Dragons Cry

by Ylysium

Rage is a powerful emotion. It makes people do things they’d never do otherwise. It makes people stronger than they’d ever been before. It’s a driving force that powers all living things Asta always says his magic is never giving up well mine is rage.

7. A Dragon Raided

Chapter 7:A Dragon Raided

Chaos and inferno rained just about everywhere in the Clover capital. The cause of this chaos seemed to be an undead horde, however if you listened through the chaos you'd be able to hear a manic call for destruction.

Some of the capital guards had stepped in and blasted the undead beings. However to their suprise all of their attacks proved useless as the zombies continued to get back up despite missing whole arms or chunks on their body.

The mage behind all this chaos had decided to show himself after that. "You scum won't be protecting anything today!" He called out. The man put his hand to the floor and multiple black pools of mana opened. Out of those pools came dozens more undead to the guard's horror.

The guards kept desperately attacking but the wraiths just kept coming. The guards were quickly overwhelmed and in a spray if blood their cries went silent.

The unknown attacker looked at the brutal show with glee, releasing an even louder manic laughter. "You're So Sure You're Stronger Than Me?! Than Come Out And Show Yourselves; Magic Knights!" The insane man called out again.

Back in the party room the magic knights were trying to figure out what exactly was happening. "I can use my Stone Creation Magic: Stone Model of The World, to show us." Some other Golden Dawn member Tear didn't recognize said.

A large platform made out of stone took shape in the middle of the group, on top of the platform was a perfect replica of the capital. "Literally everything is on there, I can even sense small mana signatures that represent people. And was it even able to map out where attacks are taking place?" Tear observed, genuinely impressed.

"How could troops of this much power attack five places at once without us noticing?" Alecdora asked. "It must've been a skillful spatial mage that transported them." Fuegoleon speculated. However that couldn't be it. Guardian mages maintain a constant magic barrier around the capital for situations just like this.

"Did they somehow break the barrier? Or Maybe a magic guardian turned traitor. Either way, this would take an extraordinary amount of planning." Fuegoleon analyzed. "What's Everyone Waiting For!" Asta shouted. "People Are Getting Killed And Standing Around Isn't Gonna Save Them!"

Asta immediately turned and ran out despite the protest of Noelle and Klaus. "What Will You Do-" "Shut up Klaus." Tear interrupted playfully, running behind Asta. "The city's getting attacked that's all the grip we need." He continued.

Asta and Tear kept running when Leopold broke out into a laugh."Now we're talking; that's just what I expect from my rivals! Wait Up You Two!" He called, also running out.

"I can't believe those two. Running out with no plan is gonna get them killed." Klaus said frustrated. Mimosa was also quite nervous. "Please don't do anything rash." She thought over and over again.

"Damn it Leo, must you really be such a child?" Fuegoleon said under his breath. "We must act now!" Fuegoleon called. "I'll go after Leo and the two Black Bull boys, and once I've secured them we'll head to the north." He declared. "Black Bull girl you're with me." He called to Noelle.

Solid had woken up right before the guard came in so by now he was briefed on the situation. "Silver Eagles, take the central district where the enemy is strongest." "Very well

"Blue rose Knights, you will head east."

"As much as I loathe to take a man's orders, we must to keep the kingdom safe" The blonde captain said seriously. "I'm ready whenever you are Char." Sol said with much less seriousness, to her captain's annoyance.

"Golden Dawn, you will split into two teams! One heads Northwest and the other West!" He explained.

The two teams were Alecdora, Mimosa, and Yuno. With the other being Klaus, the fat guy, and the guy who made the stone mage.

"Failure today would bring shame to the magic knights. Do not let the enemy get away!" The Crimson Lion captain gave his final order.

After they had all rushed out, munching could be heard under one of the tables. "I only hitched a ride with Asta and the rest for the food; but now it seems like something serious is going down." A familiar voice observed from behind the table cloth.

Said familiar voice was revealed to be Charmy. "Time to give them a Grand Charmy Entrance. And who knows, if I perform well enough I might get some even fancier food!" She said, keeping that gluttonous streak going as she smelled something.

"What is that delicious smell?! I can't go fight on an empty street now can I?" She said.

In the central district, a group of civilians were about to be torn apart by the wraiths. However before they could reach them their head were blown off their bodies.

The Silver Eagles had managed to make it in time to save them to the citizens relief. The three royals dropped to the ground in facing the army of corpses.

In the East District a group a civilians were being chased by dozens of the mana powered corpses. Luckily for them though the Blue Rose Knights had arrived. Sol while on top of her golem swung indiscriminately at the undead forces.

"There are civilians. Careful." Charlotte warned. Sol rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. "Oh yeah sorry about that Char. "Call me captain."

In the Northwest the Alecdora crashed down in the middle of a corps crowd. "This cowardly invasion stops now! You all will scatter befor our magic!" He decreed.

A noble had tripped and was surrounded by the undead. The man called for help and luckily for him he got it.

Yuno had seen him get surrounded and shot a barrage of wind slashes at the corpses. The attack blew them away from the man but they all came out of it fully functional. "Whatever these creatures are they won't be affected by half hearted attacks." Yuno realized.

Yuno brought out his grimoire and caused tornadoes to spawn, this time taking out the corpses permanently.

In the West the second Golden Dawn team were going through something similar. Firing a barrage of glass and stone at their enemies, the two other members jumped down. "Whoever did this, I promise you won't get away with it." Klaus thought before jumping down himself.

Asta and Tear had been running for a while now, just tearing apart any undead they see. "Hey Asta!" Tear yelled through the noise. "What is it!" Asta yelled back. "How the hell do you know where to go!?" Tear questioned. "I'm just going wherever it's loudest!" He answered.

Tear just looked at him for a while before shrugging. "Eh, makes sense to me."

Little did they know that Asta's method was taking them right to the source of all this chaos.

In the North Fuegoleon and Noelle saw a man with a group of those corpses behind him; all surrounding a little girl no older than six.

"Tell me, little girl. Do you like it here in the Clover Kingdom?" The man asked ominously. "Yes I do. I love it! So Please Stop Sir!" The girl begged with tears in her eyes.

The man gained an insane smirk. "I Can't, I Hate The Clover Kingdom! So I'm Gonna Take This City, Take These People, And Burn It All To The Ground!" He shouted at the top of his lungs, insanity clutching onto his tone.

The girl curled up in fear while he walked up to her slowly, reveling in her terror.

Before the two magic knights could rush in to stop them, a different two ran in, slashing apart any corpses in their way. "Then I'll protect them!" Asta called out. Tear didn't bother to say anything, just focusing on making sure there weren't anymore of those corpses.

"I knew a magic knight or two would show up. But two of the Black Bulls, seriously? An undergrown one and a... What the hell even are you, some kind of demon?" The man questioned Tear.

Tear took in the situation and noticed the terrified girl behind him. Tear glared at him, pure rage in his slitted, scarlet eyes. "You resemble a devil far more than I ever could." Tear spat.

"Get Away From The Girl You Phycho!" Asta demanded. "Oh please, a Black Bull with a rusty old sword thinks he can order me around?! With my army?!" He questioned to nobody in particular as he waited for something.

After a few seconds though nothing happened. "Hold on, did they somehow-" The man cut himself off after seeing the girl run from around him to Asta.

Tear frowned a little in jealousy but he nipped that thought immediately. "I was so scared." the girl almost cried. "I know, but you did so well." Asta reassured with praise.

The enemy mage gained a look of realization, "Oh I get it now. You must be that anti-magic freak. But that doesn't explain how you did it though." Tear narrowed his eyes. If he knew about Asta then this was far more than just an attack by some crazy bastard.

"Honestly though that can't be right. The Black Bulls may be the disgrace of the magic knights. But even they wouldn't take on people like you two. One is magicless and pathetic scum. While the other is an unnatural monster that looks more devil than human!" He proclaimed, creating even more undead.

Tear walked in front of the girl and Asta. however, said girl shrinked back in fear. "Get Away From Us!" She called out. Tear looked back in suprise, the girl was hiding behind Asta's pant leg. Tears im her eyes and fear all over he face.

"Huh?" Tead fully turned around in confusion as the girl got even more frightened. "I Said Get Away You Monster!" That was when Tear understood.

"Hey, Tear isn't a monster. He's just got weird features cause of his magic." Asta placated.

But the girl wasn't buying it, as she shook her head and hugged closer to Asta. The man they were fighting started giggling, until it became a full on belly laugh.

"Didn't I tell you that you looked like a demon?" He said. Tear just glared at him, whipping his tail against the floor; scaring the girl even more.

"Listen, Tear isn't a-" "Just give it up Asta." Tear interrupted. "You stay with the girl and make sure she's safe. I'll try and destroy all of these corpses and get to that bastard." Tear ordered.

"Are you sure?" Asta asked, concerned. Tear turned his head; one word coming out of his mouth. "Absolutely."

In the Northern district Fuegoleon and Noelle had found Leopold, but were surrounded by dozens of the corpses. "These things are really creepy." Noelle said disgusted. "I hope my rivals are alright, this many foes could overwhelm most." Leopold remarked.

"Worry about those two Black Bull boys later Leo. These things contain mana, and while they can move they aren't living beings. Which means to make sure they stay down we must completely destroy them." Fuegoleon informed.

"Alright then, let's see how you like this spell. Flame Magic:Spriral Flames!" Twin torrents of fire shot out of Leo's hands while at the same time Fuegoleon shot out his spell "Flame Magic:Sol Linea!" He called as thin laser of flame shot out quickly condensing into a blue laser, completely atomizing all the corpses in it's wake.

After all the corpses were destroyed Leopold heard a loud yell. "Hey, I know that yell." He recognized.

Leopold ran over to see Asta protecting a girl and Tear taking on a large horde of the wraiths.

---

Tear was having a tedious time. These wraiths were powered by mana, meaning that any of his attacks could kill them. The only problem was that there were dozens of them and he didn't want to accidentally kill the girl with a big spell.

"Dragon Magic: Dragon Cannon!" Tear called out one of his less destructive spells. Sending out two orbs destroying a crowd of wraiths with the resulting explosion. "Alright, I've had enough of this stalling game." Tear said.

"Asta, you stay and make sure the girl doesn't get hurt. I'll go and kill that psychopath." Tear didn't give Asta the chance to reply as he immediately flew high into the air above the few undead that were left. Landing in front of the raider.

"My wraith magic allows me to take control of corpses with my mana. But that boy's anti-magic can cut through the mana and subsequently removes my control. But that doesn't explain how you're doing it, you don't use anti-magic, but what the hell is dragon magic?" The man questioned.

"My dragon magic has the ability to drain mana through contact. It's nowhere near as efficient as anti-magic but the mana in these corpses are so low it honestly doesn't matter." Tear explained.

"Anyway I'd wipe that smile off your face if I were you. I'm too close for you to summon anymore wraiths, and you don't have any other facet of magic, do you?" Tear asked rhetorically.

However the man just laughed at the notion and suddenly these weird purple bullets shot at him. "Thanks for the info kid, I'll makes sure your death is quick and painful." He said while doing it.

Tear looked on in shock at the unexpected attack and immediately folded his wings in front of himself.

Tear however was again shocked as instead of a complete mitigation of damage like he expected, large, sick looking gashes appeared on his wings that stung in the stagnant and hot air.

At that point Asta had finished up with the rest of the horde and ran up next to Tear. They both looked up to see a weird mummy with those weird purple bullets all around it; as well as a matching eyepatch with the golden eye. "Number 4 Jimmy." He called out.

"Jimmy? Are we being serious?" Tear questioned.

"Ok Jimmy, these two brats are your prey. So enjoy yourself." He said in the nicest tone Tear or Asta had heard from him since they met him.

"Alright you freak! Quit it with the weird sh-" Tear stopped himself as he noticed his wings. "What the hell?!" A large gaping hole had formed in the membrane where the gashes used to be, making them unusable. But not only that, the wound was getting bigger and much faster than Tear could ever expect.

"I see you've noticed Jimmy's special curse shells. As you can see even a simple scrape won't stop bleeding. So I'd be careful if I were you around Jimmy. Even though it's already too late." The enemy mage explained.

Tear sucked his teeth in annoyance. "That's just great." Tear said sarcastically while dismissing his wings. "Oh wow that's smart! Now you can just redo the spell and it's all good!" Asta said.

However Tear kept a frown on his face. "That's not possible." He said simply.

"What! But why?" Asta asked. "My wings need time to heal. They're more than just a construct of mana. They're a genuine part of my body. I just have the ability to remove them when I want." Tear explained.

"Well how long till you can use them again?" "I don't know. Like a day or three." Asta gave a disheartened look but immediately gained a look of focus. "Alright then, guess we're both getting up close and personal." Asta said, switching to his smaller sword to accommodate for the his close ally.

"That works with me!" Tear called out, showing off his claws with a smirk.

Jimmy shot out his curse shells which Tear avoided while Asta deflected. "Jimmy! Take care of that pest they're protecting!" The crazy guy called out.

Jimmy shot a barrage of cursed shells at the little girl but Asta was able to deflect them all. Tear on the other hand took the chance to run at Jimmy and land a hit.

"This bastard isn't fast, there is no way he can ma-" Tear cut himself off again as another barrage if cursed orbs flew his way. "Damn it!" Tear thought.

Normally he'd just fly out the way but with no wings his mobility was essentially cut in half. With no way of dodging completely Tear had to take a hit to his shoulder and thigh.

"You okay Tear?" Asta called out while deflecting the purple blasts. "Yeah I'm fine. Just worry about protecting the girl." Tear reassured.

"Hah! You honestly thought Jimmy was that slow? You should count yourself lucky you aren't filled with holes magic knight!" The man cackled with insanity.

Tear groweled in frustration but refused to just quit. "I can't keep taking hits like those. These wounds will only get worse as I keep fighting and I can't afford to have anymore incapacitations." Tear thought, slightly desperate.

Tear tried running up on the wraith again, only this time he used a spell in conjunction with this attempt. "Dragon Magic: Dragon Slash!" Five thin slashes of dragon magic came out of Tear's claws as he dragged them across the ground at the wraith. The tactic actually worked though as the orbs were destroyed by his magic.

Tear sprinted as fast as he could. He knew he didn't have much time and decided to go for an investment rather than just straight damage. "Dragon Magic: Savage Downpour!" He called out. Blasting the familiar energy filled smoke, again just like in the dungeon doing no physical damage. But it stopped Jimmy from activating any of his cursed attacks due to the sudden mana drain.

"Did you really think draining all of Jimmy's magic would work? My numbers aren't like the basic grunts. As long as they're functional they can take mana from me to replenish themselves." He explained.

And Tear saw just that as Jimmy revitalized and started shooting his bullets at an even faster rate. Tear backed up immediately. He had gotten ready to dodge only to realize not a single bullet was coming his way. Tear thought for a few seconds before remembering. "Asta!" He shouted in his head.

Speaking of Asta, he wasn't doing too hot. He had taken a cut on the cheek and waist and despite the rest Tear's attack gave him, he still could barely keep up. "I don't want to use World Eater's uproar until it's a guaranteed kill. Especially if it's risking him finding out the set up for it. But if Asta takes anymore damage I don't know how long he'll last, not that I'm much better off." At this point Tear was struggling to think of a solution.

"Hey Asta!" Tear called out. "I'm kinda in the middle of something here!" Asta replied, grunts if effort inbetween each word. "I don't have time to explain! So it's now or never!" Tear immediately full on sprinted at Asta and trucked him out of the blast radius.

"Dragon Magic: Obsidian Scales!" Tear called. The defensive magic was able to ward off the curse enough to where Tear could get into a rhythm of deflection, but he could tell that he would have a much harder time than Asta. "Asta! You focus on taking that bastard out. I'll protect the girl!"

Asta wanted to protest but it was too late at that point. "Alright!" Asta agreed.

Tear was using every limb he could and had them all charged to the max with his dragon mana to mitigate the bullet. "This is more mana taxing then I'd like. Damn me and my stupid anger issues! This would damn near be effortless if I didn't use so much magic clashing with Nozel!" Tear scolded himself.

Asta on the other hand wasn't fairing much better. "I can deflect these extra projectiles easily enough. The only problem is getting close enough to actually hit him." Asta thought.

At this point the effort was getting to Tear's head and he started making riskier decisions that he wouldn't make normally. This resulted in a bullet almost making it through to the girl due to miss with his tail. But Tear was able to jump in front of it and take it in the stomach.

Said girl was just looking on in fear and confusion. "I thought that he was a monster, but he's getting hurt trying to defend me." She thought.

"Damnit Tear! Get a hold of yourself! You can't lose to a guy as pathetic as this!" Tear scolded himself again. Luckily the pain brought him back to reality but if something didn't change and quick, that pain would bring him right back out.

---

Most of the horde in the northern district had been taken care of and it gave Noelle the chance to look for Asta.

It didn't take long though as she heard and recognized his yells immediately. Seeing the situation he was in though brought her into a panic. "I've got to go help them!" Noelle thought.

But right before she could run over there she remembered the party. "Oh please Alecdora. Only one person here doesn't deserve to be here. And it's not that devilish child; right Noelle?" Noelle remembered the looks her eldest brother gave her and the words her elder brother said to her.

She also remembered how Tear so readily defended her. But that didn't maker her feel better at all. She didn't want revenge on her family, she wanted their acceptance and love. But she knew she wasn't strong enough to get it. "And besides, if Tear and Asta are fighting together and struggling then how am I supposed to help? They need someone much stronger than me."

And so Noelle started crying out.

"Please Help! Anyone! Asta's in trouble! Pl-" Noelle stopped and backed up when a trio of wraiths appeared right beside her. However before they could get to her Fuegoleon blasted them to cinders.

Fuegoleon walked up to Noelle. "Thank you so-" "Concentrate!!" Fuegoleon interrupted with a head chop. "Tell me Black Bull girl, you aren't hesitating because of your siblings taunting, are you?" The royal captain asked.

Noelle gulped in nervousness but the captain was already onto his next statement. "There's no time for that on the battlefield!" Furgoleon yelled, a flaming aura around him.

"Hesitation here could mean lived lost! Forget any insecurities you have. You stand here a member of the magic knights. If you joined this order if you're own accord, you must be determined to grow stronger!" Fuegoleon paused to let the message sink in.

"There isn't any shame in being weak girl. The true shame is in staying weak."

That resonated with Noelle. Asta had been getting stronger ever since she first met him. If he could do it, than so could she!

---

Tear was getting worse for wear. At this point the savage downpour's residual mana had diffused into the air. He missed his chance.

Asta had landed a couple strikes on the thing, but it wasn't enough to bring it down. Luckily though Asta hadn't taken anymore of those cursed bullets. Unluckily though Tear had. At this point Tear was in danger of bleeding out from all the constantly bleeding gashes on his stomach. His tail had entire chunks missing. And his arms were covered in small cuts and scrapes, all of them bleeding more than he'd ever had in his life.

Tear at this point was mentally exhausted. There was a time where he just considered wrapping the girl up in his tail, activating obsidian scales and turtling up. The only thing keeping him from doing just that was the pain and the rage he was feeling.

Tear wanted to Kill this guy. And he wanted to bad. In fact the more mentally tired he got, the harder it got for him to not go on a rampage. His thoughts were clouded and sometimes his brain just cut off. But he had to stay up, if he gave into that anger than the girl would be defenseless.

"Are you gonna be okay?" The girl asked scared. Tear almost stopped to give her a curious look but stopped and focused up. "Not gonna scream and call me a monster?" Tear asked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sadly the attempt failed as the girl looked down in gulit. "I'm sorry for calling you that. I didn't know you were so kind and just thought that you looked scary." She admitted.

Tear's heart almost melted at that, he'd always had a soft spot for children; and despite the girls earlier comments that didn't let up. "Well then, to answer your question, yes I'll be okay. And you'll be okay too. Just be a brave girl for me and this'll be a piece of cake ok?" Tear reassured.

"ok" she replied smally. Tear turned his attention back to keeping the girl safe. He was still a tired but that little talk really lit a flame under him to keep him going.

He had to keep this girl safe no matter what!

luckily Though the bastard had started talking, but Tear was so out of it he couldn't hear what he was saying. All he knew was that he was getting a break and he was absolutely gonna take advantage of it.

However that didn't last long as another barrage fired. Tear deflected two of them at range. The last two however were coming in too fast as he took another hit, this time to the leg bringing him to a knee, as the last one came rushing at the girl. "No, No, No!" Tear shouted in his head, as a flashback of His mom's death played in his head.

Tear got on one leg and was ready to jump in front of the girl, however it proved to be unnecessary as a water bubble protected her. Tear gained a confused look as he looked behind to see Noelle!

"Noelle?!" Tear and Asta called at the same time. "Just what kind of mess have you two gotten into now? How about a thank you for bailing you out again?!" Noelle said.

Tear struggled to stand up and scoffed "If you're gonna be like that, I would've preferred to just keep going on my own."

"Thanks Noelle, if you hadn't shown up we probably would've been killed." Asta said.

Noelle blushed slightly and Tear gave him a light glare. "You're not supposed to listen you idiot!" Tear exclaimed in mock anger.

"Anyway, now that you two can move freely you should be able to take him on easily." Tear had a worried look on his face however but luckily they didn't notice.

"This is really bad, That thing's curse bullets have me bleeding everywhere. My stomach feels like fire and my tail's gone limp from all the holes in it. Not to mention that I'll have a harder time dodging with my leg. If I take anymore of those I'll definitely bleed out before I can get medical attention." Tear analyzed.

Tear was way too damaged to try and deflect and with his leg that would likely go out of commission soon he needed his wings."The only option is to bring my wings back out even if they aren't healed yet. At least that curse won't be on them anymore."

"Dragon Magic:Dragon Wings!" Tear called out to Asta's confusion. "I thought your wings would take a couple days to heal."

"They will, but I can't fight at my full power without them." Tear cleared up. Asta nodded in understanding and got down in a stance.

"Brats, All Three Of You!" Wraith mage screamed. Tear, Asta, and Noelle all looked to see the horde of corpses back as well as Jimmy. "That's just great. Alright Asta, you focus on the big guy and I'll make sure none of the grunts get to you." Tear stated.

"Sounds like a plan!" However said plan never came to fruition as two spirals of flame eviscerated the horde. "Huh?" Tear squeaked in suprise as he looked back to see Leopold.

"Oh it's you."

"Don't worry my new rivals, I've got your back." Leopold reassured. Tear scoffed again at that "Like I need your help. Maybe if it was just Asta but I'm plenty." Tear murmured.

Asta immediately started running at Jimmy and didn't stop there as he rapidly spun, both blades im his hand. "How the hell is spinning gonna take tha-" Tear cut his comment short as Asta not only hit the zombie with his attack but completely defeated it.

"We can't be serious." Tear deadpanned. "How did a ridiculous attack like that take down Jimmy!" The enemy mage exclaimed in anger.

"Your Sidekick Is Done! Looks Like You're Gonna Have To Come After Me Yourself!" Asta yelled. The mage gave another crazed look this time of anger "Think you've got me beat now, do you? No way Boy! Come forth, Alfred!" He called.

"What the hell are these names?" Tear remarked, seeing a legless floating body completely covered in a straight jacket and surrounded by lightning. "Looks like it's my time to shine." Tear said directing power to his wing-orbs.

"Dragon Magic:Dragon Stream!" Despite the fact that he couldn't fly due to the large holes in his wings, as long as the orbs were still intact their main function worked just fine.

"Stop Him Alfred!" The man commanded. Alfred made a weird booming moan and shot out a bolt of lightning.

Unfortunately for him though Alfred was just a bit too slow and Tear got the spell off. The stream of dragon energy plowed right through the bolt and caused a large hole in the protective electric aura.

The hole closed up quick, but Tear was already forming a plan. "If I use something with high firepower like Stygian Flash then it should drain enough mana for Asta to get an opening.

---

Nozel didn't understand. These corpes were great in number yet terrible in actual fighting ability. They felt more like a distraction than an actual attempt at an attack.

But if they were a distraction, what would they be distracting them from? Nozel looked towards the palace, "The King?" He thought. It wasn't terribly likely but it was something to think about for now.

In the actual palace the teal hair of Marx could be seen, bent at a knee to a bed surrounded by drapes. Inside the drapes was a short man in a kingly purple shirt and pants. His legs covered by white leggings and had on bucklers for shoes. His shoulders were covered by the green robe of Clover and he had two women sitting next to him, their faces hidden by the drapes.

"Why isn't the Wizard King himself here? These are the gravest of circumstances, and yet he fails to do his sworn duty." A pompous voice said.

"Whatever errand he was on, he should've run immediately to my side at the first hint of the capital being threatened." The king paused to swallow the food he was being fed by the women beside him.

"His primary task is to defend me from any and all harm. As our mightiest mage the Wizard King has to keep my wellbeing at all costs. By any chaamce has he forgotten that?" The king asked, entitlement thick in his tone.

Marx continued to bow as he answered. "I can assure you, he hasn't. But we the Wizard King's staff will protect you until he can return." Marx clarified, looking up at him.

The king of Clover scoffed "Ah! That Julius. We share authority in military matters and he thinks he can do whatever he pleases." He complained.

In another part of the palace, Charmy had found that delicious smell.

To say she was shocked was an understatement. A cauldron suspended above a fire, being attended to by a single person with two others. Despite the attack on the kingdom this guy had spent his time cooking a large meal fit for royalty!

"We need to get to safety!" One of the assistants stated. However the brown haired head chef wasn't hearing it. "You fool! I would never turn tail in the middle of a dish."

"I am a chef, and a little invasion won't stop me from completing this feast." He said absolutely.

However his assistants still were trying to convince him. "With all due respect sir, but I'm afraid the banquets over. All the magic knights have gone down to the city to fight." He informed.

This angered the cook. How could they leave before the main course?! His main course?! But he couldn't stew on that for long as Charmy ran in screaming.

"What the? Where'd did this little shortcake come from?" The chef questioned. Charmy, on her hands and knees; had to try it! "I'd be honored if you let me taste if for you!" She exclaimed.

The head chef looked her over and noticed the Black Bull robe. "She must've been one of the big shots at the ceremony. Those eyes of determination. That drool, sparkling with foodie desperation! This one is something special." He observed.

"Well then, I hope you're ready for a dish that will ruin all othet foods!" He yelled to his assistants protest. "I don't fear death. Life is life but cooking is all!" And with that he went back to completing the main course meal.

---

Tear was having a much easier time with this second wraith compared to the first one. Asta had struggled to hit it at first so Tear had him stand back and wait for an opening since he had the faster attacks. Not to mention the fact that it took longer to charge up its attacks so Tear didn't have to do much dodging.

"Alright, I've played with this thing enough. Time to put it out of its misery." Tear decided. He had been peppering it with dragon cannons for a few minutes.

"Dragon Magic: Stygian Flash!" He called out as red lightning struck down from the heavens. Alfred was just able to move out of the way of the bolt but the explosion caught it, disabling it's electric aura.

"Now Asta!" Tear called. Asta immediately jumped into action, swinging at Alfred with both swords. However Alfred was able to recover just in time to dodge and managed to shoot Asta with a lightning bolt which he just barely blocked.

"Hey, run over here!" Noelle called to the girl. Now that she wasn't being targeted, she could have her run away. "They need help." The girl stated.

"I know, and I'm gonna be the one to do it. So don't worry about it, and just run." Noelle reassured. The girl nodded and ran off, looking straight at Asta and Tear.

Noelle turned towards the two boys, "In the dungeon, Asta's sword was able to absorb my magic and shoot it out to defeat that mage. If I lend him my power again even an enemy in mid-air won't be a problem." Noelle reasoned.

But just before she could enact her plan Leopold called out to her. "Black Bull girl! If you plan to assist those two than I will accompany you. I won't allow a coward like that to harm my rivals any further." Leopold declared.

But they never got a chance to help as another zombie appeared before them. "A playmate for you two. That'll keep you occupied." The wraith mage said.

The wraith appeared as a short and thick humanoid with stitched together red and blue cloth covering its entire body. It's magic was some type of liquid as it surrounded itself in it.

"Such muddy magic, doesn't pair well with mine." Leopold observed worriedly. The wraith sent two tendrils of the murky liquid at them, forcing them together as they had to dodge to the middle.

"I'm getting tired of this bastard!" Tear shouted. He was confident he could've taken it down by now if he wasn't so injured. None of his faster magic attacks drained enough mana for Asta to get a big hit in.

"Alright Alfred, finish them both off!" The wraith mage commanded.

Alfred immediately started surging with energy, its electric aura concentrating into two rings. Tear was starting to get nervous, the pressure generated from it charging almost blew him back a little.

Tear was about to try and interrupt it's attack when a stream of fire cut right through its aura, burning it to a crisp and causing it to fall into cinders.

"Who could've done that?! In one strike?! That was definitely a fire attack but there's no way that was Leopold." Tear thought. Tear looked to the guy and saw him staring behind them, mouth open.

Tear and Asta followed his eyes to see the captain of the Crimson Lion Kings. Tear growled to himself in frustration. "I can't believe this. Not only did I need Asta and Noelle's help. But we couldn't even beat this bastard's number three?! This has not been my day at all."

Asta was in a similar place of frustration."Damnit, why couldn't we beat him? I wanted to do it without anyone else's help."

Fuegoleon walked up and put his hands on their shoulders. "I interfered with you two's fight. It was necessary, but I apologize."

Asta gave him a confused look while Tear just looked away in indignation. "I thought it a pity for two promising magic knights to die here." He clarified.

Tear looked back at him with disbelief. "There's no way in hell I would've died to this dimwit. Stop giving yourself so much credit." Tear thought.

"I'll say that you both handled yourselves extremely well." Tear gave him a confused stare as he continued.

"You both managed to remain calm in a dire situation as well as playing off of each other's strengths and weaknesses in a way that insured you both stayed in the fight. A commoner with no magic and a commoner with too much, a very interesting duo." Fuegoleon complimented.

Fuegoleon remembered when Yami recruited Asta with a hing of regret. "It pains me to admit that Yami had greater foresight then the rest of us." He said.

Fuegoleon walked up towards the enemy. "Asta and Tear wasn't it? You both have potential to do great things." Fuegoleon said, not facing them.

"That's right. One day, I'll become the Wizard King!" "I thought I told you that you have to be the strongest to become Wizard King. As long as my hearts still beating that'll never happen." Asta and Tear said.

"So one wants to be Wizard King, and the other endeavors to be the strongest." Fuegoleon said to himself.

"Say what? You two cant be serious! Whatever Anti-Magic abilities you have, you're a brainless, and magicless brat; And you!" The attacker insulted, turning his attention to Tear

"You want to be the strongest? You may have a lot of magic but you're almost as brainless as he is. Not to mention that you're a freak that nobody will ever accept! The man insulted.

Tear glared at him with pure rage and clenched his fists; his claws cutting into his hands. He tried to walk forward but suddenly his injured leg gave out.

Fuegoleon smirked and looked at the two. "Asta, Tear, it seems that I am your rival as well." He declared to them both.

Asta gasped at that but Tear just looked forward, tunnel visioned on the cruel invader. Fuegoleon noticed this and stopped his approach. "Tear." He called out.

Tear broke out of his trance and looked at Fuegoleon. Red eyes blazing with anger as he gave an annoyed grunt. "You have anger and drive engraved in your soul." He observed.

"Don't let that anger cause you to risk your life. You want to become the strongest correct? Well you can't do that while dead. Make sure that you survive if you ever want to complete your goal." Fuegoleon advised.

Tear's eyes lost their deep red color as he remembered his mother. "Don't push yourself too hard okay Tear? I know you like hunting and all that but you gotta stay alive and healthy to do it." He remembered.

He had gone on a hunting spree and was dragging back at least two Kelbi a day. He was tired but he didn't want her to have to spend anymore money on him when he could just go out and hunt.

Tear sighed in disappointment but didn't argue. "Welp, hopefully I can still kill the bastard at some other time." He thought in resignation. Tear sat back on the floor and wrapped his tail around his stomach to help with the bleeding."I can't believe I'm already out. This is so embarrassing." He said with another sigh.

"What an interesting turn of events. The Black Bull duo couldn't handle it so now I've got a new opponent. And it's none other than the captain of the Crimson Lion Kings. The Great Fuegoleon Vermilion." He said while laughing.

"You two have done more than enough. Y'all can leave the rest to me now." Fuegoleon said, an aura of flame surrounding him.

Despite the intimidating sight all the purple haired mage did was smirk. Asta walked up to Tear and sat down by him. "So, who do you think's gonna win?" Asta tried to strike up conversation.

"You know Asta, one of my biggest pet peeves is being asked dumbass questions." Tear said smiling.

"Hey man, I was just trying to talk to you." Asta said before losing his smile. "You're gonna be okay right? Can't have you dying from blood loss after all we've been though." Asta said.

Tear opened one eye and looked at him. "First off, we just met. And didn't I just say I hate dumb questions? Of course i'm gonna be okay." Tear reassured. "Just because we just met a week ago doesn't mean we haven't been through a lot together! And that question wasn't dumb, you got seriously hurt!" Asta yelled.

"Alright, Alright! I'm right next to you, you don't gotta scream in my ear!" Tear shouted back. Asta however ignored him as he fully computed what Fuegoleon had said before.

"AHHHH! A captain's rival! Sorry Tear but I can still fight! This is no time to be giving up! I can keep going!" Asta exclaimed running back to the battlefield.

Sadly Asta's hype was cut short as he got chopped in the back of the neck the moment he got to Fuegoleon. "No, you can't." He said.

Asta held the back of his head with stars in his eyes. "Like I already wasn't hurt enough." He said with a whimper.

"Exactly, just like I said to Tear. A warrior must always be aware of his body's conditions and must be able to assess when they are able to fight."

Fuegoleon looked back at Tear who at this point was able to hobble back over to see what they were talking about. "And I can confidently say that neither of you are able to fight." Fuegoleon declared.

"Your ruthlessness and your brash fearlessness may be your greatest assets. But both of you must learn to remain calm." He advised.

Asta and Tear both nodded at that. Tear limped over to relatively close wall with Asta not far behind.

"Tell me. What was the purpose of this attack?" Fuegoleon asked the invader.

"Your actions are too inconsistent for this to be a true invasion. Yet too organized to be an act of terrorism. Just who are you?" "You mean you really don't know? Can't say that's surprising. Six years ago I was inducted as a top candidate magic knight." He said, to the shock of everyone present.

"One of us? That's impossible." Fuegoleon stated in disbelief. "Oh it's more than possible. Though I suppose you took little note of me at the time."

That was when the Crimson Lion King remembered.

In the magic knight exam area, dozens of candidates were present. One stood out however due to his magic power. "He's a regular citizen, yet his power's incredible."Fuegoleon analyzed.

"Yes I remember you, you're name?" He asked. The invader scoffed yet answered the question. "The name's Rades."

"Rades that's right. You were chosen by the purple orcas so why are you against us now?" Fuegoleon interrogated.

"Those short-sighted fools kicked me out." Rades informed. Fuegoleon gained a look of confusion "Expelled? But why, you were strong and had so much potential." He wondered.

"They were scared of my wraith magic. They called it forbidden, dangerous! I wasn't just removed from my squad I was exiled from the entire kingdom. Since I was just an average citizen nobody cared about me! My skills were greater, yet I was beneath them because of my social status. In a world where magic power is everything I was cast out!" He started yelling, but he calmed down to finish his tirade.

"So there you have it captain. I'm here to get my revenge on the magic knights and the kingdom who rejected me. That is the purpose of this attack." Rades concluded.

"So you're whole motivation is because you were viewed as a monster? Than where the hell do you get off calling me a demon?!" Tear yelled.

"You actually are a demon. They were just scared of my magic. You however don't even look human." Rades justified. Tear clenched his jaw, snarling under his breath in anger.

"All of this carnage just to get your revenge? Don't toy with me, you fool!" Fuegoleon exclaimed, anger clear on his face. "Well that's the thing about reasons. They're usually quite simple." Rades said, summoning another wraith.

This time it looked like a pope, with a white and black robe that had gold lining. Fuegoleon called out to Leopold to make sure he was fine. "We're fine on our own!" Leopold called, to Noelles ire.

"You don't think that's actually going to work? Their magic is too mismatched and it's not like I was going to let you help! They're on their own!" Rades declared. But Fuegoleon simply ignored him as ginormous flaming lion appeared above him, giving Rades pause.

"Enough talk, it's time to fight." He ordered. "Flame Creation Magic:Leo Rugiens!" He announced. The Lion opened its mouth, blasting a violent torrent at Rades.

To Fuegoleon's shock however when the fire dissipated Rades was completely unharmed; surrounded by a white barrier. "Meet my number 1, Carl!" Rades introduced.

"This fellow was already astronomically good at using defense magic when he was alive. So with a dash of my cursed power thrown in, we're practically invincible!" He explained.

"If I were allowed to get back in there, that thing wouldn't last a second." Tear said, attempting to make himself feel better after being taken out of the fight.

"Seriously, another one!? Just how many of these things does this guy have?!" Asta yelled.

"You two, remember what I said before, about staying calm?" Fuegoleon questioned after their remarks.

Atsa and Tear both looked at the captain witg curious looks."Pay close attention." He said, not single ounce of doubt in his voice.

"You're so sure you've won this aren't you? But defensive magic isn't the only thing Carl excels at!" Rades said as extravagant spears formed and shot out of the purple tinted barrier.

The royal however wasn't worried at all by the attack and brought out one his own spells. "Flame Creation Magic: Ignis Columna!" A twister a fire surrounded the magic knight, eviscerating the spears upon contact.

"I see you have a barrier like Carl huh?" Rades asked. Fuegoleon didn't reply and just glared at the rouge mage. "Okay then, don't answer me! But let's see how you hold up when we use a rapid-fire attack along with an Ironclad defense!" Rades exclaimed.

"Indeed it appears I'm quite helpless." Fuegoleon said objectively. "This can't be all a captain has to offer! I must say if so I'm quite disappointed!" Rades taunted.

However the instant he finished talking a small blue laser blitzed right through the barrier and right throug Carl.

"Huh?" "What the?" "Ehh?" All the others gasped in suprise. Carl groaned as burst into flame, turning into cinders not long after.

"My Flame Magic: Sol Linea. After you started attacking the mana went thin in some parts of the barrier. You think I've never went up against that kind of magic before?" The captain explained.

"You two! You will face enemies with tricky magic but as long as you keep a calm mind you can conquer any foe!" Fuegoleon encouraged to duo still in commission.

Asta just had a baffled expression on his face. "That quickly, he not only zeroed in on the enemies weakness and took complete advantage of it within moments, he even reassured his allies right after. So this is what it truly means to be Magic Knight Captain." Asta thought.

Tear on the other hand was going through a much less positive thought process.

"I can't believe it. He took down every single one of those things so easily. I thought I had gotten strong, that I was almost at my goal. This has really not been my day." He thought, another reality check that hit him just as hard as all the others.

"I can't believe it, he beat my number 1 so easily. This wasn't how it was supposed to go, I was supposed to win and get my revenge." Rades said, a lack of actual thought in his tone due to pure shock.

"Listen Rades." Fuegoleon called.

"You have incredible talent, as well as powerful magic. But wielded without a good heart they are nothing but savagery." He said.

The royal gained a look of anger on his face. "You're a monster. They were right to have expelled you." Rades could barely even comprehend what was being said but Fuegoleon had one more thing to say.

The captain pointed at Tear before continuing. "This boy may have inhuman features, he may have inhuman magic power, and an inhuman attribute." Tear was about to snarl at that but Fuegolen continued.

"Despite all that he still exemplifies exactly what a Magic Knight should be! He has drive, grit, talent that could bring him beyond a captain, but most of all he has what you lack! A heart to save lives! He may look demonic but you're more like a devil than he ever could be." This was the final nail in the coffin for both Rades and Tear.

Rades at that point had completely given up while Tear could barely believe what his ears were hearing. Nobody had ever painted him in such a positive way like that except for the Black Bulls and Julius. In fact most people just avoided him and if they did talk it easy to tell they were uncomfortable.

To say Tear was suprised would be and understatement. He was completely and utterly caught off guard. It was easy to make Tear like you and that was more than enough for him.

In the west they had just finished off their horde.

"It's over. Though I'd like to find out what those thungs were." Klaus said with slight worry.

"Whatever they were it's highly unlikely they were our true enemy today." Hamon said with a haughty laugh.

In the east they were in a similar situation. "This is what happens to people who dare to attack Char. The women in Blue Rose Knights are the only ones who can lay hands on her!" Sol said, stoming out an already dead wraith.

"Enough. You're just asking to be misunderstood." Charlotte corrected while wiping off her vambrace.

"Only the Blue Rose Knights can touch her skin!" Sol attempted at fixing. "Try again Sol." The captain corrected with a little bit of irritation.

In the Central District the Silvas were also done with their enemies.

"What's this, are we done already?" Solid said with a laugh. Despite the embarrassment he took from the devilish commoner, obliterating these creatures had really brought back his self esteem.

"To bad. I had hardly got to play at all." Nebra said, with pure pride and arrogance. While she was slightly upset at her magic being nullified so easily, she didn't let it get to her head.

Nozel was completely silent however. To him this whole thing was entirely too easy. There had to be more to this attack; he was missing something. He just didn't know what.

In the north Yuno, Mimosa, and Alecdora had finished with their horde as well. "Creepy, so, so creepy." Mimosa said while hugging herself.

Alecdora looked around to make sure nothing was wrong. "I hope that devil didn't make it through the attack. But it's unlikely if it was all this easy." Alecdora thought. He was still furious about the party but at this point all he do was hope Tear made a life ending mistake.

Yuno was similarly stuck in his thoughts but for very different, much less hateful reasons. "I need to get stronger. This power is exactly what I need to beat those two." He thought, an image of his two rivals appearing in his head.

Yuno's thoughts were interrupted by a horde of this time living citizens. They were celebrating their victory and praising their strength.

Unknown to the Golden Dawn however was a woman in a stereotypical witch dress, sitting upon her broom.

"It's a bit early to be celebrating. The preparations must be complete by now." The blonde witch said.

"Time for a feast. So much lively young mana, it'll be absolutely delicious." She continued, licking her lips in anticipation.

---

Back with Rades, he still couldn't believe it. How could all this time, filled to the brim with studying, training, and preparing be wasted? He had spent years getting ready for this day just for it all to literally crash down in flames? It was absurd, it was impossible! Yet here he was, defeated. His number one immolated before he could even react.

"OOOAAAH!"

A scream of effort brought him back to reality. Rades looked over to see Leopold and Noelle fighting his last wrath.

It didn't last long.

It had fired a stream of mud at the orange haired royal, but before the attack could make contact he was surrounded by a barrier of water, tanking the attack like it was nothing.

After a quick thanks Leopold ran forward, the bubble still surrounding him as he called out his spell. "Flame Magic: Spiral Flame!" The barrier dissipated around him as he let his spell loose at point blanch range.

With another cry of effort his last wraith was reduced to ash much like his last. It was over, he was completely defeated.

Asta and Tear both tried to congratulate them, but their injuries forced them to cut it short.

Fuegoleon however was able to congratulate them on their showing. "Very well done you two, you've truly shown your worth as magic knights and as royals"

Noelle and Leopold immediately gave him the clover salute, putting their pinkie and thumb together and putting their hands over their heart.

Tear almost laughed at Noelles nervous expression but caught himself before he could feel the pain from his torn up stomach.

That's when Tear took a good look at the eyepatch on Rades. "A golden eye? That reminds me of something." Tear thought.

He remembered seeing or maybe hearing about a gold eye before, it was all blurry and jumbled up though. "It was definitely from when mama was alive, but I don't recall anything from before that day. So it must've been from when he showed up." Tear put together the pieces.

He didn't remember much from the day he met Licht. Just his mother's last words, his mother's look of love as she died, and how much he wanted to brutalize Licht. But there was something he was missing. Something that was right there, but it was like his brain was blocking it out.

"What was it? Golden eye of the night? Eyes of the golden dawn? No stupid, that's a squad. "Eye of the dawn sun? That one felt close. "Eye of the... Eye of the... OH! Eye of the Midnight Sun! Licht said he was the leader of that group. Which means if this guy is part of them. Then he knows how to get to Licht." He realized.

When Tear refocused he saw Rades restrained by paws made of fire, and Asta leaning on Noelle, sword in hand.

Tear needed to get up close to ask his question, so he shakily got up and started walking over to him. He heard Fuegoleon ask him questions but he didn't care about that right now. All that was important to him was what he would ask when he got there.

"My path to you is laid out Licht. You handed your location to me on a silver platter. And that means that your death is just around the corner." Tear thought happily.

If this idiot truly was part of that freak's terrorist group, than there was literally no downside. Information on Licht, another reason to kill the wraith mage, and information on Licht's little organization as well.

That's when a oddly deep voice sounded, one he didn't recognize. It was coming from Rades and it seemed that only he and Asta could hear it.

He couldn't make out exactly what the voice said but he could just make out "From now on, we go according to plan."

Tear instinctively tried to slam his tail against the floor in anger. "This Bullshit Still Isn't Over?!" Tear thought.

That's when it happened. In all the other districts a black, pool of mana that looked similar to the night sky formed all around them.

The pool sucked them in, and the same deep voice rang in their heads in a mocking tone."I thank you magic knights for your service"

With that all but the knights with Rades were transported to a far away hill.

"What just happened?" Leopold exclaimed. "Where did all the o-" "What Did You Do!" Tear interrupted.

Tear hobbled over to Rades and grabbed his tunic, his eyes turned back red as he snarled. Despite his attempt at intimidation however Rades just smirked and chuckled.

---

"Those Idiots really fell for it hook, line, and sinker." She said with a smirk. "I was gonna absorb some of the magic knights who got away but that's just impossible now." She continued.

"Oh well, there's still so much young mana to take." She accepted.

"Ash Curse Magic:Ash Absorbing Formation!" With the call of her spell, dozens of black and purple tendrils shot out of her hand. Attaching to the still confused civilians.

Immediately after, said civilians started to age rapidly as they started to wrinkle and grey.

"Hahahaha. With you all's life force I can already feel myself growing younger already. Who knew skin could be this smooth?" The witch laughed.

Othet civilians who didn't get caught in the initial attack ran. "Please stop, I'm begging you!" A young lady pleaded.

However, the pleads fell on deaf ears as the witch only seemed to get mad as she gained a crazed frown. "You must think you're so cute you stupid sow! Well not anymore!" Shooting her tendrils again, turning the woman elderly in seconds with another cackle.

"Eliza! Oh No!" A blonde and blue eyed man shouted. Catching the young turned old woman.

"Oh, looks like we've got quite a good looking specimen." The witch noticed. She immediately flew down and grabbed the man's face, bringing him close.

"Tell me my dear am I beautiful? Can you guess how old I am?" The woman questioned almost threateningly.

"What have you done? You're some kind of Monster!" The citizen said, sweat covering him and tears in his eyes. Creating a rather pathetic showing.

The witch gained a familiar crazed frown as she immediately sucked the life out of him with her magic. However before she could kill him, a tornado of wind came in and blew her away.

"Oh? It seems at least one of the knights escaped the spatial magic after all." She said oddly joyful.

The mage in question was revealed to be Yuno. An even more serious than normal look on his face.

The witch immediately gained a look of glee as she saw his face. "Oh lucky me! The one left is a cutie! What do you say me and you and have a little fun?" She asked suggestively.

Yuno didn't lose the serious look. "I'm not going to let you hurt any more of these people. You old hag." Yuno insulted.

The witch's smile didn't drop as her eyebrow twitched. "...You're Dead!" She shouted.

The witch brought out four wisps of her magic. "How dare you call me an old hag? Ash Curse Magic:Cheerful Ash Destruction!" A barrage if the wisps were sent at Yuno, but with hus wind magic he was able to fly out of the way of most of them.

"Each one of those wisps not only have a curse on them, but you won't know what that curse is until it hits!" The witch explained.

"Just who are you? What are you trying to do here?" Yuno asked, still dodging any wisps that came his way. "So you're still up to chit-chat? Well you're pretty face has earned you an answer. We're here to get rid of a specific person." She revealed.

"Then who is it?" Yuno asked calmly. He had an idea but he found it very unlikely. "Oh come now, you didn't actually think I'd tell you? Looks can only take you so far!" And with that, more of the cursed wisps were sent at the mage.

---

Back with Tear and the rest, they were still interrogating Rades.

Well, Fuegoleon was still interrogating Rades. Tear had to be dragged off by Asta after he tried to attack him again.

"There's at least one other person besides you involved in this attack. This invasion required spatial magic at an immense scale." Fuegoleon said.

"So, where exactly is your partner?" Fuegoleon questioned, though was met with silence.

"Have they already escaped?" Again, silence.

Tear was getting irritated, but Fuegoleon continued before he could say something.

"You may have transported a majority of the magic knights, but you still don't have the strength to capture the city. And this isn't some ploy to get at the king either is it?" Fuegoleon said.

"We know you have a personal motive being revenge. But I sense that there was a larger purpose behind this attack." Fuegoleon continued to rationalize.

Rades slowly cackled at the captain's statements before giving his own piece. "You want to know what we're really after? You Fuegoleon Vermillion! This Attack Was For You!" Rades said with crazed look plastered onto his face.

even the Crimson Lion King's captain wore a suprised expression at that. "But why him?" Leopold questioned.

Right as he asked that question however the same black and purple sludge surrounded the royal captain. Tear tried to rush over but he was still being held back by Asta.

The captain however was completely calm despite the situation. "Spatial Magic again aye? Very well at least now we'll get to the bottom of this." He said before disappearing completely.

"Get Off Me!" Tear yelled elbowing Asta directly in the nose before hobbling back over to Rades. "What The Hell Did You Do!" He exclaimed. Rades however just cackled louder than he ever had before.

Tear was absolutely livid at that and was about to bring a clawed hand down to the invaders throat before Asta grabbed him again.

"Calm Down Man! He literally just taught us about that!" Asta yelled through Tear's ravenous attempts at getting free. Luckily that calmed him a little but that didn't stop Tear from saying his last few words.

"If Furgoleon doesn't come back exactly how he left. You'll be going exactly where you got those wraiths from." He said with absolute seriousness.

He wasn't making a threat, nor was he making a promise, that was an absolute guarantee.

The place Fuegoleon got sent to though was almost very strange. "What is this place" he said looking around.

An all white void with unreadable runes of the same color suspended in the air; not a soul in sight.

---

Yuno was struggling to say the least. He was forced on the defensive by the constant barrage of attacks, just flying around the capital dodging and deflecting with his wind magic.

But he couldn't keep it up forever as he got his by three. "These attacks just keep coming and she isn't even getting tired, these shells may not do much damage but what's inside them-" Yuno's thoughts were cut off as dozens of the shells started tearing into him.

The curse mage just cackled at his situation. "Oh I can only wonder which one of my curses have took affect now! You're certainly not as chatty as when we first started." She observed

"My eyes, I can barely see now. And it's not just my vision, my hearing too. Just what kind of power does this woman have?" Yuno thought in slight panic.

The witch continued to patronize him despite his loss of senses. "Soon you won't be able to even move. Complete sense deprivation along with the fear that comes with it. That's the price for calling me an old hag." The witch said with another stereotypical cackle.

All Yuno could do was stay there and take it, deep in his thoughts. "This 4-leafed clover, I joined the Golden Dawn to live up to the expectations of this grimoire. But what happens if I never can?" Yuno thought, remembering all the condescending insults and remarks due to his status.

"I ignored the people who doubted me. I worked myself till exhaustion till I became unbeatable. Yet despite all of that I had nothing to do with our victory in the dungeon." Yuno said, two clear figures engraved in his mind.

" A power from that dungeon and somone from Asta's squad. That power was just something I stumbled across luckily and he wasn't even supposed to be there. I can't even get the power to listen to me no matter what I do." Yuno thought in pure melancholy.

"I couldn't even escape that spatial magic on my own. That same power had somehow reacted and saved me from it. Compared to that power, compared to him, I'm not even close to completing my goal of being the wizard king." Yuno thought, this time the melancholy faded away as conviction took hold.

More memories of the discrimination played in his head. "I don't care what those nobles say. That's not what truly frustrates me." Yuno realized, on the brink of a self realization.

Yuno sent a tornado at the witch; but despite his self realization thay didn't change his cursed situation as he missed by a mile. "Just what were you aiming at? Don't worry I'll show you how to aim." The witch giggled, sending even more of her cursed shells at him.

"Tell you what, if you grovel and beg before me I might let you live if it's good enough." She offered. Yuno denied and immediately after that the curse took full effect.

"I can't see anything. I can't feel anything either. In fact it seems I can't hear anything as well." Yuno thought with finality. Stuck in the black void that was his head.

Just when Yuno was about to consider giving up though dozens of birds made out of pure green mana flew around and past him. "Is this... the mana stream?" Yuno questioned to himself.

Wind mages were exceptional at sensing mana. In fact they were so good that most focus on rescue missions due to them being able to sense any victims immediately. With all of Yuno's senses being completely removed and his mana sense being heightened, that power that he thought he'd never be able to master was about to change.

"Aren't you gonna open that stubborn mouth of yours? I'm not gonna wait forever and if you don't speak soon I'll just have to kill you!" The woman exclaimed. Apparently having forgotten her curse magics removal of his hearing.

"Please, just shut up." Yuno thought to himself, apparently actually having regained his hearing.

"I don't care what you want. All I know is that I won't lose. Not to you, Not to Tear, And Not To Asta!" Yuno exclaimed in his mind, absolute conviction running through him.

"I'M NOT DONE!" This time Yuno yelled out in real life, taking a page out of the short boy's grimoire.

At that declaration Yuno's grimoire opened up to that page with a completely different language as wind and mana started gathering.

Wind from all over started blowing in, streams of it coming from every direction, blowing parts of roofs of of houses and kicking up dust and carrying away leaves. There was so much mana in the air it darkened the sky, the only light being a green glow coming from Yuno's grimoire where all of it was converging.

"I see now, the spirit was sending mana signals to me all this time. But I relied to much on my physical senses and could never see them until now." Yuno realized.

Meanwhile the witch had been in complete shock. She knew that the 4-leaf grimoire was powerful but to control mana like this? It was staggering to say the least.

"There's just one extremely important thing you have to know about me." Yuno said to her fear as the gravity of the situation set in.

"I Would Rather Give My Life Than Lose! Wind Spirit Magic:Sylph's Breath!" The same spirt as in the dungeon did a baseball throwing motion with a pronounced exhale, sending all the gathered mana at her in a ginormous ball of wind magic.

The witch barely even got a chance to think of a way to defend before she was blasted away with a pained and horrified scream.

Yuno had a dead, exhausted look on his face in heavy contrast to the spirit's face splitting smile that screamed self-pride.

---

Back in the empty white void, Fuegoleon was still looking around when a man in a white robe with red on the end of the sleevs and gold lines surrounding it. "It's You!" The captain exclaimed with shock clear on his face.

"Munch! Munch! Munch! Munch!" On a much less serious note, Charmy was still trying out the head chef's dish

"IT'S A DREAM COME TRUE!" Said head chef shouted in pure enthusiasm.

He had never seen someone who could eat so much of his food. It filled his heart to the brim with pride and appreciation.

Any good chef hates to see even a crumb of their food uneaten. They put their heart and soul into every dish they make and to see it not indulged completely, it's almost like you broke their heart, and spit on their hard work.

That's why he liked this girl so much. She ate everything without stop and enjoyed it all. It was chef's dream come true! The ultimate dish requires the ultimate taster and he had definitely found his!

BOOM!

Suddenly something blew through the window, kicking up tons of dust over the area.

when the dust settled it was revealed to have been a woman. She looked very old with wrinkled skin and grey hair. But her most striking feature were the clothes she was wearing. Signifying exactly what she was.

" A Witch? We're Under Attack!" The chef finally realized to his assistants exasperation.

"Run For It Shortcake!" He called as he immediately sprinted to the entrance.

However Charmy didn't move an inch, just staring at the woman with her mouth open. A look of what everyone presumed was shock on her face.

The witch did a once over on herself and realized that she looked much older then she did a few minutes ago. "My mana, it's draining! I need more and I need it now!" The woman realized, a desperate look forming on her face.

She looked around the room and noticed Charmy, who was still frozen; just sitting there. "That little girl is positively saturated with mana! She's greasy with the stuff!" The witch realized gluttonously.

"Give It To Me! I Need It All Right Now!" The hag demanded. Charmy gave her a confused look before it hit her.

"Not My Lunch! Anything But That!" She mistook her intentions by a mile.

"Give It To Me!" She once again demanded, only this time those familiar purple tendrils shot out of her. "I Don't Wanna!" Charmy replied, in a panic at the thought if her precious food being taken from her.

---

Yuno wasn't sure if the witch was completely defeated after his spirit spell hit. And he was right to be suspicious as he suddenly sensed her mana, coming from the tower near where the gathering was held.

Unfortunately though the curses had taken their toll. Yuno was tired, and he had only just gotten some of his senses back. He was pretty much relying on his mana sense to figure out where to go.

Luckily though a huge amass of magic power that was unmistakably her had surged. He knew exactly where she was.

As the life sucking tendrils shot towards Charmy, she had a very sudden change of demeanor. Going frol panicked to serious and calm in an instant, Growing at least two feet and losing a lot of that baby fat on her face.

"I told you no." A sudden serious calm in her voice.

"And when I say no I mean no. Cotton Creation Magic:Strike of the Sleeping Sheep!" A large anthropomorphic sheep with golden yellow horns appeared behind her, arm already winded back.

BAM!

And just like that the witch was sent flying out of the tower, a victory bleat coming from the sheep as it landed the blow.

"I don't care who you are. Nobody ever lays a hand on my food." Charmy said coolly.

With the witch being completely defeated and out of mana to fuel her spell, her curse was lifted; bringing all the people she turned back to their young selves.

"NOOOO!" Charmy shrilly screamed. She had her sheep carry her plate to protect it from the attack, but with the spell done and all the cotton dissipating. All that food was about to quite literally fly out the window.

"My Lunch! Please Come Back!" And to her confusion, her pleas were answered as the plate seemingly floated back up.

That's when she noticed that it wasn't some divine intervention, but a boy. "Y-you saved my food." She stuttered.

"A child?" That boy was revealed to be Yuno, who had just gotten there in time to see the plate fly out of the hole in the wall.

"What? Oh, yeah I guess." Yuno replied, not entirely sure of what was going on.

"She's wearing a Black Bull's robe, so she must've been the cause of that huge surge of mana." Yuno realized.

That's when Charmy noticed. That this guy looked like a prince! To her he was more then attractive, he was her food's savior! "My princely savior of sustenance!" She titled, completely tunnel visioned on the black haired boy, so much so she almost didn't grab her food.

Almost.

Charmy looked abashed as she tried thank her prince, a blush painting her cheeks. "Umm, I owe you a tremendous debt noble sir!" She said nervously.

But even in her nervousness could she resist the food. "A short rib?" Yuno questioned. He thought he heard her say something and just guessed that she was referring to that. The girl didn't stop her nervous rambling but Yuno could barely hear a thing. "Welp, here comes the crash. I used up way too much mana with that spell. I have to become much more efficient." Yuno thought critically.

Just before he could pass out though one more thought ran through his head.

"I wonder how Tear would've handled this power." Yuno didn't normally care about how others would do, unless it was Asta. And he really didn't care how people would do in his situations. But for some reason Tear was different.

Him and Asta were brothers and rivals no doubt about that. But after the dungeon Yuno felt him and Tear had a different kind of rivalry. He felt like they filled the same niche of power and talent if you will.

Either way, he knew that he had to outdo both of them if he wanted to become Wizard King.

"Look Out!" Charmy panicked as she created a bed of cotton with her magic, trying to catch him. Charmy was completely flustered right after as Yuno had her trapped, and not only that, she had thrown her food up to do the spell!

But it was all good as it was an easy catch. Charmy let out a relieved sigh before continuing to eat withr her cotton magic.

---

"You Evil Bastard!" Leopold had yelled. He had moved Tear to say a few choice words of his own. Despite the situation, all Rades did was laugh in his face.

"He's just toying with you! He wasn't the one who cast that spatial magic spell." Noelle said.

"So? Let's just kill the bastard now and be done with it. I'm tired of his smug face anyway." Tear interrupted. He had heard the invaders sick laugh a few too many times now.

"But we can't kill him!" Astas protested. "And why not." Tear replied. "He can't pay for his crimes if he isn't alive. And besides he probably has some very useful information!" Asta pitched.

Tear snarled in frustration. "Fine." He reluctantly agreed.

"If you two didn't interrupt me! Spatial magic of that pinpoint accuracy can only be done if the caster is close. Meaning that he's hiding around here somewhere." Noelle informed.

Asta and Tear immediately focused in at that tidbit. Asta closed his eyes and focused on his other senses, while Tear sniffed the air while scanning the area.

It didn't take long for them to find something as Asta got off of Noelle and Tear created a ball of dragon magic.

"Asta? Tear?" Noelle questioned at their actions before Asta broke into a mad dash at a pile of corpses and blew the whole thing apart.

Tear immediately sprung into action after than and threw the ball of mana at a specific corpse.

however before it could rend it apart a portal appeared before him, the ball and portal cancelling each other out.

The corpse he was aiming at flew into another portal and disappeared.

"He was hiding in a pile of corpses?" Noelle stated to nobody. "Nah, he was hiding in the floor." Tear sarcastically corrected, though when Noelle looked to accost him, he had already focused back in on finding the mage.

"Nice observation skills." The same voice Tear had heard speak to Rades complimented. It was coming from behind them and when he looked he saw what looked a regular wraith, only it had a grimoire.

"I didn't expect you two to find me out so fast. Especially you, who can't sense mana due to your uttet lack of it." The man said, looking at Asta.

The man removed the wraith mask to reveal pale skin, dark yellow eyes with a black scelera, and a tatoo going over each eye that looked like a black line that extended from his forehead to his mouth with two dots above the eyes and three dots under.

Asta and Tear just glared up at him. "You two saw truly are quite the monsters. Especially you, who looks more monster then human at times." This time looking at Tear.

"No matter though, it's long been over at this point." The man said ominously.

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tear questioned with an angry glare. "You're about to find out." The spatial mage replied with a smile.

Another portal opened, and with a heavy slam; out of it came Fuegolen. Only he was completely passed out and blood draining from a missing arm. In fact from where the group was standing they couldn't tell if he was dead or alive.

"NO! FUEGOLEON!" Leopold cried at his brother's seemingly dead body. Noelles and Asta gave their own respective screams as well. The only one who hadn't was Tear.

"It's happening again. It's happening again. You were too weak. You let it happen again. You got taken out by a background character at best. You left him to fight for himself due to your weakness. You let it happen again! You haven't changed! You're still weak! You Failed! You're Just As Pitiful As You Were Last Time! You're just as hopeless as you were when He showed up." Tear thought in pure anguish.

This was almost the exact same situation. He was too weak to do anything to help his adult figure and the ended up dead because of it. He couldn't let them get away this time! He may have messed up on the help part but he could still succeed on the avenge part!

"But How? How could someone be this strong? It's insane!" Asta said in shock, bringing Tear out of his head.

Tear hadn't even noticed Noelle and Leopold running up to him.

He wished he could do the same.

All he could do however was seethe in regret and rage. He was too injured to do any actual fighting, and his wings were too damaged to use a good bit of his spells.

He was pretty much useless if another fight went down.

However before he could get back into his head about that he heard a thump. "His Grimoire!" He heard Noelle call.

"He's still alive!" Tear thought in pure relief.

It wasn't just like last time! The captain could still survive!

"We have to stop the bleeding!" He heard Noelle call. He had to move! He couldn't just sit there!

"Move damnit! I don't care what injuries you have! I don't care how tired you are! Move!" Tear told himself.

He tried his best to run but it all amounted to a slow limp that hurt his stomach like hell! But that didn't stop him as he kept limping up to the captain.

BOOM!

that stopped Tear as looked to see Rades out of the binding spell, and Leopold in the wall, passed out.

Tear grinded his teeth in a snarl as looked toward the person he'd been angry at all day. "Rades! I told him if Fuegoleon wasn't back exactly how he left I'd kill him didn't I!?" Tear recalled.

"Looks like you're gonna have to save your preaching for the afterlife captain!" Tear heard Rades say.

Tear immediately created another ball of dragon energy, only this time he was making sure it blow the bastard to pieces.

"You've fulfilled your purpose here Rades, leave before any other magic knights show up." The spatial mage ordered.

Rades looked like he didn't like the decision but didn't protest as that same black liquidy portal formed around him.

"No Way In Hell!" "Not Yet!" Bot Tear and Asta shouted. Tear was about to throw his ball but Asta gestured him not too. Tear immediately understood and focused on concealing the wild magic he'd built up.

"Tear and Asta right? Don't worry, I'll end you both and have your corpses as trophies! Fitting for freaks like you two! It's something all of us can look forward too!"

Tear almost lost it at that but calmed down after getting a look from Asta. Who immediately started sprinting with a yell.

"Asta!" Noelle called out in worry.

"I have to stay calm and think. Just like Captain Fuegoleon told me. There has to be a way to stop him. All I have to do is figure it out."

Tear stood there just waiting for his chance, at this point the dragon energy in his hand had built up to the point it would vaporize the invader.

Which was fine by Tear.

"Just Let Him Go!" Noelle ordered in concern. Asta was already bleeding, and the sprint wasn't only making things worse.

"Wait! Spatial magic is still magic, and I've still got my sword." Asta realized, bringing out the smaller sword from his grimoire. "I'm gonna tear that spell to pieces!" Asta yelled while throwing the sword into the ground where the portal was, nullifying it.

"What The Hell!" Rades exclaimed, but that wasn't anywhere near the worst of his problems as he Tear say something too.

"I'm gonna tear You apart!" He said, mirroring Asta as he stretched out an arm and fired the condensed dragon shell at Rades, blowing him on his back.

"N-No way!" Rades said in fear as the mana bullet got within a foot of his face, his death imminent.

But to his relief a portal opened up at the last second nullifying the deadly blast of magic.

Tear growled at that and Rades sighed in relief before thanking his colleague. Another portal opened up but Asta hadn't stopped running and stabbed that portal, turning it off and landing a cut on Rades's cheek.

"Tha- That Hurt!" Rades said in fear as he backed away.

That pissed Asta off to say the least. "You're bitching over a little cut?! After all the pain and death you caused?!" He roared, using that vulgarity he picked up from Tear and Yami.

"If you want pain, I'll show you pain!" He roared again, socking Rades in the face. "You tortured innocent people and laughed the whole time!" Asta snarled, socking him again.

Rades couldn't believe it! His life had just flashed before his eyes from one brat and this other brat was trying to lecture him?! It pissed him off to high degree.

"Stop it!" Rades childishly demanded, charging up magic in his hand and forcing Asta to take a few steps back. "Those innocent people were weak! Meaning they deserved to die! That's just the natural order of things! And you, a magicless defect shouldn't have even made it this far! So let me fix that!" Rades crazily shouted back, firing off the magic.

However the attack wasn't meant to be as Asta effortlessly split the attack down the middle, nullifying it. "If that's the natural order than what about this!" Asta said, head butting him.

"Yeah, I may not have any magic but I'm still the strongest one here!" Suddenly after Asta declared that though a magic bullet whizzed past his head and blasted Rades into the floor.

"Huh?" Asta looked back to see Tear, smirking at him. "I get that you're starting to feel yourself and having your little moment! But don't lie to the people Asta! I'm the strongest one here and it's not even a contest!" He declared before regaining his angry glare.

"I wasn't able to focus enough to put together enough mana to kill him while not simultaneously blowing Asta apart either." Tear groweled to himself.

"Hey Valtos! I could really use some help down here!" Rades desperately requested.

The recently named Valtos didn't say a word and just looked at the magic nullifying duo. "Anti-magic and Dragon magic. Both extremely troublesome, but the Anti-magic boy is much more healthy. He needs to be taken down first." Valtos rationalized.

He immediately started charging magic into his hand and created a portal. "I can't create the other portal until I have the attack ready, that- actually, now that I'm looking at him. He has very similar features to master Licht and- now's not the time, focus." Valtos cut himself off.

However before the spatial mage could create the second portal a wreath of fire dispersed the magic in his hands.

Everyone looked over to see the previously unconscious Leopold, breathing heavily.

"Always remember to stay calm, right brother?" The Crimson Lion asked rhetorically.

"So sleeping beauty finally decided to wake the hell up." Tear taunted. He understood being shocked at what seemed like his brother's death, but completely shutting down in the middle of an active battlefield? That's how you go and meet said brother.

"I apologize for my freezing up. But I'm Ready Now! Asta! Tear! Let's do this!" Leopold called.

Asta and Leopold both started walking towards Rades, breathing heavily from exhaustion as Tear, in the same boat, charged up another mana bullet.

"This time I'm taking his head off his shoulders." Tear thought.

"Get away from me! Get Away Damn It!" Rades demanded desperately; backing away from them in fear.

Tear took aim and just as he was about to fire a completely different voice sounded, distracting him as wind started to surround them.

"How pitiful. I come here by request of the master and this sorry sight is what I see? Pitiful indeed." The voice said.

The magic knights looked around at the wind magic before five more members of midnight sun appeared, clothed in white, hooded robes with three golden eyes in the middle.

"So now there's five of em?" "You have got to be kidding me." Tear and Leopold thought.

Tear should've known it couldn't end that easy. Cause apparently nothing comes easy when that bastard Licht is involved.

"I don't remember putting out the call for any extra help!" Rades said ungratefully. Tear groweld as he looked around, surrounded.

"You should be thanking us." A female voice had said. "Do you know what they would've done to you if we hadn't shown up? They would've captured you, killed you, gutted you, and skinned your dead corpse. And if anyone's gonna dissect you It's gonna have to be me!" The woman said enthusiastically.

Tear just looked at her with pure disgust on his face. "This dumbass has people like that and somehow I'm the freak?" He asked himself rhetorically, still hung up on that comment about him.

"This is bad, that bastard's curse has me bleeding like crazy. If I don't get medical help soon I'll bleed out. And if I'm that bad imagine how Tear is." Asta thought concerned, looking over to his very injured squadmate.

"Looks like the tables have turned, huh you brats?" Rades declared cockily. Tear snarled at him before he heard Asta laugh a little, and not only that, but he was right next to him!

"Ahh!" Tear yelped. Asta didn't react to that as he brought out both swords, placing them in a path to cut them both.

"Woah, what the hell are you doing?! If you wanna go out like a bitch than do that later and definitely don't rope me into it!" Tear said as he tried to back away.

However before he could Asta pulled back, cutting them both slightly as purple smog flew off of all the gashes they got from Jimmy. "What the hell?" Tear questioned as blood stopped leaking from his wounds. They still felt like they were on fire but he wasn't on the verge of passing out anymore. In fact his leg actually felt a little better and he could actually put weight on it, at least enough to actually be able to dodge.

"Asta what did you do?" Noelle asked, surprised and confused by the rash action.

"Small surgery, now we're both ready to fight again." Asta said with a smile.

"Why didn't my magic do that for me? I guess Anti-magic really is just better at that then mine." Tear thought in slight defeat. That was another comment he was hung still hung up on.

"This is insane! This kid just struck himself and his teammate to dispel the curse? Who the hell does that?! Who the hell would even think of that?!" Rades thought in pure bewilderment.

The weird dissection girl started laughing right after that. "This kid's funny! And that other kid's pretty cool looking. Can I dissect them both?" She asked another one of the hodded terrorists.

"Shut up and focus." The man ordered to her disappointment. "Man, you're no fun." She replied before charging up a magic bullet.

"Listen Up!" Asta ordered, getting their attention. "I've been fighting an uphill battle since before I was born. There's no way I'm gonna lose here!" He told them.

At that, Tear was inspired to say his piece. "Same here! I refuse to lose to some rejects who don't even have their brains all together!" He assured.

"I'll obliterate every single one of you/I'll cut through every last one of you!" They both declared at the same time.

"Has the thought of our superior numbers driven them mad?" The leader questioned. "Who cares, I can still dissect crazy people." The woman replied.

They all fired at the same time at the magic knight group. Luckily though with Asta and Tear they were made useless as Asta spun around quickly destroying all of the spells.

"Than that must be the Anti-magic boy we've been informed about." One of the midnight sun realized. They fired one more volley but this time, it was met by a wreath of black smoke with red energy crackling through it.

"What the? I've never seen magic like that before!" The leader exclaimed in confusion. "I've never seen that before either! Now I absolutely have to dissect him!" The woman said to Tear's chagrin.

"Why am I always fighting with the phychos." Tear thought exasperatedly.

"I'll cut each and every one of you down!" Asta declared after the energy cleared. "See! Now you're speaking my language!" Tear agreed.

"Tch. So unlikely." The leader scoffed, creating another magic bullet. However he never got the chance to fire it off as Leopold jad decided to maek his presence known.

"Flame Magic:Exploding Flames!" He said as five fireballs shot from his grimoire forcing the terrorists to dodge snd break formation.

"I'm gonna make all of you pay for what you did to my brother!" Leopold shouted, igniting his fists snd swinging at one of them.

"Well whadd'ya say Asta? Got room for one more?" He shouted after throwing the fireball in his hand at an enemy mage. "Sure thing! Feel free to jump in whenever!" Asta said as he swung for another mage.

one midnight sun shot a blast of green mana at him but it was torn asunder by ominous black smoke. "Thanks for the assist Tear!" Asta called.

"Don't mention it! Dragon Magic:Dragon Slash!" Tear replied as five slashes of his mana shot out, almost getting a mage.

Tear however didn't let up as he leaped off his good leg and tried to swipe at him with his claws. The mage dodged right into where his tail would've been able to impale him had it not been for Rades. Even with the curse lifted, his tail could still only barely move.

"You're lucky I'm injured you bastard." Tear growled to himself before turning around. He considered bringing his wings out but he didn't want them to take anymore hits. Normally he wouldn't worry but since they were already torn their integrity had been compromised and as such wouldn't be nearly as durable. "There has gotta be a way to fix that." Tear thought before getting right back to it.

"What the hell are you doing?! Just hurry up and kill the brat? Two of them could barely even move a few minutes ago!" Rades said in frustration.

"What do you think we're doing?" The leader whose hood had fallen, revealed long blonde hair in a ponytail, and a large scar going just below his eye to the back of his head.

In the chaos they had actually managed to get back into their surrounding formation and tried to snychronize fire again. This time though Asta nor Tear had to do anything as a dome of water protected them.

"Thanks for the save Noelle!" Asta said with a focused smile.

"We didn't need her help." Tear said with a less serious pout, before remembering what they did.

"Would it kill you to just say thank you for once?" Noelle looked at Tear.

"Absolutely." Tear replied, his serious face not wavering.

Noelle just scoffed and commented on stupid stubborn commoners, before turning her attention back to the enemy mages.

"She has the look of someone from royal house silva." One of the midnight sun observed. "Well then let's give her a showing worthy of her station. Tree Magic: Magic Draining Roots!"

Tree roots covered the entire dome and literally sucked all of the magic out. "Alright, get ready to jump out just as it fades." Tear advised.

Asta and Leo nodded at that and immediately jumped forward. "That'll do you no good! Wind Creation Magic: Death by Tornado Needle!" The blonde called.

almost instantly the thin wind tendrils shot out. "Oh Shi-!" Tear cut himself off and put up a wreath of dragon just in time to not get impaled, but still got hit hard. Asta and Leo on the other hand weren't fast enough to reach and got impaled by multiple of the needles. Incapacitated on the floor.

"Got damnit." Tear said. "This has got to be the worst situation I've ever found myself in." Tear remarked, a part of himself screaming to take it back though.

"You all fought valiantly, but now is the time to rest." The scarred terrorist complimented before sending another volley of needles.

Tear had tried to predict when he'd send them but he jad guessed too late and was about to be killed when a ball of liquid metal had blocked the fatal blow. "Huh?" Tear questioned as he hopped back.

Tear looked back to where it came from to see the magiv knights that had gotten teleported! Tear growled to himself as he realized that he had to be saved again. Today was really just not his day.

"How did you all get back so fast from so far away?" Valtos asked with what Tear presumed was shock on his face. He couldn't really tell since he was so shockingly ugly.

"Oh it was simple. We worked together and used our talents to get us here as fast as possible." Alecdora answered.

The rest of the magic knights had their own comments about it but Tear stopped listening after he heard that girl, he remembered her name was Gol? No that's not right...

Eh, who cares anyway?

But yeah he stopped listening after ge heard her say "seems like we shouldn't write off men after all huh Char?" Like seriously, it doesn't make any sense. Only two girls had even gotten mentioned at that dumbass banquet and one of them was a royal! If anyone should be written off it was her! Even though she was the other girl mentioned. Whatever she's stupid and that's all that matter!

"What happened here?" Tear was brought out of his little tangent as he heard that calming voice he enjoyed so much.

Tear looked over and walked over to Fuegoleon with a somber look.

"How horrible! Who could do this to a man as strong as captain Fuegoleon?!" Mimosa questioned, and that's when Tear stopped in his tracks.

"I hadn't really thought about it before. But who could have been strong enough to brutalize a captain like this?" Tear had never even considered to think of who actually could've brought a captain to near death, especially so quickly too.

"There's only one man I can think of that's captain level in that damned group. But to do this? Could he really have gotten that much stronger over seven years?" Tear didn't want to accept it, but there was only one conclusion to be made.

This was Licht's doing.

"Somebody check if those two are still alive!" Mimosa ordered, gesturing to Asta and Leo. Tear continued walking towards her, there was no way in hell those two were dead anyway.

That was only confirmed by Klaus's relieved sigh. Tear continued on to the two as he noticed his vision was getting blurry. "That's just great." He thought sarcastically.

The blood loss and the damage had finally taken its toll on him as the edges if his vision turned black. "This really sucks." Tear thought, trying to keep himself awake but failing horribly.

His body kept walking forward on autopilot as his hearing tuned out everything. Immediately after Tear's eyes closed completely, getting too heavy to keep open. Soon after that his thoughts slowed all the way down and even sooner he had gone numb to the world.

"And I really wanted to kill that guy too." Was Tear's last cohesive thought as his body missed a step and he tripped, to tired to catch himself his face hit the pavement as he finally passed out. However right before he could've sworn he heard someone call his name, and something about Gel Magic? Whatever it was it would be something for when he woke up.

Chapter End

An: I'm really sorry about the late update. I don't actually have an excuse, I took a break for a day or two and it turned into a week or three. I made this chapter extremely long to make up for it though so please accept my apology! Anyway remember that God loves you more than anything. Bye now!