I do not own Black Clover or any of its characters.
Free
Dane groaned, his eyes slowly opening as he drifted toward consciousness. He looked around slowly, seeing he was inside of a shimmering, green barrier, and his wounds were healing, but he was still exhausted.
"You're awake!" Mimosa gasped, immediately moving over to sit beside him. "I was so worried!"
"Where..." Dane croaked, but couldn't form a full sentence.
"Your barrier saved us, and we made it to the others," Yuno explained. "But there's been a complication. The dungeon took off and flew toward the capital."
"We found Vanessa, Zora, Mereoleona, Nozel, and En," Mimosa listed. "We're being healed by Nozel's magic item right now."
Dane nodded, pushing himself up slowly, then looked down at his prosthetic arms. He couldn't transform them back into organic arms. The magic item, while healing him nearly as fast as Raya's Healing Magic could, had interfered with his magic within the prosthetics, making them a permanent part of him. He sighed, glancing at his wrist, only to frown.
"I have your wristband," Mimosa said, holding it out.
"Thanks," he smiled, slipping it back on, then turning, walking out of the barrier and into Vanessa's arms.
"I was so scared!" Vanessa sobbed.
"What are you doing?" Nozel asked. "You need healing."
"Spirit Magic, Angelic Respite," Dane muttered, casting Raya's spell with his own magic.
He'd finally gained the ability to do it when his Grimoire awakened fully at the end of the battle with Licht. It wasn't as strong as having Raya do it, as the rest of his Spirits' various abilities would be similarly weakened, but he could cast them all himself now, if necessary.
"New tricks?" Vanessa grinned.
"My Spirit Magic finally matured," Dane smiled. "I can cast weaker versions of all of my Spirit Magic spells without needing to have my spirits present. Other than this one, I probably won't do it much, but it's good in a pinch, or if I need a specific ability while that spirit is busy."
"Speaking of which, I thought you left that dragon spirit with the Wizard King," Asta said.
Dane swallowed hard, staring at the ground.
"Don't tell me..." Vanessa trailed off, covering her mouth.
"No," Nozel said. "That's impossible."
"What's up?" Asta asked.
"Are you sure?" Yuno asked.
After a moment, Dane nodded. "If Fei returned, and Goro brought me the sword, it can only mean..."
"What is it?" Asta asked.
"The Wizard King...Julius Novachrono...is dead," Dane finally said.
"But...No way!" Asta snapped. "Couldn't the Wizard King just have told Fei to bring you the sword?"
"Fei told me what happened while we were fighting," Dane said. "The Licht we were fighting wasn't the same Licht as we fought in Nean. The one from Nean was inhabiting the same body as William Vangeance. I warned the Wizard King that Vangeance was Licht after I sensed Licht at Kiten, but even though the Wizard King set things in place to deal with it, Licht was more than he expected. All that power that was sealed inside of him...he used it for a single, massive spell to try to kill every single person in the kingdom. The Wizard King had to use all of his power to stop it, and Licht stabbed him in the heart while he did."
"It can't be," Nozel said, though he wasn't refusing to believe Dane.
"We have to get to the capital as soon as possible," Dane said.
"What spirits do you have that can be used right now?" Yuno asked.
"All but Raya," Dane said. "She's tapped out. I won't be able to face the real Licht again, the one we just fought."
Yuno nodded.
Just then, Noelle arrived with Kirsch. Mimosa grimaced instantly, but Dane ignored them, shifting his healing spell, which had already finished healing him as much as it could, to Mereoleona. She was in bad shape. She was battered, bloodied, and unconscious, sitting against a tree. Then, once his spell had begun to heal her, Dane turned back into Vanessa, who held him tightly, Dane holding her as well.
"I'm so glad you're safe," Dane muttered. "I'm so glad Charmy wasn't here."
"So am I," Vanessa nodded. "I was so scared I wouldn't see you again."
"I'm sorry," Dane sighed.
"Dane, your arms," Vanessa said hesitantly. "Can you..."
"No," Dane shook his head. "At first, I had one of them, and I could have reattached it with some excess that I had hoped would come from either Rhya or Licht, but then Licht took the other one off, and Nozel's magic item made the prosthetics permanent features."
"I'm sorry," Nozel apologized. "I didn't realize that would happen."
"It's alright," Dane said, raising an arm and shifting it into a blade. "These suit me better than my own arms. It'll just require an adjustment period."
"But..." Vanessa trailed off.
"It's alright," Dane smiled, then leaned in to whisper. "I can do things with these that I never could have with my real arms."
Vanessa grinned, in spite of the situation, and kissed Dane, who returned it in kind. "So, how exactly did you lose your arms? Surprise attacks?"
"He was protecting me," Mimosa spoke up, turning away from the conversation about Luck and Noelle and Kirsch's other teammate having been possessed. "The first was an arrow from...one of the reincarnated elves, which would have killed me if he didn't push me out of the way. The other arm was when Licht targeted me while Dane was carrying me on his back, so he turned and allowed the blow to take off his arm instead of killing me."
"Really?" Vanessa asked.
"Of course," Dane said. "Mimosa, you're vastly more important than my arms."
Mimosa smiled gratefully. She opened her mouth to speak, only for a scream to cut her off, coming from a magic transmission device Nozel was using to talk to a member of his Squad.
"What was that?" Nozel asked. "Answer me!"
"He's dead," Dane said. "I'm guessing he was reporting about more possessions in the capital?"
"He was," Nozel nodded.
"Is this happenin' all over the place?" Asta asked.
"It's not lookin' good, I know that much," Zora mused.
"Come what may, we're still Magic Knights," Nozel stated. "Which means our number one responsibility is to protect the Clover Kingdom, even if doing so means we have to eliminate some of our own comrades in the process."
"But Luck..." Noelle began. "When he attacked me before, his spell didn't hit me. He was moving extremely quickly, but we were still able to get away from him. I think Luck made that happen."
"Well then, why did he hit me?" Kirsch asked, having walked into the healing barrier created by Nozel's magic tool.
"I'm sure you deserved it," Mimosa muttered.
"Because Luck doesn't care about you, Kirsch," Dane said. "If anything, you annoy him, just like you annoy everyone. Luck avoided hurting Noelle because she's his friend. Those who are possessed react, fight against the elves possessing them, when their emotions stir. Yuno woke up when Asta arrived and shouted about becoming the next Wizard King. Luck avoided hurting Noelle because she's important to him. Klaus's body reacted to Asta when Asta tried to remind Klaus that he's a Magic Knight. We might be able to snap a few more people out of their possessions, but at minimum, we won't need to kill them all. There may be a way to reverse the possession."
"Dane's right!" Noelle agreed. "There has to be a way! As Magic Knights we can save our squadmates and the Clover Kingdom!"
Nozel smirked, but it wasn't unkindly.
"Nozel," Dane said, gently moving Mereoleona into the healing barrier as he ended his spell. "I'm going to head for the Black Bulls hideout. Other Black Bulls may have been possessed, and will need to be dealt with. We may not be the most powerful wizards, but our Magic types are all dangerous and hard to counter. I need to make sure they're safe. Plus, Yami may be there, and we'll need him."
"As well as your other lover," Nozel added. "Go ahead. We'll head for the capital."
Dane nodded, then picked up Vanessa before Light Magic began to shine from Dane's body before he took off, speeding through the air.
Dane growled in irritation as he deflected Luck's fist, twisting his foot to send a dozen Diamond Metal fists exploding into him from below, sending him rocketing into the air. Luck, or more accurately Rufel, cackled, beginning to flash around through the air, rapidly dodging around the explosions and trails of ripped-apart air that Dane filled the air with as he snapped his fingers exercised his spells. It was all weak enough for Luck to survive, even without the power boost, but it was the best he could do with the massively enhanced speed Rufel was using to fight him. Lightning encased his legs up to his hips, and his arms all the way onto his torso like an open jacket. A collar of spikes extended up from the lightning jacket's collar, a pair of tall, lightning horns extended up from his head, and a large ring extended up above and behind him from the backs of his shoulders. He'd absorbed the power of a lightning strike for a boost in power, and now he was too fast to pin down properly, forcing Dane to counter at the exact instant that Rufel attacked, leading to a long, destructive battle, during which Vanessa had been forced to use her fate-controlling cat, Rouge, several times already to protect Dane.
"Come on, Luck!" Dane snapped as he narrowly evaded a strike, drilling a Tiger-Strength-enhanced punch into his side, sending him bouncing away. "Give me a break here! You're supposed to be the one to help me vent, not the other way around!"
Ruffle cackled, beginning to flash around again, his attacks continuing to demolish the small town as he struggled to kill Dane. And then, a wave of fireballs from Magna joined the strikes filling the air, Magna having been helping where he could the entire way, though to no added effect. In fact, Magna's obstinate refusal to let Dane handle it alone had been forcing Vanessa to use Rouge nearly every attack on Magna to save him. Vanessa was gasping and panting for breath, and Rouge was beginning to come apart. Finally, Ruffle let out an especially bloodthirsty cackle before increasing his speed still further, slamming a string of devastating attacks into all three, successfully this time, though failed to kill them. Vanessa was left lying on the ground, Dane was embedded in a crater, and Rufel was holding Magna in the air.
"Nue," Dane whispered as Rufel gloated to Magna.
Nue possessed Vanessa's clothes as Dane summoned Ko into his own.
"What's that?" Luck frowned, looking over at Vanessa and Dane as both stood, Nue giving Vanessa mana as he reinforced her threads, including Rouge, who respun itself back into its complete form.
"Spirit Magic, Fox Trot," Dane intoned.
Then, he took off, adding the speed of Raya's Light magic to Ko's Fox Trot using his own mana. Rufel laughed, dropping Magna and took off to meet Dane, and they began to trade blows rapidly, Dane adding his magic any time he could reach the ground or by snapping his fingers or ripping the air apart. This time, Dane was able to hold his own against Rufel. At least, for a few minutes. Then, Rufel caught a punch from Dane, electrocuting him and slamming him down on Magna before forming a spear from his lightning. Dane glared up at Rufel with Magna, both staring at Rufel's right eye, which was crying.
"Go on, then, Luck," Dane invited him. "Kill us. Kill your own friends. Prove that you're too weak to protect the people you care about."
The tears increased, but Rufel pulled his arm back.
"Shut up!" Rufel roared, stabbing down at him.
And then, Asta had arrived, pulled by a single threat from Rouge and all of the power Rouge had. Asta's sword, the one Licht had dropped with the three-leaf clover in the end of the blade, slashed the spear, destroying it.
"As if I'd ever let you hurt them!" Asta snapped.
Rufel leapt away from Asta, landing on a chunk of debris. "And who are you?"
"I think you know," Asta growled, "but I'll say it as much as it takes!" He entered his Anti-Magic form. "We're Luck's friends and fellow Magic Knights!"
"Asta," Magna smiled, panting.
"Thank goodness," Vanessa sighed as Nue faded.
"Friends, huh?" Rufel grumbled. "This whole routine is starting to get old." He chuckled, wiping the tears from his eye. "Hey, wait a second, you don't have any magic, do you? I didn't think it was possible for anyone to be that despised by mana."
"Yeah, well there's one group who accepts me just the way I am!" Asta growled. "And they're called the Black Bulls! Luck is part of that group, so you can't have him!"
Rufel let out a short laugh, taking off again. "You can ramble about friendship all day long! But you still won't be able to keep up with me!"
Then, as he moved in for a strike, Asta turned, slashing and only narrowly missing him. Rufel pulled back, then began to zip around even faster, only for Asta to take off after him. For a few moments, Asta matched him. However, once Rufel stopped moving and baited Asta into a strike, Rufel dodged it and slammed a kick into the sword, sending Asta skidding backward before following, drilling punches into the blade rapidly, Asta struggling to fend off the assault as Rufel's psychotic cackle rang out endlessly.
"Transmutation Magic, Binding Chains," Dane said.
The chains that exploded from the ground burned with Fei's flames, flashing through the air far too fast for Rufel to react before binding him, Fei instantly swapping places with Nue. And then, the moment that the chains appeared, Asta's blade swept around, exploding down on Rufel, blasting him into the ground. Except, a moment later, lightning was exploding off of Rufel again, just as Asta was preparing to drive the sword down into Rufel, claiming to be able to expel him from Luck.
"You humans are doomed!" Rufel laughed. "Just wait and see!"
Rufel's hands twitched, about to strike, only for Magna and Vanessa to leap on the arms, pinning them as more Diamond Metal chains burst from the ground to coil around Luck's body.
"You really don't know when to throw in the towel, do ya pal!?" Magna shouted.
"We're not going to give up on our friend!" Vanessa shouted. "We told you!"
"Just let us save our friend!" Dane roared, forcing a constant stream of mana into the chains to keep Luck's power from shattering them.
"Stop it!" Rufel shouted. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME! ! !" He thrashed violently, breaking a chain, only for more to replace it. "I'm going to use all my magic! Then everything will be destroyed! You, the rest of these humans, and even me! I want all of you revolting humans to disappear for good!"
Dane grit his teeth as Rufel's mana began to change. Something was building inside of him. Something dark. Something evil. His power was swelling rapidly, but it was also growing darker. It was growing demonic.
"You took them all!" Rufel wailed, his eyes jumping around in their sockets. "Everyone who was precious to me! You killed them! That's why...I swear I'll make you pay!"
"I don't know what you're talkin' about!" Asta growled, "but if humans are to blame for what happened, I'm sorry! I really mean it! But Luck, he's precious to us! We're friends! And we wouldn't ever want to lose him!"
"We won't!" Dane growled.
Diamond Metal chains shot from the ground to wrap around Asta's arms, pulling them down, but the raw power of Rufel's mana was shoving upward on Asta's arms, resisting even his and Dane's combined efforts.
"Please!" Asta shouted. "Don't take him away!"
"That's right!" Vanessa agreed.
"Let go of him before it's too late!" Magna half-ordered-half-pleaded.
"Please don't take our friend from us!" Dane pleaded.
"I'm sure the people you cared about wouldn't want you to make someone else go through that same pain you did back then!" Asta shouted. "Get out!"
"I do, too," Rufel said softly. "Humans. Elves. I wanted to become friends with your kind. I really believed that I could."
A dark, horrifying spell circle appeared on the ground around them, and Dane's eyes widened. Then, as it faded, so did Rufel's magic and his soul. They all released Luck, allowing him to stand. Then, Luck was struggling not to sob.
"Um...guys..." Luck choked out. "Tell me...Can I still be...in the Black Bulls?"
Magna walked forward, pulling Luck into a one-armed hug. "What are you talkin' bout, kid? 'Course you can."
Luck began to sob, and Dane stepped forward, ruffling his hair.
"You're a part of our family, Luck," Dane smiled. "It wouldn't be the Black Bulls without you."
For a few more minutes, Luck cried, and as he did, Dane knelt, placing his hands to the ground. In a wave starting from his palms, the town began to restore itself, the Diamond Metal transforming back into stone and the shattered, unrecognizable ruins that remained of the town dissolving into the usual liquid substance before reforming into its normal appearance, completely unscathed. Finally, Dane stood, turning to Asta.
"Asta, I have a feeling we'll need you at the hideout," Dane said.
"Okay," Asta nodded. "Let's go."
Dane nodded, Raya's light once again enveloping him, just as Luck assumed the same form that Rufel had been using at the start of the fight, lacking the ring and collar spikes. Then, Dane was off, holding Vanessa in his arms Luck dragged Magna and Asta along using some threads Vanessa had attached to them and given to Luck.
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