Chapter Sixteen: The Compass Guided by Lightning
Hey there, readers, December 1st has passed, meaning the OC suggestions are back, they'll be up until Christmas. As well as that, tomorrow, I'll be sending a poll about this chapter, I ask that you all partake in it, because your choice has a chance to change the story. The poll will be on my profile page.
With that out of the way, enjoy the latest chapter.
"I'm very proud of you, Yuno,"
In the courts of Golden Dawn HQ, the wind mage turned at the sound of Klaus' voice and saw him and Mimosa. It had been two days since the attack on the capital, and just the day before, like Asta, Noelle, Kenos, and Charmy, Yuno had been promoted, but to 5th Class Intermediate Magic Knight.
"We heard from Captain William that you were promoted, congratulations," Mimosa said. "We also heard about your fight with that member of the Eye of the Midnight Sun,"
"I see," Yuno plainly said.
Bell flew out in front of the steel and plant mage. "It would only make sense for him to be promoted, he is Yuno after all," she squeaked cheerfully.
Klaus nodded. "I can't deny that, you're starting to rise up in the ranks, but don't forget that I am still your superior," he said.
Yuno's facial expression changed to one of comedic indifference. "Oh yeah, almost forgot, thanks for the reminder Specs,"
"Specs? Oh, you're referring to my glasses, I guess I can allow it, it is an improvement on Asta calling me four-eyes," the steel mage replied as he pushed his glasses up with a small grin on his face.
"Hey there everyone," a voice said, the trio turned to see Letoile walking over to them.
"Hello Letoile," Mimosa greeted the compass mage. "How have you been?"
"Fine, but I still feel bad, I should've been there to help you all at the capital, especially with what happened to the Captain of the Crimson Lion Kings," she replied.
"Don't feel bad, you were on another mission," Klaus told her. "And nobody knew it would happen, or we would have undoubtedly had more reinforcements,"
Letoile sighed. "Yeah, you're right, I guess I just wish that I could've done something," she said before turning to Yuno. "And speaking of that, I heard that you got promoted to 5th Class Intermediate Magic Knight, congratulations Yuno,"
Yuno silently nodded as he turned and walked away.
"Is it just me, or is Yuno acting a little more distant than usual?" Letoile asked.
"I agree, but Yuno's still new, not to mention he's the only commoner here, I know that one day, he'll get used to us," Mimosa replied. "Either that or he's embarrassed that he's being praised so much,"
But as Yuno walked away from them, none of them noticed the small smile that formed on the wind mage's face. "Thanks a lot, everyone,"
Bell saw that smile. "You seem pretty happy," she said. "Oh wait, I know, in celebration of your promotion, why don't we go on a date?"
Yuno quickly looked at her before looking straight. "Sure,"
Bell pulled on his cheek. "No fair Yuno, why are you always-...wait, did you say sure?"
"Yeah, I really owe you one, if it wasn't for your magic, I would've never been able to beat Catherine," he confirmed. "But nowhere expensive,"
"Oh Yuno," the spirit said as she tried to kiss her master's cheek.
Yuno shielded himself from her. "Don't get carried away,"
"Alright, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get," she pouted.
"Well, I wonder what I'm going to do today?" Letoile wondered aloud.
"I know what Mimosa, Yuno, and I are going to do, we have a mission to get to," Klaus said as he walked towards the wind mage.
"Yeah, we better get going," Mimosa added, starting to walk away, but just then, she turned to face the other female knight. "Oh yeah, almost forgot, Captain William told us if we ever saw you, tell you he wanted to see you in his office," she said before walking away, the two met up with Yuno and told him the news.
"Damn it!" Letoile heard Bell exclaim before hearing Yuno tell her they would go another time.
"The captain wants to see me, I wonder why?" she thought to herself as she made her way to the door of William's office. She took a short breath before knocking on the door.
"Come in," she heard her captain say from the other side.
She opened the door and walked in, seeing her captain, he was wearing his signature helmet. "Yes captain, I heard you wanted to see me?"
"Ah Letoile, yes, I have a mission for you," William replied. "Our squad has obtained intel from the capital that a pair of bandits plan to smuggle illegal Magic Items out of the kingdom and into the Diamond Kingdom, they weren't sure of the threat the bandits could pose with the items or where they exactly were, so-,"
"They wanted the best squad in the kingdom to handle it," Letoile finished.
William nodded. "Correct, but as you were on your way to my office, I realized we have a problem,"
Letoile's eyes tensed. "A problem?"
"Yes, all the other Golden Dawn are on missions, and I have some paperwork to do today, so I'm afraid you'll have to do this mission solo," the captain explained.
"Is it really a problem if I do this solo sir?" the compass mage asked.
"Not technically, I'm confident in your abilities, I did choose you to join my squad, but as I stated earlier, we don't know what kind of threat these bandits can pose, so going on your own can be dangerous," he replied.
"Oh, I understand," Letoile nodded before something popped into her head. "Wait, may I suggest an idea?" she asked, William made a hand gesture, signaling her to continue.
"If one of our own can't come with me on this mission, is it possible for a Magic Knight from another squad to assist me?" she continued.
William stroked his chin. "I don't see why not, if you complete the mission, I'll inform the capital to give both of our squads a star," he replied. "But is there anyone you have in mind?"
Letoile gave him a small smile. "Yes, I do, and I know he'll be excited to do this,"
"Eat up, everyone!"
Lunchtime had come for the Black Bulls, the cotton mage called them all to grab their plates as she stacked high piles of food on it.
Magna tore off a piece of meat from his plate before turning to Asta and Kenos. "So, I take it you two and Finral enjoyed your little get together last night?" he asked.
"You bet," Kenos replied as he took a bite of his own food. "I met this really cool girl named Eon,"
"And I got to know her friend Rebecca, she's really cool too!" Asta exclaimed.
"Really cool? She's not all that if you ask me," Noelle thought before her mind wandered to Asta saying he was interested in someone, her face went beet red.
Kenos looked at her. "You okay Noelle? Did you eat something spicy?"
"Um, y-yeah, something spicy, ah," she replied, doing her best to imitate a painful scream, the solar mage shrugged.
"Eon and Rebecca aye? It looks like our rookies got game!" Magna exclaimed.
Asta was confused by his senior's words, but Kenos wasn't. "It's not like that Magna, not at all," he told the flame mage before remembering Eon clinging to his arm. "Thank God he wasn't there when that happened,"
Charmy took a bite of her food before noticing something. "Hey, has anyone seen Luck?" she asked.
"Not sure, last I saw, he went to his room," Vanessa replied.
"Well, that doesn't matter, he'll come down when he's hungry," Yami spoke up before hearing a knock on the door. "Huh? Did one of you invite someone here without telling me, because if that person did, they're dead,"
"No captain," they all replied.
"But I wonder who it could be?" Kenos wondered as he got up and walked to the door, opening it. "Um, who's here, and what do you-,"
He began talking, but stopped as a familiar face passed by him and entered the base. "Oh, hello Letoile,"
"Hello Kenos," she greeted back.
"Who's she?" Yami asked.
Kenos turned to his squadmates. "This is Letoile Becquerel, a Magic Knight from the Golden Dawn, she was with us during the dungeon mission we went to last week,"
"Golden Dawn?" Charmy asked as she ran up to Letoile. "Do you know Yuno?"
"Yeah, he's my squadmate," Letoile replied. "Do you know him?"
The cotton mage nodded. "I do, as a guest of our hideout, and the squadmate of my meal-saving prince, please accept this," she said, handing the compass mage a pastry.
"Um, thank you," Letoile said, grabbing it and taking a bite. "Oh, that's good,"
"So Letoile, what're you exactly doing here?" Noelle asked.
"Oh, Captain William assigned me a mission, but we don't have an available member to assist me, so I asked if he could let me team up with a Magic Knight from another squad," she explained.
"I see," Yami said. "So which member of my squad do you want to help you?"
"I was wondering if Luck could assist me," the compass mage answered. "We fought well together in the dungeon, and I've wanted to do another team up with him as well,"
"Oh, I see what's going on," Vanessa said with a smirk as she walked over to Letoile and put her arm around the compass mage's shoulder. "Out of the three other Black Bulls you could've chosen to accompany you, you chose Luck aye,"
"Um, yes, what exactly are you implying?" Letoile asked with some suspicion.
"Implying? Oh no, I just want to know how our resident battle-hungry maniac managed to score himself such a cutie?" she answered.
Letoile's facial expression didn't change from the thread mage's words. "I assure you that's not it at all, he's just the one I have to most knowledge on when it comes to his fighting tendencies and his compatibility with my own magic,"
Vanessa released herself from the female knight and walked back to the couch. "Alright then, if that's what you say,"
"So, these are the Black Bulls, they're odd, but they seem nice enough," Letoile thought. "I've explained who I came here for, so if could, can you call-,"
"Letoile!" a voice exclaimed from the hallway, everyone recognized who it belonged to as Luck burst out and ran to the compass mage. "I felt your mana all the way from my room, what are you doing here, are we going to fight now!?"
"Still no, I have a mission and I want you to join me," she told him.
The lightning mage crossed his arms. "You're no fun, why should I go?"
"Go with her Luck," Vanessa said, trying not to grin. "She came here just for you,"
"I already told you that's not it," Letoile whispered. "And as for why you should go, while you can't fight me, you will get to fight bandits,"
Luck's eyes brightened at those words. "Are they strong bandits?"
"They have illegal magic items, so I'm guessing they are," she replied with a shrug.
The lightning mage jumped into the air with joy. "Oh yeah, that's more like it, let's go!" he exclaimed.
"Okay then, make sure you don't stay out too late," Yami said.
"Yes sir," Luck said. "Just wait here Letoile, I'll go get my broom, it's in my room,"
"Alright, I'll wait here," she said back as Luck raced into the hallway, he was pretty quick, only three minutes passed before he came out from the hallway, his broom in hand.
"Now we can go, cya later everyone!" he exclaimed as he and Letoile walked outside and mounted their brooms, flying into the sky.
"Alright Luck, since this is originally a mission for the Golden Dawn, I hope you don't mind if I take the lead," Letoile said.
Luck nodded. "That's all good with me, just as long as I get to fight," he responded.
The two continued flying for a good amount of time, twenty minutes passed before they landed. "Okay, we're here, the outskirts of the Clover Kingdom," Letoile said as she and Luck looked at where they were, the area had one straight trail, on the sides of the trails were a decent array of trees of medium height, the area was devoid of any buildings and civilization.
"We're here, great, so where are the bandits?" Luck asked ecstatically.
"They aren't here right now," she replied plainly as she scanned the area. "I was told by Captain William that the bandit would cross by here during the night, we'll intercept them here so that they can't get away easily. For now, let's gather materials for a fire and wait for them to arrive,"
"Alright,"
Letoile took out her grimoire. "Okay, we should begin by-,"
She didn't get to say another word as Luck raced past her, equipped in his lightning limb armor, he zoomed from branch to branch until he became but a blur of blue light to the compass mage. Once he had gathered enough kinetic energy, Luck aimed his foot right at the base of a tree, knocking it down.
"There we go, can't start a fire without wood," the lightning mage mused as he used his gauntlets to cut the tree into logs.
Letoile walked over to him. "Luck, what're you doing?"
"What are you talking about, you said we needed materials for a fire, I'm getting wood," he replied.
The compass mage internally sighed. "You're using your magic unnecessarily, what I meant by gathering materials was to look for fallen leaves and branches," she explained as she summoned her needles, they then scattered from her, going in different directions, a few seconds passed before they returned, some having twigs, others having leaves. "Leaves are necessary to start a fire, and sticks are used to keep the fire healthy and not make too much smoke,"
Her last words, however, were ignored as Luck drew close to her, his eyes showed enthusiasm that almost matched Asta's. "No way, your needles were able to go on their own in different directions and even skewer sticks, your magic control must be stellar,"
"Um, well, thanks, I've been working on it ever since the dungeon mission, that fight taught me a few things," she said back before turning around. "Let's get moving, we have to start that fire soon,"
"Hey, can we still use these logs?" Luck asked.
Letoile turned to quickly face him before turning around. "I suppose, it's already here, not using it would be a waste,"
"Nice!" the lightning mage exclaimed happily as he skipped over and picked up as many as he could.
From afar, Letoile noticed him. "He's so carefree," she thought. "C'mon Luck, let's get a move on, we don't have all day,"
"Right behind you," he said as he began walking to catch up with her, but a thought came into his head. "She's so serious,"
The two eventually arrived at an open spot, free from a majority of trees, after clearing away whatever leaves or branches were there, they set down what they found earlier. Letoile used four of the logs Luck made to create a border for the fire, within the border, Luck placed the remaining logs in the center along with the leaves and branches Letoile collected.
"Okay, we've set everything up, now all we need is to start the fire," the compass mage said.
"Leave that part to me, I'm no flame mage, but I have the next best thing," Luck responded as a small amount of lightning generated on his pointer finger, he bent down next to a leaf and put his finger next to it, a few seconds passed before the smell of smoke touched their noses and the leaf began to ignite, over time, the other contents began igniting too until a fire burned bright.
Letoile nodded. "Impressive," she said as they both sat down on the grass and looked up at the sky.
"It looks like the sun is going to set soon," Luck stated before hearing his stomach growl, he grabbed it with one hand. "Man, am I hungry, I forgot to have lunch before I left, I wonder if there are animals around here, I've never really hunted before, but I can still try to see what I can find,"
"You won't need to do that," Letoile interrupted him as she took out a medium-sized bag from beside her and pulled stuff out of it. "I brought bread and butter along with some grilled chicken from my squad's base, we can heat it up over the fire," she used her needles to suspend the bread and chicken over the fire. Once hot enough, she spread butter on them and handed it to Luck.
"Thanks a lot," he said gratefully as he took a bite. "Not bad, it doesn't really compare to Charmy's cooking, but it's still good,"
"Charmy?" Letoile asked.
"She's from my squad, a short girl with black hair who loves her food," Luck replied.
The compass mage searched her memory and remembered the girl who gave her the pastry from before. "Oh, I know her, that pastry she gave me does taste better than this, but this still tastes good and we need sustenance,"
Luck quickly finished his meal. "Thanks, that did some good for me for the time being,"
"You're welcome. Now, all we have to do is wait for the bandits to show up," Letoile said back.
"So, just asking, how many bandits are we fighting, ten, twenty?" Luck asked ecstatically.
"No, I was only told there would be two of them," she plainly replied.
"I see," Luck stated before sighing. "I'm bored, waiting for my enemies to come to me isn't my thing,"
"Well, is there anything you want to do?" Letoile asked.
"Um, I know, why don't we just talk to each other, it's the best thing we got for now," he replied.
"Alright then, so what do you want to talk about?"
"Well, I want to talk...about you,"
Letoile was a bit taken aback. "Me?"
Luck nodded. "Yeah, we fought pretty well in the dungeon together against Andreas, but I don't really know much about you, you're a noble if I'm not mistaken, and you give off a really serious demeanor,"
"I do?" she asked.
The lightning mage nodded once more. "You do, it's actually surprising, most nobles I've seen are pretty stuck-up, I don't really care what they think, but you don't seem like the condescending type, as well as serious, you're quite humble,"
Letoile averted her gaze sideways. "Yeah, that's pretty much it, I know I can be serious a lot of the time, that's just the kind of person I am, or at least, the way I was raised,"
Luck's eyes showed interest. "The way you were raised? Wait a minute, how old are you?"
Letoile turned her head and looked straight at him. "Huh, I'm turning 17 this year," she replied plainly.
"What?!" Luck exclaimed with genuine surprise. "You're younger than me?!"
The same look appeared on Letoile's face. "You're older than me?! Wait, how old are you?"
"18," he replied. "That makes me about two years older than you,"
"No way," she muttered.
"That's shocking, but what were you saying about how you were raised," Luck reminded her.
"Oh yeah, I wasn't too old when it was instilled in me, but it's something that I won't ever forget," she recalled.
[Flashback]
Becquerel Household. Ten Years Ago.
"Letoile, oh Letoile, come down, we must get moving," a female voice called from the bottom of a staircase, from the top of the stairs, a young Letoile came down, her hair was significantly shorter and was tied in pigtails, she a casual red gown and black glasses.
"Sorry for making you wait, mother," Letoile said apologetically.
Her mother lightly ruffled her hair. "It's alright, now let's get going," she said as she took her daughter's hand and walked out of the estate.
"Um, mother, where are we exactly going, you never told me?" Letoile asked.
"We're going on a stroll around the capital, and we can stop by whatever stand you want," she replied.
"Really?"
Her mother smiled. "Yes, you're going to turn 7 soon, consider it an early birthday present," she then sighed. "It almost feels like yesterday when I first held you in my arms, you've become such a fine young lady, especially as my only child, I'm very lucky to have you,"
"No, I'm the lucky one, I get to have a great life, live in a great house, and have a great mom," Letoile said as she hugged her mom.
The woman returned the hug. "Thank you, Letoile,"
"You're welcome, and just you wait, when I get older, I'm going to become a Magic Knight, then I'll really make you proud," she said.
Her mother held her chin. "A Magic Knight? I don't see why not, what squad would you like to be a part of?" she asked.
"Isn't it obvious, I'm going to join the Golden Dawn, father says they're the best Magic Knight squad in the kingdom," Letoile replied.
"The Golden Dawn, that sounds like a great goal, and I bet you would look great in their robes," her mother giggled.
"You really think so?"
"Of course, but you're only 6 years old, you still have 9 years before you get your grimoire and take the exam, by then you won't be my little girl anymore, you'll be a member of our kingdom's elite," she replied.
"The kingdom's elite?" the little girl wondered aloud as they stopped by a stand.
Letoile looked up to see a man who appeared to be in his 50s, his hair was mostly black with some gray streaks here and there, the sign of approaching old age, and he wore a basic gray attire, as she saw the man a smile formed on her face.
Her mother wore the same smile. "Hello Hanz," she greeted.
The man named Hanz grinned. "Hello there Lady Natalie, and little lady Letoile," he greeted them back.
"Hi Mr. Hanz," Letoile said cheerfully, she knew the man very well, he was a former servant at their estate, more specifically, Letoile's caretaker, the two formed an incredible bond, but eventually Hanz left to start a business, and fortunately, his business wasn't too far away from where she lived.
"What's on the menu today Hanz," Natalie asked.
"A new invention of mine, I was able to find a magic item which uses air to spin things, by mistake, I dropped some sugar on it, but it turned into something else," Hanz replied as he handed it over to Letoile, it was a white and puffy thing on a wooden skewer. "I call it 'Spun Sugar',"
"Thank you very much," Letoile said as she looked at the airy confection. "It looks a lot like cotton," she then took a bite of it. "And it's sweet like candy, have you considered calling it 'Cotton Candy'?"
"Cotton Candy? That does roll off the tongue better, why not, cotton candy it is," Hanz said, handing one to Natalie.
"Thank you, how much will that cost?" Natalie asked.
"Oh no, don't worry about this one, no price," Hanz replied.
"It's free, but why?" Letoile asked.
"C'mon Letoile, I was your caretaker, you think I wouldn't remember that your birthday is coming up soon, you're turning 7 soon, consider this an early present in case I don't see you on the exact day," he replied.
"What're you talking about, you'll be the first one I invite, even if I have to drag you from here," the little girl told him.
"Alright then, I'll be there, bye for now," Hanz said.
"Bye Hanz," they said back as they walked away from his stand.
"I'm really enjoying these early presents," Letoile said as she took another bite of her cotton candy.
Natalie did the same, enjoying the soft and airy sweetness of the confection. "I'm glad," she said before the two of them noticed a crowd growing. "What's going on over there?"
The two walked to the crowd to see what was happening and saw it, in the center, a tall bearded man wearing an extravagant green suit, Letoile's eyes widened. "I know that man, he's that noble that lives close to us, right?"
Her mother nodded. "It appears that he's showing off his new attire," she said, Letoile looked up at Natalie, for some reason, it was almost as if she was scoffing at the man.
"Behold people, my newest suit, made of the finest materials in the kingdom! Watch in awe!" the nobleman said pompously as the people around him did just that.
Just then, a man was passing by them, based on his ragged attire, it was easy to see that he was a peasant, he just kept walking, not noticing the nobleman until he bumped right into him.
"What in the?" the nobleman said surprised, turning to see who bumped into him, he saw the peasant. "Watch it, commoner, do you have any idea how expensive this suit is?!"
"Oh, my bad, I should've watched where I was going," the poor man said apologetically.
Despite the tone of the commoner, the nobleman's tone did not change. "Make sure you do, this suit is worth more than your worthless life," he scoffed.
"A suit worth more than my life, I doubt that, if it's so expensive, why would you wear it where it can get dirty?" the peasant asked.
"What kind of question is that, but then again, that is what a commoner would say, I wear this so others can see my wealth, people like you, who can never have what I do,"
"What is that man saying?" Letoile whispered to herself, just then, Natalie took her hand, the little girl could feel the woman's tight grip as she was led away from the crowd.
"C'mon Letoile, let's continue our stroll," she said as if she was struggling to contain her anger.
"Mother, that nobleman looked really mad when that commoner bumped into his clothes, is that a big deal, should we do that too, we're nobles just like he is?" Letoile asked.
Natalie stopped and let go of her daughter's hand before kneeling down to look at her. "No Letoile, you must never be like him, nobles who drown in their own pride and self-importance are disgraces to the Clover Kingdom, never become pompous merely because of the life you were born into, and don't look down on others who were born into a life worse than yours, be diligent and don't let your humility falter, my daughter, for nobles like us, are part of what makes this kingdom great, do you understand,"
Letoile nodded. "I understand mother, I'll do my best, but, um, what does diligent and pompous mean?" she asked innocently
At the sound of those words, Natalie did her best not to laugh, despite how clever her daughter was, she forgot that she was only 6 years old. "Pompous means to be really proud yet mean to others, as for diligent, it means to be hard-working and serious," she explained, hoping Letoile understood the words she used.
"So you want me to be hard-working, and...serious?" the girl asked.
"That's right, can you do that for me?" Natalie asked back.
"Of course I can, that doesn't sound too hard," she replied.
The two then shared another hug, after they broke their embrace, Natalie smiled. "Now, whaddya say we look for another stand to visit," she said as they walked together, hand in hand.
[End Flashback]
"And that's what happened," Letoile finished. "Now that I think about it, I was a lot more cheerful as a little girl, but it seems my mother's words along with the experiences I've faced as a Magic Knight have molded me into the person I am today, not that I hate how I am,"
"Wow, what a story, I feel like I know a little more about you," Luck said.
Letoile nodded. "That's right, now it's your turn, I don't really know about you, but I have heard of you, Luck Voltia, also known as, Luck the Cheery Berserker, from what I got, you completely defeated a noble once, and you were known to cling to your mother,"
Those last words struck a chord with the lightning mage as he turned his head, his smile fading.
Letoile quickly noticed this. "Oh, I'm sorry, is that a sensitive topic for you?"
"No, not really, it just reminded me of her," he replied. "Not too long ago, I used to believe that she was the only one who loved me, the only one in the world who would truly accept me and stay by my side, but I was wrong, I realized that the Black Bulls have never left my side either, I mean a lot to every single one of them, and that makes me happy,"
Letoile sighed a breath of relief. "That's good to know, but other than that, I've noticed that you have quite the carefree attitude, it really surprised me when I found out you're older than me,"
"My attitude spawns from my drive to fight strong people, as long as I get to do what I want, I could really care less about other stuff, at least, when it comes to some topics," he said.
Letoile looked intently at the lightning mage. "You know, we're actually quite different,"
Luck stretched as he laid down on the grass. "No offense, but I think I already knew that, I'm a carefree kind of guy who likes to fight, and you're a serious girl, nothing wrong with that,"
"I suppose, and I guess we can even count our attributes as differences," the compass mage stated.
"How so?" Luck asked plainly.
"Well, I use Compass magic, the nature of a compass is to guide you to a specific area based on where you are, it's small and weak, yet very calculated and controlled. You on the other hand use Lightning magic, the nature of lightning is unpredictable, it's very powerful, yet wild and has no clear direction, that actually describes you perfectly," Letoile explained.
"Really? I never really thought of it that way, it's actually pretty cool," Luck laughed as he sat up straight, he then looked at the compass mage. "You know what, I'm glad you decided to bring me with you, I already respected you after our battle in the dungeon, and that respect has only grown,"
A small smile creased Letoile's face. "The feeling is mutual," she then noticed something and looked up into the sky. "It's nighttime already, I could've sworn the sun was just setting a little while ago,"
"I guess that just means we were having too much fun," Luck grinned before he stopped, his grin disappearing.
"What's the matter?" Letoile asked.
"I'm picking up mana, not too far from here," he replied. "You think it's the bandits?"
She nodded. "Most likely, we have to find them," she said as she used her needles to spread dirt around the fire, extinguishing it.
The two then grabbed their brooms and flew a few feet above the ground to avoid making a sound, once they arrived near the trail, they quietly dismounted and hid behind the trees.
"I'm going to see who's there," Letoile whispered to Luck as she peered beside the tree, she saw two people, a man, and a woman, they were both dressed in sand-colored cloaks, and the man was pushing a large wagon loaded with content hidden by a tarp.
"I wonder if we're close to leaving the Clover Kingdom, my feet are killing me," the woman complained.
"Enough whining Bonnie, we're almost past the border, once we get through this trail that is," the man said to her.
The woman named Bonnie sucked her teeth. "What do you mean whining? We've been walking all day Donnie, can we at least take a break,"
The man named Donnie sighed. "Fine, but only for five minutes," he said as the two stopped and rested by one of the trees.
Letoile turned her head back to Luck. "You heard them, they're going to rest, this is our chance to-," she was saying before hearing Luck lightly chuckle. "Luck?"
"You're right, this is our chance, I haven't fought all day, let's go," he said as his grimoire came out and his limb armor formed and he zoomed towards his targets.
"I guess Bonnie was right, a rest actually wouldn't hurt...wait a minute, what's that?" Donnie thought as he found himself quite relaxed after all the walking he had done, but then he noticed a bright blue blur headed straight for Bonnie. "Look out!"
The woman heard his declaration and noticed the blur before quickly getting out of its way. "What the hell?"
"Don't move!" Letoile then exclaimed as she came out of her hiding spot, Luck landed right next to her as they stared down the bandits.
Donnie looked at them and noticed what they were wearing. "Shit, Magic Knights, but how!"
"This is as far as you go, we're taking you in and confiscating the illegal Magic Items," Letoile said to them.
Donnie's face showed frustration, however, a shadow loomed over Bonnie's face as she stood up. "Take us in, like hell you are,"
"Bonnie, are you okay, what happened to your aching feet?" Donnie asked.
"Screw aching feet, we didn't walk all this way just to get captured!" she exclaimed as her grimoire came up to her.
Letoile quickly summoned needles as they raced towards Bonnie, but the woman dodged them. "Donnie, it seems that the boy is the faster one between them, you take him on, I got the girl,"
"I'm on it," he said back as he took out his grimoire. "Wind Creation Magic: Blades of Zephyr!" he exclaimed as three long blades of wind appeared next to him, he then raised his hand and pointed to Luck as the blades raced towards him.
"It seems I found my opponent, good luck," Luck said as he zoomed away, the blades right on his trail, Donnie following him as well.
"Good luck to you too," Letoile said as she and Bonnie looked at each other.
"You're going to regret getting in our way, Magic Knight," she said. "Water Creation Magic: Hydro Sword!" she exclaimed as a sword made of water appeared, she grabbed it and got into a fighting stance.
"A sword aye, so that means she fights close range, back at the dungeon, Andreas took advantage of the fact that I could only fight long-range, but that was a week ago, I've grown stronger since then," Letoile thought as her grimoire came up. "Compass Creation Magic: Defying East!"
At her command, a needle came out of her grimoire, and it was soon enveloped in light, within the light, it elongated, as the light faded, the needle took on the appearance of a rapier, the compass mage confidently took hold of it as she entered her own stance.
"Prepare to die!" Bonnie exclaimed as she charged at her, Letoile did the same, as they met each other, their blades clashed, the sound ringing throughout. Bonnie took a step back and spun around, using the momentum to increase the force of her next strike.
Letoile, however, noticed this and backed up, she quickly approached the female bandit again, but instead of making a slashing motion, she made a thrusting motion.
Bonnie used the side of her blade to block the incoming attack. "You're not half bad, but you won't beat me, I won't lose to some in a match between blades," she said as her attacks became a lot more aggressive, forcing Letoile on defense.
"She's right, I only unlocked this spell recently, I don't have as much experience as she does, but experience isn't everything," Letoile thought as she backed up again, her grimoire flipped to another page. "Compass Magic: Useless North!" she exclaimed as the singular needle appeared, racing towards her target.
Bonnie dodged it, but noticed just a few seconds later that it was coming back. "Her spell is just like Donnie's, it follows its target, that would be troublesome, but I have an idea to take care of it," she thought as she began running, right towards a tree, she then stopped and turned around, entering a stance as the needle approached her.
"What's she doing, is she planning on using her sword to stop the needle?" Letoile wondered to herself.
"Come at me, I'm not afraid!" Bonnie exclaimed as the needle got closer, she then smirked as she jumped into the air, the needle hitting and getting lodged in the tree behind her.
Letoile was partly surprised. "She led my needle towards her, then right before it hit her, she jumped out of the way to cause the needle to get stuck in the tree, not bad,"
"Take this!" Bonnie exclaimed while still in the air. "Water Magic: Aqua Slash!" she exclaimed as a crescent slash of water raced towards the compass mage.
"Bad move," Letoile said as she formed a compass in front of her, she then formed more compasses to the left of her, all the way to where Bonnie would land. "Compass Magic: Willful Compass - Full Deflection!" she exclaimed as the water slash was redirected over and over until it was heading straight for where Bonnie would be.
"What the hell did you do!?" Bonnie exclaimed as she landed, right as she did, the slash hit her, sending her into a tree.
"Nice, I got a hit in, but I doubt she's out of the fight," Letoile said as she carefully approached the bandit.
Meanwhile, while the two females were fighting, Luck zoomed around the trees, doing his best to get away from Donnie's wind blades.
Donnie himself wasn't too far away, even without a spell, he was quite fast. "What's the matter, Magic Knight, you've been just running away, are you scared?" he asked with a smirk.
Luck turned his head around, Donnie was expecting him to have a frightened look on his face, but he was taken aback to see that the lightning mage was smiling from ear to ear. "Scared? Why would I be scared? This is exciting!" he exclaimed as he landed on a tree and used it to thrust himself towards Donnie, the blades continuing to follow him.
"What are you doing?" Donnie asked aloud.
"You'll see right now!" Luck exclaimed as he quickly jumped upwards, Donnie looked up to see him.
"Damn, he's fast...wait, where are my blades?" he thought as he looked down and saw the blades racing towards him, Luck's movement was so fast, the blades would hit him before following the lightning mage again.
Donnie quickly raised his hands, dissipating the spell, he grit his teeth. "An impressive move, but let's see how you fare against this attack, Wind Magic: Hurricane Blast!" he exclaimed as he shot a powerful blast of wind upwards toward Luck.
"Now you're talking, Lightning Magic: Thunderbolt Destruction!" he exclaimed as he fired the orbs of electricity, clashing with the bandit's attack.
"Damn it," Donnie whispered.
"This was a fun fight, but I think I should just finish you, Letoile wouldn't like it if I took too long," Luck said as his grimoire flipped to another page. "Lightning Magic: Voltage Trail!" he exclaimed as electricity surrounded one of his boots, he then made a kicking motion, sending the trail right at Donnie at a frightening speed.
"Ahhh!" Donnie exclaimed as the spell began electrocuting him.
Luck landed on a tree and began building up kinetic energy before speeding towards the male bandit, dropkicking him right in the stomach, launching him right into a tree.
"Damn, that hurt a lot," Donnie muttered as he looked beside and saw Bonnie. "Bonnie, she got you too?"
"Yeah, these guys aren't Magic Knights for nothing," she replied as she got back up, causing Letoile to stop her advance. "We can't lose here, we're going to make out of this kingdom,"
Donnie got up too. "You're right, let's give it everything we got,"
Luck landed right next to Letoile. "I see you did well,"
"The same with you, nice work, but it doesn't look like they're out yet," Letoile said back.
"This is it, Magic Knights, prepare for the worst!" Bonnie exclaimed as she raised one hand into the air. "Water Magic…,"
Donnie did the same. "Wind Magic…,"
"It looks like they're going to do something big, this is exciting," Luck said cheerfully.
"This is the end!" the two bandits exclaimed as they joined their hands and reeled it back. "Combo Spell: Wrath of Typhoon!" they exclaimed wind and water gathered, they then brought their hands forward, sending the devastating combination towards Luck and Letoile.
The compass mage stepped forward. "That is a strong spell, but I can handle it, Compass Magic: Hazardous West!" she exclaimed as five needles appeared and raced towards the spell, but suddenly, the needles maneuvered around the spell and began revolving at different spots, suspending the combination of wind and water mid-air.
"What the?" Donnie and Bonnie muttered, unable to believe what happened.
"Go Luck, finish them!" Letoile exclaimed.
"Alright!" Luck cheered as he jumped into the air, he put his hands close to each other, creating a small orb, he then spread his hands out, making the orb grow before it floated a few inches above him. "Prepare for the true end, thanks a lot for the fight, Lightning Magic: Electric Conquest!"
At the declaration of the spell, Luck did a vertical spin mid-air, hitting the orb he created with the heel of his boot, sending it right towards the bandits, as the orb landed, a bright light flashed, cutting through the darkness around them for just a few moments before the light faded, Luck and Letoile saw the two unconscious, their spell disappearing.
"We did it, that was so much fun!" Luck cheered as his armor disappeared, he then ran to Letoile, his hand raised. "High-five,"
The compass mage wasted no time returning it. "We won, now we can take these two in," she said as she walked to the bandits. "Compass Binding Magic: Confining South," at her call, needles appeared and punctured the bandits' arms and legs. "This spell will paralyze whatever limb the needle has punctured for as long as it's lodged there,"
"Nice, I'll carry them on my broom, I just hope they're not too heavy," Luck said.
Letoile nodded. "And I got the wagon full of items, Compass Magic: Hazardous West," she said as the needles revolved around the wagon, suspending it into the air.
Luck put the two onto his broom as the two Magic Knights flew into the air. "Let's drop these and the bandits at the capital," Letoile said.
"Alright," Luck answered as they did just that, once they finished their job in the capital, they flew back into the air, arriving back at the Black Bulls HQ.
"Well, this is where we part ways, I'm glad we got to work together again," Letoile said.
"Same here," Luck said back as he began walking to the front gate, but stopped.
"Something wrong?" Letoile asked.
He turned around, a shadow was covering his face. "I just want to do something quick," he said as he walked to the compass mage and embraced her.
"L-Luck?" she asked, confused by his action, her mind went back to what Vanessa told her earlier, but she removed the thought from her head as she returned the embrace. "I don't know what this is about, but-," she began before feeling a zap on her back. "Ow!"
Luck giggled as he let go of her and backed up, his signature smile was present. "Gotcha, that was oddly easy, much easier than it would be with Magna, you should see the look on your face,"
"Uh, what a child, how am I younger than you," Letoile said to him.
"We'll never know, cya," Luck said as he entered the base. "I'm back everyone!"
From outside, Letoile could hear the lightning mage being bombarded with questions from his squadmates, she turned around and mounted her broom.
"He can be such a child, but...I guess I don't really mind that," she said with a small smile as she flew into the air, in the direction of her base.