0713MM: Hey guys! I welcome you to the 33rd chapter of The Silver Valkyrie! I do not own Black Clover, nor its characters, nor the OCs that are used in this chapter. The OCs are owned by Warmachine375 and the guardian of the aura Aurasoul. The OC was given to me by a reviwer of this fanfic-frostlash. Chapter start!^^
Chapter 33
"Come on Ren dear! You need to go to the Golden Dawn base soon so you can go and pick up Yuno and Mimosa for the little trip you're going on!~"
"If I didn't know any better, I would say you were planning something." Acier was grinning at a deadpanning Ren, who was carrying a picnic basket.
"Maaaaaaayyyyyyybbbbbbeeeeee.~" Acier smiled. "Captain Fana gave her elf counterpart the day off, and she has a general idea on where you'll be taking Yuno and Mimosa. So she'll meet you there." She lightly pushed Ren out of the throne room. "Get going Rean dear! I'm not sure how long Yuno will wait at the Golden Dawn base before he leaves and comes here to get you. Or go to House Silva in hopes you'll be there."
"Wait, why would Yuno do that?" Ren questioned, allowing Acier to push her.
"Because he likes you~." Fay snickered.
"Fay!" Ren scowled red face.
"Fay is right Ren dear.~" Acier smiled while lightly laughing. "Have fun!~" And with that, she closed the door behind her.
"Oi!" Ren scowled, before sighing. "Honestly."
There was amused chuckling, making Fay snicker and for Ren to stomp on her shadow.
"Quiet." She scowled, before taking flight. It was a swift flight with her wings of light before elegantly landed on the Golden Dawn grounds.
"This should be it." Ren muttered.
"Hey Ren!" Ren looked up and smiled to see Yuno and Mimosa.
"Hey you 2." She said. "Hope I didn't keep you 2 waiting." Yuno shook his head no and Mimosa laughed lightly.
"No no, it's alright." Mimosa told her. "We weren't waiting long."
"Great. So we'll need to do some flying to where Elf Fana is meeting with us." Ren told them.
"Flying?" Yuno questioned. "Where to?"
"It's a little spot near the border of Heart, Yuno, mind giving Mimosa a lift?" Ren asked. Yuno created a little tornado for him and Mimosa to ride on just as Ren said those words.
"I can give Mimosa a lift, yeah." He replied. "Just lead the way."
"Heh will do." Ren smiled, flapping her wings of light. "Try to keep up."
"Humph. Of course I can keep up." Yuno scoffed. Ren only grinned as she took flight, watching the 2 catch up as she flew, being sure to make sure she didn't lose them. Soon she landed in a beautiful flower field, watching Yuno and Mimosa land beside her.
"Here we are." Ren smiled.
"Whoa… So pretty!" Mimosa beamed.
"It's a spot I found ages ago. I like coming here now and then." Ren explained, as they walked.
"Ren!" They saw Elf Fana waving to them near a large weeping willow tree; making Ren smile as they reached her.
"Elf Fana. I'm glad you managed to find this place ok." Ren said.
"Thanks Ren!" Elf Fana smiled. "Though to be fair, Lady Acier showed me it on the map."
"Thought so. Well now that we're all here, how about some lunch?" Ren smiled, holding up the picnic basket. At that moment, Elf Fana's stomach growled. Elf Fana's face became bright red.
"Ehheh… Yeah, food would be nice." She admitted sheepishly.
"Did you miss breakfast?" Ren blinked.
"Yes." Elf Fana nodded. "That's what happens when I get up at 3am to come here."
"3am? Isn't that way early?" Ren questioned, getting a picnic basket out.
"It is." Elf Fana nodded.
"Are you having trouble sleeping? You could see a healer about that." Ren frowned, as she laid and smoothed out the blanket.
"No, it's not that." Elf Fana replied as she, Yuno, and Mimosa sat down on the picnic blanket. "It's just…" She glanced over at Mimosa and Yuno, then back at Ren. "Okay, yeah. Lack of sleep."
"Maybe you should take a nap after we eat." Ren suggested, setting down food.
"Maybe." Elf Fana agreed.
"Let's eat!" Mimosa smiled.
"Hope you all like it. Some are some elf delicacies." Ren said sheepishly.
"Elf delicacies?" Yuno repeated.
"Specialties of her elf tribe." Elf Fana explained.
"Yes. We eat fruits and vegetables and make different dishes." Ren said, rubbing her neck. "And I'll admit, I often like making different recipes."
"That's good Ren." Mimosa smiled as she peered into the picnic basket. "What else is in here?"
"Oh, different things. Baked mushrooms, my grandmother's special stew, and a plum cake for dessert later." Ren said, carefully taking out the pot of stew. Yuno, Mimosa, and Elf Fana eyed it with some form of eagerness. Especially Elf Fana.
"Yum!" Elf Fan smiled. "I remember Lady Tetia making this! Delicious!~"
"Heh. It pretty much became a family recipe once she settled in Elysia." Ren smiled fondly, getting bowls for each of them. "She actually taught me the recipe herself."
"Really?" Mimosa asked, accepting a bowl. "That's great!"
"Hopefully it's just as good as hers." Ren said, pouring soup in their bowls.
"I'll be the judge of that." Elf Fana snickered.
"Well, enjoy." Ren smiled, handing them spoons. Elf Fana, Yuno, and Mimosa each accept a spoon, then take a sip/bite of the stew.
"Mmm…!~" Mimosa smiled.
"I take it, you guys approve?" Ren asked. Yuno nodded as he took another bite.
"Mmm… Yes… I love it…~" Elf Fana purred.
"Glad to hear it. And eat all you like; I made plenty." Ren said.
"Yay!" Mimosa smiled brightly as she continued to eat from her bowl of stew.
"I have to ask this… Why are we here?!" Captain Fana sweatdropped at her squadmate's shout, though even she couldn't help but wonder why they were dragged to a volcanic magic zone.
"Because Crazyleona brought-I mean, dragged us here for-" Captain began to reply to Dazu's freak out shout, but got interrupted.
"I brought you all here for training!" Mereoleona retorted. "If we're going to defend Clover Kingdom from the Eye of the Midnight Sun, or those Dark Disciple buffoons again, you lot will have to be prepared for the next assault! You understand me?!"
"But why bring Noelle? She's pregnant!" Asta yelled, sounding like a freaked out husband. At that, Mereoleona rolled her eyes.
"You think I don't know that, brat?" Mereoleona scoffed. "Noelle's what? Two months pregnant? Or close to that? She'll be fine!" She paused, then added. "But if you're that worried about it, then why don't you carry her up to the top of the volcano then?"
Let's see if all those fights you won were legitimate, or by sheer luck. Mereoleona thought. This will certainly prove it. One way, or another.
"And why bring us?" Yami asked nonchalantly, pointing to himself and Charlotte.
"Because why the hell not?" Mereoleona scoffed. "Get real Yami. Why would I drag you and Charlotte here? You have a brain, think!"
"I still don't see why we have to be near a volcano of all places." Dazu muttered.
"It's no problem. Besides, it'll be worth it once we reach the top!" Leopold grinned.
"Isn't there a hot spring up at the top?" Noelle asked.
"Yeah! It's why this is the preferred area of training for the Crimson Lions." Leopold grinned.
"Oh a hot spring does sound nice." Captain Fana smiled.
"Then what are we waiting for?!" Asta grinned, kneeling down. "Hop on Noelle." Noelle laughed lightly.
"Oh alright. But I'll be using my Water Creation Magic: Valkyrie Armor to keep us in the air." Noelle told him. "That's my compromise."
"Oh fine. But only because you won't take no for an answer, unless it's from your Mom or Ren." Asta said.
"Humph. I won't deny it." Noelle replied as she transformed into her Valkyrie Armor.
"Best we start climbing then." Mars remarked. Captains Charlotte, Fana, and Yami nodded and flew up towards the top of the volcano.
"This is still under protest." Dazu muttered.
"Let's go." Alice pushed Dazu before going up herself.
"Oi oi!" Dazu groaned. "Oh fine!" She followed Alice up. Valeria behind the 2. Mereoleona glanced back at the Crimson Lion squad and scowled deeply.
"You lot are so slow!" Mereoleona bellowed. "Hurry up! Or you won't get to dip in the hot spring at the top! Faster! Faster! Faster!" Satisfied with them speeding up, she too, began to fly up the volcano. Captain Fana flapped her fiery wings as she went up the mountain as she dodged fire balls.
It's not too bad given my magic attribute, but the mana intensity is something else. She thought. Suddenly, a rush of heat emanated near her, making Captain Fana stop in shock.
What was? She thought, looking to the side. She saw a cave that seemed to emanate blazing mana. She looked to the side, seeing none of the other Magic Knights notice it.
Do they not notice it? She thought, confused. She looked at the cave again before she flapped her wings and flew inside the cave looking around. Inside the cave, Captain Fana could feel that the blazing mana's pressure is much larger here. Even though her natural magic is Fire Magic, the intense heat of the blazing mana began to singe her hair and scorch her clothes a bit. Like before when she was outside of the cave, a few fireballs flew in her general direction. Captain Fana gasped and quickly dodged the fireballs and swiftly flew. Despite this, the fireballs kept coming. Eventually however, they soon stopped once Captain Fana reached the end of the cave. At this point, her clothes were severely burned, as well as her face, arms, and legs. Even her hair got a few charred spots. When Captain Fana landed, she noticed 2 things. One of them being a large, fire breathing dragon-lizard. He had orange scales, yellow eyes with red pupils.
"No way…" Captain Fana gasped awed. "Salamander…?!" The orange dragon-lizard turned his attention to Captain Fana; his red pupils narrowed a bit. He began to open his mouth again to launch another volley of fireballs. As if telling Captain Fana to "Go away!".
"Uh oh. I'm in trouble." Captain Fana sweatdropped.
"W-Wait Salamander. Sh-She's not going to h-hurt us. I th-think…" A timid voice spoke from behind Salamander. Captain Fana blinked, looking to see a 15 year old girl slowly walking out from behind Salamander to reveal herself. She was timid and shy. But what surprised Captain Fana the most was her appearance. The girl's hair seemed to be changing colors as if unable to keep one, her eyes heterochromia of gold and silver, pale skin, and wore a black hooded coat that brushed her ankles and black boots. She had a hand on Salamander's side, yet keeping herself close to the fire spirit.
How is she…? More importantly, Salamander is very protective of her. Captain Fana thought.
"U-Umm...who are you…?" The girl asked Captain Fana.
"Oh! My name is Fana. I'm Captain of the Amber Phoenixes of the Clover Kingdom." Captain Fana introduced. The girl shuffled her feet nervously, while still touching Salamander. After a few moments, the girl opened her mouth to speak. Which she eventually did, granted her voice was still timid and somewhat shaky.
"A M-Magic Kn-Knight? Y-Yeah… M-Me and S-Salamander see q-quite a lot of th-them c-come here every now and a-again." The girl explained. "And your name is F-Fana? Th-That's a nice n-name."
"Thank you." Captain Fana smiled. "What's your name?" The girl shuffled her feet again out of nervousness, Salamander saying something in the girl's mind.
"M-My name?" The girl asked. "I…..I d-don't have a name… So I just refer to myself as Calamity. Even th-though that's...m-my magic attribute."
"Calamity?" Captain Fana blinked. "How did you get here?" The girl-Calamity, twiddled with her thumbs nervously.
"How did I get here?" Calamity repeated. "I….I dunno.. I….I remember being born… But...it wasn't very pretty… Especially considering what happened to m-mama b-beforehand…" She touched her hair, then her grimoire pouch before looking back up at Captain Fana. She saw Captain Fana's stitched grimoire out of the corner of her eye and hid behind Salamander, which caused Salamander growl at Captain Fana.
"Is something wrong?" Captain Fana asked, surprised.
"That grimoire…" Salamander spoke in Captain Fana's mind. "That's the work of only one person: Morris." He growled again before continuing in Captain Fana's mind. "Morris, as I'm sure you're aware, is a horrible human. He also experimented on Calamity's Mother while she was still pregnant with the girl. As for the experiments he did on the woman… Well, saying they weren't pretty is one hell of an understatement. He injected the poor woman with mana from every kind of magic, From natural to unnatural. Anything he could get his hands on. As a result, Calamity's Mother became highly ill. She managed to reach this Grand Magic Zone, but that was as far as she got before she died from the untreatable mana illness. Luckily, I was able to get this little one out before she too met her end." He patted Calamity's head with one of his claws. Captain Fana covered her mouth, shocked and horrified while feeling anger upon Morris once again before choosing to focus on the young girl hidden behind Salamander.
"You know… I was experimented on by Morris too." Captain Fana admitted softly.
"Y-You were…?" Calamity asked softly.
"Yes. You see, I was originally from the Diamond Kingdom and was taken to be a soldier with my closest friend. We were then pitted against other children and fought to the death." Captain Fana said softly. "I sacrificed myself to save my friend. And as a result, they experimented on our grimoires to make it like this." Calamity examined Captain Fana's grimoire again, then she looked up at Salamander, then back at Captain Fana.
"D-Didn't you also get...u-ummm...j-jewels embedded in your b-body?" Calamity stammered out.
"Mars did, yes. They didnt do anything to my body because they believed I was dead at the time." Captain Fana admitted.
"O-Oh…" Calamity spoke softly. "W-Well, you should pr-probably go catch up w-wth the other Magic Knights. Th-They sh-should be at the t-top of the volcano b-by now." Captain Fana looked at the young girl for a moment before coming to a decision.
"Would you like to come with me?" She asked.
"Wh-What? M-Me?" Calamity stuttered in slight surprise. "I...I dunno… My magic is...umm…..kinda d-dangerous… I'm only able to use it w-well in a place like a Gr-Grand Magic Z-Zone… I w-wouldn't be much help t-to you…" Salamander patted Calamity's head again, then turned to Captain Fana, his yellow eyes narrowing slightly.
"If you're taking her with you, then you're taking me with you as well. Otherwise, no deal." Salamander spoke in Captain Fana's mind.
"Of course; I understand completely." Captain Fana assured, looking at Calamity with a smile. "And it's ok anybody is welcome in my squad."
"Even...Even a fr-freak like me…?" Calamity asked.
"You're no freak. You're a unique individual." Captain Fana smiled.
"Y-You th-think so…?" Calamity stuttered out.
"Absolutely! And my squad will think so too." Captain Fana said cheerfully. Calamity glanced up at Salamander, who nodded down at the girl. Calamity twiddled her thumbs for several seconds before replying.
"A-Alright. I-I'll join." Calamity nodded timidly. "B-But...how will Salamander join?"
"LIke this." And in the blink of an eye, Salamander shrunk in size and flew over to Captain Fana and landed on her head. Captain Fana's grimoire turned a few pages before glowing an orangish-silver color. One of the pages had an image of Salamander on it before the glow died down. Captain Fana couldn't help the blink of shock, staring at the page before her in her grimoire. Calamity walked shyly towards Captain Fana. Once she reached the pinkette woman Magic Knight Captain, she peered at the image of Salamander in the grimoire, then back up at Captain Fana.
"A contract… With the Fire Spirit Salaman-! Ack!" Captain Fana yelped from a sudden tugging on her hair and looked up to see Salamander biting her hair.
"Hey!" She yelped. At this, Calamity couldn't help but lightly laugh.
"H-Ha… Yeah, he d-did that to m-me as well. Whenever he was i-in sm-small lizard form." Calamity explained.
"Is this a thing with him?" Captain Fana questioned. Calamity nodded.
"Y-Yeah." Calamity told her. "I-It's his way of showing a-affection."
"Oh I see." Captain Fana remarked, surprised. "Well shall we get going?"
"Pl-Please." Calamity retorted. Captain Fana smiled, holding her hand out for Calamity to take for them to fly out the cave.
When the 2 reached the top of the volcano, it was nearing nighttime. The sun nearly gone. When Mereoleona noticed Captain Fana, she crossed her arms and grabbed Captain Fana by the head with one of her fiery lion paws.
"Where the hell have you been?!" Mereoleona demanded. "You're lucky you arrived just in time. Otherwise I'd throw you back down to the bottom and force you to climb again tomorrow."
"I-I can explain! But mind letting me go? You're scaring Calamity." Captain Fana yelped. Mereoleona grunted in annoyance, but dropped the Amber Phoenix Captain nonetheless.
"You can explain in the hot spring, Fana." Mereoleona told her. "And the hell is Calamity?"
"U-Umm...that'd be m-me…" Calamity softly spoke. Mereoleona looked down at the girl and frowned.
"Aren't you a little short to be a 15 year old?" Mereoleona questioned, making the 2 sweatdrop.
"Well, I didn't expect this."
"You did suggest to them to take a nap."
"I didn't think all 3 would!" Ren held her now empty pot of stew, looking at the sleeping Elf Fana, Mimosa, and Yuno.
"I can't believe they finished all the stew." Fay remarked, looking inside the empty pot.
"Well guess I made it that good." Ren sighed. "Well, so long as they're all getting a well deserved sleep. It's clear that they haven't." Ren put away the pot then looked at Yuno for a moment before moving to his side gently stroking his hair.
"You know you shouldn't be in denial." Fay remarked.
"Oh hush." Ren sighed, before hearing chuckling once again.
"You know he is right, Chief." Ren looked over her shoulder to see her shadow rising taking a different shape before the shadows disappeared to reveal the demon before her. A black furred humanoid monkey demon with piercing gold eyes, he wore travelers clothes of brown and black with a red scarf, and his 6 ears flicked amused as Ren groaned.
"Macaque. Not you too." She scowled.
"Hey, I'm just seeing and hearing what's in front of me." The demon, Macaque, teased with an easy smirk. "You obviously like him."
"I just met him." Ren hissed.
"Your point?" Macaque asked, his tail swishing behind him.
"Gods you sound like Acier." Ren groaned.
"Cause she makes sense." Macaque snickered, making Ren scowl at him.
"Enough already. Go back in my shadow before someone sees you." Ren said. Before Macaque could say anything, Yuno grunted in his sleep, making them look down before Yuno moved to lay his head on Ren's lap; thus making her gap while Macaque and Fay grinned.
"Oh he has it bad~" Macaque snickered.
"Macaque!" Ren hissed, blushing red.
"Heh alright, I'll go. But remember Chief, you can only hold out for so long." Macaque smirked, before slipping into Ren's shadow. Ren groaned, rubbing her temple.
"He's a precious member of the tribe. Yet he drives me crazy." Ren muttered. "Him and Koji…" Ren looked down at Yuno, who slept soundly on her lap with a smile making her smile softly, running her fingers through his hair. "Hold out, heh. Though he could do better than an old elf hybrid." She smiled ruefully and continued to run her fingers through Yuno's black hair. Yuno moved his head forward so his whole head was on Ren's lap.
"Mmm…~" Yuno hummed in sleep.
"Heh. Adorable." Ren smiled softly.
"Just like you 2 would be if you 2 were an item.~" Bell rose from out of Yuno's shoulder so she was eye level with Ren.
"Here I thought you fell asleep." Ren remarked.
"I'm a light sleeper." Bell retorted with a slight huff. She then looked up at the sky, the sun slowly setting. "We should probably head back soon. It's turning to dusk, and soon nightfall."
"Not until we change her mind." Fay replied.
"Fay please." Ren sighed, using her magic to put away the plates.
"Come on Ren. You've been single your whole life and it's clear this kid likes you." Fay said.
"He hardly knows me." Ren countered.
"So?" Bell countered back. "You know the saying "Love at first sight?"? That's Yuno to you, Ren."
"You're exaggerating." Ren sighed.
"Hardly. That claim he made on you at the festival says otherwise." Fay smirked, making Ren blush pink.
"*yawn* Mmm… Are we talking romance here?" Elf Fana asked as she woke up and stretched her arms a bit.
"No/Yes!" Ren and the spirits answered at the same time.
"Enough." Ren scowled.
"She's not wrong!" Bell retorted.
"It's time to leave." Ren retorted, gently shaking Yuno. "Yuno time to wake up."
"Mmm… Huh?" Yuno groaned as he groggily sat up. "What time is it?" He looked up at the sky, which had started to turn to nightfall.
"Late. You guys slept through the whole day." Ren said with a gentle smile, turning. "Mimosa it's time-?!" Mimosa was clutching her head in agony, as if having a seizure. Oh, if only that was the case. Moonlight shone down on the area, and Mimosa's physical appearance began to change.
"AAAAAAAAHHHH! What's happening to me?!" Mimosa screamed out of fear. Surprisingly, her clothes remained intact, but her hands turned into claws, her vermillion hair now turned white, a tail with a rose on its end sprouted from her behind, as well as 2 devil horns sprouted from her head and 2 wings sprouted out of her back. Once she lowered her clawed hands from her head and she stood up, she opened her eyes. Instead of them being yellow, they were red. Her grimoire now floating in front of her, not even it was safe from the transformation. While it still held the 3 leaf clover insignia, its color scheme had changed to black and red.
"What the hell?!" Bell cried out. "What is this?! Like those stories where a human transforms into a wolf if it's a full moon?!"
"Devil…!" Fay choked.
"Curse…!" Ren finished with a gasp.
0713MM: And that does it for Chapter 33 of The Silver Valkyrie! Covered quite a few things here. Ren's day out with Mimosa, Yuno, and Elf Fana from the Golden Dawn and Amber Phoenix squads respectively. Then to the Fire Grand Magic Zone from episodes 71 and 72. Captain Fana meets not only Salamander, but also Calamity (frostlash's OC that he gave me in a review a few chapters ago). I apologize for not showing more of the volcano, but I'm pretty sure you guys know what happens at that place. Then the chapter ends with an interesting twist! (That was also foreshadowed about 5 chapters ago. XD) Next chapter, we continue from where Chapter 33 ended!