Dungeon III

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"The Black Bulls are a filthy disgrace to the Magic Knight!!"

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Xierra flinched when she heard the tone Klaus used that harboured genuine hatred. The female frowned ever-so-slightly, worried that the fight might escalate more than she expected.

A pair of amber orbs noticed the female adolescent's concern's state, causing their owner to walk over to the girl and patted her head.

"Yu... no...?" Xierra murmured slowly, startled that the raven-black-haired mage decided to pat her head like he always used to.

The said boy voiced no response and kept his gaze on his senior and Asta's forms, growling like wild beasts at each other, waiting for someone to make the first move.

Asta got into his stance and glared back at Klaus with determination and not the same animosity the nobleman had. She expected Asta to at least hate the blue-haired senior a little–– but it seemed that she guessed wrong.

"Bring it on, you jerk," the ash-blonde spoke with a peculiarly composed self. He snapped, "The Black Bulls are gonna capture this dungeon first!! Just you wait!!"

A finger was pointed at Klaus and Asta continued his retaliation, only to not know of the Golden Dawn's name. "You Gol–– darn... No, uh... Solden... Wait, um..."

Xierra facepalmed at how Asta fell from sky-high to zero. She was starting to respect Asta for staying determined. However, all that reverence she felt towards the ash-blonde disappeared the moment Asta got the Golden Dawn's name wrong.

'Dammit, you looked cool earlier, kid...' Inari telepathically complained whilst gritting his teeth in slight annoyance, wanting to scold the boy so hard for ruining his own moment.

"... You group with the weird masked boss!!!" Asta finally finished, causing the rest to facepalm harder at the name he just came up with.

'He's hopeless, Master... HE'S HOPELESS!!'

Xierra chuckled awkwardly at Inari's inner protests, keeping her eyes open on the scene happening before them.

"Weird mask...?" Klaus quoted as one of his fuschia eyes twitched uncomfortably at the ridiculous name given to his captain.

The ticking of the clock had begun. The countdown was near and the bomb's getting closer to exploding.

Xierra sweated when Klaus snapped a bit later than counted.

"YOU SCUM!! ARE YOU MOCKING OUR SUBLIME CAPTAIN VANGEANCE?!?!"

The senior's booming voice seemingly rattled the place itself, letting a few crumbles and dust rain down by the corners of the dungeon.

At this rate, Inari who was resting on Klaus' shoulders moved away forcefully. He must admit, Klaus' shoulders were as comfortable as his master's.

The two started to fight comically, with Klaus shaking Asta a bit too harsh and Asta fighting back with his fists flying around randomly in the air.

"In any case, your captain is the weird one!! Why all those muscles?! Why the tank top?!"

"What was that?! He's macho and completely awesome!!"

Yuno heaved a sigh as the anti-bird that kept following Asta around landed on his right shoulder. The hand that was still on Xierra's head began patting her again, rhythmically.

The two shook their heads at the same time and thought, 'Talk about wasting time.'

The irony of Klaus mentioning how a waste of time the other squad was being when he himself was using time inefficiently by arguing.

"Yare yare... They're both hopeless," Inari spoke and let out a small scoff, looking away with disinterest. He walked on all four, approaching Mimosa and Noelle who had yet to say anything about the fight going on.

The magenta-visioned mage huffed and panted. He then abruptly leaned back a bit and pushed his glasses dramatically, his short light-blue hair bouncing with the force he backed away with.

"Fine, you fools! We'll show the difference between the top Magic Knights Group and you dregs!!"

Klaus didn't spare his teammate a single glance and shouted their names, with the female Vermillion coming up first.

"Mimosa!!"

"Okay!"

Gracefully opening her grimoire, Mimosa maintained her soft smile and leafed through the pages in search of a certain spell.

She then pointed towards the space in front of her with the tip of her index finger and roots began growing bigger from nowhere.

Small blades of verdant life began appearing one by one on the tangling roots, growing upwards each second until a large rafflesia bloomed.

"Plant Creation Magic: Magic Flower Guidepost~!"

'Ooh, Plant Magic?' Inari repeated in slight interest, eyeing the mesmerizing spell before him with glimmers within his gold orbs.

A three-dimensional map emerged from the centre of the white-specked crimson bloom. The shining green particles in the air swirled around the mini layout of the dungeon, making the spell looked more breathtaking than it already was.

Thin and young stems began growing one by one with life born within. Mimosa hummed once in a while to indicate her understanding of the dungeon's layout.

As Xierra was observing the Vermillion's spell for personal purposes, Yuno took this chance to inspect the white-haired female instead.

She had become more expressive than before.

She used to just laugh along with everyone and gave all her smile. However, ever since the three orphans became Magic Knights and went their separate ways, the changes Xierra showed were visible.

The corners of the raven-headed orphan's lips curved into a soft smile. He was relieved that the blue-eyed female was changing, but at the same time, he wished that she'd stay the same.

"You've... changed a bit..." Yuno muttered with a hushed voice, smiling as his spoken thought went unheard by the female beside him.

Xierra hummed and looked at the taller teen by her side, arching two curious eyebrows. "Yuno, did you say something?"

"No, it's nothing. You looked nice today," Yuno quickly changed the topic and immediately found the opportunity to compliment the unsuspecting female.

Shades of red began painting Xierra's snow-like features with their vibrant colour. Her flustered state was amusing Yuno to no end, causing him to stifle a small laugh.

"W-W-Where did that come from?!" she silently squeaked out and stared at her childhood friend with an incredulous visage.

"Nowhere. I just wanted to say it."

"Huh?! Yuno!"

Inari glanced back at the small ruckus his master and her raven-haired childhood friend were making. He soon burst into a snickering fit and looked away, suffocating a bit from trying to hold his laughter in.

'I'm supporting you, wind kid,' Inari cheered on with laughter, successfully conveying his message and continued to cackle until his throat betrayed him.

'You have my thanks,' Yuno replied simply, keeping his smile soft whilst Xierra continued to send her playful hits that did not affect the boy.

'Inari, why are you siding with him?!'

'Because he's currently the most perfect love candidate for you, Master. Why else~?'

'Wha...?!'

"Curse you and your confession..." Xierra incoherently muttered and cursed, looking away with a flushed face.

Yuno heard her loud and clear, causing him to smirk triumphantly at the female's reaction. "What? Do you want me to say it again?"

"Say what?"

"I like y––"

"All right, all right. I get your message the first time," Xierra interrupted and immediately clamped Yuno's mouth with her fair hand, attempting to cover the male's mouth completely. She failed to do so due to the amber-eyed mage's height.

'He's too tall...! Argh!'

Yuno chuckled at Xierra's struggle, leaning forward a bit to level his height the same as hers. Their faces were oddly closer than before, causing Xierra to suddenly forget how it was to breathe.

Her face got redder and she immediately hit it behind two hands, turning around to let her back meet Yuno.

"Oh, come on. You're being unfair, Yuno..." she mumbled and sulked, looking away with the same blushing face as before. The crimson dusting her visage had yet to cease, causing Yuno to ruffle her hair.

"How?" he questioned plainly, trying to get Xierra to talk more. He's being more talkative today, for some reason.

Even since they got into the dungeon, Yuno had been standing close to her. Patting her head and giving her assurance–– no, comfort.

He gave her comfort.

The memory where Yuno indirectly confessed out loud on that one day didn't even pass her mind until she saw the boy.

It was a weird feeling. She kept trying to ignore this memory every second when she saw him, every time she spotted him–– every day.

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Xierra was about to retort to Yuno's simple yet difficult question until Mimosa concluded with a clap, "All right! I know the rough layout of this dungeon."

"Yuno!" Klaus called out to the raven-black-headed boy next, snapping his head towards the younger teen.

Yuno straightened himself and returned to his usual stoic self. "Right," he replied and opened his grimoire.

"Wind Creation Magic: Celestial Wind Ark."

Winds began to gather below the caster's feet and slowly formed a ship-like shape. The forging gales approached the other two Golden Dawn mages and messed their hair, bringing their robes up and defying gravity.

Yuno's wind ark lifted the three Golden Dawn members, including himself, up into the sky. Strings of winds were still holding the ark in place.

It's as if they're resembling ropes that tied a ship to shore.

Klaus smirked victoriously and gestured for Yuno to bring Xierra up as well. "Yuno, bring her as well. We can't let her be with them longer than she should."

"No need to tell me that, Klaus-senpai. I'm planning to," Yuno admitted with two full sentences and sent his winds back down to snake around Xierra's waist.

She was still gaping at Yuno's spell to notice that a wind current was about to bring her up. "...?!" Xierra yelped a little when her body was in the air, carefully and hastily brought to the Golden Dawns.

The raven-black-headed boy placed her slowly on his wind ark, letting her petite stature balance itself. He could see her rather perplexed gaze.

Xierra tilted her head and question, "Err, why am I coming with you again? I'm not a part of the Golden Dawn."

Her point was made.

Yuno voiced no response and brought Inari up with his winds as well, letting the lazy black-furred fox rest on the caster's shoulders.

Klaus let out a small "hmph" and pushed his glasses up, again. The senior never stated his reasons and patted Xierra's shoulder firmly, but not too hard to make her stumble.

His magenta-dyed vision travelled to Asta and his silver-haired partner. The light-blue-haired Magic Knight returned his smirk and declared, "Try as best as you can. Hah!"

"Wh––?! He's carrying four people so easily!" Xierra could hear Noelle's small voice even from the distance between them.

'Impressive as always, Yuno!' Asta thought with a wide grin, challenging himself repetitively since that day they respoke their childhood promise–– vow.

The white-haired girl crouched by the edges of the wind ark, wanting to get a clearer view of the Black Bulls below.

Particular curious azure pair of eyes observed Asta's earnest self and the owner's lips curled up into a smile.

"Sooo..." Xierra began, standing up and patting her laps from any possible dust. "... we're going to race to the treasure halls?"

"Yes, we are, Xierra-san!" Mimosa beamed in response and clasped both of the other female's hands in hers. "And you're coming with us~!"

"E-Eh...?" Xierra staggered back and sweatdropped at the Vermillion's eagerness. "I thought that I could compete as well––"

From the corners of her eyes, poor Xierra could see Yuno shaking his head in rejection and a ghost smile plastered on the teen's stoic expression.

"Not a chance."

'What?!' Xierra's eyes widened and her mouth hung open at the sudden rejection of her challenge. 'Why can't I compete with you two, too?!'

Klaus caught a glimpse of the female's expression and fixed his rectangular-rimmed glasses. "We're going to need you, Xierra. Now let's go, Yuno."

"Just say that you don't have any spell that lights up!" Inari complained as well, annoyed at the Golden Dawns taking his master away from her freedom to do anything.

Not that he's complaining. It only meant that his master got more time to spend with his top love candidate––

'Inari!'

'Hmph, this is really no fun.'

Inari looked away in utter disappointment. He was genuinely expecting to be able to race the other two squads to the treasure halls, only to be taken by Yuno and his group along.

Xierra gave in and crouched back down, locking her gaze with Asta's bright verdant ones. Her dazed state turned brighter as a tender smile graced her snow-like features.

The cerulean-visioned mage gave her clenched fist towards Asta, Yuno looked at the ash-blonde with a challenging look in return.

The memory of that day, the promise they made, and the dream they vowed to reach–– they all came rushing back to them like a broken dam.

The words they vowed to make true. Where the glowing fireflies graced them with their illuminating presence and the sunset painted the sky dim and orange.

–– and where the day was about to end.

When they finished their first fight with a former Magic Knight shortly after receiving their grimoires.

When they relished in their childhood memories once more beneath the sleeping sky and the sun fell into slumber.

And when they said the exact same words in the past, on that one snowy day where they fought the hardest to get what was theirs back.

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That one promise came back.

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"Let's see..."

"... who becomes..."

"... the Wizard King!"

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That event was only months ago after they became Magic Knights. The three childhood friends and orphans thought of the same thing at the same time.

The promise–– the vow from that day.

They're at it again. And this time, they're Magic Knights. They're one step closer to reaching the top spot that they've been dreaming of since they were kids.

To the treasure halls, this time. The treasure halls of the newly found dungeon that was yet to be discovered.

Xierra would love to explore the dungeon alone with Inari if it wasn't for the dangerous traps and creepy crawlies that Rhein had warned her about. Surely, she didn't want any contact with insects and whatnot.

However, this time, she's with Yuno. Though she couldn't compete with the other two boys as she planned to, she guessed that this ride wasn't as bad as she thought.

At least, for now...

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'Let's see which of us gets to the treasure hall first!'

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The wind ark went through a door by the walls and flew at a great speed through the empty halls. Brick walls surrounded them with several cracks visible through their lines and crevices holing up.

The wild vines above their heads only added up to how deserted yet alive this place was. The dungeon. A place that was new yet exciting to Xierra who was eager to explore.

However, it seemed fate had another thing ready for her when she's brought along with the Golden Dawn and their rivalry with the Black Bulls.

Good thing she joined the Crimson Lion Kings.

Speeding up, Yuno's wind ark faltered not and kept its pace steady. They were all standing balanced on the surface of the solidified spell,

Leaving the pair of Black Bulls behind seemed to make a hole of guilt residing within the white-haired female's mind. She knew that none of them had a tracking spell.

One wasn't able to control her magic whilst another had no magic at all. Xierra was actually planning on going back to the other two to help since she's the only Crimson Lion Kings' member there.

It wouldn't hurt to group with the other two to make a balanced rivalry. Three on three should be fair enough, excluding that one other member of the Black Bulls that... err, left the pair behind.

Much to her dismay, Inari held her in place and kept her at bay. 'Master, don't worry about those two,' he convinced and grinned.

'Knowing that mana-less boy, it would take more than an entire dungeon to stop him. The lass is strong as well. Let's leave them be.'

Though a trace of uncertainty was still present in the back of the adolescent's mind. She knew what Inari was talking about.

He's hinting to let the two grow. It would be more assuring for Xierra to help them, yes. She could also just reach the treasure hall easily with Inari... yes. She would win with ease––

... Ah, right.

'That's probably why Yuno brought me with him and his group...' Xierra concluded with sweats running down her back.

'But isn't it still a bit unfair?!'

Inari snickered at his master's apparent frustration, knowing it would take more than that to make her stressed out. It wasn't something she should think so much of, and yet, she did.

Mimosa glanced back and giggled at Xierra's state, putting a hand over her lips. The female Vermillion walked over to the white-haired mage and pushed her to where Klaus and Yuno were.

"Mimosa-san?"

"Now, now, Xierra-san. Don't be so shy!" Mimosa cheered and pushed the girl further until she stood beside Yuno who spared her a glance.

It seemed... that Mimosa had noticed the feelings the other Golden Dawn newbie had for Xierra. Albeit being an oblivious one, Mimosa sure did a good job noticing their gestures, according to Inari.

Xierra sweatdropped and stood beside Yuno in silence, letting Klaus and the other Golden Dawns do the work of talking.

"Hah... Those fools..." Klaus said with obvious despise to the mention of the Black Bulls. "As if they could ever defeat us."

Klaus frowned and fixed his glasses.

"What was he anyway? I couldn't sense any magic at all."

"You're right," Mimosa agreed and wondered herself, putting a hand beside her cheek and hummed by the empty halls that only the winds sung at.

"Taking on a boy like that... What is the Black Bulls Captain thinking?" Klaus uttered with curiosity and his frown stayed visible.

Xierra had a vague guess on what was about to happen. She sideglanced at the childhood friend she grew up with beside her, taking notes on his unreadable features.

She suddenly perked up when she saw a small smile adorning the handsome male's face, poking her lips to curl up as well.

'I can never understand you, Yuno.'

"Klaus-senpai."

The sudden mention of his name caused the senior to look at the younger male, anticipating what he's going to say next.

"If I were you, I wouldn't underestimate him," Yuno warned with a slight smile.

Klaus flinched secretly and his expression hardened, sending a light glare towards the two orphans in front of him.

'You Forsaken Realm peasant,' Klaus cursed and growled lowly. He then looked at Xierra and Yuno both, scoffing in disbelief.

"Hah! Hopefully, he gets out of this dungeon alive! I'm just trying to capture this dungeon as quickly as possible, for my country's sake."

Those words were the truth.

Klaus had no intention of lying nor did he want to boast of his power, both as a noble and as a Magic Knight.

However, it still didn't dismiss the fact that Klaus' one of a noble-born. Of course, that pinch of arrogance was still there.

Xierra left Klaus to his own device and didn't take his words nor thoughts to heart. She knew that most nobles and royals would probably see them as nothing but mere insects.

That's maybe why she didn't bother to react to his insults. She'd heard them many times before that they didn't even affect her.

The light-blue-haired senior growled lowly in a hushed tone and gritted his teeth, trying to keep his temper at bay.

'You may have a four-leaf clover and you may have an odd grimoire, but don't think I've accepted you both yet!'

To be continued...

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