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Sekke and the others continued their talks for a bit longer when his communicator suddenly started ringing.
"I've been getting quite a few calls today. Don't tell me it's another attack," muttered Sekke with a frown as he picked up the call.
"Dark Lord here."
From the communicator, Julius's voice came through, calm but carrying an unusual seriousness.
"We were attacked by the Spade Kingdom's Dark Triad today," said Julius grimly.
"I know. I neutralised Dante, who came to attack the Black Bulls. I'm currently in the Heart Kingdom, which was also attacked by one of the Dark Triad."
"The Heart Kingdom too… this is serious," said Julius. "The Golden Dawn was attacked as well. Many of their members were killed, and those who survived are seriously injured. William was taken away by them."
Hearing the news, Mimosa's eyes widened in shock.Patolli's expression twisted into one of rage after hearing that William had been captured.
"Not only that," Julius continued, "the Dark Triad member who attacked the Golden Dawn struck the Black Bulls after you left. None of them are dead, but those who were present are in critical condition. They took Yami with them as well."
This time, it was the Black Bulls' turn to be shocked. Sekke had already dealt with one leader, but he hadn't expected another to strike so soon — especially when his squadmates were vulnerable.
"I'll be there shortly," said Sekke in a serious tone, cutting the call.
"Exodia."
"My king."
"I'll be gone for a while. I'm leaving the protection of this place to you. If they can attack twice, the Heart Kingdom isn't safe. If you face any trouble, contact me immediately."
"Your wish is my command, my king," replied Exodia with a firm nod.
Sekke then turned toward his friends.
"I'm heading back to the Clover Kingdom. You all stay safe."
"I'll go back too!" said Noelle, her face pale with worry for her squadmates.
"I'll be enough to handle things there," said Sekke calmly. "Right now, the Heart Kingdom's soldiers and Spirit Guardians are injured. It's up to you all to make up for the lack of manpower here. The Clover Kingdom still has other Magic Knights to hold the line. Exodia will protect this place, but if their numbers become overwhelming, you'll need to step in. In the meantime, focus on getting stronger."
Before they could argue, Sekke's body glowed, and he shot into the sky as a golden blur.
His form shifted into a massive dragon, his scales reflecting the last traces of sunlight.The sun had already set, so he couldn't use his teleportation spell. Dragon transformation, combined with Sun Spirit Magic, was his fastest way to reach the Clover Kingdom.
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A few minutes later, Sekke arrived in the Clover Kingdom and flew straight toward the Magic Knights HQ. Without hesitation, he stormed into the Wizard King's chamber.
"Where are my squadmates?" asked Sekke sharply.
Marx and Julius blinked in surprise. They talked with Sekke just a few minutes ago, and now here he was back from the Heart Kingdom.
"They are at Owen's-" was all Julius could say before Sekke vanished in a golden blur.
Appearing in Owen's medical ward, Sekke strode straight to the front desk."Where are the Black Bulls?" he asked curtly.
"T-They're in Ward 10," stammered the receptionist, pointing the way.
Sekke rushed over and found Owen tending to the Black Bulls, all heavily injured.
"Mr. Owen," called Sekke as he entered.
"You, I can't talk right now. I need to focus," replied Owen urgently.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Morning Glory — Dawn's Blessing]
A dome of golden light enveloped the room. Owen felt his mana replenishing rapidly, and the injuries on the Black Bulls began healing at a visibly faster rate.
"I won't disturb you. Just heal them the best you can. Where are the Golden Dawn members?" asked Sekke.
Owen gave him the directions, and Sekke rushed out immediately. The Golden Dawn members were in slightly better condition, but several were still wounded.
[Sun Spirit Magic: Morning Glory — Dawn's Blessing]
A similar dome of light spread, and their injuries, too, began to fade.
Sekke sighed deeply.
"I leave to defeat one enemy, and another strikes where I've already been. What do you expect me to do? I can't split myself in two," he muttered, sitting down.
He felt some movement near him and looked beside him, only to notice a shadow moving around.
"Another demonic presence? You guys still haven't had enough?!" Sekke snapped, a miniature sun already glowing on his fingertip.
"Wait!" came a voice from the shadow, and a man stepped out.
Before he could speak, Sekke had already pinned him against the wall by his throat.
"Who the hell are you? You've got a devil's presence too. Are you from the Dark Triad?" Sekke growled.
His sacred gears materialised, an absorption line attaching itself to the black-haired man.
"Don't even think about running," warned Sekke, conjuring a bronze sword in his other hand.
The man glared at him but couldn't speak through Sekke's grip. With no other choice, he removed his cloak, revealing a familiar robe.
Sekke froze for a moment as his eyes landed on the insignia.
"…You're a Black Bull?" he asked.
The man nodded.
Sekke released him but kept the absorption line active.
*Cough**Cough*
"Why the hell are you sneaking in if you are a Magic Knight, a black bull at that?" asked Sekke and offered his hand to the man.
"...I have been on an undercover mission for quite some time. It's now a habit," explained the man and took Sekke's hand to get back on his feet.
"Sekke Bronzaza. Your strength was not exaggerated at all," said the man.
"You know me?"
"I do. I am the vice captain of the Black Bulls, Nacht Faust. I do keep an eye on all members of the squad," said Nacht.
"Sekke Bronzaza, Dark Lord." Sekke offered a glass of water to Nacht.
"There are some issues with your personality, but the rest of you is a good person. I like good people," said Nacht and took the glass from Sekke.
"Alright. I never asked, but fine," replied Sekke.
Nacht stared at Sekke and decided not to say anything further. He simply gulped down the water and put the cup back on the table near them.
"So? Why are you here today? I haven't seen you since I joined the squad," asked Sekke.
"Follow me," said Nacht and started walking away.
Sekke glanced at the patients once again and let the dome activate before he followed Nacht.
Sekke and Nacht soon were out of the building and were now standing on its roof.
"I am feeling a devil's presence from you.... scratch that, multiple devil's presence. What's your deal? Decided to switch sides during the undercover mission?" asked Sekke.
Nacht looked at Sekke with a smile and used his power.
Pitch black devil horns materialised on his head.
"I am Devil possessed as well, but I am not on Spade's side that you can be assured of," said Nacht.
Four small, shadowy figures appeared around him, each with glowing eyes and small mouths.
"These are the devils that I am contracted with. Gimodelo, Slotos, Plumede, and Walgner," said Nacht.
"Greetings", "Hi", "Nacht, he is taller than you", "His mana is insane"
The four devils spoke to him.
"Hello there," greeted Sekke.
"So? Why are you revealing your cards to me?"
"To gain your trust. I can feel that you still are wary of me. A good quality to have, but right now I need you to trust me. We need to stop the devils at Spade Kingdom. We also need to protect the fool Yami before he dies. We have some time, but it is limited," said Nacht.
"Don't worry about that. I still need to take my money from him. Once Asta and others are healed, I will personally go to the Spade Kingdom and end them then and there," said Sekke in a serious tone.
"...I really don't like the fact that you are not joking about that," replied Nacht.
"Deal with it. They dared to attack us in broad daylight. They should be prepared for the consequences as well," replied Sekke.
"We need a strategy to do this. We cannot simply waltz into the enemy territory like that," warned Nacht.
"Correction. Youcannot simply waltz into their territory. Ican do that and make them regret attacking us and kidnapping our people," replied Sekke.
"If a single mistake is made, the underworld will be linked to our world and the devils will overflow and destroy everything in our world," warned Nacht.
"I will stop this before such a situation arises."
"It's not that simple. What about the people of the Diamond Kingdom who will get caught in the crossfire? We need to make sure that they will be safe as well," said Nacht.
"...You are implementing too many rules now. What do you want me to do?" asked Sekke in annoyance.
He may want to just storm to the Spade Kingdom and destroy the Devil Hosts, but having their citizens killed when they, too, were suffering under their rule made Sekke feel bad.
"Tomorrow, there will most probably be a Magic Knights Captains meeting because of today's incident. Attend that on behalf of the Black Bulls. I will explain the plan then and there to everyone."
"You want to delay it for so long? Yami-san might die at that time," said Sekke with a frown.
"He won't. Rude and Unmannered as he may be. People like him are tough as they come. I may not like Yami one bit, but I promise you that he won't die," said Nacht.
"I will wait till tomorrow noon. If I feel that your plan is shit, I will do it my way," warned Sekke.
Nacht kept staring at Sekke without saying anything.
Sekke stared back for a while before he went back to check on Asta and the others.