fire flower; leopold vermillion x oc [Black Clover]

Chapter 4: Mayhem

After a long day of flying, we finally arrive at the dungeon.

It stands tall on a flat swath of rolling, grassy land: a mass of vine-covered, cracked, old stone, broken at some places but holding strong at others. I squint my eyes, noticing the winding layers and twisting paths; this one will be hard to navigate.

I descend from my broom a short distance away, and Leopold does the same. We haven't talked at all since we left the squad base, and the awkward coldness between the two of us has slowly become more and more bothersome.

"Are we stopping here to rest and replenish our mana?" I decide to break the silence.

Leopold doesn't even look in my direction as he responds, "If you need to replenish yours then do so, otherwise come with me. I'm heading into the dungeon."

"But we're supposed to be a team. We should enter the dungeon together. Who knows what sort of traps are in there?!" I can't believe this guy.

"Don't put yourself on the same level as me. My mana isn't even depleted, while you're saying you need to rest. On second thought, don't bother joining me when you've recovered, because I'll probably clear the whole thing in the time it takes you to get back on your feet." He flies away before I can retort, and now I'm all alone, watching as he makes a beeline for the dungeon below.

I slump against the tree beside me, trying to focus on anything but Leopold Vermillion. He is so infuriating! It makes me want to scream! I let out an exasperated groan and fiddle around with my satchel. Taking a peek at the scene below me, I see that Leopold has already entered the dungeon.

For a while I sit there, biding my time, letting my mana build up. I'm just at full power when an explosion rocks the dungeon, and I stand up with a start as I see smoke billowing from a gaping hole in the structure. I race down there immediately, sensing Leopold's mana shining through the thick smoke.

Stashing my broom away, I burst into the dungeon, unsheathing my sword and cloaking it in darkness. I run towards Leopold's mana, which has started to get farther and farther.

"Leopold! Do you need help?" I yell into dust-filled hallway.

"Just stay out of my way!" His voice rings out from deeper within the dungeon, and another explosion rocks the floor.

I race towards him just as a blast of magic comes hurtling at me. When I instinctively block it with my hand, I feel my magic cancel the blow out. Light magic traps! He does need my help! Light magic wizards are rare, so of course he won't know how to deal with their magic very well, no matter how strong he might be.

I find him backed up against a crumbling wall, his fire scorching the air and coating him in a flickering shield. He can't attack and defend himself from all the blows at the same time! A faint click sounds as I near him, and a faint whistle through the air makes me turn. I cut down an arc of arrows flying straight towards me from behind.

Leopold sees me approach, and even though his glare tells me otherwise, he knows he needs me. "Focus on maintaining your shield. You're strong enough so that most attacks won't harm you, but they're too fast for you to cut down." Grimacing, he reluctantly does as I say, the flames around his fingertips disappearing and flowing into his shield to strengthen it.

"Do you know where the treasure is?" Bolts of light magic shoot towards me, and I slash through them with wide, yawning arcs of dark magic.

"I have a vague idea. I can sense strange, ancient mana on the floor above us, but I haven't found a way to get up there," he responds.

I reach out my senses, and sure enough, the treasure's aura comes from upstairs. I trace its mana, following its weaving path through the dungeon. "Move down that hallway!" I point to an intact corridor to our right, and we spring through, leaving the traps behind. "We'll need to take two lefts and a right before we find the set of stairs. There's bound to be traps, so watch yourself." I grimace as we forge on, sensing a bundled mass of light magic up ahead. This dungeon won't be easy.