˜”*°•.˜”*°• Προστατεύω •°*”˜.•°*”˜
' I need something more powerful.' I thought as I slashed another wave of ice heading my way.
'If this keeps going, our stamina will run dry. We need a shield for the villagers at least.' Suddenly, an 'earthquake' occurred making me halt.
'An attack from below?!' I immediately spun around to attack the enemy. However, instead of an enemy, I saw Noelle crouching down the floor, touching the ground.
"Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's Nest!"
My eyes widened at the power that she released. A swirl of water started to surrounds us like a shield, protecting the ones inside.
I made eye-contact with Noelle as I smiled at her, 'You can finally protect.'
I thought, hoping that she can read what I just said.
3rd Person P.O.V.
The villagers were astonished and mesmerized by the beautiful shield that protected them against harm. It was their first time seeing someone unleash a powerful magic spell like hers.
Health directed his arms at Noelle's shield, guiding his ice to hit it.
'Water against Ice. A bad combination. He can easily turn Noelle's creation magic into a chunk of ice.' Medea thought as she calmed herself down to think of a plan.
"Nothing great after all." Noelle taunted feeling great to finally control her power little by little.
'It's exaggerating.' Magna thought as he smirked, "Noelle, young lady. As expected, you can do well as long as you have the heart to do so." He praised whilst looking at her.
"Of course, she can do it. She's Noelle after all." Medea praised as well as she gave her a proud look then immediately returned to her cold demeanor, thinking of a plan to counter-attack.
'I need a powerful spell to weaken the enemy then Asta and Magna will come along to strike the last attack using Asta's anti-magic.' Medea thought as she flipped the ancient black pages of her grimoire, looking for a spell. Alas, it was futile since she only unlocked three spells.
"How did she became so powerful?" Health asked as he started to walk slowly in their direction.
Asta panted heavily, his face and lips slightly bleeding. He clutched the handle of his Claymore with his two hands waiting to strike.
Medea recognized the stance and rapidly called him, "Midget!" She yelled as he jumped then pointed his Claymore to the leader, striking him on his abdomen, making him puke blood.
"I am not! But I'm still going to crush you." Asta yelled as Medea inhaled rapidly, hoping for nothing bad will happen to him.
"Lord Health!"
"Idiosta!"
"He...he did it?"
However, our heroine immediately saw the way the Leader curved his lips into a smile. That's right, Asta fell into a trap.
"ASTA! RETREAT AT ONCE!" Medea raised her voice for the second time, afraid of what will happen to her colleague.
An enormous body of ice appeared on the ground, its spikes hitting the small midget on his abdomen. Asta was forced to back away as blood escaped his mouth whilst he screamed in pain. He fell to the floor and was soon enveloped by the enemy's ice.
Medea's movements and thoughts came to a halt. The way Asta lay there immobilized with his eyes close as if he's dead made her remember Him. The day she saw him on the ground as if he's only sleeping but the difference between what happened is that, he will never wake again.
Her ragged breaths can be seen, the way her body silently twitched was not enough to gain the attention of her two companions as well as the villagers as they were focused on the enemy. She snaked her hand to her neck as she started to not breathe properly. As if there's something of someone blocking her airway.
'I can't breathe...help me...Brother...William...Noelle...
anybody...' She closed her eyes as she refused to let her tears escape, she refused to show her weakness. 'I'm scared.'
Unexpectedly, a voice responded. Specifically, a male voice.
'5...4...3...2...1...breathe'
And with that, Medea finally inhaled oxygen as she touched her knees to stabilize herself. She doesn't know nor recognizes that voice. However, all she knows that he is her savior.
'Thank you.'
"Miss Magic Knight!" A child named Nick called her in panic as he pointed his little finger in the direction of her grimoire.
The others followed suit as the Heir of Solon whipped her head to her grimoire. However, she squinted her eyes as her grimoire opened a specific page then neon black to dark amethyst ink started to appear as another spell was unlocked.
'Creation magic?! Chants?!' She didn't know that magic needs chants to be activated but her gut feeling tells her that she needs to read that to activate it.
Medea immediately smirked as she made eye contact with her senior, Magna. As if their minds were having a conversation then they nodded towards each other as Medea extended her hands, Magna covering her body as a shield towards the enemy.
Our heroine watched as Asta kept attacking the enemy to distract him. Medea's violet eyes started to glow as a magic circle appeared on her palm. The three ancient letters inside the small circles surrounding the thick lines of her magic circle started to circulate. (Like the photo above)
Then, dozens of magic circles similar to the one on her palm began to appear above the sky. The villagers and the others stared in awe at the beauty of her magic.
"Noelle, I trust you that your shield will protect us from my magic," Medea asked her dear friend in assurance. Noelle smirked confidently as she nodded at her, "Of course! I can control this now!"
"ASTA! TAKE COVER!" Magna yelled as Asta nodded in agreement and covered himself with his sword since it reflects any type of magic.
Medea smiled then held her sword on the other hand tightly, her sword started to glow too as she read the chants.
"I, who stands in the full twilight of the night, commands thee, who punish the people in hell.
COME FORTH!
DARK CREATION MAGIC: HELL'S SHOWER!"
And with a flick of a finger, hundreds of dark violet bolts of lightning fell out of the circle striking the ground like bombs.
To said that the scenery was beautiful was an understatement, the way the people gazed at it will think nothing of how hurt will it hurt its targets. Though, they were thankful to be shielded against the wrath of the dark violet-haired beauty.
Medea let go of her hold in her magic making the magic circles disappear leaving a big cloud of smoke mixed with mist. There can be seen the three cloaked men laying on the ground, half of their clothes were destroyed by the impact of our heroine's power.
"I almost died there!" Asta whined as he hesitantly stood up.
"Nice kill, Medea." Magna praised making her stare blankly at him. "Don't celebrate yet. We haven't confirmed if the leader is immobilized."
However, just as Magna was about to cheer, there emerged the leader, ice surrounding his body like a shield but you can still see the damage that he avoided to not end up like his three subordinates.
"Medea Solon. I see. A four-leaf grimoire user and a royal. Quite a powerful one too like her friend here." He continued as he neared the water forth of Noelle's, "However, why persist when you don't have any chance of winning? All of you will die in one minute." He said as he looked at his pocket watch.
"If I give up, who's going to protect them? It is my responsibility as a Solon!" Medea responded as she extended her hands, a large magic circle appeared, "Dark Magic: Demon Blast!"
A ball of energy went straight to the enemy however, he covered himself with ice. Then, an explosion erupted as his body was thrown back. Medea anticipated this as he looked at Asta in the eye, 'Get ready, Asta.'
"Magna-senpai!" Medea reminded as Magna let out a war cry then his body was suddenly surrounded by flames as he slowly walked out.
"As if you can kill us easily, you fool! If you want to kill one of us, you'll have to get rid of me first!" He screamed as he pointed at himself. Asta's attention was immediately snatched by his senior as he widened his emerald eyes, "Magna-senpai..."
Magna laughed as he eyed the enemy, "Asta, you are the man."
Health, the enemy, stood upon his laying position as he acted strong again, glaring at our heroine then at the delinquent. "Did you come to seek death? Another 30 seconds."
"I'm not afraid of you!" Magna said as he positioned himself, drops of sweat started to slide down his face, "Asta, get ready. It's a baptism ceremony."
Asta noticed the hidden meaning of what Magna said as he backed away, raising his Claymore, preparing for what will happen in the next couple of seconds.
"Have a taste of the magic I have left!" Magna's body was again surrounded by flames even larger than the previous one as he opened his palm, a ball of fire appeared like a baseball size, "Pitch of Soul." He raised his left leg to the side as well as his body like the pitcher in every baseball tournament.
"Fire Magic: Exploding Fireball!"
With that, he threw the ball of fire as a projectile weapon, creating numerous of it heading towards the enemy.
"Is that all you have left?" Health asks giving a slight grunt at the damage that he dealt with Medea's Demon blast.
'I have to end this quickly.' He thought as he stood straight while preparing to dodge the incoming attack whilst creating a shield of ice in front of him.
He knew that the delinquent's attack is a one-way attack, meaning it has in one direction to proceed to make it easy to narrowly dodge but giving that he threw numerous of it, he has to raise his guard in case a single one will hit him the front.
He completely disregarded the fact that Asta is an anti-magic used, making him the fool of this game.
"You've wasted so much..." He continued as he observed Magna running out of stamina and mana as he dropped to the floor in exhaustion, "of my time." He said whilst creating multiple icicles on the air, targeting him.
Medea widened her eyes as she leaped out of the water shield of Noelle making her best friend call her, "Medea!"
As if Asta and Medea were in sync, the two jumped, Asta, releasing a battle cry as four of Magna's fireballs hit the wide surface of his Claymore making it directed to Health. Whilst Medea slashed her sword, Tyrfing, creating a crescent moon shape impact that sliced the icicles threatening to kill Magna.
The four fireballs hit Health as Medea landed two meters away from her senior noticing a shield of water surrounding him making her smile as she glanced at Noelle in gratitude.
"I'm unharmed?" Magna asked himself then noticed a body of water shielding him and the broken icicles on the floor. He turned his body to the side as he caught a glimpse of Noelle flipping her hair, "Hmph, remember to thank us, you mohawked delinquent." She stubbornly said.
'This is great! I've finally learned to control my magical powers.' Noelle celebrated inside her head as she made eye contact with her violet-haired friend, making her give her a tiny unnoticeable smile.
An irk mark appeared on Magna's head as he looked at the white-haired royal, "You're still so vicious."
Medea approached Magna as she crouched slightly, extending her hand at him, "I'm glad the plan worked, Magna-senpai." She said as her eyes soften at the sight of her senior.
She might not show it but she was glad that he controlled his anger. Since he just lost a loved one, every person who was close to the person who died will become berserk. Even if her senior is acting as if he's fine, he is still mourning inside for his loss.
Magna looked at the extended delicate hand of his junior, it made him astonished to the fact that a royal such as herself will be worried for him. Better yet, help him.
Magna grinned at the Violet-eyed lady then held her outstretched hand to accept her, "Obviously, I'm that cool after all." He praised himself making Medea blankly look at him then at the side, "...indeed..."
An irk mark appeared on Magna's head as he pointed accusingly at her, "What was that type of response?!"
"Nothing..."
Health howled as the pair rushingly looked in his direction, seeing ice started to appear on his torso. Medea was about to attack but Asta appeared behind him whilst holding his Claymore on both hands to his right, ready to swing it at the enemy.
"It's not over yet!" The two made eye contact as ashes of flames surrounds the two, "I can still move my body!"
Health was frozen in his spot as fear was written in his eyes, as his body slowly shake.
"Wait..."
"Like hell, I'll wait!" Asta shouted then strikes the enemy in his shoulder, forcing him to land on his knees. Ice was shattered at the impact as the enemy vomited blood.
The villager cheered at the victory as a female child looked up at Noelle in happiness, "Onee-chan! He did it!"
Noelle softens her to look at the child as she looked at her form, "Yes, we've knocked him down this time."
'You did it,' Medea paused as she smiled in victory while looking at Asta like a proud mother. 'Asta.' She finally called him by his name.
The fire the hit the enemies slowly turned into ropes as it latched on their torsos, catching them.
Medea recognized the spell as she side glanced at her senior who is smirking widely, "This is derived from First Magic, Explosion bomb-" he was cut off on his speech as Medea continued.
"Fire Restraint Magic, Fire Formation, right?" She asked correctly as Magna glared at her for cutting him off making her smirk slightly in amusement.
'It's so fun to tease him.'
"I didn't know you have such flexible skills. Let me praise you." Noelle nonchalantly said as an irk mark appeared on Magna's forehead.
"Shut up, I'm your senior! Why the sense of hierarchy?!"
"You wanted to be under me."
"Medea!" Asta called in panic making Medea notice the enemy who opened his grimoire to escape, she immediately ran as fast as she could in its direction. Alas, she was too late for the enemy suddenly disappeared like the wind.
"Damn it!" Medea cursed as she struck her sword on the ground then placed her hand on her waist.
'That man will report this to his boss. There is something more about this.' She thought as she immediately took her sword then examined the laying enemies in case they escape.
"Noelle, your magic!" The heir of Solon said as she saw her friend's shield collapse making her stand stiff, hiding her embarrassment. The villagers suddenly covered their heads to shield their selves from the cold.
Magna laughed at the view as he started to tease her in revenge, "Looks like your magic isn't up to par, Noelle."
"There's no time to Mock each other, Magna-senpai!" Medea narrowed her eyes at them making them freeze as her cold voice resonated the area, "One of them escaped!"
As their senior heard the news he yelled then started to pull his hair in frustration, "Damn it!!!!"
Asta eyed down the leader as he started to breathe deeply, "You see...even a commoner can win too." He forcedly says then looked at the sky and screamed, "Can you see how powerful we can be?!"
Medea's sword disappeared on the floor as it retreated inside her grimoire. She noticed Asta's body slowly falling then she leaped to his way and supported his side then laying his head on her lap.
Medea was astonished. It's as if her body moved on its own. She also awkwardly raised her hands, not knowing where to place them as she examined the small boy's features.
"Asta! Medea!" Magna tried to run to his juniors' side but he, like Asta, fell to the floor in disbelief, "He is sleeping?!"
Asta started to snore on our beautiful heroine's lap, Medea looked at her white-haired friend seeing her blush at the cute sight on the little midget making her think of an idea.
"What a ridiculous guy," Noelle said as she saw her best friend gesturing her to come to her side. Noelle being the worried wat she is, immediately bolted to the dark violet-haired side asking if she's hurt.
Medea raised her index finger to her lips to silence her then motioned her left hand to position her body like hers. Noelle understood the motion and imitated her position.
As Noelle was currently occupied with her thoughts, Medea carefully raised Asta's head placing them on her white-haired friend's lap then stood up as fast as she could and backed a meter away.
Noelle felt a heavy object on her lap then looked at it. She recognized that the heavy object was Asta's head and her face turned red as she searched for her friend in front of her. She saw Medea covering her mouth as she cunningly smirked at the pair then mouthed a 'Thank me later.'
Noelle glared daggers at her friend then looked at the person below her.
'Idiot, Noisy, and Lowly. But he's an amazing dude.' Noelle thought as she blushed again making Medea giggle.
Medea moved towards her senior and extended her hand at him again, "Come on Senpai."
Magna tsk but accepted Medea's hand as she pulled him up. The villagers started to surround the four as they show their gratitude.
"Thank you, the four of you." A man around his 40's thanked as his eyes soften at the four Black Bull members.
"Don't mention it!"
"It's nothing."
"You are welcome."
Magna, Noelle, and Medea replied in please respectively. As the villagers complimented them again.
"You are our saviors."
Suddenly, a dark blue bird with red on its face appeared inside Asta's robe then flew freely in the sky the head to the biggest building in the village
♦️♠️♥️♣️
Medea's P.O.V.
Asta finally woke up after some time. He and Magna moved the three sleeping bodies of our opponents to a wall and let them lean on it.
The four of us stood in front of them as we wait for them to wake up, though I'm still on guard in case one of them tried to attack yet again.
The leader, Health, slowly opened his eyes, "So, you are finally awake, you jerk? I'll be taking my rest first and once my magic is restored, I'll send you back to the Royal Capital on Crazy Cyclone." Magna-senpai threatened as I raised my hand for him to stop.
"You," I called as I neared the leader, dark energy slowly leaking out of my body unconsciously slightly intimidating them as my eyes display coldness, "What was your purpose in destroying this village?" I asked. No, more like demanded.
He didn't say anything as I closed my eyes and crossed my arms to calm myself.
"You jerks, I want you to make up for what you've done to these villagers for the rest of your life." Magna-senpai began as I side-eyed him, glaring slightly. He immediately stops as he saw my look then returned my attention to the leader.
"You assumed earlier that we were sent here for a secret mission." I started as I eyed him down, "Who is your leader?" I demanded again as he ignored my question.
I took notice of how he tried to move his arms as my violet eyes glint mischievously, "Oh my." I fake gasp as I covered my mouth with my left hand, "It seems like you can't even move an inch nor use your grimoire."
I taunted as I smiled, "You do know what that means, right?" I summoned my grimoire as I flipped it open then pulled out Tyrfing then pointed it at him, he looked up at me like the sharp point of the blade hit his forehead creating a pool of blood to slowly slide down.
"It means I get to decide whether you live or die."
I activated my magic as violet to black energy surrounded my body as my sword started to glow as well, "Since I'm rather quite merciful for now, I'll give you a chance."
My eyes glowed an eery violet. I can feel the other three of my companion slightly tense at my sudden release of energy.
'Doesn't matter if they are afraid. Just focus on the objective.'
"I refuse." The leader countered as he stared at me with his blank-looking eyes, "It looks like the end is here."
Suddenly, a bright glow appeared on his abdomen as I widen my eyes, recognizing what's happening.
'A magic guide in his body?!'
"Ice Magic, Ice Funeral."
He said as I gritted my teeth then slashed him before his body as well as the others were covered by ice. Blood can be seen dripping down my sword as Noelle ran to my side pulling me back down.
"What?!" Magna asked in surprise as the ice cracked, shattering into thousands of pieces.
My sword as well as the energy that I released disappeared as I dazed while putting my hand on my head. I finally realized how cold I am.
Noelle shook me as she tried to question me why I did that stunned earlier.
"Ne, Medea! Why did you do that?!" She yelled at me. The tone of her voice is a mix of shock, anger, and care.
I giggled then pulled my hair as I look at her, "I never knew. I person could easily kill himself just for a mere contract."
"Where did he get his determination from? Is there someone who can make them swear their allegiance?" I heard Magna-senpai commented as Asta gritted his teeth while glaring at the space that the enemies once occupied.
"What an asshole!" Said Asta.
I grasped her hand then squeeze it for assurance as I looked at the shattered ice, "What is the reason behind their determination?" I went back to my cold demure as I straighten my posture while crossing my arms.
"Life..." Asta began as I glanced at him feeling his rage, "What does he take life for?! I can never agree with them. Never!"
I stayed silent as I started to walk away ignoring the clicks of my heels.
I noticed the villagers started to clean their Chief and dressed him to clean clothing as they carried his body to the end of the cliff where you can view the sunset.
Nick, the Chief's grandson, sat in front of its grave whilst a female child who's holding a doll with blonde hair tried to diverge the attention of her friend.
I sighed as I started to approach the two children, hearing some parts of their conversation.
"Mr. Seihi used to like the view from here," Nick remembered as I smiled softly then crouched down to his height.
"Ms. Magic Knight!" The female child cheered as she approached me with her small feet as I soften my face at the two.
'They don't deserve to see my coldness.'
I extend my hand at her to reach and she gratefully did then look at the sunset.
"Mr. Seihi has a great taste," I commented as the crying child tilted his head at me.
"This is, indeed, beautiful scenery." I smiled at the view as the sunset hit my figure giving me an ethereal glow.
"Do you also love the view?" I asked the child, not bothering to look at him as the female one held part of my outfit.
"Yes! The view is great here!" The female cheered as I patted her head, completely forgetting the hierarchy of this world.
Nick looked at the sunset, his tears stopped flowing down. "Of course. He always goes here every day. Always here to train Magna in the past and always here to just relax."
I hummed then nodded as I heard a couple of footsteps approaching us. I didn't bother to look back since I already recognized Noelle's pattern of walking.
"Oh, Medea! You're here!" Asta greeted me as he waved at me. I stood up from my crouching position and patted my outfit, getting rid of some invisible dust.
"You are awake now." I nodded my head at him as he gave me a thumbs up.
"Thanks for catching me! I could have got an injury in my head if it wasn't for you." He tenderly grinned at me like the sun making me twitch a small smile then shudder. For some reason, Asta reminds me of the Sun. Always so full of energy.
"You're welcome. Though..." I paused as I glanced at Noelle who's looking at the sunset. "You should also thank Noelle for she also stayed by your side."
Asta nodded then flashed Noelle a smile making her cheeks display a light blush. She then looks at me then glared making me blinked at her then twice.
"Hey, Nick. I heard about it." Magna-senpai started seriousness written on his face making us halt what we were doing and diverge our attention to him.
"Mr. Seihi is the only one to stand up to those guys."
Nick hid his head in his arms as he was forced to speak, "He told me happily before. Although it was gambling, he said he won against the Magic Knights."
"And he brought me this gift. He also gave the other villagers lots of delicious foods." The female child said as she raised her doll at me to look. I silently nodded at her as Noelle smiled down then patted her head.
I felt proud again like a Mother as I saw my best friend starting to warm up to people.
"Although he didn't win, Magic Knights was Mr. Seihi's dream."
"Yeah." Magna softly said with his deep and rough voice.
"And he always regretted it."
"What did be regretted?" Asta asked as he tilted his head to the side.
"He said if only he had worked harder when he was young. But..." Nick rubbed his eyes then turned his head around to look at us four. "He was still very happy to say that Magna worked hard for his sake too.
I glanced at my senior as his eyes widened then closed them immediately and avoided looking at any of us as if he's refusing to let us see him cry.
"Yeah..."
"Can I..." Nick stood up as he looks at us, "Can I also join the Magic Knights?"
"Of course," I responded as he looks at me in shock. "Every person can." I started to walk his way, "Whether you are a noble or a commoner, a person's dream can be achieved if you put your heart into it." I crouched down to his height and bring out my pinky like how I always do with my brother making me smile softly at the gesture.
"Promise me..." I paused then look at his eyes, "That I will see you join the Magic Knights in the future." He stared at my pale long fingers as his eyes went back to mine.
"That's right! Nothing is impossible! Our future is in our hands." Magna supported.
Asta smiled as I can feel his eyes look at our figures, "Even as a commoner without magical powers, I managed it. But it can't be done without great effort."
I nodded, "Indeed, train hard and work hard."
"Show some determination!" Magna cheered.
"You can do it." Said Noelle as she flipped her hair.
Nick then look at me as I soften my eyes at him, "We're all going to wait for you."
He took out his pinky and intertwined it to mine, "Promise!"
♦️♠️♥️♣️
3rd Person P.O.V.
Medea, Noelle, Asta, and Magna smiled warmly at the child as the wholesome moment was cut short as the bird who emerged inside Asta's robe started to peck him in the head making him scream in terror.
"It hurts!"
The bird was carrying ruby-like gen on its mouth as Medea stood up from her crouching position. Her eyes showing an amused look despite her blank expression.
"You stupid bird! What has my head ever done to you?! Do you want to fight?"
Medea sighed as she called Asta with her usual cold and unimpressed tone, "Asta."
The said male felt the pressure of the voice of her beautiful colleague as he stopped on his track.
The violet-haired beauty stretched her right arm and waited for the bird to land on her index finger which it did.
The bird calmly landed on her fingers as she examined the gem that it's holding as Medea placed her left hand below her chin, thinking.
Asta finally noticed the stone as he tilted his head to look up at his tall teammate, "What kind of stone is that?"
♦️♠️♥️♣️
Medea's P.O.V
"That's strange. Isn't that Mr. Seihi's amulet?" Upon realizing the gem by I tried to grab the amulet from the bird's mouth but it flew instead.
"Don't you need it?" I asked as I eyed Asta who's having a tug of war between the bird.
'That is one strong bird.'
I thought as I blankly looked at the two, Asta looked back at us as worry and terror was written on his face, "What?! Then, isn't this precious?! Let go! Give it back!"
Nick gave an adorable laugh as I looked down at his figure, "That bird seems to like it very much! I'll give it to you then. As a small thank you gift for saving us." He beamed.
"I see," I responded as Asta finally calmed down. The bird finally resting on top of his head.
"C-cute!" Noelle praised as her face glowed cutely.
'Don't tell me...'
Noelle approached the bird on top of Asta in fondness, "You can come to my side!" Instead of it flying to her, the bird started to peck Asta's head.
I sighed at the view as I shook my head, Asta followed the bird to take revenge as the remaining people by my side laughed in amusement.
'What an unexpected first mission." I thought as I crossed my arms and viewed the faces of my comrade then at the beautiful sunset.
'What kind of future awaits us, I wonder.'
【Προστατεύω】- Protect