Meeting the family
"Really?! The sword of light has reappeared?!" Julius exclaimed in an excited tone of voice.
Currently, it is the captain's meeting and Ryo is updating the others about what has been happening.
"The twin of Kurayami, correct?" Fuegoleon asked, making the wielder of Gekido to nod his head.
"Yes, but unfortunately, the wielder of Saikou, Yuri, has decided not to the Sword of Logos." Ryo said, gaining a frown on his face.
"Where is he now?" Fuegoleon asked again, becoming curious.
"He's….somewhere in Wonder World, I presume, protecting Asta." Ryo responded in a slight grim tone of voice.
"So that means you have no information about his whereabouts." Nozel pointed out, making Ryo nod his head.
"Yes, the first time he appeared was when he aided Asta's escape when….he visited our base." Ryo said, starting to feel the slight angry gaze of Charlotte, the captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knights having became angry when she learnt that the Sword Of Logos Magic Knights attempted to turn the wielder of Rekka over to the Magic Parliament.
Not an experience that Ryo doesn't want to experience again.
"Although the wielder of Saikou did helped out during that mission." William pointed, he having been informed about Yuri's appearance during the ordeal with Hadashi no Ousama.
This caused the wielder of Gekido to nod his head slightly.
"Did he gave any small hints about Asta's whereabouts? I'm sure that he must have a bit considerate of you, and the rest of the Sword of Logos Magic Knights, becoming concerned about the boy's well-being." Kaizer asked, becoming curious.
"Apart from a close friend of Richita called Sayo Ill Rubah, Yuri said that Asta is in the care of someone else who is keen on protecting him as well, he didn't said who though." Ryo responded, making Kaizer, and everyone else, to become curious.
"From the report I got from my Magic Knights, didn't the wielder of Saikou said that Miss Rubah wields a Holy Sword known Shinkiro, the sword of mirages." William pointed out, causing Julius to perk up.
"Isn't Shinkiro left the Sword of Logos and is in the care of another group of Mages?" Julius asked, making Ryo nod his head.
"Yes and Shinkiro is still with them the last I heard. We did consider the possibility that Asta may be getting aid from them as well, but we aren't 100% sure." Ryo explained, making Julius nod his head slightly.
Whilst this is going on, Nozel saw Dorothy taking interest within this part of the conversation.
"Does Dorothy have an interest with Shinkiro?" The captain of the Silver Eagles thought before remembering reading how dream magic and mirage magic branches off each other.
"How did the sword of light got lost? It went missing, right?" Rill asked, becoming interested about the history of the sword of light.
"The last known sighting of Saikou is when the battle against the Megid started." Ryo said, causing everyone's eyes to widen.
"T-that long?!" Marx asked in a stunned tone of voice.
"Yes and according to Miss Shindai, the first wielder of Saikou was also the first wielder of Kurayami." Ryo said making everyone more stunned.
"Kekekeke. So the two original Holy Swords were wielded by a single person." Jack commented, thinking how the first wielder of Saikou and Kurayami can wield light and dark magic through the two Holy Swords.
"Yes and according to Miss Shindai, the first wielder gave Kurayami to the Sword Of Logos before disappearing with Saikou." Ryo explained, making the captain of the Green Mantis to nod his head slightly.
"Shall we move on to the mission that the Magic Knights of the Sword of Logos and the Golden Dawn did together. From the reports I gained from you two, a new type of Megid have appeared." Julius said, glancing towards Ryo and William, causing the other captains to become curious.
"A new type of Megid?" Yami asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, the mission was originally finding a missing person called Michael, but during the mission, a Megid appeared, this resulted in Noelle and Mimosa, the two who have been told about the missing person in the first place, to call two Magic Knights of the Sword of Logos, to deal with the Megid threat, and two Magic Knights from the Golden Dawn, to focus on finding Michael. However, it was during the Golden Dawn's search that whilst managing to find the missing person, the same person transformed into a Megid." Julius explained, causing mostly everyone to widen their eyes.
"T-the person transformed into the Megid?!" Rill asked in a shock tone of voice.
"Yes. According to Yuri, the process involves fusing a blank book into a person which then cause the person to transform into a Megid, the book eventually transforming into an Alter-Ride book….using the person's life-force and Mana as the catalyst which in turns cause the Megid to be stronger." Ryo explained, causing Rill to nod his head slightly.
"You said that the life-force of the person is used, then does that mean that the absorbed human will disappear?" Fuegoleon asked, causing Ryo to gain a grim expression on his face.
"From what Yuri said, then yes." The wielder of Gekido responded, making the room to become tense.
"I….assume that there is a method of reversing the process." Nozel asked, seeing how they weren't informed that Michael hasn't died.
"There is a method of separating the Alter-Ride book from the human which involves the use of a Holy Sword. But there was a small issue with this method." Ryo said, causing the captain of the Silver Eagles to raise an eye-brow.
"The only sword capable of naturally separating a human from a Megid is Rekka. For the other Holy Swords, it require Saikou's blessing to grant this ability onto them." Ryo explained, causing the room to become silent.
"W-well. It was a good thing that Mr Yuri decided to help out, otherwise we would have been in a mess." Rill said in a nervous tone of voice.
Everyone have a good idea on what the captain of the Aqua Deers is getting at as in it would look bad for the Magic Knights if people found out that they killed a citizen.
"Tetsuo is currently transferring Saikou's blessing to the Holy Swords in our possession from Nagare, the sword that Yuri has bestowed the sword of light's power onto first….although he did commented on how Noelle's Holy Sword won't be able to receive Saikou's blessing due to how Argent-Couronne is created differently." Ryo explained, causing a frown to appear on Nozel's face.
"Wow. Even though your sister is royalty, it doesn't look like she will be getting the same treatment that the others are getting." Yami commented with a smirk on his face, making a tick-mark to appear on Nozel's forehead.
"Silence, foreigner." Nozel said with a slight growl.
"Don't worry, Nozel. I'm sure that Noelle-chan will get her chance to shine." Dorothy said in a reassuring tone of voice.
"Don't you start." The captain of the Silver Eagles said, making the captain of the Coral Peacocks giggle in response.
"There is something that I need to inform you all." Julius said in a serious tone of voice, causing everyone to raise an eye-brow.
"What do you mean by that, Sir?" Fuegoleon asked, not sure if this going to be good news.
"Similarly to how the young man disappeared, we have been getting reports about multiple disappearances over the kingdom." The "Wizard King" said, causing everyone to glance at each other.
"Multiple?" Rill asked, making Julius nod his head.
"That's correct." Julius responded, making the captain of the Aqua Deers gulp slightly.
"Is there a possibility that they are getting transformed into Megids?" William asked, causing a grim expression to appear on Julius's face.
"I can see that as a likely possibility." The "Wizard King" responded just as Ryo sighed slightly.
"We are going to be busy then." The wielder of Gekido commented, referring to him and the rest of the Sword Of Logos Magic Knights about preventing humans from getting transformed into Megids.
"You just have to be quick on your feet." Nozel pointed out in a simple tone of voice.
"Thanks for the words of encouragement." Ryo responded in a blank tone of voice.
"What will happen if the Magic Parliament gets involve?" Charlotte asked, causing everyone to glance at her confusedly.
"What do you mean, prickly princess?" Yami asked, raising an eye-brow.
"This situation seems similar to how multiple people got possessed by the elves, but the Magic Parliament decided not to punish them because it would weaken the Clover Kingdom's defences, but since this time it would seem that citizens from all three realms are getting targeted, the Magic Parliament may act differently…." Charlotte explained, whilst feeling annoyed at the nickname that the captain of the Black Bulls gave her.
"That…...will be a problem, but for now, we'll try to keep the true nature of these new types of Megid as quietly as possible." Julius explained in a serious tone of voice, making the Magic Knight captains/vice-captain nod their heads.
"Ryo." Charlotte said as the two of them and the others began to leave the meeting.
"Y-yes?" The wielder of Gekido asked, jumping slightly at the thought that the captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knights may become angry at him again.
"During the discussion about Saikou, you never said the reason as to why this Yuri person refused to join the Sword of Logos." Charlotte explained, becoming curious.
"….." Ryo didn't say anything and just became silent.
Flashback (Start)
"What?! The Megid Generals are transforming humans into Megids." Ryo said in a stun tone of voice.
He and the rest of the Sword Of Logos are in the meeting room after Noelle, Rintaro and Tetsuo have returned from their mission and gave their report.
"That's correct." Tetsuo responded, making a frown appear on Ryo's face.
"So what's the difference with these types of Megids?" Rin asked becoming curious.
"The Megid created through this method are much stronger, using the life-force and Mana of the human to increase their own strength….thus killing the human in the process." Tetsuo explained, making Rin's eyes widened.
"That's just…..awful…" Donna muttered in a horrified tone of voice.
"So….what did you do with the human-transformed Megid…...?" Fiona asked, starting to become worried.
"Luckily, Yuri appeared during the mission and gave us a solution of defeating the Megid without killing the human." Tetstuo said, making Fiona relived.
"What solution did Yuri gave you?" Ryo asked, feeling slightly anxious.
"Through the sword of light's powers, he granted Nagare the ability to separate the human from the Megid, letting us defeat the Megid without harming the human." Tetsuo explained, making everyone, apart from Noelle and Rintaro, to widen their eyes.
"So Rintaro is the only person who is able to separate a human from a Megid?" Fiona asked before starting to become worried that the wielder of Nagare may tired himself to death.
"Luckily, Yuri said his blessing that be transferred to Holy Swords…..apart from Argent-Couronne, saying that the sword of steel has been created through a different method than the other Holy Swords." Tetsuo explained, causing everyone to become relieved.
"How unlucky, your Holy Sword not getting the same treatment as the others and you're royalty." Rin commented with a smirk on her face as she glance towards the silver hair girl.
"Don't remind me." Noelle said with a small glare on her face.
"Did you managed to get any information from Storious about Captain Sophia's possible whereabouts?" Ryo asked, remembering how the other three said how that Megid General made his appearance during the battle.
"I did…..but Storious responded that he doesn't have an idea about what I was talking about." The wielder of Suzume responded, making the wielder of Gekido and the others to become shock.
"What?!" Everyone exclaimed, making Tetsuo flinch slightly.
"Was he possibly lying?" Donna asked, but Tetsuo shook his head.
"From what I can tell, Storious wasn't lying." Tetsuo responded, causing a frown to appear on the wielder of Ikazuchi's face.
"So it is likely that one of the other two Megid Generals have taken without the others knowing." Ryo commented whilst starting to frown, thinking that Reika wouldn't get her information wrong before a thought appeared in his head.
"Did Yuri made any comments about this?" Ryo asked, he and the others becoming curious.
However, this cause the three Magic Knights to become silent.
"…..Guys, what's wrong?" Rin asked, becoming slightly worried.
"…..He said that the Sword of Logos has started to branch further away from it's original purpose." Tetsuo responded, causing everyone to become shock.
"I-is he applying that the Sword of Logos is becoming corrupted?" Donna asked, causing Tetsuo to shake his head slightly.
"It's hard to say, but Yuri didn't seemed to be lying. He disappeared before he said anything else…..although that was mainly due to us attempting to capture him." The wielder of Suzume responded, saying the last part in an awkward tone of voice, causing the wielder of Ikazuchi to gain a worry expression on her face before looking at Ryo who has gained a serious expression on his face.
"Do you think that this has some connection Donna-chan's father turning his back on the Sword of Logos?" Rin asked, becoming curious.
"….This is a serious matter. It could that someone is controlling the actions of the Sword of Logos from behind the scenes, thus being responsible for Hayato leaving the squad 11 years ago or…" Ryo began to explain but stop, not wanting to say the next part, but everyone is thinking the second possibility.
"So…..what do we do now?" Noelle asked, becoming worried.
"For now, we just go through our regular duties of fighting and defeating the Megid, along with trying to find Kurayami. Like I said, this a serious matter, so it would be best if this is kept as quiet as possible." Ryo explained, making everyone nod their heads.
Flashback (End)
"I'm sorry, Char. But it's something that I can't spread around." Ryo finally said, causing the captain of the Blue Rose Magic Knights to become worried.
"But/Please. The less people know about the reason of Yuri refusal of not joining the Sword of Logos, the better, we don't know if it's the entire truth or not." Ryo explained in a slight firm tone of voice, causing Charlotte to close her mouth, but became more worried.
"I've became a wanted sword now..." Yuri said as he placed his head on the table.
It has been a day since the "wielder" of Saikou had went to the Clover Kingdom and aided the Magic Knights on the mission, but despite the confidence that he shown towards the Magic Knights of the Sword of Logos and Golden Dawn, he became depressed that he is wanted by the former squad.
Even though it's been a day, he's still brooding over this.
"Hehehehe, maybe you should have some regular appearances in the past, but look on the bright side, now the Magic Knights have a means of defeating the Megid without harming the human." Tassel commented with a small smile on his face as he pat Yuri on the shoulder.
"hm-hm…" Yuri simply responded.
As for the apperance of the book-stall owner...
Flashback (Start)
"Ow...Ow..." Yuri muttered in a pain tone of voice.
Currently, Asta, Sayo and Yuri have returned from their fight against the yeti-themed Megid...after Sayo put her words into action about Yuri putting stress on Asta, resulting in the "wielder" of Saikou to gain multiple bruises all over his body.
I hope that you have learned a lesson." Sayo said, a dark aura being present around her.
"Y-yes..." Yuri responded in a weak tone of voice.
"..." Ekrixi stared at the two in silence for a few seconds before turning his head towards Asta.
"So I guess that you managed to rescue the girl?" Ekrixi asked, making Asta nod his head.
"Yes. Rekka granted me the ability to separate the Megid from their human vessels." Asta responded with a small smile on his face.
"Rekka did, hm..." Ekrixi mused, humming slightly.
"Well! It seemed that you have grown more accustomed to Rekka's power." A voice suddenly spoke, causing everyone to become on guard and turn towards the source of the voice.
"...Tassel?" Asta asked in a stunned tone of voice as he stare at the book-stall owner.
"You know this person, Asta?" Ekrixi asked whilst wondering how Tassel got into his house.
"Yes. His name is Tassel, a book-stall owner that I met back at Rakin." Asta responded, making Ekeixi blink his eyes slightly.
"What sort of book-stall owner randomly appears in people's houses?" Sayo asked in a blank tone of voice as she held Shinkiro.
This cause Asta to shrug his shoulders.
"Why exactly are you here?" Ekrixi asked, relaxing slightly but kept his guard up.
"I just want to check up on Asta and see how's he doing after...all that he's been through." Tassel responded, making Ekrixi raise an eye-brow.
"Why are interested in Asta and his proficiency with Rekka?" Ekrixi asked, remembering Tassel's first comment.
"He's the friend I mentioned that is keen on giving us aid." Yuri responded, causing Ekrixi, Asta and Sayo to stare at him.
"Seriously?!" All three said in blank tones of voice, causing Yuri to become nervous underneath their gaze.
"Hehehe. I'm full of mysterious." Tassel commented whilst stroking Blanc, the white bird having flown onto his shoulder.
"I hardly doubt it." Asta, Sayo and Ekrixi responded still in the blank tone of voice.
Flashback (End)
"Is this really the same person who guarded Avalon?" Asta questioned whilst sweat-dropping.
"He'll get over his state of depression….hopefully." Ekrixi responded…..but in an unsure tone of voice.
"Some confidence your showing." Atsa pointed out, causing the elderly man to chuckle sheepishly.
"Anyway. There's a few things I want to show you." Ekrixi said before standing up from the chair that he's been sitting at and started to make his way towards the mantle-piece of the fireplace, being followed by a curious wielder of Rekka.
When Ekrixi reached the mantle-piece, he picked up two photos.
"I think you may like to see these." Ekrixi said as he held the two photos in front of Asta where one of them shows Ekrixi looking more younger, his hair being black with red tip and sitting beside him is a woman with long ash-white hair and blue eyes. Sitting between the two adults is a young girl that Asta recognized.
"Is that…..Grandmother?" The ash-white teen asked, seeing how the woman possess the same hair as both he and Richita, the girl in the photo being her.
"Yes, that's your grandmother, Setareh Startia. She was a magic instructor at the academy within Fissi." Ekrixi explained, making Asta nod his head slightly.
"But unfortunately…..she's dead now…" Ekrixi added, gaining a sad expression on his face.
"Oh….." Asta muttered, feeling slightly awkward before looking the second photo, this time just having Ekrixi and Richita in it, this time being older.
However, the ash-white teen's attention was drawn onto two things.
"You were a Magic Knight!?" Asta exclaimed in shock tone of voice as he saw that the younger version of Ekrixi is wearing the Magic Knight robes of the Sword of Logos.
"Yep. And not just any regular Magic Knight." Ekrixi said, causing Asta to become confuse before returning attention back to the photo and saw the object that Ekrixi is holding, something that the ash-white hair teen didn't fully focused on at first.
"That's…...Rekka….." Asta muttered, seeing that the object that the younger version of Ekrixi is holding the sword of flames.
"…." The ash-white hair teen became silent as his mind attempted to process this information.
"Grandfather…..were you once…..the swordsman of flames?" Asta asked in a slow tone of voice.
The question cause Ekrixi to smirk.
"I tend to call myself the "volcanic swordsman" due to my magic." The elderly man responded, causing Asta to stare at him for a few seconds before his eyes widened.
"EHH!?" Asta exclaimed in a shock tone of voice, causing Blanc to almost loose her perch on his shoulders along with making Yuri and Tassel jump in surprise.
"W-what was that?!" Yuri asked in surprise as he place a hand on his Grimoire.
"I was just telling Asta that I use to wield Rekka in the past. Nothing to worry about." Ekrixi responded in a reassuring tone of voice.
"Sorry." Asta said in a sheepish tone of voice whilst scratching the back of his head whilst Yuri relaxed his stance.
"You were indeed a powerful wielder of Rekka in the past, even close enough to be able to unlock that power." Tassel commented with a small smile on his face, but this cause a confuse expression to appear on Ekrixi's face.
"You…..seem to have a good amount of knowledge about me…." The elderly man said in a slow tone of voice.
"Indeed, similar to Yuri, I tend to keep a close eye on the Sword of Logos, especially those who have been chosen to wield Rekka." Tassel explained, making Ekrixi nod his head, yet still have an unsure expression on his face.
"Just who exactly is Tassel? He can't be an ordinary book-stall owner…..and why is he showing such keen towards Rekka?" Asta thought, giving Tassel a confuse expression before returning his attention towards his grandfather.
"Was Grandmother a Magic Knight of the Sword of Logos as well before becoming a magic instructor?" Asta asked, becoming curious.
"No, your grandmother wasn't a Magic Knight. However, her sister was a Magic Knight and it was through her that I met Setareh, she being my partner in fact…...although the she scared the living daylights out of me when she found out that I was dating Setareh." Ekrixi explained, shaking in fear at the last part.
"Did Grandmother's sister wielded a Holy Sword or just an ordinary sword?" Asta thought, becoming curious.
"Do you remember how I said that I thought of someone to help us, well/She's still active?!" Yuri asked in a shock tone of voice, cutting off Ekrixi.
"No. I'm not talking about Sandia's sister. I was referring to her grandson in fact, basically your elder cousin." Ekrixi said, saying the last part to Asta.
"My…..cousin?" The ash-white hair teen muttered in a slight stunned tone of voice.
"That's right. Your cousin is a skilled warrior. I guess that you're still getting use to the fact that you have actual blood family." Ekrixi commented with an amused expression on his face.
"Yeah….you can say that." Asta responded before shaking his head slightly.
"So when are we going to visit him?" Asta asked, becoming curious.
"Whenever you're prepared to get going in fact, although it's a bit of a journey I'm afraid." Ekrixi explained, saying the last part with a frown on his face.
"I'm ready whenever!" The ash-white hair teen responded in an eager tone of voice.
"We're heading to the Kuyer Desert?" Sayo asked as she, Asta, Ekrixi and Yuri started to fly through the air, leaving the city of Fissi behind them.
The brooms that they are flying on have a metal pieces at the back which absorb Mana from the air and use it to increase the speed of the broom.
"Yes. I thought that it would be a good time for Asta to visit some other family members." Ekrixi explained, glancing over his shoulder.
"Kuyer Desert….Isn't that where aunt Sandia's sister is living at?" Sayo asked, making Ekrixi nod his head in response.
"Yes. I haven't received a message about her moving or anything?" Ekrixi responded, making the wielder of Shinkiro nod her head slightly.
"What sort of woman is Grandaunt?" Asta asked, becoming curious….along with becoming worried at how Yuri seems more absorbed in the broom that they are flying on rather than focusing on flying.
"You find out when we get there." Ekrixi responded with a smirk on his face, causing the ash-white hair teen to pout slightly.
"But still…..should I tell her that there is a traitor within the Sword of Logos that is breaking the squad away from it's original purpose….." Ekrixi thought, gaining a conflicted expression on his face.
"Welcome to the village of Erril." Ekrixi introduced the three Holy Sword wielders to a village that is seemed to be calved from the giant rock formations which are scattered around the area of the Kuyer Desert that they are in.
"The layout looks similar to the Seabed Temple village…..but it's hot!" Asta exclaimed in his head, starting to sweat.
"If you aren't use to the heat of Wonder World's Desert, then you should use Mana-Skin." Sayo offered, somehow knowing what is going through the ash-white hair teen's head, she covered in a purple aura.
"Thanks." Asta said before covering himself in Mana-Skin.
"This is better." Yuri said in a relieved tone of voice as he activate his own Mana-Skin.
"Not use to the hot temperature?" Asta asked, becoming curious.
"No. Even though the temperature at Avalon is warm, it isn't boiling like this!" Yuri responded, making Asta nod his head slightly.
"Sir Staria, is that you?" A voice asked, making everyone turn their attention towards the voice to see a brown hair woman approaching them.
"Need to remember that they are referring to Grandfather." Asta thought, him reacting a bit differently than Sayo and Yuri.
"Hello, Petria." Ekrixi greeted with a small smile on his face.
"You're here to visit, Shan?" Petria guessed, making Ekrixi nod his head.
"Yes. Is she out of the village?" The elderly man asked, making Petria frown slightly.
"Last time I'm aware, Shan is still in the village." Petria responded, making Ekrixi nod his head again.
"Thank you, Petria." Ekrixi said before starting to walk, prompting the others to start walking as well.
"Is that my Grandaunt's name?" Asta thought, tilting his head to the side slightly. After sometime of walking, which was a bit of a trip since Yuri has been wondered off at times, the group of four managed to reach a house that is placed on an upper-cliff.
"Does Grandaunt Shan usually leave Erril?" Asta asked, becoming curious.
"She tends to leave the village mainly to stretch out her legs….along with making sure that her combat skills haven't been rusting." Ekrixi said, saying the last part in a sheepish tone of voice.
"R-really?!" Asta asked in a surprised tone of voice, his reaction mainly at the last part, making Ekrixi nod his head in response.
"Then again, Sister Theria is able to fight despite her age." Asta thought, remembering the elderly nun at Nean.
The group of four finally reached the door.
"Now…..would you mind making some space." Ekrixi said, making Sayo nod her head whilst Asta and Yuri became confused.
"What for?" Yuri asked, tilting his head to the side.
"Shan….tends to greet me in an unusual manner….." Ekrixi responded, trailing off at the end.
This cause both Asta and Yuri to start becoming worried.
"You don't have to worry you two." Sayo said before dragging the other two Holy Sword wielders back.
Ekrixi knocked on the door and waited.
After a few seconds, the door began to open.
"Hi Shan-" Ekrixi said before getting put into a headlock.
Asta, Sayo and Yuri just stared in shock at what is happening in front of them.
The woman known as Shan is an elderly woman with short ash-white hair and blue eyes, along with having darken skin, due to the sun, with Asta noticing how she looks similar to his grandmother Setareh.
"Hello, Ekrixi. Nice of you to drop by." Shan said with a smirk on her face.
"H-hi, Shan. Nice to see that y-you're still your usual self." Ekrixi said with a sheepish smile on his face.
"Is this Grandaunt's greeting towards Grandfather!?" Asta exclaimed in his head, still shock at the headlock-positioned Ekrixi.
It was at that moment that Shan noticed the other three and Asta immediately hid behind Sayo…..followed by Yuri.
"Sayo? Is that you?" Shan asked whilst blinking her eyes slightly.
"Yes, Mrs Kasper." The wielder of Shinkiro responded, revealing Shan's surname, with a small smile on her face, being on guard just in case Shan decided to get her in a headlock as well.
"It has been a while…..and who are the two behind you?" Shan asked, causing Asta and Yuri to jump before slowly revealing themselves.
"The white-robed man is known as Yuri whilst the teen is Asta….." Ekrixi introduce the two to Shan.
However, the ash-white hair elderly woman was mainly focusing on Asta.
"Good luck, Asta." Yuri prayed in his head whilst shuffling away from the ask-white hair teen just as Shan released Ekrixi and slowly approach Asta before stopping and examined him.
"You….look like Richita. You...aren't the same "Asta" that she gave birth to 16 years ago and then disappeared 11 years ago?" Shan asked, biting her lips slightly.
"Er…..Yes…." Asta responded in an awkward tone of voice whilst starting to become nervous.
Shan suddenly hugged the ash-white hair teen.
"Its so good to see you again." The ash-white elderly woman said as tears started to seep out of her eyes.
"….." Asta didn't say anything but he did relaxed due to how Shan hasn't put him in a headlock.
After at least a minute, Shan released Asta from the hug.
"So, what brings you here?" Shan asked whilst wiping the tears away from her eyes and turned her attention towards Ekrixi.
"Well…." Ekrixi began to say before trailing off, not sure what to say.
"You want to do some investigation revolving around the Sword of Logos?" Shan asked in a curious tone of voice, tilting her head to the side.
Right now, the five of them are within Shan's house with the ash-white elderly man telling his sister-in-law about the current situation.
"That's correct. The only thing that we do know is that there's seems to be a traitor within the squad that is misguiding everyone." Ekrixi explained, making Shan nod her head slightly.
"And you want to recruit my grandson to aid?" Shan asked, making Ekrixi nod his head.
"Yes. It would the best if we get help from those who have no ties with the Sword of Logos." Ekrixi explained, making Shan nod her slightly.
"I understand that part….so you that's why you have decided to leave the Sword of Logos, Asta as in not to get your friends involved?" Shan asked, looking at her grandnephew.
"Well…..that's kind of correct….." The wielder of Rekka responded in an awkward tone of voice whilst scratching the back on his head.
"…...What happened?" Shan asked, her eyes narrowing in a dangerous manner.
Before Ekrixi explained the situation, Shan was told how Asta is wielding Rekka and have been a Magic Knight of the clover branch of the Sword of Logos before leaving, without telling the reason.
"It…...began when the Magic Parliament decided to put me on trail." Asta began to explain, causing Shan's eyes to widened.
"What?! Why?!" Shan exclaimed, causing everyone to jump at the volume.
"They're under the impression that I'm the dragon-themed swordsman that has been terrorizing the Clover Kingdom along with the Megid as well as another terrorist group that was defeated just recently." Asta explained, causing Shan to blink her eyes slightly.
"I'm assuming that the "dragon-themed swordsman" was in fact Calibur." Shan guessed, making Asta nod his head in response.
"Yes. Without Kurayami or the "Jakku Dragon" Wonder-Ride book, I couldn't prove that I wasn't the dragon-themed swordsman that has been terrorizing the Clover Kingdom, and so the Magic Parliament decided to execute me immediately, but I was rescued by Aunt Sayo who then took me to Grandfather." Asta explained, causing Shan to sigh deeply.
"I never understand the Clover Kingdom's justice system that is based on personal opinions of the upper-class." The ash-white elderly woman muttered in a slight annoyed tone of voice.
"When I went to the Clover branch to tell the others that I was okay….they attempted to bring me to the Magic Parliament, having been ordered by the chairman to do so….." Asta said, saying the last part in a sad tone of voice.
"…." Shan became silent as her hair cover eyes.
"….Grandaunt?" Asta asked, starting to become worried.
"I think I go and "visit" the Clover branch." Shan finally spoke, a dark aura starting to surround her.
"H-hang on, Shan! There's no need to start going on a killing spree!" Ekrixi said in alarmed tone of voice.
"Why not?! They decided to betray their friendship with Asta!" Shan demanded in an angry tone of voice just as Asta, Sayo and Yuri backed away.
"Shan. Now isn't the time to speak to Asta's…."friends", we have other matters to focus on." Ekrixi explained in a firm tone of voice, not backing away from the enraged Sarha.
After a few seconds, Shan let out a deep sigh.
"I suppose you're right…." Shan said in a reluctant tone of voice.
"So…..where is your grandson?" Yuri asked as he step aside from the doorway, the "wielder" of Saikou having used the door as some sort of shield.
"Hang on a minute." Shan said before standing up and walked over to a bookshelf where a rolled up map is located.
"As far I'm aware, my grandson, Bahadur Kasper, is east from here." Shan explained as she unrolled the map which shows the Kuyer Desert and point at a town.
"What's he doing over there?" Sayo asked, tilting her head to the side.
"There have been strange activities in the area, so Bahadur decided to investigate." Shan explained, but this cause Asta to become confuse.
"You did say that Buhadur isn't a tied to the Sword of Logos?" Asta asked, glancing towards Ekrixi.
"That's correct. Buhadur is in fact a mercenary." Ekrixi responded, making Asta blink his eyes.
"A mercenary?" The ash-white hair teen asked, becoming confused.
"I'm sure that you're aware that Wonder World possesses large amounts of landmass, leading to the existence of multiple branches of the Sword of Logos.
However, the Sword of Logos can't give aid to everyone, so this led to Buhadur into becoming a freelancer instead of joining the Sword of Logos, making it easier to deal with threats quickly rather than waiting for orders to be issued out." Sarha explained before gaining an expression on her face.
"…..You weren't happy with Buhadur's choice of career?" Asta asked, causing Shan to hum slightly.
"As long he's using his powers to protect Wonder World, I won't object, even though it does cause him to clash with the Magic Knights of the Sword of Logos at times." the ash-white hair elderly woman explained, causing the wielder of Rekka to nod his head slightly.
"We should get moving, the sooner we recruit Buhardur, the sooner we can uproot the corruption that is starting to corrode the Sword of Logos." Yuri said, making everyone nod their heads.
"By the way, what sort of skills did you pass onto your grandson?" Asta asked, becoming curious.
This cause Shan to gain a slight confuse expression on her face before glancing towards Ekrixi.
"You haven't told him?" Shan asked, causing the elderly man to shake his head.
"No. I didn't want to spoil the surprise." Ekrixi responded with a smirk on his face.
This cause Shan to snort slightly.
"If that's the way your want to play it, the you have to find the answer when you meet Buhardur, Asta." Shan responded, causing the ash-white hair teen to start pouting.
"Here we are, the town of Duran." Sayo said as she, Asta and Yuri stood in front of a town.
Ekrixi has decided to stay with Shan and made sure that she didn't go to the Clover Kingdom and "visit" Asta's friends(?).
"How you feeling, Blanc?" Asta asked as he glanced towards the white-feather bird.
"Chirp…." Blanc responded in a weak tone of voice. Even though the white-feather bird is taking refuge within the hood-piece of the new clothes that Asta, plus Sayo and Yuri, is wearing, having been given them by Shan to better travel the desert, Blanc is feeling uncomfortable due to heat.
"We better get into the shade quickly and then try to locate Buhardur." Yuri suggested, causing the other two Holy Sword wielders to nod their heads on response.
After a few minutes of entering and wandering around Duran, the four of them managed to find somewhere to protect themselves from the glaring sun.
"I suppose that the first step is to find out what's happening in the town. Depending on when these strange activities are happening, we be able to find your cousin and possibly offered our help and get the job done quicker." Sayo explained, making Asta and Yuri to nod their heads.
"Have you been on any missions that resulted in you working through the night, Asta?" The "wielder" of Saikou asked, turning towards the ash-white hair teen.
"I wouldn't really called it a mission, but I did work during the entire night." The wielder of Rekka responded, thinking back to the entire elf invasion which started early in the morning when the Royal Knights invaded the Eye Of The Midnight Sun's headquarters and then finishing after the battle against the Devil, Zagred at sunrise.
"Excuse me." A voice a suddenly spoke, causing all three Holy Sword wielders to around and see a dark skin man wearing similar clothes that they are wearing.
"Yes?" Sayo asked, becoming curious.
"I couldn't help but overhear what you're talking about. You three aren't from Duran, are you?" The dark skin man asked, causing Sayo to shake her head whilst Blanc became annoyed that she wasn't included.
"You should be careful at night." The dark skin man warned in a serious tone of voice.
"What has been happing in Duran?" Yuri asked, causing the dark skin man to gain a slight frown on his face before speaking.
"There have been kidnappings during the nights. I have heard that the mayor has managed to get into contact with someone to help deal with the matter. But for now, you three should stay inside." The dark skin man explained, making the three Holy Sword wielders glance at each other.
"Do you know who or what is causing the kidnapping?" Sayo asked, but this cause the dark skin man to shake his head.
"I have no idea, nobody does, but it causing everyone to become scared." The dark skin man explained.
"We're here to see the person that dealing with your problem in fact, possibly helping them." Sayo explained, making the dark skin man blink his eyes slightly.
"Are you interesting in recruiting him afterwards?" The dark skin man asked, becoming curious.
"Yeah. That's correct." Sayo responded, making the dark skin man nod his head slightly.
"I can show you the general area where he's staying at." The dark skin offered, making Sayo, Asta and Yuri to glance at each before nodding their heads.
"…." Someone silently observed the interaction from some distance away.
"So this is where Buhardur is?" Asta questioned as he and the other three stared at an inn.
"From what the townspeople are saying, then yes." Sayo responded with a slight hum.
"Well then. Lets go and see him." Yuri said before taking a step forwards.
However, Asta and Sayo quickly grab.
"Hang on! We don't know if he's in at the moment, or he could be sleeping at the moment." Asta said in a hushed tone of voice whilst a few people glanced towards their direction, something that Sayo noted.
"What you suggest then?" Yuri asked just as Asta and Sayo released him.
"…..Wait until it's dark." Asta suggested, causing Yuri, Sayo and Blanc to give him blank looks.
"What? It was a suggestion." Asta said was rising his arms slightly.
"You three are interested in seeing Buhardur Kasper?" A voice suddenly asked, causing the three to jump before turning around to become face-to-face with a dark skin man with black hair and blue eyes, seemingly in his early twenties.
"Er…..Yes…..?" Asta responded, becoming cautious at how this dark skin man seemed to have an air of seriousness around him.
"For what reason?" The dark skin asked, frowning slightly.
"Can we go somewhere private? This isn't the most suitable place for talking about a mercenary." Sayo asked, making the dark skin man to stare at the wielder of Shinkiro for a few seconds before nodding his head.
"Come on, follow me." The dark skin man said before turning around and heading in a direction.
The three Holy Sword wielders glanced at each other before following the dark skin man until reaching an alleyway that is covered by multiple canopies, possibly to protect people against the glaring sun, which is deserted.
"So. Why are you searching for Buhardur Kasper?" The dark skin man asked, crossing his arms
"Eh…...My name is Asta Staria, Buhardur's cousin….." Asta introduced himself, starting to become slightly nervous, causing the dark skin man to raise an eye-brow.
"Are your sure?" The dark skin man asked, becoming a bit sceptic at the tone that the ash-white hair teen is using.
"I haven't actually met Buhardur, or maybe I have, I'm suffering from memory loss by the way, I only discover that I have a cousin just recently through my grandfather, Ekrixi Staria, with him being related to my grandaunt, Shan Kasper." Asta explained, making the dark skin man to nod his head slightly before turning his attention towards the others.
"And who are you three?" The dark skin man asked, becoming curious whilst noticing the presence of Blanc.
"I am Sayo Ill Rubah, a close friend of Asta's mum, Richita Staria, the white-feather bird of Asta's shoulder is called Blanc and this is Yuri…..hm…." Sayo began to say before trailing off, not entire sure on how to introduce the "wielder" of Saikou to the dark skin man.
"I'm the guardian of Avalon." Yuri introduce himself, causing the Asta, Sayo and Blanc to stare at him in shock.
"Don't say that to some random stranger!" Sayo exclaimed, gaining a mad expression on her face.
"How should I introduce myself?" Yuri asked, backing away from the wielder of Shinkiro.
"Anything else but that!" Sayo shouted in response, making Yuri to jump this time.
"What is this guy's response?" Asta thought, turning attention back to the dark skin man.
"Avalon….Isn't that the final resting place of all those who wield a Holy Sword, a place that is supposed to be unreachable?" The dark skin man asked, raising an eye-brow.
"That's right, although I did managed to reach it-!" Asta began to say before realizing what he said, immediately causing him to bite one of his knuckles.
"Not you too!" Sayo exclaimed at the ash-white hair teen whilst Blanc gave Asta a deadpan look.
"Sorry!" Asta said in response.
"Haha..….hahahaha!" The dark skin man began to laugh, making everyone stare at him.
"You certainly are an interesting person, little cousin." The dark skin man said with a smile on his face.
"Yeah, then…...huh?" Asta began to say before realizing what the dark skin man just said.
"Wait, are you…..?" Sayo began to say before trailing off, realization slowly appearing on her face.
"That's right. I am Buhardur Kasper." The now revealed Buhardur introduce himself, the smile turning into a smirk, causing everyone to become wide eyed.
"So! What brings you here? Did Gran sent you three here or something?" Burhadur asked, becoming curious.
Right now, the five of them are in Buhardur's room within the inn.
"Well...we need your assistance for something." Asta responded, causing Burhadur to raise an eye-brow.
"You need my help with something?" Buhardur asked, making Asta nod his head whilst starting to become nervous.
"Yes, but it's a sensitive topic….." The ash-white hair teen said before trailing off.
This cause Buhardur to start becoming worried for his little cousin.
"There is a traitor in the Sword of Logos and we need help revealing their identity." Yuri said in a blunt tone of voice.
The reaction was that Asta and Sayo stare at the "wielder" of Saikou whilst Buhardur blinked his eyes.
"What? That the main reason why we're attempting to recruit him." Yuri stated…..whilst slightly backing.
Sayo simply sighed heavily in response.
"There's a traitor within the squad that Gran use to be apart of?" Buhardur asked, raising an eye-brow.
"Its something on those lines. Do….do you know what happened 11 years ago?" Asta asked, making Buhardur nod his head.
"Of course. A large battle occurred which resulted in many members of the Sword of Logos to be slain and the wielder of Kurayami switching sides." Buhardur said, making Asta nod his head slightly.
"Actually. There's is actually another aspect of Hayato Fukuamiya's, the wielder of Kurayami of that time, actions. I was told by the previous wielder of Kurayami, Kamijo Daichi, that Mr Fukuamiya's actions was the result of someone telling him that what he's doing will save the world. When Mr Daichi slay Mr Fukuamiya, he decided to join the Megid in the hopes of finding the identity of the person who corrupted Mr Fukuayami." Asta explained, making Buhardur gain a slight stunned expression on his face.
"That's…..some story…?" Brhardur said before realizing something.
"How did got involved with the activities of the Sword of Logos?" Buhardur asked, becoming curious.
"I….use to be a member of the Sword of Logos, wielding Rekka, the sword of flames." Asta explained, making Buhardur widen his eyes.
"You're Kamen Rider Saber, like what Granduncle and Aunt Richita use to be." Buhardur commented, making Asta perk up slightly, before turning his attention to Sayo.
"And what about you?" The dark skin man commented, tilting his head to the side slightly.
"I'm the wielder of Shinkiro, making me the swords-woman of mirages, Kamen Rider Kris." Sayo introduce her other identity to Buhardur, making him blink his eyes slightly.
"So you're apart of those people then…." Burhadur mused slightly.
"As well being the guardian of Avalon, I also "wield" Saikou, the sword of light." Yuri said, making Buhardur widen his eyes.
"You wield the lost Holy Sword?!" Buhardur asked in a shock tone of voice, making Yuri nod his head in response.
It was then that Buhardur remembered something as he turned his attention back to Asta.
"You said that you use to be a member of the Sword of Logos, what happened? Or did you decided to deal with the situation without the aid of your squad-mates?" Buhardur asked, knowing that this is a serious matter.
"I guess your right about me not wanting to get my friends into trouble, but I've become wanted man by the Clover Kingdom's Magic Parliament." Asta explained, causing Burhadur to blink his eyes slightly.
"From what I've been told about the Clover Kingdom's Magic Parliament from Gran, I have good idea that you didn't actually commit a crime, but the Magic Parliament decided to make you a scapegoat or something similar purely based on their personal opinion." Buhardur guessed, making Asta nod his head slightly.
"The Magic Parliament believed that I'm the dragon-themed swordsman that has been terrorizing the Clover Kingdom." The ash-white hair teen explained, making the dark skin man to raise an eye-brow.
"Did the Magic Parliament consider the idea that could be multiple sword wielders with the same motif?" Buhardur questioned, making Asta to shrug his shoulders.
"As long they see physical evidence that the sword of darkness and the "Jakku Dragon" Wonder-Ride book exists, then Magic Parliament will continue to see me as the dragon-themed swordsman that is terrorizing the Clover Kingdom….." Asta said, deciding not include the fact that the Magic Parliament has decided to execute him on the spot.
"So basically you need to find Calibur and try to bring him to the Magic Parliament and then you are a free man." Buhardur said with a smile on his face.
"….Well, Mr Daichi is dead and Kurayami, and the "Jakku Dragon" Wonder-Ride book, has disappeared." Asta said, making Buhardur's smile disappear.
"Oh, right. So with the disappearance of the sword of shadows, the sword of light has taken its place." Buhardur commented whilst glancing towards Yuri.
"Don't point the blame at me…." Yuri muttered, avoiding eye-contact.
"Anyway. I think we derailing from the main topic." Sayo reminded everyone.
"Right! So would you help us?" Asta asked, causing a frown to appear on Buhardur's face.
"Well…..I don't have any personal feelings towards the Sword of Logos, but it is the squad that my grandmother use to be apart of, so I might as well fix it." Buhardur said, making a smile to appear on the other's faces.
"However, I got a job to complete first." Buhardur pointed out, making Sayo to nod her head.
"Yes, we're aware that you are dealing with a problem within Duran, one that involved people getting kidnapped." The wielder of Shinkiro said, making the dark skin man to nod his head slightly before taking a map of the town from somewhere.
"That's right. I've been in Duran for a few days now and have roughly managed to pinpoint where the kidnapped people could be held. This information that I have gathered from observations and talking to people. However, I don't have any info on who or what the culprit is, so…..I would appreciate if you can lend a hand…." Buhardur explained, saying the last part in a sheepish tone of voice.
"Of course. I'm may have left the Sword of Logos, but I still want to help people." Asta said whilst the other two nod their heads.
"Good. But first, we need to rest first, we'll be performing the job at night." Buhardur said, causing the other three to nod their heads in response.
And there we have it, Ryo explaining to the rest of the Magic Knight captains about the new type of Megids that are appearing whilst himself and the rest of the Sword of Logos learned about what Yuri told the others. So Asta discovered that Ekrixi was a member of the Sword of Logos, along with being a wielding Rekka, who decided to call himself the "volcanic swordsman", something that could be hinting towards his magic. So now Ekrixi has decided to introduce Asta to other members of the family, Setareh Staria, even though she's dead now, Shan Kasper and Buhardur Kasper. I think that there is one of you who knows where this is all heading. Tassal has also made his made reappearance in front of Asta.
In Gotchard:
1) Valvarad fought and easily defeated the Submarine Malgam before gifting the captured Chemy to Rin whilst making a comment towards Houtarou about putting up a decent fight against the other Malgam. At the Alchemy Academy, Houtarou is approached by Renge who requested (9)Kamantis in exchange for (6)Sasukemaru and (4)Energyl, something that Houtarou didn't liked at first before agreeing. Minato then explained to the class that someone is joining them in capturing the Chemy, the person being Spanner, who said that he's a A-rank alchemist.
2) Whilst leaving Alchemy Academy, Houtarou and Rin got a signal that a Chemy has been sensed, causing the two of them to arrive at a abandoned where-house where they encounter the three Dark Sisters, with them having captured (5)Antrooper, and demanded that Houtarou hand over the Gotchard-Driver. When Houtarou refused, Atropos ordered Lachesis to deal with them before she and Clotho disappear. Lachesis then absorb (5)Antrooper, transforming her into the Ants Malgam who then transports Gotchard and Rin inside a labyrinth and began to chase them, summoning ants to aid her.
3) When she successfully conner Gotchard and Rin, Lachesis informed Rin that her father, Fuga Kudou, is dead, making her to shock. using the opportunity, Ants Malgam attacked Rin, but Houtarou used (6)Sasukemaru to escape. However, Rin seemed to have lost motivation about hearing that her father is dead. With some encouragement from Houtarou, Rin is able to get back onto her feet and the two of them began to make their escape, but were encountered by Ants Malgam and her two ant followers. Gotchard uses (6)Sasukemaru, (4)Energyl, (5)Deepmariner (5)Venomdrake, (8)AppareBushido and (2)Skebows to fight with him and Rin managing to escape the labyrinth, but the where-house started to collapse around them.
4) From the outside, Spanner threw (6)Madwheel which Gotchard caught and using (4)Pilets, him and Rin manage to escape, yet Spanner took back (6)Madwheel. Later, Rin visited the restaurant that Houtarou's mother owned...but found the flavors of the dish that she been served off-balanced.
So the three Dark Sisters finally made their movement from their two episode absence whilst deciding to use the Chemies in the "correct" way. I wonder what sort of organizing the Alchemy Academy is apart of since Spanner is said to come from the "top-brass". Speaking about Spanner, I'm starting to become worried for Rin due to his friendliness towards her. Something else that have came to my attention that it is stated that due to limited budget, most of Gotchard's forms will only be shown in their wild forms. This is the first time that this is stated on the Wiki page, so this is something I'm having concerns with.
Please review and until next time.
itspowertime: Sorry for the lack-luster ending. However, you have to remember that the Sword of Logos are keen on reclaiming the formerly lost sword of light, especially Tetsuo due to his Holy Sword obsession, along with the Clover branch wanting answers as to what Yuri is hinting at. I can see the Magic Parliament demanding Yuri's presence since he's aiding Asta and, due to their greed, wanting Saikou for themselves.