𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 || ʸᵘⁿᵒ

XXXVI

—/<3/—

"star magic: quartile scutum" yuno breathed, feeling his newfound power engulf him, filling him with an incredibly overwhelming amount of mana.

elle watched her lover with wide eyes as he continued his flurry of attacks, shouting out unfamiliar spells each second.

"quartile: hasta"

"star magic: conjunction"

elle did her best to back him up by using her time shields to protect him from any of the demon's attacks. not that he needed it, he was doing just fine dodging them with the combined speed of his wind and star magic.

"the pages of this grimoire were engraved to defeat you... the choices I made were right, and I'm going to prove it!" yuno yelled, the rage and grief of his lost parents consuming him as he set his sights on obliterating the demon. "we will save the captains... and we will be victorious."

yuno's determination filled elle with pride as she poured every ounce of her mana into supporting him and boosting him toward victory, for the sake of yuno's parents and for the sake of the safety of her kingdom.

"star magic: quartile flagellum!" a large whip made completely of light grew from his grimoire.

"bone spacial magic: magic sword, dainsleif"

the whip and the sword collided with a strident 'clang' and the group beneath elle's feet rumbled. it seemed that even with yuno's extra strength, zenon still wasn't deterred. he was struggling sure, but he wasn't lying in a pool of his own blood and guts just yet.

elle began to think up a plan. there was no way she could physically join the fight with the absence of attack spells in her grimoire... but there was one thing she hadn't tried in a while, not since fighting against the diamond mage as a beginner magic knight. if she could find a moment where zenon was fully concentrating on yuno, she could stop time for just a second until she was behind zenon. then she could reverse his current demon form into his previous one so he'd be easier for yuno to take down.

the young queen observed her surroundings for a minute, keeping a close eye on the battle in case yuno needed assistance. zenon had barely moved from the same spot the whole time they'd been here, whether he was on the ground or in the air he had rarely strayed from his position.

"time magic: intermissa tempori" elle whispered, knowing if zenon heard the spell he'd do everything in his power to stop her from pausing time entirely.

elle could never hold this spell for long, it took all her concentration and sucked all the mana right out of her... but it worked this time.

she strained to hold the spell and move swiftly with her injury but within seconds she was in the air behind zenon with her staff clutched tightly in her hand. she jammed the staff between zenon's bone armour before she took one last deep breath and released her spell, the conflict resuming around her.

yuno's eyes met hers but he didn't look surprised. he had no time to be after all. he knew his lover and he know what she was doing so he powered up his final attack as fast as possible and released just as elle gripped the demon's shoulder.

and they spoke concurrently.

"time magic: prior forma!"

"saint spirit of zephyr!"

—/<3/—

I am so incredibly sorry for disappearing on you guys. a lot went down over the last month and i had literally no free time. I was really sick for about two weeks over Christmas and then when i recovered i had to speedrun two 4000-word essays and prepare for a contract law exam that i took last week. but I'm back now and even though I'm still busy i'll try my hardest to update regularly rather than once or twice a month.

thank you for being so patient <3