SailorStar9: After getting Chapter 15 out, this is Chapter 16 of this fic. (Sighs) Guys and girls, is it too hard for you to leave a review, instead of just putting this fic up on your favorited list and story alerts?

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny and my OC.

Chapter 16: Three-Leaf Salute

"The Eye of the Midnight Sun is led by a man named Licht who owns a four-leaf Grimoire." Julius started with the basics. "They are a terrorist group he formed six years ago and they hold a grudge against the Clover Kingdom. They have about fifty mages who are members. Among them are their leader, Licht, as well as the three they call the Third Eye: Rhya, Vetto and Fana. They are much stronger than the other members. They all hold a strong grudge against the Clover Kingdom and they use that to justify their terrorist attacks. Their endgame is to have an independent country of their own. That about covers everything, doesn't it?"

"Yes." the captured George and Catherine droned in monotone.

"And this is the most important bit of information." Julius added. "We've learned that there is a traitor among you who is working for the Eye of the Midnight Sun. Now, would you kindly tell us which one of the Captains is the traitor who aided the Eye of the Midnight Sun? Tell us their name."

"It's the Captain of the Purple Orcas, Gueldre Poizot." George and Catherine answered.

"Impossible." Gueldre gasped. "What are you talking about? They're terrorists that attacked our beloved nation. You'd actually believe what they're saying? As if I'd betray the Clover Kingdom."

"I'd rather not say this, but I've heard a few dark rumors about you." Charlotte stated.

"It's not just a few." Nozel corrected. "We've heard many."

"Come to think of it, I've heard plenty of rumors like that." Yami added.

"Apparently, they aren't all false." Charlotte frowned.

"I knew you were probably up to something sketchy, but this is just..." Yami growled.

"Don't be ridiculous." Gueldre protested. "This must be some kind of mistake. They're trying to frame me as a traitor." he accused the captives.

"They're only telling me what they know, plain and simple." Marx refuted. "Information obtained by my memory exchange magic is absolute."

"You heard him, Hard Ham." Yami scoffed.

"I'm not hard." Gueldre objected.

"We'll just make this easy." Rhiannon spoke. "Let Marx access your memories."

"Freyja-sama is right." Marx concurred. "If you're truly innocent, you should."

"You're behaving shamelessly, Gueldre." Charlotte declared.

"You will pay for betraying the kingdom with your death." Nozel swore.

"So, it really is you." Asta hissed. "Because of you, Captain Fuegoleon was..."

"This is some sort of trap." Gueldre insisted. "I'll clear my name. This is a strategic retreat. Permeation Creation Magic: Invisible Great Mage." he turned himself invisible to make his escape.

"He's actually trying to escape?" Yami cursed.

"This isn't good." Charlotte realized. "His Permeation Magic makes him invisible for a set amount of time and all spells will go through him."

"Meaning while he's invisible, our attacks won't do anything." Yami translated.

"Permeation Creation Magic: Invisible Soldiers." Gueldre summoned his invisible knights to buy himself time.

"We can't let him just get away." Charlotte reminded, binding the attacking soldiers with her vines.

"Dorothy, this isn't the time to be sleeping." Rill whined, on the defensive with his Painting Magic.

"What are we going to do?" Jack sliced through the knights with his Slash Magic. "We can't catch him if we can't see him."

"Yami." William turned to his long-time friend.

"There's nothing to be worried about." Yami assured.

Just as Gueldre was nearing the exit...

"You're right there." Asta charged straight towards Gueldre, nullifying his Permeation Magic with the 'Demon-Slayer Sword'.

"You shouldn't have been able to see me." Gueldre gaped. "How were you able to attack me?"

With the other Magic Knight Captains...

"Hard Ham is able to hide his magical powers, but not his Ki." Yami explained. "And since the anti-magic sword isn't magical, it'll work against him. Looks like an anti-magic kid who can read Ki ended up being his natural enemy."

With Gueldre and Asta...

"Don't mock me." Gueldre growled. "I'm a Captain, you magicless peasant. You look better when you're groveling on the ground." he was taken aback when Asta took out his summoned soldiers.

"Not yet." Asta snapped. "I'm not letting you get away. The Magic Knight Captains that I admire so much wouldn't run away over something like this."

"Very well." Gueldre spat. "If you want to die that badly, I shall grant your wish for you."

"Mr. Poizot." Rill sang, having caught up with Asta. "Hold still a sec." with a flick of his paintbrush, he trapped the escaping Gueldre in a swirling orb of the paints on his palette. "Painting Magic: Spring of Restriction." he beamed, capturing Gueldre in the painting. "Mr. Poizot, you're a picture-perfect fellow. I think I'll call this: The Drowning Captain."

"Rill, how dare you go easy on him." Nozel retorted, the other Captains had also arrived on the scene.

"I mean, if I hadn't done that, this building would've been destroyed." Rill answered, knowing his fellow Captains' temperaments very well.

"His magic allows all magic to pass through him." Nozel reminded. "In that case, we can simply attack using physical objects. We'll just have some commoners rebuild the building."

"I'd rather you didn't, Captain Nozel." Rhiannon scolded.

"I concur." William agreed. "I believe this is enough. Someone may be controlling him with magic."

"I'm glad I said that when everyone is here." Julius had a time-stasis orb in his hand. "I can't tone down my magic, after all. Now then," he looked down at the captured Gueldre. "I have some questions for you, Gueldre."

In the underground dungeon...

"Gueldre, everything you've said so far is true?" Julius finished the questioning.

"Yes." Gueldre replied.

"That's quite the list." Yami noted. "Abusing his own Squad members, embezzling funds, selling national treasure-class magic items on the black market and smuggling dangerous magic potions from other countries."

"Most important of all, kidnapping barrier mages." Charlotte stated. "That's direct cooperation with the Eye of the Midnight Sun. That's solid proof of how they managed to infiltrate the royal capital."

"He was dazzled by rare magic items and made a deal with those terrorists." Nozel scoffed.

"The barrier mages have most likely been killed off already." Rhiannon concluded.

"This is an unparalleled blunder." Julius admitted. "He was a Magic Knight, charged with protecting our citizens, yet he sold them out instead. In order to keep the citizens from growing uneasy, we won't make this a public matter. But to ensure that this never happens again, check all of your Squad members to make sure no one has ties with the enemy."

Outside...

"Well, well." Rhya undid his transformation. "I'm a pretty decent actor. No one can see through my copy transformation magic. Except for you, Carys-chan." he smiled lightly at Rhiannon who managed to catch up with him.

"Rhya." Rhiannon greeted the reborn Elf. "You already realized it, haven't you? The discrepancies. Tell me, Rhya." she continued. "How much you do know about the Devils?"

In Julius' office...

"I'm sorry for making you two stay behind." Julius had held Yami and Asta back. "It's sad being betrayed by comrades who fought alongside me. I sprinted at full speed to get where I am, but as a result, I may have made a lot of mistakes. To tell you the truth, when we were interrogating the two Eye of the Midnight Sun members, they told us one more thing. I clearly remember a stone tablet at their hideout. They call the stones that were set in them 'Magic Stones'. They believe if they collect all of them, they will be reborn into their true forms, beings linked closely to mana and possessing enormous magic. Apparently, they also went after Fuegoleon because they wanted the magic stone he had. We must not let them get the stones. There are three magic stones left. They know the location of one of them. In a strong magic region: the Underwater Temple."

"So, you want us to get there before the Eye of the Midnight Sun does and snatch the magic stone." Yami concluded.

"That's right." Julius nodded. "This is an important mission. The best Squad for the job is the one with lots of members who aren't restricted by familial or social status. Which means, your Black Bulls, Yami."

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.