Strange use of Magic (Black Clover AU)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Yami and the rest of the Black Bulls stood before the High Priest, with the other temple residents gathered behind them. The priest gazed at them with gratitude. "Thank you… It's because of you that our temple survived their wrath."

Yami shook his head. "It's because of us that your temple was targeted in the first place, old man. So don't worry about it."

"But you still defeated the monster that kept threatening my people. That deserves a thank you, doesn't it?" the priest said cheerfully.

As they were saying their goodbyes, Stephen noticed Charmy with three small cotton balls floating around her hands, examining them closely.

"Are those…?" Stephen asked slowly, staring at the cotton balls in surprise. Luck and Magna were also curiously observing them.

"Are those the guys from the Eye of the Midnight Sun you fought with Grey and Gauche?" Luck asked, noticing the tiny men trapped inside the cotton balls, only their heads sticking out.

"Yeah, they're screaming something, but it looks like they can't get out, which is good," Charmy said, scrutinizing them.

"Were they strong?" Luck asked excitedly.

Magna complimented her magic, "I gotta say, that's some killer binding magic."

"I agree," Stephen added, looking impressed.

Meanwhile, Kahono was saying her goodbyes to Noelle and Wanda, while Asta bid farewell to Kiato.

"Make sure you guys stop by again! I'll throw you all a grand banquet!" the High Priest shouted as Finral opened a portal, and they all made their way back to the Black Bull base.

Once they arrived, Vanessa huffed towards Stephen and marched inside to grab a drink.

"Don't you think you overdid it by calling her old?" Wanda asked, giving Stephen a wary look.

"Not in the slightest," Stephen replied, walking past everyone confidently, his chest puffed out, head held high, cloak billowing behind him like a cape.

…

Everyone slouched on the couch after returning from their mission, letting out exhausted sighs. Charmy sat contentedly, eating a pile of food, while Vanessa sipped wine with a satisfied grin.

"Ahhh~ nothing tastes better than booze after a big job," Vanessa said, then looked at Stephen with a cheeky smile. "Hey, if you let out Party Steve, I might forgive you~~"

"I think the ones needing forgiveness are all of us, not just me," Stephen replied, motioning with his head to the side.

Gordon sat in a corner, his hat covering his face as he muttered to himself in a low tone, inaudible to the others.

"Poor guy. He's all sad because he couldn't come with us," Stephen said, looking at Gordon sympathetically.

The Black Bulls gathered around Gordon, patting his back to comfort him. Yami appeared before them.

"I'm going to report to the Wizard King. Charmy, you're coming too. Bring the prisoners. Stephen, you're coming as well since you spoke the most with the fish brat; you can report what you learned, and help with the travel."

"YES!" Finral shouted excitedly, drawing everyone's attention. "I finally don't have to be the travel mule. I can rest after a long mission!"

"I'll take you too since you seem so energetic," Yami said coldly. Finral immediately shrank back, letting out a meek apology.

"I want to go too!" Asta shouted boisterously, brimming with energy.

Yami thought for a moment. "Well, you were there when we got the mission… Yeah, sure, you can come along."

After giving Stephen a look, Stephen opened a portal to the capital. Yami, Asta, Charmy, and Stephen stepped through, while Nero chose to stay behind, perching on Wanda.

As Stephen stepped through, the portal sealed shut behind him. Upon arriving, Asta admired the large city and its vast landscape with awe, no matter how many times he had seen it, it would always fascinate him.

Yami led them through the streets towards the Wizard King's office. After a few minutes, they saw a green portal materialize in front of them. Finral walked out, swaying with each step, lost in his own thoughts.

"Ladies, here I come~" Finral murmured, eyes closed as he happily marched forward. He crashed face-first into Yami's torso, jolting back and holding his head. "Oof! Who put a wall here—"

Looking up, Finral saw Yami staring down at him. Blinking in surprise, Finral turned around and began sprinting away, arms flailing. However, he quickly realized he wasn't making any distance; Yami was holding him by the scruff of his neck.

"H-Hey everyone, fancy seeing you here~" Finral greeted nervously, shoulders slumped in defeat.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be at the base resting?" Charmy asked.

"I wanted to rest in the embrace of a woman," Finral replied dejectedly. "I didn't expect to run into you guys here I thought you would have already been inside."

Yami scoffed and tossed Finral behind him like a discarded object. "Congratulations, you just became our designated ride back."

"Wha—!"

Ignoring Finral's protest, Yami continued towards the Wizard King's office, the others following.

…

"I see. You said he grew a third eye… For now, we'll send his corpse for an autopsy and interrogate the other members of the Eye of the Midnight Sun," Julius said, looking pensive.

"Yessir. And this here is the Magic Stone," Yami said, presenting the stone they found in the temple. "Not to mention, Stephen here found another one during his first mission."

"Yes, I already suspected as much. The mage you captured during that mission mentioned securing the stone as an objective. Thanks to that, I had my suspicions it was in your custody," Julius nodded towards Stephen.

"But that's not all, sir," Yami interjected as Julius opened his mouth to congratulate them.

"Oh?" Julius said, intrigued.

"We have two other things to report," Yami continued. "First, concerning the identity and the objective of the Eye of the Midnight Sun…" Yami detailed the information Stephen had shared during their mission.

Julius stood up, placing his hands on his desk in disbelief. "I see. That explains mostly everything… It all starting to make sense now," he muttered.

Even Asta and Charmy were astonished. However, Asta's shock was for a different reason altogether. "Nero was a girl trapped in a bird's body all this time?! And you didn't tell me?!"

"I mean, it wasn't exactly my secret to share," Stephen shrugged.

Asta pouted, sulking. "Still, it would have been nice if you guys told me. I mean, we all grew up together, didn't we? I thought she would have trusted me. I can keep a secret."

Asta then froze, a semi-glare on his face. "Does Yuno know?"

Stephen shook his head, and Asta's mood brightened. "Hehehe, I know now before Yuno!"

Julius sat back down with a sigh of relief. "Well, nonetheless, I'm really glad to hear this."

"You are?" Stephen asked, focusing back on Julius with confusion.

Julius smiled and nodded. "Because this means Vangeance isn't really responsible for his crimes or his actions, for that matter. In fact, he's merely a victim of circumstances."

Yami smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Seeing Stephen's confusion, Julius chuckled. "What I mean is that Vangeance hadn't truly betrayed us or the Clover Kingdom. As he is one of my precious Magic Knight Captains, I'm glad to see this wasn't necessarily a choice he had. Nonetheless, the matter concerning the devil is… well, for lack of a better term, concerning. I'll keep the Magic Knight Captains informed and on the lookout for any suspicious activities in their squads."

Asta and Charmy smiled, seeing how much Julius cared for his Magic Knights.

Julius then turned to Yami. "And what about the other matter you had to report?"

Yami began recounting their encounter with the Envoys of Atlantis, detailing how Stephen fought him and how they dealt with the matter altogether.

Julius looked even more astonished and concerned regarding Atlantis than the elves and the devil. "So it truly exists… the Underwater Kingdom truly exists."

"Have you heard about this kingdom?" Stephen asked, curious about what Julius knew.

"Well, we don't know much. We suspected its existence but mostly thought it was purely a myth. There is a specific region down south, a restricted area where no mage is supposed to wander. Whoever steps foot around that area is never heard from again. The previous Wizard Kings before me sent Magic Knights to explore it to see if they could discover anything, but none ever made it out alive. We came close to discovering something, but all we ever got were two words, 'Underwater Kingdom,' before the message was cut. From that point onwards, it became forbidden to send mages to that section of the region, as all we would end up with were casualties," Julius explained in awe.

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