Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

    When you woke up, you heard a whisper in the back of your mind.

    It wasn’t your voice, it was someone else’s unfamiliar voice that you couldn’t recognise. They sought revenge, a desire that you couldn’t care about. But when you looked around, you realised that you weren’t in the darkness anymore. It was a foreign place, a human world that you’d seen through words and rumours. You were alone in confusion, your eyes staring back at your reflection through the shattered mirror. It was an appearance that you couldn’t recognise no matter how hard you tried to dig through your mind. Beneath your body was a puddle of blood and smudges of red that were written in an ancient language, a circle of scribbles was surrounding you.

    ’What happened? I remember a flash and...’

    "They’re in there! Get them!"

    The wooden door suddenly burst open and a stream of angry people came barging in.

    "I knew it, they’re a devil worshipper!"

    "We’ve done the right thing killing their family. Now it’s just them left!"

    "Look at the disgusting marks they’ve left behind!"

    You finally understood what was happening to you. This wasn’t all too unfamiliar to you, the disgust of seeing a human’s behaviour was something you’d been growing with. This was the revenge the dying voice wanted, the help that they couldn’t receive so they decided to seek for you in exchange for something of importance to them. Your eager hands twitched at the thought of blood and violence, this was an opportunity for you to go on a rampage where you were not bounded by laws and power. This, right now, was the perfect fun you were dreaming of.

    "They’re smiling!"

    "How creepy, die, you scum!"

    When they charged towards you with their brandished weapons, you saw blood.

    Your body moved before you could think, your eyes searching for their weak spot for you to tear and rip. Your fingers pierced through their flesh like bullets, you tore their hearts and organs apart whenever you can. The house you were in was eventually filled with terrified screams and pleas, their eyes begging you for mercy to live another day. But you weren’t like them, you wouldn’t show any weakness in you nor will you ever let them go for the thought of killing you. So you chose to ignore their cries and tears.

    You killed them all before they could even touch you.

༺═──────────────═༻

    "So this was what he wanted me to check on?"

    You raised your head and caught a glimpse of a magic knight. His black mantle was one that you hadn’t seen before, an image of a bull sewn neatly on the fabric. He seemed unbothered with your bloodied appearance, not even a hint of fear seen in him. You narrowed your eyes in confusion at the odd magic. The sight of him was somewhat pissing you off so without thinking twice, you lunged onto him with a murderous intent. But the human world was cruel to you, that body of yours somehow wasn’t resonating well with your mana and you could feel your own power dissipating the longer you stayed in that body. Yami could easily dodged your attack and swung his katana at you, even you narrowly avoided the heavy attack.

    "Not bad, I can see why Julius wants to ask you some questions." He raised a brow when you snarled at him. "Oi, you. Come with me, we have business to talk about. I have no intention to fight you and judging by the way you are right now, I can tell that I could easily kill you if I wanted to. You’re not really fitting in well in that body of yours. How did it even happen anyway? This world sure has a lot of mysterious magic."

  "You? Killing me? How dare you! Why should I listen to you?"

    Yami scratched the back of his head. "It’s an order that I can’t go against."

  "And what can you give me?"

    "What can I give you?" His gaze hardened with animosity. "I’m not making a deal with you here, brat. If you don’t come with me, I’ll drag your head instead."

  "The audacity of a man like you..."

    "So what’s your answer?"

    You tackled him once again as an answer and he sighed, his blade deflecting you rather easily. Your attacks weren’t working on him, a nosebleed evident on your face as you pushed yourself to the limits. The mana within your body was all in a mess, like a tangled up ribbon that you struggled to untangle with such a poor focus. You had too many questions in your mind, you wanted answers as to what had happened to you. How could you suddenly end up in a different body? It was a body that you didn’t wish to have as it was so fragile that you could break anytime soon. What ancient magic was it that brought you here? You had never heard of such an interesting magic before, there should be records of it somewhere that you could find.

    You wanted to return back to your original body, you wanted to get out. You were desperate for an escape and Yami seemed to know that very well from your agitated expression alone. He easily countered you and slammed you to the ground, the keen blade pointing at the heart in your beating chest. A heart that you used to protect no matter what throughout your entire life, an organ that could make you perish within a blink of the eyes. You could feel your heart raced underneath the threat and the magic knight was showing no sign of mercy in his dark gaze.

    He grunted, "Should we see if you can survive a pierce to the heart?"

    Your eyes wavered in horror. "No, you filthy human! Get off me!"

    "This makes it easy for me instead."

Chapter Text

no choice in this matter.

ღ

    “I DON’T LIKE you.”

    You remained seated in the chair, tied up in shackles and ropes that you couldn’t get out of. Of course, you couldn’t get out of them! Your mana had been acting up and nothing you did could get it back in control. Ever since you were stuck in this damnation, your entire body had been odd—like a damaged good that you didn’t know you had in the first place. You glowered at the man in front of you, dressed in simple clothing—white tank top and black pants—while he was deliberately blowing his cigarette smoke into your face. You couldn’t believe such a barbaric man could be a magic knight!

    Were all those stories about magic knights you’d heard all lies?

    He scoffed, clearly didn’t care about your comment. “Sure.”

    The bloodthirst you had to maul him apart was now gone, and now that you thought about it, you couldn’t even remember what the argument was about. But you did remember lunging into him with your hands reaching out to tear him into pieces. Well, clearly that didn’t work well. 

    “You done glaring holes into me?” Yami leaned back in his chair as if this entire situation was nothing more than a mild inconvenience. He tapped the ash off his cigarette, eyes narrowing just slightly. “You’re lucky I didn’t throw you back into the damn cage after that little stunt of yours, punk.”

    You tugged at the shackles around your wrists again. They rattled softly, echoing through the dim room. You cursed at him loudly, but he still didn’t budge. You were irritated that whatever you did couldn’t even get much of a reaction out of him. “Get lost, you barbaric, horrible, wicked man!”

    “Wicked?” His lip twitched in mild irritation. “Says the one who is hiding inside something that’s not even yours in the first place.”

    “You think I fucking want this?” 

    The shadows of exhaustion pooled under your eyes, the dull pulse of unstable mana still flickering under your skin. Every breath felt heavier, as if the air itself resisted you. As if your soul was rejecting this hollow case. You should have known nothing was good ever since you saw that blinding light under your feet and that hideous whispers ringing inside your ears. Yet there was nothing you could do back then. You were frozen. Something froze you and when you opened your eyes, things were different. Yami studied you quietly, the cigarette still resting in between his calloused fingers. He couldn’t understand why the Wizard King would be so benevolent to you when you were nothing but an immense trouble.

    “Who knows?”

    You almost laughed. “You know what? Fuck you.”

    “Behave, runt, or else I’ll lose my patience.”

    “You’ve already tied me up. What’s next—beat me senseless so you can say you tried everything? Kill me? Do it then!” You narrowed your eyes at him. “Put me out of this damnation— this peaceful, fucking place crawling with people like you.”

    He let out a slow breath, the kind that said he was counting to ten before doing something reckless. The cigarette dimmed between his fingers as he flicked it to the ground, stomping on it to let the fire die. “You’ve got some nerve talking like that when you don’t even know what you are.”

    Yami was right. You didn’t know what was going on with you anymore or what you were anymore. You didn’t answer him—couldn’t answer him. Yami sighed, his chair scraping slightly as he leaned forward. You wanted to move away from him, but you couldn’t even move slightly in that chair. The ropes and shackles around your body burned against your skin under his piercing gaze.

    “…I really don’t understand why you have to be in Black Bull.”

    “Hah! As if I want to be in your squad.”

    You and I don’t have a choice, runt.”

    “Stop calling me that, asshole.”

    He grinned. “Make me.”

Chapter Text

hidden in the shadow.

ღ

    BLACK BULL always meant the word ‘chaos’.

    Whether it was during a mission or back home—at the base, something was bound to happen. Right now, it seemed like there was a huge argument happening outside of your room. You blamed your curiosity for opening the door because as soon as you stepped out of your room, you were immediately dragged into the hectic mess. You couldn’t do anything, not even when the noises were disturbing your reading session, because at the end of the day, you knew that the liveliness was what made you feel alive. Holding your head in disbelief, you ignored the explosion from Magna’s fiery fireballs—something that you’d surprisingly grown to be good at.

    You really needed something to calm your headache.

    As you approached the fridge, you suddenly cocked your head to the right and easily dodged a sizzling fireball. Luck’s mocking laughter was ringing all across the building as he zapped left and right from the walls, dodging Magna’s attacks with his quick lightning magic. 

    Magna yelled at Luck, “Are you ready to get your butt kicked? You bastard!”

    “Well, I’m not actually ready for it, but bring it on!” This time, you managed to duck to avoid Luck’s lightning that thundered towards you by accident. Sometimes, you truly wondered if it was an accident. Luck continued, “Come on! Come on, Magna. Give me more fun!”

    You reached for the lone pudding in the fridge, feeling a stronger ache coming in your head.

    “Ugh,” You suddenly felt an arm placed onto your shoulder for support, and when you turned around, you noticed that it was Vanessa—the outcast witch—dressed in her lace undergarments. Well, you could recognise her voice from miles away even without looking at her. “I drank too much booze. And this place is so noisy that it’s giving me a damn migraine.”

    It seemed to become your job to take care of the drunk witch. “Come, I’ll bring you to the couch.”

    “Oh, thank you, sweetheart. You’re the best.”

    Placing your hand on Vanessa’s back, you guided her to the couch and instructed her to take a seat, in the hope that it would provide at least a brief comfort to her hangover. Luck, however, wasn’t very helpful. He suddenly landed on the couch, which immediately dipped to the side from his weight, and started jumping up and down in excitement. You gave Luck a disapproving look, but that didn’t seem to work. The movement only made Vanessa feel more nauseous than ever, which ultimately caused her to snap at Luck.

    “Luck! Fucking stop jumping, you dolt!”

    You opened up the pudding with a heavy sigh. “...I can’t deal with this anymore.”

    Realisation hitting him, Luck laughed even louder and pointed at you to show Magna what you’d done. “Look at this, Magna! Look! They’re eating pudding too. See! I’m not the only one who ate it. You shouldn’t be attacking me only.” His eyes suddenly shone brightly. “Oh, I know! Why don't the three of us fight and see who will be the last one standing?”

    You frowned. “What?”

    Magna looked at you with a betrayed expression. “You! I trusted you!”

    You scoffed. “I didn't ask you to trust me.”

    “That's not something you should be saying after eating my pudding. Apologise to me, right now!”

    Staring at Magna, you purposely took a spoonful of pudding and shoved it into your mouth. “No.”

    “That's so unfair! Why can you get away with it by only apologising, but I have to get fireballs thrown at me?” Luck pouted, shoving his face toward you to deliberately show you how unsatisfied he was with the situation. It didn’t take even a second for him to start smiling again though. “Not that I’m complaining, since it’s fun to fight with Magna. But I want you to join in the fun too! Come, fight me! Please?”

    Somewhere in the background, you could hear the way Gauche was squealing in eagerness. “You’re cute like an angel, my little sister!” Noticing how boisterous it was behind him, especially with how Magna was screaming at Luck and you, Gauche turned around and barked at the other members, “Shut up, you idiots!”

    The Black Bull was full of crazy magic knights; you were sure of it.

    You mumbled, “...Fuck, you guys are insane.”

    Gauche shrieked at you this time, “Hey! Who allowed you to cuss in front of my cute, lovely sister?! My cute little sister! Please, don't be like those barbarians behind me. You have to be as adorable and nice as a princess, okay? Shut up already, you lots!”

    Brushing off Gauche’s comment, you raised your hand to get Magna’s attention. “When are you going out again? I have another list of books that I need you to buy. Some of them are limited editions, so I need you to go as soon as possible. Ah, Yami also wants to have a couple of boozes since they’re running out now.”

    Veins were practically popping on Magna’s forehead. “Hey! I’m not your errand boy, don't treat me like one!”

    Luck chuckled. “But you kinda are.”

    “I will seriously kick your ass!”

    Fire began to dance around Magna’s feet as he darted towards you like a rocket. Instinctively, you swiftly dodged to the right and watched Magna lunging onto Luck, both of them tumbling onto the carpeted floor like a ball. Often, you would think Magna was an idiot—most of the time—, but when things like this happened, you would usually be amazed at how the whole building was not burnt down to the ground. He was excellent at controlling his fire, which was something you would never say out loud to him, fearing that he would start shoving his cheeky grin to your face then.

    You advised, “Don't taunt him, Luck. You're just making it worse.”

    “But it's fun. Look! Magna looks so scary right now!”

    “...That’s not my point.”

    Magna screamed in rage as he tossed a plate at Luck, who evaded very well in the blink of an eye. “That would be your last meal. All of you will be banned from eating from now on. Just drop dead already!”

    Vanessa held her forehead in agony and groaned. “Ah shit. I remember having a drinking contest with a strange old man and then… Ugh! I can’t remember anything after that.” She nudged you cheekily and batted her eyelashes as she would usually do to get your precious attention—most likely your help. “Hey, do you know what happened? You probably do, don't you? You know everything.”

    Hearing your name coming from Vanessa's mouth, you eyed the witch with a tired sigh. No matter how much you prayed, you could still remember what happened last night. The memory of you seeing the drunk witch in front of the doorstep was still fresh in your mind, especially when she suddenly went batshit crazy and tried to kill you with her magic. It took you thirty minutes to calm her down, and it was challenging with Yami threatening to kill both of you if you two continued to make noises in the middle of the night. Was this a rare occurrence? No, unfortunately, you had to deal with this almost every other week. 

    You let out a long, exhausted sigh—one that made Vanessa grimace in guilt. “You were really drunk last night and weren’t telling me what happened, so I don't know very well about the details. You probably beat a drunk man and came back here after that. You always do that, not surprising anymore.”

    “Ah, maybe that's it.”

    “Would you knock it off, idiots!” Gauche snapped at the bizarre situation behind his back. Listening to Vanessa's whine and Magna's scream was already a torturous experience for him. “What are you going to do if my cute little sister hears your stupid rackets, you morons! My little angel, please don't mind their barbaric actions.”

    Vanessa also seemed to become more agitated, and the migraine probably wasn’t helping. “Shut up! You guys are too bloody noisy. My head fucking hurts. Better shut up before I kick all of you out. Except for our sweetheart, of course!” She winked at you playfully, and you could only smile back.

    Gauche snarled. “What was that, you boozing woman?”

    “Shut up, you virgin delinquent!”

    “Virgin?!”

    Hearing the pointless bickering between Vanessa and Gauche, you pinched the bridge of your nose in exasperation. Although you really wanted to scold every one of them, you restrained yourself from doing so. It might only make things worse. Besides, you knew that Yami would probably be back soon, and you didn’t quite want to be part of this chaos when he returned. Along with the annoyance of what was going on in the base, your nerves were tingling in excitement at the thoughts of new members that Yami might bring back from the entrance exam. You didn’t have much hope of having a lot of new magic knights around, but you were hoping for a few. Even one new magic knight would be okay in your books.

    You just needed someone normal for once in this team.

    Hoping that a cold drink would calm down your nerves, you ducked Luck's speedy attack and headed into the messy kitchen. As you poured out the cold water into your mug, you happily watched the pattern of a dog printed on your white mug. Just when you were about to take a sip of the water, a surprise attack shot past you and smashed your mug into small pieces. It practically exploded in your face, the water dripping down from your fingers and face. Stunned, you stared at the broken mug by your feet, feeling every inch of your nerves—that you had been holding on tight—snapping.

    “Oops!” Luck giggled. “Sorry!”

    If it were any other mug, you probably wouldn’t have minded. But this one? It was given to you by Yami because he deemed that it was just ‘too much’—in other words, cute—for him. Considering the relationship you had with Yami, it was hard not to appreciate every little thing he did and gave you. So, for you to feel enraged by Luck’s action, it was fairly normal. Without thinking much, you grabbed the jug of water by the counter and hurled it towards Luck. Your eyes were as dark as the evil itself, malice filling up your tight chest as you glowered at the culprit. The jug flew towards Luck, but being the quickest in the squad, he ducked down just in time for the jug to shoot past his head, hitting the taller man behind him instead.

    “You people.”

    You stiffened up at the familiar voice and realised the noises around you had died down. Why wouldn’t everyone suddenly quiet down? It was Yami, the captain of the Black Bull, after all. It wasn’t just for the fact that he was the captain— it was his petrifying gaze and the fact that there was an intense magical power swirling around his fist when he broke the wall without hesitation. Yami was strong, possibly the reason why the Wizard King trusted him to do whatever he wanted to, even though it likely wasn’t how a captain should behave.

    “Quit breaking things.” Yami's eyes hardened as he glared at you. “Get your ass over here.”

    You sighed. Why did you even come out of your room?

    “Now.”

    Without any argument, you walked over to Yami and stood still. You watched as he looked at you from head to toe before giving an approving nod and shoving a young man towards you. You blinked in confusion, staring at the new member who looked fairly young and inexperienced, but chose not to point it out. He was short—shorter than you—and no matter which angle you looked at him from, he didn’t seem to have the material of a magic knight. Not to say he wasn’t a magic knight, but compared to the others, he looked more like a civilian than a knight. You supposed that was what caught Yami’s eyes in the first place.

    Yami took a puff of his cigarette. “Give him a guide. I don't care how. Also, you'd better clean the entire place for this week. And go buy a new jug with your own money.”

    You lowered your head in disappointment. “...Yeah.”

    Everyone immediately swarmed towards Yami in excitement, chattering and screaming at Yami as a welcoming gesture. You knew Yami secretly enjoyed how everyone would flock around him, even though he wouldn't show it. Perhaps being with him for so long made you realise something about him that he wouldn't know himself. Yami smiled from ear to ear as he nodded, a sight that sent shivers down your spine as you knew what was about to come next.

    “I see, I see. You guys like me that much, huh?”

    His expression darkened as if he could kill someone right now.

    “But you're all annoying as fuck. Quit it.”

    Everyone squeaked in fear. “Sorry!”

    When the chaos had finally died down, you looked at the new member, who you realised was exceptionally muscular for a kid—you assumed he was around fifteen years of age. He had no looks of royalty with those green eyes and messy ash-blond hair. Just like you, he was a normal commoner that the royalties would snort at. For him to become a magic knight wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t just because he was only a commoner, but because you couldn’t seem to smell any speckle of mana within him. No matter how much you tried to focus, you couldn’t grasp anything inside him. He wasn’t as strong as the Wizard King, which would also make it difficult for you to sense anything—no, it was different. You were certain that he didn’t have any magic.

    The corner of your mouth twitched in amusement. “How interesting.”

    Asta blinked in confusion. “Huh?”

    You changed the topic with a sigh and whispered to yourself, deliberate enough for Yami to hear what you were saying. “...You only got two newbies this time. How disappointing—”

    Yami abruptly grabbed the top of your head and gave it a tight, hard squeeze as a warning. “What did you say? You want to say that to my face again? Say it again, and you’ll end up in the sky, you punk.”

    You flashed a charming smile, honey practically dripping from the tip of your tongue. “How amazing you are, Yami, for obtaining such precious newbies.”

    He scoffed. “Precious? Nah. Anyway, this shrimp right here is our new member. Don't haze him so hard that he dies. Oi, newbie.” Yami introduced your name to him and pushed him towards you again. “This punk right here will be the one taking care of you and the other shrimp. They’ll give you two tours around so that you won't get your ass killed so soon.”

    You gave him a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

    Vanessa suddenly pouted like a child and rested her chin on your shoulder, her perfume suddenly overwhelming one of your senses. She smelled good, you had to admit that. “Aw! But I want to be the one taking care of the newbies. I want to have some fun too. Why is it always you? Not that I mind seeing you work hard, but I also wanna join in the fun.”

    You pushed her away. “Since when is this ‘fun’?”

    “As if I could trust you all.” Yami narrowed his eyes before nudging the new kid with an annoyed look. “Oi, shrimp. Introduce yourself. Do you want the rest to call you a shrimp?”

    The energy and optimism coming from the kid were almost as bright as the sunshine. His bright smile reminded you of a sunflower that bloomed out of mud and he looked exactly the type of person who could be naive and get themselves killed. He was just like a plain, normal human with nothing unique about himself. Perhaps not so much of a compliment, but you were sure there was a reason why Yami invited him into the Black Bull. And even if this kid was a plain-looking one, he did manage to get your attention. Somehow, you couldn’t wait to see what exactly this new kid could do. Was this why Yami dragged him in here?

    It seemed like the Black Bull would be more interesting than you expected this time.

    “I'm Asta from Hage Village! Nice to meetcha! I am pleased to be working with all of you.”

    “There are still other members, but they are currently on a mission, taking a break, or slacking off. Honestly, I don't care anymore.” As expected from Yami. “Try to get along with them, especially [name]. They will be taking care of you the most. This punk is one of the many that have been stuck with me the longest, so if you don't do well with them, count that as your death.”

    “Yes, please take care of me! We’ll definitely set records for getting along.” Asta bobbed his head with anticipation written all over his face, he somehow couldn't contain his excitement anymore. Of course, he would be this excited. He had been waiting for this opportunity to be presented in front of him. His grin was so bright that you needed to close your eyes from being blinded—an exaggeration, but it really felt that way.

    “Thank you. I’m sure we can work well. Don’t worry too much about what Yami said, you won’t be dying anytime soon. Just treat me as you would usually treat someone you know and we’ll be fine.” You smiled. “Hage Village, huh? I'm surprised people from there participate in the examination. Most of them tend to stay away from this kind of event.”

    “Who cares about the village! We have an interesting one over here.” Vanessa squeezed into the conversation uninvited, her arms and chest sticking awfully close to you. She purred at Asta and lifted his face to look at her. “You're from the boonies yet you made it into the Magic Knights. You must have worked hard, kid. How about I reward you with a specialtreat? Yeah?”

    “I— I would love to. Honestly! But I already have a goddess in my heart, the nun from my village.”

    You sighed in disapproval and quickly pulled Vanessa away from Asta. “Even a nun couldn't get married, you should just give it up. And why is a kid like you thinking about marriage so early? And you,” You glowered at the playful witch. “Vanessa. Take a step back from him. You're not allowed to touch young kids, you old hag.”

    “What did you say—”

    Vanessa hesitated when she felt something bitter rising deep in her throat—something that she was awfully familiar with. She immediately covered her mouth with her hand and without warning, puked in front of Asta. He let out a disgusted shriek and took a step back, leaving you to handle the situation again. You took a deep breath in and let out a long sigh. Yami was probably enjoying watching you dealing with Vanessa. 

    This could really be your last straw.

    “…Vanessa, are you okay?” You patted Vanessa’s back gently and flashed an apologetic look to Asta. “Please don't mind what she was saying. The booze is still affecting her. Vanessa, do you need water?”

    Vanessa only shook her head.

    “Hey, hey, hey!” Magna plastered an intimidating look on the newcomer, hoping to frighten him off though it didn't seem to work very well. Asta clearly didn’t understand the position he was in. “You're the new Black Bull? A wussy little runt from the back end of nowhere? I don't know how you sucked up to Mister Yami but if you want to wear our robe, you need to impress Mister Yami's top underling, a man among the men, Magna Swing!”

    At the sight of the Black Bull's black robe that Magna pulled out, Asta's eyes sparkled in zest and excitement. “Give me please!”

    You rolled your eyes. “Oh, please. Don't be fooled by Magna. There's no top underling with Yami. Even if there is, it would have been me instead. We all know that.”

    “Well, well, well. A thief has no right to say that!”

    You scowled at Magna. “But—”

    “A thief.” Magna rubbed it in your face, making you speechless which gave him the time to continue what he was saying to Asta. He’d won—for now. “Anyway, you really want it that bad, huh? After all, you joined the Black Bull so…”

    There was a flash of dominance in Magna's eyes that caused you to clear your throat so that Magna could control his emotions. It didn't seem to work. He was way into this and you gotta admit that it was a normal reaction. Who wouldn’t get excited over the new rookie to fool around with?

    “Come get baptised!”

    Asta blinked owlishly. “Huh?”

༺═──────────────═༻

    “Not going to watch them?”

    Hearing Yami’s voice, you lifted your head to see him taking a seat next to you with an impassive expression. He was smoking again, and although you weren’t a fan of the smell, you made no mention of it. Yami leaned against the couch and crossed his leg, his eyes were not on you but the windows where he could catch a glimpse of how Magna was ‘baptising’ Asta. The two of you would get curious at some point, hence the occasional glance at the windows, but never enough to head outside for a watch.

    You shook your head. “I believe Magna is not going to kill him with the excuse of a baptism. Besides, if you're the one who chose him, I’m sure he will turn out all right.”

    “That's true.”

    “How was it? The examination, I mean.”

    He hummed. “Like usual.”

    “At least we got two this time. Nobody seems to catch your eyes very often.” You continued to flip the pages of the thick book, eyes glossing over the magic circles printed on the paper. “But it seems like this Asta kid is interesting, no wonder you've decided to pick him. How did he do in the tests?”

    Yami scoffed at the memory of how Asta practically flunked all of the tests. “Fucking horrible.”

    You chuckled. “He doesn’t seem to have any magic from what I can tell. So, what does he have?”

    “Who knows? He pulled out a sword from a dirty-looking grimoire and seemed to be able to cancel magic. Nothing I've seen before, that's why he's so interesting.” 

    You raised a brow in curiosity. ‘A dirty-looking grimoire and magic cancellation…’ That was something you’ll have to keep an eye out for. You then asked, “What about the young lady, Noelle?”

    “Doesn’t seem like she can control her mana well. Try to help her if you have the time, she has the potential. Just a lack of experience and confidence.” Yami then suddenly thought about Asta. “About Asta, just keep an eye on him. He's different.”

    “Got it. You always seem to choose those who couldn't get into the other teams.” Your lips twitched into a soft smile. “I know that’s not the only reason why you would choose them, even if they’re all a bunch of outcasts. Your eyes have always been the best among everyone else which is why I’m here— in Black Bull. Am I wrong?”

    The way you’d looked at him had rendered him speechless. It was the way you gazed into his eyes that showed how much you had always trusted him and that you’d never doubted everything that he had done. Yami could see potential in people, even if others couldn’t quite see it, and he always seemed to pick those with good hearts. Perhaps this was why you never hesitated to accept the newcomers that he brought home. You always wondered why he’d allowed you to join his squad. You didn’t think that you had a ‘good heart’ whatsoever or the fact that you had a hidden potential. You were just… you—someone that Yami couldn’t seem to let go of and watch other squads getting to you. 

    You wanted to ask why, but never dared to.

    Clearing his throat, Yami looked away. “Whatever.”

    A comfortable silence settled between the two of you, the lively voices outside of the building suddenly seemed to be in another world. All your senses could focus on was the smell of the cigarette, the soft sound of Yami sighing, and the smooth touch of the papers underneath your fingers. You took a sneaky glance at Yami, studying his unkempt appearance which was somewhat his charm. He was unlike the other magic squad captains and he was exactly the definition of ‘macho’ — the type who would only be interested in booze as well as strength, and never would he once look into romance. It was a charm that you found yourself unable to resist.

    Before you knew it, words came out of your mouth. “…I don’t know why you would trust me enough to hand those newbies to me.”

    Yami finally looked at you. “You've been here since the start of Black Bull. If you're dangerous, I would have killed you a long time ago.” He sighed. “I wouldn't even invite you to join this squad if I didn't trust you in the first place.”

    “…It would be easier if you killed me.”

    The silence returned, but this time it was heavier.

    So heavy that it felt suffocating, and you then realised that you might have said the wrong thing without thinking. You couldn’t take back your words even if you wanted to laugh it off, because soon enough, Yami’s hand had grabbed around your cheeks to force you to look into his eyes. He was upset, you could tell right away, even if he wasn’t raising his voice and giving you a deep frown. The flash of disappointment in his eyes also didn’t go unnoticed by you. Truly, sometimes you didn’t think you deserved to be trusted by Yami and being in the squad that he handled. He was too kind, wasn’t he? So generous to someone so broken like you that you felt bad for him.

    “Don’t say crap like that.” His voice was low and steady, as his thumb pressed against your cheek firm enough that you wouldn’t dare look away. “If I said that I trust you, that’s fucking final. Don’t try to argue back with me with some stupid lines, you punk.”

    You wanted to speak, but couldn’t find the voice in you.

    “If I wanted you gone, you wouldn’t still be sitting here with me.”

    He finally released you with a soft exhale and leaned back, tapping the ash off his cigarette. The air felt different, and you blamed yourself for the shift in the air. Yami didn’t say anything else, clearly making his point clear— that you just needed to accept the fact that you were here and he didn’t want to hear anything else coming out of your mouth. You decided to give him a rest. He needed it after attending the entrance exam which he wasn’t a fan of in the first place.

    “Seems like the baptism is over, I’ll be giving them a tour now.”

    As you stood up, you hesitated before leaving the building and looked back at Yami. He didn't move from the couch and simply stared back at you with his usual stern eyes. The same expression he would give you whenever you were burdened by your background. Even if you wanted to let the matter go, you couldn’t, not when the shadow was always clinging onto your back like forever-growing roots. Not when the pair of malicious eyes hidden in the shadow were always watching your movements and thoughts.

    “I trust you that you’ll know what to do if the worst comes, Yami.”

༺═──────────────═༻

    “Right here is the bathroom.”

    You walked down the hallway and pointed to your left, where a door filled with awful scribbles was. The scribbles consisted of Magna's and Luck's doodles as well as writing, but Yami didn't really care as long as he could use them. You debated removing Magna’s drawing, which was literally a poop, but then realised there was no point in doing so when Yami wasn’t so concerned about it himself. 

    “But I would advise you two to use the bathroom upstairs. This bathroom is always used by Yami, so to avoid getting scolded for using it when he urgently needs it, use the one upstairs.”

    Noelle scrunched up her nose at the drawings. “Disgusting.”

    Asta raised his brow. “Really? I find it funny!”

    With an amused shake of your head, you gestured to them to follow you and walked up the carpeted stairs slowly. “I’m usually the one to clean the place whenever I can or when Yami orders me to. Try not to make too much of a mess around, since it can be difficult for me to clean by myself. I already have too much crap to settle because of the others’ antics. Oh, you can help out with cleaning if you want to. It's nice to have someone to help me, although I wouldn’t be forcing you two to help.”

    “Then you did a great job at cleaning.” Asta touched the railing of the stairs with his finger. “Not even a speck of dust!”

    “Thank you. I try my best to clean the place around as much as I can.” Once you were up ahead of the hallway, you suddenly stopped in front of a white door. “This is your room I have assigned you to, Asta. This part of the floor is for the male members while that's for the female members. Anyway, the order here goes like this. Magna, Asta, Luck, Finral, Gauche and Gordon.”

    “Then what about the empty rooms down there?”

    “Ah, you don't have to know whose rooms those are. Don't worry too much about them. When the time comes, I’ll introduce you to them. For now, just remember the one I told you. In case you need help with anything, you can find them in their rooms.” You then continued down the hallway, turned right, and entered the part where female members stayed. “Noelle, your room is the last one. It goes from Grey, Vanessa, Charmy, and then you. My room is just in between the sides, so it's easy for you to remember which is my room. There are quite a few empty rooms left on both sides, but please don’t enter. I would like to keep things as clean as possible.”

    “Got it.”

    “Oh right, there's no restriction for you to come to the male and female rooms. If you're doing something bad, they’ll blast you out of their rooms anyway. So feel free to ask questions to anyone you are comfortable with. Although it would be better if you came and see me instead, since I’m technically in charge of both of you for now.”

    Noelle eyed the pots of plants by the door, taking note of the flowers blooming out of the plants. “Are those yours?”

    You nodded. “Oh, yes! I’ve taken care of these plants for years now. Feel free to look at them, just don't ruin them.” You suddenly frowned as you caught a glimpse of a burnt leaf. “…Magna.”

    The royal's eyes grew worried. “T—They’re beautiful.”

    “...Yes. It would be better if Magna stopped throwing his fireballs all over the place.” You sighed and brushed it off for now, focusing back on the two newbies in front of you. “Do you have any questions for me? I’ll try my best to answer them so that you can get used to Black Bull as soon as possible.”

    Asta raised his hand. “Where are the beasts?”

    “…Did Magna mention those? They are down in the basement. For now, I’m not going to show the basement to any of you since there's really no need for it. You can see them next time.” You shrugged. “Maybe one day, Yami will trap you there as a punishment. We’ll see when that day comes, but don't worry, nobody has died yet.”

    “Yet?”

    The newcomers swallowed their fear.

    Noelle then raised her hand gracefully, just like how a royal would do in a magic class. She seemed to know what she was supposed to be doing in Black Bull compared to Asta. “I have one, if that’s alright with you. Is it okay for you to explain each member's magic?”

    “Oh, right. You’ll learn about them sooner or later, but I guess it would be useful for you to know about everyone now. I’m sure you’ve seen Magna’s fire magic. Try not to underestimate the intensity of his fire and how well he controls it. Hm, I’m sure Finral's spatial magic brought you two here so that's that. Charmy has two magics which are cotton and food magic. She’s in charge of our meal because of that. Gauche has mirror magic and his magic is quite interesting, so you should keep an eye on that. You have seen Gordon, yes?”

    They nodded.

    “He has poison magic. He might look scary at first, but don't be afraid of him. He’s just shy and he's very lovely once you get to know him. If you have the time, you should go hang out with him.”

    Noelle gaped in shock. ‘Shy? And lovely? No way…’

    “Vanessa has thread magic which is also interesting. Grey has transformation magic and you don't get to see her appearance often. But once you stay in the Black Bull for long enough, you’ll get the chance to see her real face. Luck has, well, a lightning magic which is quick and strong since he knows what he is doing. If you're not strong yet, you might want to avoid fighting with him. He will pick a fight with almost everyone.”

    Noelle asked, “What about yours?”

    “Yes?”

    “What's your magic?” Noelle's gaze suddenly hardened but it wasn't from animosity or caution, more like curiosity. “I’m curious about yours. You didn’t tell us about your magic yet.”

    You stared at Noelle in return, a nonchalant look on your face. “Right, I didn’t talk about me yet. Unfortunately, you might have to stay alive for a little while longer to find out. I suppose I prefer to stay mysterious.” You smiled playfully. “Ah, you can try asking the other members, but I doubt they know much about me. Yami does know, although I don’t think he’ll tell the two of you straight away. You might have to work hard as newcomers.”

    Asta's eyes suddenly glimmered in excitement. “Is it a super duper strong magic that nobody should know about?”

    “No comment about that. Now that you two don't have questions anymore, I have a question for you, Asta. No, more like a favour actually.”

    “Huh? What is it?”

    “Do you mind showing me your grimoire?”

    He looked confused. “Sure?”

    Despite the confusion, Asta didn’t hesitate to summon his grimoire. It floated in front of him which gave you a chance to take a good look at it. Just like what Yami said, it was a dirty-looking grimoire with dirt all over the cover, making it impossible for you to examine anything. You searched for an approval in Asta’s face before taking hold of the grimoire to look at it closely. As soon as your fingertips had brushed across the grimoire, a chilling shiver ran down your spine and your head suddenly weighed a thousand times more. The newfound ringing in your ears was soft, not crippling or stopping you from trying to rub the dirt away. The stains were stubborn even with your efforts and if anything, your effort only seemed to be making it more difficult. 

    Something was wrong with this grimoire.

    The animosity from it was calling out to you.

    “…I see.” You returned the grimoire and as soon as it left your hand, the uncomfortable weight in your head was gone. “Here you go, thank you. I’m just curious about how you can pull out a sword from the grimoire because of what Yami told me. It's nothing I have heard or seen before.”

    “I know right? The grimoire seems to work differently but I’m happy to have it. It's so nice to finally have a grimoire.”

    You didn’t want to question much on what he meant by finally having a grimoire, not after you needed some time to think about what you’d felt from his grimoire. “That’s good. Anyway, since the tour is over and you two don't seem to have questions anymore, I will be in my room. You can find me if you have other questions. Have a nice rest and oh! Try to talk to the others, they’re all friendly and will look after you two well. I promise.”

    When you entered your room, only awkward silence lingered between Noelle and Asta. While Asta seemed to be interested and more determined to know about your magic, Noelle was only unsatisfied with your vague answer. She crossed her arms in frustration, eyes watching the door as the sweet scent of the flowery plants entered her nostrils. She wanted to know more about you, because she couldn’t understand why you needed the secrecy. There was just something off about you.

    “Agh! I really want to know their magic!” Asta grumbled before flashing a cheeky smile to Noelle. “I’ll go and ask around. Hey! Are you coming with me?”

    Noelle eyed Asta with a sneer, probably wondering why you had asked for his grimoire and not hers. She looked away with a huff. “No, thanks. You can go on your own.” With that said, Noelle stomped down the hallway and retreated into her room, ready to scream out her frustration.

    Confused, Asta only scratched the back of his head before proceeding down the living room where most of the magic knights were resting. He only had the intention to ask them about you but bonding with them wasn't really a bad thing either. Vanessa, who was seated on the comfortable couch, was the first one to notice the newcomer joining them.

    “Our favourite kid is here! Come sit with me.”

    Magna grinned. “Oh! Short-sta!”

    “I’m not Short-sta. Geez!”

    “So you're done with the tour, huh? I’m sure you have the best tour with [name].” The witch winked playfully as she nudged Asta's side. “They might not be as chatty as we are, but they're the best at taking care of people. You and Noelle will be in good hands. They're always the ones cleaning up Magna's mess too.”

    Magna glowered. “Hey! Don't spill bullshit to our newbies here. You're making it seem like I’m the bad guy here.”

    Vanessa jerked her shoulders with a smile.

    “I have a question, if you don't mind.” Asta grinned as he leaned forward eagerly. “Do you have any idea what their magic is?”

    Vanessa laughed. “So curiosity got to you.”

    Luck suddenly jumped into the conversation. “Nobody knows. I’ve asked them to fight me many times but they would only dodge and not fight back. It's boooooring!”

    Magna shook his head. “Give it up, kiddo. They're usually alone on the mission that Mister Yami assigns to them if it's something that only they can deal with. It's actually more common to see them going on missions with us.”

    “Eh? Then shouldn't you know?”

    Vanessa chuckled. “Not at all. They're always sitting and lazing behind all of us. So there's no chance for them to show their magic. Well, I guess you can say they're sorta supervising us on Yami’s order since they've been with Yami for a long time. That's why they don't really do anything on a mission with us.”

    “You could try asking Yami if you want to know more about them, but well, I doubt he'll tell you. They just don't like having a spotlight on them.”

    Asta furrowed his eyebrows in contemplation.

    Magna smirked. “Try asking Mister Yami if you're dying to know. No guarantee that he wouldn't hit you though.”

    “Huh?”

​​​​​​​

Chapter Text

being a magic knight is a hassle.

ღ

    IT WAS THE NEXT MORNING before you knew it. 

    You thought it would be peaceful after the tour yesterday, but you were wrong. It didn't take long for Asta to come banging on your door while screaming out your name, making it seem as though there was an urgent matter. When you opened the door, you were only met with a ridiculous question—asking about the mystery behind your magic. It was safe to say that it didn't even take a second for you to slam the door shut in Asta's face and not entertain the childlike curiosity. You could never understand why people were so curious about you. It also took some time for the rest to drop the topic, because you wouldn’t budge from the secrecy. 

    You didn’t have the time to entertain their questions. You didn't have the time to pay attention to the black figure lurking in the corner of your room. You were used to them, but you weren’t used to Asta’s peculiar grimoire. Something about it wasn’t right, you knew that. You’d been looking through the illegal books stashed away in the box underneath your bed—Yami knew about it but surprisingly made no effort to confiscate them—to look through them, in the hope that you could find any information about magic cancellation. Surely that wasn’t any magic, and if it wasn’t, then it must be something more than that. But you had no idea what it was.

    It was unsettling.

    “That grimoire…”

    With a defeated sigh, you kept away the illegal book and tucked the box nicely underneath the bed. Just when you were about to do something else, a sudden, strong magical power exploded outside. You could feel the intense surge; the weight on your shoulders suddenly increased by a ton. Even the ground was vibrating from the overwhelming mana. The tremor was so strong that you could hear the other magic knights rushing out of their rooms, shouting about what happened with worry evident in their voices. You hurriedly rushed to the window, opened it, and caught a glimpse of a humongous orb of water floating in the air.

    You could recognise that mana. How could you not when it belonged to the Silva family?

    “This power… It's Noelle.”

    So, Yami was right about her not being able to control her mana—not that you doubted him in the first place. You weren’t sure how you were going to ‘help’ her when Yami knew that Vanessa was better than you at mana control. It wasn’t as if you could refuse Yami’s request either when he had practically left the newcomers in your hands. Weighed by the responsibility, you looked at the books that were arranged neatly on your bookshelf. Perhaps there was a book about mana control somewhere—

    The door was suddenly slammed open.

    “What are you doing!?”

    You looked at Magna, who burst into your room. “Huh—”

    “Come on! It's an emergency.”

    He didn’t think twice when he grabbed your hand and dragged you out of your room. You didn’t argue about it and followed after the magic knight, choosing not to stay behind in your room after seeing how worried Magna was. He must be — although he wasn’t the one to look after the newcomers, Magna had always been the ‘big brother’ to the newbies, or at least he tried to be. Sensing the tension in his shoulders, you placed your hand on them to get his attention.

    “She’ll be fine, Magna.”

    Magna furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. “Fine? That magic out there doesn't seem that fine to me. It was literally a bomb!”

    “An exaggeration, but okay. Yami will handle the situation as always.”

   He hesitated before nodding. “Yeah, he probably will. But still, I’m worried about that newbie. I still need to take a look to make sure she’s alright. She hasn’t been the most friendly one, you know?”

    You hummed. “You’re not wrong…”

    When you and the rest of the members (except Charmy, who was probably still asleep) stood under the orb of water, you could see that Noelle was drowning inside the water. She was holding her breath, desperate to conserve every last breath so as not to pass out. Rather than focusing on Noelle, you were more amazed by how strong the mana was. Thiswas the power of a royal and not a commoner’s, not that you were biased and underestimating commoners. Yami had practically gotten a treasure. You couldn’t imagine how strong Noelle would be once she could control her mana properly. She was from the Silva family after all.

    Vanessa whistled at the sight of the magical power. “My, my. That's some strong magic she got there.”

    You asked, “What happened?”

    Yami said, “Her magic's gone out of control.”

    “Well… Yeah, but how did this happen? What was she doing?”

    “Who knows. But that's some serious magic. We'd better do something quickly, or else, shit will go down.” Magna’s jaw was practically falling to the ground in awe. “How should we get her out of there?”

    Yami took a breath of his cigarette and took it out of his mouth, blowing out the smoke. You had no idea if it was deliberate or not, but the smoke mostly went to your face. “Since she's in there, she will only get hurt if we use our magic. Best if we don't do anything. If only we had a guy who could neutralise magic—”

    Just in time, Asta suddenly jumped out of the green bushes, which you had no idea why or how. Yami managed to catch him by the head, gripping it so tightly that his skull might even break from the pressure. You shuddered immediately, knowing very well what would go down.

    “Oh, hey. Nice timing. Glad you dropped in. Go do something about that.” Yami pointed at Noelle with his other hand around Asta’s head. 

    Asta raised his eyebrow. “Wait, no, what? What am I supposed to do about that? It's not like I can fly—”

    You nodded. “Rest in peace, Asta.”

    “W—Wha—?!”

    With Asta in his hand, Yami boosted his hand.

    “Surpass your limits. Right here. Right now.”

    And with that said, he immediately launched Asta towards the globe of water without even giving a shit about Asta’s well-being. You didn’t expect Yami to think twice about this in the first place. Screeching in fright at the intense speed at which he was thrown, Asta gritted his teeth and pulled out his sword from his filthy grimoire hastily. As he was approaching the sphere, he immediately wielded his sword and swung it at the orb of water, slicing it in half. You studied Asta’s power carefully, eyes widening at the miracle in front of you. You almost couldn’t believe it.

    The solid and firm water turned back into the form of liquid, falling onto the ground like droplets of rain and releasing Noelle from its trap. The intense magic that you felt was gone, just with a swing of Asta’s blade. Noelle could finally crack open her eyes, but the feeling of relief immediately shattered like pieces of glass when both of them fell back down to the ground. Within seconds, they might be as flat as a pancake once they hit the ground, if no help comes their way. Fortunately, at the right time, Finral used his spatial magic to spawn a portal on the ground.

“Spatial Magic: Fallen Angel Gate.”

     When the newcomers entered the portal, they were thrown out of another portal to reduce the impact of falling. As soon as Asta landed on the rough ground, he gasped and looked around him in glee. There was nothing more of a relief than to find himself alive after falling from such a great height.

    “I'm alive! Thank you, space!”

    Yami let out a burst of laughter. “Well done, kid.”

    “Yes, sir!” Realising that Noelle was still lying on the ground in exhaustion, Asta hurriedly turned around and stood before her. “Hey, you.”

    She instinctively froze and waited for his rude remark that may be sharp to the heart, just like what her brothers would say to her when she was young. Those hurtful insults continued to haunt her mind even now, and she couldn't help but feel embarrassed about what happened. Noelle closed her eyes, ready to accept scolding and potentially get kicked out of Black Bull. But what happened was different.

    “That's some freaking awesome magic you have there!” Asta’s grin was as bright as the sun itself. “You’re amazing!”

    She looked at him with wide eyes. “Huh?”

    “Dang it! I don't have any magic, so I'm jealous. If you train until you can control it, you'll be unstoppable. Looks like I'll have to train hard so I don't look like a loser now.”

     Magna shifted in his spot and approached Noelle while rolling his eyes. “What, you couldn't control your magic? That's it? Should have told us sooner, you royal failure.”

    It might sound harsh, but there was no malice in the tone of his voice. You knew it came more from affection, although Noelle didn’t know how Magna might react. Again, she stiffened up when she expected another harsh word coming from the seniors, but all she received was a friendly grin.

    “We're the Black Bull. A whole group of failures. That little flaw of yours ain't a big deal, idiot.”

    “In any case, I'm glad you're safe. By the way,” Finral winked. “I know a great pasta place. Care to join me there sometime?”

    You sighed. “Finral, stop hitting on newcomers.”

    “What? I wasn’t.”

    Vanessa pushed Finral away, chuckled, and winked at Noelle. “Magic control is what I'm best at. I’ll teach you! That and big-girl techniques, you know.”

    Kneeling to meet Noelle's eye level, you flashed a kind smile that brought Noelle to tears. “Noelle, magic doesn't define who you are completely. If you're too worried about your own capability, just remember that all of us have flaws here. There's no need to force yourself too hard. All of us will remain together as a family; that’s how it works in the Black Bull. I’ll make sure that you feel comfortable here.”

    “Family..?” Sobbing from the generosity of the members, Noelle took your hand gratefully. Her hand felt cold, and her voice was shaky. “Thank you very much. Thank you!”

    “Now then, shall we have breakfast?” You suggested.

༺═──────────────═༻

    When you were done placing all of the food onto the table, you took a seat right next to Vanessa while gesturing to everyone not to be shy and eat without hesitation. Before you could even say anything, Charmy was the first one to eat most of the food. While she was eating, Asta suddenly raised his hand, indicating that there was a question in his mind.

    “I forgot to ask this yesterday. But what do magic knights do?”

    You stared at him and blinked owlishly. How can he not know during the entrance exam and not get a gist of what a magic knight would do? “Excuse me? You don't know?”

    Asta grinned. “Nope!”

    “Are you seriously asking that?” There was a flash of killing intent in Magna's eyes as veins were already popping out on his forehead. Within a second, he was already grabbing Asta's collar and shaking him so that some common sense would enter his brain. With one of his feet on the table, the empty plates were clattering away due to the impact. “You little…”

    You glared at Magna and said sternly, “Magna, foot off the table.”

    “Oh, my bad.” Magna quickly took off his foot, but continued to hold onto Asta’s collar and yelled at him. “We protect the country, guard stuff! It's the manliest job in the world, you moron. Why did you wanna join up in the first place, huh?”

    Asta choked. “I'm sorr—”

    Well, that was Magna Swing—a magic knight who loved to burn things around and shoot fireballs. He would always cause trouble left and right, and you were always the one to clean up after his mess. Thankfully, it wasn’t too often, but still often enough for you to remember every single favour he owed you. You could still recall the moment when Magna would run into your room for help because Yami was chasing after him. You obviously had to help him, especially when he was giving you the puppy eyes. 

    Vanessa hiccuped and slammed her mug of booze onto the table while smiling seductively at Asta. You thought it was too early to have a drink, but it was Vanessa you were talking about. “It's sort of like, you know? Protecting peace?”

    You shook your head at the sight of the tipsy Vanessa. “It's too early to be drinking booze, Vanessa.”

     Vanessa rested her head against your shoulder with a cute pout. “It's never too early or too late for booze. Yami would agree with me, you know! He and I are drinking partners! He wouldn't come to drink with me if you could learn to handle your booze well, ya know.”

    You sighed. “It's genetics.”

    And this was the booze-loving witch who was expelled from a distinguished family, Vanessa Enoteca. She was also yet another member who would cause you some trouble by being drunk. You couldn’t forget the number of times you had to wake up in the middle of the night—about two or three in the morning—to loud knocks on your door with Vanessa crying to have a glass of water and hangover pills.     

    “Oh, I know. It's a fun job that lets you fight enemies all you want!” Luck giggled excitedly. “If they're criminals, you can work 'em over good, and nobody gets mad at you for it!”

    You added with a disappointed sigh, “Though Luck makes a good point, it's not simply because you can beat people up and not get scolded for it. Luck is a combat maniac. Don't listen to him too much, or else he will rot your brain. Luck, act like your age for once.”

    Luck pouted at you.

    Luck Voltia was a combat fiend, always the type to smile. It wasn’t just the bad people that he loved to fight, but also the other members of the Black Bull. He wouldn’t stop slamming his fist onto your door and jumping in excitement to ask you to have a duel with him. You would always refuse, and gradually, he seemed to have given up. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t sneak an attack on you out of nowhere though.

    “It's a wonderful occupation that my little sister respects more than anything.” Out of the blue, Gauche showed a picture of his little sister as blood started to flow out of his nostrils while whispering. “Isn't she an angel? I can use the wages to buy the things she likes too.”

   You groaned.  “Must you always bring up your sister for every meal?”

    “Shut up! Of course, I have to!”

    This was a former prisoner with a hopeless sister complex, Gauche Adlai. He was someone who wouldn’t shut up about his sister, not even to you. Whenever you discussed something important to him—like a mission briefing that might actually cost him his life, he wouldn’t hesitate to pull out the picture of his sister to stare at it. When you asked what he was doing, Gauche would immediately ramble about what his sister would be doing during the weekends. He just wouldn’t shut up. 

    You pinched the bridge of your nose.

    Charmy giggled. “You get to eat lots of food too!”

    She wasn’t entirely wrong, but you needed to add a comment. “That is only if you do well in your jobs and get invited to an event. Well, I suppose the food we're eating right now can count as good food.”

    “Right?”

    Charmy Pappitson was a perpetual glutton whose interest was only in food. She was always the person to bring some extra dessert to you, although that itself was rare considering that she would just finish them all most of the time. When she did bring some food to your room, you would always reward her with some candies. That never seemed to make her leave happier than before.

    The large man who had been sitting next to Asta suddenly transformed into the appearance of Asta. “Well, long story short, it's a good job! We'll go on a mission together one of these days. Looking forward to it.”

    “You’re scaring the newbie by copying his looks, Grey.”

    Can you blame Grey though? If you were a master of transformation magic like her, you would always transform to cause pranks around the house. Imagine the power you would have if you could transform into Yami. Unfortunately, Grey didn’t have the guts to do so, not with the idea of Yami throwing her into the den full of flesh-eating beasts. You didn’t blame her. The only reason you were comfortable with Yami was because of the years of being in the Black Bull. 

    You nodded in agreement. “Grey is right, it's a good job to be a magic knight. You have a lot of missions that you can go on with everyone else. It's also the best time to get to know each other. Well, you can also slack off whenever you want to, especially if you are good at avoiding Yami. Being a magic knight is a hassle. But since you're here, I guess there's no going back for the two of you.” 

    You might be one of the laziest members who rarely use magic here.

    Noelle and Asta stared at all of the members that were sitting in front of them, realising one crazy thing about the Black Bull: They were all weirdos. Definitely. Just what did they get themselves into?

    After breakfast, Magna gestured to the two newcomers to the living room, where Yami was resting while smoking his cigarette. Noelle and Asta stood in front of Yami stiffly, while Magna was not even stressed out to stand beside the scary-looking Yami. How could the newcomers not be nervous in front of the Black Bull captain? Magna cleared his throat and declared that he was going to give good news to the newcomers, which had caused the two of them to be eager to know what was up.

    “And so I'm gonna give you guys,” He paused for dramatic effect, but you only came and interrupted them with a quick sneeze. “Ugh, your first mission. Anyway! You're going to the Village of Saussy to hunt the boars.”

    Noelle and Asta were stunned by his statement as they blinked rapidly in denial. “Wha— What a stupid mission!”

    “What's so stupid about it, huh?!”

    “I can take out a dumb boar with my bare hands!”

     Magna shouted, “Don't underestimate boars!”

    Yami smiled almost too sweetly to your liking. He definitely had an ulterior motive. “The two of us lost a bet the other day. We promised this one old guy we would do a favour for him, whatever he asked. He was looking to get rich quickly so he could make his poor village wealthy. That geezer was quite a guy. Humans sure are strong when they've got some responsibilities.”

    Asta yelled, “But that means it's not our problem, doesn't it?”

    Noelle bobbed her head. “He's right!” 

    You lowered your head, embarrassed that the situation had gotten this far. You simply couldn’t keep your eyes on Yami or control him all the time. “Yes. I’m sorry that I couldn't stop them, no matter how much I tried pulling them away. It was like a horrendous nightmare that I couldn't wake up from.”

    Noelle stared at you in pity. “...Just what have you gone through?”

    “Oh, nothing much. Just,” You sighed, feeling your life slowly slipping away from your grasp. “Getting kicked out of the place multiple times, getting slammed onto the wall by Magna's fire, getting death threats from Yami, and even having to please the old man who was winning.”

    This time, your exhale was long and exhausted.

    “It sure was fun.”

     Asta and Noelle suddenly pitied you.

    “But—”

    Yami crushed the cigarette in his fingers as his dark eyes turned into the eyes of a murderer. “Go or die. What's it gonna be, brats?”

    Both newcomers immediately shut their mouths and nodded.

    “We'll go.”

    Satisfied that you finally had someone to fight the boars, you nodded with a smile. “Since I’m in charge of looking after the newcomers, Magna and I will be there to help as well as monitor your performance. Even though it's only about finding boars, this is still your first mission, so please do your best. I’m sure you can deal with boars easily.”

    Asta cheered enthusiastically, turning this into an optimistic situation. “That's right! It's our first mission! Man, I'm getting psyched!”

    Grumbling under her breath, Noelle shuddered at the thought of her hunting damn boars. “Me? Go to a grimy village for some grimy old man? To get rid of a grimy boar?”

    Magna asked, “Say what? Got a problem, kid?”

    Noelle grunted in response.

    “Well, it does seem a little bit off for the first mission, but we can't just send you out into the wild right away either. That’s why this might be the perfect moment for you to get into using your magic.” You looked into Noelle's eyes with warmth, which caused Noelle to grow even more flustered. “Please bear with the mission for now.”

    Clicking her tongue, Noelle retorted back with a shaky voice and felt the need to hide in a hole. She puffed her cheeks and murmured to you, “Nobody's complaining. I just— Since I can't control my magic, I wondered if it was really alright for me to go.”

    “Moron!” Magna scolded Noelle with an expression that only a thug would make. Sometimes, you really figured you needed to teach him how to act less like a thug. “If you go on lots of missions, the control will take care of itself. Besides, I'm your elder. I'll cover your butt for you! And your favourite knight, [name], will be there for you too. They might be the laziest out of all, but they can do their job well.”

    Noelle gaped in shock. “They're not my favourite!”

    Magna responded sarcastically, “Yeah, yeah. Sure.”

    You frowned. “The laziest?”

    “Are you not?”

    “Who would admit that they’re lazy?”

    Magna scoffed. “Bet you're not going to help again with the mission.”

    “There's no need for me to do anything in the first place. They're just going to be handling boars.” You shrugged, confident enough that the newcomers were able to handle this mission on their own. “I don't think you'll need to do anything unless they can't even defeat a wild boar.”

    Before you knew it, Yami placed his calloused hand on your head and gripped it tightly, earning a squeal from you. When you looked at him, you knew you had said the wrong thing. Even after years of being with him, he would still manage to get on your nerves — the good and the bad.

    “What do you mean by that? Do you want to die?”

    You replied, “It's a pain in the ass.”

    “It won't be a pain in the ass when you die.”

    “I get it, I get it. I will take care of them.” When Yami loosened his grip, you finally could breathe in relief. You then presented a reassuring smile to the newcomers. “That's what I say, but I'm sure both of you can do well in this mission. I will definitely help when there's a problem.”

    Magna cleared his throat. “That's what they said.”

    Asta and Noelle only stared at you in bewilderment.

    You looked around with a curious look. “Where is Finral? I thought he would be the one sending us to the village.”

    “That jerk is too busy hanging out with some women, even though he knows we need him today.” There was frustration in his tone, and you were about to become like him too. “So, today will be different, we're going by broom.”

    “Except I can't fly on brooms.”

    Noelle agreed with Asta. “Neither can I.”

    You hummed. “Somehow, that's expected.”

    “You gotta be kidding me!” Magna whined as he smacked himself in the face. He probably didn’t think twice about this situation. The newcomers that Yami got weren’t exactly ‘normal’ newcomers. “That's like the easiest thing ever! Why can't you do it, you idiots?”

    “Because I have no magic whatsoever!”

    “I can't control my magic, so obviously I couldn't do it.”

    Almost on the verge of breaking down, Magna pinched the bridge of his nose while you patted his back as a comfort. “Well, don't worry about it. Magna and I will use our brooms to get you there. Right, Magna?”

    “Yeah. I'll take you on my sweet ride.” Revealing a high-tech broom that had a skull as a design at the front, he introduced it with an enthusiastic smirk. Magna was proud of it when he first designed it, although you begged to differ. “Her name is Crazy Cyclone! Did it send shivers down your spine?”

    Amazement shone deep in Asta's eyes. “That is so cool!”

    “Isn't she? Isn't she awesome?”

    Noelle scrunched her nose in disgust. “Tacky!”

    Magna gasped in shock, heartbroken about Noelle’s comment. “Girls just can't see the artistic structural beauty here. Even Vanessa and Charmy said it's ugly.”

    You called forth your normal-looking bloom while snickering at Magna's reaction. “It's tacky, just like what she said.” You gestured at your broom. “Well, if you don't mind, you can ride on my broom. My speed can match Magna's speed, so there's no need to worry about that.”

    Noelle seemed to breathe in relief when she saw your normal broom. Thank God that she didn’t need to go on Magna’s broom or another tacky-looking broom. “I’ll go with you then.”

    Magna scolded. “Come on, Asta!”

    Not even wanting to wait for Magna and Asta, you kicked the ground to propel the broom upwards into the sky. You then transferred your magical power into the broom, causing it to soar in the air while Magna was trailing after you. It had been a long time since you had been using your own broom, considering that Finral would send you to wherever you wanted in the other missions. You took the time to enjoy the calm breeze and focused on the fluffy clouds in the bright sky. Glancing down at the ground that was far away, Noelle stiffened up and held your waist tighter. The thought of her falling from the broom bothered her more than she thought and to be honest, it was a fairly normal reaction. It was Noelle’s first time riding a broom, she was so nervous that her heart could burst into fireworks right now. 

    You sneaked a glance at Noelle and noticed that she was closing her eyes shut in dread. “There's no need to be scared.”

    Noelle glanced at you. “Huh?”

    “Don't worry about falling. I will catch you when that happens.”

    Noelle immediately blushed at what you said, feeling embarrassed that a royal like her was acting in such a manner. “W—Who said I'm scared? I’m not scared at all.”

    “Is that so? Take a good look around and just feel the wind. It's nice to enjoy the peace in the sky. Just don't focus on falling and it will all be okay.”

    “I know that.” Noelle’s cheeks only burned brighter.

    “I'm increasing the speed, Noelle.”

    “Huh—”

    More and more magical power surging into the broom, you increased the speed and hastened forward like a bullet, travelling towards where the village would be. Noelle squawked at the sudden shift of speed, her clutch around your waist tightened while Magna was screaming for you to slow down from behind. Your heart thumped against your chest in excitement, and the strong wind blowing against you gave a nice pressure against your skin. It felt as though you’d grown back your wings and the freedom in the air tasted so sweet that you were craving for more. Perhaps you should stop relying on Finral to send you somewhere, although he probably wouldn’t be too happy about it.

    “Hey, you! Don't give our new recruit a heart attack!” Magna yelled out your name, increasing the speed to pursue. “Slow down!”

    You yelled back, “Magna! Let's finish the job quickly. I still need to finish reading my book!”

    Noelle shrieked in terror.

    Bursting into eager laughter, instead of slowing down, you increased the speed more and more until everything in sight was only a blur. It took almost five minutes to get to the Saussy Village and that was considering that it was not the highest speed you were using. You didn’t want to scare Noelle too much after all. Gracefully, you landed in front of the main entrance of the village and when you felt something different about the area, you instantly paused in your tracks. Something was… wrong. You could feel an immense magical power coming from the inside of the village that was oddly covered with mist. With Noelle's legs shaking from terror, Noelle hurriedly took a step back from the broom and collapsed to her knees, tears threatening to pour out from her wide eyes.

    Noelle cried. “What was that for?”

    Ignoring her comment, you narrowed your eyes at the sight of the mist wrapping around the quiet village. There was magic seeping out of the village, a magic that wasn't supposed to be there in the first place. It wasn’t like this a few days ago when you left the village. Behind you, Magna wheezed as he finally landed right near you. 

    “Can you not do that next time? Again? Not all of us have that much magical power. I think you're about to give Noelle a heart attack too.”

    You said, “Something is wrong with the village.”

    “What do you—”

    Magna finally understood what you meant once he saw the condition of the village. Even though he wasn't the most sensitive to mana, Magna could still sense that something was wrong with the place and the heavy mist around was practically a sign of magic going on. Judging from the expression you were making, it didn't seem to be good news. Magna got too curious and stretched his hand forward to touch the mist, but you managed to stop him in time with a disapproving look. You were unsure what the mist could do. For all you knew, it could melt away Magna’s hand.

    “The heck is this? The village,” Snapping back to the situation in hand, Magna breathed out in shock. “It's covered in mist.”

    Asta gasped. “This place sure has lousy weather!”

    “Don't be stupid.” Noelle rolled her eyes as she stood up from the ground, eyes scrutinising the place. “It's magic.”

    “What?”

    Noelle furrowed her eyebrows and dusted her clothes with a scoff, finding Asta to have a lack of knowledge about magic. “Even if we go in there, I doubt we'll be able to reach our destination.”

    You nodded. “That's right. This magic seems to be acting as a way to keep visitors out. Whether or not it will do anything else other than that, I don’t know.” Without any warning, you cautiously put your hand into the mist, earning a scold from Magna.

    “Hey! It might be dangerous. Don’t be doing the same thing when you just stopped me from doing that.”

    “Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure I can handle it.” You gave him a reassuring smile. “And nothing happens. It doesn't seem like offensive magic at least. Since it's not solid, it's not a physical barrier. It’s probably the type of magic that would lead you back outside or somewhere else, but not the village itself. It works like a maze. This kind of magic can be tricky to deal with, especially if the caster is inside the village that we couldn’t get into in the first place.”

    Asta gasped again. “Magic can do that?”

    “Of course, you idiot!” Noelle was in disbelief.

    Eyeing the mist that seemed to be fooling with their sight, Magna glanced at Asta when an idea popped into his head. “Hey, Asta. Cut this mist with your sword.”

    “Ah. That's a good way to enter.”

    Asta looked at you as if you’d grown another head. “Huh? Don't be stupid. Swords can't cut mist.”

    “You're the idiot here,” Magna argued back with his patience running thin. “Your sword can cut through any magic.”

    Realisation dawned upon Asta and he immediately pulled out his sword from the grimoire, wielding it steadily. Before he could scramble into the mist, you held out your hand in advance. This time, you seemed serious compared to how you were back home. Your laidback expression had turned into a more stern expression. The sudden shift in your behaviour instantly made the atmosphere tense. For a first mission, this wasn’t going well at all and now it didn’t seem to involve hunting mere boars anymore. You weren’t afraid of what might be waiting for you in the village, but you were more concerned about what might happen to the villagers. Whoever cast the magic clearly didn’t have any good intentions at all.

    “Everyone. Once the mist clears out, be careful. We have no idea who is in there so look carefully and move quickly.”

    Asta only grinned while the others nodded in agreement. 

    With his sword out, Asta rushed into the mist and started to swing his sword everywhere around him, cutting the mist into nothing but air. When the magic was undone, the mist was starting to clear away,  revealing a large number of villagers grouping under the still icicles—that were made out of magic—hovering in the air. The villagers were shaking in fear, tears falling down to the ground while they held each other in hope, praying that someone would come to save all of them. The Black Bull members were stunned when they saw the sight in front of them, it was like an execution.

    It was a disaster. 

    With scratches and bruises all over their body, they closed their eyes and waited for the particular words coming from the mastermind. They could only pray for a miracle to happen.

    “Commence execution.”

    The icicles started to collapse and rained upon the villagers who braced for the attack. Not even waiting to hear any command coming from you, Magna hastily dashed towards the villagers with his grimoire appearing right when he swiped his hand. You could see the desperation in Magna’s eyes, so you chose not to say anything to stop him. You watched as he ran and even you were beginning to hope that he could do something to protect all of them. Some of the villagers caught a glimpse of the running magic knight yet they kept quiet. After all, there was no hope in surviving this attack anymore.

    What could Magna do against that many icicles?

    There was no way he could stop the icicles from killing all of the villagers in time. However, Magna did not give up.  Not even a little bit. The Black Bull wasn’t the kind to give up. Knowing that he can't make it there in time with his speed, he skidded and stopped, swinging his hand towards the icicles to summon forth his fire magic.

“Flame Magic: Explosive Scattershot!”

Chapter Text

to give a second chance.

ღ

    IT WAS CHAOS. Magna’d summoned multiple fireballs and shot at the icicles. Fortunately, Magna wasn't just an average magic knight — he was more than that. His fire was strong enough to rival the ice magic, causing a loud booming explosion that sent tremors throughout the land. The villagers stared at the force above them and watched the small, harmless pieces of ice that fell onto their heads. For the first time throughout the ambush, they felt safe. The hope had returned and they could now wish to see the next day.

    A miracle had happened.

    Magna stood in front of the villagers with pride, giving a chance for the villagers to see the Black Bull insignia on his black cape. The villagers gasped softly when they realised who the magic knight was. Then, their attention shifted to the other Black Bull magic knights who approached them.

    “It's the Magic Knights!”

    “They’re here to save us!”

    You flashed a reassuring smile to the rest of the villagers, recognising some of them to be people you’d greeted and helped when you were in the village. “Don't worry, we’ll handle this.”

    Magna asked, “What the hell is going on here?”

    Your eyes then landed on the unconscious old man. 

    Afraid of what might happen, you quickly knelt beside the body and placed your fingers on his neck, only to find out that he was long gone. He had been killed, an innocent life was taken away in front of you. A young child was sobbing beside the cold body, clutching the old man's chilling hand with regret and sorrow. Seeing how much he cried over his family made your frown deepen. Although hesitant, you patted the boy's head gently, giving him the warmest smile he could remember. This was all you could do, and you were furious at the fact that you were too late.

    Your kind gesture only made him cry louder.    

    Hearing the ugly wailing behind him, Magna glanced back and saw the old man with whom he’d gambled. He managed to swallow the discomfort in his throat and croaked out miserably, only able to pronounce your name for an answer. You looked at him, unable to bear the pain in Magna’s eyes, but you needed to tell the truth regardless. When you shook your head in disappointment, Magna knew that the worst had happened.

    “He's gone, Magna.”

    Magna balled his hands into fists and glowered at the villain—the cause of this village’s nightmare. “Bastard. Was this your work?”

    You observed the man in front of everyone. 

    There was a long scar across his face, a perfect fit for a villain like him. His grey hair was short and neat, almost in a military style yet he didn't seem to be as righteous as a soldier; his slanted eyes were cold enough to send chilling fear down the villagers' spines but not yours—not when you knew this kind of villain. The man didn’t even bother answering Magna's question as he took out and looked at his pocket watch. You could hear the soft ticking noise from his watch and the noise only urged your worry to grow.

    “…Why did you come here? How dare you throw off the schedule?” He spoke with a monotone voice, the tone of his voice was cold like his magic. “In three seconds, everyone here will die.”

    You chuckled. “How confident. Now, now. It would simply be moving too fast. We have yet to know the reason behind your visit as well as your name. Would you be kind enough to tell us?”

    He didn't seem too happy with your interruption. You gotta say that you were good at pissing people off for some reason. “Three seconds have passed. I hate people who ruin my plan.”

    With a swing of his hand, a large glacial projectile was formed right in front of Magna. It was gigantic, big enough to swallow and kill everyone in an instant. Knowing that he couldn't possibly have enough magic to counter the giant projectile, Magna gritted his teeth and took a step back, only to notice another magic knight rushing past him. Asta, without thinking, lunged towards the man with his sword out. With a hint of anger in his eyes, Asta swung his sword at the projectile and sliced the projectile in half, making the magic dissipate into the air.

    Asta snarled at the man. “You're going down. Why would you do something so horrible? Who the heck are you people?!”

    “You…” The man gawked at Asta in awe.

    You didn't like the way he was staring at Asta.

    Protectively pushing Asta behind you, you asked another question, “You don't look like a simple bandit, not like the kind I know. You're in an organisation, aren't you? Oh? Judging from the way your eyes twitch ever so slightly, I assume I’m right.” You plastered a fake smile. “Are you willing to tell me who you are working for?”

    “Why should I?”

    “Because each of us has our own curiosity.”

    He scoffed, having no intention to reveal who he was working for to someone like you. “I see. You amuse and irritate me. The name is Heath Grice, but I don't see how you’ll be remembering my name in your grave.”

    You grinned as if you were challenging Heath, a mocking expression on your face. “Nice to meet you, Heath Grice. But don't worry, I’ll be sure to bring that name down with me to the grave. You still haven’t answered my question yet.”

    “Isn't it common manners for you to reply with your name?” Heath sighed in disbelief. “Just what I expected from Black Bull.”

    Magna yelled, “Hey!” 

    You held your hand up to stop Magna from interrupting. Right now, you desperately need information from Heath. “I’m rather flattered that you want to know my name.” So you told him your name. “Now that I've answered your question, maybe you can answer my question next? Common manners, isn't it? Just like you said.”

    “I don't see any reason for you to know more. After all, all of you will die in a few seconds.”

    “But are you not interested in knowing about us?”

    Heath stared at you as if you’d grown a second head, and when he saw the golden insignia on your black robe, he almost laughed. “Interested? You're just a mere Black Bull. Crude heretics who don't fit well with the rest of the magic knights. I'm not interested in knowing about the Black Bull. It would be a waste of time to question you lots. Five minutes. The pigs didn't know anything. We'll just kill them all quickly and hunt for what we seek.”

    “Hunt for what you seek? I see. So you're looking for something. What is it that you're looking for?”

    Heath didn't answer you at all. 

    Asta stepped forward with an enraged look as he tightened the grip around his sword. “Hey, you! Answer our question. What are you doing here? Why did you hurt all of them? Did you— Did you really kill the old man just because you want something?”

    He suddenly dashed towards Heath with a roar. 

    “Tell me!”

    You slapped your forehead in shock. “…He's too reckless.”

    With a sigh, Magna nodded in agreement.

    One of the subordinates raised his hand and held it forward, watching a whirlpool of mist surrounding Asta. The mist swirled around the young man, devouring his entire body, and all that was left was a heavy mist that nobody could see inside. Magna and Noelle screamed out Asta's name in worry before noticing a sharp glint inside the mist. You recognised the magic to be the same as the one that wrapped around the village, possibly a barrier and an illusion magic. This wouldn’t stop Asta, you knew that damn well.

    “You fool. Don't think you will approach Lord Heath so easily. Wander in the mist”

    “Nobody's wandering!”

    You smiled in amusement, watching how the magic disappeared into thin particles with only a swift cut of Asta’s blade. ‘Looks like Yami chose someone interesting this time.’ When Asta jumped out of the dissipating mist, he kept himself still and straight, facing Heath Grice with a determined expression. The enemies must have realised that Asta's ugly sword could negate any form of magic now and they will need a change of plan. You just knew Heath was thinking of a strategy, a way to deal with Asta who was now more than a mere pest. It almost felt like you could hear Heath's brain functioning. You observed Heath and Asta, finding their differences to be stark. 

    ‘Close combat would be his downside so he will probably remain as far away as possible.’ You thought, ‘He’ll continue to use magic from afar.’

    “I’m asking you why you are trying to kill those villagers! Just what is so important that you have to hurt them?”

    There was an intense silence between Asta and Heath. 

    It took almost a full good minute for Heath to break the silence. 

    “This village is in the Forsaken Realm where only commoners dwell. Most of the inhabitants are an inferior breed. The magic they use is just petty, everyday magic. They're like animals who are unable to use the tools gifted to them properly. These dumb pigs could steal my time. They wasted my time. I was just trying to clear them beforehand to make things easier for me. Meanwhile, you're different from them, no? You've enough magic to join the magic knights, don't you? You're just trying to save them because it's only about your mission.”

    Asta clenched his jaw. “What?”

    “Don't they look like animals, even to you?”

    “No!” Asta’s grip around the hilt of his sword tightened. “Those people are the ones I need to protect no matter what the costs are.”

    You placed your chin on your fingers with an annoyed look. “Hm, I really want to know what he is looking for. But he didn't seem to be friendly enough to tell. This is such a pain in the ass. What am I supposed to write in the report? Magna, I’ll apologise in advance. I am leaving everything to you.”

    Baffled, he glanced at you. “Wha— Why?”

    “I need some time to think about what's happening and I’ll handle the civilians. It doesn't seem like I will be much of a use here anyway. Besides, from what I can see, Asta is capable of winning. Leave the job of monitoring to me! I will make sure to present a nice, complete report on the newcomers' combat skills to Yami.”

    Noelle sweat-dropped. “There's a report?”

    Magna clicked his tongue. “Not officially, no.”

    You patted the two magic knights on the shoulders as encouragement. “Well, we'll just see how it goes. For now, I’ll take care of the wounded people so please leave their safety to me.”

    Magna groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I should have known this would happen... Oi, you better take care of them properly! Or else, I will blast you into space!”

    “Yeah, yeah.”

    “It seems that even magic knights value these filthy pigs. How disappointing.” Heath complained as he held out his hand. In an instant, small glacial projectiles materialised in his hand and were pointed at Asta. “I see stupidity as something that could never change. Unfortunately for you, you will have to die right now.”

    Asta scoffed. “I will just cut that ice—”

    When Asta was just about to make his move, thousands of small icicles formed around the people who opposed him. From above to the sides of the people, icicles were just everywhere in the air. The number was simply too much for Asta to handle. Even if he was able to counter those icicles, there would still be some wheezing past him and hit the innocent targets. An icicle pointed at you threateningly, the keen tip watching you as if it was never letting you go. One quick movement from the icicle and you would be skewed right away.

“Ice & Mist Compound Magic: Endless Ice Cage.”

    You carefully touched the tip of the icicle. “These are sharp.”

    “No shit Sherlock!” Magna scolded you before he could control his words. “Why are you touching it in the first place?!”

    “…I was just curious.”

    He suddenly asked, not even a hint of remorse on his face. “Saying that you want to protect these pigs is easy, but can you actually do it? Can you even protect this herd of animals under conditions like this? I'm not partial to the word ‘gradually’ myself but this seems to be the most efficient way.”

    All of the projectiles rained down onto the people and even with the overwhelming number of icicles, Asta and Magna didn't give up. Magna used his fire magic to dismiss the glacial projectiles, even when he could feel his own mana being drained away. Meanwhile, Asta swung his sword and let the icicles hit the flat side of his sword, propelling the icicles back to Heath. Before his own attacks could hit him, Heath dissolved the icicles.

    You ignored the mess happening in the background and smiled at a wounded child. “Why don't you show me where it hurts for you, kiddo?”

    The child sniffled and showed you his bleeding knee.

    “Lucky for you, I have a friend who is a witch and she taught me all kinds of ways to make you feel better.” You said as you cleaned the gash. “It will be alright in just a few days.”

    The mother gave you an appreciative smile. “Thank you.”

    “It's our job as magic knights. Anyone else who is hurt?”

    “Eek!” A villager squeaked in horror.

    More and more shards materialised around the civilians before falling with the intention to harm them. Heath only watched in amusement and sneered at how Asta was blindly swinging his blade. Even when Asta’s muscles were sore, he still kept going; Magna was the same, forcing himself to attack back even though it took a lot of concentration to keep up with the pace. Heath noticed how you glanced at him without doing anything about the situation. You had icicles raining down on you and your people — why weren't you doing anything about it? Why did it look like you were confident that everything would go well? The lack of an answer piqued Heath’s curiosity.

    A young girl sobbed. “Are we going to die?”

    “Silly girl. We will catch the bad guys, I promise.”

    Magna forced a pained grin. “What a great mission, eh? This is bad news. The two of us can't continue to defend against him. I think we're in serious trouble here!”

    You gave Magna a motivation. “Like Yami always says, surpass your limits right here, right now. Your speed has always been poorer compared to Luck so maybe it's time for you to train on that aspect, don't you think so?”

    “You little…”

    "Well, do you really want me to help?" 

    A short silence of contemplation came and Magna suddenly laughed bitterly. “Now that you're putting it that way, I suddenly don't want you to do anything. Hell no. We as real men won't just cut and run even if we are losing here! I’ll show you how real men fight and win. You'd better stay back and watch me, don't even look away for a second.”

    “Go wild all you want with your fire, Magna Swing. I'll make sure nobody else is hurt from your intensity.”

    Magna grinned. “That's what I like to hear.”

    “I truly wonder how long the magic knights can last.”

    "Don't— Don't play with us!"

    Angered by Heath’s mockery, Noelle tried and send a ball of water which missed the enemies entirely. The water splashed onto the ground, not even close enough to be a threat to Heath. In return, Noelled only earned a mocking smile and laughter from Heath. Bright red shade immediately covered Noelle's cheeks as she puffed her cheeks from the humiliation. You had to admit that it was embarrassing.

    “I see one of you can't even control her magic. The Black Bull must be hunting for members desperately. Hah! Weak beasts who can't even protect themselves. If you abandon them, you'll survive. So why not do so?” His eyes landed on you. His words were meant for you. “Or perhaps, you're actually hoping for a change with your fellow magic knights? I can see that you're… more than a weakling. Stronger and faster. Why don't you make a move? Why wouldn't you abandon those weaklings to become stronger? Are you the same as the rest of them, naive and stupid?”

    You tilted your head. “Oh, I’m flattered. Are you talking to me?” 

    Heath scoffed. “Fool.”

    “To answer your question… I simply don't find the need to make a move unless it's entertaining enough to draw my attention. Someone like you isn't worthy of me to use my magic. You don't seem so strong yourself.” You smiled at him, one that made his eyes twitch in anger. “Just telling the truth.”

    “Black Bull team always thinks they’re strong. I would say you all tend to hallucinate a lot.” Heath sneered and raised his hand once again but this time, it was towards you. “I do not like dogs that bark but never bite. Five seconds. It would only take five seconds for you to die here, magic knight.”

    Hundreds of ice shards gathered around you. The keen icicles pointed at your flesh threateningly, some aimed at your waist while some eagerly pointed at your heart and brain. The number of icicles he summoned was impressive enough to make you stare at the shards in amazement and awe. His mana was strong and abundant, perhaps even more than Magna’s mana. You were incredibly curious why someone of his calibre would come to this old village to look for something. Just how important was the thing they were looking for? And who was Heath working for?

    “Hey, you idiot!” Magna raised his voice at you, agitated that you didn't seem to have the intention to move. “What are you standing there for? Move away!”

   “It's pointless. If I move, the result will be the same.”

   “You're indeed smarter than the rest. A gem hidden among the pigs. You might become a pig if you continue to stay with them, unfortunately. When will you wake up and open your eyes?”

    “Then use your magic, [name]!”

    “Well, I could—” Your eyes suddenly landed on Noelle and immediately, an idea popped into your head. Yami did give you a task to do something about Noelle's mana control and whatever was happening right now was an opportunity. Perhaps pressure could help Noelle with her poor control. It would be a horrible experience for her but rewarding. “Oh, if I can't move, then someone will have to form a barrier around me, huh? Who could do that? Ah, Noelle! You'll save me, won't you?”

    Noelle stiffened at your indication. “Huh?”

    “Do it, Noelle.”

    “Five seconds, counting from now.”

    Magna's eyes darted from Noelle to you in a panic. He knew his mana was running out as he continued to fight back against the continuous icicles raining down on those villagers. Asta couldn't move from his position either. One slight move and hesitation would cause an innocent person to die. Magna thought about dropping everything he was doing and helping you, but something was stopping him. He was a magic knight; it was his duty to protect the weak and not another magic knight who could clearly protect themselves.

    Five.

    Magna knew he should trust you. Throughout his life at Black Bull, you would show him miracles that wouldn't usually exist. You survived your life as a magic knight barely using your magic and whenever you were in trouble, you would use your environment to your advantage instead. Magna did trust you but when he saw how close those ice magic was to your neck, his own trust wavered. He simply couldn’t understand why you were hesitant to use your magic. The secrecy and mysterious play were funny or fun anymore..

    “This is not the damn time to be joking around! You know very well about her situation!” There was desperation growing in Magna’s eyes. He was pleading with you. “Throw away your mysterious shitty situation and use your own magic!”

    You held on to your plan. “Noelle.”

    Magna begged. “[name]—!”

    Four.

    Noelle's eyes widened at what you just told her. She knew it was simply impossible. What could a girl like her do to save you? She couldn't even control her own magic power properly, so how was she supposed to save you and the villagers? You placed too much trust in her—too much that it was suffocating. Noelle didn't like how you were looking at her with those hopeful eyes. Those eyes that radiated warmth and belief tried to encourage her, but she was just too afraid. Noelle was too scared of failing you. Noelle let out a choked sob when the thought of your cold corpse flashed across her blank mind. If you died, it would be Noelle's own fault. Just like how she was the cause of her mother's death. Everyone will begin to look down on her and point accusing fingers at her.

    Everything will repeat once again for Noelle.

    Three.

    “Noelle!”

    “[name]!”

    Noelle's eyes watered. “I— I can't—”

    “Noelle, why wouldn't you believe in yourself?” You pressured Noelle even more, hoping to break something in her that would become her newfound strength. “If you don't do it soon, I might die. Noelle, create a barrier with your own hands. Imagine forming a barrier with water, it's supposed to be your speciality. It’s your magic power, trust yourself. It's that simple.”

    Noelle's hands shook. “It's not!”

    Magna cried out. “[name]! Just use your magic!”

    Two.

    “Noelle!”

    Were you wrong for thinking that pressuring her might work? You swore that you had read somewhere in a book that pressure and stress could work well with mana control — this life and death situation was the best pressure that you could use against Noelle.

    “Noelle!” Asta flashed a cocky grin to the royal, sweat trailing down his forehead as he fought hard against the other icicles. “You're a royal with that much mana! Don't underestimate yourself.”

    You grinned — that was right, encouragement!

    “Noelle, give it a try. Don't worry.”

    Noelle looked at her own hands. “I—”

    One.

    Heath snapped his fingers and the icicles spun at high speed. Your focus was not on them but on Noelle. The shards shot towards your body, the tips grazing across your flushed skin. It was cold. You could feel the temperature falling drastically just with Heath’s mana alone. Just what organisation could manage to recruit someone with such good potential was beyond your understanding. You met Noelle’s gaze and she knew she needed to do something now or else the worst thing that could happen might come. Death. Noelle could never like the idea of death. The first death she’d experienced was her own mother’s. She didn’t even get to register and grieve for it, because as soon as she was born, she was despised by the entire Silva family. 

    She never did get a chance to have a word with death.

“Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon’s Lair!”

    Words rushed through her mind and mouth, no time to even think twice about what she said. As soon as her spell played in, a solid orb of water suddenly surrounded you and the entire villagers together. The shards were only a few millimetres away from your body, ready to skewer you a thousand times, but Noelle’s water barrier had made it on time. The icicles melted and fused into the water when they made contact with the barrier, unable to penetrate past Noelle's barrier no matter how quick or sharp they were. You watched how the barrier was formed in awe, feeling oddly comfortable within due to an unspoken warmth. Noelle’s magic was certainly more comfortable than Heath’s, that was for certain.

    You knew it. You knew Noelle was capable of doing it.

    Magna lowered his hands in bewilderment as he stared at the barrier that protected everyone. He couldn’t believe that your recklessness actually pushed Noelle a step forward. “…It actually works.”

    “I did it.” Noelle’s voice was shaky, as if she couldn’t believe what she had done either. She stared at her clammy hands and looked at the water barrier; no matter how many times she blinked, her magic was still there. Realising what she’d done, she burst into a wide smile. Her grin was so wide that it was infectious. “I did it! I really did it. I'm a royal and a member of Black Bull. I'll protect the people of this country no matter what it takes. Don't test me!"

    Andrenaline finally wearing off due to the safe place, Magna felt his knees buckle up despite how much he knew he should be standing up right now. “Holy smokes. That gave me a heart attack.” He glared at you. “I’m going to kill you! Don’t you realise that you’re always giving me a heart attack and high blood pressure?!”

    “You’re still young, you’re not going to have those.” Waving your hand dismissively at Magna, you decided to focus more on Noelle’s success rather than Magna’s worry. You gave her an approving nod and a proud clap. “That was good. Now, that's your actual strength. See, I've told you that you can do it if you believe in yourself. A little bit of pressure always works.”

    It seemed like you angered quite a few people, because now, Noelle was the one who looked like she was about to chew you apart. You did feel bad when you saw her teary eyes, but you couldn’t deny the fact that your way of doing things did work. You were reluctant to put this into a report for Yami—not that it was mandatory in the first place, but you'd made it into your duty—as you knew that Yami’s reaction wouldn’t be that welcoming either.

    “A little bit of pressure? Don't do that ever again! What were you thinking about!? I was so terrified that I thought— I thought you might have died and—”

    You tried to lighten the situation with a smile, although it didn’t seem to work. “Ah, I read that pressure or stress could help with the flow of mana sometimes so I thought it would be a good idea to test it out. It did work, didn't it?”

    “You could have died!”

    “I didn't in the end.”

    Magna groaned. “I hate your way of doing things.”

    “I’ll take that as a compliment.”

    “It’s not!”

    Heath studied the water barrier with clear dissatisfaction, upset that his plan was ruined once again. “I have to admit, your power is above what I’ve expected. But just how long do you plan to wait inside there? Forever? It seems like Black Bull isn't as brave as I thought—”

    “And who said that?!”

    Asta dashed out of the globe of water with his sword up high in the air. His feet pushed and propelled him towards Heath. “I have no magic but news flash, I’m still going to take you out!”

    Unable to anticipate Asta's surprise attack, Heath couldn't summon his magic fast enough for a counterattack or defensive magic. His subordinates couldn’t do anything either, perhaps because it was difficult to detect Asta with his absence of mana. With a roar, Asta swung his blade and slammed it into Heath’s, sending him hurling back with a cough of blood out of his mouth. The simple hit wasn’t enough to knock Heath unconscious, but at least it had done somedamage. You weren’t going to be picky when you weren’t doing anything in the first place. Enjoying the fight scene, you watched as Heath’s hand reached out for the ground and with a simple touch, the ground was suddenly frozen. 

    Heath spat out the blood in his mouth and seethed at Asta. “Your sword may be able to negate magic but in the end, you're just a normal human. Now it's my turn!”

    Heath's grimoire glowed.

“Ice Magic: Heavenly Ice Fang.”

    Spikes of ice sprouted and blossomed out from the ground, hitting Asta in the abdomen as revenge. He couldn’t dodge in time, not when the ground was completely frozen and he was already losing balance. Asta coughed from the impact and fell to the ground with a loud thud. It sounded like he’d broken a few bones here and there, and he probably earned a few bruises on the abdomen. You grimaced at what happened, debating whether you should butt in during this time. While Asta couldn't move due to the ice beneath his feet, Heath took the opportunity to make his move.

    “Just sleep there for eternity.”

    Heath spoke as he tore his gaze away from Asta who couldn't even stand and walk properly on the ice. He stepped towards the orb of water with a stoic look. 

    “That's some tremendous magic power. However, it looks like I'll be able to make an entrance for one.”

    Carefully, Heath placed his hand on the water's surface and froze a part of it, his cold eyes never once seeming to leave your figure. It seemed like a challenge, a mockery that he could still fight back against Asta’s magic nullification and Noelle’s water barrier. You narrowed your eyes at Heath, annoyed that you were being challenged. You felt rather offended that he was looking down on your newcomers. Being the person responsible for them definitely made it easier for you to be offended. Watching how Heath could damage the water barrier, Noelle’s confidence began to waver once again. Of course, it wouldn’t be enough no matter what.

    “…What?”

    “It has been twenty-five seconds. You, magic knights, just love to steal my time. That's going to cost you. A lot.”

    Raising your brow, you challenged him. “Oh? Do your worst.”

    Magna swallowed down the anxiety building up inside his throat. It felt weird to have such a tight throat, it wasn't something that Magna would experience throughout his journey. This time, it was different. Magna had no idea how to face the enemies. He’d always been confident and bold fighting enemies, but right now, he was protecting these magicless villagers and looking after the newcomers. He couldn't go as wild as he wanted to with his fire magic and even if he could, Magna wasn’t sure if he could win. He knew that there was a gap between him and Heath. It seemed impossible to defeat Heath, especially not with the newbies like Asta and Noelle. 

    The voice behind Magna’s mind told him to give up.

    “You can't stop here.”

    Magna looked at you with wide eyes, registering your voice that fought back against the voice deeper in his mind. You’d balled your hands into fists and punched the frozen water as hard as you could. Even when your knuckles bruised and bled from the impact, you held strong and watched as the ice began to crack. You knew how demoralising the situation was, but you just weren’t ready to announce defeat and loss.

    Noelle gaped at you. “What are you—”

    The small crack on the ice spread like wildfire when you punched the ice once more without paying attention to the small cuts across your knuckles. Heath took a step back in confusion and lifted his hand off the frozen water, just in time for you to dart out from the broken barrier. Instinctively, Heath summoned icicles which flew towards you with the intention to kill. You had no intention of facing Heath in the first place. Avoiding the projectiles, you made a sharp turn, sprinted—or slid across the frozen ground—, and swiftly grabbed Asta by his shirt. Garnering all of your strength, you hurled Asta to Heath, exactly like how Yami would have done the same to the members of Black Bull.

    Perhaps you were ironically influenced by Yami in a way.

    Shocked, Magna's mouth fell wide open.

    “Stop playing around!” You scolded Asta.

    Asta yelled back, “I'm not!”

    Knowing what he was supposed to do, Asta held his sword tight when he was launched towards Heath. A mountain of ice suddenly jumped out of the ground and whacked Asta in the abdomen once more. The poor magic knight let out a harsh cough, fell to the ground, and rolled away. It took him a few seconds to stand back up with a battered body.

    Heath gritted his teeth angrily, sending glares back at you. “What do you think you're doing? Instead of using this cheap trick, come at me with your own strength. Are you a coward? Disgusting pig.”

    You sighed. “I suppose that didn't work.”

    “Of course it didn't!” Magna and Noelle scolded you.

    Wiping the blood away from the corner of his mouth, Asta pointed his blade at Heath, although you did notice that he was already exhausted. “No. Don’t pick a fight with someone else. This is a fight between me and you. Don't look at others when you're fighting against me. I’m not done yet!”

    He tightened his grip around his blade, took a deep breath in, and dashed towards Heath. Another spike of ice managed to leave a scratch on his body, yet there wasn't any sign of him giving up. For a magicless newcomer, Asta’s willpower was overwhelming. Standing strong with his sword in his hand, Asta flashed a confident grin. You had to admit that you were impressed and you might have to really applaud Yami for finding such a child.

     “Not. Done. Yet!”

    "There's no way you can win. Give up. You're wasting my time!"

    “No, I won't give up. If I give up, who's going to protect them? Sure, the other magic knights are far stronger than me. They could win while I'm still struggling to fight. But… even if I'm going to die, I will still fight and try to win with my own hands! I’ll never stop even until my final breath. I realised, you see, this isn't just to keep a promise. I'm going to become a Wizard King so that I can protect everyone!”

    You let out a choked cough.

    Shock took over Noelle’s mind right away as she blinked repeatedly. “Wizard King? What is he talking about in the first place?”

    You ended up laughing. “Even I don't dream that big.”

    Out of the blue, Magna punched himself in the face with a determined expression. Blood trickled down from his nostrils yet he wasn't fazed by the pain at all. “You're a real man, Asta! Maybe as a senior, I should be acting cooler than you, huh? You'd better take care of the villagers, Lady Noelle. [name], I'm showing you how a real man properly fights this time! You better keep your eyes open, bastard, or else, you're gonna regret not watching closely!”

    “I’ll watch you from here.” You smiled. “I believe you.”

    Heath scoffed in disbelief. “Wizard King, huh. A ridiculous dream coming from a weakling like you. Black Bull has always liked to spill ridiculous things. I'm sorry to break it to you but you're about to die. You and the rest of your friends.”

    “Like hell, I would let you kill him!” Magna exclaimed and pointed at himself. “If you're gonna kill him, you gotta get through his superior first. That would be me!”

    Asta stared at him in shock. “Mister Magna…”

    Heath frowned. “You fool. Are you so eager to die?”

    “Bring it!”

    Magna smirked as his eyes shone with confidence and hope. He had always been a reckless magic knight, he would rush into a fight without thinking of a plan like Luck. But this time, he thought about a plan — a fairly good plan in his opinion. 

    “Let's do this, Asta. Remember the baptism, kid!”

    Magna flipped the pages of his grimoire and launched another attack towards Heath. Multiple fireballs propelled towards Heath like fireworks.

“Flame Magic: Prison Death Scattershot.”

    “So this is your final magic?”

    Heath watched the fireballs colliding with his ice shield while some soared past him. Disappointment was clear in his eyes — he had expected more coming from the magic knights. Heath had heard of the infamous Black Bull: the unreliable magic knight team which was full of a bunch of outcasts. They were always the shadows of the other well-known teams, but Heath didn't expect them to be this bad to the point that it was laughable. It was humiliating that his plan had been interrupted by the Black Bull.

    “You're wasteful. You couldn't even leave a simple scratch on me. Is this really the strength of a magic knight?”

    “It's not a waste!” A familiar came from behind.

    Heath's eyes widened from realisation, but it was too late. The fireballs that flew past Heath, finally hit Asta's sword and were repelled back towards him. Magna merely used a decoy and attacked their blind spot by using Asta's strength. The fireballs ended up hitting all of the enemies including Heath, causing the fire to engulf and burn their figures. The fire was so intense that it spread across the area, reaching for Magna in an attempt to scorch him too. But the flame never did come. Magna blinked in confusion when he noticed that there was a water barrier around him, protecting him from his own fire magic that could leave a burn mark on his skin.

    Noelle looked at him with a cool expression. “You'd better thank me, you spiky-headed delinquent.”

    You bobbed your head in approval. “Look at you go, Noelle.  You're starting to get a hang of it.”

    Noelle's cheeks instantly flushed red.

    The fire that engulfed Heath was not going out at all. It continued to burn stronger, until Heath managed to use his remaining mana to freeze the fire into ice. He let out an agitated grunt and glowered at the magic knights. “I'm not done yet. My body still moves!” Heath couldn’t give up here, not now.

    Asta didn't hesitate to strike. “Not for long!”

    “Wait—”

    “No way I'm gonna wait!”

    With a hit from Asta's heavy sword, Heath collapsed to the ground and was finally defeated. Magna grinned and stepped closer to the unconscious Heath, forming a rope made out of the fire. The ropes coiled around Heath's stiff body and held tightly, giving him no opportunity to run away. 

    “Courtesy of my Flame Magic—”

    “Yeah, yeah. We get it.”

    “At least let me finish my sentence!” Magna scolded you.

    Noelle added, “You're smarter than you look though.”

    “Hey! Quit it! I'm your superior.”

    Just then, someone had used water magic to pull the remaining member that was not tied yet by Magna. However, before the member could advance further away, you stepped onto the member's torso to prevent him from moving and took the grimoire that he was using to get away. The magic grew weaker and fell apart, keeping the member still under your foot. 

    He groaned in defeat. “Damn it...”

    “An A for your effort.”

    “Oh crap, that was close. It would be a problem if one of them escaped. I don’t even want to think about what Yami would do if he escapes.” Magna breathed out in relief and hurriedly used his magic to tie the member up. “Thanks. I can always rely on you for being too observant.”

   “You're right. I'm observant enough to notice the burnt mark on my plants. What do you think I should do with the culprit?”

    Magna gulped. “Uh.. It's even between us. You ate my pudding!”

    “Oh, hell no.”

    “Who cares about that? Did you even see that? You two saw what happened! I may be a peasant with no magic but I actually won. How did ya like that!”

    Asta grinned eagerly as he shoved himself in between you and Magna. His childlike excitement was honestly infectious because now, you were smiling for him. His excitement was understandable, considering that a newcomer like him had just defeated an enemy. He would continue to ramble on about what happened if he could, but the adrenaline in his blood was no longer enough to keep him awake. Gradually, his voice became lower and weaker until it was a total silence coming from him. Realising that his eyes were about to fall closed, he let out a tired chuckle as he swayed back and forth. You frowned at his movement, hand reaching out to him.

    “Asta, are you oka—”

    Just when Asta was about to collapse to the ground out of exhaustion, you managed to hold onto him and wrap your arm around your neck. His weight leaned onto you completely, a sign that he was actually unconscious. Before you could even do anything, Asta's voice was eventually replaced by his annoying snores. Your worry for him was suddenly not as strong as before.

    Magna questioned, “What. He's asleep?”

    “Looks like he's just tired.”

    Noticing a slight movement inside Asta's shirt, you lifted his shirt and caught a glimpse of a black bird flying out of Asta's shirt. You blinked in confusion, wondering how the bird managed to hide inside Asta’s shirt and how it wasn’t noticed by Asta. You didn’t bother finding out why there was a bird in the first place—you couldn’t anyway, because soon enough, the saved civilians began to crowd around Asta and you with happy smiles. They were saved by the magic knights and seeing a commoner like Asta must have sparked something in them—hope, perhaps.

    “That was amazing!”

    A woman gasped. “He's still a kid!”

    “Is he really a peasant like us?”

    You nodded. “He's our newest recruit.”

    With the right timing, the bird flew back to Asta and suddenly pecked him in the head with the rock in its beak. You couldn’t imagine how painful it must have been because as soon as the beak hit his scalp, Asta jolted awake with a pained yelp. 

    “Ow! Ow! Ow!” He saw the culprit that disturbed him and glared at it. “You're one of those, uh, at the test event!”

    You said, “An anti-bird.”

    “Ah! That's right. Anti-bird! You jerk. Did you come all the way here to make fun of me? What's with that rock you're holding? Since when did you get this thing?”

    He tried pulling the rock out but the bird was stubborn, just like him. It was an irony that the two of them were alike. 

    “Hey, you! Isn't that the village's rock? Let go, you little—”

    “If you want that rock, you can have it. It was the village chief's protective charm.” A man smiled. “You're our saviours!”

    All of the villagers bowed to him. “Thank you so much!”

    Asta stared at them and grinned — the happiest grin out of all.

༺═──────────────═༻

    “Why wouldn't you tell me what you're looking for?”

    Heath didn't even bother looking at you even after how much you begged and cried for him to meet your eyes. He barely showed signs that he heard you in the first place. Defeated, he simply stared at the ground without saying anything as if it was something more interesting than your face, and neither would his subordinates speak as they all slouched on the ground. You sighed in disappointment and sat on the ground in front of Heath who had a displeased look on his face. He still wasn’t willing to look at you.

    “Well, I can already guess what you're looking for anyway. Coming to a village with no royals at all, it's quite obvious once I see it. Magic stones, right? That's the only valuable thing I could find in this place. I thought the stone that Asta got was a bit weird and turns out I'm right. That's what you've been looking for.” You rambled on your own and raised a brow. “What I want to know is why you want the magic stones.”

    Again, no response coming from Heath.

    “I know very well how magic stones work. Sure, they can amplify your power but humans can't use magic stones. It would only risk their lives. So tell me who is going to use them. What are you going to do once you get the magic stones?”

    Heath narrowed his eyes and at last, he had had enough of your voice. He lifted his eyes and glared at you. “You told the rest of the magic knights to have a rest, just because you want to find answers from me. You're just trying to get me alone. There must be a reason why you're doing that. What are you planning exactly?”

    “Get an answer from you. Isn’t that obvious?”

    “You won't get any from me.”

    You frowned at his response.

    “Are you planning to self-destruct? It's what people like you would do. Too loyal to the wrong person who probably doesn't even care about you. Is it worth it? To fight for someone you don't know well? Are you sure you know them well enough to risk your life for them? You must be an idiot.” Disgust flashed across your eyes and you weren’t sure if you were actually disgusted by Heath or the idea of such a mysterious organisation. “People like you are completely blinded by whatever things you have in mind.”

    Heath closed his eyes. “For him, I will do anything.”

    “So it's a he. Hm, I suppose I can work from there.”

    “And why are you so keen on finding an answer?”

    “Why? Because I know whoever you're working for is not a simple person. Might not even be a human— if he is planning to use the magic stones, that is. There’s something that I must uncover from what I’ve seen and heard, I don’t trust whoever you’re working for. That person is dangerous, you should know that.”

    Heath frowned.

    You asked, “Are you still planning to kill yourself?”

    “What does that have to do with you?”

    You shrugged nonchalantly. “Just curious. I figure the Wizard King could perhaps give you another chance. You're useful, your ice magic is decent and you have potential. It's a waste to see you letting that go. Ah, that doesn't mean I trust you completely. You can be a traitor or a spy by staying beside the Wizard King, but it would be easier to keep an eye on you if you work under us. Even if you end up betraying us, I will just have to deal with you when that happens. It wouldn't be that hard to deal with and people tend to say to keep your enemies close, right?”

    “You’re confident.” He looked away with a huff. “Ridiculous.”

    “I’m telling you right now that it’s not ridiculous at all. It would simply be a shame if you were to die and if I do end up saving you as well as giving you another life, you would be indebted to me, am I wrong? It would be nice to have someone to owe me favours. Why do you think I want to keep you under my eyes?”

    “Excuse me?”

    You smiled. “Or do you want my hand in marriage?”

    He stared at you in shock, completely speechless as he tried to register the nonsense spouting out of your mouth. Were you mocking him for losing? Heath couldn't tell — you were too unpredictable that he didn't know what you were thinking in the first place. You were joking, of course. He looked so serious about the situation that you felt the need to poke fun at him to ease him up. It did seem to work to an extent.

    “Are you making fun of me?” Offended, he sneered at you, bristling in agitation despite being tied down. “Don't waste my time with your nonsense. I don't need your mockery.”

    “Making fun of you? If I'm doing that, I would be laughing right now instead of wasting my time having a proper conversation with you. No, I was just teasing you.” With a deep breath, you sighed, face becoming serious. “Look, we have different opinions on… people. To you, the people in the Forgotten Realm must have been like beasts. They’re not royals. They’re simply different, but you gotta admit, there's something you can admire about them. Unlike royals, they don't have to worry about anything. They don't have a reputation to care about and they don't have to compete to prove their worth. They are just living their life happily with their family and friends. Isn't that nice?”

    “What are you trying to say?”

    “I’m just choosing to explain why our views are different.”

    “And what does this have to do with our conversation?”

    You paused, and you weren’t sure if you could answer his question. “…I just want you to think about why we're different and start thinking of changing your view. You can even start to understand why magic knights like us want to protect them. Maybe after you start understanding us, we can be good friends.”

    He scoffed. “Why would I even waste my time on you?”

    “Who knows? You might like me more than you thought.”

    “Shut up and stop wasting my time with this useless conversation. Just get this over with and do whatever you want.”

    You seemed amused. “I see you chose an answer.”

    Heath chuckled dryly. “You'll only regret your decision.”

    Of course, you would regret your decision. You were foolish for thinking of giving Heath a second chance — he could just as easily gain intel beside the Wizard King and report back to his boss. Heath was the enemy, the villain yet you were dropping your guard around him. You were too close to him, too trusting of him even though you knew nothing about him.

    Heath hated the way you were thinking.

    “Oh, I don't think so.” Your sincere smile was enough to make Heath's chest tighten with discomfort. “I think I might like you more than you think so.”

Chapter Text

the weirdness is never over.

ღ

    “WHERE’S Asta and Noelle?”

    Magna flinched in shock from your unexpected voice and turned around in a hurry, watching you fixing your Black Bull robe with pride. The second he saw your face, he instantly relaxed and let out a relieved sigh. Magna had been a bit stressed out after the fight, not because of the enemies but because of his own intrusive thoughts. There were a lot of ‘what if’ questions that he simply couldn't stop thinking about. The familiarity he felt when he saw you was a reassurance to him and he didn’t realise it until now. 

    “Asta went to visit the old man's grave. Noelle… I think she went to help those injured villagers.”

    You nodded as a reply while taking a seat beside Magna who was staring into the distance with a blank look. You noticed he was looking at the place where the old man had died, the spot was now empty, but it was still easy to see a dead body lying there. It was a bitter memory etched inside Magna's brain and he would bring it with him for years, especially when he truly had a good time with the old man. You could see how Magna was affected by this. After all, you were always there to witness Magna laughing along with the old man while they were gambling. With a sigh, you found the weight on your shoulders disappear in the comfortable silence until Magna was the one who decided to break the atmosphere. 

    Despite how much he enjoyed just being in the silence with you, Magna was itching to ask you a question. “Hey.”

    You hummed. “Yeah?”

    “Do you think I am weak?”

    Puzzled, you looked at him. “Why?”

    “Geez, can't you answer my question?”

    “I'm not going to answer unless you tell me what you're thinking about.” Magna didn't answer straight away and you had to persuade him by nudging his side. When he saw your curious look, he honestly felt the wall around him crumbling away. He just couldn’t get away from you, it seemed. “A penny for your thoughts? Come on. I will forget about the fact that you ‘accidentally’ burned my plants if you tell me what's on your mind.”

    “Fine, fine.”

    Magna’s soft gaze wandered away as he refused to look you in the eyes. The more he thought about looking at you, the more humiliated he felt. He felt stupid for having such ridiculous thoughts, yet at the same time, he couldn't stop. Magna knew you wouldn't laugh at him for feeling this way, you had always been a great listener in his eyes but he couldn't help but feel ridiculed.

    This wasn't how a magic knight should act.

    “I just— I just think I’m not strong enough to protect everyone. That old man. He was just alive a few days ago. Both of us saw him. He was even happy explaining his wish to us. He said he has a responsibility but he just… left so soon. When I think about it, maybe he would have been fine if I had arrived earlier. Maybe a few minutes earlier. Just a few minutes and he would have been okay. Everything would be different if I somehow did something.”

    You listened quietly as he poured out his worry to you, your eyes on him to catch every little emotion flashing across his gaze. Magna still refused to meet your gaze, but it didn’t matter to you. You knew where he was coming from and you understood why he was beginning to doubt himself. Even you had such a thought— that if you were a few minutes quicker, you might have been able to save the old man. It wasn’t as if you could reverse time. You didn’t have time magic like the Wizard King; even if you had, it wasn’t always wise to revert the time to save every single person. The consequences may be greater than the life of a person.

    Fate can sometimes be a cruel one.

    “…I don't think you're weak.”

    This time, Magna finally found the courage to look you in the eyes. But you weren't even looking at him anymore. You were looking at the very spot where the old man died with a sad smile. Magna didn’t know about your past. He never did ask, not when you seemed to keep everything to yourself, but it made him wonder if you’d ever seen death like today’s. You must have at one point, because you’d been working with Yami for so long and the gentle expression on your face told him everything he needed to know. 

    “The weak would always run and refuse to face what is happening. The weak would always cower in fear and hide in the corner, doing nothing about their demon. That's why I don't think you're weak. You are strong. You decided to risk your life to fight back against someone. You chose to think about what you could have done when you have the option to ignore and push everything into the back of your mind. You decided to face it. Being a strong person doesn't mean you need to be physically strong. It involves other aspects too, you know.”

    “But—”

    Your eyes met his, heavy and raw with emotions. “It's pointless to think of things that have happened and what could be different. I truly believe there's nothing that you can change about it. You might have failed to protect him but there are still people who are important to you who need your help. Protect the living, remember the dead.”

    Magna gave a relieved smile. “Yeah, I guess you're right. Thanks.”

    “Don't thank me for something like that.”

    “I’m serious, thank you for listening.” Magna stretched his body and groaned in satisfaction at the soft cracks in his back. “I should start training really hard to protect the others as you said. I can't let Asta beat me to it. That kid is new but he’s already doing what a magic knight should be doing.”

    “Should we train together tomorrow?”

    Magna blinked owlishly. “We?”

    “Of course. I’ve been training with Yami from the very beginning, so I know what good training should be like. I might not be as strong as him but well, I believe I can still give you a good fight.” You held out your hand to Magna. “Shall we?”

    He laughed and took your hand, getting pulled back onto his own feet. “So you're saying I could get to see your mysterious magic?”

    You almost laughed at his confidence. You didn’t hate it. “You must be confident if you think I’ll use my magic to train with you. You need to make me show my magic, Magna. I bet you can't even leave a mark on me without me using magic.”

    “Hah! As if I would back out!”

    “I’ll be waiting for that to happen then.” Although you wanted to have a casual talk with Magna, you remembered that you still needed to speak to him on a serious matter. A shame really, especially when you had a good talk with Magna. “I actually have something I need to discuss with you. It's about the man behind all of this, Heath. I believe he’s working for someone else and it might even be a huge organisation. They are looking for the magic stones, the ones Asta is holding at the moment. I'm sure you know about magic stones, yes?”

    Magns rolled his eyes dramatically as if he was just offended by your statement. “Of course! I gotta be an idiot if I don't know anything about magic stones. Don't look down on me like that.”

    You let out an amused chuckle. “Good. Anyway, magic stones can be dangerous if they’re in the wrong hands. The Wizard King needs to know about this and I plan to bring Heath along with me for a report. Maybe Julius could do something about him and gather some information from him that I couldn't get today. Could you inform Yami about it while I meet the Wizard King?”

    “Leave it to me. I will explain it to him.”

    “Thank you.” As if your whole body had been hit by a truck, a long sigh escaped from your mouth. “Can’t believe that a boar hunt would become like this. Now I have more work than before.”

    The two of you stayed still and watched the villagers getting everything down as they tried to forget the egregious experience that had happened to them. You found the enjoyment of watching them work—rebuilding what had been destroyed and sweeping away the unfortunate. Their hope to live the next day didn’t disappear despite the chaos. It made you wonder just how strange it must be to be a human. While you waited for the time to pass silently, Magna sneakily took a brief look at you. He couldn’t understand how you could make it seem like everything would be fine despite how much work was left in your hands at the moment. In his eyes, although you weren’t participating actively in missions, you were the one doing the background work for the Black Bull. 

    Magna noticed your hard work.

    You would never get anything done up front but behind everyone's backs, you were the one to clean up the mess. You might seem unreliable at times, but everyone in Black Bull knew how much you worked with Yami behind the curtains. You would even sometimes replace Yami and head off to handle the reports on your own, just because the captain of Black Bull couldn't be bothered and Yami probably had a more important business to attend to. You complained all the time yet you would never go against Yami no matter what, which Magna always wondered why. Your relationship with Yami wasn't as simple as everyone thought but nobody dared to ask — even if they did, they’ll never get an answer.

    He suddenly asked, “Why don't you ever use your magic? Only Yami has seen it and it makes me wonder why. Is there a particular reason for it?”

    There was a brief pause. “I don't like it.”

    “Huh?”

    “I just don't like using my magic.” Something flashed across your face but Magna wasn’t sure what it was. Before he could contemplate it, you burst into a laugh—not genuine, he could tell. “I’m just joking. It's not that deep honestly. It’s a pain in the ass to use magic at times, it drains your mana.”

    For a second, Magna felt that you weren't joking.

    “How about this? One day. One day, I will show you my magic free of charge. Specifically for you.”

    Magna's eyes shot wide open. “For me? You gotta make a manly promise for that then.” He held out a pinky finger like a child who simply couldn’t wait for it to happen.

    Smiling from ear to ear, you gazed at his pinky finger. His outstretched finger was definitely longer and more calloused than yours, but it was simply interesting to see the difference. He had worked with fire magic, which was why there were old burn marks on his hands. You needed to give him more credits for his fire magic. With a shake of your head, you wrapped your finger around his and promised him that it would happen one day. It was probably silly for you to be doing a pinky promise with Magna—two magic knights doing this probably wasn’t a good look. You didn’t mind it though, not when it was evidence of your bond growing stronger.

    “Oh, and one more thing.” Magna added, “No matter what happens in the future, the two of us must survive. At the very least, I'm not letting you die like the old man. I will protect and show you how man does his work, you betcha!”

    You swallowed down the lump of fear in your throat and mustered the brightest smile you could, despite how much you wanted to tell him that it might be a hard promise to keep. You weren’t a fan of lying but seeing the way his smile could reach up to his ears gave you no other choice. You lied because Magna's bright smile, which could compete with fire, was simply worth it.

    “Promise.”

    It was worth it.

༺═──────────────═༻

    Tap, tap.

    You walked down the hallway with Heath and his subordinates trailing behind you. Your footsteps echoed throughout the corridor, alarming the other magic knights who lingered in the vast place to know about your arrival. Nobody really liked you, considering how you were known to be a failure among the magic knights — being a bystander that did not contribute much for years had earned a bad reputation for you. Was it unexpected? Not really, you knew rumours—which it wasn’t because you were actually slacking off—would spread, so you weren’t too bothered about everyone’s opinions on you. Besides, it wasn’t just because of your reluctance to fight that earned you a bad reputation. Being a Black Bull didn’t make things any better.

    The words ‘Black Bull’ were almost like a curse to the magic knights. In their eyes, it was the worst team ever, especially when compared with Golden Dawn. You weren’t too bothered about being compared to them. Golden Dawn was indeed an excellent magic squad and you highly respected their captain for how well the squad was taught. What bothered you the most was the whispers behind your back when magic knights saw your black robe. You were used to it, so you weren’t too affected by it, but you did wish that people would quiet down around you.

    It was literally the 

    “What are they doing here?”

    “Probably just here to take credit.”

    “But bringing a criminal is just…”

    You never once take anything the knights said to heart, but Heath certainly did question it. It was amusing even. “You seem to be hated here. Not surprising. Black Bull is the most useless team. But there seem to be more reasons as to why your reputation is in shambles.”

    “You sure have done your research. Black Bull might not have been the best among the rest but it is still a nice place to rely on. Maybe one day, once you're trusted, you can try joining the Black Bull instead of Golden Dawn.”

    Heath rolled his eyes, showing that he had no intention of becoming a magic knight in the first place. “You gotta be kidding me.”

    “You don't want to?”

    “Not if you're in there.”

    You shrugged. “You'll get used to my presence.”

    Huffing in disbelief, Heath kept quiet and didn't bother to respond. You took it as a sign of defeat from him, smiling from ear to ear which seemed to irk him even more. As you continued walking to where the Wizard King resided—or worked might have been a better choice of word, you stood in front of the wide door that was literally tightly shut with guards standing in front of the room. They held out their hands and stopped you from entering, a frown on their faces when they recognised you. Seeing your appearance was a normal occurrence to them, but it was starting to get annoying, especially when your reputation was going downhill. The fact that the Wizard King was still so close to you didn’t make any sense to them.

    “The Wizard King knows about this?”

    “No but—”

    “Then scramble off and learn your place.” One of the guards snorted rather mockingly though it didn't incite any reaction from you. You never did show any reaction to their disdain. “Black Bull’s dog should not be stepping into this place. This is not your house.”

    Before you could even retort, Heath suddenly spoke up which was the least likely scenario that could happen. “Hey, stop wasting my damn time. It's not even worth it to spend five seconds talking to you. Piss off.”

    The guard snarled with hostility. “You—”

    “[name]? Is that you?”

    Before everyone knew it, the large door was swung open and the Wizard King himself took a step outside of his room. His face instantly brightened up upon seeing your familiar voice, there was no way you could miss the wide grin on his face either. Why was he so delighted seeing you was out of your way of thinking, but you didn’t dislike it. In fact, seeing his smile seemed to ease the tightness in your chest as much as you wanted to deny it. Julius threw his arms around you and gave you a friendly embrace, a welcoming gesture that stunned the guards. You stiffened in his embrace, hands hovering just above his broad back. You weren’t a hugger, but perhaps you’d become one when Julius was around. With a soft sigh, you returned the embrace and patted his back.

    “Aha, I'm right! It has been so long since I could see your face around here. I figured I heard your voice and sensed your presence. It's too hard to ignore the aura you emit.” He winked playfully, with sparkles in his eyes.

    “It's really been a long time since I saw you.”

    Julius pouted as he tore himself away reluctantly. “I truly apologise for not being able to meet with you. I've been swamped with so much paperwork that I couldn't even breathe. You have no idea how much Marx has been nagging me lately.”

    You shook your head and chuckled at his childish behaviour. “All is good as long as I get to see you again, Julius. Actually, I have a serious business to talk to you about. Something I need to tell you in private.”

    The seriousness in your voice caught Julius' full attention and interest. Julius knew nothing was boring coming from you. Every single time you waited in front of his office, it just had to be something interesting. “Is that so? Very well. Come in then. We can talk about it more inside.”

    While you followed after Julius and made sure the door was shut, you finally explained your situation, “I’ll just keep it simple, Julius. My team actually went on an unofficial mission in the Forbidden Realm and we met with people from an unknown organisation. I have brought them in for you because it seems like a serious issue.”

    “How serious is it?”

    “They seem to be looking for magic stones.”

    Julius paused and glanced back at you, his sharp eyes catching a brief look of Heath's cold expression. Now he knew where you were coming from. “I see. I suppose they don't plan to tell you anything further?”

    “I’m afraid not. They’re not planning to betray whoever they’re working for it seems. I believe they should be under a department's eyes or perhaps your eyes to make sure if they would reveal anything in the future—”

    “That wouldn't happen.” Heath said, “Never.”

    You deliberately ignored Heath, earning a sneer from him. “I’ve also seen Heath’s potential and I believe that keeping him close would be beneficial to you and the other magic knights.”

    “So you think I should keep an enemy under the roof?”

    “Sometimes keeping your enemies close to you is a wise decision. I can take full responsibility if anything happens when Heath is around. But then again, with the number of magic knights here, I don't think it will be an issue to subdue them if they do plan anything here. Anyway, I know everyone will point fingers at me—”

    Julius started ruffling your hair in adoration, his expression so gentle that it reminded why you felt safe around him. “If that's what you want to do, then sure. I trust your judgement. Thank you for informing me about this, the Magic Investigation Department and I will be looking into this. I will also assign some magic knights to take care of them so don't worry about it.”

    “I have another matter that might catch your interest too.”

    “Oh?”

    “There's a newcomer in Black Bull who is quite interesting. He can nullify magic by using a sword that comes out of his grimoire.”

    Julius' expression instantly changed — he was literally glowing in excitement. You didn’t even think that he looked this excited seeing you. “A nullifying effect? That's something new. My, my! I will have to see that for myself one day. As expected, I could always rely on you. You just know my weak spot and what catches my interest. In fact, I will have to thank you for this! How about three stars and chocolate bread? You seem to be enjoying that a lot.”

    “…Don't you think pastries are just not the right gift for this?”

    “Is that so? Then what do you want?”

    You held out your hands with a mischievous grin. “How about adding another star to the list? I did give you a lot of information today.”

    Julius blinked and instantly howled in laughter. “I see, I see! Okay, I will give you four stars in total. Gosh, if only you were in my Grey Deer squad, I would be happy to have you as a member. Who would have thought there would be someone willing to negotiate with the Wizard King? I bet you would have earned a lot of stars if you were in Grey Deer. Oh, yes! Come with me next time. I have something to show you.”

    “What is it?”

    He smiled like an excited child who was fascinated by the number of new things someone could learn. “Everything that I have written about your magic, of course! If you have time right now, I have something to review with you.”

    You had never complained much about how childish Julius Novachrono was. In fact, you began to adore the fact that he was a big child, yet a wise old man. It was initially hard to believe that this man was the Wizard King, but when you witnessed his magic and the seriousness he had, it all made sense then. Despite the title that he had, he would never once be cocky about it — yet another trait of his that you grew to admire and appreciate. He acted as if he wasn't the Wizard King at all whenever he was with you and you began to think whether you were more than a mere magic knight in his eyes. When Yami first brought you in to show you to Julius, there wasn't any ounce of fear in his face and instead, he was rather elated to see someone like you. Julius was younger than the present time, of course, but he wasn't any less intelligent. 

    You could still vividly remember the questions he barraged you with that day. He wasn't scared.

    He was just thrilled to know more about you.

    Julius adored learning new things and you were a new form of knowledge that Julius couldn't bear to ignore. He was so invested in you that he even suggested Yami take you in, considering that his squad was short on members. You refused at first, of course. You told an honest opinion that you didn’t want to get involved with Yami and he didn’t want anything to do with you either. Well, it did take Julius several days to convince the two of you to work it out. You couldn’t remember how he managed to persuade you, but he must have been smart enough to trick you into it. From that day onwards, you realised that Julius had saved your life. Julius gave you a new life in Black Bull and even if it was for his own sake, it didn't matter.

     You didn't know whether to feel angry or grateful.

    If there was one thing to wish for, it was for you to die.

༺═──────────────═༻

    “I'm back.”

    As soon as you entered the living room, you saw Yami standing in front of the door with his arms crossed while the other magic knights who had gone to the mission earlier were sitting on the couch. You stared at him and he stared back at you in return. Without saying anything or greeting you at all, Yami held out his dominant hand towards you. You instantly knew what the captain was getting at, so you obediently placed a small pouch onto his larger palm. He immediately opened the pouch and gave you an approving nod. 

    “I heard everything from Magna. Good work out there.” As soon as he saw the glowing stars in the pouch, he smirked in satisfaction and patted your back. You deserved more than a pat on your back, but you weren’t complaining. Not yet, at least. “That's it. You did an amazing job, you punk. We got four stars!”

    Vanessa walked out of the kitchen with a laugh and almost smothered you with hugs. “Four? Great job out there. It's always a good idea to send you to see the Wizard King.”

    Asta gasped dramatically. “You met the Wizard King?!”

    “That doesn't matter!” Magna interjected to Asta’s disappointment. The fiery magic knight grabbed your shoulders and started shaking you eagerly. “What matters is that we got four stars. Four! That's amazing as always, seriously. Seriously, we just gotta rely on you instead of Captain Yami.”

    “Shut up before I kill you.”

    “Yes, sir.”

    Raising his hand, Asta asked, “What's a star?”

    “The nine Magic Knight squads compete to see how many stars they can collect. It's an honour thing that has been going on.” Vanessa explained, “The Golden Dawn's at the top right now. They've got plenty.”

    The four shining stars in Yami's hand eventually floated and drifted away from his grasp, hovering over the wall which looked too plain to even be anything. It took only a few seconds for the stars to merge into the wall, disappearing as if there weren't any stars in the first place. As the stars were pasted on the wall, multiple darkened stars began to flow together, completely arranged in a neat line. You couldn't resist smiling when you saw the number of stars you had collected. It was certainly much better than before despite how depressing the number of stars the squad had. Unfortunately, there was still a long way to go.

    Proudly, Vanessa nodded and ruffled your head. “Great job as always! That makes for a nice, neat minus thirty.”

    It took a minute for Asta and Noelle to react as they blinked in confusion. They immediately yelped when they realised what was going on in Black Bull.

    “MINUS?!!”

    You chuckled dryly, almost seemingly lifeless and tired with how Black Bull was famous for being a failure. It wasn’t as if your reputation was any better. “Yes. Minus. Ah, don't worry. This is a normal occurrence in the Black Bull squad.”

    With how dull your eyes were, it was clear that you were simply too exhausted collecting stars for the squad to survive. You had been, after all, the one who made the most stars. It wasn’t as if you earned those stars from missions, but more so by negotiating with Julius. Why the Wizard King seemed to be so generous was a question you’d never get answered. It certainly was odd to see the relationship between you and the Wizard King. What was weirder was the fact that he didn’t abolish Black Bull, considering that the squad was the worst out of everyone else and if Black Bull had been getting minus stars, surely that was enough for an abolishment. This was something that Noelle couldn’t seem to grasp. In the background, Asta murmured to himself in disappointment, completely unaware of how unique and different Black Bull was. 

    “We have a long way to go to get zero.”

    “Ah, yes. Zero.”  Again with the depressing look, you muttered with a sad smile, “We have never once gotten a zero so it would certainly be nice if we could get it this year.”

    Noelle gaped at you. “Excuse me?”

    “Never?”

    Vanessa giggled at the newcomers’ reactions as she clasped her hands together, eyes twinkling in delight. “Ohhh! That would definitely be nice, I have never thought about that. Maybe if we manage to get a zero, we can celebrate by having a feast!” She winked at Asta playfully. “I will leave that job to you then!”

    Asta squeaked, “Why me?”

    Magna suddenly placed his arm around Asta's shoulder and pulled the newbie closer to him. “Isn't that obvious? It's because you're a newbie. A newbie should prove their worth by doing something good for the Black Bull, duh!”

    “But—”

    You sighed. “Don't bully him already.”

    “Stop yapping already,” Yami grunted with an annoyed expression as he tossed two pouches of coins to the newcomers. He now didn’t look so impressed with the stars you’d gotten. “That's your wages for this month.”

    A roar escaped from Asta. “Whoa! Money!”

    Noelle groaned. “It's barely anything.”

    “Are you nuts?” Asta looked at Noelle with wide eyes, bewildered by how disappointed she was. With how his eyes gleamed in ebullience and how his grin was wide, everyone would have thought they had received a large amount of money. It really wasn’t much. “With this much, I could buy two thousand nomotatoes!”

    “What's that?”

    “It's a potato from Hage. It's filling and tastes a little weird!”

    You grimaced. “That doesn't sound too nice though.”

    Vanessa placed her arm around your shoulder and smiled at the newcomers. “Congratulations on your first payday! Ah, this certainly makes me remember the day when I first got paid. Money is really the best. This means you'll want to go shopping, right? [name] and I are free so we will take you there. There's just so much more to know when magic knights are shopping.”

    You pointed at yourself in puzzlement. “I’m going too?”

    “Of course! You and I will bring our cute little newcomers to the castle town to go shopping. It will be like a cute double date.”

    “A double date?!”

    “The castle town?!”

    The newcomers’ reactions were shocked for different reasons. You, on the other hand, weren’t bothered by what Vanessa said but more so about the plan. You didn't look so pleased with the idea of walking in the castle town, considering how crowded it could get. “Shopping, huh. I would much rather stay here and finish my books, I still have a few pages left to read.”

    The witch nudged your side gently with a suggestive and frisky smirk that you couldn't understand. “Come on now! You can get more books in the castle town. Quality books. Besides, you might buy something else that catches your eye. Well? Don't you want to bring our adorable juniors to hang out at the castle town? We gotta teach them a thing or two as the seniors.”

    Asta was literally begging you. “Please! The more the merrier!”

    Before you could even decline politely, Yami suddenly raised his voice as he was slumped against the couch. “[name], get some beers for me, thanks.”

    “But I didn't say I'm going.”

    “Now you're going.”

    After a short awkward silence between you and Yami while a staring contest was going on, you let out a long sigh. There was no point arguing with Yami in the first place. This man was going to be the death of you one day and he knew it. 

    “Fine, I’ll go.”

    Vanessa cheered. “Yay!”

    Your idea of peace was shattered into pieces the moment you stepped into the castle town. You expected a quiet, relaxing rest in your room after your mission where it would be free from crowds yet here you were, standing in the middle of the castle town where people were glancing at you due to your obvious uniform. Everyone knew you were a magic knight from the way you dressed. Even before they said anything, you could already hear the thoughts inside their heads. Of course, they would always say the same thing about the Black Bull and you. The unnecessary attention gave you discomfort and subconsciously, you stood behind Vanessa for comfort.

    Noelle questioned, “What are you doing?”

    “I don't like them staring.”

    Vanessa cooed, “Aww! What a cute little bunny hiding behind me.”

    You sneered. “Please, stop.”

    “That robe! Aren't those Magic Knights?”

    Someone pointed at Asta. “That little guy?”

    When Asta looked at the group of men, one of them started squealing in shock once they realised who the black robe belonged to. “Eek! He is one of the Black Bull knights. Let's run!”

    Another group of people started whispering as they were pointing accusingly at Vanessa. “Hey, over there. That's Vanessa, the Black Bull's lush of a witch! Man, she really is as pretty as they all say.”

    “That person next to her is a black bull too?”

    “I’ve seen them before.”

    “I’ve heard they don't do anything at all and they got into a squad because of their relationship with the Wizard King. What are they even doing in a magic knight squad in the first place? They should just kick them out since they're useless.”

    Noelle, who had heard what the hushed voices were saying, started yelling at them. “Hey! Mind your own business!”

    The men flinched at the tone of her voice before moving past her in a hurry, their heads lowered to stare at the ground. As if making it deliberately since they were all mad, a man's shoulder hit Noelle harshly, knocking her back from them. You were swift enough to make a move and caught the stumbling Noelle, making sure that your hands were gentle on both Noelle's arms.  Before Noelle could retort and curse them back, you stopped her with a grateful smile. You weren’t affected by their words and considering the fact that this had happened for so long, you were used to it.

    “Thank you, Noelle, but that's enough. I don't mind their words. It's still true, after all. Still, thank you.”

    Noelle's cheeks flared red as she urgently tore herself away from your grasp in embarrassment. “Don't— Don't think I'm doing it just because you're my superior and are standing above me! I just don't like the way they talk about you. Since you trusted and taught me the last mission, I’ll have to return the favour, you know?”

    You laughed. “Sure, sure.”

    Noelle seemed to have more words to shoot at you but she held them back in defeat. Instead, Vanessa dragged them away from the middle of the road. The objective for the day wasn’t forgotten by Vanessa.

    “Now, now! Don't worry about the attention they are giving us. Just having Magic Knights around here deters criminals and attracts attention. It can be quite rare to see a magic knight walking here.” She smiled innocently at Noelle to confuse her but you knew better than to trust Vanessa's attempt to smile innocently. “Besides, we might attract a fine guy or two.”

    Noelle frowned. “That's weird coming from a woman who is holding a lot of bottles of booze.”

    You took several more bottles of booze from the stall you’d walked past with the rest before paying the merchant, not paying much attention to their conversation. “Vanessa, Yami wants some, remember? Here.”

     You handed the remaining bottles of booze to the witch who accepted them eagerly. As Vanessa stuffed the booze into the paper bags, she continued to look over the other stalls and picked the other items that were needed such as health recovery herbs. You even helped Vanessa pick some consumable magic items that might come in handy in the next mission, although you weren’t as great as Vanessa at picking herbs. You knew about them from books but having a natural talent for it was a different matter.

    “Oh.” Vanessa eyed the small items neatly arranged on the table. She suddenly patted your shoulder to get your attention. “[name] darling, could you help me get those herbs over there? My hands are full, sorry.”

    “This?”

    “Yes.” You took the herbs and paid the merchant before stuffing the herbs into Vanessa's paper bags, to which the witch declared happily. “Thank you! Alright, now that we're done picking the items we need, big sister will take you to somewhere special.”

    Asta raised a brow. “Big sister?”

    Noelle seemed to be ignoring Asta's question and Vanessa's weird way of speech. Something was suspicious about the way Vanessa was acting and this no longer felt like a normal shopping run. “What do you mean by somewhere special?”

    “You'll see.”

    “Oh, you see—”

    “[name], no spoilers!”

    The witch quickly took them to an empty alley, preventing you from telling the newcomers where they were heading. Asta and Noelle were nonetheless stunned when they saw the quiet alleyway.

    Asta raised a brow. “This is just an alley.”

    Vanessa gestured to the newcomers to follow her, with you walking past the witch without the intention of waiting. The hole in the wall was easy to miss especially for people who were not familiar with the black market. Once you caught a glimpse of the entrance, you walked into the hole and sauntered into the tight pathway where stalls were lined up by the sides. It was slightly filthy, with different things and people around the black market. You’d never underestimate the things you could get on the black market. Upon seeing the familiar-looking market that the witch knew very well, more than you, Vanessa smiled proudly.

    “Come on. Wait for us!”

    “Hurry up.”

    “It's the black market. Interesting, isn't it?” Vanessa showed them around the place with open arms. “It's a teensy bitdangerous but they have super effective things here. It's not all bad. Try to walk around and see if there's anything you want to get. With the money you get, you should be able to get a thing or two.”

    You had to agree with Vanessa, even if you wouldn’t come to the black market often. “Usually, I wouldn't expect much from the black market but some things here might take you by surprise. Look around.”

    Asta grinned. “Will do!”

    “Hey, Vanessa! I got some stock in!”

    The said woman's eyes immediately lit up in eagerness. “I’ll check it out later! Make sure to save some for me to see.” She then noticed Noelle's expression. “Oh, surprised? Royals and nobles won't come near this place, out of prejudice. Well, as one of the Black Bull, you'd better get used to it! Most of us tend to use things from the black market.”

    Scoffing, you shook your head. “Ignore her, you don't have to use things from here. It's just useful, not necessary. Besides, only Vanessa uses things from the black market all the time.”

    Offended, Vanessa narrowed her eyes at you with a rather childish pout that as usual, did not affect you. “Quit teaching them to go against me! I'm the best at controlling magic, they gotta learn a thing or two from me. Oh, that's right! Noelle. You can't control your magic yet, right?”

    “She did manage to control a magic barrier but it stays in one place.” You added. “There's still a lot for her to learn.”

    Vanessa hummed. “So, in conclusion, all you have learned to control is magic that stays in one place.”

    “Th—That's true. What about it?”

    “Well, you’ll need to learn to use different magic in the future. They have got items to repress magic here too. If you find an item that suits you and will adjust your magic, you might be able to control it.”

    “They have that here?”

    “Of course! Don't ever look down on the things you could find on the black market.” Vanessa suddenly grabbed your right wrist and showed your slender fingers to Noelle, showing the rings around your fingers. You sighed at the sudden unwanted attention. “They’re going to be a great example. Do you see the rings they're wearing? The rings actually keep their magic power balanced in them. Technically speaking, the magic that they use will not be using their entire magical power, which is why a situation as running out of mana will be a rare occurrence. But, once they take off the rings, they can use their magic power to the maximum. Basically, magic knights wear items like this to balance out and stabilise the power inside them.”

    “I see.” Noelle leaned closer to observe the rings in awe.

    Seeing how they were satisfied looking at the ring, you took your hand back once Vanessa's grasp loosened. “Well, in my case, it's because I don't like people detecting the magical power I have. They have a lot of magic items that could be used to see someone's mana. Occasionally, it would have been fine, but if you're somehow unlucky, people would start picking a fight with you. I'm just speaking from my firsthand experience.”

    Vanessa howled in laughter when she remembered what had happened in the past that had caused you to be so traumatised. “That's right. They used to attract crazy magic knights. There was even this guy—”

    “Please, don't mention that anymore.”

    “That sounds scary and unexpected.”

    With a nod, you patted Noelle on the back as an encouragement. “That's right. So, it is better to remain hidden most of the time.”

    Vanessa rolled her eyes at how dramatic you were about this matter. “Don't listen to them that much. They're just weird and too cautious about everything.”

    Indeed, Noelle found you to be extremely cautious as well but it wasn't necessarily bad. She understood why you would want to be cautious, considering that you were a magic knight longer than she was. She could see that you must have been through so much to get to this extent. Although really, it wasn’t that serious in your eyes. You just disliked being interrupted by strangers who wished to have a duel with you. As you tuned out Vanessa and Noelle’s conversation, you saw Asta poking around where he shouldn’t be. Curious like a cat, Asta tilted his head and gazed at the deeper room to his right. There were noises—laughter, shouts, cusses—coming from the inside, chaotic and boisterous. Anyone could tell that there was a large group of people inside there. 

    “What's that?”

    “That's a casino. You two are still young for that so you shouldn't be entering. Well, [name] sneaked into the casino before because the captain somehow left them alone outside. Guess what?” Vanessa grabbed your hand and held it up high as if to announce to the whole world you were a champion. “My amazing darling here even ended up winning all of the games without any effort! Anyway, amateurs need to take it easy or they'll ruin themselves.”

    You huffed. “They’re just dumb. Like Magna.”

    Noelle scowled as she watched the people cheering in the crowded casino. There were particularly two men who caught her witted eyes. She pointed at one of them. “Speaking of Magna… Isn't that him? And the man beside him is Captain Yami, right?”

    “Oh, really?” Vanessa’s curious eyes wandered into the dimly lit casino and she blinked, refraining from laughing. “Oh, that’s indeed Magna! Captain is right there too. My, the captain shouldn't have asked you to buy booze if he's actually coming along.”

    Needless to say, you were upset to see Yami there. If you could, you would have barged in there and dragged Yami out of there. It wasn’t as if you couldn’t, but the problem was if you wanted to cause more trouble than what it was. The memory of you struggling to get Yami out of the casino was a nightmare and you didn’t wish to experience that again. Desperately disregarding the image of them gambling, you turned around and stomped over to the nearest stalls, trying to get yourself busy with something. You looked and touched the magic items, almost accidentally breaking one from the pent-up rage inside your burning stomach.

    “…He just wants me to spend my money on his booze. Whatever. Whatever he is doing is none of my business. Even if he tries to sell his grimoire, I don't care.”

    Asta watched the petrifying aura surrounding you intensify in wrath and grudge, no words were able to escape from his mouth.  He almost pitied you. “They must have gone through a lot.”

    Noelle nodded.  “Just what have they gone through?”

    “Now, now! Don't worry about small matters like that.” Vanessa giggled as she steered the newcomers away from the casino and to the stalls you were standing near. “We should look for something the two of you want instead of worrying over those idiots who gamble without any brains.”

    Asta jumped like a child who was about to buy a candy and started waving his hands. “I’ll look over there!”

    “Just make sure not to get kidnapped by cute ladies, alright?”

    “Noelle, Vanessa.” Calling out to them effortlessly, you took a wooden wand and held it towards Vanessa, gesturing for the witch to check the quality since she was better at it than you. “This stall sells a lot of items related to mana. I bought my rings here. Some are good while some grades might not fit you. For a beginner, it might be easier to buy a wand instead of simple accessories. It might seem odd bringing a wand everywhere, but it works pretty well so there's not much to complain about.”

    Vanessa accepted the wand with a smile as she started scrutinising the texture and quality of it. “Yep! They're the smart ones even though I'm good at magic control. You can probably ask most of your questions to them while leaving the control to me. I’ll teach you from the beginning. Once you are used to your wand, maybe we can move to a different type of item.”

    “I see. I will go with the wand then.”

    “Good choice. This doesn't seem so good, [name]. Choose another one. Hmm. How about this? I think some are good for a beginner like you.”

    Noelle shook her head. “It looks kinda ugly.”

    While they were going back and forth with which wand to pick, you went through the variety of pendants and bracelets lined neatly in front of you. You picked up a silver pendant that had a peculiar shape, yet it still managed to look beautiful to gaze upon. The seller scurried over to you and clasped his calloused hands together, flashing the usual friendly smile to you. Though he looked shady like a scammer, you had been buying from him for so long that he wouldn't even dare to lie to you.

     “This is to balance out the mana, yes?”

    “As expected from [name]. You always have a good eye for these kinds of things! It's the recent product I have received. Said to balance and smooth out the mana inside one's body before channelling it out for magic. It makes it easier for the mana to flow out.”

    “Quality is not so bad, after all. You never disappoint me.” You took a brief look at Noelle with a bunch of thoughts swirling inside your head and nodded firmly. “Okay, I’ll take this. Also, do you have an item that helps with endurance?”

    “Of course, of course! I think you might be talking about this.” The seller moved past you and grabbed the ring sealed tightly in a tiny box. “I see you have heard the news about the latest release I’ve got! Here you go, the latest ring that is said to enhance someone's endurance and stamina. One drop of your blood onto this amethyst right here, your stamina increases tenfold for ten minutes.”

    “I’ll be taking it. Keep the change. You always make sure to give me the highest quality, so thank you.”

    “Oh! You're just kind as always!”

    After getting the items, you turned around and tapped Noelle's shoulder lightly, interrupting Noelle's and Vanessa's conversation on which wand would be suitable for a royal. As soon as Noelle's attention was right on you, you took the pendant and wrapped it around Noelle's neck, clasping it securely to make sure it wouldn't fall off. She blinked owlishly at your gesture, fingers reaching out to touch the pendant.

    “This necklace should help the flow of your mana.” You took a step back and admired how the necklace was perfect around Noelle’s neck. It suited her, even if the pendant wasn’t exactly a royal’s product. “It should be helpful for you right now.”

    When Noelle realised what was going on, she instantly panicked, consequently waving her hands over and over again in denial. “No! I couldn't possibly accept this from you—”

    “Take it as a welcome gift from me. This is to say thank you for accepting Yami’s invitation and also as a start to our relationship.”

    Vanessa pouted in jealousy as she sneaked up behind you, her chin on your shoulder like a jealous child. “Aww, you don't even give me gifts! Look at you, being so kind to the newcomers, but choosing to ignore me, someone who has been taking care of you.”

    You sighed. “Nonsense. I'm the one who takes care of you.”

    “What? That is absurd.”

    “Fine, fine. Stop poking me. If you want something, I will get it for you next time if that makes you happy. Just don't tell everyone about it or else I will go bankrupt soon.” You sighed. “Everyone just wants something from me at this point.”

    Vanessa cheered. “Hooray!”

    You looked around. “Where is Asta, I have some—”

    “Well, well.” 

    A rather smooth, flirtatious voice suddenly butted into the conversation between you and Vanessa. A shiver suddenly went down your spine at the foreign voice. Curious, you saw and watched the man who suddenly took a few steps closer to Vanessa, causing the witch to frown in discomfort. Vanessa wasn’t a stranger to flirtatious attempts and harassment, but that didn’t mean she could always defend herself. Irked by the stranger stepping into Vanessa’s comfort zone and feeling protective of her, you subtly placed yourself between him and Vanessa. He didn’t seem to understand your implication and disdain, only continuing to flash a smile at you instead.

     “What are you three doing in a place like this? This is not a place for lovely knights like you. Did you get lost? I'm an elite Magic Knight. I'll escort you outside.”

    Noelle looked at him with cold eyes. “Vanish, insect.”

    Vanessa yawned from boredom and rolled her eyes, swatting her hand at the magic knight. She could tell that this man was merely a new magic knight. “Walk away, kid. A boy like you is not my type.”

    You continued to check out the magic items that were enhanced with powerful magic and completely ignored the magic knight. “This one seems to be of a better quality than last time. New stock from a new supplier?”

    “Oho! You seem to know very well.” The vendor smiled.

    The magic knight blinked in confusion. “Wha—”

    “Heyyyyyy!”

    Sprinting back towards his group of magic knights, Asta suddenly raised his voice and called out. The longer you gawked at him, the wider your eyes were when you caught a glimpse of the most obnoxious magic item in his hand. Asta stopped in front of the rest with a pant and a wide grin. He immediately showed the magic item that resembled a slug which had its eyes popping out of its body — it was possibly the most useless thing ever.

    “Look at this awesome item I found!”

    Noelle stared at the ridiculous thing with disgust and immediately took a step back. “Don't you dare tell me you boughtthat weird thing.”

    You chuckled in amusement, although you weren’t keen on touching it. “Yes, well. Interesting. If I remember correctly, that's the magic slug that farts out a fruity smell, isn't it? It's quite a curious little thing.”

    “Curious little thing?”

    Bewildered, Noelle goggled at you with wide eyes with her thoughts running wild with how a simple item like that could be interesting enough. It was a shock to see you, or anyone in this matter, to know something as ludicrous and comical as the slug. In fact, Noelle was questioning why it was being sold in the first place.

    “How would you know such a thing?!”

    “It's common knowledge.”

    Noelle stared at you. “Common?!”

    At that particular moment, Noelle could finally confirm that Black Bull squad was the weirdest among the others, especially you who were a completely different existence!

Chapter Text

putting entire trust in him.

ღ

    YOU WERE STRUGGLING to breathe. The shadow was reaching its hands out to you, grabbing onto your legs as its claws dug deep into your skin. Its eyes were burning you, never once would it let you go away from its gaze. Every single thing that you did would always be under its gaze full of malice. Even when it didn’t speak, you could sense that it was cursing at you—yelling at you to return to who you were before this. Before all of this mess. You could feel the black roots creeping in, clutching and tightening around your heart—your soul. You began to lose a sense of yourself. You didn’t know who you were anymore.

    “—ook at me.”

    The voices were ringing inside your ears and among them was a voice full of warmth. Full of affection. You couldn’t quite focus on it, because all you wanted was to curl up into a small ball, hands over your aching ears as you closed your eyes shut. The corner of the room had never felt more comfortable than now. You wished for the quiet to come, but you didn’t know when it would come. Miracles didn’t seem to be happening soon.

    You suddenly felt a touch on your shoulder.

    “Don’t touch me—!”

    You roared as if you had been possessed by a beast, even if you didn’t mean to. Agitated, you had swung your hand to slap the touch away, unmistakably hurting the man in front of you. Your eyes widened, quivering eyes focusing on the tiny scratch on his face. If anyone knew that you’d managed to hurt the Wizard King’s charming face, you would be cursed and burned in the middle of the road. With a guilt-stricken face, you opened your mouth in hope that you could apologise to Julius for hurting him, but you couldn’t find your own voice. Your throat was dry. It felt as though someone had grabbed around your throat to stop you from speaking. You didn’t need to speak in the first place, because Julius gave you a kind smile. 

    His hand rested on your cheek and the touch was the only thing that grounded you right now. All you could focus on was his gentle eyes. “Just look at me and breathe.”

    “Julius—”

    “It’s okay.” He placed his forehead on yours. His mana thrummed gently against yours, like the slow rhythm of a heartbeat syncing to another. “I’m here. You’re still here. You’re still you.”

    You wanted to believe him. You wanted to reach for his voice and hold onto it before the shadows drowned you again. But the weight pressing against your chest was heavy, merciless. “I’m scared. I’m scared, Julius.”

    “Do you trust me?”

    You closed your eyes. “…Yes. Yes, I trust you, Julius.”

    He smiled. “Good, because I’ll protect you.”

Chapter Text

onwards we go.

ღ

    “ASTA, give me your hand.”

    Taken off guard by your unexpected command, Asta held out his hand that wasn't holding the slug. With a nonchalant look, you took out the ring you bought and slipped it onto Asta's finger without hesitation. The simple sight of you giving him a ring shocked Noelle and Asta. Despite how loud they were gasping, Vanessa only snickered behind Noelle upon watching the scene. Asta panicked and in a mere second, his entire face went crimson. He crossed his hands across his chest as if someone had taken his chastity away.

    “[name]! My heart— My heart belongs to the nun from my village, I think. I still don't mind marriage in the future, of course! The plan could still be changed—”

    You rolled your eyes and flicked Asta in the forehead, leaving a faint redness on his skin. “What are you talking about? Stop dreaming and take care of it properly. I’m not interested in a kid like you. Listen, since you have no mana, this ring should be sufficient for your future fights. It enhances your stamina and endurance with a drop of your blood, but only for ten minutes. It has an hour of reset. Make sure to use it wisely.”

    Right on the spot, the topic about marriage was dropped and long forgotten by Asta. His eyes glimmered in excitement. 

    “A magic item?!”

    Noelle puffed her cheeks childishly as she lightly tugged the pendant rather arrogantly. “They bought me a necklace too, not just you. You are not special, peasant.”

    “Aww. This makes me jealous!” Vanessa's lips were downturned but you definitely didn't miss the glint of amusement in her sharp eyes. She had always been a playful person. “However, I must say that it is pleasing to see the newcomers fighting for a superior's affection. Soon enough, you must be popular among the magic knights!”

    “Famous for the bad rumours and unnecessary attention, I suppose.” You let out a cold chuckle.

    “H—Hey!”

    Hearing the familiar voice, Asta's eyes landed on the forgotten man who butted into the conversation. Asta narrowed his eyes and briskly searched for the man's information in his brain. When he did realise who it was, Asta’s eyes brightened up.

    “Huh? You're.. Oh! It's Sekke!”

    Noelle's right eye twitched. “Who's that?”

    “He took the entrance exam with me.”

    Sekke chuckled awkwardly, taking note that the Black Bull magic knights weren't paying much attention to him. Now, he was getting agitated being ignored. “Asta, you're seriously going gambling with the ladies, even though you're a mere peasant? If you have that much time, shouldn't you be doing odd jobs and earning points?”

    Asta clearly didn’t get a memo from Sekke. “Oh! Hey, listen, listen! On my first mission, we got four stars from the Wizard King himself. That's my first star, ya know? Isn't that awesome?”

    Somewhat taken aback by Asta's good news, Sekke smiled gingerly and even managed to stutter in shock. “Th—That's not too shabby of you. I— I just got my second star.”

    You can see where this was going.

    “That's awes—”

    You immediately stopped Asta from complimenting Sekke by raising your hand. “Forget about it, Asta. Just change the topic—”

    “Thief—!”

    Upon hearing the loud remark, everyone turned their attention to the casino where the panicked voice came from. You witnessed a bandit storming out of the casino and leaping onto a cloud that was made out of raging wind. In the bandit's tight grasp was a handbag with a bulk of money inside — no wonder it was stolen, the money was deliberately shown to everyone. A short old lady tried chasing after the bandit, but her speed simply couldn't match the storm of wind. The bold bandit shot past you and without shilly-shallying, Asta chased after the running bandit without any hesitation.

    Noelle clicked her tongue. “Right in front of the magic knights, that's certainly a brave thief.”

    Vanessa whistled. “I know right?”

“Bronze Creation Magic: Sekke Shooting Star.”

    With the glowing grimoire hovering in front of him, Sekke summoned forth a vehicle that resembled a motorcycle. He then winked at the magic knights—including you—seductively, yet it couldn't manage to capture anyone's heart at all. You knew this kind of newcomer very well. Too eager to be a magic knight and automatically assumed that he was the spotlight in this world. It wasn’t rare, and you had had enough of this kind of newbie magic knight.

    “Just take it easy and wait for me to return.”

    Vanessa gasped. “Lame!”

    Noelle shivered. “Creepy!”

    You didn't even bother replying to him.

    As Sekke and Asta chased after the bandit, leaving behind the other magic knights and the old lady, Noelle and Vanessa decided to go on ahead, to which you agreed to without glancing back at the noisy chaos happening around. Just when you were about to focus back onto the stalls nearby, the old woman—who had been the victim of the theft—suddenly tripped over her own foot and fell in front of you, yelping dramatically as if she wanted to draw your attention. It did, but the old woman couldn't get your help immediately. 

    In fact, you only knelt and gazed into the victim's purple eyes. Those purple eyes looked familiar to you.

    “Do you want to chase after the thief?”

    The old lady blinked and nodded. “Of course, dear!”

    “I see. Then, hold on tightly please.”

    Without delaying your time or asking for permission, your hands reached out for the woman's back and under her knees. Considering how small and light the old woman was, it wasn't a tough job for you to carry her. Once making sure that she was tightly holding onto your shoulders, you dashed and weaved past the crowd swiftly. The old woman was bemused by how straightforward you were, but of course, she knew you would be serious when it was necessary despite how laidback you can be.

    The grandma smiled. ‘As expected from them, they're unpredictable.’

    When you’d reached the commotion, you saw Sekke lying on the ground while sobbing like a baby. You sighed at the ridiculous magic knight. If it wasn't for how alive he looked, you would have assumed Sekke was dying. Still holding onto the old woman, you gestured to Sekke to ask Asta about the situation.

    “…And what happened here?”

    Asta held tightly onto Sekke's hand with tears in his eyes. “He has been poisoned. He—He couldn't—”

    “Don't be so dramatic about it.” Vanessa rolled her eyes after seeing the purple liquid running down Sekke's wound. “There's no way you would die from this. It's just a temporary numbing poison.”

    You let the grandma down carefully, barely paying attention to the grandma staring at you. “Vanessa. You have the ointment, right? It should get better after applying it to him.”

    “Got it, got it.” She pouted it onto her palm and smacked the ointment onto Sekke's wound, earning a pained flinch from him. She didn’t want to help him, but after seeing your look, she just had to. “It'll be fine in no time so stop whining.”

    Feeling better now, Sekke froze and laughed awkwardly, instantly standing up to walk away. “Train harder until we meet again, Asta!”

    You frowned. “His ego is too much.”

    Noelle nodded. “Agreed.”

    “See you later, Sekke!”

    Brushing off Sekke who had left in humiliation, Vanessa smirked at the joyful Asta who managed to defeat the bandit and nudged him. “Look here! Our guy looks more like a kid but he seems like he's tougher inside. Looks like the captain chose the right person, after all.”

    You smiled with a nod. “Yami is indeed good at choosing interesting members for Black Bull. I don't think I've ever seen him choosing someone as ridiculous as the magic knight earlier.”

    Asta took the heavy pouch of money and gave it back to the old woman. “You won all this by gambling? That's awesome, Grandma! Be careful, Grandma! Don't let anyone take it again.”

    “Thank you, magic knights!”

    “Then, let's head back! I think we've bought everything we want here.” Vanessa muttered, “Ah~! I really want to take a quick nap! This is so tiring. I didn't expect shopping would take this long.”

    “Take care, grandma!”

    As the others headed off, you remained still.

    For a quick second, you thought you felt a strong mana coming from the old woman, yet it disappeared soon after you turned around. Growing uncertain about how you could detect such mana, you furrowed your eyebrows as you studied the grandma. Something was off about her but you couldn’t pinpoint what it was. You may have a few guesses, although you weren’t entirely sure how accurate they were. Inquisitive, you knelt to reach the same height level as the grandma, your hand reaching out to touch her warm cheek. By the time your fingers brushed against her wrinkled cheek, you paused in realisation and smiled apologetically in return.

    “Sorry about that, I feel like I know you but it's probably just my imagination.” You added, “Your purple eyes remind me of someone I know.”

    “Someone you know?”

    You smiled. “Someone who gave me a chance at living.”

    “…Sounds like you like that person a lot.”

    “I do.”

    “Oh, before I forget about it," The grandma dug deeper into her bag and fished out a bag of chocolate bread, handing it to you eagerly. "Here you go, as a thanks for the help. Make sure to share some with your magic knight friends.”

    You stared at the chocolate bread and took the bag, unable to resist the enlivened smile creeping up your face. “Chocolate bread is my favourite. I’m surprised you coincidentally gave me my favourite pastry. Thank you then.”

    As you stood up and were about to saunter away to the group back with your squad members, you looked back at Grandma briefly. Her glowing purple eyes were beginning to answer the questions inside your mind — this wasn't just a normal old woman from the very beginning. You smiled at the cheekiness of the Wizard King. Nobody would have guessed that he would impersonate someone else with magic, but you knew what kind of person he was from the start.

    “Ah, make sure to give another star for today's event, yes?”

    The grandma howled in laughter and tilted her head adorably. “A star? Oh, dear. I wonder what you're talking about.”

    “I'm sure you do.”

    Noelle scowled, stomped over to you who were still unwilling to get out of the black market, and dragged you along. “Just what are you doing? Hurry up, we need to get back before Yami asks for his booze!”

    “Coming.”

    As soon as everyone had gone back to headquarters, the old woman gave a wide grin before she transformed into a much slimmer and taller figure. His short blonde hair was finally back though his purple eyes remained the same—bright and knowing. The blue star tattooed on his forehead appeared again with a hint of glow in it, the magic was so effective that it had changed almost everything about his appearance. He eyed the Black Bull magic knights who had walked out of the black market with a satisfied smile.

    “…I suppose I need to work better with my disguise.”

    The Wizard King sneaked out of his place for his own entertainment, just as expected from Julius Novachrono.

༺═──────────────═༻

    Humming a tune, Julius sat by his office with a soft look, his expression seemed as though he was enjoying the sunlight dancing into his room. He was supposed to read the reports and assign missions to the magic knight squads but eventually, his hand stopped writing the very last sentence. The pen was loose in his grip as his mind wandered elsewhere, more specifically to what you said to him at the black market. It wasn’t rare for his mind to drift off to you—it was so common that Julius had stopped questioning himself now. He smiled at nobody but himself. 

    “Someone who gave them a chance at living, huh?”

    Even with his eyes closed, Julius felt as though he could still feel your warm fingers brushing against his cheek. You had grown in terms of experience as a magic knight, he could still remember how depressing you were and how you would lash out in his office when things wouldn't go your way. You have always been different. He knew that from the moment he met your lifeless eyes, yet that didn’t stop him from learning more about you. In fact, that may be the main reason why he was so stuck on you. Thinking about how overjoyed he was to hear that you did like him, Julius’ smile instantly widened.

    “I’ll give them two stars for today.”

༺═──────────────═༻

    “Wah, grandma sure is nice!”

    Asta exclaimed excitedly upon seeing the chocolate bread that you handed out to everyone at the headquarters. When he received the chocolate bread, he literally wasted no time gobbling down the bread. Surprisingly, Asta didn't manage to choke to death despite how quickly he finished it. With his first bite into the bread, his eyes lit up in excitement as he tasted the soft, creamy chocolate that melted onto his tongue. It tasted so sweet and delicious that Asta thought he was in heaven, even though it might sound exaggerated.

    “This is so nice!”

    Noelle bit into the bread and hummed in delight. “It is!”

    “There's a famous bakery in the castle town. Their famous pastries are chocolate bread and berry tarts.” You explained as you gave the chocolate bread to Vanessa. “The prices are not as cheap as other bakeries, but I suppose it is reasonable for the taste.”

    Vanessa laughed. “I bet [name]'s favourite pastry is like news all over the place now. Everyone just knows what she likes. Captain Yami, Fuegoleon Vermillion, and even the Wizard King—”

    Again, Asta was shocked. “The Wizard King?”

    “It always sounds like the Wizard King is close to [name],” Noelle mentioned while watching you giving out the bread to Gauche, who had deemed to save it for his little sister. “How come they're close to him? I know it's not easy to meet him and not everyone can meet the Wizard King.”

    “Long story short, they're a special case.”

    “Don't make it sound that way. I'm not that special.” You said with a dismayed look, “I'm simply one of the earliest members to join Black Bull. I think the squad was somehow quite new at that time. The Wizard King thought it would be a good idea to place me in Yami's squad since he was too picky with his members. Even that took quite some time to persuade Yami to take me in.”

    Vanessa looked petulant. “You still can't deny the close relationship you have with the Wizard King. You even call him by his first name.”

    “So you didn't go through the entrance exam?”

    “Actually, good point.” The witch chimed in with an inquisitive look. She certainly had never thought of that issue. “Going through the entrance exam is necessary to make sure only capable people can become a magic knight. It's stated in the rules since manyyyy years ago! It's so suspicious that you've never gone through the exam. How come you're the odd one? Even I have to get through the combat trial in the exam.”

    When they expected a proper, detailed answer from you, they were only met with disappointment as no replies came. What they saw was only the look of hesitation and guilt on your face, one that would make people lose their trust in you. Vanessa raised her eyebrows and waited patiently for the strangeness coming from you. Even though she waited for your answer, she somewhat knew there wouldn't be one in the first place. Meanwhile, Asta and Noelle were baffled by the lack of retaliation that was meant to escape from your mouth. Even a child would have figured out that you were hiding something. 

    How would you explain your situation to them?

    It wasn't until later that you rejoined back into the discussion. 

    “Ah, that's weird, isn't it?”

    “Suspicious! There must be something wrong!”

    With his arms crossed, Asta acknowledged Noelle's statement and nodded. “That's right! They must be the Wizard King's younger sibling. That’s why they’re so close with him.”

    Vanessa sighed. “Are you an idiot?”

    “He is.”

    You frowned. “What? That's not even a possibility. Everyone literally knows Julius' family background. And if I’m actually his sibling, I wouldn't even be staying here. I would rather stay in a fancy room like Julius’. Either way, the reason for that is something that I can't say right now. My situation was special at that time.”

    Just on time, Yami suddenly returned home to the base with Magna lagging behind him. They both had an upset look and with only one easy guess, you instantly knew they had lost all their money at the casino. Magna staggered back into his room with a dejected look, not even greeting or looking at the magic knights gathering in the living room. That was enough to show how badly he lost during the gamble. Meanwhile, the moment Yami saw you, he gestured for you to stand up from that couch.

    “Meet me in the office. I've something to discuss with you.”

    With that final statement, he left.

    You took the opportunity to leave the others who were asking you questions. “I have to go then. If the rest of you decide not to trust me, I will understand—”

    Noelle asked, “What are you talking about?” 

    “Yeah! Why would we stop trusting you because of that?” Asta gave you the widest grin. “That would just be stupid, wouldn't it?”

    Vanessa chuckled and poked your forehead lightly as a joke. “It's not even that serious, sweetheart. We're just curious. Stop worrying over something as simple as that. It's not like we're going to hate you just because you don't get to do the entrance exam. We are not that petty!”

    You returned the smile. “Thank you.”

    Not glancing back at them, you walked over to Yami's office which wasn't really used that much based on what you could tell. For a normal squad, the captain would usually have their own office where they would assign missions to the magic knights and handle paperwork. It was also a place where captains would usually call in a magic knight and evaluate their performance, giving advice or lessons, just like a leader. It was basically their workplace, completely different from their bedroom. You were pretty sure that the other captains would keep their offices clean and neat.

    But Black Bull wasn't a normal squad.

    With such a peculiar captain, it was obvious that the office wasn't going to be used properly. Yami would literally smack paperwork onto the magic knights, order them to read, and send them to the mission without any long, proper discussion or meeting. There was no evaluation either. Yami would simply give death threats as a motivation for the magic knights to work better, but most of the time, he couldn't even care less. Yami treated the office as a storeroom where if he had to be in there, it would be a place for him to take a quick nap.  So, when you entered the office, you weren't so surprised to see the state of the room.

    Stacked paperwork that had been delayed for months, cobwebs that were starting to form, empty mugs of coffee, and a sleeping pillow were messy on the desk. It was chaotic in the office, reminding you that you will have to clean the room sooner or later.

    Well, you wouldn't expect more from Yami anyway.

    “Why the office?”

    Yami yawned. “I just need to talk to you about something without the rest around. Besides, I wanted to hand you these papers.”

    You couldn't help but exasperate at the sight of the paperwork Yami pushed towards you. “You're just… unbelievable.”

    “Shut up before I give you more work.”

    You sighed.

    “Anyway, I have another mission right here.” Yami pulled the creaking drawer open, took it out, and showed you the piece of paper. “It's a direct order coming from the Wizard King when you were out a moment ago.”

    “A direct order?”

    “A dungeon has appeared near an enemy kingdom. Considering how many magic items and ancient magic there are, no doubt the enemies would try to get inside after knowing about it. Well, the Magic King has ordered the magic knights to investigate the place. Julius specifically requested Asta to head out for this mission.”

    You blinked in bewilderment. “Asta? Ah, I did tell him about Asta's magic. I suppose that has gained his interest, he seems to like Asta a lot actually from what I can tell. That's probably why he actually came out to see him in a disguise.”

    “No shit. Noelle and Luck will be accompanying Asta into the dungeon. Luck's senses are the best among everyone else, it will be easier to detect the enemies in the dungeon. He also needs to be pushed to start working in a team, a magic knight who doesn't know how to cooperate in a team is only a hindrance.”

    “I understand. But to let Noelle and Asta.. Is that a good idea?”

    “Obviously. Luck's shitty personality ain't gonna keep the damn kids safe so you're going with them too. I have assigned you to monitor the newcomers, what do you think your job is?” Yami's eyes were narrowed, but you knew the threats coming out of his mouth weren’t serious. “Looking after them shouldn't be a problem, ain't it? If they die, don't you dare think that you will be getting out alive. I will personally smash your head myself. So make sure you're doing your job.”

    “What a pain in the ass.”

    “Don't decide to slack off after years of being here.”

    “I will keep an eye on them but,” You hesitated, suddenly feeling the discomfort settling inside your stomach. The mention of a dungeon reminded me of a certain memory. “Will it really be a good idea for me to be there?”

    Yami seemed too annoyed to even reply so he was mumbling in frustration, bits and bits of his patience were running out. “You're so persistent. What's the point of hiding anyway? Everyone is bound to find out about your magic. It ain't a new thing. Enough questions. I need to take a shit.”

    He handed the paper to her and stood up, stomping out of the office. You scrunched your nose in discomfort.

    “You know what I mean, Yami. That’s not it.”

    “…No need to worry much about the issue,” Yami said with a rather nonchalant look and monotone voice. You could hear a defeated sigh coming from him. “I trust you so you should trust yourself.”

    You blinked and watched Yami storm out of the office to rush to the toilet. With an amused smile, you stared at the details of the mission on the paper. It was written perfectly that Asta was required to head over to the dungeon, along with a reasonable number of magic knights from the squad. Well, despite how much you were against showing your magic, you knew you had to do it at the end of the day. You could keep running away forever, you knew that.

    But deep down, there was a fear lingering inside you.

    You stared at your hands, wondering if your magic was going to show every tiny piece of truth inside you. Julius and Yami didn't restrict your magic despite how little control you had over it, you merely didn't use your magic because of what it reminded you of. You thought it would get better, but you could still see the shadow following after you, watching you as it waited for you to crumble apart. You took a deep breath and ignored the dark presence standing in the corner of the office. It can stare at you as much as it wants, you didn’t bother returning the gaze.

    “Asta, Noelle! Could you two please wait for a moment before heading back to your room? There's a new mission waiting for the two of you. Vanessa, could you tell Luck to come over here—”

    It was completely unnecessary as Luck suddenly jumped off from the second floor and landed close to you. “I heard my name!”

    “Never mind then.”

    “What is it? What is it?” Luck got eager as usual.

    “There's a new dungeon and this time, the new mission will be about that. It's a direct order from the Wizard King. The members involved in this mission will be Asta, Noelle, Luck, and me. It’s our job to investigate the dungeon as the location of the place is close to an enemy kingdom. It wouldn't be surprising to have the enemies there, so before they could get their hands on the ancient magic, we need to get there before them.”

    “Dungeon?”

    Luck's eyes shone. “Yay! New enemies to fight!”

    You scowled. “That's not what you should be excited about.”

    “Wait a minute! What's a dungeon?”

    Noelle eyed Asta in shock. “You don't know?”

    “My, my! Don't worry. Big sister here will explain about it. A dungeon is basically an ancient tomb that was established many years ago! Longer than you could probably imagine. Anyway, there are a lot of treasures inside the dungeon, ranging from powerful magic items to ancient magic that one couldn't find that easily. A dungeon is basically a treasure cove for mages.”

    “That's correct. I will explain further when we arrive there. The details will all be written here so make sure to read it.” You said as you gave them the paper. “The mission will be on tomorrow morning so make sure to get prepared by tonight. Ah, this mission is not about catching boars anymore, do take this mission seriously. If not, you might actually end up dead.”

    Noelle squeaked in horror. “Don't say it with that smile!”

    “Well then, I will leave you three to it. If there's any problem or questions, I will be in my room. Seriously, make sure to read the mission details.”

    “Okay!”

    “Woohoo! I'm so excited. This is our first legit mission!”

    “Don't be that happy yet, Asta. We could die.”

    “Stronger enemies! More fun!”

    Seated in your room, you couldn't actually hear what they were all cheering about downstairs, but knowing Luck, it was probably about him fighting new enemies. He would always yearn for stronger opponents, saying that it would give him the pump of adrenaline rush that makes him all giddy and excited. You supposed that was indeed true. Fighting with an unexpected and strong opponent can be a different experience. Unlike Luck though, you weren't as excited as he was. You chuckled to yourself and shook your head, finding the magic knights’ excitement to be endearing. You truly have changed ever since you joined the Black Bull. 

    You looked to your front and flinched when you realised the presence in front of you. You stared at the shadow that had been haunting you for ages. How long will this continue? You had been seeing the same black figure for too long, its eyes always reminding you that you had changed—changed to something more humane, someone that wasn't exactly you. You took a deep breath and exhaled softly.

    Just a little bit more—

    There was suddenly a soft knock on the door.                                        

    “Come in.”

    The shadow that was mirroring your appearance disappeared just when Luck entered your room. His creepy smile was still there but fortunately, you got used to it so much that you didn't mind it anymore.

    “Is there anything you need?”

    “I want to stay here tonight.”

    You stared at him in shock. “Why?”

    “For fun!” You kept staring at him intently as a way to pressure and force him to spit out the truth. He would always pull funny tricks when he wanted something from you, that was just the kind of person Luck was. “Aww, you're no fun! Tomorrow is a super duper great day, couldn't I just get prepared with you?”

    As if inviting himself in, Luck closed the door and immediately jumped onto your bed like a child, still having the cheerful grin on his face. You didn’t even say anything, yet he was already treating your room as if it were his. You couldn't believe that Luck was already a young adult with his lively behaviour. With a sigh, you resisted pushing Luck away from your bed and decided to just deal with it. 

    “Why couldn't you just get prepared on your own? Most of the time, you're just going to be running away anyway. Just what do you want, Luck Voltia? Be honest with me.” You pulled his ear gently but sternly enough to get an answer.

    “Ow! Ow! I will say, I will say!”

    “Go on then. Don’t waste my time.”

    “Let's have a life and death match tomorrow.”

    “…Don't say that with a carefree face.”

    “Your mana is sooooo amazing!” He threw his arms up into the air. “You must be super duper strong so let's fight! Captain Yami said you're strong like the Hulk and told you to fight me.”

    “Don't be ridiculous. Your lie is so obvious.” With how persistent you were with Luck's so-called death match, Luck simply wouldn't stop whining and complaining about it. “Agh, your whining is terrible and annoying. Go fight with Magna or someone else other than me. I don't have the time to entertain you, Luck.”

    He laughed. “But they are not as fun as you.”

    “Why are you so eager anyway?”

    “Why? Because you're full of mystery.”

    You looked sad for a second, but then it disappeared before Luck could question it. “There's nothing mysterious about me, not that kind of good mystery anyway. There's also nothing special if I say yes to your fight. Besides, there's no time for us to have a match tomorrow if you think of facing the enemies on your own. Isn't it time for you to start fighting as a team?”

    Luck pouted cutely. “I can win on my own.”

    “Luck,” You sighed, fingers pinching the bridge of your nose in exasperation. “It's not about winning on your own that I’m worried about here. I’m more concerned about you carrying the burden on your own and then not knowing where your limits are. If you run too far and keep refusing everyone's help, then we can't do much when bad things happen to you.”

    “But victory that I don't get on my own is pointless.”

    “That’s not true, you know. I still enjoy watching Luck Voltia winning with or without anyone's help. I just think that there's nothing wrong for you to ask for help at times, just like how I would ask for your help whenever I need to.” You smiled from ear to ear, hoping that this conversation would ease him up. “Besides, I think your smile when you win something through teamwork would be amazing and I hope to see that one day.”

    Luck raised his brow. “...My smile?”

    “Hard to explain about it, but doing something with everyone taking care of your back is rather different. You’ll understand it when the time comes. So make sure to not run off again in the dungeon, you hear me?”

    “But that's boring!”

    You let out an exhausted sigh. How were you supposed to deal with Luck when he could barely register whatever you were saying into his brain? You knew Luck was a peculiar magic knight from the get-go. The second you saw him almost killing the other candidate in the combat test for the Magic Knights entrance exam, you knew he would be difficult to deal with. You didn’t want another trouble to get into Black Bull. That was what you insisted to Yami, telling him that Luck would be a beast to tame properly. But all Yami said was: “And if we manage to tame the said beast and put a leash on it?” with a shit-eating grin.

    And now you were left to be the one handling Luck. 

    “You just don't get it, do you? Hey, what are you doing?”

    Luck laughed and lay down on your bed cheerfully. “What am I doing? I’m going to sleep here tonight!”

    “Huh? What do you mean you're sleeping here tonight? Nobody permits you to sleep on my bed. You're being suspicious right now, Luck.” 

    You tried shoving Luck off from the bed but he was heavy, or maybe he was just purposely hugging the bed to make sure he wouldn't exactly roll off. Despite how annoying and frenetic Luck could get, you couldn't help but have a soft spot for him. He might be an eccentric magic knight, causing all magic knights from other squads to hate him, but Luck was never any different to anyone.

    Perhaps that was what made him okay in your books.

    “You're not moving anytime soon, are you?”

    “Nope!”

    You exhaled in defeat and watched as Luck closed his eyes peacefully. It was surprisingly comforting to have him by your side. The soft sound of his breathing somehow stopped the silence from creeping into the room, you weren't left alone with your own thoughts now. But the peace didn't stay for long as you caught a brief glimpse of a shadow. The black figure loomed over Luck like a monster under the bed, its glowing eyes staring into his soul as if it were ready to suck his lifespan out. Its hands reached for his neck, the keen claws threatening to slice his artery in a swift motion. You stared at the figure before swatting it away with your hand. It disappeared as if it was never there, like a black smoke that simply faded away.

    Luck asked, “What is it?” 

    “There was a fly.” You said almost too quickly, “And if you're planning to sleep here, don't you dare do anything weird or else I’m kicking you out. That black marker in your pocket looks rather suspicious, so I don't want to wake up with any drawing on my face, Luck. I’ll kill you if that happens.”

    Luck clicked his tongue due to his own failure.

༺═──────────────═༻

    There was darkness inside your heart and you feared it.

    Not because you were made into that situation but because you were born with it. You couldn't remember much when you were younger. At some point, you were just there. As yourself, with a gnawing darkness trying to eat up every last emotion you had left. There was no crying as a baby, no childhood, not even the transition to adulthood. You were just existing with no background behind you. No trace, nothing. You had many others who were like you but none of you found it weird. There were simply more important matters to pay attention to. Besides, the darkness only seemed to feed into one thing for you: envy. The overwhelming envy within you was sufficient to stop you from thinking about yourself. 

    You only envied so many things, never satisfied with yourself.

    And there was one thing you envied the most: humanity.

    People were different somehow. Some always cared about the others that had no blood relations while some wouldn't even bat an eye to look at people below them. Curiosity was growing inside you and undoubtedly, the envy was growing stronger too. You wondered why you couldn't be like them — all smiles and tears. How fantastic it was to be able to be so full of emotions! Life was just utterly boring for you—

    ‘Please help me.’

    You frowned at the childish voice ringing inside your ears. It echoed deep within your brain but it was not a voice you’d heard before.

    ‘I don't want to die.’

    A magic circle suddenly glowed beneath your feet and you felt your own body fading away. You couldn't move at all, it was as if your own feet were made out of stone. The sensation of magic felt so familiar, vibrating into your bones as if it were a symphony. You didn't know who summoned this magic but you did know what it was.

    “An ancient magic—”

Chapter Text

the battle is on from now.

ღ

    YOU WOKE UP from the nightmare with a jolt.

    It was all a dream, a recollection of what had happened to you. The magic sensation that had been haunting you disappeared a long time ago, and all you could feel was your own presence. A foreign feeling towards yourself. In cold sweat, you let out a groan at the pounding ache in your temples and glanced towards the empty spot beside you. Luck had left, presumably getting ready for the dungeon mission out of excitement. Just the thought of him grinning at the dining hall somehow lifted the weight inside your chest, making you smile in relief. That was right, you were still here. You reminded yourself that you were still you.

    “...I need to get ready too.”

    You were greeted at the dining hall after donning your Black Bull robe. Everyone on the mission was already having their breakfast there, while some magic knights were gone on a mission or out to enjoy the sunny day. Surprisingly, Yami was sitting at the edge of the table as well—he usually had his breakfast earlier than anyone to get on with his training as quickly as possible. The empty chair beside him was your usual spot, and it was waiting for you to have a seat. Yami’s unexpected presence certainly made you wonder why he decided to join everyone for breakfast today. It was as if he knew you had a nightmare and wanted to check on you, but you knew that this was all merely a coincidence.

    With a nod, you said, “Good morning, everyone.”

    “Morning!” Asta smiled brightly.

    Noelle gave you a nod while Luck started waving his hand.

    As you took a seat beside Yami, he suddenly said, “You don't look so good, and your magic was spiking last night. Feeling sick when you have an important mission? Don't tell me your nerves got to you.”

    This answered why he was here. “Don't be ridiculous. It's just a nightmare.”

    “You don't have to go if you don't feel like it.”

    “Huh?” Your eyes widened. “You were the one who told me to go. And who is going to replace me then?”

    Yami scoffed. “As if any of you even listen to me in the first place. I’ll go if you can't. Putting a leash on Luck is something that only you or I can do. That kid has a knack for pissing everyone off and running wild. Having a captain by his side now and then can get him to listen well. If he doesn't, a single punch will do fine.”

    Luck pouted in disappointment. “Hey, I can hear you two!”

    You sighed and shook your head. You knew Yami had more important matters to take care of. “No, that won’t be necessary. I’m fine, it's just a nightmare. It's not going to affect my performance at all if that’s what you’re worried about.”

    Yami didn’t reply. 

    Glancing at him, you wondered why he wasn't saying anything. He merely continued to read his newspaper with a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth. It wasn't until a few seconds later that Yami looked at you with his usual scowl. “It's you that I’m worried about, idiot.”

    You stared at him in bewilderment before breaking into a wide smile, a fuzzy feeling settling deep inside your chest. “I see, thank you. It does feel nice when you’re worried about me. But don't worry too much about it, I’ll be absolutely fine. Besides, you gave me this job, so how could I just fail to finish it without even trying?”

    Yami grunted. “...Don’t push yourself too hard.”

    Everyone stared at Yami and you for a brief silence, dumbfounded by what the captain had said.

༺═──────────────═༻

    “So this is the dungeon.”

    The dungeon stood tall and grand in front of you, its entrance beckoning you to enter like it was a challenge. The excitement just from seeing the dungeon was evident among everyone. It might have been something new, which was why it was an exciting adventure, but if you looked slightly harder, you might be able to pinpoint something unsettling about the dungeon. You didn’t know what to expect from a dungeon like this, but from what the mission entailed, Black Bull wasn’t the only team selected for this mission. This could be something bigger than you thought. Before you could enter the dungeon to make a baseline check, Luck grabbed your robe to stop you, allowing the newcomers to enter first.

    You turned around to look at him. “What is it, Luck?”

    “So,” He grinned from ear to ear. “Are we going to fight—”

    “Absolutely not. I don’t want to upset Yami about this. Besides, don’t forget we have newbies coming along with us, we shouldn’t do anything reckless that can harm them. You’re not the one tasked to look after them, you know. So if anything were to happen to them, I’m the one who has to take responsibility. Do you even have any idea how it feels being forced to train with Yami for three days straight without any rest? Just the thought of it makes me urgh!” 

    Luck pouted. “But…”

    “No ‘but’ coming from you. Come on.”

    Ignoring Luck’s puppy eyes, you walked ahead of Luck while ignoring his persistent whining. You were used to this attitude coming from him, surprisingly. He wasn’t the best teammate to be around, considering how he would either run off on his own or whine for a fight. You wondered if this was what Magna had to go through since he was the one commonly forced to go on a mission with Luck. Shaking your head to get your own head out of pointless thoughts, you hastened your pace to catch up with the newcomers. The further everyone entered into the dungeon, the darker it became.

    It was as if darkness had embraced you.

    “Everyone, before we enter the dungeon, just a few words coming from me.” You said, “Make sure to look around properly, dungeons are famous for having peculiar traps so don’t get caught in them. Even if you do, sit tight and I’ll come to help. Don’t run off on your own either and that’s mainly for you, Luck. Just… be careful and don’t be reckless.”

    “Aye!” Asta grinned. “Actually, [name], do you think you can help us with naming this bird?”

    “Huh? The anti-bird? I’m surprised it’s still here following you around since the last mission.”

    “Don’t you think Toritaro is a great name?”

    Noelle shuddered at the ridiculous idea. “Don’t be ridiculous! Silvantus Schnauzer is better!”

    “Toritaro!”

    “Silvantus Schnauzer!”

    You pinched the bridge of your nose and shook your head. “Those two names are horrendous. This is not going very well. Why don’t we ask someone better at names? Luck, since you’re good with animals, you suggest a name for the bird then.”

    “Me?”

    “Yes, you. You're good with animals.”

    Luck’s cheeks burned red at your sudden compliment. He was indeed good with animals despite his crazy nature about fighting people. “Oh, well… If you say so. How about Nero then? It means black. I think it's easy to call the bird too.”

    As if satisfied with the name given by Luck, the bird sat on his shoulder silently and raised its black wing, voting for the name Nero. The adorable sight made you chuckle, it was somewhat hilarious that Asta's and Noelle's recommendations weren't up to its alley at all. You wouldn’t want to have those names either if you were being honest. Not many knew about Luck’s ability with animals — you only noticed it by chance when you saw him feeding a bunch of stray cats. Perhaps those animals were excellent at determining Luck’s sincerity. After all, he wasn't a bad person. People only tended to be afraid of him because of his grin and unreasonable attitude.

    “Well, there you go. Little birdie over here seems to favour Nero the most. So we will go with that. I think it's fair, considering that the bird should have the full rights to pick its own name.” You looked at the two disappointed newcomers. “Don't have any objections?”

    Asta and Noelle sighed. “No…”

    “Good, let's move on.”

    Your team walked deeper into the dungeon, the lantern helping significantly in the complete darkness. It was going well until Noelle suddenly let out a terrified shriek, oddly resembling the banshee that you read several times in books. She cried, rushed forward for help, and bumped into Asta, causing the lantern to slip out of his grasp. It shattered onto the ground and the fire let out a final hiss before it completely disappeared into the air. You were now surrounded by darkness as the only light source was gone, eyes were struggling to see what was going on around you.

    Asta yelled as he bumped into you this time, “Hey!” 

    “Everyone, stop for a moment! It's too dark to make a move.” You suggested with a frown. You weren't the best with darkness, you had to admit. “What happened, Noelle? Are you alright?”

    “Y—Yeah.”

    “Noelle pushed me!”

    “It's not my fault! Something was buzzing close to my ear.” She tried to dismiss what had happened, thankful that nobody could see her flushed cheeks. “Asta! What are you doing? Stop stepping on my foot.”

    “I can't help it. It's pitch-black.”

    “It's dark because you dropped the light!”

    “I dropped it because you stumbled into me!”

    “What? I'm a royal.”

    “So what?!”

    This wasn't going great at all.

    You let out a long sigh, already feeling exhausted from the adventure when you hadn't even entered the dungeon fully yet. The two newcomers continued to bicker like your nonexistent siblings. You finally understood how it felt to be the eldest sibling in a family. At this point, you wondered what would happen once everyone entered the dungeon. You only hoped that it wouldn't be hectic, but it didn’t seem so hopeful right now. Yami may be the one who gave you this task but unfortunately, you only have a pair of arms. The Black Bull magic knights—not just the newcomers—had always been untameable. You couldn't see how you would be able to manage them.

    “Everyone, slowly move forward while touching the wall. Make sure not to get left behind. Luck, are you there—”

    “I’m here!”

    As Luck’s voice echoed throughout the corridor, you could feel someone hugging your arm tightly like a koala. Somehow you had an idea who it was. The gentle yet playful tug only reminded you of Luck’s cheeky smile, which only made you smile from ear to ear in return. You had to admit that the mellowness was familiar, exactly like the cosiness you felt yesterday night as you were drifting to sleep.

    “And what are you planning to do?”

    “Huh? You said not to get lost.”

    You shook your head with a smile. “Do what you want.”

    That innocent and clueless behaviour of his wouldn't be able to fool you. Luck may act like a child at times yet somehow, you had a feeling that he was more than that. In fact, he knew what he was doing — playing with people’s heartstrings and then flashing a bright smile. But he wasn't flirtatious like Finral, it was difficult for you to explain it to anyone else too.

    You said, “It shouldn't be that far anymore.” 

    Asta raised a brow as he touched the wall in front of him. “Huh? It looks like a dead end instead. Are you sure we're going the right way? What should we do now?”

    “Did we miss the entrance?”

    You touched the wall in front of you. “I don't think we've walked the wrong way. I didn’t feel any turns as we were walking down this way. Hm, it didn't seem to be made out of magic since I can’t sense anything from it. Asta, Noelle, try looking for a switch somewhere on the wall near you.”

    “Oh! I think I found it.”

    Asta pushed the round button on the wall. A soft click rang across and the wall immediately collapsed with a loud thud, revealing a vast room inside. There it was, the dungeon that everyone had been eager to explore and conquer. The surge of magic coming from the dungeon suddenly gave you a shiver down your spine, filling you up with an excitement that was similar to everyone else. Your excitement only seemed to grow stronger when you admired the interior in awe. Its historical yet magical structures never seemed to disappoint you. The descriptions written in books and documentaries could never fully demonstrate the beauty of the dungeon. It was like describing the sun as a mere candle. Nothing could beat seeing it with your own eyes. Even the bricks seemed to shimmer from the different materials used! This was exactly like heaven to you, a completely different world full of never-ending knowledge.

    “This is better than I expected.” You smiled.

    Luck nodded as he was still stubbornly holding your arm. “It looks like the space got distorted by the strong magic. The mana floating around here is waaaaaay stronger than what's outside. This is fun and exciting!”

    “The two of you…” Noelle commented with a rather disgruntled look, “How long are you two going to hold hands for? We're already out of the dark. Now it makes me wonder if anything is going on between the two of you...”

    Luck grinned innocently, but you wondered if he was only just faking it. “What do you mean?”

    “Don't be spreading rumours like that.” You pulled your hand away from Luck despite the obvious disappointment written all over his face. “And Luck, quit acting dumb. Keep acting like that and I’ll stop going on a mission with you because of how suspicious you are.”

    “What? What did I do?” Luck pouted.

    “That! That's exactly what I mean!”

    “I don't understand at all.”

    You sighed in defeat. “Forget about it. We should focus more on the mission right now. Well, while we have the time, it wouldn't hurt to take a look around the dungeon. Just make sure to watch out for anything dangerous. This place is packed with mana, it's so strong that I wouldn't be surprised if there are magic traps around.”

    “Really? There's mana in here?”

    Gasping, Noelle stared at Asta with wide eyes — the shock she felt wasn't all too common. “Wait, are you telling me you can't feel all this mana?! It's literally full of mana that it would feel suffocating.”

    “Not at all, I can breathe fine.”

    You laughed in amusement at his response. “It's not that surprising. Asta doesn't have magic, so the absence of mana inside him causes him to not be able to sense mana around him. It can be a shame that you can feel the mana in this place because of how special it is but I wouldn't say it is a bad trait to have. That absence of mana inside you can be beneficial. An extremely high concentration of mana that you can't handle can sometimes be… suffocating. It would only prove fatal when you're fighting someone.”

    “Man, I didn't know about that!”

    A tinge of irritation bubbled inside Noelle. “But still, not being able to feel the mana around here is almost a joke. No, scratch that, it is a joke. Hey, do you even know what mana is? You're a magic knight so you should know this!”

    “Geez, I know what mana is!”

    “Very good.” You smiled coldly. “Then explain to me.”

    “Huh? Why does this feel like a test?”

    “Because it is. I want to see how well you understand this topic. You may not have any mana, but you're still a magic knight. You need to understand the basics before you're able to fight other magic users.”

    “Fine, fine! I know what it is anyway. Well… It's a supernatural energy that exists in this world and inside people. Mages activate their spells by using mana.” Asta suddenly slammed his fist onto the ground in despair. “It's what royals like Noelle have by truckload and what I don't have at all. The source of magic! That's it, that's mana! And I have none of it! Not even a single drop!”

    Luck suddenly took Asta’s fist and placed it somewhere else. “You're supposed to hit it here.”

    The spot beneath Asta’s hand glowed brightly. You could feel the sudden surge of mana and just as you guessed, a radiating magic circle materialised in front of Asta. It summoned forth a trap spell — a man-eating flower blossomed from the concrete ground and snapped its petals at Noelle. Her loud screech sprang Asta into action as he extracted his grubby sword from the grimoire and sliced the plant in half. The magic spell was cancelled with just a slice of his blade. Seeing it with your own eyes somehow made it seem more surreal. That grimoire Asta held only seemed to cause the uneasiness to settle in.

    “That was actually good.” You complimented as you clapped your hands. “A very good instinct, I’m impressed even though you haven't been going on a mission much.”

    “What are you praising him for?! This is not the time! He was the one who activated the trap— No, it was Luck! What do you think you're doing, Luck!? That's too dangerous!”

    Luck laughed. “There’s another one here, Asta.”

    Cheekily, Luck pushed Asta into a magic circle. You watched in defeat as the spell was activated again. The magic circle glowed and Asta’s eyes immediately pleaded for your help. This time, it was an explosion that was triggered, a trap that Asta could barely escape.

    “What are you doing?!” Asta screamed.

    You said sternly, “Luck, quit it. That's enough.”

    “But it's fun!”

    Your words didn’t seem to be registering in Luck’s mind. Once he found another magic circle, he began stomping and jumping on it. Another spell erupted like a smouldering lava and Luck’s laughter didn't help with the situation. He continued sprinting around the place left and right to activate the trap spells, leaving only chaos behind for Asta. You narrowly avoided a spell that shot past your head and it landed right on the wall, letting out a hiss from the impact.

    Noelle screamed for help. “Do something!!”

    Luck was basically acting like a wild animal, a magic knight that you couldn't control. You didn't know how to handle Luck at this point. The newcomers struggled to keep up with Luck’s insane speed and there was only one thought that crossed their minds: they would only die if they continued to stay with Luck.

    Asta wheezed for breath, “[name]! Are you not going to do something about Luck?! Stop him— Ack!”

    You shrugged. “Luck never seems to listen to anyone.”

    Noelle and Asta shuddered at yet another thought crossing their mind: they will definitely die if they stay with them.

    “That anti-magic weapon of yours is really amazing!” Luck applauded as his voice was getting higher from mirth. It was obvious that Luck had his eyes set on Asta now. “You don't have as much mana as [name], you don't have even a drop of mana in you at all which is a shame!”

    “What did you say?!”

    “But I would really, really like to fight you right now! But I’m sure I will have more fun fighting you in two or three years. If you keep that thing out and ready, this dungeon won't give us any problems at all.”

    You nodded. “I agree, not towards Luck's suggestion for a duel. Considering everyone's combat skills, the trap spells shouldn't be a problem at this point. Besides, we also have Asta here to negate any magic. So try to do your best for today’s mission, Asta. You're the main character for today!”

    Asta saluted you in excitement. “I will do my best!”

    “Now then—” Luck suddenly paused midway.

    You paused as well, feeling a shiver running down your spine at the strong mana detected somewhere in the dungeon. Luck’s sensitivity towards mana made him grow wary of the foreign presence in the dungeon and such news only gave him joy. His grin only grew wider, his feet tapping excitedly against the floor like an eager child. You knew what was on his mind when you saw the sparks of lightning coming from his body.

    “Luck.” You gave him a warning.

    “I’m going!”

    “Luck.” You grabbed his hand to stop him from running away but as soon as you did, an unintentional spark burned your hand. Your eyes were pleading with him. “This is not the time. Must you go against what I ask you to do no matter what?”

    Luck puffed his cheeks and refused to look at you.

    You sighed and finally let him go. “Fine, there's no point putting a leash on you when I’m not capable in the first place. I’ll let you go, have a check on what or who it was and defeat them if they're an enemy. Once you're done with that, report back to me. Don't die, I don't want to explain the situation to Yami.”

    “That's your reason?” Noelle groaned.

    Luck grinned in victory. “Will be back soon!”

“Lightning Creation Magic: Holy Lightning Boots.”

    Noelle’s confusion eventually morphed into a panicked expression when Luck dashed away. As always, you were impressed with his lightning magic — precise and quick, just like a thunderbolt. It was a shame that he was excellent at using his magic to bolt away too, making it almost impossible to catch him. He was one of the many prides of Black Bull, but again, it was because of his lightning magic that made it impossible for you to control him.

    “Wait a second! Where are you going—”

    Asta gaped. “He's so fast!"

    “Annoyingly fast.” You added, “Luck's speed is the best among all of us. His magic is lightning magic, after all. It’s so good to the point that it's getting annoying. With him gone, I guess it's up to us to look around the place and find the treasures. Let's not waste any more time.”

    Noelle's mouth was wide open. “What? H—Hold on a minute! Shouldn't we chase after him? Are we going to just see him running off on his own? I thought this was a dungeon and it's something we shouldn't take lightly. Why did he run off on his own in the first place? Something about his reaction is somehow unsettling.”

    “Exactly! Where did he run off to?”

    You wondered if it was a good idea to mention a strange presence of mana in the dungeon — someone who wasn’t a part of the magic knight squads. They were merely newcomers, getting them to panic and fail to perform well in their first decent mission was the least you wanted. “I can't do anything about Luck most of the time. He wouldn't listen to me and the more I go against him, the more rebellious he becomes. That's the kind of person Luck is. Anyway, don't worry about him. Luck always likes to run off ahead whenever he finds something interesting, he's not really a teamwork kind of person. Besides, he is definitely stronger than you think, no problem with him going alone.”

    Though you said that, you somehow couldn't get rid of the worry hiding inside your chest. Because of how reckless Luck can be from excitement, his peculiarity wasn't entirely a good thing for the Black Bull.

    “Wouldn't Yami be angry though?”

    “Well, I've done my best to keep him still and he wouldn't know if none of us say anything about Luck.” You smiled. “Ah, but it's a good thing that Luck goes off on his own. He gets some work done and hopefully we can get a report from him soon, which should be a less burden for all of us.”

    Noelle groaned, “That's not the point...”

    Asta asked, “So what's our plan now?” 

    “Hm. I would like to explore the dungeon as soon as possible, but Yami mentioned that the Golden Dawn will be joining this mission as well. It would be a common courtesy to greet them before we walk around the place but the problem is… I don't even know if they've started without us. Golden Dawn and Black Bull are not really a match.”

    Asta blinked in confusion. “Huh? Why not?”

    You and Noelle stared at Asta in bewilderment.

    “You idiot, just compare them with us!”

    “Exactly. I wonder why we can never work together.”

   A sarcastic voice interjected in the conversation. You immediately recognised the voice — the same voice that would often demerit and condemn you for being a magic knight. Klaus Lunettes, a proud magic knight of Golden Dawn who could never seem to meet you in the eyes. You never did hold a grudge against him, many including him weren't exactly fans of the Black Bull. You had expected the same reaction from everyone else at this point.

    The Golden Dawn team walked out with pride and grace, something that you couldn't find easily among the Black Bull members. Their magic knight robes were a stark contrast compared to Black Bull: white and flowy with glowing insignia. Compared to Black Bull, Golden Dawn was definitely far greater and influential. They were famous and skilled, probably consisting of a bunch of royalty that couldn't possibly rival with members of Black Bull. In their eyes, Black Bull was a failure. Neither you nor Yami seemed to mind the insult, but that wasn't the case with the other members. Magna, for example, would pick a fight with whoever insulted Black Bull — all he did was to cause more trouble.

    There were two new Golden Dawn magic knights that you didn’t remember seeing in the squad. One of them—a young man around Asta’s age—seemed to be good friends with Asta.

    “Good to see you alive, Asta!”

    Asta grinned at the sight of the raven-haired knight. “Yuno!”

    “Judging from where they come from, I assume they’ve been exploring before us.” You flashed a harmless smile to Klaus as a greeting, keeping things professional between the two of you as different squads. “As expected from the Golden Dawn, you're always a step ahead and you especially, Klaus. You never seem to relax your shoulders.”

    Klaus scoffed. “As if we could trust the Black Bull to even complete this mission handed by the wizard king. I don't understand why he would request your team to join this mission but I’ll let you know right away that it's better if you just leave the mission to us. We’ll complete it with perfection for the wizard king instead.”

    “What's with that guy?!” Noelle yelled.

    “Klaus, you sure are hilarious as always. I’m sure we were given the mission for a reason and I’ll have to say that our new members are pretty much ready to take on important missions like this.” You eyed the Golden Dawn newcomers. “Are they the newbies? They seem very competent, I’m glad one of them is our Asta’s friend. It makes teamworking easier, isn't it?”

    “Hah! I’m sure the wizard king gave you the mission because of the tricks you have. And forget about teamwork, we can finish the mission on our own. Yuno, remember our mission. We must reach the treasure hall at the centre as quickly as possible. We don't have the time to laze around, especially with people like them.”

    “You're still the same as always! It has been such a long time since I had the chance to talk to you. It's really good to see you again, Klaus.” You laughed and held out your hand for a handshake, your smile was sweet-tempered enough to almost fool Klaus. “Seems like William has been taking good care of you and the rest of the Golden Dawn. It's never boring to see how well the Golden Dawn is doing thanks to William’s leadership.”

    Scowling, Klaus swatted your hand away and fixed his glasses. "Please do not get near me or call my name as you please. Also, refrain from calling our captain's name with that friendly voice of yours! Respect the captain of Golden Dawn, you brute. As always, the Black Bull magic knights are just a bunch of crude people.”

    “What was that?!” Noelle clenched her jaw.

    “Hey, Yuno! What's with the rude four-eyes?”

    Yuno replied, “Senior member.”

    “Four-eyes—” Klaus glared at Asta. “You're the rude one! I'm a noble and you're just a plain, old commoner! Don't speak as if we're equals. The fact that all of you are still magic knights is baffling, just what is so special about Black Bull?”

    You laughed. “Come on, don't be like that, Klaus.”

    He glared at you this time, definitely not a friendly gesture coming from him. “Don't call me by my name so casually, I’m not your friend.”

    “So you prefer the nickname four-eyes?”

    “I would rather have you not talk to me at all!”

    You didn't seem to mind Klaus’ harsh and cold responses; that seemed to bother Noelle. Was Black Bull that looked down upon? It wasn't as if Noelle minded being in Black Bull, she was more disappointed that nobody would mention anything positive in Black Bull. It was Black Bull and the members that gave her hope — she wasn't even able to control her magic during the exam and she could feel the disapproving looks from her family even from afar. Yet it was Yami who raised his hand to accept her. And the Black Bull was the one who didn't make fun of her for being a useless royal who couldn't even control her own mana.

    “Oh my! If it isn't Miss Noelle.” A sophisticated Golden Dawn magic knight courtesied to Noelle like a royal. “Good day to you. I haven't seen you since the royal family dinner party last year.”

    Asta asked, “You know her?”

    Noelle's eyes convulsed from reflex. “Yes. Sort of.”

    “I heard that the Black Bull is a barbaric group. Are you okay?” She flashed a concerned look to Noelle, even though you didn't know whether that expression of hers was genuine or fake.

    “I’m doing perfectly fine.” Noelle hissed with agitation. “I've never been happier until I joined the Black Bull. What about you, Mimosa?”

   “Yes, everyone's very kind. Thanks to them, I'm able to use my magic without worry. You couldn't control your magic at all, Noelle. How has that gone for you?” Not noticing the pained, vexated expression on Noelle's face, Mimosa then smiled. “Oh! The other day on a mission, the three of us received a star from the wizard king. It feels nice to do well in missions when I’m still new to this.”

    Asta suddenly smirked. “Yeah, we got four stars too!”

    Klaus pointed an accusing finger at Asta. “What a liar. As if mere Black Bull newbies could even get one star so easily. How rude of you to spout such an obnoxious lie in front of us. Have you got no shame? In fact, it's extremely impudent of them to even give you this mission.”

    “The wizard king asked for us directly!”

    “Another transparent lie. I bet [name] pulled some strings.”

    “I'm not lying!” Asta yelled.

    “Huh? What did I even do?” Confused, you raised a brow.

    “This is a waste of time. As if I have the time to get the truth out of your mouth, the Black Bull is already famous enough for causing trouble. Are you planning to be a nuisance in this mission too?”

    You pushed Asta behind gently to stop him from initiating a fight and stood in front of Klaus. The stiff smile on your face didn't falter but it did add to the tension between you two. It was as if Noelle was witnessing an argument between a cat and a dog, she could see the difference between the two of you just from a glance. You were more laidback compared to Klaus, and that only seemed to fuel his vexation towards you even more. Only your smile could tick Klaus off to this extent, nobody else could make him this agitated. You wondered if you should start feeling proud about it.

    “Speaking of newbies, Klaus, I've heard that there's a newcomer who is way more competent than the rest of the seniors. It doesn't seem to be a rumour from what I can tell.” You eyed Yuno with hidden interest, his mana was as strong yet graceful as the wind. “I’m amazed you managed to scout such potential. This is him, isn't it? Your name is Yuno, right? I have to say, you have great potential. I can't wait to see you become as strong as Asta in the future.”

    Yuno's eyes widened.

    Asta grew flustered. “...As strong as me?”

    Klaus stepped in between you and Yuno. “Do not be this close with my teammate, it's unpleasant coming from you. In fact, don't compare him with your newcomer. That brat couldn't even reach Yuno's level. I've heard everything about the Black Bull newcomers. One couldn't even use magic and the other one couldn't even control her mana. Are you doing charity work? Being magic knights is not the same as playing games! We don't have the time to recruit people who couldn't even fight.”

    Noelle gritted her teeth.

    “You— Take your words back!”

    “What? I've only spoken the truth. Am I wrong, [name]?”

    Gradually, your smile fell. “No, you're not wrong about them having absolutely no good relationship with mana. But I’ll have to correct you on one thing. They can fight. In fact, they've shown great potential while being under my supervision. I’ll tell you right now that they're under my watch, I can handle any insults towards me but you should watch your mouth when you're talking about them. They're still new to being a magic knight, I don't need your discouraging comments.”

    Noelle and Asta teared up. “...[name]..!”

    Klaus pursed his lips. “Fine, let's not talk about them. Let's talk about you then! What are you even doing here, [name]? Someone who rarely uses their magic shouldn't be here at all. It's no longer surprising that the other magic knights are beginning to doubt your capability to remain a magic knight. To be more exact, I'm starting to doubt whether or not you actually have the strength to be a magic knight. Everyone suggested to the wizard king to kick you out of the squad, do you know that?”

    Mimosa gasped, “Klaus!”

    Asta grabbed Klaus’ collar. “What did you say?!”

    Noelle shouted too. “Hey, you, take back what you said!”

    Klaus pushed his glasses with a cold glare. “I have no intention to take back what I say because it is only the truth. There are so many departments that have complained to the wizard king that [name] does not have what it takes to be a magic knight. Honestly just what are you thinking? Not making it clear that you have magic is one thing, but watching instead of helping the mission? You don't have what it takes to be a magic knight at all. I’m not surprised if you’ve used filthy tricks to get the wizard king to pity you. He is, after all, a very kind man.”

    “You—”

    “Stop it.” You said sternly. “Let him go, Asta.”

    “But—”

    “I won't say it again.”

    Dejectedly, Asta let go of Klaus but not before shooting another glare towards him. The young magic knight stepped back and stood behind you like a tamed puppy.

    “…What a pain in the ass. This is why I don’t like doing missions like this.” You mumbled. “Look, people can talk all they want. I don't owe anyone an explanation and I definitely don't need to show them my capability as a magic knight. The only people who deserve an explanation are Yami and Julius, and soon enough, the members of the Black Bull. Anyone else can go whine about it for all I care. If everyone wants to protest to get me kicked out, then feel free to do so. It was never completely my choice to join the magic squad either.”

    “Show some respect when you refer to the wizard king. Be cocky all you want, I’ll be waiting for the time when you’re kicked out of the squad. In fact, I would be glad if you're no longer bringing down the magic knights' reputation. You have never been a great help to any of us. Huh, come to think of it, I heard there were four of you here. Where's the other one? Don't tell me he left you and fled home. Or has he already fallen prey to a trap spell? Hah! As expected from the squad full of failures.”

    Noelle and Asta kept quiet with no intention to answer his question. After all, it would only be embarrassing to admit that Luck had run off and left them there—

    “Oh, he's not dead. He just left us to explore, that's all.”

    “Why did you tell him?!”

    “Awfully straightforward as always. You don't even know what kind of situation you're in right now. I do not doubt that you’ll mess up the mission today. I wouldn't even be surprised if nobody wants to hire Black Bull in the future. Either way, they're a pack of never-do-wells who abandon their new members. The Black Bull is a filthy disgrace to the magic knights!”

    What he said was enough to send Noelle and Asta reeling back from the words that came like an arrow to the heart. His words were brutal, enough to hurt Asta's pride as one of the Black Bull. In fact, Asta knew he liked the Black Bull. Despite how weak he was compared to everyone else and how there wasn't even a drop of mana in him, they were still willing to accept him. In fact, Black Bull squad was the only one willing to accept failures like him and Noelle. From the moment Yami raised his hand high with a confident grin to recruit him, Asta took the Black Bull as his new home. 

    He knew very well that Noelle felt the same too.

    Yami was there to bring them in when nobody else would even look at them. Magna was there to tell them they were a big family and Vanessa was there to teach them everything about the magic knights. Luck was there to cause trouble with them, like a problematic sibling that Asta couldn't help but adore.

    And then, you were there to trust them.

    Noelle and Asta couldn't accept what Klaus was saying. If it wasn't for you holding him down, Asta would have taken the chance to punch Klaus in the damn face. “Bring it on, you jerk! The Black Bull is gonna capture this dungeon first. Just you wait! You Gol— Darn… No, uh, Solden— No, wait. Um,” No matter how much he tried, he couldn't remember the squad's name. “You group with the weird masked boss!”

    Noelle rolled her eyes. “It's Golden Down.”

    You corrected them, “No, it's Golden Dawn.”

    Klaus' eyes twitched in overwhelming fury. “Weird mask? You scum! Are you mocking our sublime Captain Vangeance? In any case, your captain is the weird one! Why all those muscles? Why the tank top?! Agh, he is like an uncultured barbarian! Just looking at him makes me shiver in disgust.”

    “What was that? He's macho and completely awesome!”

    You didn't expect this to escalate at all.

   “Fine, you fools! We'll show you the difference between the top magic squad and you dregs! Mimosa, show them.”

“Plant Creation Magic: Magic Flower Guidepost.”

     Fresh green vines materialised and gathered around the area that Mimosa pointed at. They started to intertwine with each other as if they had a soul of their own and formed something fascinating. Large flower petals sprouted and bloomed from the tip of the intertwining vines, spreading like a wildfire with the slightest scent of nature. A detailed three-dimensional blueprint of the dungeon was formed from the centre of the flower which seemed to be made out of the spores. Even with your knowledge, you knew you wouldn't be able to form such a detailed layout of a dungeon.

    “Alright. I know the rough layout of this dungeon.”

    “Yuno!”

    The young magic knight bobbed his head. 

“Wind Creation Magic: Celestial Wind Ark.”

     A gust of wind danced forth, violently as a tornado yet gentle as the breeze, and was shaped into an ark-like vessel. With a perfect density to support the weight of human beings, the three Golden Dawn magic knights were able to stand on the wind ark. It was a perfect transportation any magic knight could ask for and Klaus knew that none of you was able to perform such spells, hence why he was smirking at the Black Bull. 

    “Try as best you can, Black Bull.”

    Noelle gasped, “He's carrying three people easily!”

    You smiled back at Klaus. “Ah, I see. We're racing, I suppose we can have a friendly competition. Then, Klaus. I have a good proposition for you. One that would benefit the winner for sure.”

    Klaus raised his eyebrow. “What do you have in mind?”

    “The winner can request anything from the loser. If the Golden Dawn wins, then you can ask for something. Anything that comes into your mind. The same goes for us, if we win, we can ask something from you or the Golden Dawn. How does that sound?”

    “What a foolish deal. Very well, as if the Golden Dawn will lose to the likes of you. If Golden Dawn wins, which is certain, I want you to quit being a magic knight.”

    Asta's face darkened immediately. “That's—”

    “It's a deal then.”

    Satisfied with the deal made between them, the Golden Dawn then departed to the centre of the dungeon where the treasures were to be. As they were gone, Asta and Noelle looked at you with a brooding look. The competition’s result was obvious from the very start. None of them could beat Yuno’s and Mimosa’s magic. 

    “Why did you agree to that?!”

    “Exactly!” Noelle shouted, “You can't do that over something like this! There's no way we could win against them. Have you even seen what they could do? How could we even be as quick as them? Don't you get it? If we lose, you’ll have to quit being a magic knight.”

    “Well, yeah.” You said nonchalantly, “I did expect us to lose since we don't have any transportation like what Yuno did with his magic. But I have a good feeling about this. Besides, I trust you two and Luck, I’m sure we can somehow get through this.”

    “And if we lose?”

    “We can think about that after we lose.”

    Asta gasped. “But to do that with just a good feeling?” 

   “I have a very good intuition. Anyway, let's get to the centre of the dungeon as soon as possible. We don't have any maps so we have to just try our luck. Let's get going!”

    “Huuuuuh?!”

Chapter Text

the show is on.

ღ

     THIS WAS a bad idea.

    A very bad idea.

    “And?! What are we going to do now? We don't have any tracking spells and we can't even find Luck.” Noelle reasoned with you, explaining how this contest was a terrible idea from the start. You listened to her never-ending ramble, but that didn’t mean you were doing anything about it.

    Asta swung his sword recklessly at the trap spells, a tired grin on his face. “That's easy! We'll just check everywhere, real carefully! But why do I feel like this is a horrible idea?”

    “Because it is!”

    You laughed. “Oh, don't worry too much about it. This is your first dungeon so we should have some fun around here.”

    “How are we not supposed to worry? You're going to get kicked out of the squad if we lose! Are you two idiots? At this rate, forget about reaching the treasure hall. We'll just get lost! We can't just do this without a plan. Are you even listening to me, [name]?”

    “Haha, we are lost.”

    “This is not the time to be laughing!”

    A loud bang echoed throughout the dungeon.

    “Huh? What's that noise?” Asta asked, oblivious to the magic that thundered along with the loud noises.

    Noelle gasped. “This magic— Could it be?”

    You hesitated, eyes narrowing at the familiar magic that rang and spread throughout the dungeon. The three of you stood in the tight corridor with confusion and worry. Whatever the noises were, they didn't sound exactly pleasant to listen to. There was no doubt that there was an intense fight going on somewhere within the dungeon. The mana that radiated from the sound wasn't as strong as the mana that Luck felt at the beginning, yet it was still decently strong. Now you couldn't help but be concerned over Luck’s well-being. You had confidence in Luck’s abilities but what if something was to go wrong? Maybe you did make the wrong choice letting him go after the enemy.

    ‘...Calm down, [name]. Luck is strong.’

    “It's Luck's magic.” You continued, “But that loud noise is not really comforting, now I’m only worried. I didn’t explain much about why Luck ran off because I didn't want to worry you two. But Luck and I noticed that there was a strong mana presence in this dungeon. Both of us are decent at sensing mana, but Luck is better with his sensory skill. Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase. There are other people in this dungeon, highly likely to be our enemies looking for the treasure.”

    “...What?” Noelle gulped. “How many?”

    “No idea. Luck probably has a better idea about the number compared to me. But judging from the strong mana, I would assume they brought fewer people compared to us. Since we have no clue how many enemies are here and what magic they have, we need to be careful around here.”

    Asta raised his voice. “Why didn't you tell us!?”

    “Well, you didn't ask for details. And like I said, I don't want the two of you to worry too much about this situation. I don't want to make a big deal out of it when you two joined Black Bull not too long ago.”

    “You didn't want us to worry but you're not looking so good yourself. It's about Luck, isn't it?”

    You sighed. “It's my job to worry, to be honest. I have no doubt that Luck is strong and he's capable of fighting against the enemies. But… sometimes, the type of magic, intelligence and strategy must be taken into consideration in a fight. It would be difficult for fire magic to go against water magic, for example. And an enemy who is prepared for a strategy is a step ahead compared to Luck who is recklessly joining the fight. That's the only reason why I’m worried, even though Luck is a tough magic knight to go against.”

    Asta took a deep breath. “We have to help him then. He's going against someone strong, right? And why should he fight alone when he has us?”

    "Well, I get where [name] is coming from, but I don't know if we really have to." Noelle averted her eyes from embarrassment, somewhat feeling guilty for saying something like this. "He's only doing what he wants to, you know? If he doesn't even listen to [name], why would he listen to us? Besides, if there are other people after this dungeon's treasure hall, we need to hurry too. They can't reach the hall before us.”

    “You're not wrong, Noelle and I also get where you're coming from, Asta. Luck has never once teamed up with anyone, he just prefers to fight alone. He’s also not the most attentive teammate to be with, considering how wild his mana can go. There's also the problem about him being too offensive and he ends up forgetting about putting his guard up.”

    Asta frowned. “But him being alone—”

    “I’m not saying you can't go. You can if you want to, Asta, but I can't go with you. It would be reasonable if we were separated into two groups so that at least one of us could reach the hall to warn the Golden Dawn about this situation. I can't let Noelle go to the hall alone so you’ll have to help Luck alone.”

    “Then what are we waiting for? I don't mind going alone!”

    “Because I don't know how Luck will react to your help. As I said, he's not the most attentive person on earth so his magic might even harm you. He's also extremely stubborn that it is giving me a headache. But I do hope that he’ll listen to you this time. I did give him a lecture yesterday. So, Asta, it's all up to you.”

    Noelle eyed Asta. “Are you going to help?”

    “The hell? Is that even a question? Of course, I’m going to protect the people around me no matter what. I'm not going to leave my friends alone when they're fighting on their own. Even if you two say no, I’ll still help him.”

    “Then, that settles it. Your sword is helpful with the trap spells here so I’m confident that you can get to Luck easily. Listen carefully. The explosion came from the floor above so you’ll have to run back and use the stairs to the second floor. Be careful of the traps near the stairs. Turn left and Luck should be in one of the rooms, I'm sure you can hear them by then. Noelle and I will head to the treasure hall as soon as possible and make sure no other enemies are heading the same way. Once you're done, meet us by the hall.”

    Noelle grumbled shyly, “You better not die.”

    “I trust you, Asta.”

    Your words only seemed to give Asta the determination to come back safely with Luck. It was such a simple word yet it managed to bring so much joy out of Asta's tight chest. Back in the orphanage, Asta wasn't trusted the most — Yuno was the competent one while Asta was just full of muscle, but with not much intelligence in his brain. Having two comrades waiting for him while handing him all of their trust made him a changed man. Asta swore to protect his friends, weak or strong, with his own strength.

    With a nod, he grinned. “Got it!”

༺═──────────────═༻

    “Yami?” You poked your head into the messy office.

    “What do you want?”

    “I have something to talk to you about and it's important.” You entered the dishevelled office and bolted the door shut, standing face to face with the captain. It wasn’t rare to see you looking for Yami, but he knew this time was a different matter. “The entrance exam is tomorrow, isn't it? I have a request to make regarding that matter.”

    “If it’s about coming with me, you already are. You don't have to ask about it every year. That Julius prefers you to come with me anyway.” He flipped the newspapers while tapping his cigarette onto the ashtray before putting it back to his lips. “Gordon and Finral are coming too so we don't have to waste our time travelling as usual.”

    “That's not it. The newbies that will be coming into our squad tomorrow, I want to be the one to take care of and monitor them. It's the least I can do for the squad so please consider it.”

    “And how do you know we will have new kids?”

    “Well, I don't know about tomorrow’s results, but it has been a long time since we got someone new. I think it's time for us to consider recruits. Besides, it's just a suggestion from me. If nobody is coming in then there's no need for me to take care of them. If there is at least a new kid coming in, I want to look after them. Considering how I’ve been with the Black Bull for so long, I’m confident that I should be able to take care of them well.”

    Yawning, the captain took out his burning cigarette from his agape mouth and pressed it into the ashtray. “So you think you're capable of doing it. Why the sudden interest?”

    “That's none of your business—”

    “Harh? What did you say?” He glared at you. “I’m damn sure it's my business, I’m your captain. Do I have to force you to spell out everything for me, you punk?”

    “…I just want to do something for the squad. For you.”

    “I've never asked for your damn loyalty.”

    The way he looked at you was terrifying, almost as if he was about to throw you into a beast’s den. You stood straight and stared into his eyes. Despite his scary look and occasional harsh words that he didn’t mean most of the time, Yami remained the first person to ever help you.

    “You know why I’m doing this. There are still many things that I need to learn and I believe that guiding the recruits will be helpful with my understanding towards this squad. You know that I am—” You hesitated and clicked your tongue in disappointment. “I don't want to lose myself. In my opinion, protecting and loving everyone around me is the only way to keep me sane.”

    With a frustrated groan, Yami stood up with a loud thud and walked towards you. Each strong, deliberate step of his sent your heart thumping against your chest. Not due to fear but expectations of what he was about to say. He towered over you easily and it was surreal to see a mere man looking down at you with authority. You can see why he was the captain of Black Bull despite being too laid back. Yami had the qualifications as a leader, one that you couldn't seem to comprehend. He could protect people so easily, but he could also crush them without any effort.

    Yami asked, “Keeping you sane?” 

    “Keeping me as humane as possible. Time is essence, you and I know what needs to be done if I ever lose myself. And I don't want the day of me losing myself to come anytime soon.” You sighed. “I don't want to bring any harm to the Black Bull, to you.”

    Yami raised his hand, his knuckles briefly brushing against your cheek. It was an irony that your mind was crumbling apart despite your body still standing strong. He could still remember the endless nights of you screaming at him for help in the past, begging him to get rid of the voice and the shadow loitering around. For a very long time, Yami felt helpless watching your trembling body and now he felt even more helpless when you’d only gotten used to the voice. Though you did not show it, Yami knew you were slowly getting tired of the nightmares. He wondered if you were also losing your mind.

    Must he ask? Yami didn't like asking when you clearly had no intention of telling him anything in the first place. All he could do was watch over you, just like what Julius had instructed. 

    He lowered his hand with a huff. “Do what you want. Just don't give me more work to do.”

    “Thank you. I’ll do my best.” As Yami turned around, you stopped in front of the door and glanced at his broad back. “Also, Yami, thanks for being patient with me as always. I know you're always looking after the Black Bull, but I also want to be the one to protect you and the squad. You and Julius are the ones to gave me a chance to live again even after knowing about me. I’m really thankful for that, that's why I want to make sure everything’s going right.”

    You gave him a nod.

    “Then, excuse me.”

    As you left his office, you wondered when your body would become an empty husk. How long until you couldn't control your body and mind anymore? The time was ticking and you feared what would become once you lost yourself. The least you wanted was to harm the Black Bull that accepted you for who you were, even when you were almost eaten away by the intrusive voice.

    You were evil.

    You were the living sin.

    Knowing you couldn't run away from your past and the shadow hanging behind you, there was only one thing you could do. You needed to die before you completely lost your mind—before the time ran out for you.

༺═──────────────═༻

    You had been running for quite some time.

    It felt like an hour, but you knew it probably wasn't even that bad yet. Noelle may show signs of exhaustion but she wasn't showing signs of stopping anytime soon. In fact, it seemed like she was even more fired up after Asta left. Watching her made you realise just how much potential the newcomers had. You definitely didn't regret taking care of the new magic knights. Perhaps you could finally understand more about being a senior and taking care of the new kids. You sprinted down the hallway as you bit your lips apprehensively. You could feel a surge of mana coming from the front and the loud explosion didn't help with the situation. You and Noelle exchanged looks, and the two of you nodded to pick up the pace. 

    You could feel your shoulders being weighed down, gruesome images of the magic knights bleeding to death flashed across your mind and a soft voice whispered into your ears. Death. Something terrible had happened.

    Noelle gasped at your running speed. “H—Hey!”

    When you arrived at the scene, what greeted you wasn't pleasant at all. Mimosa was so gravely wounded that she had to focus on healing herself instead of the other magic knights. She was a crucial support, her absence would only cause the magic knights to go down eventually. For that very reason, Klaus busied himself protecting her while Yuno faced the enemy on his own. The enemy towered over Yuno, his calloused hand outstretched to summon his magic.

    Yuno wouldn't be able to protect himself in time.

    “Noelle, get to Mimosa and summon your water barrier!” You immediately ran to the enemy. “Klaus! Get over here!”

    You planted your foot on the ground and propelled yourself towards the enemy. The foe’s eyes widened at your sudden appearance and narrowly managed to dodge your attack, though that meant he had to stop attacking Yuno. The man staggered back, not even a single guilt or any other emotion on his face. You eyed the turquoise mage stones* embedded on the man's forehead as well as chest, an item that was used to enhance one’s magic power. Whoever this man was clearly wasn’t going to be an easy foe.

    Klaus gaped. “You!”

    “I see you have mage stones. You must be from the Diamond Kingdom. I would say that I'm pleased to meet you, but considering how you’re from a rival country, I assume you're not here for a cup of tea. Besides, it looks like you've injured our magic knights. Aside from trying to mess with us, what other reasons does a magic knight from the Diamond Kingdom have to be here?”

    The man, Mars, narrowed his eyes in agitation. An awkward silence interrupted the conversation while a humongous blade made out of mineral was reintegrated beside Mars. His voice was distant and chilling, fitting for someone who could not smile like him. “You're just a pebble from the Clover Kingdom standing in my way. I do not need to tell you anything. Just disappear already.”

    You sighed. “Why does nobody ever tell me anything even though I’m asking nicely? Well, you don't have to tell me anything. I could already guess that you only want to get into the treasure hall.”

    Mars thought there was no need to even bother having a small chat with you. The Diamond and Clover Kingdoms had always been rivals from the very beginning, and he had no intention of striking up a conversation with someone from the rival country. He shouldn't even be wasting his breath on someone like you. His mind, the one that was once his, was horribly empty, with only his mission in mind. All he needed was the treasure inside the hall. Yet many annoying magic knights had to simply stand in his way to the treasure hall. It was as if Mars had to deal with the buzzing mosquitoes around his ears.. 

    All he needed to do was to get rid of them.

    He blinked slowly before wondering when he started to see a mission as his whole life. Mars felt as though he was forgetting something as his mind was fuzzy with only his name to remember. Even his own name was information that he had to dig deep into his brain to find.

    “—estion is why you're here for the treasures and what it was that the Diamond Kingdom is looking for. Ah, you don't seem to be listening to me. This is difficult—”

    Before you could finish your own sentence, Mars raised his hand and instantly, the blade shot forward towards you. You stared at the attack with a sigh, ignoring the panicked call from Noelle. Though you didn't seem to be doing anything, the magic sword suddenly stopped right in front of your face as if there was a wall around it. The blade rotated and this time, it was pointing at Mars.

    “That's very rude, I’m not done speaking yet. As expected, speaking to someone from the Diamond Kingdom is difficult.”

    With another swift movement of your fingers, the blade darted towards Mars in return. Despite being taken aback by the unexpected counterattack, Mars merely tilted his head to the side as the blade whizzed past. Blood oozed out from the clean cut on his cheek. He only stared at you with curiosity, you were undeniably the most interesting out of the other magic knights. They were boring, perhaps Yuno was decent enough to fight with Mars but you were on another level. Your magic was something that he hadn’t seen before. The lack of effort in your face infuriated Mars.

    He whispered, “A deflecting magic.”

    Klaus gaped at the scene unfolding in front of his eyes.

    “Klaus, Yuno, are you two going to stay gawking behind?” You voiced out with a scowl. “Noelle has already set up the barrier for Mimosa. We would only be wasting our energy if we keep delaying this fight.”

    Yuno nodded. “Sorry.”

    Klaus clicked his tongue in vexation, unable to believe that he was taking orders from you. “Don't think I’m listening to you just because I want to, [name]. This is only because of our situation that I’m forced to cooperate with you. The Golden Dawn is strong enough without the Black Bull’s help.”

    You said, “You're such a pain in the ass.”

    “I don't want to hear that from someone like you!”

    Mars frowned at the childish bickering between Klaus and you, feeling as if his time was wasted. He wasn't exactly one to care about time that much but this was too much. The mission was delayed because of them. Mars murmured curses and insults under his breath. Gradually, minerals built up and formed the shape of a golem. Multiple clones crawled out of the ground like zombies, minerals floating and sticking onto their human shape.

    “Klaus, [name]!” Yuno alarmed them.

    The golems surrounded the magic knights and marched towards them threateningly. The ground trembled from the golems’ weight, one wrong hit from them would send you crashing into the wall. You rolled off your sleeves with the longest sigh, your black robe fluttering at the golem’s heavy movement. 

    Mars scowled. “Pests…”

    “There's no way we can fight all of them.” Klaus reasoned and he wasn't entirely wrong. The golems were massive and the number of golems wasn’t reassuring at all.

    Even you were wondering how you were supposed to deal with this. It would have been easier with Asta’s anti-magic sword, but you knew now wasn't the best time to lament over it. “No point crying over it. We just have to deal with this.”

    “Take cover of each other's back—”

    “Hands off them!”

    Asta came running down the hallway with Luck following after him. He spun around and smashed his broad sword to the neck of the golem, breaking the minerals into shimmering pieces. Gritting his teeth, he kicked the other golems and sliced them up. His anti-magic worked extremely well against Mars. 

    “Hey, pale dude! Don't touch my friends. Especially this one right here.” He suddenly pointed at Yuno and scowled. “He is my rival. Only I can beat the crap out of him, not you.”

    Yuno stared at Asta. “Excuse me?”

    Mars resisted the urge to roll his eyes at yet another two magic knights who decided to get into his way. Luck came running to you like an eager pup, his smile remained bright and excited at anything that involved his life at risk. Seeing how Asta and Luck were there together, you assumed that everything went well.

    “Glad to see you two are alive.”

    Asta almost choked. “Wha— So you thought we were dead already? You mentioned that you trusted me.”

    “You two have been away for too long, I have to think of the worst. Now that the two of you are here, at least I don't have to worry about explaining the situation to Yami.”

    “That's what you're worried about?”

    You nodded. “Yami’s punishment can be harsh.”

    Luck said, “Yami’s punishment sure is harsh and tough.”

    “No, that's not the point here!”

    “Putting jokes aside, look around you. Mimosa is injured right now and she's the only person who can heal right now. That's why Noelle is currently protecting her. Klaus and Yuno are a little bit wounded and their mana is probably running low, but they can still move. It's clear that they have fought for some time. But look at the person we’re facing right now. He doesn't seem tired yet so he's probably a strong one to face. If I have to guess, this guy is far stronger than the one you fought before this.”

    “So this is the strong mana I sense!” 

    “Well, what I want to say is—”

    Asta flashed a confident grin as he pointed his sword at Mars challengingly. “That doesn't matter! I won't even back down until I die. I'm going to defeat him with my own hands.”

    You frowned. “That’s—”

    Yuno stepped forward and pushed Asta away to face Mars instead. “No, you don't. I almost had him and unleashed a counterattack but you just have to butt in. You ruin everything.”

    “The two of you—”

    “Shut up. You are definitely lying! Just look at the state you're in right now.” Despite their height difference, it was amusing to see Asta radiating the same confidence as Yuno. “If you're going to continue yapping, then let's see who can defeat this guy first.”

    Yuno smiled softly. “Bet.”

    You sighed. “Can I just—”

    “Are you knights done having your annoying reunion?” Mars suddenly spoke in irritation, having to watch the revolting scene that was a waste of time. “You stand in my way, block my goal and now you have to waste my time by chatting? I don't have the time to play with any of you. Get lost.”

    Asta and Yuno literally launched themselves towards Mars, their grimoires and swords were held high in the attempt to defeat Mars. A puzzled expression crept to your face, a similar look that Klaus had as he was gawking at their stupidity.

    “I have so much to say but nobody is listening to me. Do they all want to rush to their deaths so recklessly?” You looked at the fidgeting Luck. “Please, don't tell me you too—”

    Before you could finish your sentence, Luck lunged onto Mars with lightning flashing through his entire body. You were left behind with Klaus, an awkward silence lingering between the two of you. It was hilarious to think about how the newbies were actively trying to get involved in a fight while you and Klaus were standing behind.

    “Seems like it's just the two of us, Klaus. While they're taking care of the man from Diamond Kingdom, we should settle things with Mimosa.”

    “Such work only requires one person to handle. There's no need for the two of us to stand here without doing anything.” He eyed you curiously, an inquisitiveness dwelling in his chest. “You were doing quite well earlier, so the rumours about you are not entirely true. Why aren't you fighting with them? Judging from what I saw, I could tell that you could have ended the fight quicker.”

    “What a bold assumption when you've only seen what I could do in a few minutes. I’m not as strong as you're thinking. Well, I could help but I simply thought it would be better for me to help Mimosa over here.”

    Mimosa let out a weak cough as she looked at you tiredly. You could tell that she wasn't running out of mana but more of her strength. The dark bruise on her stomach and a few cuts around her flushed skin were perhaps the reason for her frail condition.

    “I’m sorry… for the trouble. But I’ll be fine..”

    Noelle held Mimosa’s hand gently. “Don't speak, just focus on recovering right now! We need you.”

    “Exactly,” Klaus added. “We need you to be in top condition so that we can all safely get out of here alive. So focus on getting better, we’ll watch your back and do what we can. But I’ll have to say that I don't like whatever tricks you're pulling here, [name].”

    You laughed rather cheekily that which seemed to make Klaus’ frown deepen. “Tricks? I don't know what I did to make you think of me that way. There's not even a single trick coming from me. I’m just not too bothered to deal with that man and from what I can see, the newbies are doing quite well on their own. Luck is there as well to back them up so I don't really see a reason for me to get involved. Well, unless they show signs that they're incapable of winning then there's no choice but for me to finish the job. Or is that not what you mean by ‘pulling tricks’, Klaus?”

    He scoffed, barely acknowledging your comment by averting his harsh gaze. “That's a lot of confidence coming from you. Especially when you're from the Black Bull.”

    “Haha! That's because I trust that Asta will win.”

    “That boy? Hah, Yuno seems more competent than him.”

    “Hm, you're right about that. Yuno does seem more reliable than Asta who doesn't seem to use his brain much. But,” Your smile only grew wider, perhaps this was how you were supposed to feel as the one looking after Asta. “He is special and he's very different. I believe his pure strength could win. I guess that's just how proud I am of these youngsters.”

    This time, Klaus said nothing.

     “It is quite nice to sit back and watch them do the job.”

    Bewildered, Noelle and Klaus gawked at what you just said. Your nonchalant expression simply made the situation worse, the magic knights were unsure if you were joking or being serious. Though the latter seemed more likely. Klaus gave you a judgmental look, his nose scrunched in disgust as he took a step away from you. Even he feared that he'd end up being as laid back as you. Seeing you made him wonder if Yami somehow influenced you.

    “It's atrocious for you to be a magic knight with such a lazy personality. The kingdom would have ended if everyone were like you.”

    You stifled a laugh. “I suppose that's why there's only me.”

    “You're not supposed to agree to it—” He pinched the bridge of his nose out of frustration. “Forget about it, I don't even know what I was thinking. You're just not going to give me a normal response. Talking to you is simply a waste of time and energy. It's pointless, nothing I say will get through you.”

    “Hey, I’m not that thick.”

    “Clearly you are if you’re not bothered by the rumours.”

    Ignoring him, you watched the fight in front of you as if you were enjoying a show. Surprisingly, you noticed that Luck was doing very well fighting alongside those two magic knights. You could still remember the last time Luck went on a mission with Magna and you. His lightning magic always ended up scorching Magna’s hair and you would also return to base with a few mild burns. He wasn't exactly the best at keeping the friendly fire under control. But he seemed to be doing better right now and what you saw now was almost shocking. If Yami had heard of this, he would probably be surprised too. You supposed the beast had somewhat been leashed and tamed, although he still had its strong bites and nature.

    “I wouldn't have expected Luck to be doing well in a team but it seems like I was wrong. Sending Asta did end up being a good choice. I thought nobody could crack that stubbornness of his.”

    You hummed in deep thoughts, pondering on the changes that Asta could bring to Black Bull. For a complete newbie who came from a common village, he’d done a lot that many newcomers wouldn’t be able to. You hadn’t expected him to do so well in fights. Most of the time, newcomers needed to get used to fighting to get rid of their fear, especially if they hadn’t been in a fight before, but Asta? You didn’t even need to do anything! Not to mention, he even managed to gain Julius’ attention. That anti-magic he wielded was peculiar as well and if he was able to use the power right, he could do what you couldn't do—

    “Like killing yourself?”

    The familiar voice rang down your ear and you immediately snapped your gaze to the shadow standing beside you. They stared into your eyes, mockery obvious from the way they gazed at you. You were drawn into their darkness, and once again you felt your mind blanking out from an emotion that you couldn’t exactly explain. It wasn’t fear, you were never scared of that shadow trailing behind your steps. It was something familiar, something that made your chest tight at the small change in your brain. You desperately tried to remain sane, keeping your humanity alive as you tore your gaze away to look at Asta. They were right. You needed Asta to grow stronger— strong enough to kill you.

    “—ey. [name].”

    You snapped back into reality, the shadow no longer there. Your attention was back to Klaus. “What is it?”

    “I’m talking about that boy in your squad. Just what’s with that kid?”

    “Oh, are you curious about his magic? I’ll have you know that’s not his magic, he has none. He has no mana in his body, not even a small grain of it. As to how he’s able to have that power,” Your curious eyes landed on that dusty grimoire of his. “I don’t know, maybe he was simply made to wield that power. Either way, I think he has quite an interesting power. Imagine going against someone who could dispel your magic with just a swing of his sword. I think that’s a game-changer.”

    “He has no magic?” Klaus’ eyes widened like saucers. “No, that’s impossible. Even you know that’s impossible! If he has no mana, then where did he even get that power from? In the first place, he shouldn’t have a grimoire—”

    “Who knows. Klaus, you know that there are many things that we couldn’t explain in this world. As much as I hate to admit it, Julius couldn’t exactly explain many phenomena that we see now and then. Asta might just be an anomaly we see right now. Whether or not that nullifying effect of his is magic, all that matters is the fact that he’s one of the Black Bull right now. If he gets stronger, I can picture him being the Wizard King. By then, imagine how famous the Black Bull would become.”

    “The Wizard King? Don't make me laugh. Comparing him with the current Wizard King is absurd, there’s no way someone with no magic could hold that title. The people wouldn’t agree in the first place. The title of the Wizard King is not a joke, you know that, [name]. The reason why our Wizard King is so great is not just because of his power but also many other reasons. He’s admirable so don’t ever compare him to someone who came from nowhere.”

    You smiled. “My bad, I forgot how much you adore Julius. I can see why you respect the Wizard King, Julius is someone who would do anything for the people and the country. He’s a man with a big heart, he’s also someone I owe a lot to. But don’t look down on Asta. He may be magicless but he and Julius share one similarity. They both want to protect everyone no matter what and that’s what I like about them.”

    “Hm.”

    “No, wait, why are you two chatting?!” Noelle coughed.

    “Is this not the right time to be talking?”

    Noelle stared at you as if you were making a joke. “Shouldn’t you do something about Asta and the others? They might get injured and they’re fighting so hard right now. Why are you leaving them to fight that insane man alone?”

    Klaus nodded. “That's true.”

    “Haha, they’re doing fine though! Besides, joining the fight will only cause more problems since they’re already working so well. I wouldn’t want to interrupt their teamwork when it’s doing so well.” You said nonchalantly as if there wasn’t a big fight happening, “I might cause more trouble by getting in there.”

    “[name]—”

    Asta yelled as he turned around, “Be careful, duck!”

    Noelle’s loud screech broke your train of thought. You quickly looked forward and caught a glimpse of Mars’ magic spell flying towards you. Klaus nervously glanced between the attack and you, his legs moving before he even realised it. One hit and it would have pierced through your body; Klaus wanted to stop it from happening if he could. But he knew he was too slow, he couldn’t possibly shield you from the attack in time—

“Vector Magic: Reversal.”

    “Oh, that was close.”

    Noelle swore she saw her own life flashing away in her quivering eyes. It was terrifying and for a second, she thought she couldn’t even last long enough to become a magic knight. Noelle knew this was the consequence of becoming a magic knight so she was slightly ready to lose her life in that quick moment. But she didn’t. Just one second ago, she was shaking her head at the sight of Klaus and you chatting as if this were not a mission involving a dungeon. The next second, she saw Mars going berserk and sent all of his attacks flying in all directions, just because Asta had triggered something in Mars. She knew Asta was an idiot, but she wasn’t expecting him to be taunting Mars. The next, exhilarating moment, Noelle witnessed an attack flying towards them.

    You were standing in front of Noelle, and you were about to get hit. 

    Yet there wasn’t even a scratch left on your skin.

    Your grimoire moved as if it had a mind of its own, the papers neatly flipping to the right page. You were so calm that it made Noelle wonder if she was simply thinking too much into the situation. The magic sword stopped in front of you, the keen tip barely touching your chest where your heart was beating. With a smile, you touched the magic sword carefully and it instantly rotated; it was now pointing at Mars. A flick of your fingers caused the sword to fly back towards Mars who managed to shield himself with his crystal armour. 

    Everyone seemed to blink in shock.

    Luck, weird as always, was the only one to grin from ear to ear.

    Klaus, knowing very well that he just witnessed your magic, took a step back from you. A heat of embarrassment washed over him right away when he realised that those rumours were false. You were competent as a magic knight and realising that he was swayed by those rumours even the slightest, Klaus couldn’t help but find himself wanting to be buried six feet under the ground. Now, more questions were bothering him: why did you even bother keeping your magic a secret? The rumours could easily be dealt with if you showed everyone your magic and didn't act shady all the time. The fact that you were not bothered by what the magic knights were speaking behind your back was admirable yet stupid.

    Klaus asked, “Why did you keep your magic hidden?” 

    You let out a sigh, already expecting such a question to come out of his mouth.

Chapter Text

finding the escape.

ღ

    “WE CAN TALK about this later.”

    Klaus felt his eyes twitch in frustration. “Later? Just how long do you plan to keep everything about you a secret?”

    “I’m going to discuss this later because we still have a person to deal with.” You pointed at Mars with an annoyed expression. “And we shouldn’t be staying here for too long, the other magic knights outside might think we’re dead. They’re still waiting for our reports, remember? Asta, Luck, you two are taking too much time dealing with him. Finish this as soon as possible so we can get out of here already.”

    Asta blinked owlishly at what you just said. “H—Huh?”

    “You’re too slow!” You shook your head in disappointment, almost looking similar to how Yami used to do during your training. “If Yami were here, he would have made you run in circles until your legs break and cry for help. Maybe I should ask him to give you proper training once we’re back at the base. Anyway, hurry up or else I’ll have to step in to finish this fight.”

    “No!” Asta glared at Mars. “I can do this.”

    Noelle gasped. “What? Don't be ridiculous! You're already beaten up from the previous fight and just look at you. You’re tired from swinging your sword around, there’s no way—”

    “Shut up! I’m not tired at all and I can still fight. If Yuno has trouble kicking his ass, then I should be the one to finish this fight. I am going to be the next Wizard King! If I can’t even deal with this, how can I show everyone that I’m strong enough to protect the people I care about? I’m going to be the one who defeats him, not Yuno! I will win this time, Yuno.”

    Yumo smiled as he held out his grimoire. “I don't think so. I would never lose to you, Asta.”

    Mars felt his own blood boiling at the scene in front of him. The friendship and disgustingly sweet relationship in front of his eyes made him slowly realise that he was forgetting something important. He struggled to find the forgotten information at the back of his mind, but Mars knew that it was so important that he should punish himself for even being like this. Was it a friendship that he’d forgotten? Mars had no clue, and the confusion seemed to make him agitated. He let out a vexed cry; the thoughts of the mission struggled to go against his own consciousness. 

    “Stop getting in my way!”

༺═──────────────═༻

    It took three steps for Mars to finally collapse onto the ground.

    Bewildered from Mars falling to the ground weakly, Asta raised a brow at the sudden silence. He poked Mars with his sword carefully. “Hey, what gives? Done already, you jerk? That’s a lot of talk for someone who kept saying we’re useless. Guess who is going into the treasure hall? We, the magic knights of the Clover Kingdom, are going to be the ones getting the damn treasures!”

    Yuno sighed, but was unable to stop smiling. “Seems like you’ve won the fight this time.”

    “Hell yeah!”

    You clapped out of excitement and ruffled Asta’s hair like a proud sibling, a wide grin that matched his. “You’ve done a good job, Asta! Just look at you go, that’s an excellent job for your first important mission. You really are a special kid, aren’t you? I’ll have to keep praising you to Yami so that he knows just how awesome you are.”

    Flustered, Asta scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. The sight of him being so flustered with red cheeks sent your entire heart warm with affection. Your eyes softened at Asta’s cheerful and shy behaviour; suddenly, you were eagerly looking forward to how strong he would become in the future. Once he was prepared and was old enough to understand where you were coming from, you could finally use him as a sword. A sword to go against you. Though there was a slight guilt gnawing at your heart, you knew it had to be done.

    You needed to protect everyone from you.

    “That’s not fair!”

    Luck’s jealous voice interrupted the silence as he suddenly lunged onto you. He wrapped his arms around your neck like a koala and flashed an innocent-looking grin at you — you knew very well that there was not even a single drop of innocence within Luck. It was all a trick yet somehow, you couldn’t stop yourself from ruffling Luck’s hair this time. Despite his peculiar demeanour, you weren’t too fazed about it. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve done well too, Luck. In fact, I’m happy that you’ve managed to fight as a team. If you’re fine with that now, maybe I’m more willing to go on a mission with you next time.”

    His eyes instantly shone in exhilaration. “Really? Does that mean we can fight—”

    “No. ” Before Luck could even whine about it, you pushed him away and suddenly shoved something into his mouth. “Anyway, I have some recovery herbs that Vanessa bought, which should lessen the pain you have since they’re technically painkillers. Here, Yuno, you should take one too before we get into more trouble after this. Mimosa still doesn't look like she's in good enough health to use her magic, so we should deal with this with herbs for now.”

    Yuno took the green leaf and nodded. “Thank you.”

    Mimosa gave you a sad smile. “I’m sorry...”

    “Don't be. This is not a situation any of us wants. I should be the one to apologise since I didn't give you the herb before this.” You carefully fed Mimosa the herb and watched as she scrunched her nose at the bitterness of it. “I didn't want you to think you're alright enough to fight when you couldn't feel the pain anymore. It's a rule for the support to actually fully regain their energy by worrying about themselves first.”

    “...Thank you.”

    “No problem. Klaus, do you need one?”

    While Mars was unconscious, Klaus quickly tied him up with his binding magic. “That won't be necessary. I'm not that injured, and I can deal with it. You should give it to your other Black Bull member instead.”

    “My name is Noelle Silva, not just any other Black Bull member!” She retorted with an annoyed expression.

    Klaus only rolled his eyes in return. “Anyway, I’ve done what I can with my binding magic with this man over here. He shouldn't be able to do anything funny after this. We should hurry up with the treasure hall so that we can bring him back to the Wizard King. He will decide what to do with him, but because he's from the Diamond Kingdom, things will be a bit complicated.”

    Asta chewed the leaf and flinched at the awful bitterness, choosing not to comment on it. “Is it going to work? The binding magic, I mean.”

    “Of course it's gonna hold. It's not something that a flimsy wounded person could break.” Offended, Klaus glared at Asta. “I don't expect you to understand anything in depth, but at least have some common sense.”

    “Geez, I get it. No need to get touchy.”

    Klaus fixed his glasses and glowered at Asta, somewhat not on good terms with him and all of the Black Bull brutes. He was only being patient with them because of the mission and the Wizard King. As much as he wanted to sneer at them, Klaus took the Black Bull’s help into consideration. If they were late, Klaus knew that he and Yuno would be gravely injured; Mimosa’s condition probably wouldn't be as good as now either. Besides, the brief conversation with you had changed his mind albeit slightly.

    Maybe the Black Bull wasn't as bad as everyone said.

    “We were competing to see who would get here first. Technically speaking, we’ve won as we reached here earlier than the rest of you.” He averted his eyes bashfully and cleared his throat. “However, just this time, we’ll let you into the treasure hall first. You get that?”

    Irritated, Asta's eyes twitched and he spat sarcastically. “Why are you so full of yourself, four-eyes?! Thank you very much then. Hmph!” He tried to push open the door but hesitated. “So, how do we open this door?”

    You chuckled in amusement. “The two of you are funny.”

    Klaus groaned. “What an idiot.”

    Luck touched the door. "Looks like the door is made out of magic. You can just cut it open, Asta."

    You did the same thing and stared at Luck in awe. “Amazing, I’m surprised you can detect the mana even though it's very faint. I wouldn't even notice it on the first try. You seriously have the best mana sensitivity among all of us.”

    “I did well, right?”

    You chuckled in amusement.

    Listening to Luck's suggestion, Asta used his sword and sliced the door with ease. Eventually, the door faded away into golden ashes and revealed several mountains of treasures in the hall. You flinched at the strong glow of the treasures, every golden coin was shimmering like the sunlight. Just when you were about to follow the rest of the magic knights into the hall, you suddenly felt a shudder running down your spine. Something was staring into your soul. You didn't even need to look to know what it was. You took a deep breath and caught a glimpse of the black figure, the shadow, who kept following after you. They hid behind the treasure, glowing eyes threatening you. Their voice echoed deep inside your mind, so jumbled up that you couldn't discern what they were saying. You closed your eyes in defeat, the headache once again coming back just like every other night. 

    It was unfortunate that you had to open your eyes to face the reality once again.

    Asta asked, “You okay?” 

    Not really, you didn't want to deal with another headache.

    “Right, yes. Just thinking about something.” You shook your head. “I still have something to ask that guy and I’ll make sure that he's not pulling any tricks to escape.”

    Asta looked at Mars. “You sure?”

    Noelle bobbed her head. “Do you need me to—”

    “I will be fine. Go on.”

    As the rest of them entered the treasure hall, you were left behind with Mars. You took a seat on the floor beside him, making sure to keep a gap between the two of you out of comfort. Mars kept his eyes closed and back hunched as if he was travelling in his dreams. You, however, noticed that his breathing was rather frantic — perhaps the defeat was way more affecting than you thought. 

    “Still acting unconscious?”

    Mars finally opened his eyes and used the opportunity to glare at you. The trail of blood on his face was gradually drying and seeing his condition made you realise that Asta did indeed beat him up well. Now Mars’ mana didn't seem as amazing as you first expected.

    “You need help wiping that blood?”

    Mars scowled. “Don't touch me.”

    “Geez, sorry for even caring. It just doesn't seem comfortable having dried blood on your face. Say, what's your name?” You asked, but he didn't respond. “I know you're from the Diamond Kingdom and I’m sure you know that the Clover Kingdom is your enemy. There are many reasons why we dislike the Diamond Kingdom, one of them is the news about the experiments conducted on mages like you. Seeing you makes me wonder if you're one of the many who are experimented on.”

    Mars stiffened. “What?”

    “Were you?”

    He glared at you in response.

    “Hm. How does it feel living in the Diamond Kingdom?”

    There was a brief silence until Mars realised that something was wrong. Again, his mind struggled to remember anything except the mission. It was blank. He could only remember what the mission entailed and how amazing he was at completing a mission. He’d never failed, not until today. The humiliation was severe enough yet now he had to deal with your annoying questions.

    “I… don't remember.” He mumbled weakly.

    You eyed him, disregarding his panicked look. Suddenly, you weren't as interested in him as before. He was just another empty husk with no other ambition inside him, there was nothing you could even extract out of him. Mars almost reminded you of yourself except that the reason he was in such a dishevelled condition was due to amnesia or something similar to it. He had no memories of himself and you found out that memories were what made a person human. Mars was nothing like a human right now, not in your eyes.

    He was like a puppet, ready to be disposed of.

    “Is that so? What a pity then, I have a lot of questions for someone like you. For example… I wanted to ask you how you get into that state of yours.”

    “...State?” Mars got confused.

    “Did you not realise it yourself?” With a cold smile, you pointed at where his brain lay. “You're so broken that it's pitiful, nothing is interesting about you at all. You can't even remember anything about yourself or what it was like in the Diamond Kingdom. You're not living at all, it almost seems like you're just a pawn to be used.”

    Mars felt his sweat trickling down his face.

    Was he a pawn? He wanted to deny your comment — Mars didn't want to admit that you were right but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to. He couldn't remember who he was without missions, he couldn't find out what he liked or disliked. There was something heavy at the back of his mind, something that he’d sworn to never forget. But what was it? Mars couldn't even think of anything other than the kingdom he served, his mind was broken just like you said. Harsh realisation dawned upon him. 

    So he wasn't even living?

    He was solely living for the missions.

    “Ah, but it's the Diamond Kingdom so I’m not surprised at whatever techniques they use to brainwash someone as naive as you. That's just what humans are, isn't it? You have the good and bad apples, I suppose it's your luck to have met the rotten one. I merely want to know if you were drawn in by sweet words or by brute force. How humans behave has always been my interest and somewhat a form of envy—”

    Your voice rang deep inside his ears and he couldn't focus on what you were saying. His heart was pounding terribly fast, and Mars was panicking at what or even who he was. The name was all he had but was that just it? His headache was insufferable and there was a brief flash of fire in his memory. Warm and supposedly unforgettable.

    Fire?

    “You're sweating a lot.” You frowned. “Are you—”

    “What am I?” He mumbled. “Who am I?”

    “Hey, you— Ack!”

    Fire began to engulf Mars whole and though it burned through your skin, it didn't for him. His injuries from the previous fight healed miraculously. You shouted at everyone as the binding magic snapped into pieces, your voice echoing deep into the treasure hall. Before anyone, you included, could react to Mars’ sudden fury, a crystal pillar hit straight into your abdomen. The sheer impact sent you flying through the wall which broke into pieces from the force. You skidded across the floor, the harsh friction burning your arm.

    “[name]!” Noelle called you out in worry as she rushed to your side, her arms wrapping around your shoulders protectively. “This is— How could this happen?”

    Luck cried, “No, don't die!!”

    Asta ran as well, his voice ringing inside your ears. “Are you okay?! That bastard, how dare he!”

    Klaus hurriedly yelled, “Mimosa! Are you able to—”

    “It's fine.” Sitting up with Noelle’s help, you raised your hand to stop Mimosa from wasting her magic, you knew she wasn't in top condition either. “Save your energy, I’m fine. In fact, we should keep our magic to deal with that brat right now. I… might have pushed the wrong buttons on him.”

    Mars took a step forward, his entire body covered with a gigantic crystal armour that no normal human could beat. You’d indeed pushed the wrong button. You didn't expect Mars to have healing magic or the strength to continue, it was your mistake to gloss it over. This was a bad situation that you didn't want to deal with: everyone was drained, and there was no certainty that everyone could use their magic without passing out. Mimosa also wasn't ready to keep the healing magic going, you needed to carefully think this through.

    “What did you do…?” Yuno asked.

    “The questions didn't go very well.”

    Klaus glared at you. “Anyone can see that! This is ridiculous. How did he even break my binding magic in the first place? He was supposedly too injured to even move!”

    “Wh—What's this?!”

    Crystal suddenly formed around everyone's feet. 

    Asta shrieked, "Damn! I can't move my legs!"

    “He has two attributes out of nowhere.” You explained, “That flame magic of his is a recovery magic. I don't understand why he kept it hidden from the fight before or how it was possible. But there’s something wrong with this guy that we need to be careful of.”

    “What?”

    Mars lowered his gaze dejectedly. “...I don't remember.”

    “Asta! Your nullifying magic, use your sword and remove the binding magic. Hurry up before we get squashed like pancakes!”

    “Oh, Luck, nice one!”

    Mars advanced towards you and Noelle, a huge crystal blade suddenly appearing above both of you. Stunned, Noelle stared at the blade in horror — the two of you weren’t able to avoid that attack in time, not when you two were still bound by Mars’ crystal magic. 

    “Hurry up, Asta!” Yuno shouted.

    “Damn it, you jerk. Your opponent is me!”

    Asta severed the binding magic on him hastily, darted towards the blade above you and raised his blade high. However, everything went wrong when Mars swung his crystal arm to hurl Asta away from you and Noelle. Asta crumpled onto the ground, his sword clattering away from his loose grasp. A heavy discomfort settled in the pit of Luck’s stomach, his wide teary eyes glancing at you and Asta. His face was as pale as a white sheet which you would jokingly assume he saw a ghost.

    “Asta! Get us out of here, quick!”

    Asta coughed harshly and pushed himself up.

    No, he couldn't make it in time.

    Luck shouted in panic, “Asta!”

    Noelle closed her eyes tightly as she hugged you tighter out of fear. As if the clock chimed, the blade fell towards the two of you. The soft sound of it cutting through the wind could fool you into thinking that it was an alarm for your death.

    “Must I do everything?”

“Vector Magic:  Aegis’ Protection.”

     Fingers moving across gracefully, you controlled the vectors of gas molecules around you. The velocity and position of the air molecules had been altered, forming a dense shield around you and Noelle. Many weren't interested in how your magic worked but Julius, on the other hand, could sacrifice his sleep just to hear your ramble. If he were here to witness this, he would start acting like an eager child—you could already hear his enlightened voice in your mind unfortunately. The blade stopped abruptly in front of your face, its tip attempting to push through the dense air around you. Mars didn't seem so shocked to witness what had happened compared to everyone else. You briefly touched the tip of the blade and instantly, it spun around excitedly before stabbing into the ceiling above you.

    Luck blinked owlishly. “Huh?”

    “Don't look so surprised, you saw what I did. It's only the same thing as before.” You sighed. “It has become such a nuisance now that he's gotten stronger that I've to consider joining the fight.”

    “That's what you're supposed to do in the first place!” Klaus lectured you and then pinched the bridge of his nose afterwards. “No, it should be a good thing that among all of us here, you still have the energy to go for a fight. Our chance to get out of here alive might not be that slim after all.”

    “I guess you're right. I’m also quite pissed off that he managed to land a hit on Asta. That looks painful too. If one of them dies, I will have to explain the situation to Yami and no doubt that he’ll kill me too.”

    Asta almost fell back in shock. “That's your reason!?”

    “What else would be my reason? Think about it, nobody would want to get onto Yami’s bad side. Anyway,” You pointed demandingly at Mars. “Hey, you little Diamond Kingdom’s puppet, if you're upset over what I said then you should just focus on me alone. Count this as your luck, I’ll be finishing this fight quicker than you could imagine.”

    Noelle cried, “Stop joking around!”

    “But I’m actually not joking around.” You tore yourself away from Noelle’s embrace and took a few steps forward towards Mars, full of confidence and animosity. Even Luck shuddered at the dirty look you were giving. “I’ll finish this within ten minutes. We don't have the time to loiter around here.”

    You eyed Asta’s sword.

    “Asta, hold your sword.”

    “Y—Yes?” He did what you asked for.

    “Come here.”

    Once he stood beside you, you placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled. “Well then, let me introduce you to my newest member of the Black Bull squad. I’ll be needing Asta’s help here so,” You made Asta point his sword at Mars. “Make sure to keep your eyes wide open and see what I could do with that power of his.”

    Mars scowled, unsure what tricks you were pulling.

    “Huh? Wait, I don't get it—”

    “Thank you, Asta.”

    “Huh? For what?”

    “For being my weapon.”

    “Wha—”

“Vector Magic:  Thunderbolt of the Temperamental.”

    As soon as your hand left his shoulder, Asta felt his entire body flying forward at an insane speed that he couldn't possibly handle. It was quick—too fast for him to feel his entire body aching from the wind going against him. Mars flinched at the magic knight who was aiming for him. He shielded himself with his crystal arms, unable to completely avoid Asta in time. Mars desperately summoned more crystal attacks towards Asta but you were watching behind the scenes with a relaxed smile. With just a swift flick of your hand, Asta moved through the air as if something was controlling him.

    Klaus gawked in shock. “What?”

    “It's like a thunderbolt that steers the course of everything but has a very bad temper, sometimes I couldn't control it well at all.” You laughed. “But it seems like the vector is listening well to me today!”

    “No, that's not it… Just who are you?” Klaus asked with uncertainty — was there a reason why you tried to blend in with the shadows all the time? “What magic even is that? I've never seen anything like that!”

    You smiled.

    Asta’s blade managed to cut through Mars’ crystal armour.

    “Are you curious? Well, I’m afraid that you’ll need to be intelligent to even grasp the concept that I say. Not just any form of intelligence, but the one that is enough to understand how the world works and is ruled by.” You said, “It's a vector, a concept of direction and magnitude that many wouldn't understand. It encompasses many aspects in our life: the velocity, momentum, force and even fields. I can control them. But it's not as easy as it sounds, I have to calculate and understand everything before being able to do anything.”

    Klaus found himself in confusion. From everything that you explained, he understood one crucial idea: you were able to control anything with direction and quantity. You were a monster, and that was exactly his reaction when Julius showed his time magic. Perhaps not many thought of it but certain magics were made for monsters, yours and Julius’ were a great example. The extent of what you could do would frighten anyone, including Klaus.

    “So as long as I understand the vectors of molecules and atoms around, I could use them. That's how easy it is for me.”

    Mars’ eyes widened as his crystal armour was nullified.

    “The good thing is, vectors can be found everywhere.”

    Asta fell onto the ground with a pained cry, his entire muscles ached from the speed and force. He felt like his own skin was tearing apart as he was thrown towards Mars, it felt almost similar to when Yami hurled him into the sky. Feeling his entire strength drained away, Mars’ eyes rolled back and all he saw was white before everything faded to black. He dropped to the ground unconsciously, not even a single noise coming from him. A brief moment passed as everyone observed Mars, fearing that he might come back energised again.

    But this time, Mars remained defeated.

    “Look at that, good job.” You said, “Asta, can you move?”

    Asta sobbed in pain. “My shoulders hurt…”

    “That's not my question.”

    “Stop abusing your newbie already, he's already in such a pitiful state.” Klaus fixed his glasses, sending a sympathetic look to Asta. “Anyway, now that we're done with this— Hey! Are you feeling ill?!”

    You stared at him. “What do you mean?”

    “Y—You're having a nosebleed.”

    That was when you noticed a warm sensation running down your nose and the iron taste coated your lips. You hurriedly wiped it off, only smudging it worse without realising it. The headache dulled and the sudden exhaustion took over your body like a ghost. Noelle worriedly grabbed your arm and asked you a few questions but truthfully speaking, you weren't exactly listening. All you wanted right now was a comfortable bed and a good rest. Yet the nagging voice behind your mind mentioned your responsibility to report the incident to Julius and Yami.

    ‘This body… is still useless as ever—’

    “Stay still, I’ll do it.”

    Klaus grabbed your chin and gently rubbed away the excess blood with his sleeves. For someone who once disliked you, he didn't even flinch at the sight of your blood.

    “Oh. Thank you.” You murmured.

    He scoffed, cheeks flustered. “It's fine. Yuno, go help that short kid out. We should get ready to get—”

    A soft crack suddenly echoed throughout the hall.

    “Huh? What's that noise?”

    “It's from above.”

    Everyone’s gaze slowly moved over to the ceiling. A crack was left behind from Mars’ earlier attack, a counterattack that you were behind. Slowly, the crack spread out like a spider web and tiny pieces of concrete were chipped off. You could feel the ceiling struggling to hold the weight. It didn't feel so safe to remain inside the dungeon anymore so you gave a glance at Klaus. He seemed to have an idea of what you were saying but with a vexed look.

    “Just… what have you done..?”

    “Uhm, something terrible?”

    “Everyone… run!!”

    The dungeon suddenly shook furiously as the ceiling crumbled and collapsed under the weight. The entire place was gradually giving up. Once the ceiling collapsed, the wall began to shake and crack. The pillars broke and fell apart, the support for the dungeon was no longer there. You flashed a worried look at Asta and breathed out in relief when you saw Yuno’s help. Noelle helped out with Mimosa and Klaus lent you his shoulders as well. You wouldn't have expected the Golden Dawn to be more useful than you thought.

    In fact, you didn't expect Klaus to be this bearable.

    “We have to go!” Klaus spoke with an anxious voice.

    You struggled to see Mars. “But—”

    “What are you hesitating for, [name]? The place is going to collapse soon. If we continue to stay here, we're going to be buried under and die here! Even with your magic, you couldn't possibly save all of us!”

    “But that kid from the Diamond Kingdom— I need to bring him back with me, he's an important reason as to why this mission has been this way! Just imagine the amount of information we can get—”

    “And what can you do right now?”

    You paused.

    “I don't want to leave him here either but we need to leave. Are you going to sacrifice your newcomers for someone like him? Or are you going to sacrifice yourself for him? Don't be ridiculous! Some kind of senior you are if you're just thinking of dropping dead like that. I’m not going to let you do foolish things with me around, [name].”

    The second you saw how serious Klaus looked, you knew you had to give up anyhow. Klaus wasn't completely wrong either. It would be irresponsible of you to leave Asta and Noelle behind for Mars, they weren't in their best condition either; you needed to discuss so many things with Julius and Yami. Despite being unsatisfied with Klaus’ words, you looked away solemnly with a weak nod.

    “Yuno,” Klaus ordered. “Yuno! What are you doing?”

    Snapping out of his stupor, Yuno suddenly looked around with curiosity. “Sorry, I heard something... I’ll get ready now.”

“Wind Creation Magic:  Celestial Wind Ark.”

    “Everybody, hurry! We're getting out!”

    Mimosa pulled Noelle up onto the ark, just as Klaus dragged you in as well. Luck lent his arms as support to you easily, his face no longer full of silly smiles and laughs. You protested nothing and sat quietly inside the ark, watching Luck helping Asta. Asta took Luck's hand hesitantly and looked back at the ruined treasure cove. It was a mess yet he could spot Mars’ unconscious body on the ground.

    “But he is—”

    Klaus' eyes twitched. “What's wrong with each one of you! Is Black Bull just fond of being the hero? He is beyond saving. In fact, he’s the one trying to kill all of us. Just let him get buried inside this dungeon!”

    “Because that’s not who we are! We are here to capture the dungeon.” Asta fought back. “Not to kill enemies. I believe even [name] thinks the same way!”

    Noelle snapped, “What are you even saying!”

    “Enough is enough!” You raised your voice sternly and this time, everyone went quiet at the tone of your voice. You weren't satisfied with it either but there was no other choice. “I don't want to do this either but we don't have enough time. And let's be honest, we can't fit many people onto this ark. We’ll leave the dungeon, no arguments.”

    “But—”

    “I can't let you die here, Asta.”

    Asta's eyes softened as he gave up.

    “Let's go, Yuno.” Said Klaus.

    Flying through the collapsing roof was a bit of a challenge for Yuno but then again, you noticed he was fairly capable for a new magic knight. Once everyone was out of the dungeon, the wind ark eventually slowed down and hovered above the flat ground, giving the time for Mimosa to use her healing magic. Everyone busied themselves with Asta’s weak state and whining except for you and Klaus. An awkward silence settled between the two of you, eyes staring at the sky in peace.

    “Just who are you?”

    You raised a brow. “And what do you mean by that, Klaus? I thought you already knew who I am. Just [name] from the Black Bull. Do you need my age too?”

    Klaus narrowed his eyes. “Don't act dumb in front of me. You know what I mean. You know that you have a lot of questions to answer, and you told me you’ll talk about it later. This is the right time. So my first question is, who are you?I only know about you from rumours, [name]. That you didn't even go through the entrance exam, and that there were no traces of you before you became a magic knight.”

    “From how much you listen to things about me, I would have assumed you're interested in me.” You fluttered your eyelashes cheekily, almost laughing at Klaus’ red face. Well, you knew you had many things to answer to, but that didn’t mean you were keen on answering them. “Nothing was interesting about me before I became a magic knight. Just an ordinary person from a town somewhere,  I guess.”

    “I guess?”

    “Don't remember much of my past, you know.”

    That was, of course, a lie.

    “So you could only remember after you joined the Black Bull? Hah, that's convenient. Not saying that I don't believe you, but I still have my doubts. Then tell me why you've been acting this way. Hiding your magic on purpose, why did you go to such an extent? You should know that everyone has been talking behind your back about it.”

    You hummed. “I think humans generally tend to exaggerate the story. The only reason why I don't use my magic so often is that I hate using it for many reasons. It gives me a headache when I use them, for example and like you saw, I had a nosebleed. The side effects can be annoying, so that's why I’m not fond of using magic. If I can solve missions without magic, then I don't see a point in putting myself through the trouble. I’ll only use my magic when it's necessary. This is how one could survive longer in a battle.”

    That wasn't exactly a lie.

    “I see, that's reasonable. Do you know why that happens?”

    “Who knows?”

    Yet another lie coming straight out of your mouth.

    “And you didn't bother explaining it to anyone at all?”

    “Haha! I know for a fact that if I explain it to someone, they'll just exaggerate the story. Or they'll find fault in me regardless of whatever I say. So in the end, I’ll have to keep repeating the explanation. I might as well keep quiet to stop weird stories from spreading around. Besides, I know what I’m capable of, so I’m not bothered by what others say.”

    Klaus snickered. “I seem to have an idea how you act now.” 

    “Do you now?”

    “Anyway, I have many other questions, but I’ll leave them for next time. I’m sure you're tired from today. But before that,” He stood up and suddenly bowed as low as he could, a sight that you wouldn’t see coming often from a royal. “Asta, [name], and everyone. I’m so sorry for my behaviour today. I wouldn't acknowledge Asta or Yuno because they're both peasants. I even said mean insults just because of the false rumours. I'm ashamed of myself. Everyone here definitely deserves to be called the magic knights of the Clover Kingdom.”

    You held out your hand to Klaus, smiling. “Apology accepted. Nice to work with you, Klaus. Glad we can be on good terms from today onwards.”

    Klaus stared at your hand before giving you a handshake that you deserved for the first time. “My pleasure.”

    “I suppose I can't wait to go on a mission with you again.”

༺═──────────────═༻

    “That's all I have to say.”

    With a wide grin, Julius nodded several times while clasping his hands together; his full attention was on you. “So that means you’ve made friends with the Golden Dawn. Klaus Lunettes, a very capable magic knight indeed. I know that he takes his missions seriously as a Golden Dawn member.”

    Your eyes twitched at the pointless remark. You weren’t focusing on making ‘friends’ when there was clearly a more important matter going on. “Julius! That's what you have to say after everything that I've explained? I wouldn't say that he's my friend. He's merely an acquaintance who has worked with me for the sake of the mission. Julius, many other things are more important than that.”

    “Oh? I think having a friend is an important matter.”

    “Yami, please say something.”

    Yami scoffed, leaning against the couch as if Julius’ office was his in the first place. You sometimes wished he would behave more around the Wizard King, but you weren’t exactly sure how to point it out to Yami. One word from you, and you might actually get a hit on the head; he wasn’t exactly gentle with it either. Though he lacked elegance, that wasn't what Black Bull was in the first place, so you supposed Julius did expect this from the very beginning. You wondered how Yami and Julius became such close friends, if that was what you could label them in the first place.

    “Hah? How is that my issue?”

    You sighed. “You two are really… Anyway, I get that the Diamond Kingdom has always been on our bad side. There’s nothing really strange about it, but there are still some issues that have been concerning. One, have they caught wind of the dungeon and merely gone there to get the treasure? Or have they been preparing for a war against us? We need to consider that as a possibility as well. Two, the rumour of the Diamond Kingdom brainwashing and experimenting on their mages seems to be true to an extent. The mage we fought seems rather peculiar. He doesn't seem to remember anything about himself. That's quite worrying.”

    “Indeed, what you've said are things that we need to consider as a precaution. The matter about brainwashing, I can see why that's a concern based on morals.”

    “Not only that, but it can also serve as an issue to our kingdom. Who knows what nonsense they're feeding their mages? It might be too far-fetched, but there may be a possibility of us getting those mages to our side.”

    Amused, Julius smiled. “And why would you say that?”

    “Of course, I have no intention of using them as a way to bring a war between the Diamond Kingdom and us. But I simply thought it was beneficial to have at least someone from that kingdom to help us. In case there's any bad news that might befall us. And also, I find the mage we fought earlier to be competent. The fact that many decent mages are brainwashed is a shame.”

    Julius burst out laughing. “There's never a day when I don't enjoy spending time with you! You have immense talent and knowledge. I bet you could even be His Majesty’s advisor at this point.”

    “For that sleazy bastard?” Yami scorned. “Forget it.”

    “Don't get yourself beheaded, Yami. There's only a certain extent to which I can protect you from the laws.” Julius pulled out his drawer and grabbed a piece of paper, ready to write down everything that had to be done based on your report. “Very well, I get what you're trying to say. I’ll get someone to look into the Diamond Kingdom further, and hopefully, we can get some information from them. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?”

    “There's also the matter of me showing my magic.”

    Yami raised a brow. “How's that an issue, you runt?”

    Julius shook his head. “Yami.”

    “Well… because—”

    Standing back up, Julius placed his hand on your head comfortingly. He remained still as soon as he managed to get a touch on you, perhaps realising that this might not be a good time for it. “Fret not, it was never meant to be a secret in the first place. You've worried too much. Though I would want you to take it easy by using it, your body is the only obstacle to your magic. If there's anything, either Yami or I will be the one handling it. Trust us.” 

    But Yami doesn't seem too happy about it.

    Yami frowned. “Why do you think I’m acting this way? You're the one bringing me in here for a pointless discussion. If that's all you have to say, then we’re going back now.”

    Julius pouted. “You two are not going to stay?”

    “For what? Playing a tea party? No.”

    “Haha! Always the grumpy one, Yami. You've not changed. This is why I can trust [name] with you. Anyway, I’ll handle the matters you speak about, but there is still a certain extent I can do without His Majesty’s permission. I’ll seek his audience and discuss further if need be. Ah, expect rewards for today's mission, and please, send my praises to your newcomers and Luck. It was wonderful to hear about your fun journey.”

    You bowed and gave him a firm nod. “Thank you, Julius.”

    “Don't let the wrinkles get to you.” Yami grinned cheekily.

    “Haha! I shall do that.”

༺═──────────────═༻

    You scoffed. “For a second, I thought you were unhappy about something earlier, but after Julius mentioned rewards, you look like you're about to be a billionaire in a split second.”

    “That's because the rewards can only be stars, you idiot.” Glancing at you, Yami crossed his arms and let out a deep sigh. His dark circles seemed even more prominent when he was annoyed. “You're the one who looks upset, not me. Not something you wanna share with Julius, huh? Well, he's a smart guy. He probably knows everything inside that little brain of yours.”

    “Quit it, Yami, I’m not in the mood for jokes.”

    Yami stopped walking and faced you. The expression he gave you made you understand that there was no running away from him. “Then tell me what's bothering you like that. You know I don't like it when you're making that face.”

    You resisted the urge to roll your eyes, shoulders stiff from the truth he spoke. “Hah! And you know damn well that I know you get why I’m so upset. Stop asking and acting like you don't know, it pisses me off even more.” Yami didn’t say anything, just crossed his arms, so you took the chance to continue, your voice full of venom towards yourself. “I don't want to rely on my magic, you know that. You and Julius understand that out of everyone else. That's why using my magic this time is disgustingly frustrating. I do not want this monstrosity, not if I want to remain in Black Bull. I simply can't afford to lose myself as soon as I rely on my magic.”

    Your eyes darkened with disgust and animosity, not towards Yami, but towards yourself as usual. Whatever was left of your past, you did not want to uncover it again as soon as you used your magic. That nosebleed? It only served as a reminder that you were always in their clutch. The voice in the back of your mind had been laughing at you ever since you came back from the mission, provoking and mocking you as if you were a laughingstock. Angry for your sake, Yami scratched the back of his head as if he was out of ideas on how to deal with you.

    He suddenly flicked your forehead.

    “Quit looking like a murderer, I would say you look more like a devil when you're angry than when you're using your magic.” Yami pulled out his cigarette and lit it, taking a long puff of it. He threw you a discreet glance, resisting the urge to comment on your expression again. “Relax. Stop frowning.”

    You let out a dry chuckle. “How can I not when you just mentioned I look like a devil. You just know how to press my buttons. Forget it, I don't even know why I told you everything. I'll settle the situation myself.”

    “I don't know what's going on inside your mind, but whatever it is, it's probably ridiculous. As long as I'm here, you don't get to make any decision. I'm the captain of this squad, and you're working under me. You'll need to get through me before doing things on your own. Get that inside your head. I know your head is hollow, but at least make it full with my words.”

    “You could have said them more nicely.”

    He clicked his tongue. “I'm doing this for your sake. I know for a fact that you wouldn't even listen to me if I spoke nicely. Getting straight to the point is how you got into the Black Bull. Besides, when am I ever the type to beat around the bushes?”

    You scoffed. “That's right, you never are. I'll respect you as the captain of the squad, of course, but I'll still be the one to settle my own issue. So there's no need for you to worry about anything.”

    Yami stared at your determined look.

    He knew for a fact that you weren't going to listen to his words, not today at least. So he stopped speaking and continued to walk back to Finral for the journey back to the base. But there was one regret that Yami wished he could say before turning his back to you. And that was to say that there was no way he could stop worrying over you.

    You watched Yami's broad back intently, knowing very well what kind of man Yami was. His cold demeanour hid his care and affection well, though there were occasions when he would start ruffling your hair with a laugh. Because he was a person full of warmth, you couldn't break the news that you wanted to get rid of yourself. Perhaps he knew deep down; he was smart for someone as barbaric as him. But for now, you chose to keep your lips sealed. You couldn't tell him exactly that you were hoping to use Asta for your own sake—it was cruel of you as a senior, but it had to be done. 

    You rubbed your face in exhaustion. When was it again? The first meeting when you tried to kill Yami, who approached you. You’d barely adjusted to your new life and found Yami to be a threat to you—although he actually wasn't. Then there was Julius, who started beaming at you like a golden puppy; it was frustrating yet hilarious. You thought you could use them both to return to where you were—to understand what’d just happened to you, but it turned out you actually enjoyed their company. Too much that you began to think you were someone else. You were an inch away from the darkness and so far away from humanity. 

    You needed to remind yourself so that you could protect the Black Bull.

    “Can you really protect them? What a joke.”

    You were appalled by the whisper, which oddly sounded like you, ringing inside your ears. With a horrified look, your eyes shifted from Yami to the shadow beside him. Their black hands were resting on his shoulders, touch so vile that it made you scrunch your nose in disgust. Yami was completely clueless about the nonexistent touch because to him, there was nothing around him. It felt normal to him, yet in your eyes, this was all a nightmare that you prayed would stop haunting you and everyone else around you. The shadow was grinning at you—another mockery towards you. Was it a warning? You couldn't understand what the shadow—the black figure that oddly resembled you—meant. Your heart screamed for Yami in desperation and fear, as your legs weren't listening to you.

   You wanted to yell at them to stay away from Yami.

    “—ey!” Yami’s voice forced you to look him in the eyes. He looked worried for a moment, and you felt bad for making him feel that way. “Why do you look like you're about to kill someone?”

    How could you say that there was a shadow beside him?

    You forced out a smile. “...Was just lost in thoughts.”

    “You might want to learn how to stop making such a scary look. People would think you're about to pick a fight with them.”

    “Haha, I might actually do that.”