Clash of Queens

"GRIM!!"

Bursting into the room, the eyes of the two captains locked onto the smiling Grim.

"Oh?" Hearing the door slam open, Grim slowly raised his head to look at them.

'Well, well, well... Would ya look at that.'

Grinning like an idiot and jumping up to the spectating area, he sat on the metal railing and sent the two captains a devious looking smile.

"Can't say you two were the ones I was looking forward to seeing. But then again, after what I heard happened to Yuno, I guess it makes sense that he'd go straight for Zenon. *sigh* But you guys could have at least sent that guy with that elusive shadowy mana."

Using [Hyper Focus] to scan the entire castle, he saw Yuno and Langris confronting Zenon whilst Jack and Nacht stood against the freshly healed Dante.

"Oh?" A small sound of surprise passed through his lips.

'Another devil host eh.'

'Man this just keeps getting more and more interesting.'

"Hey Vanica." He called out. "Think you can handle these two?"

"Pfft, of course." She giggled and side eyed the two. "As if I'd lose to anyone besides you."

"That's what I like to hear!" He grinned and clapped his hands together.

"Now then." He turned back on Rill and Charlotte. "Its been great seeing you guys again, Unfortunately it's time for me to go."

"Stop right there!" Charlotte roared and charged forward.

"Ah ah ah." Vanica's voice echoed out as the two generals burst forth and combined their two magic types to force Charlotte back.

*BOOOM!!*

"Arghh!"

"CHARLOTTE!!" Rill called out in panic.

 Pushed back by the combined might of the two, the soles of Charlotte's feet dug into the ground as she grit her teeth and forcefully stablized herself.

Seeing the torn sleeves of Charlotte's outfit emitting small wisps of smoke as the vine-like gauntlets burned away, Vanica rested her chin on her hand and smirked at the two.

"Sorry hun, but you're gonna have to play with me for a bit."

"Charlotte are you oka-

"I'm fine." She answered coldly.

Ignoring Rill and tearing away what was left of her vine gauntlets, she closed her eyes and calmed her beating heart.

"Ha? What's this? Don't tell me that was enough to deter you. Ahh~~ well its not like I can expect much from [Briar Magic]."

"Charlotte..."

Seeing her fall silent, Vanica took it as an invitation to continue mocking the clover captain.

"Urgh, why did Grim even ask me if I thought I could handle you two? You're nothing. I don't even know what you thought you could accomplish by coming her-

"You talk a lot."

"...What?" Not expecting Charlotte to suddenly cut her off, Vanica was momentarily at a loss for words.

Looking on the ground and at the burning vines, Charlotte's voice seemed to echo out.

"You're right. In the face of the ridiculous magics in this world, [Briar Magic] might not be worth anything. But!

*Bursting out with an insane amount of nature's mana, a large magic circle formed on the ground of the training room.*

"I wasn't sitting around doing nothing for the past 6 months! After training in the Heart Kingdom and reaching the extreme state of mana method, I finally understand how to use this cursed magic of mine!"

"Huh? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Hah. Yeah, I guess you wouldn't get it unless I spell it out for you."

Staring her dead in the eye, the mana coarsing through the magic circle began to pulse like a beating heart.

"That devil you host, the originator of all curses, its thanks to her that I was able to become-

*Light explodes out of the magic circle!*

"SO MUCH STRONGER!!"

[Mana Method Briar Magic: Blue Rose Paradise]

*BOOM!!*

Feeling the large amount of mana bursting out from the magic circle, Rill couldn't help but laugh and stand in awe as a countless number of briars covered the training room.

'After being nurtured by the high quality land and water in the mana rich Heart Kingdom, this is the result.'

"This... What is this!" Vanica shook feeling a familiar sensation in Charlotte's spell. "Why do I sense the power of a curse in your magic!"

Coiling around the legs of the two cursed generals, Vanica watched in shock as the curses empowering them slowly weakened.

No, it wasn't just that the curses were getting weaker, the vines were getting stronger and causing the buds on them to bloom into blue coloured roses.

'These vines... They're absorbing the curse's power.'

"Ha...Ha...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! HOW FUN, HOW FUN, HOW FUUUN!! You modified the curse on yourself and turned it into a anti-curse spell! HoW FaSciNaTiNg!"

Ripping the eyepatch off and revealing her devil eye. Megicula's voice mixed in with hers.

"To ThInK ThErE WaS sOmeOnE CaPaBle oF DoIng SoMEthINg lIKe tHaT."

Even Grim wasn't able to do something so shocking.

"More...I WANT TO SEE EVEN MORE!!"

Going straight to 70% of her devil's power, Vanica's lips curved upwards as she extended her wings and rushed Charlotte.

Standing proud and watching the crazed devil host approach her, a cold look settled on the face of the captain of the blue rose squad. Watching as the blue rose coated vines tangled up the two generals, she released a breath.

"This is my current blue rose... AND THIS-

Suddenly, the blue roses trapping the two general turned red.

"IS MY RIGHTFUL RED ROSE!"

*SLAAASH!!*

The moment those roses turned red, the vines holding them became hostile and attacked them with an almost animalistic-like ferocity.

"AHAHAHAHA! NOW THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! BUT FOCUS ON ME!!"

"My blue rose restrains and weakens while my red rose strikes and destroys. Right now-

*Rune Arrays begin converging around her*

both roses are mine to control."

[True Briar Magic: Queen Of Briars]

Using true magic to manifest real roses, a dress and crown made of briars formed over her spade raid outfit. With blue roses adorning the right side and red roses on the left, she no longer needed to suppress that wicked curse power that had plagued her for so long. And for the first time in her life, she was able to fight at full power.

Watching all this take place from the sidelines, Rill was gobsmacked at the realization that if this was Charlotte's true power, it meant that she had become a captain with only half of her abilities active.