fire flower; leopold vermillion x oc [Black Clover]

Chapter 42: Breaking Point

Leopold's point of view:

I stumble towards the stream, shoving low-hanging branches and leaves out of my face. My heart is racing at the speed of light, and all I can think about is Mari. She's hurt she's hurt. Hurry up Leopold, she's hurt. I take a few deep breaths, and then I hear the rush of water nearby. Thank God.

The stream glints in the little bits of sunlight that peak through the forest canopy. I kneel, catching my breath before I unhook an empty drinking flask from my belt and dip it in the water. After I fill up the flask, I practically race back to the site where I left Mari and Charles. But as soon as the place comes into view, I know that something is wrong. Mari and Charles are no where to be seen, and I can hear sounds of a battle from the open field.

"Mari! Charles! Leopold! Where are you? We need backup!" A voice calls out, and I increase my pace.

I veer around the last tree at the edge of the forest, and arrive at a horrific scene. The ogre-like monsters have returned. Lovinia and Trenton are trying their best to keep them at bay. Pearl is nearly passed out, feebly sprawled out on the ground. I drop the flask on the ground and gather up my magic.

"Duck!" I yell, before releasing a fireball at one of the monsters.

Lovinia and Trenton race to my side, supporting Pearl between them. "Leopold!" Trenton exclaims. "Thank God you're here. Where are Mari and Charles?"

"I don't know. There's something going on, and I don't like it." I grimace, the anxiety coming back. "Can you take Pearl to safety and try to look for them? Lovinia and I can take care of these monsters."

Trenton nods and carried Pearl away into the shade of the forest. I focus my attention back on the monsters, who have now regained their composure. They let out a roar that shakes the earth before charging at us in one, ugly mob. Lovinia and I leap into action. Flames coat my hands as I punch and blast, charring the skin of too many monsters to count. Lovinia is by my side, twirling like a leaf and cutting with the precision of a dagger. She leaves gashes and scars on the legs of the monsters, crippling them when they try to move forward.

The pace of the battle settles in, and I push on, falling into the weary rhythm of attack and defense. I blast a monster to my right and draw up a shield on my left. I spear one through the chest and immediately jump back to avoid a blow. Grime builds up on my face, and my skin warms underneath the collar of my shirt. My fire has caused the smell of charred flesh to swim in the air, as well as a light cloud of smoke. Lovinia and I manage to dwindle down the mob significantly, but they keep pouring out of the base, coming in endless swells from the darkness.

"Enough! Mithras, call them off!" A harsh, deep voice blares from behind the mob. Lovinia and I jump back as the creatures freeze in their places. Then, they crumple to the ground, their eyes closed and bodies limp as if they are sleeping.

"What?" Lovinia mutters in shock.

"Keep your guard up," I order. "Something's coming this way."

Sure enough, footsteps thunder towards us from the base. A cold, cruel, clank of metal accompanied by a rigid beat. Then, the tip of a black boot steps out onto the grass, followed by sunlight catching on a chain and a spiked, metal ball.

"It's him," I breathe. Images flash through my mind from when Mari and I escaped. This person in front of me and Lovinia was there that day. Slicked back dark hair and a stoic, sharp-lined face. A thick, black cloak and garments adorned with silver. The Creation Wizard.

He whips out the chain, and the spiked ball curves towards Lovinia from the side. She blasts it away with a violent gust and charges towards him. As she attacks him from the right, I skirt around the left, keeping clear of the weapon's reach. Lovinia dodges easily and strikes his hand, causing him to lose his grip on his weapon for a moment. I choose to attack by blasting his side with hot, deadly fire. He forms a shield in an instant, blocking my attack, and pushes Lovinia away in one clean motion.

I run towards Lovinia, but I'm caught in the chest by a second blow before I can reach out to her. The wind is knocked out of me as I fall, my back hitting the ground with a thump. I struggle for air, summoning up all the fire I can and blasting it at him. He dodges my feeble attack easily.

This is bad... He rushes into view, weapon in hand, and I am wide open. I try to get up, try to brace my body for when the impact hits. I'm so sorry... Tears threaten to leak out as he nears, and the world slows when he swings his weapon at me. I prepare for the pain.

It never comes.

Instead, a huge aftershock of magic blasts me backwards. The wind is knocked out of me as I land on my back. Struggling to breathe, I sit up and blink open my eyes, weakly starting up a fire in my palm. Vivaldius is no longer in front of me; in fact, he's no where to be seen. Then, I hear the sound of a groan and a chain dragging on the ground, and I see him, sagging against a tree trunk bent from the force of his impact.

A pulse goes through the air, then another; each beat containing an incredibly potent sense of mana. I turn to my right, chills running up my spine as I wonder who has arrived.

For a blip of a second, my heart stops from the shock. A buzzing sound fills the caverns of my skull as my mind goes blank. Oh no. Oh no, no, no. The phrase rings in my head and I forget how to breathe as my eyes land on Mari.

But she is not the Mari I knew and loved. Her dark magic swaddles her, flaring up around her body like black fire. There is a stark, broken light that shines in her eyes, and her mouth is grimly set. Her knuckles are white as they grip her sword, which steams with magic.

"Mari?" I whisper, almost afraid to reach out to her. She reminds me of a brilliant star; if I get too close, I'll burn up.

She turns towards me, streams of dark magic breaking out of her hair, a coldness on her face. It almost makes me break down into tears, seeing her like this.

"Mari, what happened?" I whimper, struggling to get to my feet.

I see the tiniest spark of recognition in her eyes. All of a sudden she breaks down, dropping her sword, her mouth twisting into a pained grimace. She stumbles toward me, hunched over, stretching out a hand. "Leopold," she gasps. "I can't control it!"

I rush over and take her hand, pressing it close to my chest. Her skin is burning up. "I'm here Mari, I'm here," I whisper, holding her hand tight.

Something silver glints in the corner of my eye, and too late, I realize that Vivaldius has gotten back up. "Mar—!" My cry is cut off as she violently twists and sends out a blast of dark magic at Vivaldius in a split second.

She yanks her hand out of my grip and picks up her sword, bringing it down on his weapon as he tries to block her. The chain splits in half in an explosive burst of magic against metal, and Vivaldius is knocked to the ground, his head violently hitting the charred grass. He doesn't get up.

Mari stands over his limp figure, absolutely still, staring at something in the distance. Suddenly, she doubles over and begins to scream.

"Mari!" I run towards her, not caring about the flares of dark magic rising from her body.

"Get... away!" Her voice is ragged and broken as she holds a trembling hand up. Then, she arches back and lets out another scream before turning towards the Moon Shade base.

I leap out to grab her, to hug her and tell her that it's alright, when she releases her magic. It splits the air, spewing out in a messy splatter as she tries to concentrated it at the base. A spike of mana catches me in the chest and I am blown back. I land violently in a bush, disoriented, as the trees surrounding the clearing are broken like twigs underneath the force of her blast. There's the sound of stone breaking, of wooden beams and debris crashing to the ground in the distance.

And above it all, I can hear her shrieking in pain.