The next week was quite boring for Alucard; he mostly spent his time training Mimosa and Yuno as well. He'd been surprised when Yuno had requested he train him, but decided he didn't mind and so dragged him along with Mimosa.
Carter and the Gravewatchers would stop by occasionally, but Captain Vengeance kept them busy with peacekeeping patrols, so they didn't stop by much. Yuno was also receiving instruction from Klaus, another noble who didn't bother hiding his disdain for the boy.
He kept his feelings to himself for the most part since Alucard had already lashed out twice against other Knights, but his expressions said plenty. Klaus normally spent his time showing Yuno around the kingdom and explaining how day-to-day life was for Magic Knights, something that Alucard had no experience with.
Today was different, however, as Alucard had been called to the Captain's office, where William was waiting for him. "Come in, have a seat." He sat as William showed him a map, pointing to a spot. "A new dungeon has been discovered recently. Julius wants Yuno to go. So I'm sending him, Mimosa, and Klaus. I want you to go for supervision, but let Klaus take the lead."
Alucard nodded as he studied the map, "There have been reports of Diamond Kingdom patrols in that area; they might be an issue as well." William nodded, "I give you authorization to kill and Diamond Kingdom mages who appear, though close to their border, the dungeon resides within the Clover Kingdom."
Not wasting any time, Alucard went to collect Klaus, Yuno, and Mimosa. He gathered them in the hall and explained the emergence of the dungeon and its proximity to the Diamond Kingdom. After they understood the dangers, he opened a portal as close as he could, and they left.
As they emerged from the portal, Klaus had Yuno create a wind construct to carry them the rest of the way when Alucard's communicator went off. "Captain Vangeance?" William was hurried as he explained and then hung up.
"Klaus! You're in charge for now, I'm going to deal with something." Alucard suddenly said as he went over to Mimosa, "There's a town under attack nearby. I'm going to deal with it, then return. Be sure to keep your communicator handy, so I can find you." He then embraced her and took to the sky, blasting away.
"Did he say where he's going?" Klaus asked Mimosa, "Yes, a town is under attack. He said he would catch up to us inside the dungeon." He nodded as they climbed onto Yuno's wind construct and kept going towards the dungeon.
As he flew through the air towards the town, Alucard contacted Julius, as he planned to use this to 'discover' another type of magic. After filling Julius in, Alucard used Gravity magic to weaken gravity's hold on him, as his speed doubled.
'I'm too late.' It was grim to realize that before he reached the town, but the pillars of smoke and lack of mana confirmed the worst. He sped up more as the wind started tearing at his skin, but it didn't matter. There was nothing left to save; the entire town was destroyed.
Buildings burned as bodies littered the streets. He used Water and Gravity magic to stop the fires, but the damage had been done. He searched the town with his mana and flew around it multiple times, but found no survivors.
"Captain, there's nothing left. Only bodies and destroyed buildings, they may have taken prisoners, but I have no way of knowing." William nodded as his expression hardened, "An eye for an eye. Exact justice for our fallen Knights and countrymen, there is a stronghold not far on the other side of the border, you know what to do."
He nodded, stopping only to organize the bodies left behind, before checking his map and streaking through the sky.
Down in the dungeon, Yuno, Klaus, and Mimosa had just arrived as they made their way through carefully. Taking this time to teach, Klaus' voice rang out through the empty halls, "Although no two dungeons are the same, they all share two distinct things: traps and a treasure room. No one has been able to find out where the dungeons come from, but they are always full of treasures and relics of the past, and full of danger."
As if to emphasize the point, a trap went off not far from where they were, hearing screams as well, the trio went to investigate. As they entered the room, Yuno cast a spell when he saw who was stuck in the trap. "Wind Creation Magic: Wind Blades Shower!"
The blades sliced through the lashing vines as Asta and Noelle broke free from the trap. "I see you're still getting stuck, huh, Asta?" "YUNO!" The boys were happy to reunite as Mimosa went to check on her cousin. "Are you hurt? Your dress is a bit torn." Noelle brushed her off, though Mimosa could tell she was happy to see her.
"Why did you even bother saving them, Yuno? Can't you see these people belong to the Black Bulls? It's rather shameful for you to even be around them!" Klaus butted in as he and Asta started arguing. "I see he's still the same," Noelle noted as Mimosa nodded.
"He's a lot calmer since Alucard doesn't tolerate anything, but it seems your squadmate really upset him." Noelle nodded. "Yes, he's very loud. We had someone else with us, but he suddenly bolted and set off traps for us to deal with. These people are insane!"
"Mimosa, do you happen to have a sensory spell?" Klaus suddenly asked as he came over, "Yes, I do?" "This little runt has challenged the glory of the Golden Dawn. We'll show him his place after we win this pathetic race!" He then went over to Yuno as the girls rolled their eyes.
"Plant Creation Magic: Magic Flower Guidepost." Mimosa then scanned the dungeon and planned a route as Yuno created transportation. As they sped off, Asta returned to Noelle. "So who were you talking to?" He asked, watching Mimosa get farther away. "That was my cousin, another royal but from the Vermillion Family, Mimosa's her name."Mimosa huh? She looks interesting…"
"ACHO!" Alucard sneezed so violently he nearly knocked himself off course as he crossed the Diamond Kingdom Border. 'Someone's gonna get murdered!' Since coming to this world, he'd only sneezed a few times and had never gotten sick, so he knew someone was either talking about him or Mimosa.
He ignored it for now since he could sense several mana signatures moving to intercept him. "HALT CLOVER SCUM!" A voice roared. As the mages caught up, Alucard suddenly teleported behind them as he cast several spells.
"Wind Magic: Gale of the Oppressed!" "Water Creation Magic: Spiralling lance! X4" "Space Magic: Abyss Claws!"
All at once, the four mages found themselves thrown about by winds as lances of waterraced after them. Two of them were killed by lances in the chest, the other two were able to deflect them, but the space rending claws ripped open their chests, as the four fell from the sky.
Feeding the new sparks to his existing magic, he gladly absorbed the new mana as he took off. Feeling he was still taking too long, he reinforced his body with Fire, Earth, and Lightning Magic before lessening his weight using Gravity Magic. Still feeling the wind dragging at him, he formed a barrier of wind in front of him, spinning it like he did his lances as the wind was redirected.
All this together sped him up nearly five times faster than usual, as he raced across the bleak land of the Diamond Kingdom. He was going too fast, in fact, as he actually overshot the town he was aiming for, not realizing it until the city's defenders rushed after him, hurling spells.
Realizing his mistake, Alucard opened a portal in front of himself, and it spat him out back at the border as he reached the town once more in a few dozen seconds. "There he is, get him!" Hundreds of spells rose into the air as other mages rushed up to him, but Alucard merely scanned the town, locating the Clover hostages as he crushed the attacking spells.
'A graveyard, I can work with that.' Teleporting over, he cast a new Bone Magic spell for the first time as the mages rushed after him. "Bone Magic: Undead Lullaby!" A simple skeleton manifested as a violin made of bones appeared in its hands.
"Any request, my lord?" The construct rasped as Alucard shook his head, "Something ominous, you take care of the rest. Earth Creation Magic: Towering Wall!" He then formed a simple defense for the skeleton before leaping away to draw fire.
As Alucard started tearing into the Diamond Mages rising from the town to meet him, the skeleton in the cemetery began playing its violin. As it played, the sound from its instrument penetrated down below as the dead began to rise. A few townspeople spotted the danger and called for aid, but it was too late.
"Sir, a massive horde of undead is inside the city!" The lead mage was alerted as he cursed. First, they had some psycho mage from the Clover Kingdom; now they had an undead uprising! "Take four mages and deal with it! We have this guy!" The man nodded and took the others to try to stem the flow of skeletons attacking the people below.
"Earth Creation Magic: Earthen warrior!" An interesting twist on his monster spell, Alucard formed a massive warrior, wielding a long spear, almost three men long, as it charged forward. Other earth mages rushed to destroy it as Alucard created another construct. "Water Creation Magic: Seaserpent!" The twisting creature then joined the earth warrior as the slaughter kicked into high gear.
"Water Creation Magic:Spiraling Lances!" "Earth Creation Magic: Super Dome!"
One earth mage was able to block one of his lances; he was rewarded with another through the spine. As more mages turned their focus on the constructs tearing into their populace, as well as the growing number of undead, Alucard went to save his own people.
"Relax, I'm here to save you. You're safe now." He calmed them after killing the mage on guard, and he then freed them from their chains, healing a few who were bleeding, before his grimoire turned to a new spell.
"Earth Creation Magic: Gentle Giant." A large man formed, as he gazed pitifully at the people below. He then grew in size as a large basket formed on his back. He set it down and gently coaxed the people inside before shouldering the basket once more and leaving the battlefield.
"Water Creation Magic: Tsunami of the Damned!" A tidal wave of water washed over the town, sweeping people, skeletons, and debris into buildings as the mages tried to focus on Alucard once more, but he was gone.
"How revolting, this city is full of sin!" Seeing a supplementary spell for Justice Magic within his grimoire, Alucard tested it and couldn't help his outburst at what he saw. 'Justice Magic: Unbiased Gaze'
Because of this spell, Alucard was able to 'see' the sin of each person within the town, all were a dark malevolent color, that seemed to writhe when he looked closer. The only ones not fully dark were children and newborns, having a golden brightness that shone amongst the dark.
Yet even they were tainted, and so none would survive. He then extended his mana, wrapping it around as many people as he could, and used Gravity magic to make them float above the carnage below.
Screams of confusion sounded as the few remaining mages tried to break free, but they didn't succeed. "Fire Magic: Flaming God of Death!" "Wind Magic: Tempest Fury!" The dragon formed with a roar as it swept through the town, burning everything in sight. The hurricane-force winds only helped to spread the flames as the remaining skeletons tore down anything they could get their bony fingers on.
"Klaus, Yuno, can I make a request?" Mimosa said as they got closer to the treasure vault. "What is it, Mimosa?" Though surprised, Klaus heard her out since Mimosa never asked for anything. "When the Black Bulls catch up to us, stay between the boy. Something felt off about him."
Klaus agreed, while Yuno wondered what Asta had done without realizing. 'That dirty cur DARED gaze upon me?! I'll rip out his eyes and feed them to Mero!' Though outwardly smiling, Mimosa was seething within herself.
After years of having dozens of nobles being beaten away from her by Alucard and Mero, she was very much in support of killing and maiming anyone who leered at her body. 'I can strip off his fingernails, rip out his tongue! Oh, I could even let my Love have fun ripping out his spine~.'
"ACHO!" Alucard nearly dropped the people he was holding in the air as the second sneeze he'd had in months rocked his body. 'Am I finally getting sick?!' He wondered incredulously as the dragon below bellowed its triumph over the smoldering ruins.
"Finally, I wanted some dungeon gold before going home." Alucard tried joking before becoming serious again, "Justice Magic: Stakes of Vengeance!" From the ruins of the town below, hundreds of dark, glowing stakes burst from the ground as he let go of the magic holding up the people.
They fell screaming, as the mages left tried to stay in the air, only to get forced down by the dragon's wingbeats as it took to the skies. Bones crunched as flesh tore to shreds on the stakes. Alucard released the mana holding up the storm and the undead, but the stakes remained.
'The people should have enough mana until reinforcements arrive. Let this be a lesson for the Diamond Kingdom, may they forget it soon.'
He grinned as he dispelled the dragon and teleported to the last spot he was with Mimosa. Getting his bearings, he sent out a pulse of mana and found Mimosa and teleported to her. "Ah, you scared me, my love!" She squealed and jumped into his arms.
Surprised, he caught her as Klaus and Yuno jumped at his arrival. "What the? When did you get here?!" Klaus sputtered as Alucard set Mimosa down. "Just now, continue as normal." Klaus nodded as they got back to trying to open the treasury door.
It was massive and ornate; he could feel the mana pouring off of it. It was more structured and calm compared to the mana from the Underworld Gates. Sending out a pulse of mana, he sensed several mages fighting off in the distance, as Noelle's familiar mana slowly got closer.
"Contact!" He suddenly yelled as he threw up a shield. "Earth Creation Magic: Domed fortress!" A massive crystal blade sheared through the barrier and approached Mimosa, but the dome had been strong enough to stop it.
"Earth Creation Magic: Earthen Warrior!" The construct formed and placed itself in front of Mimosa as Klaus formed another shield for it to hold. "How odd, I didn't think there would be anyone strong enough to fight me here."
As the dome crumbled, they were able to see who had attacked them, as Mars, one of the Diamond Kingdom's Eight Shining Generals, made his entrance.