossible, the canvas you currently use cannot contain your artistic potential, but there is a way,"
"And what's that?"
"Join the Magic Knights, make the entire kingdom your canvas and let your skills grow to achieve that goal," he replied.
"Y'know what, I…I think I will do that!" Rill exclaimed ecstatically, his blank look replaced by one full of life as he finally looked up, but his eyes immediately widened.
Walter's face was quite bloody, but the right side of his forehead sustained the most damage. Strangely enough, it didn't stop him from smiling. "I'm glad to hear that,"
The picture mage reached for his butler's face. "Walt, what have I done? You're hurt, I'm so sorry,"
"Don't apologize, we butlers are tough," he pulled out a handkerchief from his suit and wiped the blood away. "Now, we have some things to take care of,"
"Young master, your carriage is ready,"
The two were a good mile or so away from the estate when Walter made the statement, but was left with no response. He poked his head from a point in the carriage and saw the boy staring at his house from afar.
"Rill? Did you hear me?"
The picture mage turned around. "Yeah, sorry, I was just looking at something," he explained. "Hard to believe that just a week ago, there was a big opening on the side of the house,"
"Don't underestimate the workers of your family, we pride ourselves in speed and efficiency,"
"I can see that, we're lucky to have you," Rill began making his way into the carriage.
"Young master, I noticed you didn't say anything to your mother. Are you sure about that?"
He nodded. "I'm sure, besides, I left something with her that'll tell her everything I want to say. Now let's get moving, the Magic Knight Entrance Exam awaits,"
In the distance, Rill's mother watched as the carriage rode off. "Please forgive me, my son, I thought your magic was only capable of being a tool for destruction, but…," she looked to her side, seeing a self-portrait of her that he had painted.
"..Instead, it's capable of creating something beautiful,"
[End Flashback]
"That look on his face is when he's at his most serious, granted, I don't see it too often nowadays, but I don't mind," he smiled. "Rill has changed much from that day, and I'm forever proud of him,"
Kenos, though, was in deep thought. "So, his magic wasn't understood by others, and it caused disdain in his family…he was just like me. But he was able to break down the barrier by learning to understand the other side. Is that what I have to do?" he turned his attention to the old man once again. "If he's at his most serious, does that mean he can turn this around?"
"He can, I'll let you in on something, Rill's picture magic has a very unique ability,"
At the same time, back on the battlefield, Rill's mind raced with thoughts. "Such incredible power, it's amazing, but I can't lose here, I have a reputation to uphold as a captain, but even more important than that, I have to keep getting better so the kingdom can one day see my masterpiece," his grimoire flipped to a page. "Picture Magic: Twin Storms of Fire and Water!"
At his call, he swiped his paintbrush forward, creating two streams of fire and water, the water overwhelmed Nix's spell, and the fire overwhelmed Wainsley's. But that wasn't it as the two attacks crashed into them and reverted into paint, knocking them unconscious as well as freezing them in place.
Kenos gasped. "Did he just create fire and water?"
Walter chuckled. "It appears he beat me in showing what his unique ability is, he can replicate any magical attribute, as long as he has the right paint that is,"
Roland was just as shocked at the rest, but for a different reason. "B-But how? We had the advantage,"
"That's the least of your worries!" Nils suddenly emerged. "Ice Creation Magic: Crystalized Sabre!" he formed a blade of ice and cut the vines which held Rill prisoner.
It was Ruben's turn next and he already had his attack prepared. "Sandstone Magic: Rock Storm!" he fired a blast of sandstone right as the remaining opponent, shattering their crystal.
"Crystal destroyed! Team I wins!"
Nils and Ruben high-fived. "Great finishing move, Ruben,"
"Thanks, you moved pretty quick to save Rill. All in all, I'm just glad we got here in time to actually do something before he won the match by himself," the sandstone mage returned.
"Speaking of Rill, where is he?" Nils then asked.
Ruben pointed behind him. "Over there,"
The silver eagle looked back, seeing the young captain kneeling where his spell was. "This isn't too bad, but these strokes are hella uneven, the red side is much shorter than the blue, but the shade is so much prettier. Not really a masterpiece,"
"Team I, please vacate the field, some recovery mage's will come to tend to Team J!"
The picture mage's teammates appeared beside him. "You heard the capital mage, we need to get moving,"
"Sure, just give me another hour," Rill told them.
"No way in hell," they said in unison as they both grabbed one of his arms and began dragging him.
"Let me go! C'mon guys, you don't want to do this, if an hour is too much, just give me fifty minutes…thirty minutes…ten minutes," he comedically begged.
"Not happening," Ruben responded before a portal suddenly appeared before them. "What the?"
"Oh, perfect timing," Nils smiled with relief. "You can trust the portal, I know who cast it," with that, they pulled Rill into it, appearing on the platform.
"No fair," the aqua deer pouted as he stood up.
Nils though, turned to the caster of the portal. "Thanks, Kuro,"
"No problem, Nils," the spatial mage nodded.
Rill walked back to the group with a slump, luckily for him, the feedback from his squad was enough to lift his spirits.
"Oh my gosh, you were so cool out there!" Zuka cheered. "There you were, trapped with two powerhouse spells coming at you, but you were able to turn the tides. My respect for you as a captain has greatly increased,"
"Same here, this is the first I've seen you in a fight, and I can see how you became the youngest captain in history," Oliver added.
"Though I am intrigued by the spell you used," Shauna joined in. "Its nature appears to be done as a way to counter attributes, but are you only restricted to fire and water?"
"Nope, as long as I got the right paint for it, the twin storms can adopt any attribute," he replied before a cup of tea emerged to his side, only the hand holding it was visible in Rill's peripheral vision, but he knew who it belonged to.
"Thank you for the tea, Walter," he took and sipped.
"A wondrous display of skill, young master," the butler praised. "Tell me, are you closer to creating your masterpiece?"
Rill finished his drink. "A little bit, but I know I'll make it soon, for me, and for you,"