Season 2, Chapter 7.

Failure!


A couple of days later, the morning comes, and Haze wakes up in his room at the Black Bulls' hideout. He yawns and stretches widely before sitting up properly in his bed. Memories of the cave come forth, but he shakes them off.

He hears yelling and looks out the window, seeing Asta running from the woods while Millie sits on her usual branch, reading a book.

"Does he always have to be this loud?" he ponders, taking on his spare light blue sweater and looking at the old one, which is torn and bloody.

His mind goes to the events that happened and his fight with that monster. "I am surprised; I did more than I thought I could," he thinks to himself and looks at his hands as a smile comes to his face. "I might just make it," he mutters to himself, thinking about the brunette in the blue dress. As his mind envisions her, a newfound determination fills his eyes, and he puts on the robe.

He heads down to the dining hall and gets himself breakfast. As he sits down with a plate of food, he looks outside the window. ("My body feels heavy today, probably a side effect from both the battle and the poison,") he thinks to himself and finishes eating quickly.

He puts the plates to wash and heads out into the living room, where he sits down, letting his body digest the breakfast. Minutes pass, and the Black Bulls slowly gather in the living room as the door from the hallway swings open.

"Phew, that was an awesome bath after another great workout," Asta exclaims proudly to the group. The rest of the Black Bulls turn to him, but before anyone can say anything, the door behind him bursts open as Yami walks through, reading a letter.

"I can tell from this that you guys did great work on taking down those pirates," Yami tells Asta and the rest.

"Oh yeah, from what he told us, there were quite a few of them too," Magna says.

"It sure was, and we fought this sea monster and that spider thingy. It was way cool, right Haze?" Asta questions, looking at the mist mage.

"It was eventful," he utters, unsure how he feels about getting saved on his first mission.

"Well, you got rid of a nuisance along the kingdom's coast, and for that, the Wizard King has awarded us a star."

"What, seriously, that's awesome!" Asta loudly exclaims, and the others make a cheer as well, except for Haze, whose eyes fall to the floor for a moment while Yami lets go of the golden star, and it floats up to the pig wooden panel above the furniture on the inner part of the room.

"How many are we at now?" Asta asks.

"Well, things have been slow this year, so we are only at 16 stars total now," Yami tells him as everyone looks at the board.

"Yeah, but we can change that real soon," Magna eagerly says with a smirky grin. "Right, guys?"

"You bet, Magna!" Asta says with excitement.

"Yeah, not to worry, I still have plenty of battling bad guys in me, so ranking up more stars will be no problem," Luck says, punching his fists in front of him.

"Well, this just makes me eager to go on more missions. So, Yami, do you have any more?" Asta asks.

"Sure, but don't get your hopes up; they are all pretty boring," he says and shows a stack of papers. "Oh, and Nero, the Wizard King is asking for you," he tells the black-haired girl.

"Oh, how so?" she asks.

"Not sure, something about using your sealing magic to open something that the guys found on their mission," Yami explains.

"Oh, maybe there is something amazing inside. How cool!" Asta says as Yami hands them all the details they need for their missions.

"Well, you all got your assignments, now head out."

Haze looks at the mission he is assigned and sighs. "At least it is far north, and wait, what, I have to go with those guys again," he thinks to himself and sighs before getting his broom.


A little earlier, at the Blue Rose Knights' headquarters, Lydia adjusts her hair in the mirror and puts the pink flowers in place, and looks at her pink dress over and smiles before taking her blue-rose-knight-robe on and looks at herself once more. "There, that should be good, as classy as ever," she tells herself with her green eyes sparkling, awaiting the new day, before heading into the hallway, and moments later, she is inside the dining room where men have served up plates with plenty of healthy foods. Lydia makes herself a simple chicken salad and takes a glass of orange juice before she sits herself down to eat among the rest.

"Uh, Lydia," a girl says from behind her, and she looks to the side at a blond girl with short hair and dark purple eyes.

"Yes, Galgeria, what is it?" she asks.

"A letter for you has arrived," she says and hands Lydia the letter.

"Oooh, is it from an admirer?" Risacca asks.

"No, it is from my parents. It says to meet with them urgently," she replies, reading the letter.

"Urgently? Did something happen?" Selena asks.

"It doesn't say," Lydia replies, looking at both sides of the note. And the door on the other side of the room opens up.

"A Captain Charlotte, you look as amazing as ever," Sol eagerly tells her.

"Good morning, girls. Once you are all done with breakfast, I have missions for you," Charlotte tells them.

And Lydia looks at the woman with the regal helmet hiding most of her hair, as the rest is put back into a bun and has a single strand of blond hair going off to the side.

"Captain Charlotte?" Lydia asks, and the Captain looks to her.

"Well, I have to get to my parents' house before the mission, so could I get the details now?" Lydia asks.

"Sure, just make sure to arrive by the mission on time," Charlotte tells her.

"Right, and be careful; we don't want you to get into such deep danger as you did on your last mission," Selena tells her.

"I will be careful; thank you, Selena. Well, I am off," she says and puts the last bit of food into her mouth and puts the dirty plate on a tray for the guys to clean up later. She heads out on her broom leaving the blue-Rose-Knights headquarters.

Some time later, she lands in front of a tall, decent house with a big fence and a nice gate with flower patterns going along the top of the iron gate.

She heads on in and walks inside the house. "Greetings, Miss Lydia," the butler greets.

"Sandy, do you know where my parents are?" she asks.

"They should be in the living room, enjoying their morning tea," the butler replies.

"Thank you," she says and goes to the living room where her parents surely are sitting.

"Lydia, there you are," her father says.

"Father, is something the matter?" she asks while closing the door behind her and looking at her parents sitting on the white couch with a tray of both neatly made cookies and a teapot.

"Please take a seat," her mother tells her, and she goes over to the other couch and sits herself down with crossed legs.

"So, what is it that you needed to talk to me about?" she asks.

"Now, could you explain to us what happened on your first mission?" her father asks, and she complies, explaining everything that happened.

"I see, well, that explains it then," her father says, and her mother nods in agreement.

"Explains what?" Lydia asks.

"Well, you were working with a commoner and a Black Bull member, and Haze Warreant at that," her mother tells her.

"What does that have to do with it?" Lydia asks.

"Well, you were working with a commoner and a Black Bull, a squad that barely counts as a Magic Knight squad," her father continues her mother's words. "It was your first mission, dear, and you were working with someone incapable against too many. It is understandable that you failed since you had to pick up their slack as well," her mother speaks.

"No, that is not it. We all worked hard and risked our lives on that mission," Lydia utters.

"Hey, it's alright, my dear. Just make sure it doesn't happen again, alright? We can't have other houses think that House Serenify is so incapable with their magic that it needs help from the Black Bulls of all squads," her father tells her, and she grits her teeth.

"It wasn't like that. Those caves were a maze, and it was draining our magic. We all fought valiantly down there."

"There is no need to defend them; we understand, dear," her mother says.

"No, it wasn't like that. We lost because we all were too weak. Besides, the Black Bulls have done great feats last year, and they keep doing great things. Or is everything that happened with the war with the devils nothing to you?" Lydia defends.

"Yeah, by the help of some devil. You will be wise to avoid them at all costs. We don't want you to get tainted and drag our family name along with you, understand?" her father asks.

"But father, that isn't—"

"Do you understand?" her father asks again, more sternly.

"Understood, father," she replies in defeat, understanding that her parents have already made up their minds.

"I still can't believe Damnatio ruled that Asta kid as innocent after everything," her father comments.

Lydia tightens her fist as she feels her blood beginning to boil. "I met Asta, and he is a really great guy," her mind yells.

She takes a breath and looks at her parents. "Is there anything else?" she asks.

"Just make sure you don't fail us like that again, understand?" her father asks. She wants to retort, but she breathes.

"Understood, father," she utters reluctantly.

"Good, you are dismissed," he tells her, and she steps outside of the living room and walks past the butler, who bows his head to her as she passes.

"See you soon, Miss Lydia," he tells her, but she is too angry right now to give a proper reply, so she just ignores him and steps outside and grabs her broom and mounts it. ("How dare they, we all risked our lives on that mission") her mind tells her as she gets to the sky.

She flies for a few minutes and shakes her head. ("No, I have a mission to get to; I can't let their words affect me like that. They are right about one thing; I need to get stronger to avoid getting helpless like that again") she thinks to herself and keeps going.

About an hour passes, and she lands in the town of Neon. She goes inside her satchel and reads the note over again.

"Right, a patrol mission," she mutters to herself and puts away the note. "Oh, Lydia, hey there," she hears Sebastian's voice and turns to the Praying Mantis mage as he walks up and adjusts his glasses.

"Hey, how are you holding up after everything?" she asks.

"Well, getting drained as much as we did certainly took its toll on my stamina. I felt it these past two days," he explains.

"Well, it was considerate of the captains to allow us to properly recover after that though," she says with a smile.

"It sure was," Sebastian replies and looks to the streets of Neon.

"Well, of course, I get saddled with you two again," they hear a lazy voice utter, and they both turn behind them to the voice, seeing Haze land and dismount his broom.

"Got a problem there?" Lydia asks.

"Not really, let's just get to this," he tells them, and they all begin to walk.

"Right, hopefully this mission will go way better."

"Yeah, patrolling here was a request from some old lady. I bet she is off her rocker. Nothing happens in this town," Haze says.

"I wouldn't say that. Remember last year, the whole town's children were abducted with a powerful spell," Lydia tells him.

"You are right, and if the Magic Knights weren't here, then things could have turned out way worse for everyone in the village," Sebastian adds.

"Yes, and with the more skilled Magic Knights looking out for more devils by the border, keeping people safe from criminals is important so that people feel safe," Lydia continues.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Haze utters a little annoyed, and the other two share a perplexed glance, not sure what has Haze so angry.

They keep going, and a door swings open.

"Thank you both for the business, and have a great day. See you soon," a cheerful voice says as a couple leaves the building.

"It is always a pleasure," they tell her, and the girl gives them a bow. "Thank you, you are too kind," she says and straightens up and waves them off.

She lights up as she sees the Magic Knights.

"Oh, Haze, it is so good to see you. We were so worried, and we didn't hear a thing from you despite sending letters," the girl says.

"Alica, yeah, sorry about that, I haven't exactly been home ever since I was at the coliseum," he says, and Lydia is a little surprised by Haze's softer demeanor towards the girl.

"Oh, and I see you got into a Magic Knight squad after all. I am so glad," Alica says relieved.

"Who is this, Haze?" Lydia asks.

"She is an old friend," Haze utters, and Alica smiles.

"You are so modest. We kind of grew up together, so of course. it was me, Tory Haze and- I mean we had a lot of fun together."

"You can say Laura's name, you know. She isn't—"

"Haze, we have been over that," Alica tells him, and his eyes go a little dark.

"You know what, never mind," he says, and Sebastian and Lydia share a look of confusion before looking at the two again, as tension just got high between them.

"Moving on, Haze, who are your friends?" she asks, changing the subject.

"Oh, this is Lydia and Sebastian," he lazily introduces as his eyes look to the side, not really wanting to engage anymore.

"Nice to meet you, Alica. It's actually surprising to see someone Haze actually is friendly toward," Lydia tells her.

"Huh, Haze is always friendly. Sure, he can be a grump sometimes, but he is a good guy, right, Haze?" she says, looking at him, and he almost blushes a little.

"Anyways, how are things with Tory?" he asks, changing the subject.

"He is actually with Jim and Dylan at Jim's dad's shop today," Alica replies with a smile. "Both working hard as always," Haze says.

"Well, the dream won't fulfill itself," Alica replies.

"Dream?" Lydia asks.

"Yes, I have a dream to open up my very own restaurant someday, on a piece of land placed right in the middle of 3—"

"3 decent-sized villages, by the lake called Misty Lake," Haze finishes her sentence.

"I guess I speak a lot about it, huh?" Alica replies.

"Only all the time," Haze utters.

"Well, the dream must mean a lot to you, then," Sebastian tells her.

"It does, it means the most to me," she says, determination and passion evident on her friendly face. "Well, we have been working hard these last 3 years, and we are getting closer to purchasing the land every day," Alica says, driven in a friendly, soft tone.

"Alica, I am done sweeping the back entrance," they hear a voice from within come up to them.

"Thank you, Sky, you are a great help," Alica tells her.

"Wait, what is Captain Rude doing here?" she asks, pointing at Haze.

"Uh, who are you again?" Haze asks.

"Don't play coy; we met inside the library, where you were obnoxious the entire time," Sky pushes.

"Oh, right, tomato head," he says with a cheesy grin, and Sky's face turns red.

"Why, you little— Alica, what are you doing talking to this ass?" she asks.

"Well, we grew up together, so of course, I am," Alica starts.

"Whatever, unless there is anything else that you need, I will head to my next job," she says and storms past Haze.

"Please excuse her; she is a really nice person once you get to know her," Alica tells them.

"All right, we will take your word for it," Lydia utters.

"I hate to end this, but we better get back to patrolling," Sebastian says.

"Good call, let us move on," Haze utters.

"It was nice to meet you, Alica," Lydia says.

"Same to you, and when I open my restaurant, you will have to swing by it," Alica says with a friendly wave.

The day moves on, and the teens patrols trough the town.


In the meantime at the Royal Capital, Nero lands by the Wizard King's castle and heads inside. She silently walks through the halls, and a couple of guards open a big heavy door for her. Upon entering, King Julius looks towards her.

"Oh, Nero, great to see you. Asta has probably already told you about the chest they recovered from that cave. Well, we are not able to open it through any of our means, so we were wondering if you could give it a go with your sealing magic?" he asks her.

"Sure," Nero says simply, with no emotion on her face as usual, as she walks up to the chest on the table. She holds out her hands towards the lock, and a cold sensation comes from the keyhole on the chest.

"Something the matter?" Julius asks.

"No, I-I will give it a go," Nero utters and takes a deep breath. "Sealing magic inverse release," she utters, pouring her mana into the spell. However, the purple lines around the box begin to glow, and the keyhole lets out a dark ooze.

"What the—" Julius utters, grabbing an item from his desk and throws it at the keyhole. Nero falls to the floor, and Julius goes down to grab her.

"Nero, are you all right? Nero!" he exclaims a few times before he looks up at Marx. "We need to get her to Owen pronto," he orders with seriousness in his voice.

"Right, sire," he says, and moments later, they are in the medical ward with Owen using his healing magic.

"So, Owen, what do you think could have happened? One moment she was using her magic, and the next she is..." Julius says.

"Well, from the looks of it, it seems her magic has been completely drained," Owen explains.

"I see. I had my worries about the chest's symbols, but to do this. I take full responsibility for this," Julius says.

"It should be all right; her body is going through a lot right now, as it isn't normal to be drained that quickly," Owen explains.

"Of course, I see. It will appear that I have to open the chest from a different angle."

"But is that really wise, sire? I mean, if this is attempting to open it does then, what lies within must be much worse," Marx cautions.

"You are right; we should be more cautious. Maybe going through the library to see if we can find more about it and summon the ones who were on the mission as well. Maybe some more details can tell us what we are dealing with," King Julius utters.

"Right, but they are all out on missions. Maybe we can get them to meet with us tomorrow; it will also give Nero some well time to recover," Marx offers.

"That is a good idea, and in the meantime, we will see what we can find from our side." Julius comments scratching his cheek.


The day stretches onward and as the patrol mission has come to an end and the teens has said they goodbyes, Haze flies through the sky to the Royal Capital. He lands by a decent house and heads inside.

"Welcome, young sir, will you be spending the night?" the elderly maid asks, wearing her usual maid outfit.

"No, I am just dropping by," he tells her and heads to his room, which is big with a king-sized bed and a mirror with details of gold and amethyst placed neatly along the details.

He looks at himself in the mirror for a moment, seeing his robe. He adjusts his hair a bit and goes over to his big closet and opens it, pulling out a couple of sweaters, pants and underwear. He walks next to his desk and gets his backpack.

("I can't believe I forgot to bring with me a decent change of clothes") he thinks to himself. He looks at a picture on top of the tall wooden chest of drawers,

and he sees himself as a child with a young Tory, Alica, and Laura playing together in the grass with a ball. His eyes fall to the picture next to it with him and Laura.

"I remember Markus used to bring me to these guys, and he took the pictures," he mumbles to himself and is about to grab the picture of him and Laura.

"So, you actually showed up here again," his father's cold voice has him stop in his tracks, and he stares at the wall.

"What is it this time, Dad?" he asks and slowly turns to his father.

"I would expect you to speak with a different tone... So you joined a squad, and the Black Bulls of all squads. Haven't you been messing up our reputation enough?" his father asks, and Haze swallows a cold lump.

"I don't know, Dad, how are your business going?" he replies and his father narrows his eyes as Haze clearly stuck a nerve.

"Careful, I have all ready decided," his father utters and pauses for a moment.

"Decided what?"

"Well, since you failed your first mission and on top of it all, you're on that blasted squad, it will be best if you are seen at this house as little as possible, so from now on, unless I summon you, you are not to return here, understood?" His father orders.

Haze narrows his eyes and girths his teeth in disgust at his father but he holds his tongue.

"Understood?" his father pushes again.

"Yeah, sure. I just came here to get some of my stuff," Haze says and puts the backpack over his shoulder.

"Fine, then. We are at an understanding. It is time that you learned that your actions have consequences," his father tells him.

"Right, see you," Haze says as he walks around the bed and past his father, who utters, "You are a failure as a son." However, Haze chooses to ignore his father's hurtful words, leaving him standing in the room. He briefly surveys the room with his eyes before turning around and heading down the main stairs. Swiftly, he exits through the main door, grabs his broom, and takes off into the sky.

As Haze leaves his family's villa behind, he flies through the starry night and lands in the bustling streets of the Royal Capital.

And moments later, he heads into the Royal Library. Now that he's wearing his Magic Knight robe, no one there pays him any mind as he heads further in.

"Here we go, I need more information," he mutters to himself as he looks through some older records. He's on the hunt for information about the Markon family. As he delves into the historical records, he thinks to himself, "It must be them, but..." He trails off, silently contemplating the mystery.

After hours of searching, it's getting really late. Haze decides to head out but keeps his mission in mind. Leaving the library with a determined look, Haze heads towards the Markon family's villa, in the countryside of the common realm, determined to find answers.

Upon landing he looks over at the two story villa with elegant details on the walls. And rose bushes climbing one side of it.

He tries the main door, but it's locked. He attempts the back door as well, but it too refuses to budge. Frustration creeps in, and he leans against the wall, sighing heavily.

("How do I get in without leaving an indicator that I was here?") he ponders aloud. His eyes catch a small air duct a little high up on the wall. "That's far too small for me," he mutters to himself, his wheels turning as he thinks of a solution.

"That might work," he finally concludes with a smile. He heads out and lands by the Black Bulls' base, where everyone is gathered around the table for supper.

As he opens the door, all eyes turn toward him. Luck comments, "Oh, Haze, there you are. You sure are back late."

"Well, you know, I had to pay my old man a visit," as he replies and puts down the backpack, and sits down at the table with the rest.

"Well, now that you're all back, I can finally tell you," Yami interjects, "Finral and Asta, the news. First thing tomorrow morning, you are to head to King Julius' quarters. He has important business to discuss with you."

Asta, Finral and Haze, shares a confused glance before looking at their leader again.

Asta, with his mouth full of food, asks, "Important business about what?"

Noelle chimes in, annoyed, "Could you bother to be done chewing before you open your mouth, honestly?"

Yami responds, "I have no clue what he wants. You'll just have to go there and find out."

With friendly banter and laughter, they all eat and enjoy each other's company late into the night.


Okey in this chapter it is mostly focused on relationships and character dynamics. And also showing a bit into why Haze is such a grump.

so what do you think of the story so far? and the character dynamics and story and such?