I do not own Black Clover or any of its characters.
Next Step
"We're being watched. And I don't think it's entirely friendly." He clenched his fists. "She's reminding me of the Witch Queen again."
Suddenly, Dane spun, leaping backward toward the front of the ship just as someone fell toward the deck of the ship. When he landed, Dane's arm extended, a dozen Light Magic swords flashing into existence in the air around him, all hovering and waiting for his command to skewer their visitor.
"Dane, wait!" Mimosa yelped.
"I won't hurt him," Dane promised. "If he doesn't make me. We're here as a part of the exchange program."
"Please continue sailing forward," the man requested, standing upright calmly within his cage of blades, his right arm held across his abdomen.
He had short, messy, black hair swept back with a patch of snow white at the front, a calm, strong face bearing a jagged scar running up the side of his neck and diagonally up his cheek, a pale, purple, full-length, sleeveless cloak over a tight, sleeveless, vee-neck shirt, white pants, black cloth sandals, and black cloth sleeves around his wrists. He wore a gold, mantle-like collar around his lower neck and upper chest, a pair of cold bangles around his wrists and ankles, and a belt of gold circles.
"Wait, you're..." Mimosa trailed off.
"Allow me to welcome you to the Heart Kingdom," the man continued calmly, showing no reaction to Dane's threat. I'm the Spirit Guardian, Gaja, and I will act as your guard while you're here."
"Our guide, huh?" Dane asked. "You recognize him, Mimosa?"
"Yes," Mimosa nodded. "You can trust him, Dane."
"Okay," Dane nodded, lowering his arm and allowing the Light Magic swords to break up and fade.
"It's an honor to meet the chosen of the Spirit of Light," Gaja bowed, then stood upright again, looking to Mimosa. "It's been quite a while, Lady Mimosa. You and I met the last time you visited."
"It's lovely to see you, Gaja," Mimosa smiled, stepping forward, Dane's right eye twitching. "I consider it an honor that you remember me."
"How could I forget?" Gaja asked. "You were well-liked by everyone who made your acquaintance."
"Yeah, that sounds like Mimosa," Dane smiled, Mimosa blushing.
"Spirit Guardian Gaja, meet my friends Dane, Asta, Noelle, Finral, and Fana."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Gaja greeted them, clearly glancing at Fana's ears but making no comment. Instead, he held up his hand. "Would you care for some crimson orange juice?" He conjured a blood-colored fruit, one with its top cut off and a straw sticking out of it, in a flare of bright, golden mana. "You can use mana to sweeten it. For you." He handed it to Mimosa.
"Thank you very much!" Mimosa beamed.
He conjured one for each of them, and everyone but Dane began to drink it, though Asta had to have Noelle sweeten his first, as with no mana added to it, it was extremely bitter. Dane held the fruit in his hands, but frowned at it, still able to sense the queen's watchful eye on them, and sensing an ocean of power from Gaja, though not as much as he'd have expected.
"So, Spirit Guardian, huh?" Dane asked. "There are spirits in the Heart Kingdom?"
"There are spirits everywhere," Gaja answered. "However, the title is largely that. However, the Spirit of Water, Undine, does live in the Heart Kingdom. She forms pacts with the queens of our kingdom. You will meet her soon."
"Hey, uh, you told us to keep sailing forward, but this looks like a dead end," Finral called out as they neared a waterfall, which cascaded down the face of a cliff from above.
"Fear not," Gaja assured him, just as the waterfall began to change, reversing its flow and surging outward from the cliff, forming a staircase. "The queen will guide your ship onward."
The ship continued forward, and soon they were ascending the watery stairway, which stretched past where it should have transformed into a body of water, allowing them to sail over a stream of water higher than the trees as they continued ascending the mountain.
"So, it's the queen movin' our ship around!?" Asta gaped. "All of this is being controlled by one mage?"
"Both the mist barrier and the Water Stairs," Gaja explained, "they're products of the queen's Mana Zone, which spans across the entire country."
"Impressive range," Dane commented, passing Mimosa his untouched crimson orange juice, Mimosa. "Effective way to guide someone into a trap."
"Your caution is understandable," Gaja said calmly. "You have routinely been attacked by terrifying foes. However, you will come to no harm here."
Dane glanced at Mimosa, who was waving at Heart Kingdom citizens as they passed them. Gaja was giving them a history lesson for the kingdom, but Dane ignored him.
"This place is amazing," Fana breathed as Dane stepped up beside her, watching the land pass by them. "There's so much natural mana here."
"I forget you elves can sense mana in the world around you more than humans," Dane recalled. "I wish I could see the world through your eyes for a change. Even just for one day."
Fana smiled. "It's so beautiful. I'd share the feeling with you, if I could."
Dane smiled, nodding. "You know, if the others followed the natural mana of this world, there's a chance they ended up here somewhere."
Fana's eyes widened before she smiled, looking around. "It...seems to be flowing...west, I think. It's taking its time, which is why it's so potent here, but I think it's flowing west."
"Natural mana flows?" Dane asked.
"Of course," Fana nodded. "As all living things produce more mana, the existing natural mana moves to make room. If it didn't, it would become stagnant, and so would nature. All things in nature flow and move in one way or another. The current of a river, the wind, a tree drawing in moisture from the ground and releasing oxygen from its leaves. Motion is a part of nature."
Dane nodded. "That makes sense. And it's a beautiful way of describing the things people take no notice of in nature."
Fana smiled. "You've taken notice of them, though you don't realize it. Your own magic utilizes the same concept."
Dane stared at his hand for a moment before grinning and nodding. "That actually makes sense. It surprises me sometimes how little I understand the way my own magic works."
Fana smiled. "Your magic is incredible."
"Says the one who can lose the upper half of her body and then just regrow it with hers," Dane snorted. "Your magic is incredible. Mine's just very versatile."
Fana smiled gratefully, then turned to stare out at the world again. As she did, Dane turned toward the others just as a sphere of water suddenly spiraled into existence around Asta before exploding off of the ship.
"Asta!" Noelle shrieked.
"Just what do you think you're doing, Gaja!?" Mimosa demanded.
"We need his help to protect the peace we've cultivated here," Gaja explained calmly.
"We have to go after him!" Noelle shouted, she, Mimosa, and Finral sprinting for the prow of the ship.
"Leave it to me!" Finral called out from the back of the trio, his grimoire shining.
"Don't slow down Mimosa!" Noelle instructed. "Put your faith in our transporter!"
"Right!" Mimosa responded as the trio sprinted up the bowsprit and leapt from the ship.
A moment later, Finral was using his Fallen Angel Wingbeat, the ability that formed shining, green spheres of teleporting Spatial Magic, to warp the three of them in increments after Asta.
"Ah," Gaja mused. "It's only about a third stage, but still." Then, he jumped, exploding after Finral and the others.
"Worthless imbecile," Dane grunted. "Finral's going to wear himself out and be worthless to us."
"I'll fly us," Fana volunteered.
"No need," Dane said, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Hold onto me."
Fana blushed but complied, and a moment later, they vanished in a brilliant flash of light. A split-second later, Dane appeared between Gaja and the others in time for him to hurl Fana away from himself, extending one arm as his entire body transformed into diamond metal. A split-second later, a brilliant, golden bolt of lightning exploded into his arm, blasting his shirt and Black Bulls robe into ash, but as the smoke cleared, Dane's body, which still radiated Light Magic to allow him to hover, was unmarked by the electricity.
"You withstood it?" Gaja blinked in surprise. "And your body..."
"Raya, take Noelle after Asta," Dane instructed.
Raya appeared at Noelle's side instantly. Then, as soon as she has gripped Noelle's Valkyrie Armor-clad shoulder, both vanished. Behind Dane, Fana held Finral by the back of his shirt and held Mimosa against her side around the waist, the same way Dane had held her a moment before.
"Fana, keep them out of the way," Dane instructed.
"Right," Fana nodded.
As Dane and Gaja's gazes regarded each other with a matching, cold calculation, glowing, golden seals of mana swirled through the air around Gaja, a snake winding endlessly.
"You have two magic types," Gaja said. "I had only heard about your Spirit Magic. So, you can alter the structure and composition of your body? That won't be enough."
"Is that right?" Dane asked, turning his hand over and preparing to snap his fingers. "It that all you think I can do? Foolish scum. Burn."
A tongue of flames surged from Dane's fingers as they snapped, his diamond metal prosthetics forming sparks to ignite the flammable gasses he'd formed for them. Gaja's eyes went wide a split-second before the tongue of flames erupted around him. Gaja burst from the smoke unharmed, but even as he began to rocket through the air, Dane's hands began to curl and uncurl into fists, firing off nearly a dozen trails of flames with each curl of his fingers, filling the sky around Gaja into flames. Gaja managed to stay ahead of the flames for a few moments, only to suddenly grunt in pain as Dane flexed his palm, ripping the air apart in a trail connecting his palm to Gaja's gut in an invisible trail of destruction. The concussion blasted him backward, for a moment before Mimosa's Magic Cannon Flower managed to land a blow against him, stopping his flight. He dusted himself off, staring at Mimosa as she pleaded with him to surrender to avoid a fight, then raised his arm. The seals around him coiled upward, slithering into the sky and then spiraling outward before transforming into a truly massive spell circle.
"Allow me to give you a brief glimpse of the difference in our strength," Gaja spoke calmly as a storm began to gather around the spell circle, lightning flashing through the thick, black clouds, thunder cracking.
"Dane!" Fana shouted in warning instantly. "Natural mana!"
Dane narrowed his eyes, staring up at the storm.
"Nature itself supplies me with mana," Gaja informed them. "No human can match its might."
Dane took a deep breath, then drew his sword, drawing his hand along it, transforming it into pure silver, gemstones and all, then dropped it, blade-down. Then, Dane spread his arms out to his sides, his legs together and toes pointed downward, his left leg behind his right slightly and his palms turned to the sky.
"Pure Lightning Magic, Irial Astrauza!" Gaja called out, swinging his arm downward.
Destruction descended from the clouds. Brilliant, golden death. But it was too late. Death had been beaten before the race had ever begun. As the lightning left the clouds, a massive funnel of conductive gases greeted it, drawing it into Dane, who's purely silver body, including his prosthetics, collected every last volt along his arms, channeling it down his body and out through his feet into a long, narrow channel of conductive gases that narrowed as it ran straight down to the pommel of Dane's sword, which guided the lightning into the ground. It was far from a perfect idea, and the lightning still exploded, cratering the ground, but only Dane suffered damage. As the lightning faded, Gaja stared at Dane as the silver transformed back into flesh, his arms returning to diamond metal, and revealed his charred flesh.
"Transmutation Magic, Lightning Rod," Dane said as his sword, cast into the sky by the explosion, fell before him, only for him to catch it in reverse grip. "Flame Recovery Magic, Phoenix Robe."
As Dane's new Phoenix Robe roared to life around him, it healed him within seconds, forming a set of flaming, feathered wings and four feather-like tails behind him. Gaja stared at him, eyes wide with shock.
"Just what exactly is your magic type?" Gaja asked as Dane's sword restored itself in his hand, returning to its diamond metal and gemstone form from before.
"You really want to know?" Dane asked, sheathing his sword. "Alright." He appeared behind Gaja in a flash of light, arm extended and palm flexed. "Your worst nightmare."
And then, a concussion of pure destruction erupted from Dane's palm, exploding into Gaja and sending him exploding into the ground, sending up a cloud of dust nearly as large as Gaja's own lightning bolt had. A moment later, he burst back up from the dust, enveloped in a lightning bolt, only for a portal to form over him, a storm of fireballs and mana blasts from Mimosa's flower raining down on him. After barely longer than a second, he exploded sideways out from under the portal, only for Dane appear over him, darkness cloaking his right hand in a replica of Vetto's Magic Beast Claw.
"Shadow Palm," Dane said coldly, drilling a punch down into Gaja, sending him exploding into the ground once more.
Gaja began to stand, only for Dane to slam down on him, pinning him to the ground as his hand gripped Gaja's face tightly.
"My magic allows me to deconstruct and reconstruct anything I come into contact with on a molecular level including other people," Dane explained in a nightmarishly calm voice. "If you move, I'll rip you apart on an atomic level."
Gaja let his entire body go limp, not moving so much as to blink, understanding that Dane was not joking or offering empty threats. However, after a moment, Mimosa stepped up beside him, setting a hand on his shoulder.
"You weren't trying to kill us," Mimosa said. "Only to defeat us. Why?"
"Please forgive my rudeness," Gaja said, still lying limp and motionless. "I forced you into a battle so that I could accurately judge your magic stages."
"Uh..." Noelle blinked in surprise.
"In the Heart Kingdom, strength is judged by magic power," Gaja explained. "The stages range from zero to nine, with nine the lowest magic power and zero the highest. Lady Mimosa seems to have become Stage Three. Your Spatial Magic user as well. Your Water Magic user is Stage One. And you, Dane, are easily Stage Zero. However, you also fall under two other stages. As a Spirit Magic user, your Spirit Magic qualifies for Saint Stage, or has the potential to. Spirit Magic, as I'm sure you are aware, is uniquely qualified to fight against devils, which is exactly the reason for my test's necessity. The other Stage you fall under is due to the nature of your magic. Its nature as Transmutation Magic makes it difficult to judge according to the normal Stages, so it is usually classified as Arcane Stage."
"All of this with devils in mind?" Dane asked, then stood, releasing Gaja. "You have a target you need eliminated."
"We do," Gaja nodded, standing. "Allow me to bring you to the Heart Kingdom Royal Palace. The queen can explain everything to you there."
"Give us a moment," Mimosa said, taking Dane's hand and leading him away from the others. "Are you alright?"
"I'm okay," Dane nodded. "My impulses enjoyed the fight and wanted to kill him, but I was able to keep them in check."
"That's good," Mimosa nodded, smiling and hugging him, able to feel him relax fully as she did. "You protected me again."
"I'll always protect you, Mimosa," Dane smiled.
Mimosa nodded, holding him for a little while longer before pulling away. "Are you alright? When that lightning struck..."
"I'm alright," Dane smiled. "I promise."
Mimosa nodded, then took his hand as they walked back over to the others. A few moments later, they were on their way to the Royal Palace. Gaja led them to the throne room, a dark room lit by blue lights under a pair of streams on the left and right sides of the room. The throne of the room was simple, little more than a chair made of the same light-colored stone as the rest of the room. Ahead of them stood Asta, Secre, and Noelle.
"Oh, guys, you made it!" Asta cheered. "Hey!"
"Asta!" Finral shouted, smiling.
"I'm so relieved that you're safe!" Mimosa smiled.
"Where's Raya?" Dane asked.
"She went with Undine to talk," Noelle said.
"Her Majesty the Queen is here," Gaja spoke up, staring past the throne.
They all watched as a woman dressed in a beautiful, regal, white dress, a red cape with gold tassels around the edges of it, a golden pendant with the Heart Kingdom's emblem on its face, a white vail hanging behind his head, and a tall, golden crown. In her hand was a golden staff with a circular head formed from a large, golden, crescent moon with a smaller, golden disk with a perfectly rounded red gemstone set into it, connecting the ends of the crescent.
Dane eyed her warily. She was as powerful as he'd heard. Thanks to her contract with Undine, and her own innate magical power, she was even stronger than the Witch Queen, and it was intimidating Dane. Proximity to someone so powerful was making his impulses stir, though they were subdued for now.
"WOW!" Finral nearly shrieked. "Talk about a treat for the eyes! How lucky am I to be in the presence of such an exceptional goddess!?" And then, he was slamming his forehead into the ground. "Wait! Stop it, Finral! You're supposed to be better than that! You're a one-woman man from now on, remember!? Get it together, would ya!?"
"What's goin' on?" Asta asked softly. "Is Finral okay?"
"He's trying to break a nasty habit," Dane said dismissively.
"Residents of the Clover Kingdom," the queen spoke, her voice slightly higher and less authoritative than Dane had expected. "I humbly ask that you lend your strength to us."
And then, she tripped. She stepped on her dress, and a moment later, she was rolling across the floor. Everyone stared at her in shock, just as water erupted from the stream she'd ended up beside. Undine lifted the queen. Undine wore a strapless dress made of water, which sat low on her large breasts, even larger given Undine was somewhere between twice and three times the size of a human. She had pale, fair skin, a beautiful face, and flowing white hair, which drifted around her like she was underwater and which could have been made of sea foam. Her ears were a pair of fins with blue spines and pale, grey-blue webbing, and crystal blue eyes.
"Come now, Loropechka," Undine chided gently. "Do try to behave more like a queen! Oh, a nosebleed. Aw, you're still adorable." She held out her finger, a sphere of water the size of Loropechka's head at its tip and sticking to Loropechka's face to wash it.
"She's...clumsy," Mimosa said quietly to Dane, who nodded.
"Aw," Loropechka pouted. "I got blood on my dress."
"Of course," Undine sighed, sounding like a doting mother. "Alright, give me a moment."
Gaja sighed, one hand held to his face. "This is precisely why I was so against her conducting this meeting in person."
As Undine helped Loropechka to the throne, Raya appeared at Dane's side.
"Have a good time catching up?" Dane asked.
"Yep!" Raya beamed.
"Undine, I wanted to thank you for your help with the fight against Kali," Dane said.
Undine smiled happily and nodded. "Of course. I met your mother once. She was a wonderful woman."
"Thank you," Dane smiled, though his eyes betrayed his pain. "I wish I could remember her better. I only remember..."
"I know," Undine smiled sadly as Loropechka finally sat in the throne.
"Well...now that that's over, what did you need our help with?" Asta asked.
"I was under the impression the Heart Kingdom had plenty of mages at Stage One or higher, not to mention Spirit Guardian, so what can we do?" Mimosa asked.
"As I explained, when battling a Devil, every mage involved needs to be ranked at least Stage One in order to keep up," Loropechka explained. "But even a Zero still wouldn't have what it takes to achieve victory. You see, Spirit Guardians are able to wield powerful magic by borrowing energy from natural mana, but they cannot defeat a devil. Unlike us, your kingdom created magic types that are not derived from nature, such as Chain, Steel, and the eccentric Spatial Magic. In exchange, they lose the divine protection of Natural Mana. And some of the irregulars who were born in that environment have the necessary traits to best a devil. One example of this is Julius Novachrono, who possesses Time Magic. There is also the Black Bulls Captain Yami Sukehiro and his Dark Magic. Unfortunately, it appears the majority of Julius's power has been used up at this point."
Dane's eyes narrowed. That was extremely sensitive information. Even the people of the Clover Kingdom didn't know about that.
"And you," the queen continued. "Asta and Nero. For combat, Nero's about a Stage Six, but she's got ancient Sealing Magic and has used Forbidden Magic. Asta has no mana, but because of that, he was granted the use of Anti-Magic. People like you, who possess unique, inexplicable powers are referred to as 'Arcane Stages.'"
"So...we're..." Secre trailed off.
"I would like you to lend us your Arcane powers to help us defeat that devil," Loropechka stated simply. "And, of course, you as well, Dane. And as a reward, I will happily share any information I have with you."
"But we don't have the authority to make a major decision like that!" Noelle said.
"What about Dane?" Finral asked. "Aren't you meant to be Yami's successor?"
"Not yet," Dane shook his head. "That may be his plan, but I have no real authority."
Finral sighed.
"Good thing we've got this magic item then, huh?" Asta asked, pulling something out of his bag.
It was a wooden object, but it was a means of communication between them and Yami. Asta handed it to Dane, and he sighed.
"Captain, it's Dane," Dane said.
"I'm takin' a dump here!" Yami snapped.
"This is important," Dane said.
"Oh, you have something important to ask me?" Yami asked. "Well I happen to be doin' something important myself! In fact, this could be one for the history books. Call back later!"
And then, Yami's voice vanished as he put his own magic item away.
"He just hung up on us!" Asta shrieked.
"Pooping is crucial," Loropechka smiled.
"You're on his side!?" Asta shrieked.
"You mustn't say such vulgar things, Loropechka!" Undine chided.
Loropechka giggled.
Dane sighed. "Raya, would you mind going to debrief Julius?"
"Actually," Mimosa spoke up. "That might not be necessary." She held up what looked like a gold bowl with a white strip overlapped by gold curves along its middle. "I had my suspicions that something like this would happen, so I borrowed a magic item that allows us to connect with the Transmission Magic that Marx uses.
"Good thinking!" Noelle said.
"You're a genius, Mimosa," Dane smiled, Mimosa blushing slightly.
"Alright, let's try it out!" Mimosa smiled, activating the device as she turned it so that Loropechka was in view instead of her.
A shaft of light appeared from within the bowl, shining about two feet into the air before expanding into a square box with a spike of light extending from the sides.
"Mimosa," Marx said instantly, appearing on the screen, backdropped by his office. "Did something happen?" Marx frowned, squinting. "Wait, is that who I think it is?"
"Oh wow!" Julius shouted excitedly, jumping into view and exposing his new, child-like appearance. "You must be the Queen of Heart Kingdom! So what kind of magic do you use!?"
"Please don't pop into frame like that, Your Majesty!" Marx snapped, then whisper shouted. "Have your forgotten about your condition? People will see!"
"Well, you just called me 'Your Majesty' so now they know it's me!" Julius countered.
"She already knew," Dane spoke up.
"WHAT!?" Marx yelped.
"Please listen intently, Your Majesty," Dane requested. "This is important."
"She says she needs our help to beat a devil because we're Arcane Stage or something like that," Asta explained.
"That's fine by me!" Julius smiled. "You and your friends could gain something amazing from all this! Honestly, I think I'd like to be over there helping you, myself."
"That's out of the question!" Marx snapped.
"I suppose that settles it, then," Loropechka smiled. "How wonderful!" Her entire demeanor suddenly darkened. "Then again, if you tried to fight a devil in your current state, you would all be slaughtered in the blink of an eye."
"That's kinda blunt," Asta grimaced. "I mean is the Spade Devil really supposed to be that impossible to take down?"
"Yes," Loropechka said seriously. "Even more deadly than the devil you fought with previously."
"Which we were only able to defeat thanks to having both Licht and Lumiere fighting alongside us, and admittedly doing the bulk of the work," Dane pointed out.
"Megicula is responsible for the scar on Gaja's face," Loropechka informed them all as Gaja reached up to his scar.
"Ah, yes, I remember dueling with that Spirit Guardian fellow in the past!" Julius said cheerily. "He's extremely skilled!"
"You guys fought!?" Asta gaped.
"Megicula is currently haunting the Spade Kingdom and using its citizens to gather up enormous amounts of power," Loropechka explained. "Soon, that devil could invade and conquer not only the Heart Kingdom, but Clover and Diamond as well. If nothing changes, then I will eventually be killed by this curse. That's why I'd prefer to invade the Spade Kingdom before my power becomes too weak. We can take half a year. Let's make our forces as strong as we can. We should enlist any mages who stand a chance in battle against a devil. Train for six months, then we will fight together to stop Megicula."
"If you help us," Asta began.
"We can do it!" they all declared.
"Dane, you and your spirits have a very low compatibility," Undine spoke. "You and Kali have the highest compatibility, but you and Raya are surprisingly low, given your...connection."
"I know," Dane nodded. "Do you know a way to improve it?"
Undine smiled knowingly. "Not the way you've been trying. There is a specific type of training that will help. I'll assist you."
Dane nodded.
"For now, all of you should return to your Squads," Loropechka suggested. "You can coordinate more easily there as to who to send for training."
They all nodded, and Finral opened a portal back to the Black Bulls' headquarters, then from there to the Golden Dawn's for Mimosa.
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