Lucas and Asta stood on a small hill. Staring at the castle in the distance, they held their breath for a moment.
"Now's the time. This will be our last battle," Asta spoke desicively. He knew that this roadblock wasn't one he would be able to avoid in order to move forward. In the end, most of their points would come from this place. This was also their goal from the start.
Causing a ruckus in the east was just to divert their attention and bring Malek back into the limelight. All their plans led to this place.
"Yes, going up against 4 Rank 3's was already a stretch. We can't make any mistakes."
They had Malek, a prominent mage and even had a title to go along with it, but alone, he stood little to no chance against all of them. Thus, Lucas and Asta came up with a different way to succeed.
"We've got one shot. Our good friend will have placed the disguised explosives near the center of the protection array," Lucas had experimented with the array, not enough to reveal himself of course.
Due to a lack of terms, he knew that spells with velocity wouldn't be able to enter, dubbing them active spells. Passive ones were able to pass through. As he walked through it while healing himself, nothing happened. Even when he created a rock spear, entrance wasn't forbidden. It was only when he threw the spear that it was held back.
With their combined expertise, Asta and Lucas were able to create extremely powerful explosives that should at least destabilize the array, enough for something to enter through. The only issue was, it needed ignition, something they wouldn't be able to launch past the dome.
Of course, they didn't bring the explosives inside themselves, that's what their good friend was for.
"I'm ready when you are," Asta had an idea on how to fix the situation, but knew he had to be patient.
"Just a bit more. The moment you hear a horn being blown, you'll know that those blinded men will have started their assault. It should at the very least draw their attention away from you."
Nodding in response, they both waited until the starting signal. Everyone was in place, all that mattered next was the effect of their traps.
Lucas felt the sweat on his palms gather, getting rid of it with magic, he tried to cool himself down. While Asta scoffed, his own back was covered in nervous sweat.
"If this succeeds, I'll ask for that favor. I acknowledge I haven't paid you back fully, but don't worry, I have something that will close that gap."
"I'll look forward to it. You're making me curious though. What could you possibly need my help with?"
"Haha, there's plenty Lucas, I need you to accomplisch my own goal."
"Recognition? By who? In my eyes, you don't need to be acknowledged by anyone but yourself."
"A simpleminded way of thinking, that's unlike you," smirking away, Lucas and Asta tried to get in some light banter to keep their minds distracted from their fears.
From the distance a light horn sound appeared as the sky filled up with lights on the western side of the castle. The dome flickered each time an attack was blocked. The first wave of attacks were launched, yet the protection array seemed to not have changed in the slightest, making it clear it wasn't going to break so easily.
A faint horn echoed from the western side of the castle. Moments later, the night sky flared with streaks of magic striking the dome. Each hit sent ripples across the barrier, but it held firm.
"Asta?", Lucas' eyes didn't leave the fortress.
"I'm on it."
He began chanting, rare for either of them, feeding power into a prepared array beneath his feet. Runes lit up in quick succession, snapping into place like links in a chain. Light warped and bent until a massive, house-sized lens hung before them, trembling under its own weight.
"This is heavy," Asta grunted, sweat beading at his temples. "I can't keep it steady."
Lucas gripped the base of the construct. "I've got it." With a flex of will, the two of them lifted the magnifying glass higher, until it caught the full glare of the sun.
A beam of concentrated light punched down from the sky, scorching the earth black. Soldiers below screamed as it seared armor and flesh alike. The beam swept slowly, deliberately, toward the dome's center.
Lucas' grin was sharp. "This is insane."
"And brilliant," Asta said through clenched teeth.
The moment the beam touched the disguised explosives inside the barrier, the castle's heart erupted. A violent shockwave ripped outward, and the dome flickered, struggling to hold.
The lens vanished in a shimmer of mana as Asta collapsed it, drawing the lingering energy back into himself. From their vantage, Lucas and Asta watched the plume of fire rise over Stonehill Fort, both smiling like men who'd just seen the first crack in an unbreakable wall.
Floating in the air, Lucas and Asta smiled seeing the fireworks go off. "Should I activate the sinkholes?"
"If we get rid of the towers, the walls will most likely go down. I'm afraid that if there's nothing to protect, they'll get a lot more aggressive. We should hold off on it and use it the moment things are getting into a lul."
"You think those fools will hold back at all?"
"No, they're too blinded to think straight. I'm afraid that the commander here will decide to kill them instead of disarming."
All thoughout this war, the western side always avoided casualties on the side of The Holy Kingdom like the plague. For if they angered the dragon sleeping next to their rabbit's nest, they would be screwed no matter what.
Then again, if their lives are at risk, consequences are often pushed aside. "If that's the case, there will be nobody left to give us the room to attack. I'm in favor of removing the towers now to give them more of a fighting chance," Asta's composure despite their risky maneuvre just now put Lucas at ease.
In the distance a few mages were coming for them. Perhaps a squadron or something similar. Lucas summoned his Blue Flame Sword and waited for the mouse to fall into his trap. Asta conjured his small swords that floated around him. After being improved by Lucas's designs, they could almost cut through metal.
A few mages started to fly towards them, making Lucas frown. He knew how to fly, but battling while flying wasn't his best suit. Switching with himself, Lucas cracked his neck and rushed towards the mages on the ground.
"Let the towers fall, I don't care!", Lucas yelled it out as he started to battle the mages, a smile plastered on his face.
"Well, you should at least take as much as you can into consideration. While I believe that giving them more opportunities to fight to be better, I also understand your opinion. You don't have to change it just because you feel pressured."
"Hahaha! I don't feel pressured at all buddy! Besides, that is my opinion, I assure you."
Lucas looked to enjoy the bloodshed as he dodged random spells and let the low level ones hit his body. Due to his high defense, he gladly rushed through some spells to get an attack in. One by one, the mages felt like they weren't the ones hunting the rogue mages, but the prey.
Asta on the other hand used his swords to harass the flying mages. They were Rank 2, so just the swords weren't enough to kill them, but they surely were distracted. Long enough for Asta to make a bow and arrow.
"I see, so you flipped the switch again? You truly are a strange one."
Aiming his bow, he charged the Pure Mana Arrows into volatile explosives. Since the mages were dodging all his swords, he had an easy time finding the perfect shot.
As Lucas punched through a rock spear with one hand, he slashed his sword towards another mage who was able to just jump back enough to not get sliced in two. Seeing his attack missed, Lucas threw his sword at him while conjuring another one. The explosion took care of the mage he missed while throwing the rest of balance, giving him the space to go on a killing spree.
"Blow the pillars Asta. Those idiot need their own moral support. If we wait too long they'll be dead."
"So you also think they might start killing them?"
"Obviously, they were fools the moment they avoided death on a battlefield."
"Well, for them, it was protecting the country from a larger threat."
"As long as they kept the bodies safe and reduced the evidence, they could've easily killed them and making it look like some monster did it. We need that castle to fall."
Asta fired off another arrow, blasting a mage out of the sky. "I suppose you make a decent point, though I don't believe it would be so easy. Either way, now that we're on the same page, it's time for these towers to fall."
Snapping his fingers the castle in the distance changed drastically. As they speculated, the dome stopped active magic, and they even made sure to protect the ground underneath the castle. But as long as they didn't use any offensive magic, they easily set up a bunch of sinkholes.
The towers suddenly sunk into the ground before collapsing onto itself. As the towers fell, the large walls stood strong, a sign of a great construction worker. Sadly, since there was no need to go through the wall, many mages sought a route around it.
The mages who were fighting against Lucas and Asta felt their hearts sink in as they saw their castle almost completely collapse. "What have you don-", a Blue Flame Sword decapitated the man.
"Not paying attention during a fight, you're just asking to get killed."
While they were distracted, Lucas took out the remaining mages with ease. "What a bunch of idiots."
Asta, who had been handling the mages was also finishing up. "Now then, time to alert Malek."
The man in question had been meditating in the sky. Taking long deep breaths, the man focussed on lowering his heart rate as much as possible. A small blue exlosive appeared some distance from the castle.
Conjuring up his signature weapon, he spread his willpower far and wide, letting it cover the entire castle for just a single moment. To the people there, it must've felt like the wind eyed them and all their secrets.
Instead of creating a simple fire arrow, Malek took out one of the arrows he found in Proktor. They were powerful conduits for magic, enough for him to actually feel giddy to try them out. Of course, that enthusiasm had to be pushed in the head since it could throw him off.
His eyes focussed on a single mage, Rank 3 since no other mage could possibly withstand the power of these weapons. Pulling the arrow back, Malek felt his muscles strain as he kept his pose for almost a minute. After finding the perfect moment, he let go.
Lucas and Asta, who watched from afar saw a falling star. It was beautiful in a sense. The moment it landed all they could see was a bright light. The ground shook as a soundwave pushed them back. The attack was more than a success. The sight was enough to give pause to both Lucas and Asta.
"Heheh, well, at least those fuckers will be dead."
"I suppose even a Rank 3 mage would suffer quite heavily under such an attack. How many of those arrows did he get?"
"Couldn't tell ya- oh wait, I know, it should be around 15."
Ignoring the strange behavior of Lucas, Asta had grown accustomed to his switch in personality, noting it down as a side effect of his genius. To him, everything came at a cost, Lucas was a master mage at his age and had a battle sense that rivaled many way older than him.
'I suppose only I am excempt from such a cost, since I don't have any negatives.'
Neglecting his own ego and the fact that he refused to use elements, the man simply didn't deem those to be disadvantages.
Since Malek made himself seen, some mages went to intercept him.
"There's a Rank 3 in there," Lucas spoke with certainty, despite the fact that they were too far away to accuratly estimate their strength.
"We just fought a bunch of mages, and they were weak as shit. Sending those idiots out would only work as a meat shield or distraction, there's no point."
"I suppose so, if they had Rank 2 mages on our level, I wouldn't dare to attempt this."
"I wouldn't even be here. C'mon, let's go, we need to dwindle their numbers."
"Couldn't you have used monsters to some effect?"
"Nah, the beasts in the area are either too smart or too small in number to meaningfully matter. It's a waste of time. The question now is, how do we get their attention."
"We got rid of a squadron or the like, I assume they won't leave us alone."
Lucas nodded, he knew what Asta said was correct, but he didn't like having to wait for no reason. Smiling devilishly, he looked back at his friend. Asta felt the need to grab his forehead. "If you use a card for no reason other than to attract attention, I'm not going to be happy. The traps in this place need to be kept in pristine condition."
Turning his smile upside down, Lucas waved him off, "Fine, fine, might as well see how far I've gotten in copying that spell of his."
Lucas spoke some incantation, since he didn't know the runes by heart yet. He failed the first few times, wasting the mana. At his sixth attempt, a bow of flames appeared. Grabbing it with his hands, he felt the heat radiate from it, yet it didn't damage his skin.
"Huh, so the bow itself isn't that strong, or did I fuck up?"
"No, it looks to be about the same, I assume the arrow is what's dangerous," Asta spoke as he inspected the creation from afar. He knew that Lucas had a innate ability to adapt and learn, to see it in real time really intrigued him, enough to ignore the fact that the bow was elementally charged.
"I was curious, where did you get your body so durable. I visited the most prestigious mana pool to strengthen my body, but holding fire, while a sin in and of itself, would still stinge my skin."
Thinking on what he had to do in order to get what he wanted, he felt his mood plummet. His silent anger fueled his magic, as he created an arrow containing plenty of explosive power. Pulling it back, he felt his skin burn, but he couldn't care less. Releasing it, it blew a hole in the southern wall.
Looking at his hands, it was clear the bow was within his capabilities, but the arrows weren't. Of course, there were solutions for that. Despite the fysical pain, he was focussed on something entirely else.
"Looks like I hit a sore spot, it wasn't intentional."
"Nah, it's fine," scratching the back of his head, Lucas felt depressed for a moment. "I don't wanna anymore, you take it."
Lucas switched so abruptly, it was strange even for him.
'Hey, what's going on? The fighting isn't over yet.'
'Yeah, yeah, I know.'
'...Is it because...?'
Lucas was aware of his split personality, how could he not be. One was always in control while the other worked on projects. By not being in control and only appearing during stressful situations or battles, one part wasn't used to certain feelings.
Remembering the images of Maria brought the feeling of loss to the front row. Having never felt it, Lucas started to grow depressed, making him tap out. Hearing no reply, Lucas simply took over.
Asta frowned for a moment as Lucas suddenly straightened his back and wiped his eyes. "To get this power, I had to undergo some trials, pitting me against the people I love. One of the arrays I gave you was that trail."
"You had to defeat the people you love?"
"Defeat is putting it lightly, they needed to die."
"I see," Asta wasn't sure what to say. Imagining it himself, he felt his heart tremble. Pushing the idea out of his head, he focussed on the castle. The next group of mages appeared, this time, a Rank 3 was with them.
"Finally, that's one more. Malek will take care of one with a surprise attack, our friend takes one, we take one, and then we just need to git rid of the commander."
"Easier spoken than fulfilled."
"Agreed. Either way, time to back up," they were strong, but going head on against a bunch of mages on their level and one above would be a dumb idea. There was no reason to play fair, so why play fair?