0713MM: Hey guys! I welcome you to the 63rd 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 63
Silence soon filled the room after Acier asked Julius her question. After around 2 minutes, Acier went to ask Julius again, but his smile stopped her as she felt her blood run cold.
N-No….! She thought. It…It can't be…!
"I'm not Julius." "Julius" answered. "My name is Lucius Zogratis, the one who'll become this world's Savior!" And with that, he began to change. His blonde hair and purple eyes slowly turned black and red. Even his clothing changed too, albeit it more or less stayed the same. The star symbol on the left side of his forehead moved to the right side of his forehead and morphed into a sun. As for his grimoire, the normal open appearance above him closed and fell into the palm of his right hand. Acier stepped back in complete horror while Julius-no, Lucius, smiled at her.
"What's the matter?" Lucius asked her. "You seem shocked to see me." His words were true, as Acier stepped back a bit more, starting to feel bile build up in her throat. Not only that, but she felt like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her through the stomach with it.
This…. This can't be true! Acier denied in her mindscape, but it was no use. Deep down, whether she wanted to admit it or not, but Julius was, without a doubt, a traitor to the entirety of the Clover Kingdom. And yet, he was there to help the people going through hard times. He helped her reach the position of Queen to help make change to the Clover Kingdom and its ways, given it'd never change while under the Kira rule.
"Why…?" Acier spoke softly.
"Why what?" Lucius asked curiously. Acier fell silent for a good few minutes. After another minute, she took a shaky breath, then finally began to speak. Her voice slightly shook as she did so.
"Why did you reveal yourself now?" Acier asked. "Why did you do all of this? And most importantly, why did you help me reach where I am now?" Lucius merely chuckled at her questions, which confused her. "What's so funny?"
"To answer your questions, or rather to answer your last question in particular, I helped you as Julius because when you survived all those years ago, my plans had to change."
"Wh-What….?!" Acier gasped. "W-Wait, so then it was you that sent Vanica after me 16 years ago?! Wh-Why?!"
"To kill you, obviously." Lucius shrugged nonchalantly. "I knew you were an incredibly powerful mage, so if I had you killed, then I'd have a powerful soldier on my side for when the time came." He then frowned. "Sadly, you survived, and as such, I had to alter my plans to ensure maximum success rate." He chuckled again. "One option was to get you assassinated and play it off, but then I realized that that'd be too difficult to pull off. Especially given that the Wizard King grand connections. Many he may have, but those connections can be considered a double-edged sword. For if one spills the beans, it'd be all over for me. So instead, I merely played along, helping you with your coup to remove the Kira Royal family from the high position of power, excluding Damnatio Kira." Acier stepped back a bit more, to which Lucius stepped forward, almost in a leisurely sense.
"I…" Acier spoke softly.
"Think about it, Acier." Lucius began casually. "Had you allowed yourself to die that day, then you could be on my side. You'd become far more powerful and wouldn't have to worry about dying ever again." Once again, Acier felt bile build up in her throat at hearing him talk. His words….they made her sick to her stomach.
"You… You disgust me…" Acier whispered harshly, surprising the eldest Zogratis child.
"I beg your pardon?" Lucius questioned, raising an eyebrow out of curiosity.
"I….I….." Acier coughed up the bile in her throat before turning her attention back to Lucius. "You-No… I trusted Julius! And here I find out that Julius and you are one and the same?! I…..I…..!" She felt her hands shaking violently, her vision going in and out of blurriness. Lucius on the other hand, merely laughed at her internal pain and torment.
"Yes, you trusted me." Lucius confirmed. "Hurts to know that your closest friend is actually an enemy, doesn't it?" Acier's face slowly turned white, her hands continued to shake. Hell, even her whole body began to shake. Luciius took notice of this and merely smiled.
Her resolve is wavering, good. He thought. As much as I'd love to kill her here and now, I sadly cannot. Lest everyone in the Clover Kingdom and those that aid the Clover Kingdom will something is up with the Wizard King. Acier hands continued to shake until they turned into fists; tears threatened to fall down her cheeks, but she managed to just barely suppress them.
"I don't know if Julius is truly working alongside you or not." Acier spoke up, her voice sounding small and with a lack of confidence. "But if he truly isn't working with you, then I….. I'll get Julius back from you!" Lucius merely chuckled at Acier's naivety.
"Then by all means, come and try." Lucius beckoned, a mockery within his voice. Acier's body continued to shake until her hands imbued themselves with Steel Magic; thus she vanished in a flash of silver light, intriguing Lucius. In another second or two, Acier reappeared and threw a punch at Lucius's face.
"Steel Magic: Hard Fist Strike!" She declared, only to gasp as Lucius easily blocked it with his right hand. "Wh-Whaaaa…?!"
"What? Did you think I'd just stand there and take it?" Lucius mocked before throwing her backwards with a thrust of his right hand after grabbing her right fist. Acier stumbled backwards before regaining her footing. He then stepped forward, continuing. "If you did, then you're a foolish woman."
"Foolish?" Acier repeated, getting her Steel Creation Magic: Valkyrie Armor to encase her. "We'll see who the foolish one is once I defeat you and get you detained! Then I can find out if Julius is really working with you or not!" Lucius on the other hand merely chuckled.
She still doesn't understand. He thought. Oh well. There are those out there that prefer to learn things the hard way. I guess Acier Silva is one of those people.
"Steel Magic: Bullet Squall plus Steel Magic: Steel Shooter!" Acier declared, launching down a Steel Magic-like storm followed by Steel Magic slashes, both spells flying at Lucius at incredible speed. Lucius merely smiled in amusement.
"Time Magic Mana Zone: Chronostasis Grigora." Lucius spoke coolly; thus stopping/freezing Acier's twin spells in Time Magic orbs. Acier thinned her lips into a line, then launched her 2 spells again, whilst also flying at Lucius at high speed, pure confliction evident on her face.
I…I just…! Acier thought. And at that moment, something within Acier completely snapped.
"AHHHHHHHHH!" Acier screamed, the control of her mana beginning to falter. Lucius smiled darkly at the sight and easily evaded the attacks, then reappeared right in front of her, a dark smile on his lips.
"Pathetic." Lucius spoke coolly. "Time Magic: Chrono Alter plus Time Magic: Chrono Scratch!" In an instant, the time around his body, as well as his own body, began to go out of sync to slow Acier's attacks down. Just as she was about to hit him, or so she thought, several small clock hands appeared on her Valkyrie Armor and began to shock her.
"Ahhhhhhh!" Acier screamed out of pain before Lucius clenched his right hand into a fist and imbued it with Time Magic.
"Time Magic: Time Flash Fist!" Lucius grinned, punching Acier square in the stomach and sent her flying backwards and into the wall, her Valkyrie Armor spell completely dissolved as she slumped to the floor. Blood poured out of her mouth as she coughed up more, clutching her injured stomach. She looked up to see Lucius approaching her. She tried to snarl at him, but her own blood got in the way, making the snarl she intended to release sound more like a gurgling noise.
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic." Lucius frowned deeply, crossing his arms. "I was expecting more out of you. But I guess you're too mentally broken to continue. Oh well. Time to ship you off somewhere so you won't get in my way any longer." While he talked, Acier automatically activated her Steel Recovery Magic: Steel Maiden's Mending Embrace to heal her wounds.
"That…." Acier spoke hoarsely, slowly getting up, to which Lucius's facial expression turned into an amused one. "That won't be happening….!"
"Heh." Lucius chuckled in amusement. "I must admit, you are as tough as your Magic. However, your Magic is nowhere strong enough to fend me off. Especially not in the state that you're in."
"Even if that's true….." Acier began, reapplying her Valkyrie Armor spell to herself. "I won't just roll over and die! As the Clover Kingdom Queen, I…I will defeat you here and now!"
"Hoh? Really now?" Lucius smiled in amusement. "Well, try if you can."
"Oh, I will!" Acier retorted. "Steel Creation Magic: Winged Steel Knights!" At her call, several steel armored knights with wings appeared in front of her. With one motion with her liquified steel lance, the knights charged at Lucius. Lucius merely smiled and teleported around them and evaded there attacks, then destroyed them all with a few timed Time Magic: Time Flash Fist on them to dissolve them. During this time, Acier called upon her Steel Binding Magic spell, Perfect Cube, to try and restrain him, but he simply used his Time Magic teleport out of the way.
Tch…! I can't keep this up…! Acier thought. Wait a minute… I have 1 spell that can help me here! I just hope it works! She then frowned internally. But I'm slowly losing control of my mana… And since that's the case, I better end this fast!
"You're definitely a more resilient fighter than I first thought." Lucius admitted. "However, all good things must come to an-" Before he could finish, he felt a surge of power coming off of the Clover Kingdom Queen. To this, he felt his interest pique. "Hoh? Now what's this she's trying to do?"
Steel Magic Mana Zone: Steel Valhalla! Acier thought, feeling her Steel Magic mana course through her body and powering her up after gathering up all the nearby mana in the area that she was able to gain control of. Upon seeing this, Lucius's lips formed a dark smile.
"Oh ho! I see!" Lucius grinned. "Now Queen Acier Silva! Show me the full extent of your power!" Instead of answering Lucius, Acier simply vanished in a silver flash of light before reappearing right behind him and thrusted her arm with the liquified steel lance forward and for his back. Lucius merely half turned and blocked the strike with his right hand. And since he blocked it at the part where it wasn't sharp, his hand didn't bleed. Not like it mattered to him if it did, given he could simply heal his injury with his Time Magic.
He still has Time Magic: Chrono Alter active. Acier realized. I might be at around the same speed as him now, but that's only thanks to my Steel Magic Mana Zone spell.
"Royal or not, you can't keep this up." Lucius told her after he teleported away from her before reappearing across from her. "But if you insist on continuing this fight, I have no qualms with that. In fact, it's my turn to attack. Time Magic: Chrono Scratch plus Time Magic: Luminous Minutes!" After he threw 2 orbs of Time Magic towards Acier that then split into multiple yet also smaller clock hands, Acier raised her arms to create a massive Steel Magic wall that she then expanded to make into a dome to give her cover.
"Steel Creation Magic: Full Steel Fortress!" Lucius didn't seem bothered as he continued to let loose his 2 spells on the fortress dome that Acier created. Though his magical clock hands weren't doing as much damage as he'd hoped, they were still tearing through it bit by bit.
"You know you can't hide forever, Acier." Lucius taunted her, his dark smile still present on his face. "Eventually your little fortress will crumble. And when it does, you'll be vulnerable."
I hate to admit it, but he's right. Acier thought. In that case, I'll need to come up with a plan to not only get out of my own barricade unscathed, but also be able to attack him without giving him a chance to respond to my attack(s). She looked up and saw cracks forming the ceiling of her makeshift shelter made from her Steel Magic. Said cracks soon started to become larger, even the walls began to crack a bit from the continuous and brutal onslaught from the magical clock orbs being sent at the barricaded makeshift shelter.
"I gotta time this right." Acier spoke to herself. "Because if I don't, it may end up being over for me." She silently casted another Steel Magic spell, specifically Steel Creation Magic: Gungnir Spear to give herself a second lance to use. Just as the makeshift shelter created from her Steel Magic was collapsing, Acier made a break for it at high speed, flying towards Lucius, who was still firing off his 2 Time Magic spells. Due to her being a silver blur thanks to her Steel Magic Mana Zone spell enhancing her speed tremendously, he didn't pick up on her approach right away. Though just to be safe on Acier's part, she teleported in a silver flash to where she point blank range on Lucius. He looked down just in time to see Acier thrusting both of her lances forward and pierce his chest. Before she could dig her liquified steel lances deeper into his chest, he simply teleported away and reappeared several feet away from her. Despite his injury, he was undeterred.
"My my! That's the first time in a long time that I've suffered an injury in a fight." Lucius praised the Clover Queen. "But of course, it's all for naught." Using his stored Time Magic, he healed the wound, irking Acier.
"Tch…! Great…!" Acier seethed. "How in the living hell am I supposed to kill you then?"
"That's the thing, it's near impossible to!" Lucius sneered.
"We'll see about that." Acier replied simply.
"Yes we will." Lucius agreed. "But I must tell you now. That attack you did just now that forced me to heal it with my Time Magic….. That was your one and only free hit." Acier felt a shiver go down her spine at the coldness in Lucius's voice when he said that last sentence. To which Lucius's lips curled back up into a dark smile. In a flash of light, he appears in front of her and yanks her Gungnir Spear spell out of her left hand, then begins to swing and stab at her with it, to which she blocked and parried with her other lance. As the teleported around the room with flashes of light, they also clashed with the lances whenever they got a chance to strike at one another. As the 2 continued their clash, Lucius held a calm demeanor despite his lips curving into that of a dark smile. Meanwhile with Acier, she was clenching teeth and felt sweat trickling down her face. Whether she'd admit to it or not, she was losing.
I'm not sure how much more I can keep this up…! Acier thought. The control on my mana is continuing to slip as well…! Why…?!
"Your emotions have reached a severity that has caused your mana to become…unbalanced." Lucius answered her thoughts, surprising her, to which his grin widened. "It's true and you-"
"Shut up!" Lucius blinked, looking at Acier, her purple eyes glowed, her teeth bared like a feral animal. "I will kill you, you traitorous prick!"
"Hoh?" Lucius wondered aloud. "Is that so?"
"Yes." Acier replied with venom in her voice, clearly starting to lose it. She either didn't notice, or didn't care. Either way, her attention was solely on Lucius. "And it's a promise, that much I can assure you."
"Then by all means." Lucius smiled, beckoning her to attack with his right hand. "Let's see if you can get more than 1 hit on me." Acier bared her teeth like fangs, she clenched her right hand on the hilt of liquified steel lance created from her Valkyrie Armor spell.
"I fully intend to!" She snarled before flying at Lucius at incredible speed, her Mana Zone spell still in effect. For much longer, she didn't know. Nor did she really seem to care as she continued to clash lances with Lucius. Lucius merely smiled in amusement as he parried each of her slashes and stabs with precision and great accuracy. The walls and floor of the room are now being torn apart by the 2's fight, but not enough to outright destroy the room. As they continued, they also unleashed more spells at one another to try and offset the other. In Acier's case, it was Steel Magics: Steel Bullet Squall and Steel Shooter, followed by Steel Creation Magic: Winged Steel Knights. Lucius, using his Time Magic: Chrono Alter, was able to maintain a slight edge in speed, followed by using Time Magic: Chrono Scratch to unleash a barrage of small magical clock hands towards Acier to shock her, to which she too evaded each one, albeit barely. Her spells that she cast on the other hand were not so lucky, getting destroyed by small magical clock hands upon impact. She gnashed her teeth, barely evading a stab from her own lance that Lucius now held in his right hand. While Lucius grinned as he swung, stabbed, and parried, Acier felt sweat trickling down her face as she too swung, stabbed, and parried.
I'm not sure how much more I can keep this up…! Acier thought.
"What's wrong? Getting worn out?" Lucius asked her in a mocking tone, as if hearing her thoughts, much to her own annoyance.
"Stop reading my thoughts!" Acier snapped.
"Heh. Sorry sorry." Lucius spoke "apologetically", which irked the Clover Queen more.
"Why you…!" Acier leapt at Lucius, going for a stab at his stomach, to which he blocked with her own lance he stole from her earlier. Imbuing her free hand with Steel Magic, she thrusted that hand forward to give him a good punch with Steel Magic: Hard Fist Strike. Lucius simply smiled and evaded it in a flash and appeared behind her. She half turned and blocked the incoming stab just in the nick of time. Lucius leapt back, disappearing in a flash of white light. Acier looked all around the area to see if she could sense his presence. She closed her eyes and focused on him. Just as he reappeared, Acier opened her eyes and swung around to block the incoming strike, to which Lucius clapped after he backed up from her.
"My my! Not bad!" Lucius praised. "Despite your situation, you managed to use ki to your advantage and block my incoming attack. On top of that, I'm certain that your Mana Zone spell is helping you." Acier simply said nothing in response as she lunged at him, to which he evaded with ease.
I think this has gone on long enough. He thought, his mocking smile still on his face. Time to end this. Once again he vanished. Acier merely frowned deeply, keeping up her guard and looking around.
"Trying the same trick again?" She wondered aloud. "If it didn't work the first time, what makes you think it'll work this time?" To answer her own question, Lucius reappeared in front of her, a dark smile on his face; thus surprising her.
"Boo." He spoke in a mocking tone. "Time Magic: Chrono Scratch! Plus Time Magic: Chrono Gear!" Before Acier could say or do anything, both spells made contact on her body. Not only shocking her thanks to Chrono Scratch, but with her body slowing down thanks to Chrono Gear, the pain only became more unbearable. Her shrieks of pain and agony came out long and slow on top of that. After a few more seconds, time became normalish on her body again, to which Chrono Gear let loose an explosion, albeit non lethally, on her body, to which she was sent flying into the wall and fell to the floor. Dazed and bloody all over her face, arms and legs, she looked up and blocked Lucius's oncoming stab strike with Gungnir Spear just in time. He silently gaped as she slowly stood back up, slightly pushing him back. Sadly, this push back began to falter as her body shook. Her Mana Zone spell slowly dissipating, much to Lucius's delight. With one swift strike from now holding Gungnir Spear, Lucius slashed her right hand which held her other liquified steel lance, to which she hissed in pain and dropped the lance. Then with the hilt of Gungnir Spear, does sort of an extended version of an elbow strike to her sternum, causing her to cry out in even more pain as she backs up and coughs up blood. And to finally finish the job, Lucius turned Gungnir Spear around and stabbed the Queen of the Clover Kingdom, Acier Silva Clover, right through her stomach. She gasped and coughed up even more blood. A dark and triumphant smile appeared on Lucius's face as a result.
"It's as I said earlier, pathetic." Lucius spoke in a condescending tone towards the Clover Kingdom Queen, who's purple eyes looked up at Lucius with a hint of defiance, as well as…..fear. Lucius raised his right hand up after removing his grip on Gungnir Spear. His right hand is now imbued with Time Magic. "Now….to teach you-"
"My my! That was quite the performance, Lucius-sama!" Lucius lowered his right hand and let the Time Magic mana imbued in it fade as he took in the appearance of the new arrival. The new arrival in question was a woman with raspberry pink hair that went down all the way to just past her midback. She also wore a headband to make sure that her hair remained out of her face. Her clothing, hilariously enough, was more or less quite plain. At least plain for a magic scholar. And finally, she bore blood red eyes.
"Ah, Freyja." Lucius gave the woman, Freyja, a small smile as he approached her. "I take it that you were watching the entire fight?"
"I was, yes." She confirmed. "And thanks to my own little contraption I made, I was able to not only be immune to your Time Magic, but also allow myself to practically be invisible to those guys's mana sensation." She gestured to Queen Acier, Alina, WIlliam, and Patri as she said this. Lucius gave a smile, putting a hand on her shoulder.
"You did well." Lucius told her. "Not just in that, but in all the other things I told you about while I remained here thanks to Julius."
"Ah yes, your soul brother." Freyja recalled. "What got him to help you with this grand plan of yours in the first place?"
"It didn't take that much to convince him." Lucius remarked.
"Mm, fair enough." Freyja hummed, accepting Lucius's answer.
Th-That's…! Acier thought as she felt herself staggering backwards before falling to her knees rolling on her side before she laid on the floor on her back. Her breathing slowed down tremendously, blood continued to ooze out of her wounds, as well as down her face, arms, and legs. The 11th Wizard King, Princia Funnybunny's, descendant…!
"Oh also, I got the Tree of Kabbalah information while you were fighting." Freyja added, revealing a folder to Lucius, who gladly took it.
"Thank you again Freyja." He told her with a light smile.
"Anytime Lucius-sama." She grinned. She looked over at the moaning and groaning Queen Acier Silva on the ground. "What do we do about her? May I put her into one of my personal Legion Magic bodies to make her a Fortified Paladin?" Lucius looked back at the Clover Queen, then at Freyja and shook his head.
"As tempting as it would be to turn her into a Paladin, no one knows that I'm alive yet." Lucius told her. "As such, it'd be best for them to learn of Julius being a traitor at a time where I'm gathering up the rest of my cards."
"So by the time they learn of you, it'll be too late." Freyja realized, smiling wickedly as a result. "A genius plan, Lucius-sama."
"Thank you." Lucius told his personal magic scholar. "Now then, let's-" Before he could speak further, a magic key flew directly at him, which he evaded by teleporting out of the way, then reappeared next to Freyja to see 4 familiar faces.
"Lucius!" Conrad snarled, fury in his voice. "Finally decided to reveal yourself after all these years, I see!" Jester and Edward stood next to Conrad and Princia respectively, while Lucius merely smiled at the 4 previous Wizard Kings. While Conrad glared at his adversary, Jester and Edward bore slightly shocked expressions, but not that shocked, given that Conrad had told them of what befell his personal squad and that Julius was somehow behind it. And Conrad's words were proven true by Lucius's mere presence before them.
"So it's true…!" Jester whispered.
"The 28th Wizard King, Julius Novachrono, not only ruined Conrad's life by not only killing his entire squad and wife, but is also a traitor…!" Edward added. Loudly, Edward continued. "For defiling the title of Wizard King, I, Edward Avalache, shall sentence you to eternal sin!" Lucius just laughed at the declaration.
"You? Sentence me to eternal sin?" Lucius chuckled darkly. "You must be joking. Even if all 4 combined your power now, you still couldn't defeat me. I bet your friend Conrad over there won't be of much help to you, given he's still recovering not only from being sealed, but bringing you 3 back must have been tiring."
"Tch…!" Conrad grunted. "For once, you're right. And I bet that's why you won't do the same as me. Bringing back more than 1 Wizard King, I mean."
"Too true." Lucius agreed. "Mm?" He looked over at Princia. At first, it was out of curiosity to see what the 11th Wizard King had to say, but then he noticed she was looking at Freyja with mixed emotions written all over her face.
What is this…?! Princia thought.
"Why….." She spoke lowly. Freyja heard her and turned to face the older pinkette woman.
"Mm? Why what?" Freyja asked.
"Why would you side with a monster like him?!" Princia demanded, surprising her descendant slightly.
"Huh? Who are-?" Freyja began before taking in Princia's appearance fully, to which she then smiled. "Ah, I see! You're my ancestor, Princia Funnybunny, and the 11th Wizard King of the Clover Kingdom!"
"Answer the question, dammit!" Princia snapped. "Why do you side with such a monster?!"
"Why?" Freyja repeated before shrugging. "Why not? I willingly offered up my services to him. As such, he's repaid me in numerous ways." Her lips curved into a sneer. "Besides, you're no better, Princia. What, with your coldhearted attitude and viewing others beneath you as weak." Princia merely growled in response to her descendant's remark towards her, to which got Freyja to widen her dark smile. "Aww, you don't like that? Well too bad! I'm Lucius-sama's personal magic scholar, and I'll make sure that his enemies cower before him. Including you!" Princia snarled, ready to fight her descendant, but Edward and Jester held her back, while Conrad merely glared at his adversary and his assistant.
"Not now Princia!" Jester told her.
"We'll get our chance some other time!" Edward added, which finally got her to relent.
"Hmph…!" She grunted.
"This isn't over, Lucius." Conrad told Lucius in a warning tone. Lucius merely chuckled in amusement in regard to Conrad's words.
"You're right about one thing Conrad." Lucius agreed. "This isn't over." He turned on his heel to leave, to which Freyja followed. Though she couldn't help but give her ancestor a mocking smile as she left the room. Once the 2 were gone, the Time Magic spell used to stop time for everyone, minus Lucius, Acier, and the 4 previous Wizard Kings dissipated. After it did, Conrad walked over to the severely injured Queen Acier Silva and knelt down beside her.
"I told you so." He whispered to her. It was in a whisper, but someone heard it loud and clear. Just as Princia smirked and about to give her own mockery, sudden vines wrapped tightly around them to their shock before they screeched, being swung high in the air before slamming down to the ground. They winced in pain, looking up to see an extremely pissed off Alina, her mana dangerously radiating off her much to their shock.
"I don't know what crawled in your asses, but let me tell you something." She snarled. "You can take your smartass comments and shove them right back up in there where they belong along with the rest of your garbage attitudes that this kingdom doesn't need! You think you can act all high and mighty when you ain't worth the grain of mana you worthless pieces of shits and sorry excuses of Kings bother to use!"
"How dare-!" Vines were binded in Princia's mouth before she could even retort.
"I'm not done, so shut the fuck up bunny bitch." Alina snapped, annoyed. "You complain, whine, and scream like a child who doesn't get what they want. Only resorting to throwing hands cause your pea size brains can't bother to actually talk with people if it hit you in the back of the head with a fucking boulder. And when someone doesn't agree with you, you put them down? Well let me tell you something, that isn't gonna make people listen or want to follow you. That'll just make them want to hope, pray, and wish you are buried six feet under until the Devils take you and make you their playthings. You're no fucking better than the Zogratis with your trail of thinking. All that's missing is you dumbasses opening a Gate to Heaven or Hell, but I bet you thought of that at least once! You were both centuries too early to even be granted titles of Captains before daring to become Wizard Kings. You know why you both failed in your eras? Because you couldn't even fucking bother to find a way that could help not just the Commoners, but the Nobles and Royals who actually give a shit for other people, unlike you ungrateful, disrespectful, mule headed, cocky, arrogant, disgusting pieces of shit!" Patri had hidden behind a pillar during Alina's whole rant, while William hugged Alina from behind.
"Alina, please stop…." William told her softly.
"Not until I seal their grimoires, tie their asses up, and feed them to anything that fucking moves!" Alina snarled, making the two bound captives actually shudder in fear. William tightly, but also gently, held her in the hug.
"No Alina." William replied. "If you do that, it'll make you no better. I know they are pricks, specifically Princia, but they don't necessarily deserve this. Especially if we are to win this upcoming and unavoidable war."
"I have a suggestion." Edward spoke up. Alina glared at Edward with a raised eyebrow.
"I'm listening." She spat.
"We keep them here to help maintain Clover." Edward answered. "That, and we need them to activate a specific protocol that only a high ranking member of the Clover Kingdom's military, or the ruler of the entire Kingdom, can activate. It's something that was established back when Jaguar Silvamillion was Wizard King."
"The 10th Wizard King, to be accurate." Jester added.
"You mean the War Hungry psychotic one?" Alina questioned, unconvinced.
"Yes, that's right." Edward nodded. "Essentially, this protocol, named after the 10th Wizard King as the Jaguar Protocols, would, to my understanding, enable an emergency vote and removal of Wizard King power from the current one. After Jaguar went, well…rogue and deeming everyone beneath him, minus Prinica, he was forced into retirement, due to the Clover Kingdom military at the time saw him as too dangerous to be in control of the Clover Kingdom's Magic Knight Squads."
"He retired to Kiten and was killed by the 8 Shining Generals at the time." Jester recalled.
"How ironic, given how war hungry Diamond was back then." Alina snorted. "But what's your point?"
"My point is this." Edward continued. "Since the 28th Wizard King is a traitor, the Jaguar Protocols need to be activated. Conrad was the last Wizard King to see them." He then frowned. "Though there's a possibility that they may have been changed."
"Which could be likely given it's Julius, or should I say Lucius." Alina scowled. "Plus will it even work for you guys since at least three of you are technically dead?" Edward and Jester looked at each other, then back at Alina, then over the captured Conrad and Prinica by Alina's vines, then back at Alina.
"Probably not, no." Edward admitted sadly. "But that's why Conrad needs to stay alive so he can initiate it. If you kill him, we'll have no way to initiate it."
"We would have the Clover Queen to do it." Jester spoke with a frown. "If only she wasn't…in the situation she's in now….."
"Patri, what are you…?" William asked his elf counterpart, who had now come out from behind the pillar and was now kneeling beside Acier, using Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles.
"I…..I'm going to try and heal her…" Patri spoke softly.
"I'll help you." Alina frowned.
"Unnn….." Acier moaned, followed by some crying. Patri winced, then looked up and over at Alina.
"...Alright." He spoke softly.
"Oh, I'd suggest calling her family." Edward added.
"I'll do it." William replied, pulling out his communication device to contact them. Or rather, the Heads of House Silva specifically. While he did that, Patri tried to keep healing Acier, though it seemed to have little effect.
"I'm sorry…." He found himself on the verge of tears. "I….I should have said something sooner…. Had I done that, you…..you wouldn't….." Outside of feeling guilt for what befell William after the capture by Zenon Zogratis a little over a year ago that resulted in practically going dark elf after William and his souls were split into 2 different bodies, he took that year to reform and better himself. And while Acier Silva, and her family, among a few others were willing to give him a chance, some had no intent on doing so, no matter how hard he tried. He feared that Alina, William's girlfriend, would be the same and did not want to give him a chance. And maybe she wouldn't give him a full second chance. Even so, he was relieved that she was willing to help him in healing the Clover Kingdom's current ruler, Queen Acier Silva, from her severe injuries that she received during her fight against Lucius Zogratis.
"Unnnn….." Acier continued to cry and moan painfully, making Patri wince and tear up again.
"Wh-What's going on…?!" Patri spoke in a panic. "My Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles isn't having much of an effect to heal these injuries of hers…! Wh-Why…..?!" Patri wasn't able to understand why the Clover Kingdom Queen's wounds bore little change. Alina frowned, going up to him.
"I did say that I'd help." She told him. Patri half jumped, turning around to look at her and gave a small nod.
"Th-Thanks…" He spoke softly.
"I believe I know why your magic's aren't working to heal her injuries as well as you'd like." Conrad spoke after freeing himself and Princia from the vines Alina placed them in earlier. Alina glared at the duo, ready to encase Conrad and Princia again, but like before, William hugs her from behind and she twitches before relaxing a bit. Though her angry glare at the 11th and 27th Wizard Kings of the Clover Kingdom did not let up much, or at all, rather.
"Oh? And why's that, undeserving to be Wizard King?" Alina asked the black haired man with blue tips and red eyes.
"It's surprisingly simple." Conrad answered. "Light, and of course Sunflower and Water Magic, are all natural magics. The magic that injured the Clover Kingdom Queen in Acier Silva is Time Magic. Which as I'd imagine all of you know, is unnatural magic."
"But so is Spatial Magic." Patri pointed out. "It's very rare for a human to possess it."
"True." Conrad agreed before narrowing his eyes. "But Time Magic injuries aren't as easy to heal in comparison to Spatial Magic, or an injury from a normal magic attribute, really."
"So what do we do?" William asked.
"Bring her to a place that has a lot, and I mean a lot of people that specialize in healing." Conrad answered. "While Clover does have healers, they aren't nearly as good in comparison to somewhere like Elyisa, and I'd imagine Diamond as well."
"Funny. I was just about to suggest Elysia." Alina remarked, anger still evident in her voice. "And with that in mind, you" She points at Conrad, anger evident in her finger point and her voice. "will be staying here in the Clover Kingdom to initiate the Jaguar Protocols."
"That was the plan." Conrad replied coolly. "And Princia will be staying with me."
"Fine." Alina snapped. "Go, do that." She turned away from Conrad and Princia as she helped Patri continue to heal Acier's injuries.
"Mom/Mother!" The septet heard and saw Asta and Noelle running into the tower, followed by Nozel, Courtney, Nebra, and Solid. Once they got over and got a very good look at what Acier looked like, the new arrivals all gasped in complete shock and horror at the sight of Acier's battered and bloody body. It was healed up for the most part, but several other injuries were still slowly bleeding out more blood.
"Unn…!" Acier moaned.
"Get out of the way." Nozel ordered, pushing the others, specifically the 4 previous Wizard Kings, out of the way, much to Asta and Noelle's surprise.
"Nozel…" Noelle whispered.
"Did he just…?" Solid asked softly, to which Nebra nodded. Courtney merely frowned and carefully approached Nozel. He almost shooed her away, only to realize it was wife, followed by his younger sister in Noelle and his brother-in-law in Asta.
"Nozel." Asta began. "I….."
"...You can carry her if you want." Nozel told Asta, to which the ash blonde teenage boy shook his head.
"I think it'd be better if you carried her." Asta told him. "I mean… You are her son, after all."
"So are you." Nozel countered. "Besides, you have more muscle than I do. And while most would view your muscle physique as "unsightly" or "unbecoming of royalty", I know how you carry Noelle. Despite your physical appearance, you know your own strength." He paused then added. "Look, how about this. I'll carry her part of the time, and you do the rest. How does that sound?"
"Sounds good to me." Asta nodded, grimness, worry, and sadness written on both his and Nozel's faces. In fact, it was written on the faces of all of Acier Silva's children. Biological and in-laws alike.
"I'll make us a Spatial Magic portal, then." Courtney spoke solemnly, doing so not too long after she said it. And with that, Asta, Noelle, Nebra, Solid, Patri, William, Alina, Jester, Edward, and Nozel carrying his Mother walked through Courtney's spatial portal silently, followed by Courtney right behind them. The spatial portal closed not long after Courtney went through it. Conrad and Princia merely stared at where the others were; neither of them said a word for a good while. Eventually, Princia turned to face Conrad.
"So…?" She questioned.
"I'll go and see about getting the Jaguar Protocols activated." Conrad answered before frowning deeply. "My only concern is if Julius-" He shook his head. "No, Lucius, found them and managed to change them. Because if he did find them and changed them in any way, they won't work the way that they are meant to." He didn't wait for Princia to answer him as he continued. "I just hope that worry is for naught."
"Oh my! Quite persistent, aren't you?" Lilith grinned maliciously as she fired Demon Ice Magic mana bullets at Dazu, who evaded them.
Shit! Dazu thought. Even without Lilith using any Demon Ice Magic spells, her mana bullets are incredibly fast! She gave Naamah a glance. And his Demon Fire Magic isn't helping matters either.
"Indeed she is Lilith." Naamah agreed. "But enough Mana Bullets." He grins maliciously. "Let's use some actual spells!"
"Oh yes!" Lilith also grinned maliciously, showing her sharp teeth. "Let's give her a taste of what Planet Mercury feels like on a daily basis!" Upon hearing the 2's declaration, Dazu froze up.
"What…?!" Dazu breathed, too stunned to think of a spell to cast. Just as she regained her composure, she felt herself freezing and burning at the same time. "AHHHHHH!"
"Hahaha! Demon Ice Magic: Mana Freeze!" Lilith grinned maliciously.
"Can't forget me!" Naamah added with a dark grin. "Demon Flame Magic: Mana Burning!" Dazu continued to scream in agony as she felt the mana not just around her, but within her, began to freeze and burn at the same time. She fell to her hands and knees; her breathing soon became ragged.
"Augh…!" Dazu rasped, slowly standing up. "Can't…Can't give up yet…..!"
"You might as well, dear human!" Lilith mocked as she and her twin moved towards Dazu, evil grins on their faces.
"N…Never…..!" Dazu rasped in defiance, slowly standing back up, albeit shaken up a bit.
"Oh?" Lilith wondered aloud out of curiosity. "You still wish to fight despite your current state?"
"I suppose she deserves some respect for that." Naamah noted, to which he then grinned again. "Let's give her the honorable death she deserves."
"Yes, agreed Naamah." Lilith smiled wickedly as she raised her right hand. "Ready?"
"But of course Lilith." Naamah retorted, also raising his right hand up. Their right hands are now imbued with Demon Ice Magic and Demon Fire Magic respectively. Despite this, Dazu gave the 2 First Gate of the Underworld's Supreme Devils a defiant glare. Of course, it began to falter as she felt extreme pain throughout her body again.
"I…. I won't….. I won't give up….!" Dazu vowed through pained breaths.
"Sweet, but pointless." Lilith told her. "Accept your death with honor! Demon Ice Magic: Frozen Hell Swords!"
"And Demon Flame Magic: Burning Hell Swords!" Just as the 2's combined sword spells were about to reach and pierce through Dazu's body multiple times to ensure her death, the swords were suddenly destroyed, or in some cases, burnt away completely. This caught the 2 Supreme Devils off guard.
"Huh…?" Dazu groaned in pain. She looked up to see Liebe and Friede, who was imbued with Jehoel's Angel Power at 60%, stood in front of her. "Liebe….? Friede…..?"
"What happened?" Lilith wondered aloud.
"That'd be because of us." Liebe grinned.
"I won't let you hurt my squadmate!" Friede added. Lilith and Naamah looked at each other before laughing.
"My my! This'll be fun!" Lilith couldn't help but laugh in amusement. "Let's go, Naamah!"
"Right my dear twin!" Naamah agreed, now preparing themselves to face Friede and Liebe head on.
"Hahaha!" Morris laughed as he evaded an attack from Evanora. "Man, you're something else!"
"And you'll be dead soon enough!" Evanora snarled.
"Hahaha! We'll see about that!" Morris grinned psychotically.
"Yes we will!" Evanora retorted. "Acid Magic: Rotting of all Creation!" Morris evaded the corrosive acid with ease, then took out a magic item from his lab coat and tossed it into the air, to which it exploded and created a magical barrier.
"Heh heh heh! Let's see you get past this!" Morris grinned mockingly. Evanora on the other hand, stared back at Morris, unimpressed. She raised her right hand's index and middle fingers up and from behind her a tower of acid rose up.
"Acid Magic: Corrosion Tower!" Evanora declared before thrusted her 2 fingers forward and down. At her command, the tower of acid did exactly that and slammed into the barrier Morris created. Morris merely laughed at her futile attempt to destroy the barrier protecting him, much to her own ire.
"Hahahaha!" Morris laughed triumphantly. "Thanks to my Modification Magic, I made the barrier turn to steel just before your Corrosion Tower spell hit it! I got inspiration to make this from that one disciple of Vanica Zogratis's that used Skin Magic! Gross, but quite fascinating nonetheless!" Evanora stared at Morris, a small smile formed on her face.
"Hoh? Is that right?" Evanora asked the psychotic magic scholar.
"Yes." Morrisretorted. "Do you doubt my knowledge?" Evanora silently casting Acid Creation Magic: Sword of Decay, to which gripped with her right hand after swapping hands with her normal broadsword.
"No, I don't." Evanora replied as she walked towards the barrier. "But…" She narrowed her eyes. "But what I do doubt is that someone like you provides anything meaningful to this world."
"Hoh?" Morris wondered aloud. "And why's that? You know if it weren't for me, the Diamond Kingdom would be in complete ruins." He snarled. "But then you kicked me out! And for what?!"
"Because," Evanora began. "you are a danger to everyone! Yourself included! Mars, Fana, Ladros, and all of those children you brutally tortured and experimented on…." She tightened her grips on her twin swords. "Will not be forgiven!" She pointed her twin swords at Morris. "And now to show exactly why!" A purple aura surrounded Evanora, making Morris come to the realization of what she was doing.
A Mana Zone Spell is coming…! He thought as he grit his teeth. And I have a feeling that this one will be different from the one she used on her "Mother"...!
"Acid Magic Mana Zone: Multi-Angle Acid Bombs!" Evanora declared. At her beck and call, several purple spheres made of Acid Magic, to which they then fired and hit upon Morris's barrier. At first, nothing happened, which got the mad and psychotic magic scholar to laugh.
"Hahahaha!" Morris laughed darkly. "What was that supposed to-" But he doesn't get to finish as he looks up and sees cracks forming on his barrier. The cracks became larger as several more Acid Magic spheres crashed into it; thus eroding it away until it shattered. "What?! But how?!"
"You underestimated me." Evanora replied simply. "Now…time to perish by my blade!" And with that, she flew at Morris with incredible speed. Not just due to her Mana Zone spell, but also due to her training. Both when she was younger from over the course of the year up until now. Morris wasn't able to get away as both Evanora's swords pierced his chest. He staggered backwards before coughing up a red liquid. He soon realized it was his own blood. He then coughed up more of it.
"Blegh…!" Morris coughed up more blood as his body began to slowly disintegrate due to Evanora's Acid Magic being imbued into both of her swords.
"It's over, you damn bastard." Evanora snarled.
"H-Heh…" Morris gave the current Diamond Kingdom Queen a bloodied grin. "You think so?" Evanora blinked and watched Morris disappear.
What was he babbling about just now? She thought before she shook her head.
"No matter." Evanora spoke aloud. "With Morris dealt with, I can-" She doesn't get to finish her sentence as a sharp object pierces through her stomach, making her gasp and look down. She even heard Morris's dark laughter as he emerged from one of the crumbled walls due to her Acid Magic Mana Zone: Multi-Angle Acid Bombs spell.
"Wh-What…?!" Evanora coughed up blood. Calamity, who had been here the whole time, looked up and noticed Morris "lost", only for him to reappear and catch the Diamond Kingdom Queen by surprise.
"Oh no…!" Calamity breathed, horrified. "He's still not dead…?!"
"H-How…?!" Evanora stammered.
"Simple!" Morris grinned. "Essence Transfer!"
"Essence…Transfer…..?!" Evanora breathed.
"That's right." Morris grinned. Despite reforming in a new body, it seems the scars he received from his fight against Evanora earlier transferred as well.
"Tch…!" Evanora grunted, raising her sword staff and her Acid Magic created sword up. "If I'm going down, I'm going to take you with me!"
"Hoh?" Morris wondered aloud.
"Acid Creation Magic: Venomous Dragon's Hydra Charge!" At her call, a three-headed Acid Magic dragonic hydra rose out of her swords and flew towards Morris at high speed. He took the hit head on as he got slammed into the wall. He looked up, growling in pain from the Acid Magic disintegrating his body again. His eyes widened in surprise as Evanora imbued herself with even more Acid Magic mana.
"This is the end!" Evanora declared. "Acid Magic Mana Zone: Double Acidic Requiem Slash!" Morris cried out as Evanora slashed his chest in an X formation thanks to her twin swords.
"You…!" He growled, disintegrating once again, only to reappear in a new body. This time, his clothes were burnt with Acid Magic, and his body was covered in even more scars thanks to Evanora's Acid Magic.
"Again….?!" Calamity gaped. "How many more times can he do that…?!" Evanora snarled before falling to her knees and onto the ground, her Acid Magic created sword soon vanished. Based on this alone, it was clear to Morris and Calamity that Evanora was practically out of mana.
"Heh heh heh…" Morris chuckled darkly. "Looks like someone burned themselves out. Hahaha!" The pages of his grimoire turned before stopping at a specific page. He looked down at it and grinned wickedly..
"Oh goodie! I do so enjoying this spell!" Morris's grin widened in triumph. "Goodbye Evanora! Modification Magic: Mana Disperse and Release!" Upon declaring this spell, both Evanora and Calamity could feel themselves becoming weaker.
"What….What's happening…..?!" Calamity gaped before coughing.
"My mana…..!" Evanora croaked. "It's…being released…..!"
"Yes, that's right." Morris confirmed. "And while you're out of usable mana, that doesn't mean your bodies still don't have any mana in them. And because they do, once you completely run out, well…." His dark grin widened. "You'll die! Hahaha! Join your husband in death, you bitch!"
"Damn you…!" Evanora gnashed her teeth before coughing up blood that was the color of her magic. "Urk…!"
No! I can't die here! Evanora thought. I….I still have…so much left to do….. To….fight for… She soon began to feel herself becoming extremely tired and exhausted, her eyes threatening to close and fall into death. Just before she could….
"Flame Magic: Phoenix Feather Shot!"
"Crystal Creation Magic: Crystal Claws!" The rocky wall shattered as both Captain Fana and Vice Captain Mars of the Amber Phoenix squad walked through the hole they made. The phoenix feathers created by Fana flew towards Morris and launched him backwards; thus stopping his spell. The claws Mars bore on his hands made by his Crystal Magic soon dispersed.
"Morris!" Mars declared. Evanora and Calamity both raised their heads to look up at the 2.
"Fana….. Mars…." Evanora breathed, a small smile present on her face. "If Fanzell and Dominante were here right now, they'd be so proud of you… As am I…"
"Captain… Vice Captain….." Calamity whispered. Morris got up from the ground and growled before his anger vanished and he recomposed himself.
"Ahahahaha! So the 2 most successful Diamond Kingdom children from my experiments have decided to grace me with their presence!" Morris grinned. "Perfect! Absolutely perfect! Now I can kill you 2, along with the Diamond Kingdom Queen!"
"You won't hurt or kill another soul!" Fana vowed.
0713MM: And with that, Chapter 63 is done! I do apologize for taking a little over a month on this. But alas, onto to summarize! So the main meat of this chapter is Queen Acier Silva Clover vs Lucius Zogratis. Unfortunately despite her best efforts even under severe emotional stress from the reveal of Julius Novachrono and Lucius Zogratis secretly working together, Acier Silva loses this fight. With the fight's conclusion, we're introduced to Freyja Funnybunny, a descendant to the 11th Clover Kingdom Wizard King, Princia Funnybunny. Once Lucius and Freyja leave, Conrad tells the unconscious Acier Silva "I told so" about Julius and Lucius, which sets off Alina to bind them up. Thanks to William calming them down and calling the other Silvas still in the Clover Kingdom, they show up and they all, minus Conrad and Princia, leave from the Elysia Elf Tribe to give Acier Silva the necessary needs to fully recover.
Meanwhile within the underground of the Spade Kingdom's Castle, Dazu tries to face off against Lilith and Naamah, which doesn't go well for her. Just as she's about to die to their supreme power, Friede and Liebe show up and save her. This naturally sets up a 2 vs 2 fight, which will be continued and resolved in Chapter 64. In addition to this fight, Evanora faces off against Morris. And like his fight against the Captains of Charlotte and Yami, he used an ability he himself learned through immense knowledge gaining known as Essence Transfer. He uses this twice against Evanora, much to the Diamond Kingdom Queen's ire. In the end, she is defeated after using up all of her mana reserves, which Morris aims to take full advantage of so he can drain her and Calamity completely of mana, which if done, will kill them guaranteed. Just before he can finish, Captain Fana and Vice Captain Mars of the Amber Phoenix Magic Knight Squad of the Clover Kingdom show up and stop him from killing their 2 friends. Like with the Liebe and Friede vs Lilith and Naamah fight, this fight will also continue and fully resolve in Chapter 64.
And this should cover everything that happened in this chapter! If you can't wait for the next chapter, then great! :)