___Royal Capital- Random Street Corner A___
"You Freak!!!"
"Where did you send my brother?!!"
"HA HA HA HA HA HA~!"
"Leo!! That man isn't a spatial magic user! He couldn't have teleported Feugoleon and Ray! The real spatial magic user must be nearby!" Noelle said, as she surveyed their surroundings.
Asta suddenly rushed up to a pile of zombified corpses on their right and swung his sword through it while yelling. "Right here!"
The corpses were sent flying through the air, and sure enough one of them disappeared into a shadow that formed mid-air and reappeared on top of a building.
"...!" Noelle looked up at him in surprise. 'He was mixed in with the corpses?!'
"Good job seeing through that, boy."
"!"
"I figured if I disguise myself with magic, magic could find me out.... So I went through the trouble of physically wearing this filthy disguise. And yet... *sighs*"
"You're like a wild animal, Boy... But whatsoever. It appears to be over now."
As soon as the man finished speaking, a shadow appeared in the air, and from it, two figures dropped down.
One of them missing an arm.
"Fue... FUEGOLEON!!!"
"!!!"
"He was... so strong, and they just... It can't be..." Asta muttered, staring at the fallen figures, as Leopold and Noelle rushed towards them.
Ray appeared to be fine. But Feugoleon...
Missing an arm, and a small hole punched straight through his gut. Completely Out cold.
"His arm...!!" Noelle muttered in a shock as they reached the figures.
"Fuegoleon... This can't be real..." Leopold mutterd, despair and fear clouding over his eyes. "My brother wouldn't lose. There's no way..."
"We have to stop the bleeding!!" Noelle yelled suddenly, pressing a cloth over the missing arm. 'If only Mimosa was here...!!'
Just then she notices Fuegoleon's grimoire slowly fading.
"No! The grimoire's starting to crumble!!"
"Leopold! help me! Don't just stand there staring!!!"
*Shhhaaaaaa!!!*
*Boom!*
Now free from Fuegoleon's magic, Rhades suddeny appeared beside Leopold, and kicked him away, sending him crashing to a wall. "Remember when you mouthed off to me a minute ago?!"
"Leopold!!!"
"HA HA HA HA!!! 'You were able to overcome an adversity but what you lacked was a just heart.' A just heart?!" He sneered mocking fuegoleon's words. "I always do just what my heart tells me to!! Go yap your head off in the next world, Fuegoleon Vermillion!!"
"SHUTUP!!!!!" An enraged voice sounded. Ray stood up, shaking. He also had a hole on his side.
Apparently, the moment they hit the shadows and were teleported away, a beam of light had hit the two, resulting in these injuries.
Now mad, Ray surged forward, the Seele Schneider's Cyan blue colour pulsing violently, as it whistled through the air towards Rhades, who had barely turned around.
*SLASH!*
*Swish!*
His Slash was redirected to his own back by a shadow that suddenly appeared between the Schneider and Rhades.
"Ugh..." He grind his teeth together, biting his tongue to prevent himself from fainting from pain.
The Seele Schneider had been supercharged with Reishi, as he was aiming to finish Rhades off with that one strike. However, the same attack and violently torn through his Blut defences and left a bone deep gash that leaked a lot of blood.
*Whoosh!*
*Boom!*
"Watch it you bastard!" Rhades yelled, launching the already unstable Ray backwards using a magic blast.
Ray flew back, and was about to hit a wall, when suddenly, everything became slow. Like super slow.
A Reddish grid appeared in his vision, and his body moved on instinct.
[Battle Instinct Activated!]
He stepped on air using hirenkyaku and launched himself forward at an high speed by exploding Reishi under his feet.
This was something he used mostly for long distance travel as it gave him an immense speed boost. However, it wasn't something He'd dare use in close combat because maneuvering at such high speed in small and compact spaces needed reflexes and skills he didn't have.
But with Battle Instinct on? Heck yes!
He quickly Changed directions three times in the span of a second, instantly reappearing over Rhades, who had turned around just before Ray was 'supposed' to hit the wall, for dramatic flair.
However, what he got instead was a drop kick.
*BANG!!!*
Ray used his momentum to strike him as hard as he could and flung Rhades away violently.
"AHHH!!! THAT HURTS!!! THAT HURTS!!! I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL KIIILLLL YOOUUUUU!!!!" Rhades screamed.
The other man just frowned.
"We've down what we came to do. Let's go, Rhades. Before any other magic knights show up."
A shadow formed underneath the fallen Rhades's feet.
However, Ray had already reacted at the first sign of the shadow's emergence. Afterall, those shadows were exactly why he had undergone so much training. And now, within the battle instinct mode? Bam! Instant reaction.
Using the same method of exploding Reishi under his feet and using hirenkyaku at the same time, he reappeared in front of Rhades a second time, and yanked him out of the shadows, throat first.
"Hold it right there." He said, his voice unnervingly calm. "Who said I'm done with you!" Ray growled as he slammed Rhades down on the ground brutally.
Rhades, while a master when it comes to controlling zombies for attack, was quite unexpectedly weak in hand to hand and close range combat.
The slam left a crater on the ground, with Rhades sprawled in it, out cold.
"Stay there. Don't move without my permission." He growled as he refocused his attention at the other man. Valtos.
"Oh dear... What should I do?" The man question, standing atop a building, wondered aloud, as if he had all the time in the world. "We can't afford to lose Rhades yet... Oh I know!"
*Whooosh!!!*
From all around them, numerous white, hooded figures emerged.
"We recieved a report from our master and came, but... This is just pitiful. You've become a laughingstock, Rhades." One of them spoke.
"What piercing cold magic! This is getting dangerous for Fuegoleon!" Noelle said, worry etched on every line on her face.
Suddenly, a wave of roaring fire came from the edge, attacking the hooded figure nearest to fuegoleon, and pushing the man back.
"Wh-at good does it do... If I lose my cool?!" Leopold muttered, taking shaky breaths, as he tried to recover from the shock of seeing his brother so near to death. "Stay calm at all times... Isn't that right, Fuegoleon?!"
His appearance motivated Asta, who grinned, and tried to attack the closest hooded figure. However, an intense pain shot through his body the moment he took a step.
'Damn it! Because of that curse power, even though they're just scratches, they won't stop bleeding. If I lose much more blood, things could get ugl- wait a second. Curse magic?! Could... Could that work?!'
*SWISH SWISH SWISH!*
The sound of swords moving, sounded in the air. Noelle and Leopold stared at Asta in shock as he cut himself on the area where he was hit with curse magic. Sure enough, the Won't-ever-stop-bleeding-type-scratches, stopped bleeding after being negated by the sword's anti-magic properties.
"Now... I can keep fighting!!! Watch me, Mister Fuegoleon!!!"
"!!!"
"This guy.... He hit himself with his own blades and took out the curse power..." Valtos muttered as he stared at the battle from high up. "You're truly like an wild animal, boy."
"AWWWRIGHTTT!!!!" Asta roared, now reenergised, and holding both of his swords in his hands. "Bring it on!!!"
"Did the sight of our numbers drive him insane?"
"It doesn't matter, he's about to die anyway."
*FOOM!!!*
Countless magic assaulted Asta from all directions. So he did what he does best.
He spun.
Anti Magic: Negation spin!
All attacks aimed at him lost their magic power and fizzled out the moment they hit his blade.
"Oooooh~~~ It's him. The Anti-magic kid master was talking about~!"
"*Huff.**Huff.* Right. Just like Mister Fuegoleon said. I have to stay calm. *Fwooh!* I'm gonna calmly kick your butts!!!"
And with that he charged forward.
*RAAAAGH!!!*
*SLASH!*
Asta towards the closest hooded figure and attacked him.
The others aimed their attacks at them.
"That littl-"
Flame magic: Exploding Flames!
A torrent of flame ball launched out from Leopold and exploded in close proximity of the other hooded figures, who dodged the attack, though some were a bit too late and ended up getting their robes singed.
"You think I'm going to let you people throw your weight around after what you did to my brother?!" Leopold growled. "Let me join you, my rival!!"
"Sure, jump right on in!"
"Don't forget about me too!!!" Ray added, who had been busy calming himself down this entire time. Though he had exited Battle Instinct Mode, the adrenaline, and the hot thundering of his blood in his ears kept his battle heat and hunger alive. He was craving blood. And he was damn gonna have it.
*RAAAGHH!!*
*WAAAGH!!!*
*AAAARGHHH!!!!*
With different shouts, all three exploded in three different directions, each taking on one hooded figure.
*Take that!!!*
However, it was painfully clear that none of them were in a shape for a prolonged fight.
*RAAAAGHH!!!*
Leopold's inherent lack of experience fighting life and death battles, Asta's dangerously high blood loss and stamina consumption, and Ray's injuries, all together meant that they were on their last straw, barely keeping up a fight.
*DIE!!!*
*SLASH!!*
'They say beasts are more formidable when wounded. These boys are... Dangerous.' The hooded figure sighed. "You weren't our targets but... We'll kill you here and now!!"
He unleashed a powerful three-way magic, that trapped the tree together, aiming to kill them with minimal effort. However-
Water Creation Magic: Sea Dragon's lair!!!
Noelle's barrier stopped the attack cold.
"Don't think you can kill my friends so easily!!" Noelle yelled, as Ray launched himself out of the Water barrier and cut the head of the attacking hooded mage, off.
"Next." He muttered.
The other hooded figures, as expected, exploded in a fit of rage and disbelief.
Tree Creation Magic: Magic Draining Roots!!!
A massive tree appeared, hugging the Water barrier and absorbing it, leading it to dissolve completely.
Quickly, Asta and Leopold launched themselves towards the caster.
"Your fighting Instincts are admirable... but... still too naive." He hooded figure said, his voice sounding like he was smirking as he shifted a bit, revealing another hooded man behind him, whose grimoire flipped open immediately.
Wind Creation Magic: Tornado Needles!
They both were impaled countless times.
"ASTA!!! LEO!!!" Ray Roared, as he launched himself forward, the schenider dissolving as he grabbed both firmly and steadied them.
"Damn it! Too much blood loss!!!" He growled, glaring at the hooded figures responsible for this.
"Einarmiger Bogen!"
A one handed bow appeared in his hand. He drew the string and notched an arrow.
Heilig Pfeil: Focused shot + Explosion Shot + Voltz!
*BAMG!*
*Krac- BZZT BOOM!!!*
The arrow launched itself at high speeds, and exploded into a shower of electricity the moment it entered range, frying the hooded figures alive.
"NOO!! KILL HIM!!! KILL THEM!!!"
The rest of the hooded figures roared in rage at the loss of two more comrades.
Ray, reacted fast, trying to shield the unconscious two, and Noelle with his body.
"RAY!! NO!!!" Noelle screamed.