"And what are we even supposed to do now?!" Noelle yelled, panic rising in her voice as she stormed after the boys. "We don't have a tracking spell!"
The three of them—Saru, Asta, and Noelle—were trudging through one of the many endless corridors in the dungeon, having chosen a path completely at random after parting ways with Yuno and his team.
"We'll just check everywhere, really carefully!" Asta declared, raising his sword with absolute confidence and immediately smashing through another trap-activated spell as it fired at them.
"Ehehehe! Yeah, what he said!" Saru agreed, not even pretending to strategize as he punched through a wall of conjured spikes and laughed like it was a game.
Noelle threw her hands up. "Are you two complete idiots?! At this rate, forget the treasure hall—we'll just get hopelessly lost! This place is a maze!"
"Then it'll be a fun maze," Saru grinned, hopping on one foot and balancing on a narrow beam just for the thrill of it.
But just as Noelle prepared another rant, a soft flutter broke through the air. Secre, the small anti-magic bird who had been perched lazily atop Saru's head this whole time, suddenly took flight. She soared a few feet down the corridor and stopped, hovering and chirping toward a seemingly unremarkable tunnel branching off to the left.
Saru tilted his head, hands behind his head again. "Huh? You want us to go that way?"
Without hesitation, and absolutely zero thought, he veered off in that direction like it was the most obvious choice in the world.
"Wait—hey! Saru!" Noelle called after him, flabbergasted.
Asta just shrugged and chased after him with a grin. "If Secre's pointing that way, it's gotta be important!"
Noelle groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Unbelievable. I'm going to die in here… with these two idiots…"
Still, with an irritated sigh, she followed after them—because deep down, she trusted them more than she'd ever admit.
After navigating through the trap-laden corridors, the trio finally stumbled upon a passage free of danger. With an excited rush, Asta, Saru, and Noelle darted through the open space, the sense of relief palpable in the air.
But just as the tension started to ease, Saru froze mid-step, a sudden jolt running up his spine. The hairs on his arms stood on end as if a storm were brewing, a chill coursing through him. His eyes narrowed, locking onto the path ahead. "Luck's in trouble," he muttered, his voice laced with a rare urgency.
Before Noelle or Asta could even react, Saru's muscles tensed. His veins bulged as if his body were readying for something extraordinary. In the blink of an eye, the ground beneath his feet cracked, and with a burst of sheer power, Saru rocketed forward. His speed was so fast that for a split second, he was nothing more than a blur, leaving the others in stunned silence.
Asta's eyes widened, his jaw slightly hanging open. "What the—?" he gasped, unable to keep up with the sheer force Saru unleashed.
Noelle's expression was equally shocked. "H-How is he that fast?!" she muttered under her breath, blinking in disbelief. The air around them still hummed with the remnants of Saru's explosive takeoff.
"Come on, we've got to follow him!" Asta snapped back to reality, his feet already moving as he rushed after the path Saru had vanished down.
Noelle hesitated for a moment, the raw energy Saru had released still lingering in the air, but quickly followed Asta, her pace quickening as they dashed to catch up.
Saru, now far ahead, was already making his way deeper into the unknown, the excitement and determination in his stride clearly visible even from a distance. The tension of the moment was thick in the air, and the urgency of the situation pushed Asta and Noelle to move faster, desperate to close the gap.
"Saru! Wait up!" Asta shouted, his voice echoing down the narrow hall as they chased after him, hearts pounding.
Meanwhile, in a shadowed chamber deep within the dungeon, the air was thick with a strange, smothering fog. But this fog wasn't natural—it was dense, heavy, and unmoving, wrapping tightly around Luck's limbs like a straitjacket. He hovered in the air, suspended and unable to move, his eyes dim as if caught in a trance.
Across from him stood a man cloaked in dark robes—Lotus Whomalt, a high-ranking mage of the Diamond Kingdom. Calmly, almost lazily, Lotus raised one hand.
"There, there... let me set you free."
But before he could even finish his sentence, a crack echoed through the chamber.
BOOM.
The wind shifted. The fog rippled. A pressure surged through the room like a tidal wave.
And then—he was just there.
Saru had appeared between them without a sound, squatting down to stare curiously at Luck, completely ignoring Lotus as if he weren't even worth acknowledging.
Lotus blinked in disbelief. "When—? I didn't even sense him move...!" His brow twitched in annoyance. Is this brat really just going to ignore me?
"Ne, ne, Luck... you got caught by this guy?" Saru asked with a teasing smirk, nudging the smoky tendrils trapping his friend.
But Luck didn't respond with his usual crazed grin or bloodthirsty excitement. Instead, his expression was blank—empty in a way that didn't fit him at all.
"I... I don't know what I want, Saru," Luck said softly, his voice devoid of its usual spark.
Saru tilted his head. "I dunno what you're talking about," he said honestly, before casually reaching into the thick smoke and ripping it apart with his bare hand. With almost no effort, he pulled Luck free and set him on his feet.
But the moment Luck touched the ground, his expression twisted.
"Back off, Saru! He's my prey!" Luck growled, his voice wild again. Without waiting for a reply, he shot forward, lightning crackling around his arms as he lunged at Lotus.
But just as his fist was about to connect—WHAM—he was struck in the ribs.
His body was sent flying sideways and slammed into the stone wall.
Dust billowed as Luck struggled to understand what just happened. His eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Saru standing in the spot he'd just flown from, arm outstretched.
"W-Why...?"
"You're not thinking straight," Saru said bluntly, walking toward him. His tone was different now—firm, but not unkind. "If you can't even fight properly, then you don't get to call someone your prey."
Asta and Noelle arrived just in time to see the two standing across from each other, tension crackling in the air.
"What's going on?!" Noelle shouted, eyes darting between the three of them.
Luck slowly stood, wiping blood from his lip, eyes flickering with confusion. "But... if I don't beat him alone... then... Mom won't accept me."
That stopped Saru cold.
He stared at Luck for a long moment—his playful expression fading into something quieter. Then, with a strangely innocent smile, he tilted his head.
"If someone won't love you unless you win all the time... then they don't deserve you."
Luck's breath hitched.
"But... but if I stop fighting, nobody will want me."
"Hah?" Saru scratched his head, confused. "What're you saying, dummy?" Then he grinned, bright and wild. "You're a Black Bull. We're family. Doesn't matter if you lose, mess up, or go crazy—we'll always want you."
He stepped forward and extended a hand. "We'll always care about you."
Luck stared at Saru's outstretched hand for a moment—eyes wide, trembling—before finally taking it.
"Now let's finish off this loser, yeah?" Saru grinned like a lunatic, tugging him to his feet.
A crooked grin spread across Luck's face. "Yeah... let's do it."
The two of them turned to face Lotus, lightning crackling on one side, wild pressure building on the other. They bumped fists—thud—a sign that the real fight was about to begin.
"Let's go, partner!" Luck shouted.
"You got it, partner!" Saru echoed, both of them wearing wild, carefree smiles—twin storms ready to break loose.
Lotus's expression finally shifted from boredom to unease.
This pressure… It's suffocating. That monkey brat—he's not normal.
Cracks spiderwebbed across the stone beneath Saru's feet as he stepped forward, his smile widening. "You're that smokey guy, right?" he asked, tilting his head like a curious animal. "You smell like medicine and moldy curtains. I don't like you."
Lotus narrowed his eyes. "You're not from the Clover Kingdom, are you?"
Saru gave a wide, fangy grin. "I'm from everywhere."
Without another word, Saru vanished.
Lotus barely had time to register the movement before—CRACK!—a knee drove straight into his gut, launching him backward like a ragdoll. He slammed into a wall hard enough to collapse part of it.
Cough!
Lotus staggered forward, wiping blood from his mouth, his calm demeanor shattered.
Impossible. Even among the captains, that speed—!
"Oi, oi, you're not running away already, are you?" Saru's voice echoed playfully from behind him. Lotus spun around, but Saru was gone again.
BOOM!
A fist crashed down from above, cratering the floor with Lotus's body. Smoke and dust exploded outward. Asta and Noelle shielded their faces as the room shook.
When the dust cleared, Lotus was on his knees, trembling, bruised and gasping for breath.
"W-What are you?" he hissed.
Saru crouched in front of him like a beast ready to pounce, golden eyes glowing faintly. "I'm Saru. And you're boring."
He raised his hand, Nyoi-Bo extending from his grimoire and taking shape in an instant. He pointed the staff toward Lotus's chest.
"I could end this here."
"Enough!" Lotus shouted, suddenly pressing a rune-covered seal onto the ground.
BOOM—HISS—
A massive burst of smoke and magic surged outward, covering the room in an instant. It wasn't like before—this smoke had weight, and it ate away at mana like acid.
"A smokescreen!?" Noelle coughed.
"I can't sense him!" Asta shouted, swinging wildly.
Saru stood still, eyes scanning the haze.
"Tch... slithered away like a worm," he muttered, frowning.
The smoke finally began to clear, revealing Lotus was gone—vanished down one of the dungeon's lower corridors.
"Cheh... guess squashing bugs isn't always easy," Saru said, scratching his head. "But he was weak. He'll run again if we meet."
He turned to Luck, who looked both impressed and disappointed. "Hey, sorry I stole your fight."
Luck chuckled. "That was amazing... but next time, I'll win before you have to jump in."
Saru grinned. "Deal."
As they regrouped, the three Black Bulls stood tall amidst the broken dungeon.
The real journey had only just begun.