Chapter One Hundred-Twelve: The One Behind All This
"I knew the truth all along,"
As Rhya's body began to slump and fall, everything slowed down around him as he continued to speak in his mind. "All this time…I knew that Lumiere was innocent. After all, no one can lie to me, and when he called us friends and spoke about our kind living in harmony, that was the complete truth too. When the massacre happened, I knew something seemed fishy and that he couldn't be responsible, I should've told everyone. However, we were all dead, and if we wanted to bring everyone back, Patri and the others needed to hate the humans, with every fiber of their being, so I said nothing, I couldn't risk their hate wavering. I…just wanted to see everyone again, I just wanted to see him again. I'm nothing but a liar…but him, whoever or whatever has been passing himself off as Ronne, I can't hold a candle to him…he's the biggest liar of them all!"
With a thud, the copy mage finally hit the ground, blood and damaged bones pouring out.
"NO!" Patri yelled as he ran over to his friend, a spell ready. "Light Recovery Magic: Healing Light Particles!" he placed both hands above the hole, turning to the culprit. "What is the meaning of this, Ronne?! What did you lie about?!"
"Nothing is happening that wasn't meant to happen," was all he said in response.
"Answer me!"
The switching mage held up the object in his hand. "This is the key I've been waiting for, it's finally in my grasp," he then turned his head, seeing Yuno attempt to blitz him.
"I TOLD YOU TO GIVE IT BACK!" he roared with unbridled rage.
"Shift," Ronne said as his body was now out of range.
The wind mage landed, coming up empty-handed. "What the hell did he just do? Did he…teleport?"
"I can't return this Magic Stone to you right now, I have need of it,"
Yuno's eyes widened upon hearing that. "A Magic Stone? That can't be, I've had that since I was a baby,"
"That doesn't change anything,"
Yuno turned to the other elf. "Hey, bastard," Patri's head perked up. "Yeah, I'm talking to you. Do you know what he's babbling about?"
The light mage shook his head. "I'm as lost as you are. Something's wrong with him,"
"There is nothing wrong with me, mages of the clover," Ronne retorted before chuckling. "Ah yes, the clover. The primary three leaves of the clover represent faith, hope, and love," he now faced the commoner. "Within the fourth leaf lies good luck," he finally gazed upon the special platform. "And within the fifth leaf…dwells what I am,"
Suddenly, his feet were off the ground and he began to float towards it, stunning the others present into silence as he landed on it. "What's he doing?"
"At last, after those bastards took you from me, you shall rise again," he knelt down and placed the stone into the space, the entire platform turning black as black threads of a strange substance shot up from the markings, weaving together and expanding, becoming some kind of featureless husk.
Yuno's eyes widened in a mix of shock and fear. "That thing, it's giving off mana, but why is it so sinister and cold?"
Ronne spread out his arms. "I've returned, we are once more reunited," a black mass exited his head, leaving the elf to fall unconscious and descend from the platform, hitting the ground with a thud.
"No!" Patri called out, but quickly diverted his attention to the mysterious sight as it began throbbing violently, as if the entire thing was a giant heart. The throbbing then ceased as body parts began to protrude from it, beginning with claw-like hands, then claw-like feet, then a pair of wings, and finally, a pair of curved horns.
However, while the figure looked more like a body, it was a solid bluish-black color, but that changed as a hand grasped the face region and the color became more defined, now a complete shade of black with pale skin. He then removed his hand, revealing a pale face with blood-red eyes.
"What…What is that thing?" Yuno wondered quietly, he then could feel something strange below him. As he looked down, he saw that the sensation was from his shaking hand, there was no doubt about it.
He was afraid.
He wasn't the only one who was afraid, Patri's eyes couldn't believe what they were witnessing, but the truth was clear. "It's…a devil,"
The devil in question stretched his body. "Hahahaha! Oh my, it's been so long since I've been in my body! But it was worth the wait, this feeling is incredible!" he exclaimed as he took a few steps forward, staring down at the unconscious switching mage.
"I know you can't hear me, Ronne, but thanks for being such a dear and letting me use your body. Sure you didn't have a choice, but hey, it doesn't hurt to be grateful regardless," he said, his gaze now falling on Patri. "And he's not the only one I have to thank, you've done a great service to me as well,"
The elf gasped. "Me? Wait a minute, you put the final stone into its place. Why didn't it make our reincarnations complete? That's what it was supposed to do,"
The devil wagged his finger. "Not exactly, it's true power had nothing to do with you elves, but rather me as it freed my body from its seal, and it's funny you mention that as that's the specific thing I wanted to thank you for,"
"What are you talking about? Explain yourself!"
The otherworldly creature sighed. "Patri, Patri, Patri, oh young and foolish Patri. Let me ask you a question, who was responsible for the massacre of you elves?"
The light mage was confused by the sudden inquiry, but answered anyway. "It was the humans,"
"I'm going to need to you to answer it fully,"
He raised a brow. "What do you mean? I did,"
"Or rather, you think you did. To your knowledge, the humans were overwhelmed by their greed and envy which led them to lay waste to your species, but what you didn't know is that there was someone in the shadows manipulating them," he began explaining, spreading his arms out as his face contorted into an evil grin of pure glee. "And that someone was me!"
"What?!" the other three exclaimed, Rhya's voice being the weakest of them.
"It's true, those royals were so easily swayed, all I had to do was lead them to your village and they did the rest for me," he told them. "And once I was done pulling their strings, I decided to pull yours, all for the sake of eventually reuniting with my precious body. I was also striving to get something else back then, but sadly, it didn't work out,"
The pair of elves couldn't believe what they had heard, but Patri's expression was the one that held the most wrath. The true culprit of the crime, the reason they were subjected to a hellish fate, a day he'd never forget, a day full of pain, screams, and cries of despair, it was all because of him? "How dare you?! Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!"
The flurry of glowing blades appeared behind him and shot out, the spell resonating with his rage as its speed was like never before. However, despite all of that, the devil was unworried as he simply opened his mouth.
"Return," he said as the light swords halted before turning around and zooming back toward their origin just as fast.
"What?" Patri muttered, too stunned to react, but he wouldn't have to as Yuno came to his rescue, enveloping him and Rhya in a swirl of wind as they slid across the ground and out of harm's way.
"Hey, bastard," the wind mage spoke up, earning the elf's attention. "That's Captain Vangeance's body, do me a favor and try not to get him killed, I have some things to ask him after this is all over,"
Patri clutched his chest. "William, he can't-,"
"Impressive moves there, boy," the devil cut him off as he commended the royal knight. "Y'know, you did a favor for me as well, after all, you did bring the special stone I needed right to me, I really appreciate it. You all just love to help me out, I'm damn near blushing from embarrassment,"
"Put a sock in it!" Yuno exclaimed, pointing at him. "I may have inadvertently helped you, but that just means I can't allow you to do as you please! I'll finish you right here and right now!"
The otherworldly being did a courteous bow, but his face held a look that was anything but courteous. "Then, by all means, show me what you can do. You're the holder of a four-leaf clover grimoire and a vessel for a powerful elf, surely I am no match for you," he stated in a mocking tone.
Yuno narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, go ahead, keep laughing, we'll see who's laughing after this, you bastard! Wind Spirit Magic - Mana Zone: Spirit Storm!" he exclaimed in his mind as his strongest attack charged up behind the devil before coming right at him.
However, whatever advantage was gained by the sneak attack was lost as the devil eyed the beam behind him, but remained still. "Vacuum Wall," an invisible force manifested behind him, protecting him.
"You blocked it?! But how?! There was nothing there!"
"Correction, you saw nothing there, that doesn't mean there wasn't. Your attacks won't reach me, no matter how hard you try, and I thank it all to my Word Soul Magic,"
"Word Soul Magic? I've never heard of such an attribute," Yuno muttered. "Damn it, I hate to admit it, but I can't beat this guy, or I guess…I can't beat this guy alone," his eyes gazed upon the entrance above. "And I know that whenever I need some assistance…,"
Just then, a sound was heard, the sound of screaming. All eyes turned to the entrance as two people dropped in, those people being none other than Asta and Mimosa.
"...You'll always be there for me," Yuno finished his thought. "You've got some impeccable timing there, you idiot!" he grinned.
The swordsman grinned back at him. "Funny running into you here! And just who do you think you're calling an idiot?!" he said back playfully.
Mimosa quickly raised an arm, deploying a cluster of vines to latch themselves onto the ceiling as the other end wrapped around the two of them. With their descent significantly slowed, the plant mage now had time to notice the elephant in the room. "W-What is that thing?!" her eyes fell on the creature who simply stared back at them.
"It's a devil," Asta replied, his voice deadly serious as he gripped the Destroyer tightly in his hand.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive," he replied again. "His Ki is similar to Roth's, there's no doubt about it. But how is one even here?"
"Ah, it's so nice to have visitors," the word devil said, but then he raised a brow, keeping his eyes on them as they landed. "You, boy!" he raised the volume of his voice. "I'm not sensing any mana in you,"
"That's because I don't have any, not even a drop! What's it to you?!"
"None at all? Now that's something you don't see every day, and I've been around for a while, alas, it's ultimately inconsequential, I was merely curious," he then turned, his gaze on Patri who was still healing Rhya.
"Come to Me," he said, the light mage defying multiple laws of physics as he was not only pulled in closer, but was also floating so that he was on the same elevation as the one who summoned him. "You, on the other hand, are the one I want to give a little more attention to,"
"This devil's attribute, it lets whatever he says become reality. Earlier while we were waiting for Yuno, Rhya told me that Ronne had managed to find a host with the same attribute as him. But what if that wasn't true? What if he was using his magic to merely replicate switching magic?" he thought, his grimoire turning to a page. "You want to give me more attention?! Go right ahead, I'll give it right back to you! Light Creation Magic: Light Whip of Judgement!" he formed the weapon and was about to strike, but then…
"Vanish," he spoke, the whip breaking up and dissipating, and that wasn't it. "Iron Spears," he continued, jagged black rods of iron shooting up from the ground, skewering the elf in multiple places.
"AHHHHH!" he screamed in agony.
"Pa…tri," Rhya tried to stand up, but his body wouldn't let him.
"What in the world? How did he do all of that?" Asta inquired.
"It's his attribute, he calls it Word Soul Magic!" Yuno answered. "From what I can see, anything he says becomes reality! And that's not it, the death of the elves that led to their hatred of us, he's the one who was behind it all!"
"Guilty as charged," the devil didn't miss his chance to chime in.
"Then we need to take this monster down as quickly as we can!" Asta grasped the flat side of his sword and transformed as the rivals flew at him from opposite directions.
The devil's eyes widened ever-so-slightly at the sight of the swordsman's otherworldly appearance as well as the book beside him. "So, not only is he magicless, he fights alongside a comrade, a comrade who just so happens to be in control of that grimoire. That boy just became a lot more intriguing, but it's in my best interest to kill him now, I can't risk him becoming a threat, I already learned that lesson the hard way after my encounter with her," he thought. "Time to meet your end. Tempest of Blades,"
At his command, a purple mass emerged on the ceiling, and from it rained a plethora of different swords. Asta was initially worried, but his instincts went into action as he began parrying them, nullifying each one he came into contact with, but then that worry from before returned as the Destroyer hit a sword, banging against it rather than erasing it.
"There are physical weapons in here," he realized, his foster brother coming to the same conclusion as he weaved around the swords in his vicinity.
"These things are fast, it takes using my Mana Zone to just manage evasion," he muttered, narrowing his eyes. "But thanks to my Mana Zone, I can detect that the magical swords are moving faster than the physical ones,"
The word devil observed how they were faring. "Hm, it appears I've slightly underestimated them, no issue. Blades, Cease," he said before commanding, the storm ending.
Asta confidently pointed his sword at him as they remained suspended in the air. "Ha, it looks like we were too much for you!"
"Don't flatter yourselves, I just decided that I want to try out something different. Observe and be amazed! Force Them Down," he said, the pair of royal knights becoming subjected to a massive increase of gravity, bringing them from high up to ground zero in an instant.
"What is this power?" the demonic swordsman and the spirit-amped wind mage tried to get up, but to no avail.
"More,"
The ground was beginning to give way under the immense pressure, the boys sinking in as they grunted loudly.
"More,"
The walls in the immediate vicinity were next to begin giving way as they became riddled with cracks, reaching all the way up to the ceiling.
"More,"
Parts of the ceiling broke off, huge pieces of debris falling on the rivals, burying them as they were no longer visible.
"Asta! Yuno!" Mimosa cried out in concern.
The devil now turned his attention to her. "Don't think I've forgotten about you, my dear!"
The royal's eyes showed fear, but she pushed the feeling away. "Plant Magic: Magic Cannon Flower!" she exclaimed, shooting the beam at him.
"Futile. Vacuum Wall," the invisible force protected his front side this time. "My turn. Plague of Locusts," he extended a hand, the titular insects crawling out of it as they took flight and descended on the enemy creation, chewing away at it until there was nothing left.
"I'm not done yet! Plant Magic-,"
"Well, I say you are, and what I say goes. Vines of Restriction," he commanded, black vines erupting from the tying down her arms and legs while one wrapped around her grimoire, forcefully closing it.
"And just like that, all the obstacles are dealt with, I will admit, despite being short, it was exciting to actually fight people again," the devil turned away from the defeated royal knights, flying over to where Patri was, his eyes weak from the pain. "Hello, are you still awake? I hope those spears didn't hurt too bad,"
The light mage weakly looked up at him. "Ah, perfect, it'd be quite a shame if you had fallen unconscious," he chuckled. "I just wanted to thank you again, my boy, you were the main catalyst to making all of this happen. You're my hero, you should be honored,"
"Shut…up," the elf said as he tried to struggle, but paused in the middle of his statement as he winced in pain.
The word devil made a dramatic gesture. "Oh, Patri, you're breaking my heart! Ha, I'm just messing with you, but I digress," he now crossed his arms. "You were such an amazing pawn for my plan! A young elf already wary of humans, so naive and gullible, emboldened by a sense of purpose that led you to delve into forbidden magic for me,"
"For you? You don't know what you're talking about, I did it for Licht. While it's true he too tainted himself by using forbidden magic, he did it to reincarnate us in human bodies, to give us a second chance at life, and to have our revenge against the humans," Patri refuted vehemently.
"Is that really what you think? Well, guess what? You're wrong," the demonic being said back, spreading out his arms. "The one who reincarnated your kind was little 'ol me!"
The elf's eyes widened. "What? T-That's not possible! I saw him do it, Licht was-,"
"What you saw was indeed forbidden magic, but it was for something entirely unrelated. I'm the one who brought you back, not your beloved idol,"
"N-No," Patri's voice was shaking as his head did the same. "Y-You're lying! You're lying! Licht chose me above the rest, he chose me to avenge our kind, that's why I was given his appearance, that's why I assumed his name, that's why I too was selected by the four-leaf clover!"
"Oh my, you really are a fool. Did you really think Licht would want any of this?" the devil questioned him. "He was going to marry a human, for the love of hell. He never wished for this crusade of hatred and bloodshed, he wanted peace and coexistence, I hardly knew the guy and even I know he'd be appalled if he saw all this. However, when it comes to me, I don't think I could be any more proud of you, my faithful tool; you were chosen by the four-leaf clover, a leaf of luck, and you were indeed lucky, because you got to be the highest stepping stone in my scheme!"
"No…No…What have I done?" Patri muttered, tears falling down his face. "W-Why…Why did you do all of this?!"
"Two reasons," the devil put up fingers of the same number. "You already know the first reason, I needed my body back, so I hatched a plan: I'd get the royals of the past to murder your kind, I then pull some strings to reincarnate you to emerge in human bodies with your rage and hatred intact, you then assemble the Magic Stones, reincarnate everyone, assemble the Apostles of Sephira, open the Shadow Palace, have the opposition come with the last stone I needed, and now we're here. It's quite the mouthful, I know, but hey, it worked. Now, for the second reason, one I'm guessing you're extra curious about…,"
His grin widened as he placed his hands on his cheeks. "...I did it because it was so much fun,"
Patri couldn't believe what he heard. "...Fun?"
"That's what I said. The place where I come from, there's another devil there, he's not the strongest, but he's very powerful nonetheless. He once said something many centuries ago, and from then on, our whole kind revere it as a demonic proverb of sorts, one we seek to live by in every second of our existence. This was what he said: Those who are weak, those who are desperate, those who have no hope, they are the easiest to control, the most fun to control, and whoever has control, has power only limited by your imagination. What a lovely phrase, wouldn't you say?! It's fitting, for a fool like you that is!"
But Patri didn't answer, his mind was just racing, thinking back to everyone he hurt, everyone he killed, all for nothing. "AHHHHHH!" his screams mixed with sorrowful cries, tears flowing even stronger.
The devil was happy, very happy, but that joy only grew as he noticed the leaves on the light mage's grimoire beginning to turn black. Everything had gone according to plan, so he let out a triumphant laugh.
"Patri…I'm so sorry," Rhya apologized. "I…could've stopped this,"
However, the former terrorist leader wasn't the only one shocked by the revelation, Mimosa's eyes widened as well. The perspective then transitioned to another part of the room, a part with a shallow hole that led to a spot of lower elevation, and in that place, Rades stood, hiding alongside Valtos and Annalise. When the trio left the middle dimension and split up from the rest, they arrived at that very spot, but chose to not exit upon seeing Patri, Rhya, and Ronne there, so they waited, and by doing that, they were able to learn the truth.
"Is that really what happened?" Annalise asked quietly.
"Yeah, I guess so. Patri was being used by that…thing, the same way he used us," Rades answered in a whisper. "I mean, serves him right, but damn, that's brutal,"
"Do you think we should engage?" Valtos inquired.
The spark and wraith mages shook their heads. "Fuck no," the former replied. "I can't see what he looks like, but surely you can sense the mana he's giving off, that demon is bad news. Even Asta and that other guy couldn't beat him,"
But it was funny she mentioned them, because in a few seconds, the rubble that they were buried beneath began to rumble, only earning Mimosa's attention. "What?" she raised a brow, but soon, even the word devil couldn't ignore what was going on as the debris was suddenly blasted away in every direction.
"Hm?" he stopped laughing and turned around, walking over to the edge. There they were, Asta and Yuno were back on their feet, glaring at him. "You two are still alive?"
"You better believe we are," the wind mage was the one to answer. "You think you can just come here out of nowhere and make a mess of things?!"
"I wouldn't say nowhere, this plan has been in motion for five centuries,"
"Then you're going to be real disappointed when we put a stop to you!" Asta exclaimed.
The brothers then took a deep breath. "OUR DREAM WON'T END HERE!" they screamed in unison as power surged all around them.
The devil's interest was piqued at the sight of that. "That boy with the elf within him is transforming the mana around him into wind, on the other hand, the boy with the comrade is erasing all the mana in his vicinity," he thought. "Your dream? What nonsense, but if you want to persist, then I'll have some more fun with you! Tempest of Blades!"
The rain of swords came at them once again, but they were ready this time. The two boys flew into the air and closed in on each other without touching, becoming a spiral of gray and black that met the attack.
"What an amazing strategy. Yuno takes care of the physical swords, while Asta does so for the magical ones!" Mimosa observed.
Through their union, the spiral of power overpowered the swords and now was heading toward the being that sent them, the rivals flying side-by-side. "We've fought one tough foe after another, and they've all been defeated, you will be no different! If you're going to get in our way, then we will take you down!"
The demonic creature simply put up his arm to block the incoming attack as they quickly clashed, the two knights now on the other side above him, leaving him to stare at the sizable cut on his wrist. "Alright, we wounded him!"
"Impressive, but ultimately of no consequence. Heal," he spoke, the cut closing, as if it wasn't even there.
"Oh c'mon, he can heal himself too?! No fair!" Asta complained.
"I must commend you boys, I wasn't expecting you to pull off a feat like that, you deserve a reward," the devil said, his eyes glancing in Patri's direction. "You're going to get to see how my favorite type of fifth leaf is made,"
He then began to walk over to the elf suspended by spears, his attention on his grimoire, a strange action occurring as the light mage's spells began undoing themselves, becoming blank pages momentarily before new spells of a visibly different language were inscribed in their place.
"When the holder of a four-leaf clover grimoire falls into the deepest pits of despair, a miracle occurs, a product of demonic innovation," he began as the center image on Patri's grimoire darkened entirely before its appearance altered. The devil then grasped it, closing it shut as he revealed the book to his flying foes.
"A black five-leaf!"
"What the?!" the boys were shocked, but the swordsman was the most shocked, glancing at his tome. "I…I didn't know they were made like that. Hey! Do you know about this?!" he pointed at his grimoire.
"Indeed I do, that was my handy work. Five hundred years ago, I made it when once Licht fell into despair, however, I was unable to use it due to…circumstances, and now, a comrade has taken it for themselves," he responded. "I know you can hear me, comrade, I don't know where you came from, but it doesn't matter, you may have that grimoire, I've found a suitable replacement. Now that I have everything I need, I'm at full power, I will exit the Shadow Palace and lay waste to the mortal world, just like the good old days!"
"Do you really think we'll just stand around and let you do that?!" Yuno pointed at him. "Our family, our friends, our squads, we won't let you lay your grimy hands on the people we love!"
"What moxie, however, you'll find that fighting me right now will be difficult, not because I have my grimoire, but because I won't be your opponent,"
Confusion formed immediately on the faces of everyone present. "What do you mean? You're the only one here we're battling,"
"Not for long. You already know what happens to a four-leaf clover grimoire when its holder falls into despair, but do you know what happens to the holder directly? Especially if they're a member of that race of pointy-eared folk?" he asked them as he flew up to Patri, the elf just staring into space as the devil got close.
"Rampage as you please, my pawn, let despair and hatred be your guide. No longer will you be tied to weak threads of false ethics and ideals, find revelry in madness," he whispered as the elf's sclera darkened in color, his skin following suit. "Behold, this is what an elf becomes when overcome with hopelessness," he spoke to his enemies as Patri broke out of the spears, turning to face them, his expression blank.
"A dark elf!"
"Holy crap," Asta cursed under his breath. "Don't worry, Yuno, we should be fine now that he doesn't have a grimoire anymore," he tried to reassure them both.
However, the devil chuckled at that. "While his grimoire may not be in his control anymore, he's still dangerous, in fact, I'd say he's even more dangerous. A dark elf is nothing more than a husk, but they can still use all their spells…with a bit of a twist. Show them,"
The corrupted elf seemingly ignored him, floating ahead as solid mana formed around his person. "Demon Light Magic: Damned Swords of Conviction!" he exclaimed, firing blades of black light.
The speed they were going at was incredible, the enemy pair trying to weave around it, but it was no use as they were each hit and sent flying back.
Yuno was the first to recover, inspecting the bloody cut on his shoulder. "Holy shit, that was fast, I didn't even have a chance to use Spirit's Hushed Dance," he thought. "Asta, are you still alive?!"
The demonic swordsman emerged from a pile of debris, seemingly unscathed. "Was that supposed to be a joke?!" he playfully retorted, but in his mind, he wasn't anything but jovial. "I got super lucky back there, if it wasn't for my anti-magic erasing some of them, I'd be dead. And that's not even the worst part, I can't read his Ki at all, like he's not giving off anything to read in the first place, freaky,"
"Well, it looks like my work here is done," the devil mused as his gaze fell on Asta. "That host of yours won't survive to see the end of this fight, mystery comrade, if you don't take him over, you'll die along with him," with that, he flew up toward the entrance. "Ta ta, this is where we part ways, I bid you farewell!"
With Asta and Yuno occupied, Mimosa was the one who watched the devil escape. She struggled against the vines that were binding her, but they were strong, however, once the devil was no longer in the room, that changed as the vines began to wilt and die, eventually releasing her. "They ceased to exist once he was a certain range away from them, that must be a part of how his magic works," she deduced, now running into the heat of the battle.
But that's when she stopped halfway, a feeling of doubt suddenly plaguing her mind. Mindless or not, that was still the body of her captain, the body of Patri, and regardless of who was in control, they were both powerful mages. What chance would she stand against him? Clenching her fist, she backed up. "I'm not strong enough to help, I'd just end up holding them back. Once this is all over, I need to work more on becoming just as strong at offense as I am in recovery, for now, I need to do what I can," just as she finished thinking that, her eyes fell on someone, and without wasting a second, she rushed in their direction.
Rhya tried to stand up to the best of his ability. Dark elves were a rare occurrence, something every member of the race knew could happen, so they made sure to keep themselves under control the best they could, but the copy mage couldn't blame Patri for what happened, his entire worldview had been brutally shattered to bits at the devil's gleeful hands…and it was all his fault. He didn't know how much time he had before he'd succumb to his wound, but he had to try and somehow bring the corrupted elf back to his senses, he owed him that much.
Alas, while the spirit was willing, the flesh was weak. "No. Please, God, give me enough strength just this once, I have to fix my mistake," he tried dragging himself to where the fight was going on, but then he felt strong arms dragging him in the opposite direction.
"Huh?" he looked up, seeing Mimosa's face. "Great, it's you again. Have you come to finish me off? Look, I know you're mad at me after everything I've done, and I deserve it, I'll let you kill me when this is over, just take me over there, please, I have to try and bring Patri back to his senses,"
His plea was ignored as she said nothing to him, continuing to drag him until they were on the other end of the room, she then set him down. Rhya sighed. "So much for that. Oh well, time to go back to hell," he closed his eyes, waiting for it to be over, however, death never came, in fact, he was starting to feel a little better. Opening his eyes, he saw the royal administering recovery magic on his wound.
"What are you doing? I'm your enemy,"
"Not anymore," she replied seriously. "I heard everything, you were being manipulated, while you aren't innocent, you aren't entirely guilty either. I won't let you die here,"
Rhya sighed again. "...Thanks," he said as he turned his head, observing the fight.
"Take this!" Asta came in hot, but Patri effortlessly flew out of the way of his attack.
"Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Sword of Broken Conviction!" he created a black longsword, lunging forward as the two exchanged blows.
"What the hell? My sword is hitting his sword, but it's not being negated. It must be because of what happened to him!" he thought as they entered a static clash. Asta attempted to move his sword around to find an opening, but to his surprise, it couldn't go further, the opposing force was too strong.
"Wind Magic: Tornado Fang!" Yuno jumped in with an attack of his own, the demon light mage noticing it and ending his clash to evade it. "Captain Vangeance, if you can hear me, then try to fight back!"
But try as he might, there was no sign that he even heard a word. Once the corrupted light mage turned to face him, his head tilted in an unsettling manner as he sought to make him his new target.
"Fine then, I have to defeat you first! Wind Spirit Binding Magic: Liable Tempest!" he extended his hands, but before he could close them, Patri came in with a counter.
"Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Whip of Judgment!" he formed the weapon and spun around, dispersing the wind before it could encase him, he then sent it out toward Yuno, the wind mage flying around.
But while he was managing to do it, it wasn't easy. "It's taking full concentration with my Mana Zone to avoid getting hit. I can't lose focus for a second,"
Seeing that the attacks weren't landing, the corrupted elf kicked it up a notch. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Whips of Merciless Judgment!" at his command, smaller whips spawned from the larger one, finally managing to outpace Yuno as they wrapped around his limbs, threatening to rip them out from his body.
"Don't you dare!" Asta zoomed in from behind, getting the first hit in as he slammed his face with the flat side of the Destroyer, launching him into a wall, and releasing his brother.
"Thanks for the save,"
"No problem, besides, I'll probably end up owing you before the night ends,"
"Fair point,"
The friendly exchange wouldn't last for long though as Patri was ready to go again, not even waiting for firing another flurry of black light swords. The knights were ready to respond, but they wouldn't have to this time as a portal appeared in front of them, the swords going into them before another portal formed above the opponent's head, but he was unaffected as he flew out of the way.
"That portal," Asta recognized it.
"It's time for us to join the party!" everyone looked to see Rades, Valtos, and Annalise, out of their hiding spot, standing together.
Rhya was certainly surprised to say the least. "What? They're still alive? But how?"
The magicless mage was surprised too, but for a different reason. "Have you guys been here the whole time?"
"Yup,"
"And you didn't think to help us earlier?!"
"If by 'help', you mean 'stroll eagerly to our deaths', then no," the spark mage replied. "But with that creepy devil guy gone, we can finally lend a hand and make that bastard pay!"
"What the hell are they doing here? Aren't they part of the Eye of the Midnight Sun?" Yuno asked for context.
"It turns out Patri betrayed them, and now they want revenge, but they've agreed to help us out first," he gave him the gist of it.
"I see," his foster brother deadpanned. "Well, their little revenge scheme is going to have to be cut short. We can barely handle him as is, these three will only slow us down,"
"Who do you think you're talking to?!" Rades pointed at him. "You don't need to worry about us, you just focus on-,"
There he was. In what felt like less than a second from the wraith mage's perspective, Patri was right beside him, forming an upgraded damned sword as he raised it. But before he could be killed, Yuno quickly flew in between them, moving just fast enough to catch the sword in between his hands, struggling to hold it in place.
"You were saying?!"
While Rades was gritting his teeth in frustration, Annalise was coming in, using the situation to her advantage. "I've got you now, you lying asshole! Spark Magic: Flickering Melee!" her fist lit up with magic as she threw the punch, managing to land it.
But it was pointless.
The punch connected, but the corrupted elf didn't even flinch, seemingly ignoring her, so the woman pushed her fist with more force, trying to illicit a reaction, and eventually, one came as he slowly cocked his head to face her, overpowering her fist and frightening her with his cold, lifeless expression.
Now keeping his eyes on Annalise, Patri kicked Yuno away, his full focus on the spark mage as she became his new target, but before anything could happen, she fell into a portal that formed beneath her. "Are you alright?" Valtos asked.
"I'm fine, but…my attack didn't even phase him,"
"I take it you can see my point now?" Yuno said with underlying hostility.
"Okay, maybe we aren't strong enough to fight on the same level as you, but our quarrel with him is personal, we need to be in this fight!" Rades exclaimed.
The wind mage narrowed his eyes. "Fine then, but you're responsible for yourselves, don't expect us to come to your rescue,"
"Demon Light Magic: Death-Rending Omen!" Patri now sent out a multitude of black light orbs.
"Rades, Annalise, stay close to me!" Valtos told them as they did so. "Spatial Magic: Legion Barricade!"
"Anti-Magic: Black Hurricane!" Asta employed a method to defend himself.
"Wind Spirit Magic - Mana Zone: Spirit's Hushed Dance!" Yuno did the same, all five making it out unharmed.
"Were you even trying with that one?! That was easy!" Annalise taunted. "But this sure as hell won't be! Spark Creation Magic: Discharge Dragon's Detonation Field!" she exclaimed as the dragon appeared and flew up, creating a multitude of bombs out of range of the group.
At the same time, Yuno joined in with his own ace spell. "Wind Spirit Magic: Spirit Storm!" he declared, firing the beam while the dragon roared to set the bombs off.
But the corrupted elf countered both attempts. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Shields of Dismal Justice!" he used the bastardized defense spell to protect himself.
"No fucking way, there's not even a crack," Annalise commented.
"Then I'll make a portal for you so you can sneak attack him from-," Valtos was saying, but got cut off as Patri blitzed his way and delivered a powerful punch to his gut, the air rushing out his lungs as he sank to his knees, clutching his stomach. But the elf wasn't done, he immediately created a sword to finish the job, but Asta just managed to intercept the strike.
"Patri, you need to snap out of it. I know the truth wasn't what you expected it to be, but you need to push past this! The culprit who did all of that to you is getting away, don't you care?!" he managed to repel him as the demon light mage flew up high, finally uttering something that wasn't a spell, but it was just one word.
"Die,"
Once he said that, he began to charge up mana, preparing an attack, one Asta recognized instantly. "Oh crap, this looks like that move he was going on us back in Nean, but Gauche isn't here to bail us out this time. He even took Valtos out of commission, so relocating the blast is off the table too. That means it's up to me," he thought, switching out the Destroyer for the Slayer.
"Demon Light Magic: Ray of Divine Condemnation!" the beam of black light was fired.
"Here goes nothing!" he met the beam with the flat side of his large sword. Upon contact, the first thing he registered was the force as he was being physically pushed back, but he managed to eventually stand his ground in the air.
"The power…it's too intense! I…I can't do it!"
"Then I'll lend some assistance!" the wind mage flew in, placing his left hand above the Slayer as he fired a blast of concentrated magic.
"Yuno!"
"Did you really think I'd let you do this alone?! After all, I have a debt to repay you!"
Asta grinned as he began to feel the pushback lessen. "C'mon, we can do this!" they struggled together with all their might, the veins in their arms throbbing as sweat began to pour down their foreheads.
"Don't give up, I believe in you!" Mimosa cheered them on from a distance.
"That's right, show him what you can do!" Rades and Annalise added.
The pair grit their teeth, they already lost to someone tonight, and they weren't planning to let it happen again. "WE WON'T GIVE UP!" they yelled as they deflected the beam back, hitting the wall.
"Yes, we did it!" Asta cheered, but that's when he felt his power go down as his transformation came undone, his brother suspending him with a mini tornado. "Thanks,"
Yuno nodded, staring up at the corrupted elf. "Let's just hope that move of his drained enough mana," but he was proven wrong as he charged up another one with little difficulty. "Damn it, I can feel it, he's overflowing,"
"Even if I can't transform right now, I won't back down, I'll find a way to win!" Asta stated with determination as Patri fired another beam, the wind mage preparing to combat it with a Spirit Storm.
However, that wouldn't have to be done as a pool of mercury suddenly emerged from behind, expanding and solidifying as the beam hit it and was deflected elsewhere. The boys knew who wielded that attribute, and it was only confirmed further as they turned and saw the eldest Silva, standing on a floating mass of liquid metal.
Mimosa's eyes widened. "Nozel, you're here!"
"Yes, I was able to sense a large amount of elven mana in this direction a minute or two ago, so I came to investigate, and I'm glad I did," his eyes fell on the elf, shifting to a look of silent rage.
"We meet again,"