Black Clover - The Three Brothers

To the unaware and inexperienced eye, Luck could pass as a stray bolt of lightning as he zig-zagged through the forest; His eyes darted in every direction, looking for any sign of the black lightning he'd become fond of fighting.

His movement and acceleration continued till he suddenly bent back like he was going through an intense game of limbo, narrowly avoiding the boot of lightning that would've slammed into his chest.

Sensing his magic isn't difficult...keeping up with his speed is the tricky part! Luck thought as his maniacal wide-eyed grin met Blake's impressed smirk.

Luck senses another source of magic was created once Blake passed him and quickly gathered an array of lightning in between his hands, and blasted it high into the air once he saw that mane of white hair pop out of the portal that Blake created above him.

Blake's eyes widened in mild surprise; He crossed his gauntlets as the lightning hit and pushed him farther back into the air. He felt the increase in Luck's power each time they sparred, always a bit more of a shock to his system each time. It was great! It's a sight to see, especially on that last mission they were on. Those rogue mages are probably gonna have nightmares for a year, at least.

His gauntlets dissipate as he falls back into a portal, landing safely on the ground as he prepares for his next attack, searching for Luck's mana signature. It was erratic and constantly changed its location from one area to the next. Blake closed his eyes, the only stimulus needed was the bright blue mass that moved clearly through his mind.

Moments later, his eyes snapped as his body twisted to the left as he made a swiping motion like he was tearing through the air, wind erupting from his command that made Luck get sent flying away, preventing his attempt of an attack.

Just as Luck was ready to recover, he felt something wrap around his ankles and pull him back where he had just blasted away from, Blake's Vine Magic, with enough power and speed to slam him into one of the many trees before he could retaliate.

It would take more than that to take him down, it always would with how high the battle fiend's pain tolerance was and he was ready to match the furious assault of close-quarter attacks Blake came at him with. It looked like it was even, seemingly matching each other's blows. But Luck could tell it wasn't the case.

"Come on, you bastard!" He said with a laugh, "Stop pulling all your punches!"

"Alright, fine! If that's what you want!" Blake would happily oblige with a smile.

Then it becomes clear how one-sided it was, the weight dropping in Blake's favor as he overwhelms Luck in mere moments.

Luck knows Blake's capability, he's known it from day one, and each time they spar he yearns to push Blake to do a bit more, use a bit more, and release more of that strength. He outmatches him and that's fine, for the moment, he'll make up for each loss because Luck knows that'll push himself further, make himself stronger, to make sure that sooner or later, he will win. He will win and he will keep winning.

Just as he promised his mom.

Luck dropped to the ground; his arms and legs spread like a starfish as he heaved breaths of temporary satisfaction and Blake mirrored him, letting a small chuckle out.

"Why is it that whenever we hang out, it turns into an almost death match?" Blake wondered to himself.

"You agree to it every time I ask!"

Blake raised a finger, paused, and then pointed at Luck, "That's true," he said with a dramatic sigh, "I'm to blame I suppose."

Luck chuckled, lifting himself up to sit straight, "Man, I get so jealous of your magic, sometimes!" He spoke with a slight pout before returning to excitement. "All those different types of magic able to be used all for yourself, never needing to rely on anyone else..."

Luck's voice lowered as he curled his hands into fists with a smile that wasn't the same maniacal one he usually had. "All of those victories that are yours to have..."

Blake heard the way Luck spoke as he looked up at the clear blue sky, save for a cloud that was here or there, and...something felt off about how Luck sounded. Something he hadn't heard from his senior...ever. Yet, he wasn't sure how to address it.

It would need to be handled later, as his attention shifted to the bird that landed on his chest.

"What's up, Nero?" Blake nodded along as Nero performed various movements and wing motions. "Mhm, Mhm, Yup. For real?"

He got excited as Nero finished the message, "Luck, we got a mission!" He yelled out.

"Oh hell yeah!"

Just like that, Luck returned to normal. Whatever's normal for Luck that is.

After dusting off his sleeveless black tunic and pants, Blake used Spatial Magic, returning Luck, Nero, and himself to the dining hall. A small group of their squadmates hung around the area Magna was shouting various phrases of encouragement and taunts as he sat on Asta's back, while the boy repped out god knows how many push-ups.

"Look at that, you got more of the pudding!" Luck noticed as he pranced over to Magna, then flexed his hand with lightning moving along it. "I'll fight ya for your stash!"

"Back off my pudding, you grubby little psycho!" Magna told off, stuffing a spoonful of said delicacy into his mouth. "If you like it so much, go buy your own!"

"But that's not as fun!" Luck whined.

"As fun as what? The fights or getting on my last nerve?" Magna mumbled to himself.

"Both!"

Noelle hopelessly sighed to herself from her seniors' antics but grew a subtle smile and found comfort in being able to hold Nero, who had been gracious enough to fly over to the royal, while Charmy couldn't be any less bothered, simply taking in the rare sweets she had been able to bake this morning.

Hanging along the couch was Vanessa, who shared a warm smile with Blake as she saw him and offered a flirtatious wave. And of course, Captain Yami, standing ready to discuss; Finral was near him and gave Blake a nod that he returned.

Yami moved the lit cigarette from his lips to between his index and middle finger to begin speaking. "Alright, now that the other half is here, I'll spill the details of what the pencil pushers at the castle told me."

"Nero said it was some kind of mission we needed to take care of," Blake said as he walked over and sat back against the couch—swiping one of the sweets Charmy had set out on the table for her squadmates to take from as they pleased. He picked up on the noticeable perfume of his partner behind him. It was a new one, but it was pleasant.

"Nero...told you?" Noelle questioned, only a foot or two away from Blake.

"I got a little system set up with 'em." Blake explained.

"Bird gave you good intel," Yami said, "More than that, it's in regards to a new dungeon that was discovered a bit ago."

A silence had taken hold of the room for a moment before Magna jumped off of Asta from excitement, wondering if the captain was actually serious. Asta followed after Magna's display of enthusiasm as well, though he just had one question.

"What's a dungeon?"

"Are you for real?! Why you getting all excited about something you don't know a thing about?!" Magna questioned as he shook the smaller boy by the robe.

"I was just going with the flow!"

"Blake!"

Blake shrugged and gave Magna a lazy smile. "Hell if I know. Country bumpkin newbies, remember?"

Vanessa hummed as her fingernails slowly raked through some of Blake's locks. "It's super soft today." She noted.

"I got that stuff you suggested last time we went out." Blake responded, tilting his head back to lie on the couch cushion—snapping his fingers as he tried to name it. "Conditioner!" He remembered.

"Ay! Listen up good, 'cause I'm only handing out one explanation!" Magna shouted out.

"Lay it on me, I'm ready!" Asta spoke, raring to go, while Blake threw a thumbs-up.

Magna's explanation offered an adequate rundown of what dungeons were all about, explained to act like tombs that often hosted a treasure trove of ancient relics, and magic items, and could hold secrets of using crazy strong magic techniques left behind by the generations of old; All of which fell under two categories—rare and valuable.

"But the catch to all that is that they usually try to kill you," Luck added, "Those things are filled with a whole bunch of powerful traps so that bad guys couldn't use them to fuck stuff up! Super dangerous and super exciting!"

"They're like treasure hunts where you can die at any second, so it's left up to capable magic knights in order to get the job done." Vanessa capped off, lazily playing with and twirling a strand of white hair around her finger.

Blake chuckled. "Damn right, it sounds like fun. Seems like a good date spot, don't you think?" He jested to Vanessa, only being a quarter-serious...maybe half.

She giggled, patting the younger man's head. "Dial down the intensity a bit, darling."

Blake's eyes flashed in surprise for a moment. Darling...that's a new one.

"And on top of all that, it's located on the border between the Diamond Kingdom and ours, meaning it's likely you're gonna be met with resistance in there," Yami said, "Actually, it's more like a certainty. They're probably hoping to recover important resources to make up for what happened back then with that assassin brigade.

"Because of that, this task has to be taken care of swiftly and thoroughly. If any of that stuff falls into their hands, their power could increase tenfold. Hell, maybe even a hundred."

"Here, sir! Right here! Please, let me go! PICK ME! PICK ME! PICK ME!"

Asta's hand shot into the air revved up and ready to go somewhere that sounded absolutely awesome, with a faint hope that maybe he could somehow learn that ultimate magic stuff Magna talked about.

"You can always count me in for this kind of stuff," Blake commented, raising his hand up as well.

"Yeah, sure. Wizard King wanted you two for this anyway." Yami said, dismissively.

There's an eye-opener.

"WAIT, SERIOUSLY?! THE WIZARD KING WANTED ME?! " How? Why?

Blake was happy for Asta but also wondered why he was wanted again.

"Well, you two have had a good track record on missions up till now," Vanessa settled her chin on Blake's head, arms hanging lazily on him—one of them of course being occupied with a wine bottle. "Plus your powers are unique and strong."

Blake nodded, seeing she had a point.

"Damn, Short-sta. First your brother, now you, you guys attract all sorts of attention, don't cha?" Magna said proudly, slapping Asta's back who was currently too stunned to acknowledge anything else.

Eventually, Asta balled his hands up into his fists and puffed his chest out. "Wizard King, sir! I don't know what made you pick someone like me for a mission this awesome but I promise to do my best and prove you right!" He declared, a geyser of joyful tears flooding down his face and the sun conveniently hitting the window up above in a way that looked like a spotlight was set on him.

"Yeah, go do that, kid." Yami then glanced over to the other two who would be going. "You're going too, Noelle. It's important for you to rack up experience on missions like this."

Noelle held a hesitant look, thoughts that maybe she still wasn't ready for a mission like this poked at her mind. But, she was resolute and shooed those thoughts away. Besides, it was also a mission with Ast—

Stop it!

"Understood, Captain." She said with a nod.

"And then...Luck. You'll be acting as the senior officer, the newbies are yours to teach."

Luck inhaled a short gasp of excitement as Yami spoke those words. "Really? Thank you, sir!" He said, with clear and genuine appreciation and thankfulness in his tone.

"That also means you're responsible for their safety, so make sure you keep an eye on them."

"Mhm! Mhm! I got it, don't worry!"

Almost everyone present believed that they should be worried.

Blake picked himself up once Finral was ready to cast his spatial magic. "Guess we're off then."

"Be careful, don't die on your way back." Vanessa joked.

Blake looked back, giving her a playful smirk. "As if. Give me a little more credit." He said, his signature confidence when it came to taking on missions coming through.

He leaned over, giving Vanessa a quick kiss, catching a hint of whatever flavor that wine was. "See you in a bit." He quickly said, before heading over to where everyone was huddling around, in front of Finral's space gate.

"Bye-bye~" Vanessa hummed.

"Alright, you guys, good luck! And if you run into those Diamond Kingdom punks, make sure to beat their asses!" Magna commanded, putting a fist forward that Blake took the chance to bump his into.

"Wouldn't do it any other way," Blake responded.

"Yes sir!" Asta said, saluting up to Magna.

"We'll do what we can," Noelle said.

"I'll have plenty of nummies for you guys when you get back!" Charmy announced; Her arms raised high with two forks in hand, each holding a full stack of pancakes absolutely drizzled in syrup.

Blake mirrored Charmy's action, "Your nummies are always appreciated, little miss!" He called back.

"And while you guys are gone, I plan on seeing how many girls I can pick up while I'm out." Finral said, giving the four a wink and a peace sign. "Wish me luck."

Only Blake offered something that wasn't a confused look of the dungeon team and even then, it was just a sigh and smile, giving the senior knight a thumbs-up before the four finally left for their mission.

After a little while, Yami found himself discussing those four with Vanessa on the concern of safety for the newbies.

"There's not much to worry about. They have two squadmates who are off the charts when it comes to detecting mana, they won't have a problem with the traps or enemies." Yami said, flipping through today's paper.

"Yeah, but you know Luck gets sometimes, Captain," Vanessa responds, "He could get distracted and leave them behind."

Yami chuckled. "Yeah, sounds about right. Still, Blake's a good backup in that case."

Actually, now that I remember, there should be some Golden Dawn members heading there too. Heh, hope the kids can play nice together.

The entranceway to the dungeon they found was a simple narrow passageway, the flat surface of dirt and grass led up to it, with large trees that covered and expanded far out to the sides, and above it were the collapsed ruins of old stone buildings—likely caused by the dungeon's surfacing.

It's been a few minutes since they had entered it, the darkness and stone tiles underneath them seemingly neverending, though the flames that shined blue in Blake's hand had been somewhat helpful, at least they weren't going in blind now.

"How long will we need to walk in this place until we actually find the dungeon? It's unsettling." Noelle remarked with hands clung onto the side of Asta's robe as they made their way through.

"Mind letting up a bit? You're making it hard to walk."

"I am not, don't say such foolish things."

Blake might've said something had he not felt intently focused on where the overwhelming mana he could feel them encroaching upon was coming from.

"Oh, this looks interesting!"

Fortunately, just up ahead, Luck had noticed a difference in the wall; There was a loose stone brick where light barely seeped through around the edges. So he pushed on the brick, making it fall back and the rest of the wall went with it.

The four covered their eyes as a bright light beamed at them, a complete 180 from the darkness they had been in just seconds ago. However, once they adjusted, they couldn't help but look on in awe at what lay before them.

One could never expect just how massive the dungeon could be from the outside; Old stone walls that had moss growing along them covered the room, holding various doorways into other unseeable locations all over the area. Interwoven with the walls were river streams that flowed unnaturally through the area, along the walls, and up the ceilings—gaps in the floors seemed purposefully created to allow for the beautiful waterfalls.

"Yup, no doubt about it, this space has definitely gotten warped by all the mana! There's way more here than there was outside!" Luck said.

"I don't think I've ever been somewhere so steeped with mana, it's so dense..." Noelle noted, before noticing Asta's confused expression. "...Can you not feel any of this at all?!"

Asta gritted his teeth as he furiously shook his head, "No!", he admitted before dramatically falling to his knees. "Man, it's so not fair! You royals and your endless amounts of mana and I can't even get a single drop! What's up with that, huh?! I want to feel some mana on me!"

"Yeah, I think I got the opposite problem of that."

Blake dropped to sit next to his brother, his words spoken in between deep breaths, his right hand tugging on his duster.

"Blake, is there something wrong?" Noelle asked, a teensy bit of concern showing.

"Not entirely sure, but...probably has to do with all this overblown and stuffed-up mana. It's kinda giving me a headache."

"Oh!" Luck snapped and pointed his index finger. "You must be hypersensitive to how much mana is in here and getting overwhelmed!" He said, then lightly putting his hands on his throat. "I bet it feels like you're suffocating!"

Blake listened and reasoned that it was likely that. "Yeah, that's probably it. I'll be fine, let's keep going." He sat up, motioning Asta to do the same.

But then he stopped, noticing a circle with markings made within it engraved onto one of the tiles on the ground, but had been too late to tell Asta not to put his hand there.

"Asta!"

"The heck just happened?!"

The circle glowed and immediately, spikes of Earth Magic erupted from the ground heading right at Asta and the rest. Even though all this mana around him was throwing him off, Blake still had a hell of a reaction time and immediately sent out large black spikes of Stone Magic toward the trap, destroying it without much issue and it soon dissipated into just magic particles.

"Cutting it a bit close," Blake remarked.

Noelle let out a sigh of relief, "That must be the Trap Magic you told us about, Luck."

Luck nodded along as he scanned the floor for more of those engravings and found there were actually plenty of them scattered around. He beckoned Asta over to check out the nearest one.

"Hm, weird, I can't see it—"

Luck cut Asta off as he pushed him over, making him step over the trap as he tried to keep his balance, causing another rupture of Earth Magic to burst forth. Asta was quick enough to bring out his Demon-Slayer sword and swing it into the attack, nullifying it.

"Hey! What'd you do that for?!" Asta shouted at Luck, annoyed, yet the boy had merely laughed gleefully at the display.

"That was fun to see! Let's do it again!" He said, with a clap of his hands.

"What?! No! Are you trying to get us killed?!" Noelle said.

"He's got a point," Blake retorted, "If we deal with the traps now, we won't have to worry about them later on if we have to come back this way."

"I suppose...but if there are enemy mages here, shouldn't we save our strength for them instead of wasting it on the traps?"

Blake gave her a smile, it was a fair point but..."It's a good thing I got plenty of magic to work with then."

Luck would sense out where the traps were and activate them and Blake would counter them using the appropriate magic, while Noelle and Asta hung back—with the latter making sure any stray magic attacks would get nullified by his sword. It didn't take much time to clear out the surrounding area with them working together.

"Nice work! This dungeon's gonna be dealt with in no time!" Luck announced, then went silent as he allowed himself full concentration on sensing, stretching the limits of his reach. Strong markers of magic sparked like electricity in his mind and currently, the strongest one was coming from...

His eyes locked on to a passageway far to his right. Found you, that's the strongest enemy here.

Blake took a peak at Luck to see...he had that same smile from before, it didn't give him a good feeling. Luck creating his Thunder God's Boots and leaping into the air didn't help either.

"Hey! Where the hell are you going?" Blake yelled up at him.

"Something important came up,"—All three knew that just meant he found someone strong to fight—"Go explore the dungeon! Blake, I'm leaving you in charge!"

"You can't just pawn that off to me! Get your ass back here—and he's gone."

"What is he thinking?! Blake, go bring him back here!" Noelle ordered, shaking Blake furiously, while Asta fawned over the speed Luck had and how cool it was.

"What, and leave you two on your own?" Blake snapped back, before abruptly pausing, and gazing off to the side with an awfully insinuating smile. "I mean, if that's what you want..."

"No! No! No! Just shut up and forget it!" Noelle sputtered out, relenting in her grip on the older boy and wondering why all of this had to be happening to her.

"Well, no point in standing around and doing nothing, right? Let's carry on!" Asta declared, taking charge in traversing through the dungeon. Blake and Noelle followed.

Blake doubted he could pinpoint Luck's location anyway—Any mana signatures would simply be clustered with what originating from the dungeon, he'd need a little more time to adjust to it all before he could pick out specifics. So for now, it'd be better to go about it with a little leisure and get acquainted with it all.

"The Captain ordered him to look after us and he still ran ahead at the first chance, I can't believe that guy..." Noelle grumbled as the trio made their way up some stairs.

"Was it really that surprising? This is Luck we're talking about."

"...That is true."

"Let's not sweat that stuff, Noelle!" Asta encouraged. "We'll handle these traps no problem and whatever this dungeon has we'll be as good as ours!"

"Must be nice, being a simpleminded optimist..." Noelle replied.

"It's gotten him this far." Blake shrugged.

"And it's gonna take me even farther!" Asta declared, "All the way up to become the Wizard King! Do you hear that Yuno?!" He shouted out into the air.

Noelle had heard the boy's name in passing. Much like Blake, he was a peasant yet he held so much magic power, enough to impress and place him on the Golden Dawn Brigade. She just hoped Asta's speech didn't go on for too long, even if it had become much less grating on the ears the more heard it and even found it somewhat...endearing.

"Asta, hold up," Blake called out, pulling Asta back by his shoulder, gesturing down to where descending stairs ended. "There's definitely a trap there."

"Seriously? I wouldn't have known." Asta said.

"So then, we should avoid that direction—"

"Nah."

Blake cut off Noelle, jumping over the stairs and landing right atop where it was, activating it.

"Blake, what the heck are you thinking?!" Noelle frantically shouted.

"Oh, settle down. It's probably another one of those elemental ones we can deal with no pro—"

Plant-like vines sprung forth from below, ensnaring Blake before he could realize what happened, tugging on his arms and legs.

"Oh, goddamn it!" Blake shouted. Of course, he had to go and jinx himself!

"Blake!"

Asta and Noelle shouted in shock, till all their eyes shot forward to see the massive figure of a plant monster rising from the depths below. Its main body is purple and red; Its teeth are razor sharp. It was clear this monster was the one controlling the vines

"I'm fine! ...Ellie, look out! Behind you!" He tried to call out as he saw another set of tentacles aiming for her.

Noelle turned and attempted to cast her defense spell, but this magic creature was smarter than one would expect and had aimed for the girl's hand first, restraining it till she dropped her wand before restraining the rest of her.

Asta sprung to action, attempting to cut through Noelle's vines but got distracted by the ones that aimed for him and had failed to notice the one that swept low, aiming for his leg and successfully tripping him up, allowing the creature to suspend him in the air, unable to keep ahold of his sword from the uncomfortable position.

Crap! Crap! Crap!

Blake would chastise himself for being reckless later, but he needed to get them out of this situation right now. Asta and Noelle were practically helpless and if he lost them because he acted so stupid he'd—

The monster's teeth pulled apart, displaying its massive mouth that was filled with a bubbling purple liquid and the skeletons of its previous victims.

Is that...acid?!

FUCK THAT!

Blake held a death grip on the plant monster's vines; Black flames emerged from his palms with an intensity stronger than usual and he forced them to trail through each and every vine this thing held him in. He could feel and see it writhe in pain as a part of its body was brutally incinerated but that only made him want to keep going, not even noticing the growing smile that splayed on his face and the manic glare in his eyes.

It didn't take much longer to eviscerate the vines that held him suspended. It dropped him, needing a brief moment to recover from what happened but he'd make sure this thing wouldn't get another chance. He used the spell he got from one of the rogue mages; A spiral shape of twisting black and blue flames formed and shot into the monster's gullet. He wanted this thing to burn; He wanted it to hurt.

"[Copy Magic: The Inferno's Cyclone]!"

The flames that entered the monster continued to spiral, building up even more in heat, causing the plant to agonizingly burn alive from the inside, its horrid screeching coming to an end as it turned to ashes, then back to magic particles; The vines that held Asta and Noelle in their grasp wilting away with it.

"Oh man, so awesome!" Asta said.

That magic plant had to be one of the strongest traps set here...and he decimated it with just one spell. Incredible. Noelle thought.

Blake stood there momentarily, making sure nothing else was planning on surprising them. He took a moment to calm himself down before he ran back up to Noelle and Asta, who was recovering fine enough, making sure they didn't lose their wand and sword respectively. They were okay.

Asta wiped the sweat off his face with a sigh, "Woo. Now that was a close one."

Noelle secured her wand into her pocket, before looking at Blake with a displeased look. "Honestly, what were you thinking? There's a reason you avoid the traps and not run straight at them!" She said, rightfully berating him.

"Yeah, you're right, complete mess-up on my part," Blake said, a remorseful smile on his face as he scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, you guys."

But before Asta or Noelle could respond, Blake embraced them tightly. "I'm just so glad you two didn't get hurt because of it." He said softly. Vulnerably.

"Hey, it's alright! We made it through, didn't we?" Asta said, giving his older brother big pats on the back.

"...Just be smarter next time, okay?" Noelle asked, turning her face away so they couldn't see her warm expression.

"Yeah, you bet!" Blake promised, letting go of the two.

"And here I was, hoping I could finally repay that debt I owed you."

Blake was surprised—too busy with what just occurred to bother with recognizing the three mana signatures getting closer—as he heard the familiar monotone voice that his teammates and he looked up to see; Above them hovering on a wind construct were the three members of the Golden Dawn—Blake and Asta having differing but similar smiles on their faces from seeing their brother at the forefront.

"Another time then, Asta and Blake?" Yuno decided, holding a smile as well.

"Yuno!" They called out.

The wind constructs shrank, gently lowering Yuno and his teammates onto the ground, and for a moment the two groups stood silent, taking in each other's presence. Shared between Asta and Yuno were proud smiles, glad to see the other was working hard at their promise.

Blake noted the other two with Yuno. One was a short, young girl with long vermillion hair who had a pleasant enough smile, though the same couldn't be said for the tall guy with blue hair and glasses.

He's a noble, The look in the man's eyes aimed at them was all the evidence Blake needed of that. He decided to disregard it and give Yuno his attention, playfully punching his shoulder.

"It's been a while, Yuno! How have things been for my little brother?" Blake asked cheerfully.

"They've been fine, nothing much to really say," Yuno said, with the small smile still there.

Blake groaned softly, "Is there ever, with you?"

"Is this what you've decided to waste our time on? A reunion?"

Klaus adjusted his glasses as he spoke with a clearly displeased tone, addressing Yuno, who regarded his superior with a neutral look.

"Our only purpose here is to locate the treasure hall and capture the contents as soon as possible." He said, then giving a dismissive nod to the Black Bulls. "There is no point in dealing with rabble like them."

Blake quickly grew irritated by the man even more, but it was Asta who responded.

"Jeez, Yuno. What's up with rude four-eyes over here?"

"Klaus is my senior offi—"

"Who do you think you're talking to, brat?!" Klaus cut off Yuno and shouted at Asta, handling him with a grip on his shirt. "I am a noble and you will treat me with respect!" He demanded from the boy, whose expression couldn't be any better at showing how much he did not care about what Klaus said.

That wasn't going to fly with Blake though, who without a word gripped onto Klaus' wrist and tightened his hold. He could hear the man wince as he dropped Asta, then aimed those conceited eyes at him.

"You'd dare lay your hand on a noble? A member of the Golden Dawn, no less?" Klaus said with difficulty, wondering how Blake's grip could be this strong without the use of magic.

"Lay a hand on my brother, anything's fair game." Blake retorted, pushing the man away by his arm as his glare darkened.

Then, a dark smile crossed his lips. "Does it hurt, that pathetic ego of yours getting bruised with a few words? I shouldn't be all that surprised, most nobles I've encountered tend to be little bitches anyways."

Klaus's eyes widen in outrage, "How dare you. Watch your foul mouth, you forsaken realm peasant." Klaus spat back, his magic flaring in an attempt to intimidate.

"Make me. I'd love to see you try." Blake taunted, ready to knock another noble down a peg or three.

Asta and Noelle shared a look, unsure of what to do, and then Asta looked toward Yuno, who merely shrugged signifying it wasn't their problem.

"U-Uhm, excuse me?"

Blake's eyes glanced away from Klaus to the girl who was with him and Yuno. "What?" He said sharply, his attitude for the noble leaking through to her.

"If I heard you right, y-you're Yuno's brother, correct?" Mimosa asked, her demeanor was nervous.

Blake studied the girl. If he had to guess, she must be trying to de-escalate the situation, which...she was fair to do, he supposed. In the end, he relented—It seemed Klaus did so as well— and nodded. "Foster sibling, but yeah. Same goes for him."

He pointed at Asta, who gave the girl a friendly smile and wave. "I'm Asta, good to meetcha!"

The girl nodded and returned the greeting. "I'm happy to meet some of Yuno's family, though I'm a bit surprised. He doesn't really talk about it and I was beginning to think he might not have any!" She said with a giggle.

Blake's brows furrowed with slight amusement, That's one conclusion to come too. Then he looked to Yuno with a mocked gasp before saying, "You never talk about us? Yuno, you hurt me so!"

"Settle down, Blake..." Yuno said.

"I think it's nice to have family in the Magic Knights. Noelle and I are family as well, in fact." Mimosa said, turning to face the girl with a smile.

"Wait, seriously?" Asta questioned.

Noelle looked a bit uncomfortable but confirmed, "She's my cousin, Mimosa Vermillion."

"It's been a while since we've talked though, not since last year's Royal Family dinner party, right?" Mimosa asked.

This girl's a royal? That was throwing Blake for a loop if he was being honest; This had to be the first one that hadn't rubbed him the wrong way. That one Captain was a Vermilion too, right?

"Yes, though I'm surprised to see you with the Golden Dawn. I would've thought you'd go with the Crimson Lion Kings. Or even the Coral Peacocks, isn't your brother their vice-captain?" Noelle asked.

An expression of exhaustion crossed Mimosa's face briefly—hoping rather not to think about that brother of hers at the moment—before another smile crossed her face. "I was given those options, but I'd rather make my mark as a Magic Knight independent from my family's Brigades. You must have felt the same way, yes? Since you aren't with Sir Nozel's brigade."

"...Obviously." Noelle frowned at the unintentionally rude comment and couldn't help but feel the need to do the same. "I do hope it hasn't been too hard for you since you joined the brigade, you always were rather dim-witted."

Mimosa's only reaction was a humble laugh. "You got me there, but I'm happy to say they've helped me immensely! I've gotten much better with my magic thanks to them. How has it been for you? I remember you couldn't control your own magic too well."

Noelle's irritation was masked by narrow eyes and a smile. "I've been improving just fine, thank you."

...There are so many mixed signals here. Blake thought.

"That's great to hear! I'm glad to hear we're both improving as Magic Knights. Just a little bit ago, the Wizard King awarded us a star!" Mimosa announced, proud of herself and her squadmates.

The Black Bulls shared a chuckle: Asta rubbed a finger across his nose, Noelle flipped a pigtail, and Blake smirked as he pushed up his glasses, lens shining brightly enough to obscure his eyes.

"Where did you—?" Klaus felt around his face and realized, "MY GLASSES?!"

"What a coincidence! We got a star on our first mission too!" Asta proclaimed proudly.

"I got one of my own as well," Blake said, lazily throwing the glasses back to Klaus.

"Is that so? Congratulations, you three!"

"Don't fall for their lies, Mimosa," Klaus muttered, placing his glasses back on after cleaning off the lenses. "Novice Magic Knights belonging to those slipshod Black Bulls earning a star? It's preposterous." He spoke, before being slapped in the face with a photo by Blake. A photo of the two stars that had been added to their total.

"Say that again after looking at this!" Blake said, crossing his arms with an expression that showed he was proud of himself, till his jaw dropped at Klaus's absolute audacity in tearing the picture in two.

"Obviously fabricated through magic, you think I'm a fool?" Klaus said.

I think I want to shove my foot up your—

"You sure look like it with that lopsided haircut of yours. What maniac with scissors did you let near your head?"

"Hah! As if I'd expect a dreg like you to know anything of Noble fashion. It boggles my mind that those like you were even allowed on this mission to begin with!"

"Well get your mind unboggled!" Asta jumped in. "The Wizard King even asked for me and Blake specifically!"

"Yet another horrible lie."

"HOW FRIGGIN HARDHARDED CAN THIS GUY BE?!" Asta shouted out and furiously scratched his head in frustration.

"His captain is that guy with the crappy mask, what'd you expect?" Blake whispered to Asta but intentionally made it just loud enough for Klaus to overhear.

Crappy mask...?!

Klaus looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel as he put his hands on Blake, gripping him by his duster and looking up at the smirking man, who surpassed him by a few inches.

"Scum like you has no right to mock Captain Vangeance! You're the ones with a captain who smokes like a chimney and wears a raggedy top flaunting his overinflated muscles!"

"What's wrong with our Captain's muscles?!" Blake shouted back, getting in Klaus' face as he gripped his Golden Dawn robe.

"THE SAME THING THAT'S WRONG WITH YOUR MUSCLES!"

"THE FUCK DID MY MUSCLES EVER DO TO YOU?!"

The exchange of profanities and insults between Klaus and Blake went on for a long minute, to the point that Asta felt the need to break up the fight, lifting up and pulling Blake away by his midsection.

"Lemme go, Asta! I'm gonna destroy that guy!"

"The jerk ain't worth it!"

Looks like Asta's using the brain cell at the moment. Yuno and Noelle shared that thought.

That boy is...rather strong for his stature. Mimosa noted for herself.

Klaus panted, catching his breath before saying, "If I recall correctly, aren't there supposed to be four of you on this mission? Did the coward turn tail and run back home or did he fall prey to one of this dungeon's traps?" He questioned with a scoff.

"Neither, you prick." Blake snapped back. "He sensed there were enemies in the area and went off to deal with them."

"All by himself? Either he's extremely cocky or extremely stupid, maybe even both." Klaus responded. "In any case, the fool left behind his new members without regard for their safety, the typical behavior of a Black Bull. The Black Bulls are a filthy disgrace to the Magic Knights."

Blake wanted to thrash this guy, he really did. Make him choke on his mana.

"...You want to talk about disgrace? At least my teammates wouldn't abandon people in need just to serve up to some noble like a lapdog."

But, Blake's words did what he wanted them to, appearing to strike a nerve in Klaus that he couldn't seem to bring himself to rebuttal against.

The noble looked away, adjusting his glasses as he addressed Mimosa. "We've spent too much time here, let's make haste to the treasure hall."

Mimosa modded timidly, "O-Okay", before activating a spell called Magic Flower Guidepost.

Her grimoire glowed as she manifested a large flower; Its petals opened up to reveal a hologram that displayed the layout of the dungeon. It was a nifty spell—so was Yuno's Celestial Wind Arks that he used to transport Klaus, Mimosa, and himself.

"Try your best to keep up, whatever that equates to." Klaus said, challenging them, yet it was much more subdued than how he was before.

"Just wait, you'll be eating our dust!" Asta yelled back, looking determined at Yuno who returned it equally.

"Till then, Lady Noelle." Mimosa offered a soft goodbye and wave to her cousin, one that Noelle reluctantly felt the need to return.

As they left through one of the many doorways, Noelle looked at Blake curiously. "Were you able to copy Mimosa's Spell? It would help quite a bit."

Sadly, Blake shook his head. "First time seeing Plant Magic. I got the magic, but I would need to see the spell again to copy it."

"Seriously?" Noelle said, disappointed.

Blake shrugged, then, he tapped a hand against Noelle's shoulder with a smile. "We'll be alright. I've gotten decently adjusted to the mana here, we'll be able to catch up. On the bright side, I got one new spell at least." He said as he formed shapes made from black wind.

"[Copy Magic: Celestial Wind Ark]"

The Golden Dawn members traversed through the dungeon in relative silence, Klaus and Mimosa holding thoughtful expressions on their faces.

"Where to next, Mimosa?" Yuno asked.

"Oh, a right. Make a right." Mimosa said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"Okay."

"...You have a pair of rather unusual brothers don't you, Yuno?" Klaus said.

Yuno looked on blankly. If he had a yul for every time he heard that, he'd probably have a royal's fortune.

"It's strange. The short boy had not the slightest bit of magic, yet the other..."

"I could sense it, he had such a vast amount..."

Klaus reluctantly agreed with Mimosa's statement; Mana sensory was her specialty, after all.

"That sort of power is squandered on someone like him, especially being a part of the Black Bulls." How could he have ended up with them? What was wrong with him?

"Klaus, sir." Mimosa spoke softly, continuing when she saw Klaus look at her. "I had thought the fighting between you and that man was just light-hearted banter, a way to spark competition. But...don't you think maybe...you were a bit harsh?"

"...I only said what everyone knows to be true. What good am I supposed to say of a squad that causes more harm than good?"

"Look where that got you."

Klaus snapped his head to Yuno, "Care to repeat that?"

"Blake has a tendency to react badly to someone insulting people he cares about. If it happened again, he may not be as calm as he was." Yuno calmly replied.

Klaus regarded the statement before continuing, "There's still the matter of that boy with no magic. What could that captain be thinking, allowing someone like that on a Magic Knight brigade in the first place?"

"I would suggest not disregarding Asta, sir," Yuno said sharply, turning back slightly to look at his senior officer. "He's much stronger than you think."

"Hmph." Insolent peasant. Don't think you've been accepted yet. "As far as I'm concerned, we just need to focus on capturing this dungeon, for the good of our Kingdom."

Maybe if you stopped talking, I could believe that.

Then, Yuno smiled.

Let's see who reaches the Treasure Hall first!

Black Clover - The Three Brothers

A/N: Part Two will be released later today or tomorrow.

A/N: Feedback is always appreciated.