A/N: Hiya guys! So this chapter didn't take as long as the last one since I started it the day after I finished Chapter 10 😆. So this chapter was supposed to finish the "Spade Attacked Arc" of this series, but I decided to extend it to the next chapter since the ending of this chapter felt right to me, and I'm not sure when chapter 12 will be out, but hopefully soon! Please mind the warnings of this chapter, as it is pretty heavy, and I hope you all enjoy~!
Warnings: Warnings: Major Character Death, Violence, Blood, Slight Swearing
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" Kito, what are you doing here?" Neva asked as she saw her son sitting on the floor, arms wrapped around his knees. Kito's head shot up quickly at the sound of his mothers voice, and his amber eyes watched as she crouched down in front of him.
He quickly wiped his tears away and sniffled, this wasn't the first time his mother had seen him cry, but for some reason he felt...ashamed to be crying like this in front of her. Maybe it was because of his age, or maybe it was because of why he was crying, or maybe...it was both.
" Kito," Neva began, her tone more stern and serious now. " What's wrong?"
Instead of directly answering it, he decided to answer it with a question of his own.
" Why...why does everyone want me to be like dad?" He asked softly, a sniffle escaping him. His mother frowned.
" What do you mean Kito?"
" Why... does everyone complain about me not having dad's dual abilities or just his Star Magic? Why does...everyone want me to surpass Miku and take the throne from her? Why does everyone want me to be something I'm not?!" He exclaimed, his voice growing louder as he spoke and became more upset.
" Did the advisors say something to you-?"
" What if I don't want to be like dad? What if I don't want to surpass Miku? What if I just want to be me!" He shouted as the tears pooled in his eyes again.
" All I want...is to be strong enough to protect everyone...Miku, Kya, dad, and you...that's all I want to do!" He continued to shout, his tears falling faster and faster down his cheeks.
" Kito..."
Neva's heart broke as she watched her son cry, and she immediately cupped his face in her hands and began to wipe his tears with the pads of her thumbs.
" Why...why can't I just be like dad and want to be more than just this?!"
Neva sighed before she pulled Kito into her arms and held him close. He cried into her shoulder and wrapped his arms around her neck as she rubbed his back soothingly. She knew he hated being compared to Yuno. He hated it when people pointed out how similar they looked, but then at the same time pointed out how opposite their magics and personalities were. It was like people couldn't make up their minds about him, and so they just labeled him as some kind of disappointment.
But what the advisors didn't know, and what Kito didn't know, was that his personality was actually very similar to Yuno's. At least, when Yuno was younger.
He was soft spoken, shy, tender hearted, but above all he was warm. That wasn't to say Yuno was cold, but...he was selective about who he shared his warmth with, while Kito was the opposite. Kito shared his warmth with everyone even though he was quiet and shy.
They weren't identical, but they were similar at times.
" Kito, look at me," Neva urged as she pulled her son's face up again to look at her. " Your father and I don't want you to be like him, especially me, because Miku already acts like your father. So if I had three of you with the same personality I think I would pull my hair out." She lightly joked with a small smile, trying to make her son laugh a bit.
But it didn't work. Instead he just stared at her like Yuno would.
" Kito, I don't want you to be like your dad, I want you to be you. Your happiness is what matters. You don't have to have big dreams, you can just be you and live a quiet and simple life, as long as you're happy and healthy." Neva told him softly as he sniffled against her shoulder.
" But...but I still want to get strong enough to protect you..." Kito sniffled as he pulled away from her shoulder, and she smiled warmly at him.
" Then get stronger," Neva told him softly. " But do it because you want to, not because of pressure from the advisors."
Kito nodded as he listened to his mothers words.
" Okay, I'll get stronger. Then that way, when you get in trouble, I can protect you just like you've always protected me. I can do that, right mom?" Kito asked, his amber eyes full of hope as he looked at the warm and comforting face of his mother.
" Of course you can do that, and I'll be eagerly awaiting the day that you do."
———
Kito wasn't sure why that memory decided to pop into his head as he was huddled in the corner, shaking in fear as chaos erupted around him in the castle. But it did, and now all he could think about was how now he was truly being the opposite of his father.
Instead of being a hero and helping defend the castle, he was being a coward and was sitting in a corner, hiding.
Suddenly he heard a loud shriek echo through the hall as all of the candles that lined the walls and hung in the chandeliers were suddenly blown out. In the darkness, Kito could hear more and more people running, screaming, and crying as they tried to get away.
Items crashed to the ground as people pushed and shoved each other to get out of the way. Blood-Curdling screams rang out as people were attacked by an unknown enemy and spells were cast throughout the hall as people fought to try and save themselves and their friends.
But it was all in vain.
Kito closed his eyes and covered his ears as he tried to drown out the sights and sounds that surrounded him. But he could still feel the vibrations of the floor, could still smell the different elemental magics that were being used, and the blood of the targets once those spells connected.
But then...it stopped. The sounds, the lights, everything. As though time itself had stopped for a moment. The young boy slowly opened his eyes and uncovered his ears. The room was dark save for the moonlight that shone through the window.
Kito tried to get up but stopped when he suddenly heard footsteps walk towards him. He covered his mouth, and tried to stay as silent as he could when the footsteps moved closer and closer to him.
But then they suddenly stopped right beside him...
He didn't dare breathe as he stared at the figure's shadow on the floor. It's head looked one way, and then the other, as though it were searching for something. Then it stood there...not moving, not even seeming to breathe...Kito waited with baited breath as he watched the figure's shadow, waiting for its next move...
And then suddenly, the figure just turned around and walked away. Its footsteps moved further and further away from the young boy, until the hallway was empty and completely silent. Save for the sound of Kito's heart drumming anxiously in his ears.
For a while, Kito just sat there unmoving. He wanted to get up, to help protect his home, but his body wouldn't move. Instead he trembled, his breathing quick and labored as his heart continued to pound in his ears.
" You need to get up! You need to help your family! Didn't you say you wanted to protect everyone? How are you going to do that by sitting here?!" His mind shouted at him, urging him to get up.
With slow and shaky legs he eventually stood up, placing a hand against the wall for support as his eyes stayed glued to the floor. His gut telling him that if he looked up he wouldn't like what he saw. So he used his hand, and what little moonlight peeked through the windows, to walk along the wall of the hallway. Slowly, quietly, and carefully, making sure that not a single noise could be heard.
Eventually he rounded the corner, and a huge sigh of relief escaped him. He made it. Despite having to walk over the arms and bodies of Palace servants and Defense Force Mages. He made it out of the hallway physically unscathed, but mentally scarred.
Kito quickly shook his head, he couldn't think about that. Right now he needed to find his parents, they would know what to do...right?
With that in mind the young boy began to run down the hallway. Not realizing that he was leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind him.
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In The Central Courtyard
Flashes of Purple and White bounced around the courtyard walls as Neva and Gremory attacked each other over and over again. Neva, using her Effervescent Paragon Armor, ran and danced around the area, dodging and deflecting Gremory's Moon spells with ease. Much to the Devil's annoyance.
" Is that all you can do? Dance and dodge?" Gremory asked with a quirked brow as she sent about a dozen crescent shaped moon rings towards her, but Neva once again dodged the attack.
" Sorry I don't plan on just standing around, waiting for you to hit me." Neva muttered as she appeared quickly behind the devil, a Diamond Hammer in her hands. She quickly swung it over her shoulder and watched as it connected with Gremory's side. Tossing her across the courtyard.
" Heh, I knew this wouldn't be easy, but I wasn't expecting her to be this damned difficult!" Gremory thought with a growl as she tried to stand back up. " I've watched her and the King train for years, so I thought I knew their fighting styles like the back of my hand...but I guess I was wrong."
" Giving up?" Neva asked as she walked slowly towards the devil, her hammer turning back into her daggers. Gremory began to laugh.
" Absolutely not. I don't plan on giving up until you're dead at my feet, Your Majesty." Gremory growled as she stood up shakily, and Neva grinned a bit.
" I thought you might say that," Neva chuckled as her armor changed from Effervescent Stage to Odyssey Stage. " Good luck, and do your best, Gremory." She added, her cocky attitude from her younger years resurfacing slightly.
The devil growled before she jumped up and began to attack with her Moon spells again.
The Diamond Queen and the Moon Devil's battle continued until the courtyard was completely decimated.
" Dammit!" Gremory shouted as she was slammed into another wall. This was the third time that she had been thrown like a ragdoll by Neva, and it was really starting to piss her off!
" Now are you done?" Neva asked as she walked up to the devil again. " I have more important things to be doing right now." She added.
Neva didn't want to admit it, but even with Yuno using Never-Never Land, she was beginning to get tired. Between using both of her armors, and alternating between offensive and defensive spells, it was starting to take a toll on her, and she was beginning to run low on mana.
If she wanted to help Yuno, and help Ciel get her kids out of the kingdom, then she would need to conserve as much of her remaining mana as possible.
" Like looking for your children?" Gremory asked with a smirk as she slowly stood up, her bright green eyes focused on something behind Neva. " Looks like one of them found you instead."
She quickly turned around and saw her son, Kito, standing there at the entrance of the courtyard. The relieved expression on his face quickly turned into a shocked and confused one as he looked at the scene before him.
" Mom! What's going on? Why are you fighting Commander Freya?" He asked as a frown appeared on his face as he slowly began to back away, his gut telling him that being there was a mistake.
" Kito," Neva breathed as she stared at her son, and from the corner of her eye she noticed a bright white light fly past her as Gremory chuckled darkly behind her.
No...
NO!
Neva quickly switched back to her Effervescent armor and she practically flew across the courtyard towards her son, trying desperately to beat Gremory's spell.
Kito began to back away, his mothers shouts and screams for him to run sounding muffled in his ears as his heart drummed loudly. He knew he should listen to her. He knew he should run. But his feet seemed to only know how to go backwards until the back of his ankles hit a large rock behind him and caused him to fall onto his backside.
He closed his eyes tightly, there was no way he was going to be able to get away before the spell reached him!
As he held his breath and braced for the spell to hit him he suddenly heard a familiar cracking sound, almost like ice, but almost like rock...he gasped, that was his mothers Diamond Magic!
His purple eyes opened and stared at the purple wall that was in front of him. They traveled up and saw his mother's Diamond wall traveled as far up as his eyes could see, then they slowly traveled down, and narrowed slightly as a thin crack appeared in the way.
The further down Kito's eyes traveled, the larger and deeper the cracks became. Until finally, he saw the source of the cracks in his mothers spell.
The very tip of a spear was lodged in the wall, and as his eyes followed it, they widened. A gasp escaped him, and his heart sank into the pits of his stomach as he stared at the nightmarish sight before him.
" Mom...? MOM!"
Kneeling in front of him, her hands firmly sticking onto the Diamond Wall, was Neva. With a spear piercing straight through her chest.
———-
Drip, drip, drip
Neva could hear the blood drip onto the stone beneath her, she couldn't hear her son's desperate shouts, or the sound of the devil cackling behind her, but she could hear the drops of blood from her chest hit the stone ground.
She nearly laughed, why was that the sound her ears decided to focus on at this moment?
Her amethyst colored eyes traveled down to the spear that was sticking out of her chest. She hadn't intended for this to happen, she had only intended on creating a strong wall between Kito and the spell. But before she could even think, her body moved instinctively to put itself between Gremory's Spell and Kito.
Maybe...this was what they called a 'Mother's love'. Willingly throwing yourself onto a spear in order to protect your child from harm.
Willingly giving up your life for theirs.
Neva gasped as she felt the spear in her chest suddenly disappear, and could feel Gremory's footsteps thumping against the ground as she walked towards her. She tasted the iron of the blood inching up her throat as she coughed it up, and could feel the coolness of it against her skin as more and more began to leave her body.
This wasn't good. If she didn't try to use the last of her strength to get rid of Gremory now, then she could easily finish her off and get to Kito once her spell was broken.
She couldn't let that happen.
" Get...Get away from my mother!" Kito suddenly shouted, finally finding his voice again, causing both Neva and Gremory's eyes to widen when they suddenly felt a huge surge of mana come from the young boy.
Without any warning, Neva heard a very familiar sound...one that sounded like ice being formed, or maybe closer to rocks...a small smile appeared on her face.
It was Kito using his Diamond magic.
A spikey trail of diamonds appeared on the ground behind Neva and it grew taller and taller before the sharp end pierced Gremory's chest. A loud scream echoed through the courtyard as the diamond grew more and more, high and higher, before it eventually stopped.
" You little bastard!" Gremory screeched as she hung high up in the air, trying desperately to pull herself off of Kito's spell. " When I get down from here you're dead meat you brat!"
Kito ignored the threats, and instead looked at his mom with tears in his eyes.
" Mom..."
Neva looked up at the sad and horrified face of her son, if she didn't feel so guilty right now, she would be so very proud of him and what he did.
" Run," She gasped out, more blood beginning to come up her throat, making her cough. " Go...find your father...he'll...he'll take you somewhere safe..."
" Mom...I'm not leaving you!" Kito cried as he began to bang his hands against his mothers spell, trying in vain to break it.
Even though they both knew he wouldn't be able to.
Neva smiled sadly at her son's feeble attempts to get to her. Suddenly, memories of Kito as a newborn baby popped into her mind...oh how he would cry and squirm whenever someone other than his parents held him. How he would kick and hit them with his tiny hands and feet. How he would fight passionately against whomever was keeping him from his parents.
She watched as his fighting grew less and less passionate, until the boy eventually rested his head against the diamond wall in defeat.
" Kito...run," Neva mumbled. " Find your...sisters...hide somewhere safe until...your father finds you...understand?"
Kito nodded quickly as he wiped the tears from his face.
" I understand!"
" Go...od. Go...and don't...lo...look back."
Kito nodded as he listened to his mothers words. He slowly stood up, his battered and bruised hands and legs trembling as he did. Slowly, he began to back away, further and further, before he turned around and ran away just as his mother instructed him.
As soon as he was out of sight Neva's diamond wall disappeared, and her wound opened up more due to her removing the bits of diamond she had discreetly created to stop her bleeding.
She wasn't going to allow herself to die in front of her child.
Neva fell to her side with a soft 'thump' and stared down the hallway her son had just disappeared into. Her heart slowly thumping in her ears, and tears welling into her eyes as her vision began to darken.
' Yuno...please hurry...our children...our children need you!'
————-
Yuno quickly landed in the central courtyard and glanced around the area, his eyes fixated on the scene before his very eyes.
The entire courtyard had been turned to rubble. The fountain in the center was smashed into pieces, pillars were either severely damaged or destroyed completely. The stones that were laid in the ground were destroyed or completely ripped up, and the stone benches were either split in half or were in piles.
But as his eyes took in the sight before him, they finally landed on something, something from which he couldn't have torn his gaze away from, even if he tried. Something that his eyes couldn't believe was real....
Neva, lying completely still at the other side of the courtyard...a pool of blood beneath her.
" Neva...NEVA!!"
Yuno rushed towards his wife, knelt down, and gently cradled her in his arms. His shaking, amber eyes looked her over. Her dark clothes were ripped and torn from where the spell had hit her. Her dark clothes, her pale face, and platinum blonde hair were stained bright red with her blood. Her eyes closed, and her breathing...her breathing...
While she was still breathing...it was slow and shallow...this...this wasn't good.
" Neva...Neva wake up...please!" He pleaded, a shaking hand reaching out towards her face, and he watched as her purple eyes snapped open.
She inhaled sharply before she began to cough aggressively, and Yuno quickly used his hands to wipe away the blood on her lips and the corner of her mouth.
" What happened? Who did this?" He asked her, his teeth clenched as he looked her over again. Whoever did this to her, whoever hurt her, there would be hell to pay once he got his hands on them.
But Neva shook her head, a small and sad smile appearing on her face, making him nearly laugh humorlessly. Of course she wasn't going to tell him that, because if she did, he would forsake the rest of the battle, and focus most of his energy on finding whomever did this to her.
How was it she knew him so well?
Yuno tried to pick her up, but stopped immediately as her body tensed and a painful whimper escaped her. He quietly apologized before he began to look around the area, looking for someone, anyone, to come and help Neva. She needed a healer, or at the very least a regular mage with a healing spell!
But she suddenly reached up with a cold and trembling hand, and placed it against his face, making him look back down at her. With a soft, sad, and accepting look on her face.
She was lying there, helplessly in his arms, dying...
Neva...was dying...and there was nothing he could do to help her.
As tears welled in his eyes and began to fall down his cheeks, he placed a hand against hers as she began to wipe his tears away with the pad of her thumb.
All he could do was hold her in his arms...
" K..." She mumbled, her mouth opening and closing, and a rattling breath escaping her as she tried to speak. But Yuno shook his head.
" Don't-."
" Ki...to..." She finally managed, making Yuno frown in confusion. But when he looked into her eyes, they told him all he needed to know.
Kito had been here, and now he was missing.
Yuno's head shot up and he began to look wildly around, his son was nowhere in sight. He began to call for him, but looked down when he saw Neva slowly raise her other hand, pointing in the direction Kito had gone in.
" I'll find him. I'll find him, Kya, and Miku...I'll keep them safe...so please...please..." He pleaded softly as more and more tears began to fall onto her face, but she just smiled at him with that same soft smile that usually made his heart flutter.
But instead, this time it made his heart sink.
" Thank you," Her purple eyes told his amber ones silently. " For making the last twenty years the best ones of my life. You helped me trust again when I didn't think I would, you searched for me and brought me back home, you gave me this amazing and beautiful life that I could never have dreamed possible. So thank you...my dear husband."
" Idiot. What're you talking about?" Yuno's amber eyes scoffed. " You made the last twenty years the best. You helped me warm up to the others even though you yourself hadn't managed to do that yet, you helped keep my ego in check even though you had trouble with your own. But most importantly you've always been my biggest ally and supporter, you believed in me longer than most people ever have, even when I didn't deserve it. So thank you...my dear wife."
" I told you I would, didn't I? That I would help you achieve your dreams as long as you helped me achieve mine?" Her purple eyes asked his amber ones playfully. He frowned for a moment, before a twenty year old memory appeared in his mind.
" If I'm being 100% honest, you'll rise up the ranks faster than I will. So all I ask is that when you rise up to the rank of Captain, because you will eventually, that you make me your Vice Captain and when you become the wizard king, that you make me the Captain of the Golden Dawn." A much younger Neva proposed shortly after meeting him.
" Sounds like you need me more than I need you." A much younger Yuno told her after a minute of thinking.
" T-That's not it-." She stammered but he cut her off.
" Yes it is. You said it yourself; I will eventually rise up the ranks, all the way to Captain in your opinion, so why would I need your help if you believe I'll do it even without it?" He questioned before sighing.
" Do you know why you suck at trying to manipulate people?" He asked her. " It's because you're not a manipulative person, I've only known you for a few hours but even I can see that. You don't need my help, or anyone's for that matter, to make it to Captain."
" Heh. It's funny, I'm sure at least a majority of this squad would disagree with you on all those points." She muttered.
" Then let them. What does it matter what they think?"
Yuno nearly laughed, and that had been their first true and honest conversation with each other. But it wasn't the last.
As Neva stared at her husband's face, she could feel her eyes growing heavier and heavier. She wanted to stay with him longer, wanted to laugh and talk with him more, but she was so tired. She had been fighting it for a while now, and was finally at the point that she couldn't fight it anymore.
Eventually she closed her eyes to allow that tired feeling to take over, an apologetic feeling entering her chest, but also a warm one since the last face she got to see before she died was that of her lovely husband.
Yuno was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw Neva's eyes had closed. He frowned and began to gently shake her shoulder.
" Neva...Neva wake up. Open your eyes...You can't...you can't go yet...our kids need you...I need you..." Yuno cried softly, but her hand that was against his face had gone cold and limp, and her face had completely paled as her breathing stopped, and her heart slowed before completely stopping.
As the King of Spade held his wife close as a sad and bone-chilling shout was ripped from his throat.
Neva Belmonte, the Diamond Queen of Spade, was dead.