Chapter Sixty-Two: The Steel Eagle and The Phantom Lion
Here's the chapter for Day 2. Enjoy readers. Cya.
"I'm glad the two of you could make it here on such short notice,"
A week had passed since the trip to Yultim, the sun was just beginning to rise over the capital. Within Magic Knight HQ, more specifically the Wizard King's office, Julius sat on his chair, looking at the recipients of his recent statement.
Mereoleona, and beside her was Nozel.
"It's quite early, Julius, I take it this is something important?" the latter asked.
The time mage nodded. "It certainly is, Nozel, just a few hours ago, I received a letter stating a problem in a place called Chasmar Village, it's a rather prosperous area, right in the middle of the Common and Forsaken Realm. The letter stated that three days ago, a bandit group called The Unloved of Clover came to the village and completely took it over,"
"You got the letter today from three days ago?" Mereoleona repeated. "Well, that would make sense, during a takeover, it won't be easy to get information out, especially if it's calling for help too,"
"And that bandit group is no joke either. The Unloved of Clover is a group made up of former magic knights who were kicked out of their squads when it was discovered they were abusing their powers. I honestly didn't think they were still at large, we haven't had a problem regarding them for almost a year. I just assumed they disbanded," Nozel added.
"If they've taken over a village, you must want us to take care of them. But if that's true, why call us both unless you needed this handled by both our squads?" Mereoleona then asked.
"Well, as you most definitely know, you're one of our newest captains, and even though I don't doubt your skills for a second, you're more of a…wild type of mage. As such, I've asked Nozel to accompany you for assistance and to assure that things run smoothly. The only other captain I could imagine with Nozel's discipline would be Fuegoleon, but unfortunately, he's not with us at the moment," Julius explained.
"So, are we just going by ourselves?" the mercury mage asked.
"No, I want you both to take at most four magic knights. Knowing what we do about the letter and how it got here, the bandits don't know help is coming, so we mustn't lose the element of surprise, taking too many knights could jeopardize that, but taking too few can get you overwhelmed. So I've decided upon four as a good middle number," Julius replied. "I know you two can do this, good luck,"
"Thanks, you can count on us," the two clover-saluted before walking out.
Outside of the office, Mereoleona let out a chuckle. "Who'd ever think that the day would come when we would be working together on a mission? It feels kind of odd, seeing that I'm decently older than you. But then again, I never thought I would be a captain, but here I am," she said before suddenly resting her hand on the man's head, ruffling it gently. "Julius has asked you to watch over me, make sure you do a good job,"
"Leonè, don't baby me, I'm not a child anymore," Nozel said back as he pushed her hand off, a slight tone of embarrassment present.
"Leonè? It's been so long since you called me that," the flame mage said with a grin. "Well, I've already decided on the four knights I'm taking. What about you?"
Nozel cleared his throat, his demeanor once more becoming professional. "I think I've decided on mine as well,"
About an hour passed after Nozel and Mereoleona met with Julius. The sun was now fully up in the sky, its light peering into a window of Silver Eagles HQ.
More specifically, a window in Dante's room.
But the light didn't find the young Rossiu asleep in his bed. Rather, another ray of light found him asleep at his desk, not too far from his bed, his head resting upon crossed arms, an open book laid face down in front of him.
"Hmm, is it morning already?" he groaned softly as he opened his eyes. A yawn escaped his mouth before he stood up, taking some time to stretch.
"I guess I fell asleep at my desk again, I shouldn't try to make it a common occurrence, sleeping on my bed is more comfortable," the steel mage told himself. "Well, anyway, I had better get ready,"
Dante grabbed his towel and left his room, walking down a hallway towards the male bathing area. "It's been a whole week since the Star Festival, that means there's only one more week until the Royal Knights exam. I still don't know how the exam is going to be held, nor does anyone else in the squad, but regardless, everyone's been training quite hard recently. We'll all be ready," he thought.
Thirteen minutes passed before Dante returned to his room, his towel covering his lower half. He quickly dried off his blonde hair and the rest of his body before putting on his normal attire.
"Can't forget these," he went over to his desk, taking his wyvern pendant along with his satchel and grimoire. His eyes then fell on the only thing left on his desk.
The open book that laid face down.
"No way I'm forgetting this," Dante said as he grabbed the book, placing it in a different part of his satchel.
The steel mage was now ready for the day. He opened the door to his room and started walking in the opposite direction to where he was walking earlier. During that short walk, he spotted two squadmates speaking to each other.
It didn't take long for them to notice the blonde. "Good morning, Dante," they greeted politely.
"Good morning," he greeted back. Some time later, he arrived in the mess hall. Despite how often he entered the room, a part of him was always amazed by how large and extravagant the area where everyone dined was. But then again, this was a squad led by a royal, large and extravagant were nothing out of the ordinary for them.
The steel mage walked over to a part of the room where breakfast was being served and took his fill on a plate. Upon doing so, he began looking for a spot to sit down, while he was doing so, he passed through multiple tables, each filled with people, laughing and smiling in each other's company. Not too much time passed before Dante found a table of his own, he sat down and pulled out his book from earlier, reading it as he ate.
He didn't need to worry about not speaking to anyone else at his table, because there wasn't anybody else. He sat entirely alone.
Or so he thought.
"Yo Dante, morning," a voice greeted. The steel mage looked up to see who had spoken to him.
It was a male, standing around 5' 9, he had medium-sized black hair fashioned in a small ponytail along with piercing yellow eyes which only served to enhance the handsomeness of his face. He wore a fancy yellow collared shirt and beige pants, which was oddly complemented by the bright silver-ish color of his robe.
Dante recognized the male immediately. "Hello there, Kuro, good morning,"
Kuro then sat down. "Why do you keep sitting by yourself? Wouldn't you want to go and talk to some of the others?"
"No, I'm fine right where I am," Dante replied, his eyes remaining on the book's pages.
Kuro looked at the object that captured the teen's attention. "Still reading that book? Let me guess, you fell asleep at your desk again?"
"Correct,"
"The character on that book cover looks familiar. Didn't you get that during the first few weeks after you joined the squad?" Kuro then asked.
"I'm reading a series, this is the third book in the installment," Dante replied plainly as he finished the last of his breakfast.
"Oh, I see," the black-haired teen replied with a sigh. But then, he suddenly stood up and made his way to Dante, grabbing one of his arms.
"Why won't you ever just go and talk to someone?"
"I do. I voice my opinion in important matters, and when around my squadmates, I say enough so that it doesn't tarnish the family name,"
"Listen, man, I've been doing this nearly every damn day since you came here. As both your superior and your friend, I won't let you pass your days as a magic knight here just doing the bare minimum,"
It was then that Dante stopped for a second, looking away from his book to look at Kuro. Something he said had caught the steel mage's attention. "My friend? That's the first time I've heard you say that,"
Kuro raised a brow. "Really? I thought I've said it more often than that, I guess you must've not been around for those,"
"Hey Kuro, can I ask you a question?"
"Sure,"
"Why did you want to be my friend?"
The Silver Eagle was caught quite off guard with that question. "What?"
Dante looked back at his book as he continued. "I've seen you around here, you're really popular. Basically, everyone here knows you can and thinks you're cool, you have a good grasp on your spatial magic. Not to mention all the girls you can make swoon, a flirt who never misses his shot. So why would you want to be friends with me, a noble who doesn't go out of his way to talk to others? My earliest assumption was that you just wanted to use me, seeing that I'm a Rossiu, but you quickly showed that you weren't one to take advantage of others for your own gain. Now, I really don't know why, but regardless, the one reason I don't want it to be was out of pity," his grip tightened, ruffling the bottom pages of his book. "I hate being pitied,"
Kuro had never really thought of why exactly he and Dante were friends, as such, it took some time to formulate an answer. "Well-,"
"Hey there, Kuro," the spatial mage was interrupted as two people approached them.
Solid and Nebra.
Kuro's face changed into a smile. "Yo, Solid, how's it going?" he asked as the two high-fived.
"Just fine. I'm about to head out to the training grounds to test out a cool spell idea I had. Wanna join me, I bet your spatial magic would be a nice touch?"
"You bet, that sounds awesome," he replied before his eyes shifted to Nebra. "Morning there, beautiful, you're looking as good as ever, what are you trying to do, make me fall for you?"
Nebra chuckled. "Such a charmer, but I won't let you sway me this time. The last time I did, you almost had a spot in my bed one night. You shouldn't get cocky just because you're not a virgin,"
"Fair point, but I wouldn't mind trying again," Kuro stated with a playful smile.
"And the result will be the same," Nebra returned, giving the same smile. She then turned to the steel mage. "Good morning, Dante,"
"Good morning, Nebra…Solid," Dante greeted the mist mage normally, but glared at her brother as he spoke, Solid glaring right back at him before they both turned their faces.
"Well, Kuro and I should be off, time to test out that combo," Solid said, ready to leave.
"Just wait a moment,"
The sound of a familiar voice stopped all four knights. They turned around to see Nozel, walking towards them,"
"Good morning, brother," Solid and Nebra greeted respectfully.
Dante and Kuro clover-saluted. "Good morning, captain,"
"A good morning to you all, I hope you've all finished your breakfast, because I'll need the four of you in my office, we have something to discuss," Nozel said, quickly turning around and going on his way.
The four didn't plan on making Nozel wait, so they followed him to his office, waiting as he sat down and pulled out a paper from his desk.
"I'll cut to the chase, the four of you will be accompanying me on a mission," the captain explained. "We'll be working alongside Mereoleona and the group of knights she's bringing with her. As for what the mission entails, we'll be liberating a village from a bandit group formed up of former magic knights, the Unloved of Clover,"
"A liberation mission, and with another squad, this could be interesting," Kuro said.
"We'll be leaving as soon as possible. Does anyone have any questions?" Nozel asked.
Solid wasted no time speaking up. "Yeah, I have one," he then pointed at Dante. "Why did you have to take him? Don't you remember what happened during the Merit Ceremony? He attacked me,"
"I attacked you? If my memory serves me right, weren't you the one who started the whole debacle in the first place when you tried to attack Asta? I was just coming to his defense," Dante challenged.
"That's the problem, you came to his defense, he's just a lowly commoner. You should've let me teach him his place!" Solid yelled.
"Why would I let you do that? Just because he's a commoner, doesn't mean you can do whatever you want to him, they're people too. Besides, they're just as important as us, they are the backbone of the economy, without them, the kingdom would crumble, royalty and nobility would then mean nothing!" Dante yelled back.
"Enough!" a third voice joined, it was Nozel, his declaration succeeded in silencing the two, both silently bowing their heads in apology. "Whatever quarrel exists between you, I suggest you settle it later, and I don't want you two arguing during the mission either, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes sir," they answered in unison.
"Good, now let's get going, this paper has the coordinates of our rendezvous point with the Crimson Lion Kings. If we move fast enough, we should arrive there in half an hour," Nozel told them all. "Kuro, a portal to the outside if you will,"
"Yes sir," the spatial mage replied as he did so, the four walking into the portal and arriving at the front of the base.
Nozel took his grimoire out, watching as it flipped through pages, stopping on one. "Mercury Creation Magic: Majestic Steel Eagle!" he declared as a mass of liquid mercury formed above him, shaping itself into a large, intricately designed eagle. Said eagle flew down to the ground as the five knights mounted it before it flew off into the sky.
The first fifteen minutes of the way there was complete silence, until Nebra decided to speak up. "Brother, what exact village are we going to anyway?" she asked.
"Chasmar Village, which is in the middle of the Common and Forsaken Realm," he replied. "From what Julius told me, it isn't too bad of a place and is rather prosperous,"
"I guess it would make sense to raid it then," Kuro added. "Tons of resources to plunder, and far away enough from the capital to not be noticed early on, quite the plan,"
The remaining minutes passed and the group soon arrived over Chasmar, but they didn't land down at the center of the village, instead, the eagle landed by a nearby cave facing the village. The cave itself was elevated a good few feet in the air, acting as a good vantage point to see the majority of the area.
The eagle dissipated as everyone jumped off. "This should be the area," Nozel said, looking at the paper again. "I wonder when the others will get-,"
"Ah, you made it, good thing we weren't waiting for long," a voice said from within the cave. In a few seconds, Mereoleona along with her four knights emerged, which was the crimson quartet.
The crimson-clad captain walked up to the silver quartet. "Solid, Nebra, it's been some time since we've last seen each other. You two haven't been making trouble, have you?" she asked, placing a hand on their heads.
"Not at all, Leonè," they replied.
She then walked over to the steel mage. "And Dante, it's been even longer since we've seen each other, how's life been treating you?"
"Perfectly fine. I hope my sister hasn't been too much of a handful for you," Dante returned.
"Hey, I've been doing just fine, Mera doesn't mind me at all," Oxanna protested.
"I'll give her that, I'm a fan of her liveliness," Mereoleona chuckled before walking back to her group, placing her hand on the head of the younger royal beside her. "I think you all know my little brother, Leopold, as well as Oxanna Rossiu,"
The lightning mage stepped up. "As for me, I actually don't really recognize any of you, I'm Rama Asterius," he introduced, causing the brows of the silver eagles to slightly raise in surprise.
The lava mage followed suit. "And I'm Erika Molotov, a pleasure to meet you all as well,"
"These two behind me are my younger brother and sister, Solid and Nebra Silva," Nozel introduced to the crimson-clad squad.
"And as for me," the spatial mage began as he approached the other squad as well, namely Erika and Oxanna. "I'm Kuro Takayama, it's a pleasure to be in the presence of such beauties," he greeted, gently taking Erika's hand as he planted a small kiss on it, sending a quick wink her way.
"Ooh, he's quite the charmer, I'll give him that," the lava mage thought to herself.
Kuro was moving onto Oxanna, but before he could, both Dante and Rama quickly came to his side, both hands holding onto the spatial mage's arm, each sending a nonchalant glare his way. Kuro quickly picked up on what they were doing and retreated his arm, not wanting to cause a scene for no reason. He could understand why though, Dante was her older brother, and knew he was a flirt, it only made sense he'd want him to avoid flirtatious contact with his sister. Rama on the other hand, he had no idea what his motive was, but decided not to ask.
"So, what's our approach? How are we going to get this mission done?" Dante then asked.
"I already got a few things done," Mereoleona answered. "Before you got here, I had Rama use his speed to quickly set up some tiny little objects around the village, which are all connected to this," she then took out some chrome silver thing that looked like a stake. "This here is a magic item that'll let us hear what's going on down there, we can already see nearly everything, so we're all set. We can use this to get some info about how the condition of the village and villagers are,"
"And once we get enough, we can begin to formulate a plan," Nozel added. "But if we're going that route, this mission will most likely take all day,"
"We planned that it would take around that long, so we packed some food and water for everyone," Leopold revealed. "We'll have it when the sun is close to coming down, for now, we have a stakeout mission to worry about,"
"C'mon, get moving, the day just started!" a voice exclaimed through the stake, slightly catching everyone off guard. They all ran towards the mouth of the cave to get a look of the outside, hoping that wherever the sound was originating from wasn't out of their vision.
Luckily for them, it wasn't. Right near the center of the village, stood a tall man with tan skin who was bald, a black cloak covering his whole body.
"That cloak? He's one of the bandits," Nozel said.
Around the bald man were many people, all dressed in dirty, ragged clothes. They were all carrying different things, from stones to wood, others were by plots of land, harvesting vegetables, they too were being overseen by a cloaked figure, but it was a woman this time with braided red hair, snacking on an apple as she watched.
"Holy shit, it's worse than I thought," Kuro said. "These bandits aren't just plundering the village's resources for themselves, they're forcing the villagers to do manual labor, it's basically slavery,"
"Tell me, Nebra, do you see anything out of the ordinary?" Solid asked his sister, a mocking grin on his face.
"Aside from the bandits, nothing at all, Solid, filthy commoners doing the work they're supposed to do while knowing where they stand, not a thing wrong with that," Nebra replied as she laughed.
"Shut up," Rama coldly scolded them. "This is serious, we don't need your stupid jokes. And watch your mouth too, I may not look like it, but I'm a commoner too,"
"Oh right, you're from the Asterius family, what do they do again?" Solid taunted.
Rama got into a fighting stance. "Why don't you come at me and find out,"
"Hey, enough dilly-dallying over there, unless you three are volunteering to keep watch of the village for the time being?" Erika called.
The lightning mage got out of his stance, a small smile adorning his face as an eye glared at the two Silvas. "Actually, we wouldn't mind that all,"
Many hours passed since the two squads had been in the cave. During that time, they alternated watchmen in groups, with each group going for three hours, meanwhile, the others did various things, like talking with each other to pass the time, but most importantly, formulating a plan of action, which was mostly left to Nozel. The first group of watchmen was Rama, Solid, and Nebra, the second group up was Kuro and Leopold, with the third group consisting of Oxanna, Erika, and Dante.
The sun was close to setting when the third group finished their watch. "Ok, from what we saw, and what the other groups provided, these Unloved of Clover people really have this place under their hand," Oxanna explained. "They have strict rules regarding the villagers: they aren't allowed too far away, a member of the bandits are to be stationed in every building to prevent a possible rebellion, their curfew is at midnight, and each villager is put into a category of people who are designated to do a specific daily task,"
"With that kind of security, the person who sent us a letter for help must've taken a pretty big risk to do it," Mereoleona said as she stood up. "Alright Nozel, we're the last group that has to take watch,"
The mercury mage nodded as he too got up as they walked to the mouth of the cave.
The two then peered down, listening intently. "So, what's our plan? Are we still going with the mist strategy?"
"No, using Nebra's mist magic to launch an ambush is far too risky, we can end up hurting the villagers if they decide to go outside," he replied. "Then I thought about having Rama use his speed to make the bandits split up before leading them to separate corners of the village, where we'll have the others waiting. But then, that plan has many flaws and welcomes far too many possible outliers, it won't-,"
He was interrupted by the sound of Mereoleona giggling. "Was something I said funny, Leonè?"
"No, it's just what you're doing right now, it reminds me a lot of your mother," she replied.
Nozel widened his eyes. "My...mother?"
"Yeah, she told me that during missions, she always tried to come up with strategic plans, but she was never too good at it, her vice-captain was the one who did things like that. Acier, however, just charged into battle, opting for a simpler plan of action. You, on the other hand, are a better thinker than she is, but if there's anything her example taught me, it's to not be afraid to take the straightforward approach," she told him.
"The straightforward approach? Is that why you are like you are?" Nozel asked, his arms crossed as he leaned back on the wall of the cave.
Mereoleona did the same action, but a small smile was on her face. "It's part of the reason. It's mostly because the direct approach is more my thing, between me and Fuegoleon, he's the thinker, I might've been stronger than him, but outthinking him was nearly impossible,"
"You may be a bit more of a loose cannon compared to him, but…you're fine just the way you are. Fierce and respected, that's good in my book," the silver-clad captain said.
"What a nice thing to say. Although, I can't remember the last time you gave someone a compliment like that," the flame mage returned, forming a small playful smile on the mercury mage's face.
Meanwhile, deeper in the cave, Dante, Oxanna, and Erika sat down, a magic item in between them, creating a light bright enough to see things around them, but dim enough to not be noticeable from outside the cave, which could compromise their location to the bandits.
Leopold went a little deeper into the cave, pulling out a basket, he opened the basket, revealing various things to eat. "Well, the sun's practically set, so let's eat, but be moderate, if we have to move in, you don't want it to be on a full stomach," he advised as he handed each of them something.
Dante was handed a piece of bread, he nodded his thanks and took a bite. It didn't take long for him to pull his book out.
But it took even less time for Oxanna to notice what her brother was doing. "Hey Dante, whatcha reading? I didn't know you carried books with you on missions,"
"It's a book called Land of Ice, the third installment of a series called Worlds of the Damned. It follows a mage who was sent into a dimensional portal and has to go through other treacherous worlds in order to find his way back home, making friends along the way to do it. Lucky main character," the steel mage explained, whispering the last sentence to himself.
"Ooh, that sounds super interesting, I bet it must be hard to put it down," the phantom mage remarked.
This earned a groan from Kuro. "I wish it wasn't that good. Dante hardly ever interacts with his squadmates during his free time, he's either reading or training,"
"Really?" Erika asked, surprised by the fact.
"That's nothing new. Dante has always been on the antisocial side. Even when we were younger, he spoke to others as much as he needed to. In other words, with a majority of interactions, he's been a more reactive speaker rather than a proactive one. I actually can't remember the last time Mr. Stoic here ever started a light-hearted conversation," Oxanna informed everyone. "Regardless, it never really was a huge topic of discussion in the family. As long as he completed his duties as a noble, we just accepted that part of him,"
"Is that so? I just assumed he liked keeping to himself," Nebra added with a genuine tone.
"Whatever," Solid muttered, turning his head away.
"So you've never tried asking him why he's like that?" Leopold questioned.
"Nope," Oxanna responded.
"Why are you talking like I'm not here all of a sudden?" Dante suddenly cut in.
"Alright then, please explain why you are like you are?" the phantom mage asked, her expression becoming warm. "I'm your sister, and you're my brother, I only ask because I care. I know I haven't been one to inquire about it before, and if it isn't a problem, that's okay, but, if it is, you can tell us,"
Dante slightly looked up from his book, seeing everyone there, save for Solid, looking at him. He then saved his spot in the story and put the book down. "Well, I guess you could say it is a problem. The reason I don't interact in a friendly social manner with others is that…I don't know how,"
"You…don't?" Oxanna stated, not even trying to hide her surprise.
Dante nodded. "You see, for as long as I could remember, I wasn't really good at making connections with people, y'know, being friends. I was always kinda envious of you and Kenos, the two of you could make friends so easily, form bonds with them, getting closer and closer. It was even easier for you. Your upbeat attitude never failed to attract the people around you, your personality naturally drew them to you,"
"There's no doubting that," Erika remarked.
"But, that was never the case with me. The way I was hardly ever brought me friends. I tried taking the proactive route when I was younger, going out and talking to others, but each time, it felt so superficial, I never felt a spark go off that I had formed a bond with them, even a small one. I guess that eventually, I stopped trying, I just started keeping to myself more, if making connections was never going to happen for me, there was no point sulking about it. But, a part of me still wishes it could happen,"
The group sat in silence for a little while, before Kuro decided to break it. "So, is that why you asked me that question back at the base?"
"Yeah, and you still never got around to answering it," the steel mage reminded him. "Why did you want to be my friend?"
The spatial mage gave his answer a little thought before voicing it out. "Well, I think you'll first be pleased by the fact that it wasn't out of pity. If anything, contrary to what you said, it was because of who you are. I was there along with Captain Nozel during the second entrance exam, I saw the way you fought with your magic, the way you carried yourself with so much confidence, but still with humility, and when you joined the squad, the interactions you did have were so respectful, you have a strong moral compass, not to mention you never went out of your way to make enemies. What I'm saying is, you do have qualities that attract people, you just have to know what they are. Sure you might've stopped trying to form connections, but that doesn't mean you were never able to. If you want, I could always help you, after all, what are friends for?"
Dante was completely stunned by Kuro's response, never believing that could be his answer, a single tear dropped down his face, but he quickly wiped it away. Even Solid, who for the most part didn't want to care, was surprised by the whole interaction.
Rama quickly spoke up. "Hey, that book series you were reading earlier sounds pretty cool. I like to read too, maybe we could suggest some stuff to each other. That sounds like a nice friend thing we could do, y'know, if you want to be friends with me too? It would be nice getting close to both of Violet's brothers,"
The Rossiu nodded to his first request, having a second friend would be nice, especially one who liked to read, but something else he said quickly caught his attention. "Violet?"
"Yeah, that's my nickname for Oxanna, I got the idea from the stripe on her head, and when I spoke to your brother Kenos, I saw he had a stripe as well. If we're going to be friends, I should come up with a nickname for you. You have a stripe on your head too, and it's blue, so how would you like your nickname to be...Azure?"
"That actually sounds like a nice nickname," Nebra expressed, Kuro nodding in agreement.
"Azure, aye? What a great nickname for him, you've done it again, Tiger Cub," Oxanna said.
"Tiger Cub?" the four silver eagles all asked, their heads tilting in slight confusion.
"Oxanna's nickname for me is Tiger Cub, she decided on that because," Rama was beginning to explain before his face suddenly turned a little red. "She...thinks I'm cute," he finished slowly.
Solid and Nebra said nothing, Kuro was pretty sure he pieced together the reason the lightning mage intervened alongside Dante earlier during the day. Dante, on the other hand, his face became that of comedic indifference upon hearing the response. "Is that so? I'm keeping an eye on you,"
Rama was initially surprised by the steel mage's warning, but remembered what Kenos had told him the week prior. Similar to the solar mage, he was merely wishing to inquire about someone who was possibly romantically interacting with his sister.
The phantom mage stood up. "This was a good talk," she turned to her brother. "I'm glad to know you'll be opening up to people more, at least you'll be able to do more than business during interfamilial matters when we become heads of the family one day,"
"Wait a minute," Leopold cut in. "What do you mean by 'heads'? Sylvester's the oldest Rossiu of the generation, isn't he going to be the head?"
Dante shook his head. "No, in the Rossiu house, all the children of the generation become equal heads. Right now, the heads of the family are my dad and uncle, Marcus, but once they either die or step down, Oxanna and I along with Kenos and Sylvester will take over. It was a rule implicated by the first Rossiu,"
Meanwhile, Nozel and Mereoleona were still keeping watch. "It's getting late," the former stated.
And it seemed the bandits shared his view as one of them was soon heard through the item. "It is getting pretty late, I say we head in for the night," the bald man said.
The red braided-haired woman nodded before turning to the villagers. "You all heard Grant, into your homes! You'll be awakened at dawn as per usual! And we better not hear any noises!"
The villagers silently retreated back into their homes, not saying a word. Grant walked over to the woman. "Hey Sheila, have you seen the boss around?"
Sheila shrugged. "Nope, I think he's been in his room all day,"
"Really? Why don't you look behind you?"
The two bandits suddenly turned around, coming face to face with their boss, who was a tall, gruff-looking man, he had short black hair, and a large scar on the right side of his face.
"Lysandre," Grant said. "What do you need, boss?"
"I'm just here to tell you to meet up in the dining hall, we'll be having a feast," he responded, earning cheers from all the bandits as they congregated in the large building.
"A feast, aye? The perfect moment where everyone will have their guard down," Mereoleona mused.
"So, have we decided on a plan?" Nozel asked.
"Remember what I said earlier, plans are good, but there are times when you must take the straightforward approach," the flame mage replied as she cracked her knuckles. "And now is one of those times!"
The mercury mage watched as she jumped right out of the cave, he wasted no time alerting the others. "Everyone, we're moving in!" he called before jumping out himself. The other eight quickly followed suit.
Down in the village, a bandit walked out of the dining hall. "I had better keep watch, can't have any of the villagers trying to escape while we're feasting. Who knows, the boss might even give me a promotion once he sees how I've taken the initiative,"
"Flame Magic…," the bandit suddenly heard.
"Where did that come from? And why did it sound like someone was using a-," he never got to finish as he was suddenly face to face with Mereoleona, her fist raised in the air.
"...Calidos Brachium!" she finished, punching him dead in the face, shooting him into the wall of a nearby building.
In a matter of seconds, all the bandits came running out of the hall as well, with Lysandre at the head. "What is going on out here?! Just when we were about to start eating,"
"Eating can wait, right now, you're facing us," Mereoleona stated, the others landing behind her.
"What, the Magic Knights, but how?" Grant wondered aloud.
"The Silver Eagles, and...the Crimson Lion Kings," Lysandre said. "Well well, if it isn't some members from my old squad,"
"You were a part of our squad once?" Leopold asked.
"That's right, until Fuegoleon kicked me out five years ago when he found out I was forcing a town to send me the money from their taxes," he answered before looking intently on Leopold, and then to Mereoleona. "Hm, I'm getting an odd resemblance between two of you and him,"
"That would make sense, after all, we are that fool's siblings, and I'm taking over as captain in his place for the time being. So I'll take care of you for him,"
This earned a chuckle from the bandit leader. "Oh really, are you now? You can try, but you won't succeed. Rally yourselves, Unloved of Clover!"
Each of the bandits spread out as they took out their grimoires, making their numbers more apparent.
The crimson-clad captain did a quick count. "Forty mages? You spoke so confidently when all you had were forty mages? You should've had 100, then at least some of your forces would get out of this place alive, in chains though," she looked to the others. "Do what you want, but just make sure you don't lose,"
With that, both sides charged at each other. Kuro was the quickest to act, forming a portal and jumping into it, appearing above a bandit, he violently kicked his head, knocking him out immediately.
"That's one down," he said, but quickly jumped out of the way when he saw fire coming at him.
"Impressive reflexes, you're quite good," the bandit who shot the fire, who turned out to be Sheila, commented. "And you're quite the looker,"
"Why thank you, I must say, you're quite beautiful as well. Forgive me, but I must defeat you," Kuro said back.
"We'll see about that, Flame Magic: Fireball Flash!" she exclaimed as a large fireball formed before her, coming at the silver eagle at quick speeds.
But the speed didn't worry him in the slightest. "Spatial Magic: Helix Cancel!" he declared, creating a portal in front of him as the fireball entered it.
Sheila was shocked. "What happened to my spell?"
"Look up," Kuro told her as she did so, to which she saw her fireball in the air, multiple spatial portals around it in the shape of a helix. The fireball kept going into one portal into another, effectively being trapped in the air.
"What was the point of doing that?"
"You'll see, eventually," Kuro replied as he jumped into another portal, appearing in the air again.
Sheila cracked a grin. "I was a former magic knight, you really think that strategy will work on me. Flame Magic: Fire Geyser!" she exclaimed, positioning her arms upward as they blasted a burst of flames.
"Impressive, then I'll just step up my game," Kuro grinned as he formed a portal between him and the oncoming attack, appearing right under the woman. He wasted no time using his arms to aid his body in performing a two-legged sweep kick, sending his opponent to the ground.
But she quickly responded by shooting a basic blast of fire to establish distance, but Kuro wasn't going to let her regain her footing. He quickly ran towards her and jumped up right into a portal.
"I need to get another attack in, then-," Sheila was saying, but was interrupted as Kuro was soon right in front of her, he quickly did a backflip kick, slamming her chin directly. But that wasn't it, he formed a portal in front of the woman, a fireball coming out of it and hitting her point-blank, the shockwave sending him back a bit.
Sheila laid weakly on the ground. "That was...my fireball. How...did you do that?"
"I told you that you would see eventually. My Helix Cancel keeps your spell in an infinite loop, which I can then use against opponents with an additional portal whenever I please. It works quite well with my close quarters strategy," Kuro explained as she fell unconscious.
"Lava Creation Magic: Meteorite Shower!" Erika exclaimed as the meteorites fell down, crashing into five bandits.
"Lava magic? Never seen that before," Grant remarked as he walked towards her. "You look like a good opponent, let's do this,"
Erika's face grew determined. "Alright, Lava Magic: Igneous Rock Blast!" she exclaimed again, forming a large boulder of hardened lava in front of her. She clenched her fist, breaking them apart into multiple pieces before shooting them at Grant.
"Not bad, Emerald Magic: Gem Wall!" he declared, forming a green wall of emerald to protect him. "Time to get offensive, Emerald Creation Magic: Bladed Fists!" he created emerald green knuckles with blades at the top.
The two then charged at each other, the bandit shooting the first blow, Erika quickly dodged it, launching a punch of her own. Grant successfully dodged it as well and sent another punch, this one managed to form a cut on her cheek.
He grinned. "C'mon, that can't be all you got?"
Blood ran down the cut on her cheek, but Erika wiped it off. "You're right, this isn't all I've got. I've been training the hardest than I ever have in my life, I'm getting a lot stronger, and I'll prove it by beating you! Lava Magic: Ash Torrent!" at her call, volcanic ash surrounded them.
Grant started coughing. "Shit, I can't see, and this is burning my throat,"
"Don't worry, it'll be over soon," Erika stated, her grimoire flipping to one of her newest pages. "Lava Magic: Magma Uppercut!" she exclaimed, her fist igniting as she punched the man by his chin, sending him to the ground. A notable burn was visible.
"Lightning Creation Magic: Voltage Polearm!" Rama exclaimed as he equipped his weapon, standing back to back with Oxanna. "Ready, Violet?"
"You bet, it's time we show what our week of training can do, I can even join you in the weapon game, Phantom Creation Magic: Reaper's Scythe!" she called, forming a scythe with a ghastly red blade.
"Ooh, a scythe? I like it, Lightning Magic: Presence of Byakko!" Rama declared as his eyes became like that of a tiger and lightning circulated around him.
Oxanna was a bit surprised by the spell he used. "Presence of Byakko? I've never seen you use that before, what about Force of Raijin?"
"The two spells are basically amplification spells, where Force of Raijin is used to increase my speed and reaction time, Presence of Byakko increases my overall strength and durability," he replied.
"Nice," she said as they quickly divided. Rama spun his polearm, moving in close, he used the blade skillfully, forming moderate cuts on his enemies' legs. He then stabbed his weapon into the ground, switching to hand-to-hand combat.
"Take this, magic knight!" a bandit exclaimed, launching a punch covered in stone, but Rama only grinned as he stopped the punch effortlessly and grabbed her arm, slinging her over him and onto the ground. He then grabbed her arm with both hands and launched into a trio of bandits.
"There we go," he quickly praised himself before his mana sense kicked in and he dodged a wind blast coming from behind him. The lightning quickly ran towards the new opponent, doing a series of backflips before doing a higher one just in time to dodge a second attack, by then, he was right behind the bandit in mid-air, upon landing, he did a sweep kick, propelling the wind mage into the air, and then punched him.
Rama quickly went back and took his weapon, charging into more action.
Oxanna was doing pretty well herself, fending off bandits with her scythe. "Not bad, but I need to take them down faster, Phantom Creation Magic: Galloping Nightmare!" she exclaimed, forming a ghostly black horse, she quickly mounted as it neighed.
"Giddy up!" the brown-haired girl cheered as her horse went on the move, its speed allowing her to dodge enemy attacks and launch successful ones of her own.
"Now this is what I call a trusty spell, I owe Erika and Mera a lot for helping me make this, now why don't we kick it up a notch, or maybe a few notches, Phantom Magic: Galloping Nightmare - Ghostly Wail!" at her call, the horse opened its mouth to release a devastating shriek, launching four bandits into the air, sending them crashing into the ground.
The horse turned around, but that's when Oxanna saw a congregation of bandits standing together, ready to launch a unified attack. "You've done well, my ghastly steed, but I can finish this myself," she said before jumping high into the air.
"Is this girl an idiot, even with a weapon, she's left herself wide open!" one of the bandits confidently stated.
"Wide open? I wouldn't exactly say that, this is what I like to call winning," Oxanna said back as her grimoire flipped to another one of her newest pages. "Phantom Curse Magic: Draining Shade!" she exclaimed as a dark green cloak appeared on her, as she fell, the cloak created a ghastly black and red wind, the wind taking on a mind of its own as it took on the shape of many hands, those hands moving down and grasping the bandits, causing them to fall unconscious.
A smirk touched Oxanna's face as she landed. "Draining Shade, when those hands grab a hold of you, they'll drain both stamina and mana. But it looks pretty dangerous, so I should watch who I use it on,"
"Flame Magic: Spiral Flame!"
"Steel Creation Magic: Thousand Knives!"
Dante and Leopold were standing back to back, firing their long range attacks. "How are you holding up there?" the latter asked.
"I'm doing just fine, they may have been magic knights, but being bandits made them rusty," he replied.
"No arguments here," Leopold said before he noticed a bandit in the air, coming right at him.
"Too slow, Flame Magic: Flame Tempest!" the royal exclaimed as he brought his hands together, aiming them at the mid-air enemy before spreading them out, releasing flames that pushed the bandit back.
"Let's not waste any time, Steel Binding Magic: Scattering Chains!" Dante exclaimed as multiple chains shot out from his grimoire, constraining any nearby bandits and bringing them together. "Hey Leopold, do you know any close-quarter spells?"
"Yeah, I do,"
A grin touched Dante's face. "Good, Steel Creation Magic: Straightforward Ballista!" he continued, forming the ancient launching weapon. "Leopold, jump onto my ballista, it'll shoot you,"
"Okay," the flame mage responded as he did so, and was fired towards the bound mages. "Nice assist, Dante, Flame Magic: Igni Impact!" at his call, fire gathered in both hands, he then spun around, becoming a spiral of flame as he crashed into them.
"Say, Nebra, how long do you think it'll take to beat these chumps?" Solid asked, he and his sister began running towards a quintet of bandits.
"It shouldn't take too long, in fact, let's make sure it doesn't even take a minute," Nebra replied as her grimoire flipped to a page. "Mist Magic: Ambush Field!" she spread her arms out as a thick mist surrounded them.
"Damn it, I can't see a thing!" the bandits yelled.
"That's the point, within my Ambush Field, only those I allow to can see, not to mention their mana becomes virtually undetectable," the mist mage thought.
"My turn," Solid whispered. "Water Binding Magic: Sea Serpent's Coils!" before they could even realize it, the five were bound by the watery reptiles.
The two Silvas jumped into the air as Nebra dissipated the mist, letting their enemies see the faces of the victors.
"Water Magic: Holy Water Bullet!"
"Mist Creation Magic: Mist Daggers!"
With that, the two launched their attacks, subduing the mages. As they landed, they both sneered.
"Not even a minute," they both said.
Meanwhile, with Mereoleona and Nozel, the captains were having no trouble at all fending off the unlucky bandits that happened to be their opponents. In fact, they weren't even using any spells, the flame mage was merely using mana-enhanced punches, while the mercury was using simple mercury constructs, merely a shield and a few swords.
"I don't know what Julius was talking about when he said for us to each bring four knights, these people aren't that tough!" Mereoleona expressed.
"Perhaps, but these were former magic knights. Some of them would have a grasp on how we fight, I guess Julius just did that as a precaution," Nozel responded.
"Not tough, aye? Then why don't you try me on for size!" Lysandre exclaimed as he ran towards the two, his grimoire out. "Ice Magic: Glaciator Collision!"
At his call, the outside of his body became coated in ice, his speed also increasing, soon he was moving almost thrice as fast than before.
A sadistic grin came to Mereoleona's face. "Ooh, I guess you could offer me a challenge, Flame Magic: Calidos Brachium!" she declared as the two attacks met. Although there was a slight struggle, that struggle only lasted for a few milliseconds before Lysandre was violently forced back.
But the ice mage quickly got back up. "Lucky shot, Ice Magic: Frost Land!" he continued as he placed his hands on the ground, forming a layer of ice that spanned almost the entire fighting area.
Nozel raised a brow. "Ice on the ground? He's trying to limit our mobility while speeding up his own,"
"You caught on, so I don't have to explain!" Lysandre exclaimed as he sped up like before, recasting his previous spell.
"Ice? You saw my attribute and you really think that ice can stop me!" Mereoleona bellowed as raging fiery mana surrounded her entirely, its powerful heat effortlessly melting the ice.
"So what? You may have melted my ice, but I still have all this momentum!"
"Lightning Magic: Electro Barrier!"
At the sound of the sudden declaration, the captains and Lysandre was sort of shocked to see Rama in between them, a large barrier of white lightning encasing him, blocking the bandit leader's attack.
The crimson lion king landed next to the two, Mereoleona crossing her arms with an impressed look. "Not bad. But you look different, I don't see any tattoos. I take it this isn't your speed spell?"
Rama shook his head. "Nope, it's a strength-boosting spell. Hey captain, would you mind…if I finished him off?"
His captain pondered the idea. Lysandre was obviously no match for either her or Nozel, letting someone deliver the finishing blow wasn't a detriment in any way. "Alright then, go ahead,"
"Thank you, ma'am," Rama said gratefully. "Erika, form three walls in a rectangle, with the open side facing me!"
"On it!" she replied, quickly forming the trio of hardened lava walls, some magma still oozing.
Lysandre looked ahead and saw Rama standing there. "So, junior, why did you want to take me on?"
"Why? You extorted money from innocent people, that's both dishonorable and unforgivable. Then you talk a big game, but can never really deliver, you're painfully arrogant. Who you are goes against nearly everything my family stands for, you didn't deserve to be a part of our squad," the lightning mage replied.
"Are you going to use Slash of the White Tiger?" Oxanna asked aloud.
"No...I'm going to use something even stronger," he replied again as he crouched down a bit, holding his polearm in a sheathing position.
Lysandre angrily charged forward. "Who cares what move you're going to use?! I'll finish you before you can even use it, Ice Magic: Glaciator Collision!"
Despite the enemy that was nearing him, Rama closed his eyes and took deep breaths. "Calm yourself down, clear your mind, no happiness, no sadness," he thought nonchalantly, his mind's eye seeing nothing but black.
"You think he'll be fine?" Dante asked, a little anxious.
"He'll be fine, Tiger Cub's tough," the phantom mage replied confidently.
"Time to die, junior!" the ice mage screamed.
"No," was all Rama said, his voice soft and emotionless as his eyes opened. "Lightning Magic: Voltage Polearm - Peaceful Sorrow," he said, becoming a flash of lightning as he took a step, already appearing behind Lysandre. As for the ice mage, there was a large X-shaped cut that broke through his ice and scarred him.
"Incredible, although it has some similarities to Sylvester's Striking Moongazer, but a bit slower," Dante commented.
"True, but the strength boost he got from Presence of Byakko will add some extra oomph, which makes up for the slower speed if you ask me," Oxanna countered.
"Not bad," Mereoleona said as she walked up to him, she then looked around to see all the bandits subdued. "Everyone who knows a binding spell, restrain as many of these jokers as you can,"
"Steel Binding Magic: Scattering Chains!"
"Water Binding Magic: Sea Serpent's Coils!"
"Mist Binding Magic: Mist Spider's Threads!"
"Lightning Binding Magic: Zig-Zag Stun!"
"Phantom Binding Magic: Apparition's Clutches!"
In a short three minutes, all the bandits were rounded up. "There we go, mission accomplished!" Leopold cheered. But then another sound was heard, in fact, multiple sounds. The knights looked around and saw what caused them.
The villagers walking out of their homes.
"Magic Knights. And they defeated the bandits," one person said, and then they began to cheer as well.
Nozel stepped forward. "Excuse me, if I could, I'd like to talk to your village chief?"
To that, a woman stepped forward to meet him. "I'm sorry, but...our chief's dead. He was the one who managed to call you for help, but he was caught outside of the village area. Luckily, he managed to convince them that he had just escaped and hadn't been able to do anything, so they killed him," she explained. "He was my husband, so I'll take over as the chief,"
"Oh, I see, you have my condolences. But we must head to the capital and put these bandits into custody. Good luck to your village," the mercury mage said. "Kuro, a portal,"
"Yes sir," he replied, forming a portal as everyone walked through it, arriving at the capital. Upon heading to Magic Knights HQ and handing in the group, they were all walking on the street, the area nearly empty as it was quite late.
Rama walked over to Mereoleona. "Um, captain, thanks again, for leaving their leader to me,"
"No problem, I could've taken him down immediately if something went wrong, so there was no risk. Although, those were some impressive spells you pulled off, especially your speed and strength-boosting spells. But when I found out you knew a spell to increase your speed and strength respectively, I thought about how it would work if you combined them or something,"
That last sentence made the white-haired teen hold his chin. "Hey, that actually sounds like a cool idea. Would you mind helping me pull it off?"
"Of course, that sounds incredibly interesting," she responded.
"Um, not that I don't like speaking to each other some more, but why are we just walking to our bases, I can just make a portal for us," Kuro spoke up.
"He's right, we can hand in our reports to Julius tomorrow," Nozel said as the spatial mage made two portals.
"It's been fun, see you around, Dante, and you others," Oxanna waved.
"Yeah, see you around, Azure," Rama joined in as the crimson-clad mages walked into one of the portals.
The silver eagles walked through their own portal, arriving in front of their base. Kuro stretched his arms. "Damn, that was one of the longest missions I've ever been on,"
"Tell me about it, most of the time we spent was just us sitting around," Solid said.
"Perhaps, but...I don't mind that at all," Dante remarked, forming a smile on Kuro's face, but then the steel mage turned to him. "Hey, Kuro,"
"Yeah?"
"When we get inside, could we head to my room? I was wondering if we could talk for a little while?" he asked.
Kuro slung his arm over Dante's shoulder. "Sure,"
Elsewhere in the capital, a man walked through the night. His hair was a dirty gray, and his clothes were quite worn out.
Across from the mysterious mage were two nobles, speaking to each other as they walked.
"I'm telling you, it was close, I just managed to get away," the first noble said.
"Damn, then you were lucky, not many people can escape those kinds of mages-," the second noble was saying before the man from before bumped into him. And the noble was not pleased.
"Watch it, you damn peasant! Didn't you see us coming this way?!" he exclaimed, but the man said nothing.
"Don't waste your time on him, I bet he's just dumb. That is a common quality of their kind after all," the first noble said as they both laughed and went on their way.
The man finally opened his mouth to speak. "Stupid nobles, arrogant and discriminatory, people like them give this kingdom a bad name," he said as he went on his way as well, turning into a dark hallway.
The man slowly advanced, but stopped as he detected a mana signature. "Hello, I was told that this was where I could find a famous assassin who goes by the name of...Zaxon,"
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the shadows, it was a tall man, he wore a sleeveless blue and green shirt, with black cloth pants. His hair was a dark green, multiple scars adorned his face, his black eyes void of emotion.
"I am he. What do you desire?" he plainly asked, his voice cold with nonchalance.
"There's a noble I'd like you to eliminate for me, all some of them do is tarnish our kingdom, in more ways than one, so they must be exterminated," the man replied.
"Okay, is there a picture you have of this noble, or can you perfectly describe them to me?" the assassin asked again.
"Yes, I have a picture. I'm lucky to have been able to get this, it was close," the man responded as he took out a picture and showed it to Zaxon.
In the photo, however...was a picture of Kenos.
Author's Note
Kuro Takayama was an OC given to me by chaoticallyfairy.