Chapter One Hundred-Thirteen: Pure Evil
Hey there, readers, I've got some great news to share with you, and that's the fact that TOFL has gotten its first (or, I guess second) piece of fanart! As you can see from the story's cover, it's a beautiful picture of Kenos and Zuka, standing in the meadow described in Chapters 18 and 19, all courtesy of a talented artist named Elena Parker. I'm very proud of how it turned out, and I'm very thankful to have been given the opportunity. It won't replace the old cover though, it'll stay here for a few weeks. Well, that's all I got to say, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Cya.
The sound of running.
That was all that could be heard as Kenos ran down a long and wide path. As he kept going, a new sound merged with it, that being his now heavy breathing, he had been running at top speed for nearly seven minutes straight. Eventually, the path shifted as it now began to lower in elevation, curving downhill, but the solar mage continued his quick pace, his eyes falling on an entrance at the bottom of the hill, so he kept going until he entered it.
Once he did, he finally allowed himself to rest, hunching down to catch his breath. "Damn…it. It doesn't…look like Patri…is in this room," he said in between pauses before standing up.
His grimoire opened up. "Then we have to keep looking. Be ready to engage, the chance of running into an enemy will only grow higher,"
The noble nodded. "Good point," he said, about to start walking, but that's when he noticed something strange. "Huh?" he stared down at his left hand, finding that it was shaking uncontrollably.
"That's weird,"
"Is everything alright?" Emmanuel asked. "What's wrong with your hand?"
"I'm not too sure," Kenos replied in a confused manner as he tried to make the motion stop, but it didn't do anything substantial. "Why is this suddenly happening now? I haven't been in a battle recently, and my fight with Yoveen was a good while ago,"
That last part made a look of realization form on the angel's face. "Of course. Your battle with Yoveen, your shaking hand must be a lingering side effect to using Double Boost,"
"It makes sense," Kenos agreed with his logic, however, a frown then appeared. "But…,"
"But?"
"The Apostles are stronger than Yoveen, way stronger. What if I run into Patri? He was able to fight toe-to-toe with Julius and get away. Or what about Licht? Asta and Yuno worked together to fight him and they stood no chance. If I run into one of them and have to fight them by myself…will I have to use Double Boost again?"
"Even if you have to, I won't allow it," Emmanuel's voice was caring, yet stern. "You haven't had a sufficient amount of time to rest. Using it in the state you're currently in may kill you, and I don't intend on gambling with your life,"
The solar mage smiled at his concern. "Thanks. But what do I do if the situation calls for it? Do I just let myself lose?"
"No. We'll do our best and push past our limits, just in a safer way," the angel parroted Yami's words.
"Okay then," his partner agreed, but just then, a powerful sensation suddenly washed over them. "You felt that too, right?"
"I indeed did," the angel answered. "It's been a while since I've felt an elven mana signature that powerful,"
"Really? It's the strongest signature I've ever felt in my life. How strong were the elves you've met?"
"Fairly strong, most of our kind partnered with them for a reason as you know," he replied as something else suddenly began to happen, and it was the fact that the grimoire began flashing brightly.
Kenos shielded his eyes from the light. "What the hell? The glow has never been this strong before, the devil power nearby that's being exuded must be on another level. Do you think it's from Asta?"
"There's always a possibility," Emmanuel responded. "It's unlikely that the grimoire registering such a powerful demonic signature at the same time as us registering a powerful elven signature can be a coincidence. If it is indeed coming from Asta, he must be fighting someone very powerful,"
However, just as soon as the powerful illumination came, it faded away. "Wow, first Zuka, and now Asta, everyone is having these epic battles,"
The grimoire floated away from him and closer to the entrance from which they came in. "Hm,"
Kenos turned around. "Is something on your mind?"
"Now that you mention her, I'm a bit worried about Zuka, the elf she's fighting is a powerful one, I could feel it, not to mention she was having trouble with Yoveen beforehand. I just hope the worst doesn't come to pass,"
The solar mage walked over to his floating book, crossing his arms with a confident look present on his face. "You don't need to be concerned, you've seen her in action plenty of times, and you know she can handle herself. I am curious though, I think this may be the very first time you've been worried about her,"
"True, and while I do care for her safety, my worry is more for your sake than it is mine, after all, she's the girl who's going to make you happy," the angel said back.
"What?" that last part caught the Rossiu off guard as he gave a nervous grin. "Where'd that come from?"
His grimoire began to circle him, Emmanuel doing the same thing within his subspace as he made a sly expression that was normally found on Vanessa's face. "Just before you left the room they were in, I just so happened to see something very interesting…it was of you, blushing as you told Zuka you didn't want to lose her again,"
Kenos put his hands up in a defensive manner as his eyes comedically darted in multiple directions. "Now, wait just a minute. Yes, I was minorly blushing, but that was mostly because I was worried about her. Blushes don't always mean crushes,"
"I don't know, that's how it is with me and my girlfriend," the angel retorted.
"Well, that's you and your girlfriend, people are different," he made a retort of his own. "Look, I'm not in denial or anything, I have no problem admitting that the whole debacle with Yoveen has made me see Zuka differently, I've always cared about her, and now…I find myself caring about her more. However, I don't think it's wise to jump the gun and say things between us are entirely mutual now, and I bet it was the same for her too. Something I did had to be the catalyst that made her like me, but it didn't make her fall for me right away, it probably took a little more contemplation,"
Emmanuel crossed his arms. "I suppose you bring up a fair point,"
With the subject reaching its conclusion, Kenos chuckled. "Look, as much as I would love to continue talking about this, we can't forget the stakes, getting distracted isn't an option. Why don't we discuss this after we're done?"
"Discuss what, if you don't mind me asking?"
It only took a second for the jovial mood to sour as an unfamiliar voice spoke up, a strange sensation washing over the noble as his body quickly turned around, and there he saw it. On the other side of the room was the word devil, a wicked grin was present on his face as he was leaning against what looked to be thin air.
Despite being as far away from him as desirably possible, Kenos felt the need to take a step back, sweat beginning to form on his face. "A devil," he managed to say. "That must've been who my grimoire was sensing, meaning it wasn't Asta. But that begs the question of how one is even here in the first place?"
"Oh my, you know what I am, that's good, at least I won't have to explain it. Hm, I just got here a few seconds ago, so forgive me if this question sounds strange, but who exactly were you speaking to just now? Or are you one of those humans who like to talk to themselves?" the devil inquired, but in the middle of waiting for an answer, his eyes wandered, landing on the boy's grimoire, widening once he noticed what was in the center.
In an instant, the otherworldly creature stood straight, a playful look still on his face, but it had grown slightly more serious. "Well I'll be damned, is that an angelic grimoire I see? A human aligned with a winged pest? Wait a minute…of course, that makes sense. You must be Kenos, I presume?"
That last question immediately got the solar mage on edge. "What the? H-How do you know my name?"
"An unimportant question,"
"Like hell it is!" he yelled back. "Emmanuel, do you know who this creep is or how he knows who I am?"
"..."
Kenos was perturbed by the silence he was getting when what he needed right now was a response. "Emmanuel? Emmanuel, what's wrong?! Talk to me! Who is this guy?!" he now raised his voice as the angel finally opened his mouth to answer, his tone riddled with underlying tones of surprise and fear as just a single word was spoken.
"Zagred,"
"Zagred? Is that his name?" he repeated the odd word.
"It is indeed, a pleasure to make your acquaintance," the devil in question bowed his upper half in a dramatic fashion. "But I must say though, I'm quite honored that THE Emmanuel remembers me,"
The solar mage raised his brow at the emphasis. "THE? What's that all about?"
"I take it you didn't tell him?" Zagred questioned, putting his hands on his hips. "You angels are so modest that it's almost sickening. Listen well, Kenos, you won quite the sizable jackpot by getting him as your partner, there are even some devils that know of him, and for good reason, Emmanuel is highly regarded as the strongest of his kind,"
The black-haired teen widened his eyes greatly at the revelation. "Is what he said true?"
"...It's not something I particularly like to talk about,"
"See what I mean? Sickeningly modest,"
"I…see. But why does he have you so spooked then?"
"I can answer that as well," the word devil raised his hand. "You see, I too am a being of high regard, of very high regard. Many of my enemies have realized this and acted accordingly,"
Kenos became curious. "How so?"
"You're standing in it, so are all of your friends and the remaining Apostles of Sephira. The Shadow Palace was built with one main purpose in mind…and that was to be my prison,"
"Say what?!" he gasped, putting the pieces together in his mind. "Wait, is that what God didn't want you to tell us?"
Zagred began to laugh maniacally. "Was that supposed to be a secret? Whoopsie daisy, you know me, I'm always talking, it's sort of my specialty,"
Emmanuel sighed from within the grimoire. "Yes…that's what we were sworn never to disclose to anyone,"
"For all of that to be warranted, I'm going to go on a limb and say he's bad news?"
"Very much so. Remember what I told you back during the Royal Knights exam? About the limitations of angels in the physical world?" he asked.
His partner nodded, recalling the moment. "Yeah, you can only be here for a bit over a minute, and while here, you can't access your magic. You called it a consequence of the past,"
"I did say that. The consequence was started by something, an event that set it into motion, and Zagred was the one responsible for it!" Emmanuel revealed.
The bombardment of discoveries didn't end for Kenos. "Are you serious?! This guy is the reason?!"
The devil shrugged. "Hey, I was young, emboldened by a sense of purpose, and I knew that while they didn't say it, my brethren were counting on me. While being sealed by you pesky angels was quite the punishment, it was ultimately worth it as I succeeded in my plan, creating an event I never fail to look back fondly on…The Advent War,"
"You started a war?"
"Not intentionally, after I did what I did, one thing led to another, and then the war started, and my oh my, what a war it was," Zagred placed his hands on his cheeks, the look on his face being one of pure ecstasy. "So much fighting, so much bloodshed, the screams of weak humans as they were brutally murdered, it makes me shiver in excitement just thinking about it,"
"Well, you can stop shivering then, because in case you forgot, good prevailed, our side won the Advent War!" the passionate exclamation came from Emmanuel, startling Kenos for a second from how angry it also sounded. "The devils who survived those days were handled, them…and their blasted king will never again step foot in the mortal world! And you, no one here except me knew of your existence, yet you've somehow been unsealed! Explain yourself?!"
"What's got you in a tizzy all of a sudden?" Zagred asked with a chuckle, becoming comfortable enough to lean against thin air again. "I was getting there eventually. Your alliance of goody two shoes constructed the Shadow Palace in between the land of the living and the dead so it was almost impossible for someone to release me by accident, you were obviously cautious, but not cautious enough it seems,"
"How so?" the angel questioned.
"When your buddies tried to contain me in that ancient tablet, none of you accounted for my Word Soul Magic. I used it to separate my body from my consciousness, so while one was sealed, the other escaped and was free to roam the world as it pleased. I spent a couple of centuries getting used to my new situation before I began plotting to find a way to get my body back, and I found one when I ran into some humans and elves five hundred years ago," he began before snapping his fingers once. "A little bit of manipulation here, a little bit of mass genocide there, and I successfully made a pack of royals murder those pointy-eared folk so I could reincarnate them in the future to aid in my scheme,"
Hearing that brought looks of shock to the two guys. "So what you're saying is…you started all this? You're the reason this is happening?" Kenos asked for both of them.
"Correct, and as you can see, it was worth it as here I am, standing before you at full power, with both my body and my grimoire. Once I leave this wretched prison, I will lay waste to the world again!"
"Not on my watch," the solar mage retorted, but only a second or two passed before a question came to him. "Hold on, you said the angels sealed just his body, right?"
His partner nodded. "Yes,"
"Then I'm guessing you used some other method to contain his grimoire?"
"Oh no, this wasn't originally mine," Zagred quickly answered. "I snatched it off an elf,"
Kenos' eyes fell on the five black leaves in the book's center. "You can't fool me, the elves possessed humans, and except for one person, none of them have that type of grimoire!"
Zagred stared at him strangely for a few seconds before it hit him. "You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
The word devil tilted his head, now addressing the divine being. "Do you want to tell him, or should I?"
"Shut up!" Emmanuel snapped back, quickly calming down to explain. "As you know from yourself and Asta, there are two types of fifth leaves that exist, the white fifth leaf along with its equivalents, and the black fifth leaf. The angelic variety is a naturally occurring one, but devils are different from the rest of intelligent creation, they don't have grimoires, they could still use spells, but they were nowhere near as powerful as they could've been. And because they naturally didn't have them…they eventually decided to make them,"
"Make them? Are you saying the black fifth leaf is artificial?" Kenos realized.
"It's true," Zagred was all too eager to answer. "We discovered it by accident during the war when the holder of a four-leaf clover grimoire was fighting one of my brethren and was unable to stop his family from getting killed, falling into deep despair. When that happens and the leaf is formed, the mage's connection to the grimoire is severed, their spells becoming no more, allowing anyone to claim it for themselves. The power that it gave us may not have been enough to turn the tides of the war in our favor, but it made us realize how much potential these grimoires had,"
"Wow, I didn't know that,"
"Well, now you do," Zagred now stood straight. "It's been nice chatting with you two, but I must take my leave. If what I remember the angels saying is true, the Shadow Palace is sort of like a maze since it has multiple rooms, meaning it will take some time to locate the exit, so I had better get a move on,"
"Not so fast!" Kenos assumed a battle stance. "You're a devil, I won't allow you to leave this place and do as you please!"
"Y'know, you're not the first person to tell me that, they couldn't succeed, and neither will you, but by all means, come at me, I'm itching for combat,"
"As you wish!" Kenos' grimoire flipped to its special page. "He's going to be more powerful than anyone I've faced to date, I need to go in with full power!"
"Heaven Magic: Angel's Child!"
Zagred's intrigue was piqued as he saw the royal knight transform. "Fascinating, I've never seen a human use the power of you winged pests before. Show me what you can do, Kenos!"
"You asked for it! Heaven-infused Solar Magic: Sunbeam Ray!" he fired the enhanced beam.
"Heaven and Solar Magic? Interesting. Vacuum Wall!" he protected himself. "My turn. Volley of Arrows!" two black portals appeared at his sides, letting loose the flurry of projectiles.
"Heaven-infused Solar Creation Magic: Amaterasu's Guard!" he summoned the goddess to protect him, her appearance changing as her robes became white and a halo was atop her head, the shield she generated also taking on a whiter hue as it shielded him.
"Time to get up close and personal!" his wing flapped as he zoomed forward, his sword ready.
"Not happening!" Zagred carefully waited for him to get closer and once he did, he began weaving around the strikes.
"You're a fast one!"
"You haven't seen anything yet!" he sped up, getting out of range.
Kenos didn't chase him down. "You said earlier that you had Word Soul Magic, right? If it does what I think, you can alter reality through speech,"
"What a smart lad you are. You're correct, but my magic doesn't just let me alter reality and physics, I can use it to create both magical and physical matter," he answered. "With it, I'm nigh invincible!"
"Bullshit! You were stopped once before, so you can be stopped now! I will destroy you!"
"Is that what you think?" Zagred challenged his statement as he flew down. "Then go ahead, give it all you got, attack with your best move, and I'll stop it,"
The angelic solar mage did the same. "Fine then, I'll enjoy watching you regret that," he closed his eyes, opening them seconds later, beholding the white beads, staring at the ones around him confidently. "I thought I'd let you know in advance that this experience won't be pleasant for you, not in the slightest," he started to look up at his demonic foe. "After five hundred years, you will pay for all the suffering you-,"
The boy stopped abruptly, his words getting caught in his throat. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" the devil mocked him.
"Kenos, what's the matter?" Emmanuel asked with concern, the solar mage ignoring him for a few seconds, but then he began to answer.
"T-The ki of his mana…," he slowly raised a finger to the orbs around Zagred, revealing that they were pitch black, but not just that…there were mouths on them, continuously speaking obscenities.
"Kill,"
"Mutilate,"
"Violate,"
"Tear it apart,"
In Kenos' eyes was a look of fear that had never been seen in them. "...It's…it's pure evil,"
"I know it must be intimidating, but you can't falter," the angel spoke in his mind.
"Y-You're right, thanks," the boy calmed down as he drew in the neutral mana. "Heaven-infused Solar Creation Magic - Mana Charge: Wyvern of Helios!"
At his command, his ace spell materialized behind him, lightly coated in angelic armor of a snow-white color. "Go!" Kenos ordered, the wyvern roaring loudly as it took flight, charging straight at Zagred.
"What power, it's quite magnificent, but I think it'd be even better if it was going in the other direction. Return," he spoke, expecting the large dragon to turn around and rush at its caster, but to his surprise, nothing of the sort happened as the spell appeared unaffected.
And that's when he realized his mistake. "Damn it. Shift!" he cursed the first half under his breath before exclaiming his counter, bending space as he was now out of harm's way, the wyvern crashing into a wall, the devil witnessing the impact resulting in half of the room getting turned into rubble.
Seeing that restored some of Kenos' confidence. "You seemed quite spooked back there. So much for stopping it,"
"I guess all that planning and scheming affected your memory, Zagred. You forgot that-," his angelic partner joined in on the taunting until he got interrupted.
"Yeah yeah, I know," the devil made a yapping gesture with his hand. "The special properties of a devil's magic can't affect spells containing angelic mana. Spare me the lecture, it slipped my mind," he expressed annoyance for the first time.
"Really? That's how it works?" Kenos asked.
"Yes. The special properties of Word Soul Magic let him alter reality, meaning your spells are immune to those kinds of moves, however, it's a different story if he tries to counter us using physical or magical constructs," Emmanuel replied.
"I see, that's kinda cool, and it explains something I've been curious about. I can't wait to tell Asta about it,"
Zagred narrowed his eyes at the young human, things were going to be a little more difficult, but that's when he finally looked down at the object he snatched from Patri. "I think it's finally time I see what this can do," he commanded it to levitate in front of him, opening up as it flipped to a desired page.
Kenos' ear perked at the sound of pages flapping, gazing up to see the devil using his newly obtained grimoire. "Oh crap,"
"Oh crap is right, I'm getting serious now!" Zagred exclaimed as he declared his spell.
"Word Soul Magic: חיילי המוות (Soldiers of Death)!"
The solar mage was perplexed by the language his demonic enemy spoke, but he had no time to worry about that as the ground beneath the spot the devil was flying began to warp, and from it rose five armored warriors, entirely pitch black.
"Amazing, isn't it? You all make sure to have fun, tata," Zagred said as he flew toward the way the royal knight came in.
"Get back here!" he tried to give chase, but was stopped by the sound of the soldiers charging his way.
"Damn it, I don't have time for this!" he dashed at one, reeling his sword back, but to his shock, the soldier made a sword of its own, parrying his strike perfectly.
"What?" he genuinely wasn't expecting that outcome as he broke the clash and assumed higher ground. "Heaven-infused Solar Creation Magic: Rain of Solar Daggers!" he watched as the powered-up weapons fell, the soldiers moving around to avoid them to the best of their ability, but while many of them were hit, the worst they suffered was dented armor.
"These things are strong, I was expecting fodder," Kenos voiced his thoughts.
"If they're creations of his grimoire, it only makes sense for them to be more formidable. Luckily for us though, they don't appear to be invincible, we can take them,"
"If you say so. By the way, since the oath you swore is, y'know, kinda redundant now, at least to me, is it alright if I ask something?"
Emmanuel sighed. "I suppose not,"
"Great," the noble landed, engaging with one, aiming his strikes at the dented parts. "If the Shadow Palace was created to imprison Zagred, isn't having the capability to open a door to get here not the best idea?" the soldier threw a punch, the teen blocking it with the side of his sword, the force pushing him back.
It didn't take long for the others to try to gang up on him as well. "Heaven Magic: Divine Scission!" he rotated his body in a complete circle, the slash going in every direction, pushing the soldiers back, and damaging them further.
"The Apostles having the ability to open the Shadow Palace was done as a last resort. In the event of a worst-case scenario, that being Zagred finding a way to break out of his seal, they could go in there, take him down, and reseal him without giving him a chance to re-enter the mortal world," Emmanuel answered.
Kenos sucked his teeth. "Too bad that last resort ended up working against us," he eyed the quintet, noting how they looked worse for wear. "I think I can finish it, I just hope it works the way I'm planning it too,"
The royal knight flew back a few dozen meters, waiting for his enemies to come to him, and that they did, all together, charging side-by-side. "Perfect. Heaven-infused Solar Magic: Solar Cross Destroyer!"
He summoned the two Xs, both of them gaining a white hue. As usual, one broke apart and went on its way from different sides, crashing into the soldiers and bringing them together, but an additional feature formed, that being a large white ring that they were within, aiding with the constriction. He then launched his blast of orange and white with the second X, destroying them at last.
"And there we go, all done. We have to hurry and intercept Zagred," he flew out the way he came in, going as fast as he could.
"We won't let him win!"
"You have no idea how glad I am to see you," Asta said gratefully to the captain. "You saved us back there,"
"He's right, we owe you one," Yuno added.
Nozel accepted their thanks with a simple nod. "And you have no idea how glad I am to see him," his eyes fell on the corrupted elf, but raised a brow soon after. "But do any of you care to explain what happened to him? Last I remember, he wasn't dark-skinned,"
"Die! Die! Die! I hate you!"
"Not to mention belligerent,"
Yuno was the one to answer. "It turns out that a devil was responsible for everything that's been happening lately. He did something to him that made him go crazy,"
"A devil? Is that so? I see, you two recover your strength, I'll take him on myself," Nozel told them, floating closer to them.
"Are you sure about that?" Asta inquired. "He's way tougher than he was before, his magic has even changed,"
"I'm a captain, he'll be no issue for me,"
Yuno detransformed as Bell sat tiredly on his shoulder. "Let's listen to what he says, after all, we'll have a better chance at beating that devil creep if we're closer to full power,"
"Alright then, we're leaving it to you," his foster brother relented.
Nozel nodded again. "This won't take long," his attention was now fully on the demon light mage. "Patri, or should I say, William, I'm not sure who has more control in between you, but it doesn't matter to me. Both of you were responsible for all this anarchy, and both of you were responsible for what happened to Fuegoleon, so I will make you both pay! Mercury Magic: Rain of Silver!"
Patri could sense the mana building up above him, looking up to see the liquid metal descend rapidly, but he made no motion to escape its range. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Shield of Justice," the black shield manifested in between them, protecting him.
With a new target in sight, the corrupted elf was on the move, but so was Nozel. However, the enemy was a light mage, and that fact became apparent as he outpaced the captain, curving back around with a leg outstretched. Nozel molded his mercury into a large rectangular shield, bracing himself as contact was made, it was rough, but the shield held out.
Patri flew back. "Demon Light Magic: Damned Swords of Conviction!" he fired his bastardized projectiles, but none of them got through his defense, merely being deflected, so his eyes shifted to the empty space above him. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Arrows of Judgment!"
Nozel prepared himself for the incoming attack, but his eyes soon widened as he realized it was coming from the air. "Copying me, aye? It won't work," he commanded the mercury to encase him entirely, the arrows missing their target.
As he made the liquid metal relent, the mercury mage narrowed his eyes, he had a plan, but he needed a distraction. "Mercury Creation Magic: Silver Blades!" he conjured a multitude of short swords, sending all of them at Patri.
"Die! Demon Light Magic: Death-Rending Omen!" he fired the blasts of black light to meet them, but instead of beating them or even canceling them out, they were repelled with ease.
"Don't bother wasting your strength, no matter what form it takes, light is disadvantageous to my attribute, it won't lose to the likes of you!" the captain exclaimed as Patri radiated magic as a shockwave, repelling the blades in every direction. "I'm not done yet! Mercury Magic: Silver Shining Regal Spear!"
The demon light mage was not the one on the run as the new attack came rushing at him, but no matter how many twists and turns he made, it was still hot on his tail. "That's right, scurry away like the scum you are,"
"Woah, he's got him on the defensive, incredible," Asta noted. "And he's not even at his best either,"
The wind mage side-eyed him. "What makes you say that?"
"He's not riding his eagle thingy, he could be moving much faster than he currently is, not to mention it looks like he got injured,"
"Hm, nice observation skills. I suppose the saying is true, every Asta has his day," Yuno said with comedic indifference.
"Hey! Was that supposed to be an insult?!"
"Only if you view it as one,"
The chase continued for a few more seconds, but the corrupted elf was getting tired of flying away. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Sword of Broken Conviction!" he gripped the big black weapon, turning around and swinging with all his might, destroying the spear.
"Now you can die!" he screamed crazily, about to rush forward, but then he stopped, noticing some specks of mercury floating in front of him, but that wasn't it, as he turned around, he saw the same sight everywhere.
"Surprised?" his gaze transitioned to Nozel. "You were so focused on dealing with my attacks that you didn't notice me dispersing them out,"
The liquid metal then solidified and connected, beginning to resemble the bars of a cage. "It's not often I use my strongest spell on someone. I was planning on using it during an earlier fight, but some external complications was disrupting my control. It's no problem though, now you get to be its sole victim tonight, you should feel honored," he stated as his move was complete.
"Mercury Creation Magic: Silver Star of Execution!"
The other mages gasped at the sheer size of it. "Holy shit, it's huge," Annalise commented.
But this fact didn't deter Patri in the slightest as he flew away, hoping to escape through the large gaps, however, that quickly proved to be useless as more bars spawned in between the spaces.
"While this spell is active you're incapable of leaving, but that's not it," Nozel explained before snapping his fingers, a part of the cage beginning to liquefy slightly, molding into a sword that zoomed from behind, seeking to catch the opponent off guard, and it almost worked, but Patri got out of the way. "Since we're inside a cage of mercury, I'm free to attack from wherever I please,"
Immediately after saying that, more projectiles were coming from every conceivable direction, and rather than trying and failing to weave around them, Patri decided to meet the attacks with his own, but they were virtually ineffective, so he changed up his approach. "Demon Light Creation Magic: Damned Whips of Merciless Judgment!"
The black whip spawned in his hand as he spun his body like a tornado, the protrusions gripping the opposing attack tightly, stopping them in their tracks, the grip then tightening, so the royal shifted their state of matter, reverting it back into a liquid so it could slip away.
"Hm, even against my strongest spell, you manage to hang on, that's rather impressive, but I guess you'd have to be if you were able to get the drop on Fuegoleon. But mark my words, you will lose,"
"Shut up! Demon Light Magic: Ray of Divine Condemnation!" he fired his strongest attack.
"Look out!" everyone shouted.
However, Nozel wasn't worried in the slightest as he simply waved his hand, commanding mercury in front of him that molded into a huge shield, but that wasn't it, this construct was much more polished than the rest, now reflecting the image of the attack that came its way before the beam hit it and was bounced back.
"AHHHHH!" Patri yelled in agony as he was subjected to his own spell, being rendered unconscious as he began falling, but Nozel halted his descent by entrapping his whole body from the neck down.
"That was amazing," Mimosa said as the large cage came undone and the two dropped down.
"Like I said, no issue,"
Asta and Yuno ran over to where he was. "That was a powerful display of magic. Admittedly, I've never gotten the chance to truly see you in action, but it's obvious you're not a captain for nothing," the latter stated. "But that's just one more obstacle to get around if I'm to become the Wizard King,"
Those last two words captured the man's attention. "So, you two want to be the Wizard King, aye?" he asked, turning his head around to reveal a rare smirk. "Then that makes me your rival as well,"
Asta grinned in return. "Awesome. First Fuegoleon, and now you,"
"Wait, Fuegoleon wants to be the Wizard King?" Yuno questioned him.
"Yup, he told me back before he got injured,"
"Yes, before he was injured," Nozel's gaze fell back on the unconscious Patri. "And now the culprit can die,"
"Hold it! You can't kill him, Captain Vangeance is in there!" the wind mage protested.
"So? William was complicit in all of his crimes, he's guilty of treason of the highest order, and high treason is punishable by death,"
"Like hell we're going to listen to that!" Rades and the duo reconvened with them. "We're owed revenge on this bastard, we can't do that if you kill him,"
Nozel gave them an uninterested look. "Forgive me if I choose to not heed the desire of criminals,"
"Everyone wait," Asta's voice silenced them all. "We won't kill him, all that will do is let him off easy, and the last thing we want to do is that,"
"Then what do you suggest we do?" the captain asked with crossed arms.
The swordsman took out the Destroyer. "I use my solution, maybe it can help,"
Yuno was skeptical. "Are you sure? We don't know what could happen now that he's become a dark elf. Maybe it'll bring back Captain Vangeance, or maybe it'll do something else,"
"Well, we won't know unless we try,"
Nozel sighed. "Fine, do what you want,"
"Thanks," he said, walking over to the restrained elf as he pressed the tip of the sword against his chest. "Alright, let's see if this-," in an instant, he silenced himself upon seeing a massive wave of black energy.
"Holy crap, I've never seen so much anti-magic concentrated in one place," he thought as the black energy then began to envelop him like a cocoon. "What the?!"
Yuno's eyes widened as he stretched his hand out, but it was too late. "No! Asta!"
"What in the world? Where am I?" Asta wondered aloud in shock as he found himself no longer in the large room, but now he was floating in a dark space.
"This is way too weird. How did this even happen?" he wouldn't get an answer though, instead, his body began to zoom forward.
"I need to get out here somehow," he instinctively tightened the grip of his right hand, expecting it to meet the warm metal handle of his sword, but he felt it grasp nothing, and for good reason…because nothing was in his hand.
"What the hell?" the magicless mage was beyond perplexed, but the confusion began to end as the dark space began to light up with the appearance of multiple squares. "Freaky,"
"I am the leader of the Eye of the Midnight Sun, and my name…is Licht,"
Asta's whole body spun around upon hearing that sentence, seeing the former terrorist leader saying it on one of the squares. "I remember when that happened, it was back in Nean. Hold on, are these Patri's memories? Am I in his head?"
His question was confirmed as more things replayed themselves, but they all played at once, the overlap creating a deafening noise. "Shit, it's too loud!" the boy covered his ears as he raced through the space at a faster rate. "I need to get out of here! If I stay here any longer, I'm going to go insane!"
As he traveled forward, his eyes observed the memories, seeing various things from the first night Patri was able to control William's body to the end result of forming the formidable terrorist group. However, one thing remained consistent: he couldn't make out a single word that was said.
Or could he?
"Look like that gamble of mine paid off after all,"
Asta's eyes widened. "I understood that perfectly," he noticed that the sound was coming from above him rather than beside him, so he looked up, now viewing a screen that was larger than any other one, but the size of it wasn't what captured his attention the most, rather, it was the content.
His widened eyes turned into a look of hopeless shock as the memory he saw being played was none other than the moment Patri stabbed Julius.
"It looks like I found it after all, your weakness…it's that you're the Wizard King,"
"N-No, that can't be," Asta shook his head slowly, but the truth couldn't be denied. "NO!"
In a matter of seconds, he sped up again, but something changed, all of the screens he now saw didn't display any memories, but rather images of Zagred, the devil cackling evilly, creating an even louder sound, causing the veins in Asta's eyes to begin bulging.
"AHHHHH!"
.
.
.
"What have I done?"
While the setting was the same, the perspective had changed, transitioning from loud to quiet as Patri was sitting in a chair, the chair basking under a sole source of light, leaving the rest of the space in darkness. The elf grasped his head, his eyes wide open as they displayed a look of defeat.
"I messed up, I made a mistake, I thought that this was what Licht wanted, I thought he chose me to carry the dreams of our people on my shoulders. But…it was false, all of it, I never should've resurrected anyone, all I did was make things worse,"
The elf unblocked his eyes for a moment, letting them fall on the world tree mage, his mind unconscious and ironically stuck in a tree. "William, my friend, you knew of my pain, more than any other human, and you were ready to give up your own body just so I could achieve the goal I fabricated in my head. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry,"
With his apologies done, he returned to his inner sulking. "What have I done? The humans were never guilty, they were being manipulated by that devil, just like I was, all for his own amusement. I should've never hated them,"
"Don't say that,"
The almost sultry voice came from above, revealing a dark figure now floating above Patri, assuming his appearance as it landed behind the elf, wrapping its arms around him, whispering in his ear in a similar manner to Zagred. "Humans can't be trusted, what happened to you wasn't the same as what happened to them. They let themselves be manipulated, the devil said it himself, they were easily swayed, meaning deep down, they wanted your kind to die, they could've resisted it, but they didn't. It's all their fault,"
"...Yes, it's all their fault," Patri parroted the figure's words, raising his head up as his eyes adopted a more crazed look. "They started all of this, we're the innocent ones!"
"Is that so?" another voice spoke up, but rather than being from above him, the sound came from a spot in the surrounding darkness, and the person in question walked into view, revealing it to be the magicless mage.
"Asta," he spat with venom.
"You don't seem too happy to see me, but I'm glad to see you, and I'm even more glad to be somewhere my ears aren't getting assaulted. I'm guessing this is what you really look like, you look like you're my age,"
"How did you get here?! Why are you even here?!"
Asta grinned. "You don't need to know how I got here, all you need to know is why I'm here…and I'm here to knock some sense into you! Don't you dare give up!"
"Huh?"
"I get it, that devil guy tricked you, getting used sucks. You thought you were doing the right thing and you ended up being wrong. So what?! You think that means you can just sit around here and feel sorry for yourself?!"
"Shut up! You have no idea what I'm going through!"
Asta pointed at him. "You don't even know that for sure! And even if I didn't know, you think I care?! Look, I know pretty much everything now about your situation, you got screwed really badly, but that only means you have to try harder, so you can make the one who actually did it pay!"
Patri's anger subsided momentarily, being replaced with a look of fear and doubt. "N-No!" he screamed, holding his head like before as he radiated a strong purple aura. "I can't do it! How am I even supposed to?! I wasn't really chosen by Licht, I'm not strong enough!"
The royal knight was slightly pushed back by the force being emitted, but the words of the elf angered him, so he trudged forward. "You're not strong enough?! How dare you give me that bullshit?! You were strong enough to make a freaking terrorist group, you were strong enough to put Fuegoleon in a coma when you took his arm…," he was able to close the distance between them in a minute, now clutching the collar region of his tunic, pulling him in.
"...And you were strong enough to kill the Wizard King!" he exclaimed that last part with the most amount of rage. "You had the strength to kill an innocent man, a man who was great, a man who loved the people and was loved back, a man so many of us looked up to and wanted to be like! You were strong enough to do that, but not to take down the bastard who started this in the first place?! Give me a break!" he balled up a fist and punched him in the face.
The impact of the blow brought them both to the ground. Patri's anger returned as his eyes shifted to where his face was now bruised; he now balled up his own fist, ready to return the favor, but as his gaze returned to the boy, he faltered. Why? It was the expression Asta held, going from a rageful one to an almost sympathetic one.
"You said you weren't chosen, like that means anything. Do you think I was chosen either? Look at me, in a world full of magic, I've got none and I never will, I know how easy it can be to drown yourself in self-pity, to push yourself down, but you can't quit. Patri, you have to keep fighting, fight to atone for your mistakes. I never knew Licht, but that's what he would want, wouldn't he?"
That last question was what managed to break through to the elf, his eyes widening in realization as Asta backed up and rose to his feet, waiting for him to do the same. With both of them standing up, Patri suddenly embraced the swordsman, tears flowing down his cheeks.
"I'm sorry,"
"Take this!" Yuno exclaimed as he fired a wind blast.
While that was happening within the elf's mind, the black-haired teen was sending attack after attack at the black cocoon, but no matter what he threw at it, nothing was working.
"Yuno, you have to stop!" Mimosa pleaded with him from where she was.
"I can't! I was with him when he freed an elf from reincarnation magic, this wasn't supposed to happen!" he retorted, about to cast a spell, but then Nozel placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You should listen to her, you need to save your strength for what lies ahead. From what I've seen, Asta isn't stupid, he'll find his way back,"
And his timing couldn't be better as immediately after saying that, the orb of anti-magic relented, revealing Asta and Patri, the latter undergoing a change as his skin tone returned to normal, his eyes closed, and his hair flowing freely, slightly floating.
"You're alright!" Yuno didn't waste a second approaching his brother, grasping his arms. "You really shouldn't worry me like that,"
"Sorry,"
Rhya couldn't believe what he was seeing. "No way, that runt brought Patri back to normal, that shouldn't be possible. When an elf becomes a dark elf, there's no reversing it, forcing us to put the person down. Damn, that anti-magic sure has its perks,"
Patri let a short chuckle out. "You truly a strange human,"
Asta rubbed his nose. "What can I say? It's a gift,"
"That it is," the light mage opened his eyes at last, revealing the right sclera to have reverted back while the left one remained black. "Thank you for helping me see the light, in turn, I'll see this through to the end,"
"What about Captain Vangeance?" Yuno asked him.
"Yes, he's fine, he's just…asleep in my headspace,"
But as he finished saying that, Patri felt something, the sensation that he was being watched, so he turned his head to the right, and that's when he saw them, the eyes of Rades, Valtos, and Annalise glaring at him in different manners, despite that, each was mixed with a feeling of betrayal and contempt. Their former leader turned away from them in shame, his face expressing deep regret; these were people he wronged as well, people who used to see him as a beacon of hope and kindness, but now they knew better. Patri didn't open his mouth to say a word to them, no amount of apologies would fix anything.
Asta could feel the awkward atmosphere that had built up between them, so he drew everyone's attention to him. "Patri's got the right idea, we all need to see this through to the end! We're going to finish off that devil once and for all!"
"I'm almost there, I can feel it," Zagred mused as he was flying up through an aerial path, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel, emerging a few seconds later.
"And there we go, I've made it to the top floor, and there she is," he gazed upon a door on the other side. "The exit to the Shadow Palace. Oh man, I'm so close to the mortal world that I can almost taste it,"
"You,"
That single word caught the devil's attention as his gaze shifted downward, spotting Licht there, his sword in hand. Despite his expression still being emotionless, the sheer hatred of his tone was palpable.
However, Zagred couldn't help but spread his arms out, looking like he was ready to embrace an old friend. "Licht, it's been too long! How's life? Or I guess the proper word to use would be afterlife," he greeted him, but he was only met with indifference. "Wow, how rude, I know you're not fully awake yet, but you can't even say hello, not to mention the vitriol in just one simple word, though I don't suppose I can blame you. If it makes you feel better, I'd like to apologize for ruining your big day, so much preparation and joy, all squashed in mere minutes. So, what do you say, ready to let bygones be bygones?"
In just a mere second, the word devil tilted his head, narrowly evading the slash Licht sent his way, but his face remained amused. "Okay, so I'm taking that as a no. Someone's sure in a hurry to cut to the chase, very well then. Five hundred years ago, you put a wrench in my plans when you stopped me from claiming your grimoire, but no worries, I have a replacement now, one a person close to you so graciously offered me," he revealed his tome.
Seeing it made the elf narrow his eyes ever-so-slightly. "I'll stop you,"
"You're welcome to try, all it will result in is the end of you. It's time I finish what I started all those centuries ago! Lightning Strike!" he exclaimed, firing a bolt of electricity.
Licht assumed a defensive stance, using the side of the Dweller to block the attack, sending it back where it came from.
"Earth Shield!" Zagred spoke, commanding a piece of rock to rise from the ground to protect him. "Come to Me!"
The elf felt himself moving closer to his enemy, so he readied himself. Once the distance between them was halved, he let loose a barrage of magic slashes.
"Scatter!" Zagred spoke, the slashes all went in different directions, none hitting him.
With his initial offensive stopped, Licht opted for a simpler attack and swung his sword, but the devil flew to the side. "Looks like you missed me there! Tempest of Blades!"
The sword mage backed up a significant distance, assuming higher ground as the rain of weapons came upon him. With a show of amazing speed and skill, he perfectly parried each one, so Zagred leveled up his game. "Ground Rupture!" he exclaimed as the platform Licht was standing on gave way, but it achieved nothing as, even in the middle of falling, the elf's movements didn't falter.
"Not bad. Blades, Cease," he ordered as the swords stopped raining. He then noticed Licht about to attack again, so he sought to put a stop to it. "Vines of Restriction!" the objects in question shot up from the ground, wrapping around him and the Dweller.
"That sword of yours absorbs magic. Physical matter, though? Not so much. And speaking of physical matter, I have the perfect thing to finish you off with! Iron Impaler!" Zagred said before exclaiming, creating a large spear-like object.
"Sayonara, have fun in hell!" he sent it, the spear moving at high speed. Licht struggled against the vines, but they were too powerful, he wouldn't have enough time to get out of the way, but luckily for him, he wouldn't have to as vines emerged from behind him, wrapping around it before throwing it off course.
"It looks like I got here just in time. It's good to see you again, Licht," the sword mage turned to see Charla, he simply gave her a nod which she returned.
Zagred raised his brow. "You got here awfully quick. I assumed you were at a lower level,"
The red rose mage raised her brow next. "And what made you think that?"
He shrugged in response. "No reason, at least, none you need to know,"
"That's all you got to say? Someone's trying a little too hard to be mysterious," another person joined in.
Charla's face contorted into one of surprise. "I recognize that voice!" her whole body whipped around, seeing none other than Yami. "You!"
"Yup, it's me. Good to see you too, Prickly Queen," he greeted her back, his attention now on the otherworldly being. "This isn't something you see every day. So, you're a devil? I've never gotten to see one in person, I gotta say though, I thought you'd look a lot more menacing, you just look unsettling, not to mention your ki is freaky as hell,"
"Ki, huh? I'm not familiar with that word, but you're not the first one I've heard use it, that Kenos boy said it too,"
Yami's eyes tensed. "He fought Kenos? I hope he's alright," he turned to the elves. "Hey, I know we're still enemies and all, but this guy is obviously the big bad. What do you say we call a truce until this bastard's dead?"
"Works for me. He tried to kill Licht, that's unforgivable," Charla agreed as Yami used a quick slash to free the sword mage. "However, while we may be working together, don't expect me to save you if you're in danger,"
"Jeez, not even a little bit?"
"No. Now let's get moving! Red Rose Magic: Crimson Massacre!" Charla exclaimed, firing the enlarged bullets of pollen.
"Scatter!" Zagred countered, the attacks going in multiple directions.
"What the? His magic must let him control things with his words. Then that means we can't dilly-dally, we have to take him out fast," Yami thought seriously. "Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Lightless Slash!"
Zagred's eyes slightly widened upon hearing that, but he regained focus fast enough to dodge the attack. Seeing that made the captain raise a brow. "That's weird, he moved around it instead of using his power on it. Is my magic special, or am I just reading too much into it?"
The devil's eyes locked in on him. "Wow, a dark mage, to think I'd meet another one in my lifetime, though this one's certainly stronger. That pesky magic has the potential to make things difficult, but I shouldn't be worried, I'm far stronger than I was back then," he thought, but it was time to go on the attack.
"Wave of Flame!"
Charla and Yami advanced dauntlessly into the fire. Neither was worried by the move as both employed spells to protect themselves.
"Red Rose Magic: Briar Guard!"
"Dark Magic: Black Hole!"
"Was that too easy for you? No worries, I can kick it up a notch! Tempest of Blades!" he exclaimed.
"This will be just as easy!" the female elf retorted, using her whip to summon a thick layer of vines and roses around the two of them, keeping them safe as the swords lodged into the greenery.
"Will it really? Wither!" the devil commanded as the vines obeyed, shriveling up until they were dead, but from the withered vines came Yami, having jumped up to get the drop on him.
"Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Dimension Slash!" he used his best spell, managing to finally get a hit in as he cut off a portion of his left arm and wing. "That's what I'm talking about!"
Zagred stared at the part that was cut off, expressing no sensation of pain whatsoever. "This is why your magic is so pesky, no matter, it didn't hit anywhere vital. Reattach," he said as the damaged limbs fixed themselves.
"Oh c'mon, seriously," Yami groaned.
"Hahaha! Don't give up now, things are just starting to get exciting!" the word devil laughed, but then he quickly whipped his head around, spotting Licht behind him, coming in with the Dweller, making his opponent move out of the way, staring at the elf leader as he stood in the air. "I almost didn't sense you coming. For someone who's basically asleep, you're doing quite well,"
The dark mage reconvened with Charla, staring up at the two. "What the? How is he standing in mid-air like that?"
"It's a technique he learned from his father," the woman answered. "Long story short, he's standing on the nearby mana,"
"You don't say? That sounds like a pretty useful skill, let's just hope I live long enough to learn it," he said. "I don't know what attribute that devil has, but it's a real pain in the ass. He can make whatever he says happen, on the bright side, seeing that he hasn't told us to drop dead, it has some limitations,"
"That makes sense," Charla held her chin. "I noticed that when he withered my vines, not all of them died, the ones that stayed alive were the ones furthest from him. That may suggest that his magic has a vocal range, now all we need to do is find his weakness, if he even has one,"
"He did mention that I didn't hit anywhere vital when my Dimension Slash connected, meaning he does have a weak spot," Yami recalled before the attention of both mages was brought back to the fight as they Licht being sent back by an attack.
"Nice try, but you couldn't get me," Zagred laughed. "You bunch are so fun to play with, so I will bestow a reward upon you, you all will have the supreme honor of witnessing one of my spells from my new grimoire," he said as the three braced themselves.
"Word Soul Magic: אוכלי החיים (Eaters of Life)!"
At his command, the familiar portal formed around them, and an unnatural purple substance spilled out, moving in an eerie manner. "What the hell is that stuff? Could it be…from the other world?" the red rose mage muttered as she launched her whip in an attempt to combat the strange stuff, but once contact occurred, her spell came undone. "Huh?"
"Are you surprised? You should be, this spell devours all magic, and with enough time, they can even begin to devour physical matter," Zagred explained. "This spell is a favorite of mine, because once it starts, it'll take a whole lot of effort to stop, even for me, but that's okay, because I want it to eventually engulf the Shadow Palace, and then the entire Clover Kingdom!"
"I won't let you! We elves have finally been given a second chance at life, so I will defend it and them!" Charla retorted, but then a shadow loomed over her, her eyes widening upon noticing the wave of purple that was about to envelop her.
Not on Yami's watch though. "Look out! Dark Magic: Dark Cloaked Dance of the Eclipse!" he used the spell to appear behind her, grabbing and pulling her out of the way before jumping back. Unfortunately though, the pause came with consequences as a bit of the substance managed to land on his arm.
"AHHHH!" he wailed for a brief period, seeing that the limb appeared to suffer a severe burn.
"No!" Charla suddenly exclaimed, but immediately after she did it, she felt confused by the outburst. "Why did I just do that? I'm not actually worried about him. Or could it be…my host?"
Yami managed to fight the pain long enough to let out a short laugh. "I wasn't expecting you to sound so worried, but I'll be fine. Believe it or not, I've been through worse, I almost had my arm cut off one time," he reassured her, but his mind portrayed a more worried tone. "It's like the mana was sucked out of my arm, not to mention it hurts like hell. I can't use my katana like this,"
Zagred realized this as well. "Hm, it appears you can no longer use your weapon efficiently, and if you can do that, I'm afraid you won't be able to amuse me anymore," his face then grew dark, sending a bit of a chill down the spines of the pair. "And if you can't amuse me anymore, why are you even alive? Ground Rupture!"
Once the words left his mouth, the ground underneath Yami gave way, the man plummeting down to a lower floor, but he wasn't the only one as Charla was close enough to get caught in the crossfire, falling as well.
"Tata, don't forget to write!" Zagred waved them off as he then noticed his substance using the hole to descend further as well. "It looks like my pretties will handle everyone else below, so that means you're the only one I need to worry about now," his eyes shifted over to Licht.
"Do try to make this entertaining for me, won't you?"
"If we're going to beat that devil, we'll need a plan," Yuno spoke up in response to Asta's exclamation. "The last time we fought him, we barely managed to put a dent in him, and when we did, he just healed himself,"
"There may be a way," Nozel came in with a suggestion. "Asta's anti-magic is the counter to virtually all magic. If we can find out what the devil's weak point is and exploit it, Asta may be able to finish this,"
"Really?" the swordsman was a bit surprised by the royal's sudden faith in him.
"Yes, you were able to find a solution to the reincarnation, were you not? Besides, if you're going to be my rival, it's best for you to show me what you can do,"
Asta clenched his fist. "Okay then, you can count on me and Yuno," he turned to his brother. "Do you have my back?"
The wind mage walked over to him and flicked his forehead. "Why are you even asking that? Of course I do,"
"Then we should get moving," Patri said, but then, a strange sound was heard.
"What the hell is that?" Rades wondered, and he got his answer fast as the life eaters surged into the room.
"You just had to jinx it didn't you?" Annalise said in a sarcastic manner.
"How is this my fault?!" the wraith mage comedically squealed.
"Enough joking around, neutralize it!" Nozel ordered as three attacks were launched.
"Mercury Magic: Rain of Silver!"
"Wind Magic: Tornado Fang!"
"Light Magic: Light Swords of Conviction!"
However, it didn't take long for them to realize their attacks weren't working, and bad turned to worse when they saw that it was nearing Mimosa and Rhya. "Look out!" Asta inadvertently imitated his captain, blitzing toward them faster than the others could perceive, throwing them out of the way before getting swarmed.
"No!" Yuno screamed, but luckily for him, the magicless mage cut his way out, completely unscathed.
"I'm okay, but that was close!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness," Mimosa said.
Patri narrowed his eyes. "Can the rest of you feel the mana coming from that stuff? It feels similar to the devil's, he must've cast it, that means he's fighting someone up there,"
Yuno nodded. "Yeah, I can. But what happened to our spells back there? It's like nothing happened,"
"It must be capable of draining magic,"
"I guess that explains why it didn't hurt me," Asta added. "It also helps that I've probably got a good amount of anti-magic in my system at this point,"
"Hm," Mimosa got a strange feeling, but first, she checked in with her patient. "Rhya, how are you feeling? Will it be alright if I stop healing you for a bit?"
"Yeah, I should be fine," he answered her.
She removed her hands and called off her spell. "Okay. Plant Creation Magic: Magic Flower Guidepost," she formed a schematic of the palace. "It's just like I feared, whatever he created, it's spreading to the other rooms,"
"If the devil is fighting somewhere, you two and Patri should get moving," the mercury mage said to the boys. "The rest of us will come with me, we can use the spatial mage to get around faster,"
"I'm ready to help," Valtos stepped up, he then turned to face Patri, the light mage looking away with the same shameful expression, waiting for his former subordinate to say something, and at last he did.
"You had better survive,"
The elf's eyes widened momentarily. "I will,"
The spatial mage nodded before forming a portal. "You three be careful," Mimosa told them, giving them a thumbs-up.
"We will, you be careful too," Yuno returned the gesture.
"Hold on a minute," the light mage spoke up as he flew over to the platform, pulling out Yuno's stone before taking the unconscious Ronne. "Take him with you," Nozel then did so as they entered the portal.
"Here you go," he handed the stone back to the wind mage.
"Thanks,"
Asta took a deep breath. "Well, it's up to us now, and whoever's fighting him,"
"Telekinesis Magic: Psycho Bomb!"
The fights that occurred outside the Shadow Palace raged on, and the humans had the edge as Glynda managed to knock back four of them with her spell, but in an instant, more elves took their place.
"Take her down!" one of them exclaimed as multiple magic blasts were sent her way.
She was about to move herself out of the way, but before she could, a large orb of fire and electricity collided with them, canceling them out. The vice-captain turned around, seeing Magna, Luck, and Vanessa.
"I hope you don't mind if we help?" the thread mage asked, a hand on her hip.
"I will never mind, dear," she replied with a smile.
"Lightning Magic: Voltage Trail!"
"Flame Magic: Explosive Scatter Shot!"
"Those attacks won't reach us!" they were about to counter with their offensive, but then they glowed purple and were rendered immobile, leaving them no choice but to take the attack head-on, knocking back all but one.
Glynda released the elven knight from his restraints. "I'm not going to lose to you, not when we're this close! Crystal Magic-," he was interrupted in the middle of his statement by a whip that tied around his wrist…a whip made of water.
"Not so fast," a voice spoke behind the elf, and he turned to see the pink-haired man, a sight that made his eyes go wide.
"You?!"
Glynda, on the other hand, was pleased to see him. "Teiko!"
"Hello, it's nice to see you again," Teiko greeted the woman before launching the knight away.
"What's with his getup?" Magna asked no one in particular, but then he addressed a question to the telekinesis mage. "Do you know him?
"Sort of. I met him earlier tonight, he's a…strange one, but I do consider him a friend,"
"Well, any friend of yours is a friend of ours," Vanessa said as Teiko approached them.
"Hey there, it's a good thing I ran into you. I ran into some more elves on my way here, and I had some help by some Magic Knights from your squad,"
Glynda nodded proudly. "I'm glad they could be of assistance,"
"Oliver, heads-up!" Finral exclaimed as he made a portal, bringing an elven knight his way.
"Thanks!" he exclaimed back, creating a wooden gauntlet before sucker-punching her in the face. "That was a good combo we did there, nice moves,"
"I'm here to help," he gave the wood mage a thumbs-up.
"And I'm glad that you are," the noble flew away to assist someone else.
Finral smiled to himself at his words, but then a voice shattered his joy. "I see a human!" his body whipped around, spotting two elves.
"Oh crap!" he comedically screamed as they sent two blasts at him, hitting him directly, but before he could roughly hit the ground, he made a portal beneath him, landing somewhere far enough from the chaos.
The spatial mage sighed. "Okay, that didn't hurt too bad, just take a few minutes to rest and then you can head back," he said before he suddenly felt something on his stomach, but before he could look up to see what it was, the thing in question moved into his line of vision.
"Oh, Nero, it's just you, I haven't seen you in a while. Have you missed me?" he asked the bird, expecting him to peck him or something, but instead of doing that, he did something different.
Something way different.
"Finral, I need you to do me a favor,"