Disclaimer: Black Clover is owned by Yūki Tabata, Studio Pierrot, and Shonen Jump.
Saga 3: Shoot to Thrill Part 2
Der Freischütz Dorf, Valley of White Death, Spade Kingdom, Midnight
"... Uh," Astaroth couldn't articulate of what words should come out of his mouth, "that's my Stigmata. Can you go put it back?"
"Only if you tell be about why your Stigmata looks different to that of the normal Stigmata," Caspar replied only for him to notice that Astaroth really doesn't know what he's on about, "... my, from the looks on your face, I guess you don't know what a Stigmata really is, don't you?"
"Never been told much aside from the most basic of details," Astaroth remarked, dishing out a non-consequential jab at Lucifer's way of mentoring him, "please, explain."
"A Stigmata is more than just an invoker that summons a Demon into the physical world," Caspar explained, "it also serves at their anchor that keeps them bound to this world, of which, two instances occur," he pointed out, "for Demons, it serves as their life support and their Stigmatas are freshly formed upon their conversion. For Devils, Stigmatas are used to solidify their incorporeal forms, allowing them to interact with this world."
Astaroth then recalls him being stabbed by Cain's Stigmata that was extracted from the nameless girl as her vessel being used to save his life. Could it be that his Stigmata was used with another? Maybe that's what Cain meant when his [Hatred] became a part of Astaroth's new sin of [Despair].
"Ah, now that is the look of a man who is starting to piece things together," Caspar noticed the Prince's expression becoming more calmer through realization, "wonderful, wonderful. Can you tell me what happened?"
"... I think... another Demon's Stigmata fused with my own to..." the Prince pieced the clues together, "... create that, apparently. Some sort of, compound Stigmata?"
Astaroth then realizes something else. Logically, a compound object has more durability than a default object. So if he didn't have a compound Stigmata with him when he was crucified by the platinum bolts that one of which pierced through his chest, suddenly the idea of his current Stigmata being nicked rather than simply shattering into a thousand pieces upon impact was more dumb luck rather than willpower.
"Fascinating," the bespectacled man remarked, "you're the first known kind who've ever done this! A Demon devouring other Demons to grow stronger! It makes sense!"
"How so?" asked Astaroth.
"Well, allow me to divulge for a bit, since I can clearly tell," Caspar looked at both the Prince of war and the wolf-eared girl, "that you two aren't from around here."
"... I came..." the wolf-eared girl's ears twitched nervously, "... from Grinberryall..."
"Eh, same difference," Caspar shrugged, "throughout the more... wilder parts of the country, the Spade Kingdom hosts a varied populace of mana-infused beasts known as 'wilderbeasts'," he began to explain, "these wilderbeasts range from land-roving superpredatory organisms like Drakes and Lindwyrms, aerial hunters like Wyverns and Harpies, semi-aquatic to amphibious marauders like Sahuagins to Meleusine, and borderline sapient hominid wilderbeasts like Minotaurs and Lamias," the man listed down the number of these supernatural creatures in a manner that which is was implied that they were commonplace, "since as wild animals with absurd amounts of mana inside of them, eating their flesh allows the consumer's own mana to become stronger, the same can be said for wilderbeasts that devour humans with mana, effectively creating a cycle of survival of the fittest to get stronger mana. Any questions?"
"... So..." the girl raised her hand, "... what happen when... you know... we eat wilderbeasts?"
"Oh it does nothing!" Caspar laughed, "it's just meat to us non-magical schmucks and nothing more!" he then goes into a hysterical fit of giggles before calming down, "... still, food is food. Gotta survive off of the marrows inside of their bones if we must!"
"Dude, are you alright?" Astaroth asked with genuine concern.
"We're all part-Demon around here, including you two," Caspar grinned madly, as if a switch had been flipped, "being 'alright' was never an option for us, period."
Both Astaroth and the wolf-eared girl exchanged looks of genuine concern towards Caspar and his fit of madness. Again, the bespectacled man returns to his senses in a whiplash from manic to calm.
"Nothing we can do about it now," Caspar sighed out, "in hindsight, my people and I are still under the same rules: 'survival of the fittest'. That doesn't mean that we're not allowed to cheat," he rationalized, hiding his seething resentment under a façade of a similar mindset of "it can't be helped", "for now, you two are a part of us, I won't ask you how you got your hands on a finished Reichrevolver half of our Gewehr rifle philosophy, but if you found that useless wench during your journey before you've to us... you have our utmost gratitude."
"Yeah, that's good and all," Astaroth remarked, "but when can I get my body back?"
"The fact that you survived an encounter with the Lich King is a miracle of itself," Caspar pointed out, "even Demons and Devils alike die at his mere presence and become his undead slaves. Suffice to say, your damaged body is going to have to be replaced with lots of scrap-iron replacements we have inside the shed," he spoke as he put his cloak back over himself, "my advice, don't go outside unless you want to freeze yourselves solid again. Until I can provide you two with some coats, that is."
As soon as he opened the door out of the cabin, a blusting blizzard swept inside before he quickly shut the door behind him as he left with his rifle slung around his shoulder, leaving the two with nothing more than Astaroth's grimoire and his Stigmata on the table.
"... So..." the Prince of War remarked as he looked around the now-unoccupied room, "guess it's just us."
"... You... look... like her," the girl remarked as she stared into Astaroth's eyes, "... you have... lady Astarte's eyes."
"Wait," the Demon Prince gasped at the mention of his birth mother's abuser, "... Astarte?"
Astaroth's fury and [Hatred] caused the whole room to turn colder than the perpetual blizzard outside.
"Where. Is. That. Bitch?" he growled out.
"She flew away," she whimpered with tears coming out of her eyes, "my Lady Astarte has left me behind. Alone... again."
As Astaroth saw her run off into a dark corner to cry, her tattered grimoire with the shadowed spade on its cover slipped out of her person and upon opening when it hit the ground, the pages were completely blank.
"... Who are you?" asked Astaroth, "why do you know her?"
The girl looks back towards the severed head, but remaining hidden in the dark corner of the cabin.
"... I am Tiamat," she revealed herself as tears came from her, "and I am a Prince of Conquest without an empire to call my own."
"I am Astaroth," he reciprocated as this was his first time meeting another Prince, "and I am a Prince of War without an army to call my own."
"What are you suggesting, lost progeny of my Lady Astarte?" Tiamat spoke with skepticism.
"Okay, first of all, don't put me in the same bin as that bitch made my mother's life a living hell," snarled the Prince of War.
"At least you met your mother," Tiamat bitterly snapped back, "even after years of worship, even going far as to kill our oppressors who ruled Grinberryall, she never once spoke to me... and then she'd left me for someone else."
The conversation has now become significantly more awkward.
"... Okay, got off on the wrong foot," the Prince of War apologized, "so how did you end up here?"
"All of the names that were in my grimoire... the ones containing my new family of conquerors... gone," she stared at her blank-paged grimoire lying between her and Astaroth's head, "I wandered alone... aimless... listless... waiting to die so I can at least join my family down at Hell... until Caspar and his group found me lying in the snow," Tiamat remarked before she looked at Astaroth, "what about you? How did you end up here, as a head?"
The Prince of War lets out a deep sigh before he began his reply.
"For me, I lost three groups of people that I called my own," he began to explain, "first the Dark Elves, whom I failed to lead them to their promised land, then the Fallen Angels, that raised me up after my resurrection before all of them died before me at the hands of another Demon, and finally, my mother and her adopted children, whom the Inquisitors didn't spare simply because they didn't have mana," Astaroth recalled, all the times that no matter how strong he was or better than he was Yuno, the fact that he failed to protect his new comrades and family ultimately nixed any sort of satisfaction of victory he may've had, "I failed them all... because I was weak with them... and now I'm weaker without them! I couldn't even save myself from the fucking Lich King! I couldn't do anything! Even with [Anti-Magic]!"
The two looked at each other in silence before both of them realized something important. They're both here because they weren't strong enough alone to protect what mattered to them the most. It didn't matter how many they each lost or how important each losses were. What ultimately settled the matters between the two Princes was that right now, they only had each other at their own lowest.
It was a no-brainer at this point. If either of them break off alone, the Lich King will be the least of their worries. In fact, the two now know what their goals are right now.
First, get stronger. Strong enough to defeat the Lich King and stronger individually for all upcoming battles after their escape from the Valley of White Death.
Second, find more allies to form a united front. The world will not accept Demonkind or any of those who are not blessed with mana. With the technology of the people of Freischütz opening new doors for any non-magic user to turn into trained killers in a short periods of time, Astaroth could see to it that a village of rifle wielders can be trained into the world's deadliest army.
And finally, establish a stronghold. For too long, their defensive options were minimal at best. Astaroth can win battles but Tiamat could only deny her enemies victories through attrition. With that in mind, combining their aggression and mindfulness respectively, they can form a general stratagem that can bring the best from both worlds.
Both Astaroth and Tiamat smile as soon as their heads come with the exact same line of thought and the exact same words coming out of their mouths:
"Hey, you wanna join forces?"
The Prince of Conquest have now formed an alliance with the Prince of War.
Mimo Amazon, Heart Kingdom, Dawn
"... Clear," Yami spoke, checking for any Thanotophages that may lurking about.
Trailing behind him were the rest of the active Black Bulls. The rambunctious [Fire Magic] user Magna, the former-playboy Fineral, the irritable-yet-powerful [Mirror Magic] mage Gauche, and the recently-gone sober [Thread Magic]-specialist witch Vanessa. Henry himself was situated back at the base camp where the remnants of the Heart Kingdom survivors have gathered at, and Charmy herself was off doing something else important, gathering food (assuming if she doesn't eat most of it). While their current situation is similar to the one back at the Clover Kingdom, the Heart Kingdom itself isn't able to make any sort of recovery efforts due the invaders not letting up their assault, their numbers overwhelming enough to put the realm's strongest mages (and one High Inquisitor Mosin) at a complete stalemate.
Retaking areas was easy enough. Holding onto them was the hard part, doubly so when the giant swords that were littered throughout the junglescape not only acted as disruptors for their communicators, but also, the Thanotophages have taken themselves to create additional hives around the swords' handles.
"Uh, captain?" Magna asked as they looked up at the buzzing peak of the monolith, "how many hives does that make now?"
"18," the Captain replied as he took out his compound bow (a gift from a very reluctant Captain of the Green Mantis Magic Knights), "light me up."
Magna lights his [Fire Magic] onto his captain's arrow, lighting a wick around the bundle that was wrapped around the shaft before letting it loose.
As the lit arrow flew towards the hive, it slips through the entrance and staking itself into the waxen walls of the insect nest before exploding into a suffocating cloud of smoke, causing all of its insectoid inhabitants to fall into disarray as their initially tight swarm collapsed into a disorganized mob.
"Alright," Yami ordered as he made his opening, "another verse same as the first!"
"Right!" the Black Bulls acknowledged as they all moved into their positions.
"[Mirror Magic: Reflect Refrain]!" Gauche casted a spell that summoned forth an array of mirrors that shot beams of light at each other, bouncing off one mirror towards another as the Thanotophages tried to dodge, but due to being drugged up to the gills with basic tobacco smoke from Yami's bomb arrows, most of them simply ran into the laser before being completely disintegrated.
"[Spatial Magic: Fallen's Gate]!" Finral spoke his incantation as he summoned portals around the gaps within the array of mirrors, causing the drugged Thanotophages that somehow managed to dodge the beams to simply end up back to where they've come from, which being the very mirrors that Gauche had set up in.
Thanks to the extensive stress-testing of their own magics throughout their excursion in the Heart Kingdom, their magics have been improved to some degree. Gauche's number of mirrors that he's able to summon being increased to up to double-digits, while Finral's requirements for his [Spatial Magic] now adding "line-of-sight" requirement along with his "on-foot" requirement for where his portals can be opened, allowing a more offensive use with his speciality that has been mainly used solely for support.
"Alright, phase one complete," Yami spoke as he saw the surviving Thanatophages retreat back into their hive, "phase two!"
Yami then draws out his sword, a kodachi forged from what's left of his katana (requested by Yami himself, to adjust the blade's length to be suited to a thicker environment like a jungle), in tandem with Magna activating his [Fire Magic] as Vanessa sent her magical strings towards the hive to act as a wick for Magna's flames and pathways to allow Yami's [Dark Magic] to travel for longer distances.
"[Fire Magic: Exploding Fireball]!" Magna roared out as he pitched his flaming projectile towards the thread lines, causing the lit flames to travel up across Vanessa's threads and directly into the hive, slowly cooking and melting their waxen lair.
"[Dark Magic: Yamimatoi Mumyogiri]/[Dark Cloaked Avidya Slash]!" Yami exclaimed as he swung his kodachi to send forth a smaller, but faster version of his shadow blade projectile. Upon hitting the anchored threads connected towards the hive, the spell then split off into smaller but no less deadlier blades that traveled across all the threads, cutting and hacking open any hatchling that tried to crawl out on the threads, with the rest either being cooked alive by Magna's flames or being blasted by Gauche's beams of light coming from his mirrors mid-fall.
"Look at it burn," Magna grinned as he looked up at the smoldering hive above their heads, ready to fall apart like a melting snowman, "we should get back before we hit our heads."
"And not a moment too soon," Vanessa remarked as caught a glimpse of a rising sun across the horizon, "let's go before that fly bastard Caligula finds us."
Everyone nods as they begun their retreat, with Yami lighting one more smoke bomb arrow (with his blade and a piece of flint) before delivering a parting shot towards the melting hive that fell off of the sword's handle.
As the sun continued to rose, sights of destroyed hives around the sword grips that they've once perched upon being visible from afar. The smell of burning wax and smoke filled the air as the dawn breeze slowly gave away to tropical humidity. By the time the sun was already beaming over their heads like an angry god upon its creation, Yami's detachment managed to return safety back to their Heart Kingdom's settlement, the mixed scent of sweat and deodorant (the latter being used to mask their scents to prevent detection from the Thanatophages and nullify the effects of any pheromones that they may be struck by) wafting through the morning air.
"God, we stink to high heaven," Vanessa sighed out, "I smelled better when I was covered in my own puke."
"Heading to the baths," Gauche remarked, "Captain, you coming?"
"Give me a sec," Yami then looked back at where he and his detachment came out from, already hearing buzzing sounds from other Thanatophages already making efforts to rebuild their smaller, auxiliary hives that his group had already destroyed, "bastards work fast..."
Seeing nothing that he could do without wasting his breath, Yami simply walks to the baths as he heard all of their work done since the crack of dawn slowly but surely being undone by a numerically superior foe.
As he entered the heated waters from the Kingdom's natural reserves, the Captain settled in next to Magna.
"So Captain," Magna remarked as he submerged himself deeper into the spring's waters, "how many times does this make?"
"Don't count," Yami rebuked, "the repetition will drive you insane."
"I know..." Magna grumbled underwater, his words bubbling out of his mouth, "I knew fighting Demons was gonna be an uphill battle... but those guys make us look like quitters in comparison."
"Well, surpass your limits," the Captain advised, "I mean, surpassing your limits doesn't always mean getting stronger with what you already have. It can also mean picking up on new things to enhance your primary strengths after recognizing that your foe can't be overcome with just will alone."
"So that's why you made your sword shorter?" Magna pointed out as his head rose back up to air, "and you picking up a bow and arrow?"
"Funny thing is, back at my homeland, Hanafuda," he began to explain, "the Samurai were first thought how to use a bow and arrow before they actually picked up a sword," Yami grinned half-nostalgically and half-humorously at the irony present, "guess I'm learning things backwards."
"So it's not that you're picking up something brand-new, but rather, you're revisiting your roots to see what can be expanded upon, right?" the ruffian Magic Knight pointed out, "that way, we can actually keep track of our own progresses without having too many things to keep into account, correct?"
"I think Charmy said 'too many cooks in the kitchen'," Yami pointed out as an example, "you know, too many ideas happening all at once will make all of it go bad."
"Yeah," Magna snickered, "I remember the time when we had to take turns in the kitchen when it was just me, you and Vanessa before she came to join."
"Oh come on!" Yami remarked, "my food wasn't that bad!"
"It was bland at best, Captain. No offense," Magna shot back, "I mean... at least Luck's food tasted like something..."
Yami places his hand on Magna's shoulder.
"Don't forget him but don't let him drag you down, kay?" Yami reassured, to which the roughneck nodding while holding back his tears.
The two then meet Gauche as they exit the baths, the latter already dressed in his spare clothes of which were the exact same copy of the one's he wore during the morning mission.
"A little too late to say this," the curt [Mirror Magic] user spoke, "but good morning."
"Sup," Yami replied as he put on his loincloth before his hiking pants, "you're out quick."
"I was inside the sauna," Gauche replied, "a quick dip in cold water before detoxing myself in there, probably the only thing keeping me sane."
"You do you," Magna spoke as he combed up his small mohawk, "let me join sometime, alright?"
"I ain't stopping you," he remarked before Gauche left before the other two.
The rest of the settlement slowly woke up with breakfast (made by Charmy) being handed out to everyone. As soon as everyone gathered with food on their plates, the daily briefing began.
"Alright," Fuegoleon spoke, "begin."
He turns on the Projection Orb, which then formed an image of Marx at the other side.
"Hey mushroom-head!" Jack called out, "where's your boss?"
Currently at an emergency meeting with the High Inquisitor that had arrived to the Clover Kingdom after you guys left, Marx explained, I'm filling in on your side. Is there anything for you to say?
"Keh," the Green Mantis Captain scoffed, "whatever."
"Regarding our situation here related to Demons..." Fuegoleon remarked as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "... it's a stalemate."
"Those creepy bastard can't take a punch, but for each hundred I send to hell, another thousand take their place!" Mereoleona growled in frustration, "at least one of them is worth fighting ever since he took my right arm, but he's the slipperiest of them all!"
"Not to mention, the hives," Leopold pointed out, "they melt really easily, but as we speak, I think they're being rebuilt. Those things make toppling the giant swords that they've built atop of really hard when flesh-eating bug Demons come raining down your head," he remarked as he turned around and pointed to a bald spot on top of his scalp, "seriously, a maggot jumped on my head from and nearly ate my brain! I thought grubs were supposed to have mandibles, not blocky, human canines!"
"Don't worry," En reassured, "hair grows back... I think, at least with some implants."
Okay, so I suppose pushing the offensive line has been proven to be impossible... Marx sighed out, ... and of the defenses?
"Actually, none of the bugs are directly attacking us while we're hunkered down here," Magna explained, "sure, they're surrounding us, but starving us out is impossible due to the Heart Kingdom having way more food and clean water than they know what to do with."
"It's almost as if they're playing with us," Vanessa shuddered, "almost like if this whole clusterfuck is just a game to them."
"Keh! What's the point of thinking 'what ifs' and 'whys'?!" Jack spat out in disgust, "there are only two ways this standoff ends! Either victory by frontal assault, or death by frontal assault!"
"Jack! That is suicide!" Fuegoleon barked out, "the enemy has already has an advantage in numbers and the last thing we need to do is lose what's left of our own men in a reckless charge!"
"Then set the whole jungle ablaze and kill em all in one go like you should have!" Jack barked back, "hell, all three of you Vermillion fucks are good at [Fire Magic] so why not blast the damn insects to kingdom fucking come?!"
"BECAUSE PEOPLE WILL DIE!" The Crimson Lion King Captain erupted in fury as the two Captains strode towards each other, butting heads and gnashing their teeth at each other, "YOU'RE TOO FOCUSED ON DESTROYING THE ENEMY THAT YOU'RE WAY TOO WILLING TO COMPLETELY DISREGARD WHAT'S BEHIND YOU!"
"AND WHAT'S THAT, YOU NEUTERED KITTEN?!" Jack spat back.
"PEOPLE LIVE HERE! A COUNTRY LIVES HERE IN THIS VERY JUNGLE!" Fuegoleon pointed out, "WE'RE NOT HERE TO DESTROY OUR OWN ALLIES! IF WE DID THAT, WE'RE NO BETTER THAN THE WORST OF THE INQUISITORS!"
"FUCK POLITICS! THESE INSECTS NEED TO DIE FASTER!" Jack barked back as the two Captains continued arguing in an increasingly-literal heated manner.
But just before either Yami or Mereoleona could intervene, a chant incanted in an unfamiliar language was heard, with a bright halo of foreign letters and words encircling the two Captains' heads before collapsed into their heads, putting both of them into a deep sleep while they were standing.
"Forgive me," an accented woman's voice spoke from outside as Leopold and En took their respective Captains back to their seats, "I couldn't do nothing when peace was disturbed."
Coming into the circle of the Magic Knights was a tall and busty woman with caramel-brown skin and raven-black hair that reached all the way down to her thighs. Dressed in a modest yet regal dress of blue and gold, with her midriff exposing a pierced bellybutton and below her waist-hugging dress being a pair of basic leather, open-toed sandals. Her face was covered in a shawl and a semi-transparent white veil, her forehead was crowned with a gold chain jewelry with an emerald gem studded at the center. In her hands was a jet-black staff with a roll of scroll around the staff's adorned tip, with wild and active mana seeping between its creases in its bound state, almost like a grimoire that came to life and is thrashing to be released unto this world to wreck havoc.
"... Thanks for deescalating the situation," Yami spoke to the stranger, "just... who are you?"
"I am a leader of the refugees that were attacks by Caligula's forces and unintentionally have led them here," the woman bowed in an apology, "my name is Scheherazade, and I am the last envoy of my nation to the Heart Kingdom's allied nations."
It's nice to meet you too, replied Marx, so you said refugees? he pointed out, from which nation?
"Dama," Scheherazade answered, "it's a desert region further down South from this Kingdom."
What drove you from there to the Heart Kingdom? Marx asked.
"Caligula," she answered with a trembling voice, "that monster unleashed his forces upon my nation, killing every man, woman, and children that were in their reach, including my husband," Scheherazade bit through her grief, "I was forced to flee with what little of my people I can gather, and flee for safety towards the Heart Kingdom about a decade or so ago," the leader explained, "as they followed us, they brought our desert with it, devouring every trace of vegetation and animals living in the Heart Kingdom's outer jungles, turning them into wastelands of sand and death!"
So I can correctly guess that Caligula didn't let your people run free, and made sure that others suffered for it just for the hell of it, Marx pointed out, which brings us to right now.
"Blame me if you must," Scheherazade defended herself, "but I will not let my people die if I can help it."
"I ain't gonna blame ya, sister," Mereoleona vouched for her, "fly bastard owes me a new arm. He took way more from you than me and all of us combined. That's enough reason for me to help you kick that Demon's ass."
"Thank you," the Dama refugee replied.
So I take it that Caligula is the leader of the Thanatophages? Marx pointed out, I mean he seems to be the strongest of the swarm, so it would make sense that he'd lead.
"No, it's way worse than that," Scheherazade replied, "Caligula is the strongest, yes, but he's not the one incubating them."
"You mean like a queen?" En remarked, "all insects are led by a queen who births them en masse, so it would make sense why they're overwhelming us in numbers alone."
"... It's not the queen alone," Scheherazade spoke, "... the queen is the Prince of Famine."
Everyone's collective stomachs all dropped at those words being uttered.
"... Alright, spill it," Gauche semi-threatened, "it's almost as if you're talking like you know him."
The refugee leader begins to tear uncontrollably from her eyes as she spoke.
"... The Prince of Famine..." she wept, "... is my kidnapped daughter."
"WHAT?!" everyone shouted in unison, but evidently not loud enough to wake the two Captains up.
Does that mean- Scheherazade nods in acknowledgement in that her flesh and blood was born without magic, ... I see. I'm truly sorry for your loss.
"Caligula is to blame," she snarled, her tears now turning from ones of sadness to righteous fury, "he stole my baby from her crib ten years ago and force-fed her a cursed bug that turned her whole body into that of a Demon's!" Scheherazade claimed, "he will pay for it personally! Both for my daughter and all the people he's brought to the sword!"
"Sounds good and all, but we can barely make a dent at their numbers," Yami pointed out, "you got a plan?"
"I do, but I need more time," she answered, "the Thanatophages are all from the same queen, so ergo, they're all connected through a hive mind. They all share one pattern of collective thought that doesn't go beyond the basic rudimentary instincts of a common beast with only a few exceptions to the promoted Thanatophages."
"Like the ones we fought when we first came here, right?" Magna pointed out, still hearing Kali's rambling in his head.
So you target their collective thought, Marx surmised, ... as in some sort of a mass-hypnosis spell?
"The ultimate mass-hypnosis spell that will bring the swarm to a grinding halt," Scheherazade emphasized, "this nation's Queen and I have been working tirelessly on a spell specifically designed to affect the swarm mentality that those fields abide by," she remarked with resolve burning in her eyes, "the [Ultimate Compound Sealing Magic: Alf Layla wa-Layla], or in your language, the [One-Thousand and One Nights]!"
"That sounds awesome!" Leopold grinned, "so when can it be deployed?!"
Scheherazade's expression then sinks at his words. "... Unfortunately, the spell is so immaculate and massive in scale that it requires exactly and uninterrupted one-thousand and one days' worth of spells to be able to reach completion," she broke the bad news, "even with this Kingdom's specialty of [Rune Arrays] and [Mana Methods], we've only accomplished 335 days worth of spells in the span of five years."
... That's literally two years worth of spells left into that super-spell you're proposing, Marx pointed out, and that's if you don't sleep for two years straight, which is physically impossible!
"Can't we just get more mages to help out?!" Magna suggested.
"Sorry, but the spell requires mana from Stage Zero-mages," Scheherazade pointed out, "not only they need to have large quantities and purest quality of mana, but they also need to follow Dama's rules of arcane mastery, which is completely different from this region's own set of rules. You can't do two sides separately. You have to do both entirely different schools of magic at the same time!"
"It's true," Mosin walked in on the conversation, "I myself am a Stage Zero in terms of power, that doesn't mean derr`mo if can't speak the language of Dama properly."
Marx lets out a disappointed sigh. Unfortunate indeed, he remarked before he looked towards the Magic Knights present, I'll forward all of this information to the Wizard King. So good luck. You're all going to need it.
The projection cuts off from the orb, leaving everyone present rather spiritually drained.
"... So," Yami cut the silence, "who's prepared to celebrate at least two birthdays each around here?"
"Didn't plan to leave in the first place," Mereoleona grinned savagely as she clutched her only hand into a fist, "not until I rip that Caligula bastard a fresh new one."
"I don't think anyone wants to see our home turn into a desert," En pointed out, "ergo, I'm staying. I'm prepared to fight... for a world where my family back home can live in peace."
"A real Magic Knight never runs from the battlefield!" Leopold declared, "especially when there are others who are also fighting for their very lives!" he then branded his forehead with his [Fire Magic]'s heated thumb, "upon this mark, I shall not run away and resolve to either liberate this land's people or die on my feet trying!"
"Not the most preferred option, but what the hell," Vanessa sighed out, "if I run now, I'll end up looking like a total bitch. So yeah, I'll stay."
"They don't have to know who's protecting our home..." Gauche looked at the picture of his sister in his locket before closing it, "... as long as they're alive, that's all it matters."
"Running away from a bunch of giant, man-eating insects?" Finral gulped while he grinned confidently, "the ladies will hate me for that."
"A real man fights for what he believes in until the bitter end!" Magna pounded his chest with his fist, "and I believe in the Captain that believes in all of us! Let's fight! And show those creeps that we're not on their fucking menu!"
The remaining Clover Kingdom Knights let loose a roar of gathered resolve, much to Mosin and Scheherazade's approvals.
"Outnumbered, outmatched, and way over their heads yet chooses to stay and fight..." the High Inquisitor mused herself before joining the Magic Knights, "very well. Even as one woman, I will lend you all my aid! Even if the Thanatophages rebuild their hives the day after, we'll keep destroying them over and over again to overwhelm their tediousness with our own!"
"Thank you," the refugee leader wept in gratitude, "... all of you."
Only 666 days' worth of mana and spells remained for the completion of [Alf Layla wa-Layla].
Abandoned Earth Temple, Formerly-Diamond Kingdom, Afternoon
10 years of long, immaculate research. All subjects ranging from the basics of human biology to the most complex intricacies of magic. All of it, gone in a single night through a cruel twist of fate.
Yama, who've completely psychologically neutered himself of all things that a human being has in their brains that make them subconsciously second-guess themselves, such as "fear" and "doubt", just immediately got back to work writing back the 5 years worth of research and knowledge back onto his grimoire to restore his [Death Magic] back to where it was.
However, this is not his story. Rather, it's the story of Yama's number two, Cleopatra, who has her own plans while her Prince is busy.
Over the course to the past 10 years, raising Yama from practically for his whole life, the Lilith has now begun to have second thoughts at the alarming pace of growth and adaptation that the boy was showing.
He was perfect. A perfect Demon. A Demon that was too perfect. The right amount of hunger for knowledge and restraint to show tact. The correct integer between ruthlessness and benevolence to prevent the sentient rank-and-file Liliths to not turn against him. However, Cleopatra noticed one fatal flaw of his bearing.
No matter how omniscient one is, they can only prioritize so many things at once that they need to outsource, and Yama, despite everything that is available to him, refuses to allocate his jobs to others, relegating the Liliths to mostly the most basic of grunt work, like security or extra lab hands.
This golden opportunity couldn't have come at a better time for Cleopatra, for now she's doing her own fieldwork to execute plans to usurp Yama and find someone more obedient. Sure, finding another human born without magic is the giant game of finding a needle in a haystack, but Cleopatra was in such desperation that she's willing to forfeit the prophesied Game of Armageddon to regain some control over her own life.
And here she was, standing before a carving of a burning, semi-humanoid titan.
"Interesssting," she hissed, "Goliath, the sssssin of [Ignorance]..." she read the translated text carved below the mural, "jusssst how far doesss thisss [Ignorance] go?"
Finding a small hole leading elsewhere, Cleopatra transforms into a Death Adder before worming her way into the hole. As she slithered through the tiny tunnel with her serpentine disguise that was useful for sneaking into small spaces without a fuss.
Cleopatra then finds the exit of the tunnel out of the flat ground like a pit, the open space that she'd crawled into being littered with skeletons all dressed in tattered robes.
"Curioussss," hissed Cleopatra as she transformed back into her Demon form, "their robesss indicate Earth Temple Acolytes."
There were skeletons of varying sizes, larger ones close-knit together, smaller ones holding onto larger ones for their lives, and several lying face-first in a row that led towards a caved-in vent that seemed to have led out towards elsewhere.
"No ssssmall feat..." Cleopatra hissed as she balled her hand into a fist, "no obstacle too obstinate for me to overcome."
With one punch, the caved-in entrance opens up towards open daylight shining above a barren, flat arid wasteland littered with giant swords.
"Now..." hissed Cleopatra as she began walking through the barren earth, "where are you, ssssin of [Ignorance]?"
Normally, one would need notes or references to find an ancient Demon of old calamity, but with Yama being able to read her mind whenever he pleased, sometimes having disconnected thoughts was the best way to trick a mind reader. That and well, after over 10 years of slinking underground only leaving when she has permission to leave and scout.
The thing about the sin of [Misanthropy] that her soon-to-be-former Prince Yama was dictated by was that no matter what she does, as long as it doesn't have to be explained, he won't care. So, to onlookers (Yama included), Cleopatra was going on a little adventure without a map.
But for Cleopatra herself, she was making the mother of all Hail Marys known to mortal minds for the sake of her liberation.
Mick's Hut, Forsaken Realm, Clover Kingdom, Evening
Atop a small hilltop lay a humble cottage of log and straw. It's small stovepipe huffing along towards the setting sky, slowly turning orange as daylight descended back into the horizon.
Inside, there was an old man, a roll's worth of bandages was wrapped one of his eyes over his messy drape of faded gray hair that reached all the way down to his back. Despite the exterior's almost rustic nature, the inside of the cabin was spotless. Not a single speck of dust or dirt caked the cobblestone floors. At the cast-iron heating stove was a pot with a deep, dark-brown bread-like substance that smelled like rich chocolate, a scent unfamiliar to many living in the Forsaken Realm (chocolate itself is a luxury good imported from the Heart Kingdom).
"Howdy!" Mick came in as he sniffed the cabin air, the filth and muck he's covered in not even staining the ground he's walking on, "ooh, devil's food cake is ready!"
He grabs the pot, turns it upside down on a wooden plate, giving the vase a few firm taps before the baked confectionery was plopped onto it, forming an upside-down devil's food cake, it's rich dark brown exterior layered with a spoonful of warm, liquid fudge that Mick kept close to the stove's heat.
"Wanna bite?" the hick asked as he cut his own slice before shaking a ridiculous amounts of powdered sugar (another luxury exclusive to the nobles of the Noble Realm) onto it.
Drouot shook his head. "This old man doesn't have the strength to eat anymore."
"Aww shucks," Mick pouted in disappointment as he set his cake aside, "is there anything I can do to help?"
"... No," the old wizard coughs, "... don't trouble yourself... my good man."
Drouot then begins to cough violently, continuing the fit until small drops of blood spilled out of his covered mouth. Mick tried to help but the old man rebuffs him.
"... It feels as if... I finally reached the end," he mused, Drouot's sole eye staring at the reddening sky outside next to him, "my guilt is gone, I now have hope for the future. Call it irresponsible... but I think that... this is it," the old wizard weakly smiled, "my regrets that kept me alive was absolved by that boy."
"... So it's time to go?" Mick replied sadly, "... you don't want to say one more goodbye before you go?"
Drouot closes his eye. "... There's nothing left for this old crow to offer," he laughed weakly as the old body of his grew more tired, "doing more than I need to... is foolishness, no?"
Mick leaned down to the old man's face, holding Drouot's hand for comfort, feeling the hand turn cold to his own warmth. "Is there anything that I could do for you?" he asked, "... anything... please, just say so!"
"... Do what you need to do..." Drouot muttered as his eye grew emptier, "... and see to it that Yuno doesn't... look... back."
Drouot falls completely silent, with Mick closing his eye with his hand, allowing the man to finally rest without shame or guilt.
"... I forgive you," Mick spoke over the dead man, "... in the name of the Origin and all of its creations."
Mick's filthy facade then burns itself away into that of a holy, flame-winged figure. Gone were his scruffy, lice-infested black hair, gave away to a brilliant crimson waterfall that reached all the way to his ankles, its smooth and radiant locks floating about as if they were flames. In place of his dirty overalls were an ensemble of immaculate white robes that flowed like water in the air, and his brass-gold armor that covered his chest and legs, gleaming in the darkness as if they were the sun itself. His simpleton's eyes were now a pair of holy, almost divine in its bearing, exuding the highest of honors yet the lowest of bound man walking on the very earth. He had the bearings of a seasoned hero, with an eyes that desired to help others with no exceptions.
"I am the Archangel of [Charity], Mikhael," his voice, no longer that of a hick, but of a holy warrior and savior's booming with grand authority, "you who is christened as Drouot, your soul has redeemed itself from self-pity and rancor. Thereabout, I shall signal your soul to Heaven."
From his open hand, Mikhael projects a simple lance made of glass that danced like the flames, constantly warping and shifting in its physical form.
"I will keep your promise..." Mikhael declared to Drouot's last words, "... Raphael's chosen child will be in good hands."
The warping lance then stakes the ground, melting the cobblestone to lava and setting the wood and straw ablaze into a brilliant blue flame.
"[Flare Magic: Beacon]."
A giant tower of azure flames rocketed straight towards the very sky, instantly cremating the body and sending the old man off with the highest of dignity for his repentance. As soon as the holy flames dissipate, only Mikhael stood atop the ashes, in his arms being the devil's food cake that he'd spared from the inferno.
"Now... who should I give this to?" the Archangel wandered what to do with his cake, "... maybe to that Hage orphanage... but that wouldn't be fair for others..." he agonized, "aw man, why can't I just feed over a thousand people with a single cake like how Sephira did with nothing more than five loaves of bread and two fish?" Mikhael groaned, "... aw well, I can always bake more. But then I would have to reveal myself-dangnabbit, catch-22 right here; either I incite envy or I feed everyone while getting busted..."
He suddenly then looks westward, feeling something big that was about to happen on an apocalyptic scale that was about erupt like the Fire Temple's volcano that turned its surroundings into a Grand Magic Zone. However, within that eye of the storm, he sensed someone... or something, that was familiar, or closely connected to him, within it.
"... I supposed I can't sit back and watch forever, can I?" Mikhael remarked to himself, "now gotta find her..." he looked towards West as his blazing wings stretched out, "... oh boy, this is going to get complicated when I find him."
Mikhael then flies off towards the Spade Kingdom like a resurrected phoenix of the old legends, with onlookers seeing only but a flaming silhouette of an avian creature.
To Be Continued...
Author's Notes: Shorter chapter compared to the last one, only because I only had 3 days to work with compared to 5.
This whole chapter is continuation of the whole "clique tour" of the fic's characters with some coherent storytelling for the sake of establishing the stakes, and getting some closure to the smaller parts of the story that I'd given.
For Astaroth and Tiamat's alliance, those two right now aren't in a good place after being reduced to a party of one each. An alliance is both a logical and sentimental in its motives, with Astaroth realizing that he's screwed when he goes out alone to fight the Lich King, and Tiamat simply being content not being left completely alone. Her sin is rooted from the idea of loneliness itself, and maybe, like Astaroth in Book 1, can rebrand her sin into something that fits her whole [Summon Magic] gimmick being too redundant to the Thanatophages' Zerg rush. Also, Caspar's group will be their mutual beneficiaries in the future, especially when the Lich King is going to be confronted. More on the latter and the exposition later.
Speaking of which, the situation established at the Heart Kingdom segment of this chapter is basically setting up their own focus arc in the future, with the fights being more about holding the line rather than regaining ground bit by bit. There's a quote from IronPrime117's Code Prime-R1, which states "It is best to wait and bide your time so that you may eliminate all your enemies in one stroke as opposed to drawing out countless battles!" by Megatron during the chapter, School Festival Declaration. That's indeed the point of the [Alf Layla wa-Layla] spell; to give the forces for which are superior in power (individual basis) but fewer in number an opening to take out the hive's queen. No queen means no respawning enemies, and no more of Caligula's "battle of attrition" bullshit.
And speaking of Caligula, Cleopatra has now gone full-on Starscream and plans to incite a coup by finding Goliath and coercing him to join her while her Prince is at his weakest. "Too Clever By Half" is Yama's biggest problem, since his [Death Magic] is fueled by his own (written; on the grimoire) knowledge, he's going to be too busy rebuilding his basics to notice his own number two scheming behind his back. I plan to have a "Foil" like dichotomy between Cleopatra and Caligula in the foreseeable future, so hold me to that.
And finally, Mick's big reveal as Archangel Michael/Mikhael. I used a different spelling of his debut name to symbolize that he's not as how Lucifer or history has defined him. So by that respect, yes, the Archangels will be named using different pronunciations from the canon just to show that they've become accustomed to living among the mortals.
And with that, the next part will be a wrap-up of this multi-Saga arc as we look at what is going on with Illuminati and other groups that I haven't or have already mentioned by name, along with future threats that will come and bring the characters hell.
References:
- Tiamat referring to Astaroth's eyes as a point of recognition is a reference to RWBY's scene of Ozpin calling out Ruby for her "silver eyes" in Volume 1's Chapter 1.
- Jack's line of "victory by frontal assault or death by frontal assault" is a reference of Barras Lehr's line from Bravely Default.
- Dama, this Black Clover fic's take on the Medieval Middle East, is named after a Middle Eastern version of checkers. The leader/economy cast representative Scheherazade is named after the storyteller herself with a design that takes cues from her Fate/Grand Order's interpretation (but nowhere near skimpy, in fact, the OC's outfit is more based off of F/GO Pavrati's outfit with an Arab aesthetic), and her magnum opus spell that she and the Queen is working on together is named after the Arabian title of the titular 1001 Nights.
- Mick/Archangel Mikhael's characterization is (very) loosely based off the 1996's Michael film, with the whole "devil's food cake" being a huge giveaway to that reference (eight spoonfuls of sugar cannot be applied, but I will find a way to put it in the fic sometime in the future). Also, his Archangel form being a bearded hunk rather than the flat-our bishonen pretty boys (looking at you, High School DxD), I based it off of the look of Hendrik from Dragon Quest XI. Also, Mikhael representing the virtue of [Charity] is religiously accurate, along with the whole lance being his weapon of choice and holding the element of fire (or in this case, [Flare Magic], which is basically Dabi's hotter, bluer flames from My Hero Academia).
Hypothetical Voice Actors:
- Scheherazade: Kikuko Inoue (JPN), Zehra Fazal (ENG)
- Mick/Archangel Mikhael: Shinpei Takagi (JPN), Alexander Gross/Octopimp (ENG)
And as usual, please leave a comment or a review, for I'd love to know what my readers think!
UPDATE (29th of May 2022): Yama was a Demon for 5 years, not 10. Logically, he was supposed to be younger than Mars and Fana during their time at Morris's training grounds, and Yama was meant to be a complete foil to Asta/Astaroth in terms of age, skill, life background and personality development. I apologize for the sudden change of development (STATEMENT REDACTED AT THE 30th of May 2022).