Chapter Ninety-Four: Awakening of the Lion
Hey there, readers. It looks like I was able to crank out one more chapter before the new year arrived, and getting this out was a close one (where I live, it's currently about 11 minutes until Midnight). With that, I hope you enjoy both this chapter and 2024. Cya.
"You sure this is a good idea, Leo?"
Going back to earlier in the day, not too far though, just fifteen minutes or so before nightfall, fifteen minutes before Patri changed everything, a group of ten walked through the entrance of Crimson Lion Kings' HQ.
Leopold, who walked in the middle, slightly turned his head to Erika to address her question. "I'm positive. I know we're all supposed to patrol our designated areas, but…I didn't feel comfortable leaving my brother unsupervised," his tone around the second part grew softer, almost in a remorseful way.
Randall placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't need to feel bad, it was a fine idea. I agreed to do it after all, did I not?"
"Yeah, you did," he perked up from hearing that.
Erika was still a little worried. "I know, and I'm not saying you were wrong, but what if something happens? Won't people need us, especially after whatever those light things in the sky were?"
"Relax, bestie, that very outcome was the exact reason so few of us returned and the rest stayed behind," Oxanna inserted herself into the conversation. "And if it makes you feel better, Ryusei is still there. From what I saw with his scuffle against Asta, he's incredibly competent,"
"If I might also add something, those light swords vanished, so whatever danger they could cause has been averted," their vice-captain also said.
The lava mage took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll stop worrying,"
Upon entering the building, the first thing the young trio did was make their way to a familiar room. Leo stood at the front to knock. "We're coming in," he then opened the door, seeing nothing new, just Fuegoleon unconscious on his bed, with no one else around, his expression saddening ever so slightly.
The girls picked up on that change in countenance. They didn't want to make a big deal of it, so they took no action to mention their friend's strange behavior that involved the polite knocking. They knew why he did it though, they knew that he hoped that one day, he would knock and his brother's voice would speak out to answer, letting the door open to witness him standing on his two feet, ready for the tight and tearful embrace his little brother would give. But alas, that day wouldn't be today.
The flame mage made his way over to a chair that stood near the bed, and sat on it. "Everything's going to be alright, brother, I know you'll wake up one of these days, you're one of the toughest people I know, this will all be a thing of the past someday. And as for Licht, you don't have to worry about him, big sis and Rama may have not gotten a chance to avenge you, but Julius is taking care of it as we speak, I'd go as far as to say he's already won,"
"Hearing that sure does help, I guess that means the Royal Knights have one less threat to worry about, and it just so happens to be their biggest one," Erika smiled.
Oxanna though, not so much. "Yeah, the Royal Knights…and Kenos too," her voice trailed off.
Her best friend came to her side. "You don't have to worry about him,"
"E-Excuse me?" she asked, almost startled.
"You're worried about your little brother, it's sweet, but he'll be fine, Rama's there to have his back, and so are Asta and Zuka,"
"Um, y-yeah, but I sometimes can't help but worry, especially for his safety. It's a big world, and you never know…what could be out there to get you,"
Erika raised a brow, confused by how she worded that last sentence. "I…suppose,"
The phantom mage then turned, staring out into the hallway before turning back to the others. "Hey, would it be alright if I head out somewhere? There's something urgent I've been meaning to take care of, but I haven't had the chance,"
Leo spoke up. "If it's something important, we'd be awful friends to not let you handle it," he gave her a thumbs-up. "Go on, everything over here is fine for the time being, and if by some miracle, a problem does come, the rest of us can deal with it. We're the proudest squad in the kingdom, are we not?"
Oxanna gave them one last grin. "That we are," with those words, she left, quickly walking to her room. Once she arrived, her eyes immediately fell on a shelf near her desk.
"Let's see if it's in there," she went over to it, rummaging through multiple drawers. "Oh c'mon, I thought it was always supposed to stay in a certain spot, just where are you, you little-..and there you are," she closed the drawer, raising above her vision what she was searching for.
A communication device.
Grabbing her broom, she exited her room in a sprint, while doing so, she opened it, giving it a few seconds before the hologram of a familiar person appeared, greeting her. "What is it?"
"Great to see you too, Dante," she sarcastically jabbed.
Her older brother sighed. "Under normal circumstances, I'd just close the device and leave you to whatever you're doing, but based on your running, something tells me this is important,"
"Your intuition is impressive. Are you busy right now?"
"Not exactly, right now I'm just outside patrolling. Everything seems fine apart from that strange light show in the sky. However, based on that magic, you think Licht was responsible for it?"
"You think he's capable of a feat that grand in scale?"
"He was able to take out Fuegoleon with seemingly little difficulty, it's safe to assume he's capable of a lot," he replied.
"Well, if Julius is fighting him and his spell disappeared, what he's capable of wasn't enough to win,"
"It's a logical conclusion. So, what about you? Are you still patrolling?"
"No. Leo didn't want to leave the captain by himself, so he and Randall had a handful of us return to base," she quickly explained. "Okay, if you're not too busy, I'm going to need you to meet me at home,"
"Um, sure, but for what exactly?"
Making it to the outside of the HQ's territory, his sister stopped, taking a series of deep breaths before she answered his question.
"I think it's time the two of us finally had a talk with Dad,"
"Is everything alright?"
It was Erika's turn to look away from the hall to face Leo so she could answer his question. "Yeah, I think. It's not that I don't think Oxanna can handle herself, but she was acting a little weird before she left, and I mean, weirder than she usually is,"
"Well, she didn't blurt what it was, so I'm guessing it's something personal, and her personal matters only become our business when she makes them such," Leopold told her.
"Good point," she made her way to another chair, sitting on it. "Actually, now that I think about it, she hasn't done much blurting recently, the last time I remember her doing it was when she and Rama went on their date,"
The royal sent a grin her way. "Of course, you remember what happened?"
She returned it with a knowing grin of her own. "I do, the two of us did a pretty good job then. I'm really happy for them though, they're already dating, and soon, they'll be meeting each other's folks, well in Rama's case, her parents," she then paused for a little, thinking of what she would say next. "Y'know, I've always kinda wondered what Rama's family is like, I'm guessing they're pretty cool. Has he ever told you? You two are rivals after all,"
He crossed his arms, looking down. "Hm, not really, all I know is that he's a commoner, his family is involved in martial arts, and that he's an only child,"
"Really? That's it?" she deadpanned.
He shrugged. "What deep stuff are you expecting me to know about his family life? If he wants to tell me, he will,"
The girl crossed her arms as well. "Fine. I guess I'm just feeling a little curious, that's all," she said as a long pause enveloped the room.
.
.
.
"What about you then?"
Erika looked up at him. "Excuse me?"
"Your curiosity has gotten me curious, you've never told me what your family is like, not to mention your life before joining the squad,"
The lava mage was caught off guard by that. "I-I, um, w-well-,"
"You turned out just fine when it comes to your personality, you must have an awesome home life,"
Erika couldn't hide the small smile forming on her face. "Um, yeah, I do. I'm sorry, it's just, I've only ever talked about stuff like this with Oxanna. Where do I even begin?"
"How your parents are would be a good place to start,"
"My mom and dad are the best parents I could've ever asked for. They're kind, they don't have a problem with commoners, they can be a bit dramatic at times, and they provide the utmost best for me and my sister,"
Leopold perked up. "You have a sister?"
She nodded. "Yup, she's only five years old, but I love her so much, even if she bugs me sometimes,"
"Take it from me, little siblings are going to do that a lot," he laughed. "The Molotovs sound like a great bunch,"
"Yeah, granted, our family isn't much of a big deal," she twiddled her fingers. "We're your run-of-the-mill noble house, nothing really special about us, that's why there's nothing super special about me,"
His eyes widened. "Hey, don't say that about yourself,"
She put her hands up. "No, it's alright, I don't mind being simple, not everyone in this kingdom can be above exceptional, it doesn't mean you're useless. At the end of the day, I've proven my worth to this squad and myself, that's all that matters,"
"If you say so, but I still think you're wrong. You are super special, you just have to realize it,"
The lava mage shrugged. "I mean, if there is a special factor, okay, but then what is it?"
Leopold held his chin for a second before an answer came to him. "You have that awesome heat resistance thing. You and my sister are the only ones who can be at Yultim without Mana Skin,"
"Uh, Leo, I'm fairly sure that's less of a special factor and more of a situational convenience," she countered.
"Oh, I see, well I'll find something, but for now, we can resume the prior subject. You already told me about your folks, what about your friends? Did you have a tight group growing up like you do now?"
That question appeared to hit a nerve as Erika looked away, causing Leopold to wave his hands around in apology. "Oh crap, I'm sorry. If it's not a topic you want to talk about-,"
"No, it's okay," she cut him off, pausing for a second. "You see…I didn't really have a lot of friends when I was younger. I was a bit of a dull girl, the other kids didn't find it fun hanging around me, so they steered clear, and the ones who stayed were eventually put off by my magic. They said it made me dangerous, and in a way, they were right, lava is an attribute that can cause great harm if not handled properly, because of that, I understood their concerns, but it doesn't mean it didn't hurt,"
His expression softened. "I'm…sorry to hear that, but at the end of it all, it was their loss, we're happy to have you with us,"
"Thanks,"
"Well, since your social life back then wasn't so good, that crosses off a later question I was going to ask,"
She raised a brow at that. "What kind of question?"
He began scratching the back of his head. "I mean, since this whole talk started with Oxanna and Rama's relationship, I was going to ask if you had any guy you were into,"
For the first time ever, Leopold saw her face turn red. "Well, there was this one boy, but it was two years ago and I don't really like to talk about it,"
"I completely understand,"
"What about you? Any girls you have an eye on?"
"Not a single one," he replied in an almost happy fashion.
"Really? And why do you sound happy about that?"
"Why? Simple, I don't have to worry about my sister scaring anyone off,"
The girl laughed. "That's actually not too bad of a reason, but in all seriousness, at your age, there has to be at least one-," her words were cut off by the sound of some kind of explosion, and it was close, forcing them out of their seats.
The fifteen minutes had elapsed, the day had ended, and with it, any semblance of peace. Night was here, and chaos was right behind it.
"I take it we can continue this talk later?" Leopold asked rhetorically.
Erika still nodded anyway. "Works for me. The sound looks to be coming from the direction of the entrance, we must be under attack,"
"Then we don't have a second to waste!" the two ran out of the room at top speed…and because of that, they never got to see Fuegoleon's hand slowly twitching back and forth.
It only took them a minute to reach the outside, making it just in time to see one of the knights get sent into a wall, forming a small crater. "Ben!" they ran over to him.
The man groaned. "Ugh, that's going to leave a mark,"
"Ben, who did this to you?" Erika worryingly asked.
He pointed straight ahead. "See for yourselves," they followed his finger and saw who was the culprit, their eyes widening. Standing at the top of the entrance gate was none other than…
"Vice-captain Randall?!" they exclaimed in unison, in total shock, but then they noticed something strange about him, he had longer ears, a red mark on a side of his face, a yellow aura around him, but the most noticeable change was his mana. It was entirely different, but regardless, it was stronger, much stronger.
The flame mage's eyes then scanned the area, his mouth agape at the sight of the remaining five knights, all on the ground, not looking much better. "Randall, what's the matter with you?! How could you do this to everyone?! Answer me!"
The elf possessing the air mage lifted a foot and brought his hands together to strike a dramatic pose. "Great, more people calling me by that stupid name," he mumbled to himself. "Listen up, kiddies, since you just got here, I'm going to only tell you this once, whoever this Randall is doesn't exist anymore, my name's Lifu!" he plainly told them with a raised voice.
"Lifu? Randall doesn't exist anymore? Has he been like, possessed or something? This is all too weird," he thought.
Erika spoke up. "Leo, are you also confused by what's going on or is it just me?"
"I'm just as lost," he admitted.
The lava mage wore an uncomfortable expression, hurrying over to the closest injured person to her, helping him up. "Forte, talk to me, what's making the vice-captain act this way?"
The man held his head. "We're not sure of it ourselves," he began. "A few of us decided to come here to do a little bit of training, Randall soon came to join us and things were going fine. Then, all of a sudden, he starts glowing and about a minute later, he began attacking us,"
"If that's how it went down, there must be a spell that's responsible,"
Leopold took out his grimoire, his face full of determination as he stood firm. "If a spell is what's responsible, all we can do is subdue him and hope that brings him back to his senses. Are you all with me?!"
Everyone else did the same, and were ready for battle. "We are!"
Pointing at the enemy, the royal had one last thing to say. "Randall, if you can hear me, please forgive us if we hurt you!"
Lifu rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Did he not hear a thing I told him? Typical humans, they don't listen to anyone but themselves, oh well," instead of heading out to meet them, the elf remained mostly stationary, doing an assortment of dramatic punches and kicks, accompanied by onomatopoeia of the same nature.
"What on Earth are you doing?!" Forte demanded.
"What am I doing? Two more people are joining you, things are getting interesting. It's been so long since I've done a show like this, I need to warm up,"
The others were more or less dumbfounded by his explanation. "A…show?"
Lifu soon ended his empty set of attacks, transitioning to jumping up and down, his eyes closed with a smile on his face. "It feels so good to be in a body again where I can move, it reminds me of the old days, back when I used to put on stage plays for everyone, and they all loved it, seeing them happy made me happy. I also remember something else, right after Licht and Tetia's wedding, I planned to put on a special show for them…alas, it never came to pass," his mind formed the image of the bloody massacre. "But it seems fate is providing me a chance to make it happen, granted, with a few changes. I may be a few centuries out of practice, but let's see if I still got it,"
"You must take us for idiots if you think we'll just let you prepare! Flame Magic: Spiral Flame!" Leopold was the first to attack.
"Must? Oh no, don't let it be mistaken, I do take you for idiots. Air Magic: Air Blockade," he said softly, protecting himself. "It looks like someone is eager to die!"
"That's what you think! Flame Creation Magic: Burst Javelin!" Forte followed up, throwing the projectile.
Ben launched an attack as well. "Copper Creation Magic: Copper Crossbow!"
Lifu stared at the two spells coming his way, he was worried so little by them, he almost felt compelled to yawn. "Very well, warmup's over. Air Magic: Sky Walker!" crouching slightly, he boosted himself up, dodging them, but while in mid-air, he positioned his body horizontally, pushing the air itself to boost himself forward, landing not too far from them.
He smugly grinned at the crimson-clad knights, beckoning them with a hand. "Don't tell me that's all you can do?"
In response to that, two knights, Ben and Gareth, charged at him, spells in hand.
"Copper Creation Magic: Red Shining Mace!"
"Iron Creation Magic: Solid Clobber!"
Upon closing the distance, the two worked in unison to try to land a hit in a spot they were certain wouldn't leave lasting injuries, but it was proving difficult, what with Lifu virtually weaving around everything with his arms behind his back.
"Y'know, I don't really know much about this Randall, but I must admit, I'm envious," the elf voiced in a relaxed tone, still in motion. "His air magic is such a neat attribute, it makes performing stunts so much easier, observe," he recast his prior spell, standing on the air before doing a wide tornado kick, slamming his foot right in their faces, sending them back.
Landing once again, he sighed. "If only I had that in my other life, what a shame,"
"Flame Creation Magic: Scatter Javelin!" Forte declared, his projectile breaking into multiple pieces.
"A useless attempt," Lifu weaved through them all, closing the distance between them in no time at all. Before the man could even do anything, he was knocked off balance by a sweep kick and pushed aside with an air punch.
"You're going to pay for that!" Erika dashed ahead, two knights joining her at her right and left, one male and one female. The lava mage had a plan, and to start, she turned to the fellow girl to her left. "Jazmine, I have an idea, I need you to divert his attention,"
"No problem,"
She then turned to the male on her right. "While she's doing that, Dominic, you hang with me,"
"You got it,"
With that, he and Erika came to a stop, running in a different direction while Jazmine picked up speed, her grimoire flipping through pages. "String Magic: Puppet's Game!" she shot a dectet of strings from her fingers.
"Puppet's Game? You attempt to control me? Well, I'd hate to be the bearer of bad news, but no one manipulates me! Air Magic: Crushing Air Blast!" he exclaimed, blowing the strings back and the caster with it.
"Ah!" she screamed from the force, but she planted her feet firmly down, managing to not get pushed back too far. "Try all you want, Lifu, you aren't going to beat us!"
"Oh my, someone actually says my name right? It almost makes me want to spare you, emphasis on almost," he said back.
She ran at him again. "String Magic: Weaving Knuckles!" multiple layers of string wrapped around her hands before glowing a soft purple color.
"Take this!" she let loose a swift barrage of punches, but no matter how fast she went, nothing seemed to connect.
"Aw, look at you trying so hard. It doesn't feel good, does it? Doing all you can to make what you want happen, but fate won't let you, it leaves you to be helpless and at the mercy of the one who is stronger. I'm very familiar with that feeling, and soon enough, you will be too. Air Magic: Explosive Air Palm!" he sent out his palm to meet with one of her fists, but before any contact was made, a destructive force of air ripped the empowering strings apart, leaving her hand bare, but that was the least of her problems, the point-blank range resulted in her getting rocketed into a wall a good number of meters away.
"Jazmine!" a voice exclaimed, Lifu turned around to see Dominic a good distance off, his hands on the ground.
"Your turn,"
"So be it! Sound Magic: Decibel Tremor!" vibrations began to rupture the ground, cracks heading toward the elf.
At the sight of the attack, Lifu almost burst into laughter. "Air Magic: Sky Walker!" he took to the skies, standing on nothing. "What were you thinking?! You see what kind of capabilities I have and decide that is going to do anything?! You humans are so stupid, it's hysterical! Now-,"
He was suddenly cut off as he realized he could no longer see. It turns out he was surrounded by a smokescreen, all according to Erika's plan. The noble focused magic into her feet, boosting herself up, her fist reeled back. "It worked, now he's done. Lava Magic: Magma Uppercut!"
Unfortunately for her though, just when she was three feet from him, her smokescreen dissipated entirely, Lifu giving her his usual smug grin. "I see what you did there, he attacks, I go up here, and you try to blind me before delivering the finishing blow. I'll give that one to you, it certainly wasn't a dumb plan,"
"Even if you can see me, that changes nothing! You're still-," Erika's eyes widened as she felt a sphere envelop her superheated fist, cooling it down before Lifu caught it with ease.
"I'm still, what?" he repeated mockingly as he spun his whole body around, her with it before he let her go, resulting in her hitting the ground with a tremendous thud, the air rushing out of her lungs.
"Erika, no!" Dominic yelled, preparing to launch another attack. "Sound Magic-,"
"No you don't!" Lifu thrust himself downwards, punching the sound mage in the face with excessive force, stopping him dead in his tracks. "Now, who's-,"
The possessed air mage was cut off a second time, however, this interruption came from a fiery lion along with an icy bear crashing into him, sending him to the wall near the entrance gate.
"There we go!" Leopold cheered. "I hope you weren't expecting us to just stand around and do nothing?" he then spoke to the older woman right next to him. "Thanks for the assist, Amaya,"
"It was my pleasure. We finally got a hit on him, we need to keep up the pressure,"
"Couldn't agree more," it was now time for the duo to get moving, recasting the spells they just did.
"Flame Creation Magic: Inferno Lion!"
"Ice Creation Magic: Absolute Chaser!"
The sets of elemental beasts were on their way to finish what they started, but their first success left the elf angry, no…furious.
"Air Magic: Air Blockade!" he summoned a stronger barrier, fending off the animals, and that wasn't it. "Air Magic: Crushing Air Barrage!" he fired blast after blast with no end in sight.
The two crimson-clad mages were caught off guard by the spell. At the speed they were going, and the speed it was going, they'd never have enough time to dodge or counterattack, they had no choice but to tank it directly. However…
"Leo, get out of the way!" the ice mage selflessly pushed the teen out of the way with an arm, leaving her alone to face the full force of the attack, joining some of her comrades by the wall they were sent to, but it didn't end, the repeated blasts just kept coming. "AHH!"
"Amaya! Stop it!" the royal yelled.
Eventually, Lifu did stop, the woman dropping to the floor, unconscious. The elf, on the other hand, was panting, taking time to slow his breathing down. "That felt good,"
"You bastard!" Leopold violently exclaimed, fiery mana emitting from his body.
"Ooh, someone's mad," Lifu taunted. "It appears you're the only one still standing,"
The vermillion scanned his surroundings, excluding Amaya, everyone else was still conscious, but their injuries left them groundridden. "It looks like I have two options, either win right here and right now, or buy time for the others to recover. I'm fine with either though," the fiery mana intensified. "If I want to stand a chance alone, I need to use my power. I've been training it nonstop since the exam, now I've succeeded in cutting out the need for a middleman and can access it from the get-go!"
"Flame Creation Magic: Leo Battleheart!" he bellowed triumphantly as he transformed, standing proudly before his opponent.
For the first time since the scuffle began, Lifu's expression became one of shock. "The amount of mana coming from him is massive," and then, a thought came to him. "You, boy, I know this might be a strange thing to ask, but by any chance, do you happen to be royalty?"
"It is as you say. I am Leopold Vermillion, the youngest son of the esteemed House Vermillion, and a proud member of the Crimson Lion Kings!"
"You don't say?" Lifu covered his face with a hand, mumbling to himself for a few seconds, making the teen narrow his eyes suspiciously, but once he removed it, Leo stepped back ever so slightly.
Because on the vice-captain's face, was a grin that a devil would be proud of.
"Then I'm going to have some fun playing with you,"
"Flame Magic: Leo Vulnus!" he started off by firing the slashes in a horizontal fashion, breaking into a sprint immediately.
"Hm, trying to use that attack as a decoy, aye? Predictable," Lifu muttered to himself, finding a page in his grimoire to deal with it. "The gloves are off, the climax is beginning! Air Magic: Slicing Air Cut!" he jumped up a few feet, performing a vertical slash motion with his leg, canceling out the fiery counterpart.
Despite that, Leopold's stride didn't slow down, on the contrary, it sped up. "Flame Reinforcement Magic: Nimble Fire!" fire trailed behind him as he dashed behind the elf, releasing a strong side kick.
Lifu was quick though, bringing up an arm to block it, undeterred by the small shockwave that followed. The possessed air mage saw this as a perfect opportunity to strike with his other hand, so strike he did. "Air Magic: Mighty Air Discharge!" he managed to grab hold of the royal's torso, releasing a strong blast of air point-blank.
"Argh!" Leopold groaned, stumbling back and falling to one knee, a position Lifu planned to take full advantage of.
"Let's do that one again and finish the job!" he hurried to end him, but the younger knight wouldn't be bested by the same move twice. He quickly grabbed a hold of his wrist, forcing it to slam the ground instead, causing the earth beneath them to give way.
Leopold used that as a chance to establish some distance, but he was still clutching his torso. "Shit, that hurts a lot,"
Lifu, however, held his hand. "You dare do such a thing?!"
"What, you just want me to let you succeed?!"
"Honestly, it'd make things easier for all of us. You may score a hit or two, but in the end, you don't have the power to beat me, your kind is as weak as it is despicable, and you of royalty are the most despicable of all!"
"What beef do you have against us royals anyway?! What did we do to you?!"
The elf held both sides of his hip. "Oh, I'd love to tell you, actually, I think I will. When you've been beaten to nothing more than a bloody pulp at my hands and death himself comes to seek you, then I'll tell you, and I'll enjoy watching you squirm!"
"That's never going to happen!" he retorted with clenched fists. "I won't let it happen!"
Lifu chuckled softly. "I won't let it happen? Ah yes, my last words, how odd it is to hear it again,"
"Enough babbling! Flame Magic: Leo Vulnus + Spiral Flame!" both hands were used to project the slashes before the twin streams of fire followed.
"Air Magic: Air Blockade!" he formed the barrier as the attack made contact. At first, Lifu didn't have a single worry, his defense would block the spells like they had before, but that changed, the combo was still going strong, and he could feel his blockade weakening. With a silent grit of his teeth, he amplified its power, managing to remain active.
He was ready to taunt the royal over his success. "You're going to have to do a lot better than-," he stopped as he realized no one was in his line of vision…then he felt, a surge of mana above him. He stared into the sky, and lo and behold, there the teen was.
"Time to test how strong that blockade of yours is! Flame Magic: Igni Impact!" he descended with immense power, hitting the surface of the barrier. "Break!"
"Nice try!"
"Not this time!" with that, the barrier collapsed under the pressure, letting Leopold land right in front of his opponent. Borrowing a page from his sister's playbook, he opted to punch him directly in the face, he then moved in and tackled him to the ground, holding his arms.
"Randall! You're in there somewhere, I know it! Whatever is doing this to you, you have to fight it! Do you hear me?! Fight it! You're not the vice-captain of this squad for no reason!"
"Get off!" Lifu screamed, kicking him before quickly getting up. "You're beginning to annoy me! Air Magic: Command Shoot!" at his call, a ball of air appeared at his feet to which he kicked it, hitting Leo right in the shoulder. He wasted no time repeating the spell four more times, sending a quartet of air balls.
Leopold sucked his teeth, these were harder to see than the previous spells, but just because it was harder to see, doesn't mean it was harder to sense. Focusing heavily on the mana in front of him, he was able to determine where they were. "There are four coming, and they're in single file, he must be trying to damage my limbs one by one, that'd certainly decrease my performance, but luckily for me, I have the perfect counter,"
Putting up two of his gauntlet-covered fingers in a gun fashion, his grimoire flipped to a recently added page. "Thank you, big brother. Flame Magic: Leo Linea!" he exclaimed as a reddish-orange beam shot cleanly through the air spheres, leaving Lifu in shock.
It was Leopold's turn to take advantage of a fortuitous situation, he lunged forward and paired it with a jump, putting a few inches above ground. He then positioned himself into a one-legged mid-air kick that hit its target directly. "Here, one more! Flame Magic: Flame Tempest!" he did the two-step motion of closing his palms and then opening them, subjecting him to the heat.
Lifu dropped to one knee as his human foe made some distance between them. He lightly placed his hand on where he'd been hit, wincing from the burn. He was not pleased. "You criminal! You brat! It's time to put an end to this show!"
He got up and ran with incredible speed, his opponent making the same finger gun motion as before, aiming at his legs. "Flame Magic: Leo Linea!" the beam was fired, but it missed as he leaped into the sky.
Rather than use some kind of aerial attack, Lifu decided to use the air as leverage, a crazy grin on his face as he used both his legs himself down at a forty-five-degree angle southeast. Leopold's senses were still sharp, he was able to figure out where he'd be and turned to face, but he wasn't fast enough to stop what would happen next.
"Air Magic: Mighty Air Discharge!" he grabbed his torso again, but this time, with both hands, increasing the amount of devastating force.
"Argh!" the royal screamed in pain.
"I'm not done just yet! Air Magic: Crushing Air Blast + Explosive Air Palm!" his combination turned the flame mage's body into a rocket that was on its way to the east wall. "And for the finale! Air Magic: Sky Walker!" he repeated the trusty action for what was the fourth time or so, but this time, it was different. He remained in the crouching position for a little longer, a combination of green mana and potential energy storing themselves in his legs before he blitzed forward at the same speed as the flame mage.
And speaking of the flame mage, he was in a world of hurt as he back made contact with the concrete, but this was like no other, the wall behind him started cracking from the impact, and that was all before Lifu dropkicked him right in the stomach, the wall collapsing altogether as Leo vomited the contents of whatever he had eaten earlier in the day, sending him into a coughing fit. And as things couldn't get worse, his form fizzled out of existence before he dropped to the ground, clutching his stomach.
Lifu was now standing over him. "With that, the show has come to a close, and now we can get to my favorite part, the beating,"
"Stop right there!" unified voices cried out, earning the elf's attention, he saw six of the seven knights rise to their feet.
"Oh yes, you people, I must ask the audience to patiently wait your turn, you'll all get your gruesome deaths in time,"
Gareth was frustrated beyond belief, nothing they did seemed to have a lasting effect, if things went on, they'd surely be doomed, so he came up with a plan. "Erika!"
"What is it?!"
"The rest of us will stay here and keep fighting Lifu, you get Leopold and Amaya and leave this place!"
"What?!" it came from the teens.
"We're not leaving you!" Erika protested. "You'll die!"
"Take it as a direct order from your senior then!" Jazmine chimed in. "You two are just kids, you have lives ahead of you, this isn't the place for you to die!"
"Not to mention Leopold will become the captain of this squad one day, he has to live!" Ben added. "Get moving, this is for your own good!"
"No! I won't abandon you!" the triumphant declaration came from Leo as he forced himself to get back up. "When we became Magic Knights, we knew what we were signing up for, we knew of the danger that would come. I can't in good conscience leave you to your fate! I have to keep fighting!" he began stumbling towards Lifu, a fist raised.
"We'll win this!" he tried to throw a punch, but instead, he collapsed back to the ground, everything writhing in pain. Lifu, who knew he had nothing left to give, didn't even bother moving, but that changed as he stared down at the royal.
"Sit tight, I shan't be long," he then charged at the knights who charged back, each ready with an attack, but they stood no chance. "Air Magic: Airspace Diffusion!" he came to a quick standstill, crouching down before rising up, unleashing air in every direction, pushing them all to and fro.
He turned back and started walking back to his defeated foe. "I told you I wouldn't be long. Now, where were we?" he cracked his knuckles. "That's right, I was about to turn your face into a mess,"
Meanwhile, Leo clenched his fists, trying everything he could to stand, but it was no use, the pain was far too great. "C'mon, get the hell up! You need to keep fighting! Randall is depending on you, everyone is! You're stronger than you were before, you know it! If Rama or my siblings were here, they'd keep going, they'd get up and fight until they couldn't anymore, so I need to as well! Please body, stand for me!"
Lifu kneeled down, grabbing his collar. "This is going to be fun. Time for revenge!" he was about to throw the first punch.
And then…it happened.
Out of nowhere, a surge of reddish-orange mana fell from the sky, enveloping the entire building, shocking everyone to the point where the elf let go of the royal and started backing up.
"What kind of mana is this?"
Leopold was just as stumped. "I've never felt anything like this before, but at the same time, it kinda feels familiar, like a mighty flame," he thought, but then he heard footsteps. Turning to the best of his ability, he saw it was coming from the entrance into the base's interior. "Damn it, don't tell me someone else got possessed? We can't deal with that right now,"
But in the end, his worries were ill-founded as the figure's footsteps grew louder and features became more recognizable. It started with the clicking of brown boots, followed by the flapping sound of a familiar piece of red clothing, and it ended with the sight of vermillion-colored hair as the figure stepped into clear view of the knights.
…It was Fuegoleon.
"Looks like I made it just in time," he said calmly.
Leopold stared at him in disbelief. "Y-Y-You're…awake, you're really awake,"
He nodded back. "Yes, I am, and it appears you all fought bravely while I was asleep," he addressed everyone. "Leo, Erika, Ben, Gareth, Forte, Jazmine, Dominic, I'm immensely proud of every single one of you!"
The knights couldn't even respond, overcome by emotion, but Leo was able to say something. "B-But how? You didn't show any signs of recovery when I last saw you,"
"Then allow me to explain,"
White. All there was, was white, no other color as far as the eye could see, and standing in this mysterious space was Fuegoleon, his eyes closed, his breathing normal, his feet steady, no words coming out of his mouth.
Ever since his encounter with Patri at the capital, this was the state of being he was in, no more, no less. When the body becomes stagnant, the mind tends to follow its lead…but then things changed.
Out of nowhere, a fire began erupting within the space, a deep voice calling out. "Awaken, human!" at once, Fuegoleon's eyes shot open, his body stumbling forward before he caught himself and straightened his posture.
"What's happening? Where am I?"
"The confines of your mind," the voice spoke again.
The flame mage looked out in every direction, seeing fire, but no other figure around. "Where are you?! Who are you?!"
"I am a being that has existed for millennia, a mighty force of nature," spiraling flame then erupted, and as it dispersed, the being was right there.
Fuegoleon gasped. "I recognize you. You are the flame spirit, Salamander!"
Though the spirit's mouth didn't move, a snickering sound came from it. "Impressive,"
"Not that I'm not honored that you've chosen to show yourself to me, but why are you here?" the human inquired.
"I'm here to help right a great wrong, a wrong committed by the elves," it answered.
"Elves? Do you mean from the folktales? I didn't know they were real,"
"Alas they are, they have committed a tremendous crime and disrupted the natural laws of order, as such, I must rectify it,"
"Exactly what did they do?"
"They've succeeded in tampering with death, implanting their souls into the bodies of the living. The flames of their lives had long since extinguished, and now they seek to steal those of others, this cannot be tolerated,"
"I agree, what they're doing is wrong. But why are you coming to me?" he asked curiously.
"While my power is great, it is even greater when paired with a mage to be my partner. I deemed one worthy once before, but after her death, she too became a perpetrator of this crime, our link was then severed later on," it explained.
"So…you want me to be your new partner?"
"Yes, but I must warn you, becoming a spirit host is not for the faint of heart, you must be strong, and to be my host specifically, you must be willing to fight no matter what. So tell me, do you have what it takes?"
Fuegoleon was a bit deterred by the question, he looked to his right, staring at the empty space that once was filled by his arm, but then, he clenched his fists as determination was seen on his face. "Even though I've lost my arm, and even though troubles await me in the future, I will not stand down! I will face the odds and arise victorious, come what may! I am Fuegoleon Vermillion!"
Salamander chuckled. "That's what I like to hear. Alright, Fuegoelon, it'll be a pleasure working with you,"
"Same here,"
"And with that, allow me to demonstrate to fruit of my courage!" the captain lifted something up…that thing being a flaming right arm.
"Amazing," the others mumbled.
Things were only getting started though as the mighty spirit of fire emerged, perching itself on its partner's magical arm, its body more lean and serpentine than before
Lifu couldn't believe it. "Salamander? But how? I thought Fana was its partner. How could it choose a wretched human?"
The trio of questions were given no answer as Fuegoleon raised his voice. "Elf! You shall pay for your transgressions, you will not triumph over us!"
"That's what I should be saying to you. Even if you have Salamander, you won't beat me!"
"Incorrect! Flame Spirit Magic: Salamander's Breath!"
"Air Magic: Air Blockade!" his barrier came to his aid, attempting to protect him, but no matter how strong he made it, he couldn't fend it off completely. "His flames are so hot, they're too hot, I-I can't breathe...AHHH!"
In no time at all, the barrier fell, revealing an unconscious Lifu. "Flame Binding Magic: Leo Palma!" he quickly restrained him. "Rest for now, Randall, I'll find a way to save you,"
"Incredible, all of us gave it everything we got and hardly did shit, meanwhile, he finishes him off with just two spells. The captain has still got it," Erika thought to herself.
"Thank you," he said to the spirit, it returned the gesture with a nod before fading away. "Alright everyone, I know things are getting hectic, but we can't lose our cool. The kingdom is in danger, and we must rally with the remaining forces to save it. Handling collateral damage to the base can wait until after we're done. Take time to rest and recover as much as you need, but we leave in an hour at the latest. If everyone heard that, then-,"
He was then cut off by someone. Even though he was still in immense pain, Leopold got up and ran to embrace his brother. The day had come, the day he wished for desperately had finally come, and no amount of injury would stop him.
"I'm…I'm so glad you're okay!" he cried, tears streaming down his eyes. "I was beginning to think you'd never wake up!"
Fuegoleon's expression softened to a tender one. Not yet trusting the potential of his blazing appendage, he patted his little brother's head with his left hand. "I'm glad to see you too. I'm going to go out on a limb and say I've been asleep for a couple of months?"
"Yup," Leo replied, wiping his tears with his sleeve. "And I've gotten way stronger," he grinned.
His older brother smiled back at him. "I can't wait to see you in action then,"
"Captain Fuegoleon!" the others all ran to embrace him as well. "You're back!"
"I'm happy to see the rest of you as well, but please, head inside and start resting, we'll need to be at our best,"
"Yes sir!" they broke the hug and began walking inside, Erika and Ben teaming up to carry Amaya.
Fuegoleon walked behind them, in deep thought. It all made sense now, he searched his memories, recalling the day he lost his arm, he had been transported into an eerie white space with the help of Valtos' spatial magic, but it didn't take him long to realize he wasn't alone. Approaching him dressed in a strange garment was none other than William Vangeance, he was initially surprised to see the world tree mage there, but then that surprise turned to horror as he saw the man change appearance before his very eyes, becoming Patri. The light mage quickly snatched the magic stone around his neck before cutting his arm off.
"So, that person was an elf, he must've used my magic stone to help do this possession spell, but that means William is also guilty," he thought, pushing it into the back of his mind for the time being, he had something to ask. "I take it Randall was able to handle my responsibilities well?"
"Yeah, but only for a little while, our sister's the current captain," Leo told him.
"Mereoleona, really?" he gasped, but then he smiled. "I always knew she had it in her, she should've been the captain from the very start if you ask me. I wonder how she's doing now?"
To answer Fuegoleon's question: not very well, like, at all.
"Snow Magic: Sleet Shoot!"
"Sandstone Magic: Rock Storm!"
The Royal Knights' captain was currently standing still, her gaze on the group of elves, two of which sent out attacks.
"Ah man, not again!" Asta exclaimed as he met the spells, cutting one and blocking the other. "These guys are tough,"
"I'll say, they still haven't buckled to our attacks," Lira commented.
"Give it some time, they'll eventually tire out, they're humans after all, and outlasting us is virtually impossible, at least in the case of the two runts," Rhya said, pointing at Mereoleona. "She's someone you want to be careful around, I'm starting to wonder if she's even a part of that rotten species,"
"Ash Binding Magic: Cinder Remnants!" Zora exclaimed, if they couldn't be beaten head-on, perhaps they could be restrained.
Lira raised a brow at the spell's name. "Binding magic? No thank you!" he dipped a brush into gray paint before flicking it, shooting a quick blast of wind that blew the ash away.
"Damn it," the trapster cursed under his breath.
At this point, Asta was panting. "Zora, please tell me…you got a plan? Did you go all stealthy and…set a few traps while no one was looking?"
"Unfortunately, to both questions, no," he replied, turning to the flame mage. "Hey, Ms. Savage, I know damn well standing idly by isn't your thing! If you got a plan cooking up in that brain of yours, feel free to share!"
"A plan, you say?" she spoke up, rotating her head behind her to see a plain wall. "Yes, I have a plan indeed,"
She fully spun her body around, firing a Calidos Bestia at the wall, forming a gaping hole. Zora tilted his head, confused. "Um, just kind of plan do you have in-,"
He never got to finish asking as she grabbed hold of the back of his and Asta's shirts, reeling her arm before throwing them into the hole. "What are you doing?!" they yelled back before she fired the spell again at a higher spot, debris dropping to close the hole.
With that, she turned around again, staring the quintet dead in the eyes. Rhya chuckled. "Is that your plan? You want to sacrifice yourself to buy those two some time to escape? Wow, a sense of self-sacrifice? And here I thought such a concept was lost on you,"
The flame mage's grimoire flipped through pages, landing on the page of her trustiest spell, her fist lighting up as she raised it to meet her now grinning face.
"Sacrifice? You misunderstand. Those two would only get in my way, and the last thing I need is both that along with Asta's stupid talk about sparing your lives. Now that we're alone, none of you can stop me!" powerful flames erupted around her, she was getting serious.
"I'm going to enjoy killing every single one of you personally!"