fire flower; leopold vermillion x oc [Black Clover]

Chapter 5: Injury

After the second turn, I falter as the mana from the traps overtakes my senses. It feels like I'll be smothered with light magic the moment I take another step forward!

"What are we waiting for?! The stairs are just to our right!" Leopold hisses next to me, the heat of his shield nearly blistering my skin.

"This place is heavily guarded. We need to approach with caution!" I hiss back. "I'm extending my magic to feel out the mana in the air. It'll give me an accurate reading of where the traps are." Surprisingly, he falls silent as a thin film of my magic spreads into the room. Three arrow traps and one pitfall, along with four that activate light magic blasts. This treasure better be valuable. "Follow me, and step where I step." I walk slowly, deliberately, daintily tiptoeing my way across to the stairs. As soon as I reach the steps, I race up to the next room, Leopold right behind me. I'm surprised he hasn't criticized anything I've done ever since I used my handy little trap-sensing technique. Did I finally show him that commoners can be taken seriously? But one quick peek at his sharp, harsh, glaring face washes all of my thoughts away. I guess not. He still hates me.

We emerge to find a room glowing with old and powerful mana, but before I can register all of the treasure piled up at the end of the room, multiple traps send out blasts of light magic.

"Dark Magic: Shadow Wave!" I build up my mana onto the blade of my sword and strike down hard, sending out a ripple of dark magic. The room falls silent and I smirk. Looks like this one wasn't so bad after all. Just as I step forward to collect the treasure, I hear a pained, rasping gasp. My eyes widen in horror as I turn and find Leopold clutching his abdomen, blood slowly spreading and staining his shirt.

"Leopold!" I drop down and dig through my satchel, fumbling around for medical supplies. My fingers are trembling as I pull out a roll of bandages and run over to examine his wound. Judging from the blood, it's deep, but it's also missed all of his important organs. He lets out another strangled gasp, wobbling, and I catch him before his knees hit the floor. "I need you to kneel so I can bandage the injury." How did this even happen?! A bolt must have slipped in between a blind spot right after my Shadow Wave.

I part the opening in his robe so that I can see the wound on his skin. My mind shuts down as I methodically wrap the bandages tightly around his abdomen, and I don't even feel the blisters on my hand from his shield until I've pulled away. He struggles to stand, but it's clear that he's lost a lot of blood. I swear I have a potion for this! Digging through my satchel once again, I find a pain-easing tonic. "Here, drink this. It tastes like soap but it'll help." He can't even respond from the pain, and his hands are trembling even more than mine as he tries to take the vial from me. I shove the tonic down his throat and he sputters for a moment, almost cough it back up, but he eventually swallows it. I kneel down and drape his arm over my shoulders, acting as a support. "Can you stand? We need to get you out of here. I only know basic first aid and this isn't enough to keep the wound from possibly infecting."

"The... treasure!" He gasps, reaching out with a shaky arm.

"That's not important! You're hurt badly! A teammate is more valuable than anything else! So stand up and move, Leopold!" The look I give him is one of exasperation, frustration, but also worry. I suppose he finds it inspiring, or somewhat endearing, for he slowly rises to his knees.

"Thank...you..." he whispers.