Hello! I am alive. Sorry it took me so long to update. I do hope you guys enjoy this chapter, though!
Disclaimer: Black Clover belongs to Tabata Yuki. It is not mine!
A full week had passed since the event the Black Bulls occasionally called "the Mystery of the Missing Cane", and things had calmed down dramatically
Well... somewhat. The term "calmed down" was very relative, especially when speaking of a group of chaos causers and enablers like the Black Bulls.
The squad's chaos levels had not lessened in any way, shape, or form, but The Cane Incident (as they also had taken to calling it) had been put behind them in favor of something more exciting, like new missions, and dungeons, and bar hopping, and fun parties. Safe to say, Marion was not complaining, wanting nothing more than to move on from the incident and maybe take a nap on the bookshelves in the process.
With a little cushioning, the girl had found the shelves were surprisingly comfortable, and they had long since become one of her favorite spots to nap.
She and Luck had grown a bit closer during the short period of time since their first proper conversation, too, and while she would admit that a small part of her wasn't completely past the incident, Marion was starting to consider the younger boy as a friend.
A very violent, prank-happy, constantly-on-a-sugar-high friend, but a friend nonetheless. She even helped him a few times when he decided to prank Magna, diverting the fiery boy's attention to her so that Luck could more easily steal the boy's sweets, or shock him in the behind with some friendly attacks of static electricity.
Unfortunately, her assistance did not exempt her from being pranked, too. There were still times Luck would speed behind her with a static-charged finger, ready to poke her in the back before she could react, or steal a bite of her breakfast at the table after she fell asleep face-first in the plate.
However, Marion found she didn't mind these pranks quite as much as she thought she would. She knew they were in good fun, after all, and they were generally harmless, even if they were annoying to attempt to avoid. Interestingly enough, the small flicker of annoyance she did feel rarely lasted longer than a few moments, quickly replaced with the sort of disgruntled fondness she felt when Finral cried over another date-gone-wrong, or when Charmy literally dragged Marion out of bed so that she would eat with the rest of the squad in the mornings.
Marion supposed the best way of putting it was that she felt included, for lack of a better word. She felt like part of the friend group when Luck included her in his pranks, whether as the target or the accomplice. She felt included when she was dragged into the bickering that was constantly happening between Magna and Luck, and she felt included when Luck dragged her out of the base at odd hours for whatever crazy idea he had come up with that day.
Don't get her wrong, the other Bulls were nothing but good to her (in their own unique ways), and were an amazing family, as chaotic as they could be. Finral and Vanessa were like older siblings, and Magna was always willing to give her a hand when she asked. Hell, Yami had basically raised her -though "raised" would probably be a strange way to describe it- from age eight onwards, and even helped her adjust to her new life in his own gruff and semi-awkward way when she first went blind. It was the reason she had developed such a keen and extensive mana sense.
However, it sometimes felt... smothering. Finral would always insist on going with her if she was taking a walk, an undertone of protectiveness always present in his voice when doing so. And while she couldn't see it, she could practically feel Vanessa's worried gaze when Marion needed to use her cane at the base. She would start asking semi-subtle questions hinting to her concern about Marion's health, anything from sudden changes in sleeping habits to whether she wanted to have a bite of her cake or a sip of juice, courtesy of Charmy.
Their care was touching, but it was something that easily became too much for Marion, and she would quietly excuse herself to take a nap in some hidden, silent corner of the base whenever she felt overwhelmed.
When she was spending time with Luck, she didn't feel smothered. He had taken the fact she was blind, learned the tells for her bad days, processed it, then moved on to asking about her magic abilities and if she like to fight.
It was refreshing, she thought.
A muscle in her face twitched and her grip on the end of her cane tightened.
His nonchalance did not, however, mean she appreciated being left alone in a dungeon on their first joint mission together!
She frowned in indignance, feeling a sense of irritation slowly growing larger and larger as she reached out her mana sense to find the location of her now absent companion. Thank goodness she always brought her cane on missions or she would have likely tripped at least five times by now on the uneven terrain of the dungeon floor!
She sat down on a boulder and closed her eyes. Not that it did much, but the action helped her focus. Her mana sense easily spanned the area of the dungeon, and she was quick to locate the traps that stood out starkly in the mental map she now had forming. The exercise was practically instinct by now.
However, instead of focusing on the traps, Marion instead focused on the electric shock of mana that was setting off the traps.
Every. Single. One.
She felt her eyebrow twitch. One of the things she had learned about Luck was that his Mana sense was nearly on par with hers. He should easily have been able to notice those traps and avoid them. The fact that he was not avoiding them, and was actively moving towards each trap in a way that felt strangely methodical to the needle mage, allowed her to draw one iron-solid conclusion.
Luck Voltia was setting off every damn trap in the dungeon... On PURPOSE!
She sighed and resisted the rising urge to facepalm. Why had she befriended the most insane, adrenaline-seeking member of her squad again? Ah, right, he was interesting and treated her normally. But was all that really worth dealing with this idiocy? The strange twinge of familial fondness that she felt spark in her chest said it was.
The sane, logical, "common sense" part of her brain said it wasn't.
Good thing the Black Bulls seemingly rejected the idea of normal logic! And common sense.
Marion stood and blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. It was tickling her nose, and she would rather not wake the dead with a sneeze today, thank you very much. She gave her cane a few test swipes, scouting out the ground in front of her before she set of in the direction of her friend. The pattern he'd been following suggested this dungeon layout was shaped like a spiral, so the treasure room was likely in the center.
She wondered if there would be any shortcuts along the way. If she wanted to catch up to Luck quickly, she would need them.
Her thoughts were interrupted when a spike of mana caught her attention. An icy presence around halfway down the spiral was flaring their mana quite aggressively. The shock of lightning that clashed with it moments later, and the group of various signatures that flared soon afterwards, told Marion all she needed to know, and she quickened her pace as much as she would allow.
Luck was fighting someone. And that someone was not alone.
...
Luck found himself utterly disappointed as he dodged through yet another barrage of icicles sent by his latest opponent.
The group he was facing was overall pretty weak. He had taken out over half of them in mere moments -not even minutes- after he'd found them, and wasn't that a sad thought! There was no adrenaline rush at all! Were these guys some rag-tag group of no-name bandits or something? The only one who seemed to have any battle skills was their leader, someone who used ice creation magic.
That leader was also not enjoying the fight at all. In fact, he was growing quite irritated with Luck's constant movements.
"Stay still you little BRAT!" he snarled as if he thought Luck would actually listen to him if he started to act like a grumpy old gorilla instead of just physically resemble one.
"No." Luck responded, "I don't think I will, grandpa."
The man growled and sent even more pointy ice lances towards the boy. Luck was starting to grow bored of those. Did this guy have any creativity?
"Do you do know any other spells, old man?" Luck asked as he flipped over some of the icicles and punched through some others with lightning-armored fists, "At least get a little imaginative if you're going to just stand around and toss things at me!"
Ooh, that struck a chord in the guy. Luck couldn't stop the giggle that escaped him when the man's bearded face turned redder than a tomato and a hilariously high-pitched screech left his mouth.
"STOP MOCKING ME YOU TINY, BLOND INSECT! ICE CREATION MAGIC: FROST LANCE."
Lo and behold, yet another barrage of sharp, pointy objects shot towards him. Luck pouted as he dodged again. How boring! This fight had lost its appeal.
Guess he should finish it up, then.
Luck rushed behind the no-name mage, a lightning-covered arm pulled back, ready to strike.
His aim struck true, and the guy got a healthy dose of lightning-covered pain straight to the back of his head. There was now a small crater in the ground from the impact.
Luck stood there for a moment, taking in the destruction around him. There had to be maybe twenty or thirty people on the ground around him, all of them so shockingly weak. The amount of mana they had was definitely great than Magna's, but it was clear that unlike his hot-headed sparring buddy, none of them knew how to use what they had! That fight had to be the most boring fight he'd ever fought.
Even the traps were more exciting!
Ah, right. He should probably start moving again. Maybe he'll find more fun traps to play around with to make up for the lackluster experience! He turned to his side to address Marion -she usually stood on his right- only to be met with air.
She wasn't with him.
Luck blinked in confusion before he came to an awkward realization. He had gotten excited and ran off too quickly for Marion to latch onto him, meaning he had likely left her behind at the entrance.
Oops.
Should he go find her? Luck contemplated the thought. Would she be able to keep up with him if he did? He was fast, and unless she had her own speed-boosting spells, Luck would have to slow down to match her pace. He'd also never actually seen her fight, only heard about how her magic worked, and from what he did know, her magic didn't seem particularly combat oriented...
Perhaps he should find her after he finds the treasure room? Then, he can just find her afterwards and take her there more quickly!
Satisfied with his logic, Luck turned towards the location of the next trap. They were getting more interesting and closer together. He was willing to bet the increased security meant the treasure room had to be getting close.
However, as he was about to leave, another much more powerful presence appeared almost out of nowhere, and he froze. A feeling of shocked excitement filled him as he took in the strangely wispy mana. It felt like... fog? No... a cloud! A very dense cloud! How did that presence escape his senses? He wasn't Marion levels of skilled with this sort of thing, sure. That girl was insane with how acute her sensing skills were, but Luck's ability with Mana Sense was nothing to scoff at, and this new person had managed to disguise their presence so effectively that they were practically right behind him.
Actually... he stood corrected, the presence is right behind him.
Like, right now.
Luck had just enough time after this realization to jump out of the way of a blast of some strange, purple gas. Why was it purple? That didn't look good. It smelled weird too... it was disgusting and familiar, but he couldn't place a finger on it. There was probably some effect that came with it.
Did he want to find out what it was?
The curious adrenaline junky in him that was active ninety-nine percent of the time said yes. The remaining one percent that housed his rarely used self-preservation instincts said that was a stupid idea.
Naturally he followed his more preferred route. The mage was in the center of the cloud of gas, and Luck's repertoire of spells required him to get in close.
He dropped in, preparing to attack with a painful drop kick.
The hit didn't connect, though. The mass of mana that he had targeted just gave beneath his foot, bursting into a horrifically dense cloud of the gross fog.
It had been a decoy! Shit! Luck coughed as the mass of gas burst in his face, and he found himself growing dizzy from the horrendous smell, and likely other factors. As he collapsed to his knees, choking on the gas, Luck finally remembered what the smell reminded him of.
Rotten eggs. This area smelled like a room filled with thousands upon thousands of rotten eggs.
His stomach turned with nausea and dizziness threw him off balance. There were spots on the edge of this vision as he was overwhelmed by the fog.
He realized that he needed to get out of here. But his body wasn't letting him move!
That wasn't good.
"My, my. What do we have here?"
The feminine voice approaching him was not Marion, nor was it one he recognized, and he realized this must be his new opponent. She was very skilled at masking her presence, it seems, and the gas was also clearly not affecting her. Perhaps she was immune? Or maybe it was the bright red plague doctor mask covering her face. It could honestly go either way sometimes.
Either way, Luck was currently at her mercy, and he didn't like that. "Who are you, old hag?"
"Old!?" The woman snapped, "I'll have you know I am twenty seven, you little brat! And as for who I am, I suppose I can humor you with a quick response... I am Samira Hydra, leader of the Night Fog Bandit Tribe, and you have just downed a group of my boys."
Ah, so she was the leader. Luck had made a mistake when he thought the gorilla was the head honcho, it seems. At least she was clearly stronger than that disappointment of an ice mage, Luck thought. Now, if only his body would stop trying to fall unconscious so he could focus on kicking her ass!
But his limbs were still not having it, and as he braced himself for another bought of highly-concentrated, gross, egg-gas to the face that would surely leave him puking and unable to function, he heard something unusual.
It was the faint whistling sound of a small, thin object flying through the air. His opponent was too focused on him to hear it, and Luck watched as a tiny needle flew out from the fog behind the woman and buried itself into the back of her neck like an insect sting.
"Ow!" Samira exclaimed reaching her hand back towards the needle, likely to try and find out what it was, "What the fu- AAAUGH!"
Her hand didn't even have the chance to touch the needle before her body suddenly stiffened. Then, as if by some silent cue, she collapsed into a screaming, convulsing pile on the ground until suddenly she just... fell unconscious.
Luck watched this with wide eyes, unsure what had just happened, but feeling glad that wasn't him.
Holy shit!
At least he was able to breathe. Now that the fog woman was knocked out, the gas immediately dissipated, leaving behind only a faint lingering smell of eggs to prove it had once been there. He also now had a clear view of Marion making her way towards him. Her straw doll was held readily in her grip, and her cane was tucked into the crook of her elbow to free up her hands. The doll was also now stuck with a matching tiny needle in its head like the one on Samira's neck, and there were other much larger, thicker nails sticking out all over its body, five in total. She looked annoyed, likely by his earlier mistake of ditching her, but Luck also noticed a hint of relief in her eyes as well as she picked her way around the bits of debris his fight has caused.
"And this is why we don't run off and leave our mission partners at the entrance of a Dungeon." She said, and Luck couldn't stop himself from sending her a sheepish chuckle as she walked over to where he was still recovering on his knees. "That took five nails." she commented, "The average magic knight usually faints at four. Impressive."
So the doll was linked to the woman through the tiny needle, Luck concluded, and the five bigger needles were the ones that caused... whatever had happened to the bandit woman?
But still...
"How's handling one extra nail impressive?" Luck asked, finally feeling steady enough to attempt standing now that he wasn't woozy from the gas.
"The pain inflicted doubles with each nail." Marion explains, pulling one of them out of the doll to let Luck have a closer look, "So by the time I get to four, most people are already in excruciating enough pain that their mind can't take it, and they pass out. So... take that and double it."
Okay, that was fair, Luck thought as he took the nail and fiddled with it curiously.
To think such a tiny thing could cause so much pain... It was pretty cool, when not on the receiving end of it. He wondered what his tolerance was! Would it be high or low? He wasn't sure. He never tried to quantify it. Maybe Marion could test it! Though, would she be willing to? Does a person's magic skill or mana levels have any impact on their tolerance? Mana can be used to enhance someone's durability, after all. What about the smaller needle? How deep did it have to sink into someone to establish a connection between them and the doll? Is the connection stronger the deeper it sinks into the flesh?
Before he could ask these questions, though, Marion let out a near jaw-breaking yawn that never failed to remind him of a sleepy kitten, effectively ending the conversation before it could even properly take off.
"We should get moving." she muttered, rubbing away a small tear from a tired eye, "The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can take a nap."
And that's the chapter. Hope you like it. Dear god the amount of writers block and perfectionist-procrastination I faced with this chapter was killing me! If you read the first chapter and were waiting on the second, thank you for your patience!