0713MM: Hey guys! I welcome you to the 60th 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 and spells used in this chapter belong to guardian of the aura Aurasoul and Warmachine375. Chapter start!^^
Chapter 60
The moment Ren stepped out of the shadows, she felt the familiar cold winter chill and the crunch of snow beneath her feet as she stepped upon a roof and she saw fresh snow falling from above.
The Capital, how many years has it been now I wonder…. She thought sadly. Fay looked to Ren as she glanced at her spirit and nodded.
Nacht had already got in contact with the Resistance before coming here. They should be meeting up with us here. She thought, looking around. Zenon too looked around, a look of nervousness spread across his face.
"What's my Mother like?" Yuno asked, specifically towards Ren and Zenon, given no one else with them knew her. At this the two looked at Yuno in surprise then at each other and Zenon couldn't help the amused smile while Ren groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"I love her, but mark my words she can tie with Acier in driving me up the wall and back with how mischievous she can be." Ren replied.
"Mischievous?" Yuno repeated. "What do you-?"
"Ren dear!~" Ren stiffened, feeling herself tear up at the oh so familiar sweet voice she never thought she'd hear again or the gentle Moon Magic mana, so different to Koji's own, she thought she'd never sense again as she swiftly turned around. Approaching the group was none other than the former Queen of Spade-Ciel Grinberryall, as well as several Spade Resistance fighters, Ralph among them.
"Lady Ciel." Tyson spoke up before Ren could, giving a light bow to her.
"General Tyson." Ciel smiled. "I'm happy to see you." She then turned to face Zenon. "Same to you, Zenon dear."
"A-Ah…" Zenon started, but couldn't find the proper words. As he drifted away into own thoughts, Ciel turned to face Ren and grinned happily upon seeing the magic stone around Ren's neck.
"Ah, so Yuno gave you the magic stone I see." She smiled. "Good."
"Don't try to change the subject, young lady." Ren scowled. "How could you do that to me Ciel?"
"Do what?" Ciel repeated, playing dumb. "What did I do?"
"I thought you were dead, Ciel." Ren frowned, making Ciel wince. "I thought Yuno was dead. For god's sake Loyce is dead…. You could've sent me a message or something..." Ciel looked down out of shame.
"I'm sorry Ren…" She spoke softly. "I wanted to tell you, but then Eva attacked us amidst the chaos her children of Dante and Vanica caused. By the time Zenon got to me, Loyce was already dead." Zenon winced, feeling that failure to protect the King stung, but Ciel continued. "Zenon was torn, so I told him to create a copy of me via his Bone Magic so that I could escape and survive. I also told him that if I survived, then he wouldn't have failed me or Loyce." She frowned, looking at Zenon as she pressed on. "Which led to the whole double agent job he went under. He…" She took a breath, finding it hard to speak more of it, but had to press on. "He was okay with dying if it meant you got your memories back." This time it was Zenon's turn to look away out of shame, tears fell from his eyes at being reminded of his stupid plan to help Ren.
"Zeny sweetie, come here." Ren spoke softly. Zenon slowly turned to face Ren, and he slowly made his way over to her.
"Y-Yes Mom?" He asked her. Ren grabbed him and Ciel, pulling the two close.
"You two mean the world to me. And while I am mad, you two are alive and that's all I can ask for." She breathed. "But try doing anything stupid again and I'm coming after you both."
"Y-Yes Mom/Y-Yes Ren!" Both Zenon and CIel stuttered out.
"Good, glad we have that out of the way." Ren sighed, letting them go and walked to the other Resistance members. "And good to see you all again." Many of them either hugged Ren or shook her hand with smiles on their faces upon speaking with the tribe leader again as the others watched in surprise.
"Heh." Mereoleona couldn't help but snicker. "I see that Ren knows quite a few of these people."
"Yeah." Fana mused.
"Ren has been a common companion of the Spade Kingdom for years having known Lady Ciel and the late Lord Loyce in their youth." Tyson explained. "Once they succeeded to the throne, Ren would come visit them and even train members of the army."
"Zenon included." Mars recalled.
"It was how she met Zenon in the first place." Tyson nodded.
"Wasn't the only thing she was known for." Fay smirked.
"Fay." Ren voiced in warning, hugging Ralph.
"Oh do tell Fay." Bell snickered.
"The magic stone." Ralph looked at Ren with the brightest smile. "Does this mean what I think it means?"
"Yes you gremlins." Ren groaned, while the Resistance laughed, patting her back good heartedly.
"Um… Are we missing something here?" Dazu asked.
"There's a tradition with that magic stone." Zenon answered Dazu's question. "Tell me, do you have any sort of traditions in Clover to symbolize who your soulmate is?" They blinked at this looking at one another.
"Do you mean like for courting?" Dazu asked.
"Something like that, yeah." Zenon answered.
"Mind elaborating for us none Clover and Spade folk?" Liebe deadpanned.
"Very well." Zenon started. "For us, or rather the royal family in Spade in particular, would use an item, specifically the magic stone that Mom is wearing, to show that the one who placed it on them is that they're theirs and they want them. Not for selfish reasons, but as lovers. Or so Lady Ciel and Lord Loyce have told me anyway."
"Wow so even without knowing it, Yuno was a total Spade blood prince when he first laid eyes on Ren." Dazu blinked.
"More ways than one." Ren sweatdropped.
"Eh?" Dazu blinked.
"Oh let me tell it." Fay grinned. "See the thing is, Ren here was there when Yuno was born. And from that moment on Yuno was attached to Ren to the hip." At this they blinked and quickly looked at Ren, who sighed cheeks pink.
"...Define attached." Mars said.
"He means that if R-Mom wasn't the one holding him, he'd throw a fit." Zenon answered bluntly.
"Or if she wasn't giving him attention he'd have the biggest pout." Fay laughed.
"And when she comes into the room for her visits, he would immediately try to get out of Lady Ciel's or Lord Loyce's arms to go to Lady Ren." Ralph added with a smile. Yuno felt his face burn up and he grunted in irritation.
"Humph…" Yuno grunted. "I was a baby at the time. What do you expect?"
"Oh no no no, it wasn't about you being a baby Yuno. This was like full on attachment to the point people debated you wanted her more than your own parents." Fay smirked.
"Oh my god." Captain Fana grinned, as if finding the world's greatest secret ever. Not even Mars couldn't help but chuckle.
"It got to the point where Ciel and Loyce were ready to plan an arranged courtship with you and Ren once you were older." Fay admitted.
"To which I was gonna throttle them for. He was a baby!" Ren groaned.
"That didn't matter to their Highnesses." Tyson snickered.
"Nope." Ciel nodded with a smile. "But Ren thought Yuno would get over it all once he was older. So we made an agreement that if he was still interested in her once he was older then we would have a proper discussion over it." Yuno looked at Ren as she deadpanned at his grinning Mother. Him getting over her? This beautiful angel? He grabbed her hand, making Ren blink.
"I'd never get over it. Get over Ren." Yuno told his Mother firmly. Ren blinked while Ciel smiled brightly.
"Oh I know Yuno, it was Ren who thought otherwise." Ciel said.
"Give me a break, he was a baby." Ren scowled. "There was gonna be a chance his interest would have turned elsewhere."
"Yeah, no." Yuno replied. "I would never do that."
"You can simp over Ren later, Golden Dawn brat." Mereoloena told him firmly. "For right now, we're on a mission. So any details about the castle insides would be greatly appreciated."
"So I take it that Nacht didn't tell you guys anything?" Ciel frowned.
"Only the basics, so not a whole lot." Ren huffed, rolling her eyes. "Figured you'd tell us the situation."
"A-Ah, yes." Ciel coughed before continuing. "The castle is heavily guarded and only the underground passageways are way in now. Probably because Eva either doesn't know that they're there, or sees no reason to heavily guard them." She paused, then added. "The problem with that is who is guarding them."
"The one guarding the underground passageways is a woman in black armor." Ralph continued for Ciel. "None of us have been able to get past her, but we have gotten some information about her. Has ash blonde hair and green eyes." Upon hearing such a brief description, Liebe's blood ran cold.
"...Mother…." The Anti-Magic Devil spoke softly. "How…..How are you alive…? I recall killing you, and yet, you still live."
"Mother? As in your and Asta's Mother?" Ren questioned with a frown. Liebe turned to face the Elysia Elf Tribe Leader and nodded.
"Yes." Liebe confirmed. "Asta's biological Mother and my adoptive Mother. I remember Lucifero forced me to kill her. So how….. How is she still alive?" He clenched his hands into fists. "No doubt those assholes brought her back as a slave." He kept his gaze on Ren, then turned to look at everyone else, his red eyes flashed a bit. "As such, she'll be my fight. And none of you people can stop me. Is that understood?"
"Fine, but you'll need to be careful." Ren warned. "Judging by the rest of that description she must've been the one Yami, Charlotte, and Scarlett fought on the border that day and they had a hard time taking her down. Even with Anti Magic you can't take any chances."
"What?" Liebe frowned. "Are you saying that I cannot defeat her?"
"She has Counter Magic." Ciel added.
"So what?" Liebe snarked. "It's still magic, right? So I can handle it."
"The problem is the physical force, Liebe. Let's be real here compared to Asta, you're as thin as a stick. She can no doubt toss you around like a ragdoll if you're not careful." Ren frowned. "Morris must've physically enhanced her strength and other things once he joined Eva. So there's no telling what other surprises she has."
"I will defeat her." Liebe shot back firmly.
"And if you don't?" Yuno asked. "Then what? It'd just be you. If you lose, you'll die."
"Kek! As if I'd die just like that." Liebe waved a hand dismissively of Yuno's words. "Besides, you don't know her like I do."
"...Then we'll take your word for it, but you better not die. Asta won't forgive you otherwise." Ren replied.
"I won't." Liebe grinned. "And none of you better not die either."
"Oh don't you worry, I'm not dying till I get that bitch." Ren frowned, walking to the edge of the roof and looked over the town.
"Good." Ciel smiled lightly. "I take it you all have your own personal fights to settle?" Captain Fana, Vice Captain Mars, Calamity, and Dazu all looked at each other before back at the former Queen of Spade.
"You could say that." Mars replied.
"So what's the plan?" Tyson asked.
"Well thankfully I know a few entrances to the underground passages. The most deserted one is at the old church that looks to be abandoned now." Ren said, pointing to a very decrypted church. "We'll sneak through there."
"Ah, good." Captain Fana nodded, while Dazu cracked her knuckles, ready to face Dante again.
"Alright let's go then." Ren nodded.
"Very well." Yuno retorted, following Ren.
"Good luck to you all." Ciel smiled, watching the 10 leave, noticing Mereoleona didn't follow. "Eh? How come you're still here?"
"To deal with anyone that wants to attack you and the other citizens." Mereoleona answered simply.
"Lady Ren's suggestion?" Ralph asked. Mereoleona glanced over at Ralph and nodded.
"Yes." She confirmed.
"We can use all the help." Albert nodded.
"Good." Mereoleona grinned.
"Ok down this way. Watch your step." Ren dropped to the bottom easily before helping the others get down the ladder.
"This looks ancient…" Calamity whispered.
"These passages have been around since the founding of the kingdom. Only the Royal Family and trusted advisors know of them." Ren said, as they climbed down.
"I take it that there'll be a fork in the road at some point?" Mars questioned.
"Lucky for us, I am one of said trusted advisors." Ren smiled, leading them down. "I know the passages here directly to the castle." Captain Fana looked around as they followed Ren, a look of intrigue on her face.
"The passages stretch far out across the kingdom. Though some had to close due to being accidentally connected to dungeons now and then." Ren explained as they walked.
"That's possible?" Mars questioned.
"The farthest passage leads to near one of the borders." Ren replied. "So yeah, it wouldn't be a total shock that one or two passages ended up leading to a dungeon." Zenon stiffened at the word "dungeon", but said nothing.
"You could say it was thanks to the passages that Spade was able to expand territory over the years." Fay added. As they walked, Ren suddenly stopped, making them stop as well.
"Ren?" Tyson spoke.
"Stand back for a second." Ren said, unsheathing her sword.
"What is it?" Yuno asked. Ren was silent, sword in hand and they could all sense the mana radiating off it before she swung it in a flash, a dark shape dodging out of its hiding spot away from the attack to stand in front of them.
"Close, but not enough." Ren frowned, staring at the emotionless black armored woman in front of them.
"Ren! That's my Mother you almost killed!" Liebe snarled. "And I already told you that she is my fight!"
"Oh please, that strike wouldn't kill her. Believe me you would know a killing attack from me if you see it." Ren replied, sheathing her sword. "Besides, I had to get her out of her hiding spot before she sneaked behind us."
"Clever." The black armored woman responded nonchalantly. "But alas, I will fight the Anti-Magic Devil."
"That was the plan from the start." Ren replied simply.
"Ah, good." She replied.
"Why let us pass?" Mars asked suspiciously.
"...Perhaps I secretly want Eva to lose." The black armored woman shrugged. "Or maybe it's something else entirely. Either way, I made my choice."
"But first tell us this." Ren said. "How are you alive? From what Liebe had told us, it was Lucifero who killed you."
"Yes, that is right." She answered. "How I was brought back to life….not even I know. But if I had to guess, some form of Reincarnation Magic."
"By Eva?" Ren questioned. The black armored woman shook her head.
"No…clue…." She responded softly. Ren frowned at this for a few moments before patting Liebe's shoulder.
"Once you stop her, catch up quickly." She told him.
"Don't worry, I will." Liebe told Ren.
"Let's go, everyone." Ren voiced.
"Right." Yuno nodded.
"This is where we will most likely be splitting off." Zenon remarked.
"Looks to be that way." Fana frowned.
"The one down the middle leads directly to the throne room." Ren replied, pointing. "While that one leads to the advisors hall and the other leads to the war room." Fana and Mars looked at each other, then back at Ren.
"Considering what Morris used to be in Diamond, he's most likely in the advisor's room." Mars noted. "So I, Fana, and Calamity will go there. Morris deserves to get some payback for what he did to us."
"Since you are former Diamond soldiers, I won't rob you of that." Ren nodded. "The war room is a shot on Dante's location-"
"Dante's mine." Dazu interjected as an attack came at the group, and Dazu used her Catalyst Magic to create a mana barrier to block it.
"Aww damn, I thought I had you lot." Dante grinned as he stepped out and into the open. "Alas, this place is too small for a fight. So those of you that want to take me on, follow! I'll kill you after I have my fun!" Captain Fana and Mars stood next to Dazu, ready to defend their squadmate should Dante try anything. But Dazu simply remained calm and gently pushed her heads of the Amber Phoenix squad, surprising them as she stepped forward.
"Dazu." Ren frowned. The blackette young woman stopped and turned around to face Ren.
"Yes?" She asked.
"Be careful. Out of the three, Dante has been in the military the longest. As such, he has more combat experience and both his devil and actual magic are dangerous." Ren warned.
"I know." Dazu answered. "My squad fought him before when he came looking for Yami. We told him he was at the wrong base, but he ultimately didn't care about that and just wanted to fight us for fun."
"Yes he and Vanica were similar like that. Vanica wanted the thrill of battle to find that one opponent that gives her that sadistic satisfaction that she craved like a bloodlust psycho. But Dante is different. Nothing he ever did or did ever satisfied him. In his eyes, the entire world was dull." Ren frowned.
"Thanks for bringing up my entire backstory ya prick!" Dante chuckled sarcastically.
"To be honest, you're pretty one dimensional." Mars deadpanned.
"What's wrong with a simple life like mine?" Dante snickered.
"Says the man whore." Ren muttered lowly in disgust, Fay choked. Luckily the majority present didn't hear Ren, save for Zenon with Fay, who, like Fay, choked.
"M-Mom…!" Zenon choked out in a whisper.
"I'm not sorry." Ren scoffed, Fay hiding his face, shaking in laughter.
"Nothing's wrong with it." Dazu remarked, ignoring Fay's laughter at whatever Ren's remark was. "Outside of the fact that it gets repetitive if you're doing the same crap every single day. So I suppose I can understand your thirst for self satisfaction. Lots of people aim for it." She then frowned. "But you…. You go for the utmost extreme. You think what you have right now, a Devil Contract, will self satisfy you? You think that'll be enough?" Dante turned his attention back to Dazu, and he could feel his anger rising a bit. Was it because this peasant of a woman would dare talk to him like that? Surely, that must be it.
"Tch…!" Dante grunted. "If you're aiming to fight me all alone, then I have no interest in you." He turned to face the others and his lips curved into a dark grin. "But everyone else here….. They'd be more satisfying to fight and kill! Yes! I'm sure of it!" They all frowned, preparing themselves but Dazu stepped up. Fana and Mars wanted to say something and/or protest to what Dazu was about to do, but she beat them to it.
"You're fighting me Dante." She repeated. "Either accept it or don't. In fact, I won't even give you a choice in the matter." Dante scowled at this while Ren gave them a nod, ready to make their moves. Dazu raised her right hand as a chain materialized in her right hand; twirling a bit before launching at Dante, which connected to his wrist. Dante looked down at the chain, then back up at Dazu, laughing as a result.
"Hahaha!" He laughed. "What's this supposed to do? Keep me in place?"
"Actually yes." Dazu smirked lightly. "The spell I just used on you is a very small portion of the actual Mana Method. As for what's called: Catalyst Magic: Soul Chained Impulse."
"Mediocre!" Dante sneered. "I'll pull the chain out and-"
"Do that and you lose all of your mana." Dazu warned him. "As such, you may end up killing yourself." Zenon opened his mouth to bear an expression of surprise, while Fana and Mars smiled. While Dante gnashed his teeth in frustration.
Nicely done. Now not even Dante can back out of this. Ren thought with a smirk.
"You guys go on ahead." Dazu told the others. "I'll hold him here."
"Alright. Everyone go where you need to go!" Ren called.
"Right!" Fana, Mars and Calamity agreed, with Calamity stuttering a bit before said trio moved down another passageway, which as Ren described, would bring them to the advisory room. Once they were gone, Yuno turned his attention to Ren.
"So the throne room?" He asked.
"Yeah, let's go." She said.
"Right." Zenon remarked.
"If Eva's defeated, this whole thing will end, right?" Yuno asked.
"That should be the case, yes." Zenon answered.
"That's the idea." Ren nodded.
"Then let's go and end this." Yuno remarked.
"Yeah." Zenon nodded in agreement. "So lead the way R-Mom." Ren smiled and nodded walking forward. After several minutes of silence, the trio made it to the throne room, where Eva sat upon the throne, a dark smile on her face.
"Well well well, what do we have here?" Eva grinned as she spoke towards Ren, Yuno, and Zenon. "The Elysia Elf Tribe, the former Spade Prince, and my traitorous son. My, such an odd trio."
"Eva." Zenon frowned. Eva took notice of Zenon referring to her by first name instead of Mother, and she too frowned.
"Why going by a first name basis with me Zenon?" Eva questioned. "That's not like you at all."
"He isn't your son." Ren spat, raising her arm to shield Zenon from Eva.
"What? Yes he is." Eva answered. "I birthed him you imbecile!"
"You stopped being his Mother the moment you stopped giving a damn about it." Ren snapped.
"That's not how parentage works!" Eva shot back.
"And how does it work? Letting his own siblings bully him, not comforting him over the worries of his magic? Not stopping other children from bullying him just because of his magic?" Ren demanded, making Eva flinch as if she slapped her. "You never gave a damn about Zenon and only used him to further your own plans. You never gave him the same attention you gave to Dante and Vanica. You never cared!" Eva gnashed her teeth, while Yuno and Zenon watched on in silence.
"Why should I care if Zenon can't defend himself?" Eva retorted coldly.
"A Mother should love and protect their child unconditionally! They teach their child to grow, improve, and better themselves! But you practically tossed him out to fend for himself like an animal! You're no Mother Eva Zogratis! You're nothing more than a neglectful, cruel, sorry excuse of a human being and the only 1 good thing you brought to this world was Zenon and you never deserved him! Zenon is MY son who I care deeply for and I will NEVER let you lay a finger on him like your bitch of a daughter did to Lolopechka." Ren growled.
"And pray tell, what will you do about it?" Eva asked in a taunting manner.
"By putting you down for good." Ren stated, stepping up. Eva merely just laughed.
"Hahahaha!" Eva laughed darkly, standing up from the throne. "Good luck with that! I defeated the Clover Kingdom's Queen, Acier Silva with ease! You'll be no different!"
"Heh, you think that gives you an edge." Ren smirked. And they all gasped by the heavy and powerful mana that was actually emanating from Ren to their shock.
"After all, neither Acier or Julius have EVER beaten me." Ren replied, swords of light forming.
"When you fight them at full strength, yes." Zenon murmured, but Eva didn't hear him and simply laughed.
"And?" Eva sneered. "So what? Acier Silva may be strong, but she's not strong enough to defeat me. But you? I could see you giving me a challenge."
"Shame I can't say the same thing about you." Ren smirked, Fay grinning maniacally at her side.
"And why's that?" Eva asked curiously. "Do you see me, like everyone else that stands before you as weak? Because if so, then Acier and Julius fall into that category as well as me."
"Nah, fighting Acier and Julius was fun, exciting even. But you? Fighting you is nothing more than a tiring job that I need to get done." Ren explained.
"Why you little…!" Eva gnashed her teeth in annoyance and anger. Eva launched herself, but gasped as swords of light were sent flying at her and she quickly dodged them.
"Ha! You think you-!" Eva choked by a sudden whip of light wrapped tightly around her neck as Ren pulled and whipped, thrashing Eva all across the throne room in a torrent frenzy before slamming her to the ground making Eva choke a gasp for air through the blood.
"Urk….!" Eva spat out blood.
"I'm sorry, what was that?" Ren asked with a smile. Zenon and Yuno were watching, speechless.
"Nothing!" Eva snarked, standing back up.
"How is she doing that…..?!" Yuno whispered.
"Mom isn't the Elysia Elf Tribe Leader for nothing." Zenon whispered back.
"Heh…." Eva chuckled, unsheathing her own sword. "Ironic that you went for the first strike before I could even defend myself. Not very honorable are you?"
"Neither are you." Yuno shot back. But both women ignored him.
"Please, I know better with you Eva. If I don't make the first strike or the first wrath, you'll use one of your many tricks to get me." Ren smirked, pulling on the whip, making Eva grunt. "Just like with the Magic Stone." At this, Eva looked shocked much to Ren's amusement.
"You honestly think I didn't notice the negative mana you implanted in the stone the moment I got it back from Zenon? You must think I'm blind." Ren scoffed, smirking at Eva's furious expression. "I removed the negative mana from the stone a long time ago."
"That should be impossible." Eva retorted. "If you were able to do it, then please explain why your pathetic ancestors couldn't."
"The process wasn't discovered until 10 years after Tetia came to Elysia, telling the tribe leader of that time what had happened." Ren stated. "Once they learned of the influence Elf Magic Stones could possess, they conducted tests and experiments with their Magics until finally able to learn a Mana Method spell that specialized in purification. With the Rune Arrays, they were able to create a magic formula that allowed them to purify Magic Stones that held negative mana. They would then pass the teachings down to every new tribe leader, I was no exception to this. So once I sensed the negative mana in the Magic Stone it was all a matter of using it and purifying it." Ren held up the stone on its chain with a smirk at the furious Eva who truly couldn't sense the negative mana anymore.
"And viola, a purified Magic Stone." Ren smirked, letting the stone fall on her chest again.
"Tch…..!" Eva grit her teeth. "You think that matters? You still nearly went Dark Elf anyway! That was the whole plan! And yet somehow…..you didn't fully commit. Coward."
"No she's not." This time Zenon spoke up. "If Mom had fully committed to it, then there'd be a chance she'd lose herself forever! I…I couldn't allow that!"
"You…" Eva started, her anger still present in her voice and on her face. "You call her Mom? I knew you were weak-minded, but come on now!"
"Weak-minded?" Zenon repeated. "Call me that or a traitor or whatever else you want, I don't care. Mom saved me. So in turn, I wanted to save her! I owe her a lot, too. Not just for training me, but also for being there for me when no one would be. Including you."
"And I'm grateful to have you back every day." Ren said with a fond smile.
"Mom…." Zenon spoke softly.
"Enough!" Eva roared, her Devil Power surging throughout her body. "If that's how you want to play, then I'll be sure to bury you all! Including myself!" Ren was unfazed by the shockwave of power, seeing the large black wings practically tearing out from Eva's back and the curved horns sprouting from her head, the dress-like stitches forming over her clothes, the piercing red eye, and threads cutting up her arms like claws.
"Oh she broke the whip." Fay remarked lightly.
"Yeah." Ren replied, letting the remaining light whip disappear.
"Devil Power: 60%!" Eva grinned maliciously.
"Skipping 50%?" Yuno frowned. "That's unusual."
"Dante, Vanica, and Zenon can only go 50 on this mortal plane." Ren explained. "Dante could probably go over it since he's the one with the Devil King but it would slowly deteriorate his body. Eva here is the only one who can go 60."
"Wrong." Zenon frowned. "Dante and I can go 80% max at the moment. Vanica could only go up to 70%. Mo-Eva can go up to 90% on this mortal plane without the gates opened."
"Well shit…!" Yuno grit his teeth.
"Oh so they upped the game since the last time I saw them." Ren remarked with a raised eyebrow.
"Indeed!" Eva grinned. "Last time you saw us, we could only go up to the amount you just said! But that was years ago! Surely you didn't think we wouldn't have done more research since then?"
"Given you couldn't get William's mana or even be able to create the tree until you got Morris, yeah." Ren replied with a shrug, making Eva even more furious.
"Of course we couldn't make the tree until we got William's mana, you fool!" Eva snapped.
"And I take it you didn't build the magic contraption to do it, but instead it was Morris?" Ren asked, making Eva flinch. "Yeah, I thought so. With how much you needed Morris's brain for everything, it's no wonder I thought you couldn't go far past 60."
"Why you-!" Eva choked as two blades of light pierced her neck.
"But good thing he'll be dealt with soon enough. So let's get to it Eva." Ren smirked.
Good thing Marionette Magic: Refaro is active. Eva thought. Otherwise I'd be dead already.
"So be it, Ren!" Eva declared.
"And it begins…" Zenon murmured. Yuno nodded in agreement.
Calamity, along with Captain and Vice Captain, walked down the passageway in silence. After a few minutes, Fana spoke up.
"Are you 2 ready for this?" She asked them. While Calamity shyly nodded, Mars cracked his knuckles.
"I know I am." Mars told her. "I take it that you're ready as well?"
"Yes." She nodded, Salamander in his small resting on her shoulder. "It's about time we got some payback on that psychopath of a scientist." The trio soon heard dark laughter, followed by the passageway rumbling.
"My my! How foolish you all are!" They heard the voice of Morris before the ceiling crumbled and separated the trio.
"Captain! Vice Captain!" Calamity called out to Fana and Mars, concern evident in her voice.
"We're okay!" Fana called back. "It looks like you'll have to go on without us for the time being!"
"We'll catch up!" She heard Mars add.
"O-Okay." Calamity shyly replied, turning and heading down the passageway more until she reached what looked to be an advisory room. Sitting at one of the many desks in the room was Morris. The mad scientist from the Diamond Kingdom that had committed terrible crimes upon Diamond's people, especially children like her Captain and Vice Captain. She clenched her hands into fists.
I have to be strong. She thought.
"Calamity." Morris turned around to face her, a dark grin on his face. "I never would have expected that you would want to come to Spade with those traitors."
"Fana and Mars aren't traitors." She frowned, for once in her life feeling some confidence. "But you are."
"Ha!" Morris laughed, standing up from the chair. "From one's perspective, sure. Alas, I know why you're here. To kill me. Is this you coming here to get revenge for what I did to that weak and pathetic woman that you call a Mother? Not like it matters, given that you killed her." Calamity felt her body go numb, her hands trembled. Seeing her in such a state made Morris laugh.
"Hahaha! I knew it!" He sneered. "Oh crushing you will be-!" He stopped upon not only noticing Calamity's, but her magic creating an aura of mana around her.
"Calamity Magic: Ice Age!" She declared. At her declaration, before Morris could even move or react, he got encased by her spell.
"Tch…!" He grunted. "I forgot that your magic can become whatever attribute you want….!"
"Yes." She confirmed. "And I have something else for you. Calamity Magic: Umbra - Shadow Beasts!" At her call, her Calamity Magic's mana surrounded her in a dark veil. From said veil, spawned 4 medium-sized shadowy beasts, all of which bared their fangs at Morris. Morris merely grinned in satisfaction while Calamity continued to talk.
"Prepare to face judgment, Morris!" Calamity declared, her shy demeanor now fading away. "For I shall cast it upon you!"
0713MM: And there it is! The big 6 0 for this fanfic! Wowzers! And the best part for me is that this fic isn't even DONE yet! As you can tell from the start to the end of this chapter, this is merely just a chapter to set up the respective fights between the characters on and opposing the Spade Kingdom, particularly the Zogratis and Morris and not the Spade Kingdom itself. And as it was mentioned last chapter or in Chapter 58, Queen Acier plans to enact the Tree of Kabbalah to counter the Tree of Qliphorth. This of course as said in either of those chapters, that it's risky and a gamble. For it could lead to a 2nd Angel-Devil War if things go wrong. Which, when does it NOT go wrong? XD