0713MM: Hey guys! I welcome you to the 57th chapter of The Silver Valkyrie! I do not own Black Clover, nor its characters, nor the OCs that are used in this chapter. The OCs and spells used in this chapter belong to guardian of the aura Aurasoul and Warmachine375. Chapter start!^^

Chapter 57

"Thanks for the sword tips Ren."

"No problem, Liebe." Ren and Liebe were outside in the area of the Golden Dawn base, with Ren helping Liebe with some sword techniques for the swords, as well as with some techniques to use with Anti-Magic through the swords as well.

"Kek. Now I'm actually getting a bit excited to spar Asta or his wife Noelle." Liebe couldn't help but remark in amusement. At his remark, Ren lightly chuckled.

"You'll get there eventually." She agreed with the Devil equivalent to Asta. "The fact that you're also a fast learner like Asta also helps."

"Kek kek. Thanks." Liebe responded. "Now then, we should-"

"Ren!" The duo heard someone coming from up behind them, to which they turned to face said someone. Surprisingly, lest for Liebe, it was Letoile.

"Letoile?" Ren asked the light greenette Golden Dawn. "What's going on?"

"There's ah…" Letoile began, breathing heavily to catch her breath. "The base is being attacked….!"

"What?" Liebe questioned. "By whom?" Ren frowned in concern.

"Let's go and-" Ren didn't get to finish her sentence as one of the walls to the base exploded and out flew out Yuno in his Spirit Dive form, followed by a young blackette woman with Plasma creatures following her.

"You won't kill any of my squad members, you wretch!" Yuno grit his teeth.

"Oh ho, really now?" The blackette woman taunted. "And do tell, how will you stop me?"

"Like this!" Yuno retorted, raising his right arm up." Wind Spirit Magic:!" As he charged the spell up, Ren looked up and scanned over the young woman. While the black hair and clothing signified Zogratis relations, there was one thing that caught Ren's attention; thus she widened her eyes upon said realization.

"Yuno wait!" She called out to him.

"Too late." Leibe frowned deeply as Yuno's Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Storm blasted a hole right through the woman's chest; thus she coughed up blood.

"A-Augh…!" She coughed up more blood. Despite her injury, a bloodied smile appeared on her face. "Aha, not bad Spade Prince. But did you actually think it'd be that easy to kill me?"

"...Yes actually." Yuno retorted bluntly.

"Yuno!" Ren scolded. "Do you not know who that is?" At the way Ren spoke, Yuno turned to face her.

"What do you mean Ren?" He asked. "Look at her hair color. It is that of the Zogratis. As such, she's an enemy." An irked tick mark appeared on Ren's forehead and she grabbed Yuno's cheek; thus pinching it. Yuno yelped in response, while Liebe couldn't help but snicker.

"You dolt! That's your niece!" Ren chided him. At first, the information didn't process in Yuno's mind. But after another minute or 2, his amber eyes widened slightly.

"What….?!" Yuno breathed, turning his attention to now a fully healed Aci. "Aci….?! Is that you?"

"Aci? Aci who?" She repeated. "If you mean Silva, then no. I'm Aci Zogratis." Liebe unsheathed both the Demon-Slayer and Demon-Dweller Swords from his grimoire and narrowed his eyes.

"Fuck those Zogratis!" Liebe snarled. "I'll be sure that I return you to normal! For Asta and Noelle's sake, I will!"

"Hoh?" Aci wondered aloud. "And how will you possibly accomplish such a thing?" Several Plasma Creatures stood beside the airborne Aci, watching the 3 mages intensely.

"Like this!" Liebe began, flying up towards her. "Anti-Magic: Absolute Cancel!" He swung the 2 swords across all of the Plasma Creatures; thus dispelling them in an instant.

Plasma Magic…. Ren thought with a frown. If I recall correctly, it's one of the most dangerous magical attributes out there. How the hell the Zogratis's and Morris manage to do this to a poor infant and have her age up to the physical capacity of a 15 year old, I will never know, nor do I want to know. But what I do know is that we need to return Aci to normal ASAP. Her frown then deepened as she watched Yuno jump back into the fight to aid Liebe against Aci. But how do we do that without accidentally killing her? She watched as Liebe and Yuno continued to fight against Aci and her Plasma Magic, along with the creatures she Summoned via it. Or they were led to believe. Alas, Ren continued to pay attention to the battle between the 3. She evaded an attack with ease from Aci, then she looked up and noticed that Aci was keeping Liebe away from her thanks to her Plasma creatures. As such, her eyes widened slightly.

That's it! Ren thought. If we're able to give Liebe an opening to hit or touch her, all of the magic placed on her will disperse; thus freeing her! After her inner thoughts ended, she flew up into the air to join the battle.

"Heh." Aci chuckled darkly as she evaded the Anti-Magic attacks from Liebe, while either blocking or taking Yuno's attacks head on with little care in the world. "Even with all of this, you still can't do a damn thing to me!"

"Tch…!" Yuno grunted in irritation.

We only can't do a damn thing to you because we don't want to hurt you, let alone kill you! Liebe thought in anger and frustration; cutting down a few more of her Summoned Plasma creatures.

This will go from bad to worse if we can't figure out how to stop this. Yuno thought. He blocked a Plasma Magic blast, then he turned and saw Ren slice through several Plasma Magic Summoned creatures with her Light Magic's Seraph Blades spell.

"Ren." He spoke towards her, a small smile on his face. Ren turned to face Yuno and nodded, then back to Aci.

"Yuno, I have a plan." She told him. "And Liebe is our key." Yuno waited for Ren to continue as he evaded another Plasma Magic blast from Aci, who was cackling as she did so.

"Hahaha!" Aci grinned maliciously. "Yes! More!"

Light Magic: Seraph's Grace. Ren thought. After she casted it, she extended its power to Yuno so he too could travel at lightspeed. The boost to Yuno's speed from my spell is for a limited time. About 5 minutes tops. If we can't defeat Aci by then, then things could get worse. As powerful as I am, I'm not sure how long I'd be able to go without severely hurting her. Or even worse, kill her. She shuddered at that thought. I don't know how I'd be able to tell Asta and Noelle that, let alone be forced to live with such a thing for the rest of my life.

"Plasma Summoning Magic: Plasma Agent, Plasma Statue, and Plasma Molten Gargantuan!" Aci cackled as 3 plasma creatures rose out of the ground, burning it away as they did so before flying up into the air to aid their master.

"Goddammit, there's more?!" Liebe snarled in frustration.

"Two can play that game then." Ren frowned. "Light Creation Magic: Seraph's Knights!" Knights of light appeared with wings sprouting from their backs as they swiftly flew attacking Aci's creatures crashing to the ground.

"Tch…!" Aci grunted. "I can see that. But do you think that'll matter?"

"It actually does." Yuno added. "You might be able to Summon those creatures, but you'll eventually run out of mana that way."

"Will I?" Aci asked rhetorically, a dark smile appeared on her face. "Then let's see how you handle this!" Pressurized mana began to surround Aci, to which she groaned, not fully used to what she was about to do, but saw it as necessary if it meant she'd get an upperhand.

"Shit…..!" Letoile cursed. "Is she doing what I think she's doing…..?!"

"She's unleashing a portion of Asmodeus's power…!" Liebe growled. "Oh this isn't good….! Not just for us, but for her as well…!"

"This isn't good!" Fay winced.

"She's hurting herself just to get an advantage…." Yuno frowned deeply. "Oh, I'm so not looking forward to telling Asta and Noelle about this."

"Devil Power: 50%!" Aci grinned maliciously. Her normal pink eyes now had one of them as a reddish-black, two wings sprouted from her back, and a summoning circle Devil Mark appeared under her clothes before revealing itself on the front of her shirt, merely halfway completed.

"Dammit, binding her won't be easy now." Ren scowled.

"I don't think binding was an option to begin with." Yuno frowned deeply.

"I just need an opening to get a hit in on her." Liebe spoke. "If you 2 can give me that, we can save her."

"As if I'd let you hit me with your disgusting power!" Aci sneered.

Asta…Noelle…. Forgive me if I hit your daughter a little too hard. Liebe thought as he prepared himself for the fight to continue.

"Ren you gotta Spirit Dive." Fay frowned. "I know you don't wanna hurt the kid, but we have no choice."

"Ugh yeah I know." Ren winced.

"I'm already in mine." Yuno remarked.

"We can see that." Liebe snipped. Ren nodded to Fay going into Spirit Dive as she took in her surroundings for a moment.

Ok let's try this… She thought, as a long whip formed in her hand.

"Light Spirit Creation Magic: Holy Seraph Jegudiel!" Ren unleashed her whip as he whipped and headed for Aci who quickly flew to dodge.

"Ha! You think that's gonna-?! What the?!" Aci shrieked, dodging the whip that was swiftly following her.

"Holy Seraph Jegudiel is a whip that follows its target." Ren replied, pulling the whip slightly to allow it to turn and speed for Aci who tried to get away. "Until it binds them tight."

"Plasma creatures!" Aci called, Summoning more to her aid. "Deal with them!" She turned her head and grinned as she took notice of Letoile. "Deal with her first!"

"Don't think so." Ren frowned, snapping her fingers. At that more knights were created clashing with the creatures slashing them down with blades of light.

"Nice." Yuno remarked, turning his attention back to Aci. "Let's see here… Ah, right. Wind Spirit Magic: Sylph's Breath!" As soon as he casted the spell, any further Plasma creatures Aci Summoned were blown away. Until she herself was caught up in the blast and spun around and around until Ren's Light Magic spell whip caught her leg.

"Fuck!" Aci cursed.

"Gotcha!" Ren pulled down, forcing Aci down and twirled the whip to bind her.

"I can't fall like this!" Aci groaned. "I've got so much I need to do!"

"You won't be thinking like that for long." Ren frowned. "Do it now Liebe!"

"Right!" Liebe flew/lunged at her with incredible speed that not even she could respond in time, let alone think of a way to escape. So, Liebe swung the Demon-Dweller Sword and hit her in the forehead. Unfortunately, it cut the skin a little bit, making her Devil Uncle wince.

"What's happening?" Letoile asked as she walked over slowly.

"G-Gah!" Aci cried out. "No! I…..I don't wanna….!" Her physical appearance, as well as the other magical experimentations done to her began to reverse. As she continued to talk, her voice started reversing until she herself now looked like a baby again; tied in Ren's spell.

"Oh stars!" Ren gasped, quickly undoing the spell.

"Ba ba!" Aci giggled. This caused Letoile to blink, then gape.

"Waitwaitwait!" She stammered. "That 15 year old looking girl…was actually a baby?! What the actual fuck?!"

"Language!" Ren scowled, carefully picking Aci up as her Spirit Dive came undone. "And this was no doubt Morris's doing. Once I get my hands on that psycho, he will be wishing he died a long time ago. Oh I'm so sorry Aci sweetie for tying you up like that…!"

"I think we're all sorry for doing what we did to her." Liebe spoke up as he put his right hand on her forehead, to which Aci giggled at the affection. "Right Yuno?"

"I didn't know it was her until after Ren scolded me for attacking her." Yuno tried to defend himself.

"But you are sorry, right?" Letoile asked him. Yuno winced as he walked up to Ren, gently touching Aci's cheek; thus making her coo brightly.

"...Of course I am." He breathed, leaning on Ren heavily.

"Good." Letoile smiled. "Now, I'm clearly going to need a replacement arm for the one I lost."

"Oh Letoile! I'm so sorry I completely forgot! You're still bleeding!" Ren gasped, quickly forming a recovery spell to stop the bleeding from Letoile's injury.

"Heh, thanks Ren." Letoile said before her vision started to blur. "Unn… I think I lost…too much blood….." She then fell forward and hit the ground; passing out.

"Letoile!" Yuno gaped.

"It's just the blood loss. Once Ren closes up the wound, she'll be fine." Fay frowned, flying to examine Letoile.

"I should be done soon. I'll have my knights carry the wounded to the infirmary of the base." Ren frowned, forming more knights.

"I believe Letoile said that there were more wounded in the base itself." Yuno recalled.

"We'll have to contact for more healers, you won't be able to do it by yourself Ren." Fay frowned.

"Yeah I know." Ren winced, as a knight picked up Letoile. "I'll call Julius and inform him of what happened and I'll need to give Aci a look over to make sure she's 100% ok…"

"Let me come with you." Liebe offered. "We'll also need to contact Asta and Noelle about this." He winced at the thought. "Which I don't want to do, but I know I have to. It's the right thing to do, after all."

"Ugh yeah, that's gonna be-!" Fay stopped feeling his insides go cold as ice and his breathing nearly stopped and they looked at him.

"Fay? What's wrong?" Ren asked her Spirit. Then Yuno noticed Bell looking pale, floating down and he caught her.

"Bell?" He asked her, concern in his voice, which is a rarity for her to hear. "What's wrong? I don't think I've seen you this pale before. Or at all really." Bell looked up at Yuno, but she didn't say a thing.

"Oh no no no no no…!" Fay choked, clutching his head tightly in a panic.

"Fay what's wrong?" Ren gasped, holding her spirit in worry.

"What's going on? Why are your spirits pale as ghosts?" Liebe asked as Aci continued to babble excitedly, unaware of what the others around her were talking about.

"I don't know. I never saw him like this in the near century I've known him." Ren frowned, worried.

"It's….." Bell started, then trailed off. She couldn't say it. She just couldn't. Ren looked even more worried when her communicator went off. Moving Aci in one of her arms she took it out and activated it to reveal Julius and Acier's faces.

"Oh you two. I was just about to contact you." Ren began. "Listen, we need as many healers as you can spare to come to the Golden Dawn base-"

"Ren dear….." Acier spoke softly. "It's…. This is about Lolopechka….."

"Lolopechka?" Ren frowned. "Look I'm sure everything is fine, but we really need healers here Acier."

"I'll send out the healers." Julius spoke up, his voice was also soft. "Acier, please…Please tell her….."

"I…..I will Julius." Acier replied. Once Julius left the room, Acier's face turned back to face Ren and the others at the Golden Dawn base.

"Tell me what?" Ren frowned, passing Aci to Yuno and Fay to a knight. "Acier what's going on?"

"Lolopechka…" Acier began again, but this time they could hear tears threatening to leave her eyes. "She's gone… Dead….. Megicula…Megicula has fully manifested into our world due to her Curse Warding Magic: Malevolent Femcantation…. Noelle and Koji contacted me about it the moment they retreated to and reached Elysia….." Liebe and Yuno were shocked and horrified by this but Ren… Ren was silent. She was still like a statue. Her face was utterly emotionless as she stared at Acier of what she just told her. She felt her throat closing, her eyes burning, and hearing static in her ears. As if the ground crumbled beneath her feet.

Dead…..? Lolopechka is…. Dead….? The thought ran through her mind, her body going numb. Yuno tried calling her name, but his voice ended up being tuned out entirely. As if his voice couldn't be heard by her. The little girl she watched grow up becoming a Queen. The child she helped Undine raise in the Heart Kingdom. The sweet, gentle, kind Queen of Hearts that she loved like a daughter. Dead. And something in her heart utterly snapped.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"Ren/Ren?!" Both Yuno and Acier gasped in shock at the sound of her voice.

"Something's wrong." Liebe frowned deeply, uncertain with why Ren's voice sounded drastically different. "What happened?" It was Acier who realized it first, to which her face paled.

"Shitshitshit!" She cursed. "Get her inside that base now. I'm sending Zenon over."

"Fuck no." Yuno grit his teeth. "I won't let that guy near Ren."

"DAMMIT YUNO THIS ISN'T A FUCKING JOKE!" Fay roared, glowing and flying. "LIEBE USE YOUR SWORD ON REN BEFORE-!"

"AAAAAHHH!" They gasped and screamed as Ren launched a shockwave of her magic, sending them flying.

"What the actual hell…?!" Yuno groaned, rubbing his head after he got slammed into one of the trees.

"That was the power of a Dark Elf…!" Acier winced. "Or very close to it."

"I got it." Liebe stood up after also being slammed into the one the trees, but wasn't as dazed as Yuno, pointed the Demon-Dweller Swords at Ren. "Anti-Magic Absolute Cancel!" A small blast of reddish-black energy fired out from the tip of the sword towards Ren, followed by a second one from his left hand. "Just in case the first one doesn't work." Ren screeched, unsheathing her sword in her grief to swat away the Anti-Magic from her screaming her heart out as spikes of light sprouted from the ground.

"Shit!" Liebe leapt into the air to evade the spikes of Light Magic. Once he landed on the ground again, he looked at Ren, the pain in his red eyes showed.

"I hate the fact that I have to do this….." He murmured to himself, unsheathing the Demon-Slayer Sword from his grimoire and held it in his left hand.

"Do what you have to do until Zenon gets here Liebe!" Fay shouted, his wings breaking, making him wince. "I can only hold off the transformation for so long…!"

Wait a minute…! Liebe thought, looking at the Demon-Slayer Sword. This is the wrong one! He put said sword back into the grimoire and pulled out a third sword that bore the symbol of the Clover Kingdom on it.

"Kek. The Demon-Destroyer Sword is much more suited for this." Liebe half-grinned.

"When did you get that one?" Yuno asked.

"No time to explain!" Bell told her master. "Just do it Liebe!"

"Of course!" Liebe grinned. "Anti-Magic: Demon-Destroyer Sword:!" He slammed into the ground, as if sheathing it in front of him, but also not. "Blackout!" As soon as he finished saying his spell, Anti-Magic spewed out from the sword and flew towards Ren. "This spell is different from the last one I used."

"What's going on?" Yuno wondered aloud. "Ren's magic is….. It's dwindling?" Ren screamed as the spikes slowly disintegrated while she swung her sword helplessly as she screamed.

"The spell I used has rendered anyone's magic within a mile radius useless." Liebe explained. "Of course, it'll only affect those I want it to affect. Which in this case, is Ren. Sorry." He approached Ren, who kept swinging her sword helplessly. He swallowed, then raised both of swords up…and disarmed her with one slash, followed by hitting her in the stomach with the flat edge of the blade, so she wouldn't get cut. She choked, her eyes had tears streaming down her cheeks, dimmed before falling and losing consciousness. Luckily Liebe caught her before she hit the ground.

"Ren dear….." Acier spoke sadly, reminding everyone present that the call with her was still going on. She swallowed, then continued. "I…I'm sending Zenon over at once. And no Yuno, you can't stop me or Zenon." Before Yuno could speak, they saw many Magic Knights rushing to the base, one being Klaus who had David with him.

"Yuno! David and I just returned from a mission! What-?!" Everyone gasped upon seeing the heavily damaged base and gardens as Liebe carefully picked Ren up.

"What the hell happened here?" Yami demanded.

"Ren went borderline Dark Elf." Liebe answered.

"And if nothing is done, it could get worse." Bell added. "Which is why the Clover Queen is sending Zenon here."

"Did Ren cause all this?" Elf Fana asked, shocked.

"No." Fay winced, his wings deteriorating. "Actually that's the other thing we needed to call you Acier. Look who's in Yuno's arms."

"What?" Acier frowned, then she gasped upon seeing Aci, now back in baby form. "Aci?! My beloved granddaughter! What happened to her?!"

"Long story short. Ugh… Morris is an asshole freak and Eva is a bitch who is gonna burn in hell." Fay panted. "Just get the damn healers here…."

"They're on their way." Acier retorted. "And Zenon is with them."

"The rest of us will help here." Charlotte frowned. Fay panted weakly, flying to Ren's grimoire and slipped inside of it.

Asta quickly ran in the castle. The ki he had sensed was something out of a nightmare, and then with the sudden call from his Mother-in-law had him running. He swiftly ran inside and down the halls, barely dodging servants before reaching the doors to the throne room and slammed them open.

"Acier!" He yelled. "Where's-!" He heard a baby squeal and gasped to see his little Aci swinging her arms happily in Acier's arms and already tears came down his cheeks.

"Ah, Asta." The Clover Queen, and his Mother-in-law, smiled sadly at him. "Liebe and Yuno came by and dropped Aci off before heading back to the Golden Dawn base." She paused, then added, still cradling the baby girl. "I take it that you picked up on Ren dear's ki on your way here?"

"That was Ren's?!" Asta gaped, horrified. To him, Ren's ki was as warm and kind as she was. A feeling he couldn't really explain, but knew it was something that his foster brother Yuno loved about Ren. To find out the terrifying and gut wrenching ki he felt was actually from Ren shocked him to his core.

"It was, yes." Acier spoke sadly. "Asta dear, do you remember what Noelle and Koji told you earlier after they reached Elysia to retreat? They went there because it was closer than trying to come back here."

"You mean… About Queen Lolopechka?" He asked with a wince. Acier nodded as she continued to cradle Aci.

"Yes…" She retorted sadly. "Noelle was in tears and Koji was angry beyond belief. I was ultimately against the idea of telling Ren the news. But at the same time…..I also knew it'd be right to tell her anyway…." She looked up from Aci and at Asta. In all of his life he knew her, he couldn't recall any time where she looked so torn. And torn she was. There were tear stains all over her cheeks. Alas, she continued. "I was so torn…. I…I couldn't make a proper decision on the spot then… But at the end of the day, it was a lose-lose situation. So I…I agreed with them that telling Ren now and hearing it from us would be slightly better than hearing it from Megicula…. So I…So I contacted her to tell her what Noelle and Koji told me….. It…It was the hardest decision I probably ever had to make thus far….."

"Acier…" Asta frowned sadly.

"I knew what would happen to Ren if she found out, and I knew I had to tell her the truth… But still I…..!" She felt herself tearing up again. She wiped her tears away from her free arm. "I'm sorry…"

"No, no it's ok." Asta reassured her. "I mean like you said, it was better from you than Megicula."

"Yeah…." Acier sniffled in agreement. "And I hope that Yuno doesn't get in the way of Ren's mental healing. I know he thinks that he's the best suited to help her right now, but the truth of it is that Zenon is best suited for it. Those 2 are practically Mother and son, after all."

"Don't worry, I'll keep him off if I have to." Asta replied.

"Heh…good to hear." Acier gave a small smile. "Oh, you probably want to take your daughter back, yes?" Though usually he didn't mind Acier coddling his children, he really wanted to hold his daughter who had been kidnapped from him and Noelle before. He held out his arms and Acier carefully placed Aci in them and he cradled his daughter closely.

"She's been through a lot." Acier told him. "Even if she doesn't remember it all. Oh, and you're free to give Yuno a slug to the shoulder." She chuckled awkwardly. "He attacked and nearly killed her with Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Storm."

"He did what?!" Asta gaped.

"That's what Letoile told me while she was getting checked out by Mimosa a couple hours earlier." Acier answered. "Though to be fair, he didn't know it was her, but I sadly don't think that excuses his actions against his niece."

"Darn it Yuno." Asta groaned. "Where is he anyway?"

"At the Golden Dawn base." Queen Acier answered. "Assuming he didn't get kicked out and got forced to go elsewhere, given that Zenon should be at the Golden Dawn base with the other healers by now."

"But wasn't the base badly damaged?" Asta frowned, worried.

"Yes." Queen Acier agreed. "And around half the squad is severely injured, and some dead. But as long as that base stands, the Golden Dawn will still use it. I'll be sure to get a team to fix it up later."

"Well that's good…" Asta replied, looking down at Aci.

"Mm!" Aci cooed happily in her Father's arms, looking up at him as well. Asta nuzzled Aci, so happy and glad to have his daughter back.

Ren choked as she slowly opened her eyes to see a dark ceiling. She felt she had dreamed something, but didn't remember what. She tried to move her hand but couldn't and looked to see it tied to her bedframe to keep her bound. That was when she noticed her palms were bandaged. But she could still hear the static and simply laid her head back silently. She could hear voices outside, but they were muffled due to her tuning them out. Though the words being said were slightly more clearer in comparison to a few hours ago.

"Mimosa you're making a mistake by letting him near Ren." Yuno told the main Golden Dawn healer, while pointing at Zenon. The black-haired and blue-eyed young man didn't seem bothered by Yuno's insultery towards him. Mimosa on the other hand, was not amused.

"Even if Queen Acier didn't suggest Zenon to come, I'd still allow him to." Mimosa retorted. "You want Ren to get better, yes?"

"Well yes but-" Yuno tried, but Mimosa cut him off.

"Then Zenon is seeing her." Mimosa interrupted firmly. "No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Got it?" Yuno opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. After which, he humphed and strided off.

"Honestly." Alina sighed, walking over. "Sometimes I think he loves Ren a tad too much to see the bigger picture."

"You're telling me." Mimosa sighed. "How is Captain William doing?"

"Better thankfully. Though that release of mana that Ren unleashed did give him a jump. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the entire kingdom felt that." Alina grimaced. "I never dreamed Ren of all people would come so close to becoming a Dark Elf. The thought itself is terrifying to imagine."

"Yeah…" Mimosa agreed with a shiver.

"...Thank you." Zenon spoke softly.

"What for?" Alina asked. Mimosa gave a knowing smile to what Zenon said, but she waited for him to answer. Eventually, he did.

"For getting Yuno off my back about Ren." Zenon answered. "I know that the Spade Prince doesn't trust me, and probably never will. But Ren is just as important to me as she is to him."

"Ah that. While I can understand where he's coming from, what matters right now is the present situation." Alina frowned. "Lolopechka was practically her daughter. She helped Undine raise her. As her remaining child Zenon, she's going to need your support greatly."

"That's why I came as fast as I could once Queen Acier sent the other healers here to help the injured." Zenon retorted. He then clutched his right hand to his chest. "But yes, you're right. R-No, Mom needs me." He closed his eyes, then opened them before heading inside of the room where Ren was kept. Once he got inside and closed the door, he immediately noticed that she was bound to the bed. Tears fell down his cheeks as he approached. Once he got to her, his knees gave out and fell down on them so he was kneeling at her bedside.

"M-Mom…" He choked out. Besides a slight twitch of her finger, Ren didn't move or speak. Her empty green eyes only continued to stare at the ceiling still hearing static. Zenon knew that she wouldn't speak back, but it still pained him to see her in this state. He swallowed, wiping away any tears that came to his eyes.

"I…..I remember when you said that you wouldn't leave me." He continued. "So I…..I won't leave you either. I'll do whatever it takes to help you get through this. This….." He swallowed again, trying to prevent himself from crying. "This I promise you, Mother." He gently placed his right hand on her left hand. "You….You mean a lot to me….. I….I just wanted you to know that…." At that point, he couldn't stop himself from crying as he lowered his head onto her chest and began to cry. "M-Mom…!" Her finger twitched, feeling his hand on hers and she felt it. That rough and chilly mana that always seemed to emanate from Zenon when he used his magic. In a sense, it was meant to feel like the bones he created, yet she felt a comfort to the feeling. To her, it was like a sturdy presence that soon became a strong shield to protect others. It made her proud to see how far he came from the bullied little boy he once was. It grounded her, gave her mind leverage, and for a moment the static seemed to lessen. She slowly blinked and looked down.

"Zeny…?" She croaked. Zenon gaped softly upon hearing her voice. He looked up at her, his sharp blue eyes now watery with tears.

"M-Mom….?" He spoke softly and tearfully. "I….I meant what I said….. A-All of it….." Ren gave a weak smile and a tiny nod in return. Zenon wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words. So instead, he held her hand and felt himself continuing to cry.

"I….I don't know all of the details of what happened….." He continued tearfully. "But I do know one thing…. That I need to be here for you….. A-As such, I…..I won't leave you…. Not even Yuno can stop me from being here for you….." Ren gave a weak chuckle.

Dante stroud down the halls of the castle. His Body Magic worked on the injuries he was inflicted upon from the Amber Phoenixes who he might have infuriated after revealing the chance of the death of the Queen of Hearts.

"And just when I was going to give them hell, Mother called me back." He frowned. "Just what is going on?"

"God fucking dammit!" He heard his Mother, Eva, shouting angrily from the throne room. He even heard a loud crash coming from there as well. Dante blinked in surprise before opening the throne room doors coming in and quickly dodged a piece of furniture as it crashed into the wall behind him as it flew over his head. Morris and the black armored knight simply stood next to Eva, not saying a word.

"I take it you're redecorating Mother?" Dante asked casually. Eva turned to glare at him, her white eyes flashing with anger, but not as his casual tone in his question.

"That fucking bitch of a Devil!" Eva snarled angrily. "If I wasn't so busy prepping the Tree of Qliphoth, I'd kill her myself!"

"Mother, you lost me." Dante frowned.

"Vanica is dead!" Eva roared angrily. "Damn you Megicula!"

"Megicula killed her?" Dante blinked in shock. "But how?"

"Curse Warding Magic: Malevolent Femcantation." Morris answered casually. "She cursed Vanica when the contract between the 2 was made, then cursed Lolopechka, followed by the Witch Queen. With those 3 woman deaths, Megicula is able to fully manifest into our world." His lips formed a dark smile. "In truth, I find it quite fascinating that magic could have such power."

"So that's what Megicula had in mind after cursing the Heart Queen." Dante frowned. "But when did she curse the Witch Queen? Zenon was the one who brought her here, after all." Morris's dark smile didn't vanish as he went on to explain, given Eva was too angry and furious to be able to speak.

"Right after Zenon brought her here." Morris retorted. "That's how and when."

"In other words, it was all planned." Dante scowled.

"Exactly." Morris agreed. "Such a fascinating plan as well, I must say. Far greater than this one could ever come up with." When he said "this one", he was referring to Eva.

"Shut the hell up Morris!" Eva snarled. "If it weren't for me, you'd be rotting in a cell!"

Keep telling yourself that you bitch. Morris thought.

"So not only have we lost Zenon, but now also Vanica." Dante remarked.

"...Yes." Eva finally answered, clearly taking her time to calm down from the whole ordeal. "Which means it's just us two left in our family still loyal to the cause."

"Do you even think we can get it done with just the two of us?" Dante questioned.

"Why do you think Morris is here?" Eva pointed out. "He'll find a way to accelerate the Tree of Qliphoth's growth."

"That I will." Morris confirmed. "However due to this, I will not be able to assist you much in your inevitable fights with whomever comes storming the castle." He shrugged. "That, and I no doubt will have my own fights to do if it means keeping the ritual active."

"Hmph. Once you get the tree up, other Devils will come to deal with them easily." Dante scoffed.

"Exactly." Eva agreed. "Those fools that oppose us will be overwhelmed by the power of the Devils, no matter what rank the Devils may be."

I wonder about that. Morris thought. "At any rate, I'll be in the lab if you need me."

"Very well." Eva remarked. Dante watched Morris leave before looking at his Mother.

"You still think it'll be worth it now that it's just us?" He asked his Mother. Eva fell silent again, as if thinking over her son's words. After a few minutes, she responds.

"Yes." She responded, albeit not as confidently in comparison to when she said it the first time.

"Well if you say so." Dante replied, turning. "I'm going to rest now."

"Very well Dante." Eva told him. Dante left the throne room as Eva watched him go.

0713MM: And that's that for this Chapter! I probably should have said this in the intro, but I'll say here in the outro: I do apologize for not posting, for any fic really; old or new. This of course doesn't mean I won't stop writing fanfics or anything, given I fully intend to finish this fic, as well as getting back to older ones and/or starting up this brand new one I have that's Yu-Go-Oh! VRAINS related-Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS: Road of Fate is the title. All I have left for that project is to finish up the OCs I have for it. Of course if anyone has ideas for that and/or OCs they'd like to share, I'd appreciate it.^^ Of course in return, I can tell you about the villain group/organization, just in case you'd want any of said OCs there.

But enough about my future VRAINS fic, let's talk about this chapter! In this chapter, Yuno and Ren face off against a forced 15 year old Aci. For those were uncomfortable for what Eva, and by extension Morris, did to little Aci, rejoice! For she has been reverted back to normal in this chapter! That's the good news. The bad news...well, Ren has gone near the border of Dark Elf. But like with Aci, Ren will not remain in this state for long.