Black Clover - The Three Brothers
One side of the table hosted Noelle, Asta, Luck, and Gordon, while the other hosted Charmy, Vanessa, Blake, Magna, and Gauche.
"So what do Magic Knights actually do?" Asta asked innocently enough as he ate breakfast with the rest of the Black Bulls.
Though the question made a few drop their heads onto the table, mainly Blake and Magna.
"Are you seriously asking that friggin question?" Magna reached over and violently shook Asta by his collar. "We protect the Kingdom! Guard stuff! Fight bad guys! It's the manliest job in the world! How the hell you get this far and not even know what you're supposed to do?!"
"I'm sorry—BLEGH! ohgoditscomingbackup."
"I don't know, seems pretty par for the course with Asta." Blake noted, stuffing his gullet with a large mound of food so generously given to him by the little miss.
"Here, try some of this!" Charmy shoved a stack of pancakes in front of him, drizzled in syrup and fruit.
"Oho, don't mind if I do!" The first bite was almost enough to bring Blake to tears of happiness. So many flavors on his tongue! "It's like heaven..."
"For the love of—Can someone give this shrimp a run down on what we do?" Magna set his eyes upon the first person he saw. "Vanessa!"
"H-Huh, what?" Vanessa almost spilled her 5th glass of wine this morning as she was spoken at. "Oh...well you know...safeguard the citizens, keep things protected, that sort of thing. If you're lucky enough, you'll meet a nice gentleman on guard duty.
Vanessa then lazily turned her head in Blake's direction. "Or maybe after enough time, they'll find their way to you."
The aforementioned man had just downed another cup of OJ, before noticing the pinkette looking at him. "Hm, what's up, you say something?"
The question only earned him a small giggle from Vanessa. He shrugged and focused back on the food.
"Aside from that. It's a respectable career that my little sister is proud of. I get to spend my wages buying her everything she wants." Said Gauche, staring at that picture of his sister again.
Luck chipped in. "You can beat down criminals for as long you want and not get in trouble for it! The longest I've managed is 40 minutes!"
"And they're still alive?" Noelle asked, incredulously.
"Barely! Oh man, you should've seen the guy, he looked like a raisin after I was done with him!" Luck explained with an eerily cheery laugh.
Scary. Blake thought. He aimed at another piece of pancake, till the horror of feeling his fork hit the glass plate came upon him. There was nothing there.
"No..."
"This is the worst possible outcome!" Charmy spoke in hungry horror. HORGER!
"It's all gone!" Blake screamed, crying out to the heavens as he leaned back, rolling onto the ground and falling to his knees.
"No, Blake! You can't give into despair! Pull! Your! Self! To! Gether!" Charmy commanded, slapping the boy in between her words. "There's no need to fear... Charmy spoke, opening her grimoire.
"[Cotton Creation Magic: Sheep Cook]!"
"Because they are here!"
Immediately, a trio of magic sheep prepared and made a whole other fucking buffet before their eyes, breakfast galore!
"Woohoo! Magic friggin rocks! All hail the sheep cooks!" Blake prayed before the sheep who basked happily in the human's worship, then began to stuff his face again.
"Is he always as...manic as that?" Noelle questioned Asta.
"Uh, no, he's usually a bit more relaxed...not by much though."
"The brigade's brought out the chaotic behavior within him. Happens to us all." Finral noted, taking a sip of some juice as well.
The big man named Grey walked near Asta and Noelle, opening his grimoire and causing a puff of smoke to appear, before revealing they've taken on the appearance of Asta.
"Huh, double vision? I don't get that till the 12th drink, usually..." Vanessa mumbled. It got a chuckle from Blake at the least.
"Long story short, it's a nice job. I'm looking forward to our first mission together!" They spoke, mimicking Asta's dialect and cheeriness perfectly. They then turned back into their regular form and walked away.
Asta and Noelle shared the same thought.
This place is filled with weirdos!
Some sort of transformation magic? That's pretty neat. Blake looked at the big man. Though something feels off about them.
Blake couldn't continue his thought as a nearby door was almost ripped off its hinges by the behemoth that was their captain, catching everyone's attention.
"Magna, it's time to get going." Yami spoke.
Magna's demeanor became much more severe than it was moments ago.
"Yes sir, Yami sir." He spoke in a low tone.
"Huh, what's this all about?" Asta asked.
"There's a mission we gotta take care of. Don't bother trying to come along, this ain't the kind of thing some kids can handle." Magna warned.
"The rest of you behave yourselves, anything broken is gonna come out of your next pay."
"Okayyyy. Have fun guuuuys!" Vanessa spoke, slurring her words, swinging around in her seat, till she bumped into Blake's shoulder.
"Ooh, comfyyyy..." She mumbled, leaning onto the younger man's deltoid, nuzzling into it a little.
"Wha— Oh. Okay, this is happening." Blake readjusted himself to make it comfortable but otherwise accepted it.
"A real magic knight mission, It must be pretty dangerous needing the Captain and Magna for it." Asta wondered.
"Nah, they're probably making a bigger deal out of something than it needs to be." Blake said.
"What makes you say that?" Noelle asked.
Blake shrugged. "I got a good sense of things. Just doesn't feel like anything important."
He heard the flapping of wings from the hallway. The anti-bird had flown its way from Blake's room to the dining hall, before setting itself onto his head as it usually did.
"Slept a bit later than you usually do, what kept you up?" He aimed the question at the bird, who responded as it usually did, with a peck to his head. "Typical."
"Wh-Who's this little guy?" Noelle asked, having made her way over to the other side of the table.
"Oh, it came with us from the Magic Knight Exams. Don't know why, but I figured might as well keep it around." Blake took notice of the little sparkle that Noelle's eyes had interacting with the bird. Adorable.
"Have you given it a name?" Noelle placed a finger on the bird's head, rubbing it softly. Just look at those little spiteful eyes, how adorable!
...
"You know what, that hadn't crossed my mind." Blake offered his finger to the bird, allowing it to perch itself on it. "You got any suggestions?"
Noelle cleared her throat, wishing to compose herself a bit more. "Well, it should have a name associated with regality and elegance so...Silvantus Schnauzer!" She spoke the name with pride.
"Gesundheit."
"...What?"
Blake cocked his head. "That wasn't a sneeze?"
"A sne—Of course, it wasn't you dolt!" Noelle pounded her fists atop Blake's head, annoyed.
"Okay, my bad! I yield!" Blake yelped. He looked at the anti-bird. "Soooo...Silvantus?"
The anti-bird did not look pleased.
"Hm, looks like it doesn't like the name, Ellie."
"E-Ellie?" Did he just give me a nickname?!
"Does anyone else have suggestions?" Blake called out to the rest of the table.
"Ooh, ooh, Birdie Boy!" Asta shouted.
"How...about...Wine?" Vanessa offered in her drunken state.
"I shall allow the bird one syllable of my darling Marie's name. It shall be known as Ma."
"Rie would've worked a lot better, sister lover." Vanessa retorted.
"Shut up, Wino! He doesn't deserve the majority!"
Gordon said something unintelligible. Grey blew out smoke.
"How about we just fatten it up for later? I've had a craving for Drumsticks recently." Charmy said, her fingers inching toward the bird as drool dripped down her chin.
"Absolutely not!" Noelle acted as a wall between the bird and Charmy.
"Man, it's getting more pissed off by the second," Blake noted, looking at the bird's face becoming increasingly peeved.
"Hmmm, what about Nero?"
The bird raised its wings in an instant, declaring Luck as the winner.
"Nero?" Blake wondered.
"It means Black, sounds cool doesn't it?"
"Hm, very well." Blake turned Nero to face himself. "You have been dubbed "Nero". Wear the name with pride." He spoke with an exaggerated voice.
He then turned and pointed at Luck. "Luck, you've earned yourself a spar!"
The mention of sparring caused little sparks of lightning to come off the blonde boy. "Hell yeah!" He appeared next to Blake in an instant. "I'm ready to go right now, let's go!"
Blake put a hand up. "Not right now. Got chores to take care of. But we'll do it sometime today, alright?"
"Okay!" Luck ran off, excited at the prospect of finally fighting someone new.
"Speaking of which, I should go feed the beasts."
He handed Nero off to Noelle. "Since you adore him so much, just ask if you want to play with him."
"O-Oh, t-thank you." She said, her being elated was hopelessly disguised with just a small smile.
"Alright, ya mutts, here's your slabs." He called out to the beasts for their late morning feed.
Instantly, the whole lot of them ran forward, a dogpile ensuing as they fought for who'd get it first.
"ONE AT A TIME LIKE I TOLD YOU!"
The fighting stops but it then soon became an impasse as the beasts look at each other, appearing to offer the choice of being first to each other out of fear.
"Seriously?" Blake narrow his eyes till he landed on the one farthest to the left. "You first! Then it goes down the line!"
The beasts were good with following instructions from then on.
"Alright, now it'll be Asta's turn in the evening." Blake mumbled as he cleaned off his hands. After drying them off, he decides to take a look through his grimoire.
Okay, so what's the deal here? The only spell I copied from Yami was Black Cocoon, but he used that one called Lightless Slash before that, so shouldn't I have copied that as well? Wait.
Blake flipped through to a couple of pages before that.
I only copied that mask guy's World Tree magic, but not the spell that he had used. Not only that, Finral's Spatial Magic spell wasn't inscribed back when he used it to take us to the base but when he used it to help Asta and Noelle. Blake realized the conclusion. So that must mean I need the base magic copied into my grimoire first before the spells can be copied with it. Ugh, prerequisites.
Footsteps from behind caught Blake's attention. He snapped his grimoire closed and set it back on his belt. "Did you need something, Ellie?"
The footsteps stopped. Blake can envision the surprise on her face.
"How did you—"
Blake turned around to face her, she still had Nero in her hands.
"Told you I had a good sense of things, didn't I? It's especially true when it comes to reading Mana." He said, his index finger raised in the way many do when they're explaining something.
"I see...that's...rather impressive." She offered a compliment, though it was quite clear she wasn't used to giving them.
A playful gasp escapes Blake. "Could it be? A member of the royal family praising a "mere peasant"?—The last two words spoken as a mock—"It's a crazy world we live in people! Times are a'changing!"
Noelle narrowed her eyes. "Are you always so annoying?"
"Indeed."
Nero flew back to Blake, deciding to set itself on his shoulder this time. "So, what did you need?"
Noelle sighed. "I...came to you with the intent to apologize for...crying on you like that from before. It was...unbecoming of a royal—"
"You cannot look me in the eye to save your life, can you?"
Noelle grew flustered, stomping her foot. "J-Just accept the apology! You should be grateful for royalty giving you one!"
Blake rolled his eyes, her saying that would've ticked him off if it actually had the arrogance behind it like before. Now it was just a common phrase if anything.
"Hmmm. No."
"What do you mean no?!"
"I'm not accepting an apology that isn't needed."
Noelle became silent, confused by what that meant.
"While I'd hate to admit such a thing, even if you are royalty you're still a person. People are emotional beings, we need to be able to let it out, rather than it all bottling up and exploding, boom!" Blake moved toward her and gave her a pat on the head. "Cry on me whenever you need, I've got a strong shoulder."
Noelle tried her best to keep her face expressionless to hide how much she liked the head pats and how comforting it was to hear him say that.
"F-Fine, but I would prefer if you stopped doing that."
Blake chuckled, making his way to exit the basement. Noelle followed suit.
"You remind me of my younger brother—
"W-What are you talking about?! I'm nothing like D-Dorksta!" She cut off Blake.
"Not who I—wait." Blake looked at her, cocking an eyebrow. "Dorksta? You've already got a nickname for him?"
"So what if I do?"
Blake eyed her for a moment, before cracking a knowing grin. "That's a surprise."
"What is?" Noelle asked, yet Blake didn't answer, just continued to walk with that grin. "What are you thinking?! Whatever it is, it's not that! Stop that!"
Oh man, just wait till I tell Yuno about this.
"I can't believe it, we lost all 5 rounds against him?! That had to be rigged!" Magna spoke.
"It's pretty impressive if you think about it, old man even got a royal flush in the end." Yami responded, lighting up another cigarette. It was one of the few things he didn't lose in their gambling. "We'll send you with the newbies to go take care of that favor."
"That was over 6 months' worth of wages...now I'm back at zero. This blows!" Magna groaned.
"Quit your bitching, we both lost. All we can do is push past our limits the next time."
"Hnng, you're right, Captain Yami sir!"
"Of course I am. Hm?" A small flash of light appeared before Yami before it turned into a screen-like shape. A communication magic type spell and the one who cast it was on the screen as well.
Marx Francois, assistant to the Wizard King.
"Huh, the hell do you want, Mushroom Head?" Asked Yami.
"For the 100th time, my name is not—WHERE ARE YOUR CLOTHES?!"
Yami took a drag of his cigarette. "Long story short, gambling."
Marx gave an exasperated sigh. "I shouldn't be surprised by anything you do now, yet here we are. Moving on from that, the Wizard King wishes to speak to you about something."
Yami and Magna perked up at the mention of that.
"Woah, seriously? The Big Wiz King himself? Must be something super awesome if he needs you for it, Captain Yami sir!"
"If this is about some sort of property damage, tell him it's too early to be dealing with that crap." Yami said
"As shocking as it may be, it does not involve any negative actions of your squad." Marx spoke back.
"Alright, then what is it?"
"He wishes to request your brigade for a mission. Someone specific, in fact."
So here the three newbies were, standing in front of the now clothed Magna and Yami who informed Asta and Noelle that they would be going under Magna's tutelage in order to hunt down some boar nearby the village where Seihi, the old man, lived at because of the favor.
The name rang a bell to Blake. "Seihi? I haven't thought about him in forever, but I remember him being a nice guy. Wait a minute, wasn't he one who pulled down your drawers and spank you for being a punk?"
"Sh-Shut up! You don't need to be bringing that crap up, Blake!" Magna shouted, embarrassed by the memories of it.
Asta raised his hand in protest. "Okay, but could you explain what that has to do with us!"
Noelle followed. "You're the ones who lost so you should be the ones who—
"Do it or die."
"We'll go!" They were not willing to take their chances with Yami.
"At least you two are going on a mission." Blake placed a hand on his hip. "The hell am I? Chop liver?"
"I was going to get to you in a minute. Soon as my wheels got back—"
"We're back! Found our person." Finral hollered, having opened a portal to the area they all were around, with Grey in tow.
"There we are. Alright newbie." He addressed Blake. "I've been told that there's a group of bandits who've set up shop in a cave around the cutoff between the Forsaken Realm and the Commonor Realm. You're going to—"
"Oooh, do I get to bust some heads?" Blake made a fist and punched his palm. "Sounds sweet."
"Don't interrupt me, punk."
"My bad."
"And bring your hopes down." Yami blew out some smoke. "This is a recon mission only. You're gonna scope out their base, infiltrate it, and report your findings. The head-busting is gonna be taken care of by a different squad."
"Why wouldn't we just take care of it?"
"Something about not trusting us with the responsibility or some bullshit, I don't know." Yami spoke, waving his hand away at the notion.
He then pointed at Grey. "He'll be your partner on this."
Grey appeared surprised at this.
"Blake, you lucky jerk! You get a legit Magic Knight mission while we're stuck boar-hunting!" Asta whined.
"Why can't we go on that mission instead?" Asked Noelle.
"Did you two numbskulls seriously ask that?" Yami grabbed his sheathed sword and bonked Asta on the head. "You're way too loud."—Then he bonked Noelle.—"And you still need to work on magic control."
"And besides that, it seems Blake caught the eye of the Big Wiz King himself, considering he asked for him specifically." Magna added.
"HE WHAT?!" Noelle and Asta belted out.
Blake was just as surprised. "For real?"
"Totes real. Nice going, bro." Magna gave a thumbs-up. "When'd you meet him?"
"I haven't. Least I don't think so, I don't even know what he looks like."
"Trust me, you'd know. Moving on from that, I figured Grey would be a good choice considering his magic, so you two will be working together." Yami explained.
Blake felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Grey had taken on his appearance, it spooked him a bit. "Well, I guess the first mission came sooner than we thought, let's get this done!" They said, holding out a high-five, which Blake returned.
"My wheels can get you somewhat close to the area, the rest is on you. Don't screw it up or you're dead."
"I trust you can handle the way back, Blake?" Finral asked.
Blake gave a nod. "Yeah, no problem."
"Good, this is gonna drain a lot of me." Finral opened up another portal. Grey nodded at Finral before going through it.
Nero flew over to Asta and Noelle, setting itself on Asta's head.
What's up with it taking turns between me and Asta?
Blake placed a hand on Asta and Noelle's shoulders. "Alright you two, have fun with boar hunting, I'll see ya in a bit. Take care of them, Magna. Oh, and tell Seihi hi for me! The kids at the church are doing well!"
"You bet!"
"P-Please...hurry up." Finral spoke, his voice tensing as he tried to keep up the portal.
"Adios!"
Blake jumped back through the portal, saluting the other members as he fell through.
It was a long walk to wherever the mages were hiding out at. Sure it'd be efficient to use brooms or spatial magic, but Blake figured it'd be better to keep a low profile in case they had someone who could sense magic proficiently.
At least it was a nice day, there was a lot of beautiful greenery in the area and a nice breeze keeping them cool.
"So, how many missions have you gone on before?" Blake asked, wanting to break the silence between the two.
"Oh, I've gone on a few! Though, nothing like this before." He replied. He still had Blake's appearance.
"Seriously? You've got any kind of plan for this?"
"Not really, I'm more of a go-with-the-flow person, you know?" Grey shrugged.
This is my senior? Blake went silent for a moment, looks like it'll be up to him to draw up a plan.
"Okaaay. So we're supposed to infiltrate and gather information. Then the easiest way to do that would be to disguise ourselves as members of the bandits, yeah?"
"Make sense."
"They'll probably have a couple guards out, so if we can neutralize them, we can use Transformation Magic to take on their appearance. From then, we can eavesdrop on any plans they have, places they're planning on raiding, that sort of thing."
"Sounds good!"
Blake came to a stop. Grey did the same.
"What's up, you sense something?"
"No...but I'm curious. Could you change back to your regular appearance?" Blake asked.
Grey became a little tense. "How come?"
"I just wanna check something."
"Uhm, alright, if you need me to."
A puff of smoke formed around Grey. He returned back to his regular appearance.
Blake studied him for a moment. Then, it had been confirmed.
"Your Transformation Magic is still active." He moved closer. "This isn't your true appearance, is it?"
For once, Grey looked startled. Sweat began to drop from his face and he even raised his arms a little, as if it was some sort of defense it seemed.
N-No, please. Don't make me—
Blake patted Grey on the shoulder with a grin. "Relax, big guy. I'm not gonna pry any further. I was just wondering." Blake turned away. "I still am wondering why you don't want the brigade to know your real self, but you don't seem like you're doing it out of bad intentions, so I guess it's not a big deal."
He turned back to him with a smile. "But this brigade is pretty accepting and I liked to think I am too, so I hope we get to see how you really look sometime!"
Grey...didn't know what to say.
"And I did sense something as well. Two mana signatures nearby, they've been stationary for a while so they must be guarding something. Let's go." Blake motioned with his head.
Grey was silent for a moment, then grunted, following after Blake.
He's...a nice person.
"Alright, easy enough."
Blake was quick enough to blitz the guards and knock them out with just physical power, which made it much easier.
After a quick study on these bandits, Grey used their Transformation Magic to change into one. Blake copied her magic and changed into the other.
Grey's copy was of a lanky built man with red hair and brown eyes, while Blake's was of a stocky bald man with green eyes.
Man, this feels so fucking weird.
There were some chairs nearby for them, so Blake propped them against the chair and pulled their hoods over their head.
"Nap time."
After that, it was time to venture into the cave. The cave was lined with torches so it wasn't too hard to make their way around. Blake could feel the tug on his robe as he walked along, he supposed Grey wasn't a fan of the dark.
They did their best to not garner attention, just act naturally to anyone who spoke to them. You may not think it, but a simple hello and wave can get you pretty far.
"There's probably a room they use to keep track of notes and planning." He whispered to Grey.
They gave a nod. "Good call."
The next person that passed them by, Blake called out to them. "Hey, you!"
"My name is Trey! Huh, Bernard? Aren't you and Bradley supposed to be on Guard duty?" It was a young man, a bit short, with a mop of brown hair on his head and brown eyes.
So our names are Bernard and Bradley. Blake kept a note of that.
"Sorry bout that, it's hard to see in this cave. We actually were interested in checking up on the plans. We got a room for that, don't we?"
Trey appeared irked. "What, you need me to guide you two there? Isn't this the 5th time we've had to show you where things are?"
Blake did his best to fake an embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that. My memory's pretty bad."
Trey sighed. "You know what, whatever, the boss is actually gathering us in there now to discuss the plans. Come on, follow."
"Oh, alright, lead on!" Blake and Grey followed after Tray, keeping a good amount of distance between them.
"This is better for us, right? We can blend in with the others, get a sense of their numbers, and know exactly when they plan on making their move?" Grey asked.
Blake nodded. "Yeah, what you said. Nice job." I feel like I'm the senior here if anything.
As Tray turned a corner, Blake and Grey followed.
The rather spacious room hosted about 40 other mages, including the boss.
He was a muscular man with slicked back jet black hair that reached his shoulders, a couple of small scars adorning his face, and some rather large ones along his arms. He wore a simple black vest and black pants, a hood worn down, and the robe acting more like a cape.
The room held a couple of boards that had different types of maps, pictures, and battle plans and positions strung together with string. Along with some beds and a couple of baskets of various foods and liquor.
The boss, Symon was his name, looked up from the papers he was currently reading through to see his group gathered. Blake and Grey took their spots off to the left side.
"This everyone? Good." He kicked up from the chair. "Alright, you lot, the plans are about finished. Here's a rundown." He turned to the board. "Saussy, Rayaka, then Hage. We'll be hitting these villages in that order later tonight."
Blake's blood ran cold.
"We're hitting Rayaka for the stores they run so we'll get a good amount of currency from there, Saussy's got plenty of residents so we'll raid them for their loot, then Hage looks to be having a good harvest, so we'll rough up the people there before taking their crops. After a few rounds in the Forsaken Realm, we can work onto the common realm."
Then it boiled.
"Hage, isn't that where you and Asta—"
"Yeah. That's where we used to live. It's got the church we grew up at, with our pops and younger siblings. And Rayaka...I'm pretty sure that's where Magna lived." Blake gripped the sides of his robe so tightly, any pulling would rip it right off.
Symon moved on to where the positions were drawn at. "Starting at Saussy, 20 of us will be the main force focused on pillaging. For the two entrances into the village, we'll have 10 people each to block off any escapes.
"Rayaka's layout is similar so we'll do the same there. Hage'll be different though since it's much more open and bare. We'll spread out 8 to an area to deal with them." Symon turned to face his men. "Sound good, everyone?"
One member raised their hand. "And you're sure we won't need to deal with the Magic Knights?"
Symon chuckled. "Trust me, those bastards have better things to do. They're off being busy protecting all noble and royal folk to be dealing with us. I mean, when's the last time you saw them anywhere near the forsaken realm?" The silence spoke for itself. "That's what makes this easy picking."
Every muscle in Blake's body tensed hearing this guy talk. But, a part of him knew that the last bit he said was actually rather true. Up till that Chain Magic guy, he never even met a Magic Knight or heard of them being around the area of the forsaken area he lived in.
He'd already figured those in the Forsaken Realm weren't of as much importance, but this made it feel like they practically meant nothing.
It's bullshit.
"BOSS! BOSS!" Two voices rang out near the entrance of the room as they ran in.
There stood the true Bradley and Bernard.
Symon was rather befuddled. "...What the fuck?"
Blake and Grey froze.
Oh fuck.
Oh no!
"Someone knocked us out! We think they may have infiltrated their way into here!" Bradley yelled.
"If you two are there..." Symon turned to point at Blake and Grey. "Then who the fuck are these guys?"
"Uh..." Muttered Blake.
"W-We're their twins?" Grey spoke hopelessly.
"SCATTER!" A member of the bandits yelled out, before throwing some sort of magic device towards the two that activated in an instant, causing a wave of light to hit the two.
Blake jumped in front of Grey to protect them on instinct but was surprised when he felt no sort of damage from it. But once Blake opened his eyes, he realized what it was.
Some sort of magic jammer? My Transformation Magic's been deactivated.
From behind him, Blake could hear some kind of...whimpering?
Wait. If my disguise's been deactivated, that means...!
He turns behind him.
On the ground sits a young girl cowering. Her hands covered her face.
This...is Grey?
"P-Please, no one look at me! I...I might die! P-Please, look away from me!" She cried out.
She's...about to cry.
Suddenly, Blake feels his arms and legs become restrained.
What the hell, vines?
"There's no chance of you escaping my Vine Magic!" Bradley called out, vines wrapped along his arms he had shot at Blake.
"I guess if Magic Knights were going to be sent out here, of course, it'd be the bottom-of-the-barrel Black Bulls." Symon spoke recognizing the emblem on Blake's duster. A dark smile crossed his lips. "And they send a couple of Transformation Magic noobs from the looks of it? Must be bad luck for you guys."
Streams of lightning ran along the man's forearms. "You're gonna regret this!"
Blake grimaced. These vines restrain my movement and drain my magic. However... Blake then grew a smirk, gripping the vines that tied him.
It doesn't lock it down!
"What the hell are you—AAAAGGGGHHHH!" Bradley's body convulsed in agony as he was hit with Black Lightning that danced along the vines connected to his arms. A second later, he fell to the floor unconscious.
The vines dissipated and Blake's grimoire glowed.
"W-What the hell did that guy just do?!"
"Lightning Magic? I thought he was a Transformation Magic user!"
"Maybe that was just a magic tool?"
"Why was it black?!"
"W-Wait a minute! He has a 4-Leaf Grimoire!"
Blake turned his head to look back at Grey, who hid behind her arms again to avoid anyone being able to look at her.
With our cover blown, it looks like she isn't going to be much help.
Blake raised a hand out to the side. He formed a Black and Blue portal.
"[Copy Magic: Fallen Angel's Gate]"
"Grey, that'll put you outside of the cave. Run through now, I'll be with you soon."
"O-Okay!" Grey started to run toward the portal but she stopped. "W-Wait, are you trying to fight them all by yourself?! There's too many for just you!"
Blake smirked, he didn't look back. "As if, these guys are a bunch of chumps! I'll be done with them in less than 10 minutes, you can count on it! Besides, I don't plan on letting anyone I consider family get hurt."
Grey's words were caught in her throat for a moment. "O-Okay, I believe in you!" She said before running through the portal. Once she was through, Blake closed it.
Spatial Magic too?! What the hell is this guy?! Symon gritted his teeth before aiming his attention at a small group of his mages. "Capture that bitch! Don't let her get far!"
Realizing what they were attempting, Blake switched to Flame Magic, creating a fireball and shooting it above the entrance to the room they were in. It blasted apart and tumbled down, collapsing it.
"Flame Magic?!"
"That bastard trapped us!"
"YOU DAMN BRAT! DON'T SCREW WITH ME!" Symon screamed out as he ran forward, his grimoire glowing.
"[Lightning Magic: Raiden's Lightning Bolt]!"
From his chest, a large beam of Lightning formed and shot toward Blake.
"That's the boss's strongest attack!"
"That could bring this whole place down!"
Blake stood his ground. With a flick of his wrist, he created a wall of wind that surrounded him.
Not a bad technique, Yuno.
The lightning beam that impacted the wind had simply become enveloped within it.
"H-He practically nullified my attack!" Symon spoke in disbelief.
"Against Lightning, Wind has the elemental advantage. It's like a kid trying to fight their dad." With a swipe of Blake's hand, the wind and lightning dispersed, a powerful shockwave ensuing that pushed back the bandits.
"I'm not even going to need to use spells against you. Compared to that behemoth, you guys are nothing." Blake mocked with a grin.
He cracked his neck. "You know, this was supposed to be a recon mission, but I'm honestly glad I got caught. I'll have an excuse to deal with you all myself." His grin became a vicious smile.
Blake pumped himself with Reinforcement Magic as he activated his Lightning Magic, streams of Black lightning running along his body.
He dashed forward, having seemingly disappeared in the eyes of the bandits, till he appeared before Symon, gripping him by his face.
"Guh!"
"Starting with you."
In another instant, Blake had crossed to the other side of the room, slamming Symon's head into the wall full force, forming a massive crater into it. Once he was sure the leader was out cold, Blake threw him to the side.
He turned around to face the rest.
"You're next."
"A-Attack Mages! Fire!" One of the bandits ordered.
About 15 others followed his command. They weren't anything special, a variety of basic elemental attacks.
Blake switched to Earth Magic, raising a basic but sturdy wall from the ground up to defend against them. The combined power of the attacks pierced only halfway through the wall.
Switching to Wind Magic, he threw a tremendous gust of wind at the earth wall, breaking it apart and using the chunks of it as projectiles aimed at the bandits. He was able to knock out about a dozen or so.
"H-How is this guy so strong?!"
"Fuck, this was a bad idea!"
"W-Who the hell are you?!"
Blake smirked, pointing to the emblem on the back of his jacket.
"Blake of the Black Bulls Brigrade! Etch that into your brains and prison cells!"
Blake switched to his newly acquired Vine Magic, the blue vines forming along his forearms as they shot out to grab at two of the bandits by their ankles. "Let's try this."
"The hell are you—?!"
Blake dashed towards the center of the bandits. With a tight grip on his vines, he lifted the restrained bandits into the air, before he began to swing them wildly around him, slamming them into the rest of the bandits.
"Th-This guy's insane. Agh!" The bandits were shut up quickly as they got slammed into by the bandits of the vine.
Those who could dodge the vine attacks were left wide open to Blake's close combat attacks.
This vine-swinging fury ended when almost all the bandits had been knocked out from the collisions. Blake swung the two bandits into the air before slamming back down, creating craters in the ground where their bodies lay unconscious. Only about half a dozen were still conscious by the time Blake was done, though they could barely stand, let alone try to fight.
He dealt with the rest by unleashing waves of his magic aura, frightening them to the point where they couldn't handle it anymore and put themselves to sleep.
He looked upon the aftermath of his fight. Something puzzled him.
That's odd, could've sworn there was one more of these fucks. But Blake shrugged it off, dusting off his clothes. "Well, guess that's that."
...
"Wait, how am I supposed to bring all you fucks in?"
In a nearby forest where Blake and Grey were, there was a man who leaned back on a tree, smiling. His garb was that of the bandits that had been dealt with by Blake.
That would soon change, as magic particles floating around him would disperse, revealing the man's true appearance: Short and messy blonde hair, purple eyes, regal clothing that was worn under a full body red robe adorned with white fur over the torso area, and the signature feature of a six-pointed star on the left side of his forehead.
Julius Novachrono, The Wizard King.
"What amazing magic. Copy Magic...the endless possibilities for that one's strength to grow with each powerful mage he faces is unbelievable." Julius spoke in wonder.
The boy had already made quite the impression at the exams with his results, attitude, and match against Yami, it's what piqued Julius' interest in the first place. He didn't disappoint on this mission either.
"Him, that short boy with the unique magic-negating sword, and the prodigy with Wind Magic recruited by the Golden Dawn, this year's recruits are on another level with potential!"
"WHERE DID YOU RUN OFF TO?!" Shouted Marx, having formed another Communication Magic screen.
"Aghff!" Julius yelped. "Jeez, Marx. You're gonna give me a heart attack if you keep doing that!"
"AND YOU'RE GONNA GIVE A BRAIN ANEURYSM IF YOU DON'T GET YOUR BUTT BACK HERE AND FINISH THIS PAPERWORK!"
"But I don't wannaaaa!"
"STOP ACTING LIKE A CHILD AND DEAL WITH YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES!"
Julius sighed. "Fine, dad."
Marx sighed in return. "It's mind-boggling that you're in your 40's."
"Marx, please send out a team of mages to collect the group of bandits, it's the location we sent that boy and his teammate on."
"What? Wasn't that just a mission to gather intel? You're saying they've already been defeated?"
Julius nodded with a smile. "Indeed, I am! And wouldn't you know it, the surrounding area didn't get destroyed in the process! The Black Bulls are improving!"
"It would seem so. I'll get that taken care of now, please head back, sir."
"I will, I will."
With a farewell, Marx ended the communication spell.
Now then, let's hope I'm able to assign missions to the other two soon, I'm interested in how they will grow as well. Julius thought.
"The future is bright."
"Yoooo, Grey, you still hanging around?" Blake called out, walking out of a portal to the outside of the cave, back into the land of greenery, though it's become cloudier than before.
I've restrained them all with Vine Magic, hopefully, the Magic Knights can get others to haul their asses in.
Some rustling came from a bush off to the side. After a few seconds, Grey popped out, still in her actual appearance, hands covering her face again.
"B-Blake? Is that y-you?" She spoke. Her voice was all sorts of wobbly.
She was hiding in a bush?
"Yup, it's me."
"Y-You're alright?"
"I'm a-okay like I told ya. Took more than 10 minutes, 15 maybe, but close enough. I was having too much fun swinging those guys around." Blake said as he walked closer.
She couldn't even face his direction, turning away to stare at one of the trees. "I'm g-glad, I'm s-sorry I couldn't help."
"Don't kick yourself too bad for it. I should've made sure those guys were out for longer." Blake stretched his arms out. "Besides, I got some fun out of it. I'll deal with spilling the details to Yami."
"O-Okay." Grey's grimoire glowed. "Oh thank heavens, I've replenished enough Magic!" She began to flip through her grimoire.
"Hey, wait."
"I-Is something wrong?"
Blake's curiosity was getting the better of him. "I mean, if you're already out and about in your true appearance, can I at least get a good look at you?" He asked, making his way over to the short girl.
The moment Blake entered her peripheral vision, Grey moved around sporadically, trying her best to stay out of his eyesight.
"N-No way! It's too humiliating! If I looked you in the eyes I'd probably die!"
"He—Come on—Stop moving aro—I doubt it's that ba—Just one look!" Fuck, she's quick!
Blake grabbed ahold of Grey's wrists, holding tightly enough to not hurt her but just move them out of the way.
"Aha, gotch—"
Blake abruptly stopped as he took in the sight of her. Soft and delicate features like porcelain. Grey-Blue eyes, as if the sky and clouds had mixed together. Her small stature and meek nature pulled at his instincts to protect. She was rather—
"Cute." Breathless words left his throat.
"W-W-W-W-W-W-What?!" Grey's face became the exact opposite of her turquoise shade of hair.
"Ah!" Blake slapped a hand over his mouth. "That slipped out...sorry." He chuckled, embarrassed.
With a puff of smoke, Grey returned to her common appearance.
"Yeah, fair enough." Blake stopped for a moment to consider what to say next. "You don't gotta worry 'bout me telling anyone about this, I ain't one to spill secrets. But..." Blake gave Grey a smile. "You definitely need to work on your self-confidence. You're pretty cool as you are, you don't need to masquerade as others."
Grey blew out the most oversized puff of smoke Blake's ever seen.
"Mhm, good answer."
Blake formed another portal. Even with his tremendous amount of mana, forming a portal for this big of a distance took more out of him than expected, about a tenth of his mana for just one spell. Spatial Magic's quite an exhaustive magic type it seems.
"Let's get out of here!"
"The fuck you mean the mission was compromised?"
"Yami, Yami, listen."
Yami yet again lifted Blake up by his head.
"How about I listen to the sound of your skull cracking?"
"We were doing the mission like you told us, we got found out, I beat their asses! They've been restrained and are trapped in the cave!" Blake spoke as quickly as he could before Yami followed through.
Yami grumbled, before letting Blake go. "Fine, whatever. I doubt it'll matter when I give the report. Less work for them I guess."
I'm never going to get used to that feeling. Blake thought. "So, are those three still out on their mission?"
"Magna, shrimp, and princess? Yeah, they are. Must've been a fuckton of boars for it to take this long."
"Mind if I head over there?"
"Do what you want, but before that, get me to the headquarters. "Wheels" is still gassed out from getting you and Grey over there for the mission."
"Sure thing."
After transporting Yami as close as he could get him, Blake made a portal to Saussy village, placing him at the entrance of the village.
Weird, there's a faint trace of mana that covered this whole town, what the hell happened here?
"YEAAAAH! HOW D'YA LIKE THAT YOU JERRRRRRRRK!"
Well, that's definitely Asta. Follow the voice I suppose.
"Woah! Asta, my man, you good?" Magna called out as he saw his junior collapse after screaming his heart out. It made him worry a little.
Till he heard the snoozing.
"He fell asleep?! The little jerk!"
Noelle huffed. Honestly, what a dork. He's so reckless...and stupid...and obnoxious...and a peasant. Memories of the intense battle they took victory over replay, remembering just how determined and courageous the so-called dork was, always ready to get back up and continue fighting to protect.
"...Still, he's also rather amazing." Noelle kept what she said above nothing more than a whisper, wanting no one to hear.
"Ellie has a crush~." Blake whispered in a singsong tone.
"Ah!" Noelle yelped. "B-Blake?! Y-Y-You didn't hear anything!"
"I heard everything."
"No!"
"Mhm, sure, whatever you say." Blake replied, a smug grin on his face.
"Blake! When'd you get here?" Magna called out, hearing the commotion.
"Just now, I was wondering what was taking you guys so long." Blake replied, turning his attention to Magna and letting Noelle off the hook. For now.
"So, what happened?"
"Rogue mages were on the hunt for something. They were gonna kill the villagers so they wouldn't get in the way." Magna explained.
"Seriously?! What for?"
Magna shrugged. "Beats me. But we showed them what the Black Bulls Brigade is all about and kicked their asses!"
Blake chuckled. "Hell yeah!" He said, high-fiving Magna.
Blake heard a bit of commotion. He took a look around and saw the townsfolk begin to crowd around Asta.
"He's really just a peasant, like us?"
"And he's just a kid too."
"What an unbelievable guy!"
They're praising him. The sight of it brought a smile to Blake's face.
"You know, I was close to calling it quits for a second." Magna said, getting Blake's attention. "It felt like the odds were against us and it was looking grim. But Asta, he kept getting back up no matter what, so I knew I had to keep going too. He was a real man. You got yourself a pretty awesome kid brother."
"Hm, don't I know it?"
"Blake! You're here!" The voice of his brother called out. Asta made his way over, Noelle by his side, and Nero, resting on the boy's head.
Blake nodded. "You look a bit roughed up but seems like you did pretty well on your first mission. Good job."
Asta laughed. "I'm fine! I'm tough, you know that!"
Blake looked at Noelle and was pleasantly surprised to see that something in her mana has changed.
"You've improved too, Noelle. You've gotten better control over your magic it seems."
Noelle wore a proud smile, flipping a pigtail over her shoulder. "It's not surprising, I am Royalty, after all. More than that, I've learned a new spell."
"Yeah! It was really cool!" Asta piped up. "She used it to help keep the people safe while me and Magna focused on taking down the bad guys, it was super helpful!"
Noelle's proud demeanor cracked a little hearing Asta's praise. "I was just doing my duty as a Magic Knight to keep the people safe from harm."
"Oh, and there's this!" Asta then held up a pink magic stone with some orange marks. "Nero found it! The villagers said it was the village leader's protective charm and we can have it for saving them!
The village leader... Blake then realized something, turning to Magna. "Oh, where's the old man at? I haven't seen him around."
The smile on Magna's face was no longer, his expression changed to one of regret and sadness.
Blake didn't like it. "Magna, what happened? Where's Seihi?" Blake didn't want what he thought happened to be true.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what it was. Magna pointed off to the side and Blake saw it, the bloodied body of Seihi.
"No...No way. When did—"
"They...They got to him before we arrived. He was already gone by the time we got here." Magna said. His hands balled into fists. "It's not right. He was alive just hours ago, flying away with me and Captain's earnings to help this village and now...he's gone."
"Who did it?" Blake asked, his anger restrained.
"The guy over there, with the scar on his face. He was the leader." Magna pointed at Heath. "He's already knocked out and restrained."
"I'm waking him up."
In an instant, Blake appeared before the unconscious rogue mage. He raised his foot and slammed it into the man's stomach, pulling the man back into reality as he coughed up blood.
"Blake! What are you doing?!" Magna yelled out.
"Great, another unwanted guest." The man coughed out.
We're the unwanted guests?!
"Fuck you!" Blake pulled the man up by the collar of his coat. "What gives you the right to hurt these people? What have they ever done to you?" Blake spoke through gritted teeth.
Heath's eyes widen at the realization of this magic power Blake possesses. "This level of magic you have is incomparable to these animals that graze the Forsaken Realm. Why should someone of your power bother with protecting them? These weak and useless—"
Blake slammed his fist into Heath's face, sending the man back down to the ground.
"What kind of question is that?!" Blake's hand moved to his chest, gripping his shirt tightly, the memories of his family at the church flooding his head. "I was given this power to protect everyone I care about! My family, my allies, and the people of this Country, no matter their status!"
Blake gripped the man by his collar once more and slammed his fist into him again and again. "And I won't let scumbags like you hurt them any more!"
As he reeled back his fist, Blake felt someone pull his arm back. Magna was having difficulty keeping the larger boy's arm from swinging.
"That's enough! This...is an order from your senior!" Magna said
"Blake, you gotta stop!" Asta shouted.
"Why are you stopping me?!"
"Trust me, I hate this asshole as much as you do," Magna grunted. "But we need to bring him in so that we can figure out what they're planning and stop it!"
Blake wanted to yell at Magna so badly that he didn't care, but he knew what his friend said was the best course of action, no matter how much he wanted to disagree. So, he relented. But, he chucked the man to the ground with the rest of his allies, just for good measure.
"You know what, I'll give you that." Magna said.
"I'd take it anyways." Blake mumbled.
"It doesn't matter what any of you do." Heath muttered, laying himself up. "We've sealed our own fates, for the protection of our master." Strange magic energy glowed within the man.
"He had a magic item inside his body?!" Blake realized.
"[Ice Magic: Ice Burial]"
The three men became enveloped in ice before they shattered, no trace of their bodies left as the ice scattered into the wind. When the man's grimoire dissipated into nothing, that confirmed what they did.
"They killed themselves. Their loyalty must run deep..." Magna spoke, the intensity of the situation making him sweat.
"To go so far..." Noelle was in pure disbelief.
"What is wrong with them?" Asta's own disbelief began to turn into anger. "Life isn't something you just throw away for nothing!"—His knuckles turned white—"I don't get it. I don't want to get it! I'll never accept these guys!"
"There's no point in wasting time on these guys anymore for now." Blake said. A prison cell or death, whatever gets rid of them.
Blake walked over to the corpse of Seihi, picking him up, it was beginning to become cold. He looked down at the young boy and girl. If he recalled right, they were Seihi's grandchildren.
"Your names are Nick and Anna, aren't they? Can you show us where you...lay your people to rest?" Blake spoke with gentle eyes and tone. They were kids, so he'd rather be as tactful as he could be.
Nick sniffed and wiped away his tears before nodding. "Y-Yeah, follow me." He said, his voice cracking was apparent.
He motioned for the other three to follow, which they did without a second thought.
It tore at him more than he expected, holding the dead man in his arms.
I only met you a few times but you were always a positive and caring leader. This entire town, your grandkids, and Magna, you had so many people who appreciated you. And now, they'll have to spend every day trying to move on from you not being here anymore.
Blake began to imagine what'd it be like to live if someone he loved was taken away from him. Dad. Sister Lily. My siblings. Asta...Yuno...
The bastards that took them away wouldn't live to see the morning.
It's a promise. Whoever this master is and whoever follows them. They're all going down.
Seihi was buried on the hilltop, Nick said he loved the view from it. Blake used his Earth Magic to help make a nice plot to place him in, at least however nice you could get a hole of dirt to be. Then he used a steel dagger to engrave words onto the man's gravestone.
Rest in Peace
Seihi Kotetsu
1572-1634
A Responsible Leader and Loving Grandfather
"There we go." Blake flipped the dagger back into his grimoire.
"T-Thank you for doing that, M-Magic Knight." The little girl, Anna, said.
Blake patted her head. "It's the least I can do."
Nick sat in front of the grave, knees to his chest.
Magna spoke. "Your grandpa, I heard he did his best trying to fight those guys off. He was a real man till the very end."
"Your gramps sounds like an awesome guy." Asta added.
"He gave his life for the people he loved. If nothing else, he had a noble heart." Noelle said.
"When Grandpa returned, he was so happy because he'd beaten a pair of magic knights in gambling and that he got to see you again. He told me if he had trained harder when he was young, he would've taken the Magic Knight's Exam. It was his only regret." Nick reminisced on his talks.
He dried his eyes, turning to face Magna. "But he was happy that you'd had been able to become a Magic Knight, you had worked hard enough for both of you!"
Magna was stunned for a moment before he smiled. "I'm glad he thought that."
"Do you think it's possible?" Nick stood up, his voice raised a bit. "Do you think I could be a Magic Knight too?"
"Of course, you can Nick. Don't ever think anything's impossible!" Magna raised his fist at Nick, determined.
"Yeah, I'm a peasant with no magic, and I was able to make it in! Hard work will take you far!" Asta encouraged.
"Always do your best. As long you don't give up, you won't fail." Noelle told him what she always tried to tell herself.
Blake knelt down to face Nick. "I can tell you have potential, your grandpa's strength carries on with you." Blake tapped Nick's chest with his fist. "So even if he's not here with us anymore, his will and dreams can carry on through you. Achieve what he couldn't and become an inspiration to peasants like us." He said with a smile.
Nick and Anna's eyes lit up with wonder in the face of so much encouragement from Magic Knights.
"Just wait, I'll train as hard as I can! Then when I get my grimoire, I'll take the exams and become an awesome Magic Knight like you guys!"
The four knights waved goodbye to Nick and his sister.
"We'll be waiting for you!" They shouted back at him happily.
"So, that's what happened to Heath..." The man hummed to himself, reflecting on the events that his servant retold. "Not only that, the Magic Stone is in the Black Bulls' hands."
The man nodded, waving a hand to his servant. "Very well, thank you. Leave me now, please."
The servant nodded, making his way out of the shadowy room.
The man turned to face a large stone wall. 10 circles were engraved that interconnected with each other: three on the left, three on the right, and four in the center. The man grazed his hand along the engravings.
It's of no importance. The Black Bulls are nothing, they can be disposed of whenever and however we choose.
The man stopped his hand for a moment.
It is unfortunate he ended up with them, but no matter what, we will succeed. The resurrection is at hand.
"Oh my, you all look exhausted. Long day?" Vanessa asked, lazing on the couch in her bra and panties, as usual.
"Very." The three newbies and Magna replied.
"Where's the captain at?" Magna asked.
"Still at headquarters." Gauche responded, surprisingly.
"Blake, you're finally back! That means we get to spar now, right?" Luck was energetic and battle-hungry, as usual.
Ah fuck, I forgot.
"Sorry, gonna have to take a raincheck on that for tonight. I'll owe you two spars now." Blake offered.
"Two spars, awesome! Double the bloodshed!" Luck skipped away happily. "Oh, Magna. I ate your pudding!"
"You fucking what?!"
"I really like the Vanilla flavor you got, buy more of it!"
"You're dead!"
Magna began chasing after Luck with his flaming bat, trying to swat the blonde like he was a fly.
"He just loves instigating stuff, doesn't he?" Blake remarked.
"Anything to get his blood pumping, it seems." Vanessa offered Blake a glass of wine. "Feel like relaxing with me?"
Blake sighed. "Right now, I feel like sleeping more than anything. Raincheck?"
Vanessa shrugged with a smile. "Alright, I'll get you one of these days."
"I'll be counting them down."
Blake created a portal that hovered over the ground. He fell through it, dropping him into his bed.
Yup, this is the good stuff. He squirmed around in his bed, kicking off his shoes, and throwing off his duster and shirt to the side.
Blake turned over, seeing Nero setting himself comfortably on his bedside drawer.
"I'll get you a nest sometime soon, nighty night Nero." He mumbled as he drifted off to sleep.
...
A knocking at Blake's door rouses him from his sleep.
"Huh? Whozat? Wassayear?" He mumbled. It's been a few hours of sleep at best.
As much as Blake would rather stay in bed, he's already been pulled away from his dreams, so might as well see who it is. He gets up with a yawn and rubs the crust from his eyes, quickly pulling a shirt back on to have some decency, before pulling open his door, coming face to face with—.
"Grey? This is a first...whatcha knocking on my door for?" He asked. She was in her "regular" form.
Grey grunted, pointing a finger to the inside of Blake's room.
Blake tried to follow what she meant. "You want to come in?"
Grey nodded, meekly.
Blake shrugged. "Alright, come on." He turned on the lamp on his desk, giving the room a bit of light.
As Blake did that, Grey entered his room, a puff of smoke covering her.
He turned back to Grey, leaning against his desk. "We having a sleepover or—" He stopped, surprised. "You changed into your real form."
Grey's eyes were glued to the floor, fiddling with her hands as she tried her best to not bring them over her face.
"I..." She gulped. "I've thought about what you said since we got back from the mission. I don't want to be embarrassed about my true form anymore a-a-and I want to be a part of this squad as the real me. S-S-So...please teach me!" She asked, giving him a small bow.
Blake was taken aback. "Teach you?" Like, how to be confident or something? "Why'd you come to me?"
"You've already seen me as I am, it'd be too embarrassing letting another person see me for right now. Plus, you're confident and outgoing, I want to be like that too." She said, doing her best to speak clearly without stuttering or jumbling her words.
Blake was rather flattered that Grey saw those traits in him and was comfortable enough to ask for his help. He smiled and nodded. "Sure thing, Grey, count on me to help."
"R-Really? You mean it?"
"Mhm. Though I'd prefer if we thought of it less as me being a teacher or whatever. You're a friend and I want to help you, simple as that."
A friend... The thought made her heart swell with happiness.
"Hey, look at that, you smiled! There's a start!" Blake pointed out with some excitement.
"W-Wait, I was?" Grey stuttered, having been unaware of her expression. The thought of it beginning to make her feel embarrassed.
"You practically lit up when you did it. A smile really suits you, you know?"
Telling her that was too much for Gray. At first, her heart was feeling like it would swell, but now it feels like it's relentlessly fluttering. "U-U-U-U-U-Uhhhhhh. thankyousomuchhaveagoodnightbye!"
Poof, Grey turned back into her regular form and quickly left the room, leaving Blake to wonder if he should've kept that to himself.
Those are questions future Blake shall deal with. Current Blake shall deal with sleep!
And so, Blake turned off his lamp, flopped back onto the bed, and went soundly back to sleep in a matter of seconds.
Black Clover - The Three Brothers
A/N: Feedback is always appreciated!