10: Blood Battle

We entered a large open space. There was a waterfall pouring out from the side of the wall, and across the river that rushed through the middle of the cave, there was a large golden door.

I quickly set us down, "It's the vault."

"Let's hurry!" Klaus called.

Suddenly, a body appeared from the shadows. "Well, well, well... It looks like some Magic Knights came out to play."

A man walked out and stood between us and the vault, and about 5 hooded figures came and circled behind him.

"Leave here at once, and we won't attack!" Klaus called.

I wonder where Magna and Noelle are... I hope they're safe. And far from here. I did not like the feeling of this guy's mana.

"But we were here first," the man said with a smile and a shrill voice.

He had long black hair that flowed down to his waist, and a long scar stretched diagonally across his entire face.

Damn, he's kind of scary looking...

Suddenly, he cast a spell and launched a magic attack towards us. Asta drew out his sword and jumped in front, slashing through the blow.

This guy has Moonlight magic!? Not good.

I watched as the magic completely dispersed after being hit with Asta's sword.

So they were right?... My Blood Magic has similar properties to Anti-Magic?

"You're gonna have to do a lot better than that!" Asta yelled.

"Careful, Asta. Moonlight Magic is incredibly powerful," I warned in a low voice.

"You should listen to the beautiful girl, young one. She knows what she's talking about," the man cooed.

I looked at him and noticed the Spade symbol stitched on his robe.

"A little far from home aren't you?" I called. "What's the Spade Kingdom doing way out here?"

Shit, the Spade Kingdom had the best military of all the Kingdoms by far... I am not looking forward to fighting these guys.

He let out a loud cackle, "Oh, you are a smart one! We're just taking what's ours darling, that's all."

"You are in the Clover Kingdom! Which means this dungeon belongs to us!" Klaus called back.

I looked over at Yuno, who was sizing up the man as well. "We have to be smart about this," I whispered to him.

"Yes, I agree," he responded.

Suddenly, Asta started charging at the man and his hooded comrades.

"No!" I yelled, knowing it was already too late. Asta was launched in mid air over the river, and Mimosa was right behind him.

The man ignored Asta completely and turned his attention to Mimosa.

Not good, he's taking out the weaker one first.

"This is not what I had in mind," I muffled while running after them.

"Moonlight Magic: Cresent Cut!" the man sent an attack for Mimosa, and it cut her right on the front side of her neck.

Asta was caught off guard by the way the man didn't even hold back at all, and he was blown into the rock wall by one of the hooded-figure's spells.

Mimosa crashed into the ground while desperately holding her throat while blood rushed out.

Fuck, this guy is aiming to kill!!!

"Blood Magic: Blood Clot!" I yelled while running over to her.

I could heal wounds on myself almost instantly, but I still hadn't become very good at healing others with my magic. However, the blood had definitely slowed.

If I just keep her safe for the rest of this fight, she'll make it out alive. Maybe unconscious, but definitely alive.

"MIMOSA!!" Asta cried from across the cave.

"Fucking focus, Asta! I'll keep her safe!" I yelled back.

"Oh my! We have a Blood Magic user in our midst!" the man called. "This makes things much more exciting! I thought the Royal girl was dead for sure!"

How'd he know she was Royal?

"How'd you know she was Royalty?" Klaus asked sharply.

"Well, as an inter-kingdom spy. It's my duty to know." he chuckled. "Don't worry, I'm only telling you this because you'll be dead soon."

The Spade Kingdom was spying on the Clover Kingdom? Why? What was their objective?

"Enough chit chat! Let's resume." the man called.

I pulled out my grimoire. My first time doing so since joining the Bulls.

"Blood Magic: Blood Sphere." I called as the pages flipped open in front of me. Suddenly, a red sphere formed around Mimosa and floated her into the air.

The sphere drifted back behind all of us, ensuring that no one would be able to get to her.

"And 2 four leaf clover grimoires!? This really is a treat!" The man said referring to me and Yuno.

Klaus and Yuno snapped their heads in my direction, examining my grimoire. It was a thick, all-black book. On the cover, there was a bright red four leaf clover.

"How?..." Yuno trailed off.

"We can chat later. We've got business to take care of." I muttered.

"I suppose the girl is alive and well?" the man asked while gesturing to my blood sphere.

I smirked, "Yep. And the only way you'll be getting to her, is if you kill me first."

"That seems like such a terrible waste," he cooed. "But it seems we have no choice."

"Let's take out his bodyguards first," I whispered to Yuno and Klaus, and they both nodded.

"Asta!" I yelled. "You good?!"

He was standing to his feet. He wasn't hurt physically, but I could tell Mimosa's injury took a lot out of him.

I kept my eyes locked on the scarred man while my teammates began to take out the hooded guys.

You have to trust your teammates, Y/n. And you have to make sure he doesn't get anywhere near Mimosa.

Klaus used his steel magic to send rods hurling at the bodyguards, while Asta and Yuno focused on deflecting their attacks.

The creepy dude just kept his eyes locked to mine.

It took all of 5 minutes before the 5 hooded figures were lying lifeless across the cave.

"Hmm, seems like I should've brought more experienced fighters... In my defense, we weren't expecting company." He explained.

"Oh well," he continued. "I've come to expect that I'll need to do things on my own."

With that, he sent a circular light beam flying towards Klaus.

"Moonlight Magic: Full Moon Shell!" he yelled. It was so fast I barely even saw it make impact with Klaus. His body when crashing backwards and slammed into the side of the cave.

He dropped motionless to the ground and began coughing up heaps of blood.

"Looks like you should've brought more experienced fighters too," he teased.

I stared in shock at Klaus' body... I couldn't believe how quickly he was taken down.

"Y/n," Yuno called. "Can you protect him too?"

"Mmm." I nodded before rushing over to his body.

I felt for a pulse. It was weak but still there. How did he do that?

"You see," the man called. "That spell isn't just brute force. It's designed to shift on impact, causing the magic to hit all vital organs and pressure points..."

"Quite a deadly weapon, wouldn't you say? Had your teammate been any weaker, he would've died!" he was laughing maniacally.

I focused my breathing while laying my hands on Klaus, "Blood Magic: Blood Sphere."

My back was turned so I couldn't see the fighting that had begun between the man and Yuno and Asta, but I could hear it.

I slowly made another blood sphere to wrap around Klaus. The bad news was that this spell takes a lot out of me. The good news was that I could be knocked unconscious and on the brink of death, and these spheres wouldn't come undone.

As long as I was alive, these blood spheres would protect Klaus and Mimosa and keep them alive, too.

I turned back towards the action as Klaus floated towards Mimosa.

My heart sank when I saw Yuno was trapped in some brightly-shining crate. He was trying to cast a spell but it wasn't working.

An enclosure that cuts off mana? Geez, this guy is a beast. No wonder the Spade Kingdom used him as a spy... He'd probably even get Yami to break a sweat in a fight.

"And then there were two," he said softly.

"Asta," I called as I walked towards him. "We have to focus on working together to beat this guy. If we do that, everyone's safe."

He nodded and pulled his sword back into attack mode.

Blood Magic: Blood Sword.

I yielded my own sword and matched his attack stance. We began to charge at the man together. He hurled spells at us left and right. Asta was cutting through most of his, and I was dodging mine.

Suddenly, another circular light wall launched towards me. Not another one of these spells... All I can do is try to slice through it.

My magic was able to do something similar to Asta's Anti-Magic, but it wasn't nearly as strong. I planted my feet and slashed my sword in front of me, cutting through the light.

I slid back a few feet and coughed up a small amount of blood, but I wasn't knocked out like Klaus was, so that was a start.

"How did you?..." the man looked at me in shock.

Blood Magic was rare enough as it is, but my Blood Magic... it was the rarest form of them all. Plus, it had years of enhancement while I was in captivity.

With this new revelation, the man turned all his attention towards Asta, hurling spells at him one after another.

He always goes after who he thinks is the weakest first. This gives me the perfect opportunity... Hold him off a little longer Asta.

I began to circle my arms out in front of me, "Blood Magic: Blood Beast!"

If this didn't work, I'd be completely out of commission and unable to fight anymore. This has to work, Y/n.

Asta was slashing through his spells like he was cutting through cake.

I scoffed. This kid is annoyingly strong.

Slowly, a large beast with snarling teeth and claws like daggers appeared beside me. I saw Asta's eyes widened as he looked at the spell.

The man snapped his head back my way, and a look of terror spread across his face.

If he hadn't been distracted by Asta, I would've never had the time to do this spell... He shouldn't have let his guard down.

"Attack," I commanded in a low voice and the beast began to charge. It let out a mighty roar while lifting up its claws and slashing through the man.

He let out a scream of pain, and fell to the ground. He was bleeding out everywhere as Asta and I approached him.

Suddenly, Magna and Noelle burst into the cave.

"Is everything ok?" He yelled before his jaw dropped and he looked up at the beast I had created, "Whoa..."

I slowly began to disperse of the beast and the blood returned to me. I felt myself get light headed, so I took a seat on the ground.

When the man had taken his last breaths, Yuno's cage dissolved and he dropped to his feet.

"Y/n, that was so cool!!" Asta cried.

I laughed softly, "It wouldn't have been possible if it weren't for you keeping him busy."

"That was quite impressive," Yuno said while reaching his hand towards me. I gladly accepted and let him help me to my feet.

"What happened!?" Noelle and Magna called.

"Can we just get the treasure and get out of this place?" I moaned.

Everyone chuckled slightly and nodded in agreement.

Asta put his arm on my shoulder as the others went to the vault, "You saved us... All of us." he said softly.

"Just doin my job," I responded.

I smiled as he walked away. I think I've finally found where I'm meant to be.