Chapter 20: Strange First Mission (3)

[Third Person's PoV] 

Asta rushed toward the hooded men with a burst of speed. One of the hooded men tried to counter Asta by hurling his mist magic at him.

But Asta simply cut right through it with his sword before slashing at the man's body, wounding him greatly and moving on to his next target.

Any and all magic thrown at Asta either ended up being reflected back at the attackers with the flat side of his sword or cut down, rendering them ineffective.

Meanwhile, Magna was rapidly throwing fireballs that exploded on impact. The hooded men, who also wielded ice magic, sent a volley of icicles toward him.

However, they were too much for Magna, who was running low on magic and couldn't keep up.

"Damn it!" Magna inwardly exclaimed, shutting his eyes. But when he didn't feel any pain, he opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by a small water dome.

He grinned and gave a thumbs up to Noelle. "Good work, Ms. Royalty!"

Noelle scoffed, though inwardly, she was cheering, 'I did it! I really did it! I controlled my magic!'

Asta, meanwhile, was like a hurricane, taking down everything in his path.

Suddenly, they all heard screaming from inside the ring of fire created by Stephen. Inside, they saw Stephen holding Heath up by the face before dropping him. He unsummoned the fire from his hands and backhanded Heath with a closed fist, knocking him unconscious.

With a snap of Stephen's fingers, the ring of fire disappeared. "I guess we should start rounding everyone up."

They all agreed. Noelle then asked, "So, can I let go of my spell?"

Stephen nodded, causing Noelle to let out a sigh of relief. However, as she released her spell, all the water she was holding over her head dropped on top of her and the nearby villagers.

"Phttt." Stephen covered his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter, seeing Noelle drenched from head to toe with a straight expression as she moved her hair from her face.

"It's not funny," Noelle said, glaring at Stephen.

Stephen smirked and pinched his fingers together. "It's a little funny."

"I'll take care of binding everyone," Magna said with a grin as his grimoire floated beside him. "Fire-Binding Magic: Flame Bondage Formation," he said.

However, before his magic could take effect, water sprouted from the back of one of the hooded mages on the ground.

[Water Magic: Torrential Transport]

The mage, huffing from the pain of his wound, was being carried away by a fast stream of water.

"Shit!" Magna cursed. "He's getting away!"

Stephen calmly extended his arm, conjuring a whip from his hand. The whip shot out and wrapped itself around the escapee's leg. With a strong yank, he pulled the mage back from his spell.

Stephen shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. No one said you could leave yet."

"Damn it…" the hooded mage grunted.

With a flick of his wrist, Stephen shot a small energy bolt from his Eldritch Magic toward the man's head, slamming it against the floor and knocking him unconscious. "Now you can tie them up."

Magna smiled widely as his grimoire glowed, and a fireball appeared in his hand.

---

Once Magna finished tying everyone up, the villagers surrounded them, tears in their eyes as they expressed their gratitude.

Just then, Nero appeared, flying through the air with a rock in her beak. She landed on Stephen's shoulder and showed him the rock before spitting it into his hand.

"Why the sudden interest in rock collecting? Do you want it for your nest or something?" Stephen asked teasingly.

One of the villagers, noticing the stone in Stephen's hand, smiled at him. "If you want that rock, you can have it. It was the village chief's protective charm. You're our savior, after all."

Stephen looked at Nero and saw her nodding her head. Smiling, he turned to the villagers. "Then I shall graciously take it. Thank you."

Noelle looked at Stephen as he smiled kindly at the villagers. Realizing she had been staring too long, she quickly shook her head and walked over to grab Nero from his shoulder.

"You're just too adorable!" Noelle said, holding onto Nero.

Nero, with her usual deadpan expression, didn't bother flying away and let Noelle hold her.

"Yo! Stephen, the scumbag is waking up!" Magna said as he noticed Heath slowly opening his eyes.

Stephen crouched down slightly toward Heath and teased, "Congratulations, you've gained a face only a mother could love!"

Magna pointed at Heath with an angered expression. "I'm gonna rest up a bit more and recover my magic. When I'm done, I'm handing you in! You're going to pay for what you tried to do to these people!"

Meanwhile, Heath realized his magic had been sealed.

Stephen glanced at Magna. "Actually, there's no need to wait. I can open a portal back to the base."

"Oh, that's right! I forgot you could do that!" Magna said, happily turning back to Heath, his expression hardening once more. "The Magic Knights are going to make you talk—who you are, what you wanted, everything!"

Heath looked at them with an apathetic expression and coldly said, "No, you won't."

Suddenly, a glow appeared in Heath's stomach, causing all of their eyes to widen. They were too stunned to react as Heath coughed up blood.

[Ice Magic: Ice Burial]

A blast of ice engulfed them all before it cracked and shattered into multiple pieces, leaving them horrified.

"A magic item... He self-destructed," Magna muttered in anger.

Asta gritted his teeth. "Those idiots... Life… What do you think life is!?"

"Damn it..." Stephen muttered before closing his eyes. "Back away," he ordered, stepping in front of them.

"Asta, have your sword ready," Stephen instructed, crossing his arms as a green magic circle began to form on each forearm.

"Wha—What are you going to do?" Noelle asked slowly.

"Just watch..." Stephen replied, closing his eyes and pinching his fingers together.

He held one hand close to his chest and raised the other above him, spinning it counterclockwise. A green magic circle began forming at the same time, adorned with symbols and runes in place of numbers, with a clock hand in the center.

Stephen moved his raised hand toward the shattered icicles and thrust the other hand forward, causing a green magic symbol to appear at his fingertips.

"Reverse; Rewind; Undo," Stephen muttered, rotating his hands counterclockwise.

[Time Magic: Time Reversal]

Under the magic circle, the shattered ice began to slowly piece itself back together, undoing the damage as the clock hands in the magic circle moved backward. The ice withdrew itself back into Heath's stomach until the glow dimmed and disappeared.

Stephen clenched his fist, stopping the clock's movement. "Now, Asta, hit him hard in the stomach!"

As Stephen ended the spell, Asta rushed forward with his sword and slammed its flat side into Heath's stomach. Heath's eyes widened, his cheeks puffed, and he vomited up an ice-like crystal. Without hesitation, Asta plunged his sword into it, shattering it.

Meanwhile, Magna and Noelle stood with their mouths agape, unable to believe what they had just witnessed.

"Stephen..." Magna began slowly. "I mean this in the kindest way possible... WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?"

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