Black Rose

Chapter Eighteen:

Recap:

Silence followed as the cries of women, and children who had been saved filled the air. Rage and unfathomable hatred filled both Asta's and Elizabeth's eyes as they gave each other a nod. This hit hard for them, a village much like their home town was being attacked, and if they hadn't of come when they did, these people that were being protected now, would've been dead. It made them almost want to spit fire at the thought of this situation happening to their family back at the church.

"You'll pay for that!!" Asta roared his grip tightening on the sword in his hands. Elizabeth made her way to her brother's side as the 'watch-man' stared on silently. The feeling of dread the young girl felt earlier surfaced, only this time it was squashed almost instantly; she was too angry to feel anything else though she couldn't help but acknowledge the fact her instincts were right.

Her and her comrades were definitely risking their lives in this situation but she wasn't about to stop now. 

....

"Why the hell would you do something so wrong?!" Asta roared his eyes completely void of any emotion other than rage. The citizens of the village were sitting with their eyes glued on the back of the young magic Knight; he was the loudest person in the area. 

"Just who the hell are you guys?" He roared while standing up straighter clenching his left fist tightly. Silence followed after his question; Magna and Elizabeth took the time to inspect the enemy at hand and concluded that they didn't look like random thieves, or spies from another country. These strangers were definitely after one thing; these people's lives. 

"I got no word that an order of Magic Knights would be coming." one of the men from under a hood spoke loudly before the other beside him spoke up in response. 

"Then this must be an unsanctioned expedition on their part, what I want to know is how did they break through our fog barrier and get inside the village?" Elizabeth's eyes were glued on the main man as the group spoke amongst themselves. She was irritated that they believed they had the upper hand in this soon to be fight, though she knew that surprise was key. Her brother's outburst earlier had given them just a tiny taste of what they were completely capable of as a team, however she had a feeling that Magna was his limit. 

"The Black Bull's group, among the Magic Knights, they're known as a bunch of weirdos that do whatever they want. Five minutes. In five minutes I'll wipe out this useless village that didn't know anything, then resume my search." The main man spoke up while appearing to almost be lost in thought; his words perked Elizabeth's curiosity, she wondered what he could be searching for. 

"Don't ignore me!" Asta roared loudly sprinting forward grasping his sword with both of his strong hands. Elizabeth couldn't stop him in time, nor did she plan to just stand by and wait, but she knew that she could use her brother's advance to her advantage; she needed to see what type of magic these people used. 

"Fog Magic: Illusion swirl!" one of the hooded men called out while casting thick fog from his palm. Asta continued his advance, and rushed in closer wanting nothing more than to give these intruders a taste of their own fear. 

"Did you really think we'd let you get close to Master Heath? Fool." the unknown wizard called while holding his hand over his grimoire with confidence. "Now get lost in the fog."

Before he could even see the whole affect of his spell come into place, Asta cut through it easily and knocked it away startling the man and his leader. 

"Like hell I'll get lost in this!!" Asta screamed while glaring heatedly at the main leading figure. The boy was more than done with the situation before him. "Why the hell would you try to kill all the people of this village?!" he demanded while holding his sword out in the direction of the enemy. Elizabeth stood back with her arms crossed while observing the others of the enemy's party; she was curious as well, but she didn't want that to blind her. 

"This is one of the villages where the low born live in the outer ring. Most of the people out here in the outer ring can only use low level magic for minor things that improve the quality of their own lives." the man paused while looking over the crowd of crying beaten people. "I'm just cleaning up the swine that may take up my time now, before wasting my time later. You guys have enough magic power to enter the Magic Knights, right?" he paused again while glancing up at Elizabeth, Noelle and Magna before looking back at Asta. "The only reason you're trying to help these guys is because it's your mission. Don't these guys look like worthless swine to you?" 

A vein appeared on Elizabeth's forehead as she stepped forward before pausing and clenching her fists at her sides. When they looked over at her she gave them an intense but smiling expression. When Asta didn't say a word, and seemed to be lost in thought; she took it upon herself to buy a little time and to also let some of her frustration show.

"Oh, I see swine alright." she said nodding her head before stuffing her hands in her pockets looking carefree, she ignored the outraged looks she got from the crowd as well as her fellow knights. 

"I see spineless power hungry pigs who deem themselves above others due to their own capabilities right in front of me." she pointed her smile and carefree persona immediately dropping to that of something sinister. 

"Looking for empathy, and understanding from us will get you no where but the morgue." mana swirled around her crazily sending her hair straight into the air while her eyes seemed to loose any trace of emotion. "After all, us 'outer ring' dwellers, are just low born swine right?!"

Her grimoire floated around crazily while the villagers stared at her terrified, and the enemy jumped back away from their spots their eyes were glued to her. They had no idea what was going to happen next.