Chapter Sixty-One: A Volcanic Trip
Hey there, readers, hope you've enjoyed your October so far, with this month being my birthday month, I'm super excited. Today marks the start of another week-long update, and this one is going to be super special, more special than any week-long update has been before, all you have to do is wait for the end of the week. Here's the chapter for Day 1.
But before that, there's a quick thing I want to clear up, a possible minor confusion I found in the reviews from the last chapter.
Kunoichi69: Thanks a lot for the review, and I'm glad you read the one-shot, but from the way I read the second paragraph of your review, I think you got something confused. Ezekiel was the first patriarch of the Rossiu family, as Dante and Oxanna mentioned in chapter 11, his Wyvern Magic died out over the years that his family had existed for. I myself had set Ezekiel's time about 250 to 300-ish years before Kenos was born, meaning Richard would never actually get to talk to either him or Myra as they were long dead. Once again, thanks for taking the time to review and to even make your own speculation, I really appreciate it.
With that out of the way, let's get to the chapter, shall we. Cya.
"Where the hell are we?!" the mixed group of captured knights exclaimed in unison.
"I'm so glad you asked," a familiar voice replied, the group turned around to see Mereoleona walking towards them, her entire squad behind her, she then spread her arms out. "This place is called Yultim Volcano, which resides in a strong magic region,"
"A strong magic region? Then it's just like the Underwater Temple," Noelle thought to herself.
"Mereoleona, don't you mean volcanoes? This area is quite vast," Kenos asked.
"No, it isn't plural, all of what you see before you have converged into the singular mass that is this one volcano," she explained.
Asta turned to his rival. "Hey Yuno, you remember those books we read about volcanoes as kids?"
"Yeah, the large forge of rock that held melted rocks that were incredibly hot which bad kids who didn't listen to their elders were sent to," Yuno responded with a small nod.
"Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure that last part was just made up to get us to behave, but still, I'm amazed by how big it is," Asta said before he could feel himself sweating. "And how hot too,"
"I'll say, but I didn't know this place existed, what a great area to train my magic," a voice suddenly said from a decent distance, everyone looked over to see Erika, scanning the strong magic region, she then noticed everyone looking at her and chuckled a little nervously.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know I was being too loud," she apologized before casually raising her hand a few inches in the air. "For those who don't know, my name is Erika Molotov, and I use lava magic, just saying how the atmosphere could help me with any possible training,"
"Lava magic? That sounds impressive, I'm expecting good things from you too," the crimson-clad captain grinned.
"Training sounds fun, be sure to count me in," Oxanna remarked before turning to her captain. "Mera, I have to know, why exactly are we here?"
"To train, of course, it may be the only time for our guests, but for you and the rest of the squad, you'll be training here every day until the Royal Knights exam," she replied.
"Guests? You practically kidnapped us!" the group of mages thought together.
"Ok, but how are we going to train exactly? Are we going to spar in the heat to improve our stamina?" Rama wondered aloud.
"Eventually we'll do that, but not right now," Mereoleona responded as she jerked her thumb behind her. "For the next few days, you'll be climbing up the volcano,"
Everyone looked at the base of the volcano in question, their eyes rising as they once more observed its towering height. "We have to climb it? It'll be nearly impossible with this ridiculous heat," Leopold commented.
But the young royal was quickly proven wrong as two figures flashed right by him, Asta was the first one to say something. "No way, it's Captain Yami and Charlotte!"
The swordsman was correct, the dark and briar mages were the first to advance, their bodies covered in a thin aura, being purple and blue respectively. "You better not screw up, Prickly Queen," Yami said.
"I'd worry about you, I won't falter, I already lost once today, and that's more than I'm willing to accept," Charlotte retorted.
"Wow, Char is amazing, but how are they moving like that, shouldn't the heat be affecting them?" Sol asked.
"It's Mana Skin,"
Everyone turned to the solar mage as he replied to the earth mage. "Mana Skin?" Yuno asked.
"You're right, it is Mana Skin," Oxanna agreed, Rama nodded.
"Um, what exactly is Mana Skin?" Asta asked, just as confused as his rival.
"Mana Skin is a technique, it's actually one of the first things mages can learn to do. It's done by coating yourself in mana to minorly protect yourself from outside forces, like heat and cold, not to mention weak spells," Kenos explained. "My Sunshine Aura is basically Mana Skin with a few more benefits, but Mana Skin requires less mana and less mana control, making it the best option for this situation when the time and effort to climb the volcano is taken into account,"
"I better get moving then, hey Tiger Cub, do you think I'll make it to the top before you do?" Oxanna asked the lightning mage beside her.
"No way Violet, we both know I'm going to win when it comes to a matter of speed," Rama replied with a smirk.
Kenos wasn't too far from the two and heard their exchange, but then his brow raised as something they said confused him. "Tiger Cub? Violet? Why did they call each other that? Is it some sort of nickname?" he thought to himself.
"Hey Erika, if you need some help using Mana Skin, I could assist you," Oxanna told her best friend.
To her surprise, the lava mage shook her head. "No, I'll be fine, my attribute is lava, using it over the course of my life has given me a decent amount of heat resistance, Mana Skin won't be necessary," she replied as she started advancing up the volcano.
"She's already moving, we can't let ourselves fall behind,"
The phantom and lightning mages closed their eyes and took a deep breath before they became covered in thin auras of mana, Oxanna's being purple, and Rama's being white before they went off. Leopold and Randall followed suit as they were covered in red and green auras, the latter raised his arm.
"Let us go, we must prove to the captain that we can do better than 5th place!" he exclaimed as the others used the technique themselves and advanced.
"Don't forget about me, I won't be letting some guy beat me!" Sol joined in as she advanced too, having used the technique herself to coat herself in a brown aura.
Of everyone present, Noelle's face held the most worry. "This is bad, although it's minimal, Mana Skin still requires some mana control, which I'm still shaky in, but I have to try," she thought as she focused the best she could, just managing to form a blue aura around her person, but regardless, doing the action put a small smile on her face as she ran to catch up with the others.
"Damn, everyone's really getting the hang of this fast, what about you, Yuno, you getting-," Asta began as he turned to the wind mage, but stopped as he noticed the teen and the spirit at his shoulder closed their eyes.
"Concentrate," Yuno thought as a green aura of mana appeared around him before he opened his eyes. "Nice, it worked, thanks for the help, Bell,"
The wind spirit opened her eyes as well. "No problem, but you did well too, I thought it'd take a little more time, you really are awesome,"
Yuno turned to his rival. "See you at the top, Asta," he said before he flew away.
"Dang, didn't think he'd get the hang of it this fast," Kenos voiced, an orange aura already enveloped around his body as he watched the Golden Dawn knight fly. "Alright Asta, let's get-," he began before stopping, realizing that there was something keeping the magicless mage from joining the others.
The solar mage turned around. "Asta, I think-," he stopped again, but this time, it wasn't of his own volition, but rather, it was from someone else's interference.
Mereoleona's to be exact.
"Kenos, go up, I wish to speak with this Asta," she told him.
"I can't, I need to-," he started saying, but was interrupted for the second time by the woman as she put a hand up.
"What you need to do is worry about yourself, you must worry about your strength, especially since I'm feeling something strong coming from you," she said.
Kenos was confused. "Something…strong?"
"Yes, I'm not too sure what it is, I certainly didn't feel it when our families met for that banquet. Whatever it is, you need to eventually learn of its power, and master it," the female captain replied seriously.
The solar mage stared at his hand before clenching it tightly. "Alright, I'll be off then," he said before quickly up the volcano, not planning to let himself be beaten, but his mind couldn't help but ponder on Mereoleona's words. "Something strong she says? There's a possibility it can be linked to my grimoire and this mysterious sacred one, but I suppose only time will tell,"
Mereoleona waited until Kenos was far enough out of earshot before deciding to speak up. "I take it you realized why I wanted to speak with you?"
Asta shook his head. "Not really, but whatever it is, do you mind making it quick, I have to start climbing with the others,"
"That's the thing, you can't. From what was said at the festival and what people can just normally feel, you don't have a drop of magic power," she pointed out as she crossed her arms.
"So, that isn't going to stop me, I can still do this-," the swordsman countered confidently as he began walking toward the tower-like structure of rock and magma, but he stopped as two steps into his advance, he dropped to the ground, panting.
Asta was beyond shocked. "What's…going on?" he wondered aloud before touching his face, just noticing how much he was sweating.
"You were able to slightly adapt to the temperature while you were standing still, but once you moved, your body became more conscious of the heat around it. I suffered through the same thing when I first came here as a teenager, but unlike you, I used my Mana Skin to protect me afterward," she explained. "You may have been one of your squad's top-performing members, and you may have those swords which give you an advantage against your opponents, but those will only take you so far. There will be new obstacles which you must overcome that'll be foreign to you, and to do that, you must forge a new path forward,"
Asta was doing his best to pick himself back up, his body beginning to register the large amounts of heat once more.
"So, tell me, do you have what it takes to forge that path, or is this the furthest you'll go, leaving yourself in the dust while everyone else surpasses you?!" Mereoleona asked fiercely, but she didn't wait for a response as she turned around and walked towards the volcano. "I'll be at the top, and whether or not you'll be up there too will answer my question,"
The magicless mage watched as the woman jumped, going up a considerable number of feet in the air, she really was impressive, she wasn't even using Mana Skin.
Asta clenched both of his fists frustratingly as more sweat dripped down his face. "I'll do it, I'll make a new path, one that'll allow me to climb this volcano, it doesn't matter how many times a path of mine will fail, I won't give up. I'm going to be the Wizard King one day, and what Wizard King can't get past a little heat," he told himself before he crossed his arms and began thinking, but almost immediately, his mind thought up of something he could try.
Despite the fact that he was still a bit shaky about it.
"My best bet is to use that form I unlocked at the Witches' Forest. It should give me enough speed to overtake a few of the knights who are ahead of me, but…how would I even access it? Maybe I could talk with Roth again, but I don't know how I communicated with him in the first place," he thought to himself seriously.
"Well, when I first spoke with Roth, I got beaten down by Ladros pretty badly, perhaps it triggered because I was in danger?" Asta wondered aloud, he then walked a few feet, seeing a pool of lava below him. "If I jump into lava, perhaps I can meet with Roth and transform before I'm burnt alive,"
The magicless mage continued to ponder the thought while wiping sweat off his forehead, but eventually decided against it. "Nah, bad idea, the heat is starting to make me think irrationally, remember what Captain Fuegoleon said, Magic Knights should stay calm. Instead of doing something stupid that could get me killed, I need to think this through,"
Suddenly, what the flame mage told him earlier repeated in his mind. "You may have been one of your squad's top-performing members, and you may have those swords which give you an advantage against your opponents, but those will only take you so far,"
"Those will only take me so far?" the swordsman repeated in particular. "She was talking about what I possessed so far, but maybe I can use that. I have to take some time and assess what I currently have in my skill set,"
Asta then took out his grimoire and pulled out the Demon-Slayer, looking at it intently. "Okay, first of all, I have two anti-magic swords," he then looked at his own hand. "Next up is my own physical strength and durability due to years of training. And last is my ability to use Ki-,"
He stopped himself once he realized something. "Wait, I've been using Ki to detect enemies and read their movements, but I've never used Ki on myself, maybe that could change something," he said before closing his eyes. He could see a simple mental diagram of his body within his mind's eye, using Ki, he could feel black energy coming from his sword and that it was slowly entering his body.
"That must be anti-magic, but its flow is far too slow, I wonder what would happen if I increase the speed of the flow," he then lifted his sword up to his chest, placing his other hand on the flat side of the blade, and in his mind's eye, he saw that his idea was a success.
And in a few seconds, he did it, he successfully transformed.
"Alright, I did it, awesome!" he cheerfully exclaimed. "I guess I won't need to worry about Roth then, I can't wait to tell the others, they're going to be so surprised-," he was saying, but was cut off as he suddenly found himself zooming up the volcano.
"Holy crap! Now this is fast, it's time I go up there and answer Mereoleona's question!"
"Watch out, Violet! Lightning Creation Magic: Voltage Polearm!" Rama exclaimed.
The lightning mage stood alongside Oxanna and Erika, in front of them were four lava golem-like creatures. One of them lunged at the phantom mage, but Rama had come to her defense.
"What the hell are those things?" Rama asked aloud.
"It doesn't matter what they are, all that matters is that we have to defeat them," Erika replied as she took out her grimoire before it flipped to a page. "Lava Creation Magic: Meteorite Shower!"
At her call, five meteorites fell from the sky, crashing into the magma creatures, but only one was defeated. "Shit, my attribute sucks against them, lava doesn't stand much of a chance against lava,"
"Don't worry, bestie, leave this to Tiger Cub and me, you can provide backup," Oxanna said as she charged forward, not noticing the lava mage's expression fall.
"Right, backup," Erika muttered.
"Alright, let's see how you hold up against a Rossiu, Phantom Creation Magic: Eidolon Paladin!" the crimson-clad teen exclaimed as the ghostly knight appeared in front of her, swiftly cutting one of the golems in two. "Nice, that's how it's done,"
"Awesome work, Violet, my turn, Lightning Binding Magic: Zig-Zag Stun!" Rama then said as he moved quickly in a zig-zag motion, creating a trail of electricity behind him, said trail hit the golems, pushing them together and keeping them from moving.
The mage soon found himself in the air. "Time to deliver the finishing blow, Lightning Magic: Voltage Polearm - Slash of the White Tiger!" he bellowed before crashing down, cutting both golems in half at the same time.
"Nothing like using a trusty spell to finish a battle," Oxanna commented. "We'd better hurry, I saw Mera zoom past us a few seconds ago before the golems appeared," she told them as they wasted no time continuing to ascend.
"Say, how do you think everyone else is doing?" Erika asked.
"I'm sure they're all doing fine," the phantom mage replied. "Mera didn't bring anyone here who couldn't hold their own,"
"You're done, Solar Magic: Solar Cross Destroyer!"
Those were the words that left Kenos' mouth as he unleashed the powerful blast on six lava golems, taking them all out simultaneously. He had activated his ring about two minutes prior and had passed his sister's team, although it was without their knowledge as he moved quite silently.
"Ok, seeing that this is a strong magic region, those golem thingies are merely physical manifestations of the surrounding lava and obsidian, given life through the area's intense mana, and if that part is true, then that means this volcano must be loaded with them," the solar mage explained and deduced to himself.
"Damn it, there are so many of them!" he heard from not too far up, as he kept moving up, he saw the person in question to be Yuno, floating in the sky, fighting off ten lava golems.
"It looks like he needs some help," the Rossiu thought to himself as his grimoire flipped back to a different page. "Solar Magic: Sunbeam Ray!"
"What the?" Yuno wondered aloud, hearing the familiar declaration, his eyes then widened upon seeing the beam shoot through a golem, he then looked back, a small smirk appearing. "Kenos, what a pleasant surprise,"
"Yo," the solar mage said back. "Need any help?"
"The assist was appreciated, but I can handle this," the wind mage replied before turning to his accompanying spirit. "Bell, lend me your power,"
"Alright, that's two times today, I'm on a roll!" Bell exclaimed cheerfully as she began radiating green mana.
Yuno raised his left hand as wind gathered above him, becoming a bullet. "It's been a while since we last used this, Wind Spirit Magic: Sylph's Breath!" he called as it raced towards the opposition, destroying them all at once.
Kenos whistled, impressed. "What a spell, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that,"
"Thanks," Yuno said back before looking down the volcano with an expectant look, as if he was waiting for someone.
Kenos noticed this. "Something the matter?"
"I was just wondering when Asta will get here,"
The solar mage's expression slightly fell. "You think he'll be up here? Asta doesn't have magic, he can't use Mana Skin like the rest of us, the heat will be too much for him,"
"It's a logical consideration, but don't forget, this is Asta we're talking about, he'll find a way to get past this, he always does," Yuno told him.
Kenos sighed before a smirk graced his features. "Well, can't argue with you there, there aren't many things in this world that can keep him down,"
"This should be the last one, Earth Creation Magic: Raging Mother Goddess!" Sol declared, her spell forming a large golem made of dirt as said golem destroyed the last of a trio of lava golems with its devastating strength.
The blue rose knight looked behind her, seeing Leopold, Noelle, and the remainder of the Crimson Lion Kings facing off a horde of the magma creatures. She pondered going over to help them, but decided against it. "They'll be just fine, I have to go catch up with Char, there's no way in hell I'm leaving her with that Yami brute," she said as he hopped on her golem and took off.
"Leo, let's finish this, there are only four left!" Randall called.
"Right, we can do this, Flame Magic: Spiral Flame!" Leopold exclaimed as he sent the twin sets of spinning fire.
Randall quickly moved in as well. "Here's a boost, Air Magic: Supporting Gust!" he exclaimed, launching an invisible shot of air right at the flames, making them larger and stronger as the heat singed the golems.
"Alright, nice assist, vice-captain," Leopold smirked as the two shared a high-five.
"It was my pleasure, we make a good-," the air mage was about to say back, but was interrupted as a loud sound was heard, everyone turned to see another lava golem had appeared, but this one was undoubtedly larger than the rest.
"Holy crap, this will be tough, Randall, give me a boost, Flame Creation Magic: Inferno Lion!"
"Alright, Air Magic: Supporting Gust!" the man declared once again, his spell, making the lion larger than before as it pounced towards its prey, but unfortunately, the golem launched a powerful punch, blowing a hole right in the fiery beast's torso, dissipating it. "It didn't work?"
"That can't be all you can do?" Noelle asked from behind him.
Leopold looked at her. "Of course it's not! And why aren't you doing anything to help? You have the attribute advantage,"
"I'm focusing as much control as I can to maintain my mana skin, so I can't cast much for the time being," she replied.
"Then don't complain," the flame mage retorted.
"Excuse me, I'm royalty!"
"So am I, did you forget that!?"
"Hey!"
The sound of a third voice put a look of surprise on the faces of the two royals, they looked downward as that was where the voice was coming from, but were shocked to see who it was as they were nearing them very quickly.
"Asta!" Leopold and Noelle exclaimed in unison.
"What up, guys, look out!" the swordsman screamed as he was flying straight for the golem, but to everyone's joy, he blew a hole right through it.
"One-handed Bull Thrust!" Asta mentally declared, but the strike didn't slow him down one bit as he only continued to ascend.
"I don't believe it, he's using that form again, but how?" Noelle asked herself.
"Holy stinking shit, I didn't know Asta could do that, my rival got a major power boost," Leopold praised. "I have my work cut out for me if I want to outdo that,"
"This is great, I'm almost at the top," the magicless mage said, but soon he noticed he was reaching two more figures, and that put a large grin on his face.
"Yuno! Kenos!"
The wind and solar mages both turned, and were both shocked, but it was easy to see that the former was the most surprised of the two.
"What?! Asta's flying, but how?! Since when?!" he asked as his rival flew past him. "And why does he look like that? So sinister?"
"Yeah, he's totally copying us!" Bell joined in. "We're the only ones who get to fly on our own!"
Kenos, on the other hand, quickly got over his initial feeling. "So, he's figured out how to access the form at will now? That's good,"
Yuno turned to the Rossiu. "Figured out? You know about this?"
The solar mage nodded. "You bet, Asta first unlocked that form about a week ago, when we went to one of our squadmates' home to heal his arms, there we found the Queen of Witches. She healed his arms, but then we got into a three-way battle with the Eye of the Midnight Sun and the Diamond Kingdom, and during that scuffle, he managed to get that form. A lot happened during that mission, Asta got that form, I got a new spell, and we got some new allies, one of them being Mars,"
Yuno's face became that of slight disbelief once again. "Mars? You mean the Diamond mage from the dungeon, the guy who tried to kill us, that Mars?"
"Yup, it's true, he's on our side now,"
"I see, well, that's certainly interesting. Anyways, Asta has already passed us, we better get a move on," Yuno stated, getting over his shock.
"Right," Kenos agreed as they continued to ascend.
"So, this is the top of Yultim Volcano? It certainly is quite tall," Charlotte commented as she and Yami stood at the summit, awaiting the arrival of the others.
"I never would've guessed," Yami said back plainly, looking downward.
Charlotte bit her lip. "Ok, Yami and I are up here, all alone, I shouldn't waste this opportunity, this can be a great chance to partake in some small talk," she thought before turning to her peer. "So, what did you think of those lava creatures we fought on the way here?"
"Those things were weak as hell, no challenge whatsoever, not even that bigger one. What about you?" he replied before asking.
"I have the same verdict, any of my knights could've easily eliminated them," she responded as she inwardly groaned, that well dried out pretty fast, she waited for a few seconds before saying something else. "Why don't we change the subject? If Mereoleona hadn't practically kidnapped us both, we could've been doing something else, what would you be doing?"
"Easy, I'd take a dump," the dark mage plainly answered, his gaze remaining away from her.
The briar mage sighed, partially knowing he'd give that response. "Well, I would've maybe went to a restaurant,"
"That sounds nice,"
Charlotte looked at him before looking away, her face blooming red as she cleared her throat. "Y'know, perhaps we could go to a restaurant…together, I could treat you to dinner, as a reward for your squad doing so well this year,"
For the first time since they arrived at the summit, Yami turned to look at her. "Are you sure? Despite this year's ranking, I'm still the captain of the Black Bulls, I bet you'd feel embarrassed being seen with me, nobles are super judgmental," he said, his voice not expressing any worry, in fact, it sounded quite casual.
Regardless, Charlotte looked back at him as their eyes locked. "What are you talking about? I would never feel embarrassed with you, you're Yami Sukehiro for Pete's sake, even if…I had to spend my entire life with you, I wouldn't regret a single moment," she replied, thankful her tone had been professional for the whole exchange.
"Your entire life? That was oddly specific, but anyways, I appreciate it, thanks, Prickly Queen," he said to her with a small smile.
The azure-clad captain let her professional expression fall as a warm smile replaced it. "You're welcome," she said, and her mind agreed. "Yes! A success, I didn't lose my composure, that's one point for me!"
"Ha!" a familiar voice screamed, completely ruining the tender moment between the two captains, Yami was the first to speak up. "I'd recognize that scream anywhere, although I must say I'm surprised, I wasn't expecting Asta to be the first one-," he was saying, but was interrupted as he looked down, just to see Asta speed up past him.
"Hey there, Captain!"
"What in the?! You can fly? What kind of development did I miss?! You really pushed past your limits this time, kid," the dark mage exclaimed before saying, sounding incredibly proud.
Charlotte thought back to her short encounter with the swordsman earlier that night."That boy, Asta…he's very interesting, and he's been through a lot, he has a lot of potential, and I can tell he has a good heart. You made a good choice picking him,"
"I really did, I know he's going to go far. I just wish I knew where he was going now?" Yami said as he saw Asta fly past him and enter the mouth of the volcano.
"I can't control it, where the hell is the power taking me?" Asta muttered as he looked ahead and discovered the answer to his question.
Mereoleona.
The woman stood on a rock, her arms crossed, a huge grin being found on her face. "So, it turns out you do have what it takes, that's good. Although, I didn't know you could shift your appearance like that,"
"I get it, my sword is being attracted by her powerful mana, it was the same thing that happened during my battle with Ladros," he thought before giving a response to the captain. "That's right, I've proven myself. Now would you mind moving, I don't want to hurt you,"
Mereoleona chuckled. "You? Hurt me? Young fool, it's time I educate you! Within a pack of lions, it's females who are the hunters!" she then exclaimed as her grimoire came up to her, flipping to a page, at the same time, she jumped towards the demonic-looking swordsman.
"Flame Magic: Calidos Brachium!" the woman declared as her fist raged with fiery mana before she decked Asta right in the face, landing back down on her rock.
Asta, however, was sent right into the rocky side of the volcano, his transformation undoing itself. He then found himself falling…right into the lava.
"Oh hell no, I can't die, c'mon body, transform again!" he screamed, but it wasn't necessary as Mereoleona came to his rescue, jumping into the air to intercept his fall.
"You did good, Asta, now let's see who else has made it up," she said as she landed on the summit, grinning at the sight of everyone present. "Good, you all made it,"
Oxanna pumped a fist in the air. "That's right, it was tough, but we succeeded," she said gleefully.
"I'm impressed, going up this volcano isn't what you would call an easy challenge, but you'll get used to it over your training. But…training isn't the only thing you'll do here, follow me," the flame mage instructed as everyone did so.
They started walking towards another volcano mouth, Asta was expecting to see more lava, but he along with the others were shocked when they saw what lay within it.
"Water!" they all exclaimed.
"That's right, at the top of this volcano, you'll find an incredible natural hot spring," Mereoleona told them. "I've been coming to this place for a few years now, there's nothing better than a hot soak to follow up some intense training,"
"It doesn't look like all that, we got a hot tub back at our base," Kenos spoke up.
"I guarantee you, once you take a soak in this hot spring, you'll never be satisfied with that sorry excuse back at your hideout," the captain said with a fierce grin. "Now all of you, take off your clothes and get in, but keep your clothes close so the heat doesn't burn them,"
"What!? We have to strip!" Leopold exclaimed. "Sis, are you crazy? Did you forget we have both males and females here?"
Mereoleona held her chin. "Oh yeah,"
"Oh yeah!" everyone yelled with comedic anger.
Sol stepped up. "Don't worry, I've got this, I'm not letting any guy look at Char's body, you hear," she said before her grimoire flipped to a page. "Earth Magic: Mud Wall Partition!" the blue rose knight slammed her hands on the ground, a large, flat wall of earth then rose, dividing the space of water perfectly in half.
"Perfect, good thing I decided to abduct you," the flame mage stated with crossed arms.
Sol's face turned to comedic anger as she pointed at the older woman. "You finally admit it!"
Mereoleona's crossed-arm posture didn't falter. "No harm, no foul, now let's get soaking, we don't have all night,"
"Holy stinking shit, Mereoleona was right, this feels amazing," Kenos remarked with a relaxed sigh. He and the other males were currently soaking on their side, they quickly broke up into their social groups, with the group around the solar mage consisting of Asta, Yami, Yuno, Leo, and Rama.
"I know, all the tension I was feeling earlier is all gone," Rama added.
Kenos turned an eye to the lightning mage who was beside him. "Say, I never caught your name,"
"Oh, it's Rama, Rama Asterius," he replied.
Kenos' eyes briefly widened. "Asterius? That name sounds familiar, if I'm not mistaken, they're a successful common family, and going by your family name and that hair of yours, you must be that mage they call the White Tiger,"
"That's me, I use lightning magic and combine it with my martial arts,"
"Did I hear martial arts?" Yami asked as he approached them. "I didn't know anyone originating from this country used that,"
"Was there martial arts in the Land of the Rising Sun?" Kenos then asked.
"Yeah, but it went by a lot of different names, martial arts in itself is a pretty vague term, there are tons of styles, each different from the other," the dark mage replied. "Say snow hair, have you heard of something called Ki?"
"Snow Hair?" Rama muttered, realizing the captain was referring to him by his hair. "No, I've never heard of Ki, as for what you said about martial arts being vague, I'm not really sure which style I used. If I had to give an answer, I guess you could say I'm mixing different techniques together and using what works with me,"
"Mixing techniques? I suppose that could work. Well, nice chatting with you," Yami said as he walked away from the two.
Kenos turned back to the lightning mage. "So, Rama, I noticed something, back at the bottom of the volcano, when you were talking to Oxanna, you called her something, and so did she,"
"Oh, Violet? That's just my nickname for her, I got the idea from the violet stripe she has on the side of her head, her nickname for me is Tiger Cub. I heard the Wizard King say your name at the ceremony earlier, you're her brother, right? I can see the resemblance, and you even have a stripe on your head too, but orange. Anyways, doesn't she have a nickname for you?" Rama replied before asking.
"That's right, I'm her brother, the youngest of three, but no nicknames, the one I do have came from my cousin. Oxanna and I aren't on the greatest terms, but I still care for her, which leads to my next question. I hope you don't find this uncomfortable, but…what's your relationship with my sister?"
Rama raised a brow. "Relationship?"
"Yeah, she never gave a nickname to anyone in the family, she gave one to Mereoleona when they met at a banquet between our families, but Mereoleona is an adult, you're the first person she gave one too in her age range. Not to mention I got this close feeling between the two of you as you spoke to each other, correct me if I'm wrong, but I sort of thought…you two might be an item,"
Rama's cheeks turned a light red, but luckily, the steam from the water heated up his face beforehand, so it wasn't noticed by the noble. "I can assure you it isn't like that, at least, I don't think it is. I think Violet is pretty cool, although she does happen to blurt out things. I like her, but I'm not sure if I like-like her, and it's the same thing with her as I don't know how she completely feels about me. We're friends, but anything we have beyond that feels kinda complicated,"
Kenos have an understanding look. "I see, I'm no expert on things like this, but it's pretty safe to say you may be overthinking this. You two may not be a thing like I first believed, so maybe you could just talk about it with her,"
"Are you sure? Violet may be a direct person, but I think a conversation about that would be quite awkward," Rama told him.
"I guess, then you should do it when you're good and ready," Kenos responded.
"I will, thanks. I'm an only child, so I've never had a brother or sister to talk with about stuff like this. Is it something siblings do?" the lightning mage curiously asked.
"Pretty much, when a person sees someone getting closer to their sibling in a romantic way, or even anything remotely similar, they'll naturally want to inquire about it," the solar mage replied.
Rama regained his composure and smirked. "I see, then have you found out enough?"
Kenos smirked as well. "I'd say I have,"
While the two were conversing, Asta and Leopold weren't too far away, but were too immersed in their topic of discussion to care about what the other pair of teens were talking about.
"Holy crap, Asta, I have to know how you did that thing earlier, y'know, the thing that let you fly?" the flame mage excitedly wondered.
"My new form? I did it with the help of my sword and my Ki skill, it still needs some work though," the swordsman replied.
"Awesome, so what do you call it?" Leopold asked again.
"Um, I actually don't have a name for it. Any suggestions?"
The royal held his chin in thought before a lightbulb went off. "I know, what about Black Asta, since that's the color part of your body changed too. I was about to say Fiend Half, but that sounds kinda sinister, and it's obvious you're not that kind of guy,"
"Black Asta, aye? I like it, it has a nice ring to it, and best of all, it's unique just to me, especially since I'm no stranger to being one of a kind," the magicless mage grinned.
"Glad you like it, but that only means I have to keep leveling up, as your rival, I can't let myself fall too far behind you. Especially with my older sister as the new captain, she's way tougher than our brother, although nowhere near as disciplined, perhaps she could help bring out what I need to step up my game," the flame said.
"I know she could do that for a fact, after all, it's because of her I realized how to transform," Asta revealed.
"Awesome, I can't wait to get stronger, who knows, we may even fight during the Royal Knights' Exam," Leopold said back as the two shared a high-five.
"Yo there, Asta's rival buddy, Yuno was it?" Yami asked as he approached the wind mage.
Yuno turned his head in the captain's direction as the man sat in the water next to him. "That's me, need anything?"
"Why aren't you talking to anyone?" Yami asked. "I thought you'd at least have that spirit with you,"
"Bell may be a spirit, but she's still female, there's no way I'd let her come to this side," Yuno replied plainly.
"I see, then what about Asta? You guys are rivals and best friends," the dark mage persisted.
"Asta's talking to Leopold right now, I don't know Leopold that well, I bet it could get odd fast, so I'll just stay here," Yuno responded, turning his head away.
Then suddenly, Yami grabbed onto Yuno's head, his face showing comedic anger as his grip continued to tighten. "I'm not liking that attitude of yours,"
The wind mage immediately grabbed the older man's hand, desperate to free himself. "Crap, this hurts, let me go," he groaned.
"You think you're cool by staying here acting like some kind of lone wolf?" Yami asked.
"No, that's not it at all," Yuno replied, the pain of the dark mage's grip growing, but then, his expression slightly fell. "Besides, I'm not that cool, despite how dumb Asta may act or what I might say to him, he's obviously cooler than me,"
The comedic anger disappeared from Yami's expression, replaced with a look of slight empathy. He then raised his arm, and by extension, Yuno's whole body as he made his way to the flame and magicless mages.
"Heya, I hope you don't mind if we drop in," Yami greeted as released Yuno, the latter holding on to his throbbing skull.
Asta shook his head. "We don't mind at all, you didn't even have to ask," he said before looking at his foster brother, noticing something. "Hey Yuno, what's that thing on your wrist? It looks familiar,"
Yuno's eyes turned to his wrist and he saw what Asta was referring to. "Oh, it's just my bracelet, Charmy and Bell have one too, we got it during a hangout some time back," he replied.
"It looks really cool, I think I might have one at home, but in a different color," Leopold intervened.
A small smile appeared on the Golden Dawn's face before it disappeared. "Really, what color?"
"Red and aureolin," the royal answered. "But that green and white you have is a great pair too,"
"Not that this conversation isn't riveting as is, but there's something else we could talk about," Yami spoke up.
"And what might that be?" Asta asked curiously.
Yami jerked a thumb at the large divide created by the earth mage. "Duh, about how the girls are doing,"
"Damn Mera, you were right, this hot spring is to die for," Oxanna remarked, the older flame mage right next to her.
"Was there ever any doubt? This place is amazing," Mereoleona said back.
"And the best part, we'll get to enjoy it every day until the exam," the phantom mage stated.
Mereoleona's face grew serious upon hearing those words. "True, but remember, I'll be training you harder than you've ever been trained before, I'm the leader of this brigade in my brother's place, we have to do better,"
Oxanna's face matched hers. "We will, this year will be the last time we ever ranked 5th, we're going to give it everything we got,"
The captain grinned. "Good, I know you'll stay true to those words," she said before noticing something at the corner of her eye: Erika sitting in a spot by herself, a somber look creasing her face as she looked down at her hand.
"I'll be right back," the woman excused herself, slowly approaching her squad member.
"Damn it, just, damn it," Erika muttered. "Why does this have to happen?"
"Is there something on your mind?"
The lava mage quickly turned around, seeing Mereoleona. "C-Captain, you startled me. You don't need to worry about anything, I'm doing fine, perfectly okay, you needn't be concerned," she replied quickly, flailing her hands.
The flame mage held on to her hands and gently brought them down. "Look, I know that I can come off as pretty intense and short-tempered, heck, I wouldn't even blame you if you said you were afraid of me, but...I'm your captain now, I want to be someone you feel comfortable talking to," she said, her voice just as gentle.
"Really?" Erika asked, to which she was met by a nod as her hands were freed. "Well...it's just that I feel like the weak link of my group. Everyone else is so amazing, Oxanna's a Rossiu with her cool phantom magic, Leo is a royal which already makes him cool, heck, Rama is the commoner of our group and is arguably the strongest among us when it comes to speed and technique. But I'm just not those things, I'm a noble, but I could never do stuff like they can...I'm just backup,"
Mereoleona crossed her arms, her expression carrying no judgment. "You feel weaker compared to them, aye? Well your problem is right there, you mustn't dwell on the fact that your weaker and just sulk around, you have to just acknowledge the fact and strive to put it past you,"
"But, what if I can't? Look at you, you're this powerful royal, I bet you've never felt inferior to others before," Erika said.
"That's where you'd be wrong," the woman countered. "Back when I was younger, there was someone who I could never defeat, no matter how hard I tried, she could always take me down,"
The lava mage was surprised. "Woah, someone who even you couldn't defeat?"
Mereoleona nodded. "That's right, even now, I don't think I'd stand a chance against her. But during that whole time, even though I was weaker, I never let it get to me, I just kept getting stronger and stronger, I might not be able to defeat her regardless, but at least I became powerful in my own right. That's what you need to do too, you just have to push past the feeling of inferiority and get yourself to a point where you can be proud of your own strength,"
Erika's face contorted into a small smile as she suddenly hugged her captain. "Thanks a lot, I feel much better, I'm glad you were willing to listen,"
Mereoleona gently caressed her hair as a smile appeared on her face too. "No problem. You had a point earlier, this is the perfect place to train your magic, and the fact that you were the only person here with magic that didn't need to use Mana Skin already shows you hold much promise. Why don't I give you some extra things to do besides the regular training regiment?"
Erika let go of the woman. "I'd like that,"
Meanwhile, in another spot of the spring. "Uh, why did I have to be on this side? Why couldn't I be with Yuno?" Bell asked.
"Bell, you're a girl, you obviously can't go on that side, stop being a pervert," Noelle replied as she was right next to the spirit.
"I am no pervert!"
"Of course you aren't," Noelle muttered before she felt additional weight compile on her. "What the hell?" she wondered aloud.
"No need to be startled, it's just me,"
"Oh, Sol, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be clinging onto Charlotte?" the water mage asked.
"Normally I would, but she seems a little busy," Sol replied as she pointed in a direction, Noelle and Bell followed it to be the briar mage surrounded by other girls, all asking her questions.
Noelle shrugged. "I suppose that's normal, it's not every day you meet a captain from another squad, I bet they want some knight tips, or beauty tips if anything else,"
"And speaking of other squads, I wanna get something straight. You're a royal, right? One of those Silvas?" Sol asked.
The royal nodded. "I am. And?"
"Why are you a part of the Black Bulls then?" the earth mage asked.
"Um, long story, it's personal, and kind of complicated,"
"I see, well anyways, your squad did pretty well this year, and I bet you were the main reason for their success, sure there was that Rossiu boy you were with, but the majority of your squad are just a bunch of dumb men. Why don't you join the Blue Rose Knights? We may have guys, but they're just errand boys," Sol said.
"Thanks, but no thanks, I'll stick with the Black Bulls. And for the record, there's no way I could carry the squad alone, we all did our fair share, the guys included, you shouldn't underestimate them just because they're male, you'd be surprised by the potential one can have when in a positive environment," the water mage countered.
The blue rose knight slung her arms behind her back. "I guess you have a point, I went through something similar. Y'know, you're a lot more chill than your older siblings. From what I saw at the ceremony back at the capital before the attack, they're a bunch of pompous jerks, didn't your mom teach them any manners?"
Those last words caused Noelle's eyes to widen before she slowly turned away from the earth mage's view. "Did she ever teach them manners? I'm...not really sure, I never knew her,"
"Oh crap, I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Sol quickly apologized.
"It's alright, I'm just going to head over there and clear my mind," the silver-haired royal responded as she moved away, heading to the base of the hot spring, leaning against the warm rock.
"It appears you seem out of it too,"
Noelle was startled as she saw Mereoleona next to her. "Where did you come from?"
"I was just having a heart-to-heart talk with Erika over there, but I noticed you over here. Is it something I can help with?" the flame mage asked.
"Mereoleona...did you ever know my mother?"
"Know her? She might as well have been my rival," the woman answered. "We used to battle all the time, and we got along great,"
"How many fights did you win against her?"
Mereoleona then sighed. "When I was talking to Erika, I told her about someone I could never beat. That person was your mother, Acier Silva, despite the fact that I had an advantage against her steel attribute, I never won a single fight,"
Noelle looked down. "Wow, she must've been amazing. A strong, kind, and benevolent figure, that's what Nozel described her as. She's everything I'm not, I bet she never struggled with controlling her magic, or would have trouble using Mana Skin to traverse this area. If I ever did know her, there's no doubt she'd be ashamed of me,"
The captain looked at her intently before gently raising her fist up to the younger girl's forehead. "Hey, don't talk about yourself like that. Your mother would never be ashamed of you, even before you were born, she loved you with all her heart, like all her children. Actually, out of all of them, you look the most like her, and you have the potential too, don't forget, you're a royal, and her daughter, so don't sell yourself short, you hear,"
Similar to Erika, a small smile graced Noelle's face. "Thanks, I'll remember to keep that in mind,"
Suddenly, Charlotte and Bell approached the two. "Finally, some time to myself, those squad members of yours are quite interesting, they wouldn't stop trying to include me into their gossip," the former stated.
"Not to mention they kept asking questions about my spirit powers," the latter added.
"You two must be stressed out, here, take these," Mereoleona offered as she pulled out three bottles of alcohol from somewhere, taking one for herself. "There's nothing better than a cold drink while in a hot spring,"
"Seriously, that's the third time today that something was pulled out of nowhere, how is this happening, is there some kind of pocket dimension where they're kept that I'm not aware of?" Charlotte asked herself before speaking up. "Those drinks don't have alcohol in them, do they?"
"It's beer, so yes, but I will warn you, it's quite on the strong side, not for the faint of heart, but the feeling you'll get from it is incredible," the flame mage explained.
"Not for the faint of heart, aye?" Bell repeated, her voice confident as she flew forward. "I'm a spirit whose been around for thousands of years, I'm the perfect candidate to have this drink,"
"That's the spirit, no pun intended," Mereoleona said, handing the wind spirit a bottle.
"I'll have to pass, I'm not very good with alcohol," the briar mage revealed. "Believe it or not, that was the whole reason I missed the ceremony part of the festival,"
"I see, then it's just the two of us, bottoms up," the royal said as she and Bell started to drink.
Charlotte crossed her arms. "The last time I drank, I was lucky not to humiliate myself in front of Yami, but if I pass out now, I'll humiliate myself in front of all these people, people who look up to me as a strong captain. And speaking of Yami, I wonder how he's doing? To think, just on the other side of that wall lies a naked Yami," she thought, but then her mind began to wander as it pictured a mental image of Yami, not wearing any clothes, merely flexing his muscles.
The briar mage immediately passed out onto the water, shocking Mereoleona in the process. "Woah, what happened to you? You didn't even drink anything," she then turned to Bell, who had collapsed on the water too. "And as for you, best candidate my ass, you barely lasted a gulp. Wimps,"
The woman took another sip of her drink, looking at the large separating wall not too far away.
"Hm, I wonder how the guys are doing?"
"Why would we care about what the girls are doing?" Kenos intervened, he and Rama hearing the captain's words.
"I'm with Kenos, why would we care?" Asta added.
Yami facepalmed. "Uh, of course you goody two shoes wouldn't get it," he then jerked a thumb at the earth wall. "I'm saying we should go peep on the girls,"
"What, peep on the girls?!" the five boys exclaimed in unison, which alerted every other male in the area.
"Are you crazy?! My sister is on the other side!" Leopold and Kenos then exclaimed.
"Relax, no need to get in a tizzy, you two don't need to go, but for the rest of us," Yami began as he stood up and faced the rest of the population. "Just beyond that wall lies an opportunity you probably will never get again for the rest of your lives: the chance to see a bunch of naked women. Many of you are young, so you mustn't be afraid to take that risk, we're magic knights, are we not?"
"That's right, we are! Let's do this!" a majority of the Crimson Lion Kings cheered as they began to climb the wall.
"I'm staying here," Yuno said plainly.
Asta nodded. "Same here, I promised my heart to someone else, and I won't betray her,"
"Suit yourselves. Keep going, boys!" Yami called.
"What the hell is going on over there?" Noelle asked as she heard loud sounds coming from the boys' side.
"We're on our way!" unified males voices rang out.
"Shit, the guys are coming to peep on us!" the water mage realized, her exclamation causing the other women to shriek.
However, when it came to Mereoleona, she merely laughed. "Those guys have got guts, I'll give them that,"
"Mera, have you lost it?! Did you forget my brother is on that side, I can't let any of them see me!" Oxanna exclaimed from where she was. But then she stopped, her face turning red. "Well…if Tiger Cub ever wanted a peek, I wouldn't exactly say no. Wait, what am I saying, this is Rama I'm talking about, that would never happen,"
On the other side, Kenos and Rama sat as they looked intently at the men climbing the wall, their minds both on one person.
Oxanna.
"What am I so worried about? Mereoleona will take care of them before they even get to the top of the wall. I don't need to do a thing," they both attempted to mentally reassure themselves, but then, a single exclamation was heard.
"I can't wait to see Oxanna! You wouldn't believe how many dreams I had about seeing her beautiful naked body!"
The faces of the solar and lightning mages became ones of seriousness in a matter of seconds. Menacing auras of dark orange and white enveloped them.
"Never mind, I'm taking care of this myself," they both thought, standing up in unison. The two boys looked at each other, not saying anything, merely a nod to one another, they knew what they had to do.
Both of their grimoires came over to them. Kenos put his ring on and activated it. "Solar Godspeed," he thought.
"Lightning Magic: Force of Raijin," Rama then thought.
The two mages quickly zoomed forward, rapidly climbing up the wall, violently kicking any person they crossed upon, sending them plummeting back into the water. In a short thirty seconds, they had both succeeded in their endeavor.
"If you think we're letting you horndogs pull this shit off, you're sorely mistaken!" they exclaimed before landing into the water themselves, deactivating their spells.
"Those voices just now, that was definitely Kenos and Tiger Cub, and they sounded pretty mad," the phantom mage realized.
"It seems those two dismantled the threat, good for them," Mereoleona said as she finished her drink. "Hey everyone! I hope you've enjoyed this, but it'll be midnight soon! Dry yourselves, dress up, and be at the bottom of the volcano in ten minutes!"
A sigh escaped Noelle's mouth. "Well, it seems this little trip of ours is coming to an end,"
Ten minutes passed and everyone was back at the bottom, Mana Skin protecting them, as for Asta, Yuno created a little cyclone around him to keep him cool.
"Was that a great trip or what?" Mereoleona asked rhetorically, her arms crossed.
"I guess, aside from the whole being kidnapped part. I bet our squadmates are worried sick," Kenos replied.
"Then let's get moving back to the capital," Charlotte said. "We can regroup with our squad and head back to our bases,"
"Best idea for now," Yami agreed as they all started walking with the crimson-clad captain at the head.
"For any of you magic knights that get chosen to participate in the exam, you better be ready, because it's going to be intense," she told them all.
Every single knight save for the captains either grinned or smiled.
"We'll be ready alright!"