The four Magic Knights had finally reached their destination. Asta was being chased by a wild boar, trying not to get mauled to death. Alas, he couldn't outrun it and instead got thrown in the air. Magna was sitting beside a tree, resting on his arms while Iris and Noelle were standing, all three of them watching Asta's defeat.
"Shouldn't we go and help him?" Noelle asked, seeing Asta struggle. Iris glanced at her, noticing the change in how she viewed him. She said nothing, intertwining her hands behind her back.
"I'm resting. Carrying you both left my magic powers drained," Magna said, not moving from his comfortable spot. "Asta will be fine. He may be short but he's as tough as they come."
While Magna and Noelle had their small conversation, Iris decided that she should try and pull her own weight as well. 'I'm on this mission too, so I should do my part in taking down some of these boars.' She made her way to where Asta was.
The boar continued to chase after him, eventually trapping Asta into a dead end. Iris gathered some of her magic power without the use of her grimoire, creating a concentrated ball of mud. She glanced to her right, not turning her head. She noticed a certain silver-haired royal also at the scene. Not thinking much of it, she flung the mud gunk at the boar as it was about to attack Asta. The ball of mud glided through the air, hitting its target. Relief washed over Asta's face as he was no longer in danger.
'Should I have left this to Noelle? She is supposed to get better at controlling her magic,' Iris thought. Perhaps she should have let the Silva royal gather experience. After all, she wasn't lacking in that area.
Asta swung his sword at a few more boars, making sure that they were defeated. He ended up carrying three, while Magna and Iris carried only one. Magna had his boar over his shoulder just like Asta. Iris was dragging the boar with her magic-created vines as Noelle walked empty-handed.
While they all made their way to the village to look for Old Man Seihi. Magna had begun to recall his encounters with Seihi as well as all that he had learned from him. He made sure to mention his 'former' delinquent self.
Abruptly stopping, Magna dropped the boar he was carrying and made a run for the village. "What the hell is that?!" He questioned, motioning to the mist that engulfed Saussy village as he stood on the edge of the cliff.
"Wow, the weather sucks in that town," Asta commented, having a baffled expression.
Noelle turned to Asta, "You idiot, that's magic. Can't you tell?"
The four Magic Knights were now wary of what lied ahead of them. Being sure to stay cautious, they continued into the village. Magna knew that none of the villagers could have caused a barrier to cover the entire village since none of them had magic as strong as that.'This isn't looking good. If what Magna says is true, then the villagers could be in danger,' Iris thought as her expression began to change into one of worry.
"Asta, you said that your sword cuts through magic, right?" Iris turned to face Asta as she asked him the question. Asta nodded in response, not understanding what she was getting at. "Then, cut through the mist with your sword. You should be able to do so effortlessly."
Asta dismissively waved his hand, "That's a silly thing to say. You can't cut through mist with a sword." Iris only smiled at him, knowing that he didn't mean to insult her.
Magna on the other hand grabbed the front of Asta's robe, "You're the dumbass! Since the mist is magic, you can cut it with your sword!" Magna grit his teeth in frustration as a cold sweat visibly slid down his face. 'I've never seen Iris angry but I sure as hell don't wanna find out!' Magna began to imagine a destroyed town in ashes with a fuming Iris. 'yeah, I never wanna see that!' He shook the negative thought away, releasing Asta as well.
Asta began swinging his sword, slicing the mist. Surely, it began to dissipate, revealing houses. Magna, Noelle, and Iris followed behind at a safe distance from Asta's swing. Magna guided Asta through the village, telling him which directions he should take. Taking a few steps further, Iris felt her skin crawl, sensing another presence. 'Could they be the cause of this?' She looked at Magna and Noelle, sure that they would also be able to feel the magic. She was left disappointed, seeing that they were only focused on what Asta was doing.
Not long after Iris had felt another magic, Magna and Noelle also caught on. Magna turned to look at Noelle, sweat dripping down the side of his face. "Did you feel that?" he asked, growing increasingly worried.
Noelle seemed to be in the same state as Magna. "Yes, it's powerful magic." She looked down, feeling unprepared for what awaited them.
"There's likely someone here who has harmed the villagers. We should do well and make haste." Iris no longer had her childish grin from before. Now, she had a contemplative look on her face. Of course, Magna was the only one to have seen her in action, so he knew that whatever they would face would indeed be troublesome.
With one final slice against the mist, the villagers were revealed. They had scratches and bruises all over them. Children were crying as they held on to their mother's. They were all gathered on the ground in a kneeling position. Shards of ice floated above them, likely to kill them the instant they fall.
Iris looked up to the sharp pieces of Ice. 'What the hell are we supposed to do with that?' Iris felt herself panic. 'My magic is far too dangerous to freely use here. I could end up harming the villagers more than they already are.' She was in a tight spot. She knew that she had to help in some way, but deemed it too dangerous to use anything that would immediately solve the problem. She looked at her comrades who stood beside her. Recognizing that she wasn't the only one who could help, she felt more at ease. 'Now is not the time to be thinking irrationally. People's lives are on the line. At any moment, they could be killed. We have to do something.'
Before Iris had any more time to think, the ice shards started to fall. Magna and Asta ran forward, breaking several shards of ice, not letting them get low enough to hurt the villagers. Her eyes widened before she stuck one of her hands out. She assembled as much magic as she could in a second and used it to create multiple vines. She quickly launched them towards the ice pieces, seizing as many as she could.
Without having ample space, Iris couldn't use her grimoire. She feared that she would slip up and not be able to control her destructive magic. In the space they were in, she was completely useless in battle. Her not being able to fight lowered her strategies. 'I guess I'll have to stop relying on my grimoire so much--not that I have been doing so. I'll only be able to provide back-up to Magna and Asta. I'm not sure how well Noelle is in battle yet, but considering the fact that she can't effectively control her magic, I don't think she will want to try anything dangerous.'
As Iris continued to try and strategize and remove as many pieces of ice as possible, the villagers seemed to take notice of the group's status. Once there were no more ice shards, the group made their way to the center of the villagers. Iris noticed a man lying on the ground, seemingly drained of life. She softly muttered a prayer in respect of the deceased. Upon seeing the lifeless body, Magna immediately recognized who it was: Old Man Seihi.
Magna turned to a group of four mages, three of which had on cloaks that covered their identity. The one who sat in front of them had white hair as well as a scar that ran from across the right side of his forehead, to the left side of his jaw.
"Are you the bastards that did all this?!" He yelled, anger evident in his voice. Though he looked confident on the outside, he knew he didn't have enough magic power to fight someone who wasn't as exhausted as he was.
The white-haired mage clutched onto his watch as he checked the time. "You dare to put me behind schedule?" He taunted the Magic Knights, raising his hand along with his grimoire. "You'll be executed in a few seconds." His voice was cold and his threats weren't empty. He created a huge ball of ice big enough to effectively wipe out those who stood before him.
Asta did what the rest of them couldn't: he sliced apart the attack. He questioned the mages who stood in front of him, asking who they were and how they could do something so cruel. He received no response to his questions and instead was left to look for the answer himself.
"There wasn't any word of Magic Knights being here. Could they be on some sort of unofficial mission? Besides that, how could they get through our mist barrier?" One of the hooded mages wondered out loud.
"Dealing with such a crude squad as the Black Bulls would be a waste of time. In the span of five minutes, we'll kill all the villagers and complete what we had sought out to do here," the white-haired mage spoke up, checking his watch once again.
Asta rushed in, launching himself forward with his sword. He sliced through the magic that was aimed at him smoothly. "Why the heck did you try and kill all these villagers for?!" He asked, his eyebrows now furrowed.
With the white-haired mage deciding to converse with Asta, Iris became more concerned about what could happen.'this feeling I've had hasn't gone away. This is going to be such a hassle for us,' she thought, not wanting to fix any more problems than she has to. 'Damn it, Asta! You shouldn't be rushing into battle.'
Iris snapped out of her thoughts upon hearing that those who reside in the Foresaken Realm are less than human. She was shocked at how someone could so freely say such horrendous things. After all, her teammates were part of said group. Did that mean that they were less than simply because they were dealt with unfortunate circumstances at birth?
As much as Iris wanted to reprimand the male, she couldn't. Not once did she truly do anything to help those who needed it the most. She had been selfish all her life, living in luxury while others were left to suffer and fend for themselves. As much as she tried to deny that she was just like the other royals, it wasn't true. She was just as bad for not doing everything in her power to help them. Because she lived such a privileged life, she didn't have the right to negate his claims.
Asta began to shake, his anger bubbling up inside of him. "Those who you are insulting, are people that I have to protect!" Asta held on to his sword in a fighting stance, getting ready for whatever might be thrown his way. Hearing his words, Iris' eyes slightly widened. 'That's right. How could I have been so blind?' Despite the situation at hand, a smile made its way onto Iris' face. 'I'm a Magic Knight, therefore I must also protect them.'
Suddenly, a numerous amount of ice shards were aimed at them. If they were to move the slighted bit, they would surely strike a villager. 'This isn't good,' Iris thought, looking around at the scene.
Magna, Asta, and Iris' efforts in trying to break the ice pieces were pointless. The white-haired mage had created too many for them to break quickly. As Asta repelled an attack from the mage, it only seemed to agitate him more.
The mage increased the number of ice shards that were present, surely making the task all the more difficult. He created an endless amount as the name of his spell suggested. He narrowed his grey eyes the slightest bit.
"How will you protect them now?"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I woke up at 1:30 in the morning remembering that I forgot to upload the chapter.. Not a good way to wake up at all.
I'm thinking of making the days that I upload Saturday's since that's what I've been doing so far.
I'll be going off to sleep again and try to get back to my dream ;((
-B. S.