Season 2, Chapter 10, part 7.
Frozen Forest.
Together.
The group walks down the stairs for quite a bit before they come to a hallway. They walk through it and stop upon seeing a big pile of rocks.
"Uh, what happened here?" Asta asks.
"Eh, that is nothing to worry about," Haze tells him as he begins to climb over the pile.
"We had to fight a few things, and making the ceiling fall down was our best option," Lydia explains.
"Oh, it must have been a tough battle then," Asta exclaims excitedly.
"It was, and we managed to win together, right, Haze?" Lydia replies, but Haze chooses to ignore the conversation.
"That's awesome," Asta praises them.
"It sure was," Lydia says. Asta goes on to tell her about the battle against the tar-like creatures and the skull. After a bit, they meet another staircase that they go down.
Millie silently trails behind the group, her vigilant gaze never leaving them. While Asta and Lydia exchange words, her mind wander back to the battle and the memory of Asta when he held her in his arms. her mind goes to the words he had spoken, 'I told you we could do it together,' his words echoes in her thoughts. (''Together'')
Her eyes remain fixed on Asta's back, and her fingers instinctively trace the contours of her brooch, her cherished token that keeps her close to her memories of Meir.
"'Master Meir, this chapter is...,' " she whispers to herself, her voice barely audible, her hand trembling as she clutches the brooch even tighter. (''Damn it, how does he keep slipping past my guard like this?'') Her mind meanders through the intricate tapestry of events that bring them to this moment, and she finds herself lost in thought.
("Master Meir, I...") Bonk. She crashes into Asta's back, and her body stiffens and she jumps back a step. "I-I apologize, Master," she softly utters with slight panic, her voice filled with regret. She notices that everyone has come to a halt, their attention drawn to the eerie sound of stone cracking and breaking emanating from all around them.
"What even is that?" Asta asks as cracks form and become greater in size, and the bugs from earlier come crawling out.
"What the hell are those?" Asta yells.
"It is the bugs I told you about, but this stairway is far too linear to be able to fight," Lydia says as Asta smacks one down with his Dweller Sword, and he ends up hitting the wall in the process.
"I agree," Haze utters, sending a mist ball at one in front of him.
"Well, we better run!" Lydia yells, and they all quicken their pace, hurrying down the staircase as bugs fall out of the walls, and they take down whichever they are forced to take down.
The cracking gets louder, and Asta looks up and swings his sword, cutting a rock in two and keeps going.
"Don't tell me this place is going to fall on our heads; I regret taking this path down now!" Haze yells.
"There is no time for complaining; just go!" Lydia yells, and they keep running and running. Lydia gasps as the step beneath her leg crumbles, and a bug comes jumping out, and she leaps forward.
"Oh no," she squeals, crashing into Haze's back, making him stumble forward and fall. Behind her, Asta slices the bug down. "Are you two okay?" he asks as the floor beneath them all gives in, and they all fall down.
"Whaaa!" they all scream, and white flames form around them, cushioning the fall to the staircase below.
"Thanks, Millie," Lydia utters.
"We should keep moving," Millie softly speaks.
"Right," Lydia says, and they all get to their feet, and a bug crawls out of the wall next to them, and Asta swings his blade, slashing it down before they all continue to run down the staircase.
Their feet keep moving as fast as they possibly can as the walls keep cracking around them. Millie looks behind them and sees bugs crawling down after them. She sets up a wall of fire behind her, and as the bugs run into it, they catch on fire and burn away quickly.
More cracking is heard from above, and bugs fall from the ceiling, ready to attack.
"Damn, it never ends," Asta yells, slicing them down and keeps running. ("So putting up traps does not do much; they can come from anywhere,") Millie thinks to herself as the group descends down the stairs, and the stairs beneath them crumble. They land on the staircase beneath, and they are all off-balance. Asta tumbles forward, along with the rest, and they all land on the main floor.
Lydia looks around, panting hard as the world around them shakes, and the staircase crumbles together, and the entrance is just a pile of rubble.
"We just barely made it," she utters.
"We got lucky. If the last set of stairs hadn't given in, we would have been crushed," Haze says. He gets to his feet, brushes himself off, and Asta and Lydia's eyes slightly widen. Haze turns his eyes next to him.
"Oh, it is you two," Asta says.
Earlier
Sebastian and Finral look through a few of the books in what looks to be a study.
"Are you finding anything related to the key?" Sebastian asks.
"No, not yet," Finral replies.
"Maby we won't find anything about it," Sebastian utters and looks to Finral, who is looking thoroughly at a page.
"Did you find something?" Sebastian asks, walking over to Finral.
"Not related to the key, but..." Finral replies as Sebastian looks at the page.
"What is it?"
"This is special magic by using mana words, and a ridiculously powerful one too. Why would this be here?" Finral asks.
"Special magic, what kind?" Sebastian asks.
"The kind that can make a space like a pocket dimension. Why would they have something like this around?" Finral questions.
"Who knows, this place seems to be holding plenty of mystery about it," Sebastian says.
"Either way, this is not what we are supposed to be focusing on anyway," Sebastian tells him.
"Right," Finral mentions and keeps looking and stops. As he sees that Sebastian seems a little lost in his thoughts.
"Is there something on your mind?" Finral asks.
"Well, not really, or maybe..." Sebastian utters, sounding a little unsure.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," Finral awkwardly states as he rubs the back of his neck. "It isn't like it is my place to pry, so sorry if..." Finral continues.
"It is fine... Actually, I am kind of proud of myself," Sebastian says with a bright smile.
"Proud? Oh, you must mean the spell you managed to pull off. I agree it was pretty cool and just what we needed," Finral says.
"Well, it is more than that. It means I still have plenty of room to grow, which means that maybe I really can..."
"Can? Can what?" Finral says.
"Oh, I suppose I haven't told you. Well, you see, there is this girl that is really strong that I... Well, in the past, I failed her, and I want to make it up to her no matter what, and in order to do that, I have to become strong."
"You do? What happened?" Finral asks, and Sebastian explains when his village was attacked and when Sol was in danger, and he failed to do anything to help her.
"I see, so that is the reason you were willing to fight so hard back there," Finral tells him.
"Yes, I failed back then, but I must get stronger if I wish to face her and make it up to her," Sebastian tells him.
"I see, well then you are doing way better than what I am doing," Finral says.
"Huh, why is that?" Sebastian asks.
"Well, when I failed, I ran away from my duties and family, so in that sense, you are better than I am," Finral says.
"Huh, but I have seen you work so hard lately," Sebastian says.
"I know, and I have a lot of time to make up for, slacking off," Finral says.
"Right, I forget that it is only recently that the Black Bulls have actually put in an effort," Sebastian says with a smile.
"Yes, you are right about that. Better late than never, I guess," Finral says with an awkward smile before he stops and looks up. "What is it?" Sebastian asks.
"Do you hear that?" Finral asks as a subtle cracking sound comes from the ceiling.
"Well, now I do. Don't tell me the roof is going to cave in," Sebastian says, concerned.
"We should probably get out of here then," Finral offers.
"Agreed," Sebastian replies, and they both turn to the exit and run, only to stop as big, crawly bugs come walking into the room.
"What the heck are those?" Finral exclaims.
"No clue, but it looks like we have to fight," Sebastian states, keeping his grimoire at the ready.
"Right," Finral exclaims, getting his grimoire ready as the creatures come crawling closer. Some jump, and Finral creates a portal that a few of them jump into, ending up outside the door while Sebastian's flames come forth. "Ember magic, scorching rain," he says, and embers rain down from the ceiling over the bugs, which catch fire and burn away.
"Great, we did it," Finral says, but more bugs crawl in, replacing the lost ones. "Damn it," Sebastian says, and the room begins to shake. Finral looks up, and his eyes widen, and he grabs Sebastian's hand before making a portal. They run into it and end up in the hallway outside of the room, and all the bugs turn and look at the two teens.
"Well, that didn't do much," Sebastian exclaims as the ceiling cracks more, and they both look up. "I think that we should get out of here properly," Finral yells.
"Agreed," Sebastian loudly says as Finral opens another portal. They get through it and end up at the start of the dungeon by the stairs.
"That was close," Finral says, relieved, and looks at Sebastian, who looks surprised.
"What is it?" Finral asks and turns his head to see what Sebastian is seeing.
"Oh, it is you two," Asta says, getting up with a smile. "So, you two found them," Finral says and looks at Lydia and Haze. "It is more like they found us," Haze says, putting his hands into the pocket of his coat.
"Oh well, either way, I am glad that we are all okay," Finral says. And Asta nods. "Yeah, and now we just need to find Noelle and Magna," Asta tells him.
"Right, then we should—" the walls begin to shake again, and they all look around, seeing the walls and ceiling crack, and bugs come falling out. "We should get out of here."
"Yeah, but what about Magna and Noelle," Asta says. "There is no time," Finral exclaims and makes a portal as the roof cracks more, and big stones and heavy rocks fall around them as Sebastian and Haze run through, and Lydia looks at Asta. "We have to go!" she says and pushes him in. "What, wait," he says and falls through the portal as Lydia, Millie, and Finral jump into it last.
They tumble into the snow in the village some distance away, and Asta jumps to his feet and turns toward the tall dungeon in the distance that falls together into a big pile of stone.
"Oh no, Magna, Noelle!" Asta exclaims with clear worry as his face is in shock. Millie turns her head, and Asta looks at her. "Wait, this ki—" he utters and turns his head and sees something heading their way.
"There they are," Finral says as Noelle flies with her water armor, and Magna is hanging on to her leg. "You guys, you made it," Noelle says relieved. "Yeah, and I am glad that you did the same," Asta exclaims.
"How did you guys get out, anyways? I thought you were far underground at this point," Sebastian asks as Noelle and Magna land. "Well, when the walls began to crumble, and the room got filled with those bug things, the stairway was crushed, so we used the hole made from my Sea Dragon's Roar to fly on out to the surface," Noelle tells them.
"Wow, that is what I call lucky," Lydia says. "Hmph," Haze scoffs, and Lydia's eye twitches.
"Well, it is good that we are all safe. So, did anyone find what we got here for?" Sebastian asks. "No, we didn't," Lydia says.
"Well, we saw the key thing, but some cloaked man got a hold of it before we could, and then he just vanished," Noelle explains. "Vanished, did they leave with speical-magic?" Finral asks.
"Not sure, it happened so fast, and that isn't the weirdest part," Noelle says. "Weirdest part?" Lydia asks. "Yeah, from how it seemed, the cloaked man seemed to be able to control those spectral wolves and summon them at will," Magna explains.
"What? No way," Finral says. "Wait, so this cloaked person, not only got the key that is supposed to belong to the weird chest we found but he can control the wolves, so they are connected?" Lydia asks, surprised.
"I am as surprised as you," Noelle says as she begins to think. "Okay, this is getting weird. What is the purpose of all this?" Sebastian asks. "Not sure, but there is no point in standing around here thinking about it; we should get back and relay this intel to Lord Julius," Magna says.
"Right, he might have some more intel too," Lydia says. "Right, so we are off to the capital," Asta exclaims, and everyone turns their attention to the special mage, "Finral!" everyone except Millie says in unison.
"Eh, hate to break it to you guys, but it will take some time for my magic to return for a far-distance travel like that," he says and awkwardly scratches the back of his neck.
"So we will have to travel by broom," Haze asks, and everyone stops as the world around them turns brighter. "The sun is up," Noelle says, seeing the snowy forest sparkle in the morning sunlight.
"Wait, that means," Haze says. "The window to go through the strong magic region is gone," Sebastian continues, and Millie looks around them, and her gaze falls on the forest.
"So now the only way out of here is through a portal or wait until the next full moon," Magna says. "Luckily we only have to wait for Finral's magic to return," Sebastian adds. "I guess, it is kind of sad that we never got to get a hold of the key, so this mission is a bust. What a shame," Magna utters.
"Yeah, but it isn't a total loss," Sebastian says. "How so?" Magna asks. "Well, I don't know about you, but I got a little stronger during this mission, and I got a chance to try out good teamwork with Finral," Sebastian elaborates. "Huh, come to think of it, we both did get a little stronger," Finral agrees.
"Yeah, you are right, even me and Noelle got better at coordinating our attacks together better," Magna says. "I suppose so," Noelle says with a friendly smile. "Really, that is awesome," Asta exclaims.
"I suppose working in teams of two does let us get to know each other better," Noelle says. "Yeah, and I learned that grumpy pants here will keep being grumpy," Lydia says. "Whatever, you should be glad I decided to at least work together with you," Haze retorts. "Wow, I am so honored it is making me blush," Lydia snarls back. "Your sarcasm is so evident," Haze says as an eye twitches.
"But I suppose we got a chance to grow and work together as well, so we did grow a little bit too," Lydia continues, her voice more serious and sincere, and Haze's face drops. "I suppose so," he says and blushes.
"Working together too, huh," Asta utters and looks at Millie, whose gaze is still on the forest, and she begins to walk with curiosity leading her. "Uuuh Millie, where are you going?" Asta asks, and everyone turns their attention to the one walking away. "Master, I am just going to check on something," Millie softly speaks, walking up to one of the pine trees at the edge of the village and she places her hands on it before she gently puts her ear to it.
"Uh, check on what exactly?" Asta asks as Millie listens quietly, and she gives a relieved smile as she pulls her head away and looks up at the tree. "The trees are no longer sad or dying," she tells them with a warm joy filling her eyes and smile.
"Oh, I forgot that you told us that when we got here," Sebastian says and adjusts his glasses.
"It seems to make you happy," Lydia observes, offering a warm smile.
"Yes, Miss, it truly does," Millie responds, her smile gentle and sincere. "It signifies that this little corner of the world will endure," she adds, a profound kindness resonating in her voice.
"The trees are happy, and that makes you happy...?" Magna utters, trying to process the information with a confused look on his face. "I don't really get it, but sure," he says and straightens up and smiles.
Asta smiles brightly at her with a raised eyebrow before looking at Haze as he speaks, "Well, now that the trees are fine, what are we supposed to do while we wait for this one's magic to return?" he asks, pointing at Finral with his thumb.
"You make it almost sound like I did this on purpose," Finral says. "I suppose we could go back into that longhouse and light a fire," Sebastian suggests. "I can agree to that; this cold is beneath my royal standard," Noelle says and flicks her hair behind her shoulder.
"Anything to get out of this cold," Lydia says. "Great, if we all help gather firewood, then we can enjoy the fire together quicker," Sebastian mentions. "Right," Asta and the rest say.
Later, they all walk to the longhouse, and Magna fires up the fire pit, and Millie puts down some firewood next to it and stands by it and watches the flame while Lydia and Sebastian come in with firewood too. They place it down with the rest, and Haze looks at everyone who warms themselves by the fire. "Great, now what?" Haze asks.
"Oh, I have something," Lydia says and gets into her bag and pulls out a stack of cards. "Cards, sure," Magna says with a smile while he, Noelle, and Finral sit down on the floor close to the fire pit, and they sit down with their legs crossed, aside from Noelle who sits down on her knees to keep her posture. "Card games seriously?" Haze asks as Asta and Sebastian join in on the floor. "Well, you are grumpy and negative about anything, so your vote doesn't really count," Lydia tells him, and Haze's eye slightly twitches as Lydia sits down, and he lets out a big sigh. "Fine, it is better than nothing," Haze says and sits down in the circle with the rest.
Millie still stands by the fire, watching the flames crackle and wave about, and her hand goes to her brooch.
"Uh, Millie, do you want to join?" Lydia asks. "I—" Millie utters and turns her gaze to the group and looks at everyone, and her eyes go to Liebe on Asta's shoulder who narrows his eyes at her, before she turns her face back to the fire. "It is all right, I will pass; thank you for the kind invitation, though," she softly says.
"Uh, okay," Lydia utters. "So, what are we going to play?" Finral asks while Asta looks up at Millie's expression from the side. "Well, you can sit together—" he says, and her finger twitches by her brooch. "-With us at least," he tells her, and her eyes soften. "In a moment, maybe," she says while the rest speaks.
"Maybe we can play Crazy Eights," Sebastian suggests. "Lame, let us play poker," Magna suggests. "What? No, we are not feeding into your gambling habit, besides we don't have anything with us to wager anything," Noelle tells him. "Lame, as if a royal would know awesome when it is right in front of them," Magna retorts.
"Any game is lame, but it is better than nothing," Haze complains. "It seems agreeing on a game might become a thing," Finral mentions. "Well, since it is my deck of cards, I will choose the game," Lydia says.
"What, how is that fair?" Magna exclaims. "Well, without me, we would never have had anything to pass the time," Lydia proudly states. And Magna's eye twitches before he takes a deep breath. "Fine, what game will we be playing then?" Magna asks.
"We will be playing..., Go Fish," Lydia says. "What," Magna is about to retort. "Fine, no matter the game, I will still chomp you chumps," Magna tells them as Lydia hands out the cards, and soon they begin to play while Millie watches the fire while listening in to the banter and chatter that fills the room. The light of the fire flickers and stretches into the room, and she can't help but smile as she lets go of her brooch, and she turns her gaze to the side like looking at someone and her gaze turns to the group. while their smiling faces and joy show on their faces, and she looks to Asta, and she gets into her cat form and walks over to him (''Maybe this one time...'') she thinks to her self getting up to him.
Asta looks at his cards, and he looks down as Millie climbs into his cross-legged lap, and she circles herself before laying down in his lap, and he smiles (''this is the first time she is getting close like this,'') Asta thinks to him self. "Asta, it is your turn," Finral tells him. "Right, sorry," he says and makes his move.
Millie opens an eye and looks at their smiling faces while playing. "I don't have to take part; watching people's smiling faces is plenty for me," she thinks to herself and closes her eye, listening to their conversation filled with banter and laughter. "Yes, this is plenty," she thinks to herself as warmth fills her heart while the fire next to the group warms her body.
