Chapter Twenty-Three: Shining Darkness vs Silent Light
Hey there, readers, here's the chapter for Day 4, hope you're enjoying this string of chapters, just a quick reminder, OC suggestions are down, they'll be back up on January 21st, if you have an OC to suggest, either PM me, or write it as a review, because there's something special I'm doing in March. With that out of the way, enjoy today's newest chapter. Cya.
"Licht, the leader of the Eye of The Midnight Sun," everyone thought as they looked at the mage.
Beside Licht, a portal formed, and Valtos walked out of it, he looked at Asta and Kenos. "It seems we meet again,"
"Valtos, please take Sally and teleport her back to the base," Licht said as he handed the gel mage off to him.
"Of course, Master Licht," the spatial mage said as he formed a portal on the ground and gently laid Sally down on it.
The girl eventually came to, and looked around her. "Oh, Licht, Valtos, you two are here,"
Licht nodded. "That's right, Valtos and I will take over for you, you just get some rest,"
"Alright, good luck," she said, turning to face her enemies. "Bye Asta, I'll see you soon," she weakly waved as she fell completely into the portal.
"You, I'm going to make you pay, you won't get away with taking Fuegoleon's arm!" Asta exclaimed angrily.
"What?!" Kenos and Theresa exclaimed.
The solar mage looked at Licht. "So he's the one?"
Asta nodded. "He is, when I was captured back at the capital, after Julius saved me, he showed himself to us, he even showed us Fuegoleon's dismembered arm,"
"You're the one," Kenos muttered angrily. "Sorry Leopold, Oxanna, you won't get to have your revenge, because we're taking him down right here, and right now,"
"Fuegoleon lost his arm?" Theresa asked, the two Black Bulls nodded.
"Correct, and your fates will be no better," Licht said as his grimoire flipped through pages. "Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!" he exclaimed as he fired the swords from earlier.
"Shit, he's a light mage, that's one of the fastest attributes out there, I can see it, but my body can't react to it fast enough, we're-," Kenos began thinking, but stopped as he saw a horrible sight.
Theresa had jumped in the way to protect all of them, taking the swords of light in the back as she fell to the ground.
"Sister Theresa!" Asta exclaimed as they went to her side.
"No way, she was able to react fast enough to even light magic, and at such an old age, she really is incredible," Kenos muttered. "Sister, will you be alright?"
The swords disappeared as they laid the old lady on her back. "I'm not sure, I just know I had to protect you, you three are the best hope we have right now of...defeating them, when I heard that that man took Fuego's arm, I knew he had...to be beaten, so please, take him...down," she replied as she closed her eyes.
"You can count on us, Sister," Asta said seriously.
"Gauche, take Sister Theresa and Neige and get out of here, Asta and I will fight Licht and Valtos," Kenos told him.
"Are you sure you'll be alright?" the mirror mage asked.
The solar mage nodded. "We want revenge for Fuegoleon too, he may be a light mage, but we'll do the best we can," he replied.
"Okay then, just don't die," Gauche said as he picked up the old lady, he then went to pick up the snow mage before mounting his broom and flying out.
"This is it, are you ready, Asta?" Kenos asked.
The swordsman grinned. "You know it!" he exclaimed as they charged forward.
"A foolish attempt, Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!" Licht exclaimed as he fired the swords once again.
"Be careful Asta, they're coming your way!" Kenos exclaimed.
"AH!" the swordsman exclaimed as a sword became lodged in his right thigh. "Man, that hurts, but I have a solution," he said as he took out his large sword and touched the light sword, dispelling it.
The light mage's eyes widened. "That sword," he thought in shock. "You, boy, do you have any idea what you're holding?! Why on Earth do you have the Demon-Slayer Sword?!"
"The...Demon-Slayer Sword?" Asta said, confused. "Is that what this sword is called, wait a minute, this sword has a name?!"
"It does, and you shouldn't have it!" Licht exclaimed.
"Don't take your eyes off your opponent!" Kenos exclaimed. "Solar Creation Magic: Solar Construct - Blade!" he equipped the blade as he jumped into the air to attack Licht.
"Too slow," the mage retorted as he dodged his attack, but as he did, he saw Kenos' grimoire, floating right beside him, and that sight made his eyes widen. "It's not possible,"
Kenos landed as Licht looked at him. "That grimoire had five leaves, but it's a white clover, I can't believe it," he thought as he pointed at the solar mage. "And you, that grimoire, why, just why would a sacred one align with someone like you?!"
"Sacred one? What the hell are you talking about?" Kenos asked as he readied himself to attack again. "Stop spouting bullshit to distract us!"
"Kenos look out!" Asta exclaimed.
"What?" Kenos asked as he turned behind him, his eyes widened as he saw purple orbs of space racing towards him.
"Don't worry, I got you!" the swordsman exclaimed as he pulled out his short sword and ran to the solar mage, extending the sword forward to protect his squadmate.
"Damn, I was hoping that attack would hit," Valtos mumbled.
"Thanks, Asta," Kenos said. "Is your thigh still hurting?"
"Don't mention it," Asta replied. "And my thigh still hurts, but I'll be fine,"
"What, you have the Demon-Dweller Sword too?!" Licht exclaimed.
"Demon-Dweller Sword, is that what you call the short one, what's going on?!" Asta exclaimed.
"Don't listen to him, he's just trying to distract us," Kenos told him.
"I don't think so, I don't really know where my grimoire or swords came from, I got a strange feeling when I first held them, there's a possibility he could know where they came from," Asta told him.
"That's right, I do know where those came from," Licht said as he zoomed right towards the two mages. "And now the two of you are dead, neither of you deserves the grimoires in your care, I shall take them!"
"Shit!" the two Black Bulls thought, the light mage was moving incredibly fast, much faster than his swords, there was no way either of them could react to it in time.
But just then, a black crescent-shaped slash came from behind them, causing Licht to get out of the way.
The two boys were confused. "Um, what just happened, I didn't cast that spell?" Kenos said.
"And I don't have magic," Asta added.
"Well well well, it seems I got here just in time, but it seems I missed the kids," a voice said behind them.
It didn't even take Kenos and Asta a second to know who that voice belonged to, they only smiled as they turned around, and lo and behold, it was their cigarette-smoking captain, and right beside him was Finral.
"Captain Yami!" they exclaimed as they ran to him. "And Finral too!"
"Hey there you two, seems like you could use some help," Yami said.
"You bet, but how did you know we were here?" Kenos asked.
"Noelle communicated with us earlier and told us what happened, we came here as fast as we could," Finral explained. "Where are Gauche and the children?"
"They're outside the cave," the solar mage replied. "Please go out to them, it's snowing outside and the town is a good distance from here,"
"I'm on it," the spatial mage said as he ran out of the cave.
"Well, if it isn't Yami Sukehiro, the infamous captain of the Black Bulls, I'll be honest, I've always wanted to fight you," the light mage said. "My name is Licht, the leader of the Eye of The Midnight Sun,"
"Isn't that the group that attacked the capital, you people have caused some trouble for us," Yami said as he drew out his sword.
"Wow, I've heard of that weapon, it's called a katana, it's from your homeland, right?" Kenos asked.
"That's right, I didn't think anyone native to here would know that," Yami said, impressed by the mage's knowledge. "I'm going to use to kick this guy's ass,"
"Be careful Captain Yami, that's the guy who took Fuegoleon's arm!" Asta exclaimed.
"Is that so, then I can't hold back," Yami said as he took his grimoire out. "Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!" he exclaimed as darkness enveloped his katana and fired a slash of darkness at Licht.
The light mage quickly dodged it before preparing to launch his own attack. "Light Magic: Sky-Rending Flash!" he exclaimed as orbs of light appeared in front of him, each firing quick beams of light at the Black Bulls captain.
Yami jumped into the air, dodging the attack, Licht then sped right to his side and launched a kick, the dark mage anticipated this and backed up, doing a quick backflip to create distance between them.
"Impressive, you can react to my speed, Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!" Licht exclaimed as he fired the light swords.
"You're not too bad either, but don't think that means you're actually going to beat me," Yami said back. "Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Blade Storm!" he exclaimed as he launched an array of lightless slashes, each clashing with a light sword, the two attacks canceling each other out.
Yami's katana became enveloped in even more darkness as he charged forward at Licht, the light mage created a singular light sword of conviction to clash with the captain's blade, the two continued to attack each other, each meeting the attack with their own strike.
"There's something I wanna ask you, what's your reasoning for all of this, what do you have against the Clover Kingdom?" Yami asked.
"A good question, and to answer it, let me tell you a story," Licht replied. "There was once a village that lived together in peace long ago, they were prosperous and loved by both nature and mana, their lives were perfect, but then a group of selfish humans who were jealous of them came and killed them. There are people in the kingdom who do this to each other, people who are at the top destroy those at the bottom for their own benefit, the Eye of The Midnight Sun exist to usurp power from people like them,"
"Not a bad story, allow me to tell you one of my own," Yami then said. "There was once a boy who went out fishing, by mistake, he fell off his boat and washed up in a different land, he was feared by the natives of that land, not a person dared to speak to him, all for one man, the man took him in and raised him like his own kid, and the boy became a powerful mage,"
Licht was a bit confused. "I don't mean to be rude, but why exactly are you telling me that, what does it have to do with what I said?"
Yami increased the force of his strike. "You idiot, that's my life story, the boy was me, what I'm trying to tell you is that not everyone who stands at the top of this kingdom is out for themselves, there are people who care for those at the bottom. So I won't let you say that!"
The dark mage increased his speed and managed to get a cut on Licht's cheek, the light mage backed up.
"You actually managed to hurt me, not many mages can do that, Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles!" Licht exclaimed as beads of light encased his palm, he then brought it up to his cheek as his wound began to heal. "But I won't let you do it again,"
Yami backed up as Asta and Kenos ran up to him. "Wow Captain Yami, you're incredible, I've never seen anybody who's able to keep up with a light mage," Kenos said.
"Thanks, but there's a reason for that," Yami said back. "Unlike Light magic, Dark magic is pretty slow, under normal circumstances, I would've been overpowered almost immediately, but there's something I'm using to even the playing field,"
"And that is?" the two Black Bulls asked in unison.
"It's called Ki, a technique from my homeland, have you heard of it, Kenos?" Yami replied before asking.
The solar mage shook his head. "No, I haven't, what exactly is Ki?"
"Ki is a technique in which I take into account the senses of my opponent and myself, like breathing, facial expression, body language among other things, things like that help me anticipate my opponent's movements and intentions, by combining Ki with my magic and physical strength, I'm able to keep up with the speed of Light magic," the captain explained.
"That sounds really complicated," Asta said.
Kenos nodded. "Tell me about it," he added.
"Perhaps, but it gets easier when you actually try it," Yami told them.
Valtos walked up to the light mage. "Master Licht, I wish to assist you, is there anything I can do?"
Licht turned to the spatial mage and smiled. "Thank you Valtos, I appreciate it," he looked at Asta and Kenos. "I know what you can do, see those young Black Bulls,"
Valtos eyed the two boys. "Yes,"
"What I want you to do is defeat them and take their grimoires, and to bring them to me, neither of them should even be allowed to hold such things," Licht told him.
"As you command Master," Valtos said as he ran forward and launched an array of purple orbs at the group.
"Look out, Solar Creation Magic: Amaterasu's Guard!" Kenos exclaimed as the goddess appeared and blocked the attack before disappearing. "Valtos,"
"You and the boy with the swords, I will fight you and bring your grimoires to the master," the spatial mage said.
"What does he want out grimoires for?" Asta wondered aloud.
Yami blew smoke from his cigarette. "Don't know, but this is a perfect chance," he said as he nonchalantly kicked Asta and Kenos forward.
"Hey, what was that for?" the two boys asked.
"You can use this fight as a chance to learn Ki, and if you don't do it, I'm killing both of you," he replied plainly.
"What?!" they exclaimed.
"I'll admit, it has been some time since he last threatened our lives, but this might be putting too much pressure on us, we've never even tried to do something similar," Kenos thought.
"Okay Kenos, let's do this!" Asta exclaimed.
The solar mage sighed with a smile on his face. "Of course Asta wouldn't be worried about that," he mumbled before giving his squadmate a thumbs up.
"Solar Creation Magic: Solar Construct - Blade," Kenos said as his blade materialized.
He and Asta then stood still and closed their eyes. "Captain Yami said that Ki is done by focusing on our senses, so what we have to do is focus," they both thought in unison.
Valtos was confused by this action. "They're standing still, and they've closed their eyes, the worst mistake they could've made!" he exclaimed as he formed a portal at a random spot, ready to attack the two mages.
"He's launching an attack, focus, and listen, I remember that back in the capital, I was able to hear his breathing in the pile of corpses, so all I have to do is concentrate," Asta thought as he began to clear his mind.
"I've never done this before, but Captain Yami said it's easier once you try to do it, he said that it revolved around our senses as well as other things, so I have to feel it," Kenos thought as well.
"Now!" Valtos thought as two spatial orbs were then fired, one going for Asta, the other for Kenos. "I don't know what they're doing, but they can't evade an attack if they can't even see it!"
The two Black Bulls opened their eyes simultaneously and turned around, ready to strike the orb coming their way, however, both attempts were unsuccessful as the orb struck Asta's knee, and Kenos' arm.
"Damn it, why didn't it work, we used our senses," Asta complained as he winced in pain.
"Perhaps there was something we were missing, or did wrong," Kenos suggested as he too winced after lightly touching his arm.
"You better believe there was something you did wrong," Yami said as he kicked them both. "Asta, you were relying only on your hearing, Ki isn't just one sense, it's all of them, you have to feel it with your entire body. As for you Kenos, you have the right idea, but you need to better your execution,"
"Yes sir," they both replied as they both stood still and closed their eyes again.
"Don't just listen, feel it, use all of your senses, even though you can't see," Asta thought to himself.
"You have the right idea of feeling everything, but better your execution, follow what you feel and react quickly to it," Kenos thought to himself.
"They're doing it again, well, it doesn't matter, the results will be the same, the two of them are going to fail!" Valtos mentally exclaimed as two stronger orbs were fired towards the two rookies.
"I won't fail this time!" Kenos exclaimed as he turned to strike the orb, but like the last time, he had missed, the orb hit his leg. "Crap, I messed up again,"
The swordsman turned as well. "Over there!" he exclaimed as he hit the orb dead on, deflecting it back to the portal it came from, which shot Valtos point-blank as he was sent flying towards a wall.
"Oh yeah, I did it, did you see me, Captain Yami!" Asta exclaimed cheerfully as he jumped into the air.
"You actually did it, and so fast too, freaky," Yami said with a tone of disgust.
"What!?" the magicless mage exclaimed.
The captain walked over to him and patted him on the head. "I'm just kidding, what you did was pretty impressive," he said.
"Thanks," Asta said before turning to the solar mage. "Hey Kenos, how did you do?"
Kenos gave no response, worrying the swordsman. "Kenos?"
The black-haired mage turned to his squadmate and captain, he looked at his blade intently, a slight look of disappointment was found on his face. "I couldn't do it, I tried, but I missed and it hit my leg, did I do something wrong?"
The smile on Asta's face faded. "Oh, don't feel bad, I bet you'll get it next time,"
"The kid's right, he actually picked it up quite fast, it took me a whole four months to learn how to use Ki properly," Yami added. "You'll get there, it just takes some time and practice,"
"Alright then," the solar mage responded as he cracked a small smile.
Meanwhile, Licht saw Valtos get shot to the ground.
"Ow, I wasn't expecting that technique of theirs to...actually work," the spatial mage weakly said.
"What did...you just do?" Licht asked aloud as he turned to face his enemies, the Black Bulls looked at him and were initially shocked by the terrifying look on the light mage's face. "You...hurt Valtos, now I'll really make you pay,"
Kenos was a bit taken aback by his words. "Did I just hear that right, I've never seen a leader of an enemy group actually be worried for their subordinates, usually if they were injured, the leader wouldn't even bat an eye, but this guy's face has been so serene-like for the duration of this fight, I didn't even think he could even make a face like that, I'll be honest, if he wasn't the leader of a terrorist group, I think I could've respected a man like him,"
Licht stepped forward, his grimoire flipping through pages. "Prepare to die, all three of you, Light Creation Magic: Light Whip of Judgement!" he exclaimed as a whip made of light materialized in his hand, it then elongated as he lashed out, destroying the rocks above them, causing the large chunks of earth to fall right on them. "There we go, once I'm sure they're dead, I'll take those grimoires,"
He then turned around and rushed to the spatial mage. "Valtos, are you alright, where are you injured?" he asked in a worried tone.
"My chest, but you needn't worry about me Master Licht," Valtos replied.
Licht shook his head. "Nonsense, you're hurt, Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles," he said as the beads formed on his hand, he then rested them on Valtos' chest.
"Thank you, master, I don't know what I've done to deserve such kindness," the spatial mage said gratefully.
"Don't say that, you're my friend, you're all my friends, and friends care for each other," the light mage said back with a smile. "Is that better?"
Valtos nodded before Licht helped him up. "Yes, that feels much better," he replied. "Now we can take their grimoires,"
"Solar Magic…,"
The two terrorist mages heard a voice, they turned around to look at the pile of rubble entrapment their enemies were in, and they saw that it was glowing orange.
"...Sunbeam Ray!" Kenos exclaimed from the rubble as the rocks flew into the sky, the three Black Bulls then emerged, each holding their blades triumphantly in the air.
"Thanks a lot, Kenos," Asta and Yami said.
"No problem," the solar mage said back.
The three then looked at Licht and pointed their blades at him. "You're going to have to try harder than that, we are part of the Black Bulls, you will not defeat us that easily, you hear, mark our words, the two of you are going down!"