Chapter Text
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Black Clover - The Three Brothers
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Elsewhere within the Golden Dawn's base, a knock sounds on the door of the Golden Dawn Captain's quarters.
William Vangeance, sat at the table in the center where he works through paperwork, sets his inked quill down. A conversation for another time, friend.
He reaches out to take hold of his mask. His gaze lingers on it for a moment, a small smile from reminiscing on the gift that's meant so much to him, and the person who means even more.
...The smile falters, then returns again.
With the mask worn, he answers, "Come."
The door opens, "Pardon the interruption, Captain", the visitor gives politely. A distinguished young man adorned in the Golden Dawn's attire, holding a relaxed demeanor with a smile.
"Ah, welcome back, Langris. I take it your mission went well?" William asks, noting not a scratch or injury present. A common sight.
Langris lightly pulled on his shirt, expression turning playfully sour for a moment. "Aside from getting a bit of dirt on my clothes, as well as can be expected," He says, then chuckling, "The fools really thought I fell for their sneak attack."
He and a few others had been sent to one of the Clover Kingdom's towns that borders the Diamond Kingdom, to drive back an expected assault from some of their forces. Though Langris made sure to do more than just that.
An utter decimation, one that only enforced his power as Vice-Captain of the Golden Dawn.
Though, aside from offering a boring report, "There was something else I thought I should bring to your attention, Captain. Were you expecting a visit from another brigade today, specifically...The Black Bulls?" A bad taste was left in his mouth after saying it.
William quirked an unseen brow, "The Black Bulls? No, I don't recall—"
Suddenly, a small spatial portal appeared. From it, a hand popped through and gently placed a letter upon William's table.
"Apologies for the intrusion. Delivery, Captain Vangeance." The delivery mage said before closing the portal.
...
"Well then..." Langris commented.
That's certainly Yami's handwriting. William noted, picking up the letter and opening it.
If he was making out the words correctly...
Sup William.
Some of the kiddies are gonna be by your base soon to kidnap that new recruit of yours for a little get-together. Yuugo...Froyo...Noyuu...whatever the 4-leaf kid's name was. A birthday party or something. Guess he's a brother of theirs, heartwarming ain't it?
They might start a fight, though. One of them at least.
Yeah, he's definitely gonna start a fight...keep an eye on the punk-ass with white hair.
Good luck - Sukehiro
William...simply sighs, and stands up from his seat. A Black Bull with White Hair...
Ah, the one who directly challenged the Captains during the Magic Knight Exams a few months back.
"I can rightly assume an altercation has happened?"
"You'd be correct and putting it lightly."
"Well then, please fill me in on the way."
Vangeance wasn't the only one being informed of the current situation.
Returning from their own mission, Klaus and Letoile had taken notice that around two dozen of their members had gathered in the vast field of grasslands atop the Golden Dawn's Plateau, in two separate groups, it seemed.
Though, as they got closer, amidst the blanket of white and golden, one person within stood out like a sore thumb draped in black. Just the sight of him made Klaus anxious.
Oh no...Oh god...Why Is he here?
Agreeing to hold off on their report for the moment, Klaus led the pair to where everything was going down at the moment.
Picking up on their entrance, one of the Golden Dawn bystanders looks up and waves them over. "Sir Klaus and Lady Letoile, welcome back."
Letoile gave a nod to the red-head as her feet touched the ground, "Thank you, Rina. Good to see you as well."
"Y-Yes, good to see you," Klaus gave a more hurried greeting, before looking off to the distance where the other members were standing, spread out across the area...while Blake, just as Klaus thought, stood in the center.
Why is he here??
"What's going on?" Letoile asked, while Klaus internally dreaded the answer beside her. "What's a member of the Black Bulls doing here?"
Another member, Maxwell, answered with a laugh. "My god, you should've seen it. Calling that guy over there audacious would be a heavy understatement."
Vance gave a better explanation, aiming a pointed look at Maxwell. "You're laughing? He and some Black Bull rabble tumble their way into our base unprompted and unwanted, disrespect our brigade, then slap Alecdora with a grimoire to issue a so-called "duel", and you're laughing?"
"...I'm sorry, what happened??" Letoile questioned, shocked.
Slapped Alecdora?? With his grimoire?!?! Klaus screamed.
"Oh come on, I saw you crack a grin when that happened, don't deny it!" Maxwell teased.
Vance glared for a moment, then sighed. "That's beside the point," He says, before helping with catch-up, "After that, he not only extended a duel to Alecdora, but to anyone else who wanted to fight against him as well." He looked off at the scene before them. "This is the result."
A sole Black Bull...against eight members of the Golden Dawn.
Clearing his throat, Klaus turned to the others. "What prompted this?"
Maxwell shrugged, "Not sure. Honestly, it looked like he and the others were gonna head off somewhere with Yuno and that was that...but then wham! Grimoire slap!" He mimicked the action.
Klaus grimaced. If it was Alecdora that Blake targeted, he could probably guess what the trigger was...
"Blake has a tendency to react badly to someone insulting people he cares about. If it happened again, he may not be as calm as he was."
...Yuno!
"You said Blake and the other Black Bulls were with Yuno, yes? Where are they?"
"Hm? No clue. That guy sent them off through some portals after the slap happened." Vance explained.
...There goes any restraint on his actions. Klaus realized. Blake's moral compasses has vanished.
After a second, Vance questioned, "...His name is Blake?"
"Ugh, fits a peasant like him," Another Golden Dawn mage muttered.
"Are you familiar with him, Klaus?" Letoile asked.
Klaus adjusted his glasses. "Y-Yes. He was one of the Black Bulls my team encountered during the Dungeon Mission. He was there at the Ceremony Banquet as well when the Capital was attacked. There was another as well, Asta. He was likely one of the Black Bulls you saw with him. They're Yuno's foster brothers."
Maxwell snapped his fingers as he remembered, "Rightrightright, Alecdora did say something about a mangy brother...must've been the short one, then. Foster, huh? So, what, they're all orphans?"
"They really are lowest of the low..." Vance remarked.
Maxwell tapped a fist against Vance's shoulder, "It's not like they don't pack a punch, remember when Yuno mopped the floor with you when he first got here? Good times, good times."
"He did not "mop" me! It was a close battle..."
"It only lasted a few minutes..." Rina added.
"It could've gone either way! if I had just...whatever, forget it!" Vance spoke, trying not to divulge into a mess over that sour spot, before getting a face full of Maxwell's hand.
"Whatever, loser—anywaaays!" Maxwell turned back to Klaus. "I'm sure he does too, considering he also has a 4-leaf grimoire, but you've seen him up in action before. What do you say?"
"His strength? If I'm being honest...it's incredible."
Downright monstrous.
Klaus recalls back to it all. After he and the others chipped away at the Diamond Kingdom's mage bit by bit with all they could, a single powerful spell from Blake had been enough to break through the rest of the Crystal Mage's defenses. Even when he returned and they'd been left helpless, whatever power had taken over Blake allowed him to perform the task yet again.
At the Banquet, he and Asta held themselves well against their opponents. Though, even if Asta hadn't followed his brother's lead and it was solely Blake against five opponents, Klaus was unsure if the outcome would've changed. Not to mention the sheer magical pressure he had unleashed that rivaled the Captains—he couldn't get himself to rise from the floor at that moment, many of them couldn't. Not only that, he was the only mage acting to defend the neighboring villages being attacked outside the Capital and did so without civilian casualties.
Not to mention the plethora of missions he's taken under in all this time that he's completed with marks far better than what's expected from his brigade. Sure, there's a hiccup here and there with him, but nonetheless...
Klaus barely needed to touch on Blake's Magic for the others to understand just how powerful he could be. Even Siren, who'd been standing among the crowd of observers, had agreed with Klaus' statements where he could, surprising quite a few.
"...Wow, a backwater village like Hage had a monster like that just lying in it?" Maxwell commented.
Another Golden Dawn member spoke out. "Well, good thing the little thief won't get to haul off with any of our spells today. The moron said he'd fight the eight of them blindfolded!" he informed, sneering.
"Blindfolded?!" Klaus couldn't hold back his surprise at that.
"Is it really stealing? It's not like we lose our spells when he copies them from the sound of it." Rina wondered.
"He's using spells other mages put time and effort into creating, and reaps the benefit of just having them as his own. Textbook plagiarism, Rina." Vance noted.
"I mean, whatever spells he's copied...will it actually be enough to take victory against eight of our mages? Take a look, he's going up against some of our best!"
That couldn't be disregarded, Klaus knew, he did recognize a few senior members among the crowd surrounding Blake, some of their strongest and most competent. Even with that in mind...
Letoile looked around, wondering, "Where's David? This seems like something he'd love to place a bet on."
David Swallows was a friend of Letoile and Rina, and the Golden Dawn's resident Dice Magic mage.
Rina pointed out to the crowd of battlers, "He's actually one of the eight involved. Said the guy "intrigued" him, wanted to be part of the fun."
"Fun, you say. What could be fun in overwhelming a lone Black Bull with eight of ours? Seems rather overkill."
"It was his decision to take so many at once. With all that bravado, he better be able to back it up with something worthwhile." Vance said.
Klaus worried, Blake may do just that and more...
One of the eight mages participating was Cadance, a 1st-Class Intermediate Magic Knight. Thanks to her Internalized Frequency spell, she and the others could communicate between themselves telepathically, putting in place a strategy for this battle.
Gris, all the while, grew agitated. What strategy is needed for this trash? He's coming at us blind so as long as we don't leave a point of escape, we can just overwhelm him with attacks—!
Zophial—a fifth-class Senior Magic Knight and wielder of Blast Magic—interrupted him. Hey, idiot, did you forget he has access to a form of Spatial Magic? He'll always have a point of escape. She laughed. At least, until I'm done taking care of the area...
Enough. Ferric commanded, silencing his juniors. He ranked the same as Alecdora, 4th-Class Senior Magic Knight. He was leading the talk of strategy.
As belligerent and reckless as this Black Bull is, there's no point in taking him lightly. For disrespecting our brigade, we won't leave him a chance of winning. That's the point of creating a surefire strategy. Understood?
...Understood. Zophial and Gris responded.
From what I've seen personally, Alecdora spoke up, the peasant not only has access to Spatial Magic, but some form of Wind, Smoke, and Lightning Magic, as well as Stone, Water, Mist, and Sand magic most likely. All that at a minimum, who knows how many more...
Seriously? Such a rapacious peasant; It creeps me out! Zophial remarked.
Meanwhile, Mason spoke with Hamon, With Spatial Magic in play, your tracking spell would likely be a major help in keeping track of him and his attacks. He seems rather fleet-footed regardless.
Hamon gave a small nod, agreeing. If he were honest with himself, he wasn't as driven to face off against Blake as the others were, especially with what he's seen of his power. However, he believed in moving in solidarity with his allies, and he supposed he had some honor of his own to reclaim, remembering Blake's pig comment. Yes, I'll do my best.
David, you'll begin us off with that new spell of yours? Ferrick questioned, unsure whether David bothered to pay attention to their strategy. He was far too nonchalant for his brigade's good.
David gave a casual affirmation, though he was rather excited to be getting another test-run with this spell of his—his luck with it the last few times certainly left something to be desired. The only reason he bothered to participate, really.
Well, let the dice land as it may, right? David shrugged, and was the first to speak to Blake.
"So, you're still dead set on this whole thing, no chance of backing out last second? The odds being in your favor aren't exactly high," he says.
Blake had been peaking through the red bandages tied around his eyes to give his grimoire a reread, getting a firm reminder of everything at his disposal, before he looked up ahead at the blonde guy who must've been talking to him.
"Oh, are y'all done with your little mind-mumbling business?" He asked, chuckling when he caught the surprise on their faces—he felt something in the waves of mana around him, but what was said eluded him. Not that it mattered, it'd ruin the surprise! He tightened the bandages around his face and, as promised, cut off his sight.
...Mostly. It didn't stop him from sensing and visualizing the surrounding mana, and he's taken the time to grow familiar with the different flows and movements of the mages' mana signatures—which he, strangely, already felt rather familiar with. It left him feeling sour, but he quickly disregarded it.
Precise movements and attacks will be a bit difficult...but this shouldn't be too hard.
He clapped, beckoning the mages. "Now c'mon c'mon, hurry up slowpokes! I got some birthday candles to light up."
"Do you want to get humiliated that badly?!?!" Gris shouted before being stopped by David.
"Doesn't your throat hurt from all that shouting? It's not that serious, man." David said, earning him a ticked-off expression. He rolled his eyes and stepped forward, letting his grimoire free, and manifesting a die. "Though, If we're wanting to get this over with quickly, I got the perfect spell to speed things up!"
"I'd appreciate that a whole bunch!" Blake replied, giving a mocking bow.
No more waiting, "Alright, let's get this show going!" David announced, and threw his die high into the air.
As it reached the apex of its ascension, it suspended itself and lost its physical form, leaving a cubic hologram that expanded across the vast field, becoming a barrier that closed the combatants off from the rest of the vast landscape.
"[Dice Magic: The Gambler's Rigged Arena]!"
A barrier? Blake sensed it surrounding him and the others. With a quick check, he realized...something was restricting his Spatial Magic.
I can't form portals outside of it?
He tried again, staying within the boundaries of the spell, though the result simply confused him more.
...I can't form them at all?!
He wondered if it was because of some specific effect causing his inability, perhaps a condition or a rule set by the spell like his Unopening Red Room.
But then the realization struck, snapping into place as he stared blankly into the red void that were the bandages...covering his eyes.
I can only make portals to locations I've been to before...or places I can see—son of a bitch!
He slaps his hand flat onto his face, slowing dragging it across. It had never occurred to him that his Spatial Magic could have been just as reliant on his sight as his Copy Magic was; even his enhanced spatial awareness thanks to his incredible mana sensory couldn't seem to make up for the defined visual medium. He'd unknowingly handicapped himself even more than he thought.
...Screw it, ain't gonna back out now. I'll still kick their asses.
With that annoyance set aside, there was something else as well. Above him, he sensed an extended manifestation of the spell, its flow ever-changing between a set of variables...six it seemed, mana fluctuating between different forms rapidly.
...Was it only six?
None of the other mages have made a move yet either. Are they waiting for something from the spell?
"So, what kind of game is this? Never been much of a gambling man, myself." Blake remarked, pacing back and forth, his head held at whatever was in the air. That's always been more of Magna and Captain's..."specialty".
Surprising, considering your current predicament. David thought, amused, before replying, "You're the one who said he was in a hurry; why waste time on boring deliberation? All you need to know is that whoever wins this battle..."
David's eyes trailed up to the dice suspended above them, manifested by his spell. With a snap of his fingers, it shook and twirled, a blessed gambler rolling the dice along the breeze of the wind itself.
"It's all up to the luck of the roll!"
Fair enough, let's roll out then. Blake chuckled. Black and blue aura surrounded the pages of his grimoire as they flipped, preparing itself as he felt the constantly switching variables of the dice settling on its choice...
David looked up at the dice with widened eyes. This spell of his was one that offered a variety of effects to aid his allies, and to hinder his opponents—opponent in this case—all based on what number the die landed on.
The only roll that would significantly detriment them would be a one right off the bat. It was far from an impossibility; In fact, unbeknownst to his comrades, the odds of his first roll being a one weighed in favor of it—a necessary cost for his spell to provide such significant benefits with any other roll granted.
Of course, it was the cost, the risk of abominable failure if things weren't to go in his favor, that always got David's heart thumping like a drum as he'd waited for the result. It was the spice atop the grandiose, yet typical, recipe that comprised his life that provided just the right amount of kick that made the motions of life that less dull and that much more exciting.
Especially when it all ended up falling into his lap!
A SIX!
You don't need to shout it into our brainwaves! A few mages reprimand before being taken aback by David's magic taking its course.
David smirked, Feel free to thank me later~
[0:00]
The effect was immediate, and Blake sensed it just as quickly. Within the eight mages, their magic reserves suddenly exploded into life. The sudden emergence of such abundant, exuberant magic nearly overloaded Blake's magical sixth sense, like harsh sunlight straight into his retinas.
The hell just happened?! Their reserves are shooting through the roof!
All except for the Dice Mage himself; he's a support type then...
Blake steadied himself as he shrugged off the aching, a laugh escaping him. "That's a hell of a magic boost! No wonder this is rigged!"
David chuckled. This guy didn't know the half of it.
Let loose everyone!
Ferrick commands, Mason!
Mason kneels to slam one hand on the ground, two fingers raised to his chin.
"[Terra Magic: Mobile Rock Formation]"
The ground rumbles—a beating drum quickly rising in tempo, dying moments after it begins. Several large pieces of the earth launched into the air, leaving behind broad craters of dirt in the wake of the Golden Dawn's ascension.
A sky fight!
As the mages ascended, Blake gladly followed.
Pretty please take good care of me, David asked sweetly, clasping his hands and turning to his allies. I can't use any of my other spells while this one's active—and if I go down, the spell ends as well.
We'll keep you covered. Ferrick responded.
Zophial laughed, Mhm, just stand there and look pretty, Mr. Damsel.
Like I always do—?
Alecdora interrupted. I doubt we'll have to worry about the Black Bull specifically targeting David. He's an arrogant battle freak; I'm certain he believes he can win even without dealing with the spell granting us such advantages.
That amount of hubris is almost unbelievable... Cadance sighed.
Yes, I'm sure he'll be in for a rude awakening, Hamon said, his Verre Detection spell active. With dozens of glass fragments set throughout the area, the light bouncing off of each other will allow much better spatial awareness. Though that didn't matter for the moment; it seemed Blake was going with a straightforward approach.
Follow my lead, Gris and Zophial. Ferrick ordered, preparing an attack. Ranged attacks. Mason, prepare a defense spell in case of spatial redirection.
Understood!
"[Iron Magic: Iron Striker]"
"[Flame Creation Magic: General Blaze]!"
"[Blast Magic: Focused Implosion Shot]!"
[0:30]
Trails of black followed Blake as he surged into the air with Wind Magic. Of the dozen that were uprooted, only three masses of earth held mages, the eight spread out mostly evenly. The rest of the masses were swarming with flame magic constructs, Gris' fire soldiers.
Blake swayed in the wind with elusive grace. A dance of evasion against dozens of fireballs launched by Gris' soldiers, twirling in circles as he used his wind to direct the blast force of Zophial's explosive homing shots away from him, and dodged attacks by Ferrick's giant iron greatswords, twisting his body to evade a downward strike.
All that, yet his thoughts keep falling back to the night before. Sweeping up Rebecca and her siblings into the air; dancing along the dark gales, high above the town's houses. The sound of their laughter.
Reminiscing about their pure joy left him with a smile. He'd been so used to focusing on Spatial Magic's efficiency for traversal and combat that the wonder of flying—weightless, unbound, free—hadn't meant as much to him recently.
Conveniency or fun...that's an easy question.
"Whoever's throwing that iron around, you nearly burnt my coat, dickhead!" Blake shouted with an irritating smile in his voice, fanning it off.
How can he comfortably say such a vulgar word? Cadance wondered.
The attacks individually weren't much trouble, but the properties of each coming together made it a minor headache. The quantity of soldiers launching fireballs made up for any time needed to recharge their attacks. Zophial's homing shots could implode the fireballs, causing a chain reaction leading to a bombardment of explosions that could momentarily dull Blake's senses, and Ferrick's iron was strong enough to withstand the surrounding attacks—his blades even became adorned in the flames.
A makeshift compound spell. Alecdora thought, recalling how the displaced mages, he included, made it back to the capital through the use of such a technique, though much more focused.
The three currently attacking Blake didn't act as the only problem. The Terra Mage held impressive and swift control over his landmasses, maneuvering each at high velocity. With that, and this relentless assault, it proved difficult to keep up, both in speed and in keeping track of which mage was where just off of sensory.
If I'm being honest...I was expecting more. David remarked on Blake's performance so far.
I was expecting him to redirect at least some attacks with Spatial Magic, yet nothing. Mason thought, still having his defensive spell on standby. Does your spell have anything to do with it, David?
It would only prevent him from leaving. It shouldn't prevent his using it within. David replied. It was a rule that no one could leave the arena until all rolls had occurred or a one was rolled.
Does he think he's toying with us...? Gris questioned, irritated.
A foolish thought, if it's true. Regardless, not making use of it only aids us—you little bottom-feeder, stay still!! Ferrick couldn't continue his remark as his frustration took over, earning a chuckle from a few of his allies.
[1:00]
Blake had to keep in mind the die in the sky as well. It just now began rolling again; is there a cool down between each roll? The process itself took about a minute, so the next effect should happen after another. It feels like a variable's missing from before...
If he had to guess, perhaps a previously rolled number gets taken out of the continuing set. That was reassuring, not having to deal with the chance of their mana reserves constantly doubling again and again.
Regardless, that still meant five mystery effects were in reserve, and Blake figured most, if not all, were bad news for him—just the first one left him to deal with multiple mages whose reserves of magic have drastically increased—if the battle went on for too long, he may be one of the first with nothing left in the tank.
That just meant no time to waste on stalling; a battle like this called for overwhelming aggression, or as Luck would say...
Assault and battery! :D
"[Copy Magic: Laevateinn]!"
Blake extends one hand and swings it down, forming six massive crystal blades that collide with Ferrick's.
It's snappy, sharp, with a bit of sizzling; the sound of Ferrick's swords shattering. It shocked Ferrick, among others.
He broke through my swords so easily?!
Reform your weaponry quickly, friend! Hamon said to Ferrick, shifting focus from his glass reflections to aid his comrades in the battle. I will momentarily take your place!
"[Glass Creation Magic: Verre Epee]!"
Hamon raised his arms, conjuring glass swords from the ground and launching them forth alongside Gris' fireballs and Zophial's homing shots, while Ferrick prepared to recast, trying to adjust the output of his magic power to strengthen it without making the spell unstable.
Blake figured as much. Despite their reserves drastically increasing, his opponents were still used to emitting a specific, controllable amount of magic power output into their spells. They weren't making proper use of their increased reserves, aside from mere quantity. In contrast, with his vaster amounts of mana and experience with the Magic Amplfication technique, Blake was much more used to immense magic power output—it seemed he outclassed them in that regard, and he planned to make that an undeniable fact.
"[Copy Magic: Harpe + Holy Water Bullet + Exploding Buckshot + Sol Liena + Raiden's Lightning Bolt]!"
So many spells at once?! How?! David questioned in disbelief. This guy didn't need to target him specifically; he could easily just end up as collateral! His eyes frantically shifted between Blake and his rolling die. How is there still thirty seconds remaining?!
O-Oh dear.
How in God's name is a blinded peasant pushing us back?!
This is ridiculous!
Crystal splintered glass, aqua bullets extinguished flaming spheres, and chain reactions upon chain reactions of combustions amassed an enormous eruption of explosions in the sky, black and grey smoke blanketing it. Powerful surges of lightning and beams of unholy fire made it through the chaos, trying to breach through the attacks and hit the mages' platforms, but Alecdora's Crushing Sand Clod generated a massive amount of sand that smothered the elemental duo. To his credit, Alecdora rather easily grew used to his increased reserves and adjusted the output of his spells accordingly.
Even so, he was thoroughly irritated with himself. His sand constructs required solid ground and remained mostly stationary; he hated to acknowledge it, but his magic wasn't effective in aerial battles. He was the one that was challenged, yet this was the first major action he's been able to make; he was taking a backseat in his own damn battle!
...But he calmed and focused himself. It'll be fine; either the arrogant black bull will fall for flying too close to their rising sun, or he'll be beaten and battered for dirtying their domain with his footsteps.
Speaking of which, Hamon, where is the Black Bull? The smoke's obscuring our sight.
Hamon scanned his glass reflections, humming. I can't find him. Perhaps he's hiding within—?
No need to ponder. Among the next wave of attacks dyed black and blue emerged the half-dozen blades Blake initially formed with Laevateinn, brought together into a whirling hurricane of blades, black gales swirling all around as it rocketed straight at the mages.
An interesting maneuver. He must be within the center of those blades, hoping to break through to us! Hamon realized.
I'll cut him down! Ferrick said, re-casting Iron Striker and conjuring eight greatswords, all stronger than before, ready to slash through the oncoming attack.
He nearly choked on air as he witnessed his swords immediately break on impact.
How?!?!
Alecdora shot his hands out, amassing sand all around the blades to stop them. He physically recoiled when his defense was broken through, a massive hole torn through the back of his spell.
He must've reinforced his output. They're much stronger than before!
Honestly, that fact didn't concern Alecdora. The Black Bull reaching them meant he could finally unleash some of his power onto the arrogant pest. Stopping his approach shouldn't be his goal...removing his defense should be!
Cadance!
Okay!
[2:00]
Just then, David's eyes snapped to his die. The second roll had concluded, a four; a smile filled with excitement and relief graced his lips.
The perfect roll just in time!
"[Sound Magic: Frequency Resonance]!"
Cadance's Sound Magic allows her to manipulate certain vibrations for both offense and support. Once she'd witnessed Blake make use of Crystal Magic, she prepared this spell. She emitted vibrations that matched the crystals' frequency, amplifying the surrounding sound waves that would cause them to shatter.
She wasn't expecting it to happen so quickly! It was as if another force was aiding in the output of her spell's power, strengthening it—it must've been David's spell.
She thanked him as she closed her extended hands into fists, causing the buster blades to shatter into thousands of pieces before they made impact. All...seven of them?
For a split second, it made no sense. There had been another blade in the center of the other six? Where was the Black Bull—?!
From the broken pieces of the seventh blade, a puff of smoke emerged. That moment was all Blake needed.
"[Copy Magic: Thunder God's Boots + Thunder God's Gloves]!"
He used Transformation Magic to disguise himself as a sword?!
He emerged from the smoke a lightning bolt, the fire soldier fodder in his way slowing him down by milliseconds at best—locked right onto Mason's mana signature; he leapt across the gaps between the masses of earth effortlessly, picking up a little...something on the way.
"YOU THIEVING STREET TRASH FRAUD, GET OFF ME—!!"
"Hoo-boy, you got a mouth on you~!" Blake laughed, dragging Gris along for the ride in the clutches of his clawed lightning boot and winding it back to send the fuming flame mage ragdolling towards Mason.
Mason had only seconds to react. He instinctively reacted with his prepared Aegis of Gaia spell, forming a multitude of shields that were all broken through with Gris' body as the projectile. He realized his mistake too late.
Blake used the distraction to move past him, lifting him off the ground by the back of his head, causing a literal head-on collision between Mason and Gris, overloading their bodies with electricity that kept transferring between the two till they fell limp, unconscious.
Oh no! A collective thought among the Golden Dawn mages.
Within seconds of Gris and Mason going down, their handiwork ceased to function; the fire soldiers watched each other dissipate, and the dozen masses of suspended earth began their plummet back to the ground with gravity walking back into the equation.
Crap, Crap, Crap, CRAP!
Zophial, language!!
Worry about my language when we're not FALLING FROM THE SKY, CADANCE!!
But we're not! David interrupted.
What are you talking about, of course we're—!!
Once Zophial calmed herself down for just a second, she realized they weren't falling, they were levitating. Suspended in the air; constant, rhythmic vibrations kept them afloat.
...Oh, was all she could say. New technique you've been working on? She asked with an awkward chuckle, face flushed red.
Cadance simply giggled. Her attention, and the other mages', returned to their opponent.
Surprisingly, Blake's mass of earth was still suspended. Thanks to his Leo Palma spell, lion paws wrapped around it, keeping it from falling. His mind was on something else.
Another variable's left the set; the die's cooling down right now. With that guy's shield spell and the one that completely shattered my buster blades, the effect must be amplifying their magic's power even without using their own boosted reserves.
They're stealing my schtick! ...Oh, so that's how it feels.
Blake's hidden gaze snapped toward the mage who had initially been beside Mason; from their signature, Blake figured it was the Glass Magic mage.
Hamon froze in trepidation, unable—unwilling—to even cast a spell. He was the only one still left on the piece of earth with Blake, and he'd been praying he could keep a reasonable amount of the distance away from him. Aside from being at his mercy, Hamon was also rightfully creeped out by just how intense Blake's gaze felt—and he can't even look him in the eyes!
Without turning away from Hamon, Blake raises a hand to form cotton around the two unconscious mages, binding them but securing them safely. He continues to stare at him, eerily quiet...
"...I felt sparks between those two~" He broke the silence with that whisper, quietly giggling to himself like a little gossip girl at a sleepover.
It was so strange, so offputting, that Hamon couldn't help but laugh. "O-Oh, really? I actually—"
And it was cruel just how unprepared he was for the barrage of heavy-handed strikes Blake unleashed all across his body—all Hamon felt was blunt aching and sharp jolts of pain until a final blow to the face brought him down. If nothing else, the cotton Blake pummeled him into was actually rather nice...
"Ya let your guard down, rookie mistake!"
So did you...
Whiplash; Blake screamed out, hands clutching onto his head throbbing in utter pain.
W̷h̷a̷t̷ ̷t̷h̷e̷ ̷h̷e̷l̷l̷ ̷i̷s̷ ̷t̷h̷i̷s̷?̷!̷?̷!̷
Something was overloading his senses, drowning his thoughts and everything else in a pool of ear-splitting white noise that grew worse and worse by the second. Every thought he tried to cling onto vanished among the noise. It felt like he was curling into himself, trying to keep ahold of everything he was losing track of.
N̷e̷e̷d̷.̷.̷.̷t̷o̷ ̷d̷o̷.̷.̷d̷o̷ ̷s̷o̷m̷e̷t̷h̷i̷n̷g̷.̷.̷.̷!̷!̷
Forgoing thoughts, Blake simply tried digging through memories, any experiences similar to now that he'd...
.̷.̷.̷T̷h̷e̷.̷.̷.̷T̷h̷e̷ ̷F̷o̷r̷e̷s̷t̷s̷!! ̷
[3:00]
Cadance and the others watched as her High-Frequency Disturbance spell took its course; once she fine-tuned a specific frequency, she could induce the amplified sound waves straight into someone's mind—overwhelming their senses with static and white noise. It required time to find the target's specific frequency, to keep within range of them, and to have her fingertips pressed together as a measure of concentration.
It certainly required preparation, but it paid off. It wasn't something one could fend off and now their opponent was defenseless, left squirming and curling into himself like a poor pangolin. It was a...sad sight, honestly.
Don't tell me you're feeling sorry for him. He made three of our allies look like jokes. Zophial muttered with disapproval, looking back at the three "sleeping beauties" brought back to them thanks to Cadance, also suspended by the vibrations.
I understand that. I'm just...uncomfortable using my magic like this against someone who isn't an enemy of the kingdom. It's not a pleasant experience, as you can see.
He brought this upon himself, don't spare him any pity. Alecdora told her. Just keep him indisposed until we're done.
Cadance's gaze lingered on Alecdora for a moment. She'd been a close bystander during the inciting incident that led to this battle, and she'd always had a keen ear...she heard what Alecdora had muttered to himself...what caused their opponent to lash out at him.
Even if a peasant should know better...how do you expect someone to react?
She kept that thought to herself, though. She stayed silent and simply nodded, regretfully amping her spell even further while David chimed in.
We've gotten lucky on our first two rolls. David remarked, his spell so far granting them both a vast increase in reserves and amplifying the potency of their spells. If we're trying to end it here, try to finish it before the next roll happens. A one could ruin it all.
Ferrick, Zophial, and Alecdora understood that, though the last had bitten the bullet on it. Even if he'd prefer differently, this battle was no longer solely his to win the moment the Black Bull welcomed all other challengers as well. It wasn't a mere grudge match, but the formidability of the Golden Dawn's elite against the ant that had the gall to disrespect them.
There was one path forward that would solidify it. They brought their magic together, performing a magnificent compound spell that would amplify their strengths even further and mitigate their weaknesses until none remained.
Ferrick's iron and Alecdora's sand merged, the being formed from their union taking on muted colors. Adorned and covered head-to-toe in ironside armor on a massive scale, its chest heaved heavily, aching to enact its reason for living. Its arms formed with a great sword in one hand and a chain mace in the other—the head of the latter bubbling with heat. Its conjuration completed as its boots touched the ground far beneath them, a monument to its size.
They spoke the knight's title, and it unleashed a roaring battle cry.
"[Union Magic: The Dawn's Ultimate Devastator]!!"
The mages viewed the battle, applause and cheers abound as they watched the knight come to life.
"Destroy him!"
"Show that peasant where he belongs!"
"Make him wish he was never born!"
"This is what makes us the elite!"
"You really believed they could have been beaten?" Letoile wondered, asking Klaus.
He grimaced. "I don't like either ending of this battle, but remember that it hasn't ended yet."
"Seems like it will any second now." Letoile replied, returning to the view.
Klaus pursed his lips, about to do the same as her, until he took notice of two distant figures.
Langris has returned? He and Captain Vangeance are viewing the battle as well?
"Well, well, that level of teamwork is certainly impressive." Langris complimented. His teammates have done well for themselves.
Honestly, what other outcome could there've been? No one in the Black Bulls—no one that belonged to his pathetic brother's brigade—could ever think of attaining victory in a battle like this...not unless they were delusional.
Langris looked to Vangeance, who gave a quiet hum.
"You haven't said a word since we arrived to witness the battle, Captain. Care to offer your thoughts?"
"...His skill and power are truly impressive. It's a shame he did not pick us as his brigade."
Langris was shocked, appalled even. He was offered a place in our brigade...and rejected it to go with the Black Bulls...?!
His assertation was spot-on, the Copy Mage was delusional. At least their peasant rookie understood the honor of being chosen by the best of the best, by the Magic Knight Captain closest to becoming the Wizard King. This bastard was offered a place among the greats and actively chose to crawl around in the dirt with bottom-feeders? With the failures, rejects, and freaks?
With Finral?
...Why did it anger him so much?
Langris stewed, mask his bubbling irritation with snark, "Think we'll have to stop him from dying?" It'd dampen their reputation if a Magic Knight's death was on their hands.
To Langris' surprise, Vangeance shook his head. The scene before him was a strange sense of nostalgia; in the few minutes that had taken place in this battle, all he could think about was the one that took place nearly a decade ago—against Conrad, a man who's sorrow and need for retribution led him to a radical attempt of changing the Clover Kingdom for the better, one that Julius—and therefore he—could not allow to happen.
"You're wrong...I STILL HAVE PLENTY OF POWER!"
The man's outcry of determination still sends chills through his body to this day. But more than that, he was sure Blake held the same fierce power of resilience and retaliation.
Does this...remind you of anything?
...He loved playing tag with us.
[4:00]
They've gotten rather lucky with their rolls so far, David had to admit. They've avoided hitting a one, gained two great buffs, and now their latest roll...will be a heavy detriment to their opponent, if it was even needed.
A two, he's lost about half of his remaining magic reserves.
It matters not. We end this...NOW!
The Devastator's right arm raised, the hefty weight of its sword pointing towards the sky, before it dropped with a great swing.
...What?!?!
A fist of cotton emerged in the blink of an eye, slamming an uppercut into the knight's arm with an incredible amount of force, enough to tear it off at the elbow joint!
The greatsword fell to the ground with a thud like thunder.
It didn't stop. In utter disbelief, the mages witnessed the emergence of a black and blue sheep in its entirety. Its ridiculous size rivaled that of The Devastator's, standing tall and staring at them with fierce, soulless white eyes, while its creator rested on its head.
"[Copy Magic: Sleeping Sheep Strike] [Magic Amplification: 15%]!"
As its other fist emerged, it aimed at the Devastator's ironsand chest plate, erupting shockwaves from the sheer impact, almost sending the Golden Dawn mages off course as it threw strike after strike. The knight stood its ground against the attacks, but just before it could follow through with its own, the sheep lunged onto the knight, dropping them both to the ground!
Its assault was relentless, following in the footsteps of its maker. It stomped its foot into the Devastator's other arm, breaking it as well, before hurling hit after hit onto the knight, aiming to beat it back down to its base components.
Zophial couldn't believe what she was seeing. Are we seriously fighting an oversized sheep?!?!
It's kicking your knight's ass too.
Shut your mouth, David!
Cadance looked on with a...strange fondness. It's like children play-fighting with their toys...
Regardless of what it is, it's certainly a powerful spell. Even after losing half his reserves, he still had enough in the tank to cast one that could match their compound spell? It was both insane and impressive.
You all need to shut up and focus! Cadance, why isn't your spell working?! Alecdora questioned, the Black Bull shouldn't be able to easily fight against an attack like that, let alone conjure a spell like this!
Cadance stuttered, embarrassed. S-Something's interfering with my frequency. It's blocking the sound waves from breaching him!
Her feral highness called this Mana Skin, didn't she? Blake tried to remember. Now, just as it protected him from the harsh gravitational force in the Forest of Goliaths, it defended him from the effects of that...honestly pretty sick magic. Whatever goliath the mages created sounded pretty awesome too, especially with a badass name like that. Damn shame he couldn't get a good look. Ah well.
He was pushing himself to risky places with that 15% but it felt necessary against what they brought forth; Their amped reserves and magic power atop the Compound Magic made it quite the stacked hand against him—especially since he just lost half his reserves from just a stupid roll of the dice.
Pricks. How do they expect him to get home?
...Compound Magic. Combining different magics together to form a spell much stronger than the sum of its parts. Is that what happened at the magic zone?
After whaling on the knight, the sheep readied one of its finishing moves...a flying elbow drop!
The die's made it through three rolls so far, what's it have next for–
[6:00]
Blake's veiled eyes widen to extreme measures...as the giant sheep he stood on suddenly...poofed...out of existence, leaving him free falling.
Are you kidding me?!
That's...unfortunate timing. David remarked, looking at what his die just rolled. Three, a stroke of supreme luck for them and misfortune for their opponent.
Ferrick laughed, dry and cruel. He swung an arm across his body, and the Devastator followed, its regenerated arm swinging the greatsword straight into Blake like it was swatting a fly.
Blake tried—tried—to cast Laevateinn, but nothing came forth.
I can't cast spells...!
He was lucky enough to flood his body with enough Reinforcement Magic to withstand the blow, but not without being sent careening to the ground, cratering it with his impact.
Zophial followed Alecdora's attack with an overhead swing of the chain mace, shattering the ground below and causing an eruption that blasted Blake back into the air, surrounded by debris—and every particle of that debris had Zophial's magic lingering, a setup to her next spell, activated with a snap of her fingers.
Die!
"[Blast Magic: Bombastic Eruption Cluster]!!"
Using the magic lingering along the debris, as well as the remnants of her previous attacks that drifted down below in the meantime, she detonated every single particle touched by her magic all at once, causing a chain reaction of explosions across a vast area...all with Blake at its center. With his senses dulled by his rapid loss of magic reserves, he had barely enough time to form a black sphere of wind magic, straining back against the force that tried to blast it open and destroy him.
I can still make use of my magic types at their basic level, but it's...s-shit it's barely holding on!
For the first time in this battle, Blake grew frantic, frustrated by the possibility that this was a battle he would lose, that he would fall to the ground at the feet of these bastard nobles and be just what they expected, in front of the lot of them.
It enraged him.
No...I refuse! Not by them!
His wind sphere may have been able to hold back much more than expected, but it eventually reached its limit under such constant, bombarding power. It became undone, leaving Blake to the onslaught overwhelming his defenses and senses. His mind's eye composed of nothing but harsh, flashing lights. Ears ringing, mouth tasting like metal, and Reinforcement Magic remaining the only reason he wasn't torn apart.
The experience ended sooner than he expected—his wind sphere truly did push back more than he thought—but there was no time to recover, not when Alecdora sent The Devastator's boot slamming into Blake's whole body, punting him into a rising star shooting through the air until he collided with the boundary of David's barrier. Reverberations rumbled throughout it from the impact, but otherwise did nothing to its integrity.
He fell to the ground limply, lucid enough to form a cotton cloud to break his fall, the softness nearly taking away his will to stand back up.
But he did, tearing himself off. He needed to. His stance was flimsy; his body ached and hurt all over, even with Water Recovery Magic slowly mending his wounds. But it didn't matter to him—under no circumstances would he fall to his knees.
All that roughhousing wore down his bandages, they were nothing but thin ribbons dangling around his face now. With a tired sigh, he rips off the remnants and begins replacing them with the bandages on his other arm, as quickly as his aching body would allow.
"It's no use. Just crumble and concede. Give up!" Alecdora demanded.
Blake stops, his unconcealed gaze raising to stare up at the Devastator slowly approaching him from a ways away. Alecdora and the other mages suspended beside its head, Cadance using her magic to amplify Alecdora's voice.
"No matter how much stronger you may be compared to the peasants around you, you—a mere dog who barks and bites hopelessly at his betters—could never hope to stand against the Clover Kingdom's finest, the ones who wholeheartedly embody Captain Vangeance's will!"
Oh for the love of god, this again?
Blake tuned out his voice, leaving it as annoying static, his focus shifting to the Devastator itself.
Yeah...badass. He couldn't deny that, at least. He did find it funny, in an ironic sense; a dark knight who fought in the name of the Golden Dawn...all for the will of their "supreme" Captain Vangeance and all that other cocksucking bull—
Captain Vangeance ...The Magic Knight Exams.
He looked down at the ground, fissures all around him, leaving openings in the dirt to the underground.
And then, it hit him. Exactly what he should do.
[8:00]
Only after about a minute does Blake tune back in to whatever "grand" speech Alecdora was saying at him, tightening his bandages.
"You're outnumbered, overpowered, and have nearly nothing left to defend yourself with. Blinded by your misplaced arrogance, you couldn't realize it. Every roll of that die acted in our favor for a reason!"
Even just a minute ago, its second to last roll granted them a full restoration of their mana reserves. It was cruel how unnecessary it was, but it only hammered his point.
"And it was not because of something as contrived as mere luck. We, the nobility, have always been favored by mana, beloved by it. You—a peasant anomaly? It must abhor itself for ever letting something like you exist, taking every opportunity it could to weaken you and show you what you were always meant to be! Where you were always meant to belong!"
Submitted at our feet, or under the heel of our boot...
Ferrick and Zophial stood by him in solidarity, though David and Cadance were a bit...put off by his intensity.
Alecdora composes himself, finishing his words. "Admit your surrender and leave here with the last shred of dignity we allow you to keep. Be grateful for the mercy I'm still willing to offer you."
All eyes trained on the Black Bull. His opponents wait expectantly. Overzealous spectators shout at him to get this pathetic display of stupidity over with, while just as many, such as Klaus, simply waited with bated breath for the next action.
They watched intently as Blake slowly conjured a Communication Magic microphone, wondering. Would he admit defeat and acknowledge his surrender, or—
He smiles.
He...chuckles.
...He laughs.
He laughs.
Boundless and unrestrained, echoing gleeful mania that crawls up their backs like a ghost's hand, wrapping its chilling fingers one by one around their necks.
What...What is wrong with him?! Alecdora questioned, fiery anger building up and up within him, blood boiling from the mockery.
His laughter trails off as he swings his arms across his body, using nearly the rest of his magic reserves to flood the area with Smoke Magic, making one last use of Magic Amplification at 15% to grant his basic magic strength somewhat comparable to that of a spell.
The audience dreadfully hates that their entertainment has become obscured by a smokescreen contained within David's cubic barrier.
"Coward!" One of the mages spectating shouted, likely at Blake.
"Honestly, he put up a much better fight than I thought he would. It was pretty impressive." Maxwell complimented.
"He's fighting until the bitter end. I think there's something admirable in that." Rina said.
"I disagree," Vance began.
"Of course you do," Maxwell said, groaning. "You just love being a contrarian, don't you?"
"Oh, shut up. The battle's outcome has been clear for the last three minutes, yet that maniac would rather senselessly throw himself at the wall again like a wild animal instead of merely playing dead. It's senseless."
"He's certainly tenacious," Letoile said, speaking to Klaus. "Do you still think he has a chance? What could he possibly do in this situation?"
Klaus had no concrete answer. Barely any magic left, no access to his spells, and against mages with such ample power; By all means, Blake's position appeared unwinnable, unsalvageable.
Despite that, Klaus found himself smiling.
"I can't answer that concretely, but if I know one thing about him...he's unpredictable. His type of magic lends itself to that. If there's a way, no matter how implausible, I'm sure he's found it."
Letoile hummed, "You speak rather fondly of him..."
Klaus immediately caught her insinuation, and calmly pleaded. "Please don't continue. I've dealt with enough rumors about that as is—"
"Look, something's happening to the die!" A mage shouted.
Indeed, there was. On it's sixth roll—strange that there even was a need to roll when only one number remained—the die suddenly stopped, it's form destablizing, glitching in a sense. Cracks and fractures form around it...until it ceases to exist. Then the barrier quickly followed, its daring red color fading, becoming a faint pink, until it completely vanished with a silent pop. The smoke quickly encompassed much more of the battlefield, becoming stronger, denser
"That's not...how the spell is supposed to end."
"Did something affect it?"
There must have. Klaus thought. He's unsure if anyone else did, but he was sure he saw something moving just beneath the smoke, making contact with the barrier before it vanished and they quickly pulled back into hiding.
They looked like...roots?
[9:00]
Once again, Blake rose into the air with Wind Magic, ascending to meet the five remaining mages.
Be cautious, he made use of this back at the ceremony. We're unable to detect anything smothered by his smoke.
Huh, must be why I can't sense my die. David figured. Shame, he'd had such fortune with his rolls so far and the conditions were set, he was hoping to witness his spell's secret effect take place. Another time, I guess.
Ferrick wasn't unnerved. "What sort of last-ditch effort is this? You're sorely mistaken if you think you can outlast us by hiding in the smoke," he taunted Blake.
Blake smiled. He pressed his middle fingers to his lips and blew a kiss, "Mmuah~", and flew back into the smoke.
...Ferrick was unnerved. He's demented.
We've noticed.
Stay on guard, everyone. Spread out, make sure you remain visible.
Zophial looked to Cadance, In all that time, you could've left him defenseless with that nifty little spell of yours.
Cadance looked at her teammate with narrowed eyes, keeping the unconscious mages by her side as she moved through the air. He's on his last legs. There's no need to subject him to that torment again.
Zophial rolled her eyes, disregarding her answer. Whatever...more fun for me anyway.
The Devastator began spinning its explosive chain mace, ready to enact another massive detonation.
"You really didn't think this through, did you?" Zophial shouted out, taunting him wherever he was hiding, eyes trailing around the surrounding smoke in case his head of snow poked out. Her arm was raised, ready to bring the mace down. "All that blunt force trauma must have screwed your head loose, more than it already was! I can just blow this all away!"
The air echoed with Blake's voice, cold. So cold.
"No..."
Suddenly, the air filled with a cacophony of noise. Smoke whipping from misplaced particles. A harsh grating as something was pierced through and broken. The boom that rumbled the ground as the knights' weapon fell. The Devastator's hollow cry of anguish.
All eyes snapped back to their knight.
From below the ground and beyond the smoke, in all directions, relentlessly; massive, black, branch-like spikes were tearing through the Devastator, beginning to bind the massive, helpless creature.
What just—?!
No time! We need to free it! Watch for attacks! Ferrick commanded, the others followed.
All except Alecdora.
This magic...
It was familiar but something wasn't right...something was very wrong.
"[Iron Magic: Wayland's Titanic Pillars]!"
Massive iron pillars emerged high in the air. Ferrick brought them down, trying to break his knight out free at the same time of trying to rip the knight's arm free.
To his horror, a dozen more branches from either side intervened, wrapping themselves around each pillar, stopping their force and weakening them, belittling them until nothing was left. While the spikes only grew bigger and bigger.
It strengthen itself with my spell?!
Ferrick, watch out!
Cadance's warning came too late. Another branch had emerged in his blindspot from the smoke, backhanding him and sending him careening into the knight. He did not fall, dark ashy limbs clung to him on impact, binding him to his creation, unable to move a muscle.
I-I can't break free! It's...my magic is being drained!
Even surrounded by darkness, Alecdora's vision was going red.Tree-like magic that can absorb others' magic to strengthen itself indefinitely...
He was not the only one bound. Hamon, Gris, and Mason had been taken in the confusion when Cadance had been initially attacked, and David had followed soon after—rolling a measly one on his Gambler's Fallacy spell to protect himself.
Zophial used her Blast Magic to throw herself around the Knight, dodging every attack by a hair while she tried spreading her magic residuals across it.
Zophial, wait! You could hurt our teammates!
Worry about yourself, Cadance! She wasn't a fucking amateur, she kept them out of the radius of any explosions that would occur.
She snaps her fingers, casting her Bombastic Eruption Cluster once more.
...It was a wasted effort. Whatever she destroyed, it was merely replaced with thicker, stronger material.
She was turning red with frustration. "Damn it! Damn it! DAMN IT! What the hell am I supposed to do against something this stupid?!?!"
"You poor thing...you gonna cry?"
Tears were running. "Shut the FUCK up, you worthless peasant—!!"
Branches snapped, wrapping around her neck. A few seconds before she could asphyxiate, she was sent flying by another smacking her into the knight's shoulder.
That's for disrespecting Henry's home.
"Zophial!" Cadance cried out. She and Alecdora were the only ones left, and the latter had yet to even make an attempt at something. Alecdora, snap out of it already!
No...no, it can't be. No. No. NO! NO! HE CAN'T HAVE IT!
Cadance couldn't rely on him, he was a lost cause. Instead, she rushed toward the knight in staunch defense of her allies. It's absorbing their power to strengthen itself. I need to break them free!
"[Sound Magic: Intense Wave Rupture]!"
She amplified the sound waves around her immensely, a powerful omnidirectional blast that pushed away any attacks aimed at her, though it was quite a struggle against so many all at once. She focused her Frequency Resonance spell into the roots that bound her allies to the knight, trying to break apart the magic's particles.
They keep getting stronger, I can't find a strong enough frequency to make them break —!
A frightened yelp left her as branches burst out from the knight's torso, wrapping themselves around her limbs and waist, pulling her in just like all the others. Its strength had grown so quickly, she couldn't strengthen her spell to counteract it. The absorption of magic was harsh and immediate, leaving her light-headed and barely conscious, unable to cast another spell to help herself, let alone anyone else.
I'm sorry...I failed.
Alecdora was the only one left, and he was barely cognizant of that, his thoughts overloaded by a single one.
He copied Captain Vangeance's Magic...
His Captain. A God amongst men who shares his never-ending warmth and compassion with those he leads, gracing them with his ethereal grace and kindness.
He's using Captain Vangeance's Magic...
A radiant magic that settled the fears of the feeble who basked in its shade and bathed the hearts of the strong in divine, golden fire.
A magic synonymous with the serene beauty of nature itself...tainted by the dark, unnatural power of FILTHY! PEASANT! TRASH!
He's corrupted Captain Vangeance's Magic!!
The outraged cry of ceaseless devotion permeated the area.
He dropped to ground level, reinforcing his body to handle to fall.
"Show your face, you worthless fucking coward! I'll tear you limb from limb for what you've done!"
"Is that a promise?"
Finally, he emerged, brought forth out of the smoke and held in the air by pulsing roots wrapped around his body. They pulled away so he could touch the ground.
"Cause I'd love to see you try~"
Alecdora grit his teeth, faced with the bastard smiling like he doesn't realized the sin he's committed. His mana reserves...they've returned completely! How?!
He knew the answer just as he asked the question.
He took the magic collected by the branches and roots and flooded it into himself, restoring all that he'd lost...
It only enraged him more.
"How dare you... Captain Vangeance would never use his magic so selfishly! !!"
With David's spell no longer active, Alecdora's reserves were at regular capacity, mostly untouched, and his magic power wouldn't amplify...but it didn't matter. Nothing else matters except this.
"You don't understand a thing! All your magic! All your power! None of it belongs to you! You're nothing on your own! You're not even human, just a disease masquerading as one!"
Sand emerged all around them, birthing Alecdora's most powerful guard, composed of nothing but armor. A mass of sand formed like a halo above its head, and it wielded two massive scythe blades. He poured all the magic power he could into one attack with reckless abandon...
"[Sand Creation Magic: Sand Armor Dreadnought Guard]!!"
Blake just looks on at the display, unbothered. Tired.
Don't you dare ignore me, bastard! You don't have the right to!
"What power can you dare call your own?! Use it right here and now to fight..."
Alecdora swings his arms overhead; The Dreadnought does the same, swinging its blades down onto an unfazed Blake.
"—Or do us all a favor and JUST DIE!"
A shockwave erupts at the impact, cratering the ground beneath Blake's feet, leaving it an unrecognizable wasteland
...But Blake was unharmed, having blocked the incredibly potent attack with just one arm.
Alecdora's chest heaved with hazy anger. How...How could he have...?!
Reinforcement Magic. Magic anyone could call their own...
"You're the one who doesn't understand a thing...!"
Flooding his body with Reinforcement Magic, more than Alecdora had ever seen a mage do, Blake destroyed the Guard's scythes with a mere flick of his wrist. He wasted no time with closing the distance between him and Alecdora, slamming into him with enough force and speed to send them both flying into his Dreadnought.
Alecdora slammed into it first, taking all the impact he couldn't mitigate with his own reinforcement. He was slammed headfirst into his Dreadnought again and again.
"̴T̸h̶e̸ ̶p̴o̷w̴e̷r̷ ̸y̵o̶u̶'̸r̵e̸ ̴s̸o̷ ̴p̸r̵o̶u̴d̸ ̶o̵f̴ ̸w̶a̷s̷ ̴p̷a̷s̵s̴e̴d̸ ̵d̴o̷w̸n̷ ̵t̴h̴r̴o̷u̵g̷h̷ ̶a̴ ̵b̸l̷o̵o̸d̵l̶i̶n̴e̴ ̵o̸f̶ ̴t̷h̸i̵e̶v̶e̴s̸ ̷a̷n̶d̶ ̷t̴r̴a̴i̸t̵o̷r̶s̴!̸"̴
Blake forced the man around just to throw his arm into his neck, a chokehold that Alecdora squirms and fails to break free of.
The bandages were loose, enough to let one of Blake's eyes peer through. ...Blue?
"This power ending up in my hands was anything but a mistake. I was hand-fucking-picked, chosen by whoever granted my wish that day. The day some heartless noble brats threatened to take my family away from me!"
He probably sounded insane. Half of what he said made no sense. Good, he felt a little insane.
A giggle escapes. When he looks back at Alecdora, his eye returns to red. "But you know what? You were right about a few things..."
Blake slammed a hand into Alecdora's throat before he launched them into the air, running straight up Alecdora's guard, dragging his head into the sand along the entire way.
"You did outnumber me! You did overpower me! You had every advantage! You should've had me dead to rights! Nearly everything went in your favor!"
As they reached the summit—the Dreadnought's head—Blake threw Alecdora straight into the air, and jumped straight after him, slamming his fists overhead down onto his back.
"AND YET YOU STILL COULDN'T BEAT ME!"
Alecdora crashed straight through his Dreadnought, splitting it into two massive shapeless lumps of sand, breaking nearly half his bones from the impact.
He doesn't know how much time he spent laying there, but eventually, Blake dropped to the floor, stepping over to him.
"So maybe you're not so beloved by mana after all. Maybe I was born with the sole purpose of reminding you of that."
He nudged him with his foot to see where his head likely was; when he found it...he pulled the barely conscious man up by his green locks, leaning over as he looked down on him.
"So that's what I'll do. I'll kick that pedestal out from under you every time you try to disregard us. With all the power I have at my disposal...
"And there's not a damn thing you can do about it."
Over the last few minutes, there'd been near dead silence amongst the spectators, only whispers of what was happening within the smoke flowed while their minds wandered and wondered what they would see once it cleared.
Their breaths hitched at the first sight of motion. Swirling black wind circled around the smoke, growing faster and faster with each cycle, displacing the smoke at such speed that it quickly dissipated, replaced by a black wind sphere.
It burst open, unleashing powerful black gales of wind that nearly knocked the spectators off their feet. It obscured their sight briefly before finally letting them witness the aftermath.
"W-What the..."
"What did he do??"
"He found a way after all..."
The Dawn's Devastator, a figure that perfectly encapsulated the Golden Dawn's superiority in power and bearing that stood tall and indomitable only minutes ago, was now a mere shell of its former self, strung up in the clutches of massive, dead trees ripped straight from the pages of a haunting fairy tale, its roots the bones of the deceased buried beneath it. Caught within its branches were the Golden Dawn combatants, drained and defeated.
All except Alecdora. Instead, the unconscious man's head pressed into the dirt underneath Blake's boot. The two in the center of what looked like a war-torn battlefield between two armies.
Slowly, Blake pulls the bandages away from his eyes, wiping the sweat off his face as he turns to the onlookers. His crimson gaze pierced straight through them, leaving nearly all of them breathless. Minutes passed that felt like hours.
Please don't acknowledge me. Please don't acknowledge me. Please don't acknowledge me.
To Klaus' surprise and relief, Blake did not.
"This duel is over. Your mages lost."
And...that was all. No taunts or insults thrown. He formed a portal, and was gone a second later.
...Maxwell only did it as a joke, but, "...So, did anyone else bet on him winning or—?"
"Choke on it." Vance muttered, dropping a hefty coin purse at Maxwell's feet, who readily snatched it up.
He'll rake in quite a bit... Rina thought with a bitter chuckle, a dusting of red on her face from the lingering effect of Blake's gaze on her.
Blake...what obstacle could stand before you that you couldn't break through? Klaus questioned. He asked the same question of himself about Asta and Yuno, and now he understood.
They all shared that quality. They truly were brothers.
"That's...That's your magic!" Langris realized, looking upon the state Blake's copied magic left his brigade members in.
William nodded. He was there at the Magic Knight Exams. He witnessed my magic descend from the clouds. He's had it all along.
He had wondered why he sensed magic resembling his, moving its way beneath the ground, but now it all became clear.
The Golden Dawn's base sits on land rich in mana, comparable to the outer areas of Grand Magic Zones. While my mages assumed there was nothing he could do, he sent roots underground to draw in power, using Smoke Magic to hide their presence until it could stand against them, eventually using their power to strengthen his until their defeat was inevitable.
"Unbelievable, they should be ashamed of themselves."
William turned his head, hearing Langris' words. His vice-captain turned his back on the battle, walking away.
"What a dreadful sight. I can't stand it."
Vangeance briefly thought of calling out to Langris, but decided not to, instead looking back at the scene...and saw that Blake had already left.
...A shame. I would've liked to speak to him. I should write a letter to Yami.
With their mage so far away, he watched the black trees quickly decompose, letting the hollow Devastator fall. It lost all form, returning to just basic iron and sand, with the freed mages unconscious within the hills of it.
I wish he hadn't been so rough with them.
Nevertheless, William smiled. He stepped forward, readying a recovery magic spell to heal and rejuvenate his followers.
Blake emerged just outside of Hage, atop its famous demon skull. While Asta had the forests and Yuno had the vacant storage buildings around Hage to go to if they ever wanted some time to themselves, this had been his ever since he'd managed to climb all the way to the top, before he even had magic.
It'd always been a spot to relax and clear his thoughts. He always had a friend here, always willing to lend an ear for anything he wanted to talk about. He was running late anyways, why not take a little breathing room first.
"Yo, Big Wiz King The First. How's it going?"
"..."
He greets the stone statue of the first Wizard King in history, Lemiel Silvamillion Clover.
He must've heard the story over a thousand times by this point. When a demon nearly wiped out the people of the Clover Kingdom, it was this man alone who stood against and defeated the monster, but not without losing his own life. He became a legend, heralded as the first Wizard King after his death, and history followed from there.
"Sorry it's been so long, haven't dropped by since we left for the exams in September." Blake offered, dusting the statue off. "Doesn't look like anything dropped a dump on you, so that's good at least..."
That wouldn't stop Blake from dropping a verbal dump though, going over all the major details and minor ones when needed. About the awesome squad he and Asta joined, of Yuno making it into the "best" squad and all his accomplishments. The harrowing dangers, the loyal friends he's made...The lovers...
"..."
"Hey, hey, don't you look at me like that! They brought it to me first, and I just rolled with it. We're all having a great time, I'll have you know!"
"..."
"Okay, I'll admit, maybe I'm a little greedy, but whadaya expect?" Blake shoved his grimoire into the statue's face. "It's kinda my thing."
"..."
"I was influenced by an anti-bird!"
"..."
Blake wasn't getting anywhere with this. He heaved a heavy sigh, wrapping an arm around the statue's shoulders, while his gaze lingered on the six-leaf grimoire in his hand.
He shakes his head, too much to get into right now, too confusing. He won't subject the statue to his delusions. Instead, he goes with a fact.
"...The nobility sucks, a lot. My view of them hasn't changed much. You didn't suck, did you? Nah. I bet you were around a bunch that did, though. How could you stand it? You weren't friends with them, were you?"
"..."
"The silence is loud and clear," He quipped, scratching at his head. "Though I guess...there are a few that don't. Some are your descendants actually, so I guess that tracks with you not sucking." He patted the statue's shoulder, nodding to himself. "Definitely one of the good ones."
Even when he'd first come face to face with the statue, there'd always been a feeling, a strange radiant warmth in his gut, that told him that. That the man before him had been a true protector who wielded incredible magic for the good of his people, no matter who they were. Someone who gave true meaning to the title of "Noble".
Perhaps that's why he didn't despise them as much as he could've after that day four years ago, that the example this long-since dead man gave was enough for him to not let his hatred for the worst of the nobles blind him from recognizing those who were better than that. Who were compassionate and offered respect, that didn't treat those below their class like garbage.
Even if some, like Klaus and Noelle, hadn't started that way, their views eventually changed, and he supposed there was something rather meaningful in that as well.
"I still don't like plenty of them, and I'm sure plenty don't like me after I just kicked eight of their asses, but...thanks for helping me remember they're not all hopeless."
"..."
Blake just chuckled, high-fiving the statue.
"Good talk, my dude."
He turned around and found a surprised visitor staring up at him.
"Nero? What are you doing here?"
The bird looked at him blankly, then turned back to the village, its wings extended towards it.
Right, makes sense.
With a few steps, he stood next to the bird, gesturing to the spot beside them. "May I take a seat?"
Nero raised their left wing.
No?!
"Well too bad, I'm taking it anyways!" Blake retorted, plopping his rear down on the solid bone structure. Owwwww. Okay, shouldn't have done that.
Nero flew up to him, and he was prepared for the devastating combo they'd unleash upon him for such defiance...but that didn't happen. Instead, they just maintained deep eye contact as they flapped their wings in front of him. He eventually took the hint and offered his palms; Nero took to resting on them.
Blake smiled. "Best seat in the house?"
Nero poked him. That's fine, it's how they show love. He returned the gesture with a soothing head rub. There was a soft gurgle, letting him know it was comforting.
He continued as he looked to the village. Hage wasn't one for change; it could go months, even years, looking the same as it always had. Probably because it never had a surplus of resources to make any noteworthy improvements.
Though that may not be true soon. Sister Lily had told them about her and Orfai's efforts to construct a proper school within Hage, one filled with proper studying books of both magical and non-magical uses to brighten the young minds of Hage. If that was the first step, who knows what could happen down the road.
It was an honest village, and the people were good, even if lacking in faith. They deserved at least a little more than this.
"May not be much, but it's still quite the nice view."
The afternoon sun bathed the crops in light, and beyond the fields of humble agriculture was Hage Church. It was quite far from the skull, but Blake was able to make out dots of people outside of it, even some displays of magic.
Blake decided to take a sneak peek at the situation, using Stone Model Of The World.
Yuno was inside the church with Dad and Sister Lily, setting up things for the belated celebration of his and his brothers' birthdays.
They're away from the little ones. If I want to get that talk over with, looks like pretty good timing.
Besides that, the Royal guests seemed to have made themselves comfortable outside in the field. He'll still need to apologize to Mimosa for springing this on her suddenly, but he's sure she's been a pleasant surprise to them, anyway.
Noelle was with Recca, letting the young girl, who'd taken to Noelle immediately after seeing how cool Noelle's Water Magic was, practice with her wand, offering concise advice where she could. Blake could hear the smiles in their voices.
Arlu and Horo were gleefully prancing around in small flower fields Mimosa happily created with her magic. Asta and Nash seemed to be in a push-up competition, though Asta's focused seemed split between that and gushing to his siblings about how cool and amazing Noelle and Mimosa were as Magic Knights, leaving Blake to hear their sputters and mumbles, having a hard time handling the praise.
Good grief, Asta. Blake thought, shaking his head with a smile. In front of their ancestor too.
Blake stood. Nero flew to sit on his shoulder. "Think we can pull off being fashionably late?"
Nero raised their right wing.
"You're Best Bird for a reason, Nero."
In a rare, heartfelt moment from the anti-bird...it nuzzled Blake's cheek.
...This day just keeps getting better!
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Black Clover - The Three Brothers
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