Chapter Seventy-Seven: Showing You What I Mean

Hey, readers, looks like I was able to push in one more chapter before the New Year. Hopefully, I can do it again because personally, I'm really excited to show you the next chapter, for now, you can enjoy this one. Cya.

"What…did you say?" Langris could only mumble in response to the statement directed at him.

Him? Not a magic knight? The mere thought of it was ridiculous to the spatial mage, so he gave his rebuttal.

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" he roared. "You may be a vice-captain too, but we're NOT on the same level, don't think you can say whatever you want to me. If you want to get in the way of my attack, be my guest!"

Zora made no motion to move as the orbs closed in on him, worrying his teammates. "Xerx, move out of the way!" Mimosa cried.

"No need to be concerned, ginger, I've got this under control," he replied as the orbs hit him dead on in different places, making them fear the worst.

But their fear slowly faded once a familiar glow appeared on the ash mage's body, earning gasps all around.

It was Sylvester who then spoke up to say what they all were thinking. "He inscribed a trap on himself?"

"Quite a risky move, such an action really does a number of mana reserves," Julius added.

"Regardless, it was a stroke of genius, I expect nothing less from Xerx," Augustus finished.

"Back during my last fight, after I finished setting up my warping trap, I inscribed a reflection trap on my body just in case I'd need it for later. By putting it on my body instead of on the ground, I can override its activation criteria and use it at will," Zora mentally explained as he reeled his body and unleashed the orbs right back at the sender, bigger and faster than before. "Take this, you faker!"

"Woah, that's looking pretty powerful, could this actually do it?" Kenos wondered aloud.

Unfortunately for the solar mage, similar to Zora, Langris didn't move out of the way either, his grimoire only flipped to another page. "Spatial Magic: Archangel Destruction!"

At his command, a singular orb formed in front of him, but its size dwarfed the opposing projectiles coming his way. With a single gesture, the larger orb was sent on its way, clashing with the smaller orbs, canceling each other out.

"Shit, I didn't think he'd counter it so easily," the ash mage thought frantically.

A smirk formed on Langris' face. "See, what did I tell you? We're not on the same level," he boasted as his larger shootdown orbs sprung back into life. "And while the topic's fresh, how dare you call me a false knight, I am a true magic knight. Can't you see the strength I have compared to everyone?"

To his surprise though, Zora only laughed. "If that's your answer, then I already know you don't know shit about being a magic knight," he replied. "And if you think I'd allow myself to lose to you after giving that answer, you're insane,"

At that moment, a dark purple aura began to visibly surround the golden dawn. "Then call me insane, because you are going down!" he exclaimed, launching even more orbs.

"Bring it on, I'll send back whatever you got!" the ash mage challenged.

But little did the enemy know that he was lying. That last deflection had taken Zora everything he had at the moment, it appeared that the action of inscribing a trap on himself drained more energy than he believed. In fact, it was taking a lot to just remain standing.

But he resigned himself to his fate as they drew near. "Damn it, this is going to hurt a lot,"

Luckily for him, they drew no closer as the orbs were cut in half as his savior landed in front of him. His savior was none other than Asta, in his other-worldly form, the Demon Slayer sword tightly in his grasp, menacingly glaring at Langris.

Zora could no longer stand and quickly dropped to his knees. "What the hell are you doing? I thought transforming again so soon would put too much strain on your body?"

"It will, but you were in danger, the pain is a sacrifice I'll gladly accept," he responded, not facing him.

The ash mage's eyes widened, unable to say anything, but something else captured his attention as he noticed Mimosa kneeling behind him, directing her healing spell on his body.

"Ginger, haven't you looked at our crystal? It needs healing ASAP,"

"But you need it more, there's no way your stunt left you unscathed. Besides, you really came through for us back there, I have to return the favor just like Asta did," she told him.

Oddly enough, Zora found himself speechless once again, but both he and the royal turned their attention to Asta and he walked a few paces and stopped.

Langris met the swordsman's glare as his aura calmed down a bit. "So, you're using that power again, aye? What for? It may have helped you during your last fight, but it won't do you any good here,"

"Is that so?"

"Of course it is, I'm not like you, some dirty peasant on a weak squad, I'm stronger than you, more skilled than you, superior to you in every way! I'm the one thing you'll never be! I'm special!" he screamed. "And no form you choose to take will ever change that!"

Despite his words, Asta's glare didn't waver. "That's true, you are special, your magic is off the charts and it can even put a few royals to shame. Ever since I was a kid, I always wanted to be someone like that, someone special, but I'm content with the power I wield," he said plainly.

Langris was a bit taken aback by the tone he responded with, but the black bull wasn't done yet. "And another thing, I don't care what you think of me, after all, I can't stand you. You're brash. You're arrogant. You're condescending. You don't care about others. And you hurt Finral without hesitation. There hasn't been a single person I've met on this Earth that I can say I wholeheartedly despise, but that's changed now…because you're the first!" Asta began calmly before it became a shout at the end. "You're a crummy person, and an even crummier magic knight. I heard what you told Xerx earlier, and I have the same verdict as him, you don't know anything about being a part of this group. Being strong is important, but your kind of strength is all wrong. This exam exemplifies the core of what Magic Knights are about: coming together, helping each other grow both as mages and as people so we can protect this kingdom and everyone in it!"

All the knights who listened to Asta's speech remained silent, all in thought regarding his words, but among everyone, it was Emmanuel that received them the hardest, his memory recalling something similar being said to him.

"Be content with where you are, Emmanuel, it's the job of us angels to help each other protect the world and all who reside within,"

Upon remembering them, he stood still within his space inside Kenos' grimoire, just gritting his teeth in frustration and contempt.

From behind the magicless mage, Mimosa and Zora too listened to Asta, with the former in awe and the latter being quite impressed, but the demonic swordsman still wasn't done as he had one thing left to say.

"As magic knights, we work and fight as a team, that's the only reason we made it this far,"

Zora's eyes widened greatly, remembering the last person to tell him those words. He looked up and could swear he saw his father facing Langris instead, but the image of Zara faded, and Asta was standing in his place.

While everyone else was in awe following the end of Asta's speech, Langris was feeling anything but as his screaming became louder to match the anger on his face and his aura raged. "I've heard enough, if you wanted to live, you should've groveled at my feet, or kept your stupid commoner mouth shut! Good for nothing cur!" he launched what would be his last set of orbs.

Because the fight was ending right now.

Asta moved quickly, tearing the orbs in half with relative ease. "You can call me whatever the hell you want, but you won't be talking shit once you see my power! Allow me to show you what I mean!" he then blitzed over and crashed the flat side of the Slayer into Langris' torso as the two sped off towards something.

"What's going on? Why can't I use my magic?!" the vice-captain thought.

"We finally made it back!" Sekke and Fragil cheered, having arrived.

"Hopefully there wasn't anything important we missed, Fragil said, but just as she finished her sentence, Asta and her teammate rushed past them.

With nothing else to do, Langris could only yell as they neared the something from earlier, that something, was Team G's crystal.

"Remember these words, Langris, let them burn into you! Anti-Magic: Black Meteorite!" Asta declared, slamming Langris back-first into his own crystal while also cutting it in two. Team B was victorious.

Or were they?

At the exact same moment that Team G's crystal was cut in half…Team B's crystal crumbled into pieces, both dropping to the ground.

The capital mage gasped, as did everyone else, but he eventually found his voice. "I-It's a draw! Neither team moves on!"

Langris dropped down, nearly unconscious. "No way, how, how did I lose? I'm supposed to be better," he mumbled before passing out.

Asta on the other hand, had a look of disbelief on his face as he landed and detransformed. "What? I…I lost?" he too mumbled, all he could do was stare at the enemies' destroyed crystal.

Zora was less bummed than his teammate as he found the strength in his legs to stand up. "Well, it looks like none of us ended up winning in the end," he started walking over to Sekke and Fragil. "When taking into account the mistakes made, I'd say you two made the least. Sure you fell into my warping trap, but your plays were smart enough,"

The bronze and snow mages were surprised to say the least. "Um, thanks, I guess," they said.

Zora then moved over to the unconscious Langris. "On the other side of the coin, you made the worst mistakes. Your stupidity and arrogance ended up causing your downfall, what a joke, no way you'll ever become a Royal Knight,"

He then raised his voice to address his teammates. "Don't think you two are off the hook either," his head turned to Mimosa. "Ginger, you need to learn to prioritize what's important, if you continued to heal the crystal, it wouldn't have broke when it did,"

The plant looked down, a bit disappointed in herself as the ash mage spoke to Asta next. "As for you, shorty, you gotta learn how to shut the hell up. Save the inspirational speech for after your enemy is defeated and victory is already obtained, yapping on only wasted time," unlike Mimosa, Asta didn't react to what was said to him.

Lastly, Zora walked off and stood further away from the others as he stared up at the sky. "And finally, to the dashingly handsome supermage," he began. "You gotta start trusting your allies more,"

The swordsman continued to mumble to himself. "This can't be, I worked so hard for this, it just can't be," he made a motion to walk, but the strain of another transformation took its toll, so instead of walking, his body was on a course to fall.

But instead of hitting the cold ground like the spatial mage, he fell into Kenos' arms as more knights came to his side.

He may have not won the round, but he had won everyone's respect.

Some minutes passed as everyone vacated the battlefield and was back on the platform.

Julius turned to a group of capital mages who were restraining a still unconscious Langris with binding spells. "Take him to Magic Knights HQ, he'll be questioned once he awakens," he ordered as they clover-saluted and left the area through Cob's portal.

The time mage then turned to the second unconscious knight he had to worry about: Asta. "As for him," he beckoned a few more capital mages to come forward. "Please take him to the resting area within the colosseum, he can view the remaining matches once he wakes up,"

The mages clover-saluted as well as they gently placed Asta on a gurney, putting a relieved smile on Julius' face. "Alright, that should be-,"

"Wait," a voice intervened, it was Mimosa's as he raised her hand. "I'd like to go with Asta, I can provide healing in case he needs it," she looked over to his squad. "That is, if it's okay with all of you?"

"Of course it is," Kenos replied.

The plant mage smiled. "Thank you,"

"Hold on, I'm tagging along too," another voice cut in, and as they turned to see who it came from, they were surprised to see it coming from Zora of all people.

The vermillion waved her hands in a polite denying gesture. "Oh, Xerx, don't worry, that isn't necessary, besides, you can still be a bit injured, probably it would be best if you stayed here and had some people check on-,"

"Mimosa,"

That one word managed to stop her dead in her tracks, rendering her speechless for a little while before she opened her mouth. "W-What did you just call me?"

Zora scratched the back of his head, looking a little embarrassed. "Don't make a huge deal out of it. I just wanna go as well…we're a…team, right?"

"Yeah, um, you're right," she accepted.

"Okay then, Cob, a portal for Team B," Julius requested.

"Roger-dodger-roger, your majesty," he replied, making another portal as Mimosa and Zora entered behind the mages carrying Asta before closing.

The Wizard King then raised his voice to get everyone's attention. "I will admit, we had an unexpected turn of events due to Langris' actions, but I can assure you the rest of the exam will continue smoothly! Now, will the next teams report!"

"Nice, it's my turn again!" Luck cheered. "And I'm facing off against the Aqua Deer's captain, this fight is going to be awesome,"

"Perhaps, but that also means it's going to be tough as all hell," Magna said to him before a grin graced his face. "But I have faith in you,"

The lightning mage's cheerful expression disappeared, being replaced by a rare genuine smile. "Thanks, I'm going to win. And even at the off-chance I don't win, as long as the fight is awesome enough, I won't be overly disappointed,"

With that, he and his teammates walked over to where the capital mage was, where the picture mage's team was already standing.

Said mage raised his hand up like he had numerous times. "Now for the third fight of the second, we have Team K's Luck, Klaus, and Puli, against Team I's Rill, Nils, and Ruben! Both teams to the battlefield!"

"Ready, match begin!" the fight began as the two teams spread out, both opting to take the high ground as they fought by the mountain areas instead of the plains like most teams before them.

"So Luck, what reason did you have for bringing us up here?" Klaus asked curiously.

"To be absolutely honest with you, I only did it because I noticed the other team coming this way," he replied.

"What?! That's it?!"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be, the other team most likely chose to come here so they could get an advantage on us, by coming here ourselves, we negate that advantage," Luck explained.

"Hey, that's actually not a bad way to look at it," Puli gave her two cents.

Klaus held his chin. "Yes, now that it's explained, it's actually a pretty brilliant strategy. I bet you the opposing team is worried we caught onto their plan,"

"Oh wow, I'm so glad, I decided to come up here!" Rill squealed, scoping the area all around him. "This better view of the mountain area will make a great painting! Seeing Asta's battle with Langris has given me a burst of inspiration!"

"Um, Rill, the match started," Nils reminded him.

"Oh, right, let's get moving," he said.

"No need for that, I've come to you!"

The members of Team I heard a voice from the sky and looked up, seeing Puli, having donned her angelic wings. "Your plan has been more or less thwarted, now it's time to destroy your crystal! Wing Magic: Angel Flapping!" she exclaimed, the jagged feathers raining down.

"Leave this to me!" Ruben stepped up. "Sandstone Creation Magic: Stone Shield!" he formed a veil of sandstone to block the attacks.

"So you stopped that attack? Try your luck with this one," she quickly shifted to her bat wings as her grimoire flipped to another page. "Wing Magic: Chiroptera-,"

It was Nils' turn to make a move. "Not so fast, Ice Magic: Crystalized Shatter Shot!" at his command, his crystalized sabre spell materialized before shattering and being fired straight at her.

"Damn it all!" she crossed her arms to protect her face, but that didn't stop her from getting sent back.

"I guess I should do something too," Rill manifested his palette and paintbrush, forming the lump of paint as he took to the skies.

Klaus locked the crystal onto his signature before he pointed up. "There's Rill! We have to attack now, Luck! Steel Creation Magic: Spiral Lance!"

The black bull summoned his armaments. "Okay, Lightning Magic: Thunderbolt Destruction!"

"Wow, two attacks coming right at me, I think I have something for that," Rill dunked his paintbrush into two colors of paint, one dark red, the other dark brown. "Picture Magic: Twin Storms of Lava and Earth!"

With that, he launched his attack, overwhelming the other two and heading straight for their casters. "Seems we better get going, take my hand,"

"No need for that," the steel mage pointed to a nearby boulder above them, just then, a hook connected to a steel cord shot out of his grimoire, lodging itself into the boulder as he and Luck jumped out of the way.

As they landed, Klaus placed the hook back in his grimoire. "Well, that didn't work, let's try a different-," he was suddenly cut off as Luck invaded his space, his eyes lighting up in excitement.

"I didn't know you could do that! Was that a spell?! C'mon, tell me," he squealed.

The teen in specs pushed his face back. "Calm yourself. If you must know, it's not a spell, just a basic use of my magic, I use it to create basic constructs. The only problem with them is, they're pretty weak, they can't pack a punch or take a punch, so I refrain from deploying them in combat. In fact, the last time I remember using it is when I just got my grimoire, they just managed to suffice as training dummies,"

"I see," the lightning mage nodded as he heard something behind him, turning around, he saw Rill, having landed where they just were a second ago.

"Amazing, this one looks much better than the one I used in the first round, the strokes are much more even and it shows. Not to mention this shade of red and brown go great together," the captain said with satisfaction, but just then, his mana detection kicked in and he moved to the side, avoiding a devastating kick from Luck.

"Oh, you were able to sense me?"

Rill laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, it wasn't really that hard,"

"Well, regardless, I'm gonna take you down, I made a promise to some that I'd win," he pointed at the aqua deer.

"Really? That's nice, I made a promise to someone too, guess that means neither of us can afford to lose," Rill said back.

"But there still has to be a winner. Lightning Magic: Voltage Trail!" with a kicking motion, the line of electricity flew toward the enemy.

In response, Rill took to the skies, grabbing his paintbrush. "Take this!" he exclaimed, dunking the brush into light red paint and flicking it, sending a rain of fireballs.

Luck used his speed to evade them. "Fireballs, aye? I'm used to dodging these, Lightning Magic: Thunder Fiend!" instead of attacking with lightning, he became lightning, skillfully bypassing the multitude of attacks, appearing in front of Rill before he transformed back.

"My turn!" he fired a kick, taking the captain off of his mode of transportation and on his way to the ground, but he reacted quickly, flicking white paint as it became cotton, cushioning his fall.

"Hey, that was a pretty good attack," Rill praised.

"The attacks aren't over yet!" a voice came from above, it was Puli, sporting a new pair of wings that looked like a falcon's.

"I was wondering where you went," Luck said.

"Just hanging back to take advantage of an opening, like now," she replied. "Wing Magic: Peregrine Dropkick!" her legs positioned into a one-legged dropkick and came crashing down.

Like before, it didn't take much effort for Rill to dodge. "You were close, but not close enough,"

To his surprise though, Puli grinned. "Are you sure about that?"

Before Rill could even open his mouth to question it, a powerful force suddenly came and pushed him to the ground with a thud. "What the?" he muttered, but he took to the skies again as Luck fired a flurry of orbs behind him.

"I'll give you some credit, that was impressive," the captain said as he flew back to his teammates.

Both mages landed where Klaus was. "Puli, what did you do that pushed him back?" Luck asked.

"It's a part of my spell, when I land an attack using Peregrine Dropkick, that's the first portion, and the wave of force is the second portion. A really useful move if the kick doesn't hit," she explained.

The black bull held his chin in thought. "Hm, interesting. Y'know what, I have a plan, you in?"

Rill landed by his teammates. "I take it things are going well here?"

"Yeah, no one has tried to attack us since that woman," Ruben replied.

"Should we join you in the next offensive?" Nils asked.

"That would be smart, these guys are pretty tough," he answered.

"Hey, you guys!" a familiar exclamation came from above.

"Huh?" Team I turned and looked up, seeing Team K standing at a higher vantage point.

Luck, who made the prior exclamation, continued. "I hope you guys are ready to lose, because we have something awesome to show you," he turned to his teammates. "Now!"

"Right, this is going to be fabulous!" Puli spawned her falcon wings and flew up a decent number of meters before diving back down. "Wing Magic…,"

"Victory will be ours!" Klaus was next, constructing a foundation that held a large metal spear pointing at a downward angle. "Steel Magic…,"

"Prepare to witness a uniting of powers that go beyond a combo spell," Luck stated triumphantly as he passed a hand along the spear, wrapping it in electricity. "Lightning Magic…,"

Puli then landed on the tip of the spear as Luck smirked. "Klaus said that his constructs couldn't pack a punch, so by using my magic, and the force of Puli's kick, we'll give it the punch it needs," he thought as all three exclaimed the following words.

"Compound Spell: Thunder Arrow!" the spear whistled through the air, moving at an incredibly fast speed, so fast in fact, Nils and Ruben couldn't respond to it.

But Rill wasn't a captain for nothing, he dunked his paintbrush into multiple colors as his grimoire flipped to a page. "Picture Magic: Game of the Gods!" he declared as the combination of colors converged into a form resembling Zeus. With one swift motion, the figure grabbed the spear, rotated, and fired it right back to its origin.

The members of Team K could do nothing as their ace in the hole whizzed by them and completely obliterated their crystal.

"Crystal destroyed! Team I wins!"

Luck didn't look at his crystal. "Damn it, I'm sorry, Magna,"

From the platform, Magna sighed before a melancholic smile touched his face. "Don't worry about it, Luck, you did great," he said, unaware of his rival's words.

"Crap, what a move," Zuka said in awe.

"You were awesome, Luck, don't worry, the Black Bulls aren't out of this yet," Kenos mused.

"Specs did his best, but that fight is over, Rill's team is going to the finals," Yuno stated as he stood beside the solar mage, facing him. "That just means there's one fight left for both the second round, and the semi-finals,"

Kenos looked back at him as they both smirked. "Correct, there is just one battle left," he said as they bumped arms.

"Between the two of us,"