Chapter Text
“Noelle?”
“Yuno? You’re here.”
Meeting up with Noelle, Yuno checked the area for signs of anyone else in the place. Now that he has met up with her, Yuno wonders about the lack of companion Noelle has. Certainly, she was not sent alone to the dungeon because that would have been stupid on their Captain’s part.
Sending out Noelle alone is not a good option, whoever accompanied her was not the brightest in leaving her alone in this state. Does her teammates even care for her well-being? “How did you end up alone?” Mimosa then approached Noelle and suddenly hugged her cousin.
Seeing Mimosa for the first time, Noelle felt nostalgia enter her, this was the first time she saw her cousin after years of separation from her brother and that her support was cut off. It was hard for Noelle to bear all her struggles alone, when she had been alone, all Noelle could do was just stay silent and not talk with anyone for those years.
She missed her cousin a lot, but receiving this warmth from her was something she didnt know how to respond to, all she did was just watch and have her cousin hug her for as long as possible.
After the warm greetings exchanged between the two royals, they were back on track. Asking Noelle for her companions had been a tricky navigation for them to encounter. Upon entering the dungeon, the rooms began to shift and change, confusing them and the full layout of the place became unknown to them.
Noelle was accompanied by Magna and Luck, who joined the frame when hearing the missions that Noelle and Magna had, Captain Yami then assigned Luck to guide them for this mission. What Noelle didnt know was the complicated rivalry Magna and Luck had and it affected the mission as a whole.
Catching up to her memory, Silva recalled how often they would argue and compete over simple things, which made the journey complicated and hard for Noelle. To serve as the middleman between two men and children was impossible to handle.
Exploring further into the dungeon, Noelle then explained how Luck was the best sensory out of the two of them, she was glad about this information, but to Magna, it became another competition for him as he and Luck would argue about the simplest things.
Comparing themselves on who is stronger, faster, and better than the other out of the two of them.
This continued until they reached one of the rooms that contained the fake treasure chest, at first, Noelle thought they finally retrieved the treasur,e but this was also her fault for not checking well,l and it caused her to activate the traps, which led to them separating.
“And that’s how I ended up here,”
“Guess you're glad that we’ll be working together.”
“Whatever Yuno.”
“Touche.”
Talking with Yuno in a crowd was something Noelle didnt expect to be nervous about, considering that it should be okay to show her acquaintance with Yuno. He seems to be in good company along with Mimosa and the blue-haired man.
Noticing Yuno’s lack of company before, Noelle thought that it would be impossible for the man to have friends. Not that she sees him like one, but it’s different between him and her.
It was fun seeing Yuno talking with other people, especially those who seemed different from him. The interaction wasn't Yuno’s strongest suit and she could see that, however, seeing him now, her opinion might just change because of how different he was from before. He might be even influenced by them if possible.
“Okay Black Bull, I’m not shocked that your teammates will just leave you like that, which is very impulsive on their part to leave behind their teammates so I suggest you join us with the hunt because, at the end, we are supposed to work with each other.”
“I would love to join you guys, but I think I should look for them as well. Then we could gather later on.”
“What?”
To Klaus, hearing Noelle was the craziest thing he’s ever heard so far. He thought that by helping this girl, they could work well while having the other two black bulls be left to their own.
He wasn't exactly fond of working with commoners who knew nothing about collaboration as they would just leave each other to do their gain. But after finding Noelle, someone who had royal status would be working with them, it made Klaus less disdainful towards the Black Bulls. “Why would you look for them when they left you?”
“It’s not a matter of who left someone, but it’s about leaving them behind. Yes, they can be reckless and annoying but they have their reasons why they act the way they do and I can’t completely judge them because of that.”
“They need someone to look after them, you know.”
Seeing this side of Noelle was unexpected and surprising for Yuno to hear, to see this growth in her made Yuno happy for her, happy in the sense that she was changing, she slightly became better to talk with and even though he annoyed her just as much as she annoys him, this was a sign that she’s not the same.
“Then let us help you get to them.”
Lending Noelle a hand, Yuno then lifted everyone as they navigated through the rest of the dungeon. Avoiding rooms that had possible traps which was only possible thanks to Mimosa who activated her flower guidepost, showing the way to the main parts of the dungeon and possibly trying to find the rest of Noelle’s team.
This made their journey quick, although it had been awkward for a moment, the tension immediately left as creating short chats here and there helped everyone to talk with Noelle, especially Klaus, who is still adamant about the whole ‘Yuno leading this mission’.
“It’s hard to sense them but I think one of the Black Bulls are in this area.” Looking through the layout of the map, Mimosa was able to barely sense someone in one of the rooms. It’s mana loose and weak passing through the winds would then alert everyone who is trying to get to them.
“Just drop me off and I’ll catch up to you guys!”
Magna is having one of the worst days of his life.
Receiving the dungeon mission, and letting Luck lead the entire operation made his skin cold because the whole thing was frustrating. He didnt know when this feeling started, but this whole journey was nothing but a nuisance at best.
When they made their way to the dungeon, all Luck did was turn it into a competition to see who was the fastest, at first Magna didnt want to indulge in Luck’s childish play, however at some point, Magna caved in and became just as competitive as he is.
Even Noelle, who is the youngest, somehow acted as if she was the oldest in the group, he felt really bad that he had to leave Noelle alone like that. They were supposed to be seniors over her, to show her the ropes of becoming a knight, but their childish antics almost caused them to lose their lives.
In this dungeon mission, this just revealed everything. Their childish antics play out and as a result, all of them are separated from each other with nothing to keep each other sane and alive. It could only be a matter of time before these traps that they are encountering can end their lives.
Magna hated the situation that he was in because this could all be avoided if they just worked together and got on with it.
Luck had to be the instigator of this mess they are in and Magna can’t wait to punch the man on his senses because his carelessness got them in this situation that can be avoided in the first place. All Luck has to do is cooperate and work together, then they could be doing better than this.
He could still remember how Luck just abandoned them when they were just getting into the dungeon.
“So all we have to do is not separate and stay close to each other to avoid the traps.” Noelle then looked around as the two men walked beside her silently.
Entering the dungeon has not been easy for all of them as they have to avoid the various traps that continue to activate whenever they enter a new room or are just lurking around the hallways.
When they looked at the map that was given to them, the whole layout became confusing and hard to navigate as the rooms slowly changed, whether it be from traps that had been activated beforehand, or the possibility that there were people here before them.
The mission details stated that they would be working with another squad, that being the Golden Dawn, which made Magna sigh in disappointment. To work with people who have big egos wasn't his thing. “Hear that Luck? Don’t leave us again because we kinda need each other now. We don't know what threats we could be facing in the place.”
Maybe they can work together as a team, it’s only a matter of time before Luck can open up to them eventually. Magna never really saw Luck as a friend but more of a rival to compete with every once in a while, they love making things into a competition, which can be concerning to the outside citizen when looking at their relationship.
Friendship was never really discussed among them, their bond just simply grew in Magna’s perspective, and he hated this bond to turn into dust if this is how they do things. With Luck, he would work on missions alone ever since he joined the Black Bulls.
It’s not that he hated the company, but he perferred working things alone.
“Luck?”
Noelle was the first person to try and get Luck to at least work together and with Magna, he commended her for that. Even though she’s the newbie, she didnt have a hard time trying to get people to work together, must be her secret talent of sorts.
Trying to get Luck’s attention, Noelle noticed how different Luck seemed to behave, Magna then too noticed his buddy’s mannerisms as he had not yet spoken a word till this very moment. When they entered the dungeon, all Luck was focusing on was the people he wished to meet and wished to fight.
Muttering on the things he would do if he were to meet people who are the so-called enemies.
“Guys, I’m sorry but I sense someone nearby, both of you go ahead in the treasure room. I’ll follow!”
It was stupid, why would he just leave after they warned him not to? This made Magna’s head boil and it annoyed Noelle too, all their talk about not separating didnt get into Luck’s mind as he seemed to be focused on a goal.
“Luck wait!” Noelle called out but her voice went deaf on Luck’s ears as he activated his magic and leaped through the room and out of it. Leaving them alone once again.
“Now what Magna?”
All they could do now was continue and hopefully not get lost as they left the room, several minutes later, the duo encountered a trap which eventually separated them from each other.
“Captain Yami! I swear, if I get out of this alive I’ll-”
Now at present, Magna encounters one of the many traps laid around the dungeon. It was hard at first, trying to get rid of these things as they seemed to continue for hours, however, with determination and willpower, he was able to overcome them with ease.
He didnt know where he was now, with him having no map nor guidance, all hope seemed lost as Magna would wander around and find rooms, aimless with his direction. It was hard when you didn’t have a map and relied on mana that could deceive you at any given point in time.
Entering a room, everything seemed normal at first, but then Magna managed to feel magic coming from all directions in the place.
He jumped.
After narrowly escaping the barrage of attacks coming in his direction, he notices that he’s not alone. There are people in this room, not his allies but the enemies. His prediction came true as then several people with hoods covering their faces appeared, they seemed to be menacing but not scary enough for Magna to run away.
Although their identities were concealed, it did not take long to figure out who these goons were.
“You must be from the Clover kingdom. Too bad we won’t let you pass through. You see, you’ve just entered diamond territory.”
They try to sound intimidating, but to Magna, they were nothing but fools who know nothing about his abilities nor does he know theirs. Looking at their attire alone made him want to laugh because they looked weak under their cloaks.
This is going to be easy for Magna to take care of.
“Like I’d let a bunch of weaklings defeat me, go on, try to defeat me.”
FIRE MAGIC: EXPLODING FIREBALL!!
From the right to the left, Magna wasted no chances in hitting them in all directions. So far 3 diamond mages have come to attack him, all three who tried to hit him with their magic barrage earlier. Even though they have more power than him in terms of numbers, their magic felt sub-par in which Magna had no trouble dodging all their incoming attacks.
If Luck were to encounter these people, they would be dead meat, but they’re encountering Magna, which is also dead meat. But this just made Magna worry that there could be more of these people than they let on.
Since the dungeon is large, many enemies may strive to try and take the treasure for themselves. He won’t let that happen, not for one bit. For now, he needed to take them out and find the others to at least warn them that they were not alone.
FLAME MAGIC: EXPLODING BARRAGE!
All Magna could feel was fire as the place filled with fire, which ended in ashes that tore up his enemies. For minute,s all Magna did was cast offensive magic spells toward the Diamond mages as he attacked them with everything in his arsenal.
It wasn't hard but it wasn't easy. But at the end of his battle, he persevered and won the fight. He then walked toward the unconscious mages and restrained them with his magic all three mages then slowly awoke from their slumber, realizing their utter defeat.
“How many are you in this dungeon!” Now it was Magna’s turn to be the intimidating one, trying to interrogate people he considered his strong suit. He may not look scary but he can play the part well enough.
At first the three mages didnt speak, opting to be silent as they held in their breath. This pissed Magna off as he then opted for the more physical approach and after doing that, the mages then started to talk with fear trembling in their breaths.
“There were around 20 in the area, along with 2 shining generals.”
Now that they began to speak, Magna tried to ask for more, however they were mute once again, Magna decided to knock these mages out to prevent them from escaping which helped in his situation.
He could return these people after he finds the treasure, sending them to the Clover kingdom in captivity seems like a bright idea.
Magna completed keeping the restraints and doubled its power so that no further escapes were to be attempted. It had been like this for a couple of minutes, checking the room for any more secret traps made by the dungeon or the enemy, preparing to leave, Magna was then gathering his remaining items until someone entered the room.
“I finally found you Magna idiot!”
“Hey royal, who are you calling an idiot!”
Reuniting with Noelle, Magna was glad that she was safe and that she had not inquired about any injuries besides scratches here and there on the edges of her clothes. She’s safe and that’s all that matters to Magna if he found out she was injured at all, he would get an earful from Captain Yami and he didnt like that idea.
He then looked at her companions who entered her room as they looked at the men that Magna defeated, happy at his victory, he smirked in his mind thinking that he was the first person to encounter the enemy.
The tall man with blue hair and glasses looked at Magna, and he looked back, whether he was trying to intimidate him or not, the whole encounter felt uneasy for Magna.
“It seems that the enemies have arrived as well.”
“Well, considering that this place is located near diamond territory, it’s not a shock that they would want to get the loot as well.” His companion spoke who was opposite with glasses, she looked to be around Noelle’s age and looked pretty up close.
“You guys go on ahead, Magna and I will try to look for our other member,” Noelle instructed.
At first, Magna wanted to interfere and just go ahead with the treasure room, but wherever Luck was, Magna didnt care as we know the man can handle himself. He didnt feel like facing psycho after he just abandoned them.
But it seems that he won’t be making that choice as the Golden Dawn quickly left.
“Stay safe Noelle.” Looking up to see who spoke, Magna eye’s eyes fell into a young man who looked handsome and was staring at Noelle, it took a second for him to realize who the young man was.
Nudging Noelle’s shoulder as the people left, Magna looked at Noelle with sleazy eyes, laughing at the whole ordeal.
“So that’s the Yuno you’re talking about? Talk about lucky.”
He then felt a punch on his stomach so fast he couldn't react to the whole thing, his junior just punched him and it was annoying. “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR! I’M STILL HURT FROM MY FIGHT YOU KNOW!!”
“WHY ARE YOU WORDING IT LIKE THAT HUH!”
“IT WAS A JOKE DON’T YOU GET IT, GEZ I’M SORRY FOR TEASING YOU LIKE THAT I GUESS.”
The duo then recollected themselves for a while as they were still resting from their respective events leading up to their reunion. It became silent after all the teasing as no words left between their mouths and Magna did not want to hear more of Noelle’s shouting because she overreacted.
She was always like this whenever he mentioned a certain someone in a certain way, he didnt know why Noelle was nervous when Yuno’s name was mentioned in a different context or why she didnt want to get teased.
Nothing was serious about the topic, yet she felt like she had to end it before things escalated.
As they left the room, they continued to walk in silence. It’s not that they felt uneasy with each other but tiredness kicked in and suddenly the urge to converse was out of the window for both of them.
They were like this for minutes, walking through the hallways, checking every room, and avoiding traps as much as possible.